Ex-level Player With the Greatest Civilization of All Time - Chapter 56

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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 56

My routine lately is simple enough.
Watch films, watch variety shows, prowl around hunting for something to enjoy—the life of a restless scavenger.
In other words, “I have nothing to do” was the precise way to put it.
So I cleared my schedule for the day.
I decided to meet with Kang Se-hyeon and the others, one by one.
The first person I met was a familiar face.
“You’re here? That was faster than I expected.”
A high-end Japanese Restaurant.
I’d booked a private room and was waiting when Baek Jin-seong walked in.
‘Truth be told, meeting this guy in the real world isn’t ideal.’
But it shouldn’t be a major problem, one or two times like this.
He removed the deeply pulled cap and mask as he spoke.
“I came running the moment you called.”
“That so?”
For the first time, I dropped my Perception Obstruction and shared my actual face.
He already knew my name, and if he wanted to figure out my appearance, it wouldn’t be hard for him anyway—so I’d made that decision.
I’d expected as much, but his reaction was dramatic.
His eyes bulged wide at first, then he stammered before blurting out:
“What? I feel betrayed!”
“How so?”
“You never said you were handsome! I naturally thought we were kindred spirits…!”
I laughed outright at his audacity.
The flattery this one dishes out is something else.
“Anyway, do you like sashimi?”
“I’ve never had it, so I couldn’t say.”
“Well, that works out.”
We’re at a sushi specialist now.
It was a bit late to be asking, but at least he said he enjoyed it—so that was fortunate.
I reactivated Perception Obstruction and spoke to him.
“By the way, want to see something good?”
“Something good, you say?”
Pluto had been at my side ever since I’d left the house this morning.
“Come out.”
Baek Jin-seong startled at her sudden appearance.
His reaction was much like when he’d seen my face moments ago.
“Is that… a Humanoid?”
“Yeah, she recently joined us.”
I answered his question, then addressed Pluto.
“How was it?”
“At least… there were no eyes watching… around us.”
“Good enough then.”
Pluto had actually followed us inside while checking whether anyone had tailed Baek Jin-seong as he arrived at the restaurant.
If she said there was no suspicious activity, then there was no risk of anyone eavesdropping.
“Gate Open.”
I didn’t stop there—I opened a Gate right before his eyes.
This wasn’t a problem anymore.
Going forward, I planned to open them freely in dungeons regardless of who was watching.
But I decided to let him see it first, one step ahead.

Whoosh—fwoosh—

Watching Ar and Krail and the others emerge from within, Baek Jin-seong seemed to grasp the general mechanism of my ability.
“So that’s how it works.”
“Right. Though I won’t show you what’s inside. Unless you want to?”
“This much is enough. Anything more feels like it’d be dangerous somehow.”
A good answer—I let out a soft laugh and spoke.
“Then don’t.”
After that, we ordered from the menu and ate well together.
Ar especially loved the tuna sushi.
In any case, once we’d eaten our fill, I sent Baek Jin-seong on his way.
“Take care on your way out.”
“Huh? Aren’t you leaving too?”
I answered his question.
“I have a lot of people to meet here today. If possible, leave quickly before anyone sees you.”
“Then… I shouldn’t hear this either, should I?”
Truth be told, I’d wanted to send him away because I didn’t want to waste time.
But if he insisted on staying…
“Do as you wish.”
“Thank you.”
I was sitting and waiting when someone arrived.
Unlike usual, Cha Seon-ah had dressed particularly beautifully.
“Oh… you’re here too, Jin-seong?”
“Is there something wrong with my being here?”
Baek Jin-seong spoke with half-lidded eyes and whispered to me.
“She’s done herself up rather elaborately. Looks like she’s got something in mind.”
“W-well, I always dress like this outside the Tower!”
She didn’t deny the part about having something in mind.
In any case, there was a reason I’d summoned her, so let’s drop the small talk.
“Please, sit down. We can order whatever we like from the menu?”
We found ourselves eating at the same table once more.
But I had no burden on my wallet this time.
When Baek Jin-seong was here, Ar and Sermin had eaten most of it anyway.
Now that I think about it, Sermin was surprising — Ar, less so.
“Eat plenty while you can. That’s how you fight well on a full stomach.”
“Got it.”
Some time had passed since the meal began anew.
I broached the main topic quietly.
“Have you given thought to what you might ask of me?”
“So this gathering was to ask that?”
“Calling you out just to eat would be wasteful of both our time, wouldn’t it?”
To be precise, she was in debt to the Gangseong Guild.
Today I’d decided to settle accounts before interest accumulated further.
As I spoke, Cha Seon-ah set down her chopsticks.
From the atmosphere, it seemed she’d made her decision about what to ask.
“Would you let me join the Climbing party?”

* * *

‘So she’s asking for something like this.’
Honestly, it wasn’t what I’d anticipated.
More than anything, I wasn’t particularly pleased about it.
So I was about to refuse.
“I watched your last broadcast.”
With those words from her, I decided to listen a little longer.
It wouldn’t be polite to refuse outright.
“Did you now?”
The last broadcast.
I’d expected her to bring up matters regarding ‘Safety’ or the ‘Enemy King’…
But what came from Cha Seon-ah’s lips was something else entirely.
“I saw you applying Buffs to the Drone and Ar. That made me think — couldn’t my Buffs apply as well? And if that’s the case, wouldn’t adding me to the party be beneficial for you too, not just me?”
So her approach was that accepting her would also gain me something.
It was certainly logical and reasonable grounds.
Besides, I hadn’t exactly failed to consider this myself.
I’d only let the thought remain as contemplation.
The reason was that finding someone trustworthy wasn’t easy.
‘Jin-seong is honestly out of the question.’
The beginning was half an accident, after all.
Formally selecting and accepting someone new was a risky move.
If it had been before the Enemy King’s ambush, perhaps I wouldn’t have thought twice.
But now, after that attack, I’d grown more cautious.
Still, with Cha Seon-ah as entangled in good relations as she was, there wasn’t zero room to consider her joining positively—yet hesitation remained.
“This is interesting. Since we’re on the subject, shall we run an experiment?”
As I watched the humanoids eating beside me, Cha Seon-ah’s mouth curved upward.
“Sure.”
The question was whether her buffs would take effect on the drones.
She cast a buff on Ar.
I turned to Ar and asked.
“Lieutenant, do you feel anything?”
“Nothing at all, sir!”
Cha Seon-ah looked flustered at Ar’s blunt response.
“That can’t be right! P-please, just check one more time carefully?”
Ar, who’d been chewing sushi, swallowed and replied.
“I truly feel nothing, sir!”
She looked thoroughly shocked.
Perhaps this meant her entire justification for joining the party had crumbled.
Honestly, I found the result quite unexpected myself.
I’d assumed it would obviously work, so if I’d decided without this verification, I would’ve regretted it.
‘But then why does the Crown’s buff apply?’
As that question occurred to me, Cha Seon-ah spoke.
“I have more buffs. Let me try something else!”
She hadn’t given up, it seemed.
Her eyes blazed with determination.
“Go ahead.”
With my permission, she cast an even stronger buff this time.
High Priest’s Blessing.
A buff she’d received as a reward in Peronta before.
Yet the result was the same.
“Commander, it’s unchanged!”
“Understood. Lieutenant, go back to eating.”
“Yes, sir!”
I thought she’d give up by then, but Cha Seon-ah began hurling buffs at random instead.
With her High Priest trait, the number of buffs at her disposal was truly staggering.
Of course, none of it mattered to the drones.
She was flinging them around indiscriminately when—
“Holy Weapon!”
The moment she activated the buff that enhanced friendly units’ weapons around her.
Ar’s hand holding the sushi froze.
“I feel it now! I can’t explain the details, but there’s definitely a strange energy I’m sensing!”
“Is that so?”
I wondered why that was.
The answer lay in the keyword “weapon.”
‘Ah… so Ar and the other humanoids count as my weapons?’
The Crown’s effect had worked before precisely because they were both allies and weapons of mine.
“It works! So this counts, right?!”
Cha Seon-ah asked excitedly, and I replied.
“What do you mean?”
“You said we’d experiment, didn’t you?”
“Yes—experiment. Not pass.”
Cha Seon-ah only then realized that Neia had never said she’d accept the request if the buff worked.
“This is… isn’t this unfair?”
I clarified my reasoning.
“Right now, only one buff—Holy Weapon—actually works on them?”
“Well…”
Cha Seon-ah fell silent.
There were a few more buffs that would work, true, but even if that number increased by one or two, it wasn’t enough to fully showcase her strengths.
“Now that we know what form of buff works on drones, I don’t think the math works out to accept you simply for being an excellent buffer.”
Above all, whether she could be fully trusted wasn’t a question I could answer with certainty.
At the very least, I needed to see the measure of her sincerity.
“So let’s table this matter for now and revisit it later.”
“Right—after I’ve developed into a specialized Buffer, yes?”
“It’s refreshing when someone understands so readily.”
For a support-role player, this was quite a gamble of a proposition.
The reason she’d been regarded as a prospect was her trait-based capacity for a wide range of high-level buffs.
But now I was asking her to concentrate on cultivating buffs suited to weapon-class hunters instead.
“Though I’m not forcing anything on you, of course. Take your time thinking it over and decide at your own pace. I still have a long way to go before I reach the fortieth floor.”
She was currently stationed in Gartan, a neutral zone in the forties.
Meanwhile, I was on the verge of stepping into Grace myself.
No matter how quickly I climbed, she’d have ample time to think things through calmly.
“In exchange, I’ll give Gangseong something else this time.”
“Something… else?”
The reason I’d asked first, without committing to everything she wanted today, was simple enough.
I’d grant what was reasonable to grant, and offer something different if her request didn’t sit right with me.
Admittedly, it was more convenient for me—but for her, it was the kind of bait that would hook her interest.
“I’m giving you—the Gangseong Guild—first refusal rights on 100% of the Special Materials I obtain this time.”

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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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