Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 23

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Leveling up a grade in the blink of an eye?

Never going to happen.

If it were that easy, Hajun would have hit the ceiling long ago.

“Laying bricks one by one, steady and slow….”

There were no shortcuts.

Clear missions faithfully.

Stack experience points, and raise the grade.

That was all there was to it.

So what else could he do?

“Gotta get to work.”

Right now, he had one goal.

[Summon Fixed Team]

2. Robin (highest-grade) : 06d 07h 31m until available to summon

Yeah, that timer.

The time left until the summon became available….

What did he need to get rid of it?

A higher grade.

[Summon Laborers (Grade – Silver)]

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

Current unique skill grade: Silver.

Summons reached up to high-grade and intermediate-grade laborers.

Would the next grade unlock highest-grade laborers as well?

“Can! Highes-grade? Coming!”

Okay.

Go up one grade, and highest-grade summons would become available.

That meant….

“Robin, call every day!”

Bingo.

In that case, it was time to pick up the pace.

[Mission List]

1. Conquer the 20th floor of the Tower of Chaos

2. Conduct training at the training ground 5 times (0/5)

Training could wait until after a tower run.

“Let’s hit the tower first.”

“Good! Arthur, go to tower!”

[Dispatch Laborers]

– Tower

Currently on the 12th floor.

Reaching the target of floor 20 would take nine days even at a rate of one floor per day….

Could he not run it twice a day?

Being capped at one entry per day was a shame.

For now, clearing floors would be smooth sailing anyway….

[Conquered the 12th floor of the Tower of Chaos!]

[Level up.]

[Clear Reward – 130 low-grade magic stones]

[Clear Time – 00:03:11]

[New World Record!]

[Additional Reward – Chaos Key Fragment]

See?

Cleared and out in just three minutes.

The result, naturally, was a new world record.

“With Hwalhwal, easy!”

Hwalhwal really was broken.

Rani was truly a treasure.

Then again….

Floor 12 probably would have been easy even without it.

“Right! But Hwalhwal fast.”

“Can’t argue with that.”

Arthur had essentially sprouted wings on a tiger’s back.

Reliable didn’t begin to cover it.

And calling in the orcs at this point?

“Chweeek!”

“Running here! Quick!”

Orcs even handled the training.

That was the daily routine for the missions.

The next day….

[Conquered the 13th floor of the Tower of Chaos!]

[New World Record!]

And the day after that….

[Conquered the 14th floor of the Tower of Chaos!]

[New World Record!]

Climb one floor of the tower every day.

Summon the orcs and train.

Repeat.

After five days had passed….

[Mission Complete!]

[Conduct training at the training ground 5 times (5/5)]

[Rewards]

– Unique skill EXP +2

– Temporary Dispatch Range Expansion Voucher

– Daily Laborer Summon Count Reset Voucher

Oh!

Two whole points of EXP.

This was why he loved these.

Missions that took several days usually paid out two EXP points.

So how much EXP was left?

[(10/15)]

Nice, almost there.

The reward item, the “Temporary Dispatch Range Expansion Voucher,” could be checked later.

First, take a look at the next mission.

——-

[New Mission]

Acquire 500 Commission Points (0/500)

——-

Sweet.

Five hundred points….

Could clear that in a heartbeat.

Good.

Almost there.

Hang in there just a little longer, Robin.

The grade upgrade was right around the corner.

Just wait a little!

Though it would still take over a week….

Just climbing to the 20th floor of the Tower of Chaos would take nine days.

[Summon Fixed Team]

– Arthur (high-grade)

– Robin (highest-grade)

– Rani (high-grade)

A week finally passed.

The summon timer was back.

This time, Hajun called all of them together again.

“Arthur here today too! Boss, give coffee.”

“Mmh! Then give Rani candy too, please!”

“…Meat.”

Were they starving?

It had been a while since they all demanded food the instant they showed up.

Still….

“I’ll feed you in a bit. The Monthly Boss is up today, so let’s hit that first and eat right after.”

Today was Monthly Boss Raid day.

The timing aligned perfectly, so opening up the Manpower Office menu….

[Dispatch Laborers]

– Tower

– Dungeon

– Monthly Boss

There it was! Monthly Boss.

Not long ago, Rani had said something.

“Turtle shell and core are so good! Way better than the stuff we used for Ttakkeum and Syuk, so if you gather more, Rani can make pretty things!”

Materials used for Ttakkeum and Syuk….

That would be the Venomous Basilisk Fang from the 57th floor of the tower.

Better than that?

As expected of a Monthly Boss Raid.

Right.

Baek Hwarang had mentioned before that materials like that would sell for staggering sums.

For now, they were just Rani’s playthings.

Gather more, and she could craft something incredible.

No way he could pass that up.

[Dispatch Laborers]

– Monthly Boss

“Robin, you’re up.”

The boss had just spawned, so it ought to be fresh.

Time to take first place in contribution again and bring back a pile of materials.

“…Okay.”

[Worker is entering the Monthly Boss Raid.]

[Initiating auto-hunting.]

Oh, right.

Yesterday or so, Hajun had caught an interview with Baek Hwarang-ssi.

What was it they said?

That having acquired a new weapon, they had grown stronger.

That this Monthly Boss Raid would belong to Hwarang.

“Hmm….”

Wharuruk?

Sure, great weapon.

Except Hajun’s Robin had Syuk.

First place in contribution wasn’t up for grabs.

Sorry.

The Monthly Boss Raid occurred once a month.

A different boss appeared every time.

Last month, it was the Giant Armored Turtle.

This time?

“ROAAAR—!”

A giant gorilla, massive as the armored turtle.

Its traits: rock-solid defense and an immense health pool.

“All right, shout pattern! Everyone fall back!”

“Get out of the range! It’ll trigger Fear!”

“Looks like a jump pattern next, brace yourselves!”

The giant gorilla was a boss that showed up occasionally.

Huge health bar, heavy hits on every blow.

Fortunately, its attack patterns were simple.

As long as one dodged on time, it was essentially an oversized punching bag.

“If you dodged the attack, lay on the damage right now!”

“Stop taking it easy and pour everything into it!”

Normally, they would take it slow.

Dodging patterns comfortably, shaving off health at their leisure.

Only….

“We’re going to get it stolen again at this rate!”

A hunter whose identity remained unknown.

With no guarantee that mystery hunter wouldn’t show up, who had the luxury to take it easy?

“Come on, don’t hold back, lay down the damage! As agreed, if the Five Great Guilds take the materials, everyone will be compensated according to contribution afterward!”

The Five Great Guilds had shifted their approach as well.

Instead of monopolizing everything, they promised to share a cut.

A ploy to burn the boss down as quickly as possible, but….

“Portal confirmed in the rear!”

“Fuck! It’s here again!”

“Suppression unit! Move to the portal coordinates!”

It had arrived after all.

The monster that swept away last month’s raid rewards with insane damage output.

Creak—!

“Holy shit, drawing a bow!”

Orders to kill?

Out of the question this time.

If that summon was connected to the Manpower Office Director, killing it would be an immense loss.

The Five Great Guilds had reached a consensus.

If it intruded again, pin it down first.

Uncovering its identity could wait until after that.

“Restrain it!”

“Blind it, tie it down, stop it whatever it takes!”

Wait, how…?

How could someone draw and loose a bow that fast?

The moment the archer emerged from the portal, an arrow was already flying.

Thwack!

“Wait, what?”

What was that?

Why was it so quiet?

Last time, there had been a deafening explosion….

A miss?

The confusion lasted only a moment.

“Holy crap! What’s with that damage?!”

Damage?

What was wrong with the damage?

——-

Monthly Boss Raid

1. Individual 37.77%

2. Hwarang 7.13%

3. Sangun 3.20%

4. Baekhodan 2.11%

5. Cheolhyeolmun 2.08%

……

…

——-

No way.

What kind of absurd nonsense was this…?

Hwarang, armed with Baek Hwarang’s new weapon, was barely at 7%.

“Thirty-seven percent from a single shot? Wait, thirty-eight, thirty-nine… Why is it still ticking up?!”

“Looks like poison damage!”

“You idiots, another arrow’s getting notched! Restrain it, you brain-dead bastards!”

“Got it!”

This time, several hunters closed the distance.

Three or four threw their weight into pinning the figure.

Now, drive the intruder to the ground….

Drive….

“What the hell? Why won’t it budge?”

“It feels like solid stone….”

In that brief opening, the archer loosed another arrow.

One shot.

Then another.

Syuk!

Arrows flew silently, embedding themselves into the gorilla one after another.

A system message flashed before everyone’s eyes.

[The Monthly Boss Raid has concluded.]

[Auto-hunting complete.]

“…Back.”

The second raid was over.

Ding!

[Monthly Boss Raid Cleared!]

[Contribution Ranking]

1. Individual 84.32%

2. Hwarang 7.13%

3. Sangun 3.20%

4. Baekhodan 2.11%

5. Cheolhyeolmun 2.08%

……

…

[Monthly Boss Contribution: 1st Place]

[Personal rewards have been distributed.]

Contribution was naturally first place.

Time to collect the loot.

The magic stones slipped straight into inventory.

Did any materials drop…?

[Giant Gorilla Leather]

Oh, nice.

Unfortunately, no core.

“Rani, here. Got some leather.”

“Yay! Rani loves this too! Thank you!”

Passing it over, Rani gave a polite bow and immediately started fiddling with it.

Wait, where did Robin go?

“What, out on the balcony again?”

“…….”

Right.

Staring blankly out the window was an absolute must.

Having pulled off another big job, Robin had earned the right to gaze out as long as desired.

“Failed again. Seriously, what kind of monster is that?”

Guild Master of Hwarang, Baek Hwarang.

Currently ranked second in South Korea for tower climbing.

Once again, a massive wall had stood in the way.

“Still, against the other guilds in a direct contest, we crushed the competition….”

“What good does beating them do? We’re still stuck at a measly seven percent.”

“That’s true, but….”

“I thought we’d have closed the gap, even just a little.”

With Wharuruk in hand and plenty of tower floors climbed….

Why was the gap untouched?

“Is there really no way to catch that person?”

“The weapon is top-notch, so maybe reinforcing other gear would help?”

“Only if there were gear to be had. You know how rare upgrades are for someone at my spec.”

“What about accepting that group commission that came in from China…?”

A group commission?

“Ah, that… The request asking us to send hunters?”

“Yes.”

“Are you insane? They said it’s an S-grade dungeon break. Sending our people there is sending them to useless deaths. Just turn it down.”

Who would ever go?

No one in their right mind.

The situation in China was disastrous.

“Reports say the perimeter has expanded to twenty kilometers.”

“What about hunters from other countries?”

“My apologies. Still….”

“Even with the fortune we offered, it isn’t enough…?”

Monsters had expanded their territory out to twenty kilometers.

If left unchecked, they would overrun Beijing.

Domestic hunters in China were simply outmatched.

Even the major powers had rejected requests for aid.

Only one method remained.

A worldwide commission open to all hunters.

“Hunters generally aren’t hurting for money, so….”

“That is why gear was offered as well.”

“Even so….”

Immense compensation had been put on the table.

Hundreds of billions of won.

Treatment as national heroes.

Gear of choice, whatever kind requested.

The reaction, however…?

– Who in their right mind would go just for that?

– Even if you’re blinded by greed, that’s insane….

– That’s straight-up suicide.

Hundreds of billions of won.

A massive sum, without question.

Was it enough for hunters to stake their lives on?

No.

These were people who treated earning hundreds of millions as child’s play….

National hero status went without saying.

Gear, too.

All tempting….

Could any of it be worth more than a life?

– Heard Wei Jin died.

– Someone who conquered the 62nd floor died there, how is anyone else supposed to clear it?

– On top of that, you have to break through a sea of monsters.

– Over twenty kilometers now, apparently.

– China’s done for.

The entire world had turned its back.

The situation in China grew bleaker by the minute.

Yoon Hajun, twenty-three years old.

A diligent young man.

For days, he had ground through missions like his life depended on it.

Current EXP status:

[(14/15)]

Just one EXP left until the grade upgrade.

And right now?

[Mission Complete!]

[Complete Dungeon Raid Commission 5 Times (5/5)]

[Rewards]

– Unique skill EXP +1

– 2x Commission Point Scroll

The final mission at Silver grade was cleared.

With one point gained, EXP was now maxed.

[(15/15)]

It was done.

Why wasn’t the grade ranking up?

“What is?”

“Boss, why?”

Arthur and Rani both tilted their heads.

Fortunately, a prompt surfaced right at that moment.

[Unique skill EXP has reached its limit.]

[A trial must be overcome to advance to the next grade.]

A trial?

What was that?

Tilting his head, Hajun flipped to the next window, and there it was.

[Gold Promotion Trial: Defeat an S-Grade Dungeon]