Ex-level Player With the Greatest Civilization of All Time - Chapter 17

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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 17

Baek Jin-seong let out a long sigh.
The empty lot where he’d been conducting business just moments before.
That’s why troublesome people had gathered here.
‘Where are the security personnel?’
He discreetly checked on the guards he’d hired for today’s transaction.
They kept shaking their heads.
‘I guess it’s a bit much — they’re not actually threatening anything from their side.’
The players hired as security would gladly fulfill their duty if Baek Jin-seong faced real danger.
But starting a confrontation on his own initiative was another matter entirely.
Not that there’d be much point even if the odds were in his favor.
The people clinging to him now were far beyond that — they were heavy hitters in their own right.
When he thought about it, though, it made sense.
He’d become the sole gateway to the famous Naia.
“Ugh….”
He looked up and scanned his surroundings.
Gu Byeong-hun of the Mir Guild.
He’d shown up right around when today’s business should have concluded — when Baek Jin-seong thought he could finally relax.
Even when Baek Jin-seong tried to brush him off, he’d deflect with a laugh and show no sign of leaving.
Though honestly, the same went for everyone else too.
‘The crowd keeps growing.’
Another new face had been added to the domestic megaguild contingent.
Originally, besides Gu Byeong-hun from the Mir Guild, there’d only been representatives from the White Tiger Guild and the Myeongseong Guild, but now someone from the Blue Moon Guild had joined the group.
Baek Jin-seong laughed dryly.
The longer he stalled, the more they multiplied.
‘Wait — is that the Arc Guild?’
Baek Jin-seong tensed when he spotted the Arc Guild’s insignia.
Foreign guild representatives were here too.
And they were all from guilds that could legitimately claim to represent their respective countries.
The Arc Guild wasn’t America’s number one guild — it was third. Yet despite being third, not first, the Arc Guild had unusually high recognition.
That was because of him.
Miller, widely regarded as the world’s greatest player.
The name value the Arc Guild possessed was consequently formidable.
‘That’s the Black Dragon Guild from China?’
Beyond them, there was Britain’s Knights Guild and Japan’s Amaterasu Guild, and so on.
The crowd was swelling rapidly.
‘So this is the kind of pressure he was under.’
Separate from the genuine respect that had begun to bloom in him, that thought suddenly struck him.
‘This is already out of my hands, isn’t it?’
He couldn’t even persuade Gu Byeong-hun with words.
So how was he supposed to control a situation that had spiraled this far?
Still, he tried to speak to them.
“I’m telling you again — there’s no way you’ll meet Naia by waiting here. I don’t even have his number.”
Baek Jin-seong’s words fell on deaf ears.
“We don’t mind.”
“Go about your business, don’t worry about us.”
“If we’re in the way, we’ll step back further.”
They stepped back a bit but sent subtle, insistent glances his way.
“Well, I saw this coming….”
Their objective was becoming crystal clear.
Naia.
Since he’d taken the item on consignment sale.
They’d concluded that if they kept watch, they’d eventually run into Naia.
He had no obligation to play along with their game.
“Should I just leave the Tower?”
For a moment, the thought rose up in defiance.
But Baek Jin-seong quickly changed his mind.
Of course he’d considered it before, but this reminder only reinforced that hiding here was nothing more than a temporary measure.
Unlike Naia, his face and real name had already been exposed to the world—it was only a matter of time before they came knocking at his real-world door.
Beyond that, he had one more task waiting for him besides the consignment sales.
Didn’t today’s assignment include bulk buying as well?
“This is driving me crazy, seriously….”
Items that ordinary players had no use for.
Self-born Stones, Dark Crystal Sand, Mana Crystallized Stones, and more.
Among them were minerals he’d never even heard of before.
Since he hadn’t managed to purchase them yet, Baek Jin-seong felt the pressure mounting.
So he couldn’t leave.
Once he exited the tower today, he wouldn’t be able to re-enter before midnight.
‘What am I supposed to do, sir?’
In any case, he was supposed to buy those items with today’s sales proceeds.
But with them clinging to him like this….
Ordinarily, Naia should have messaged by now—his silence felt almost cruel at this moment.
Ding.
A message arrived in Baek Jin-seong’s inbox.
The sender was the one he’d been waiting for so eagerly.
Baek Jin-seong’s eyes lit up like those of a saint receiving divine revelation.
“A message from Naia has arrived.”
Interest flashed across the eyes of the guild officials gathered nearby.
Baek Jin-seong relayed the message to them.

* * *

The broadcast I checked immediately after returning from the Sub-space.
After witnessing Baek Jin-seong surrounded by these heavy hitters, I shifted my attention to the chat window.

– Naia’s impressive, seriously.
– First time seeing them recruit this directly lol
– Even Arc Guild would covet talent like that~~

The scene had attracted guild representatives from both domestic and international organizations.
Looking at the chat, I could quickly grasp what was unfolding.
‘This was pretty much what I expected to happen.’
Though it was faster and more aggressive than I’d anticipated.
Once I’d assessed the situation, the first thing I did was send a message to Baek Jin-seong.
“Is this enough?”
I sent the mail and watched how things played out.

『Tell them precisely: anyone who remains here to pester him will not be considered for negotiation of any kind henceforth.』

My message, delivered through Baek Jin-seong.
Hearing it in someone else’s voice made it sound almost arrogant….
But honestly, I didn’t care.
I’d actually prefer it if they took offense and withdrew out of wounded pride.
And if they heeded the warning and backed off, that was equally welcome.
I had nothing to lose by playing hardball in a situation like this—no reason to be modest.

– Wow, he’s coming in hot…
– Wait, isn’t that the Arc Guild?
– And this actually works??

The guild officials, who’d been watching nervously, eventually exchanged business cards and withdrew one by one.

『Please do reach out. The Arc Guild will be waiting for you, sir.』

『The Black Dragon Guild promises the finest terms. Brother.』

『Surely we should pool our strength as fellow countrymen, shouldn’t we?』
…

Though they each spoke only a word or two to Baek Jin-seong.
I wasn’t unaware that their words were meant as a message for me, watching the broadcast from somewhere.

“Please do reach out to the Mir Guild when you get a chance. We’d like to express our gratitude. There are also some matters we’d like to negotiate urgently.”

Gu Byeong-hun handed over his business card as a parting gesture and left.
“Wait, are there more people left?”
Players who’d been hovering at the edges.
At first, I’d taken them for mere spectators.
But once the famous guild players disappeared, they drew closer.

– Thought they were just onlookers lol
– Are these mid-tier guild members?
– Their faces look unfamiliar
– Even Arc Guild got rejected lol who are these guys!

But my assumption proved completely wrong.

“We saw your post about purchasing materials.”
“Me too… You mentioned buying Dark Crystal Sand, right?”
“I’m here about Mana Crystallized Stones!”

They’d probably held back because of the commotion the troublemakers were causing.
How much business had I lost because of it?
Baek Jin-seong spoke up.

“Right, we’ll be purchasing. No haggling, though—you’ll need to sell at the listed prices we’ve already made public, understood?”
“Yes, that’s fine with us.”

The material purchasing began in earnest.
I watched for a bit, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary….
Since the target quantity wasn’t small, I expected this tedious stretch would continue for some time.
“Maybe I should check the community boards for a bit.”
Nothing beat browsing the community to stave off boredom.
And to be honest, there was something on my mind too.
“Especially that business with the Lava Hound….”
Materials that had been competitively resold at prices far exceeding my initial valuation.
I wanted to see how people were reacting to that.
I pulled up Tower Know-it-all and searched for “Lava Hound.”
A stream of recent posts appeared.
“More response than I expected.”

[What’s the special effect attached to it?]
[Where on earth did it come from?]
[Must be an SSS-rank Strategy reward.]
[But if it’s an SSS-rank Strategy reward, hasn’t Naia only cleared floor 11 so far?]

The special effect, the source of acquisition—
there were plenty of theories and intriguing posts.

[Yo, you guys know those Claws that got completely sold out earlier? They’re being resold in Lucid now?]
[Really? Claws going for 2000 each… that’s like four times the original sale price?]
[But isn’t that expensive even accounting for the special effect?]
[Maybe someone’s trying to corner the market on them?]

This was going excellently.
The fact that prices were climbing in Lucid meant
I could sell for even higher tomorrow.
“But looking at it roughly, it’s not so different from mine.”
Within the community’s responses, the information I’d secretly hoped for turned out not to exist at all.
What little there was about Special Effects amounted to speculation.
I’d wanted to find out whether anyone had sold similar materials from the Lava Hound before, aside from this case.
And if so, how they’d acquired them.
Ultimately, I’d hoped to compare those cases with mine and figure out why those particular effects had attached — but it seemed that plan had failed.
“I wonder if the next Gate will drop something with a Special Effect too.”
At this point, I was already looking forward to the next Gate.
What had seemed like a disaster at first had turned out to be an advantage depending on circumstances.
If I prepared sufficiently, it was no different than an event to rake in serious money.
“You’re pretty interested in the purchasing side too, not just selling.”

[Naia’s buying up Mana Crystallized Stones like crazy?]
[What’s Dark Crystal Sand?]
[Self-born Stone prices look good — should I sell mine too?]
[Why would a regular player need Purification Crystals?]

After scrolling through the community and seeing the major trades winding down, I composed another system message.
The recipient was naturally Baek Jin-seong.
After sending him the message and having my access reset just past midnight, I entered the tower.
“This place had decent reviews.”
I’d booked a room at one of Feronta’s upscale mansions.
While waiting there, someone soon knocked on the door.
It was Baek Jin-seong.
I opened the door and let him in.
“You ended the broadcast as instructed?”
“Yes, sir.”
I’d messaged him through the system to exit the tower before midnight, end the broadcast, and then re-enter once his access reset, coming here afterward.
The reason for this roundabout inconvenience was purely those guilds from earlier who’d given up and withdrawn.
I couldn’t rule out the possibility they were watching from somewhere.
“The goods?”
“Ah, I’ll bring them out now.”
Baek Jin-seong unloaded several bags stuffed full in his Inventory onto the floor of the lodging.
“I spent all of today’s sale proceeds, but I couldn’t purchase all the materials. The quantity was just too large.”
Today’s transaction would amount to roughly fifteen billion won.
Despite spending that much, he hadn’t managed to acquire everything.
“And while I did pick up smaller quantities here and there, once I started buying aggressively, the prices climbed from the middle onward.”
“Well, that’s only natural.”
Still, it seemed he’d managed to gather close to half the target amount one way or another.
I agreed with Baek Jin-seong’s assessment and began loading items into my Inventory one by one.
Then he spoke up.
“Ah, and what should we do with these?”
When I turned my head, I saw business cards.
The ones he’d received from those guild representatives earlier.
I took them and tucked them carefully into my pocket.
Seeing that, Baek Jin-seong asked quietly.
“Are you planning to contact the guilds?”
“Sounds like you’re quite curious.”
“Not exactly, but it’s only natural to wonder, right? Heh…”
Judging by his tone, he must have expected me to tell him to tear them up or figured I’d just throw them away later.
What kind of person does he think I am…
“It’s not like that. They might be useful later, so there’s no harm in keeping them.”
Realistically, whether or not I joined a guild, living as a player meant I’d likely get entangled with these people eventually.
Keeping them in mind for that possibility couldn’t hurt.
Next, I had him transfer the goods in advance.
The batch I’d be selling tomorrow.
“Well, that should do it then.”
After finishing the goods transfer, I spoke to Baek Jin-seong, who was organizing his Inventory.
“Now get ready.”
“Huh? Ready for what?”
“I need to get going—clear the twelfth floor.”
One day’s rest was more than enough.

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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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