Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 20

The next morning, 8:00 AM.

Beep-beep-beep-beep—!

Woken by the pre-set alarm, Yoon Hajun opened his eyes.

“Ugh…”

Morning already.

A quick glance at his phone showed:

[Moving Day]

His mind snapped awake instantly.

Right.

Today was moving day.

“Nice!”

A day he had been eagerly waiting for.

Was that why?

“I kind of feel completely refreshed all of a sudden.”

Ah, no.

He had simply gotten plenty of sleep.

His usual wake-up time was 5:30 AM.

Today?

[08:02 AM]

He had slept in for well over two extra hours.

There was still plenty of time to spare.

[Moving Reservation — 10:30 AM]

He had free time until 10:30.

“I’m all packed, too.”

He had finished packing everything yesterday before summoning Arthur and Rani.

The cleaning was spotless, too.

Now, all he had to do was grab the bedding and move everything over, and he was done.

Then…

“Might as well look at my phone for a bit before taking a shower.”

Lounging under the blankets while browsing on his phone.

It was truly the sweetest thing.

[Lee Bojun Announces Attempt on the 60th Floor! Is It Really Possible?]

[Following Floors 58 and 59, All the Way to the 60th? Just How Far Will It Go?]

……

…

Today, the feed was overflowing with that exact topic.

Tapping on a video brought up the broadcast:

[Breaking news! We have just received word that Lee Bojun entered the 60th floor of the Tower of Chaos!]

Already?

It was only eight in the morning…

That hunter was remarkably diligent.

[Will this challenge end in success — ]

Will it succeed?

Why even ask?

“Of course it’s a success.”

Who did they think made Ttakkeum, after all?

He could guarantee it.

One hundred percent guaranteed.

So, Lee Bojun-ssi.

Do your best out there.

*

News of the early morning tower climb also reached Baek Hwarang in real time.

“Lee Bojun just entered the tower, apparently.”

“Yeah. Heard.”

Baek Hwarang gave a halfhearted answer, but the vice guild master was staring back with a strange look.

“What.”

“I just wondered if you weren’t curious, considering how closely you used to follow Lee Bojun’s records.”

That used to be true.

Catching up to that rival had been the primary goal.

Though now…

“Lee Bojun’s going to clear it anyway. Who cares?”

“Pardon?”

The 60th floor?

There was no way Lee Bojun would fail.

Lee Bojun was wielding a sword forged by the Manpower Office Director, after all.

What was its name again?

Ttakkeum, was it?

“Phew…”

Still, what a relief.

It would have felt terribly unfair if Wharuruk had been the only sword burdened with such a name…

[Wharuruk]

The name was truly awful.

Looking down at the blade, though — wow.

Every glance left Baek Hwarang’s jaw hanging slack.

Indeed.

What did a silly name matter?

The performance was simply absurd…

Lee Bojun’s sword, Ttakkeum, had to be the same.

No.

That one had actually looked even better than Wharuruk.

Perhaps because higher-quality materials had gone into it…

Either way, failing while holding a weapon like that?

“If Lee Bojun were that incompetent, I would’ve caught up ages ago.”

Lee Bojun would clear up to the 60th floor without a hitch.

From the 61st floor onwards?

Who knew.

Word was that the difficulty spiked dramatically past that point.

“You can still catch up now.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m not interested in that anymore.”

What was the point of beating Lee Bojun?

The real deal was someone else entirely.

[Who Is the Manpower Office Director?]

Everyone had a different guess.

Some claimed the director was an S-grade Awakened.

Others speculated it was actually a coordinated team of multiple individuals.

Well…

Endless talk like that.

“Ah, are you talking about that unidentified hunter?”

“Yeah.”

Landing that level of burst damage on a Monthly Boss and being unable to climb the tower?

Nonsense.

The director simply was not bothering to climb.

And if…

“If that person and the Manpower Office Director are the same individual, or on the same team…”

The 60th floor was nothing.

Claiming the title of world number one would only be a matter of time.

Neither the United States nor anyone else would stand a chance.

“Sigh, I’m just gonna head to a dungeon. There’s a B-grade dungeon nearby, so I’ll hit that up.”

“Again? Why have you been running them so diligently lately?”

“Gotta put in the work if I want to keep up with those monsters.”

Baek Hwarang had to grow as strong as possible.

Even if the Manpower Office Director was a benefactor who forged the sword, losing a Monthly Boss right before one’s very eyes was not an experience to repeat.

Next time, it would be Baek Hwarang’s kill.

Without fail.

*

“All done!”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

Yoon Hajun, twenty-three years old.

The move was officially complete.

From here on out?

No longer a semi-basement tenant, but the resident of a two-room apartment!

“Man, it’s huge.”

Of course, saying the move was finished only meant the real work was just beginning.

There were boxes to unpack.

Cleaning to do, too…

There was a mountain of chores waiting, but first?

[Summon Fixed Team]

– Arthur (high-grade)

– Robin (highest-grade)

– Rani (high-grade)

Time to call everyone out and give them a tour.

Come on out, folks.

“Arthur, arrived!”

“Ta-da! Rani has arrived too!”

“……”

Midway through their cheerful greetings, they all froze.

All three of them started looking around in unison.

Seriously, were they meerkats or something?

Why did they always turn their heads at the exact same time…?

“Boss, where is this?”

Where was it?

“The new place. I told you yesterday that I was moving today.”

“Oh, right! Heard! Boss, lives here?”

“That’s right.”

He would be living here from now on.

They were welcome to take a look around.

It was a two-room flat with a spacious veranda, which made it great.

“Whoa! It’s so big!”

Rani immediately started scurrying around on a tour.

What about Robin?

“……”

Just as expected.

Robin had walked straight out onto the veranda.

Leaning against the railing, the archer gazed blankly outside.

Understandable.

Compared to the semi-basement window, there was definitely much more to see here.

It was surprisingly high up, after all.

The building even had an elevator.

“Director! It’s super roomy here! I love it!”

“Right? Pretty nice, huh?”

“Yeah!”

“Arthur likes it too!”

“……”

Phew.

It was a relief they all liked it.

In that case…

“You guys look around for a bit. I’ll finish things up real quick.”

“Arthur helps?”

“Rani can help too!”

No need.

Cleaning, unpacking — everything still needed doing.

How were they supposed to manage that?

Besides.

He had someone to help with the cleaning.

Someone?

Well, not an actual person…

Anyway.

“I’ve got a laborer to help.”

[Summon Fixed Team]

– High Slime (intermediate-grade)

Squeak.

A domestic laborer, the slime.

An intermediate-grade one, at that!

“Shiny? Changed?”

“Oh, Arthur recognized it?”

“Correct!”

Naturally.

It was different now.

He couldn’t summon the old ones anymore…

[Summon Laborers (Grade — Silver)]

[Entities summonable at the current grade include all targets evaluated as high-grade or intermediate-grade.]

Right.

The previous ones had been low-grade.

Back then, they used to pop up and clean whenever he needed them…

He had regretted not saving one to a fixed team slot, even if the slot felt precious!

Just when he had been ruing that missed chance, this one had suddenly shown up a few days ago.

And so?

Registered on the spot!

Squish, squeak.

The housecleaning fairy, the slime.

The moment it appeared, it began squirming around everywhere.

To Hajun’s eyes, it looked almost identical to the old ones…

How had Arthur managed to tell the difference?

“Make it shiny?”

“Absolutely, got to.”

Nodding, Hajun tapped the prompt.

[Manual Mode] → [Auto Mode]

Switching it to auto?

Squish.

It split into two, then divided again.

After multiplying over and over, the slimes began spreading in every direction.

In the blink of an eye?

“Look at that, spotless.”

“Correct!”

When it came to cleaning, slimes reigned supreme.

The entire apartment was sparkling clean.

Squeak.

[The task is complete.]

[Would you like to dismiss the laborer?]

Magic stones?

Naturally, he had to pay up.

——-

Laborer Resume

Name: High Slime / Intermediate-grade

Specialty: None

Daily Wage: 5 Low-Grade Magic Stones

——-

“Here, thanks again for today.”

Passing over the stones prompted a bright flash.

Flash!

A prompt clock-out.

Those slimes always left at lightning speed.

“Whoa—! Sparkly-sparkly! It’s so clean!”

Right?

Must have been the perks of being a High Slime.

It was truly remarkable.

Now all that was left was unpacking the luggage…

Then again, Hajun barely had any belongings to begin with.

Opening a few boxes would be the end of it.

“Boss, this is all?”

“Yeah…”

“It’s completely empty!”

Of course it was empty.

He had just moved from a semi-basement to a two-room place!

He would fill it up with necessities as time went on!

Regardless, with the move finished…

“Let’s order some jajangmyeon!”

“What is that?”

“It’s a tradition. You’ve got to eat it whenever you move into a new place.”

“…Meat.”

Whoa.

When had Robin slipped over here?

“Meat, of course there’s meat. It’s called tangsuyuk, sweet and sour pork, and it’s delicious too.”

They would order tangsuyuk, and what else?

He planned to order a ton of different dishes, so they had plenty to look forward to.

Ah, right.

“Hold on a second.”

One last thing.

He had almost forgotten about it.

Opening his inventory, he drew out a ticket.

[Manpower Office (Temporary) Relocation Voucher]

Spending Commission Points back in the semi-basement had rewarded him with this.

How to use it?

Riiip — tear it open.

[Using ‘Manpower Office (Temporary) Relocation Voucher.’]

Flash!

A brilliant light flared.

Then.

[Relocating Manpower Office (Temporary).]

[Office functions can now be utilized within the bounds of the corresponding building.]

All right.

Relocation complete.

Time to check the menu.

——-

Manpower Office (Temporary)

[Dispatch Laborers]

– Tower

– Dungeon

[Manage Fixed Team]

[Commission]

[Worksite Scouting (Locked)]

[Laborer Training Center (Unlockable)]

[Unlock Additional Functions]

[Management]

——-

There it was.

Laborer Training Center (Unlockable).

That feature was the whole reason he had moved in the first place, so he needed to unlock it right away.

[Laborer Training Center (Unlockable)]

A light tap brought up a message.

[You may unlock the Laborer Training Center at a location of your choice.]

He had already picked out the spot.

Over here.

[Confirm]

Selecting confirm in the room he had designated beforehand caused another flare of light.

Flash!

Once more, the entire room illuminated brightly.

*

[Unlocking Laborer Training Center.]

[Laborer training may now be conducted within this space.]

[Training Ground ON / OFF]

Oh.

Apparently that was toggleable too.

Currently, it was set to OFF.

“It just looks like the original room.”

A completely empty room with nothing inside.

What if he switched it to ON?

“Whoa, what’s this?”

The space suddenly expanded dramatically.

The windows had vanished, too.

Even the floor…

The texture of the flooring had changed into something else entirely.

This wouldn’t do.

He had to show it to the future drill instructor first.

“Arthur! Come take a look at this!”

“Arthur, was called?”

Arthur tilted his head as he trotted over.

The moment the swordsman arrived, his eyes sparkled.

“What is this?”

“A training ground. From now on, you can train the other laborers here.”

“Arthur likes!”

Whoa, whoa, calm down.

Why put on the drill sergeant cap before the laborers were even summoned?

“Weaklings, not here?”

Hmm.

Actually, no.

Since things had turned out this way…

“Should I just summon the whole bunch, run a dungeon, and eat jajangmyeon all together?”

“Arthur likes!”

“Rani agrees too!”

“……”

Even Robin was nodding along, making it unanimous.

All right.

Though calling the whole bunch really only meant adding one more team.

[Summon Fixed Team]

– Orc Pack (low-grade)

“Chweeek!”

The hardhat-wearing orc misters.

The moment they saw Hajun, they waved their hands in delighted greeting.

They were the very first laborers he had ever summoned.

He had grown quite fond of them over time.

That was why he had kept them registered to the fixed team instead of disbanding them…

By now, they had grown stronger than most intermediate-grade summons.

Such was the power of training…

“Weaklings! Come here!”

Of course, in Arthur’s eyes, they were still fledgling chicks.

Which meant?

Training commenced immediately.

“Are we doing the tweet, tweet-tweet thing?”

Rani scampered over to peek inside as well.

Yet something felt different from usual…

“It’s quiet!”

“Yeah, sure is quiet, isn’t it?”

Not a single sound was leaking out.

Stepping past the doorway—

Tweet! Tweet-tweet!

“Not doing it right? Posture!”

Instantly, the voice of Arthur — now fully transformed into a fierce tiger instructor — rang out loud and clear.

Stepping back outside?

“……”

Dead silence.

“Oh…”

Building the training center had definitely been the right call.

The soundproofing was rock-solid.

With this, there would be no need to worry about noise complaints between floors.

“Tweet! Tweet-tweet!”

Rani seemed overjoyed by the new house, judging by how she kept humming while scampering around on her tiptoes.

Leaving her to it for now…

He figured he might as well check on a few things while waiting for training to wrap up.

First up, missions.

[Mission List]

1. Upgrade Laborer Grade 1 Time (0/1)

2. Clear the 20th Floor of the Tower of Chaos

“Hmm… I have to clear this to raise the grade…”

Truthfully, raising the grade?

He was completely satisfied even without an upgrade.

Things were more than fine as they were.

Though…

“Robin, do you like looking out the window that much?”

“……”

No answer came.

Instead, Robin gave a quiet nod.

Right.

Robin loved gazing outside so much…

Yet could only ever see it when summoned.

If the grade went up, being out every single day would be an option.

They could enjoy delicious food together, too.

Which meant.

Time to tackle that Tower of Chaos mission.

Upgrading the grade might take a while, but clearing that floor was well within reach.

“Robin?”

“……”

Take a break from gazing outside and come over here for a sec.

Why?

Because there was a gift waiting.

“Rani, let’s craft a bow for Robin too.”

“Yeah!”

Opening the inventory and passing the materials to Rani sent her scampering back and forth with armfuls of supplies.

Was she searching for a crafting spot?

After looking around for a good while, she paused.

“Ah!”

Oh, did she find one?

Ah.

She slipped right into the training center and settled into a corner.

And then?

Clang, bang, clink, clank.

Crafting began on the spot.

Though…

“Chweeek!”

Did the noises catch their interest?

The orcs were staring over at Rani.

Ding!

[The low-grade laborers currently in training have reached their EXP cap.]

[Suitable weapons are required to advance to the next grade.]

Oh?