Ex-level Player With the Greatest Civilization of All Time - Chapter 100

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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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Chapter 100

What emerged from the box was, admittedly, something unexpected.
Normally spoils dropped based on the floor’s data.
But this… I wasn’t sure how to interpret it.

【Branch of the World Tree】

After clearing the Floating Garden,
it was the material I’d obtained from the reward chest.
Later, that same material had gone to Britain through auction and been reforged into a staff called “Yggdrasil’s Breath.”
It turned out to be material for an Ancient-grade piece of equipment, no less.

– Isn’t that the one from back then?
– It dropped again?
– Can’t get it now since it’s gone, right?

The chat responded enthusiastically.
Baek Jin-seong, sensing defeat, was visibly frustrated.
Separate from the joy of winning…
“This…”
a thought occurred to me.
That incident with the Blood Stone and Shuren not long ago.
‘Does this have some special effect too?’
Of course, it was only half a guess.
But since the Blood Stone had been the medium for summoning Shuren,
perhaps this branch wasn’t merely for crafting equipment—perhaps it had other uses…
‘It’s worth looking into at least.’
True, if Britain had firmly decided to craft it into a staff as the final product,
then alternative uses would likely yield comparatively lower returns.
Still, like the case with the Blood Stone, there might be something that breaks the conventional framework…
It was worth investigating.
Besides, Shuren—who possessed knowledge of the tower’s interior, which had been an unknown world until then—was currently on Nemesis, wasn’t she?
“Brother.”
“What?”
Baek Jin-seong, who until moments ago had been expressing the bitterness of defeat through every fiber of his being, spoke while manipulating his status window.
“It seems… they arrived a bit earlier than expected.”
Checking Baek Jin-seong’s status window clock, it was still only eleven.
Yet Kang Se-hyun appeared to have arrived.
So this side was punctual about appointments too.
“What would you like to do? We could head over right now if needed.”
“Then let’s just meet them now.”
We’d already opened all the boxes anyway.
There was nothing else to do.
Honestly, there was no reason to delay.
“I’ll relay that.”

I tidied up and moved with Baek Jin-seong to the meeting place.
There, Kang Se-hyun was waiting.

– Wow, Kang Se-hyun.
– So this was the person you’d meet in Oreia?
– But what’s the business?

“Let’s end the broadcast for now.”
“Oh… yes!”
There had been prior agreement on this.
The existence of the Elevator wasn’t to be made public yet.
I spoke to Kang Se-hyun.
“I didn’t expect you to come in person.”
“One doesn’t send a proxy to guide someone of your standing.”

[Kang Se-hyun has requested to form a party.]

Kang Se-hyun requested to form a party with me first.
I had no reason to refuse, of course….

[You have joined the party.]

I accepted naturally.

“Let’s move, then.”
“By all means. I’m getting tired of all these onlookers.”
It was right after I said this in response to Kang Se-hyun’s words.
He drew a scroll from his breast pocket.
I was wondering how he intended to shake off all these spectators.
Now that’s what I call style.
Flash—
A burst of light enveloped me, Baek Jin-seong, and even the surrounding drones. Then, moments later…
The landscape before my eyes shifted in an instant.
“This is….”
Some sort of underground passage.
My first impression of the underground passage was a certain conviction: this was no natural formation.
The meticulously constructed modern facilities left me speechless.
I was studying the smooth steel walls, the wiring laid across the floor, and the ventilation ducts in detail when—
Kang Se-hyun spoke.
“We’ll move slowly, so please follow me. It shouldn’t be difficult to keep up.”
As he said this, Kang Se-hyun retrieved something from his Inventory.
At first glance, it looked like a small pendant.
He hung it around his neck and began walking.
‘But what does he mean about following—’
I was walking slowly behind him with such thoughts when—
Suddenly, everything went dark.
This was far beyond a simple failure to adjust to nighttime conditions.
A complete loss of spatial orientation.
“There is no need for alarm.”
“But I can’t see anything at all.”
“Concentrate your Mana in your eyes.”
Following his advice, I focused Mana into my eyes, and things became faintly visible.
Baek Jin-seong beside me too.
Even Ar and Crail, who were dutifully stationed at my side in case anything went wrong.
How on earth was Kang Se-hyun navigating this?
And if the path was this treacherous…
…how he had ever discovered an elevator here was a mystery in itself.
“How is it now?”
“I can see, for the most part.”
“Then let’s continue.”
In any case, we resumed our movement.
After walking for about an hour, turning various thoughts over in my mind—
The space ahead suddenly flooded with light.
The interior of a tower built from stone walls came into view.
And there, on the opposite wall—
An elevator.

* * *

[You have entered the 30-1 Outer Tower.]

I paused briefly as a notification message appeared before my eyes.
The Outer Tower?
Was it referring to this place?
“As I mentioned, you should be able to enter directly up to the 34th floor.”
Hearing Baek Jin-seong’s voice, I pulled myself back from my thoughts and turned toward him. I could see him removing his necklace and storing it in his Inventory.
A rather intense light was leaking from his necklace.
It was pointing toward the elevator entrance.
‘So that’s why we didn’t get lost.’
It seemed the pair of necklaces was meant to guide us along the correct path.
“As always, I’m confident you’ll emerge victorious.”
“Of course.”
Don’t talk like it’ll be a disaster if I don’t.
But no matter how difficult the 30-level range difficulty might be.
For someone who’d weathered every storm in the lower tiers, there was nothing to fear.
Without hesitation, I moved into the elevator with Baek Jin-seong.
The doors slid open and the interior came into view.
It was quite spacious, but I’d need to trim down the personnel a bit.
“Gate opened.”
I sent back most of the Drones I’d brought along as an escort.
In the end, I boarded with only the minimum force—Crail and Ar, among others—prepared for any contingency.
“The operation isn’t particularly complicated, is it?”
The numbers were easy to distinguish.
It didn’t differ much from a modern elevator design.
Moreover, it didn’t appear to require any special recognition system.
“I just press it?”
“Yes.”
I pressed the 34th floor button, which wasn’t lit.
Then, after a moment, it moved with a creaking sound of operation.

Whiiiiiiiing—

The elevator engaged, and shortly after.
Numbers appeared on the mirror ahead.
[31]
Followed by a small notification ringing in my mind.
Ding—
Then the following message appeared.

[Entering the Outer Tower, 31st Floor]
[Outer Tower, 31st Floor cleared.]
[First clear record has been overwritten.]
[Rewards have been adjusted downward.]

‘Adjusted downward?’

It was the first time I’d seen such a message in my handful of months climbing the tower.
The overwriting seemed to be the culprit.
Well, when I was ascending the tower without lifting a finger, it made sense.
There was nothing to complain about even with such a penalty, but…
“Still, even accounting for that, it’s fast.”
Clear time: barely ten seconds.
There was an overwhelming advantage more than enough to make up for everything else.
Truly a revolutionary means!

[Rewards have been dispensed.]
[Experience Points have been dispensed.]
[31st-35th Floors (Outer Tower) E-Rank Reward Chest has been added to your Inventory.]

Yet seeing the results of the downward adjustment, a wave of regret washed over me.
‘I should have cleared up to the 33rd floor and come back up.’
It was a shame that the rewards were automatically distributed based on the rank of those who’d cleared the elevator shaft.
If I’d known this beforehand, I should’ve said something sooner.
‘No, I’ll use this as leverage to squeeze out a bit more.’
At any rate, I was in the middle of such calculations.
Whirrrrrrr—
The elevator hummed back to life, and another message appeared.

[Entering Outer Tower Floor 32]
[Outer Tower Floor 32 conquered.]
[First-time clear record overwritten.]
[Rewards adjusted downward.]
[Rewards distributed.]
[Experience Points awarded.]
[E-rank Reward Chest (Floors 31-35, Outer Tower) added to Inventory.]

Floor 33 followed in turn.

[Entering Outer Tower Floor 33]
[Outer Tower Floor 33 conquered.]
[First-time clear record overwritten.]
[Rewards adjusted downward.]
[Rewards distributed.]
[Experience Points awarded.]
[E-rank Reward Chest (Floors 31-35, Outer Tower) added to Inventory.]

Ding—
And at last, Floor 34.

[Entering Outer Tower Floor 34]

I stepped out of the elevator.
The sight before me was a dense jungle.
It looked as though monsters could burst forth and overwhelm me at any moment.
“Open a Gate.”
So first, I opened a Gate to secure combat strength.
Then I checked the Quest log.

[Quest being assigned—(53%)]

Fortunately, since it was a hidden floor concept accessed via the elevator mechanic, there seemed to be no queue.

[Outer Tower Quest: Eliminate Monsters – Poison Fencer 0/100]

A good start.
Elimination quests were honestly the most typical and straightforward kind.
I moved to a position where the elevator was no longer visible.
Then Baek Jin-seong spoke carefully.
“Would it be alright to turn on the broadcast?”
I let out a short laugh and replied.
“Of course—turn it on. We’re clearing this floor.”

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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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