Ex-level Player With the Greatest Civilization of All Time - Chapter 11

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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 11

Once before, while climbing the Tower, I’d experienced a card materializing before my eyes just like this.
It happened when I cleared the 5th Floor.
But this time, only one card appeared.
That was distinctly different from before, when three cards had materialized.
The reason is simple.
This was a different kind of skill event than the 5th Floor.
Rather than granting a new skill, this one was meant to strengthen an existing skill—what they called an Enhancement.

[Special Assembly]
– 5% chance to produce a special unit.

“Right, I forgot about this.”
Normally, an Enhancement should show all skills I currently possessed.
But at the moment, I only had one skill.
So naturally, only one card appeared.

[‘Special Assembly’ is being enhanced.]
[‘Special Assembly’ will be changed to ‘Special Assembly II’.]

There was nothing to deliberate over, so I accepted the enhancement without hesitation.
I opened the skill window to check the upgraded Special Assembly.

[Special Assembly II]
– 5% chance to produce a special unit.
– 1% chance to produce a heroic unit.

I examined the enhanced Special Assembly, which had never activated even once until now.
The upgraded skill had gained a new line of text.
“A heroic unit? They can appear now?”
The probability was low, of course.
Only 1%.
Still, I felt a spark of anticipation.
There was a world of difference between 0% and 1%.
If I forgot about it and kept going, it would trigger eventually.
After finishing this small event, I closed the skill window and stared at the message I’d just received.

These Neutral Zones appeared every ten floors and served as the primary gathering ground for climbers.
And this Peronta was the Neutral Zone for the 10-floor sector.
“I’ll enter.”

[Are you sure you wish to proceed?]

Compared to the average Level required to graduate from the Tutorial, mine was low.
Most people would choose to stay longer at this checkpoint, unable to ignore such recommended thresholds.
“Yeah, doesn’t matter.”
I decided to enter without hesitation.
After all, my combat strength didn’t come from Level or stats—it came entirely from my Drones.
As I confirmed the choice, the landscape before me transformed in an instant.
And what unfolded before my eyes was a massive Blue Tower reaching high into the sky, with a medieval city sprawling outward from its center.
“So this is Peronta….”

Peronta was home to countless people.
Hunters were abundant as well.
Distinguishing between the tower’s native inhabitants and Hunters was simple enough.
The Hunters’ distinctively flamboyant attire made the difference unmistakable.
After taking in Peronta’s landscape with a casual glance, I turned toward the tower.
“Since I’m already here, I might as well get a taste of what it has to offer.”
My original plan had been nothing more than sightseeing.
But leaving now would leave me with a lingering sense of incompleteness.
I had the Refraction Ring, after all.
There was no real reason to avoid it, so my steps felt light.

As I approached the Blue Tower, the density of Hunters increased noticeably.
Players of various nationalities chattered noisily, each with their own agenda.
“Looking for party members to clear Level 13!”
“Recruiting experienced players for Level 15! Please don’t come if you’re a beginner — it’ll show!!”
“Anyone have Morning Dew to trade?”
Unlike the Tutorial, party-based clearings became possible from Level 11 onward.
Party clearings offered many advantages.
First, the accident rate during clearings dropped significantly.
Moreover, starting from Level 11, Team Missions existed, and members were assigned to the same team for those.
Even when individual missions were given, Hunters who entered as a party received identical objectives.
This made cooperation far more practical.
Yet even so, there were legitimate drawbacks.
Most notably, rewards were reduced.
When assigned individual missions, you’d still have to defeat proportionally more enemies.
Still, the overwhelming advantages meant most people preferred joining parties.
I, however, had no interest in party-based clearings.
In a situation where I wanted to avoid standing out, forming a party itself was a risk.
“I’ve finally arrived.”
As I reached the tower’s perimeter, a message materialized before my eyes.

[Do you wish to enter Sky Tower Level 11?]

“Yes.”
As always, the landscape before me shifted in an instant.

* * *

Baek Jin-seong.
A Hunter from South Korea.
The trait he received upon awakening was ‘Transmitter.’
You might wonder what that means—but it’s essentially a streamer’s ability.
“Everyone, today I’m finally going to attempt Level 11!”
Ordinarily, personal broadcasting inside the tower is impossible.
But not for Baek Jin-seong.
His ability made the difference.
As a result, the footage differed qualitatively from videos shot with body cameras and similar equipment inside the tower.
Live broadcast, unedited and raw.
It possessed a distinctive advantage over other content creators.
It was more than sufficient to satisfy viewers who craved immediacy.
Perhaps because of this, Baek Jin-seong had amassed a respectable number of loyal viewers.
Upon entering Level 11, he examined the field and tensed visibly.
“This is… the Aerial Garden…!”
His viewers, too, caught sight of the sprawling garden and flooded the chat.

– Wow, that’s rough.
– Of all places, why did it have to be here?
– Just give up and skip it?

The viewers’ reactions converged on a single conclusion.
And that was precisely why the Aerial Garden had earned such a sinister reputation as a field.
The surprise attacks from the carnivorous plant, Deathvine.
Since no one could predict when or where it might emerge to threaten your life, most hunters found it easier to simply give up.
But that wasn’t all.
There was also the Gardener Crimp, who guarded the fifteenth floor.
The gardener wielded enormous shears and sickles, possessing a recovery rate so absurd that even grievous wounds sealed themselves almost instantly.
The consensus was overwhelming: this boss had no business being on the fifteenth floor.
Which meant that even if someone from the eleventh floor naively stumbled into a garden field and managed to clear it, they’d face a different problem entirely.
Once you cleared it, retreat became impossible.
You’d be forced to push through the fifteenth floor weeping blood, with only that garden field standing between you and the next level.
Venture into the garden by mistake, and you’d expend twice the effort and time of your peers just to clear the fifteenth floor—without gaining anything special for the trouble.
That’s why people who’d confirmed the eleventh-floor field often left without even accepting the Team Mission.
Baek Jin-seong wrestled with the choice.
Then he glanced at his viewer count.

– Giving up’s not shameful, Jin-seong. Just a little unfashionable.
– Running away’s embarrassing, but it helps your survival, bro.
– Haha, that’s cold, Jin-sung.
[Viewers: 211]

“No way, brothers. I’m not that kind of man!”
He forced steel into his voice.
Of course, it was partly his nature and partly theater for the stream.
His viewers always responded well to this kind of performance.
‘What could possibly go wrong?’
Baek Jin-seong’s Ability was relatively straightforward.
He received additional stat buffs based on the number of people currently watching his broadcast.
For instance, with 211 viewers watching right now, the bonus he’d gain was +6 stat points.
For every 100 viewers, three random stats were awarded to him.
He’d never been naturally talented with physical prowess, yet this—this was the engine that allowed him to climb the Tower at all.
Raw stats brute-forcing his way up.
And to keep doing it, monitoring his regular viewers’ morale was non-negotiable.
‘But today’s viewer count is lower than usual….’
Had choosing a weekend morning slot been a mistake?
Or maybe some other famous player was streaming solo right now.
His kind of Ability wasn’t unique in the world, after all.
‘This feels precarious.’
On normal days he’d pull four hundred viewers, but now he was sitting at half that.
For all his bravado, the reality of the situation was making him genuinely anxious about the clear attempt.
‘Don’t think weak. Stick to the plan—pretend to clear it, then bail. Simple.’
He’d already announced his intention, and his viewers had their pride invested, so his real goal was a strategic retreat midway through.
He’d never actually planned to clear it.
The Gardener terrified him too.

– Our Jin-seong’s fear is totally showing haha
– It’s not too late. Bail now.
– Told you this would be brutal.

“Sc-scared? I’m not some tiny bean of a coward like that.”
But at least drawing aggro had paid off.
Right after he’d announced he’d actually attempt it, his viewer count swelled noticeably.

[Viewers: 330]

Not his usual peak, but the extra stats helped.
“Now that Baek Jin-seong’s drawn his blade, I’ll carve through anything and move forward.”
It wasn’t a lie, technically.
He really was going to swing his sword a few times before leaving.
Personal broadcast or not, the justification mattered.
And right now, that justification was everything.
Some excuse to give up, as long as the chat didn’t burn down.
Once he had a decent reason, Baek Jin-seong decided, he’d make a polite excuse and bow out cleanly.

– lol upvote if Jin-seong’s hoping for a Team Mission right now
– Seriously why are his shaking legs so cute
– This is why I watch Jin-seong’s streams

A Team Mission.
Or better yet, a group assignment mission.
In truth, Baek Jin-seong did hope for exactly that kind of task.
It would let him drift naturally into someone else’s care along the way.
‘I’m going to quit halfway anyway, so it’d be a little inconsiderate, but….’
There was nothing he could do about it.
He had no desire to needlessly suffer through the Aerial Garden field.
Ding—
Just then, an alert chimed and the mission was assigned.

[Complete the mission in the Aerial Garden with your group members and earn points. 0/100]
– Collecting medicinal herb Polana: +3 points
– Hunting Deathvine: +1 point
– Retrieving temple relics and returning them to their proper places: +10 points

Baek Jin-seong’s expression brightened slightly.
It wasn’t a Team Mission with everyone on the field, but a group assignment mission alone was enough to satisfy him.
Ding—

[No party currently registered.]
[Group members will be assigned automatically.]
[You have been assigned to Group 7.]

The number 7 appeared above the heads of several people in the safe zone.
Baek Jin-seong approached the nearest group member.
A reasonably good-looking man.
But up close, his gear struck an odd note.
His equipment was so shabby it made you wonder how he’d made it this far—to the eleventh floor.
Still, he didn’t let it show and bowed politely.
“Hello there. I’m Baek Jin-seong.”
“Yes, hello.”
His expression wasn’t particularly warm.
Baek Jin-seong only played up the cheer for his stream; by nature he was a typical introvert.
And so the moment an awkward silence was about to settle between them—
The other group members with 7 above their heads gathered one by one.
One of the four who had joined spoke first.
“Are you both experienced?”
The Aerial Garden, true to its reputation, wasn’t a field that first-timers preferred.
Most of the people remaining in the field were actually veterans.
And the reason these men asked was obvious.
They themselves were experienced, clearing it repeatedly.
Baek Jin-seong answered.
“I’m… not.”
The man who’d given Baek Jin-seong a cool reception earlier also spoke up.
“This is my first time too.”
The four who had joined made complicated faces.
They exchanged looks with each other and then spoke.
“To be honest, we’re all experienced. We were planning to do a clear run, but… carrying two newbies through would be too much for us.”
They hadn’t said it outright, but their meaning was clear.
One of them should leave.
‘An excuse…!’
The excuse had come even sooner than he’d expected.
Baek Jin-seong caught their drift and opened his mouth.
“I….”
I was about to refuse.
“If it’s inconvenient, I’ll act separately.”
Baek Jin-seong’s head turned.
It was that man again.
“You don’t have to do that….”
The man walked away without answering, heading into a corner alone.
Against his intention, Baek Jin-seong found himself grouped with the men.
“Shall we go then?”
The experienced players said as much to Baek Jin-seong and took the lead.
Following them, his expression troubled, he walked for a while before suddenly remembering he’d abandoned the broadcast and hurriedly checked the chat window.

-Wow, I just remembered where I’ve seen that face.
-Those bastards are Hunters.

Hunters—the term referred to players who preyed on other players in the tower’s shadowy corners, making their living through plunder.

-Man, I just got chills.
-Jin-seong, get out of there fast.
-ㅌㅌㅌ

Baek Jin-seong jumped in alarm and manipulated the mission window.
His first instinct was to abandon the strategy immediately.
But as he moved to leave, he received a shocking message.
Beep—

[Hunting Mark has been applied.]
[Departure is unavailable.]

Goosebumps erupted across his entire body.
The Hunting Mark was a skill possessed by beings with assassin-class traits.
It helped track targets, and when attacks landed in combat, it dealt additional damage to the marked target.
But he’d had no idea such an effect was possible when used on a player.
‘I never wanted to know that!’
His mind went white with panic.
What do I do?
Am I going to die here?
One-on-one looked impossible; four-on-one was utterly hopeless.
In that moment of dizziness, a single face flashed through his mind.
The man who’d just parted ways with him, saying he’d act alone.
Baek Jin-seong glanced around, then bolted hard in the opposite direction.
“Hey—you damn bastard, he’s running!”
“Goddamn it, stand your ground over there!”
“What the hell, how is he this fast?”
He ran with everything he had.
He worried the assassin class would catch him quickly, but somehow his body felt light.

[Viewers: 1051]

Baek Jin-seong checked the viewer count and understood why.
Word had spread of the situation somehow—the audience had grown.
Thanks to that, his stats had temporarily risen.
Baek Jin-seong ran at full speed, grateful to his viewers.
But it didn’t last long.
The distance between them steadily closed.
Those behind him clearly had no intention of letting him go.
“Ugh….”
It was right then, as Baek Jin-seong ran like a madman.
Something like a blue light flared around the corner ahead.
‘Please let it be him!’
I’d rounded the corner at a full sprint, my breath coming sweet and sharp, when I saw him.
Thank goodness—that tall, composed man was standing there.
He flinched at the sight of me, then spoke with studied calm.
“…What is it?”
“Please, help me! Those bastards from before—they were Hunters….”
Crash.
Baek Jin-seong took a kick to the gut and tumbled across the floor.

—————
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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