I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 65

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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 65

Whoosh—!

“We’re out!”
“The clearing team has returned!”

The Special Dungeon Layer came to an end.
We had escaped safely.
The reporters who had been waiting with bated breath for the clearing team’s return rushed forward.

Snap snap snap snap snap snap snap—!

As expected, an enormous barrage of camera flashes erupted.
Dozens of microphones were shoved beneath my chin.
It was hardly surprising—the entire nation of South Korea had its eyes fixed on the results of the Special Dungeon Layer.
I furrowed my brow against the blinding lights as I took my place at the center of the podium.

“….”

Gazing out at the assembled crowd, I made my declaration.

“The Special Dungeon Layer has been successfully cleared.”

A moment of silence fell.
Then a roar of cheers and applause erupted, shaking the very ground beneath us.

“I knew you’d succeed!”
“Kang Ha-jin, you’re the best!”

And as if on cue, another refreshing torrent of camera flashes.

Snap snap snap snap snap snap—!

“…Ugh.”

Seriously, next time I should either activate my Night Vision skill before stepping out, or just wear a pair of sunglasses.

“These are the fruits of our conquest of this Dungeon Layer. Skill books and….”

We then announced the clearing progress of the Special Dungeon Layer and the items we had acquired.
It was a simple announcement before the formal briefing that would soon take place, conducted by professional analysts.
Of course, the true reward was Thanatos’s mark etched upon my shoulder, so compared to the previous Special Dungeon Layer, the loot was disappointingly meager.
But what did that matter.
The various skill books and mana stones garnered considerable attention.

‘…Should I mention it now.’

I signaled Hyeon-jun, who stood beside me as a member of the conquest team, with a glance.
He nodded in response.
I opened my mouth.
This conquest had not brought only good news.
Right on cue, reporter Mose-min raised his hand with a question.

“Um, where are the rest of the conquest team members? I don’t see two of them.”

The matter of Kim Hyeon-su and Kim Cheol-su.

“I was about to tell you about that. They fell in battle during the conquest.”

No, there was no such thing as perfect timing.
Though not divine intent, such inevitability masquerading as coincidence existed among humans nonetheless.

-You’re reporter Mose-min, correct?

Just before the press conference.
I had met with him and discussed matters.
The conversation had proceeded in quite a constructive direction.
So this was not timing but rather a rehearsed performance.
I opened a subspace according to the prepared script and laid their corpses gently on the ground.
I lowered my voice as if grieving their deaths.

“They trained with me from the beginning and showed remarkable prowess inside the dungeon. And in the end, they sacrificed themselves to save us.”

A wave of emotion swept through the crowd.
For that moment, even the camera flashes were sparse.
But this is where the climax truly begins.
Everyone, prepare your flash photography.

“What’s even more moving is….”

I spoke in a choked voice, feigning deep emotion as I emphasized my next words.

“According to our independent investigation, these individuals are not Korean citizens—they are Chinese Hunters.”

As my shocking revelation concluded.
A brief moment of commotion passed.
Soon, someone could no longer contain themselves and spoke up.

“…What?”

I pretended not to hear, continuing my lengthy speech as if it were perfectly natural that Chinese nationals were among the Korean Special Dungeon Layer assault team.

“Yes, that’s correct! They were ‘illegal Chinese Hunters’ who had fraudulently naturalized themselves as Korean citizens through abnormal channels!”
“Shoot. Shoot!”

Whirrrrrrrrr—!

In an instant, the heated atmosphere ignited a barrage of camera flashes from the journalists.
Those flashes rained down upon the two corpses lying on the ground.

“What are the specific details!”
“Was this an intentional sabotage operation by China!?”
“How deep does this go! Is there a connection to China’s Five-Star organization!?”

Questions poured forth.
But I deliberately avoided giving definitive answers to their inquiries.
Instead, I left all possibilities open, offering only vague and ambiguous responses.

“Yes, exactly! Just as you suspected! They sacrificed themselves for our Korea, even resorting to illegal channels! Truly, we should be grateful, shouldn’t we?”

I dropped the act around that point.
I asked my final question while staring directly through the camera lens before me.
Those who needed to understand would have understood everything.
Now all that remained was waiting for the journalists and online communities to chew on the bait.

‘Well, how will this play out?’

I flashed a grin at the camera.
Imagining the furious reactions of the two factions who would watch this news.
One was China.
The other was—

“Park Seong-cheol. Lend me your shoulder for a moment.”

I put my arm around Park Seong-cheol’s shoulders, who had been standing stiffly and awkwardly.
Before we escaped from the dungeon layer.
I had already heard his confession.

“What are you doing? Smile, smile.”
“Ah, got it. Haha. Hahaha.”

* * *

Beyond the massive screen, Kang Ha-jin’s face appeared, smiling with ease amid a barrage of camera flashes.
Zero casualties in the Special Dungeon Layer.
A perfect clear.

The Guild Master’s Office of Taesan was suffocated by an oppressive silence.
Ahn Jae-jun listened to the gentle classical music flowing from the turntable, then turned off the screen with an elegant gesture.

“…I’m terribly sorry.”

Behind him, a man knelt on one knee against the floor, trembling as he spoke.
It was Park Seong-cheol, who had returned to the guild as soon as the press conference ended.

“Because Chinese hunters broke in… they transformed into monsters and tried to kill everyone. To survive, I had no choice but to use the Spear of Seth there.”

A report half-mixed with lies.
Ahn Jae-jun did not grow angry at Park Seong-cheol’s excuses, nor did he raise his voice.
He simply gazed quietly up at the sky beyond the window.

“…The sunlight is beginning to fade.”
“Pardon?”

At Ahn Jae-jun’s sudden murmur, Park Seong-cheol let out a vacant sound. Ahn Jae-jun slowly turned his body.
He then walked toward Park Min-hu, the Guild Master of the Sage Guild, who was sweating profusely in the corner of the room.

“For flames to burn eternally, they require kindling befitting their nature. Since ancient times, altars devoted to great gods have always received living sacrifices. As one chosen by the divine, should I not follow that providence?”

Park Min-hu wiped the cold sweat flowing down his bare scalp with a handkerchief, his trembling voice responding.

“Y-yes, sir. Your words are absolutely correct….”

Ahn Jae-jun’s gaze grew desolate and cold.
He recalled the ancient texts he had obtained by searching through Hunter Net’s black market not long ago—a document about how a figure from ancient China, one who possessed power similar to his own, wielded “Radiance.”
A forbidden art: granting “Radiance” to others to transform them into amplifiers of light, then harvesting immense power by consuming blind faith and life force as sacrifices.
He was recorded merely as a charlatan cult leader, but to Ahn Jae-jun, he was something else entirely.
It was a stroke of genius.
Ahn Jae-jun intended to conduct that human experiment.
What he had planned was an intentional “Tower Break” on the 53rd floor under his management.
He would unleash monsters in the heart of Seoul, creating massive chaos and terror, then use that pandemonium to abduct tens of thousands of people and force this experiment upon them.
As a bonus, he would imprint upon the masses once more the necessity of the name “Ahn Jae-jun.”
There was no better tool for educating the ignorant masses than fear and despair.
But then.

“…An annoying little insect keeps soiling my garden.”

Ahn Jae-jun’s gaze turned toward Park Seong-cheol, who knelt on the floor.
The “Sun Pendant” hanging around his neck as he made his excuses was particularly grating to his eyes.

Thud, thud.
He stepped forward until he stood before Park Seong-cheol.

“G-Guild Master… It was only because of those Chinese bastards-.”
“Hush.”

Ahn Jae-jun reached out and roughly tore the pendant from Park Seong-cheol’s neck.

Rip—!

“Ugh!”

Park Seong-cheol, gasping for breath, coughed violently.
Ahn Jae-jun examined the pendant’s craftsmanship in his hand with meticulous care, as if fascinated by it.

“Exquisite work. Truly magnificent craftsmanship, wouldn’t you say, Guild Master Park Min-hu?”
“Y-yes! Yes, that’s… that’s right.”

Ahn Jae-jun smiled benevolently down at Park Seong-cheol.

“Or consider this—an idea regarding radiance enchantment. This solar pendant emits sunlight and protects its wearer, does it not? That means the power of the sun is contained within this small stone. So then, to prevent that precious power from leaking out and being wasted…”
“….”
“We simply embed it directly into the body instead.”

Squelch—!

“Aaagh!”
Without another word, Ahn Jae-jun drove the pendant directly into the flesh beneath Park Seong-cheol’s collarbone.
“Kgh, aaaaaaagh—!”

A sickening tearing sound erupted as blood sprayed across the room.
Park Seong-cheol couldn’t even scream—he could only clamp his hands over his mouth and writhe on the floor in agony.
The solar power radiating from the pendant coursed through his veins, inflicting unbearable burning pain.
The power of the sun pouring from the pendant was coursing through his veins, causing excruciating burning pain.

“You should leave now.”

It was both an expression of disappointment at failure and a silent notification that the promised position of Taesan Guild Master would not be his.
As Park Seong-cheol dragged his mangled body out of the Guild Master’s Office, Ahn Jae-jun slowly approached Park Min-hu.
As Park Seong-chul barely managed to drag his tattered body out of the guild master’s office, An Jae-jun slowly approached Park Min-hoo.

“…gasp.”

Park Min-hoo was trembling, his back against the wall, overwhelmed with fear.

“I need more radiance, Guild Master Park Min-hu.”

A fleeting moment flashed through Ahn Jae-jun’s mind—that instant when he had clashed with Kang Ha-jin right here in this very office.
That unbearable moment when his brilliant radiance had been overwhelmed and swallowed by the pitch-black darkness that man had unleashed.
He, chosen by the divine, had been pushed back by nothing more than a worm crawling on the ground.
It was an indignity he could never accept.

Roaaaagh—!

As if answering his rage, a blinding white radiance exploded from every inch of his body.
The temperature in the Guild Master’s Office began to skyrocket madly.

“I believe you can accomplish it.”

Ahn Jae-jun patted Park Min-hu’s shoulder affectionately with his blood-stained hand.

“I’ll continue to supply the kindling for your experiments however I can. If you need money, I’ll provide that too. Our guild members aren’t just good at climbing, you know. Whether we scour the slums of China and sweep people onto smuggling ships, or trigger a Tower Break once this sensitive period passes—I’ll supply people however necessary. So let’s conduct this research well. I quite like the Sage Guild.”

A voice so chillingly gentle descended upon Park Min-hu’s ears.

“So let’s work well together. We wouldn’t want any unfortunate incidents where a shortage of sacrifices sends even your son to the altar, would we?”
“Y-yes, I’ll remember! I absolutely will!”
“Then, I’ll see you again soon.”

Park Min-hu fled the Guild Master’s Office and stumbled, nearly falling.

“Oof!”

But he paid it no mind, scrambling back to his feet and bolting outside.
Left alone, Ahn Jae-jun flexed his burning fingertips and gazed up at the sun beyond the window.
The most arrogant light was preparing a massive chaos that would consume Seoul.

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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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