Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Breaking news that shocked the entire world.

Ralph Carter cleared the 67th Floor.

Everyone tilted their heads in disbelief.

– Out of nowhere?

– Didn’t he just fail a couple of days ago?

– Just a couple of days ago? He’s been stuck on that floor for well over six months, hasn’t he? LMAO

Past the 61st Floor, every single floor was an insurmountable wall.

Six months….

Wasn’t even considered taking that long.

The important point was the fact that he had failed just a few days ago.

And on top of that?

– Back then, didn’t he try for nearly twelve hours before finally giving up?

└ Yeah

└ And that exact same Ralph Carter just cleared it in eight hours, holy crap;;;;

The clear time had been drastically reduced as well.

– Is this… because of his new weapon?

└ “Is this” LMAO, what other reason could there possibly be?

– Just swapping a single weapon makes that big of a difference?

– Insane…….

Hardly any hunter experiences explosive growth overnight.

Especially not a high ranker.

Naturally, it should be impossible.

And yet, he actually pulled it off…?

– Just how good are that weapon’s stats??

– Seeing Lee Bojun and Baek Hwarang’s weapons gives a rough idea, but still….

– Those were made from 50th Floor materials, while this one uses 60th Floor materials, so wouldn’t it be completely different?

└ How would we know;;; But the Manpower Office Director showed us the proof.

– I know one thing for absolute sure.

└ What’s that?

└ This auction’s competition is gonna be an absolute bloodbath

└ Agreed LMAO If a weapon lets someone instantly clear the 67th Floor, any lower floor is basically guaranteed

A result that looked practically like using cheat codes.

Who could possibly resist this?

No ranker could hold themselves back.

No, perhaps even the nations backing those rankers couldn’t either.

– Plus, since this one’s a public auction, watching it will be way more fun, right?

– What are you all doing? Haven’t ordered your fried chicken yet?

– Got three bags of popcorn on standby ㅋㅋㅋ

Just as expected.

True to predictions, the bidding war instantly turned fierce.

[Lucas Volt (Germany)] – 47 pieces.

[Arthur Brandt (UK)] – 50 pieces.

[Lucas Volt (Germany)] – 52 pieces.

……

…

The bid, which had been inching up bit by bit, surpassed 50 pieces in the blink of an eye.

On top of that.

– The UK  They say Arthur added high-grade magic stones on top of his materials

└ How many?

└ It was 200, but he bumped it up to 300.

└ Well, he’s the Number 1 Ranker and a Member of Parliament, of course they’d back him up ㅋㅋㅋ

– Crazy ㅋㅋㅋ Germany joined the fray too!

└ These guys go hard; they just threw down 500 right from the start

└ Holy crap!!!

With national governments stepping in, the competition grew even fiercer.

Not only 60th Floor materials,

but also 50th Floor materials and magic stones poured in.

Naturally, the attention of even more people converged on the auction.

Their curiosity boiled down to a single question:

Just how absurdly massive will this auction get?

* * *

“Director, looks like those folks are finally hitting the limit on their materials. Seeing as they’re just ramping up the count of high-grade magic stones.”

“Seems so. To think they’re even tossing in 50th Floor materials now…. We already have mountains of those piled up.”

Hmm.

They were bidding aggressively with high-tier materials at first,

but are they reaching their limit already?

Now only magic stones are being added.

Well, the increments themselves are fairly large.

Each bid bumps it up by a solid 100 stones at a time.

Still, what’s the point of that….

Ding!

[The raid on the 58th Floor of the Tower of Chaos has concluded.]

[Ending Auto-Hunt.]

“Arthur is here, Arthur has come!”

“Chwik! The laborers have also returned!”

“Boss, look at this! The damn orcs mined a whole bunch of magic stones!”

Yeah.

We are already drowning in magic stones….

“Chwik! Leave the magic stone mining to us laborers!”

“Arthur leaves it to you!”

Our orc laborers had reached high-grade status.

Their specialty was on-site field work.

They usually mined from A-rank dungeons or the Tower of Chaos….

And the sheer volume they brought back was staggering.

Just look at them right now.

“Director, this dungeon had plenty of magic stones! Chwik!”

“Yeah, looks like it.”

How many even is all this?

They were carrying armfuls in both hands.

“Great work, laborers. Though it seems you guys are getting more and more used to it. The haul just keeps getting bigger, doesn’t it?”

“Chwik! Laborers work very well now!”

Gotta give credit where it’s due.

At first, they only brought back seven or eight at best.

Now, I couldn’t even count them by sight.

At this rate, they’ll be hauling in a hundred in a single trip later on.

With this going on, how could extra magic stones catch my eye?

“To begin with, Director, adding up all the magic stones Germany and the UK are offering wouldn’t even equal the value of a single core material.”

“Hmm….”

That’s true too.

Even high-grade magic stones are worth about ten million won each at most.

What about materials from past the 61st Floor?

Each piece easily goes for hundreds of millions to billions of won.

Stacking up a bunch of high-grade magic stones wouldn’t even come close.

This won’t do.

“We’ll have to change the rules. The bid price will be evaluated solely based on primary materials.”

“Sounds like a great idea.”

Magic stones?

Don’t need them.

50th Floor materials?

Same deal.

I only held off on using them because Rani said she needed materials from Floor 61 and above.

We have plenty of those, too.

[Additional Notice: From this point forward, auction bids will be calculated based strictly on primary materials.]

So basically….

Stop trying to dump your junk and only bring out the real materials.

Preferably from higher floors.

* * *

“Hello, I believe this is the first time we’re meeting via video call like this. I am Arthur Brandt of the United Kingdom.”

“Pleasure to meet you. I am Lucas Volt.”

“Ralph Carter. I’m busy, so let’s cut to the chase and state your business.”

Good grief.

That prickly bastard.

Arthur Brandt let out a small sigh.

As the UK’s Number 1 Ranker and a Member of Parliament,

he was naturally someone who was never looked down upon anywhere he went.

Yet against that guy, he had no leverage.

Well, what else could you expect when facing the world’s Number 1 Ranker?

Besides, since he was the one asking for a favor right now, he had to endure it.

“Understood. The matter at hand is that this auction seems to be escalating far too intensely. I gathered you busy gentlemen to propose that perhaps we call a halt around here.”

The agenda was simple.

Why engage in a pointless bidding war?

After all, the only real competitors were the three of them here.

What would come of fighting amongst themselves?

It would only fatten the pockets of the Manpower Office Director.

“So basically…. instead of tearing each other apart, you’re saying we should decide who takes it and minimize our losses?”

“Yes, precisely.”

What had already been bid couldn’t be helped, but….

If they reached a compromise here?

They could wrap things up at a reasonable level.

And next time, they could back someone else….

If they took turns like this?

Problem solved.

A flawless plan.

He had naturally assumed everyone would accept it—

“Why should I?”

Huh.

A sharp, dismissive reply came back.

Ralph, you again?

What could you possibly be unhappy about?

“Let me ask just one thing. I heard James entered the auction as well, so why wasn’t he invited to this call?”

“James…?”

Who the hell was….

Ah.

The American hunter currently climbing the 62nd Floor?

Why would anyone invite him?

He wasn’t even in the same league.

If we engaged in a serious money fight, could he even keep up?

Wait, is Ralph taking his side just because he’s a fellow American?

For now, Arthur spoke cautiously.

“Ah, I considered you to be the representative of the United States, Ralph, which is why I only invited one person.”

“Cut the crap.”

“Pardon?”

“Why bother sugarcoating it when we all know how it works? You could just admit you didn’t invite James because you thought he was an easy push-over.”

“Haha….”

Why ask when you already know?

Arthur gave an awkward laugh.

Yet Ralph kept talking without missing a beat.

“But you know what? From where I’m standing, you guys don’t look any different. Anyway, I’m participating in the auction, and I have no intention of playing nice. If you’ve got the guts, bring it on.”

And with that.

*Click—*

Having said his piece, he hung up the call.

“What an absolute….”

Thuggish bastard.

If he already got one weapon, he should concede a bit.

To think he’d stubbornly insist on hogging another.

“Haha, well, looks like negotiations have broken down.”

“Do you feel the same way, Lucas?”

“What opinion could I possibly offer? If the world’s Number 1 is acting like that…. Well, I don’t think I can compete with him, so I’ll be bowing out of this auction.”

And then he moved to hang up the phone as well.

This wouldn’t do.

“Lucas, please sell me the materials you currently have. I’ll pay you the absolute highest price possible.”

Ralph, that insolent jerk.

You want to play a game of money?

Fine.

Let’s see how it goes.

Even if I have to scrape together every last resource from Russia, China, and Germany, I’ll crush you.

* * *

“Boss, what are you doing?”

“Watching the auction. Come take a look, you guys. Things are really heating up right now.”

“Rani too! Rani wants to see!”

Following the announcement that bids would be evaluated strictly by primary materials,

the auction grew even more intense.

It was now surpassing 60 pieces.

And in that fierce contest,

“Oh, Ralph? This guy entered again.”

Well, fair enough.

There was no rule against multiple entries.

Still, does this guy even have materials left…?

Just what he sent us before amounted to 60 pieces—.

“Wait, these are 65th Floor materials?”

“Well…. That’s because the materials he used to get *Whooosh* this time were likely gathered while repeatedly running the 66th Floor.”

“Aha…. Right, that makes total sense.”

Sure, I climb through floors in an instant,

but most hunters

supposedly stay on a single floor for ages.

Especially top-tier rankers above Floor 61, or so I heard.

Taking at least six months is considered quick….

These must be the materials he hoarded during all that time.

“The names keep going up and down! This is so cool!”

Rani seemed utterly fascinated by the auction.

She pointed her finger up and down,

hopping around in pure excitement.

“Huh?! There’s an Arthur over there too!”

“Arthur is right here?”

Right.

You are Arthur.

That guy is Arthur Brandt.

Say hello.

He’s a very generous man.

He’s the one driving the auction price up non-stop right now.

Anyone watching would think he’s a paid shill.

“Still, won’t the US end up winning in the end?”

“Looks that way to you too, Todd?”

Can’t help it.

How could anyone beat the Number 1 Ranker of a superpower nation?

Honestly, if it were me, I would have given up long ago….

Oh.

He raised it again?

Well, that’s pure profit for me.

Thank you very much, Mr. Arthur over there.

* * *

——-

Holy crap, an all-time legendary auction result just dropped

Ralph Carter wins

This guy literally got a weapon just a couple days ago and he’s already commissioning another craft.

Guess he’s ordering armor this time?

By the way, you know what the winning bid was….?

174 materials from Floors 61 to 65

Usually, crafting a single sword takes about 10 primary materials, right?

Simple math means that’s enough for 17 swords

And that’s not even counting secondary materials or metals.

Just primary materials alone reached that number, yeah.

– At this point, I’m dying of curiosity. Just what kind of options does Ralph’s weapon have for him to go this all-out;;;;

└ Seriously curious, but for some reason he won’t reveal it….

└ Isn’t it just because the name is weird?

└ No way

└ No, but seriously. Just look at Lee Bojun and Baek Hwarang’s weapons

– Guy above is exaggerating way too much  As if they’d give a weird name to a weapon made for the world’s Number 1 Ranker

└ Honestly, seems totally plausible though….

——-

The fierce auction came to an end.

The victor was Ralph Carter of the United States.

He allegedly submitted a whopping 174 primary materials.

– How much money is that if you sold all of those….

– Well, more than we could ever earn in our entire lifetimes

– Man, he must feel on top of the world.

The onlookers reacted with sheer shock.

And intense envy.

Good heavens.

174 materials from Floors 61 to 65?

Wow….

I wonder.

How will the Manpower Office Director use all of that?

* * *

“Heheh! Awesome! With this much, Rani can make what Rani wants to make!”

How else would we use it?

Rani will use every last bit of it.

“Laborer Rani? With this amount, won’t there be plenty left over even after you go crazy crafting?”

“Umm…. No, there won’t!”

“Huh?!”

“What Rani wants to make uses lots and lots of good materials!”

Wait.

Rani.

There are 174 pieces.

By your standards, that’s enough to forge over thirty weapons.

Just what on earth do you want to make….

Driven by curiosity, I asked.

“What it is is…. This time, Rani will make something for Director!”

“Me? Out of nowhere?”

“Yup! If Rani makes it, Director can go pew-pew!”

Huh?

Pew-pew?

Out of the blue?

What does that even mean in the first place….