Ex-level Player With the Greatest Civilization of All Time - Chapter 42

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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 42

Squelch, squelch… crack—
A rumbling roar.
Everything the creature had absorbed began spilling out from within it. In the same moment, its body shrank dramatically once again.
Sermin’s fist did not pause.

‘So that’s how it is.’

She drew a sharp breath and delivered another blow.
Boom—rumble, rumble, rumble.

‘This is—’

Boom—rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble.
Boom—

‘Why is this so hard?’

Each strike. Each one.
Her fists seemed to carry genuine lethal intent, a force unlike anything before.
The creature could not withstand Sermin’s assault.
Indignant at becoming a punching bag, it curled into a ball and tried to deploy its spines, but—
It only succeeded in shredding its own flesh.
Crash—boom—
The spines that touched Sermin shattered backward from the shock wave generated on impact.
Its size swelled again, and more objects erupted from within it.
The variety of things it had consumed was truly remarkable.

‘Shrieeeek—’

The creature seemed to find Sermin’s fists acutely painful.
For some reason, it let out a rather mournful wail.
Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble.
The Aberrant Lifeform then regurgitated Yamada and everything else it had consumed, shrinking back to its original size.
‘Ooooh…’
Now even its cry sounded pathetic.
Its size matched that pitiable sound.
If she gathered it all up, would it even fit inside a cylinder?
That such a tiny thing had cast a shadow of doom over Peronta—it made the whole affair feel anticlimactic.
Sermin still refused to relent, driving her foot down hard onto the creature as it raised its spines like a hedgehog.
Crack—
The ground around it caved inward with the shock wave.
The creature lost all form and dispersed into nothing.

— Damn… it really was frustrating, wasn’t it?
— At this point, isn’t she Ranker-class without penalties?
— What’s really insane is her defense. Those spines bouncing back and shattering—isn’t that cheating…?
— She’s just… a monster.
— So Neia’s pulling out her real trump card?

I stood there in a daze.
Fresh from my lucky return from the Hidden Floor.
I’d been bracing myself for the worst, certain this was truly the end after stumbling into yet another disaster, but—
Sermin’s arrival alone had resolved everything…
“This definitely warrants a reward.”
I’d have to slip her a promotion too.
And grant her whatever she asks for.
“Right—Sermin’s Shock Wave. I should keep that in mind.”
I’d received her detailed specs from Neia once before, come to think of it.
Among her skills was the Shock Wave.
But until just now, I’d held almost no expectations for it.
She was fundamentally a defensive type.
It made no sense to pin hopes on anything offensive from her.
Beyond that, the activation condition for Shock Wave was complex.
“It absorbs impact and releases it, right?”
The Shock Wave’s operating principle was simple: the barrier absorbs impact, then discharges it.
So I’d been thinking it would take forever to build up a charge like that.
But actually using it proved me completely wrong.
The more frantic the battle, the faster the charge accumulated—and depending on how you deployed it, you could unleash firepower rivaling a strategic weapon.
“Though it does seem to depend somewhat on matchup…”
Even accounting for that, the performance was just insane.
Who would have guessed?
A tank shield just bludgeoning everyone to pieces.
The viewers’ voice chat was full of people complaining about PTSD.

– Sermin, next time I’ll make sure to bring strawberry milk.
– Aaah!
– But like, I never learned the right way to hit the boss so it doesn’t hurt lol
– Real talk, that’s not how you’re supposed to hit something lmao

Who used to be the ultimate support, anyway.
Summoning those memories, they were waxing nostalgic about the old days.
Aside from such trivial moments, the chat overall had taken on a tone of—well, worshipping(?) her.

– She gave us shields.
– She saved our lives.
– She just did everything.
– What? Too many injured? Then just eliminate the cause of the injuries in the first place, duh.

Sermin casually grabbed the unconscious Yamada and hurled him over to Himeji’s group.
Then she sneered.

“Nothing special about it.”

– Exactly, yeah. You guys are nothing special.
– Apologize to Sermin! Say you’re sorry!
– She spoke only the truth.
– Uuuugh—you trash.

For domestic viewers alone, watching the Japanese players sit in stunned silence was a massive dopamine hit.
Our country was a strong player nation, true—but compared to our neighbors.
Especially Japan, we were clearly outmatched.
We’d rank in the top tier nationally, sure, but there were 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place in our region, leaving us overshadowed.
A geographical matchup cursed by fate.
And yet Sermin had just reduced Japan’s Rankers to nothing.

– Come on, let’s worship together, Semen.
– Is this where I sign up for the Sermin fan club?
– No, this is a prayer hall. That’s over there.

Sermin turned back to Baek Jinseong and glared at him, blaming the noisy viewers’ chat for what had been going on.
Baek Jinseong looked down.
“Hey, I didn’t say anything…”

* * *

Meanwhile, James, watching from a distance, found himself completely dumbfounded.
“This is… well….”
I’d been considering whether to slip in and intervene soon.
But an unexpected situation unfolded before me.
His humanoid always manages to defy expectations.
I wondered if this might be the furthest case yet from what I’d anticipated.
“As expected… she’s incredible… absolutely incredible! Neia!”
But that sense of surprise was fleeting.
James instead broke into a response brimming with delight.
Even though the opportunity he’d been hoping to exploit had slipped away, he was genuinely pleased.
This event had crystallized his conviction once more.
He would absolutely bring her into the Arc Guild.
“It seems this wasn’t our moment to step in after all.”
James turned away without hesitation, speaking as he did.
“What about the situation with Eclipse?”
James fixed me with the commanding gaze of an Arc Guild commander, as though nothing unusual had happened.
He had not one but several cards prepared to strengthen his closer relationship with Neia.
Beyond saving her from the Aberrant Lifeform, there was something else.
That something was Eclipse.
Since they’d already left the conference hall early.
He’d also caught sight of those Eclipse bastards gathering their things and slipping away—and he’d intended to recover it and use it as a fine bargaining chip in negotiations with her.
James had ordered some of his elite to pursue them for exactly that reason….
One of the elite had been attempting contact with them since moments ago, and now he was reluctant to report his findings.
“It appears a problem has arisen, sir.”
“…What? A problem, you say?”
“They were discovered during pursuit and engaged in combat. They managed to escape only barely, sir.”
James’s face registered something like shock.
An elite of the Arc Guild, by global standard, typically ranked somewhere between 200 and 300 in player rankings.
For three such individuals to be deployed, only to fail at a simple tail and barely escape with their lives—such a thing shouldn’t have been possible.
“That they managed to survive is fortunate, at least.”
Separate from the loss of the gift he’d prepared for Neia, questions now began to form.
Eclipse.
Just like the Aberrant Lifeform from earlier.
Were they not far more dangerous than what was publicly known?
“I’ll need to update our intelligence on this.”

* * *

Past midnight.
I secured lodgings in Peronta, where the great commotion had unfolded.
Peronta was still tense in atmosphere.
But the incident had been resolved and was gradually being put in order.
“How is room 1004 treating you, adventurer?”
“It’s fine.”
I collected the key and entered the assigned lodging.
Then I had the important personnel gather here.
Baek Jinseong and the others all entered and faced me.
“I’m sorry. You entrusted me with the task, and yet…”
It was Krail who spoke first.
He was acting like a criminal, head nearly bowed to the ground itself.
It seemed he felt responsible for allowing the Eclipse invasion….
I understood the reason, certainly I did….
‘But I was actually thinking it went well.’
This Eclipse assault had involved three high-ranking officers being dispatched.
There was no way Krail could have stopped those crazed, aggressive figures. If he’d tried to halt them and sacrificed his own life in the process, that would have been the worst outcome of all.
So I had no intention of holding him accountable.
‘But I can’t say that directly, can I?’
Krail’s loyalty stems from his sense of duty.
Telling him that it was an impossible task regardless of his efforts might suggest something else entirely.
There was a risk he’d interpret it as: you weren’t needed after all.
So I carefully chose my words to encourage him instead.
“I hear Krail was occupied with a covert unit operating in the Chinese sector.”
“That is correct.”
“If they had attacked with the intent to eliminate the Arc Guild’s party as planned, it would have brought disgrace upon my name as the auction’s host. I shall consider this one mistake offset by one achievement. See that the next operation yields nothing but flawless results.”
“I swear I will not disappoint you again.”
Fortunately, the appeal had worked.
After mollifying Krail, I turned my attention to Cha Seon-ah, who had come to this gathering as Gangseong Guild’s representative.
She flinched slightly, then offered an awkward smile.
“It’s my first time meeting you like this.”
“…Yes!”
Cha Seon-ah had been anxious about whether I might reproach her for her share in the ambush’s failure, but now that relief washed over her features.
“Gangseong Guild has endured much hardship through these events. Should there be anything I can assist you with in the future, I shall do so.”
What had proven most invaluable was Gangseong’s contribution of the Goddess’s Tears.
Yet I refrained from singling it out explicitly.
It pained her enough to have surrendered something so extraordinary; I lacked the cruelty to rub salt into the wound.
“My father will be delighted.”
“Then I’m glad.”
Next, I called upon Sermin.
“Sermin.”
“Yes.”
“As you well know, your contributions have been the greatest. Should you desire anything, speak freely—I pledge to give every request my serious consideration.”
Sermin closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts for a moment, before speaking with conviction.
“Through these events, I have come to understand something: though you surely have a specific role you wish me to fulfill, there exists no one trustworthy enough for me to commit myself solely to that role with confidence.”
“And?”
For a brief moment, I feared she might be launching some sort of rebellion against the tank position itself.
But what followed from Sermin was, mercifully, something else entirely.
“Grant me permission to train Ar directly. That child carries the blood of the Liar Family and possesses considerable talent. Should I see her through to growth, I myself need not shirk the role you have assigned me.”
Ar’s character background contained a note: graduated top of her military academy class.
Given her actual specifications, such a rank was entirely appropriate.
So I understood why someone of Ar’s caliber, or less, would fail to meet Sermin’s standards in the current situation.
“Ar… Ar….”
Now I understood.
I finally grasped the source of that subtle discord I’d sensed between Ar and Sermin before.
Sermin, overwhelmingly brilliant from the start, must have wielded exacting standards against Ar from childhood, pushing her relentlessly forward.
For Ar, resistance would have been impossible.
She was resilient, after all.
“Very well. See it done.”
“Thank you!”
Yet even knowing this now, I granted Sermin’s request.
I’m sorry, Ar!
There was no help for it.
A perfect world—one where everyone finds happiness—requires a sacrifice.
I resolved to buy Ar extra choco balls later to make amends.
“I think it’s time for you to leave, Miss Cha.”
“Pardon?”
“From here on, we have matters to discuss among ourselves.”
“Ah… Yes!”
Though she looked somewhat disappointed, Cha Seon-ah vanished from the tower as if dismissed, and I turned to address Baek Jinseong in earnest.
“Take it out.”
It was time to settle accounts.
Baek Jinseong retrieved gold from his Inventory.
Until now, it had amounted to nothing more than heavy coin purses.
Now three chests sat stacked on the floor.
“That’s the total from the sales?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
I accepted it into my Inventory and held the vast sum in my gaze.
“Are you tired, Jinseong?”
“Not at all! How could I be?”
He was lying.
Though he hadn’t engaged in any major action, the weariness was plain on his face—the exhaustion of standing at the heart of a grave affair.
But I saw no reason to press him on the lie.
“Then we’ll have to push the sixteenth floor to next time.”
“I’m really fine with it, though.”
“That’s enough out of you.”
The original plan had been to tackle the sixteenth floor immediately after clearing this one today.
But now we’d decided to take an extra day’s rest.
A single day of reprieve wouldn’t hurt anyone, after all.
“Huh…?”
Baek Jinseong reacted a beat too late.
Then his face brightened, all traces of exhaustion falling away as he broke into a broad smile.
“Does that mean… I can continue accompanying you in the future as well?”
“Yeah.”
The contract between us had extended through the fifteenth floor.
He’d been anxious enough about it that he couldn’t help but grin—the weight of that concern lifting visibly from his shoulders.
“I look forward to working with you going forward.”
This incident had settled it for me.
When faced with an enormous fortune, Baek Jinseong hadn’t so much as blinked.
There was no reason to cast off someone I’d already built such perfect financial trust with.
“I’m honored by your trust. I’ll do my very best as your right hand from here on out.”
I got to my feet.
After sending Baek Jinseong back first, I prepared to return.
I opened a Gate and sent Krail, Ar, and the others back to the city.
As I watched them pass through to close the Gate behind them, I noticed Sermin looking at me.
“Is there something you want to tell me?”
“Yes, there is.”
When I showed interest, Sermin spoke.
“Actually, I didn’t mention it earlier because there were eyes around, but I have something to give you.”
“What is it?”
At my question, Sermin pulled something from the pocket of her coat and held it out.
In her palm lay a Gold Ornament, slightly larger than a thumbnail.
Yet at a glance it was no ordinary object—it was because of the ominous, one-eyed creature sealed within it.
“This is…”
It resembled that thing which had plunged Peronta into chaos earlier.
Not entirely the same, though.
It did bear a certain similarity to that creature.
Looking at it, I spoke to Sermin.
“Where did this come from?”
“I obtained it after dealing with that creature that was rampaging earlier.”
“From that thing?”
Now that I thought about it, what exactly had that creature been?
I’d never seen a monster like it before.
I’d even run searches while the commotion was at its height, looking for information, but came up empty—which suggested it wasn’t simply a matter of insufficient records.
“Some kind of… cursed medium, perhaps?”
“I’m… not sure.”
I pushed down the vague unease I felt and placed it into my Inventory.
“In any case, thank you.”

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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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