The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 203

—————

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

—————

Auto Looting Range Too Wide Episode 203
Fire

Episode 203: Dok-sin-sa-gwi (2)
The Murim had long been home to countless legends passed down through the ages.
The Heavenly Demon Tomb was the most prominent example.
The greatest master of the past.
Perhaps even the greatest master of all time—the tomb of the Heavenly Demon.
Within it lay the martial techniques left behind by the Heavenly Demon, dormant and waiting.
Whoever obtained them would be capable of ruling all under heaven.
The Jiangshi Transformation was another such legend.
In ancient times, it was said that a great technique existed to transform living humans into jiangshi.
At first glance, it seemed like no remarkable technique at all.
After all, a jiangshi was merely a corpse.
Stripped of all human desire and with senses barely intact, what could possibly be appealing about becoming a jiangshi?
Yet those in the Murim who had faced a jiangshi even once could only reach a different conclusion.
A jiangshi with intellect?
How could one possibly defeat such a thing?
Of course, becoming a jiangshi came with a fatal weakness—the inability to use inner energy.
But the compensating gain was an overwhelming enhancement of external physical power.
Because it was free from death and pain, it could apply deadly toxins and horrific dark arts without limitation.
That was not all.
Unable to feel pain, it held an overwhelming advantage in combat.
Should its body be severed or destroyed?
Simply find another corpse and attach the limb.
Knowing these facts well, both Gunja-geom and Geom-seong were horrified to learn that Dok-sin-sa-gwi had become a jiangshi.
Yet none of them could have anticipated it.
That within this place existed someone who was the natural nemesis of jiangshi.
I prepared to activate Carving.
A translucent box overlapped with Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s chest.
Just as I was about to trigger Carving—
Suddenly, Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s form vanished.
Appearing at a distance away, Dok-sin-sa-gwi tilted his head and asked.
“Just now… what were you trying to do?”
I was the one who wanted to ask that question.
‘Could he have sensed it just now?’
This had never happened before.
Perhaps it was mere coincidence. As a master, his instincts would naturally be honed to perfection.
I attempted Carving once more.
But again, Dok-sin-sa-gwi escaped his position just before I could activate Carving.
“Again, again—what was that? Is such a technique even possible? It’s strange. Very strange.”
Dok-sin-sa-gwi glared at Mincheol, muttering under his breath.
At this point, it became certain.
Dok-sin-sa-gwi was reacting to “Carving Out.”
The moment I realized that fact, chills ran down my spine.
‘They say supreme masters aren’t even human…!’
I never expected him to react to a technique that left no trace, no warning sign whatsoever.
“Ahahaha! This is why Murim is so entertaining! Strange fellows keep popping up everywhere!”
Hearing such words from a half-dead corpse demon felt strangely unjust.
But there was no time to voice my complaints.
“And strange fellows are dangerous if left alive too long!”
A sense of dread pierced through my spine like a harpoon.
Immediately after, Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s figure vanished.
A flash-like thrust pierced through Mincheol’s chest.
Or so it seemed.
Somehow, Mincheol had already arched his back as far as it would go.
As a result, Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s hand strike hung suspended in empty air.
“…?”
A question mark appeared on Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s face.
How had he evaded it?
Dok-sin-sa-gwi, who had maintained superiority even while facing two supreme masters simultaneously.
It was not a speed that a novice could possibly dodge.
Coincidence?
No, that was even more impossible.
The greater the gap in power, the smaller the realm in which luck could operate.
Just as it was impossible for a rabbit to kill a lion by sheer fortune.
There was only one remaining possibility.
He had predicted how Dok-sin-sa-gwi would move.
But this too was incomprehensible.
No matter how thoughtlessly the attack was launched, how could a novice read his movements?
“Strange. Very strange.”
Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s eyes grew serious.
From Mincheol’s perspective, this was a red flag. The only reason I had managed to evade that initial strike was because Dok-sin-sa-gwi had let his guard down.
Boom—
Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s figure vanished once more.
He bounded across walls and ceiling, ensuring Mincheol could not track him with his eyes.
Ghostly afterimages engulfed the space around Mincheol.
Mincheol braced himself calmly for Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s assault.
Even knowing it was impossible, I had no choice but to try.
I couldn’t simply surrender and die like this….
Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s afterimage shattered abruptly.
At the same moment, a chilling presence erupted from behind.
The instant I turned around, Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s fingertips were already inches from my face.
‘Damn it.’
My reaction came far too late.
Even if I had reacted, there was no speed at which I could have evaded.
Climbing The Tower, I had never sensed death so vividly before.
My thoughts stretched like taffy, and my entire life flashed before my eyes in an instant.
Mother’s face appeared first.
Mother, whom I hadn’t visited in so long. The white hair that had multiplied at her crown. Fingers so thin they felt like mere bone when held.
The sushi I’d eaten in Cheonghe. The greetings exchanged with the Owner. The conversations shared with my siblings.
Absurdly, even Cardmos’s face came to mind. Followed immediately by Sihae Yeomhwa’s….
That was when it happened.
Crack—
Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s thrust halted abruptly.
I blinked several times, stunned by the sight unfolding before me.
Gunja-geom and Geom-seong.
The two of them had seized Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s arm.
“Older Brother!”
“Understood!”
Gunja-geom and Geom-seong unleashed their fists simultaneously.
A vicious force slammed into Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s chest.
Boom—
With a violent sound, Dok-sin-sa-gwi was hurled backward.
Yet he brushed off his chest casually as if nothing had happened.
He appeared completely unaffected by the impact.
“Pushing yourself with an injured body—that’s a death wish!”
“But what choice do we have! If we don’t move, we die!”
Both men spoke with blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.
“Listen here, junior of the Demonic Cult.”
Gunja-geom spoke without turning his head.
Strictly speaking, I wasn’t affiliated with the Demonic Cult.
But this wasn’t the moment to point that out.
“Do you have a way to eliminate Dok-sin-sa-gwi?”
“I do.”
“Then we’ll create an opening for you!”
“You’re trusting me?”
“Hmph, how could I trust a liar.”
Gunja-geom spoke with cold derision.
“But the fact that Dok-sin-sa-gwi reacts so hypersensitively is proof! There’s something about you, isn’t there!”
I found myself at a loss for words.
They would trust me for such a simple reason?
But their suspicions were correct.
The instincts of a master at the pinnacle were this sharp.
“If you can just hold it in place for a moment, I’ll take Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s heart.”
“You’re asking me to restrain that monster while wounded like this?”
“Our junior from the Demonic Cult is making quite an unreasonable request.”
The two wore bitter smiles.
But they didn’t say they couldn’t do it.
“Let’s give it a try.”
The two adjusted their grip on their long swords.
At the sight, Dok-sin-sa-gwi burst into laughter again.
“Kihihihik! Hastening your own demise! I would have killed you anyway without such effort!”
“Shut your mouth, you beast!”
“This time will be different!”
Once more, the three figures’ forms intertwined in a single space.
With each collision, the entire Cave trembled.
At this point, calling it a battle between monsters rather than humans felt entirely fitting.
My eyes darted frantically.
But still, I couldn’t keep up.
All I could see were blurred afterimages.
‘At this rate, even prediction is impossible….’
Crash!
Something grazed past my side.
“Cough.”
Gunja-geom, embedded in the wall, coughed up blood profusely.
With one person eliminated despite their coordinated assault, the outcome was obvious.
Boom—!
Geom-seong’s head was driven into the ground by Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s descending fist.
“Kihihihik! It won’t work! I told you it won’t!”
Dok-sin-sa-gwi trampled Geom-seong while cackling with glee.
“Now it’s just you! All alone!”
Dok-sin-sa-gwi turned to face me.
Dok-sin-sa-gwi kicked off the ground faster than I could activate Auto Looting.
A flash-like thrust aimed at my chest came hurtling forward.
But Dok-sin-sa-gwi wouldn’t have known.
The moment Geom-seong was driven into the ground, I pulled something from my Inventory.
And I threw it up into the sky.
【Skill ‘Weight Adjustment’ activates.】
The axe floating in midair grew larger, becoming a wall that blocked Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s path.
“What?”
Dok-sin-sa-gwi reflexively struck the axe with his fist.
Clang!
But the axe remained unscathed. It merely trembled slightly.
Confusion flickered across Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s eyes at the sight.
“There exists something my fist cannot destroy?”
It was a shocking revelation, yet Dok-sin-sa-gwi immediately moved to his next action.
If it cannot be destroyed, then extracting or pushing it away would suffice.
Just as he reached out to seize the axe with both hands.
【The skill ‘Ricochet’ activates.】
Something bounced off the ceiling.
Passing through the gap between the ceiling and the axe, it flew toward Dok-sin-sa-gwi.
A circular blade.
A weapon known as a chakram.
Dok-sin-sa-gwi paid it no mind.
Was it because it moved slowly enough to dodge with eyes closed?
Rather, it was because such a weapon could not wound him.
For now, dealing with this axe took priority….
【The skill ‘Wind Slash’ activates.】
A blade of wind reached Dok-sin-sa-gwi.
Slash—
In that instant, Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s skin split open.
“…!”
Dok-sin-sa-gwi quickly withdrew his head.
Because the chakram’s speed was so sluggish, he escaped the range with ease.
The chakram embedded itself in the ground.
“What, what in the world is that…!”
Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s body, perfected through the Great Method, was something that transcended diamond-like indestructibility.
Yet it had been severed so effortlessly?
It was fortunate the chakram’s speed was so slow. Otherwise, half his neck would have been sliced clean off.
The axe suddenly expanded.
The chakram that severed even diamond-like indestructibility.
Mincheol’s danger level surged dramatically in Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s mind.
Keeping such a creature alive any longer would be unwise.
In that moment, murderous intent firmly took root within Dok-sin-sa-gwi.
The axe blocking the passage shrank once more.
Dok-sin-sa-gwi immediately moved to crush Mincheol’s head.
A pause—
But there was no one beyond the axe.
Yet Wi Ji-yeon and Moon Yu-baek remained, making it impossible he had simply fled in that moment.
Then only one possibility remained.
He had concealed his body using a concealment technique.
To employ that mysterious skill.
“Hehehehe! Truly an opponent with no end in sight!”
A corpse demon unable to channel inner energy fared poorly against concealment techniques.
But Dok-sin-sa-gwi was no ordinary corpse demon.
Thanks to maximizing his senses for battle against a master of the highest caliber, detecting a concealed opponent proved effortless.
Even now, the thunderous beating of a heart revealed Mincheol’s position.
“There you are!”
Dok-sin-sa-gwi stamped the ground. The direction he faced held nothing visible.
Yet Dok-sin-sa-gwi kicked without hesitation.
Crash!
As expected, something struck his foot.
“Hehehehe! Caught yo—”
Dok-sin-sa-gwi’s words cut short.
What he had kicked was not Mincheol.
It was a doll with a streamlined body.
The doll detonated, scattering components large and small in disarray.
Beyond the debris, a pair of eyes gleamed.
Mincheol, draped in a reversed cloak, fixed Dok-sin-sa-gwi with a cold, penetrating gaze.
Instinct screamed danger.
The instant Dok-sin-sa-gwi attempted to escape.
【’Carving’ is activated.】
【All objects within the cubic range are acquired.】
The center of his chest was torn away in a hollow cavity.

—————

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

—————