The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 118

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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 118

Episode 118: Capture the Flag (1)

* * *

Mincheol headed to the Japanese restaurant ‘Cheonghe’ after a long time.

Though he had visited this place several times before, today felt especially significant.

He had made up his mind to challenge the 100,000 won sashimi set that he had never dared to order before.

‘I’ve been working hard all this time. I deserve this kind of reward.’

Mincheol entered Cheonghe with dignity, Kkwaekkwi perched on his head.

The Owner immediately greeted Mincheol.

“Customer, it’s been a while since you visited.”

“Hello. I hope you’ve been well?”

Mincheol exchanged greetings as he sat at the bar table.

It was the prime spot where he could watch the Owner’s cooking skills right before his eyes.

“Here you go.”

The Owner handed Mincheol the menu.

Mincheol stared intently at the menu.

Set A – 30,000 won.

Set B – 82,000 won.

Sashimi Set – 105,000 won.

Though he had made up his mind to challenge the 100,000 won sashimi set, he hesitated when it came time to actually order.

For Mincheol, who had lived an ordinary life, spending 100,000 won on a single meal was quite a high psychological hurdle.

Of course, he had spent tens of millions of won on items without hesitation, but that was different since those were decisions for safety.

‘Should I just get the 80,000 won one? That was incredibly delicious too.’

After much deliberation, Mincheol spoke with a determined expression.

“I’ll have the sashimi set, please.”

Mincheol felt proud of himself.

He had finally succeeded in overcoming that psychological barrier.

Others might not think it was a big deal, but for Mincheol, it was a great leap forward…

“We got fresh croaker this morning. For just 8,000 won more, I can add croaker sashimi. How about it?”

But the moment he heard the Owner’s words, Mincheol froze.

If the Owner was personally recommending it, the taste was practically guaranteed.

‘But if I add 8,000 won, it’ll be over 110,000 won…!’

He had barely managed to order the 100,000 won set. And now 110,000 won?

He couldn’t bring himself to do it. In the end, Mincheol had no choice but to tearfully decline the Owner’s suggestion.

“…I’ll just have the set.”

“Understood.”

The Owner didn’t pry further and immediately started cooking.

‘Next time, I’ll definitely challenge the 110,000 won…!’

Mincheol made a firm resolution as he watched the Owner cook.

“Kururuk.”

Kkwaekkwi quickly lost interest and began nodding off.

The amazing thing about Kkwaekkwi was that its stealth didn’t break even while sleeping like this.

“Here you are.”

Shortly after, the long-awaited dish was completed.

Mincheol looked down at the food with anticipation.

Various types of sushi were neatly arranged on a large plate.

They all looked so delicious that it was hard to choose.

After much consideration, Mincheol picked up a flounder sushi and put it in his mouth.

“…!”

At that moment, a flavor bomb exploded in his mouth.

Mincheol closed his eyes and trembled with emotion inside.

‘I’m glad I climbed the Tower…’

Every time he bought expensive food that he couldn’t even dream of affording in the past, Mincheol truly felt that he had become an Awakened.

He thought this might be when to use the phrase “happiness isn’t far away.”

‘Next time, I should order something even more expensive.’

Cheonghe still had many expensive menu items that Mincheol hadn’t tried yet.

Having conquered the 100,000 won sashimi set, what Mincheol was now eyeing was the 150,000 won omakase.

If the 100,000 won set was this delicious, what would the 150,000 won one be like?

Just imagining it filled him with anticipation.

At the same time, anxiety sprouted in a corner of his heart.

‘…Will I be safe until then?’

It was because of the Hope Society.

In the Mercenary Layer, Mincheol had learned that the Hope Society held clear hostility toward him.

The executives were plotting to kill him.

Until now, he had been safe thanks to his perception-inhibiting items.

But there was no guarantee that would continue.

‘The opponent is the Hope Society. They’ll use any method to find me.’

Not only would they deploy items that could pierce through perception inhibition, but they would also use various means in reality to find Mincheol.

There were countless Awakened who had been brutally murdered in reality after getting on the Hope Society’s bad side.

‘No, the bigger problem is that I have to fight the Hope Society.’

The higher the floors, the greater the proportion of PVP layers.

Boss hunting, survival, group puzzles, and so on.

He would naturally get entangled with the Hope Society frequently.

‘What if I fight the Hope Society and lose? I don’t know what they’ll do to me.’

Iron Fang was a perfect example.

Despite being a guild that operated openly in the light, they had blatantly tried to torture Mincheol.

They said they would break his mind so he could never climb the Tower again.

If even a guild would do that, what about the Hope Society’s Awakened?

Though he didn’t know for sure, they would probably do things several times more horrible.

‘The more I think about it, the more troublesome it gets.’

He had to worry about his real identity being discovered, and he had to prepare for fighting the Hope Society.

The most certain way to solve this would be to give up climbing.

Then he wouldn’t get entangled with the Hope Society anymore.

But Mincheol had no intention of choosing that option from the start.

‘If I give up climbing, what about getting a job? Who’s going to hire me!’

Having been marked by the Hope Society, he couldn’t join a large guild as the Butcher.

Then there was only one method left for Mincheol.

Pretending to be an ordinary Awakened and applying to large guilds.

The most important thing for this was the floor number.

Reaching floor 30 or higher would qualify him to apply to large guilds.

However, just reaching floor 30 would likely put him at a disadvantage in competition. To succeed in getting hired safely, he needed to aim for floor 40.

‘Until then, I can’t let the Hope Society discover my identity, and I can’t lose in fights either.’

Neither would be easy.

The Hope Society was a powerful organization worthy of being called a large underground guild.

Though Mincheol had won for now, there was no guarantee he would continue to win.

‘I need to become stronger than I am now. Only then will I not lose to the Hope Society.’

The most reliable way for Mincheol to become stronger was to obtain a weapon with an active skill.

Kaella Marbenian.

A skill that warps space to enable two throws.

When Kaella Marbenian was combined with weapon skills, it displayed tremendous power.

‘But the problem is where to get such a weapon.’

Weapons with active skills were rare in themselves. Even if they existed, they might not be for attacking.

‘Is there no way?’

It was while Mincheol was lost in various thoughts.

The restaurant door opened and two people, a man and woman, entered.

As soon as the two saw Mincheol, they greeted him with joy.

“Mincheol! It’s been so long!”

To be precise, only the man was happy to see him.

Yoo Cheon-hee sat next to Mincheol and offered a handshake.

“You disappeared again for a while, so I was worried something might have happened!”

“Ah, I was in the Mercenary Layer. I’ve been busy for a while.”

“Wow, you made it there. I was also in the Mercenary Layer until recently. What’s your rank now? Don’t tell me you’re silver?”

“I just got promoted to bronze yesterday.”

In reality, he was a platinum mercenary who had even completed special-grade requests, but he couldn’t say that outright.

“Really? That couldn’t have been easy, that’s amazing!”

Most Awakened graduated from the Mercenary Layer as wood-rank mercenaries.

Unless they received guild support, even wood-rank requests weren’t easy for unaffiliated Awakened.

“So are you thinking of graduating now?”

“I’m considering it. Since I’ve become bronze, I’m thinking of filling five slots with 5th-grade requests.”

“Then ask me lots of questions! I made it to silver mercenary!”

Mincheol was quite surprised by Yoo Cheon-hee’s words.

‘Wasn’t she unaffiliated? But she’s silver rank?’

Yoo Cheon-hee aimed to become a police officer, so she hadn’t joined a guild.

In other words, she had become a silver mercenary while unaffiliated. It was remarkable skill.

Though she was receiving advice and help from her Older Sister, that couldn’t compare to guild support.

“Silver mercenaries can take 3rd and 4th-grade requests, right? I wanted to fill five slots with 3rd-grade requests. But that was too difficult. So I filled them with 4th-grade requests.”

Yoo Cheon-hee added with regret.

“Anyway, ask me everything! I know bronze requests inside and out!”

“Just hearing that is reassuring.”

Then, her Older Sister Yeonhui asked Mincheol.

“Are you still climbing alone?”

“Of course not.”

Upon hearing the answer, disappointment briefly flashed across Yeonhui’s face.

“I see. Well, solo play has its limits.”

“Coming to the Mercenary Layer, I saw there were many dangerous requests. So I’m moving together with people.”

“That’s natural in the Mercenary Layer… Wait a minute. Saying you ‘came to the Mercenary Layer’ means you climbed alone up to the Mercenary Layer?”

“Uh… yes?”

“What about the Trap Layer? Don’t tell me you passed through there alone too?”

“Yes, I almost died though. Somehow I survived.”

Mincheol didn’t know.

How much shock Yeonhui had received from that exchange just now.

‘…He passed through the Trap Layer alone?’

The Trap Layer wasn’t a place to fight monsters.

You had to pass through prepared traps to reach the end.

Many Awakened found it difficult to adapt because the concept changed so suddenly.

So much so that even Seol-aeng created special training rooms for education.

He had passed through such a place alone?

‘Should I really mention him to Master?’

Of course, just because Yeonhui introduced someone didn’t guarantee they could join Seol-aeng.

You had to prove your skills through several tests to be hired.

‘No, let me observe a little more.’

But Yeonhui soon changed her mind.

Surviving alone was remarkable.

However, there must be good reasons why he was still unaffiliated.

A talented person stands out naturally.

This was the most perfect phrase to describe lower-floor Awakened.

Outstanding talents revealed their presence without guilds having to seek them out.

‘If he really had exceptional talent, he would have been scouted already.’

There were two ways to join a large guild.

First, be born with a unique skill.

People with remarkable unique skills were found by large guilds, who then made job offers.

Most of Seol-aeng’s promising talents joined through this method.

Second, prove your talent.

Even if their unique skills weren’t impressive, those with outstanding talent were bound to distinguish themselves.

In such cases, they could also join large guilds.

‘Like the Butcher, for instance.’

Currently, each guild was desperately searching for the Butcher.

Previously, large guilds hadn’t shown much interest while he was gaining fame.

But last time, his stock soared due to the Field Boss Event incident.

It was thanks to word spreading that he had unilaterally overwhelmed the notorious Seom-jan.

“So are you currently climbing the 26th Floor, Cheon-hee?”

Mincheol asked Yoo Cheon-hee about the 26th Floor.

Since he was about to climb it, he needed to gather information.

“Hehe, I passed the 26th Floor long ago and it’s time to challenge the 28th Floor.”

“Really?”

“It’s all thanks to my Older Sister. If you knew where my Older Sister works, you’d be surprised… Kyaak!”

Yoo Cheon-hee suddenly screamed.

Yeonhui had stepped on her foot to shut her up.

“Didn’t I tell you to watch your mouth?”

Yeonhui sighed and said to Mincheol.

“Since you’ve reached the Mercenary Layer, you’ll be able to participate in the upcoming event.”

“An event?”

Mincheol looked puzzled.

No event had ever been a hot topic on the Hunter Community.

“The Tower has periodically held events. The recent Field Boss hunting event was one, and there’s another event opening soon.”

That was probably why it wasn’t mentioned on the community.

It was still quite a while before it would be held.

“The Flag Capture event has somewhat high participation requirements. You need to reach at least the Mercenary Layer to qualify.”

An event that only Awakened who reached the Mercenary Layer could participate in.

The conditions were quite strict. It seemed like it wouldn’t be an easy event.

“What kind of event has such high requirements?”

“It’s a flag capture event. Teams are divided where one side guards the flag and the other side steals it.”

The rules themselves were simple and easy to understand.

“The Flag Capture event consists of preliminaries and finals. Both have slightly different formats. The preliminaries use a Swiss system, and the finals are tournament-style.”

“Ah, so you don’t just play one match?”

“That’s right. They divide into groups to compete. The number of matches varies each time depending on the number of participants.”

Hearing this, Mincheol felt a surge of anticipation.

“It sounds like it’s on a huge scale… What about the rewards?”

“The rewards are worth looking forward to. You can purchase items from the event shop with points earned from winning matches. The shop items are quite generous.”

“Oh…”

“What’s particularly noteworthy is that Unique grade items are available.”

Mincheol’s eyes lit up instantly.

Unique grade.

It was only one grade higher than Rare, but its value was much greater.

Items of this grade never appeared in the Auction House.

In other words, they were items that couldn’t be bought with money.

‘I can’t miss this opportunity.’

Mincheol had already been pondering ways to improve his specs in preparation for the Hope Society.

Every opportunity like this was precious.

“Of course, just because Unique grade items are available doesn’t mean they’re easy to obtain. From what I’ve heard, they’re hard to get even if you advance to the finals.”

“That’s… not easy at all.”

“It’s beyond not easy. To advance to the finals, you can’t lose even once. And as you keep winning, you’ll face stronger teams.”

Yeonhui took a sip of water and continued speaking.

“That’s why the flag capture event is practically dominated by large guilds. Victory or defeat depends on whether you have Awakened from large guilds or not.”

Mincheol thought of Seol-aeng’s Awakened.

The ordinary Awakened weren’t particularly impressive. But the promising ones were different.

Just look at Hwang Gye-sik, the 6 billion won man – he could push back large bosses single-handedly.

‘Could I win fighting against such powerhouses?’

Mincheol imagined it in his mind.

No matter how he looked at it, it would be a difficult battle. Winning against such monsters, that is.

Nevertheless, Mincheol felt his heart racing.

‘I want to experience it firsthand.’

The promising members of large guilds.

The powerhouses regarded as disasters among Awakened.

How would they fight?

How far could he fight against them?

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find an answer. That made him even more excited.

‘…Heh, dangerous thinking.’

Mincheol shook his head back and forth.

Getting excited anticipating battle – what kind of ridiculous thought was that?

It was a way of thinking that didn’t suit someone rational and safety-oriented like himself.

‘Anyway, I have no choice but to participate.’

Even if he couldn’t obtain a Unique grade item as originally intended, that was fine.

If he could win just one or two matches and use the event shop, it would definitely be profitable.

‘Let’s do this!’

With that thought, Mincheol put the remaining sushi in his mouth.

As expected, it tasted amazing.

* * *

An abandoned factory sitting alone in the mountains.

The outer walls were rusted, and there were holes in the ceiling.

It looked like a place untouched by human hands for several years.

But today was different. More than dozens of people had gathered there.

“…”

However, despite many people being gathered, no chattering could be heard.

Everyone just wore grave expressions while looking in one direction.

Click-clack.

Then, a woman wearing an eyepatch appeared.

The woman passed by the people and came forward, then coldly looked around at everyone with her single eye.

“Would everyone please focus on what I’m saying?”

Even without saying so, people’s attention was already focused on the woman.

“I’ve summoned you because of the flag capture event that will begin soon.”

People looked at each other’s faces.

This was the first time they had been summoned because of a flag capture event.

“You’ve all heard. During the recent Field Boss Event, our Hope Society’s plan failed.”

It was a plan the Hope Society had been preparing internally for a long time.

If the plan had succeeded, Seol-aeng’s honor would have been driven into the ground, and the Hope Society would have gained enormous benefits.

But the plan failed.

Not only did the Hope Society become a laughingstock, but they also suffered massive losses.

“The damage we suffered then was no small matter. So we plan to make up for it during this flag capture event.”

Cheongrok snapped her fingers.

Her subordinates who came out from behind distributed papers to the people.

“It contains a detailed outline of the plan and photos and information about promising members from each guild. Memorize it and burn it.”

People stared intently at the papers.

“As you can see, your role in this plan is very important. If this plan succeeds, major rewards will be given. You might even get promoted.”

People’s expressions changed at Cheongrok’s words.

Those gathered here were the bottom-tier members at the very bottom of the Hope Society.

They were prepared to do anything to climb up.

“Well then, everyone disperse~”

Cheongrok clapped her hands and said.

* * *

The abandoned factory after everyone had left.

Cheongrok sat down on a plastic chair brought by her subordinate.

Then she took out a bag of potato chips from her inventory and crunched on them.

Someone approached behind Cheongrok.

“How pitiful.”

Song Beom said while tearing into a whole chicken.

“Who are you talking about?”

“The people who were here and left. Even if this plan succeeds, they won’t gain any benefits themselves.”

Far from benefits, their lives as Awakened could end completely.

Neither the Tower nor reality would leave them alone.

“It can’t be helped. Sacrifice is essential for a group to prosper.”

Cheongrok said nonchalantly.

She had promised rewards but had no intention of keeping that promise.

It was merely kindling to fuel their motivation.

“There might be a large number of deserters, you know?”

“Let them desert. We’ll find them and kill them.”

The Hope Society was no different from a swamp.

Once you joined, all your personal information was recorded by the Hope Society.

The only way to leave was through death.

“And wouldn’t it be profitable to sacrifice small fry like that to raise a few big fish like you?”

The core of this plan was to develop the Hope Society’s promising members, including Song Beom.

It was also partly to restore the authority of the Hope Council that had fallen due to the previous incident.

“I guess I can just sit back and receive the rewards comfortably.”

Song Beom said while tearing into his chicken.

“As if that would happen. You guys have orders too.”

“We do?”

“Yeah, you need to take care of the Butcher.”

It was a capture-the-flag tournament format.

Because of this, the higher you climbed, the stronger opponents you were bound to face.

With the Butcher’s level of skill, he would definitely make it to the upper ranks.

“When you find him, tear off his mask and make sure to get a photo of his face.”

“Seeing you give such orders… I guess you still couldn’t find him?”

After the Field Boss Event, the Hope Society mobilized all their resources to find the Butcher.

But they couldn’t find the Butcher, let alone any clues about him.

The biggest reason was the perception-inhibiting item he used.

Since recording items couldn’t capture him, there was no way to find him in reality either.

The second reason was that he left no traces whatsoever.

To raise someone with such skills, funds would have to move somewhere.

But there hadn’t been any such movements recently, not even once.

It was literally as if he had dropped from the sky.

“Don’t worry. If we really meet him, I definitely won’t let him slip away.”

Crunch crunch.

Song Beom said while tearing into another chicken.

“I’ve been dying of curiosity about what the Butcher would taste like anyway.”

Song Beom added while drooling.

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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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