I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 2

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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 2

“Gasp!”

My eyes snapped open.
It seemed I had lost consciousness for a moment from the impact of the fall.
I pushed myself up with my aching body, wary of any potential threats.

‘Is anyone here?’

I supposed I should be grateful.
No signs of life appeared in my surroundings.

‘No. Grateful my foot!’

How was I supposed to escape from here?
I lifted my gaze upward.
There was a massive hole above me—presumably where I had fallen through.
It was so deep that no fluorescent light reached down here.

‘Damn it. How far did I fall?’

I brushed the dust and dirt from my pants.

‘Now that I think about it, this place…’

The System Message that had appeared as I fell came back to me.

‘Basement 1.’

It had said something about no light entering.
I vaguely recalled it mentioning something about underground players.

‘What did it say after that?’

As I racked my brain trying to remember.

“…!”

I opened my eyes wide.
I was certain I had seen an extraordinary message.

“Status window!”

Whoosh—!
【Kang Ha-jin.】
【Trait: Knight of Eternal Night (EX)】
【Title: First Dungeon Hunter】

“Th-this is real!”

I couldn’t help but cry out.
My eyes fixed on one thing.

EX-rank.
Since The Tower appeared.
A grade that had never once emerged before.
When I awakened as SSS-rank, it made the news and flooded every social media platform.
But EX-rank?
I examined the trait in detail to understand its effects.

【Knight of Eternal Night (EX-rank)】
Stage 1 – Blessing of Nyx: Without sunlight, all stats increase by 500%.
Stage 2 – Unlocks at level 10.

My jaw dropped.

‘F-five times?!’

What was originally 300% had become 500%.
A five-fold increase in stat growth.
I quickly looked at the stats section of my status window.

【Kang Ha-jin】
【Trait: Knight of the Eternal Night (EX)】
【Title: First Dungeon Hunter】
【Stats】
-Strength 12(+60)
-Agility 12(+60)
-Stamina 9(+45)
-Mana 6(+30)

“…Insane.”

These numbers were absolutely ridiculous.
Existing Hunters gained 1 point to all stats with each level-up, plus 3 free stat points.
In other words, they gained a total of 7 stat points per level-up.
Of course, each Hunter received different initial stats upon awakening, but my current stats matched those of a level 26 Hunter.

‘Level 4 with the stats of level 26.’

With darkness on my side, I could easily crush early level 20s.
Now I finally understood why I hadn’t suffered severe injuries when I fell into the Dungeon.

“Yes!”

I clenched my fist tightly.
After enduring and persevering, light finally entered my life.

‘Or rather, darkness has entered it.’

The surroundings were filled with darkness, but with my night vision, it posed no problem whatsoever.
After regaining my senses and surveying the area, I spotted a structure in the distance.

“A Goddess Statue?”

Yes.
There was no other way to describe it.
The wings attached to her back and her dignified bearing.
A beautiful face that seemed compassionate yet carried an austere grace.
The word “goddess” fell short of doing her justice.

“Exit the Tower.”

Before moving, I confirmed that the command word didn’t work.
Then there was no choice.

Thud, thud.

Forgetting the awe that the EX-rank treasure inspired, I walked toward the Goddess Statue as if entranced.
The hole in the ceiling was far too high, and the command word wouldn’t work.
Then there was only one place to check immediately.

‘It’s bigger than I thought.’

As I drew closer, my gaze lifted higher and higher.
It didn’t seem to be a mere natural formation.
It was distinctly different from the cave on the 4th Floor—a massive rectangular structure centered around the Goddess Statue.

‘It’s like a soccer field.’

It was quite far, so even walking felt laborious.
It seemed to take roughly ten minutes to reach the Goddess Statue.

Tap.

Drawn by an intense pull, I brought my hand to the surface of the Goddess Statue.

Ding!
【The Temple of Nyx has been activated.】

‘That startled me.’

A System Message appeared abruptly.
Nyx, was it?

‘The blessing of Nyx in my status window… are they talking about the goddess of night?’

I had a memory of seeing it in a Greek and Roman mythology comic book I’d watched as a child.
So the legendary key was real after all.
I had actually arrived at a goddess’s temple.

‘So, this Goddess Statue must be Nyx.’

The Goddess of the Night.
And my trait, Knight of the Night.

‘From obtaining the key to falling here. This can’t be coincidence.’

Ding!
【Nyx’s First Quest has begun.】
【Prepare for battle.】
【Clear Condition: Defeat the Shadow of the Sun Knight.】
【Reward: 10 Wol-yeong-seok, Temple Resident Summon Ticket.】
-Wol-yeong-seok is a special currency obtainable only in the Dungeon.
-Upon acquiring Wol-yeong-seok, the Wol-yeong-seok Shop will be unlocked.
-Various equipment, items, and skills can be purchased at the Wol-yeong-seok Shop.

My thoughts were cut short by the sudden System Message.

“What? What’s happening all of a sudden?”

Whoosh—

Before I could fully process my confusion, a suspicious sound came from behind me.
I reflexively drew my sword.

Shing!

As I turned around, I saw a large man.
Or more precisely, a shadow in the form of a man was walking toward me.

‘Ah, the First Dungeon Hunter.’

Seeing that monsters appeared here too, I understood why such a title was given.

Whoosh!

As the creature stretched out its hand, a sword made of darkness materialized.
Armor form and sword alike.
The word “knight” fit perfectly.

‘The sun emblem in the center of the armor….’

It seemed as though a specific form of knight had been cast as a shadow.

‘So the Goddess of Night’s task is to eliminate the Solar Knight.’

Wasn’t this like training for the battle to come?

‘This is interesting.’

Shhk—
A smile spread across my lips.
The pieces were gradually falling into place in my mind.
The rewards were enticing as well.
Wol-yeong-seok—a special currency.
I had never even heard of it on Hunternet before.
Since I could purchase various things with it, I couldn’t help but feel excited.
And then there was the Temple resident recruitment.
I was nearly lonely, but thankfully that’s resolved.
Besides, this Temple might also help me adapt to this place.

“Alright. Let’s give it a try.”

I had been curious about the performance of Nyx’s blessing anyway.
The only concern was that my opponent was a knight.
I had always faced only monsters.
Well, I’d only cleared up to the 4th Floor anyway.
Higher floors do have humanoid enemies called Tower Dwellers.
But that didn’t apply to me.

‘Sword against sword.’

Click.

I didn’t know.
I’d only understand once I engaged.
But my feet wouldn’t move forward.

“….”

It didn’t feel like it was merely mimicking the form.
My provocation elicited no response whatsoever.
It simply stood there with its sword raised.
But then.

‘Why is there no opening?’

Before, I could have simply overwhelmed it with raw stats.
It should have been the same now.
My stats, inflated five times over, possessed the performance of level 26 after all.

‘Is that thing stronger than me?’

The longer I deliberated, the more my confidence crumbled.

Crack! Slap!

I struck my cheek hard.
I had already resolved myself to death when I used the key.
Fear at this point was nothing but an irritation.
I steadied my mind and gripped my sword again.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Whoosh!

This time, without hesitation, I kicked off the ground.
It approached rapidly.
Until that moment, it made no movement at all.

‘Did I overestimate it?’

Feeling slightly reassured, I swung my sword.
Just as I always did.

Clang!

“…!”

Something unexpected happened.
My sword was knocked back.
It was the first time since I became a Hunter and took up the blade.
But that wasn’t the end of it.

Clang.

The creature didn’t miss the moment I was disoriented.

Whoosh—!

The shadow blade descended rapidly toward my defenseless form.

“Ah!”

I tumbled across the ground, barely evading the blade.

Whoosh!

The blade, missing its target, carved through empty air.
That strike restored my confidence.

‘It’s not that fast or that strong.’

I can do this.

Dash!

I charged forward again.
This time it won’t be able to react.

‘I’ll feint at the front like before….’

Swish.

The creature fell for the simple feint.
It shifted the angle of its blade to defend.

Slice.

‘I’ve been deceived.’

I immediately pushed off with my left foot, shifting toward his right side.
I maximized the use of my swift agility stat.
Finally, his exposed right flank came into view.

‘Perfect.’

I thrust my blade forward with absolute certainty.
But in that instant.

“What…!”

Our eyes met.
Though the knight forged from shadow possessed no eyes.
I distinctly felt that sensation.

Screech—!

His sword’s tip scraped across the ground.
He pivoted his entire body and swung the blade toward me.
My movement had been read.

Whoosh!

“Ugh!”

The blade swept across my body.

Ding!
【You have taken damage.】
【Your vitality has decreased slightly.】

“…?”

The System Message chimed along with a brief flash of pain.

“It’s weak?”

It wasn’t that painful.
Though the wound cut deep, my Stamina stat overwhelmingly surpassed the creature’s Attack power.

‘So that means it’s far beneath my level.’

Then how was it overpowering me?
I was confused.
My stats were clearly much higher.

Clang.

The creature resumed its initial combat stance.

“…!”

Watching it, I understood.
That precise, flawless stance.
I knew what it was.

‘Swordsmanship.’

I had no specific sword technique.
With my high stats, simply swinging accurately was enough—enemies couldn’t react and fell without exception.
But this Solar Knight possessed a swordsmanship that none of my previous opponents had.
Against mere vampire bats, technique was a luxury, so I’d never felt its necessity until now.

‘The gap is this wide just from learning a single technique?’

An opponent like this appeared on my very first task.
I would face even stronger enemies ahead.
Though it was a critical moment, my heart raced with exhilaration.

‘If I had swordsmanship… I could grow even stronger here.’

What if I possessed high-grade swordsmanship?
Would I have been so helpless?

‘No.’

The Wol-yeong-seok Shop certainly had swordsmanship techniques and skills available.
If I could acquire proper swordsmanship, I could easily conquer the 5th Floor of the Tower.

Crack!

I gripped the sword’s handle tightly as excitement surged through me.

‘Thank you, Ahn Jae-jun. For abandoning me without any hesitation.’

If I hadn’t immediately terminated the contract after discovering the hidden penalty, an opportunity like this would never have come.

‘Before I learn swordsmanship, I should do what I do best first.’

Doing things the way I had before wouldn’t work.
And now that I’d experienced the blade firsthand, I realized it didn’t hurt as much as I’d thought.
This wasn’t a sparring match.
This was combat.
There was no need to face him conventionally when my swordsmanship was lacking.

‘Still no openings.’

But I walked toward him anyway.

Thud, thud.

Finally, I entered his striking range.
He unleashed a precise sword strike as if he’d repeated it thousands, tens of thousands of times.

Whoosh!
Until just moments ago, I would have struggled to evade.
At my current level, matching him blade-to-blade was impossible.
What I chose instead was.

Crunch!

Blood dripped from my hand as I caught the descending blade.
It was a gamble, betting everything on my Health stat.

“Ugh. Cough, cough.”

I laughed, my face contorted with pain.

“…!”

For the first time, I felt emotional turbulence emanating from the Solar Knight.
He struggled desperately to wrench his blade free.
But it was impossible with his strength stat.
My raw strength surpassed his.
This was my best option.

“Why? Is this your first time facing an opponent like me?”

My final move.

“Farewell. Next time we meet, my blade will be superior as well.”

I drove the sword I held in my other hand straight into his abdomen.

Crack!

Ding!
【You have defeated the Shadow of the Sun Knight.】
【You have cleared Nyx’s First Task.】

Whoosh.

He scattered in reverse order from his initial appearance.
Gradually losing form, he returned to darkness.

“I won.”

At last, I no longer felt the weight of the shadowy blade pressing down on my hand.
Soon after.
The awaited message appeared.

Ding!
【You have acquired the special stat, Darkness, as a task clear reward.】
【You have acquired 10 Wol-yeong-seok.】

‘A special stat, you say?’

To date, fewer than ten special stats have been discovered in total.
James’s superhuman strength—the greatest Hunter in America.
Tian Ming’s adaptation, the guild master of China’s Osung Guild, and so forth.

‘And Ahn Jae-jun possesses a special stat as well.’

The special stat Ahn Jae-jun carries is Radiance.
According to rumors, when it comes to darkness-related monsters, he displays an overwhelming dominance that no one else can match.
And now I’ve acquired a special stat of my own.
My heart racing with anticipation, I examined ‘Darkness.’

【Special Stat: Darkness】
-You command the shadows.
-As the stat increases, the quantity and duration of darkness you can manipulate expands.
-Endless applications are possible depending on the user.
-Additional acquisition is possible upon defeating monsters tainted by sunlight.

‘Command the shadows?’

Looking at the additional description, it seems there’s virtually no limit to what I can do.
Though my Darkness stat currently stands at only 1.
If I continue clearing quests and managing the Temple going forward.
If I raise my Darkness stat to a considerable level, then perhaps.

‘I could even shroud my surroundings in darkness.’

For now, I’ll explore this further as time goes on.
The next reward is Wol-yeong-seok.

Thump.

Ten stones fell from the sky, gleaming softly as if they had captured moonlight itself.

“These are Wol-yeong-seok?”

Ding!
【The Wol-yeong-seok Shop has been unlocked.】
【You can now purchase various equipment, items, and skills.】
【You can search using specific keywords.】

“Well then, shall I do some shopping?”

First and foremost, what I wanted most was swordsmanship.
Since they said they sell skills too, it should definitely be here.

“Wol-yeong-seok Shop. Search: swordsmanship.”

Whoosh!
【Wol-yeong-seok Shop.】
【Swordsmanship Skills List.】

My intuition was right, as expected.
An extensive list of swordsmanship skills appeared before me.

“Oh, this one…”

One skill caught my attention.
It was none other than the swordsmanship technique that Ahn Jae-jun, the guild master of Taesan, had learned.

【Taesan Sword Scripture】
-Price: 500 Wol-yeong-seok.

‘As expected, it’s expensive.’

I obtained only 10 Wol-yeong-seok from clearing the quest this time.
I’d need to clear it at least dozens more times to afford Ahn Jae-jun’s swordsmanship.

‘And even then, my proficiency would be nothing but a beginner’s, so I couldn’t defeat someone who’s already a master at pure swordsmanship.’

However, there was one thing that provided some consolation.

【Night Whisper Blade.】
-Price: 1,000 Wol-yeong-seok.
【Richtenawar Longsword Technique.】
-Price: 700 Wol-yeong-seok.

So there existed sword techniques more expensive than his.

‘…Regardless.’

I still had nothing to purchase.

‘Now, the only hope I could cling to was.’

Ding!
【You have obtained a Temple Resident Summon Ticket.】
【You can now summon Temple residents.】

‘Is it only this?’

Ding!
【You can summon Tower residents who will aid in Temple management.】
【Loading the list of residents you can summon.】
【Your current summon ticket grade ranges from Common to Rare.】

“…This is insane.”

My jaw dropped.
Thinking of typical games, Rare didn’t seem particularly impressive.
But this was the Tower.
Not a game.
The Tower operates on solo play by default, unless it’s a special dungeon or raid.
But if I had summons?

‘It would be no different from party play.’

According to rumors circulating on Hunternet, high-rank summoners can rival massive guilds single-handedly.
They’re essentially one-man armies.

‘Moreover, the highest-rank summon that the summoner in those rumors commands is Legendary-grade.’

If I considered the basic grades—Common, Uncommon, Rare, Artifact, Legend, and Myth—then Rare wasn’t necessarily bad at all.
In fact, it was quite good.

‘No, rather, it’s on the favorable side.’

It was only two tiers below Legend, after all.
One expert had stated that if a summoned creature weren’t bound to its summoner, even a Rare-grade one would easily be valued in the hundreds of millions.

‘A summoned creature worth hundreds of millions! What on earth could appear?’

Of course, the probability was random.
But I continued reading through the System Messages.

【Temple Resident List】
-Combat
-Production
-Management

【When you recruit a resident, a corresponding building will be generated.】

So buildings related to Combat, Production, and Management would be generated as well.
I expanded my vision and took in the entire landscape of the Temple of Nyx.
Certainly, the area around the temple was vast enough to accommodate several buildings.
Nyx.
I understood what she was asking of me.
Perhaps she wanted me to develop the temple and explore the Dungeon of the Tower.
A blueprint for the future began to form in my mind.
A scene filled with densely packed buildings and residents.
I turned my gaze back to the list.
Particularly to the Combat section.

‘Perhaps.’

There might be a better method than purchasing skills from the Wol-yeong-seok Shop.

“…I’ll use the Temple Resident Recruitment Ticket.”

My trembling voice echoed through the Temple of Nyx.

Ding!
【Drawing a new Temple resident…】

‘Please be rare. Please be rare. Please!’

As if preparing to welcome the new resident about to appear,
the entire Temple held its breath in anticipation.
And in the next moment.

Ding!
【Congratulations!】
【A Rare-grade combat resident has appeared!】

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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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