I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 55

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Inherited the Basement 1 of the Tower – Episode 55

“This, this is a place Eun-ji and I frequent. It’s nice because there are no other customers, and the tea here is exquisite. I shall order the same as you.”

No matter how many times I hear it, that speech pattern sounds awkward and unconvincing.
She doesn’t seem to know much about martial arts at all, yet she stubbornly maintains the concept.
I thought she was cosplaying as a civilian since she didn’t wear martial robes, but I was mistaken.
I never realized there was such calculation behind choosing this café.
She deliberately called me to a place without many people.
I glanced toward the counter.
The staff member or owner was covering their mouth while staring at Choi Yeon-su and me.
Looking at their eyes curved upward, they were clearly misunderstanding something.
Actually, I think I’m misunderstanding things too.
I squirmed uncomfortably and spoke to Choi Yeon-su, who seemed flustered.

“…I don’t know what Park Eun-ji told you. But this is a misunderstanding.”

I cut it short before the misunderstanding could grow worse.
If this continued, rumors would soon spread on HunterNet that the Awakening Guild Master and Kang Ha-jin were dating.
After saying it, I felt relieved.
However, Choi Yeon-su froze as if wounded by my words.
Perhaps her pride was hurt.
Her hands were still trembling, but this time they were clenched into fists.
Only then did she truly resemble the image of her I remembered.
Even if she wasn’t wearing martial robes.

-Get lost!

Her face had taken on that wolf-like snarling expression from back then.

“Then, why did you call me here?”

Her voice came out cold and sharp.
Perhaps this was her true self.

“I needed to confirm something.”
“What is it.”
“An item obtained from the special dungeon floor.”

She flinched.
The woman lifted her head from its bowed position.
Her eyes burned with tremendous fury.
Yet I paid it no mind and opened my mouth.

“Would you show me?”
“How dare you!”

Crash!

She slammed her hand against the desk and rose from her seat.
She erupted in fury, unable to contain herself any longer.
The term “madness” truly suited her state.
Her emotions shifted so drastically and suddenly.
I neither panicked nor met her anger with my own.

【There is darkness available for absorption.】

‘As I suspected.’

The same symptoms as with Yun Tae-sik.
The moment she began to rage, my status window appeared.
This meant her madness was connected to darkness.
In other words, these symptoms had nothing to do with Choi Yeon-su’s personality or disposition.
And she harbored no ill will toward me.

‘Even I have to admit, that was somewhat rude.’

There was no choice.
Leaving things as they were would benefit neither Choi Yeon-su nor Park Eun-ji, nor myself.

‘If she won’t show me, there are other ways to confirm it.’

I slowly opened my mouth.

“…Night Vision.”

Ding!
【Activating Night Vision Lv.2.】

Shhhhh—.

The café’s lights dimmed in an instant.
All that entered my vision was the luminescent form of Choi Yeon-su.
And somewhere on her body, a blue light radiated.
It was the same as the glow that had emanated from Park Seong-cheol’s chest.

‘There it is.’

With night vision alone, I could only discern that she was concealing something.

“What item is in your right pocket? I won’t take it—just show me. That’s the only reason I came today.”
“…Show an item to a Hunter? You’ve lost your mind. Why don’t you just kill me and take over the dungeon clearance yourself?”
“Would that be better?”
“You bastard—!”
“If I did that, could you stop me?”
“…!”

Choi Yeon-su flinched.
Then she glared at me with a hiss.
The situation wasn’t ideal, but at least we’d reached a point where dialogue was possible.

“I’m joking. I’m still just a novice Hunter at level 10. It’s just….”

It was time to show her.
I extended my hand toward the empty space where Choi Yeon-su stood.

“I thought I might be able to cure that madness for you.”

Black veins erupted across her entire body.
They writhed and surged rapidly upward toward her mouth, gathering there.

“Cough, cough—! What are you doing right now…!”

Then, the moment I clenched my fist and swung my hand sharply—

Shwip—!

【You have acquired 1 Darkness Stat.】
-Current value: 46.

The darkness that had been consuming Choi Yeon-su’s body poured out from her mouth and coiled around my hand.
Black veins no longer traced across her skin.
Of course, I had only treated the immediate symptoms.
If she continued to neglect her madness afterward and kept using the items obtained from the special dungeon floors, she would be consumed once more and succumb to the frenzy again.
But that was a concern for the future.
For now, Choi Yeon-su trembled with the joy of finally escaping the madness that had tormented her for so long.

“Ah, ah….”

Her eyes brimmed with ecstasy.
Indeed, once you taste such relief, it’s hard to let go.
I had learned that from Yun Tae-sik’s case.

‘Though his curse wasn’t caused by special dungeon floor items.’

Still, the symptoms and their solutions were remarkably similar.

A subtle smile crossed my lips.

I spoke with amusement.

“Now then, if your curiosity is piqued, why don’t you take a look at what’s in your right pocket?”
“Y-yes….”

* * *

Choi Yeon-su stepped out of the café.
The owner, who had witnessed her distressed expression, asked with concern if something was wrong.
She denied it.

‘If anything, it’s the opposite.’

She had recovered.
Her mind had grown peaceful, and her emotions felt whole again.
It had begun the moment Kang Ha-jin reached out his hand and performed that strange action on her.

‘…So that’s it.’

The way my symptoms had eased on the day of the auction back then.

‘It was Kang Ha-jin’s doing.’

Thump, thump.

My heart raced.
Now that I could control my emotions well, I could distinguish the difference.
It wasn’t rational affection for Kang Ha-jin, but rather the exhilaration of finally finding a thread of hope to escape this madness that neither medicine nor counseling could touch.

…Thump!

Choi Yeon-su trailed off as her heart continued its frantic beating.

“…So, that’s why.”

* * *

“…So that’s what happened.”

I nodded in understanding.
The now-docile Choi Yeon-su readily showed me the item.
And I could confirm it with my own eyes.
It bore Nix’s mark.
Definitely the same one I’d seen in the Temple.

‘I’ll need to verify the exact details with Barkalor.’

With this, my hypothesis became fact.
All special dungeon floors were managed by Nix’s offspring.
One existed for each floor’s thematic concept.

‘Since this tier in the tens is themed around the Undead, Thanatos the god of death resides here.’

Or perhaps.
It could be the reverse—the floor’s theme became Undead precisely because Thanatos exists here.

‘The real problem is how to retrieve the item….’

That item was undoubtedly harmful to Choi Yeon-su.
It granted power at the cost of inducing madness.
For now, it only caused minor disruptions to daily life.
But if she continued borrowing its power, she might eventually be consumed by madness and lose control.

‘Curses strengthen over time unless they’re lifted, after all.’

I learned this from Elder Barkalor.
I could visit occasionally and properly cleanse the darkness for her.
I’d gain darkness stats too.
But I didn’t want to do that.
Why?

‘Because I can use this item far better.’

I am Nix’s apostle.
If I use it, there would be no demerits or curses.
According to Elder Barkalor’s hypothesis, that was the case, and I was certain of it.

‘Just like with the Black Dragon’s Consciousness.’

【The Black Dragon, who had been quiet, startles and flinches.】
【It waves its hands, insisting it harbors no impure thoughts like revolution.】
【Black Armor grows suspicious, noting the denial is far too strong.】
【Black Armor seizes the Black Dragon by the neck and drags it into the Chamber of Truth.】

…It doesn’t seem to be purely obedient, though.
At least Black Armor is here, so I can rest easy.
In any case, darkness and curse-related attributes cannot harm me.
Why?
Because their fundamental power originates from the god I serve.
That said, I had no intention of forcibly taking it from her.
The item Choi Yeon-su showed me was a weapon with nails made of sharp metal—’Claw’.
True to its nature as a sacred relic, its appearance was far from ordinary.
It had an antique feel to it.
I didn’t know the exact nature of the curse, but it was likely the type where madness amplifies with each use.

‘If I could obtain a weapon with comparable effects, I could consider trading it.’

I have the finest blacksmith and alchemist on my side.
If I can’t find one, custom crafting is always an option.

‘I hadn’t particularly planned to examine it again after confirming the mark.’

It seems I’ll need to keep a closer eye on this going forward.
Unlike Association President Yun Tae-sik’s curse removal, Choi Yeon-su’s curse has a clear medium.
Even without Barkalor’s complete curse removal, I could handle it on my own.

[Choi Yeon-su: If the madness flares up again, would it be okay to contact you?]
[Choi Yeon-su: (nervous meerkat emoji)]

“A meerkat? When the madness hits, she’s more like a rabid dog gone completely insane.”

I chuckled and sent a reply.

[Kang Ha-jin: (raven holding an OK sign emoji)]

Now I have her contact information.
She’s already declared she’d reach out first.
Whenever we meet, I won’t have to listen to Park Eun-ji’s nagging.

‘In fact, she’s the one living with a madness patient—she’ll probably ask me first.’

Just then, my phone vibrated once more.

Zing—

[Hyeon-jun: Attaching the translations for Li Wei and Lin Xiao-wei.]

“Nice.”

Already?
He works fast.
True to form—the elite four-language speaker Hyeon-jun.
Hoping it contained something meaningful, I opened the translation file.

Crack!
After confirming the interpreter’s message, I gripped my phone tightly.

[Hyeon-jun: It seems the enemies in special dungeon floors aren’t just monsters.]

He was right.

‘As expected.’

They were deliberately failing the special dungeon floor to hand the opportunity overseas.

‘These contemptible bastards.’

For a mysterious structure, the Tower operated with surprising systematicity.
Most notably, it understood Earth’s concept of nations and nationality.
For instance, registered as a Korean national, I couldn’t conquer Japan’s Tower.
I’d heard rumors of special items that could make it possible, but they were rare and precious.
So typically, nations in crisis would request expeditions from other countries’ Hunter Associations in exchange for appropriate compensation.
Then the foreign association would temporarily ‘naturalize’ suitable hunters to the requesting nation before conducting the conquest.
Complicated and tedious, but an essential procedure to circumvent the Tower’s restrictions.

‘Yet there had never been a precedent of targeting special dungeon floors like this.’

They were targeting it so openly?
And in the heart of another nation at that?

‘Shameless bastards.’

This couldn’t be the independent action of individuals.
Based on the interpreter’s message, the Chinese government had to be involved to some degree.

‘Perhaps even China’s Five-Star Guild.’

Though China’s Five-Star Guild was massive and Guild Master Tian Ming was a high-tier hunter, this crossed a clear line.

‘Killing them would be justified.’

Hyeon-jun’s words were right.
The camaraderie we’d built through training together?
That meant nothing now.
From this moment forward, I would treat Kim Cheol-su, Kim Hyeon-su—no, Li Wei and Lin Xiao-wei as enemies.

‘Two casualties will emerge from this special dungeon layer.’

If the monsters wouldn’t make it happen, I would.

* * *

Time flew like an arrow after that.
Several days later.
During that time, the raid party devoted themselves entirely to training.
Now the moment had come to see the fruits of their labor.

“As I speak, the raid party members are making their appearance. Starting from the left, Hunter Kang Ha-jin—”

A special dungeon layer conquest was a major event.
Journalists from every broadcasting station had gathered and set up camp.

“…We’ll conduct interviews after we’ve successfully cleared the dungeon.”

After a brief interview, I returned to the raid party, bombarded by flashing cameras.

“Phew…”

Whether it was the journalists and cameras, or the reality of risking our lives finally sinking in.
The raid party members were visibly more tense than during our usual training sessions.

“Everyone ready? Let’s just follow the training plan.”

After encouraging them once.
I spoke as the representative.

“Entering the special dungeon layer.”

Ding!
【Entering a special dungeon floor.】
-Theme: Undead.

‘So it begins.’

I closed my eyes against the rapidly spinning vision.

‘Wait for me, Thanatos.’

I’m coming to meet you soon, Mother.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————