The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 16

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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 16

Episode 16: Looks Like It’ll Work Out (2)

“Huh?”

Mincheol’s eyes widened. He was surprised by his own actions.

While he was still in shock, all the characters carved on the gravestone were erased and a keyhole appeared.

“Am I supposed to put the key in here?”

Mincheol inserted the key into the hole. With a click, the key disappeared into the hole.

Grrrrrr.

With the sound of scraping stone, the entire floor where the gravestone stood was pushed back.

And stairs leading underground were revealed.

【You have solved the secret of the ‘Hidden Stage’!】

“Hidden Stage?”

Mincheol was greatly surprised as he read the message.

He had read about it on the Hunter Community. The Tower contained many secret spaces called Hidden Stages.

Most importantly, clearing a Hidden Stage could yield tremendous rewards. That’s why once someone cleared it, that Hidden Stage would be completely destroyed.

“Wow, I discovered a Hidden Stage.”

However, as great as the rewards were, it could also be dangerous.

Mincheol slapped both his cheeks with his palms to calm his heightened emotions.

“No, this isn’t the time to be happy. I need to stay alert.”

King Burger, a veteran of the Hunter Community, had earnestly warned never to let your guard down in the Tower.

He especially said it was most dangerous when rewards were right in front of you.

Because you unconsciously let your guard down.

“If it’s a Hidden Stage, it’ll be that much more dangerous.”

But he had no intention of running away. The rewards of the Hidden Stage were too valuable to give up like this.

Mincheol carefully descended the stairs, holding his torch forward.

Only after going down for quite a while could he reach the bottom. It was when Mincheol stepped on the floor.

Suddenly the world became bright.

Chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling lit up, illuminating the dark space.

Surprisingly, the space below was a banquet hall.

The tapestries hanging on the walls had all rotted away, and the tables and chairs had all decayed, but it wasn’t difficult to imagine how splendid this place had been in the past.

“What’s that?”

Mincheol stared at the center of the banquet hall. There, a skeleton in armor was kneeling.

The skeleton had turned black, showing how old it was.

In contrast, the armor was gleaming like new. The spear stuck beside it was the same.

“Could that armor and spear be the Hidden Stage reward?”

It was when Mincheol stepped into the banquet hall with that thought.

【You have discovered the Hidden Stage ‘Banquet Hall of House Dunwall’!】

【The ‘Phantom Knight’ guarding the ducal house harbors hostility toward you!】

“Huh? Phantom Knight?”

The moment Mincheol was flustered, red light flashed from within the Phantom Knight’s skull.

Black waves burst out with the Phantom Knight at the center. At the same time, the entire banquet hall began to shake.

“Whoa.”

It was clearly an extraordinary sight. There was only one reaction Mincheol could show upon seeing it.

“I’m fucked.”

The Phantom Knight didn’t give Mincheol time to collect himself. It pulled out the spear that had been stuck in the ground and immediately charged.

Despite being clad in iron armor, the Phantom Knight’s movements were as light and agile as a beast.

‘I’ll deal with it before it gets close.’

Mincheol threw down his torch and opened his inventory. He pulled out a hand axe from it and hurled it at the Phantom Knight.

While fighting golems on the 6th Floor, his skills had increased significantly in level.

Thanks to that, the sound of the hand axe cutting through the air was quite threatening. Just from the sound, it seemed like it could split green wood.

【Using skill ‘Rapid Throw’.】

【Throwing speed increases.】

【Consumes 40 mana per use.】

But it didn’t work on the Phantom Knight.

The Phantom Knight extended its spear tip and touched the hand axes. Then the axes’ trajectories were deflected and flew behind the Phantom Knight.

The moment he saw the Phantom Knight’s technique, Mincheol felt a chill down his spine.

It wasn’t simply a matter of being strong. The Phantom Knight was using high-level spear techniques.

“This guy is really dangerous!”

Now that he knew it was much more dangerous than expected, he had to pour out all his strength.

Mincheol’s hands moved quickly. Hand axes poured out without pause.

【Acquiring ‘DH Workshop Small Axe’ within a 500m radius.】

【Acquired 8 ‘DH Workshop Small Axes’.】

Thanks to auto looting, he didn’t need to worry about consuming hand axes.

【Activating the skill of ‘Ring of Promise’.】

【Mana is slightly recovered by the ‘Mana Recovery’ skill.】

When mana ran low, he just had to use the Ring of Promise.

It would have been a shocking sight for other awakeners to see.

Such a fierce attack never stopped for even a single moment.

The problem was that the Phantom Knight was much stronger than Mincheol.

The Phantom Knight deflected all the hand axes as it charged. No matter how many hand axes he threw, he couldn’t wound the Phantom Knight.

‘Damn, I didn’t expect none of them would work.’

There wasn’t much distance left between him and the Phantom Knight.

Mincheol gave up throwing and drew the shield and one-handed sword he was carrying on his back.

Thanks to his quick-draw technique, Mincheol could grip both weapons in the blink of an eye.

“Come on!”

It was when Mincheol shouted to ignite his fighting spirit.

The Phantom Knight’s red glow shone even more distinctly.

At that moment, instinct warned him. But before he could heed the warning, the Phantom Knight’s figure disappeared.

About ten steps.

The Phantom Knight leaped across that distance and appeared right in front of Mincheol.

Before Mincheol could even raise his shield, the spear the Phantom Knight was holding shot forward.

【Activating ‘Quick Turn’!】

Mincheol reflexively used his skill. His body rotated with his left foot as the axis.

But the thrust’s speed was much faster than Mincheol’s movement.

‘I can’t avoid it…’

Before his body could completely dodge, the spear tip pierced through his chest.

* * *

Kelly Broder, a reporter from Bear News, one of America’s famous media companies, kept swallowing nervously.

In her nearly ten years of experience as a journalist, this was the first time she had felt this tense.

But she didn’t blame herself. The subject of this interview was truly extraordinary.

“Mr. Malcolm Bernard, thank you for agreeing to this interview.”

The black man with hair cut so short his scalp was visible gave a brief nod.

Malcolm Bernard.

Among countless awakeners, he was ranked first, the pinnacle, called the strongest—a true giant.

Malcolm Bernard was a handsome man with sharp jawlines and deep eyes that left a strong impression.

Even Kelly, who was already married, found herself blushing without realizing it.

“It’s truly an honor to have someone called the pinnacle of awakeners here with us.”

“The pinnacle… that’s too generous a title for me.”

Malcolm Bernard smiled as if embarrassed. Even that expression was charming.

“If possible, could you refrain from using that title?”

“I apologize if it made you uncomfortable.”

“Not at all. I’m just asking because it makes me a bit embarrassed.”

When discussing Malcolm Bernard, one thing that never failed to come up was his upright character.

Despite being in such a position, he was always humble and never forgot to show consideration for others.

In the first place, his awakening had come about through trying to save people.

Thanks to this, the interview proceeded smoothly. Kelly Broder brought up the questions she had prepared one by one.

“Now for the final question. What do you think is most important when climbing the Tower, Mr. Malcolm Bernard?”

At Kelly’s question, Malcolm Bernard fell into thought.

After quite some time had passed, Malcolm Bernard spoke to Kelly.

“I believe it’s mental strength.”

“Mental strength?”

“The Tower is a dangerous place. Even the lower floors with established strategies can put you in danger at any moment due to unexpected situations.”

In the Tower, it was commonplace for awakeners who had gained fame to disappear overnight.

This was true not only for the upper floors but the lower floors as well.

“When faced with such dangerous situations, most people lose their grip on reason. But that’s not acceptable. You must struggle to survive, burning your will until the very end.”

Kelly nodded and listened intently to Malcolm Bernard’s words.

For someone called the pinnacle, it was an excessively humble interview.

However, Kelly didn’t find it particularly strange. Malcolm Bernard had always emphasized mental strength and mindset.

“This isn’t just empty philosophy. The stronger one’s will, the more a person can accomplish beyond their abilities.”

However, this statement was something she was hearing for the first time.

Her journalist’s instinct told her this statement would explosively increase the video’s view count.

“Could you elaborate on that?”

“This is from when I was still inexperienced. I was climbing the Tower when I discovered a Hidden Stage.”

Kelly Broder’s eyes sparkled.

A moment when the great Malcolm Bernard had been in danger? It was intriguing from the start.

“In the Hidden Stage, I had to fight a monster far stronger than myself. In the blink of an eye, my body was covered in wounds.”

“That must have been terrifying.”

“Yes, it was frightening. When death approached, my body froze up. But I didn’t give up until the end and desperately resisted.”

Kelly focused on the story with anticipation.

How exactly had Malcolm Bernard overcome the crisis?

Perhaps he had gained unexpected fortune by not giving up until the end?

Or surely he had miraculously turned the tables by finding the monster’s weakness…

“Then I began to see a new path.”

“A new path?”

“New ways to utilize my unique skill and general skills came to mind. So I was able to turn the tables on the monster and achieve victory.”

“…”

Kelly was momentarily flustered. So to summarize what he just said…

“You encountered a dangerous monster and nearly died, but in that short time you became stronger than the monster?”

“No. My strong mental strength opened up a new path for me.”

“That… wasn’t it possible because Mr. Malcolm Bernard is a genius, rather than because of mental strength?”

Even at Kelly’s point, Malcolm Bernard spoke with an unwavering voice.

“There are people who misinterpret my words like that.”

Kelly felt her head spinning.

Her journalist’s instinct told her that no matter what she said, she wouldn’t be able to change Malcolm Bernard’s opinion.

Kelly thought she could somewhat understand why Michael Alzen disliked Malcolm Bernard so much.

“…Then were there other awakeners around you who experienced such things?”

“Not many. Just people like myself, Michael Alzen, and Haruka Miyuki.”

Kelly’s expression became strange. All the people mentioned were awakeners considered to be on the same level as Malcolm Bernard.

In other words, it meant that unless you were an awakener of that caliber, you couldn’t survive when encountering a powerful enemy in the Tower.

* * *

Just as the spear tip was about to pierce through his chest, the trajectory suddenly shifted.

The spear blade scraped against the armor and slipped out diagonally downward.

The Phantom Knight looked down at its feet. Its foot was stuck in a hole.

But the shape of the hole was strange. It was a perfect cube shape, as if cut out with a blade.

【Activating Strong Strike!】

At that moment, Mincheol kicked the Phantom Knight with all his might.

With a loud crash, the Phantom Knight’s body was sent flying backward. The Phantom Knight landed on the ground and looked at Mincheol.

“Wow, I really almost died!”

Mincheol stroked his chest with a terrified expression. Clear marks where the spear blade had scraped were carved into his armor.

Just before being pierced by the spear, he had used the additional function to drill a hole beneath the Phantom Knight’s feet.

This disrupted the Phantom Knight’s movement, causing the spear blade to miss.

“Hey, I only got hit earlier because I panicked, okay?”

The bewilderment that had appeared on Mincheol’s face instantly evaporated and disappeared.

Mincheol shouted at the Phantom Knight with a thoroughly angry face.

“So let’s go at it again!”

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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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