MTC 07

Chapter : 7

Monster Company Tycoon

 Beneath the Small ID Photo, a Name Was Written.

Skeleton.

Work experience, certifications, motivation for applying, personal statement…

It was surprisingly identical to an ordinary résumé, leaving me momentarily stunned.

There was something strangely ironic about the fact that monsters could properly fill out résumés and even attend job interviews.

If I had to point out a difference, it was that instead of personal information, there was a section labeled “Combat Information.”

Race type, level, attack power and defense, attributes, special abilities, and so on…

It contained detailed monster information that looked like something straight out of a game guide.

As for the Skeleton… I felt a little bad saying this, but no matter how I looked at it, it was nothing more than a “mook”—the kind of monster that served as a combat power measuring stick for dungeon challengers.

You know, the kind of underling that turned into a handful of experience points early in a dungeon before meeting a glorious end.

“Your level is 5, your attack power is 100, and your defense is 50…”

“I know my stats are far from sufficient to join such a large-scale dungeon, but if you hire me, I will work with all my heart and soul! Rattle.”

If you put your heart and soul into it, wouldn’t you simply cease to exist?

The interviewee’s nervous attitude and his desperate desire to get hired suddenly moved me.

At my previous company, I had been in charge of human resources and attended every interview without exception.

The physiognomist who had hired me stopped participating in interviews after I joined the company. From what I had casually heard, I had essentially taken over that position.

Apparently, I could trust my eyes and instincts.

I had sat in a similar position and met countless job seekers. Because the economy had been struggling, even a black company like ours had a steady stream of applicants.

Their appearances might have been different, but the desperation to become a member of society was the same, regardless of race…

I looked at the Skeleton, but its horrifying appearance made me hurriedly lower my head again.

I just couldn’t get used to it.

No matter what, I had to face the interviewee and conduct the interview, but my timid heart simply couldn’t take it.

Monsters in games and monsters in real life were on completely different levels of realism!

As I wondered if there was some way around this, I suddenly remembered the glasses I was wearing.

I had mild astigmatism from birth and had worn glasses since childhood.

My round glasses, along with my small stature, were major reasons I had earned the nickname “Chihuahua.”

If I took off my glasses… everything would look blurry, so wouldn’t that make it easier?

I cautiously took off my glasses as a test and placed them on the desk. Then I looked at the interviewee again.

The Skeleton’s figure appeared blurred and indistinct, making things much better.

That worked!

“Let’s see…”

Fortunately, I could still read the text if I squinted and looked at it from close up.

The personal statement, carefully written one character at a time, caught my eye.

[Ever since I developed a sense of self, I have lived under the teachings of my Necromancer, who emphasized diligence and taught me to become a responsible monster…]

“…”

Just in case, I checked the résumé directly below it. It belonged to a low-ranking Goblin.

[I was born as the eldest son among one boy and two girls, under the care of a cruel father and an indifferent mother…]

How could personal statements be exactly the same even in a different world?

Was there some kind of interdimensional template? The same clichéd personal statement format I had read countless times was being repeated here.

In the end, I turned my attention away from the personal statement and looked at the work experience section instead.

“You have two part-time jobs in instance dungeons and one position as a field boss’s assistant?”

So you really are a mook.

“Yes! That’s correct! Rattle.”

… I had decided to adapt by thinking of the dungeon as a company. And if I wanted it to become a good company, I needed outstanding employees more than anything else.

From this moment on, I had to bring every bit of experience I had accumulated while working in human resources to bear in separating the gems from the stones.

The employees hired here would determine the future of the dungeon.

I had to take this seriously.

My eyes gleaming with determination, I opened my mouth.

“What kind of duties were you mainly responsible for?”

“In an instance dungeon, I was assigned to guard the entrance and the first floor! Rattle.”

Every time the Skeleton opened its mouth, its jawbones clattered against each other, making a noisy rattling sound.

“To avoid wasting the resources of the high-ranking monsters guarding the deeper floors, my role was to filter out challengers with below-average combat power at the beginning! Rattle.”

I told you it was a combat power measuring stick.

“Then, about your work as a field boss’s assistant… What exactly did that involve?”

“When the field boss launched a raid, I was responsible for filling out the numbers! Rattle.”

So you were in charge of the “getting ganged up on” part of the saying, “There’s no winning against overwhelming numbers.”

“I also coordinated with the other team members assigned alongside me, making sure not to break formation. I fought with all my strength to give the impression that the field boss possessed an overwhelming army and exceptional command abilities! Rattle.”

Good grief. I swallowed a groan.

Even if I hired this Skeleton for our dungeon, it seemed that the only role I could give it would be guarding the first floor.

“The only ones who take rumors spread by low-ranking wind fairies seriously are the low-level fools.”

Was this the average talent pool our dungeon could expect?

Still, this monster must have some strengths of its own.

I steeled myself and continued asking questions.

“What was the most difficult thing you experienced while fighting?”

“Being taken out by a mage’s area-of-effect spell before I could even swing my sword properly! Rattle.”

Suddenly, my head began to ache.

I could vividly imagine the Skeleton getting caught in an area attack and being blown to pieces in an instant, serving only to improve the challengers’ sense of impact.

“But my mission was, above all, to stop the challengers’ advance! Even after my entire body was smashed to pieces, I clung to a challenger’s ankle with my jawbone! If the tiny wound I leave behind eventually leads to a challenger’s downfall, then I believe I will have fulfilled my role! Rattle.”

Oh, that was a fairly monster-like mentality.

Although it was weak, I had to give it credit for its sheer determination.

In fact, while talented employees were important, people with diligence and a sense of responsibility were important, too.

Those were the very qualities I had paid the most attention to during interviews.

A company was, after all, an organizational society. You couldn’t help but want people who worked well with others and kept things running smoothly rather than people who insisted on standing out on their own. Besides, the truly exceptional candidates would obviously never last even a week at our company.

“I’m impressed by your determination to complete your assigned duties even in difficult circumstances.”

“Thank you! Rattle.”

After that, I continued asking questions about various parts of the résumé to get a better understanding of the interviewee.

As expected, I’m not sensing anything particularly special. Is it time to examine things more objectively?

I scanned the Skeleton’s combat information and also examined the résumé of the low-ranking Goblin placed directly below it for comparison.

The Goblin had an attack power of 50 and a defense of 100. Its stats were not significantly different from the Skeleton’s.

With numbers like these, how well could they hold back adventurers? I still couldn’t get a clear sense of it.

The Skeleton’s race type was Undead. It had no attribute. Its only special attack skill was “Slash (F).”

I looked away from the résumé and examined the interviewee’s equipment.

A shabby suit of armor and a sword with chipped edges in several places.

If its abilities were lacking, at least its equipment should have been good. But it seemed unlikely that such gear could compensate for its low stats.

“Your equipment…”

“Oh, my comrades gave this to me from among the best equipment in the graveyard and told me to do well at the interview! Rattle.”

For a moment, I felt a lump rise in my throat, so I quickly bit my lip.

It reminded me of a young newcomer to the workforce who had borrowed a suit to attend a job interview.

These were the hardest moments. The moments when someone’s future was decided by a single word from me.

How could I possibly bring myself to tell someone like that they had failed?

Thanks to that thought, my perspective became a little more flexible.

If the salary was low, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to hire the candidate and let them gain some experience.

If the problem was that the applicants were weak, hiring several of them and overwhelming the enemy with sheer numbers was also an option, wasn’t it?

“By the way, what salary are you hoping for?”

The Skeleton visibly tensed at my question.

It wasn’t really a question I would normally ask at this stage.

“I, I…”

“Please feel free to tell me.”

“I’m hoping for a weekly wage of 500 eon! Rattle.”

A weekly wage? Not even a monthly salary? And it was only 500 eon?

Even if I calculated it based on four weeks, that came to around 2,000 eon a month.

“Are you really asking for just 500 eon?”

Just how expensive was the cost of living in this place?

The currency unit was different, of course, but perhaps because of the way it sounded, it somehow felt as though I were paying someone only 2,000 won a month. It left me feeling strangely unsettled.

“I-If that’s too much of a burden, I’m willing to negotiate! If you would just hire me, I would gladly accept even less…!”

Wait, you were willing to go even lower?

The dungeon’s remaining operating funds were 99,000 eon.

If I paid around 2,000 eon a month from that amount…

“I’ll let you know the interview results later. Thank you for taking the time to come here.”

For now, I should check the circumstances of the other monsters as well.

I might really have to resort to overwhelming our opponents with sheer numbers.

“Yes! I look forward to hearing from you!”

The Skeleton must have been incredibly nervous throughout the interview. I could see its legs trembling as it walked out of the room.