Line #31 Literature/TheDungeonCleaningLifeOfAOnceGeniusHunter


1	[[quoteright:689:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thedungeoncleaninglifeofaoncegeniushunter_5.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:689:"GET CLEANING, YOU MORON"]]
3
4	->''"Now then... time to wipe these shits clean."''
5	-->-- '''Junu Kim'''
6
7	''The Dungeon Cleaning Life of a Once Genius Hunter'' or ''Clever Cleaning Life Of The Returned Genius Hunter'' is a comedy/action webnovel by Dalbeat and has been adapted in manhwa by Goilgoil, it's currently running on {{Platform/Webtoon}}. In a modern world riddled with dungeons and hunters, Junu Kim was the top hunter in the world, the first and only SSS class hunter. His life is sadly cut short during a carefully organized ambush by a powerful weapon. However, he is [[MentalTimeTravel sent back 10 years in the past]] by the system... as a dungeon cleaner, as karma for being a [[{{Jerkass}} massive prick.]] His overpowered skills are locked behind achievements, and he has 5 years to become Secretary General of the International Superpower Association or else the System will let him die for good.
8
9	With nothing but his experience, wit, and crappy personality, he attempts to unlock all his skills and regain the fame of his previous life. But between the terrible position of cleaner, the corrupt officials of the Association and the dungeons themselves, his goals are very, ''very'' far away from him.
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11	The manhwa adaptation can be [[https://www.webtoons.com/en/action/the-dungeon-cleaning-life-of-a-once-genius-hunter/list?title_no=4677 read here]].
12	----
13	!!This series provides examples of:
14	* AlmightyJanitor: Quite literally, both as the series' main premise, and joke. Junu is stuck as a cleaner, but his [[BroughtDownToBadass knowledge, experience and talent dwarves those of hunters.]] And once he gets some of his skills back, he singlehandedly clears dungeons within minutes and [[{{Pun}} wipes the floor]] with entire teams of hunters. The higher ups become both annoyed and (rightfully) terrified of him for those reasons.
15	* BadBoss: The International Association puts up a legitimate front, but towards the top, they are no different from organized crime. It doesn't take much for underlings to get murdered for [[YouHaveFailedMe failing]] or annoying their bosses.
16	* BargainWithHeaven: The System has given Junu a second chance in return for carrying out various reforms in the hunters' associations on its behalf. If he fails to become the secretary-general of the international association within five years, he dies for good.
17	* BerserkButton: [[HairTriggerTemper Junu gets pissed off at a lot of things,]] one of them being when his [[NeatFreak "OCD" passive skill triggers.]] But his rage reached its peak when a couple of E Rank Hunters purposely trashed dungeons with [[CouldntFindAPen insults in monster blood on the walls,]] and spreading out the corpses just to spite the cleaning team for ''4 days straight.'' With his passive going absolutely ham, he told the team to stop cleaning the dungeon, stomped his way into Seoul HQ, found the two Hunters, [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom slapped them (and a summon) into submission,]] added that his team won't be cleaning up after them anymore, and if they're not happy with it, [[ImpliedDeathThreat to settle this in a dungeon.]]
18	* BreakTheHaughty: Junu, the [[WorldsStrongestMan strongest hunter on Earth,]] [[MasterOfAll who mastered all the classes,]] and has [[TheAce skills for everything and anything...]] reduced to a bottom of the ladder cleaner, and has no choice but to play with the cards he's dealt to get his skills back. He despises his predicament and wants to quit without a second thought, but being quite literally run through the dirt is slowly giving him some well needed [[LaserGuidedKarma karma]] and [[CharacterDevelopment lessons to learn.]]
19	* BrokenBird: In the original timeline, Ahyoung Lee is a stoic and almost robotic woman. Junu presumes she was traumatized by the fallout when her father was plotted against, victim of a FrameUp, and forced to resign, with her being demoted as a casualty. In the new timeline, Junu's interference prevents this from happening and she remains sociable.
20	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Junu is [[SirSwearsALot rude,]] loud, has next to no respect for most people, and an overhaul {{Jerkass}} who only [[ItsAllAboutMe truly watches out for his own interests.]] He was also the [[WorldsStrongestMan best hunter in the world]] in his previous life with all the experience that comes with it, has tons of information and knowledge about [[TheAce dungeons, monsters, classes, strategies, management, fighting techniques, skills and the current status of large organizations]] which also carried over from his previous life, and when he finally has access to his skills... Next to nothing can resist him, from bosses to hunters. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking He's damn good at cleaning too.]]
21	* CharacterDevelopment: One of the series' main draw is watching the [[{{Jerkass}} incredibly dislikable protagonist Junu]] slowly learn his lessons, mellow out and develop some sense of sympathy for others. Starting out as looking down on dungeon cleaners like everyone else, he eventually realizes how heavy the workload for them is, as well as the crappy circumstances they are within the association. While he still mainly works towards the betterment of the team to unlock his skills, it becomes clear that his intentions towards his fellow coworkers are slowly transforming into [[TookALevelInKindness something more genuine.]]
22	* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Junu develops a reputation for it in the new timeline. Even in the previous timeline, Junu was willing to put his life on the line in the course of duty, but he wasn't the type to go out of his way to protect those who are not his responsibility. In the new timeline, both his allies and enemies have concluded that he is some sort of self-sacrificing hero.
23	* CreateYourOwnHero: In the original timeline, Junu was the WorldsStrongestMan and a famous hunter, but his only influence over politics was over the Korean Hunter Association, and even there, it was pretty limited. He also didn't have any interest or stake in international politics anyways. Then, someone with influence, most likely the International Association itself, assassinated him, probably out of TallPoppySyndrome, sending him back in time. In the new timeline, conflict between them starts with one petty incident where Junu prevents the International Association from stealing a McGuffin called the "Time Stone" like they did in the previous timeline. From there, the vendetta between him and the International Association escalates out of control when in the previous timeline, he wasn't even a player in their games.
24	* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Forbidden skills. They grant tremendous power, but slowly turn the user into something inhuman. As such, the international consensus has been to ban them and seal off all paths of obtaining them. [[spoiler:Of course, shady groups like the International Association don't care about the moral complications and treat this as a convenient method of keeping a secret monopoly on said skills. They maintain a roster of elite assassins they imbue with said skills in order to dispatch their enemies.]]
25	* DeathActivatedSuperpower: Junu unlocks the "Karma" hidden skill after the System confirms his death, sending his mind back in time by ten years and rewriting his past to make him a cleaner.
26	* DecliningPromotion: Junu wants nothing more than to quit the Korean Association, but most assume that all his stunts are a way for him to expand his influence and get promoted to better posts. When Ahyoung Lee straight up ask him how big he wants to become in the Association, he turns it all down and says that [[BrutalHonesty he doesn't have any plans of pushing someone out of their seat or upturning the Association.]]
27	** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when it happens again after [[spoiler: the Chairman comes back. With the Korean Association having made an enemy out of the International Association by refusing a merger, Junu wants to quit even more, and hands out his resignation letter to the Chairman. But the Chairman makes him Director of the Strategy Team while adding that [[SurpisinglyRealisticOutcome Junu can't just quit after handing out his resignation letter as it's a violation of the Standards Labor Acts,]] forcing Junu to take the job for at least a month before quitting.]]
28	* DefenceMechanismSuperpower: Without their skills activated, hunters are just as fragile as normal humans, meaning the best way to kill them is to ambush them in their civilian lives. Generally speaking, hunters cannot have their skills constantly active. After being successfully assassinated in this way once, Junu has to go out of his way to acquire a passive defense skill that activates automatically when he is in danger.
29	* {{Depower}}: Junu Kim retains all of the skills he earned in the previous timeline, but they have been locked by the System, which will only return them when he succeeds in various achievements or reforms on the System's behalf.
30	* DungeonCrawling: This series takes place in the typical "dungeons in the modern day" webnovel setting. With dungeon gates popping up with varying difficulties, and hunters whose strength is ranked by class who clears them in raids, with a [[GameSystem game-like system with skills, classes and the like.]] However, the twist is that there is no [[EverythingFades Everything Fades]]. When a dungeon boss is killed, the dungeon closes in two hours. And when the dungeon respawns, the corpses left inside will stay there and rot, creating a [[DeadlyGas toxic gas fatal to humans.]] Hence the dungeon cleaners, who [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin clean up the dungeon after the raid is over.]]
31	* EvilInc: Behind the International Association (which is an international government agency on the surface, but in practice no different from organized crime), is a company calling themselves PB Corp, a secret NGOSuperpower.
32	* ExtraordinaryWorldOrdinaryProblems: The biggest source of danger to an average hunter's life isn't the {{Boss Battle}}s in the dungeons, but the sheer greed, corruption, and scheming in the associations intended to hunt them.
33	* FaceOfAThug: Hyeyeon Song tells Ahyoung Lee that upon meeting Junu, he sacred the hell out of her with his DeathGlare, and that [[GoodScarsEvilScars the scar on his nose]] makes him look like a gangster.
34	* FairWeatherFriend: The corrupt officials treat one another well when their schemes are going well, but as soon as they are confronted with justice, they turn on one another immediately.
35	* GoodScarsEvilScars: With the danger that comes with the job, plenty of Hunters have scars. Yubin Han has a small one over her left eye, fitting as a battle hardened [[TheBerserker berserker,]] and is on the good guy's side. Meanwhile the Guild Leader of Ares Jang has a huge stitched scar across the center of his face, and his introduction scene is [[spoiler: rejecting Junu's contract offer. But turns out he's [[SubvertedTrope actually a pretty good guy.]]]] Junu himself has one straight over the bridge of his nose that pre-dates his hunter days, which accentuates his FaceOfAThug and funnier expressions.
36	* HiddenVillain: Who assassinated Junu in the original timeline? On the one hand, his obnoxious personality has made him so many enemies that he doesn't know where to start in his list of suspects. On the other hand, none of the people with actual grudges against him are likely to actually have the resources to pull off an operation on that sheer scale.
37	* {{Irony}}: In the original timeline, Junu played a minor role in aiding TheCoup against the Korean Chairman of the time. In the new timeline, a fight between him and the international organization pushes him into a leading role on the opposite side, where he gives the Chairman the opportunity to win.
38	* ItsAllAboutMe: Junu's motivation is this and this only. [[CharacterDevelopment At least at first.]] Everything he does is to further his goal of unlocking his skills, survive and get back to his previous life. However, along the way he betters the conditions of his coworkers, purges corruption, and is [[BunnyEarsLawyer damn good at what he does.]] Leading to the ''massive'' misunderstanding that he's some kind of champion of the weak.
39	** Junu applies that logic to other people as well. He is ''baffled'' when the cleaning team risk being trapped in a dungeon to save his life, and even more when [[SecretKeeper they don't snitch on him intercepting dungeons,]] even if it meant being transferred to a better team.
40	* {{Jerkass}}: The fact that Junu was, and still kind of is, a massive douchebag is not hidden in the slightest. He looks down on the weak, and only [[ItsAllAboutMe truly watches out for himself.]] He threw Geuntae Park at a wall and tells him to "stop overeacting", and thinks handing out an [[KickTheDog Aproval of Retirement to a hospitalized hunter after an injury has worsened (which they had already spoke up about but got brushed off) is "being considerate".]] While he's not actively evil or malicious, his massive ego and [[HairTriggerTemper horrible temper]] makes a huge prick. At least, before his [[CharacterDevelopment Character Development]].
41	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Junu is a selfish jerk, but he is occasionally capable of recognizing when he is in the wrong and prefers to keep his teammates alive. Funnily enough, in the new timeline, the people around him repeatedly misinterpret his motives and ''think'' he is being a JerkWithAHeartOfGold when he actually has other reasons for his actions.
42	* LaserGuidedKarma: A running theme, after all, the skill that sends Junu back in time as a cleaner is named "Karma". With Junu himself being forced into a job he looked down on, nearly every character gets their commupance one way or another. Examples include:
43	** [[spoiler: The American Branch try to use the Loop Dungeon raid to steal the Time Stone within and the USB key containing evidence of embezzlement from [[TheBerserker Yubin Han]] by letting her use her skills (and thus force them on {{Cooldown}}) against a boss, and then attack her. Too bad Junu just finished helping Minju defeat the other boss, shows up, and [[CurbStompBattle beats everyone into submission]] using the [[PowerCopying same skill as Yubin to boot!]] He then takes the Time Stone, sends the evidence to a journalist, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking destroys the control team leader's leg to set an example.]] In just a short while, the embezzlement is made public, and the entire branch is being investigated.]]
44	** The Executive Director Cheolsik Song, the head of Seoul HQ Minchoel Suh and their collaborators get hit hard with this. [[spoiler: They find out that Junu has no relation to the Chairman Inbeom Park (whom has been off the map for 36 months), and think it's time to dismiss the Chairman through a vote by the board of executives, getting rid of his influence permanently. They perform their vote in full confidence, already thinking about who is going to get whose post... when the [[OhCrap Chairman himself strolls in, adding that a certain cleaner told him about it.]] He proceeds to take over the meeting, form a new department and kickstart extensive restructuring of the organization, nuking the entire plan from orbit. Minchoel Suh can only crawl at Junu's feet in apology following the incident, and his subordinate Suyong Lee [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere blows the whistle on all the corruption to cover for himself.]]]]
45	* LivingOnBorrowedTime: In return for turning time back before his death, the System has given Junu five years to carry out a list of favors for it. If he fails, he dies for good.
46	* MasterOfAll: Junu focuses on melee, but in theory, at full strength, he's multi-classed.
47	* NeatFreak: Upon regressing, Junu gains a passive skill called OCD (which doesn't behave like [[UsefulNotes/PersonalityDisorders actual OCD,]] and is clearly meant to be a joke at Junu's expense) with the effect description being: "GET CLEANING, YOU MORON". It triggers when Junu is somewhere dirty, and gives him an intense urge to clean by pissing him off at how dirty everything is.
48	* NebulousCriminalConspiracy: The hunter associations' corruption is far from isolated. To varying degrees, all of the hunter associations have ties to organized crime of all kinds on an international scope, whether it be corrupt politicians, corporations, assassins, or mafia. The Korean hunter association is only different in that it was founded by patriots who had protected Korea when no one else would, and therefore hold sufficiently key positions to clean house thanks to Junu's interference.
49	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: As soon as Junu manages to get his hands on [[spoiler: Yang Minho, he beats him into a bloody pulp, shatters his ego by adding Yang is only 1st Ranked because Junu hasn't registered yet, and [[TortureAlwaysWorks tortures him with his bloodsucking skill]] to ''use his screams to threaten his boss over the phone.'']]
50	* NominalHero: Junu is not evil, but he's [[GoodIsNotSoft not really good either.]] He's purely motivated by the rewards that will come with any action he does, and is actually baffled when people interpret it as selflessness. [[CharacterDevelopment At the start at least.]]
51	* ObliviousToLove: A total of three woman have shown signs of crushes on Junu in the new timeline, but he has yet to notice.
52	** [[NiceGirl Soyeon Mun]] has been nursing a crush on Junu since early on into his career working as a cleaner, which Minju figured out within ''[[EveryoneCanSeeIt a day]]''. Months later, which the majority was spent working with her and the rest of the team, the possibility hasn't even remotely crossed Junu's mind.
53	** Minju herself has also shown the occasional CrushBlush. Though in her case, it might be more understandable for Junu to not notice as they had a very bad working relationship in the previous timeline.
54	** Ahyoung Lee has also shown some interest in the new timeline, but he hasn't noticed. It probably doesn't help that he has described her previous timeline self as a person who wouldn't let him into her house if the world ended, so he has probably subconsciously ruled her out as even a possibility.
55	* OneManArmy: As an SSS rank hunter and the WorldsStrongestMan, Junu is capable of taking out armies of lesser hunters. Having said that, he isn't invincible. Skills cannot generally be active full time, and without them, superhumans are every bit as vulnerable as civilians, so he is at risk if caught by surprise. After being killed in this way once, he managed to mitigate this somewhat via a DefenseMechanismSuperpower. Even so, his stamina will not hold out forever, so he can still be worn down.
56	* PaperThinDisguise: When Minju and Yubin attempt infiltrating an enemy hideout, Yubin suggests DressingAsTheEnemy. Yubin's tiny build so blatantly doesn't fit her stolen guard uniform that the actual security guards immediately report them as suspicious.
57	* ThePerilsOfBeingTheBest: While Junu's obnoxious personality has made him a lot of enemies, it is more likely he was assassinated for his [[TallPoppySyndrome threatening talent]] than all the grudges he's earned.
58	* PintSizedPowerhouse: Yubin is a very short woman specializing as a berserker type hunter, and yet she is generally treated as the second best fighter after Junu.
59	* PsychoForHire: Minho is a "cleaner" of a very different kind from the Hunter Associations' janitorial teams. His job is to assassinate the enemies of the International Association.
60	* RefugeInAudacity: Junu does this so much (showing up at the Head's office asking for a raise, intercepting dungeons, etc) despite being at the bottom of the ladder that the higher ups figure out something's up. They believe there is no way someone this skilled would stay a cleaner without a definite purpose, [[spoiler: like [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections being a snitch for the Chairman for example,]] leading them to let Junu get away with it, fearing the potential consequences. In truth, Junu has nothing to do with the Chairman... [[SelfFulfillingProphecy at first.]]]]
61	* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: With the Association being a [[CorruptCorporateExecutive giant corruption fest,]] many higher ups discard consequences or get rid of obstacles using their connections. Minchoel Suh, the head of Seoul HQ, deliberatly put his own connections as his subordinate after his promotion to expand his influence. [[spoiler: He also started the belief that Junu has a connection to the Chairman because of his vast knowledge of the Association's inner workings, his incredible combat skills, and having the [[RefugeInAudacity guts to ask for outrageous things as a cleaner.]] In truth, Junu just [[MentalTimeTravel remembers what happened in his past life,]] and is ballsy enough to show up at higher up's offices to ask for a raise. Right when the higher ups do a background check on Junu and realize there is no way he has any connection to the Chairman... [[SelfFulfillingProphecy Junu shows up at the Chairman's doorstep and tattles on everything.]]]]
62	* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Soyeon naturally disliked [[{{Jerkass}} Junu]] at first, but he [[ObliviousToLove unintetionally]] won her over through working hard, [[BunnyEarsLawyer being good at his job,]] having a sense of responsibility, and [[TheAce having more accurate information that the control team.]] [[spoiler: She naturally grows fonder of him when [[RescueRomance he saves her from poison by using his skill to get her at a hospital in time.]]]]
63	** In an IronicEcho, [[spoiler: Minju also grows fond of Junu when he covers her insurance after the Loop Dungeon Raid, and reassures her she did her best and a good job. Again, [[ObliviousToLove he has no idea.]]]]
64	* SirSwearsALot: There is a 'lot' of cursing in the series, but Junu stands above them all, as he likes to drop F-bombs and the like even when just remotely annoyed. [[HairTriggerTemper Which happens a lot.]]
65	* StudentAndMasterTeam: [[ActionGirl Minju]] practically forces Junu into one of these. After he gives her a tip to better her swordsmanship and avoid injury that turned out to be correct, she seeks him out and eventually begs to become his student. She trusts him greatly and takes all his advice to heart, [[spoiler: and is the first to try and clear his name when he [[TakingTheHeat takes the blame for an accident]] (really a trap).]] As for Junu, he says he hates it, but his phone's contact name for her is ''Idiot Pupil'', and he clearly trusts her abilities. Although the two don't exactly "fight" together most of the time, with Junu staying in the back giving her advice and info, defending himself if attacked, or [[BigDamnHeroes pitching in if the situation becomes dire.]]
66	* TallPoppySyndrome: The International Association assassinates any hunters they fear they cannot control. It is implied that this is why Junu was murdered in the previous timeline, just for the mere possibility he might pose a threat to them as the WorldsStrongestMan.
67	* ThisCannotBe: After Junu beats Minho to a bloody pulp, Minho keeps repeating that he is the first rank, having trouble accepting that he was beaten by a glorified janitor with some hunter skills.
68	* TruthInTelevision: Dungeon cleaners are underpaid, overworked, and looked down on by the rest of the Association for being weak and doing the dirty work, instead of the flashy hunting of the Assault Team or life saving support of the Support Team. Some hunters deliberately make the work of cleaners harder just for shits and giggles. All of this are sadly behaviors that reflects the mistreatment of maintenance workers, whose work are taken for granted when, just like the dungeon cleaners, their contribution is key to the well being of the organisation.
69	* UnderestimatingBadassery: Even with most of his skills sealed by the System, Junu is still a highly experienced veteran. People repeatedly underestimate him, since learning how to fight is generally too much of a luxury for your average cleaner to learn. Even those that do recognize that something is weird do not know ''how'' strong he is, let alone the fact that he is a OneManArmy, causing lots of assassination plots in the second timeline to fail.
70	* UnitedNationsIsASuperpower: The International Hunter Association has become equivalent to this trope. They are a global organization that has bought out and integrated most of the national hunter associations in the world. Their chairman is considered to be the highest official position of political power in the entire world. And that's just what is on the surface. Behind the scenes, their power is even greater.
71	* WorldsStrongestMan: In the previous timeline, Junu Kim managed to become the number one ranked hunter as the first SSS ever. In the new timeline, it doesn't take long for him to unlock most of his skills and become the top in Korea, though as the remaining locked skills are some of his strongest, he still isn't quite at the top worldwide.
72	* WrongAssumption: Isn't it suspicious that a man with high-level combat skills and lots of inside info is working as a cleaner when he could get a much better one as a hunter? The real reason is that Junu has experience from the previous timeline and needs to do some cleaning-related favors on the System's behalf in order to unlock some of his skills. However, his situation is unusual and outside the common sense of the world. Most people assume that he is in the line of some big shot, like the Chairman, and is keeping a low profile to monitor the association's performance. Minju thinks it's because he actually ''likes'' cleaning.

Context Literature / TheDungeonCleaningLifeOfAOnceGeniusHunter