I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 26

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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 26

What I lack is defense, as Elder Barkalor said.

Shwip, shwip.

The darkness enveloping my entire body writhed and twisted, gradually forming the jet-black armor known as Black Armor.
I recalled Elder Barkalor’s words and nodded in agreement.

‘Indeed.’

The spears these creatures throw are something I can ignore with my stats alone.
Even if I took a direct hit, it would amount to nothing more than my skin turning red—hardly a fatal wound.
Even if they came at me suddenly, I could track them with my eyes.

‘But what if James with his monstrous strength had thrown that spear?’

If it struck me at a speed far exceeding the sound barrier.
Piercing wouldn’t be the issue—I’m not even sure my body could maintain its form.
Of course, it would be best if I never had to clash with another Hunter, but as a hypothetical example.
The Tower is vast and endless.
At these lower floors, there are only monsters incapable of harming me.
But as I climb higher, I’ll encounter enemies stronger than Ahn Jae-jun of Taesan, stronger than James with his monstrous strength, and stronger than Tian Ming of the Five-Star Guild of China.

‘Otherwise, why haven’t they ascended beyond the 50th floor?’

Preparing defensive measures for that day was essential.
Whether now or later, it was something I had to do eventually.

‘Elder Barkalor was right.’

It was a diagnosis without a shred of doubt.

“Kuu, kuuiik…?”

The Wild Hogs, unable to hide their bewilderment as their spear—apparently their ultimate technique—was blocked.
I left them be and leisurely savored the sensation of the armor now covering my body.

“Oh.”

Not only was the performance impressive, but the appearance was quite striking as well.
Black Armor.

Thunk! Thunk!

I tapped it with my fist.
This thing was surprisingly sturdy too.
During the formation process earlier, it had felt similar to black mist.
Now that it was fully formed, it felt like solid metal.

Shing—!

The Black Armor longsword I drew out on a whim complemented this armor quite well.

“Yahwi. What do you think?”

I struck a pose.
Yahwi, who had entered with me, shed tears of admiration.

“Wow! Master, you look like a demon lord incarnate! I always thought you had a commanding presence, but dressed like this, I’d expect a hero to come challenge you!”
“…Hmm, don’t people usually say I look like a hero or knight?”
“Oh! Was that your preference? Your usual clothing is always so dark anyway.”
“Well, I suppose world conquest appeals to me more than peace or justice.”

In any case, it seemed others wouldn’t think it looked bad.
Now that Yahwi mentioned everyday clothes, something occurred to me.
There wouldn’t be any binding issues or anything like that, would there?

Whoosh—.

As if reading my intention, the Black Armor melted away in an instant.

‘Was the skill deactivated?’

Just as I was thinking about Black Armor.

“Screech!”

Whoosh!

Another spear flew toward me.
And then.

Thwack!
Shimmer—

The Black Armor automatically defended me.
Looking at it, the skill hadn’t been deactivated; it was simply manifested in the form of casual clothing.
The material was different from the metal composition from before.
Yet the fact that the spear never touched my body proved its defensive capability was undeniable.

“Huh.”

Not only could it defend, but I could even change its appearance however I wished.

‘The Second Task.’

That’s right—when I saved Yahwi back then.
That power which formed the stage of the Second Task and made it crumble upon completion.

‘Nix herself said she was born from chaos with nothing else around her.’

Upon investigation, I found similar points in several other mythologies as well.
Cases where chaos unexpectedly symbolized creativity.

‘Well, that’s not really my concern.’

I created the skill.
And its performance was insane.
Those are the only two things I need to know.

‘I won’t need to buy clothes separately anymore.’

I can mimic the appearance with Darkness.
And finding something superior in durability and defense would be difficult.

‘Even if something like that existed, it couldn’t possibly be this light.’

A typical full plate armor would exhaust an ordinary adult man after running just 100 meters.
It was that heavy.
But the Black Armor?

‘I can barely feel its weight, let alone tell I’m wearing it.’

That alone was reason enough to insist on the Black Armor.

Whoosh. Swish.

The Black Armor seemed pleased by my praise.
As if showing off just how many forms it could take, it shifted through various outfits from my memories—this costume, that costume, constantly transforming.

‘What should I call it?’

It was like a wizard’s enchanted cloak from a superhero movie, or perhaps an alien made of living slime that shared my body.

‘Or maybe…’

Clank, clank!

The moment the thought crossed my mind.
The Black Armor formed something like a full-body mecha suit.

Clink—!

My vision darkened for a moment, then cleared again.

“…Insane.”

This is literally a nanosuit.

“Wow, woah! Master! That’s…!”

Yahwi stared at me with his mouth hanging open.
No matter what era it was.
No man could help but drool at the sight of this.
I wonder if it could do that too?

Snap.
I reached out my hand.

Kyiiing—!
A moment later, accompanied by that familiar sound.

—!

A beam of light shot forth.

【You have simultaneously eliminated 10 Wild Hogs imbued with sunlight.】
-Remaining: 20 creatures.

“Ah. My meat.”

Well, I couldn’t really call it a “beam” of light.
It was made of Darkness, after all.

【You have consumed a considerable amount of Darkness.】

“….”

I alternated my gaze between my hand and the spot where the Wild Hogs had vanished without a trace.

‘I should avoid using this unless absolutely necessary.’

I deactivated the suit shortly after.
Whether I could fly through the sky and such.
I had many questions.
And romantic notions too.
But the Darkness consumption was substantial, and simultaneous use with Yahwi-type abilities was difficult.
Moreover, it wasn’t a combat style I was accustomed to.

‘Perhaps there will come a time when I need to use it.’

I don’t know when that will be, but for now it remains sealed.
The basic performance is more than sufficient.
Once activated, it consumes no additional Darkness, and the creature itself acts as though it possesses consciousness.
Moreover, I can maintain it through sheer instinct without any precise manipulation of Darkness.
This was the advantage of converting it into a skill.

‘All hail the goddess Nix.’

Quite some time had passed.
Unlike the Surface Layer, the Basement is entirely mine.
Speed records held no meaning here, which made this possible.
There were no additional rewards or bonuses for clearing it quickly anyway.

“Well then, let’s wrap up the skill testing here.”

I turned my body and gazed at the Wild Hogs.
Having exhausted all my spears.
These creatures could only watch helplessly as I shifted my form and muttered various things to myself.
Now that I finally turned my attention to them.

“Oink, oink!”

The creatures began backing away.

“Why is your repertoire always the same? Yahwi.”
“Yes, my lord!”
“How should Wild Hog meat be prepared to taste good?”
“Surely it must be beaten thoroughly, sir!”
“Is that so? Then put them in the storage. I’ll need that meat soon enough.”
“Yes! Leave it to me, my lord!”

They were enemies without means of attack.
There was no need for a blade.
We immediately kicked off the ground.

Whoosh!

“Ten each.”
“Understood!”
“Squeeeeeal!”

Crunch—!

Ding!
【You have defeated 20 Wild Hogs.】
-Remaining: 0.
【All enemies have been defeated.】
【You have cleared Basement Level 7.】
【You have acquired the Darkness stat.】
-Current Darkness stat: 36.
【You have obtained 70 Moonlight Stones…】

* * *

While Kang Ha-jin was reading through the rapidly scrolling clear messages, Yahwi moved at an even faster pace.

‘I’ll finish the butchering before my lord even finishes reading the messages!’

Lately, Yahwi had been anxious.
It was a familiar pattern.
My lord was a genius.
Making new connections.
Learning new techniques.
Growing stronger with each passing day through his natural talents.

‘And already at Level 7. If he keeps pushing through to Basement Level 10 like this…’

This was already the third trial.
I was already getting a headache from that irritating wizard Elder Barkalor appearing.
If another Relic-grade or higher resident shows up next…!

‘No! I’ll be abandoned!’

Scritch! Scritch!
Scraaatch!

The more anxious he became, the faster his hands moved.
I had to prove my worth.
Only then could I ascend to the Artifact rank!
Of course, simultaneously, I remained delicate enough not to ruin the precious fresh meat.
I couldn’t disobey my master’s orders because of my own greed.
When I had separated the undulating flesh of the Wild Hog into appetizing pork belly and neck meat.

“Hmm. Now it’s time to finish the butchering—.”
“I’ve finished butchering, Master! I was very careful not to damage the meat!”

I managed to present the meat to Kang Ha-jin without delay.
Meat organized by cut.

“Excellent! You’re fast as always. I knew I could count on you.”

My master’s satisfied expression.
Yahwi seized this moment to rub his hands together and speak.

“Hehe. Well, Black Armor and the curse are nice, but soon… the rest of Yahwi-style techniques as well….”

At my current rank—that is, in the sealed Rare grade state—I cannot use my fourth technique or ultimate secret art.
If I could only teach him those, my master would become stronger, of course.
And he would recognize my usefulness once more.
Besides, I had originally intended to discourage him, saying that if it were about power rather than swordsmanship, it would be peculiar.
But ultimately, my master becoming stronger was also a source of happiness for me.
The old man’s curse seemed more useful than expected.

‘Perhaps I could evolve Yahwi-style even further.’

Yahwi was fundamentally a genius who had extracted only the advantages and essence from countless sword techniques to create Yahwi-style.
My discerning eye could envision its applications the moment I saw this curse for the first time.
Of course, that would only be possible after evolution.

‘Darkness, Yahwi-style, and a fusion with the curse. It’s entirely possible.’

And there was another reason I desired so much to grow to the Artifact rank.

‘That old geezer will never disrespect me again!’

That young upstart from the Temple!
He looks like he’s on death’s door, dried up and withered with age, but the Temple has seniority, you see.
While Elder Barkalor was holed up in his office, claiming he’d activate the Temple.
Yahwi had been steadily gathering Moonstone Fragments every single day.
And with today’s conquest, I’d finally accumulated enough Moonstone Fragments for evolution.

“Ah. Right. It’s about time. You’ve worked hard all this while.”

Fortunately, he accepted it well.
Yahwi, overwhelmed just thinking about it, cried out with an excited expression.

“Thank you so much! Let me handle tonight’s dinner instead of ordering out! I’ll prepare something splendid!”

* * *

Guild Master’s Office of Taesan.

[Kemet is what the ancient Egyptians called their own country, meaning “the Black Land”…]

Rustle.

Ahn Jae-jun, sitting with his back perfectly straight, turned the page of his book.
Park Seong-cheol, watching him, swallowed hard.
He’d come because he was called.
But he’d been waiting in this state for five minutes.

“Ra has many names.”

Then Ahn Jae-jun suddenly spoke.

“Pardon? Ra… you say?”

It was so sudden that he let out a vacant sound.
Then Ahn Jae-jun lifted his eyes slightly from the book and glanced at him.
For a moment, his gaze held a look of disdain, but soon he withdrew it and continued speaking.

“In the morning, Khepri. At noon, Ra. In the evening and twilight, he is called Atum.”
“Ah, I see! Thank you for sharing such knowledge!”

Park Seong-cheol shouted loudly, his hands clasped behind his back.
What in the world was this man spouting?

“Today. ‘Capri’ has entered its final phase.”

Ahn Jae-jun continued speaking, ignoring his words.

“Don’t you feel it? How the sun sets quickly these days, and it’s less hot?”
“Uh…”

Well, winter was approaching anyway.
I wondered if this man would freeze to death in the dead of winter.
I suppressed such doubts and objections deep down.

“It’s as the prophecy foretold. He opened the Prison of Night and is slaughtering the Sun’s legions trapped within. I can feel his wrath and helplessness.”
“…”

Should I resign right now?
The Guild Master seemed to have fallen into a cult.
I wondered if Kang Ha-jin would at least establish a proper guild.

“…!”

In that moment.
Park Seong-cheol held his breath.
His heart nearly stopped.
Ahn Jae-jun was staring directly at him.
Even though I knew my thoughts couldn’t be read.
The palm of his hand clasped behind his back grew clammy, and he gripped it tighter.

“He will definitely come to the Special Dungeon Layer. I’ll make sure to include you in the raid party by any means necessary.”
“Yes, yes! Thank you—”
“Kill him there.”
“…!”

Park Seong-cheol was startled.
Kill him?
Kang Ha-jin?

“The conquest can fail. In fact, it will fail. It doesn’t matter. That power can’t be used properly anyway because of the side effects—not unless he’s the one wielding it.”

Click—!
Ahn Jae-jun spoke those words as he opened a drawer.
From within, he retrieved something and handed it to Park Seong-cheol.

“Those born as predators cannot conceive of the possibility of their own injury. He’s not particularly intelligent. He won’t have prepared any countermeasures.”

It was a spear.

“Set’s Spear—the legendary weapon said to have been wielded against Apophis, the Serpent of Darkness. Drive it through his heart. As long as his power is darkness, he will perish by this blade.”
“B-but…”
“If you succeed, I will give you my position. The next master of Taesan will be you.”
“…!”

Park Seong-cheol grasped Set’s Spear, unable to refuse such an offer.
His eyes consumed by desire.
For the first time, Ahn Jae-jun wore an expression of satisfaction.

‘The Association President will surely funnel all support to Kang Ha-jin to check the guilds.’

He will definitely come to conquer the Special Dungeon Layer.
A place where multiple Hunters can attempt the conquest.
Where there are no surveillance cameras.
Where the Association President’s protection cannot reach.

Whoosh—

‘Everything is proceeding exactly as planned.’

I aligned the edges of the book on the desk and smiled.

—————
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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