Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 17

Back to the Tower of Chaos after a while.

The floor?

The eleventh.

“Heard it gets a bit rough from here on.”

“Riiight?”

“Yeah. That’s what they say.”

What was it people said again?

Up to floor ten is just a taste.

The real climb begins from floor eleven.

“Ahsur got Whar-whar!”

“That’s right! You’ve got Hwalhwal, so you’ll be fine!”

“Whar-whar is good!”

Tossing words back and forth.

They were completely in sync.

Still, they weren’t wrong.

“I mean, there’s no way Arthur gets stuck on floor eleven of all places.”

“Right! Floor eleven? Easy!”

Agreed.

Arthur cleared floor nine in three minutes to begin with….

Getting held back just because it’s two floors higher?

That makes zero sense.

Especially now with a new weapon, Hwalhwal….

“It’ll be over in a flash.”

Now I’m looking forward to this.

Just how fast will the clear be?

Let’s see.

“Arthur, ready?”

“Ready!”

The warm-up was done long ago.

Time to head in.

[Dispatch Laborers]

– Tower

“Ahsur go now! Come back quick!”

Open the door.

Right in.

[Worker is entering the Tower of Chaos.]

[Auto-hunting initiated.]

Normally, I’d leave it alone and go about my business.

Boil water in the kettle.

Summon another laborer.

Things like that.

Monitoring…? Why bother?

Arthur handles things fine on his own anyway.

“Hehe.”

Just look at Rani.

Already playing around with the materials.

Even so…?

[Monitoring]

Today calls for a look.

It’s the first time using the new weapon.

“I’m going to watch Hwalhwal in action. Want to watch too, Rani?”

“Yeah! Rani wants to see!”

Immediately pitter-pattering over.

All while clutching the materials tight in both hands.

Rani, no one’s going to snatch those….

“Director! Look, Arthur!”

Yeah.

I see him.

Wait, why is he stroking Hwalhwal over there too?

Excuse me, you’re supposed to be fighting.

What’s the enemy doing?

Chweeeek!

“Huh? An orc?”

“Looks different from the orcs Director summons!”

Well, yeah.

Those guys aren’t ordinary orcs.

What kind of orc in the world wears a hard hat?

“That one looks super strong!”

“Sure does.”

Definitely looks formidable.

Iron armor and a massive axe.

Must be a reason it’s standing all alone.

Chweee-eeek!

“Oh….”

It charges, incredibly fast.

Can that be blocked?

The moment my head tilts in doubt, it’s already in front of Arthur.

Just as the axe is about to come crashing down—

Fwoosh!

What was that?

Sparks suddenly flew?

Chweee-eeek!

Must have caught it off guard too, because the beast faltered.

Did it really think pausing in front of Arthur was a good idea?

“That’s a wrap.”

Slash!

[Tower of Chaos 11th Floor conquest has ended.]

[Auto-hunting terminated.]

As expected.

Wait, was that an innate skill on the blade?

“Yeah! Hwalhwal and Wharuruk counter on their own!”

Aha.

What kind of sword…?

Truly absurd.

[Tower of Chaos 11th Floor Clear Successful!]

[Level has increased.]

[Clear Reward – 120 Low-Grade Magic Stones]

[Clear Time – 00:02:19]

[New World Record Achieved!]

[Bonus Reward – Chaos Key Fragment]

The record?

A new world record once again.

With the tower conquest finished, Arthur returns.

Right away, he pipes up.

“Boss. Ahsur go to A-grade now? A-graaade? Can go there!”

Oh?

An A-grade dungeon.

Cleared one so far.

Even with Robin, the highest-grade laborer, along for the ride, that took fifteen minutes.

And….

“You can clear it alone?”

“Right!”

No, wait.

Just the other day you said it was tough.

Swapping one weapon makes that possible?

Incredible.

“Then again… it’s not just any weapon.”

“Whar-whar! Good!”

“Of course! Rani made it!”

Hm.

Curiosity suddenly strikes.

High-grade Arthur is performing like this….

What if I have another bow crafted for Robin, who’s highest-grade?

“That would be insane.”

Can more be made, though?

I asked.

“No… Tired… Rani can’t make more today….”

Right….

It was like this yesterday after making Wharuruk too.

Can only one be made a day?

“What about tomorrow?”

“Can make one tomorrow! But do we have materials?”

Nope, none.

“Hmph….”

“Ahsur will bring some!”

Man, dependable as ever.

True, true.

Arthur has a weapon now.

Going up one floor of the tower every day from now on?

Materials will pile up in no time.

“Ah, right. I accepted that Bureau commission….”

The tower is fine and all, but this has to come first.

If I’d known Commission Points would roll in like this, I wouldn’t have taken it!

What a shame….

Well, whatever.

Once accepted, a commission has to be cleared.

A promise is a promise.

“Where were those A-grade dungeons again?”

To check, I opened AwakenedNet—

“Wait, what? Why are there so many notifications?”

Moscow.

The Russian Awakening Management Bureau.

Senior officials, including the director, gathered in the conference room.

[Rank 2, Baek Hwarang. Tower of Chaos 53rd Floor Conquered!]

Why watch South Korean news out of the blue?

Simple.

Baek Hwarang, or whatever that hunter’s name was.

Because of that climber, plans threatened to go awry.

“I heard that country’s rank two had been stuck on the fifty-third floor for quite some time.”

“That is correct.”

“Then what is this news?”

“About that….”

The reason?

Everyone gathered here knew.

A highest-grade weapon had suddenly appeared in their hands.

“And rank one?”

“Still unchanged. Struggling to secure a weapon, to no avail.”

“Fortunate. Keep watching, and once the timing is ripe, propose naturalization. Promise every piece of highest-grade equipment available if that hunter comes to us.”

In this day and age, the height of one’s tower equals national power.

The recruitment war surrounding each nation’s elite hunters raged fiercely every single moment.

Why?

Because materials, high-grade mana crystals, and other byproducts from the upper floors filled a nation’s coffers.

“Damn that Alexei. Failing to clear a measly sixty-first floor that the US broke through long ago, putting us through all this trouble.”

The nations currently referred to as the Five Great Powers.

[Russia, United States, China, United Kingdom, Germany.]

The lowest among them?

The homeland, Russia, currently stalled at floor sixty-one.

Because of that,

South Korea, chasing closely from right behind, was an ongoing nuisance.

Even Alexei, Russia’s highest-floor climber, had hit a wall.

What if South Korea overtook them?

Just as anxiety mounted, welcome news arrived.

Intelligence obtained by the bureau.

[South Korea’s Rank 1 Ranker, Weapon Broken. Currently Unable to Challenge the Tower.]

Now was the chance.

And so?

An alliance was struck immediately, with China.

“The operation to isolate rank one is progressing smoothly.”

“Naturally. What can those South Koreans do other than sway whenever we shake them?”

“Indeed.”

Too easy.

Routes to obtain weapons?

Scarce to begin with.

Monopolize them all.

[South Korea’s Rank 1, in a Slump.]

Spread rumors simultaneously across multiple channels.

When public opinion is rocked all at once, what can they possibly do?

The South Korean Awakening Management Bureau?

Couldn’t even respond in time, tossed around helplessly.

When public opinion strikes, people weaken.

The plan was to step into that vulnerability and lure the climber over—

“Never anticipated that rank two would steal the spotlight out of nowhere.”

“Looking at it differently, this could be an opportunity. The more attention focuses on rank two, the more rank one will be buried.”

A fair thought.

Waiting idly was never the plan anyway.

Pull every string to rattle the target.

Only then will that hunter come over to our side.

If there was a single variable…

“The problem is the person who crafted the weapon for South Korea’s rank two. What if that artisan makes one for rank one as well?”

“That is impossible.”

Utterly impossible.

Why is the supply of highest-grade gear so scarce in the first place?

Barely anyone can craft it.

Even assuming someone could?

Crafting once leaves the maker unable to produce anything for at least a year.

“Meaning it takes a minimum of one year.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.”

A year?

More than enough time.

By the time that artisan’s cooldown resets and another weapon can be made?

By then, the objective will already be achieved.

“South Korea’s rank one, is it.”

The cleared floor count was lower than Russia’s.

Even so?

The potential was ample.

Perhaps that climber could reach even higher.

An environment to flourish freely will be provided.

Come into the embrace of Russia.

[AwakenedNet]

[Unread Notifications: 371]

371?

Why so many?

A quick glance.

All commissions?

“How did hundreds of commissions flood in like this?”

Most of them crafting commissions, no less.

At this rate, there are more than when I first posted.

“What in the world…?”

Looks like Baek Hwarang bragged about it.

Even factoring that in…

Way too many.

What happened?

Let’s search it up.

A quick search brought it right up.

“Ah, after clearing floor fifty-three, said the Manpower Office Director made the weapon.”

This is why people need to watch the news….

Yoon Hajun, twenty-three years old.

Occupation: construction laborer and hunter.

Time to watch the news?

None.

Off to work at the crack of dawn….

Getting back after work brought me to right now.

Yet so much happened in a single day?

[Baek Hwarang Conquers 53rd Floor!]

[Manpower Office Director, Who Is He?]

……

…

Baek Hwarang broke through a wall that had blocked progress for ages.

And the entire nation learned of the Manpower Office Director.

“Rani, looks like everyone is looking for us?”

“Huh? Rani and Director?”

“Yeah, asking us to make some gear.”

“Whew…. Rani is tired…. Can’t do it right now……. Can do it tomorrow…!”

It’s fine.

Not going to ask for anything right now.

And for the time being, we should make gear for our own use.

Only here to check the A-grade dungeon commissions, so don’t worry.

[Commission Proposals: 370]

The mountain of piled-up commissions?

Decline them all.

No need to give people false hope; that’d just feel bad.

[Decline]

[Decline]

[Decline]

……

…

After clicking for a while, a sudden pause.

Huh?

A familiar name?

[Client: Lee Bojun]

Same name as rank one….

“Nah. Must be someone else.”

Could it really be rank one?

Just in case, tap.

I clicked to check.

[Requested Item: Sword]

[Main Material: Venomous Basilisk Fang]

Hmph.

Venomous Basilisk Fang.

Looking it up…

“That’s a floor fifty-seven monster?”

Then it really is rank one, isn’t it?

Oh….

Hold on.

Then if I take this commission, craft the weapon, and have leftover materials…?

Couldn’t I make Robin’s weapon too?

“Now that’s tempting….”

Crafting commissions?

Had no intention of taking any for a while.

If offered materials impossible to refuse, though…

Can’t really help it.

“Rani.”

“Hmm?”

“Let’s make just one more tomorrow.”