I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 23

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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 23

Hunter Net.
A community containing all information about the Tower and Hunters.
At least, regarding what Hunters know and are willing to share.

‘Just as I’m hiding the Basement, I can’t say others aren’t doing the same.’

Of course, basic information about each floor of the Tower is completely open.
Even to non-Awakened individuals.
Among them, information about the 10th Floor is particularly abundant.
In a way, it’s only natural.
The first reason is that the 10th Floor’s difficulty spikes dramatically compared to previous floors.
Until now, one could clear them through sheer stubbornness and stat advantages.
The 10th Floor is the first sieve that separates the gems from the pebbles.

‘The monsters that appear are different.’

[Hunter Net]
-Damn it. How the hell do you clear the 10th Floor? I barely made it out alive.
-Shut your mouth. Your head might crack.
-If it were that easy to clear, everyone and their dog would be going to Taesan.

The term “newbie thresher” wasn’t used in vain from games.
Though here, the word “threshing” carried a rather grim connotation.

And the second reason was.
The majority of Hunters with climbing aspirations were concentrated around the 10th Floor tier.
‘Most below that can’t clear it due to their personality or characteristics.’

Like me in the past, or Hyeon-jun when he was stuck.
Speaking of that guy.
He said he’d do some climbing afterward.
I wonder if he’s doing well.
I should give him some coaching next time I see him.
He’ll need quite a bit of money for wedding preparations, and the incentives from the Association might not be enough.

‘I’ve owed him a lot of favors, both before and now.’

I hope he gets married soon.
I’d like to enlarge his eyes with a wedding gift.

‘To do that, I’d need to know his exact level.’

The first lesson I learned after opening the Underground Layer.
Level and stats are important, but they can be overcome with well-trained swordsmanship and skills.
Perhaps Hyeon-jun might even be able to surpass the 10th floor of the Demon Realm.
If I could confirm the exact numbers in his status window and his skills, even if I couldn’t bring him directly, I could seek advice from Yahwi or Barkalor.
They are the finest as mentors.

‘A method to accurately grasp the opponent’s information.’

I should search through the Wol-yeong-seok Shop.
I’ve been curious about the power difference between high-rank Hunters and Temple residents that’s bothered me for a while.
Ah, or I could seek advice from Elder Barkalor.
Whether it’s his mind or the Wol-yeong-seok Shop, there’s nothing they don’t have.

Anyway, the reason I’ve been rambling on so long is because the floor I’m about to conquer is the 10th Floor.
Of course—

Slash!

I retrieved my swung blade.
The bones of the skeleton soldiers scattered down.

Clatter!

【You have defeated 30 skeleton soldiers.】
【You have cleared the 10th Floor.】

‘This wasn’t insurance against possibly failing.’

Didn’t I tell you?
Level and stats matter.
The 10th Floor is difficult because undead appear there.
In any case, those creatures with rapid regeneration that only stop moving when their heads are completely destroyed.
In the end, they shattered to pieces before my overwhelming ‘power’.
What’s left to regenerate if nothing remains?
Besides, with the undead theme and the location being the Graveyard, naturally at night, and with Nix’s blessing activated on top of everything, losing would have been harder.

‘We’re both from the same darkness element. But I’m stronger, aren’t I?’

If my opponent threw the same punch as me.
The bigger and harder fist wins.

Crack!

I kicked the skull of a skeletal soldier lying on the ground for no particular reason.

Clatter.

‘As expected, undead are no problem.’

【You have achieved the fastest clear time.】

I surpassed Ahn Jae-jun’s record again.
Hunter Net is probably going crazy right now.

Ding!
【Your fastest clear count has reached 10.】
【You have obtained 2 Tower Entry Time Reset Passes as a reward.】

The Tower didn’t disappoint me this time either.

‘Oh. Two of them?’

No. It actually exceeded my expectations.

Grin—

I broke into a wide smile of satisfaction.
With this, I could achieve my plans much faster, couldn’t I?

‘I need to push through all of them into the Underground Layer.’

Just like the second objective, I’d rapidly clear through to the 10th Floor.
Then I’d select the third resident.
I wondered what kind of resident would appear this time.

‘Please be an Alchemist or a Blacksmith!’

Well, that’s a matter for later, so I’d worry about it then.
I hadn’t received all my rewards yet.

【Your level has increased by 1.】
【All stats increase by 1.】
【You obtain 3 distributable stat points.】

‘Finally, I’ve reached level 10.’

【You invested 3 distributable stat points into Darkness.】

‘I invested everything into Darkness.’

-Current Darkness stat: 35.

“Oh.”

I knew it would happen, but it had still risen considerably.
I’d gained 3 from Werewear meat, obtained 1 twice from Association President Yun Tae-sik’s blood, and earned a whopping 15 while conquering the 7th, 8th, and 9th Floors.

‘It will rise even more as I clear the Underground Layers ahead.’

I suddenly became curious.
35 was 35, but.
Just how strong was this, really?
I gently channeled power throughout my entire body.

Whoosh!

The Darkness I released as a test now rippled at my command like an aura.
I formed the image of a small sphere in my mind.
Whoosh—

“Excellent.”

The roiling Darkness condensed into the shape of a sphere.
It floated and bobbed in the empty space above my palm.
About the size of a fist, based on the standard when I wasn’t actively compressing it.
To gauge how much the Darkness has grown going forward, I could visualize it like this.

Whoosh—

I let it scatter again and flow throughout my entire body.
That moment.

Ding!
【You have reached Level 10. Your skill evolves to the next stage.】

The status window responded once more, as if reminding me not to forget it.
There was another reward I hadn’t received yet.

【Nix’s Blessing, Stage 2 is unlocked.】

‘How could I have forgotten?’

What I had been curious about since I first obtained it was finally unlocked.
Thump, thump.
My heart raced wildly.
Indeed, what reward had the goddess Nix prepared?
I steadied my trembling hands and read through the status window.

【Nix’s Blessing Stage 2 (Unlocked)】
【Night Vision Lv.2】
-You can discover hidden things.
【As the utility of Darkness increases, you can create one skill of your desired form.】
-When Nix’s Blessing Stage 3 is unlocked, one more is added.
-Stage 3 unlock: Level 20.

I had obtained a total of two abilities.
A level-up in night vision that allowed me to see clearly even in darkness, and….

“Skill Creation!?”

I couldn’t help but cry out in surprise.
Skill creation, no less.
I had never heard of such an ability before.
Skills were already created within the Tower’s system, and it was common knowledge that they could only be obtained through chance encounters or special opportunities.
But creation? That was something else entirely.

‘This is insane.’

Moreover, once I reached level 20, I could create another one.
Could it be that I would be able to continue doing this every 10 levels?
If that were the case, it would be a power rivaling that of a god.

‘No, actually, she is a god.’

I felt infinite devotion toward Nix, the Goddess of Night, once again.
It was the second time since I had obtained the Artifact-grade Barkalor.
I was already aware that the utility of darkness was increasing.
Earlier, I had even shaped the darkness I released into a sphere.
But becoming a skill was an entirely different matter.
Unlike the use of darkness, which required me to continuously visualize images in my mind,
a skill could be activated with almost no awareness or conscious thought.

‘In urgent combat situations, this would give me an overwhelming advantage.’

I could simply focus on deflecting incoming attacks or exploiting openings after activating the skill.

“Long live Goddess Nix!!”

I knew I could trust her!

What skill should I create?
Barkalor’s portal?
Or perhaps a necromancer ability?
Or maybe that eye ability I felt the need for earlier—one that could gauge an opponent’s level?

‘No. I’ll decide that later.’

I reined in my rushing thoughts and calmed my excitement.
This was a precious ability I could only create once.
There’s no harm in discussing it with Elder Barkalor before making a decision.
For now, let me test a different skill first.

‘Night Vision.’

On the 10th Floor during nighttime, it’s already been active in real-time.
What’s changed?
Just as I was thinking that.

Ding!
【There is something hidden in the watch.】
【’Search’ activates automatically.】

The system automatically activated the ability of Night Vision Lv.2.

Whoosh—!

At that moment, the watch darkened.
It wasn’t completely invisible, but everything took on an elegant, atmospheric quality.
Ah, yes. It felt like I was wearing sunglasses.

‘Wait. This isn’t just a feeling?’

My reflection in the nearby river. To be precise, sunglasses were fitted above my eyes.
Looking closely, they were made of Darkness itself.

‘I’m not Neo from The Matrix.’

Anyway, it was intuitive and satisfying.
So what had changed? I glanced around quickly.

Heh.

A smile spread across my face.

“Found it.”

While the surroundings had darkened, a single spot glowed with a brilliant blue light.
This was the ‘hidden place’ the status window had mentioned.

‘If I hadn’t possessed night vision….’

Whoosh—

With merely a thought, the sunglasses vanished.
Then, as my vision brightened once more.
The ‘hidden place’ I had fixed my gaze upon became impossible to locate again.
It was merely an ordinary graveyard, just earth.

Whoosh—

I put the sunglasses back on.

‘Now I can see it.’

I approached the brightly glowing location.

‘I would have regretted it if I’d left without confirming the night vision ability.’

I had already discovered a hidden treasure chest on the 4th Floor.
The Basement of the Tower key that came from there had reversed my entire life.
Now I was on the 10th Floor.
There should be a reward commensurate with that.

‘So, what is it?’

But then.

Ding!
【You have discovered the Mark of Death.】

“What?”

What was revealed was nothing short of shocking.
A distinct symbol carved into one corner of the barely visible tombstone.
It matched exactly with the mark announced by Taesan.
And naturally, it was the same as what I had seen in the Underground Temple.
It was—

“…Thanatos.”

His mark.

“Why in the world is this here.”

I muttered while brushing away the tombstone.
Soon enough, I understood the reason.

“…Ha ha. So that’s what it was.”

And I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Ding!
【This is an already discovered special dungeon floor.】

Such a status window floated before my eyes.
I quickly pieced the information together.
A special dungeon floor in the 10th floor range that Taesan had failed to conquer.
Undead theme.
Thanatos’s mark.
And even the message that it was an already discovered special dungeon floor.

‘What floor range was the special dungeon floor discovered during the previous opening.’

I couldn’t recall exactly, but I was certain it was a different themed floor below the 10th floor.
Suddenly, words that Barkalor had spoken came to mind.

The great one had quite a few children. This mark belongs to the god who presides over ‘death’ among them.

So many offspring.
Now that I thought about it, there were multiple markings in the Underground Temple as well.
If those markings each symbolized Nix’s children.
A moment later, a stunning hypothesis flashed through my mind.

“…Could it be.”

Perhaps special dungeon floors didn’t spawn randomly after all.

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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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