Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 3

“……”

Hmm….

What was it I said before popping that trial voucher again?

Right.

Something about wanting to hear a sound other than chwiik! and kyehk!, wasn’t it?

“Boos?”

No, seriously.

Come on now, bringing me a Pokulom of all things?

Who’s that, you ask?

There was this foreign guy I worked with on a site once.

For the record, he’d only been in Korea for a year.

“Boos? Face look stwaange. Why you no say hello?”

His accent?

Sounded exactly like that.

“Me work good. Gib lots and lots of magik stone.”

Sigh, whatever.

At least we can communicate, unlike with the monsters.

“Uh, hello.”

Though to be fair, I’m not a boss.

I’m a Manpower Office Director….

Phew.

Maybe it’s because I’m talking to an actual person, but dropping honorifics right off the bat like I did with the orcs and goblins feels a bit weird.

Am I the only one walking on eggshells here, though?

“Boos-nim? Me want drink. Kawfee? Two-two-twee? Gib me that.”

Is this guy seriously trying to send me on a coffee run?

Without honorifics, no less?

Wait, aren’t I supposed to be the boss here?

Besides.

“There’s no coffee. We’re on a rooftop.”

“Woftop? What woftop? Me no know woftop. Korean hard….”

Don’t know my foot.

Cut the crap.

You were speaking just fine a second ago.

How are you suddenly finding Korean hard when you know the golden ratio for coffee, creamer, and sugar — two, two, three?

Fine.

I see how it is.

Two can play at that game.

“Seems you still don’t know the ropes. In Korea, proper manners mean introducing yourselves by name first.”

“Name? Name…. Me know name. Ar-sur? Ar-sur my name.”

“And what about Pokulom?”

“Pokulom? What dat?”

“Never mind….”

Ar-sur?

Sounds kind of cute.

Is that really it, though?

What kind of name is Ar-sur?

Just as I wondered that—

Ding!

A window resembling a status screen popped up.

——-

[Laborer Resume]

Name: Arthur / High-Grade

Specialty: Sword

Daily Wage: 4 Low-Grade Magic Stones

——-

What the.

He’s high-grade?

No wonder.

I figured he didn’t look like some transcendent-grade powerhouse.

Not that I thought so just because he reminded me of that foreign laborer on site, mind you….

Wait.

“It’s not Ar-sur, it’s Arthur.”

“Oh! Boos right. Dat it. Ar-sur?”

“Sure….”

Anyway.

Just how strong is a high-grade laborer?

Obviously stronger than those orcs, at least.

Curious, I gave it a tap.

[Manual Mode] → [Auto Mode]

The moment I switched the settings—

“Kyehk!“

“Kyeh-ehk!“

The creatures that had been quietly watching began loosening up.

Then what about our Pokulom — no, Arthur?

“Boos-nim? You want gib work?”

Obviously.

Why else would I have switched it to Auto Mode if not to put you to work?

I nodded.

Instead of heading out, though, he threw another question at me.

“Tower? What tower? Me no know. Hard. Kawfee! Drink kawfee, then know.”

Uh, excuse me, mister.

First of all, I never said a single word about a tower.

“Hmm….”

I had my suspicions, but now I know for sure.

This guy really is a straight-up Pokulom.

Foreign site-worker specialty: Play dumb whenever things get inconvenient.

Arthur?

Blonde Pokulom or not, he was cut from the exact same cloth.

Well….

“Boos?”

Judging by the way he was fidgeting, itching for action, he’d probably go on his own eventually.

Even so, things work best when both parties are happy.

The solution?

Simple.

“Finish quick and come back, and I’ll give you a bonus.”

“Bohnus? Me know bohnus. Gib lots of magik stone. Right?”

“Spot on. But only if you clear the tower fast and come right back. How’s that sound, deal?”

“Good! Ar-sur finish fast and come back!”

A bonus.

“It’s task work — finish early, knock off early.”

Plus the promise of an early punch-out.

Per. Fect.

With this on the table, there was no way he’d slack off.

Yarikiri, as they call it on site.

Task work.

Meaning: the moment you finish, you pack up and leave.

Throw in a bonus on top of that?

Conditions so sweet almost no one could resist.

The effect was tremendous!

“All right! Fall in!”

Arthur, who had been playing dumb and acting utterly clueless just seconds ago, suddenly clapped his hands sharply.

As for the goblins?

“Kyehk!“

“Kyeh-ehk!“

They scampered over in a flash.

“You all hear? Get ready, fast! One! Two! Three!”

Next came calisthenics, timed to the cadence called out by Arthur, who had slipped on a hard hat out of nowhere.

“Weapons check! Good!”

“Kyehk!“

“Hard hats check! Good!”

“Kyeh-ehk!“

“Safety first! Good! Good! Good!”

Then came the safety cheer.

Preparations were wrapped up in the blink of an eye.

Next step?

Time to move out.

“Boos-nim! Me go now!”

“Go get ’em. Do a good job and I’ll brew you some coffee, too.”

“Kawfee? Kawfee! Two-two-twee! Ar-sur come back before kawfee get cold!”

“Kyeh-ehk!“

Off they went.

Leaving behind one last shout about coffee.

Hey, I haven’t even brewed it yet.

Who do you think you are, Guan Yu…?

Besides.

“Two-two-three is way too old-school. Who makes instant coffee like that in a studio apartment nowadays?”

Well, whatever.

[Workers are entering the Tower of Chaos.]

[Auto-hunting has begun.]

The laborers had entered, and auto-hunting was underway.

All that was left was to wait.

[Auto-Hunting in Progress]

[00:00:37]

They just stepped in, so it’s going to take a while.

“Guess I’ll go look for an electric kettle.”

A guy who might slack off a bit, sure, but at least he can hold a conversation.

Brewing him a cup of coffee was something I could easily spare.

“I might not be able to nail the two-two-three ratio, but a coffee mix packet ought to keep him happy.”

An electric kettle is an essential for anyone living alone.

Finding where it was stashed would take some digging, of course.

Still, the place was tiny; it shouldn’t take long.

Should I head down for now?

I turned around.

“Boos-nim? Kawfee not cold yet?”

I froze.

Huh….

This situation feels awfully familiar.

[Tower of Chaos, 1st Floor has been cleared.]

[Auto-hunting has ended.]

Whoa.

Seriously?

“Kyehk!“

[Clear Time — 00:02:17]

So what you’re saying is….

They cleared the Tower of Chaos and came back out in two minutes?

“Insane.”

[Tower of Chaos, 1st Floor Clear Successful!]

[You have leveled up.]

[Clear Reward — 20 Low-Grade Magic Stones]

[Clear Time — 00:02:17]

[New World Record Achieved!]

[Bonus Reward — Chaos Key Fragment]

It was real.

Apparently, it was even a world record.

What was the previous record, again?

“One hour, twenty-seven minutes, and forty-five seconds….”

Now I knew for certain.

That lottery ticket I drew?

It was the jackpot.

Not some pocket-change local lotto either, but a full-blown Powerball grand prize.

Maybe even bigger than that.

“Boos-nim, gib kawfee?”

“Kyeh-ehk!“

A coffee freak obsessed with getting his fix.

Goblins shrieking at the top of their lungs.

Listening to the harmonious cacophony of their voices, Yoon Hajun quietly voiced his thoughts.

“Long live auto-hunting.”

*

“Oh! Boos-nim! What dat?”

“Hot water. It’s dangerous, so step back.”

A promise is a promise.

Leaving Arthur and the goblins parked on the roof for a bit, I’d dashed down to boil some water.

Do you guys want a cup, too?

“You guys want one?”

“Kyehk!“

The goblins hopped back, crossing their arms into an X.

All right, that’s a no.

As for the coffee fiend?

“Huh? Then gib me more. Two-two-twee.”

Sure, drink it all….

“Let’s send these guys home first.”

[The task is complete.]

[Would you like to dismiss the laborers?]

Work’s done, so it’s time to head home.

To send them off?

I have to pay their daily wage.

How much was it again?

Let’s take a look.

——-

[Laborer Resume]

Name: Goblin Group (7) / Low-Grade

Specialty: None

Daily Wage: 2 Low-Grade Magic Stones

——-

Two magic stones for all the goblins combined.

Four stones for Arthur, just like I saw earlier.

Adding the bonuses on top of the base six stones, I held them out.

“Boos-nim? Magik stone too much.”

Huh?

Arthur suddenly threw a wrench in the gears.

“Kyehk?!“

How dare you touch our paycheck?

The goblins instantly glared at him with furious eyes, but—

“You guys looking at me right now?”

A single line shut them down completely.

Man.

He’s terrifying.

Why is he saying it’s too much, though?

“This is the set daily wage, though?”

“No. Dem guys do jack shit.”

Excuse me, sir….

Why did your pronunciation suddenly get so clean?

How on earth did you learn your Korean for your curse words to be so impeccably sharp?

“Ar-sur do all work. Dem guys? Only watch.”

Well, that was probably true.

It took two minutes from start to finish, after all.

How much work could there have been to go around?

Still….

At that rate, it wasn’t that they just watched; it ended before they could even lift a finger.

“Kyehk! Kyehk!“

Poor goblins.

They kept shouting, desperate to say something.

Schwing —

Whoa.

When did he pull that out?

Arthur casually caressed the sword he had drawn from nowhere.

“……”

Silence fell immediately.

A drawn blade really does speak louder than the law….

“Boos must earn lots. So boos call us lots. Why you no know?”

Aha.

He actually thought this through.

Even so.

“What’s earned is earned.”

Hours ago, when that message popped up claiming a job perk allowed me to dismiss workers without pay, my thoughts were the exact same as they are now.

If someone works, they should get paid.

That holds true even if the job ended quickly.

The goblins?

They didn’t do anything wrong.

They just got lucky, that’s all.

“So take it, all of you.”

Accounts kept straight and fair.

Two low-grade magic stones for the goblins, plus one as a bonus.

What about Arthur, who claimed he did everything alone?

He busted his back, so four low-grade magic stones for his base wage, plus three as a bonus.

When I held out all ten—

“Boos? Loss for you? Gib all, what boos left with?”

What do you mean, what’s left?

You guys. No, ten low-grade magic stones.

Even with this payout, I’m making out like a bandit.

Two hundred thousand won in two minutes without lifting a finger?

If that isn’t easy money, what is?

So.

“Take it without the lip. Next time we meet, I’m working you twice as hard.”

Of course, I’ll just be spectating like I did today.

Once again, long live auto-hunting.

“Kyehk!“

“Kyeh-ehk!“

“Tank you…. Boos.”

Flash!

With a burst of light, the goblins vanished.

Off to clock out and rest, no doubt.

Then what about our Pokulom — no, Arthur?

“Boos-nim? Me, promised, yes? Kawfee, two-two-twee? Gib me that.”

Uh….

Yeah, I’ll give it to you.

I’ll even pack some to go if you want.

So please just chill out, you crazy coffee freak.

*

Five in the morning the next day.

An hour when most people were dead asleep.

Someone who works on a construction site, though?

It was time to wake up.

Riiing—, riiiing-riiiing!!!

“Ugh…. Ah, why won’t it turn off…. Huh? Wait. That’s not the alarm.”

I opened my eyes expecting to shut off the alarm, only to find an incoming call.

[Min-uk-hyung]

What could he want at this hour?

Ahem.

I cleared my throat.

“Yes, hyung.”

“Yeah, Kim. They’re shutting down the whole site today, so don’t bother coming in. Just rest.”

“Huh? Out of nowhere?”

“Tell me about it. Which building was it again? Anyway, they said a dungeon popped up in the site’s basement.”

A dungeon?

Ah, that one.

Wait, but I cleared that….

“I don’t know the full story, but the internet’s already going crazy and reporters are swarming, so nobody can get any work done.”

Reporters too?

Does that usually happen for an F-rank dungeon?

I had no idea.

Up until yesterday, I was just an ordinary civilian.

For now, play it natural.

“Whoa. Then what about tomorrow? Do we head to another site?”

“Nah. They said one day should be enough, so just get some good rest.”

“Yes, understood.”

“All right. I’ll shoot you a message this evening about where to meet tomorrow. Get some rest.”

Click.

“Hmm, the internet’s blowing up?”

It had to be the dungeon I cleared yesterday.

Why the uproar, though?

Curious, I looked it up, and the answer appeared immediately.

[Breaking News) F-Rank Dungeon Detected in Cheongna, Incheon, Reportedly Cleared in 13 Minutes — ]

[Is It Possible to Clear an F-Rank Dungeon in 13 Minutes? We Asked the Experts.]

[Tower of Chaos 1st Floor Record Shattered. New Record Set at “2 Minutes 17 Seconds”]

[Two Miraculous Records Established in a Single Night: Could It Be the Same Person?]

[Anonymous Awakening Management Bureau Official: “If It Is the Same Individual, We Promise Treatment on Par with the Nation’s Top Hunters—”]

……

…

Yoon Hajun, 23 years old.

Notable status: Day 1 of Awakening.

Overnight, he had become the most sought-after celebrity in the country.