The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 187

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

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Auto Looting Range Too Wide Episode 187
Chapter

Episode 187: Mana Engine (2)
A staff was originally a weapon designed for striking.
Whether swung or thrust, it mattered little. Every surface was blunt, leaving only one option—to bludgeon the enemy.
But in this moment.
The iron staff Mincheol extended pierced straight through Kim Yeol-jin’s shoulder.
An irresistible force tore through muscle and shattered bone, bursting clean through to the other side.
Yet the impact showed no sign of diminishing.
The shockwave extending beyond the shoulder crashed against the iron bars.
Crash—!
The iron bars trembled violently.
In that same instant, Kim Yeol-jin’s shoulder exploded.
The deltoid and trapezius muscles—partially obliterated.
The humerus and acromion vanished entirely.
Crimson blood sprayed in all directions. The forearm, severed from its connection, dropped limply to the ground.
Not merely severed—an entire section of his body had been erased.
Surely, unbearable agony would follow. Yet no scream escaped his lips.
The moment his shoulder exploded, Kim Yeol-jin lost consciousness from the shock.
“….”
The crowd fell into stunned silence.
The challenger defeated the champion?
What in the world was that skill he just displayed?
Countless questions flooded the spectators’ minds.
Then, Mincheol approached Kim Yeol-jin, who lay crumpled on the ground.
He extended his hand and held it beneath Kim Yeol-jin’s nose.
After confirming faint breathing, he spoke.
“He’s still breathing.”
The crowd felt an icy chill pierce their spines, as if skewered by frozen needles.
Was he actually disappointed he hadn’t killed him?
“H-how can a person be so cruel?”
“A demon… a demon has become the champion!”
The spectators erupted in fervent cheers at the new champion’s brutal display.
Roars of acclaim poured forth. The entire arena trembled with excitement.
But the crowd didn’t know the truth.
‘Thank goodness I didn’t kill him.’
Contrary to their interpretation, I was simply relieved that Kim Yeol-jin remained alive.
* * *
“You bastard, I’ll fry you to death!”
The VIP Seating consisted of private rooms.
Kim Gwang-gyu slammed down the armrest and shot to his feet.
“How dare you touch Yeol-jin… that precious child…!”
Kim Gwang-gyu’s eyes were locked on the arena floor.
Kim Yeol-jin was receiving emergency medical treatment from the medical staff.
“I’ll snap that bastard’s neck right now!”
Laying hands on a Crimson Arena participant without permission could mean making an enemy of the Underworld.
But such considerations meant nothing to Kim Gwang-gyu, consumed by rage.
“Play with that bitch as you see fit, then kill her!”
Kim Gwang-gyu pointed at Hae-in and shouted.
The eyes of the subordinates guarding the room gleamed with malice.
As if they had been waiting for precisely this command.
Kim Gwang-gyu moved toward the door with furious strides.
That was when Hae-in exhaled a long sigh.
“You’re truly beyond redemption, aren’t you?”
Kim Gwang-gyu did not respond.
She was already a woman destined to die defiled.
There was no time to acknowledge every….
Boom—
Then it happened.
Something crushed down upon Kim Gwang-gyu’s body.
One knee buckled without any chance to resist.
“Gack!”
“Argh!”
It was not just Kim Gwang-gyu. His subordinates collapsed under the pressure.
Kim Gwang-gyu tried to resist the crushing force.
But no matter how hard he struggled, he could not lift his body.
‘A skill? No. This is….’
Though merely a Middle Layer Awakened, his travels across the world had granted him considerable experience.
He had felt a similar pressure before.
Nomasa Mtembu.
An Upper Layer Awakened from South Africa.
The legendary figure of Africa.
When he unleashed his mana, this same pressure had descended.
“Impossible….”
Kim Gwang-gyu rejected the reality before him.
Only a select few among Lower Layer Awakened could ascend to the Middle Layer.
And the number who reached the Upper Layer from the Middle was far fewer still.
Even Kim Gwang-gyu, despite lifelong pursuit, had failed to achieve it.
“This cannot be… in such a short time… how could she possibly reach the Upper Layer!”
Kim Gwang-gyu had met Tuigui merely two years ago.
Back then, he was nothing but a novice who had just reached the Middle Layer.
And now that same Tuigui had already ascended to the Upper Layer?
I’ve challenged it my entire life and failed, yet he succeeded?
“You’re only realizing this now? How did someone so dull even manage to reach the Middle Layer?”
Hae-in approached Kim Gwang-gyu.
Kim Gwang-gyu’s pupils began to tremble.
“Hand it over.”
“Hand over what?”
“Don’t play dumb when you know full well. It’s irritating.”
Hae-in drew upon even more of her magical power.
The pressure Kim Gwang-gyu felt intensified. Something surged violently within him.
“Cough—”
Blood that had backed up inside him burst from his mouth.
He had suffered internal injuries from the sheer magical aura Hae-in was radiating.
“I’ll hand it over! I’ll give it to you, so please stop—!”
Hae-in withdrew her magical power without hesitation.
The pressure vanished as if washed away. Only then could Kim Gwang-gyu breathe again.
Trembling—
With shaking hands, Kim Gwang-gyu retrieved a Memory Stone from his Inventory and held it out.
“Do you know why I agreed to this wager so readily?”
Hae-in snatched the Memory Stone and spoke.
“I could kill you and take it, but then I’d be no better than garbage like you.”
Having secured the Memory Stone, Hae-in turned to leave.
Kim Gwang-gyu wiped the blood from his lips, his gaze fixed on her retreating back.
‘Arrogant wench… I’ll kill you no matter what it takes!’
Hae-in’s footsteps halted. Without turning around, she spoke.
“Still haven’t grasped your place, have you?”
Boom—
Hae-in unleashed her magical power once more.
It was incomparable to before. An immense pressure bore down upon all three of them.
“Gahhh!”
“Kugh!”
All three were flattened against the ground.
Every bone in their bodies felt as though it were shattering.
‘Damn… damn it!’
In that moment, Kim Gwang-gyu understood completely.
‘I… I was never someone she could even touch…!’
His once-vicious gaze softened, then transformed entirely into terror.
The Owner of Red Bullet, a group known as human butchers, had been utterly subdued.
Only after confirming this did Hae-in withdraw her mana.
“Be careful from now on. If you wish to prolong that wretched life of yours even a little longer.”
She left those chilling words behind.
Then Hae-in closed the door.
* * *
After confirming that Kim Yeol-jin was receiving treatment, Mincheol descended from the arena.
It was as he passed through the entrance used for entry to return to the lounge.
“That was an impressive match.”
An unfamiliar voice reached his ears.
When he turned his head, he saw a woman wearing an eye mask.
She was dressed in a gray-striped formal suit.
It was an outfit he knew most people would struggle to pull off. Yet it suited her remarkably well.
Likely because of her height, which rivaled Mincheol’s own.
“I’m Cheongchul, managing the Crimson Arena. I came to congratulate you on becoming the new champion.”
“Ah… but this wasn’t even a title match. Can I really be called champion?”
“Of course. Even though it was a special match, you defeated the champion. From now on, you are the new champion.”
Cheongchul took a step closer.
In that moment, Mincheol found himself instinctively stepping back.
‘What?’
He didn’t understand why he’d done it himself.
No matter how he looked at it, she seemed like an ordinary person.
It was rude behavior, but fortunately, Cheongchul didn’t seem to mind.
“How do you view this world, new champion?”
Instead, she posed a strange question.
“Are you asking about politics?”
“Aha, no. I’m simply asking about the structure of society.”
What kind of question was this?
Mincheol tilted his head at this incomprehensible inquiry.
“Human civilization has faced a great upheaval through the Tower and Awakened. Though Awakened vary in rank, they all possess tremendous power.”
It was true.
Even Lower Layer Awakened demonstrated athletic abilities that surpassed professional athletes.
That wasn’t all. With skills, they could accomplish many things.
Without explosives, they could demolish buildings using skills.
With concealment skills, they could steal anything.
They were truly worthy of being called superhuman.
“Yet modern society still remains in the past. It forces us Awakened to follow outdated rules and endure oppression.”
Cheongchul added quietly.
“Haven’t you ever felt suffocated by such a world, champion?”
Cheongchul stared directly at Mincheol.
Mincheol met that gaze steadily and answered.
“I don’t think so.”
“…You don’t?”
“No.”
“You’ve truly never felt the desire to unleash your abilities?”
“Well… it doesn’t seem like it.”
“You really have no complaints about this world at all?”
“Of course not. If Awakened ran around doing whatever they pleased, society would collapse, wouldn’t it?”
Already, crimes committed by Awakened were causing tremendous suffering to ordinary people.
More than anything, I had no intention of wielding my abilities recklessly.
Why would I cause such trouble?
“….”
Cheongchul suddenly fell silent.
Had I said something strange?
It was then that Mincheol scratched his cheek.
“Ahahaha.”
Cheongchul burst into laughter.
“What a shame. Such a shame, really.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing. More importantly, would you accept a friend request from me?”
“Why?”
Mincheol reflexively asked back.
Being asked to add a friend in such a suspicious place naturally made his guard rise.
“Since you’ve become champion, I need to give you the prize money. Since this match came together so suddenly, nothing’s been prepared. I’m planning to send the prize through the system later.”
“There’s prize money?”
My ears perked up at those words.
“Cash would be difficult to dispose of one way or another. I’m giving it in Memory Stones instead.”
“Oh wow.”
With such a reason, I couldn’t refuse.
Mincheol opened the system and registered Cheongchul as a friend.
Since the existing aliases couldn’t be used, I created a new one: ‘Nameless Spear’.
“If you ever need Spearmen, would you consider participating?”
“That’s a bit….”
I had no desire to participate in such dangerous matches again.
“Please think it over. I’ll make sure the participation fee is more than fair.”
“Hmm….”
“Sometimes arenas compete against each other. When that happens, high-grade items are sometimes put up as prizes. It would probably be quite helpful for you.”
Mincheol’s eyes gleamed.
High-grade items? Then it wouldn’t be bad to think about it a bit….
“Older Brother!”
Hae-in’s voice came from behind.
Hae-in rushed over and wrapped her arm around Mincheol’s.
“What were you two talking about?”
Her voice carried unmistakable wariness.
Cheongchul, by contrast, responded with casual ease.
“I was simply offering congratulations to the new champion.”
Hae-in fixed Cheongchul with a suspicious glare.
‘Why is this woman being so presumptuous.’
Mincheol tried to slip his arm away discreetly.
But Hae-in tightened her grip and began pulling him along.
“Older Brother, you need to be careful with that woman.”
“Why?”
“She’s suspicious.”
“Suspicious?”
Mincheol tilted his head in confusion.
She didn’t seem like a bad person to me.
“Oh, and take this.”
Hae-in handed Mincheol an item.
A jewel the size of a fist.
The moment Mincheol confirmed the item’s information, he couldn’t help but break into a wide smile.
Memory Stone of the ‘Fallen Crescent’
The Memory Stone he’d been hoping for had finally come into his hands.
* * *
Cheongchul watched the two figures recede in silence.
“Where could such a raw talent have come from.”
The former champion Kim Yeol-jin was an Awakened perfected through actual combat.
A man for whom killing had become second nature—one who found it easier to slay humans than monsters.
It was no accident that he’d ascended to become the Crimson Arena’s champion at such a young age.
Nameless Spear had toyed with Kim Yeol-jin completely.
With a lukewarm attitude that lacked even the resolve to kill.
A blood-starved beast had lost its life to a herbivore.
‘And he even sensed my true strength.’
When Cheongchul drew near, Nameless Spear had stepped back.
He had unconsciously detected that Cheongchul was dangerous.
Completely different from the fool who’d picked a fight without even recognizing that Tuigui was an upper-tier Awakened.
“What a shame.”
Such talent was rare.
Had he shown even a hint of ambition, I would have recruited him for the Hope Society immediately.
But Nameless Spear displayed no such inclination whatsoever.
He was not the caliber of talent suited for the Hope Society.
“Still, it’s too early to give up.”
There was a certain charm to gradually painting someone in your colors.
The only concern was her background.
I didn’t know her identity, but one thing was certain—she belonged to a Large Guild.
The powerful warrior accompanying her made that clear.
No organization but a Large Guild could nurture such strength.
‘Though the Butcher is an exception…’
The moment the Butcher crossed my mind, Cheongchul’s expression twisted.
That bastard who’d disrupted the Hope Society’s events countless times.
Even tearing him to shreds wouldn’t satisfy me.
‘How coincidental. Geniuses sprouting up like mushrooms in the same period.’
Baek-ryul of Seol-aeng.
Go Dan-hae of Goseong.
The Butcher, unaffiliated.
And the Unknown Spearman.
In fact, I’d briefly suspected the Unknown Spearman might be the Butcher.
It seemed strange for another genius of this caliber to emerge in the same timeframe.
But their combat styles were too different.
The Butcher primarily used dual blades and throwing weapons.
The Unknown Spearman, meanwhile, relied purely on spearmanship.
‘No matter how talented, one can’t master multiple combat styles.’
Technically, it was possible to have several.
But perfecting each one to the extreme was impossible.
Yet the Unknown Spearman had defeated Kim Yeol-jin using only spearmanship.
Therefore, my conclusion was that the Unknown Spearman and the Butcher were different people.
‘Unknown Spearman… who exactly are you?’
Finding them would be simple once I started investigating.
Large Guild affiliation, primary weapon is a spear, extraordinary talent.
Even with rough criteria, these were distinctive enough to narrow down.
‘Even if I don’t find them, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already created the connection.’
In one corner of my personal notebook, “Unknown Spearman” was already recorded.
‘I hope I can paint every strand of their hair to my liking.’
In the dim corridor, I smiled quietly.

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

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