Ex-level Player With the Greatest Civilization of All Time - Chapter 79

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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 79

Grace’s lodgings.
In the room where we’d just finished broadcasting, I found myself lost in thought.

【Blood Stone of Oath】

“You’re curious about what it’s used for, aren’t you?”
As I set the item down on the bed and contemplated it, Baek Jin-seong asked.
“Well, naturally.”
That’s always the problem with high-rarity material items.
Their purpose remains unclear.
So in the early stages, they’re written off as worthless, but when a new use is discovered, their value skyrockets—a surprisingly common pattern.
The Forgotten Sacred Object was the famous example of this.
“Should I check it one piece at a time?”
Speaking further about the Forgotten Sacred Object—
In that case, the purpose was discovered late, and the value did spike, but it took an unusually long time before the item was reassessed and brought back into the spotlight.
Who would think to return an A-rank material to some religious order? No one.
So you could also frame it differently.
Unless it’s a special case like that, finding out what something does isn’t particularly difficult.
“That is the most direct approach, after all.”
“So, do you have any decent gear lying around?”
The equipment I mentioned selling on the broadcast earlier is a bit problematic.
If I make even a small mistake, the item’s specs change.
Legendary-rank equipment is obviously out of the question.
And the rare-rank or higher gear that came up along the way—if the options shift, it’d just make disposal more of a headache.
Baek Jin-seong’s expression clouded with confusion.
“Ah? Well….”
That’s a fair reaction, I suppose.
Most players carry spare equipment with them.
But Baek Jin-seong and I are somewhat removed from the norm for players.
So we were in the awkward situation of not having even that one spare piece of gear.
“Hm?”
Then something suddenly came to mind.
Thinking of spare gear—that’s what triggered it.
I pulled out the item that had been gathering dust in my inventory for the better part of three months.

【Dense Thermal Robe】
-Rank: Advanced

“…I’d forgotten about this.”
It was an eyesore, so I’d shoved it to the far end of my inventory, where it had slipped entirely from my unconscious mind.
“All right then, first let’s check the Skill Replacement….”
Material items are most commonly used for Enchantment and gear crafting, but like with the Blood Boar, there are materials used for Skill Replacement as well.
I pressed down on the thermal robe’s skill slot.
A notification window appeared immediately.

[Replace the additional skill slot “1” of the Dense Thermal Robe]
[Skill: Fast Calculation. Please designate an item to replace it with.]

The inventory display opened up.
Most of my inventory lay dim and grayed out, but a handful of items still glowed with active light.
‘What about the Blood Stone?’
I searched for it immediately, and fortunately, it was lit up as compatible.
“Found it….”
The first use case.
Before I selected the Blood Stone, I tapped on a different material first, just to verify.

[Will you use Red Snake’s Fang?]
[Upon success, Skill: Deadly Poison will be added to the corresponding slot.]
[Success Rate: 10%]

“So it doesn’t apply immediately.”
I tried the same approach with the Blood Stone of Oath.

[Will you use Blood Stone of Oath?]
[Upon success, Skill: Ultra-Fast Regeneration will be added to the corresponding slot.]
[Success Rate: 50%]

The success rate was surprisingly high, likely because it was SS-rank material.
“Easy now… easy… phew….”
I cancelled it, of course.
I closed the window slowly and carefully, worried I might accidentally activate it.
I’d never intended to waste the Blood Stone of Oath on mere high-grade equipment from the start.
Still, at least I’d confirmed what skill it held.
Ultra-Fast Regeneration?
The performance looked decent enough, but it didn’t strike me as a game-changer.
“How did it go?”
“It can be used.”
“That’s good.”
“I suppose…?”
Well, it was better than letting it rot unused, so I decided to think positively about it.
“Still, I should be satisfied with at least identifying one use for it.”
Next was Enchantment.
I opened a Gate and summoned Neia.

『You called for me?』

“Can you bring Tia for a moment?”

『Understood.』

Tia arrived slower than I expected.
I didn’t need to ask why—I could guess.
Her glazed eyes told me everything.
“You called for me?”
“Yeah, Second Lieutenant Tia.”
Baek Jin-seong looked at Tia with keen interest—seeing her for the first time—but refrained from asking if she was a humanoid.
By now he’d learned that seeing was believing.
Still, his eyes held a note of anticipation.
New humanoids or units always drew viewers when they debuted on broadcast.
In any case, I ignored Baek Jin-seong’s heavy stare and placed my hand on Tia’s shoulder.
‘I thought it’d be close….’
Tia had joined just days ago.
Yet her Expertise was considerable.

[Expertise: 1210]

It made sense—she’d performed so brilliantly in that recent C-rank Gate incident.
I was satisfied with the explanation.
And it worked out well for me.
Unfortunately, all the decorations on the existing humanoids had already been Enchanted.
Meaning I couldn’t run experiments on them.
You might think I could simply Enchant the Dense Thermal Robe instead, but regrettably, Enchanting equipment requires its own separate Skill or Scroll, which is tedious. Besides, I didn’t have the nerve to use SS-rank material on mere high-grade equipment.
So Tia was my chance.

[Iron Cross Decoration awarded.]

I bestowed the Iron Cross Decoration upon Tia.
Then I brought the Blood Stone of Oath close to the decoration.
The stone began to glow a deeper crimson, and a message materialized before my eyes.

[Would you like to apply an Enchantment to the decoration?]

[Enchantment Stat Bonus]
All stats + 10
[Additional Effects]
[Bloodsucking]: Each time you defeat an enemy, you forcibly absorb their life force. When re-attacking an enemy whose life force has been absorbed, deal 100% additional damage.
[Queen’s Blessing]: When you can no longer absorb life force through Bloodsucking, critical hit chance increases by up to 100% for 30 minutes.

I could scarcely believe my eyes.
Unlike Skill Replacement, the effects displayed themselves intuitively—but setting that aside, the application options were simply extraordinary.
For Tia, a sniper with a high rate of fire, wasn’t this ability perfect?
I nearly enchanted it then and there, bewitched, before barely clinging to reason.
Let me think about it a bit longer….
“How did… it turn out?”
“The Enchantment works, and the effects are quite potent.”
At any rate, I’d now discovered two uses for it.
What remained was crafting….
“That’s probably impossible, isn’t it?”
If I attempted crafting and produced excellent equipment, that would be fortunate.
But if it failed midway or the result proved inferior, there’d be no way to recover it.
Consuming such a prohibitively rare item through experimentation felt like too great a risk.
So I’d set that aside for now.
“Hmm….”
After the most basic experiments concluded,
my thoughts grew deeper.
“Honestly, it’s worth SS-rank.”
The Blood Stone of Oath.
It could be used for Enchantment.
Or through Skill Replacement.
And there was a strong possibility it could be used in crafting as well.
Its versatility alone was remarkable, yet its performance was also solid.
Materials this versatile rarely existed.
Usually, you were fortunate if it could be applied even to one purpose.
But paradoxically, this was what made the decision harder. Where should I use it?
If anything, it was at least a pleasant dilemma…
“I want to pour it straight into Enchantment, but is that the right choice?”
It didn’t feel right—there seemed to be other uses available.
Two confirmed just now.
Aside from the basic three categories of consumption—Enchantment, Skill Replacement, and crafting—there was a peculiar sense that it might have other purposes, like a Forgotten Sacred Object.
That uncertainty held me back.
“Sigh….”
Should I think about this a little longer? Really, just a bit more?

* * *

After parting with Baek Jin-seong, I returned to my room.
After deliberating for the better part of another day, I was finally able to decide.
I enchanted the Blood Stone of Oath onto Tia’s decoration.
“Besides, I had two of them anyway….”

【Blood Stone of Oath】

“But what should I do with the remaining one?”
A day had passed since then.
I lay in bed, lost in thought.
It was to determine the purpose of my last remaining Blood Stone of Oath.
“It feels like I’d be gambling a bit if I used it for Skill Replacement, and frankly, I’m not in the mood for that….”
Beyond the three typical uses, I keep wondering if there’s some other crucial function hidden in this thing—and that hesitation holds me back.
Caught between two choices and frustrated with myself, I held the Blood Stone up to the fluorescent light in the ceiling and turned it over in my hands.

“Seon-woo.”

Neia’s voice startled me, and the Blood Stone tumbled from my fingers.
Plop.
“Damn it—it landed on my tongue.”
The Blood Stone had fallen in the worst possible place.
It went straight into my mouth.
The taste was faintly metallic and bitter.
I screwed up my face, and Neia bowed her head in apology.

“My sincerest apologies. I will be more careful next time.”

“But… what is it?”
Neia doesn’t usually speak to me when I’m at rest unless something’s wrong.
The fact that she’s addressing me now meant there had to be a reason.

“It is now the time for your training session with Captain Argelayer and Major Sermin.”

“Ah, right. I completely forgot about that.”
I’d been lost in thought after breakfast, and the hour had slipped away unnoticed.
I reached for the Blood Stone on the bed to put it into my Inventory when—
“Huh…huh?”
What’s wrong with this?

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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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