Chapter 5: Arthur, Coffee Monster

Yoon Hajun’s Awakening, Labor Management Office Head.

The advantage?

Of course, Automatic Hunting.

But.

There’s a bit of fun to it too.

“Every time I draw, it’s got that thrilling feeling, kind of like scratching a lottery ticket.”

Well….

If you hit the jackpot, it’s a big win, so I guess it’s similar?

Ah.

There’s another difference.

Unlike the lottery, there are no blanks here.

[‘High-Grade Worker Trial Ticket’ is being used.]

[Summoning a Worker!]

[Summon Range: Top-Grade ~ Mid-Grade All Candidates]

Even Lower-Grade Workers can chew through F-class Dungeons.

But the minimum is Mid-Grade?

No need to say more.

Second Floor of the Tower should be a breeze.

Still, while I’m at it.

“I kind of want to see a Top-Grade Worker.”

This is the second time I’m using a High-Grade Worker Trial Ticket.

The first time?

Our Coffee Monster, Pokkulrom.

Nope.

It was Arthur.

For reference, his grade was High-Grade.

If High-Grade was that strong….

What about the elusive Top-Grade, which is said to have a minuscule chance of appearing?

Watching with anticipation.

Flash!

A burst of light.

And then, it appeared!

Who is it?

“Boss?”

Hmm…..

It’s Arthur.

So close.

No, well.

Still, he’s High-Grade.

Not bad.

Yeah.

“Boss? Wasseo, aren’t you happy to see me?”

Right, gotta manage my expression.

I greet him with a bright smile.

“Hey, no, of course I’m glad to see you.”

“But, it’s weird. Boss’s face.”

What.

That’s kind of rude, isn’t it?

Anyway.

“I’m just surprised, that’s all. Arthur came out again this time.”

“That’s right! Wasseo is here!”

“Yeah.”

How does Arthur keep coming out.

The range is supposed to be Top-Grade ~ Mid-Grade.

Now that I think about it, the orc showed up twice too….

Maybe there aren’t that many in the pool?

Tilting my head, I ask, just in case.

“Wasseo, you gave it away. Mana Stone.”

“Huh?”

Gave it away?

To whom?

“Not Wasseo, another guy got picked. So I gave it. Mana Stone.”

Uh…..

So.

“You mean, another Worker was chosen, but you gave him Mana Stones and took his place?”

“Stand-in…? Stand-in, yeah, that’s it.”

It’s stand-in, not ‘stand-up,’ you blockhead.

But.

So it’s possible to come as a substitute?

Fascinating….

“How many Mana Stones did you give?”

“Mana Stone? Four? Gave them.”

“Four?”

Wait.

‘Four is your daily wage, right?’

‘You gave that up just to come work?’

“Why? Arthur, are you a workaholic?”

“Boss, you give me coffee. Lots of two-two-three.”

That’s such an Arthur answer, I have nothing to say.

This crazy coffee lover….

“What about the stuff I packed for you yesterday? Did you already finish it?”

“Boss, gave the coffee to Wasseo. When I go back? Gone. From now on, I’ll drink all the two-two-three before leaving.”

Aha.

So anything you bring back here disappears.

I learned something new.

“So, I’ll give you coffee again. Two-two-three.”

“Coffee, you want?”

“I want!”

Coffee?

I can give you as much as you want.

It’s not like it costs much.

But.

[Dispatch Worker]

Tower

First, head to the Tower.

Q. How do you get Arthur to move?

A. Tempt him with coffee.

A perfect strategy, discovered in just two tries.

It works like a charm.

“Wasseo, I’m going!”

Arthur, who was just chanting coffee, suddenly—flash!

He stands up.

“One! Two! Three!”

Starts warming up.

‘After some light stretching?’

Even the safety chant.

“Boss, together! Safety, good! Good! Good!”

‘But why me?’

“Good! Good! Good!”

Ah…..

Why does my body react on its own.

Anyway.

He finishes preparing in a flash.

***

“Boss, I’m off to work! Give me lots and lots of coffee!”

He slipped right into the Tower,

[Worker is entering Chaos Tower.]

[Automatic Hunting is starting.]

Since the Worker went in, Automatic Hunting is ON by default.

‘Now what do I do?’

Well.

“Gotta check out the new features.”

[Rewards]

[Unique Skill Experience]

[New Feature Added: Monitoring]

[High-Grade Worker Trial Ticket]

Three rewards for clearing the mission.

Experience went up.

Used the High-Grade Trial Ticket to draw Arthur.

Lastly, Monitoring?

[Automatic Hunting in Progress]

[00:00:23]

“Ah, found it.”

A quick scan.

A new tab has appeared.

[Monitoring]

That’s gotta be it.

Tap, I press it.

Bzzzz-

A screen pops up as a hologram.

‘What do I see?’

“Oh.”

I see it.

Just like CCTV.

A man standing on a wall about as tall as a person.

“That’s Arthur.”

The enemies?

Kuwaak! Kuwaak!

They’re charging in from a distance.

A herd of wild boars.

‘Maybe 20 to 30 in total?’

“That’s brutal….”

Other Hunters would have to fight those directly, right?

Me?

No way, never.

But Arthur will handle it for me.

“Oh, he’s moving.”

Second Floor strategy video.

I watched it online before bed.

The strategy?

[Those guys don’t even jump, they just circle around, so just take it slow and safe.]

Just take them out one by one from the wall and you’re done.

It’s a low floor, so it’s not even dangerous.

It just takes a while.

So what about our Arthur?

“01?”

‘What the.’

‘Why is he coming down?’

‘Shouldn’t he safely pick them off from the wall, one by one….’

I tilt my head—

***

Shing.

Arthur draws his sword.

And in the instant he quietly slashes sideways—

Kuwaak! Kuaaaak!

The wild boars are split apart.

From the very front to the very back of the herd.

All of them.

……?”

Insane.

‘Is this a bug?’

[Chaos Tower Second Floor cleared.]

[Automatic Hunting is ending.]

Nope.

Can’t be.

The message pops up like this.

The record?

[Chaos Tower Second Floor Cleared!]

[Level Up!]

[Clear Reward – 30 Lower-grade Magic Stones]

[Clear Time – 00:01:17] [World Record Achieved!]

[Bonus Reward – Key Fragment of Chaos]

Of course it’s a world record.

And this time, it’s even in the one-minute range.

“Boss? Wasseo, you here?”

Yoon Hajun, age 23.

After a few years working on-site, there’s something I’ve realized.

‘What is it?’

If there’s someone who’s good at their job, just hop on the bus and enjoy the ride.

“Boss?”

‘And Arthur?’

He’s got a simple personality.

Feels like coffee can solve anything with him.

Okay.

I’ve decided.

[Fixed Team Management]

Not sure how many slots there’ll be.

But the first one will be you, Pokkulrom.

“Coffee, two-two-three, you’ll give?”

Oh.

‘Is two-two-three a problem?’

I’ll even order you delivery coffee if you want.

So.

Let’s head down for now.

Let’s have a serious talk.

Work is done.

So?

Coffee time.

Ssshhh~!

I quickly boil water in the Coffee Pot.

Pop open a Mix Coffee, pour it into a Paper Cup.

Stir it up with the bag.

Done.

“Delicious! Delicious! Two-two-three!”

Of course.

It’s obviously good!

***

Even Minwook, with 30 years of labor under his belt, acknowledged this coffee’s taste!

Of course, two-two-three isn’t the golden ratio.

It’s just coffee mix….

But, well.

“As long as it’s tasty, that’s all that matters.”

Maybe I’ll have a cup too.

Slurp.

“Ah….”

This aroma that soothes the soul.

This is the taste of coffee after a hard day’s work.

“Boss, more?”

“More? Okay. Drink as much as you want. I’ll make you as much as you’d like.”

“Oh?! Right? Wasseo, give me lots and lots.”

Alright.

Now to ask.

Carefully, a little at a time.

“Arthur, do you know about fixed teams?”

Huh?

That was like a fastball right to the chest.

Well, whatever.

Not everyone’s good at beating around the bush….

Can’t be helped.

Since I started, I’ll go for it again.

Handing him a cup of coffee as I do.

“You know fixed teams, right? What do they do?”

“Hmm…. Fixed team. I know. If registered? You can call me.”

Yes!

Knew it.

I had a feeling.

But why did he pretend not to hear at first?

Even when I asked, silence.

This time, I quietly hand him coffee.

And he gives me an answer.

He’s practically a vending machine for answers.

“Fixed team? If boss calls, I have to go out, every day.”

Well….

Worker summons are random.

Fixed teams?

Guaranteed.

If I compare it to labor work, it’s like having to show up every day, even on weekends.

Oh.

I’d hate that too.

But if there’s a tempting bait?

“If you join the fixed team, I’ll let you drink Luwak Coffee.” “Luwak? What’s that?”

Uh….

Honestly, I don’t really know.

I just heard about it from some old guy once.

He said it was expensive and delicious.

So, roughly—

“It’s a rare coffee. Only the rich or nobles get to drink it.”

“Oh? Luwak, tasty?”

No idea.

I’ve never had it.

But, confidently—

“Of course. If you try it, you won’t even think about two-two-three anymore. How about it, deal?”

“Hmm…. Boss, you give Mana Stones well. You give coffee well too. If you give me Luwak, Wasseo will consider? I’ll think about it.”

Wow.

‘Is this really happening?’

Seriously, how much do you love coffee.

Well…..

For me, it’s a jackpot.

So.

“Long live coffee.”

“Great job today. See you next time.”

“Boss, Luwak Coffee! Promise!”

Come on.

You had over ten cups today.

But you’re still shouting about coffee on your way out?

Crazy Coffee Monster.

“Too bad. If I could’ve registered the fixed team today, it would’ve been perfect.”

Can’t be helped.

But next time?

Definitely bringing him in.

For now, let’s unlock the feature.

[Name: Yoon Hajun (Lv. 3) / Republic of Korea]

[Job: Labor Management Office Head]

[Unique Skill: Worker Summon (Grade – Iron)]

Cleared another floor of the Tower, so level is 3.

Unique Skill grade?

Still Iron.

“Experience is….”

[(3/5)]

First mission, Worker for Daily Life.

Second, Accumulated Worker Summon.

[Mission Complete!]

[Challenge One Floor of Chaos Tower (1/1)]

[Reward]

Unique Skill Experience

・20 Lower-grade Magic Stones

Just completed the third mission.

Each one gave 1 point, so the total experience is now 3.

In theory, clear two more and I’ll level up….

“What’s the next mission?”

[New Mission]

Complete Worker Summon for Five Consecutive Days (2/5)

So.

“All I have to do is wait for time to pass?”

Good.

There’s one summon left for today, so I’ll use that.

And then start again tomorrow.

For the next three days.

Yoon Hajun’s days flew by in a blur.

Wake up in the morning, go to work.

“Hey, Kim! Bring the drill battery!”

“Yes! On my way!”

Bang, bang, bang.

Work.

Then clock out.

And after that?

Wait until the sun sets.

[Dispatch Worker]

Dungeon

Quietly summoning Workers from the rooftop!

‘As for the Tower?’

I held back.

I’ll rank up soon anyway.

It’ll be sweeter to go after that.

So, three days like that.

Now that I’ve finished summoning for five consecutive days, Mission complete!

[Mission Complete!]

[Continuous Five-Day Worker Summoning Complete (5/5)]

[Reward]

[Unique Skill Experience 2]

[Daily Worker Summon Reset Ticket]

[High-Grade Worker Trial Ticket]

‘Maybe because it took a while, the rewards are sweet?’

Huh?

Wait.

“Experience 2?”

That means, I’m ranking up!

[Unique Skill grade has increased.]

[Worker Summon (Grade – Iron) → Worker Summon (Grade – Bronze)]

Yes-!

I was Iron, now I’m Bronze!

The options?

[Worker Summon (Grade – Bronze)]

[At this grade, you can summon all candidates classified as High-Grade, Mid-Grade, and Lower-Grade.]

Lower-Grade is the same.

But?

Now I can summon up to High-Grade.

With some luck, I can even call Arthur.

That’s huge, right?

And even more important—

[New Feature Unlocked: Fixed Team Management]

“This is it!”

Fixed Team is unlocked.

Now I can call the Worker I want.

Is there a limit to the number of times?

Let’s check.

[Fixed Team Management]

Daily summon limit: Once per member

“So close.”

There is a limit.

Only once per day.

Still, with this….

“I can climb one floor of the Tower per day from now on.”

‘Should I call Arthur first?’

Summoning Workers is nice, but—

To be even more certain.

Let’s use that High-Grade Trial Ticket I got earlier!

[‘High-Grade Worker Trial Ticket’ is being used.]

[Summoning a Worker!]

[Summon Range: Top-Grade ~ Mid-Grade All Candidates]

It’s random.

But I believe in Arthur.

He took the Mana Stones last time, so he’ll come again, right?

He hasn’t had coffee for three days either.

Flash!

A burst of light.

Now I should hear him call, “Boss—”

Ding!

Huh.

[Against all odds, a Top-Grade Worker is being summoned.]

Huh?