Chapter 21: New Employee (2)

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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Chapter 21: New Employee (2)

Yon blocked Beryl's way, sweating nervously.

"I understand you're upset, but please calm down…."

Beryl, seemingly enraged, shoved Yon aside.

"Upset? Me? Ha! Get out of the way!"

"Ugh!"

Yon, surprised by Beryl's unexpected strength, stumbled backward.

Seeing Yon get pushed back so easily, Beryl snorted.

"Calling these weaklings heroes..."

Even though the Administrator had asked him to take care of the new recruits, this was clearly crossing the line.

However, neither V, Hyeok, nor any other staff dared to challenge Beryl recklessly.

It was only natural.

The average stat of the others was around 15, while Beryl's stats exceeded 20.

Yon and the others were also 7th rank, like Beryl, but not all 7th ranks had the same abilities.

They knew this instinctively.

Of course, this one-sided violence was about to end.

- Thud.

Seongjin caught Yon just before he fell.

"A-Administrator?!"

Yon's eyes widened in surprise.

After helping Yon up, Seongjin stepped in front of Beryl.

Beryl wore a puzzled expression, unable to comprehend who would dare block their way now.

"And who are you?"

Despite the hostility in the tone, Seongjin smiled and answered Beryl’s question.

"I'm the person you were looking for."

For a moment, the air grew heavy.

Beryl instinctively lowered their head, overwhelmed by the sudden pressure.

And they understood.

The man standing before them was the Administrator of this place.

'...What is this overwhelming presence?'

The goddess had clearly said that those who gathered here were heroes.

She had said that under the Administrator's command, even Beryl could become a hero and save the world.

Of course, Beryl, having lived through countless mercenary jobs, knew those were just sweet lies.

Even so, there was one reason Beryl accepted the contract.

'...This is really going to be profitable.'

Creatures, corporations, world peace—none of that mattered to Beryl.

The only thing that mattered was this:

'As long as I can get rid of that Administrator.'

Once the Administrator was out of the way, the entire company and all those so-called heroes would be absorbed into Beryl's mercenary group.

After that, Beryl would make even more money.

'More money!'

It was possible.

With that singular purpose driving them, Beryl moved.

Swoosh—

Their fist clenched.

Who was Beryl?

‘I’m Beryl of the Oak Shield Mercenary Group!’

Clenching their teeth, Beryl threw a punch.

Beryl was one of the strongest even within their mercenary group.

There weren’t many who could withstand a punch from Beryl.

If the punch landed, the fight would be over instantly.

Beryl was confident in that.

Swooooosh—

Smack!

...?

Their head was ringing.

‘...What?!’

It was Beryl who threw the punch, but somehow, their fist didn’t reach Seongjin.

Instead, Seongjin was planting a knee right into Beryl’s face.

Staggering back, Beryl clutched their face.

“Huh, I guess since your endurance is at a superhuman level, it didn’t even make a dent.”

The man in front of them murmured to himself.

Panicking, Beryl rubbed their face.

But the pain they had just felt was already gone.

And the confusion didn’t stop there.

"Looks like the only way to make someone like you listen is to make them roll a bit, huh?"

Seongjin snapped his fingers a few times in the air, and soon a blue portal appeared in front of them.

The words [Kobold Raid] appeared on it, along with the numbers 1/5.

Beryl instinctively sensed something.

The man in front of them—Seongjin—had done something.

- Do not give unknown beings time.

It was a lesson from their mercenary leader.

Beryl knew that all too well and instinctively threw another punch.

“Aaaah!”

The punch flew fast, but just before it could reach Seongjin, a blue light engulfed Beryl.

“Gah!”

The smell of something burning and the sound of screams echoed in their ears.

“Aaaah!”

“Run! Kobolds have appeared!”

By the time Beryl regained their senses.

[Subdue the creatures. Identify and isolate the cause of the strange phenomenon overtaking the village!]

They were already there.

Cackling noises filled the air.

Beryl’s eyes caught sight of hundreds of Kobolds.

“What the hell!”

Cackling, three Kobolds began charging toward Beryl from the distance.

“What the hell is this?!”

Though Beryl was shouting in panic, his body had already picked up a weapon from the ground.

Screeech!

"Damn it!"

Beryl effortlessly sliced through the charging kobold with the rusty sword he had picked up from the floor.

* * *

"Ad-Administrator, are you okay?"

Yon and other staff members rushed over to check on my condition.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You guys okay?"

I casually glanced over, and Yon seemed relatively unscathed.

"Yes, thanks to you, Administrator, we’re fine."

Of course, it was the waiting room, so no one got physically hurt, but who knows what was going on inside their heads.

After all, the newbie had pretty much stood up to a senior.

"It's a relief you're okay. So, do you think you can properly teach the new recruits?"

Yon hesitated at my question.

‘Seems like he’s not okay after all.’

Well, I had no intention of letting Yon train Beryl anyway.

‘The rookie doesn't respect his seniors, a type of villain I’ve dealt with many times before.’

Besides, mercenaries were usually a tough lot.

If you didn't break their spirits early, managing them later would be difficult.

‘Breaking them with force is one way, but...’

I noticed something during that brief skirmish earlier.

Maybe it was because my endurance had reached the level of a superhuman, but I didn’t really feel like their attacks were effective.

‘As expected of a tank.’

Plus, Beryl had decent strength stats as well.

Though I didn't expect Beryl to suddenly throw a punch, with my sixth sense, I easily dodged it.

Even if a fight had broken out, I wouldn’t have lost.

But I also wouldn't choose to fight.

‘That would be a foolish move.’

True victory is achieved without expending unnecessary effort.

And with administrator privileges, I could accomplish more than that.

‘Training while earning points—how great is that?’

I subtly glanced down at the isolation zone.

[Kobold Raid (1/5)]

The words on the display made me smile.

It wasn’t complicated.

It just meant there was only one person currently managing the kobold raid.

Holding back the laughter bubbling up inside, I patted Yon on the shoulder.

"I’ll personally take care of that big guy, so don’t worry."

"...Yes. Thank you."

"Make sure you train the others properly. If anyone causes trouble, let me know."

I sent Yon and the other staff members away.

I couldn’t keep them here forever, as they had new recruits to train.

It was my way of taking special measures.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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[Grade 7 employee ‘Beryl’ has successfully managed the Kobold Raid. (+23 points)]

A completion message appeared before me right about then.

And just as the hologram flashed up—

"Aaaaaaah!"

Beryl reappeared, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Well, whatever.

My attention was solely focused on the points.

‘Wow, this mercenary group is more effective than I thought.’

The maximum number of points you can earn from a Kobold Raid is 17.

But Beryl had managed to bring in 23 points all on his own.

Even excluding the company’s achievements, he had earned an extra 5 points.

‘I was only going to run him through 30 rounds, but...’

I couldn’t help but feel greedy when I saw how efficient Beryl was at point farming.

‘First, 30 rounds as punishment for shoving Yon.’

Then 70 more rounds for creating an intimidating atmosphere.

And finally, 100 rounds for disrespecting the administrator.

Hmm, that should do it.

[Do you wish to manage the ‘Kobold Raid’?]

“Approve.”

[Beryl is entering the ‘Kobold Raid’.]

“Huh, huh?!”

Beryl, who had just escaped moments ago, was sucked back into the blue portal.

I glanced at the stone tablet.

[Assigned Points: 500]

[Proof of Worth. 1/1]

[Remaining Time: 49 hours, 55 minutes.]

“Perfect timing.”

Thirty rounds?

Not even close.

If I keep him running right until the Executor’s next visit, we could easily get through 200 rounds.

[Grade 7 employee ‘Beryl’ has successfully managed the Kobold Raid. (+23 points)]

“Argh! I’m going to kill you, Administrator!”

Having quickly finished off the creatures, Beryl approached me, panting heavily.

I waved at him cheerfully.

“Wow~ As expected of a Grade 7 with high mental strength. You still look fine, huh?”

[Beryl is entering the ‘Kobold Raid’.]

It’ll be interesting to see how long he can keep that mental toughness.

“Hiccup.”

“Ugh.”

I turned my head toward the direction of the noises and noticed the gathered employees.

"Everyone, get back to your work."

Startled, they quickly dispersed.

Looking closer, I realized their faces had gone pale.

I wondered if they were unwell, but then decided to stop worrying about it.

Right now, the most important thing was watching the points Beryl was racking up.

Well, actually, it's the training—right?

[Beryl is entering the ‘Kobold Raid’.]

Until the first 30 rounds, I couldn’t shake Beryl’s spirit.

“So, that’s all you’ve got? Just three kobolds? Hahaha.”

“Getting used to the Kobold Raid?”

“Hah! Do you think I’ll break from just kobolds?!”

But after 60 laps.

[Beryl was overwhelmed by the 'Kobold Raid'...]

“K-Kobolds. Ugh.”

“Have you thought about apologizing to Yon?”

“Why should I?!"

100 laps.

[Beryl was... overrun by kobolds...]

"Have you come to your senses yet?"

“...”

“No answer, huh?”

At 150 laps.

“Alright, now do you feel like apologizing...?”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“That doesn't sound sincere.”

Just the mere gesture of me raising my hand was enough to send him into a panic.

The brave face he had shown at first had long since disappeared.

“Administrator, I was wrong. Please stop. Please...”

Beryl was crawling on the floor, clinging to my leg and sobbing.

I glanced at the monument.

[Points Allocated: 500]

[Proof of Worth: 1/1]

[Time Remaining: 7 minutes]

Honestly, I wanted to push him a little further, but the time was getting tight.

[Points Held: 3,950]

‘...What a shame.’

Just from punishing Beryl alone, I had earned nearly 3,000 points over the past two days.

At this point, it surpassed the weekly earnings of most gold-ranked companies.

‘I want to push it further...’

But unfortunately, the point-earning stops here.

In just a few moments, the Executor would arrive, so all operations had to cease.

I smacked my lips in regret.

Of course, I didn’t forget to check whether the discipline had been properly instilled.

"Right? Now you'll listen to Yon, won’t you?"

At the mention of Yon's name, Beryl's eyes and lips trembled slightly.

“I’m far more...”

What’s needed in moments like this is making sure they understand rank.

And the most effective way is to make them understand the authority that comes with that rank.

“Oh, right! The Kobold Raid is under Yon's jurisdiction. So even if it’s not me, Yon could also throw you back in.”

“...He's my senior. Of course, I’ll follow his words.”

Speak of the devil, and he appears.

“Administrator, I’ve sent all the employees except a few back to the dormitory.”

Yon, having completed the tasks I assigned, approached.

At that moment, Beryl’s body trembled violently.

The effect was immediate.

[Grade 7 employee ‘Mari’ successfully managed the Kobold Warlord. (+21 points)]

[Grade 7 employee ‘Khan’ successfully managed the Kobold Tablets. (+12 points)]

Mari and Khan also completed their tasks and returned to the waiting room.

"Yay!"

“...Looks like it’s time.”

Everyone except Mari seemed tense, their bodies stiff.

It was natural.

‘It seems Yoo’s previous performance had left a lasting impression.’

After witnessing such overwhelming power, it was only natural to feel intimidated.

[Time Remaining: 00:01... 0]

The time had come.

Creeeaaak—

The front gate of the company, straight ahead of the waiting room, opened.

“Well, well, it seems you've come out to greet me in advance.”

A blonde, dazzling man glowing with golden light appeared.

It was the Knight King, Nice.

Khan and Yon relaxed when they realized it wasn’t Yoo who had entered through the gate.

But I couldn't relax yet.

‘...Now, it’s time for the second deal.’

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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