The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 150

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

Auto Looting Range Too Wide Episode 150

Episode 150: Killing Machine (1)

After returning home for the first time in a while, he couldn’t rest immediately.

Since he had been away from home for so long, there were many things that needed to be taken care of.

First, he collected the accumulated mail and paid the utility bills. He called Mother to let her know he was safe.

-Do you know how worried Mother has been all this time? When there was no contact for days, I wondered several times whether I should file a missing person report.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t find the herbs easily, so I ended up wasting a lot of time here and there.”

Mincheol barely managed to calm his surprised Mother before hanging up the phone.

‘I should probably visit her soon.’

He was thinking of seeing her face after so long, buying her expensive food, and properly showing filial piety as a son.

Next, Mincheol purchased high-grade magic stones for Kkwaekkwi. It was a reward for doing its job so well.

No, it wasn’t just doing its job well.

When infiltrating the Northern Army, thanks to Kkwaekkwi, his stealth wasn’t detected by the Spearmen.

“Kkwak, eat plenty.”

“Kkwak! Kkwaak!”

Kkwaekkwi took one bite of the high-grade magic stone and couldn’t contain its admiration.

Anyone could see it was almost ready to cry as it gulped down the magic stones.

“Whitey, you also had a hard time being trapped.”

Whoosh.

Saying this, Mincheol placed the golden plate containing Whitey on the table.

“Ugh, I’m tired.”

Only after resolving all the accumulated tasks could Mincheol finally take a rest.

Mincheol lay on his bed and recalled the events he had experienced this time.

“I got an EX grade and obtained a legendary weapon too.”

Looking at the results alone, it was successful. But Mincheol couldn’t be entirely satisfied.

“I almost died several times.”

When infiltrating the Northern Army, he almost got caught by the Spearmen.

Because of the Grand Warlord, he had to fight the entire Northern Army.

After that, he had to stop the rampaging Grand Warlord.

If Mincheol had made even the slightest mistake, he would have lost his life.

‘Anyway, what a damn dangerous place.’

It was when Mincheol was grumbling.

Suddenly, he remembered what Ursongbarsong had said.

‘Ursongbarsong had tremendous pride in Aksria.’

But Aksria had perished. The Tooshin they served had died.

Even the Grand Warlord, who was an existence comparable to Tooshin, had become a low-level manager of the Tower.

‘What on earth happened?’

He understood that the Tower appeared in Aksria and was involved in its destruction.

But he couldn’t know how the Tower had destroyed Aksria.

‘No, did the Tower really destroy it?’

Of course, it was certain that Aksria had perished.

But he couldn’t know if the Tower had directly destroyed Aksria.

‘Hmm, hmmm.’

Mincheol folded his arms and fell into thought.

‘Ah, I don’t know.’

How each dimension perished was a secret that even scholars couldn’t uncover.

There was no way Mincheol, just an individual Awakened, could figure out the truth with only fragmentary information.

However, this much was clear.

‘He told me to become stronger.’

It was certain that something would happen that could destroy Earth.

So he had to become stronger to prevent it.

Not being moderately satisfied, but greedily so.

‘But even if I suddenly hear such things… my dream is to get a job at a Large Guild and live comfortably.’

The idea of becoming stronger to save the world didn’t really resonate with him in the first place.

Mincheol was an ordinary citizen you could find anywhere, a common person who pursued peace.

‘Well, I probably don’t need to worry about it. There are many Awakened with more talent than me.’

Even Baek-ryul was expected to be a genius who could recreate the legends of the 0th generation.

Looking globally, there were even more. Malcolm Bernard, Michael Alzen, Haruka Miyuki.

‘Those people will take care of it.’

What if they couldn’t?

If even those people failed, what could he possibly do about it?

Mincheol put his mind at ease and got up from his seat.

Now it was time to use the rewards he had obtained from the Defensive Layer.

“First, let’s use all the Inventory Expansion Vouchers.”

Mincheol tore all four vouchers. The vouchers became light and were absorbed into Mincheol.

【The maximum weight of your Inventory has increased.】

【110kg -】 130kg>

Looking at the increased capacity made him feel reassured.

For Mincheol, who had Auto Looting, inventory capacity was more important than anything else.

Next, what Mincheol took out was a Unique Skill Enhancement Voucher and a Skill Level Increase Voucher.

“What’s a Skill Level Increase Voucher?”

It was an item he had obtained for the first time.

Mincheol put down the Unique Skill Enhancement Voucher and examined the Skill Level Increase Voucher.

【Skill Level Increase Voucher (Legendary)】

-Description: A ticket that can increase a skill’s level by one stage. This ticket can be applied to skills up to ‘Legendary’ grade.

And the moment he saw the description, his eyes nearly popped out.

The skills that Awakened could obtain would level up the more frequently they were used.

But as the skill’s grade became higher, the difficulty of raising its level also increased.

At the legendary grade, it barely increased at all.

Even Mincheol, despite using Radiant Heaven Strike so frequently, had only recently managed to increase it by 1 level.

“Wo, wow… where should I use this? Or should I save it?”

Suddenly, one skill came to mind in Mincheol’s head.

“Come to think of it, that was a foolish worry. The skill I should use it on is already decided.”

Kaela Marbenia.

The skill that occupied the largest portion of Mincheol’s combat power.

Mincheol used the Skill Level Increase Voucher on Kaela Marbenia.

【The level of ‘Kaela Marbenia’ increases.】

【The amount of mana consumed when activating the skill increases.】

【2 additional throws are added.】

Mincheol’s mouth widened into a grin.

From now on, Mincheol could throw three projectiles simultaneously.

He was so curious about what kind of power it would display in actual combat. Curious enough to make his body itch.

“Next is… this.”

Mincheol took out the Unique Skill Enhancement Voucher.

“I wonder what ability I’ll gain this time.”

When he used it before, he acquired the auto mining ability.

Thanks to that, he was able to break through the Mercenary Layer comfortably.

【You have used the ‘Unique Skill Enhancement Voucher’.】

【A new function is added to ‘Auto Looting’.】

【Auto Looting】

-Grade: Unique Skill.

-Description: Acquires designated items that exist within range.

-Designatable targets: 12.

-Range: 1.2km

-Additional Functions

1. Carving: Acquires all objects within a cube (15cm×15cm×15cm).

2. Plunder: Consumes mana to forcibly steal ownership. Mana consumption increases depending on the item.

3. Auto Mining: Automatically mines minerals within range.

4. Additional Function (abbreviation TBD): Absorbs life force from all living beings within 12m.

Mincheol’s brow furrowed naturally as he checked the added skill.

“…Absorb life force?”

What on earth did looting have to do with absorbing life force?

“Since it’s looting, I guess it brings life force too…?”

It was somewhat absurd, but he had already gained the ability.

It wouldn’t change just because he didn’t understand it.

“Well anyway… it should be useful.”

Being able to absorb enemy life force during combat?

Even if the amount he could absorb was small, as long as it was beneficial, it was never a loss.

Moreover, wasn’t the Axe of Tooshin that Mincheol newly acquired a weapon that consumed large amounts of life force?

Using the added function should be able to offset some of the disadvantages.

“If I can absorb stamina too… maybe later I can absorb mana as well?”

Mincheol let his imagination soar.

He envisioned himself absorbing massive amounts of mana in large-scale wars and freely unleashing Kaela Marbenia.

“Hmm, I’m getting a bit excited.”

Mincheol entered an abbreviation for the additional function.

He decided to simply name it ‘Life Absorption’.

With this, he had used up all the items he received as rewards.

At that moment, a new message appeared.

【You have cleared the 30th Floor while possessing multiple ‘Lucky Coins’!】

【You have satisfied the conditions for opening the Secret Shop!】

【You can use the ‘Secret Shop’ once!】

Thanks to clearing the 30th Floor, he was now able to open the Secret Shop.

However, Mincheol had no intention of using the Secret Shop right away.

“I should find out what the next floor is before using it.”

Hadn’t he learned this lesson clearly this time?

The Tower was truly a filthy and annoyingly dangerous place.

“Or should I save it?”

The Secret Shop had grades.

The higher the grade, the better items that appeared.

The problem was that coins were consumed each time the grade was raised.

“Let me think about it more.”

Mincheol decided to postpone the Secret Shop for now.

* * *

Afterwards, Mincheol logged into the Hunter Community.

It was to get information about the 31st Floor he would challenge next.

-Top Newbie: Looking for a handsome, well-mannered, full-haired expert grandpa to explain the 31st Floor, kyu~!

└DTD: What newbie nonsense from someone who already passed the 30th Floor…

└Anonymous: I’m handsome, well-mannered, and have full hair, but I don’t want to tell you.

└Anonymous: The 31st Floor is as difficult as the 31st Floor. Remember this golden tip.

He must have chosen the wrong time as it was full of joking comments.

-King Burger: 31st Floor? You’ve already reached there?

Then, someone who would give proper comments as Mincheol wanted appeared.

King Burger.

The most upright and knowledgeable user in the Hunter Community.

-King Burger: The 31st Floor has a lot to explain, so investigating separately would be much better.

-King Burger: To give you a rough idea, on the 31st Floor you can choose which stage to challenge. You already experienced this on the 16th Floor, right?

On the 16th Floor, you could choose between the Goblin Forest and the Golem Cave.

Since golems were much more dangerous than goblins, many people recommended the forest.

However, Mincheol chose the Golem Cave thanks to Auto Looting’s ‘Carving’ function.

‘I gained a lot of benefit then.’

Not only the cores that dropped from killing golems, but also the black steel that could be mined in the cave.

He was able to earn quite a decent income early on.

-King Burger: The selectable stages are four types: Swamp, Endless Labyrinth, Red Forest, and Industrial District.

-King Burger: Each has different types of monsters that appear and different quests to perform.

-King Burger: So it would be better to research well and choose a stage that’s advantageous for you.

This was the first time such diverse options had appeared while climbing the Tower.

Just as Mincheol was about to thank King Burger.

-King Burger: However, never choose the Industrial District. That place is hell.

King Burger left a firm comment.

-Top Newbie: What kind of place is the Industrial District that you call it hell?

└King Burger: The Industrial District is a stage belonging to the Machine Empire. I don’t need to explain what the Machine Empire is like, right?

Actually, he didn’t know well.

Although he had overwhelming combat abilities compared to Awakened of similar levels.

Mincheol was still a rookie who hadn’t even been an Awakened for a year.

But judging from King Burger’s comment, the Machine Empire seemed to be treated like common knowledge in the Awakened industry.

Asking about ‘common knowledge’ was somewhat embarrassing.

Mincheol decided to research it himself rather than ask.

-Top Newbie: Thanks for letting me know, kyu~!

└King Burger: Yeah, continue climbing carefully from now on.

Mincheol finished his conversation with King Burger for now.

And he quickly searched for information about the Machine Empire.

【Title: The Most Unique Dimension in the Tower! Let’s Learn About the Machine Empire!】

-Uploader: Record Enthusiast.

Then a video immediately appeared.

It was from Record Enthusiast, a famous figure in this field.

Mincheol immediately played the video.

-Hello everyone~. Tower is life. Life is Tower. This is Record Enthusiast!

-Today we’ll learn about the Machine Empire, one of the major dimensions that exists in the Tower!

-You can feel it from the name, right? The Machine Empire was said to be a dimension ruled by robots.

-No intelligent beings other than robots have ever been discovered. So how were the robots made, you ask?

-Scholars haven’t figured that out yet. The most likely hypothesis is that there were intelligent beings who created the robots, but they were exterminated by the robots.

A dimension ruled by robots.

The SF movies he had seen so far came to Mincheol’s mind.

-Why did such a hypothesis emerge, you ask? All the robots in the Machine Empire are specialized in killing living beings.

-Using weapons that cause bleeding, shooting guns, using nets.

-All things that are useless in combat against robots.

-The robots’ AI itself is also programmed to kill living beings.

But his body stiffened at the following explanation.

“Killer robots?”

It wasn’t an SF movie full of expectations and aspirations for the future, but a dystopian one.

Like a movie that a certain legendary bodybuilder appeared in during his youth.

-That’s why the Machine Empire is also a dimension that Awakened avoid.

-Even Awakened from large guilds are no exception. They say when training Awakened initially, they don’t even consider it as an option.

-Just hearing this gives you a sense of how dangerous it is, right?

As Mincheol had experienced, Awakened from large guilds all possessed tremendous skills.

Powerful stats, and skills that could maximize their use.

If even such large guilds don’t consider it as an option…

“Ugh, I should absolutely never choose this place.”

Mincheol shuddered slightly.

Even while he did so, the content continued.

-Nevertheless, Awakened who challenge the Machine Empire never cease to appear.

-You ask why? It’s because the rewards you can only obtain here are too sweet.

-First, the items you can get in the Machine Empire are incredibly unique.

-From ultra-miniature drones as small as mosquitoes to guns that compress and fire energy, combat prosthetics, and so on.

-It’s not just combat items. Pills that completely cure all diseases, boards that fly around without wheels, and so on.

-You can really obtain items that would appear in the future.

-That’s why they’re incredibly popular not just among Awakened, but also among ordinary people. Getting just one proper item can earn you tremendous money.

Oho.

Mincheol watched the video with an intrigued expression.

-You can’t leave out the alloys either. The Machine Empire is a dimension where metal refining is incredibly advanced.

-If you entrust the metals you can obtain here to a craftsman, a Unique grade item appears just like that!

-That’s why Awakened exploring the Machine Empire say obtaining alloys is their top priority goal.

They were certainly attractive rewards.

Especially the alloy part.

‘You can make Unique grade items?’

As it happened, Mincheol had recently been feeling disappointed with his Dark Elongated Spear.

Though it was an excellent weapon, its power was lacking because it was Rare grade.

He wanted to obtain a Unique grade spear, but no items were being listed at the Auction House.

‘But they say there are only killer robots.’

Of course, Mincheol had absolutely no intention of challenging such a dangerous place to obtain rewards.

His purpose was, after all, to safely climb the Tower!

Though of course, unfairness upon unfairness kept piling up, causing dangerous situations to occur one after another.

“Let me look into other stages.”

Just as Mincheol was about to set aside his regret and turn off the video.

-One curious point is that the Machine Empire apparently has no developed technology related to mana at all.

-The robots also receive power through separate energy sources, not mana.

-Since the robots have absolutely no mana resistance, magic-type skills work well on them.

The moment he heard the continuing explanation, Mincheol’s body froze.

‘There’s no… mana?’

Auto Looting’s only constraint was that mana was consumed when bringing items that had mana flowing through them.

This constraint also applied to equipment with options.

He didn’t know the exact principle, but when enemies used weapons with options, tremendous mana was consumed to steal them with Auto Looting.

Even Rare grade items couldn’t be touched with Auto Looting.

That’s why when fighting strong enemies, Mincheol didn’t even attempt to steal weapons with Auto Looting.

But no mana?

Moreover, if they’re robots, wouldn’t they be treated as objects?

Hehe-

“This is…”

It seemed like quite a well-prepared feast.

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