Ex-level Player With the Greatest Civilization of All Time - Chapter 57

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 57

Cha Seon-ah stepped out of the restaurant after her meeting with Neia.
Her expression was radiant as she left the dining establishment.
“Wait—is Father at the guild right now?”
She made a beeline for the Gangseong Guild building and pushed open the door to the executive suite with dramatic flair.
“This is huge!”
Cha Seong-hun, who naturally knew about his daughter’s schedule to meet Neia, looked up from his desk.
He rose to greet her.
“Huge? They’re adding you to the party?”
Cha Seong-hun had already calculated that her joining the party would be a worthwhile investment.
Neia was a monster who could easily join the Vanguard within a year—nothing surprising about that at all.
The opportunity to grow at the side of such a monster was invaluable beyond measure.
It meant one more top-tier Ranker to match his own level would emerge.
This alone was enough to elevate the Gangseong Guild to stand on equal footing with Korea’s number-one Cheongwol in one fell swoop.
But to his question, his daughter shook her head.
“No, that’s not it.”
Cha Seong-hun’s expression clouded over at once.
“Then what do you mean by huge?”
“It’s not that, but I got something else instead.”
“Mm… something else?”
He tried not to show it, but disappointment was written across his face.
They weren’t in a position where they could be satisfied with scraps thrown their way like alms.
Cha Seon-ah, who had inherited her father’s shrewdness, was nothing if not patient.
That was the only reason she endured.
Otherwise, she would have already overturned the entire situation without hesitation.
“Tell me. If it’s something else, what exactly is it?”
“Priority purchasing rights on Special Materials—that’s what I brought back!”
Special Materials.
The term had been used in various industries for some time now, but in recent days its meaning had subtly shifted.
Recently, when people spoke of “Special Materials” with precision, it had become commonplace to mean the unique tower materials that Neia had brought into the world one day.
“Special Materials? You’re serious?”
The Lava Hound Byproducts that emerged back then were still shaking up the entire industry.
Some granted burning effects.
Others dealt additional physical damage that ignored defense.
Lava Hound was merely a level-forty creature.
Yet players around the world, despite their hunger for Special Materials, had never dared attempt serious negotiations with Neia.
Baek Jin-seong had shut down every avenue of negotiation before it could even begin.
So they had no choice but to drool in anticipation, focused entirely on when Special Materials would appear again…
And now someone had granted the authority to purchase those Special Materials first, not just ten or twenty percent, but rather…
“An exclusive monopoly, even if it’s temporary?!”
Cha Seong-hun lifted his daughter up and spun her around.
Realizing he was making a spectacle carrying his grown daughter, he quickly set her down, but Cha Seon-ah seemed to have taken some damage and swayed unsteadily.
“I’m… dizzy…”
“I’m sorry. In any case, explain it in detail. You discussed the specifics with her, didn’t you?”
In fact, opinions on Special Materials had been deeply divided.
Some claimed the Lava Hound was a fluke and other items would be ordinary.
There were genuine skeptics who argued there could never be materials with such superior efficacy again.
And their evidence was that Neia hadn’t brought any items for quite some time now.
So one couldn’t simply celebrate and put this matter to rest.
Without concrete proof or a shared acquisition pathway, this was nothing but a scam with no end in sight.
But to Cha Seong-hun’s concerns, Cha Seon-ah answered with a smile.
“Of course.”
True to form.
His daughter was indeed exceptionally sharp.
It seemed she had verified those details thoroughly.
She really did take after her father.
“Look at this.”
Cha Seon-ah handed over the materials she’d pulled from her inventory with a flourish.
The variety was striking.
Where before she’d showcased materials limited to Lava Hounds, this time she displayed an impressive range.
Now the monsters themselves came in different species.
Special Materials spread across the table in a neat line, and Cha Seong-hun examined each one with an expression caught between astonishment and daze.
“Iron Giant’s Steel Thorns, Gargoyle’s Corrosive Venom, Shade Bear’s Dark Heart, and Valcar’s Fangs?”
Admiration spilled from his lips unbidden.
Especially when he saw their effects—his mouth fell open.

【Gargoyle’s Corrosive Venom】
– On hit: grants Corroded status

【Iron Giant’s Steel Thorns】
– On damage taken: 25% chance to trigger Steel Thorns Counterattack

【Valcar’s Fangs】
– On strike: inflicts Critical Bleed (stackable)
– Agility +5

【Shade Bear’s Dark Heart】
– On attack from Stealth: 100% bonus damage
“Every single one is absolutely insane…”
The Lava Hound materials had shocked him, but this exceeded even that.
Fundamentally, materials were used most for crafting and reinforcement.
These items could be combined appropriately for crafting use, or applied to the single Enchant Enhancement slot each item could hold.
Either way, every one of them boasted such tremendous merit that their performance was outstanding.
“Depending on how they’re used, we could see a stat boost equivalent to ten Levels or more.”
Cha Seong-hun gazed at his daughter, who had brought such an extraordinary gift.
“We… we should call the press, Seon-ah.”
This was a major incident that would make waves not just domestically but internationally.
It was an opportunity to elevate Gangseong’s name.
Missing a chance this good would invite ridicule he’d have no excuse for.
At her father’s words, Cha Seon-ah spoke.
“I’ve already contacted journalists I know. It just takes one message.”
Cha Seon-ah composed a sentence in her head and opened her mouth.
“Let’s see—the article title should be ‘Gangseong Guild, Temporary Exclusive Contract with Neia for Special Materials.’ That ought to work, don’t you think?”

* * *

「BREAKING: Gangseong Guild secures temporary exclusive contract with Neia for special materials.」
「Four types of special materials this time? Not just one, unlike the Lava Hound situation.」
「Gangseong Guild stock surges 30%, hits daily limit. Investment pouring in from around the world… wild rallies even after-hours.」
Barely an hour after Cha Seon-ah left.
The world had grown deafening.
Yet my impression watching the cascade of articles was simple.
‘Got off cheap with that, if you ask me.’
I wondered if Cha Seon-ah had any idea.
These special materials everyone was swooning over.
For me, they were just tedious items to dispose of.
‘Wait—if my Drones count as weapons, could material reinforcement work on them?’
Not every material could be used for reinforcement, and each had different applications.
But if something had decent properties, it seemed worth trying at least some of them out.
‘Of course, not right now—there’s more pressing business to handle first…’
I set my phone aside and focused.
“Looks like he’s arrived.”
Footsteps sounded outside, then stopped—a telltale sign.
Click-click-click—
Exactly as expected.
The door opened, and the third meeting of the day that I’d been waiting for came to pass.
An elderly man stepped inside.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“Not at all.”
The player found this convenient.
With the Tower Authority, the language barrier simply dissolved.
The Old Man showed no particular fear of my Humanoid escorts.
He glanced at them indifferently, then took a seat across from me.
“But more importantly—do you truly remember the details about the Ancient Stone Tablet?”
“Yes, of course.”
“May I see it?”
I retrieved the documents I’d obtained from Neia beforehand and showed them to him.
The Old Man reached out with eager anticipation, but his hand faltered awkwardly in the empty space, losing its purpose.
I had pulled the papers back into my lap before he could touch them.
“There’s something I’d like to ask first.”
The Old Man clicked his tongue wistfully, then opened his mouth as though he’d expected this.
“Go ahead.”
“What is this, exactly? What’s written on it that you’d spend such an exorbitant sum and cling to it so desperately?”
“It’s not certain, but we believe it pertains to the origins of the Tower. Though I must reiterate—that’s an educated guess. We haven’t deciphered it completely.”
“Wait—you’re saying you deciphered it?”
“We did.”
“Then you must possess similar tablets as well?”
My confidence stemmed from a single reason.
Even Neia had surrendered in the face of insufficient samples—and here was this Old Man, who’d somehow managed to decipher it, at least in abstract terms.
That could only mean he possessed additional tablets.
“I did, once.”
“Once? That’s past tense.”
“I lost them. My entire research laboratory burned to the ground one day. A bitter memory, I’m afraid.”
He added something after that.
Fortunately, most of the related data remained in his mind, he explained.
In any case, his desire to decipher the tablet became understandable.
But the keyword “fire” suddenly surfaced in my thoughts.
“Eclipse….”
At my words, the Old Man nodded with relative composure.
“Now that I think back on it, it seems certain.”
The incident where all the Old Man’s research materials burned.
He’d now confirmed that it was likely their doing.
Simultaneously, a fresh question took hold of me: why would Eclipse target such a thing?
“The origins of the Tower—it seems to have research value, certainly, but I wouldn’t have thought Eclipse would go to such lengths over it.”
It appeared the Old Man had managed some degree of decipherment.
So I asked if he knew anything more.
“Within the scope of what I know, Eclipse is likely after the Seven Sins.”
The Old Man stated his thoughts straightforwardly.
“Seven sins that have seeped into the Tower.”
“Sins….”
The Seven Sins.
The kind of concept that frequently appears in subculture inspired by scripture?
As I entertained that thought, the Old Man hinted rather urgently for me to hand over the documents.
But I pretended not to notice.
After all, I had become genuinely invested now.
“What does Eclipse plan to do with them?”
The Old Man spoke with a small sigh.
“Haven’t you already witnessed it?”
Witnessed it?
The Seven Sins? Me?
As I rifled through my memories, something flickered across my mind.
Peronta, devouring everything indiscriminately….
“Ah, you mean that thing we saw in Peronta?”
“Yes, we’re theorizing it to be ‘Gluttony.'”
Gluttony. The image and characteristics did indeed seem to align.
Now I began to understand why Eclipse was collecting the Ancient Stone Tablets so obsessively.
To control such immense, enigmatic power.
It was more than enough to whet my appetite.
I was lost in such thoughts when it happened.
The old man suddenly spoke up.
“By the way, if memory serves, there’s one more of the Seven Sins that Neia has encountered.”
“You mean I’ve met another one?”
The old man smiled faintly.
“Haven’t you met Pride?”
Another calamity flashed through my mind as I sat in silence.
That entity called Belpherus, sleeping in the Floating Garden.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————