Chapter 7: Robin Seals the Deal

First Place in Monthly Boss Contribution.

In other words.

“So, I was the top damage dealer.”

No way.

I only went in, shot three arrows, and left…

And in that short moment, I managed to get first place in contribution?

“That’s insane, seriously.”

“He’s here, I heard! No more fire arrows? He’s launching cannons now!”

Exactly.

It really was more like a cannon than an arrow.

Instead of a whoosh, it was more like a KABOOM!

Anyway, the result: first place.

‘So?’

Time to check the rewards.

“Let’s see what I got.”

The rewards must be good if they’re worth controlling access to.

With anticipation, I swipe through the messages.

There’s a lot.

Let’s go through them one by one.

[Monthly Boss Raid Success!]

[Participation Reward – 50 Lower-grade Magic Stones]

Whoa.

That’s already pretty great.

You get 50 Lower-grade Magic Stones just for entering.

So just for participating, I make a million won right away.

Man.

No wonder everyone wants in.

[Monthly Boss Contribution 1st Place]

[Contribution Reward – 100 Mid Grade Mana Stones, Ironclad Turtle Shell Fragment, Ironclad Turtle Core]

Next is the first place contribution reward.

‘But… doesn’t this feel a bit stingy?’

‘Only 100 Mana Stones?’

“Huh.”

‘Wait a minute.’

‘Something’s different…?’

Up until now, I’ve only gotten Lower-grade Magic Stones.

‘The price?’

20,000 won each.

But now…

[100 Mid Grade Mana Stones]

Holy crap.

‘They’re Mid Grade, not Lower-grade?’

“How much are Mid Grade Mana Stones again…”

“500,000 won…?”

’50 x 100 = 5,000.’

So that means, this is five million won right here.

“Wow…”

Unreal.

No wonder the top guilds try to control this.

‘Five million every month?’

That’s absurdly sweet.

And then, the other two items.

[Ironclad Turtle Shell Fragment, Ironclad Turtle Core]

No idea what those are.

There’s no explanation either.

Guess I’ll just keep them in my inventory for now.

Let’s check the last message.

[You have successfully cleared the Monthly Boss Raid for the first time.]

[Job Perk: ‘Free Daily Wage Coupon’ has been awarded.]

[First time achieving 1st place in Monthly Boss Raid Contribution.]

[Job Perk: ‘Temporary Unique Skill Grade Up Coupon’ has been awarded.]

Oh?

Job perks that pop up occasionally, kind of like achievements.

“How do you trigger them?”

It’s unclear.

Seems like it’s for doing something for the first time.

But they don’t appear every time, either.

What’s certain is—

“They’re always useful when they do show up.”

The first one was the High-Grade Worker Trial Ticket.

I used that to summon Arthur.

The second was unlocking the Labor Management Office.

That one’s practically a cheat code.

And this time…

A Free Daily Wage Coupon.

A Temporary Unique Skill Grade Up Coupon.

Let’s take a look at the options.

***

Free Daily Wage Coupon.

Just as it says, a coupon to use workers for free once.

“Can’t imagine ever needing to use this, honestly.”

If you do the work, you should get paid.

That’s Yoon Hajun’s creed.

‘Would I ever have to use it?’

Still, just in case, I’ll keep it stored away.

Next up.

[Temporary Unique Skill Grade Up Coupon – Temporarily increases the grade of your Unique Skill, raising the maximum summonable range. (Duration: 10 minutes)]

Now, this is amazing.

‘Raises the maximum range for summoning?’

[Summon Worker (Grade – Bronze)]

[Current grade: Bronze.]

‘If I raise the maximum summoning range…’

‘Does that mean I can even summon Top-Grade Workers?’

I asked.

“It’s possible! Top-Grade? Can be summoned! And not just that, you get more!”

Okay.

So Top-Grade Workers are summonable.

High-Grades will appear more often, too.

So that’s what it means.

If I use that coupon right away, I could even add Robin to the fixed team.

I tried bringing it up.

“…Too much trouble.”

Ah.

Knew it.

“What if I gave you extra Mana Stones every time I call you?”

Tried coaxing a bit more, but silence.

He even turned his head away.

“Boss, good! I’ll give you lots! Coffee! Give!”

Arthur started egging me on from the side.

Creak.

As soon as he fiddled with his bow—

Both went quiet.

Yeah.

Gotta hold back.

Those aren’t arrows, they’re basically cannons.

Still, I should be thankful they’re not using the bow to threaten me.

Anyway.

“Sigh… Fine, I get it.”

“Boss, you okay?”

‘Am I okay?’

Of course I’m disappointed.

‘But what can I do?’

He says he doesn’t want to.

If you force someone who doesn’t want to work—

Something’s bound to go wrong.

Same applies here.

Besides, he’s refused, so what choice do I have.

Guess I have to give up.

Still.

“Arthur, you’re in, right?”

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

“You here?”

[Pending…]

“What the— Why aren’t you saying yes right away?”

“Boss, got Luwak?”

“Luwak? Of course.”

“I mean, c’mon.”

“I prepared it for you ages ago.”

“When you come back from running the Tower, I’ll have it ready. Let’s clear the Tower neatly, sign the contract, and have a coffee together. How’s that?”

“I’m in, sounds good!”

Great.

As long as I have Arthur, I’m set.

Top-Grade?

Who cares about that.

It’s not because I got rejected… really.

“Robin? Why don’t you join us for a cup of coffee before you go.”

Can’t just let him leave like that.

Koreans have that sense of togetherness.

“Let’s share a coffee and head out together with Arthur.”

He just stares at me.

If he refuses again saying it’s too much trouble—

Then I won’t push anymore.

I’ll let him go right away.

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine.”

His answer?

Ah.

He follows Arthur downstairs.

“Good choice.”

“This is expensive coffee.”

[Worker Dispatch]

***

“I’m in! I’ll work hard! Luwak! Please give lots!”

[Auto-hunting in progress]

[00:00:13]

Chaos Tower 3rd floor, Arthur enters.

No need to watch, he’ll handle it.

‘Robin?’

Quietly staring out the window.

Every time I look, he’s zoning out, no idea what he’s looking at.

Really mysterious guy.

“Time for me to set up.”

Arthur will be back soon, so I’d better prepare quickly.

Time for the secret weapon I got ready for today.

First, Luwak Coffee.

I heard this is cat poop coffee.

‘Would Arthur know that?’

Of course not….

Best to keep it a secret.

Next.

Ssssssssss!

“Samgyeopsal, how could you resist this.”

Samgyeopsal after work?

No need to explain, it’s just heavenly.

The golden-brown scent alone is one blow.

The taste is the second.

Finally, Luwak Coffee.

A three-hit combo to knock them senseless.

Once the registration is finished, it’s perfect.

Churup.

What’s this?.

Where’s that drooling sound coming from?

A quick glance.

It’s Robin.

His eyes, which had been gazing out the window, are now fixed on the samgyeopsal.

Geez, he’s going to burn a hole in it.

He must really want some.

I pick up a piece with tongs and slide the samgyeopsal to the left.

His eyes dart that way.

‘Move it right?’

His eyes snap back.

This is fun….

Finally, when I put it on the grill—

Ssssssssss!

As it sizzles, drool starts dripping.

He’s going to swallow a fly at this rate.

“Are you hungry?”

As soon as I ask, he nods eagerly.

‘Wow.’

‘Didn’t know he could react that fast.’

‘That’s not the kind of character he was before.’

‘Huh?’

‘Wait, maybe…?’

“Wanna join the fixed team?”

Chance!

I try tempting him a little.

His eyes tremble.

Looks like he’s considering—

“…Too much trouble.”

Darn.

Can’t get past his wall of laziness.

Well, can’t be helped.

Back to grilling.

[Chaos Tower 3rd Floor cleared.]

[Auto-hunting complete.]

Oh, it’s over.

This time took a bit longer.

Arthur?

[Chaos Tower 3rd Floor Conquered!]

[Level Up!]

[Clear Reward – 40 Lower-grade Magic Stones]

[Clear Time – 00:03:47]

[World Record Achieved!]

[Bonus Reward – Key Fragment of Chaos]

“You’re back— Oh? What’s that?!”

Arthur announces his presence the moment he steps out.

That’s our Arthur.

“Have you tried samgyeopsal before?”

“Sam? Don’t know! Are you giving me some?!”

“Of course.”

Before he starts grabbing with his hands, I hand him chopsticks.

‘Slip a pair to Robin as well?’

‘What?’

‘Why are you looking at me like that.’

“Don’t worry, I’m not actually going to use food as blackmail.”

“I was kidding, don’t worry. Just eat before you go.”

Let’s eat.

After all, we’re working to eat.

First bite is mine.

***

Hwarang, Baekhodan, Tower of Magic, Iron Blood Gate, Mountain Lord.

The heads of the top five guilds of the Raid Coalition have gathered.

For an emergency meeting.

‘The agenda?’

A mysterious hunter.

“Still no clue about their identity?”

“The ones who were in the raid said it was a ghost.”

“Come on, it’s not a ghost.”

“Still, logically it doesn’t make sense. How did they even get in, in the first place?”

Yeah…

Feels like being haunted.

‘Somebody invaded the Monthly Boss zone midway?’

It makes no sense.

But what’s even more unbelievable—

“Is that damage even possible?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I couldn’t even dream of doing that much. How about you, Hwarang?”

“Same here.”

Guild Master of Hwarang, Baek Hwarang.

Currently 2nd highest cleared floor in Korea.

Awakening grade, officially recognized A-class by the Administration Bureau.

So what.

“No way.”

A mysterious vagrant who scored 12% contribution with a single arrow.

“You think anyone could replicate that?”

“No way.”

“Not even I Bojun, the number one on the rankings, could do that.”

“I wonder what rewards he got.”

Materialistic maniacs.

A mysterious hunter appeared and all they care about is the loot.

“He probably didn’t get the core. At best, maybe some shell or meat.”

“The Mana Stones?”

“That’s… is it even worth worrying about?”

“It was Hwarang’s turn this time, too. What a shame.”

“We’ll just get it in five months.”

But even Baek Hwarang can’t hide his disappointment.

He tries to act cool.

But just thinking about the materials makes his insides twist.

‘100 Mid Grade Mana Stones?’

Not even a second thought.

For the top 5 guilds, that amount’s easy to earn.

The real problem is the material items.

Meat, which drops fairly often.

Shell, which drops rarely.

The core, with a hellish drop rate.

“Hwarang, if you get the core, does that mean you’ll finally have the materials for a weapon?”

“Yeah. If any guilds have one in stock, please contact me.”

“Uh… we’re out of stock….”

“Same here….”

Didn’t expect much anyway.

Who’d hand over such materials.

Turn them into weapons or armor and their value multiplies many times over.

“Haha, what a shame.”

“It’s fine.”

“Ordinary people picking up those materials can’t use them anyway.”

“Unless you’ve awakened a production-related job.”

“Mysterious hunter.”

“Whoever you are, if we find you, we’ll recruit you.”

“And snag those materials, too.”

“You can’t use them anyway, right?”

“So, you’re saying I could use them once a production-related worker appears? Like the life-type workers?”

“…Yeah.”

“Man, that’s great! Here, eat two pieces of meat each.”

Unexpected discovery.

Robin is a treasure trove of information.

You can make weapons out of the core or shell fragments.

And you can do it with workers.

Insane job.

All hail the Labor Management Office Head.

“Boss! I’m in! Arthur knows too! Give meat!”

“Yeah, you eat too, Arthur.”

“I eat!”

For now, I make a note about production-related workers.

And since we’ve eaten enough meat—

Arthur, let’s do the contract.

[Fixed Team Management]

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

One hand shakes the Luwak coffee packet.

The other, ready for a handshake.

The answer?

“I’m in, let’s do it!”

[Registered to Fixed Team.]

[Arthur (High-Grade)]

“Yes!”

That’s it.

But then.

Robin hesitantly raises a hand.

“Huh? Why? You want more meat?”

“…Me too.”

Huh?

“Why you?”

“Didn’t you say no?”

“…Thanks for the meat….”

“I heard! Arthur says, the meat was delicious! Thanks for giving it for free!”

Great job, translation feature.

But…

The Mid Grade Mana Stones Robin just brought in are already worth fifty million won, you know?

Not that I’d refuse, of course.

When there’s a chance, you have to take it.

“Shall we get started right away?”

First, let’s raise the grade.

[Using ‘Temporary Unique Skill Grade Up Coupon’.]

[Unique Skill Grade Up!]

[Maximum summonable range has increased.]

[Time left – 00:10:00]

Nice.

Time to send an invite to Robin.

[Fixed Team Management]

[Register to Fixed Team – Robin (Top-Grade)]

“…But next time….”

“Samgyeopsal!”

“You want more?”

Of course.

Even if you asked me to go catch a pig myself, I’d do it.

So, come on.

[Registered to Fixed Team.]

[Robin (Top-Grade)]

Robin seals the deal!

Current roster:

[Fixed Team Management]

[Arthur (High-Grade)]

[Robin (Top-Grade)]

[Empty Slot]

[Empty Slot]

[Empty Slot]

That’s five slots for now.

Probably more will open up later.

But seeing Arthur and Robin here already makes me feel secure.

Ding!

[※ There is a worker registered in the fixed team with a temporarily increased grade.]

[Until the summonable range matches, that worker can only be summoned once per week.]

‘Oh, come on.’

They don’t let anything slide.

Still, at least it’s not cancelled.

“I can see Arthur every day, and Robin once a week.”

“I’m in, good!”

‘…Good.’

‘Once a week?’

Honestly, that’s better.

Robin’s daily wage is 600,000 won.

If I called him every day, I’d go broke….

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

Starting tomorrow.

“Let’s go all out.”