Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 7

Number one in Monthly Boss contribution.

To put it another way.

“That means number one in damage dealt.”

Seriously.

All that happened was Robin firing three arrows….

And in that brief moment, first place in contribution?

“That’s insane, honestly.”

“Arthur heard! Not ar-row? Cannon!”

True enough.

It really did look more like a cannon than an arrow.

The sound on impact wasn’t a soft thwip, but a deafening KA-BOOOM!

At any rate, the result was first place.

Which meant?

Time to crack open the rewards.

“Down the hatch.”

Just how good were the rewards for them to lock down the area like that?

Opening the notifications with high hopes, messages flooded in.

Going through them one by one.

[Monthly Boss Raid Cleared!]

[Participation Reward — 50 Low-Grade Magic Stones]

Whoa.

Sweet already?

A participation prize of fifty low-grade magic stones.

Just walking through the door meant walking away with a million won to start.

Man.

No wonder everyone goes crazy trying to get in.

[Monthly Boss Contribution Ranking: 1st Place]

[Contribution Reward — 100 Intermediate-Grade Magic Stones, Armored Turtle Shell Fragment, Armored Turtle Core]

Next came the first-place contribution reward.

Isn’t this a bit stingy?

A mere hundred magic stones?

“Wait.”

Hold on a second.

Something’s different here…?

The magic stones obtained up until now were low-grade.

The going rate?

Twenty thousand won each.

What was sitting here right now….

[100 Intermediate-Grade Magic Stones]

Crazy.

These aren’t low-grade, they’re intermediate-grade?

How much did an intermediate-grade magic stone go for again?

“Five hundred thousand won…?”

500,000 x 100 = 50,000,000.

Meaning.

That single reward line was worth fifty million won.

“Whoa….”

Jackpot.

So that’s why top guilds go as far as locking down the zone.

Fifty million a month?

That was disgustingly sweet.

And then the other two items.

[Armored Turtle Shell Fragment, Armored Turtle Core]

No idea what these were.

There wasn’t even an item description.

Tucking them into the inventory for now.

Time to check the final messages.

[First-ever Monthly Boss Raid clear achieved.]

[Class Perk: Awarding ‘1-Time Free Daily Wage Voucher’.]

[First-ever Monthly Boss Raid 1st Place Contribution achieved.]

[Class Perk: Awarding ‘Unique Skill Grade Temporary Upgrade Voucher’.]

Oh?

Class perks popped up now and then, much like achievements.

The conditions to trigger them?

Vague.

They seemed to appear whenever a first-time feat was accomplished.

Even then, they didn’t trigger every single time.

One thing was certain.

“Every time one pops, it’s solid gold.”

The first gave a higher-grade laborer trial voucher.

Arthur was pulled with that.

The second unlocked the Manpower Office.

That was basically an indispensable cheat code.

And this time.

A 1-Time Free Daily Wage Voucher.

A Unique Skill Grade Temporary Upgrade Voucher.

Taking a peek at the options.

1-Time Free Daily Wage Voucher.

Literally a coupon to employ laborers for free.

“I’ll probably never end up using this.”

If someone works, they get paid.

That was Yoon Hajun’s creed.

Was there really any reason to use it?

Still, just in case, into storage it went.

Next up.

[Unique Skill Grade Temporary Upgrade Voucher — Temporarily increases the grade of your unique skill, raising the maximum cap of your summonable range. (Duration: 10 minutes)]

Now this was massive.

It raises the summon cap?

[Summon Laborers (Grade — Bronze)]

Current grade: Bronze.

If the summon cap increased.

Wouldn’t that allow summoning highest-grade laborers too?

Asking right away.

“Can! High-est grade? Comes! But Arthur, comes much more!”

Okay.

Highest-grade could be summoned too.

And high-grade would appear with a higher probability.

That’s what that meant.

Using this right now might mean adding Robin to the fixed team, right?

Testing the waters with a subtle nudge.

“…Too much hassle.”

Ah.

Figures.

“Even if I throw in extra magic stones every time you’re called?”

“…….”

Trying a bit more persuasion met complete silence.

Robin even turned their head away entirely.

“Boss, good! Gives many-many! Coffee! Ma-gic stone!”

Arthur chimed in from the side, trying to help hype things up—.

Creak.

The moment Robin fiddled with the bow.

“…….”

Arthur fell quiet too.

Right.

Best to hold back.

That thing was practically a cannon, not an arrow.

Still, perhaps thanks were in order for not aiming the bow at the boss….

Anyway.

“Phew…, all right then.”

“Boss, okay?”

How could it be okay?

Naturally, it was disappointing.

Even so, what could you do?

The laborer said no.

Forcing someone to work when they didn’t want to?

Trouble was guaranteed to follow, one way or another.

This was no different.

Beyond that.

If someone flat-out refused, there was no making them.

Better to let it go.

Still.

“Arthur, you’re in, right?”

[Manage Fixed Team]

[Register to Fixed Team — Arthur (High-Grade)]

“Arthur?”

[Pending….]

What gives?

Why didn’t you hit accept immediately?

“Boss, has Luwak?”

“Luwak? Of course I have it.”

Come on.

It had already been prepared in advance just for Arthur.

“I’ll have it brewed while you head down and clear the tower. How about a nice, clean tower run, stamp the contract, and have a cup of coffee?”

“Arthur, likes that!”

Nice.

Having Arthur was plenty.

Highest-grade?

What did that matter?

Definitely not sour grapes over getting turned down….

Even so.

“Robin? Why not join us for a cup of coffee before you go?”

No way to just send a guest off empty-handed.

Korean hospitality demanded at least that much.

Have a cup of coffee and clock out together with Arthur.

“…….”

Another blank stare.

If Robin refused again saying it was a hassle?

No more pressing after that.

Straight out the door.

“Suit yourself.”

The answer?

Oh.

Robin was walking down behind Arthur.

Good choice.

This coffee didn’t come cheap.

[Dispatch Laborers]

– Tower

“Arthur, will work hard! Luwak! Many-many, please!”

[Auto-Hunting in Progress]

[00:00:13]

Tower of Chaos, 3rd Floor: Arthur entered.

No need to watch; Arthur would handle it fine.

As for Robin?

Quietly gazing out the window.

Always zoning out like that, leaving it impossible to guess what was on that mind.

Truly an enigmatic person.

“Guess I’ll get things set up.”

The run would be over quickly, so preparations needed to be fast.

Pulling out the secret weapon prepared for today.

First, the Kopi Luwak.

Turns out this stuff was cat poop.

Wonder if Arthur knew?

Probably not….

Ignorance is bliss, so keeping it a secret was best.

Next up.

Sssssssss—!

“Pork belly, how could anyone resist this?”

Pork belly after hard labor?

Delicious beyond words.

First hit, the scent of golden-brown grilled pork belly.

Second hit, the taste.

Capped off with Kopi Luwak.

A triple combo bound to charm anyone out of their wits.

A clean registration at the end, sheer perfection.

Slurp.

?

What was that?

Where did that drooling sound come from?

A subtle glance.

It was Robin.

“…….”

Eyes that had been staring out the window just a second ago.

Now glued to the pork belly.

Whoa, stare any harder and a hole might burn right through it.

Could it be from hunger?

Lifting a piece of pork belly with the tongs and sliding it to the left.

Robin’s eyes snapped left.

Moving it to the right?

Swish, snapping right back.

This was kind of fun….

Finally, laying it onto the grill plate.

Sssssssss—!

Pork belly sizzled, and right on cue, drool pooled at the lips.

Keep that mouth hanging open and a fly will buzz right in.

“Are you hungry?”

The second the question left Hajun’s mouth, Robin nodded rapidly.

Seriously.

Never knew this person could react so fast.

This wasn’t how Robin’s character operated at all.

Huh?

Wait, could it be…?

“Fixed team, deal?”

“…….”

Strike while the iron is hot!

Testing the bait.

Robin’s pupils quivered.

Clearly locked in conflict—.

“…Too much hassle.”

So close.

Couldn’t get past the wall of sheer laziness.

Well, nothing to be done about that.

Better finish grilling the meat.

[Conquest of the Tower of Chaos 3rd Floor has ended.]

[Auto-hunting concluded.]

Oh, finished.

Took a bit longer this time.

Where’s Arthur?

[Tower of Chaos 3rd Floor Conquered!]

[Level has increased.]

[Conquest Reward — 40 Low-Grade Magic Stones]

[Clear Time — 00:03:47]

[New World Record Achieved!]

[Additional Reward — Chaos Key Fragment]

“Arthur, here — huh? What is that!”

Instant presence the second he emerged.

Classic Arthur.

“Pork belly. Ever had it?”

“Pork-belly? Don’t know! Arthur, gets some?!”

“Sure. Of course.”

Handing Arthur a pair of chopsticks before bare hands went grabbing, and sliding a pair over to Robin as well.

“……?”

What.

Why look like that?

Did Robin really think food would be held hostage for leverage?

“I was just joking around, so don’t worry about it and eat before you go.”

Time to dig in.

Everyone works to eat, after all.

Starting with Hajun first.

Hwarang, Baekhodan, the Magic Tower, Cheolhyeolmun, Sangun.

The raid coalition, leaders of the top five guilds had gathered.

For an emergency conference.

The topic?

The unidentified hunter.

“Have we still not confirmed their identity?”

“The people who entered the raid were freaking out, saying it was a ghost.”

“A ghost, seriously?”

“Granted, it genuinely defies common sense. Starting with how they even managed to get in to begin with.”

Indeed….

It felt like being possessed by a ghost.

A mid-raid intrusion into the Monthly Boss Raid Zone?

Incomprehensible.

What made even less sense, however.

“Is that kind of damage output even possible?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I couldn’t come close to that kind of damage, but what about you, Guild Master Hwarang?”

“The same goes for me.”

Guild Master of Hwarang, Baek Hwarang.

Current tower conquest floor: 2nd place in South Korea.

Awakening rank: Bureau-certified A-grade.

What good was that here?

“Not a snowball’s chance in hell.”

An unidentified vagrant who carved out 12% contribution with a single arrow.

Could anyone replicate that?

No.

Absolutely not.

Even bringing in the number-one ranked Lee Bojun wouldn’t make that possible.

“I wonder what rewards dropped.”

Insufferable opportunists.

An unknown hunter had just burst onto the scene, and here they were, obsessing over the loot.

“The core definitely didn’t drop. At most, a shell fragment or meat, wouldn’t you say?”

“What about magic stones?”

“Well, do those even matter?”

“This was supposed to be Hwarang’s turn, what a shame.”

“We’ll just have to claim it five months from now.”

Baek Hwarang seemed to be just as much of an opportunist deep down.

Talking so nonchalantly.

While clearly burning up inside at the thought of the materials.

A hundred intermediate-grade magic stones?

Not a shred of regret there.

Guilds of the Big Five’s caliber could pull in that much with ease.

The issue lay with the material items.

The meat, which dropped relatively often.

The shell, which dropped on rare occasions.

And the core, with its abysmal drop rate.

“Did you say Hwarang only needs the core to forge a weapon now?”

“Yes. If any guild currently holds one, please reach out.”

“Ah… our inventory is….”

“Ours as well….”

No expectations were held from the start.

Who in their right mind would hand over materials like that?

Forging them into weapons or armor boosted their value dozens of times over.

“Haha, what a pity.”

It was fine.

An ordinary person picking up those materials couldn’t do a thing with them anyway.

Not unless they had awakened with a crafting-related class.

The unidentified hunter.

Whoever that was, once found, recruitment was a certainty.

And the materials would come along with them.

After all, what use would that hunter have for them?

“So, you’re saying if a crafting-related laborer appears later, they can use these? Just like domestic laborers?”

“…Yeah.”

“Man! That’s awesome! Here, have two pieces of meat each.”

An unexpected revelation.

Robin was a treasure trove of information.

Weapons could be forged using the core or shell.

Better yet, even that could be done through laborers.

What an insane class.

Long live the Manpower Office Director.

“Boss! Arthur, Arthur knows too! Give meat!”

“Right, Arthur gets two pieces too.”

“Arthur eats!”

Making a mental note of crafting laborers for later.

With a decent amount of meat eaten.

Time to get Arthur under contract.

[Manage Fixed Team]

[Register to Fixed Team — Arthur (High-Grade)]

Waving the bag of Kopi Luwak in one hand.

Hand ready for a shake with the other.

The response?

“Arthur, will do it!”

[Registered to the fixed team.]

[Arthur (High-Grade)]

Yes!

That’s what I’m talking about.

“…….”

Just then.

Robin timidly raised a hand?

“Hm? What is it? Want more meat?”

“…Me too.”

Pardon?

Why you?

After refusing so firmly.

“…Thanks for… the meat….”

“Arthur, hears! Meat was delicious! Thanks for giving for free!”

Translator working at peak performance.

Still….

The intermediate-grade magic stones Robin brought in were already worth fifty million won.

Naturally, turning the offer down was out of the question.

When opportunity knocks, grab it with both hands.

“Shall we do this right now?”

First, boosting the grade.

[Using ‘Unique Skill Grade Temporary Upgrade Voucher’.]

[Unique skill grade has increased.]

[Summonable range has expanded.]

[Time Remaining — 00:10:00]

Sweet.

Now, sending the prompt straight to Robin.

[Manage Fixed Team]

[Register to Fixed Team — Robin (Highest-Grade)]

“…Instead. Next time too….”

“Pork-belly!”

You want more next time?

Naturally.

Even if it meant hunting a pig with bare hands, it would be done.

So.

Hurry up and accept.

[Registered to the fixed team.]

[Robin (Highest-Grade)]

And just like that, Robin’s stamp was pressed too!

What did the roster look like now?

——-

[Manage Fixed Team]

1. Arthur (High-Grade)

2. Robin (Highest-Grade)

3. Empty Slot

4. Empty Slot

5. Empty Slot

——-

Only five slots for now.

More would surely open up later.

Even so, looking at Arthur and Robin together felt immensely reassuring.

Ding!

[※ A laborer has been registered to the fixed team using a temporarily boosted grade.]

[Until the summonable range naturally matches, this laborer may only be summoned once per week.]

Man.

No free passes here.

Still, better than being canceled altogether, right?

“Arthur can be called once a day, and Robin once a week.”

“Arthur, likes!”

“…Sounds good.”

Once a week?

Honestly, that was actually better.

Robin’s daily wage was six hundred thousand won.

Calling that every single day?

Instant bankruptcy….

“Well then, I’m counting on both of you.”

Starting tomorrow.

Time to really get down to business.