The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 107

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Auto Looting Range Too Wide Episode 107

 

Episode 107: Mercenary Layer (2)

 

【You have entered the ‘Mercenary Association Request Office’.】

 

【You are currently a ‘Wooden Badge’ mercenary.】

 

【Wooden Badge mercenaries can take on 7th and 8th grade requests.】

 

【By completing requests and building achievements, you can be promoted to ‘Bronze Badge’ mercenary.】

 

【Regardless of grade, completing five requests will allow you to advance to the 26th Floor.】

 

When Mincheol first arrived at the Mercenary Layer, the first thing he felt was how noisy it was.

 

“Looking for people to join a Hop Goblin subjugation request! Currently two vanguards are waiting!”

 

“Anyone going to collect white lotus grass in the Red-Haired Mountain Range! I’ll be the bait! But the distribution will be 6:4!”

 

“Looking for someone to trade fairy tears and mandrake! Just need three roots!”

 

Inside the brick building, Awakened were chattering noisily.

 

‘Wow, it’s like a marketplace.’

 

Mincheol looked around at the Awakened with a fascinated expression.

 

Everyone seemed busy looking for people to work with.

 

“Yes, I’ve confirmed five mandrake roots.”

 

“One, two, three, that’s five left ears of Hop Goblins.”

 

The building was incredibly large.

 

There was a lobby where Awakened gathered, counters where receptionists waited, and even a restaurant.

 

What was most fascinating were the receptionists dealing with the Awakened at the counters.

 

They were of different genders and ages varied greatly. But they all wore uniforms of the same design.

 

‘Those must be the Tower residents in charge of the Mercenary Layer.’

 

Since it was the Mercenary Association Request Office, there were separate receptionists operating it.

 

Of course, they weren’t actual humans but Tower residents.

 

‘They’re incredibly strong, so I absolutely shouldn’t rebel, right?’

 

Where people gather, various conflicts inevitably arise.

 

The same was true for the Awakened gathered in the Mercenary Layer.

 

According to what he heard from the Hunter Community, sometimes disputes between Awakened escalate to physical confrontations.

 

‘Each time, the receptionists step in and subdue the Awakened.’

 

According to witnesses, they treated the Awakened who had reached the Mercenary Layer like children.

 

He didn’t know exactly how strong they were, but it was certain they were beings that lower-floor Awakened couldn’t oppose.

 

‘Where should I receive requests?’

 

While looking around, Mincheol discovered a place where Awakened were particularly gathered.

 

There was a huge bulletin board hanging on the wall.

 

“Subjugate swamp lizardmen and bring back eggs? This is too difficult for a 6th grade request.”

 

“Dig up six wild ginseng roots from Giant’s Field? This looks decent.”

 

“Hey, don’t choose carelessly. The guard dogs protecting Giant’s Field can easily tear apart even tigers.”

 

The Awakened gathered in front of the bulletin board, having various conversations.

 

Then, one Awakened reached out and said.

 

“I’ll take the five-colored fruit collection request.”

 

The request form attached to the bulletin board was copied and sucked into the Awakened’s hand.

 

Soon, with a flash, the Awakened’s figure disappeared.

 

‘Oh, that’s teleportation.’

 

In the Mercenary Layer, when you took on a request, you moved to the corresponding area through teleportation.

 

And you could only return after completing the request.

 

What if you couldn’t complete it? You had to keep wandering around that place.

 

He heard it was also impossible to cling to someone else and return.

 

‘With this method, other people will notice what request I’m taking.’

 

Mincheol had entered the Mercenary Layer planning to take on the most dangerous special-grade request.

 

The problem was that it would be troublesome if people saw this fact openly.

 

When he was already suspected of the Zero-second Swordsman being Korean, if he suddenly appeared and completed a special-grade request to receive EX grade?

 

It would be no different from announcing to everyone that he was the Zero-second Swordsman.

 

‘Anyway, to become a Platinum Badge, I have to start with lower-level requests, so there’s no immediate problem. The issue is after receiving the Platinum Badge.’

 

After thinking for a moment, Mincheol recalled the Silver Screen Cloak.

 

The stealth skill attached to the Silver Screen Cloak was so covert that even Seol-aeng’s Awakened couldn’t detect it.

 

‘I should come when there are no people and use the Silver Screen Cloak to take requests.’

 

Then he could hide Mincheol’s presence and secretly perform Platinum Badge requests.

 

While Mincheol was thinking this.

 

“Hwasol Pharmaceutical! If you bring 10 fire crystals, we’ll exchange them for a B-grade skill random box!”

 

“Daehun Pharmaceutical! We’re purchasing coal berries! We’ll pay two low-grade magic stones per piece!”

 

“From Gakdeungjeong! We’re looking for 50 white lotus grass roots! We’ll give superior healing potions as reward!”

 

He saw Awakened soliciting customers on one side.

 

But the content being mentioned was unusual.

 

Hwasol Pharmaceutical, Daehun Pharmaceutical, Gakdeungjeong, etc.

 

They were quite well-known companies.

 

‘Ah, right. In the Mercenary Layer, you can also supply to companies, right?’

 

Various rare materials could be obtained in the Mercenary Layer.

 

So there were many companies that obtained necessary materials from the Mercenary Layer.

 

Companies could get freshly acquired material items, and gathering-type Awakened could build good relationships.

 

‘I thought they just paid with money so I wasn’t interested… A B-grade skill random box?’

 

B-grade meant it was an item where you could get special or rare grade skills.

 

Although Mincheol had many unique and legendary grade skills, rare grade wasn’t useless.

 

In fact, Mincheol’s most frequently used skill was the rare grade Helmet Splitter.

 

Because its power was outstanding compared to mana consumption.

 

“DH Workshop! If you bring us thirty white pure iron ores, we’ll give you one piece of equipment from our list!”

 

“Sandelbaram Workshop! We’re looking for Tears of the Sun! We’ll provide rare grade armor crafted by our workshop!”

 

Besides pharmaceutical companies, workshops were also offering rewards while looking for minerals.

 

Looking at them, Mincheol’s eyes lit up.

 

‘I was just wanting to get new skills and equipment anyway.’

 

But he couldn’t even dream of it because the market price of Soothing Thorn Flower herbs kept dropping.

 

It was a relatively expensive material, but recently Mincheol had put too many up for auction.

 

‘Should I just do some spec upgrades here for a while?’

 

To take on the special-grade request that Mincheol was aiming for, he first had to become a Platinum Badge mercenary.

 

To become a Platinum Badge mercenary, he needed to solve lower requests while upgrading his mercenary badge.

 

He’d have to camp out here for a while anyway. Some side income seemed fine.

 

‘First, I should look for items that Wooden Badge mercenaries can supply.’

 

Before entering the Mercenary Layer, Mincheol had studied in detail about the materials obtainable here.

 

The fire crystals that Hwasol Pharmaceutical, which offered B-grade skill random boxes, required came from requests that only Gold Badge mercenaries could take.

 

Mincheol, a Wooden Badge mercenary, couldn’t take on that quest even if he died and came back to life.

 

While Mincheol was examining the companies.

 

Tap tap.

 

Someone tapped Mincheol’s shoulder.

 

When he turned his head, a middle-aged man was standing there.

 

“Young friend, is this your first time in the Mercenary Layer?”

 

Before answering, Mincheol briefly considered his speech pattern.

 

When he was the Butcher, he used informal speech to appear strong.

 

But now he had to build a character separate from the Butcher.

 

“How did you know?”

 

So Mincheol used his usual polite speech.

 

Perhaps pleased with Mincheol’s respectful tone, the middle-aged man smiled broadly.

 

“You were looking around nervously the moment you arrived. It was pretty obvious.”

 

He was quite perceptive.

 

Regardless, Mincheol felt a strange sense of displeasure.

 

The fact that his actions had been continuously observed bothered him.

 

“What kind of request are you planning to take? Combat-type? Or gathering-type?”

 

“I’m thinking of taking a gathering-type request.”

 

“You have a good build, so I thought you were combat-type. You’re a gathering-type Awakened? It must have been tough climbing the Tower.”

 

“It wasn’t easy.”

 

Mincheol recalled past events.

 

And with a slightly tired voice, he said.

 

“…It really wasn’t easy.”

 

“Seeing you emphasize it twice, you must have had a really hard time climbing up.”

 

The middle-aged man winked with one eye.

 

“Since this is fate, I’ll help you adapt to the Mercenary Layer. If you follow us around, you’ll learn quickly.”

 

“Us?”

 

“Ah, I move with a team. That’s our team over there.”

 

The middle-aged man pointed somewhere. Then four people waved their arms.

 

All four had innocent-looking faces.

 

“Since I’m older, it’s okay to call you younger brother, right? Younger Brother, your life is about to bloom.”

 

Without even getting permission, the man was already calling Mincheol younger brother.

 

“Don’t underestimate us – our team is quite skilled. We’re fairly well-recognized in the Mercenary Layer.”

 

The man put his arm around Mincheol’s shoulder as he spoke.

 

“If you just trust us and follow along, you’ll not only adapt to the Mercenary Layer quickly but also make decent money. I guarantee it.”

 

Then he naturally put his arm around him and tried to drag Mincheol toward where his team was.

 

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine.”

 

He couldn’t use Auto Looting in front of others.

 

There was also no reason to trust this man. Mincheol pushed away the man’s arm and spoke.

 

‘Acting friendly when we just met.’

 

More than anything, he was being too familiar even for someone without boundaries.

 

So it was natural to feel repulsed.

 

Moreover, Mincheol was currently wearing a rabbit mask.

 

Among the surrounding Awakened, Mincheol was the only one wearing a mask.

 

Perhaps because of this, the Awakened were avoiding Mincheol.

 

In such circumstances, this man had approached Mincheol without any hesitation.

 

“Hey hey, look at this guy? Are you being awkward? You don’t need to feel burdened. It’s natural for a senior to help a junior.”

 

But the man was persistent.

 

Eventually, he grabbed Mincheol and began delivering a long speech.

 

“You shouldn’t underestimate the Mercenary Layer. Even low-grade requests can be dangerous. So you need to follow us and learn to increase your survival rate. All the Awakened who ignored our advice…”

 

“Yes, I’m fine, so I’ll be going now.”

 

Saying that, Mincheol tried to leave.

 

Then, the man blocked Mincheol’s path.

 

“Damn, this young guy really can’t take a hint.”

 

The man’s expression changed.

 

With the smile gone, his features looked quite sharp.

 

“When an adult offers to help, you should say ‘thank you’ and accept it. What are you doing, embarrassing people like this?”

 

The man tapped Mincheol’s chest with the back of his hand.

 

Of course it didn’t hurt, but it was quite unpleasant.

 

“Don’t be stubborn for no reason and follow along quietly.”

 

At this point, Mincheol was getting angry too.

 

He wanted to teach him a lesson.

 

But he couldn’t because he had to hide being the Butcher.

 

Still, he couldn’t just let it slide quietly either.

 

‘What would Michael Alzen have done?’

 

Mincheol briefly closed his eyes and thought of his life mentor, Michael Alzen.

 

‘He definitely would have told me not to let myself be looked down upon, right?’

 

Mincheol’s eyes snapped open. He gestured to the man.

 

“What?”

 

“Come here for a second.”

 

The man brought his head closer with a puzzled expression.

 

Mincheol whispered in the man’s ear.

 

“It’s hard to listen to your bullshit, so fuck off.”

 

The man’s expression went blank for a moment.

 

Wondering if he hadn’t heard, Mincheol whispered again.

 

“Get that face that looks like a turd rolled in vomit out of here.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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