I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 32

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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 32

Without wings and horns, by words and deeds alone, I was unmistakably a Demon King.

Ding!
【Black Armor responds to your thoughts.】

Black Armor reacted to my thoughts.
Crack.
Dark wings unfurled from near my shoulder blades.
Horns sprouted from my forehead.

Now I wasn’t sure if “proper” was the right word to use.
I bore the appearance of a Demon King.
I floated there awkwardly.

“You wretch!”

The Emperor, his face flushed blue with rage, spat his words.
Remarkable.
According to the five-stage theory leading to acceptance of death.
He had denied it earlier, then grew angry, and even tried to persuade me.
Now he should have progressed to the fourth stage—depression.
Yet somehow he had reverted to anger.
As I watched with curious eyes.
Finally, tears glistened in his eyes.

“I… I am the Emperor.”

Ah, so you were the Emperor.
And so what.

“I am the Demon King.”

And at the same time.

Thump—!

Before my eyes, something incomprehensible unfolded.
The Emperor collapsed.
In the original history, this was never meant to happen.
Even if the Border Count had gained the ability to return.
This moment could never have come to pass.
Literally.

Ding!
【A hidden strategy has been discovered.】
【Clear rewards have been enhanced.】
【Due to the enhancement of clear rewards, the properties of the recruitment ticket have changed.】
-Temple Resident Recruitment Ticket → Selection Privilege.
【Due to the enhancement of clear rewards, the grade of selectable residents has been adjusted.】
-Rare → Artifact.

A hidden clear that no one else could replicate.

‘Though it’s more like I stumbled into it.’

Of course, I had only ‘discovered’ it—I hadn’t actually cleared it yet.

“W-what is this?”
“What happens to us?”

Behind the Emperor, living lavishly and arbitrarily selecting Demon Kings and Heroes.
The White Tower Mages remained—those who thought they could mold the world however they pleased.

‘In this world or that one.’

I’ve never met a truly virtuous person among those who call themselves pure and righteous.
As I mentioned when facing the Solar Knight in Dungeon 10th Floor, the finest color is indeed sophisticated black.

“Yahwi.”
“Yes, my lord.”

Yahwi, bearing the form of the Captain, staggered.
While Black Armor served as Nix’s vessel.
He was nearly alone holding back the White Tower Mages.
I reached out toward Yahwi, who answered spiritedly despite looking as though he might collapse at any moment.

Click—.

【Releasing Darkness.】

Whoosh!

The darkness blooming from my hand flowed into Yahwi.
Upon comprehending 5% of Nix’s power, such applications came to mind.
As the darkness enveloped Yahwi’s entire body, his eyes snapped open once more.

“This is….”

Perhaps martial artists felt inner energy gathering at their dantian and flowing through their blood vessels to every corner of their bodies.
Whether my guess was correct or not, Yahwi’s aura transformed instantly.

“My lord.”

Clank.

He adjusted his grip on his sword, and his armor rang out.
Though it was a completely different body.
That steadfast silhouette remained the same.

“I forgot to mention, my lord. My physical capabilities exceed even those of the Rare grade.”

Swish—.

The tip of his sword pointed toward the White Horse Tower mages ahead.
They had already abandoned the Emperor.
They were preparing their magic casting for their own survival.

Pop, flash.

Brilliant white mana unique to the White Horse Tower appeared in bursts across the battlefield.
Though I had no expertise in magic, it looked dangerous at first glance.
I considered stepping forward using Nix’s power for a moment.

“—which is why this is a rehearsal. Since you possess natural talent, my lord, you will be able to grasp it all with just one observation.”

I left Yahwi to his serious demeanor for once.
There was only one time when Yahwi became serious.
When teaching the sword.

‘He originally said it couldn’t be used with a Rare-grade body.’

He had firmly stated that unless I elevated it to Artifact-grade, he wouldn’t pass down the Fourth Form and the Ultimate Technique.
As for the Third Form, during the second trial, the unsealed Yahwi from my past life had taught it to me.

Thump, thump.

My heart pounded.
If what Yahwi said was true, I would learn the Fourth Form here.

Swish—.

His blade moved in a graceful arc.

“That stance…”

It was the same stance as when using the Third Form, Night Camp Ghost Blade.

‘The Second Form’s Midnight Flame Slash was a consecutive strike of First Form’s Initial Night Slash.’

Yahwi had once explained that the Yahwi School was a near-perfect swordsmanship that eliminated all cumbersome forms.
Then the probability of the Fourth Form being a completely new technique was low.

‘The First Form summons night, the Second Form summons deeper night, and the Third Form commands the summoned night.’

Then—.
My eyes fixed on Yahwi.

Whoosh—!

After that, Yahwi raised his blade in a large semicircle.

Slash—!

The flying sword energy severed the limbs of the mages in its path.

“Krraaaagh!”
“Ugh!”

Screams erupted in succession.
The defensive magic that had been woven around them was severed by the darkness I had unleashed, scattering into fragments.

“K-kill him!”
“Fire! Unleash every attack you can muster!”

The mages of the White Horse Tower unleashed the spells they had been casting in preparation.
Countless spears of light rained down upon the earth.
Thunder roared as dust and soil erupted skyward, but—

“Is he… dead?”

Where the dust had settled, there was no corpse of Yahwi, not even a shred of clothing.
Only craters gouged deep by the explosions and impact.

‘Impossible.’

My eyes caught sight of Yahwi’s afterimage, launched far faster than their attacks.

‘Third Form: Night Phantom Blade. Still as swift as ever.’

A technique that propels the body along the optimal path carved by sword energy.
The difference between Yahwi as a pure martial artist in the second trial and Yahwi now was—
Darkness pooled in the wake of where his blade had passed.

‘Literally a path through the night.’

Yahwi walked that path at bullet-like velocity, and—

“There! There’s the knight! Attack that spot immediately!”

In an instant, he stood in the very center of the mages.

“—You’re already too late, you spell-slingers.”

Yahwi wore a sneer on his face.
He leaped high and swung his blade down toward the ground with tremendous force.

Slash—!

A massive circle was drawn centered on Yahwi, traced by the sword’s aura.
Its diameter spanned roughly the size of a basketball court.

“He’s dead…! That madman!”
“What are you doing! He’s breached our lines! Bind him in a Prison of Light as quickly as possible, then retreat!”

That single slash alone claimed the lives of numerous mages.
They thought it was their turn now and began preparing their magic, but—

“I haven’t breached anything. Rather, I was the one who invited you all here.”

Real combat was nothing like a card game.
There was no such thing as turns.
Yahwi’s assault was far from over.
Or more precisely—
that circular slash just now was merely the preparation for his next attack.

“My lord, you must keep your eyes wide open and watch closely.”

Even as the greatest of masters, he didn’t forget to draw my attention.

“Fourth Form.”

Click—!

With those words, he sheathed his blade instead.
His stance then dropped to an extreme degree of lowness.
Similar to the Night Returning Stance, yet—
distinctly different.

“Come into my night.”

The next instant—

-!

Darkness descended upon the region I had drawn beforehand.

“This is insane!”

I opened my eyes wide to look.
I was even more shocked.
When I first saw it, I thought the Darkness had unfolded in a dome shape.
But it wasn’t.

‘There are gaps. No—’

It was never Darkness to begin with.
It was Yahwi cloaked in Darkness.
As I focused my eyes intently.
Yahwi’s swift movements began to register one by one.
That was definitely Yahwi.

Slash—!
Whoosh!
Swipe!

Yahwi was drawing his blade from the center of the circle, cutting down enemies.
When an enemy stepped into the region.
At the same moment as his blade strike, he activated Night Phantom Sword Technique.

Swipe!

Then he quickly returned to the center point.
Next, he struck once more toward an enemy in a different direction.

Scrape—!

Then I rapidly returned to the center point once more.
Repeating this process at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
Creating countless afterimages in the process.
Even slashing down every spell that came flying toward me.
My words caught in my throat.
Just how much dynamic vision and physical ability would one need to pull off such movements?

‘No. How did he even conceive of such an approach in the first place?’

He drew a domain of night and attacked all who entered it.

‘So that’s the Invitation.’

Now I understood Yahwi’s description.
If Night Wandering Technique was a technique that scattered night toward enemies,
then the Fourth Technique just now was one that transformed a certain radius into his own domain.

‘It would be excellent to use when facing vast numbers of enemies.’

I captured every single movement in my eyes so as not to miss anything.

‘Now I understand why Rare-rank practitioners cannot unfold techniques.’

Within the domain, Yahwi was like an omnipotent god.
After the incantation, as some time passed,
the dome rapidly vanished.

Whoooosh—

Wind blew violently, a reaction from countless blade strikes.
At the center of it all, Yahwi stood in the exact same posture as before.
Not because some designated motion had ended.
Simply because there was nothing left to cut.

“—Twilight Banquet.”

The entire area transformed into a battlefield filled with corpses in an instant.

Thud.

Yahwi’s body had reached its limit, and he dropped to one knee.
He barely managed to support himself with his sword.

“Huff, huff.”

He fought well, yet here he was, whimpering.
I watched and let out a soft chuckle.
Absurd.
I glanced down at my hand for a moment.
Darkness still swirled from it.
A tremendous amount, drawn from Nix’s power.

‘I once believed that growing stronger by myself was the only path.’

Whether in the Dungeon or the Surface Layer, as I continued my conquest ahead, there would inevitably come obstacles that I alone could not overcome.
And when that moment arrives.
That would be the stage for my Temple residents to shine.

‘A method to strengthen my residents through Darkness.’

I quite liked it.
When facing a massive army like just now, we would need to combine our strength.

“Hie, hieek!”

A single mage who had survived alone attempted to flee.
I reached out and clenched my fist.

Crack!

“Cough….”

The head of the mage fleeing in the distance burst.

‘…Of course, I must continue to grow stronger myself as well.’

All enemies had been eliminated.
Yet the task remained incomplete.
The clear condition for this task was to maintain Barkalor’s loyalty.
The key lay with Barkalor.
I approached him, his expression complicated.
He adjusted his glasses, broken from the aftermath of battle.

“You’re quite reckless, Master.”
“A victory gained through sacrificing subordinates isn’t worth having.”
“What will you do when you face an overwhelmingly powerful enemy you cannot handle? You cannot always have days like today.”

His tone was measured, yet his argument was firm.
This was a problem of sorts.
So as his master—

“You can.”

I had to solve this problem for him.

“I believe you can find that method, old friend. I truly do. And even if it becomes difficult, you have me and Yahwi, don’t you?”
“…Heh.”

He laughed as if troubled.
That laughter no longer carried the spirit of the young Barkalor from days past.

“You’ve followed me even on my brief vacation, and now you burden me with something greater still.”
“Yes. You know this, old friend. You are the hope of our Temple. So live long. Don’t even think of sacrifice.”
“Yes, Master. I accept your command.”

As Barkalor spoke those words, genuine happiness shone across his face.

“Let’s return. We have much to do ahead.”
“Yes, much indeed.”

Ding!
【Barkalor’s loyalty has exceeded 100.】
【You have exceeded the clear condition for the third task.】
【You have obtained a selection right for a Relic-grade resident.】
【You have obtained 1,000 Moonlight Stones.】

‘Done.’

Following the warm atmosphere, I received a satisfying reward as well.
An Artifact-tier resident selection voucher.
I was right not to choose two Rare-tier options.
I feel sorry for Yahwi, who worked hard today, but the gap between Rare and Artifact is significant.

“Well then, shall we head out now?”

Just as I was about to leave in good spirits.

“Please wait a moment.”

The old man stopped me.
Then he walked among the scattered corpses of mages.
After rummaging for a while, he pulled something out.

“Please take this.”
“What is this?”
“The White Tower Mage’s personal artifact. He possessed many special artifacts, but this is the finest among them. A gift for you, Master.”

Ding!
【You have acquired the Artifact ‘Dimensional Pouch’.】

“…!”

I thought it was just an ordinary pouch at first glance.
A Dimensional Pouch, no less.
I looked at the old man with a questioning expression.
He smiled gently.

“It will serve as your inventory from now on. You’ve had such a hard time transferring meat to bags every time. This is my gratitude for trusting me to the very end.”
“Old man…! But wait. Won’t I not be able to take this out of here because of the quest restrictions?”

The black dragon’s fang necklace was an exception since Black Armor consumed it…
Wait, could it be this as well?

“You’ve acquired quite an interesting skill.”

Ding!
【Black Armor licks his lips while gazing at the spatial pouch.】

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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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