Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 34

“Shield, good! Shield, good! Shield, please—!”

Look at Rani go.

She hummed a little tune, holding the Prydwen fragment.

Good grief.

Now she was practically bouncing on her heels.

Just how thrilled was she?

Either way, you had to hand it to her when it came to loving materials.

Still, I took one last cautious poke.

“Rani, you’re really making a shield, right?”

Look at Arthur over there.

He’d used nothing but a sword up until now….

Even now, he was staring blankly at Hwalhwal….

“Yup!”

Man.

Look how bright that response was.

Her eyes were sparkling, too.

“Whyyy?”

“Nothing, just glad.”

“Right! Rani likes shields too!”

All right.

If Rani was that sure, well.

I just had to trust her.

“Buuut… Rani wants to make it right now! Is it okay to start?!”

Making a great item out of great materials.

How could Rani ever resist that?

Even now, she was stomping her little feet, barely able to contain herself.

“Yeah, of course. We’ve got plenty of materials, so take as much as you want and make something great.”

“Kya! Yay! Thank youuu!”

Once I nodded?

She gave a polite bow, beaming brightly as she began prepping her workspace.

“Since it’s a good material, Rani’s gonna make it super pretty! Materials, please!”

“Ack—!“

“Rani, use your words.”

Why did she have to keep poking Todd’s belly like that…?

“Teddy bear! Materials, lots!”

She wasn’t even listening.

Pitter-patter went her feet as she marched up, poked the teddy bear’s tummy to open the inventory, and snatched the necessary materials right out.

And once she packed them away?

Pitter-patter right back to the training ground.

“Ar-thur, hold shield…?”

“Guess you have to, right?”

“Boss….”

What, man?

I did what I could….

Besides, you should be getting used to it by now.

“Rani never cares about the customer’s taste anyway….”

“Ar-thur, knows….”

Yeah.

You could tell just by looking at what she named weapons.

Wharuruk, Ttakkeum….

“Still, the results are always great.”

Lee Bojun, Baek Hwarang?

Those folks were one hundred percent satisfied.

They were even commenting on my posts right now.

Asking me to contact them if I ever crafted other gear.

Same with Robin.

Why else would that stone-faced archer have called Rani a little blessing?

“Arthur, you complained too when you heard the name Hwalhwal, but you were totally happy once you got it.”

“Hwal-hwal, was good.”

“See? You never know this time either.”

“Right… ?”

“Director, this is gasl—”

“Uh-uh.“

Todd?

What’s gotten into you all of a sudden!

Arthur was practically on board already.

Keep that up, and I’ll have Rani poke your tummy again, got it?

“Haha, I know nothing at all.”

That’s more like it.

You’ve gotta read the room.

Clang, bang, clang, bang.

While I was chatting with the laborers.

A lively rhythm began echoing out.

Guess she started.

Glancing over to see where she went.

“Phew—!“

She was hammering away in a corner of the training ground.

[Training Ground ON / OFF]

Just in case, I flipped it to ON.

Time to check the other rewards.

First, logging into AwakenedNet.

Clicking complete on the commission—.

<Commission Complete!>

Nice….

Look at the items filling up my inventory.

Even Todd’s bundle, which shared and expanded my inventory?

“It emptied out a bit lately since Laborer Rani took some materials, but it’s already full again.”

Nothing massive, strictly speaking.

Still quite a heap, though.

Whew….

When am I ever going to sort all this out?

“No need to worry, sir. I’ll sort them by category later.”

“Man, thank you.”

Todd never failed.

Suddenly felt very reassuring.

Then I’ll leave the sorting to him.

Lastly, opening the manpower office to wrap up the commission?

[Commission Complete!]

[S-Grade Dungeon, Golden Temple of Death Cleared]

[Additional Allowance]

– 10,000 Commission Points

Sweet.

Since I used the double scroll, that made twenty thousand.

Factoring in the expansion voucher I’d used, that still netted ten thousand points.

Taking down another S-grade dungeon.

Felt almost like getting a free run, didn’t it?

“I think I saw that Egypt fell apart like India did; I should look into that later.”

That wrapped up the rewards for now.

Now, should we get a little rest?

*

“One! Two! Three!”

“I told you to rest….”

It was clearly break time….

Yet Arthur was buried in training again.

Even when told to stop, he wouldn’t listen.

“Ar-thur, is fine!”

Okay….

If the man himself insisted, nothing I could do.

Instead.

“I’ll make some iced coffee and leave it outside. Drink it when you’re done.”

“Aah! Good! Boss, the best!”

Yeah….

Keep at it.

Wondering what the other laborers were up to, I walked out into the living room.

“…….”

Robin, just staring blankly up at the sky as always.

Practically glued to that spot.

[—! A view of the Han River! Looking out at scenery like this every day, your worries just — ]

Todd the teddy bear was watching TV.

“Homes in your world truly are on another scale, Director. I wonder how much places like that cost….”

“What kind of place?”

Glancing over.

It was a home overlooking the Han River.

A massively spacious one, at that.

A Han River view….

Nice, yeah….

Never lived in one myself, though….

“Mmh….”

The veteran hyungnims on the construction sites used to say it all the time.

A place with a Han River view?

Pointless.

A waste of money.

Still, honestly speaking, I was curious.

To begin with….

“Even right now, couldn’t we probably buy a smaller place with a view of the river?”

“Oh, really? Come to think of it, just liquidating the things we received from China….”

“Nah, don’t even need to go that far.”

Just how many magic stones had our laborers brought in?

Actually.

Didn’t even need to pool them all together.

Just what Bokdeongi earned would easily blow past hundreds of millions of won.

Add in selling off all the other magic stones, and….

A home with a river view ought to be well within reach.

Granted, not a penthouse like the one Todd was watching.

Places like that would be tough.

The real problem was….

“To do that, I’d have to sell off all the magic stones, and I need to be pretty careful about that right now.”

Money?

Wasn’t even an issue.

Ever since prepping to move into the two-room apartment, magic stones had been overflowing.

If we ever ran short….

Rani could just craft a few weapons to sell, and that would be that.

Still, what good were magic stones on their own?

“If I just dump them onto the market and start throwing cash around, I might as well put up a billboard announcing I’m the Manpower Office Director.”

“Ah… truly….”

Hunters made a lot of money.

That was the general perception.

Fair enough.

They certainly did haul it in.

Even so, there was a limit.

Someone raking in cash hand over fist like me?

Didn’t exist in South Korea.

No.

Maybe not even in the entire world…?

“The rank I got when registering with the Awakening Management Bureau was D-grade, you know. A D-grade hunter suddenly rolling in cash and buying a multi-billion-won house?”

That would look sketchy as all hell.

“Hmm… then finding a safe way to convert and spend the funds should come first.”

“Exactly.”

People had always said it.

Be careful when you come into big money too easily.

Why else would there be all those guides on what to do if you won first prize in the lottery?

And Yoon Hajun?

Wasn’t even just some lottery winner.

I’d cleaned out every single material China had hoarded and treasured.

Well.

Word was even the major superpowers were scouring the globe for them.

So.

“We’ll have to stay here for a while, but that’s fine, right?”

“Yes, sir. I’m quite comfortable here as well.”

Glad to hear it.

Let’s get some rest first.

*

“Heh—! All done!”

Finished.

It took exactly one week this time as well.

She had been so absorbed the whole time….

Even her favorite candy, she only munched on if someone popped it directly into her mouth.

And the finished product?

“Shield….”

“Yup! It’s a shield! The name is, Ttanttani!”

Ttanttani….

Didn’t even need to ask this time.

It was a shield, so naturally it was Ttanttani, Rock-Solid.

“‘Cause it’s rock-solid!”

“Yeah….”

“Boss….”

Arthur was already wearing a resigned expression.

Honestly though, didn’t the name sound pretty good this time?

“Boss?”

“Ah, no?”

Got it.

Let’s just hurry up and check the stats.

The name was Ttanttani.

And the stats?

[Ttanttani]

– The work of an exceptionally skilled artisan.

– Imbued with the power of a legendary figure.

– A certain probability to reflect incoming attacks.

– Special Skill ‘Light Veil’ available for use.

– Special Skill ‘Holy Protection’ available for use.

– Increases darkness and curse attribute resistance.

“Oh….”

Look at that.

That was totally worthy of the name Ttanttani.

Still complaining?

Flashing the window over toward Arthur.

“Actually, Ar-thur’s dream was to use shield.”

Hey….

Isn’t that a little too fast of a flip-flop?

“Ttanttani, fits.”

“Right, told you so, didn’t I?”

Go on, take it.

I nodded, handing it over.

Flash!

Just like with Robin, the moment his hands touched it, light flared.

Wait….

Isn’t it shining kind of long…?

[You have obtained equipment bound by fate.]

[Accumulated experience has reached its limit.]

[Condition Met]

[Laborer grade has increased.]

[Arthur (High-Grade) -> Arthur (Highest-Grade)]

Huh?

Out of nowhere…?

*

Wait.

I’d been wondering how to bump a high-grade up to highest-grade….

Just like that?

Unbelievable.

“Our little blessing pulled off another miracle, huh?”

“Right! Rani is a blessing! ‘Cause Rani made the shield!”

“That’s right. Great job.”

“Heh—!”

Meanwhile.

The light faded, revealing Arthur.

“Whoa! Arthur is even shinier!”

“Laborer Arthur has grown stronger.”

“…….”

Flowing golden hair and blue eyes.

Dazzling attire.

Felt like I’d seen this somewhere….

Ah.

That was the exact vibe from when I first summoned him.

Was it thanks to the shield?

He carried an unmistakable aura of dignity now.

“Whew….“

Why did I suddenly get a bad feeling about this?

A sudden surge of unpleasant memories….

Seeing that look back then, I’d thought it was a jackpot, a total jackpot.

And back then, without fail….

The second he opened his mouth, that Bwoss! completely shattered the mood.

What about this time?

Nah.

No way, he’s highest-grade now, right?

Watching with bated breath.

Arthur opened his mouth.

“Bwoss?”

“Oh, give me a break.”

“Boss, why like that?”

“Never mind….”

You did great….

If he’d suddenly changed his whole personality, that might’ve been even more jarring.

Look over there.

Even Rani had been watching hesitantly because he felt unfamiliar, but now she bounced right over.

“It really is Arthur!”

“Right, is Ar-thur! Got stronger thanks to Bokdeongi! Long live Bokdeongi!”

“Heh—! Rani’s a blessing!”

A blessing, through and through.

How did she even know that thing was tied to Arthur…?

[Prydwen Fragment]

I’d looked it up before.

Just like Robin Hood’s Bow Fragment, legendary gear.

Supposedly the shield used by the famous King Arthur.

Equipment bound by fate…?

Then was this guy really that King Arthur…?

“Ar-thur, rock-solid!”

Uh….

Uh….

I give up.

Still, seeing him holding a sword and shield together looked remarkably natural.

Why had he been running around with only a sword this whole time?

And he was highest-grade now?

I couldn’t wait to see how strong he’d become.

“Right! Ar-thur, became strong!”

“Haha, guess we’ve gotta test it out, right?”

Our Arthur.

He was highest-grade now, so to properly stretch his legs, it had to be at least an S-grade dungeon.

That was why I’d prepared for it.

A country ruined by an S-grade dungeon just like India: Egypt.

There was a Break dungeon over there too.

“Arthur, how about it? Want to go?”

“Ar-thur, likes it!”

Knew you would, which was why I set it up.

All right, then.

Let’s head out with Robin.