Ex-level Player With the Greatest Civilization of All Time - Chapter 1

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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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Episode 1

I regret that day.
The day I Awakened, the message that blazed before my eyes.

[You have Awakened as a Player by the Tower’s selection.]
[Your Unique Trait is blooming.]
[Previous usage records exist for your Unique Trait ‘Pocket Space’.]
[Would you like to load the records?]

It wasn’t curiosity that made me accept.
“Sigh…”
Two years have passed since then.
I’m a Player, but I’ve been drifting from one part-time job to another.
Because I couldn’t use the Unique Trait I’d finally awakened.

My most recent job is the night shift at a convenience store.
With no customers in sight, I let out a long sigh and opened my status window.

[Lv. 1 Kang Seon-woo]
Class: Pocket Space User
Grade: EX-Grade
Strength: 10 (+)
Agility: 10 (+)
Magic Power: 10 (+)
Stamina: 10 (+)

My class was Pocket Space User.

【Trait】
– [Pocket Space] Synchronization in progress… (Progress: 99.9%)]

The [Pocket Space] trait had been in a state of Synchronization since my first Awakening until now.
Most Players achieved ninety percent or higher trait completion.
But for me, that ability was essentially on an indefinite strike.
“What good is EX-Grade if I can’t use it?”
Without my ability, I was just a slightly tougher human being.
The ceiling was brutally clear.
But now that life was finally ending.
Two years had accumulated—each day watching my Synchronization tick upward, my eyes welling with tears alongside it.
The Synchronization rate that used to climb only one percent a week had finally hit 99.9%.
“Finally. I’m going to climb the Tower.”
After my last shift at the convenience store, I returned home, showered clean, and sat in proper meditation.
With reverent heart, I waited for Synchronization to complete.
Everything was ready now.
It was time to ascend the Tower as a true Player.

The TV plays commercials starring famous Players every single day.
All of them Awakened to high Grades.
In this modern world, they command the same recognition as celebrity actors and sports stars.
The reason why.
The Trials imposed by the Tower.
The Tower periodically issued to humanity Tasks it called Trials.
Sometimes it demanded the clearance of specific Tower floors within a time limit.
Other times it forced the collection of certain items.
Everyone now knew the fate of nations that failed to fulfill these demands.
When the Tower collapsed and the Gates it created burst open, monsters poured out without cease.
Since Players’ power was limited outside the Tower, nations that could not handle this catastrophe suffered devastating losses.
This was why Players who could freely enter and exit the Tower held such high value in the present day.
For high-ranking challengers at the Tower’s front lines, their worth transcended any price in gold.
“Anyway, I’m one of those Players now.”
An EX-Grade one, no less.
Considering the highest current Grade was S-Rank, I couldn’t help but laugh.
I was caught in that moment—my lips curling upward despite my attempts to suppress the smile.

[Synchronization complete.]

At last, the Synchronization was done.
I steadied my racing heart and opened the status window again.
Without hesitation, the first thing I checked was my Unique Trait.

【Unique Trait】
– [Pocket Space]
「Available commands: Gate Open, Gate Close」

Usable commands had appeared.
Simple and perfect.
“Gate Open.”
A gate materialized in response to the command word.
Its size was just under two meters.
“Should I step inside?”
In truth, the cascade of events began the moment I accessed the previous usage records.
After all, verifying the ability was an essential step before using it—
Without hesitation, I crossed the threshold into that blue-lit space.

* * *

The gate opened onto the midslope of a mountain.
As I surveyed my surroundings, my gaze drifted casually downward—and I froze.
“What is this?”
Below my feet sprawled an enormous civilization.
And it bore all the marks of a future far, far beyond our own era.
“Is this what ‘previous usage records’ means?”
The civilization filling the basin valley was so vast that I could scarcely take it all in at once.
To examine it more closely, I descended the mountain and ventured into the city.
“Is this real?”
I reached out and touched the exterior wall of a nearby building.
It was undeniably solid.
As I’d made my way down the mountainside, I’d wondered this honestly.
Whether it might be a mirage or illusion.
But now I knew better.
This was no hallucination.
It had substance—unmistakable and real.
……
Yet separate from that confirmation came a creeping sense of strangeness.
The civilization, unfamiliar in every detail whether viewed from afar or up close.
A city draped in dust and moss.
Signs bearing script I’d never encountered.
Buildings with architectural forms utterly foreign.
An ashen, lifeless metropolis drained of all luminescence.
Surrounded by such bewildering traces, I soon oriented myself toward a destination.
“Let me head there.”
The target was something I’d spotted from above—
A spherical core at the heart of the city.
From it, channels branched outward like veins, and everything about their configuration suggested they served as the power source driving the entire metropolis.
Just over two hours passed.
And I reached the Core Center.
Up close, the Core Center exceeded even my expectations in scale.
A Core suspended in midair, hovering above a rather substantial building.
And below it, a structure that seemed to support its weight.
“I’m here now, but what do I do?”
There might be some kind of switch somewhere.
He cautiously surveyed the area, circling it once, and when nothing revealed itself, he pressed his palm against the wall.
A faint luminescence rippled across the structure, and a voice poured forth.

[Registering user mana pattern.]
[Recorder Code confirmed… Subject identified.]
[Inherited record detected. Initiating succession protocol.]
[… Limited access permissions unlocked.]
[Power insufficient.]
[Functions restricted.]
[Power-saving mode ON]
[Security Combat Drone 3 units – Reactivation complete]
[Public communication network – Limited restoration]
[Urban purification module – Partial operation]
[Civilian guidance artificial intelligence ‘NEIA’ calling…]
Beep—

With a high-frequency sound that pierced the eardrums, blue light bloomed across empty space.
At its center, a small holographic image materialized.
“…What is this?”
And from within that projection, a voice spoke.

“Welcome, Successor. I am NEIA, the civilian guidance artificial intelligence of this city.”
“The information available to me at present is limited, but I will do my utmost to assist you should you require anything.”

The frustration that had been weighing on him lifted at once.
There was something he could actually communicate with.
The entity in the hologram was rendered as an android with delicate, feminine features.
Its expression and tone were natural enough to feel almost familiar.

“The city is currently operating under power-saving mode on the sixth-generation energy network, and several zones remain sealed. City facility operational rate: 0.01%.”
“Should you require anything, please inform me.”

“Then start by telling me what I have access to in this city right now.”

“The currently available modules are as follows:”
– Core reactor status monitoring
– Annihilation-type combat drone 1 unit operational
– City map access
– Combat records module
– Combat data access
– Emergency response system call (alert level restricted)

“All other functions remain locked due to insufficient power.”

There was much he wanted to ask, if he was honest.
But for now, as he prepared to ascend the Tower, his attention turned to the drone—something that might serve as a combat resource.
“What’s the operational range of the combat drone?”

“Currently, it is restricted to the vicinity of the Core Center.”

“So beyond the Gate—outside the city—it can’t be deployed?”
The eyes of the holographic woman glowed softly.
And then came the reply.

“I am reassigning the 3 security combat drones as invasion-type drones and transferring command authority to you, Successor.”

Ever since the Core Center’s lights came on.
Three drones that had been circling the airspace overhead converged around me, executing a patrol pattern.
“So I can control these however I want?”

‘Affirmative, successor. I detected that your objective is to annihilate enemies beyond the city. I took the liberty of reassigning the drones’ function. Shall I revert them?’

“No, this is perfect.”
I hastily exited the Pocket Space.
“Gate Close.”
Then I shut the gate and attempted to enter the Tower.
Entering the Tower was simple.
As long as I could manipulate my status window, I could enter from anywhere, regardless of location.

[Do you wish to enter the Tower?]

“Yes, I’ll enter.”

[No previous records found.]
[Entering the Lobby of the Tower’s lowest floor.]

The view of my one-room apartment transformed in an instant into a gray expanse.
The musty scent of old brick stung my nostrils.
“So this is the Tower….”
For two years I’d wanted to come here.
Now that I stood at the starting line, it finally felt real.
“Phew….”
But I didn’t dwell long on the sentiment.
Testing my abilities took priority.
I immediately challenged the 1st Floor.

[Do you wish to challenge Tower 1st Floor?]

“Yes.”
As my voice echoed, the space before me transformed once more.
This time, a dense forest stretched across the field.

[Tower 1st Floor is a tutorial stage.]
[Complete the given mission within the time limit.]
[Mission: Defeat Monsters – Goblins 0/30]
[The Protection Zone will soon deactivate. Prepare for combat.]

Before the Protection Zone could deactivate, I hastily opened a Gate.
A blue gate blazed open, and three 1-meter Security Combat Drones materialized.
“I wonder how much firepower they pack.”
Honestly, I had my doubts.
Even if the ability was EX-Grade, these were just trivial drones operating in a low-power state.
“If they can handle the goblins without issue, that would be ideal.”
Whether that was actually possible remained to be seen.
“One drone on the right.”
The drone responded as though it understood speech, ascending with a smooth maneuver.
“You protect me.”
Before I’d even finished speaking, the drone shot higher into the air, directly above my head, and held its position.
I directed the remaining two drones to hunt goblins.
“Both drones on the left—annihilate every goblin in the field without mercy.”
Immediately after issuing the command.
The Protection Zone deactivated, precisely on cue.
The drones rose sharply as though they’d been waiting for this moment, then vanished into the distance.
Off to hunt goblins, no doubt….
“Just don’t get yourself torn to shreds.”
My dreams are riding on this.
It was the moment he’d been desperately waiting for.

A flash and a whistle.
Boom-boom-boom-boom.

A deafening roar erupted from beyond the horizon, as if artillery shells were detonating.
“What… what is this?”

[Mission: Monster Slaying – Goblin 6/30]
[Mission: Monster Slaying – Goblin 8/30]
[Mission: Monster Slaying – Goblin 12/30]
…

The kill count began climbing at an extraordinary pace.
Whistle. Crash-boom.
Each time light flashed at the horizon’s edge like lightning striking—
The next instant brought the inevitable roar of detonation and another surge in the kill count.
There was no denying it: the forest’s transformation was the work of the drone.
An act of slaughter.

[Mission: Monster Slaying – Goblin 15/30]
…

Flash. Boom.

With each burst of light—

[Slay 30 goblins. 20/30]
…

Goblins fell by the dozens.
At this rate, just how powerful was that thing?
Boom… boom-boom-boom-boom.
And then, finally.
As the relentlessly climbing kill count surpassed twenty-five.
A goblin came running from the opposite end.
It didn’t seem to be attacking.
At a glance, there was no malice in its expression.
This was clearly a desperate struggle for survival.
The face of prey fleeing from catastrophe.
A faint pity stirred within him.
Flash.
Light flickered overhead.
He raised his gaze to confirm it.
Whirrrrr.
It was the light from the drone he’d ordered to provide escort.
Moreover, the drone had materialized a cannon barrel that hadn’t been visible moments before, and was now charging energy at its tip.
And the moment that light reached its peak—
Flash. Boom-boom-boom.
The fleeing goblin melted away in the beam and vanished.
Fizzzzz—
Ding—

[Mission: Monster Slaying – Goblin 30/30]

The mission ended in the blink of an eye.

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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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