Monster Company Tycoon Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 

Beneath the small ID photo, a name was written.

Skeleton.

There were sections for work experience, certifications, motivation for applying, and even a personal statement……

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

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

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

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

It contained detailed monster information of the sort you’d normally find in 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 “trash mob,” the kind of monster that served as a combat power measuring stick for dungeon challengers.

You know, the kind of underling that valiantly perished in the early stages of a dungeon, becoming a handful of experience points.

“Level five, attack power 100, defense 50……”

“I know my qualifications are severely lacking for employment at such a large dungeon, but if you hire me, I will work diligently with the determination to give my very bones and marrow! Clatter.”

If you give your very bones and marrow, won’t you just cease to exist?

The applicant’s nervous demeanor and desperate desire to get hired suddenly touched my heart.

At my previous company, I’d been in charge of HR, so I’d attended every interview without exception.

The face reader who had hired me stopped participating in interviews after I joined the company. From what I’d casually heard, I’d essentially taken over that role.

I was told that I could trust my eyes and instincts.

I’d sat in a similar position and met countless job seekers. Since the economy was bad, there had been a steady stream of applicants even at a black company like ours.

Their appearances might have been different, but the desperate desire to become members 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 conduct the interview face-to-face with the applicant, but my timid heart couldn’t take it.

The monsters I saw in games and the monsters I saw in real life were on completely different levels of realism!

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

I’d had mild astigmatism since birth, so I’d worn glasses from a young age.

Along with my small stature, my round glasses had played a major role in earning me the nickname Chihuahua.

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

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

The skeleton’s form appeared blurry and indistinct, making things much better.

Success!

“Let’s see……”

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

My eyes fell upon the personal statement, which had been written with care, one character at a time.

[Ever since I first gained self-awareness, I have been taught by Lord Necromancer, who emphasized diligence and instructed me to become a responsible monster……]

“……”

On a hunch, I checked the other résumé directly beneath it. It belonged to a low-ranking goblin.

[I was born as the only son among one boy and two girls under the care of a cruel father and a cold-hearted mother……]

How were personal statements all the same even in a different world?

I wondered if there was some kind of interdimensional universal template, because the same cliché résumé format I’d read countless times was repeating itself word for word.

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

“Two stints as a part-time worker at instant dungeons and one stint as an assistant to a field boss. I see.”

You really are a trash mob, aren’t you?

“Yes! That’s correct! Clatter.”

…I had decided to adapt by thinking of the dungeon as a company. Therefore, if we wanted to become a good company, we needed excellent employees above all else.

From this moment on, I had to mobilize every bit of experience I’d accumulated working in HR to separate the gems from the stones.

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

I had to take this seriously.

My eyes gleamed as I opened my mouth.

“What kind of duties did you primarily handle?”

“At the instant dungeon, I was assigned to guard the entrance and the first floor! Clatter.”

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

“To avoid wasting the resources of the high-ranking monsters guarding the deeper sections, I was responsible for filtering out challengers with below-average combat power in the early stages! Clatter.”

I told you it was a combat power measuring stick.

“Then, about your experience assisting a field boss… what kind of work did that involve?”

“I was responsible for filling out the numbers when the field boss launched a raid! Clatter.”

So you were the one responsible for the “numbers” in the saying that there’s no winning against a group beating you up.

“Additionally, I coordinated with the other team members assigned alongside me, fought without breaking formation, and did my best to give the impression that the field boss possessed an overwhelming army and outstanding leadership! Clatter.”

Ugh.

I swallowed a groan.

Even if I hired this skeleton for our dungeon, it seemed the only role I could entrust to it would be guarding the first-floor entrance.

“Only lousy guys pay attention to rumors spread by low-ranking wind fairies anyway.”

Was this the average level of talent our dungeon could expect to attract?

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! Clatter.”

My head suddenly began to throb.

I couldn’t help imagining the skeleton being instantly blown apart by an area attack, doing nothing but increasing the challengers’ sense of impact.

“However, my duty was always to stop the challengers’ advance! Even after my entire body was smashed to pieces, I clung to their ankles with my jawbone! If even one small wound I leave behind eventually leads to a challenger’s defeat, I believe that alone means I’ve fulfilled my role! Clatter.”

Oh, that was a fairly monster-like mentality.

Although it was weak, its tenacity was certainly worth recognizing.

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

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

A company was, after all, an organization. You couldn’t help wanting people who worked well with others rather than those who insisted on standing out on their own. Besides, the truly talented people were unlikely to last even a week at our company anyway.

“Your determination to fulfill your duties even in difficult circumstances is impressive.”

“Thank you! Clatter.”

I continued asking questions about various parts of the résumé to get a better understanding of the applicant.

As expected, nothing particularly special stands out. Is it time to take a more objective look?

I skimmed through the skeleton’s combat information and also examined the résumé of the low-ranking goblin directly beneath it for comparison.

The goblin’s attack power was 50, and its defense was 100. There wasn’t much difference between it and the skeleton.

With stats like these, how well could they actually hold back adventurers? I still didn’t have a good feel for it.

The skeleton’s race type was undead. Its attribute was none. Its only special attack skill was “Slash (F).”

I took my eyes off the résumé and examined the applicant’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 didn’t look as though that gear could make up for its low stats.

“About that equipment……”

“Oh, my comrades gave it to me from the best equipment in our graveyard, telling me to do well in the interview! Clatter.”

For a moment, I felt a lump rise in my throat and hurriedly bit my lip.

It reminded me of a fresh graduate borrowing a suit to attend a job interview.

These were the hardest moments. The moments when the future of the person before me hinged on a single word from my mouth.

How could I bring myself to say the word “rejected”?

Thanks to that thought, my perspective softened a little.

If the salary was low, wouldn’t it be worth hiring the skeleton just to give it some experience?

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

“Do you have a desired salary in mind?”

The skeleton visibly tensed at my question.

It wasn’t a question that would normally come up at this stage of the interview, though.

“I-I……”

“Please feel free to tell me.”

“I would like a weekly wage of 500 eon! Clatter.”

A weekly wage, not a monthly one? And it only wanted 500 eon?

Even if I calculated it based on four weeks, that would only amount to about 2,000 eon a month.

“Really? Just 500 eon?”

Just how expensive was the cost of living around here?

The currency unit was different, but perhaps because of how the amount sounded, I couldn’t help feeling strangely unsettled, as though it were working for a monthly salary of 2,000 won.

“I-If that’s too much of a burden, I’m willing to negotiate! If you’ll just hire me, I’ll accept any amount…!”

And it was willing to go even lower?

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

If I paid around 2,000 eon a month……

“We’ll inform you of the interview results later. Thank you for taking the time to come.”

I needed to assess the other monsters first.

We might really have to resort to overwhelming challengers with sheer numbers.

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

The skeleton had been so nervous throughout the interview that I could see its legs trembling as it walked out.