The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 192

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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 192

Episode 192: Martial Arts Realm (1)

‘Phew, that startled me.’
Mincheol wiped his chest as he gazed down at the Qingyun Sect martial artists sprawled across the ground.
They’d swung their blades without even confirming whether he was an enemy or not.
And they called themselves an orthodox sect? Could an orthodox sect really act like this?
‘But that skill is pretty decent, isn’t it?’
The skill he’d just activated—Joint Breaking—had a straightforward effect.
Enhancement of impact damage.
Any attack involving striking could be enhanced with Joint Breaking.
Best of all, there was no limit on uses—he could activate it as many times as he wanted!
The three consecutive strikes Mincheol had delivered moments ago had all been enhanced by Joint Breaking.
‘This is exactly the kind of equipment I wanted.’
The Commander-in-Chief’s Military Boots themselves were also exceptional gear.
They felt comfortable to wear, yet the exterior was harder than steel.
If he struck with full force, he could shatter rocks like sandcastles.
It truly deserved its Legendary-grade classification.
“Grrk…”
“Krrk…”
Just then, blood and foam spilled from the mouths of the unconscious martial artists.
Seeing this, Mincheol snapped to attention.
‘Oh no, are they dead?’
No matter that they were Tower residents, killing people felt wrong.
Fortunately, those who’d taken Mincheol’s blows were still alive.
Though they were barely clinging to life.
The way they were spewing blood and foam made it seem like they’d die any moment.
‘Phew, thank goodness.’
Still, Mincheol felt relieved.
At least they weren’t dead!
Black Swift Movement was faster than Black Horn Bullet Form, but its power was far weaker.
Thanks to that, all three had managed to avoid instant death.
“Just… what is that guy?”
“Does the Red Wolf Sect have a master of leg techniques?”
The Qingyun Sect martial artists stared at Mincheol with bewildered expressions.
“Everyone, don’t panic!”
At that moment, someone shouted loudly.
He was a man with a particularly strong presence among the Qingyun Sect martial artists.
‘So that one must be the commander?’
Mincheol’s guess seemed correct.
The moment the man barked an order, the agitation among the Qingyun Sect martial artists subsided.
“Do not forget the teachings of our sect! Those who harbor fear before battle are third-rate! Those who think only of fighting are second-rate!”
Then what made a first-rate martial artist?
I suddenly grew curious, but the man did not elaborate further.
“Deploy the Azure Stream Formation!”
The Qingyun Sect martial artists began to encircle Mincheol.
But their formation was peculiar.
It was not a chaotic encirclement, but rather a deliberate pattern.
‘A Harmony Formation?’
Mincheol recalled knowledge he had memorized before coming here.
A Harmony Formation was a formation that applied the subtleties of formation techniques to execute coordinated attacks.
‘A Harmony Formation is dangerous.’
According to Large Guild records, using a Harmony Formation allowed third-rate martial artists to face a first-rate martial artist.
In terms of Awakened, it was like gathering lower-tier Awakened to confront a middle-tier Awakened.
‘I’ve heard you have to destroy a Harmony Formation in its early stages, right?’
Once the formation was fully established, it naturally became difficult to break.
After all, it was fundamentally based on a wheel formation.
I was about to scatter throwing weapons to disrupt the Harmony Formation when—
A skill I had forgotten suddenly came to mind.
‘Should I try using Life Drain once?’
An additional function of Auto Looting.
An ability that drained life force from all living creatures within 12 meters.
However, I had never used Life Drain before.
More precisely, I had never had the opportunity.
After acquiring it, I faced robots in the Machine Empire or—
Entered Cardmos’s memories to complete Quests.
‘I should at least test whether it’s worth using.’
The moment I activated the additional function with that thought—

【’Life Drain’ activates.】

Something began to be sucked into my entire body.
It felt as though I had become a living vacuum cleaner.
‘Oh?’
Suddenly my mind became clear. My body felt light, as if I had slept deeply and awakened refreshed.
‘Wow, this isn’t bad… wait, something feels off.’
The suction speed accelerated further and further.
It was far beyond a mere vacuum cleaner.
To exaggerate a bit, it felt like I had become a black hole.
Fortunately, nothing unusual happened to Mincheol’s body.
But the martial artists of the Qingyun Sect were different.
“W-why am I suddenly so dizzy?”
“M-my legs are twisting up…”
“W-I suddenly can’t focus.”
Their movements suddenly slowed.
Their complexions darkened, and shadows accumulated thickly beneath their eyes.
“What are you all doing! Can’t you get your heads straight!”
It was when the leader-like martial artist shouted in frustration.
Thud.
Finally, one person collapsed.
Starting from that, more and more people fell face-first to the ground.
“W-what is happening?”
“Everyone, snap out of it!”
The martial artists were startled and checked on their companions.
The formation had collapsed in an instant.
‘No… was it this effective?’
In truth, I hadn’t held great expectations for Life Absorption.
Anyone who had played games would have felt the same.
Skills that plundered the life force of others were so overpowered that game companies always imposed strict limitations on them.
I had thought I could only take a portion at best.
I never imagined I could plunder so much that people couldn’t endure it.
In essence, Life Absorption was no different from an area-of-effect attack skill.
‘But why are the collapse speeds different?’
They were all within range, yet they lost consciousness at different rates.
‘Could the speed of life force depletion vary depending on their realm?’
It was a reasonable deduction.
From my perspective, those still standing appeared stronger than those who had collapsed.
It was then that I was analyzing Life Absorption.
“Gack!”
“Cough, hack!”
Screams erupted once more.
But the screams didn’t come from the Qingyun Sect martial artists.
They came from the Red Wolf Sect warriors who had been observing the situation all along.
Mincheol startled and glanced toward the Red Wolf Sect.
The Red Wolf Sect warriors, like those of the Qingyun Sect, had lost consciousness with an earthy pallor covering their faces.
‘Ah, so it can’t distinguish between enemy and ally.’
Come to think of it, the Red Wolf Sect couldn’t be called allies either.
But it seemed I wasn’t only draining the vitality of the Qingyun Sect, whom I had clearly identified as enemies.
It appeared to be absorbing the vital energy of all living creatures within range.
‘If that’s the case, I’ll need to use this carefully depending on the situation.’
The range of vitality absorption was a full twelve meters.
At that distance, even allies would inevitably be caught in it.
“The Red Wolf Sect is falling too?”
“They weren’t Red Wolf Sect warriors?”
“Then who in the world is this person?”
The Qingyun Sect martial artists couldn’t hide their shock.
“It’s, it’s sorcery! It must be sorcery!”
“To unleash an energy-draining technique without even touching them. Can such a terrible sorcery even exist?”
“Could it be demonic cultivation?”
Someone spoke quietly.
That word spread through the Qingyun Sect warriors in an instant.
“Demonic, demonic cultivation? That terrible demonic lineage hasn’t been severed yet?”
“It’s the Demonic Cult! The Demonic Cult has returned!”
“Primordial Celestial Worthy! Punish that terrible demon!”
Mincheol was momentarily flustered.
The Demonic Cult? What kind of ridiculous misunderstanding was this?
‘Demonic practitioners are no different from demons in the Martial Arts Realm.’
Martial arts novels and the Demonic Cult in the Martial Arts Realm weren’t much different.
Demons who kill even young lives without hesitation just to grow stronger!
Being mistaken for such trash was infuriating.
“Everyone, snap out of it! If you lose consciousness, who knows what will happen to you!”
“You filthy demon! For the sake of justice in the martial world, I will never let you live!”
The Qingyun Sect warriors burned with righteous fury.
Mincheol was at a loss for words.
‘These are the ones who were trying to ambush and slaughter the Red Wolf Sect…’
The Qingyun Sect warriors charged toward me.
Their movements were unusual for warriors who had endured the vitality absorption until now…
‘Why are they so slow?’
They all lacked vigor, like people who hadn’t eaten in days.
It seemed to be due to the vitality absorption.
They could only endure it to a certain degree; it wasn’t completely blocking their strength.
‘This should be easy.’
I reached for my twin blades—then stopped.
Though they were Tower inhabitants, they weren’t monsters, so I hesitated to cut them down with sharp steel.
Instead, I drew my hand axe.
Positioning the blade upward, I bludgeoned the martial artists with the head of the weapon.
Thud— Crack—
Despite the gentle swing, bones snapped like twigs.
The Qingyun Sect martial artists shrieked their death cries and collapsed.
“You monster! You vicious demon!”
“Master! Masteeeeer! Aaaahhh!”
Witnessing that brutal spectacle, the Qingyun Sect martial artists wept tears of blood.
Yet drained of all vitality by Life Absorption, they couldn’t move a single finger.
I didn’t stop.
If I held back and they managed a counterattack, it would be catastrophic.
So I had no choice but to strike with full force each time.
As long as they didn’t die, it should be fine, right?
“Gaahhh.”
“Ahhhhh.”
In the blink of an eye, all the Qingyun Sect martial artists lay sprawled on the ground.
I stowed the hand axe in my Inventory.
The sensation of vitality draining into me suddenly ceased.
I found this strange.
Life Absorption was still supposed to be active.
‘Ah, so it won’t drain them to death.’
Apparently, once they reached a critical state, Life Absorption could no longer function.
“I step away for a moment and all hell breaks loose.”
That’s when it happened.
A voice descended from above.
I reflexively looked up.
An Old Man with a long white beard stood atop a thin branch.
Whoosh—
The Old Man kicked off the branch and landed before me.
Remarkably, the branch didn’t tremble in the slightest.
‘No ordinary master.’
His movements were fundamentally different from the other martial artists.
Most importantly, Life Absorption couldn’t touch him despite being active.
His cultivation was so profound that Life Absorption simply didn’t work on him.
“I am Go Deok-sam, Sect Leader of the Qingyun Sect. Who exactly are you?”
“You don’t need to know.”
I replied coldly.
I had been attacked without warning—there was no way my words could come out politely.
“The fact that you can’t answer tells me you really are a member of the Demonic Cult.”
“No….”
Mincheol’s expression turned bewildered.
Was he really going to misunderstand me like this again?
“I’m not a Demon cultist.”
Even if he was a resident of the Tower, I felt I had to correct this misunderstanding at least.
Anyone would be upset if mistaken for such a terrible criminal.
“Don’t lie! You’re wearing such bizarre clothing and you dare claim you’re not affiliated with the Demonic Cult!”
Go Deok-sam roared.
Mincheol was dressed in black armor woven from silver ingots like scales.
Unlike Western armor, it was sleek and smooth in appearance, but it was undeniably out of place in the Martial Arts Realm.
There was a reason I hadn’t prepared separate clothing despite being aware of this fact.
According to the data I had investigated, the Martial Arts Realm had extremely harsh terrain, and regions were often isolated from one another.
Since each region had developed its own unique culture, wearing unusual clothing wouldn’t be particularly strange.
‘But why am I being suspected of being a Demon cultist?’
Mincheol felt deeply wronged.
“To set right the justice of the martial world, I will never let you leave alive!”
“For someone who launched a surprise attack, you certainly talk a lot.”
Unable to hold back any longer, Mincheol retorted sarcastically.
“You filthy Demon cultist—don’t you dare wag that disgusting tongue of yours!”
Go Deok-sam paid no mind and drew his long sword.
He seemed far more shameless than Mincheol had anticipated.
Just then, a warrior from the Red Wolf Sect shouted.
“Be careful! Go Deok-sam is among the top three masters of Unsungseong in Hwasong!”
The explanation was appreciated, but there was a problem.
Mincheol hadn’t memorized the place names of the Martial Arts Realm.
So such an explanation didn’t tell me how strong Go Deok-sam really was.
However, judging by the fact that he held the position of sect leader, he was certainly a formidable master.
In that case, the best strategy was to crush him quickly and decisively.
“Come and taste my blade!”
Go Deok-sam leaped high into the sky.
It was a movement technique so exceptional that admiration escaped involuntarily.
“Hah!”
The iron sword, brimming with inner force, fell downward.
Within it lay a tremendous power capable of splitting mountains.
Mincheol drew his twin blades to parry the strike.

【Activating ‘Ratman’s Survival Technique’.】
【Consuming 70 Mana.】

No—I feinted the draw, swinging an empty hand instead.
At the same moment, the ‘Large Nail’ embedded in my body shot outward, hurtling toward Go Deok-sam’s face.
“What?”
Go Deok-sam reflexively twisted his head. The movement shattered his stance.

【Activating ‘Black Horn Bullet Form’.】
【Consuming 140 Mana.】

I seized the opening without hesitation.
Activating Black Horn Bullet Form, I kicked off the ground.
Launching high into the air, I twisted my torso. Simultaneously, my leg—laden with rotational force—struck Go Deok-sam’s abdomen with devastating impact!
Boom—!
With a thunderous crack, Go Deok-sam’s body rocketed upward before crashing down.
He lay motionless on the ground, blood pouring from his mouth in torrents.
“….”
“….”
The martial artists of the Red Wolf Sect and Qingyun Sect who had witnessed the duel could not hide their shock.
A master of Go Deok-sam’s caliber—the very sect leader of Qingyun—defeated in a single blow?
“That, that that!”
“How dare a Mage launch a sneak attack!”
“How can such shamelessness exist in this world!”
While the martial artists reeled in astonishment, I felt a quiet satisfaction.
‘Phew, that ended cleanly.’

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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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