Chapter 8: Arthur the Trainer

The first day of the official Tower climb.

‘How is Yoon Hajun’s daily life?’

It was the same as always.

Wake up in the morning, go to work.

“Hey Kim, can you hold this for me?”

“Yes.”

Thud, snap, thud, snap.

Work.

“Good job today.”

“You too, hyung! See you tomorrow!”

Get off work.

And at night?

[Dispatch Worker]

[Dungeon]

Auto-hunting begins.

That’s how things usually went.

But starting today?

One more thing gets added.

[Fixed Team Summon]

[Arthur (High-grade)]

“I’m here, I’m here!”

Nice.

Arthur appeared!

Now Arthur can be called once a day.

Robin, once a week.

It’s guaranteed I can summon them.

So?

I have to climb the Tower, no matter what.

[Dispatch Worker]

[Tower]

“Boss? I’m here, I’ll be back! I’ll be waiting!”

As if you’re waiting…

“You’ll come right back anyway.”

“I’m here, I’m here!”

“See? That’s what I mean.”

He pops right out in an instant.

[Chaos Tower 4th Floor Cleared!]

[Level Up.]

[Clear Reward – 50 Lower-grade Magic Stones]

[Clear Time – 00:01:33]

[World Record Achieved!]

[Bonus Reward – Key Fragment of Chaos]

As expected, it’s a new record.

The next day was the same.

[Chaos Tower 5th Floor Cleared!]

[Level Up.]

[Clear Reward – 60 Lower-grade Magic Stones]

[Clear Time – 00:02:30]

[World Record Achieved!]

[Bonus Reward – Key Fragment of Chaos]

Another new record.

This is easy.

Should be able to keep going like this.

And the day after that.

“Arthur, are you ready?”

“CHICH! ZICH, Et!”

I called Arthur as usual.

Just as I was about to send him into the Tower, I paused.

“No, let’s try something a bit different today.”

“Differ…ent? I’m here, dunno?”

“It’s fine.”

Yoon Hajun, efficiency-obsessed Korean.

‘Wasted movement?’

Unbearable.

‘Why send them one at a time?’

‘Can’t I send two at once?’

I’m curious, so I try it right away.

“Huh?”

First, Arthur—okay.

Next?

Worker summon.

[Summoning Worker!]

[Grade – Bronze]

[Summon Range: All levels from High-grade to Low-grade]

Fwoosh!

“322.”

A hyena standing there?

[Worker Resume]

[Name: Gnoll Pack (4 members) / Low-grade]

[Specialty: None]

[Daily Wage: 2 Lower-grade Magic Stones]

Ah.

So these are called Gnolls.

Up to here, so far so good.

Next…

“This is the important part.”

[Dispatch Worker]

[Tower]

[Dungeon]

Two options.

Before, I always just opened one.

‘Would both open at the same time?’

Tap, tap.

Tried pressing both.

“Oh, it worked.”

Two doors.

Left for the Tower, right for the Dungeon.

Well, gotta send them in, right?

Clap, clap!

“Alright, assemble!”

Arthur is the leader again.

A couple claps.

“Grr!”

“Woof!”

The Gnolls quickly gather up.

After assembling, warm-ups.

***

“One! Two! Three!”

“Woof! Growl!”

“Boss? Boss should join in too!”

“I’m fine. I already did some this morning.”

Too tiring…

I’ll pass.

“Safety! Good! Good! Good!”

“Woof!”

After finishing their chants nice and strong,

They each went into their respective entrance.

Arthur to the Tower alone.

The Gnoll Pack together into the Dungeon.

And Yoon Hajun, left alone?

Pops open the thermos he’d brought in advance.

If I wait a bit—

“I’m here, here’s your coffee!”

The unmistakable Coffee Monster is back in one minute.

Once again, a new record.

Since he worked hard—

“Here, have a cup of coffee.”

“Thank you, Boss!”

For the record, it’s not Luwak Coffee.

Tried it once, said it was too bitter to drink.

No matter how expensive it is!

Of course, Yoon Hajun can’t drink it either—too bitter.

“See, Mix Coffee is the best?”

“222, nice!”

That’s not 223, you know, human.

Anyway, it’s peaceful.

Always a pleasant coffee time.

After that, it’s just the end of the day once I clock out.

But today, Arthur doesn’t seem to want to leave.

“Boss? Watching, those guys.”

Ah.

Monitoring?

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Bored, maybe?

Honestly, having something to watch while drinking coffee just makes it taste even better.

Arthur knows what’s up.

[Monitoring]

Tap to select.

Bzzzz—

The screen shows the Gnoll Pack.

Grrr!

Growl!

F-class Dungeon, Small Spider Den.

Wait.

‘Maybe I should call it the Gnoll Den now?’

They’re wrecking all the spiders…

“They’re doing well.”

Yeah.

They’re the same grade as Orcs.

An F-class Dungeon should be easy.

“Don’t you think?”

Hm.

‘Maybe not?’

Arthur’s expression…

“Those guys are weak.”

‘Why’s his pronunciation only clear when he’s cursing?’

And.

“Well, what can you do? You’re High-grade, they’re Low-grade.”

It’s a whole different league.

Of course, there’s going to be a gap.

Not like those guys can get stronger on their own.

“Boss? From tomorrow? I’m here, call. Quick.”

Call him quickly starting tomorrow?

I could get a doctorate in Human-Arthurese now.

I understand most of what he says instantly. But…

“Huh? I can, but why?”

“I’m here, I’ll train them. Those weak guys.”

Huh?

Well, if he wants to be called, I’ll call him.

Next day, right after work, Arthur first.

[Fixed Team Summon]

Arthur (High-grade)

“Boss. Calling those weak guys?”

Okay, got it.

First, a look around.

Can’t let others see this.

Phew, coast is clear.

Worker summon.

The reason he wanted me to call him early.

He wants to train the weak ones.

‘Who’s up first, I wonder?’

“Kieek!”

Oh.

Goblins.

“Kie! Kieek!”

Seen these guys before.

They’re squealing excitedly in my direction—

Arthur is silent.

“Let’s go! Quiet! You’re here to play?!”

‘Wait.’

‘Where did he get that red cap?’

Beep! Beep beep!!

Now he’s blowing a whistle.

This is totally…

***

“Boss! I’m here, I believe! These guys! Make, person!”

They were never people to begin with…

If I point that out, he’ll give me that look, so I keep quiet.

Let’s see if anyone’s coming.

Beep! Beep beep!

“Let’s go! For real!”

“Kieek!”

I wondered how he’d train them.

Turns out, it’s actually pretty normal.

Just some basic physical training—calisthenics and stuff.

But will that really work…

Sent them into the Dungeon, half expecting, half doubting.

[F-class Dungeon Cleared!]

[Clear Time – 00:08:37]

[Clear Reward – 20 Lower-grade Magic Stones]

“Kieek!”

What the heck.

It actually worked?

“Actually, not just worked—a huge improvement!”

Goblins are the weakest of the Low-grades.

Their usual record?

F-class, about 15 minutes.

But today…

[Clear Time – 00:08:37]

Not just under 10, it’s in the 8-minute range.

“A bit of exercise made that much of a difference?”

‘Is it really the training?’

“If that’s the case, what about Arthur and Robin?”

I asked.

“I’m here, dunno?”

Yeah…

I thought so.

That’s fine.

If I ask the information-packed Robin, I’ll probably get the answer.

Anyway.

“It’d be good to keep training them like this, right?”

“Boss is right!”

“Hm.

‘If I keep doing this on the rooftop, I’ll get caught sooner or later.’

Suddenly, I think—

If my place was bigger, we could just do it inside.

‘Should I move…?’

‘Money?’

Plenty.

Just the Mid-grade Mana Stones are worth 50 million won.

And I’ve got a pile of Lower-grade Magic Stones too.

“How many do I have again?”

637.

At 20,000 won each…

That’s 12,740,000 won.

Easily enough to rent a two-room place, no problem.

“Boss, got money?”

“I don’t.”

Have to sell the Magic Stones first.

The issue is—

“To sell them, I’d have to report to the Awakening Management Bureau…”

Guess I need to look into that.

“Doesn’t seem that hard.”

“How do you report your Awakening?”

Simple.

Just say “I awakened!” and file at the Awakening Management Bureau.

Next.

They test your abilities by having you use your skills in person.

Then, you get your grade, and that’s it.

Takes an hour at most, supposedly.

But…

“It’s a bit awkward to do it now.”

Reporting my Awakening isn’t the problem.

The problem is this.

Monthly Boss Raid Update lolololol

***

Everyone knows the Five Great Guilds have been hogging the Monthly Boss all to themselves, not just Hunters, right?

They say it’s all fair, but come on…

Anyway, this time, someone snatched it from them lolololol

[Wow, just hearing about it is satisfying]

[But how did they take it? The Five Great Guilds do so much damage, there’s no way you’d get 1st place for contribution…]

[Heard someone landed a massive blow in just a few seconds.]

[Does that even make sense lolol]

[It’s true;;; That’s why Hwarang’s been looking everywhere for the boss-killer]

[I don’t mind most of it.]

In this day and age, rumors floating around the internet are no big deal…

I’ve already experienced it once anyway.

“But seriously, why is Hwarang looking for me?”

I search, and there it is.

Hwarang.

Ranked #2, a guild founded by Baek Hwarang.

Rank #1 is affiliated with the Bureau, so in terms of organizational power, Hwarang is basically #1…

Hmm.

‘So they’re looking for me?’

“Why?”

I tilt my head, then realize.

Ahem.

I’d have to be pretty shameless not to know.

I still have the turtle shell and core I got back then!

If that’s the case—

“If I go report my Awakening to the Bureau, word will spread right away.”

Yoon Hajun, 23 years old.

Old enough to know these things.

Guilds at that level working together?

I don’t even need to see it to know.

Still.

I really want to report my Awakening…

That’s the only way to sell my Magic Stones!

“Isn’t there some way…”

***

A time when Dungeons appear nationwide and Hunters are active everywhere.

The Awakening Management Bureau has its hands full.

Absolutely overflowing…

“What? They cleared it in six minutes today? I’m losing it! How does it keep getting faster?”

“Leveling up?”

“No, come on! It was eight minutes yesterday!”

Lately, they’re so busy they can’t get anything done.

The reason?

A mysterious Hunter.

Every day, sets new records in the Tower.

Clears all the Dungeons around.

And the records? So fast it’s ridiculous.

From journalists all the way up to top brass.

Everyone asks about that Hunter at every opportunity, so much that some have started turning their phones off.

And in the middle of all this.

“Hwarang’s guildmaster keeps contacting us too, asking to share any info we have.”

“They’re not the only ones. Baekhodan, Tower of Magic, Iron Blood Gate, Mountain Lord—they all sent requests.”

“It’s pure chaos.”

The reason?

No need to ask.

They want to recruit him for their own guild.

“Sigh… Would we know? If we did, we’d have poached him first.”

Still, the Bureau has the edge over private guilds.

“He hasn’t registered yet, has he?”

“Absolutely not. There’s no one with that kind of potential among registered Hunters.”

If you want to work as a Hunter, registration is essential.

Putting aside all the data and info,

If you’re not a Hunter, you can’t even sell Mana Stones.

And that Hunter?

Probably got a mountain of Mana Stones right now.

He’ll register soon, no doubt.

When he does, we’ll know who he is.

And we’ll definitely recruit him as a Bureau Hunter.

No matter what.

Our own info-hoarder, Robin.

The moment a week passed and I summoned him, he delivered.

***

“So if you put Low-grade workers like Orcs or Goblins in your fixed team and report your Awakening, you can hide your identity?”

“…Yeah.”

“Man, that’s a real pro move!”

Robin’s tip on how to hide your identity.

“Put a Low-grade worker like an Orc in your fixed team.”

“Then what happens?”

On the surface, it just looks like you have a summoning class that can summon Orcs.

You’ll probably get rated around C~D.

“Low grade? Well, I don’t think it matters.”

As long as you’re a Hunter, who cares.

Next time, I’ll treat Robin to beef instead of pork belly.

I asked another question.

“The Low-grade workers got stronger with Arthur’s training—can Arthur or Robin get stronger too?”

He’s quiet for a moment.

“…Grade.”

“\Oh, grade?”

“Too low?”

Nod.

‘Is it that he can’t say because their grade is too low?’

So, there is a way.

I’ll have to look into it later.

Well, that covers everything.

“Since we’re here, let’s clear the Tower once, have some meat, and call it a day. What do you say?”

Another nod.

Alright, time to open the door.

[Dispatch Worker]

[Tower]

Arthur cleared up to the 9th floor yesterday.

This time, the 10th.

[Chaos Tower 10th Floor Cleared!]

[Level Up.]

[Clear Reward – 110 Lower-grade Magic Stones]

[Clear Time – 00:00:37]

[World Record Achieved!]

[Bonus Reward – Key Fragment of Chaos]

Crazy.

He finished in thirty seconds flat…

“…Meat.”

Ah, got it.

I’ll get that ready right away.

Let me just put away this key fragment.

Already got ten of them…

‘Wait?’

‘They’re merging?’

Ding!

[‘Key of Chaos’ has been completed.]