Ex-level Player With the Greatest Civilization of All Time - Chapter 67

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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 67

About five seconds remained before returning to the Waiting Room.
The Queen approached me.
I flinched for a moment, but soon regarded her calmly.
An ambush with all the drones already recalled.
Certainly it could be dangerous.
But as long as I had my equipment, nothing could be done to me in five seconds.
Fortunately, what the Queen intended was nothing like an attack.
“Thank you so much. Please accept this as our clan’s token of gratitude….”
I confirmed her smiling face and returned to the Waiting Room.
‘I should have asked for her name.’
But then, it was just a passing connection—no need for that.
I pushed the thought aside and examined what I held in my hand.

【Blood Stone of Oath】

A blood stone?
I barely glanced at the name before tossing it into my Inventory.
There was a reason for it.
A joint mission.
Since it had been a group Quest, the Waiting Room was currently packed with an enormous number of Players.
Just in case, I opened a Gate in preparation.
But I needed to wait until everyone had left.
I was killing time while watching the crowd thin out one by one.
Someone approached hesitantly and opened their mouth.
“Um, this… please take this.”

* * *

A woman with exotic features, dressed in something resembling priestly robes.
Perhaps wary of the drones, she kept her distance and set the Reward Box she’d been holding down on the ground as she spoke.
“Thank you so much. I’m alive because of you.”
It wasn’t only her.
After she’d given her reward and left, it was as if a dam had broken—many Players came forward with their own boxes, said a few words, and disappeared.
“I really nearly died. It would have been terrible without you.”
“Please take this.”
“It’s modest, but I wanted to….”
The boxes piled up.
Though I didn’t show it outwardly, I was pleased as well.
I’d been needing funds for the City’s development anyway…,
I felt like registering them as Honorary Citizens.
Of course, not every Player surrendered their reward to me.
Wherever you go, there are always those devoted to desire rather than gratitude.
About half simply took their rewards and left in a hurry.
A few went even further, complaining loudly about why they hadn’t received an SSS-Rank Clearance Rank.
The viewers expressed far more hostility toward them than I did.

– No humanity whatsoever.
– They didn’t get SSS-Rank? Unbelievable!
– If they’d gotten that, it really would’ve been ridiculous.

The viewers seemed to find the fact that some hadn’t received SSS-Rank Clearance Rank particularly satisfying.
Many spoke as if it were the obvious outcome.

– A complaint? A cooommmplaint?
– But how can you even complain after that?
– Seriously, it’s ridiculous. They got distracted by the enemy and dragged down their own team.
– That’s what I’m saying—those blood pack bastards sure are greedy. Hehehehe~

At the same time, perhaps because of people like them.
Baek Jin-seong’s stock price soared without him even realizing it.
There seemed to be an unusually large number of people who praised him almost reverently.

– I get it now after watching Jin-seong today. Even taking the bus isn’t easy.
– Hey, if you’re a passenger, buckle up tight like Baek Jin-seong does!
– Choo-seong looked different to me today, I’ll admit.
– Baek Jin-seong, you’re the hero of Snake Leaf Village!

I had to agree with the viewers this time around.
The conquest wouldn’t have gone nearly as smoothly without Baek Jin-seong.
Of course, I account for about ninety percent of the effort in creating that Baek Jin-seong.
Either way, I got tremendous help this round.
So I gave Baek Jin-seong some encouragement.
“You worked hard—and I mean it. If you need anything, just say the word.”
“I only did what was natural, sir. Ahahaha! Besides, I am your right arm, after all!”
Incidentally, I’m left-handed.
But I didn’t mention that part.
Anyway, as I listened to the viewers’ chatter and killed time, I lost track of how long had passed.
Finally, the last person left, and the Waiting Room fell completely empty at last.
A space with no one but me and Baek Jin-seong, as always.
Only then did I gather up the reward boxes piled on the floor.
“So it’s not SSS-Rank, huh. The boxes aren’t very high-grade either?”
The boxes the players left as thanks were B-Rank.
Given that the average box from a conquest was C-Rank, it wasn’t bad, but…
Still, at the same time, I couldn’t help thinking.
Did they leave B-Rank because that’s what they chose to give?
Though I knew I shouldn’t think like this, I still found myself wondering how many would have left behind S-Rank boxes instead.
“Well, at least they gave something.”
I casually stashed the boxes in my Inventory.
Then I checked my own rewards.
I’d been leaving all my reward notifications in the corner, unread, until everyone left so I could check them in peace.
I didn’t want outside interference to spoil the joy of claiming rewards…
It seemed Baek Jin-seong had the same idea.
We exchanged a glance with each other and began checking our own rewards.

[Mission Overachievement!]
[An incredible feat has been accomplished!]
[Calculating achievements……]
[Clearance Rank SSS achieved!]
[An unprecedented record!!]
…
[This record will be inscribed in the Hall of Fame.]
[Rewards are being adjusted upward.]
[Rewards are being adjusted upward.]
[Experience Points are being awarded.]
[Level increased.]
[Level increased.]
[Level increased.]
…

“Five levels total?”
Honestly, there were complaints here and there about various things.
But this time, I really did break a cold sweat from the fifteenth floor onward.
Five levels seems a bit stingy for compensation, doesn’t it…?
‘No, wait. That’s not quite fair to compare by raw total.’
On the fifteenth floor, we were around the recommended level range.
But this conquest had already pushed well beyond the recommended level.
From that perspective, it felt right to think of it not as merely five levels, but as five levels generously given.
‘And what really matters is the boxes!’
With anticipation stirring in my chest, I began checking the next messages in sequence.
And soon I couldn’t help but be shaken.

[(Floors 21-25) SS-Rank Reward Box has been granted to your Inventory.]
[(Floors 21-25) SS-Rank Material Box has been granted to your Inventory.]

The reason was simple: the rank of the boxes.
SS-Rank boxes?

* * *

An SS-Rank Reward Box.
The moment I saw it, I rubbed my eyes.
I hadn’t misread it.
“This was actually a thing that existed?”
Even S-Rank Reward Boxes had been uncharted territory before me.
I could suspect such a thing existed, but I’d never proven it.
And now, something even rarer than that—an SS-Rank—had appeared.
Probably no one could have foreseen this.
And for good reason.
Embarrassing as it is to admit.
Even I, pushing the limits of conquest again and again, had only ever received S-Rank rewards at best.
Expecting rewards on an entirely higher tier would be absurd.
I stole a glance at Baek Jin-seong.
A few paces away, he sat examining his rewards, and the faint hum of voice chat drifted toward him.

– Wait, an SS-Rank box?
– Was this even supposed to exist?
– First in the universe! Planet-destroying-class box incoming! Boom! Crash!

I turned my attention back to the rewards.
‘This is huge.’
Even S-Rank boxes alone yielded incredible things when they opened.
Take Forgotten Holy Artifacts, for example.
Or Hero-Rank Equipment.
So if an SS-Rank box hit the jackpot…?
The odds weren’t high, but my imagination ran wild anyway.
“Was it the right call to conquer both missions after all?”
I’d already completed one mission.
I could have chosen to turn back to the Waiting Room from there.
I was congratulating my past self for not taking that option.
Baek Jin-seong approached and held out the Reward Box to me.
“Yeah, thanks.”
The moment I took the radiant box in hand, viewers were already urging me on.

– Why not open it right now?
– Can’t you just open it now?
– We are opening it together, right?

The viewers were desperate to know what would come from this unprecedented event.
I was getting a whiff of profit motive.
I made a promise again.
“I won’t open it today, but let’s open it together next time, yeah?”
If something outrageous dropped again, I could just flog it through a back channel and funnel the proceeds into City development, like last time.

– You’re truly something, Neia!
– You’re bold!
– Please keep your promise!

“Of course. The fun is meant to be shared, don’t you think?”

– Ugh, keeping us up again.
– But still, the fact that you’re showing us something…

“Anyway, let’s call it a day here.”
I looked at Baek Jin-seong.
Baek Jin-seong nodded and delivered his closing remarks for the broadcast.
“Then, brothers, I’ll see you next time.”
When I entered, I’d intended to clear quite a bit more today.
But after expending so much energy on the 25th floor, that was all for now.
Besides, I’d lost a fair number of drones as well.
This was a moment that called for maintenance rather than pushing forward.
Taking a brief reprieve, Baek Jin-seong ended the broadcast.

– Nooo!
– Why are you like this, boss?
– When’s the next broadcast…

The clamor of the voice chat cut off abruptly.
The broadcast had ended completely.
“Phew… You all head back for now.”
Then I spoke to the Humanoid and drones as well.
Those who had remained here briefly to protect me.
“Yes!”
“We’ll go on ahead and wait!”
“Then…”
They all returned to the City.
I watched silently as they vanished, then turned my head.
I’d noticed Krayl, who seemed to have something to say to me.
He handed me something he already knew about.
A Mark.
“So… it’s not the main body, then?”
What Krayl passed over looked identical to what Sermin had given me after the Peronta incident.
That ominous thing with strange engravings—what I now called the Mark.
“I was hoping against all odds that it might be the original.”
True enough, unlike when I’d dealt with Belpherus.
There’d been no message about vanquishing some calamity that had seeped into the tower.
I took what Krayl offered me and gave him encouragement.
His contribution this time had been truly significant.
“You’ve worked hard, Krayl. Go rest now.”
“Yes, it brings me great joy to be of service to you, Commander.”
His efforts deserved emphasis no matter how many times I said so.
‘Now that things have come to this, I’m wondering who I should give that one promotion slot to…’
Before, I’d been deliberating over promoting Sermin, who was the top performer, but now with all this, I couldn’t just leave Krayl as he was either.
And so even Krayl departed through the Gate.
I stored the Mark that Krayl had given me in my Inventory.
That made two.
Like some Dragon Balls.
When I collect them all, does Gluttony appear and grant me a wish or something?
If so, that’d be a real headache.
“Gate closed.”
In any case, I closed the Gate and prepared to leave as well.
Before pressing the exit button, I took a deep breath.
“All right, let’s get something good.”
I pressed the exit button firmly.
Then the third Skill Acquisition Event began.
A card materialized before my eyes.
“Huh?”
Isn’t that quite a lot, though?

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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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