The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 9

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Auto Looting Range Too Wide Episode 9

Episode 9: This Quest is For Me

* * *

After that, Mincheol wandered around the 4th Floor hunting goblins.

【The level of ‘Hunter’s Throwing Manual’ increases.】

-Lv.4 -> Lv.5

【The level of ‘Rapid Throwing’ increases.】

-Lv.4 -> Lv.5

Every time he encountered groups of goblins, his skill levels rose steadily. He was also able to obtain quite a few magic stones.

Judging this to be sufficient, Mincheol stopped hunting.

Then he designated the purple gem he had discovered about an hour ago as a target for his Auto Looting skill.

【You acquire all ‘Purple Gems’ within a 400m radius.】

【You have acquired a Quest item.】

【You have successfully cleared the 4th Floor!】

【0.01 seconds! This is a world record!】

【You have cleared the 4th Floor in an impossible time!】

【The Tower is greatly satisfied with your Achievement!】

【Clear rewards are greatly enhanced!】

【You acquire a special title!】

【You acquire a ‘Hidden Piece’.】

The familiar messages appeared in succession.

Strangely, even though he had seen the same messages frequently, he wasn’t tired of them at all.

It seemed to be because he knew very well how amazing the rewards he would receive through this were.

【You acquire a massive amount of experience points.】

-Lv.13 -> Lv.16

-All stats increase by 2 per level.

【You acquire a massive amount of skill experience points.】

-Unique skill ‘Auto Looting’ Lv.4 -> Lv.5

-Range radius 400m -> 500m

-Number of targets you can designate increases. 4 -> 5

【You acquire the 4th Floor clear rewards.】

-All stats increase by 8.

-You acquire an ‘Inventory Expansion Ticket’.

-You acquire a ‘C-Grade Skill Random Box’.

【You acquire the title ‘Storm and Stress’.】

-Effect 1. Health +10 increase.

-Effect 2. Agility +15 increase.

【You acquire a Hidden Piece.】

-You acquire 4 ‘Lucky Coins (Bound)’.

Throughout checking the rewards, a smile never left Mincheol’s lips.

The stronger he became, the easier it would be to climb the Tower, and he could apply to better guilds, so he couldn’t help but be happy.

“Now I should go back and rest.”

It was when Mincheol was about to return to Earth.

Swoosh-

Suddenly, a black line was drawn across the empty air. Mincheol paused at the sudden phenomenon.

The black line tore up and down to form an oval, and something with a massive build walked out from within it.

-Oh my, how cramped. I should have made the entrance bigger.

The suddenly appeared strange creature walked on two legs like a human and wore a white suit.

However, its skin was bright red, and both eyes bulged out. Its lower canine teeth were long and sharp like a beast’s.

No matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t human. Mincheol thought it might be a new monster and reflexively gripped his one-handed sword.

-Ah, you don’t need to be on guard.

Seeing Mincheol’s action, the red giant immediately removed his bowler hat and placed it on his chest.

Then he bowed his waist politely enough to feel formal.

-I am Ursongbarsong, a 3rd-grade administrator of the Tower.

Saying so, the red giant smiled broadly.

* * *

The Hunter Community had truly vast amounts of information accumulated.

Naturally, there were also numerous information posts about administrators.

-Who are the administrators? We don’t know either. Scholars don’t know. Probably even the top-floor Hunters don’t know exactly?

As usual, no one knew exactly what kind of existence administrators were.

However, what administrators did was somewhat known.

-Don’t have high expectations just because they’re called administrators. Whether you die in the Tower or not, they don’t intervene at all.

└Their job title is administrator, but they leave awakened ones alone? Isn’t that too much?

└How would I know? Go ask them directly. Though meeting them would be impossible.

They were only administrators in title; they didn’t particularly intervene in awakened ones’ activities.

-Administrators only appear in very special cases.

└Special cases?

└For instance, they appear when you achieve a very special Achievement and they give you rewards for it?

In the Tower, administrators were known as beings who gave tremendous rewards.

So the majority of awakened ones wished to meet an administrator.

Of course, they weren’t beings who appeared that easily.

Such an administrator had appeared before Mincheol’s eyes. Mincheol looked at the administrator with a curious expression.

“Are you perhaps an orc by race?”

You couldn’t bring cameras or cell phones into the Tower. However, items and skills that recorded videos existed.

So the internet was overflowing with videos and photos related to monsters.

Mincheol had also learned what kind of monster orcs were through those materials.

A race much larger and stronger than humans.

The administrator’s appearance was exactly the same as the orcs he had seen in videos.

-Similar, but different. They’re a more superior race.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

-Heh, I hear that often.

Seeming quite satisfied with Mincheol’s admiration, Ursongbarsong grinned, showing his teeth.

“So what brings you here?”

-Ah, I haven’t explained yet. I came because the number of Hidden Pieces you possess has exceeded a certain amount, so I’m here to give you a reward.

At the mention of Hidden Pieces, Mincheol took out a lucky coin from his inventory.

“You mean this?”

-That’s right. To possess over 15 Hidden Pieces on the lower floors is truly remarkable.

“You’re too kind.”

-Too kind? Absolutely not.

At Mincheol’s words, Ursongbarsong shook his head vigorously.

-They’re not called Hidden Pieces for nothing. Even Earth’s top-tier Hunters haven’t discovered what you alone have found. You’ve even collected 15 of them.

Mincheol scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. It was the first time in his life he’d received such high praise.

However, Mincheol himself still thought it was all thanks to his good luck.

The Quests on floors 1-4 and auto looting had just matched up too perfectly.

-Then I shall bestow the reward.

【3rd Grade Administrator ‘Ursongbarsong’ delivers a reward.】

【You acquire ‘I Don’t Know Mask’.】

【You acquire ‘Bronze Mirror of the Gentle Hammer Tribe’.】

Two whole items entered his inventory. Mincheol checked them one by one.

【’I Don’t Know Mask’】

-Grade: Rare

-Description: A mask that interferes with others’ perception. When worn, no one can properly recognize you.

【’Bronze Mirror of the Gentle Hammer Tribe’】

-Grade: Legendary

-Description: A bronze mirror used by the Gentle Hammer Orc tribe during rituals. Contains mystical power. Physical abilities greatly increase when possessed.

-Effect 1. All stats +30

-Effect 2. Strength +10%

-Effect 2. Natural healing greatly increased.

“…Legendary?”

Mincheol rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and checked again. The grade still read Legendary.

Common, Special, Rare, Unique, Legendary.

Among the five grades, Legendary was extremely special.

Because it was the highest grade? Because it was incredibly powerful? That was part of it, but the biggest reason was that only one existed.

Once someone acquired it, the same item would never appear again.

That’s why the value of Legendary items was beyond description.

‘Plus it activates just by possessing it?’

Among items, these possession-type items had extremely high value. Because Hunters had inventories.

There was a limit to how many items you could equip. But possession-type items had no such limit.

No matter how many you had, they wouldn’t become a burden. In fact, the more the better. That’s why they were the most preferred items.

-You seem pleased with the reward.

“Of course! But why did you give me this mask?”

Mincheol asked, holding up the mask. No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem like something that would help in the Tower. After all, he climbed the Tower alone.

At Mincheol’s question, Ursongbarsong smiled mysteriously.

-It will be helpful if you keep it.

“Really?”

He was doubtful whether it would actually help, but he put it in his inventory for now.

He couldn’t refuse something given for free.

-This alone feels somewhat lacking. I’ll bestow one more blessing.

【3rd Grade Administrator Ursongbarsong bestows a blessing upon you.】

【The probability of getting a skill suitable for you from ‘C-Grade Skill Random Box’ increases.】

“Oh?”

He’d already received more than enough reward with just the Legendary item. He never expected to receive such a blessing on top of that.

‘I heard all administrators were unfriendly. I guess that information was wrong.’

Then again, how many users had actually met an administrator? It was natural for the information to be unreliable.

“To even bestow a blessing… Thank you so much.”

-Haha, not at all. It’s small compared to what you’ve done for me.

“Me?”

-When Hunters in my assigned area achieve good results, it helps with my performance evaluation.

So there was a reason he was being unusually favorable toward Mincheol.

-You’ve set a record that goes beyond global to dimensional… Oops, I misspoke. Anyway, you’ve achieved an impossible record. My evaluation improved accordingly.

Ursongbarsong’s expression became even more genial. He seemed truly happy.

-This is a secret, but if you collect more lucky coins, you’ll be able to use a secret shop.

“A secret shop?”

-Yes, you can purchase items using those coins. The items there aren’t ordinary at all. So you’d better keep them safe so you don’t lose them.

To share such valuable information – the administrator’s goodwill wasn’t over yet.

-Please keep up the good work.

Ursongbarsong bowed his head again. Then he went back into the hole he’d emerged from initially.

As soon as Ursongbarsong disappeared, the hole closed again.

* * *

After that, Mincheol returned to Earth.

He hadn’t opened the skill random box yet. His expectations had gotten too high thanks to the blessing.

He planned to wait and open it when he had a good feeling about it.

-Anonymous: What do you think will happen when 0-Second’s identity is revealed?

-Anonymous: Damn, I’m so jealous. I should have awakened a combat-type unique skill too.

-Strawberry Cheese: Crusade Guild interview is up! 0-Second changed the contract terms again!

The Hunter Community was filled with stories about Mincheol as usual.

Mincheol read through the posts one by one, grinning. When he read that his identity was a human weapon created by sacrificing 10,000 people in China, he clutched his belly and laughed.

-Strawberry Cheese: 0-Second’s identity will be revealed soon, right?

Then, a strange post caught his eye. The title was too concerning to just pass by.

-Strawberry Cheese: 0-Second’s identity will be revealed soon, right? The 5th Floor is competitive, so he’ll have to encounter other users.

└Anonymous: Now that you mention it, that’s true? I don’t know what country he’s from, but a Hunter of 0-Second’s caliber would definitely stand out.

└DTD: Since he’s a global celebrity, sighting reports will inevitably appear in communities worldwide.

Mincheol read the comments with an intrigued expression.

Contrary to people’s expectations, there was no chance of Mincheol’s identity being exposed.

People’s expectations and Mincheol’s true appearance were about a million light-years apart.

However, what concerned him was the possibility of personal information about ‘Kim Min-chul’ rather than ‘0-Second’ spreading.

‘They said to hide your identity as much as possible since grudges formed in the Tower could affect reality, right?’

This was something veteran awakened ones in the Hunter Community particularly emphasized.

Just like how grudges from past online games led to assault and murder cases in reality, similar incidents frequently occurred with the Tower.

That’s why veteran Hunters emphasized hiding one’s identity as much as possible.

‘Even if you hide your name, you can still be identified through your face, build, voice, and such.’

When he read those information posts back then, he couldn’t understand why they warned about being careful of having your identity revealed. After all, you climb the Tower alone.

But who would have thought there would be floors where you had to compete with other awakened ones.

Suddenly, an item perfect for this situation came to mind. Mincheol took out a mask from his inventory.

【’Don’t Know Don’t Know Mask’】

-Grade: Rare

-Description: A mask that interferes with others’ recognition. When worn, no one will be able to recognize you.

‘So this is why they gave me this…’

The administrator had deep intentions behind everything. Mincheol mentally thanked the administrator.

The concern about hiding his identity was resolved. But that didn’t mean all his worries were solved.

‘I have to fight people? That won’t be easy.’

Goblins were cunning but stupid. Thanks to that, they weren’t difficult to deal with.

But humans? He didn’t know for sure, but it would definitely be much harder than fighting goblins.

Mincheol investigated the 5th Floor in more detail. As expected, there was quite a lot of information available.

Author: King Burger

Title: Must-read for newbies challenging the 5th Floor!

-Congratulations on reaching the 5th Floor. Actually, if you’ve made it this far, it’s no exaggeration to say you’ve become a proper awakened one.

-But the 5th Floor won’t be easy. You’ll have to fight humans, not monsters.

-However, passing the floor isn’t that difficult. In fact, it’s so easy it’ll make you sigh.

You have to fight people but it’s easier? Wondering what this meant, Mincheol immediately read the following content.

-You can advance to the 6th Floor just by participating in the 5th Floor once. It doesn’t matter even if you come in last place.

-Moreover, you don’t die on the 5th Floor. It’s not just the 5th Floor – most floors with competitive battles have this rule.

If this was true, it really was easier compared to other floors. You could pass even if you came in last, and you wouldn’t die either.

-But the story changes if you want to rank high. You need to score more points than other users.

-Fights break out during this process. It means you have to fight and beat ‘proper awakened ones’ who climbed to the 4th Floor just like you.

-Plus, you can only challenge the 5th Floor exactly three times. Infinite retries are impossible.

-Now you’ll wonder: why do I need to rank high? The answer is simple. The higher your rank, the better rewards you can get.

-The rewards you can obtain on the 5th Floor are on a different dimension compared to other floors. They’re all truly incredible things.

-If you’re aiming for the highest floors, you absolutely must rank high on the 5th Floor.

At the mention of rewards, Mincheol’s eyes changed.

-That’s not all. Good performance on the 5th Floor gets you preferential treatment when joining guilds. You can get better conditions even at the same floor level.

It even helped when joining guilds.

At this moment, Mincheol made up his mind. He would definitely rank high on the 5th Floor.

“I need more information.”

Mincheol began browsing the Hunter Community again. Then, he saw a post particularly filled with anger.

-Hae-dal: 0-Second? That bastard won’t make it on the 5th Floor either, right?

The title itself was filled with rage. Mincheol clicked on the title with curiosity.

-Hae-dal: What kind of place is the 5th Floor? It’s where true gems are separated from stones, isn’t it? How many people gained fame early on only to get crushed on the 5th Floor.

-Hae-dal: 0-Second? He probably just got lucky awakening some overpowered unique skill. I guarantee that bastard won’t make it on the 5th Floor.

Mincheol checked the username. No wonder it seemed familiar – it was a regular username that only wrote posts cursing Mincheol.

As Mincheol, he couldn’t understand at all why this person was so angry at him. He didn’t want to understand either.

└Anonymous: Hae-dal, why does this bastard always bite at 0-Second?

└Anonymous: He’s just jealous because the guy’s doing well.

└Anonymous: Mind your own life, you idiot lol.

Naturally, the comment reactions weren’t very good either.

However, among them were comments Mincheol needed to pay attention to.

-DTD: But that bastard has a point. The 5th Floor is where guilds form alliances and monopolize everything.

└Anonymous: True… When you enter the 5th Floor, they check guild names among themselves and team up. If regular awakened ones show even a little activity, they immediately attack.

└Anonymous: I got screwed by that and came in last… Otherwise I would have made it into the top 3.

Mincheol rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought.

Reading the comments, it didn’t seem easy to rank high on the 5th Floor.

But he couldn’t just give up like this either. While pondering, Mincheol posted a question.

-Top Newbie: But what kind of Quest do you have to perform on the 5th Floor?

└DTD: Are you a newbie? What floor are you on?

└Top Newbie: I’m on the 4th Floor!

└DTD: Then it’s understandable you don’t know. The Quest to perform on the 5th Floor is gourd smashing.

Gourd smashing? Mincheol scrolled down with a puzzled expression.

└DTD: There are big gourds on trees, you see? You get points when you smash them. But the gourds are pretty tough. Throwing stones won’t even come close to working.

└DTD: You have no choice but to climb the tree yourself and smash them directly. This is no easy task either.

└DTD: Oh, awakened ones from large guilds get support with ranged skills when challenging the 5th Floor. Skills like Sword Wind or Flash Spear, you know.

Mincheol’s eyes flashed as he read the comments.

Gourds hanging on trees, getting points for smashing them, tougher than expected, advantageous if you have ranged skills.

This was truly…

“A Quest made for me, isn’t it?”

Once again, it was a moment of pure luck.

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