Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 2

Auto-hunting?

Could it really be what they had in mobile games?

Tipping his head, he glanced casually at the dungeon Gate.

Just in case, he kept as careful as possible.

[Auto-hunting in progress]

[00:01:47]

Crazy.

“It’s seriously that auto-hunting?”

Auto-hunting.

The meaning was entirely literal.

It meant everything would be taken care of on its own, even if he just stood still doing nothing.

Dungeon entry.

Hunting.

Clearing.

Maybe even farming.

By whom?

By the hard-hat-wearing orcs, obviously.

No, wait, this was…

“A complete gold mine, isn’t it?”

While marveling at the thought, a sudden doubt struck him.

<Hunter = A dangerous occupation>

That was common knowledge everyone took for granted.

The reason was simple.

Whether it was a dungeon or a tower, you had to step inside yourself.

Were there any exceptions to that?

Naturally not.

…Or so he had heard.

Was that not true?

Puzzled, he looked it up on his phone.

[Awakened with a summoner-type class? Don’t even hesitate, just give up rn ffs]

Huh?

Right from the very first post, something seemed off.

Give up if it’s a summoner-type class?

Instead of milking it as an absolute blessing?

Why?

——-

Awakened with a summoner-type class? Don’t even hesitate, just give up rn ffs

Why, you ask?

Because you’re going to quit soon anyway if you don’t want to die.

Whether it’s spirits, golems, or whatever.

You all know summoners have to go inside the dungeon or tower themselves to summon them, right?

If you don’t know, memorize it now.

If you only send the summons in, they freeze on the spot.

The real issue is that monsters prioritize summoners above all else…

Their intelligence is through the roof, too.

They’ll grit their teeth and come straight for the summoner no matter what, making it a living hell.

How do I know?

How else would I know, you think?

Damn it all.

3-Line Summary:

1. Awakened with a summoner-type class?

2. Give up on everything like I did.

3. Save your sanity and put it to work anywhere other than being a hunter.

——-

Aha.

So regular summons freeze dead in their tracks once they cross a Gate.

“Wait.”

His orcs were doing auto-hunting, though…

What was going on?

Puzzled, he dug around a bit more, but most posts told a similar story.

To sum it up briefly:

“I’m the only one who has auto-hunting.”

Were there cases where summons moved past a dungeon Gate like those orcs?

None.

It was outright impossible to begin with.

Were there cases where summons cleared a dungeon entirely on their own without manual control?

Naturally, not a single one.

In other words, his was no ordinary class.

“Chwiiik!”

Right?

It was definitely extraordinary.

Just as he was nodding in excitement, he froze.

Wait, hold on.

Why was an orc grunt coming from right there?

[Dungeon clear complete.]

[Concluding auto-hunting.]

Aha, they were done!

Wait…

Already?

Had that much time passed?

[Clear Time – 00:13:27]

No, it hadn’t.

They had finished the whole thing and stepped out in just thirteen minutes.

“Insane. That fast?”

This was starting to look like hitting the jackpot.

*

The first dungeon run was over.

And in a mere thirteen minutes, at that.

[F-Rank Dungeon Clear Successful!]

[Clear Time – 00:13:27]

[Clear Reward – 20 Low-Grade Magic Stones]

Here was the report card.

The reward was twenty low-grade magic stones?

“They said these go for twenty thousand won apiece… That means four hundred thousand won in thirteen minutes. Holy…”

Hauling drywall all day and assisting skilled technicians earned him a daily wage of a hundred and fifty thousand won.

Even that was on the generous side compared to other crews.

And now, four hundred thousand won in thirteen minutes?

Outrageous.

So this was why everyone made such a fuss about hunters.

“Chwiik, chwiii-ik!”

It was all thanks to them?

Of course he knew that.

One look showed they had worked hard.

“Good, good.”

“Chwi, chwiik!”

He gave them a thumbs-up, but their reaction was lukewarm at best.

Was that not it?

Were they hoping for something else?

[Work completed.]

[Dismiss laborers for the day?]

Aha!

This was it.

Naturally, once the shift was done, people had to go home.

A laborer understood the heart of another laborer.

“Clocking out is an absolute must.”

He nodded in agreement.

Ding!

[Class Perk: For the first time only, you may dismiss laborers without paying a daily wage (magic stones).]

Huh.

Another prompt popped up.

Wait, a daily wage?

What was this?

He was supposed to give them magic stones?

[Class: Manpower Office Director]

No wonder he was a Manpower Office Director instead of a summoner.

Okay, that made total sense.

He understood right away.

Still, he didn’t have to pay them this once?

He was just thinking what a sweet deal that was, but then—

“Chwiik…”

“Chwiii-ik…”

He changed his mind.

“Hey, why are you orcs making such wounded faces?”

Yoon Hajun might have awakened, but his mindset was still thoroughly that of a laborer.

Working without getting paid?

Completely unacceptable.

The reverse held equally true.

So, smoothly—

“Chwiik?”

The moment he casually flashed the magic stones, the orcs’ eyes tracked the stones’ movement.

“Here, take ’em.”

When he held out his hand, their expressions shifted once more.

From crestfallen to a look that seemed to ask, Why are you giving us this?

Why else?

A bribe, obviously.

“Alright, alright. Take one each. Next time we meet, you’d better work even harder. Deal?”

The effect was tremendous.

“Chwiik!” “Chwiii-ik!”

So overjoyed that one orc began dancing on the spot, while another clutched the magic stone tightly to its chest, and yet another snapped a crisp salute.

Flash!

They vanished, every one of them looking thoroughly satisfied.

Prompts surfaced immediately — several of them in a row.

[Completed Summon Laborers for the first time.]

[Class Perk: You may now open the Manpower Office.]

[Paying fair wages is the virtue of an ideal employer!]

[Word of the Manpower Office Director spreads among awaiting laborers.]

[Reputation increases.]

What was this now?

Opening the Manpower Office?

Reputation?

Awaiting laborers?

Every single line piqued his curiosity, but that could wait.

Right now, clocking out came first.

Clang! Clang!

Before he knew it, the construction site had grown bustling and noisy.

Some workers were returning from lunch, and other teams had already gotten to work.

Yoon Hajun? He blended right in and slipped away to head home.

“Hah, what a productive day.”

I’m taking off first. Stay safe and hang in there, everyone.

*

Rattle! Clatter!

[This stop is Songnae, Songnae Station. The doors are on your — ]

It took forty minutes to get home by bus and subway.

During that ride, he searched the internet with relish.

The market price of low-grade magic stones.

Vendors.

All sorts of information on awakenings and hunters.

After looking into it for quite a while, his conclusion was clear.

Long live auto-hunting.

Twenty low-grade magic stones.

Even after handing out five as wages, fifteen remained.

Converting them to cash later would yield three hundred thousand won.

“Now this is a real honeypot.”

A caterpillar had to stick to pine needles, as the old saying went.

Even so… if dungeons could be cleared automatically while he did nothing, maybe this hunter gig wasn’t half bad.

The urge to give it a proper shot steadily swelled inside him.

There was another reason, too.

It was a bit greedy, but…

My class rank has to be high, doesn’t it?

Why?

[Though it varies widely by dungeon, F-rank dungeons — classified as the lowest grade — are reported to take an average of over two hours to clear…]

Just look at that.

The average clear time for an F-rank dungeon was over two hours.

And those hard-hat orc laborers?

They had hammered it out and emerged in just thirteen minutes.

A stark difference by any standard.

Safe, yet powerful?

Who wouldn’t get ambitious?

On top of that, there was plenty of room to grow even stronger.

[Summon Laborers (Rank – Iron)]

What if the rank of Summon Laborers went up?

What if other functions unlocked?

Like that Manpower Office mentioned earlier.

[Class Perk: You may now open the Manpower Office.]

The Manpower Office.

How on earth was he supposed to open it?

He had been wondering about that, and the moment he stepped into his studio — a cramped semi-basement room — he found his answer.

Beep-beep-beep-beep—!

[Temporary ownership confirmed.]

[You may open the Manpower Office (Temporary) at your current location.]

[You may relocate it later by paying a fee.]

Ah.

It could be set up in his own home.

Wait, this place was a rental, though…?

Deposit three million won, monthly rent four hundred thousand won.

Maintenance fee included.

“Is this really okay?”

His hesitation was brief.

Yoon Hajun was MZ generation through and through.

His defining trait?

Swift decisions.

Since it could be moved later, he might as well go for it now.

[Confirm]

He pressed confirm without delay.

Flash!

The entire room blazed with brilliant light.

*

[Opening the Manpower Office (Temporary).]

[Office functions may be utilized within the bounds of this building.]

Wait.

A single flash of light, and that was it?

Nothing in particular seemed different.

Well, except for the holographic screen hovering right before his eyes.

——-

Manpower Office (Temporary)

[Dispatch Laborers]

– Tower

– Dungeon

[Fixed Team Management (Locked)]

[Commissions (Locked)]

[Worksite Exploration (Locked)]

[Unlock Additional Features]

[Management]

——-

Nearly everything was locked.

Would they unlock as his level or whatever went up?

Fortunately, something did work.

[Dispatch Laborers]

– Tower

Could it be?

He checked.

[Dispatch Laborers – Tower: You may send laborers to the Tower of Chaos corresponding to the Manpower Office Director’s nationality.]

Ohh.

So he could send them straight to the tower from home?

What an incredible perk.

He had been curious anyway about just how good a lottery ticket he had drawn.

It seemed like a massive jackpot so far, but sending them to the tower would confirm it beyond doubt.

Now that he had a way…

“Might as well try it.”

The room was too cramped, so he headed up to the rooftop.

[Dispatch Laborers]

– Tower

He pressed the button.

[Would you like to enter the Tower of Chaos – 1st Floor?]

Whoa.

No thanks.

He wouldn’t enter himself — he would only leave the entrance open.

Then—

“Summon Laborers.”

He called out.

Who would appear this time?

[Summoning laborers!]

[Rank – Iron]

[Summon Range: All intermediate- and low-grade targets]

System alerts popped up in rapid succession just like the first time.

Flash!

Light flared brilliantly.

At the site, it had been a chwiik.

What about now?

“Kyeeek!”

Ah…

Goblins.

Maybe because he had already seen orcs, but he stayed perfectly calm even when seeing hard-hat-wearing goblins.

Indeed.

If orcs could show up, goblins could too.

And there were seven of them, at that.

[Manual Mode] / [Auto Mode]

Just as he was about to send them off, he hesitated.

He had heard goblins were far weaker than orcs.

Could they handle this?

“Kyeeek!”

Come on.

No matter how confidently they waved their hands, they were still goblins.

And judging by their faces…

Yoon Hajun, twenty-three years old.

Equipped with sharp intuition honed by rough construction labor.

Just by looking at a face, he could pick up on quite a bit.

The orc laborers?

One look was enough to tell they were sharp and driven.

The goblins, though?

Hmm.

Their faces didn’t inspire much confidence.

They looked like the type to slack off the first chance they got.

Send only them into the tower?

It felt precarious…

Right then, an item he had acquired earlier came to mind.

[1-Time Higher-Grade Laborer Trial Voucher]

A higher grade?

Presumably, that meant someone he could summon once his level went up or his skills were enhanced later on.

Use it or lose it was his personal creed.

Rather than sending just these questionable goblins, why not send a higher-grade laborer along with them?

Truth be told, he was curious too.

What kind of laborer would appear?

And so, he went for it.

Boldly.

[Using ‘1-Time Higher-Grade Laborer Trial Voucher’.]

[Summoning laborers!]

[Summon Range: All highest-grade to intermediate-grade targets]

He wasn’t expecting to beat the slim odds and pull a highest-grade laborer.

All he hoped for was to hear something other than chwiik or kyeek—

Flash!

This time, the summoning felt different right from the start.

“A human?”

Flowing blond hair, blue eyes.

Splendid, dazzling attire.

A man who looked fit to play a textbook prince in a foreign film.

A gut feeling struck him instantly.

This was a hit — an absolute, colossal hit.

After watching with bated breath for a brief moment, the summoning finally concluded.

Then, the man parted his lips.

“Bawss?”