The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 164

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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 164

Episode 164: Fellow Sufferers (1)

The tournament continued after that.

The Dunwall Duke family, befitting the continent’s greatest sword family, commanded countless retainers.

Because of this, there were countless participants as well. One day was too short for all of them to compete.

So the tournament schedule had to be long.

Mincheol came out to the arena every day to compete against the knights.

“Left army Cardmos Dunwall victory!”

Mincheol achieved victories with unstoppable momentum.

There were tricky opponents, but no difficult ones.

Mincheol easily read his opponent knights’ movements, then struck their weak points.

“Wow, he won again!”

“Cardmos Dunwall! Cardmos Dunwall!”

“The possessed spearman!”

As Mincheol continued his victories, the crowd’s cheers grew louder.

Thanks to this, he even earned the strange nickname of “the possessed spearman.”

But no matter how popular Mincheol became, it was nothing compared to William Dunwall.

Crash-

William’s matches always ended quickly.

There wasn’t a single knight who could block the strikes he delivered.

“William Dunwall!”

“The future of the Dunwall Duke family!”

“Woooooh!”

Every time William won, cheers loud enough to bring down the tournament venue erupted.

At some point, the spectators began to wonder:

“If Cardmos and William fought, who would win?”

Based on match content alone, William had the advantage.

William had ended every match with a single strike.

Meanwhile, Mincheol hadn’t shown such overwhelming dominance.

“Obviously Lord William! Didn’t you all see? He just swings his wooden sword and bang! Crash! They all go flying!”

“But Lord Cardmos is no pushover either. He’s never allowed a single attack to land on him.”

However, there were quite a few opinions that Mincheol would win.

Though his match times were longer than William’s, they were perfect.

Whatever technique his opponent knights used, Mincheol countered them all. Then he delivered a decisive blow to achieve victory.

“It’s like watching a spear and shield.”

“Will William the attacker win, or Cardmos the defender?”

Whenever two or more people gathered, they were always busy predicting the outcome of their match.

Time flowed on like this until they were facing the finals.

* * *

Crash-!

With an explosive sound, dust rose thickly in the arena.

When the dust settled, two knights could be seen.

William bringing down his sword.

The knight who had blocked that sword.

The defending side’s wooden sword was shattered, leaving only the handle.

The knight couldn’t withstand the impact either and was down on one knee.

“…I’ve lost.”

The knight smiled bitterly as he acknowledged defeat.

William extended his hand to help the knight up.

“He won again!”

“Long live William Dunwall!”

The spectators sent up enthusiastic cheers.

William waved both arms, enjoying the crowd’s cheers.

There were two gazes silently watching such William.

It was Mincheol.

Mincheol was watching William’s match from behind the arena.

Throughout the entire match, he didn’t even blink.

Cardmos looked at such Mincheol with a pleased expression.

‘That boy can’t take his eyes off him. What incredible concentration.’

Mincheol had watched every single one of William’s matches without missing any.

As if he intended to engrave everything about William in his mind.

‘By now, he must have finished calculating how to face William in his head.’

Indeed, how would Mincheol face William?

Cardmos couldn’t contain his anticipation for tomorrow’s finals.

But Mincheol was thinking the complete opposite of Cardmos’s expectations.

‘Wow, how am I supposed to beat that?’

Mincheol clicked his tongue inwardly.

No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t see a way to defeat William.

‘His physical abilities are several times better than mine, he’s technically perfect, and he even uses strange techniques?’

It wasn’t for nothing that the knights couldn’t block William’s strikes.

When William swung his wooden sword, his movements would suddenly accelerate.

On top of that, the power contained in his wooden sword would greatly increase.

Just like when an Awakened uses a skill.

‘No, it is a skill.’

If Awakened use skills with the system’s help, William used them directly himself – that was the only difference.

Meanwhile, Mincheol was in a situation where skill usage was prohibited.

How was he supposed to beat William in this situation?

“Can I move like that too?”

Mincheol asked Cardmos.

-What are you talking about?

“I’m curious if I can use skills without the system’s help, like William.”

-Of course it’s possible.

Cardmos spoke without any hesitation.

-You just need to learn the sensation of moving mana.

“How do I learn that sensation?”

-You already know the sensation. Haven’t you used skills many times?

Mincheol recalled the times he had used skills.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he had never felt anything like a sensation.

-You’re already using mana to begin with.

“Huh?”

-You don’t think you can fight knights with just your bare body, do you? You’re unconsciously moving the mana accumulated in my body.

Mincheol made a puzzled expression.

Somehow, the more he listened to the explanation, the more lost he felt.

‘But this person wouldn’t lie.’

Mincheol recalled when he had used Black Horn Bullet Form.

Black Horn Bullet Form was the skill he had used most frequently.

‘When I activate Black Horn Bullet Form, I move my feet like this…’

Thud.

Suddenly, Mincheol fell to the ground.

Bewilderment appeared on Mincheol’s face.

-What are you doing?

Cardmos asked with a dumbfounded expression.

But Mincheol didn’t have the leisure to answer that question.

‘What was that just now?’

His head felt tingly. Something seemed within reach, yet wasn’t.

It was when Mincheol was about to attempt the Black Horn Bullet Form again.

“Lord Cardmos.”

A servant who had approached at some point called out to Mincheol.

To Mincheol, who wore an expression asking what was wrong, the servant said.

“His Grace the Duke summons you.”

* * *

Mincheol followed the servant toward the Duke’s study.

“You’ve come.”

The Duke said while looking outside from the window.

His tone was still cold.

“What business do you have in summoning me?”

Naturally, Mincheol’s blunt manner of speaking came out.

At this, the Duke frowned and turned to look at Mincheol.

“Vermin-like thing.”

And he suddenly spat out a curse.

Mincheol was inwardly amazed. To reveal emotions so openly like this?

“Didn’t I tell you? I said you should stay quiet as a mouse! But not only did you participate in the tournament, you even made it to the finals?”

Even though his child was displaying outstanding skills, the Duke wasn’t pleased in the slightest.

“Did you want to disgrace my face that badly!”

Rather, he was seething as if he would devour his child.

Watching such a Duke, Mincheol recalled Cardmos’s words.

If you’re curious about why you’re treated with contempt, ask the Duke directly.

An opportunity will come soon. He himself had asked a similar question around this time.

Mincheol instinctively knew that now was exactly that moment.

“Why do you hate me so much?”

At Mincheol’s question, the Duke’s eyes widened.

The Duke threw his head back and began to laugh.

“Ha, hahaha! Were you that curious? Curious enough to glare at your father and ask?”

The Duke’s laughter stopped abruptly.

His eyes held an eerie murderous intent.

“Because your mother was an unfaithful whore.”

Mincheol’s eyes twitched.

He knew this was inside Cardmos’s memory.

He also knew that the Duke before his eyes was an illusion.

“Please don’t speak carelessly about my mother.”

But he couldn’t just let the insult to his mother pass.

Mincheol had grown up receiving his mother’s devotion without a father.

“Don’t speak carelessly? Then how am I supposed to think well of that woman who fooled around with other men?”

The Duke said while grinding his teeth.

Mincheol was slightly taken aback. Fooled around with other men?

But he soon dismissed it as unimportant.

‘Well, I don’t know the detailed circumstances.’

It was just the Duke’s one-sided claim.

He hadn’t heard Cardmos’s side of the story. He couldn’t carelessly agree.

However, he could clearly understand why the Duke hated Cardmos so much.

“Let me make this clear once and for all. I have never once thought of you as my child. You might be a child that woman bore after carrying another man’s seed!”

The Duke’s abusive words continued.

Mincheol listened half-heartedly and let it flow past.

“If not for my father’s orders, I would never have accepted your mother! At least she died while giving birth to you, which was fortunate! I didn’t have to keep seeing that vulgar face!”

But this time, he couldn’t do that.

The moment he heard the Duke’s words, memories he had tried to forget came rushing up.

[This is older brother’s child?]

How old was he then?

He couldn’t remember the exact age.

But he remembered the scene from that time.

Red sunset.

A cafe with a strong coffee aroma.

Mincheol was sitting next to his mother.

[He looks stupid. He doesn’t seem to resemble older brother at all, does he?]

Across the table sat a woman he was seeing for the first time.

Even at his young age, he could tell. That the woman wasn’t being friendly.

[I’d appreciate it if you never contacted me again. I don’t want to see that stupid face again.]

Mincheol’s reverie ended abruptly.

It was because of the Duke’s shout.

“If you understand, get out right now! I’m sick of looking at your face!”

Mincheol came outside without a word.

There was no point staying longer anyway, as he’d only hear more of the Duke’s curses.

And he needed to hear the inside story from Cardmos again…

“Wow, did you get scolded badly?”

William, who was standing in the corridor, spoke to Mincheol.

“How does it feel to learn the secret? Huh? Tell me about it.”

William asked Mincheol with a bright smile.

Thanks to this, Mincheol was able to realize.

“Don’t tell me you knew?”

“Yeah, I knew. I heard it from Father many times. That older brother is different from us by birth.”

Mincheol let out a bitter laugh.

There was a reason William had openly disrespected Cardmos.

It wasn’t about checking a competitor. He had never acknowledged Cardmos as a brother from the beginning.

“Don’t feel too wronged. We had different mothers from the start anyway, right?”

William approached and patted Mincheol’s shoulder.

“I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I’m telling you in advance. I won’t end it quickly. That wouldn’t be fun, would it?”

Saying that, William disappeared.

Mincheol asked Cardmos, who had appeared at some point.

“Is what he said true?”

-How could that be!

Cardmos shouted angrily.

Mincheol didn’t take offense.

That was because Cardmos looked like he was about to cry.

-I was definitely of Dunwol Duchy bloodline, no matter what anyone says! I called mages and alchemists to verify it multiple times! Most importantly, if Mother had really been unfaithful, Grandfather wouldn’t have forced the marriage!

“Then why does the Duke think that way?”

The answer didn’t come immediately.

-…When I was young, before Grandfather passed away, he told me a story. Father had a friend he spent his childhood with.

After a long while, Cardmos began his story.

-He was said to be a truly outstanding knight. So much so that Father never once defeated him.

The direct lineage of the Dunwol Duchy had been born with outstanding talent for generations.

If even such direct lineage couldn’t defeat him once, he must have been a truly remarkable knight.

-Grandfather said that Father must have been jealous of that friend at the time, even if he didn’t show it. He gradually distanced himself and eventually stopped even talking to him.

Since the direct heir couldn’t defeat a knight who was to become a retainer, all sorts of talk must have emerged.

The Duke probably suffered a lot of stress because of that.

-Then marriage talks with Mother began. Father was not pleased with the marriage itself. So even after getting married, he couldn’t bring himself to grow fond of Mother.

Cardmos stopped speaking.

His face looked as if he had swallowed thorns.

-Mother, who had married into an unfamiliar place, had no one to grow close to. There was just one person she had some friendship with. The problem was that person was…

“That friend, wasn’t it?”

Finally, the puzzle pieces fit together.

A Duke already suffering from an inferiority complex wouldn’t have just overlooked his friend and wife getting along well.

Moreover, Cardmos happened to be born with a body too frail to be considered true direct lineage of the Dunwol Duchy.

‘Good grief.’

Mincheol scratched his cheek.

He hadn’t expected that Cardmos, whom he’d thought was just a crazy old man, would have such a story behind him.

-…Wait, I want to be alone for a while.

Saying that, Cardmos disappeared.

Left alone like that, Mincheol fell into thought.

* * *

The next day.

Mincheol came up to the arena to fight in the finals.

“William Dunwall! William Dunwall!”

The crowd roared for William. His popularity was truly tremendous.

“Brother, did you prepare a lot?”

From across the way, William spoke with a bright smile.

Mincheol silently fiddled with his spear shaft.

His mind was complicated. It was because of Cardmos’s story he’d heard yesterday.

Perhaps because he’d had a similar experience, it somehow didn’t feel like someone else’s story.

[I’d appreciate it if you never contacted me again. I don’t want to see that stupid face again.]

Thanks to that, memories he’d barely managed to forget kept surfacing.

The face of that person called his aunt, who had looked at him with contempt.

“Brother, you remember what I said yesterday, right? I’m not planning to end this quickly.”

William straightened his wooden sword.

Leisure oozed from his face and actions. He seemed to already be certain of victory.

“Wow! It’s starting!”

“Who will win?”

“Whoever it is, it’ll be an incredible match!”

As William took his stance, the crowd’s fervor grew even more intense.

At the same time, William’s smile deepened.

“Should I start with the left arm?”

The next moment, William’s figure became blurred.

Bang-

With the sound of air bursting, William’s figure charged forward.

The wooden sword fell with the momentum to split a mountain.

The battle of spear and shield that the crowd had been expecting began…

Swoosh-

The wooden sword cut through empty air. Mincheol had already stepped back one pace.

For a moment, William’s face went blank.

Huh? This didn’t hit?

Right after that, the impact struck.

A spear tip that thrust in like lightning struck William’s solar plexus hard.

“Kuk!”

William made a sound as if he was about to suffocate and flew backward.

All strength seemed to leave his body as he even dropped his wooden sword.

“…?”

“…??”

The crowd was so shocked they couldn’t even let out exclamations.

-…!

Cardmos was the same.

However, his reason for being surprised was a bit different.

Mincheol had used a skill.

Since Cardmos, the owner of the Memory Stones, had forbidden it, he shouldn’t be able to activate skills.

In other words, Mincheol had used a skill without the system’s help.

-But why did you use that woman’s technique instead of the Meteor Spear technique!

While Cardmos was flying into a rage, Mincheol picked up the wooden sword that had fallen to the ground and threw it to William.

“Catch it.”

William looked up at Mincheol while clutching his solar plexus.

“It wouldn’t be fun if it ended easily, would it?”

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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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