The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 20

—————
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 20

Episode 20: Event Stage (1)

* * *

“Your sushi is ready.”

The gray-haired chef placed an 8-piece sushi set in front of Mincheol.

Sitting at the counter, Mincheol received the sushi with a face full of anticipation.

‘So this is 30,000 won worth of sushi.’

30,000 won.

For Mincheol, who had been unemployed until recently, it was an excessively high amount to pay for a single meal.

He had been eyeing this sushi restaurant for a long time but never dared to enter.

But now it was different. Thanks to climbing the Tower, his financial situation had improved considerably.

‘What should I try first?’

Tuna, flounder, and so on.

It was only 8 pieces, but the variety was impressive. After much deliberation, Mincheol put the tuna sushi in his mouth.

His eyes widened. Mincheol looked down at the sushi with an expression of disbelief.

‘What? Why is this so delicious?’

Each grain of rice was perfectly fluffy and seasoned just right. The properly aged fish was tender to chew.

‘All the sushi I’ve eaten until now was fake…’

The only sushi Mincheol had ever tried was from large supermarkets, and even then, only the discounted ones sold right before closing.

Those had their own charm, but they couldn’t compare to this sushi.

The taste didn’t just fuel his appetite—it was like pouring oil on fire.

He wanted to grab the plate and inhale everything, but he held back.

Since it was 30,000 won worth of sushi, he thought it would be a waste not to savor each piece.

‘No wonder people line up during lunch hours.’

Being unemployed had its perks at times like this. He could come early and secure a seat before others had to wait in line.

‘The egg sushi is especially delicious. How did they make this?’

While Mincheol was thoroughly enjoying his culinary experience.

-Seol-aeng pursues only one value!

A comment he couldn’t ignore flowed from the wall-mounted TV.

Mincheol looked up at the TV with sushi still in his mouth.

A famous actor dressed sharply in a black suit was staring at the camera.

-Courage! With this single value, Seol-aeng has been able to stand tall at the top of South Korea!

At the mention of Seol-aeng, Mincheol snapped to attention.

Seol-aeng was South Korea’s number one guild and was active on the world stage.

Thanks to this impressive track record, every awakened person in South Korea wanted to join Seol-aeng.

-Awakened viewers watching this broadcast! Don’t be afraid and apply!

-Seol-aeng’s doors are wide open! If you can prove your courage!

Subtitles appeared below the male actor.

【20xx First Half Seol-aeng Recruitment Notice】

【Preferred Qualification: Climbers of Floor 40 or higher.】

Mincheol couldn’t take his eyes off the recruitment advertisement.

The reason Mincheol climbed the Tower was to get a job at a large guild.

Seol-aeng in particular was a place worthy of being called a world-class guild.

Naturally, Seol-aeng was among the guilds Mincheol wanted to join.

‘Cool.’

Mincheol couldn’t take his eyes off the actor in the suit.

Having been a job seeker until recently, Mincheol had dreams about working.

‘Wearing a nice suit, punching in at work, greeting teammates…’

And above all, the reason he wanted to get a job.

-I’m sorry.

Mincheol’s mother lived with “I’m sorry” constantly on her lips.

-I’m sorry I haven’t done anything for you.

Mincheol’s family couldn’t be called well-off by any stretch of the imagination.

They never went hungry, but that was about it.

Unlike others, he had never been on overseas trips or attended academies. Private tutoring was unthinkable.

-I’m sorry I don’t know how to do anything.

Mincheol’s mother earned living expenses by doing small cleaning jobs.

She had little education and no learned skills.

His mother always blamed herself. She always apologized to Mincheol.

-I’m sorry I can’t provide for you like others do.

Mincheol hated that.

As a child, he hated his mother who lived with apologies on her lips.

He wanted to succeed and show his mother who only blamed herself.

That he had grown up well under her care. That she didn’t need to be sorry.

But society wasn’t so easy.

Youth unemployment rates only increased each year. To make matters worse, the job market was frozen.

He desperately tried to find work but was pushed around among highly educated and experienced candidates.

He lowered his standards, reduced his conditions, and even applied without considering salary.

But he failed repeatedly.

Often he couldn’t even pass the document screening. Even when he occasionally got interviews, he was just compared to others and rejected.

“This is on the house.”

The owner offered a plate of sashimi. This snapped Mincheol out of his reverie.

“On the house?”

“Yes, since it’s your first visit.”

Mincheol was a bit surprised.

If he knew it was his first visit, that meant he remembered all his customers’ faces.

“Customer, are you by any chance an awakened person?”

“How did you know?”

“How could I not know when you’re watching that guild recruitment ad with such passionate eyes?”

The owner said with a good-natured smile. Mincheol looked sheepish.

“You have a dangerous profession.”

“It’s not really a profession yet. I haven’t joined a guild.”

“What does it matter what profession it is. If you’re making money, that’s all a profession.”

The owner said while thinly slicing fish flesh into sashimi.

It was both eerie and quite artistic to watch.

“Especially in times like these, just making money is an amazing thing. These are difficult times, aren’t they.”

Mincheol felt a bittersweet emotion.

It had been a long time since he’d heard such comforting words.

“You don’t need to worry about what others think. I’d rather recommend finding work that suits your aptitude.”

“Aptitude?”

“Yes, because that’s how you can do it for a long time. Work that doesn’t suit your aptitude has a high probability of not lasting long.”

His tone carried the weight of experience.

“When I was young, there wasn’t a job I hadn’t tried. But none of them suited my aptitude, so I quit them all quickly.”

“Cooking must have suited your aptitude.”

“Of course. It suited me so well it was a problem. I enjoyed cooking, I enjoyed customers eating my food, I enjoyed coming out at dawn every day to prepare ingredients.”

The owner said with a bright smile.

“I hope you too can find work that suits your aptitude. It would be even better if you could make a lot of money.”

Saying this, the owner presented the sliced abalone.

Mincheol looked at the owner with a surprised face.

“This is a reward for listening to an old man’s rambling.”

The owner said with a wink.

Mincheol gratefully accepted the plate.

* * *

After finishing his payment, Mincheol left the sushi restaurant.

The food had been so delicious that the aftertaste still lingered in his mouth.

Mincheol briefly recalled what the owner had said.

“Aptitude…”

Was the profession of being an Awakened really a good fit for him?

He had never thought deeply about it, so he couldn’t give a definitive answer.

However, even though he had nearly died to the Phantom Knight, Mincheol didn’t feel like giving up on climbing.

Rather, his motivation surged even more. Next time he faced a similar situation, it would be different.

From that perspective, couldn’t it be said that it suited his aptitude?

“Mmmmph.”

Mincheol stretched his arms out and yawned. Then he slapped his cheeks with both hands.

“Alright. I’ve had delicious food, so shall I get motivated again?”

Mincheol decided to return to his apartment right away, rest briefly, then challenge the 7th Floor.

But when he actually arrived at his apartment, he had to revise his plans.

【A message has arrived from the Tower.】

【Hello, Awakened. Spring is already approaching!】

【We would like to inform you about a new event opening to welcome spring.】

After reading the message, Mincheol muttered with a dumbfounded expression.

“What, the Tower has events too?”

An event? It’s not even an online game. Did such things exist in the Tower?

Mincheol immediately accessed the Hunter Community and posted a question.

-Top Newbie : There’s a spring event opening, what is this?

-Strawberry Cheese : Ah, is this your first event?

Today it wasn’t King Burger but another user who answered Mincheol’s question.

It was the person who had fought against Hae-dal, the malicious user who had mocked Mincheol in the past.

Since it was someone he was grateful to, he remembered the username.

-Strawberry Cheese : It’s nothing special. It’s a periodically held event. You clear special quests and receive rewards accordingly.

-Strawberry Cheese : The event content changes each time. It’s mostly competitive battles between Awakened.

-Strawberry Cheese : Don’t be scared just because it’s competitive. You revive even if you die anyway.

-Strawberry Cheese : The rewards are quite substantial, so participating is definitely beneficial. The spec gap between Awakened can widen depending on how many events you’ve participated in.

Mincheol’s eyes lit up at the mention of substantial rewards.

He needed to become stronger to challenge the Memory Stone he possessed.

-Mincheol : What kind of rewards do they give?

-Strawberry Cheese : It varies by event. Usually you can get stats, various equipment, and skills.

Mincheol focused more on stats than equipment and skills.

In a way, stats were more precious than equipment and skills in the Tower.

Because there were very few ways to obtain them.

-Strawberry Cheese : Actually, titles are more important than these. The amount of stats they boost isn’t much, but you can only get them from the current event.

You could even get titles in addition to stats.

As Strawberry Cheese said, participating was definitely beneficial.

-Strawberry Cheese : For details, check the event page. It’ll open if you speak to the air.

-Top Newbie : Thank you~.

After finishing his greeting, Mincheol immediately spoke to the air.

“Event page.”

Translucent windows appeared in succession in the air. Mincheol read through the content written in the windows.

【In this event, Awakened will form parties to hunt as many monsters as possible.】

【You will earn points for each monster hunted, and when the event ends, you can use these points to purchase various items.】

【Parties will be ranked 1st to 10th based on their total points. Rewards will be given according to ranking.】

【Also, Awakened participating in this event will be divided by floor level.】

【Awakened from floors 1-20 will participate in the Bronze League.】

【Also, Awakened in each league will be divided into stages of 100 people each.】

【If you die in this event, you will revive in the Waiting Room. Also, if all team members die, your held points will be reduced by 50%.】

【If you kill all other teams in the event stage, you can receive 50% of the points that team was holding.】

As Strawberry Cheese said, you revived even if you died in the event.

It seemed like a mechanism to encourage participation from as many Awakened as possible.

“But what do they sell in the shop?”

When curious Mincheol opened the shop page, a list appeared.

-Random Stat Increase +1 : 100 points

-Selected Stat Increase +1 : 200 points

-Title ‘Spring Event Participant’ : 1,000 points

-D-rank Equipment Random Box (Bound) : 500 points

-D-rank Skill Random Box (Bound) : 1,000 points

-….

After looking through the entire list, Mincheol focused on the last item.

Befitting the final item, it had the highest price.

-B-rank Skill Random Box (Bound) : 3,000 points

“B-rank?”

Since the C-rank had produced a Special grade skill, the B-rank would surely produce a Rare grade skill.

But Mincheol’s interest in the B-rank skill random box wasn’t because of rare skills.

“If the coin’s effect applies to this skill box… wouldn’t that produce a Unique grade?”

Of course, the probability wasn’t that high, so he couldn’t guarantee it would work out as planned.

But he couldn’t help feeling happy just imagining it.

“Should I give it a shot?”

However, the high price of 3,000 points was an obstacle.

To get stats, titles, and even the skill random box, he would need to diligently earn points.

“But losing half your points when you die is a bit concerning.”

It wasn’t just lost—it would be taken by the opponent.

That meant there would be many people targeting fellow Awakeners.

After all, you don’t actually die even if you’re killed here.

“Plus, since floors 1 through 20 are grouped together, I’d have to fight Awakeners from higher floors than me…”

The prospect of having to fight stronger Awakeners was quite troubling.

After pondering for a long while, Mincheol reached a conclusion.

“I need to get as strong as possible before the event starts.”

It was time for Zero-second Swordsman to appear on the 7th Floor.

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