Ex-level Player With the Greatest Civilization of All Time - Chapter 18

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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 18

Clearing the 12th Floor.
There was no reason to delay it any longer, if I was being honest.
That judgment rested entirely on my experience of having already cleared the 11th Floor.
The 11th Floor had been that straightforward.
‘The only thing I really need to watch for is Power Management….’
Right now my inventory was packed with Mana Stones.
Worth roughly two billion in total.
But Baek Jin-seong, who’d been brought into my confidence, looked genuinely taken aback—apparently he hadn’t expected me to declare my intention to clear the 12th Floor right here and now.
“Wait! You mean right now?”
“Why? Do you have a problem with that?”
“No… no, of course not….”
Baek Jin-seong spoke carefully, gauging my reaction.
“It’s just… the broadcast. You turned it off, didn’t you?”
That was probably the reason for his hesitation a moment ago.
And I understood exactly why.
‘Ah, I can see how he’d get that impression.’
Baek Jin-seong apparently thought I wanted to clear the 12th Floor while the broadcast was off.
Considering his goal was to grow his broadcast audience, after all.
Clearing the floor without the broadcast running would yield him almost nothing, so his reaction made perfect sense.
I cleared up the misunderstanding.
“We can turn the broadcast back on whenever we want, right?”
“Oh, that’s true!”
“We’ll start the broadcast once we enter the tower. You got that?”
“Yes!”
Baek Jin-seong exhaled in relief.
“I’m not the kind of person who’d pull something like that.”
“Of course not—I trust you completely. Haha.”
Once we’d reached an understanding, I stood up from my seat.
“All right, get yourself ready. I’m going to use the bathroom for a moment.”
Before I stepped toward the bathroom, I added:
“Just so we’re clear—don’t complain if it takes a while, and don’t you dare try to break down the door if I don’t answer.”
“Yes, yes! I’ll just sit right here and wait patiently for you!”
Despite his enthusiastic assurance, I couldn’t shake a lingering sense of worry….
I went into the bathroom and locked the door firmly.
Better safe than sorry.
“Let’s make this quick, then.”
What was about to happen was something I couldn’t let him see.
A flash.
The bathroom filled with blue light.
The cause: a Gate that I’d opened.
The moment I stepped inside as naturally as breathing—
“I… I’ve been waiting for you! Successor!”
A voice just as loud and booming as Baek Jin-seong’s.
I flinched and turned my head.
Standing there was Argelayer.
“What… are you doing here?”
“You told me you’d see me again soon, so I’ve been waiting!”
“Ah… yes, that’s… right.”
It had been more than ten hours since I’d said goodbye and left.
This was beyond absurd.
Whether I should call it loyalty or sheer obliviousness, I wasn’t sure.
Looking at the determined figure before me, I shook my head slowly.
Rigid as a pike, utterly lacking in flexibility.
“What’s the matter?”
“No, actually—this works out perfectly. Can I ask you for a favor?”
“Of course, Successor! Just give me your command, and I’ll complete it with soldier’s resolve!”
I decided to change my title first before making the request.
“And about that ‘Successor’ title you’ve been using.”
“Is there perhaps a problem with it…?”
“Going forward, I’d appreciate it if you called me something else.”
Argelayer’s expression went slack, as though struck by a hammer.
“Not to call the Successor by ‘Successor’? How could such a thing be!”
Yes, Argelayer. I have my reasons.
“If you find it hard to accept, think of it as a Quest—a mandatory one to be carried out from the moment we step outside this Gate.”
“…I understand. Then, how should I address you….”
How, indeed.
I considered what might suit.
The whole point of controlling the word “Successor” was
to avoid giving the impression that I’d inherited something.
A Player who’d acquired some massive legacy bearing special power—
the moment that assumption took root, unforeseen complications could arise.
‘Might as well just pick something without overthinking it.’
Argelayer’s design was based on a soldier, after all.
So if I were to replace the authority and presence that “Successor” carried…
“What about Commander?”
“Ah…! Indeed, a brilliant idea, sir.”
Argelayer seemed satisfied with the choice.
“And I’ll call you ‘Ar’ from now on. That works for you, yes?”
“It would be an honor.”
“Good, Ar. I need you to run an errand. Deliver some items to the Core Center where Nea is.”
I pulled out the goods I’d received from Baek Jin-seong moments earlier and set them down.
The city’s power reserves would certainly be tight right now.
Between the Drone production and Argelayer’s recent test run,
I’d stopped by to resupply in time.
“Consider it done!”
Argelayer shifted into combat form.
As he completed the transformation, tearing through the surrounding forest, I gave my instructions.
“I also have a message for Nea.”
…….
Argelayer didn’t respond, but I assumed he was listening and was about to speak when
a screen appeared, and Nea said:

『You may speak directly to me.』

“…How? Is it structured so you know when I enter this place?”
Startled by his sudden appearance, I asked, and Nea shook his head.

『That is not the case. I was merely monitoring a small disturbance in this forest just now and happened to detect your arrival, Seon-u.』

“I see.”
I felt a touch of disappointment at that.
If it had been otherwise, I wouldn’t need to make the tedious trip to the Core Center each time.
I could’ve had collection drones handle simple item transfers right here.
“In any case, I’m sending some of the items we discussed earlier through Argelayer—please verify them. As for the Mana Stones especially, I’m planning to begin the 12th Floor Clear now, so start the energy conversion process right away.”

『Acknowledged. Registering the next directive as highest priority, proceeding with expedience.』

“Good.”
I watched Argelayer head toward the Core Center, then turned and exited the Gate again.
The view before me was now the Lodging’s bathroom.
I closed the Gate and returned to my room.
“That took care of things smoothly enough.”

* * *

Nea drew considerable interest even among ordinary people who weren’t Players.
You could see it in Baek Jin-seong’s case.
A single expedition with him hadn’t just netted millions of views—it had secured a million subscribers.
Which was why, among Players who climbed the tower while editing footage to sustain their livelihoods, the recent craze was sniping Nea—a trend that even content creators were caught up in.
In fact, the Aerial Garden’s Clear rate had risen noticeably these past two days because of it.

[Baek Jin-seong, so jealous lol]
[I’m gonna meet Nea no matter what.]
[Look at these Nea snipers—absolutely dripping with greed ㅋㅋ]

What they all kept their eyes on without fail was Baek Jin-seong’s broadcast.

[Baek Jin-seong just turned off his stream.]
[Let’s head out—time to clock off ㄱㄱ]
[I thought we’d get a strategy guide today.]

The fact that they’d contracted to climb together until Baek Jin-seong Cleared the 15th Floor was already common knowledge.
Naturally, because he’d already blurted it out on his own broadcast.
So when Baek Jin-seong shut down the stream, they figured there was nothing left to see.
After that point, hardly any new posts had been added to the thread.
“Heh heh… Maybe I really am the luckiest bastard alive?”
Baek Jin-seong, who’d been using his trait ability to scan the video platform and today’s community posts, laughed out loud.
What he’d recently come to enjoy was voyeurism like this—watching the Nea sniper squad’s reactions.
It made him feel a certain superiority, and he could sense their envy and jealousy directed at him. It was fun.
But the more he felt that, the more he had to guard against what couldn’t be replaced.
There were those who eyed the vacant spot.
Some of them, like himself, possessed broadcast-related traits, though not many.
He reminded himself that he always had to work hard not to be abandoned by Nea, living with constant fear and trembling.
“That’s taking a while, isn’t it? Constipation?”
He’d considered going and knocking, but—
he’d said something before going in.
He was just sitting there, scrolling through more video comments, when—
he heard the bathroom door open.
“You ready? Let’s go.”
“Welcome back.”
Baek Jin-seong sprang up from his seat.
And at the same instant, a message materialized before his eyes.

[Nea has requested to join your Party.]

The moment he saw it, a thought struck him.
‘Oh… wait, what’s your Level anyway?’
He stole a glance at Nea’s face and quietly tapped to accept the Party request.

[You have joined the Party.]

The Level list that appeared was unexpected.
‘Lower than me?’

「Party List」
* [Lv.11 Nea]
* [Lv.13 Baek Jin-seong]

Though Nea’s power did stem from that mysterious Drone.
There might be other abilities at play, but so far, that was all that had been revealed.
“Let’s go.”
“Yep!”
Party formed, they walked together toward the tower and joined the queue for the 12th Floor.
Soon the 12th Floor’s field unfolded before them.
The Aerial Garden’s scenery was somewhat different from the 11th Floor.
While the sky had been blue on the 11th Floor, here it was tinged yellow.
The Aerial Garden, once lush with verdant green, had withered like autumn foliage, dry and brittle.
‘What sort of quest will we receive this time?’
Unlike the 11th Floor, there was no anxiety about whether they’d be assigned a group mission or individual ones.
After all, he had Nea with him now.
Ding.
The mission appeared.

[Eliminate Rampant Flora, Deathvine. 0/60]

The count was high, likely because they were now registered as a Party.
Still, it was a refreshingly straightforward quest.
“Shall I start the broadcast now?”
At Baek Jin-seong’s words, Nea gave a nod.
“Once the broadcast is ready, wait here and chat with the viewers for a bit.”
“Ah… yes. Understood.”
Baek Jin-seong watched as Nea retreated to a corner of the Safe Zone beyond the camera’s reach, then quickly switched on the stream.
Viewers flooded in like a tide.

– Huh? Broadcasting again?
– Didn’t you say you were going to sleep just now?
– Jin-seong.
– Jin-seong, your senior just showed up — give him a shout.

“Hello everyone. Actually, I’m about to start clearing the 12th Floor with Nea. I was surprised to get called in so suddenly too.”
As he responded to the viewers’ comments, more chat rolled in.

– But why isn’t Nea showing on screen?
– Where’d Nea go?
– Does he need a bathroom break?
– That would explain it, honestly.

“He’s stepped away for a moment. He should be back soon.”
As he exchanged these pleasantries with the viewers, the chat suddenly stirred.
A ripple of excitement ran through the comments.

– Oh, here he comes.
– Yeah, that’s Nea.
– Whoa, check out all those drones around him.
– Those are each weapons on par with a 40th-Floor-level Player, right? Gives me chills…
– But who’s that guy next to him?

Beside Nea stood a face the viewers didn’t recognize.
Naturally, Baek Jin-seong had never seen them either.
It was Argelayer.
“Um… who is that person next to you, senior?”
Nea had vanished into that corner and returned with a small figure in military fatigues.
For a moment, Baek Jin-seong wondered if this was a newly recruited teammate.
But something about Nea’s nature suggested otherwise.
He was extremely wary of others, after all.
The viewers arrived at a similar conclusion.
Rather than some freshly recruited ally, they seemed to regard the figure as family — perhaps a nephew.

– Is that Nea’s nephew?
– Is he mixed race?
– Wait, who’s this kid? He’s adorable lol
– He’s gonna break some hearts in the future.

The nephew theory made considerable sense.
Even if Nea was an intensely guarded figure, it wasn’t impossible he’d kept his identity hidden from family as well.
If he had siblings, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have a nephew this age.
‘His appearance is somewhat exotic, I’ll admit…’

Then again, mixed-race children are common enough these days.
And there are certainly young people who enter the Tower.
Internationally, climbing Towers while underage isn’t particularly encouraged.
But since Awakening doesn’t discriminate by age, absolute prohibition is impossible.
‘Even in that… cosplay, there’s nothing strange about him.’
As Baek Jin-seong watched Argelayer in military uniform with interest, Nea spoke.
“Ar, introduce yourself.”
Argelayer declared confidently.
“I am Lieutenant Argelayer! Pleased to make your acquaintance!”
Argelayer bit his own tongue.
The chat erupted.

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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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