The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 210

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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 210
Chapter

Episode 210: Tier 3 Candidate (2)
A bar set up in a Seoul hotel.
Not a single customer, not even a Bartender. In this quiet place, a woman wearing an eye mask sat alone, tilting a glass of liquor.
She was pouring amber whiskey into a glass filled with large square ice.
Ding.
The glass door opened and someone entered.
It was a lanky young man, stretched out like taffy.
“Cheongchul!”
Kim Yu-seok called out to the woman urgently.
Cheongchul sipped her whiskey and turned to look at Kim Yu-seok.
“What is it?”
“The Butcher has appeared!”
At those words, Cheongchul’s brow furrowed sharply.
The Butcher, the Butcher, the Butcher.
A name she’d grown sick of hearing lately. That damned Awakened who kept interfering with the Hope Society’s events.
She wanted to tear him apart and kill him, but his tail was never caught.
No, she couldn’t even step on his shadow.
“…Why is that bastard showing up? Don’t tell me he’s interfering with us again?”
“No, he appeared on broadcast!”
“What nonsense is that?”
Cheongchul tilted her head in confusion.
Kim Yu-seok approached Cheongchul and held out his smartphone.
A news broadcast streaming live.
The camera was focused on a department store built along the riverside.
The main entrance of the department store was smashed to pieces, and inside, people were being held hostage.
And deeper inside, two men were facing off.
One face was familiar.
Kim Taek-su.
A man who had recently been in close contact with the Hope Society.
He was a trivial fellow, but ideologically, there was much to exploit about him.
And the other one was….
His form couldn’t be made out. It was blurry, as if paint had been smeared.
“My, what is this? Even the broadcast cameras can’t capture him properly?”
This was a world where items had been commercialized.
Celebrities wore one or two perception-inhibiting items to protect their privacy.
Journalists weren’t idle either.
They equipped themselves with items designed to penetrate perception-inhibiting gear.
A clash between spear and shield.
Ordinarily, the spear held the advantage.
The entertainment industry was no different. No matter how hard celebrities tried, their private lives inevitably leaked out.
“Just how powerful of an item does he possess?”
Items of that caliber were difficult to obtain even for Awakened of Large Guilds.
Yet how had the unaffiliated Butcher managed to acquire such a thing?
Or was he truly unaffiliated in the first place?
Curiosity welled up within me.
Enough to momentarily eclipse my fury toward the Butcher.
“Was he summoned through an Emergency Quest? And that got broadcast? What an amusing coincidence.”
This was my first time observing the Butcher in real-time.
What excited me most was the opportunity to verify his true capabilities.
There were plenty of rumors and eyewitness accounts, but no proper footage existed.
Though something had been recorded recently, it was brief—nothing but thrown weapons—so his actual strength remained unconfirmed.
“If the two of them fought, who do you think would win? You’ve met Kim Taek-su directly, so you should know well.”
“Kim Taek-su would win.”
Though Kim Taek-su wasn’t a veteran, he possessed considerable skill.
There was good reason he’d evaded capture despite committing countless crimes.
Moreover, he was considered a Grade 3 candidate.
By conventional logic, the Butcher—a Lower Layer level Awakened—was not an opponent he could defeat.
“But it wouldn’t be easy, I suspect.”
Of course, the Butcher was no pushover either.
The recent footage made that clear.
A Lower Layer Awakened who’d single-handedly slaughtered Middle Layer Awakened.
“I’d prefer it if the Butcher escaped.”
“Really?”
“Dying to someone like Kim Taek-su in a place like this… it would be far too pathetic.”
The glass I held cracked.
Mere thoughts of the Butcher ignited my rage.
To the point where I consumed considerable mental fortitude suppressing the outburst.
[Ah! The Butcher has rejected Kim Taek-su’s persuasion!]
The reporter’s voice rang out once more.
I suppressed my anger and focused on the footage.
Confirming the Butcher’s level with my own eyes was more important now.
Then, the Butcher vanished.
I wasn’t startled. The camera’s low frame rate couldn’t capture an Awakened’s movements.
But the moment the next scene unfolded, my pupils dilated.
Crash!
With a deafening roar that shook my eardrums, Kim Taek-su’s head was driven into the ground.
What? Why was Kim Taek-su slammed into the ground instead of the Butcher?
Cheongchul found herself unable to think at all, her expectations completely shattered.
“W-wait, Cheongchul! Did you see? Kim Taek-su got hit! He couldn’t even react to the Butcher….”
“Would you mind shutting up for a moment?”
Cheongchul spoke with irritation.
The thick killing intent emanating from her voice left Kim Yu-seok no choice but to cover his mouth with his palm.
In that moment, Cheongchul’s mind raced rapidly.
Was he really at the Lower Layer level? No, considering the event where the Butcher appeared and the layer itself, it had to be the Lower Layer.
Then had he climbed to the Middle Layer in the meantime? Could someone really ascend that quickly?
Even if he had reached the Middle Layer, he shouldn’t be able to corner Kim Taek-su like that.
It was confusing, utterly confusing.
But there was one thing, just one thing, that was certain.
“He’s become explosively stronger in such a short time…?”
The testimony of Song Beom, who had fought the Butcher directly.
And the recent footage that had surfaced.
Through those, he was far stronger than she had anticipated.
“And he’s unaffiliated?”
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t believe it.
The problem was that she couldn’t even find evidence that the Butcher wasn’t unaffiliated.
To nurture an Awakened of this caliber, massive funds and items would have to move, whether in the light or shadows.
But no matter how much she investigated, she found no such movements.
“This can’t be the end, right? There has to be more?”
Cheongchul watched the footage with anticipation gleaming in her eyes.
Kim Taek-su wasn’t the type to go down so easily.
He had ‘that’ which he’d received from the Hope Society.
“Show me quickly.”
A strange obsession flickered in Cheongchul’s pupils.
* * *
Kim Taek-su, embedded in the ground, couldn’t seem to get up.
‘Could he actually be dead?’
Mincheol examined him just in case.
His outright contemptuous attitude had gotten under my skin, so I’d let emotion seep into that kick.
That was when it happened.
Black smoke began pouring from Kim Taek-su’s ears.
‘What the hell?’
Mincheol examined the smoke with a puzzled expression.
Kim Taek-su’s skin began to darken.
“Ugh, damn it.”
Spitting out a curse, Kim Taek-su pulled his head out from where it had been embedded in the ground.
His entire body had already turned black.
His eyes blazed with a crimson glow.
Ominous and eerie. And yet strangely familiar.
It was an aura I had felt many times before.
As I searched my memory, I recalled the Field Boss battle and the Mercenary Layer.
Back then, the ‘Abyss’ I had encountered had also emanated this same unsettling mana.
“Heh, hehehehe.”
Kim Taek-su threw his head back and burst into laughter.
His eyes, stained crimson, gleamed with madness.
“The Hope Council was right! It activates automatically when in danger!”
Horns sprouted from Kim Taek-su’s forehead.
Not only that—black scales began to consume his skin.
It was as if I were looking at a monster, not a man.
Whirrrrr—
Simultaneously, a mechanical hum erupted.
Only one skill made a sound like that.
Mana Engine.
Yet I couldn’t help but feel bewildered.
When the Mana Engine activates, the nature of one’s mana changes. I’d heard that some even undergo physical transformation.
But I had never heard of anyone transforming into such a ‘grotesque’ form.
“Such overwhelming power! Truly worthy of a Legendary-grade skill! To obtain such a magnificent ability!”
Kim Taek-su’s gaze turned toward me.
His pupils were split vertically like a serpent’s.
“You dare show such insolence to me?”
Crunch.
Kim Taek-su bared his teeth in fury.
Between his lips, teeth sharp as a shark’s gleamed.
“First, I’ll tear off those legs of yours!”
I reflexively leaned back.
A violent gust accompanied Kim Taek-su’s fist as it grazed past my nose.
Boom—
The shockwave tore through the ground and shattered the wall at the far end.
“Ugh, ahhhhh!”
“What, what is that?”
Everyone gasped in shock at the devastating power.
“I’ll kill you!”
The next attack came immediately.
I widened the distance between us, evading Kim Taek-su’s assault.
Boom—
Each time Kim Taek-su threw a punch, the building crumbled.
Columns shattered, walls pulverized.
“Why do you keep running? Show me that same arrogance as before!”
Kim Taek-su laughed heartily, pressing Mincheol harder into a corner.
It took mere moments for the 1st Floor to transform into ruins.
That was when it happened.
“Gasp!”
Screams erupted.
They weren’t from Mincheol or Kim Taek-su.
“Ahhh!”
“Krrgh!”
And there wasn’t just one—they came in rapid succession.
Faced with this bizarre phenomenon, Kim Taek-su couldn’t help but feel bewildered.
“What in the….”
The reason consumed by madness returned to him.
Only then could Kim Taek-su see Mincheol’s actions clearly.
Mincheol was evading attacks while hurling throwing knives.
“This bastard…?”
Confusion washed over Kim Taek-su’s face.
His belief that he was pressing forward with overwhelming force was nothing but a delusion.
While evading Kim Taek-su’s attacks, Mincheol had been orchestrating the hostages’ liberation.
“Grab them!”
Kim Taek-su shouted desperately.
“Seize the hostages!”
His subordinate employees frantically seized the hostages and leveled their weapons.
But Mincheol was already launching his next assault.
He hurled a spear drawn from his Inventory.
【’Radiant Spectrum Spear’ activates.】
【Consumes ‘560’ mana.】
【Additional skill triggered by ‘Kaela Marbenia’!】
【Consumes ‘1,680’ mana twice additionally!】
The spear that left his hand multiplied into three.
Then it split into three more.
Three spears of tangible form.
Six spears wrought of pure mana.
Nine spears in total pierced through the enemies’ bodies.
“Aaaahhh!”
“Kraaahhh!”
All the Awakened from the Gakgwon-hyeop collapsed to the ground.
“N-Now’s our chance!”
“Run, quickly!”
The hostages scrambled over one another, fleeing outside.
Now only Mincheol and Kim Taek-su remained standing on the 1st Floor.
“Now I can fight with a clear mind.”
I didn’t trust Kim Taek-su.
He said he wouldn’t take hostages, but I had no idea what he’d do if things got dangerous.
In fact, just moments ago he’d tried to seize a hostage and threaten me.
“….”
Kim Taek-su stared at me with a vacant expression.
Soon, fury kindled in his eyes.
“How dare you mock me?
Kim Taek-su radiated a murderous aura.
I gripped the hilts of my twin blades.
Given how incredibly resilient Kim Taek-su’s body was, I judged that facing him with only the Five String Resonance Technique would be insufficient.
“A reckless colt like you is destined to take a hard fall someday! Looks like today’s that day!”
Kim Taek-su clenched his fists.
I watched him silently.
I intended to read the movement of his muscles and predict his next move.
Soon, Kim Taek-su’s muscles tensed.
In response, I drew my twin blades.
But the blades never swung.
“I surrender.”
Kim Taek-su dropped to his knees on the ground.
I asked with an incredulous expression.
“What?”
“I said I surrender. I’ll accept proper legal punishment.”
“Is this bastard insane?”
For a moment, my mind went blank.
Then irritation surged up.
After all this chaos, what now?
My mother nearly got hurt because of this bastard?
“Why should I? Why should I spare you?”
【Skill ‘Heaven’s Rend’ activates.】
A mechanical hum erupted from my body.
Sensing the ominous shift in my presence, Kim Taek-su cried out urgently.
“W-wait, I said I surrender!”
But I had no intention of listening to Kim Taek-su’s words.
【’Black Horn Bullet Form’ activates.】
【Consumes 140 mana.】
I charged forward and struck the ground.
I spun through the air multiple times.
A blow laden with fury and irritation exploded against Kim Taek-su’s body.
【Skill ‘Joint Breaking’ activates.】
Crash!
Kim Taek-su’s body burst through the wall and flew out of the building.

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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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