Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 24

The Gold Promotion Trial.

In other words….

“It sounds like I have to clear an S-grade dungeon if I want to rank up.”

Out of nowhere?

There was never anything like this before.

Wasn’t reaching the next grade just a matter of maxing out EXP?

“What a shame. Robin would be the perfect one to ask about this.”

Was it because Robin was highest-grade?

Or did Robin simply know a lot to begin with?

Whenever I asked Robin about most things, an answer came right back….

“Rani doesn’t know!”

“Yeah….”

Naturally.

I didn’t expect her to.

Arthur wouldn’t know either, of course.

“Arthur, knows! From Gold, highest-grades? Can come out! So, cannot go up easy!”

“Oh? What’s this?”

You know that?

That’s unexpected.

“Robin told! Later when Boss asks, Arthur, tell!”

“Aha, no wonder…. But why didn’t Robin just tell me directly?”

“Robin, said! Annoying?”

Sounds like Robin.

Regardless, okay.

Come to think of it….

A highest-grade was the same grade as Robin.

So that meant I couldn’t just summon one easily.

“Then under normal circumstances, was I supposed to clear an S-grade dungeon with high-grade laborers like Arthur?”

“Correct! Arthur, and other high-grades!”

Just hearing about it sounded brutal.

No wonder they called it a trial.

Except….

“I have Robin.”

“Correct!”

What was supposed to be cleared with high-grade summons could be tackled with a highest-grade!

Isn’t that pure profit?

“Whoa! Are we going to an S-grade dungeon?! Robin said there are tons of great materials there!”

“Yeah, we have to.”

“Yay!”

Still, we couldn’t go right away.

They said S-grade dungeons were practically nonexistent.

“One has to appear before we can even go.”

Let’s check AwakenedNet first.

You never know.

An S-grade dungeon might just pop up somewhere.

“Hmm… nothing.”

“S-grade dungeon, none?”

“Yeah.”

I checked our country’s dungeon list first, but came up empty.

Apparently other countries had none right now either.

Ah, wait. One.

I did spot a comment hinting that one existed in China….

— Looks like an S-grade dungeon popped up in China and caused absolute chaos. Anyone heard rumors?

That was about it.

Any other news?

None.

Even after searching, nothing turned up.

“Well, it’s not like I could dive in right away even if an S-grade dungeon showed up….”

Right.

It was actually a relief.

Having an S-grade dungeon dangling in front of me would only make me greedy.

Wondering if I should ask Arthur before someone else cleared it….

“Arthur, tries going?”

Arthur chimed in, but rejected.

You only cleared an A-grade on your own after getting Hwalhwal, and now you want to tackle an S-grade?

Any fool could see that was impossible.

Let’s just take it slow.

On the bright side, I did glean one piece of intel.

“Rani, I found out what kinds of materials drop in S-grade dungeons.”

“Show Rani!”

Show her?

Sure, let’s look together.

——-

Info) Only for those who don’t know why the great powers lock down S-grade dungeons

Curious why they lock them down?

To get straight to the point, it’s because of the rewards that drop there.

Absurd items come out.

United States – Gram (Fragment) / Aegis (Fragment)

Germany – Gáe Bulg (Fragment)

China – Robin Hood’s Bow (Fragment)

This is what the great powers have made public so far.

What about the UK and Russia?

Who knows.

They keep that stuff under tight wraps.

Some of you might be wondering what those even are.

Just look them up online and you’ll find everything.

They’re mythic and legendary gear.

Well? Getting the picture?

At a glance, you can tell they’d be unrealistically powerful.

Items dropped from beating raid bosses?

How could junk like that ever compare to mythic weapons? lolololol

Anyway….

Each nation locks down S-grade dungeons.

And the reason top-tier rankers join state institutions all boils down to that.

Mythic gear?

Once it’s finished, we’ll give it to you first.

That’s how they entice them.

— Wow, if they tempted me with that, even I’d fold lololol

└ What floor are you on, dude?

└ Floor 32

└ Get back in your lane

└ Yes sir

— If those are fragments, they don’t seem like finished items. Has any country completed one?

└ None yet lolol

└ In the first place, didn’t S-grade dungeons only spawn for the great powers?

└ Yeah, prevailing academic consensus says you need to pass Floor 60 for them to spawn

└ If it’s Floor 60 or higher, we’re getting one soon too, aren’t we????????

— So they’re completely useless if you just have the raw materials? Man, S-grade dungeons are nothing special after all haha

└ Look to the future, the future!!

└ It’s not like it’s mine anyway, sob

└ Sour grapes lolololol

——-

Conclusion.

They drop fragments of mythic or legendary gear.

It seems like you have to collect several to piece them together.

Is it like the Chaos Key?

[Chaos Key Fragment]

– A fragment. Combine them, and it returns to its original form.

These fragments, of which I had gathered nine once again.

Collecting ten used to forge a Chaos Key….

Must be a similar concept.

“Mmm…. Rani can use those!”

“Those?”

“Yeah! Fragments! I want them!”

She could use them?

They were just shards….

As I tilted my head, it hit me.

Right.

Rani used Meteor Sword fragments last time too.

Could it be that those materials worked the same way?

I asked.

“Mhm! That’s right! Just like how Rani made Ttakkeum, I can make them be born again!”

Whoa….

Incredible.

Now I really wanted to clear an S-grade dungeon.

“What about those materials?! Rani wants Robin Hood’s Bow!”

Polite speech won’t change anything.

They said that belonged to China.

Short of stealing it, why would they ever hand it over?

“Hnnngh….”

“Instead, the next time an S-grade dungeon pops up, let’s send Robin and clear it in a flash.”

“Yeah! Rani likes that!”

Will one actually spawn, though?

Sigh….

Right around when Robin’s summon cooldown finished, I wished an S-grade dungeon would just drop from the sky.

Beijing, China.

The atmosphere inside the Central Awakened Management Bureau was grim.

“We just received word that the line has been pushed back to the thirty-kilometer perimeter.”

“Why on earth can’t you hold them back?!”

“Our apologies. Given that they are monsters from an S-grade dungeon….”

Just how were they supposed to stop it?

There was no way.

The great powers they had trusted turned down requests for aid.

The commissions sent to top guilds across various nations?

All rejected.

“So the entire world has abandoned our China….”

“…….”

“Is there any other way to stop it?”

“Every domestic hunter has already been mobilized, so….”

“Meaning there is no way.”

Total mobilization?

That had already been done long ago.

Even so, the front continued to give way….

“It cannot be helped. We have no choice but to release everything in our possession.”

“Director, that is…!”

“It is fine. Comrade Chairman just gave his approval.”

The ultimate, absolute last resort.

Even so, it was better than Beijing being overrun.

“Release everything.”

“Everything, sir?”

“Excluding only the fragments obtained from S-grade dungeons. Those are necessary for the future.”

The core of modern China.

The items managed by the Central Awakened Management Bureau were beyond count.

[Assorted materials, high-tier metals, elixirs, high-grade equipment, Monthly Boss Raid materials…]

Most were things money simply could not buy.

These would be released as rewards.

— How can anyone trust China?

— They’ll take the help and pretend nothing happened again.

The reactions from foreign crowds?

Fully understood.

Hence the decisive move.

Utilizing the AwakenedNet system.

A commission was posted under the name of the Central Awakened Management Bureau of China.

Contribution would also be evaluated by the system.

“With this, wouldn’t the hunters be satisfied?”

“Raid materials and elixirs cannot be purchased even with endless wealth, so that should certainly be enough to move them.”

“Phew, yes. Proceed as discussed.”

“Understood!”

The great powers.

Top guilds worldwide.

And even every individual hunter across the globe.

We have wagered almost everything.

Shouldn’t this be enough to draw them in?

Please, save us.

China’s final card aimed at the entire world.

A commission through AwakenedNet.

The rewards were the assets stockpiled by the Central Awakened Management Bureau.

This astonishing news spread rapidly.

— At that level, isn’t it worth going even if it’s risky?

— If they really give all of that, yeah.

— Wait, aren’t they even releasing raid reward materials? Wouldn’t just selling those to a top guild fetch billions of won?

— The elixirs are the real deal lolol Even with filthy amounts of money, nobody sells them so you can’t buy them lololol

Rewards that made eyes pop.

On top of that, there were no entry restrictions?

Whether a hunter was low-level or high-level,

raising their contribution earned rewards.

With a stroke of luck?

One might become the protagonist of a life-changing windfall.

— There are still fools who trust China lolol You think they’ll actually give that out?

— Be lucky if you make it back alive after going.

— Agreed, agreed. Even if they give it, they’ll squeeze it back out later somehow lolol

The negative opinions that surfaced here and there?

They were buried in no time.

— That’s why the Chinese posted the commission through the system lolol

— Exactly lol How can China dine and dash when it’s handled through the system?

With the commission routed through AwakenedNet, how could they withhold payment?

The list of items put up as rewards

would have already been transferred to AwakenedNet.

And….

— In the first place, even if they resolve this crisis, they can’t cause trouble lolol They’ll have to behave themselves now.

— Yeah, they’ll need to keep a low profile until another Floor 60 hunter like Wei Jin appears.

— Otherwise this exact mess happens again lol

Someone might retaliate later?

Hardly.

How would they survive future crises otherwise…?

[China’s Rank 1 Hunter Wei Jin, Missing]

What about number two, Chen Yu?

Currently climbing Floor 55.

A seven-floor difference might sound small, but it was an insurmountable gap to close overnight.

Unless Chen Yu stumbled upon an unexpected miracle like the Korean rankers….

— Chen Yu alone can never stop another S-grade dungeon lolol

— Agreed. When the next S-grade breaks out, they’ll have to beg other countries for help, so who’d come if they stab people in the back this time? lolol

— They’re just completely screwed….

In this day and age, the height climbed in the tower was national power.

That statement held true only when high-ranking hunters existed.

Once they vanished, as was the case with China right now?

Influence in the international community naturally withered away.

Regardless,

China’s final gamble succeeded.

“The terms are generous, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, if they empty their vaults like this, it’s worth moving for.”

“Is Hwarang going?”

“Baekhodan is heading out, at least.”

Not just ordinary hunters,

but top guilds from various countries mobilized as well.

China breathed a sigh of relief.

Right.

With this much, surely they could stop it?

No, perhaps they could even clear the dungeon….

“They will never be able to clear it.”

“Arthur, same! Thinks!”

“Really?”

The mood on AwakenedNet looked pretty good, though.

Plenty of hunters were heading over,

and top guilds like Baekhodan were going too.

Even with all that, would they fail to stop it?

“Yes. If you step in, Director, the central S-grade dungeon can be cleared.”

“Can, but… ?”

“In my judgment, rewards of that level are insufficient.”

“The rewards?”

“Yes. You should scrape them clean. Including the things they’re hoarding away, like the fragment of Robin Hood’s Bow.”

“Huh? Rani agrees! Rani wants that!”

Hmm.

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

In my experience, listening to the laborers never led me astray.

Should I hear out

what this new high-grade laborer had to say?