I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 52

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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 52

Those who had seemed so mismatched moments before now moved as one unified force, their expressions synchronized the moment training commenced.
I stood at the center of it all.

“I’ll block them!”
“No. Your defense carries too much risk, Hyeon-jun. Seong U-jae, go!”
“Understood!”

Seong U-jae charged forward and tackled the humanoid.

Crash!

-Shriek!

One humanoid toppled, bringing three others down with it.
Seong U-jae was a quintessential tank—short in stature but possessed of formidable strength.

“Yang Sang-jin, direct all healing to Seong U-jae.”
“Already on it!”

A soft hum resonated.

Seong U-jae’s body glowed with gentle radiance.
The shallow wounds the struggling humanoids inflicted healed rapidly.

“Kim Cheol-su, Kim Hyeon-su, you handle those three. Park Seong-cheol and the rest, follow my lead!”
“Yes!”

Park Eun-ji responded with fierce determination.
Dash!
The moment we moved together.

-Shriek!
-Screech!

Five humanoids erupted forth, their terrible cries piercing the air.

“I’ll handle it!”

Park Eun-ji cried out sharply and charged forward.
Her weapon was a fan.
Her skill was the ability to manipulate wind.
Park Eun-ji attempted to simultaneously block the approaching humanoids using her abilities.

Boom, boom, boom!
Whoosh…

-Grrr…

Even after a fierce gust swept past, the humanoid did not retreat.

‘Tsk.’

I inwardly clicked my tongue and dragged the flustered Park Eun-ji by her collar.
Whoosh!

“Fall back. It’s not enough!”
“Ugh!”

When her ability failed to bring down the humanoid, Park Eun-ji let out a short cry.
Apparently, because the target had split into five, the wind’s power had been dispersed.
It may have worked until now.
But these humanoids before us possessed the same stats as monsters that would appear in a Special Dungeon Layer.
To them, Park Eun-ji’s wind was like a strong fan breeze to blow away summer heat.

-Kieek!

The moment I pulled her away, a sword strike flew toward where she had been standing.
It was the blade of the humanoid playing the role of a skeleton soldier.

Clang!

The moment the sword’s tip struck the ground, I used the momentum I had pulled with to burst forward.
My role was team leader, but—

‘Yahwi Style, First Form.’

I swung the pitch-black longsword with swift precision, cleaving through the humanoid’s neck.

‘First strike, one kill.’

—and I was simultaneously the main dealer of damage.

Crack—!

Crackle, snap.

When damage exceeding the humanoid’s specifications was inflicted, it would cease functioning.
However, sparks erupted from the neck where my blade struck.

Pop-pop-pop, crack.

Then its neck snapped cleanly.

Thud.

As it collapsed to the ground, Hyeon-jun gasped in shock.

“Damn it, how much damage did that one hit deal—!”

But since he was the one who said I could strike hard, he quickly held his head in his hands.

“That’s the third one now….”
“…I apologize.”

I wasn’t skilled at controlling my strength.
In the first place, there had never been a moment during Tower climbing where controlling power was necessary.
After all, instant kills during climbing always brought better rewards.

‘But if I’ve destroyed three humanoids already, it’s time I learned to control my strength.’

I retrieved my sword and spoke.

“Handle the rest. Park Seong-cheol, Yun Seo-rin, Jinhyeok.”

Despite the unexpected situation, the training continued.

Whoosh—!

Yun Seo-rin’s barrage of arrows descended upon the humanoid first.

Ting!

Some humanoids deflected the arrows.

Crack.

Others were struck down.
Park Seong-cheol rushed forward right behind the volley of arrows.
He thrust his spear with all his might.

Crack!

A sharp, piercing strike.

‘That bastard. He’s actually decent with a spear.’

Until we sparred, he wielded a sword.
Had he switched his primary weapon to a spear out of concern for overlapping positions, or had he discovered a new talent?
Either way, he’d changed his main weapon to the spear.
My assessment leaned toward the latter.

‘A spear suits him better than a sword.’

I’d noticed something during our sparring match.
He was a coward.
Not in the sense of trembling before an opponent, but rather that even while attacking, his mind remained fixated on defense.
Unintended distractions in combat are problematic.
Yahwi always emphasized keeping one’s mind clear of unnecessary thoughts when wielding a blade.
In that sense, Park Seong-cheol’s choice to take up the spear was wise.
A spear has greater reach than a sword, allowing him to mitigate that much risk.

Beep—!

As proof, one humanoid ceased functioning.
While Yun Seo-rin’s supporting attacks helped, he ultimately felled it in a single blow.

“Well then, the remaining three are-.”
“I’ll handle it.”

Jinhyeok from the nobility stepped forward with measured strides.
He stood upright and extended his hand forward.
The three humanoids that had been rushing toward us frantically halted in their tracks.

Thud!

Rather than stopping, it was more accurate to say they were blocked by something and couldn’t advance.

‘That’s it.’

It was Jinhyeok’s Reverse Field skill.
Soon after, the humanoids’ postures all lowered simultaneously.

Boom!

This time, he applied the reverse field from above downward.

Crack!

All the entities eventually knelt down as if crushed by intense gravity.
The reason he was positioned as a dealer rather than a tank despite possessing the reverse field skill was because of this attack.

Beep-!
Beep, beep!

All three were ultimately deactivated.

“It’s over.”

Jinhyeok straightened his clothes.
He brushed his chest with light pats as if he wouldn’t tolerate a single speck of dust.

“No. Not yet. There’s an entity in ambush-.”

Beep-!

A mechanical shutdown sound cut off my words.
As I turned my gaze away, Park Do-hyeon, having completed his role, walked over.

“…Did I really forget?”
“No. I trusted you. I saw you heading that way.”

I encouraged him before Park Do-hyeon’s whining could escalate further.
A Special Dungeon Layer isn’t like the Tower’s floors—you don’t just hunt a few monsters and call it done.
It varies by theme, but according to the vanguard, this Special Dungeon Layer has a wide-field format.
That means traversal takes considerable time.
Likely, we’ll spend more time walking than fighting.
If this were actual combat, we’d be taking a rest period to recover stamina after one battle.
So today’s training ended here.

“Everyone, head home. We’re done.”

Beep—!

A mechanical sound announcing the end of training echoed through the hall.

* * *

Gulp, gulp.

I drank water to ease my fatigue.

Creak—
Clang.

The Training Ground that had been deployed was returning to its original state.
Several people had already left.
Jinhyeok said he was heading home because the sweat felt uncomfortable—apparently he has exclusive bathing supplies there.
His butler came and drove him away.
Park Do-hyeon disappeared the moment training ended….

“Captain, I’m still here?”
“…Yeah, you worked hard.”

And then.
The Chinese Hunters scattered as well, worried about being caught on something unnecessarily.
Yun Seo-rin and Park Eun-ji became fast friends, perhaps because they were both women.

Chatting away, they headed to the shower facilities attached to the Training Ground.
I was waiting for Park Eun-ji among them.

“Ahahaha! Really? Your guild master is seriously hilarious.”
“I’m telling you, right? She’s really a wonderful person. Come visit us next time too, Seo-rin. If I introduce you, the guild master won’t be as angry.”
“I’ll have to pass until her obsession gets better. It sounds funny when I hear about it, but if it happens to me, I think I’d pull out my bow first.”

Ah, there she is.
She was just talking about something that interested me.
The conversation would move quickly.
I naturally approached them.

“That topic interests me too.”

To be honest.
Park Eun-ji’s eyes narrowed.

“Pardon?”

Until the training, she had been a polite young girl who kept thanking me, but suddenly she showed hostility.
Is the Open Guild master Choi Yeon-su this child’s weak point?

“…It’s nothing else. I’m also interested in joining the Open Guild. I’m still unaffiliated.”
“Well then, I’ll head out first. Team leader, take care. See you tomorrow. Your command was good today.”

Yun Seo-rin tactfully excused herself.
After waving to her, I shifted my gaze to Park Eun-ji.
Unlike when she was giggling with Yun Seo-rin earlier, her eyes turned cold toward me.

“Team leader? You’re joining? The Open Guild?”
“Why the distance with ‘team leader’? I might become your junior later. Just be comfortable.”
“Then… sir?”
“…Ouch, that one stings. Your friend calls me hyung.”
“Friend? Which friend? I don’t have any friends.”
“Really? Then it seems like unrequited love on my part. I feel bad for myself. Anyway, do me a favor. Tell Choi Yeon-su that I want to see her.”

The moment Choi Yeon-su’s name came up, her hand went to her fan.

“Sir. We haven’t known each other long, but I thought you were a good person. You gave me holy power items and led well. I hate lies more than anything, you know? If that’s what this is, tell me now. I’m sick of it.”

…Kids these days are fast, I’ll give them that.
But why does a girl still in school uniform have such a sharp gaze?
It reminded me of how she used to look at me back then.

“Fine. It’s a lie. So, will you cooperate with me? It’s important.”
“…Ah, I think I understand. Don’t tell me you’re romantically interested? She’s pretty, the guild master.”
“Young people paired up and obsessed with love. No, it’s not like that.”
“Wait. Why do you keep pairing me with someone since earlier?”
“There is someone. Some punk.”
“A punk…? Ah, surely not him!”
“It has to be.”
“Ah, what do you know about my relationships!”
“You said you had no friends. Then it’s definitely him.”
“No. You said it was unrequited love. He wouldn’t be like that.”

Even as she said it, her lips pouted and her face flushed red.
…These young brats.
I felt a sudden urge to tease her.

“If that’s the case, go find him yourself. Bravely.”

Park Eun-ji spoke lightly and turned away.
So I answered.

“Should I then? Should I go find her?”
“…!”
“The business is more crime and thriller than romance by genre. It seems closer to that.”
“You’re going to beat the guild master? You, at level 10?”
“I don’t know. Do you think I’d lose if I fought Choi Yeon-su?”
“….”

Park Eun-ji’s eyes widened in sudden terror as she slowly gazed at me.
Her pupils trembled uncontrollably.
She wasn’t confident that her guild master would win.
It seemed as though she was overlaying me with the image from when I released the Darkness earlier.
I offered her a warm, friendly smile once more.

“Will you cooperate?”
“…Threatening a minor? That’s the worst.”
“I’m tired of playing the righteous hero.”
“I’ll try to talk to her. But don’t get your hopes up. My guild master right now…”
“Is suffering from madness?”
“You overheard that?”
“Well, you were talking about it openly.”
“That aside, but why the madness…”
“I think I might be able to treat it.”
“…!”

For the first time, goodwill flickered in Park Eun-ji’s eyes.
With nothing but a single statement and no evidence whatsoever, she immediately grasped at hope.
I could tell what Choi Yeon-su meant to this girl.

“Is that really true?”
“It’ll be temporary. But this time it’s not a lie. She said she was sick of it.”

Park Eun-ji hesitated for a moment.
She looked at my expression, then wandered back and forth across the Training Ground.
After a short while, she approached me.
Her eyes finally held conviction.
It wasn’t difficult to predict what she would say next.

“Okay. I’ll talk to her about you. Just don’t get your hopes too high. I can’t guarantee the results.”
“If Choi Yeon-su is as good a person as you say, and her current behavior is due to madness, then she’ll probably come around. She’ll likely feel some sense of debt.”
“Did you know her before?”
“No. We’ve only spoken once on the phone.”

—Get lost!

Choi Yeon-su’s bestial voice still lingered in my ears.

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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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