Ex-level Player With the Greatest Civilization of All Time - Chapter 107

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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 107

To be honest, I wasn’t lacking in confidence about this Mission.
Even when my Drone Force hovered between 100 and 200 units, I’d always emerged victorious in battles against the Seven Deadly Sins.
But if I’m looking at scale alone, this is five times what it was then.
And now we have high-tier assets joining us too — the Seisrunner and Tia and others.
The Blessing, skill increases and all that.
There were power-scaling factors beyond even those.
And all of it was feeding my confidence, pushing me forward.
‘For me, the idea of Nemesis losing is beyond imagination.’
But regardless, I needed to sort through my thoughts about this sudden shift in circumstances.
There were roughly three things that puzzled me.
‘Why didn’t they guide us along the path like last time?’
I pulled out the two Markers I’d been keeping in my Inventory.
Before, hadn’t they guided me to Shuren while she was fighting Gluttony?
But now they just sat in place, emanating an ominous light.
“What do you think, Neia?”

“I apologize. I have no grounds for speculation at this time.”

“I figured as much…”
With even Neia saying that.
I set that question aside for now.
“Then — could this situation be connected to Eclipse?”
Gluttony had been the first to reveal Eclipse, the first to show its face.
Of course, I still hadn’t uncovered the exact connection to the Vampire faction.
But whenever Gluttony appeared, I couldn’t help but suspect a connection to Eclipse.

“That does seem quite probable. Even with the Outer Tower, there’s no guarantee there’s no other means of entry.”

She had a point.
True, we’d come through an elevator.
But Scrolls, for instance.
Or anomalies in the field itself.
I couldn’t rule out the possibility of other methods of access.
No — there had to be others.
“Then, as a final check — do you think we have a real chance at winning?”
My own thoughts on it, as I’d said before, weren’t even worth discussing.
But Neia, being an AI, should be able to gauge it more precisely than I could.
It was really just a confirmation.

“I cannot be absolute, but considering Gluttony’s power output up to this point, I believe it sufficient to speak of victory.”

I heard Neia’s assessment and responded.
With even Neia backing me up like this, there was no reason to hesitate.
Above all…

[(Outer Tower) Quest: City Investigation – Investigation Rate 0%]

The Mission was an investigation quest.
Not a quest to conquer Gluttony.
If it came down to it, I could just finish the investigation using my Drones in an instant and get out.
And for that, the more Drones I had, the better.
Especially in a search operation like this.
“Neia.”

“Yes.”

“Send reinforcements.”

『Understood. Dispatching units now.』

Drones were being replenished in real-time through the Gate.
Mew—
Something flew at my face and stuck fast.
I checked what it was. Kamang-i.
The chat exploded.

– Oh, that’s the one from before!
– You didn’t kill it after all! I knew you wouldn’t!
– What an animal lover.
– Animal lover? More like animal rescuer. It’s gotten 1.5 times fluffier than before.

I’d left it in the room.
How did it escape…
Come to think of it, with wings and all, it probably slipped out through the window?
Maybe it saw the drones moving and followed them.
“Meow—”
“Alright, alright, just this once?”
I was about to send it back, but seeing how much the viewers enjoyed it, I decided to let it stay.
“Krail, Sermin, Ar. Assemble your forces and move into the City.”
“Yes, understood.”
Ar’s resonant voice rang out.
Good to see that eagerness.
Nothing restores confidence quite like success.
“Neia, I’m putting you on perimeter guard.”

『Leave it to me. Deploying patrol units now…』

The Drone Force moved swiftly, establishing an impenetrable defensive network.
Krail, Ar, and Sermin led their forces toward the objective.
“Everything’s ready here.”
Baek Jin-seong had fashioned a command post of sorts, hauling over a boulder and setting it in place.
I placed a Marker on the rock, sat down, and began interacting with the viewers.
And after a brief moment…
I could confirm Krail’s group arriving before the City.

『We’ve arrived at the City.』
『Same here. Should we proceed with entry?』
『Awaiting your command!』

Each group had assembled their forces and stood ready to enter from different directions.
I decided to have them scout the surface perimeter first rather than rush into an underground entrance without knowing what lay ahead.
Shortly after, reports began to filter back.
‘Nothing unusual, then…’
Something felt off, but I gave the go-ahead.
“Enter.”

* * *

I remained tense, watching the forces advance into the interior.

– The City has an unusual architecture, more than I expected.
– Can a City this size really exist underground?
– Alien civilization confirmed
– Reptilians are real.

But my own impression differed somewhat from what the voice chat was saying.
‘Not exactly identical….’
But there was something uncannily familiar about it, reminiscent of Nemesis.
Faintly, of course.
The more I examined the interior, the stronger that impression became.
I could ask Neia about it later to confirm whether this was just my imagination.
I’d been monitoring the situation while listening to the viewers’ voice chat—how long had it been now?
Baek Jin-seong whispered to me.
“But, uh…”
When I turned my attention toward him, Baek Jin-seong continued.
“Doesn’t something feel off about this?”
When I asked what he meant, it became clear he was referring to the quest window.
I caught the anomaly immediately too.
The drone force had been inside the city for fifteen minutes now.
We’d already explored a considerable portion of it.

[(Outer Tower) Quest: City Investigation – Investigation Rate 0%]

Yet the investigation rate—the most critical metric—hadn’t budged.
I paused to think, then issued orders to Krail and the other humanoids.
“Just to be safe, check the buildings as well.”

『Understood.』

– Our Jin-seong just proved his existence lmao (1/1).
– Free pass to slack off today ㅋㅋ
– Knock off work! Or maybe in a bit!
– Gotta do what needs doing ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Baek Jin-seong and the chat were making noise, but unlike usual, I couldn’t focus.
Because even though Gluttony hadn’t shown itself yet, there was still that concern.
If things continued like this, my contingency strategy—”retreat after completing the quest”—would become practically impossible in a worst-case scenario.

[(Outer Tower) Quest: City Investigation – Investigation Rate 0%]

‘Nothing changes even with this….’
I was mulling over the reason seriously when—

– Wait, didn’t that light just get brighter than before?

At the chat’s comment, my gaze suddenly shifted to the Marker I’d set down beside me, and I flinched in shock.
I hadn’t noticed it from my angle, but the light it was emitting was so intense it stung my eyes.
“Neia, is there anything that sticks out to—”
I was in the middle of speaking, looking at Neia on the screen, when—
The surroundings plunged into sudden darkness…
Crack—
A sensation of being pulled into an abyss of black swept through my entire body.

* * *

Neia, the AI in whom the finest technology was concentrated, its quintessence itself.
Her thought process froze for a single instant.

[No signal]

This couldn’t be….
The signal from the Marker I’d placed on Seon-woo had cut out.
Attempting to reconnect was useless.
Next, I tried accessing the drones and camera sensors in the field, but….
Same result.
Nothing. No matter how I searched or where I looked, there was no trace of Seon-woo, let alone—
Baek Jin-seong, who had been sitting beside him, vanished too.
The boulder he’d been resting on disappeared as well.
Even Kamang-i, whimpering on his lap, was gone.
This was a catastrophe.
The Successor was everything before being the City’s symbol.
Because of this, Neia’s logic framework shattered, and her calculations began to stutter.
Neia hastily reorganized the few faulty circuits and activated an emergency protocol, pushing her logic circuits to their limits.
Flash.
Whirrrrrrr—

[Escalating City operational authority to Emergency Response Mode.]
[Power limiter disengaged….]
[Computational capacity temporarily enhanced]

Her computational power surged to its maximum.
Then it became clear.
How she should approach this.
The shame of stuttering at such a simple solution the moment he vanished burned through her circuits.

(Footage)
(Footage)
(Footage)
…

She dissected the video data that the surrounding drones had transmitted just moments before.
Now she could see more clearly the dark object that had surged around Seon-woo.
‘Gluttony….’
But Gluttony was nowhere at the scene now.
She scoured the data from the drones that had been vigilantly monitoring the perimeter, but found nothing.
There was only one answer.
The ground.
Gluttony had no flight capability.
It must have burrowed underground.
‘That’s what it was.’
Why the Marker’s light hadn’t guided her.
She’d already been standing on top of Gluttony.
Neia reproached herself.
But simultaneously, hope flickered within her.
There was historical precedent—beings swallowed and absorbed by Gluttony had returned alive.
An AI who had already failed twice.

[Heighten vigilance over the surroundings.]

She had failed to maintain it.

[Why does the Marker’s light not respond?]

She couldn’t answer her own question.
If Seon-woo returned, she might be erased.
Yet despite this, Neia gave orders to prevent a third failure.

[Engaging Tactical Network]
[Integrating all forces]
[Operation code changed: Retreat]

『All forces, evacuate the City with haste.』

The troops scattered from the City in confusion, following the hastily revised operation, when—
Whirrrrr—
Neia commanded Ar to deploy the Ultra-Particle Cannon.

“Lieutenant Ar, direct the Ultra-Particle Cannon toward the City,” came the command.

The moment the Ultra-Particle Cannon, charged to its limit, blazed with light.
The particle beam meant to strike the City’s central facilities was stopped by a Barrier.
Crack—
Yet in the end, the Barrier shattered.
The weakened Ultra-Particle Cannon struck the City.
Boom—
And then, the next instant.
Squelch.
The City began to melt.
Then a colossal form rose, towering upward—Gluttony.
It was the most overwhelming size they had ever witnessed.

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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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