The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 110

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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 110

 

Episode 110: Rabbit Teacher (2)

 

* * *

 

After that day, Mincheol rapidly promoted his mercenary badge by completing various requests.

 

“Oh my, wind flowers? They scatter everywhere making them hard to catch, how impressive!”

 

“This is the first time I’ve seen red fleece-flower root with such large bulbs! How did you manage to find such high-quality goods?”

 

Every time Mincheol brought in collected materials, the association receptionists were greatly amazed.

 

It was a natural reaction.

 

Mincheol would acquire collected materials in large quantities, then select only the best-looking ones among them for delivery.

 

‘This way I can get more promotion points, right?’

 

The higher the difficulty of the request.

 

The better the quality of the collected materials.

 

The more points he could earn needed for mercenary badge promotion.

 

Thanks to this, it didn’t take very long to upgrade from wooden badge to bronze badge.

 

‘Actually, I could upgrade even faster.’

 

With Auto Looting, he was confident he could handle over a hundred cases per day.

 

But if he did such a thing, he would definitely attract too much attention.

 

‘People are already suspecting that the Zero-second Swordsman is Korean. I can’t do that.’

 

For now it was fine since people’s attention was focused on the Butcher.

 

But that didn’t mean he could be completely at ease.

 

Public interest was like the wind. It was impossible to predict when or where it would flow.

 

‘They already randomly linked the Butcher and Zero-second Swordsman together.’

 

From Mincheol’s perspective, it was an absurd forced reasoning.

 

The problem was that regardless of the process, the conclusion was correct. Mincheol was the Butcher and the Zero-second Swordsman.

 

So while he felt somewhat wronged, he couldn’t voice his complaints.

 

‘Anyway, I need to be careful, and careful again.’

 

But as they say, a talented person cannot hide their abilities.

 

From the moment he was promoted to bronze badge, Mincheol’s existence began to be known through word of mouth.

 

“Did you hear the rumor? Some young guy got promoted from wooden badge to bronze badge in just two days?”

 

“Hey, don’t lie. Even Golden Hands Lee Jeong-su took five days. How could someone get promoted in just two days?”

 

Naturally, not many people believed the rumor.

 

On the Mercenary Layer, you could move on to the 26th Floor after completing just five requests of any kind.

 

But to promote your mercenary badge, you had to complete far more requests than that.

 

Even skilled collection-type Awakened needed to invest quite a lot of time to get promoted from wooden badge to bronze badge.

 

“They say he doesn’t discriminate between collected materials either.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“Plants, minerals, even monster eggs or shed skin – he brings back everything.”

 

“Does that make sense? Do you think collection-type Awakened have different specialties for no reason? The methods for finding and collecting each material are all different.”

 

“No matter how I think about it, someone must be spreading nonsense.”

 

“That must be it, right? Let’s stop worrying about it and go do our work.”

 

But people soon had no choice but to believe in Mincheol’s existence.

 

“Look over there, it’s the rabbit mask.”

 

“That’s the rumored collector?”

 

There were many Awakened using the Request Office, and many eyes watching.

 

Above all, Mincheol’s appearance was too conspicuous.

 

“Did you just see? He took the Hongjebi egg collection request by himself.”

 

“Hongjebi eggs are a Grade 5 request, right? He’s challenging that alone? Is he planning to get torn apart by Hongjebi?”

 

“Huh? It’s the rabbit mask. Why is he back already? Can you abandon a request midway?”

 

“What kind of stupid talk is that. You can’t return until you’ve gathered the collected materials… L-look at that!”

 

“H-he’s pouring out Hongjebi eggs!”

 

Mincheol’s appearance of wearing a rabbit mask and taking requests alone was bound to attract attention in many ways.

 

People came to witness how quickly Mincheol completed requests.

 

And how diverse the collected materials he brought back were.

 

“It seems like he handles at least three cases per day?”

 

“He doesn’t just complete mercenary requests. He also delivers to companies.”

 

“What? Does that make sense? The collected materials companies demand are much harder to obtain.”

 

Companies didn’t obtain materials directly from the Mercenary Layer for no reason.

 

It was because they were materials that were that difficult to obtain and absolutely necessary.

 

“Don’t ask me, see for yourself. He stopped by the mercenary staff and is heading straight to the company side.”

 

“Wait, what’s that? Shaman flowers? Those grow in the Lizardman’s Habitat, right? He collected those by himself?”

 

It was something that didn’t make sense logically, but since it was happening right before their eyes, they couldn’t help but believe it.

 

“Which guild raised such a monster?”

 

“When I asked him before, he said he was unaffiliated.”

 

“What kind of nonsense… How could someone unaffiliated do that?”

 

“Maybe if they were brutes like combat-types. But it’s impossible for collection-types.”

 

The collected materials existing in the Tower had much more diverse characteristics than Earth’s organisms.

 

Therefore, there were many cases where you couldn’t even touch the collected materials if you didn’t know about them.

 

Guild-affiliated Awakened could acquire knowledge left by previous generation Awakened, but unaffiliated Awakened couldn’t do that.

 

“No, it’s true. Go ask him directly.”

 

“He must be lying because of circumstances.”

 

“Right. People aren’t that lacking in perception.”

 

“No, it’s really true…”

 

“If he has to hide his affiliation… he might be far more incredible than we think.”

 

“Come to think of it, didn’t they say Golden Hands Lee Jeong-su was raising a successor?”

 

“Ah, I think I heard that too. Then could that guy possibly be…?”

 

All sorts of speculation ran wild about Mincheol’s identity.

 

During this time, the Awakened encountered another surprising piece of news.

 

“Toh Seonsaeng has already been promoted to silver badge!”

 

“Huh, truly unbelievable. I don’t think it even took a week.”

 

“How can he be that fast?”

 

“Should we bet on when Toh Seonsaeng will get his gold badge?”

 

“I bet on 3 weeks.”

 

“Look at this person? Getting a gold badge is incredibly difficult. I say one month!”

 

Thus, without even knowing it himself, Mincheol was rapidly rising as an idol among collection-type Awakened.

 

* * *

 

As Mincheol became more famous, there was also someone suffering from internal anguish.

 

Kim Dae-ri, an employee of Hwasol Pharmaceutical, was one such person.

 

Called by his supervisor from early morning, Kim Dae-ri was breaking out in cold sweat.

 

“Kim Dae-ri, did you hear? This time Apple Pharmaceuticals won the Gakdeungjeong contract.”

 

His supervisor was expressionless.

 

It wasn’t particularly a good sign. The supervisor in front of him tended to hide his emotions when angry.

 

“We promised thirty healing potions. But Apple Pharmaceuticals promised a whopping 50. Can you believe it? A startup company claiming they can produce nearly twice the amount we can?”

 

Hwasol Pharmaceutical was a pharmaceutical company that had established itself in the industry.

 

While not the industry leader, it could be called a seasoned veteran with deep experience.

 

“The president seemed to be in a bad mood. It’s not a huge deal, but he said it was annoying to lose to young novices like Apple Pharmaceuticals of all companies.”

 

However, recently they had been losing contracts one after another to Hwasol Pharmaceutical, a new company.

 

It was like getting beaten up by a rookie who had just debuted.

 

“What do you think is the cause of this situation?”

 

“I’m terribly sorry.”

 

“Who asked you to apologize? What’s the reason?”

 

“…It’s because Toh Seonsaeng exclusively supplies materials to Apple Pharmaceuticals.”

 

The rare materials collected from the Mercenary Layer were only used in small amounts when manufacturing drugs.

 

But just because the quantity was small didn’t mean they weren’t important.

 

Rather, they could be called core materials. Unlike other materials, they were absolutely irreplaceable.

 

In other words, the amount of drugs that could be manufactured varied depending on the quantity of rare materials obtained from the Mercenary Layer.

 

“If you know that so well, why haven’t you managed to establish a deal with Toh Seonsaeng yet?”

 

“We keep trying to persuade him, but he shows no intention of doing business…”

 

“Was he like that even when you offered higher compensation?”

 

Kim Dae-ri nodded his head.

 

Whenever he had the chance, he would approach Toh Seonsaeng, but was coldly ignored every time.

 

It wasn’t just Kim Dae-ri. Employees from other companies were the same.

 

The only person who could deal with Toh Seonsaeng was an employee from Apple Pharmaceuticals.

 

“That’s right, why did you ignore him from the first meeting! If Kim Dae-ri had been just a little kinder back then, this wouldn’t have happened!”

 

The Supervisor shouted angrily.

 

Kim Dae-ri felt very wronged.

 

When he first received the handover training, he was taught that not dealing with unaffiliated Awakened would save time.

 

He had only done what he was taught, but he was the only one getting blamed.

 

“This is driving me crazy. So what mercenary rank is that Rabbit guy now?”

 

“He’s confirmed to be Silver rank. However, given his promotion speed so far, I think he’ll become a Gold rank mercenary soon.”

 

“…Is he insane?”

 

The Supervisor suddenly muttered with a dazed expression.

 

It was such an absurd speed that such words came out unconsciously.

 

“And he’s solving requests by himself?”

 

“That’s correct.”

 

“Even Bronze rank has monsters pouring out of stages. He does it alone? That means he can even handle monsters?”

 

He didn’t discriminate between collectibles, was superior in speed and quantity, and could even deal with monsters?

 

He was truly top-class, no, a talent that wouldn’t be lacking even if called special grade.

 

“So you’re saying we turned away such a precious talent?”

 

“I’m terribly sorry.”

 

“Enough with the sorry! I’m sick to death of it!”

 

The Supervisor shouted angrily again.

 

Kim Dae-ri squeezed his eyes shut.

 

“If that guy really gets promoted to Gold rank… from then on, we absolutely cannot let him supply to Apple Pharmaceuticals.”

 

Quite a few people were promoted from Silver to Gold rank.

 

But not many people took on Gold rank requests.

 

The reason was that the 1st and 2nd grade requests that Gold rank mercenaries could take were extremely difficult.

 

Accordingly, many of the rare materials obtainable from the Mercenary Layer had powerful effects.

 

“I heard that Seollyeong Guild will soon challenge a Hidden Stage in the lower floors.”

 

“A Hidden Stage?”

 

“It’s not an ordinary Hidden Stage. It’s a large-scale Hidden Stage. The maximum number of participants is over ten people.”

 

Kim Dae-ri’s eyes widened.

 

A Hidden Stage conquered by multiple people was like a goldmine.

 

If they could clear it, high-grade items would pour out.

 

If this information was true, Hwasol Pharmaceutical absolutely couldn’t miss it.

 

“As you know, for jobs of this scale, they don’t receive money or items as compensation. They receive a share as compensation.”

 

The drugs used for large-scale stages were not only expensive in terms of materials, but above all, difficult to make.

 

To the extent that pharmaceutical companies had to mobilize all their personnel to handle it exclusively.

 

So in such cases, they contracted not for money, but for receiving part of the rewards.

 

“It probably won’t happen, but… if that guy provides all the materials from Gold rank requests to Apple Pharmaceuticals, there’s a risk we’ll lose this job too.”

 

Kim Dae-ri’s complexion turned pale.

 

If such a situation really occurred, all the resentment would pour onto him.”

 

“But they won’t listen to what I say…”

 

“No, an opportunity will come.”

 

The Supervisor said firmly.

 

“Apple Pharmaceuticals doesn’t have very strong capital. They’ll soon find it difficult to pay compensation.”

 

From Silver rank requests onwards, they had to pay at least intermediate magic stones as compensation.

 

Depending on the materials, they even had to offer rare grade items.

 

Over the past month, Apple Pharmaceuticals had already paid a lot of money to Toh Seonsaeng. It was about time they reached their limit.

 

“There will definitely come a moment when that guy cuts off dealings with Apple Pharmaceuticals. Approach him then.”

 

“Understood.”

 

“Remember. This is the last chance.”

 

The Supervisor said with frightening eyes.

 

Kim Dae-ri nodded heavily.

 

* * *

 

A famous Korean restaurant in Seoul.

 

Kim Ga-eul sat at her seat with an awkward expression.

 

Freshly made dishes were spread across the table, but her expression didn’t relax at all.

 

It was because of the man sitting directly across from her.

 

Slightly wrinkled but handsome features.

 

It was Kim Yong-taek, the Owner of Apple Pharmaceuticals.

 

An alchemist who made a name for himself at a young age and founded Apple Pharmaceuticals a year ago.

 

“Come on, don’t feel burdened and eat. I came here because I heard Ga-eul likes Korean food.”

 

Kim Ga-eul hesitated before picking up her chopsticks.

 

When would she ever come to a place like this again in her life?

 

Her thought was to eat first and think later.

 

“Ga-eul, thanks to you, life has been worth living lately.”

 

Kim Yong-taek said with a beaming smile.

 

“Thanks to you establishing a deal with Toh Seonsaeng, we’ve been able to win contracts from various places.”

 

As a new company, Apple Pharmaceuticals was in desperate need of results.

 

In this situation, Toh Seonsaeng’s existence was like sweet rain on dry land.

 

“What rank did you say Toh Seonsaeng is now?”

 

“He just became a Silver rank mercenary. It won’t take long for him to reach Gold rank.”

 

“Gold rank… This is troublesome.”

 

Kim Yong-taek’s expression darkened.

 

“As you know, Ga-eul, our company originally planned to only commission Bronze rank mercenaries.”

 

The Mercenary Layer required a lot of money since rare materials could be obtained in large quantities.

 

For Apple Pharmaceuticals, which lacked capital, commissioning even Wood and Bronze rank mercenaries was a tight situation.

 

“So originally we were thinking of cutting off dealings when Toh Seonsaeng became a Silver rank mercenary… but we heard some interesting news recently.”

 

Kim Yong-taek said while taking a sip of water.

 

“I heard that Seollyeong Guild will soon conduct a large-scale operation in the lower floors.”

 

Kim Ga-eul’s eyes lit up.

 

If that was the case, they would need a large quantity of potions.

 

They would also recruit companies to provide those potions.

 

“With just Toh Seonsaeng, we might be able to win a contract from Seol-aeng.”

 

“But you said you can’t pay the fee.”

 

“That’s why you’ll need to step in, Ga-eul.”

 

“Me?”

 

“Please convince them to allow deferred payment for the commission fee.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Kim Ga-eul spoke firmly.

 

“I’ve been watching him continuously in the Mercenary Layer. Even when other companies promised higher fees, he only dealt with us.”

 

Toh Seonsaeng had tried to maintain his trust with Kim Ga-eul.

 

But now the company was trying to use that trust to make requests that only benefited themselves.

 

“I don’t want to betray his feelings.”

 

“It seems you’ve misunderstood what I’m saying. It’s deferred payment, but I intend to give him the best compensation.”

 

Kim Yong-taek spoke in a serious tone.

 

“If we win the contract from Seol-aeng, we can receive shares from Seol-aeng.”

 

By obtaining shares, they could receive part of the rewards that come from clearing Hidden Stages.

 

“I plan to use those shares to get the items he needs.”

 

Kim Ga-eul couldn’t help but be surprised.

 

If it was a large-scale operation, they could obtain tremendous rewards.

 

Just receiving a portion of those would allow Apple Pharmaceuticals to grow much larger than it currently was.

 

But he was going to use all those shares on Toh Seonsaeng?

 

“In my experience… depending on the negotiation, we might even be able to obtain Unique-grade items.”

 

“Then… wouldn’t that be a huge loss for the company?”

 

“A loss? We’d have the achievement of receiving a commission from Seol-aeng. We could also establish connections with Seol-aeng.”

 

For a startup company, even that much would be tremendous profit.

 

Kim Ga-eul fell into contemplation.

 

It wasn’t a bad proposal. No, it was actually the best compensation they could offer Toh Seonsaeng.

 

But she couldn’t guarantee that Toh Seonsaeng would accept it.

 

Most importantly, it was questionable whether he would even believe this proposal in the first place.

 

“…I’ll try.”

 

* * *

 

With that, Kim Ga-eul headed to the Mercenary Layer with a heavy heart.

 

And as soon as she met Toh Seonsaeng, she conveyed the company’s proposal exactly as it was.

 

“Well, let’s do that then.”

 

She was greatly flustered seeing Toh Seonsaeng readily accept the proposal.

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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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