Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 21

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

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

Well, that means…

“Are our orcs finally moving up to intermediate-grade?”

“Chwiiik!“

“Ha! Yeah, it’s about time!”

They had worked so hard, after all.

Before running a dungeon, they got run through the wringer as a warm-up. When they came back, they got run through the wringer again. At some point, that simply became the daily routine…

“Since you can rank up the moment we open the training ground, isn’t that actually a win?”

“Chwiiik…”

Ah, not quite?

Right…

“Boss, what is? What’s going on?”

Still, good news like this had to be shared with our drill sergeant tiger right away.

“They hit their EXP cap, so the orcs can move up to the next grade.”

“Eh? Really? Those runts are weak.”

Come on, man. That’s only because you’re high-grade.

Think about it, and those guys have gotten surprisingly strong.

[F-Grade Dungeon Cleared!]

[Clear Time – 00:06:27]

That was their most recent report card.

And what about the intermediate-grade laborers?

[F-Grade Dungeon Cleared!]

[Clear Time – 00:08:12]

See?

They were faster than intermediate-grades. At the very start, they used to take thirteen minutes…

“Chwik! Chwiiik!“

Yeah, yeah. I hear you, so calm down.

First things first.

“You need weapons, right?”

“Chwik!“

“Okay. Now that I think about it, that is on me.”

Applying daily laborer logic gave me the answer.

Yoon Hajun? I’d bounced around plenty of job sites, including working a shift yesterday. Did I own personal tools? Nope. Didn’t have any, and had no intention of buying them either. Why? Because the team leader, Min-uk hyung, provided everything. On top of that, if I gathered them as a fixed team…

“I’m technically the team leader here… My bad, wasn’t thinking. Sorry about that.”

“Arthur is fine!”

Of course you’re fine, man… You already got a weapon!

“Chwik.“

“Alright, decided.”

Weapons for the orcs? Get it rolling immediately.

Ah.

“Wait, right this second won’t work.”

I wondered if Rani was almost finished.

Clang, bang.

“Hehe!”

Judging by how happily and completely absorbed she was while hammering away…

“Far from done? Still at it.”

“Yeah. Pretty obvious from looking at her.”

Fair enough. Considering the materials, and considering the person using it was Robin, a highest-grade summon, it would take at least as long as Ttakkeum. And once she finished? Completely drained, naturally.

“So let’s ask Rani to make them tomorrow instead of today. Deal?”

“Chwik!“

Okay, agreement reached. Now that weapons were on the horizon…

“Weak runts! If you’re done talking, get back in stance!”

“Chwik?“

Yep, time to resume training. Arthur had only been waiting for our conversation to wrap up.

“Chwiiiik…”

Still, gotta do it… It’s making you stronger, after all.

“Hang in there.”

*

Fun fact: Robin, who couldn’t care less about the rest of the world, watched the crafting of that weapon with rapt attention.

“…….”

Look at that — staring fixatedly at every strike of the hammer. Other than when roasting meat, I’d never seen that kind of focus. Rani, when are you going to finish? At this rate, Robin’s neck is going to snap from craning so hard.

“Aaaand done!”

“……!”

Thankfully, it wrapped up fast. Well then, let’s take a look at the weapon.

“Heheh! It’s a great bow made by Rani! Pretty, right? Its name is Syuk!”

Now she gave the name without even being asked. Wait…

“Syuk?”

“Yup! It’s Syuk!”

“…Huh?”

A bow named Syuk, like the sound of an arrow whizzing through the air. My impression? Classic Rani. Arthur was nodding beside her, but the recipient’s reaction was…

“…….”

Uh-oh. Robin was cursing with those eyes.

“…My bow.”

Reminded me of Hwalhwal. Back then, Arthur had stared with that same desperate longing… And the result?

“It’s fine… Works great…!”

See? Arthur had already resigned to it. And besides… Robin would understand once checking the options. Rani really was an incredible weaponsmith. Couldn’t just leave it sitting there. Handing it over smoothly—

“……!”

Robin’s eyes widened instantly. See, told you.

“How is it? Good, right?”

A silent nod. And those hands? Gripping the bow tightly. Ease up a bit… Nobody’s taking it from you.

“The bow Rani made is awesome! Shoot it syuk-syuk, and you can catch anything!”

Though Robin clearly hated the name. With Rani beaming ear to ear, Robin let out a soft sigh. Even so…

“…….”

The nod came again. Exactly. Honestly speaking, it was absurdly good.

“Heheh! Making weapons is so much fun!”

Is it? That worked out great, since the orcs needed weapons tomorrow too. Ah, right.

“Rani, how much material is left?”

“Materials?”

“Yeah.”

“Hoooom… Not much left…”

Figured as much. About half, maybe?

“Mmm… why materials? Rani make something else?”

“Yeah. Thinking about having you make some weapons for the orcs.”

“The orcs? Yay! Rani wants to make them!”

Could she be any happier? Her eyes sparkled at the mention of crafting more weapons. Problem was, there weren’t enough materials.

“I think we need to gather some more materials first before making them.”

“No! Can make them!”

“Huh? How?”

“If weapons are too strong, the orcs get hurt! Weak weapons use very little materials, so there’s plenty! Rani wants to make them!”

“That is true! If they use something like Hwaruhwaru, those runts will hurt themselves!”

Aha. That meant all five could be made. What a massive win.

“Then let’s make them tomorrow.”

For today, I could send the laborers through a dungeon and the tower once, then we’d all eat together.

“No! Can make them right now!”

Huh? Out of nowhere?

*

Usually, after making one piece, Rani ended up completely drained. After a day passed and she returned, she recovered. That was the norm… And she could craft right now?

“Aren’t you tired? You don’t have to push yourself. The orcs said waiting a day is fine.”

“Chwik! Chwik!“

“Yup! Normally Rani gets tired! But today Rani isn’t tired!”

Huh? What was going on? Was it because she’d already worked with those materials when making Ttakkeum? Strange…

“Boss! Boss! Arthur speaks to Boss!”

“Yeah?”

“Arthur’s training is same! But those runts aren’t tired. Today.”

The orcs weren’t exhausted either? Why… Tilting my head, a flash of realization hit.

[Training Ground ON / OFF]

It was currently set to ON. No windows, a different floor texture… Could this be… because of the training ground?

Needed to test it. Whispering a suggestion to Arthur—

“Arthur will sprint.”

One lap around the room, then two. Coming to a smooth halt, he stopped.

“Boss is right? Arthur sprinted, but not tired.”

Then this really was an effect of the training ground. Wow… What an insane perk. Seriously, this should have been explained upfront! How was anyone supposed to know if it only mentioned boosting training efficiency…

“Director! What should Rani make?”

“Good question.”

What kind of weapons would suit the orcs? Arthur clearly used a sword, and Robin used a bow. That was spelled out in their specialties… But our orcs?

——-

Laborer Resume

Name: Orc Pack (5) / Low-Grade

Specialty: None

Daily Wage: 2 low-grade magic stones

——-

Specialty: None. And their weapons? They’d been swinging around crude clubs or something.

“Chwik! Chwiiik!“

“Hm?”

“Chwiiik! Chwik!“

They seemed to be speaking passionately, but I didn’t speak Orcish…

“That is right? That one? Speak more.”

Huh? What? Arthur, how are you understanding them?

“Boss, why cannot understand?”

“Rani hears it too! The orc misters want shovels! Pickaxes! A hammer thiiis big! They said they want things like that!”

Even Rani understood. Was there some kind of bond between laborers? Setting that aside…

“What? Shovels, pickaxes, hammers?”

Pickaxes were one thing, but shovels and hammers were painfully familiar. Saw them on job sites every day. Ah, come to think of it, the very first time I saw them, they were holding a hammer and a drill…

“Was that not just a concept, but because you actually liked holding them?”

“Chwik!“

“Said that is right!”

Yeah… Even I understood that one. Wait, no.

“Are you sure about that? You might not realize it, but weapons made by Rani aren’t easy to come by.”

People were lining up around the block hoping to get their hands on one, only to be turned away flat. Granted, I was the one doing the turning away…

“Rani is amazing!”

“True! Even made Hwaruhwaru! A treasure!”

“A treasure!”

Trying to gently dissuade them—

“Chwik! Chwik!“

“Pickaxes, shovels, hammers are good!”

Stubborn as ever. Well, if that’s what they wanted, so be it.

“Rani, let’s go with those.”

“Okay!”

Besides, those would definitely turn out great too. Look who was crafting them. Pickaxes, shovels, and a giant sledgehammer. Right…

*

“Rani is all done!”

Maybe because they were weaker weapons, this batch went noticeably faster. Five weapons, each even larger than a sword or a bow, finished in half the time.

“Ta-da!”

Glancing over what lay spread across the floor revealed two pickaxes, two shovels, and a massive hammer commonly known as a sledgehammer. Was this a training ground or a construction site…

“The names are Kokkok, Puk, and Kkwa-ang, in order!”

“…What?”

Fantastic naming sense, as always. Listening beside us, Robin looked utterly appalled, but—

“Chwik!” “Chwiiiik!“

The actual recipients were ecstatic. They were practically dancing on the spot. Looks like their wavelengths matched Rani’s… I couldn’t even begin to fathom it.

Ding!

[Conditions met.]

[The laborers’ grade is increasing.]

[Orc Pack (Low-Grade) → Orc Pack (Intermediate-Grade)]

Oh. The grade went up! As for any visual changes…

“They look exactly the same?”

“Chwik!“

“Got stronger! Those runts.”

Really? If Arthur said so, they must have.

“Should we run a field test right away? Orcs, ready?”

“Chwiiik!“

“…Me too.”

Alright. Robin obviously had to go as well. With a new bow in hand, leaving it untested would be a crying shame.

“Everyone run one lap, and then we’ll order something delicious to eat together.”

“Chwik?“

“Yeah. You guys too.”

So let’s put in some good, hard work.

*

“Word is they entered the 60th floor today. Any updates?”

“No, sir, not yet.”

“Haa…”

Yegor, Director of the Russian Awakening Management Bureau, seemed to be sighing more frequently these days. Then again, the sighs were inevitable.

“They say South Korea will climb up soon as well.”

“Pardon? What cheeky bastard dared to say such nonsense!”

“Alexei.”

Russia’s number one ranker, Alexei. That was the one who said it. Claimed that with that kind of weapon, clearing the 60th floor was guaranteed. Even added not to worry, since they would hit a wall starting on the 61st floor.

“Phew…”

How could anyone not worry? South Korea was already breathing down their necks… Sitting idle and letting the position get overturned would put the director’s seat in jeopardy. Perhaps even cost a life.

“Director, please don’t worry. I will handle this somehow.”

Enough to drive someone insane. That nepo hire acted so carefree. Sure, why not — no personal danger on the line. The same couldn’t be said for the director. A way forward had to be found, no matter what.

“The operation to poach a Korean ranker was a failure.”

The next step? For now, there was only one option: get Alexei, currently stalled on the 61st floor, moving upward again. How?

“That Korean crafter. Track that person down by any means necessary, and secure a weapon for Alexei as well.”

“Director, we have been keeping South Korea under surveillance, but we haven’t even caught a trace of that person’s tail…”

“There are people who have far more reach into South Korea than we do.”

“China, sir?”

Precisely. For some reason, they had been quiet lately. But having joined hands once meant a second time was possible.

“Tell them we will meet their demands to the fullest — just find that person and bring them in.”