MCT 06

Chapter 6

“There are two ways. Make them come on their own feet, or go out and scout them directly! But realistically, the second way is impossible, so we have to make them come to us. We need to put out a job recruitment notice.”

“How do we put out a notice?”

At my words, Brownie flew up high. Then, out of nowhere, it began shouting loudly into midair.

“Fairies of the Wind! I have a commission for you!”

I quietly watched what Brownie was doing.

A short while later, a breeze blew around us, and small creatures that looked as if they were wearing thin cloth over themselves revealed their forms one by one. Their size was identical to Brownie’s.

“We are recruiting new employees. Spread the word for us.”

“Pay up.”

“H-How much is it?”

“How far do you want us to spread the word? The further we spread it, the more expensive it gets.”

The Wind Fairies had quite a prickly personality.

Brownie turned back to look at me.

“How far should we spread the word? If we entrust it to these guys, they’ll spread rumors far and wide that we’re hiring employees. Of course, it costs that much more money.”

So these fairies act as a job recruitment platform.

“What’s the cheapest option?”

At my question, the Wind Fairies looked at me with expressions as if I were utterly pitiful.

“Around this area. A one-hour distance radius centered around the dungeon. That will be 1,000 eon.”

“What is the criteria for a one-hour distance?”

“You walking for one hour.”

If I walk for an hour… I can go about 4km. So it meant they would only spread rumors up to that exact range. Is that around twenty laps around a school track?

Currently, our dungeon’s budget was only 100,000 eon. We had to spend it as frugally as possible.

“Then please make it a one-hour distance for now.”

“Pay up.”

Among the coins Brownie gave me, there were a few with different materials and engraved patterns.

It seemed like coins of different units, but the problem was that I couldn’t pick out 1,000 eon myself.

Having no choice, I placed all the coins I had on my palm and said to the Wind Fairy.

“Take as much as the payment requires.”

The fairy flew over with an annoyed face and picked up a single silver coin, holding it tightly in its arms. Contrary to its facial expression, the way it hugged the coin made it quite obvious that it cherished it.

An octagonal silver coin is 1,000 eon, got it.

“Spend money generously next time you commission us. What’s with barely 1,000 eon?”

“If our dungeon does well, we’ll obviously spend a lot! And I heard you guys are having a hard time earning money lately too! Stop grumbling and go do your job!”

The complaining Wind Fairies departed, and Brownie flew over to me, huffing with anger.

“They’re just low-grade fairies who can only take commissions like this themselves! How dare they look down on us!”

“Will they really spread the word well?”

“A fairy always works as much as they are paid. They will definitely spread the rumors.”

However, I suddenly felt puzzled.

“Is it okay not to put up a detailed recruitment notice? We just simply said we were hiring employees. What if someone comes after hearing the rumor and gets disappointed because the conditions don’t match?”

“Only low-level fools listen carefully to rumors spread by low-grade Wind Fairies anyway.”

Brownie said, mimicking crossing its short arms.

“If you really want to lure in amazing monsters, you’d need to request at least intermediate-grade fairies or higher. Those guys would probably charge 1 million eon for a one-hour distance.”

“Money really is the best, huh……”

“Now, if we just wait one day, applicants will pour in!”

I looked at the exterior of the dungeon. At least on the outside, it looked perfectly fine.

A dungeon that was good-looking on the outside, but completely empty and lacking substance on the inside…….

If I were to describe this dungeon as a company, it was no different from a newly founded startup company.

Meaning it was way lower than a small-and-medium enterprise.

To think I fled to escape a toxic company, only to arrive at a startup…….

‘No! All big corporations started as startups too, right? It’s too early to be disappointed.’

I organized the dungeon management manual I had learned from the fairy in my mind so far.

A dungeon needs to gather two resources.

One is actual money used for operations, and the other is fear that will raise the dungeon’s notoriety and grow the Demon King’s power.

Both resources can be obtained from the adventurers who challenge the dungeon.

Therefore, we must devise a way to draw adventurers into the dungeon.

“Will monster applicants really pour in?”

“Of course! This is a large-scale dungeon directly run by the Demon King himself. It’s different from those mediocre instant dungeons!”

To monsters, did it feel like a big enterprise simply because it was run by a Demon King?

Or, since a Demon King is like a king to monsters… a state-owned enterprise?

Brownie said all we had to do was wait for about a day.

During that time, even though it was an empty dungeon with nothing in it, I inspected every nook and cranny carefully, and formed a plan in my head to run this place.

I have to pull this off somehow. Squeezing my brain, keeping the 10 billion won in mind.

The first night spent on a dirt bed was nothing short of horrific.

“Ugh…. If I earn a lot of money, I’m definitely buying a bed first.”

My whole body screamed in muscle pain.

My room was set up inside the office. It was a fantastic structure where I could go straight to work as soon as I woke up.

If the CEO of my previous company knew, he would have given a standing ovation, praising my devotion to the company, but in the first place, I didn’t even have an option.

“We have to save on lighting……”

The light sources inside the dungeon were limited. Torches dimly lit up the darkness at fixed intervals, which were said to be items that came as a bonus like a free service when purchasing the dungeon.

Fascinatingly, they were all fires created by magic, so they continued to burn without fuel.

However, because the brightness was weak, they couldn’t illuminate wide areas.

I took one of the torches hanging in the corridor and brought it inside the office.

And to drag that light into my room, I had no choice but to make my sleeping space inside the office.

“Did you sleep well? Hurry up and get ready! The job applicants are waiting outside!”

“What? Already?”

It said applicants would pour in after a day passed, but I had no idea they would come this quickly.

“If they were waiting, you should have woken me up earlier. Didn’t you make them stand outside for too long?”

“Fufun, you don’t know anything. This is all a test!”

“A test?”

“We’re testing their compliance! If they can’t express dissatisfaction even after waiting for a long time, won’t they endure overtime, power trips, and unreasonable workloads well later on too? If it’s a guy who cries and runs away because work is tough, it’s a waste of time.”

I looked at Brownie in utter disbelief.

Did that bastard reincarnate after the CEO of my previous company died? I feel like I need to peel off its clay skin to check.

“And enduring even if it’s tough means they’re that desperate. They’ll work like a slave even if you pay them a pittance.”

The word ‘devil’ reached the tip of my tongue, but I barely swallowed it.

“I… want to run the company—I mean, the dungeon—in an extremely humane way.”

I’m sick of black companies now. I want to attend a normal company!

“What does humane mean?”

“It means I want to treat employees properly.”

“Is that so? But you only have 100,000 eon in operational capital, you know? You spent 1,000 eon yesterday, so now it’s 99,000 eon.”

“…The applicants must be waiting. Let’s go quickly.”

“No, you stay here. I’ll call them in.”

Brownie tapped the desk and flew out with a breeze.

A short while later, the sound of murmuring along with multiple footsteps began to be heard from outside.

“Everyone standby here! The order starts with you as number 1! Enter one by one when your number is called!”

Brownie commanded with full authority.

With a trembling heart, I peeked through the crack of the door, only to hurriedly shut the door and sit down in my seat.

It was swarming with all kinds of ferocious-looking monsters…. To the point where I wanted to look for a God I didn’t even believe in.

What happens if the interviewer faints upon looking at the applicant?

I desperately craved calming medicine. There probably isn’t calming medicine in this world, right?

“Are you ready? Should I let them in? Ah, I collected the applicants’ résumés here. They’ll come in according to the order placed on top.”

Brownie placed a stack of papers on top of the desk. The number was quite large.

“Phew, phew…. I can do this. I have to pull it off.”

To compose my mind, I took deep breaths earnestly, and….

“10 billion won, 10 billion won….”

I chanted 10 billion won like a spell. Then, surprisingly, my mind calmed down rapidly.

“Alright, send them in.”

In response to my approval, the door opened.

“Hello. Clack.”

A skeleton draped in worn-out armor creaked forward and bowed deeply from the waist.

I barely swallowed back a scream. An unnervingly realistic human skeleton was right before my eyes.

…If only the applicant before my eyes had muscle and skin attached, it would have been a truly ordinary interview setting.

With hands trembling violently, I picked up the paper placed at the very top.

Feel free to share Chapter 7 whenever you are ready!