I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 14

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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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Inherited the Basement 1 of the Tower – Episode 14

“It’s been a long time, Master.”

Someone made their presence known and walked forward slowly.
Fine white silk garments that contrasted sharply with Yahwi’s appearance.
Even the blade at his waist was white.
He was not alone.
Dozens of people with papers affixed to their faces, obscuring their identities, followed behind him.
Written on those papers in Chinese characters were the words: Followers of the Light.

‘The aura emanating from them is formidable. Each one is far stronger than the members of the Taesan Guild.’

But what was this.
Something felt off about this.

“…It’s been a while. You’ve brought quite a few unfamiliar faces. What’s this about?”

Yahwi responded with feigned nonchalance.
At the same time, his right hand moved to the hilt of his sword at his waist.
Despite his casual words, his guard was clearly raised.

“Friends? No.”

Shing—!

The man who had suddenly appeared let out a low chuckle and drew his blade.
Then his pale sword came into view.
Just as Yahwi’s hand moved, thinking it might be an ambush.

Slash!

The white blade’s target was the neck of one of the people he had brought with him.

“…!”

It all happened in an instant.

Drip, drip.

The white robe and the sword gleamed crimson with blood.

“They’re not friends—they’re my followers.”

A low hum resonated through the air.

Above the corpse of the dead Zealot, a sphere of pure light rose like a spirit taking flight.
The man grasped it without hesitation and shoved it into his own mouth.

Gulp.

White light rippled across his entire body.
Yet the Zealots surrounding us remained silent and motionless, holding their positions.
Only then did I understand the source of the unease I’d felt earlier.

‘None of them are armed.’

If they had come to help the White-Robed Man capture Yahwi, they would surely be carrying swords and weapons.
But their hands were all empty.
They simply stood in place, silent and still.

“…You.”

Yahwi’s face hardened like stone.
No matter how skilled he was as a swordmaster, he had never taught indiscriminate killing.
He was the kind of man who disciplined his disciples strictly yet personally prepared their meals.
Faced with the twisted form of his once-beloved student, Yahwi could not suppress his fury.
Moreover, even to someone like me who knew nothing of martial arts, this power was clearly abnormal.
Killing people to absorb something from them.
And that person was someone close to him.
For me, who had lived like family with Yahwi at the Temple, this scene was incomprehensible.

“Have you abandoned even the last shred of your humanity for power!”

Clash!

Yahwi drew his blade, Yado, with a harsh metallic ring.
His opponent did the same.

“Kekeke. That damned Yahwi School. All washed up with only this dull-witted disciple left. I’ve already surpassed your swordsmanship.”

After casting a brief, contemptuous glance in my direction.

Shing—

He raised a white blade with a thin, keen edge.
Moments later, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.

Whiiiing—!

Light erupted from the blade itself.
And that white radiance—

“That’s—!”

Ding!
【You have been exposed to intense light.】
【The intensity of the light is steadily increasing.】
【The use of Nix’s Blessing is restricted until the source of power is eliminated.】

It was a power I recognized.

‘A special stat. And the same Radiance as Ahn Jae-jun!’

“Run!”

Yahwi pushed off the ground and swung his blade with desperate speed.

Slash!

It was an unreasonable sacrifice to protect me.

Bang!
Clang!

His sword had developed sword energy, but when the two blades clashed, the white sword held the advantage.
Before contracting with Nix, Yahwi’s swordsmanship resembled ‘night’ itself.
The application of darkness layered over it was entirely my own discretion.
In other words, Yahwi possessed no special power beyond pure swordsmanship.
Though that swordsmanship itself was extraordinarily formidable.
However, my opponent was also a martial artist who had experienced countless sword techniques over a long lifetime, including those of Yahwi’s school.
Moreover, he was younger, healthier, and wielding special stats.

“Kahahaha! What is this state, Master! If only you had acknowledged my path from the beginning, this wouldn’t have happened…!”
“Your path? Are you speaking of that mad god who chose you? That thing wearing the guise of light, trampling others beneath its feet—is that your path?!”
“…That is blasphemy!”

Clang!

“Ugh!”

As I knocked away the clashing blades, Yahwi staggered backward from the recoil.

‘We’re losing ground.’

I needed to devise a countermeasure.
I couldn’t simply stand idle, leaving everything to Yahwi.

‘Why is this different from when facing Ahn Jae-jun?’

How powerful was this light?
In the Guild Master’s Office of Taesan, even though Ahn Jae-jun released radiance first,
I was able to release darkness without hesitation.
That was how I could counter his radiance.

‘But now, I cannot activate darkness or Nix’s blessing at all.’

Suddenly, I recalled how that Pale Man had killed the Zealot and absorbed his power.
I raise my darkness stat by defeating monsters that contain the underground sun.
Then how do other special stat holders, including Ahn Jae-jun, increase their stats?

‘Through leveling up.’

Then does this world possess the concept of leveling?

Crack—

My fist clenched tightly.

‘Probably not.’

Since arriving here and training, I had never heard the word “level” come from Yahwi’s mouth.

‘Then.’

I shifted my gaze to the two of them locked in combat, moving so fast they were barely visible.

Clang!
Clang!

“Die! I said die! This is the price for disrespecting me! Today, I will defeat you and become the Greatest Swordmaster under Heaven! After that, I’ll cut down all those hypocritical righteous sect bastards, those cursed evil sect dogs, and every last one of those damned demonic cultists to become a god! Inheriting his legacy!”

A man with bloodshot eyes swinging his blade while laughing maniacally.

‘So Yahwi was the Greatest Swordmaster under Heaven.’

It seemed his boast about doing quite well at the Temple wasn’t mere bluster.
Anyway, that wasn’t what mattered.

‘Focus.’

I opened my eyes wide and tracked his movements.

Clang!
Whoosh!
Whoom!

The sword strikes that were nearly impossible to perceive
gradually came into focus as I pushed myself to my limits.
Then, at some point.

“I see it!”

Once my eyes opened, I could see the creature’s movements clearly at a glance.
Then it became unmistakable.

‘What are those threads connected to its back?’

Thin and thick threads that gleamed white were densely embedded and connected across its back.
The color was identical to the luminous mass that had escaped from the corpse I’d just killed.

‘Could that be all of them?’

I shifted my gaze to trace where the threads led.

Thud.

A single Zealot collapsed with all their strength.

‘Just as I suspected.’

I bit my lip in fury.
To exploit those who trusted and followed him like this.
No wonder they seemed to be fading.
He was drawing strength at the cost of their life force.
I couldn’t fathom what made them believe in and follow such a creature, but I couldn’t simply let this continue.

Shing—

My blade slowly revealed itself from my waist.

“Yahwi!”
“…Ugh. So you’re calling your master by name now without respect!”

Clang!

Yahwi barely managed to respond, swinging his blade as though struggling under the weight.
The Antagonist laughed with apparent delight at the sight.

“To think I’d hear casual speech even from my one and only dull disciple. What a pitiful life I lead. So, won’t you come to me as well?”

My use of casual speech with Yahwi seemed to please him.
I paid no attention to his reaction and continued questioning Yahwi.

“So we can win if we just eliminate Gwanghui!”
“Gwanghui? Ah, yes. If we just remove that white thing, we might have a chance! This fool has neglected his sword training—his blade is rusted.”

The situation was urgent, every moment counting.
Yahwi continued speaking without further concern about my casual tone.
Okay, the answer is clear.
We just need to eliminate Gwanghui.

“Wait! How do you know the name of my power…!”

The Antagonist immediately sensed something was amiss, but he had to defend against Yahwi’s attack.

Clang!

“Look at me. Your opponent is me.”
“You bastard! Fine then. I’ll finish you quickly, Yahwi! That insect comes next! I’ll bury both of you priests in the same grave!”

Once I confirmed his hostility had shifted back to Yahwi, I immediately kicked off the ground.

Boom!

I rapidly closed the distance to the pure white figures kneeling on the ground, muttering something.
The bright light prevented me from activating Nix’s blessing, but it didn’t matter.
They were unarmed and unresisting, simply kneeling in prayer with vacant expressions.

‘One at a time.’

Whoosh.

My blade swept through the air, severing the Zealot’s neck.

Splurt!

They weren’t real people, just reconstructions of events from Yahwi’s memories, yet the sensation in my hand felt deeply unsettling.
This was the first time I had directly harmed someone who offered no resistance.

Crack—

I tightened my grip on the sword’s hilt, steeling my resolve.
If I hesitated, Yahwi would die.
My own life and my family’s safety mattered far more than some hollow belief or sense of justice.
I swung my blade forward without a shred of doubt.

Slash!
Slaaash!

‘Yahwi-style Second Form. Midnight Lotus Descent.’

He moved with the grace of a dancer, swift and fluid.
With each step, blood sprayed and bodies fell one after another.

‘Thirteen, fourteen!’

Ding!
【The intense light dims slightly.】
【You have successfully released a small amount of darkness.】

I glanced back over my shoulder.

“Damn it all! What are the Zealots doing?! Don’t they want to reach the Promised Land?!”

It was working.
Yahwi was still visibly being pushed back, of course.
He remained focused on defending, but his breathing had noticeably eased compared to before.

Slash!

“Yahwi-style Third Form…”

Night Shadow Demon Blade.

Whoosh!
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
He drew his sword in a wide arc.

‘I run across the night path.’

Like a ghost.
This was the power of Night Shade Step, the Third Form I had just learned—still unstable, but potent nonetheless.

Whoosh!

The sensation from when I received Nix’s blessing flickered momentarily.
I could move at that kind of speed.

‘Twenty-three.’

But still more than half remained.
Of course, I had no intention of stopping.
No matter how many enemies there were, I could simply cut through them all.

“…Hurry!”

Yahwi urged me forward.
I disliked how this made it seem like I was following his orders, but I had no intention of losing him either.
Besides.

“…Please, kill me.”
“…!”

The moment I approached to strike, the paper covering the face trembled from the wind pressure.
And I could see the expression hidden beneath it.
Eyes vacant as if devoid of self, and tears of blood streaming down—they had already lost all will to live.

Crack.

‘That bastard.’

Swallowing the rising rage, I freed the zealots as quickly as I could.

Whoosh.

Ding!
【You release a small amount of darkness.】

Boom!

Power surged through my advancing steps.
Though minimal, the darkness enhanced my strength.
I pressed forward rapidly, continuing to slash my blade.

Scrape!
【The intense light dims slightly.】
【Small-scale darkness emission successful.】
Slash!
Ding!
【The intense light….】

Each time a head fell, a message chimed, and finally only about ten Zealots remained.

‘Good. Almost done now.’

Then doubt crept in.

【Clear Condition: Keep Yahwi alive until Nix arrives.】
【Failure: Yahwi permanently dead.】

But why would the Quest clear condition be to keep him alive?
At this rate, I’d kill all the Zealots and Yahwi would subdue the weakened opponent.
Was Nix really necessary?

‘Have I become too strong? Or….’

That doubt was naturally resolved not long after.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it! To deal with the remaining Central Plains bastards ahead, I should have kept those Zealots alive! To think I’d need to use them here…!”

He suddenly stopped fighting and sheathed his blade.
Then he spread both arms wide, fluttering them.
In an instant, a tremendous force erupted, sending Yahwi flying backward.

Screech.

“Tch! Another underhanded trick.”

I barely managed to steady myself mid-air before attempting to charge forward.
But it was already too late.

Boom!
Crash!
Bang!

The heads of the Zealots I was about to cut down exploded one after another, creating spheres of light far more powerful than before, which the Antagonist absorbed without hesitation.
Just as he had demonstrated when he first appeared.
With this approach, I couldn’t sustain continuous radiance, but at least until that power faded, he would be two to three times stronger than before.
If this happens, I won’t be able to receive the radiance continuously, but at least until that power disappears, I’ll become at minimum two to three times stronger than before.

KWAAAAAAAH!

【Dark Emission has failed.】
[Dark emission failed.]

What the hell is this nonsense.

“…Is this Phase 2?”

Beyond that light, Yahwi was likely being helplessly overwhelmed.
So it would unfold as history originally dictated.
In this battle, Yahwi would die.
Or more precisely, he would suffer near-fatal damage and be saved by Nix.
No, to be precise, he takes damage close to fatal and is saved by meeting Nyx.

So that’s why Quest’s condition was to turn off the time.

But another question that comes to mind here is.

So when is Nix coming?

I was never told how long I needed to endure, and there were no conditions specified about whether Nix would even come at all.
Only now could I truly understand.
That’s why I could only realize it now.

“No way!”

Nix had been present in this place from the very beginning.
Because this wasn’t Yahwi’s memory.

-Confirmed: Nix’s memory related to the subject ‘Yahwi’.

‘Nix’s memory!’

If Nix hadn’t been here, this memory at this point couldn’t possibly exist.
In other words, excluding Yahwi, the one who had been here from the very beginning was none other than—

“…me.”

Ding!
【Trait, Apostle of Nix activates.】
【Verifying if your body is suited for the night.】
【Trait, Eternal Knight of Night (EX) activates.】
…Ding!
【Verification complete.】
【Your body is composed of endless darkness.】
【You awaken to Nix’s power.】

“…Unable to release darkness because of the light?”

Where could such a contradiction exist?
Night was darkness itself from the very beginning.

Rummmmmmmble—!

The earth trembled, and the atmosphere exhaled its oppressive weight.
The sun hanging in the sky fled in an instant and vanished from sight, while a crimson moon took its place.
And before my eyes, a message I’d never seen before appeared.

【Night has fallen.】

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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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