I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 7

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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 7

Patter-patter-patter!

I was moving like a four-legged beast.
Instead of across a prairie, I was sprinting up the wall.
From a distance, one might mistake me for a jaguar or a cockroach.
But as with everything in this world.

Crack!

“Ugh! I almost fell! Damn it!”

From afar it was comedy, but up close it was tragedy.

Crash-crash-bang!

‘If only this backpack were a bit lighter, I’d have arrived already.’

The pack strapped to my back was piled high with Kobold meat I’d brought down from above.
Yahwi would accumulate mountains of Kobold meat and Moonstone while clearing Dungeon Level 3 alone anyway.
So I’d swept it all up and brought it with me.

‘Thank goodness the bag I brought was large.’

After climbing for quite some time, I spotted the fluorescent light I’d forgotten to turn off.

‘I’m almost there.’

Making two trips up and down like this, I felt I’d aged five years.

‘…Once I go back down, I’ll clear Basement 4 right away. Complete the second objective.’

Whether I set out water and offer prayers.
Or sacrifice offerings to Goddess Nix.
By whatever means necessary, I would recruit a resident who could use teleportation.

Ding!
【Special Stat activated: Darkness Emission.】

I wrapped my body in darkness to ensure that Goddess Nix’s blessing wouldn’t deactivate from the fluorescent light.

Only about ten meters remained.
I’d drawn close enough to hear the noise from the Basement Room and the outside world.

Bang bang bang!

“Open the door!”

A sound I shouldn’t have heard reached my ears.

‘…Damn it.’

Cold sweat dripped down my face.
My worst fear had become reality.
For the record, I don’t have many friends.
Before my awakening, I was too busy surviving.
Those I met after awakening abandoned me when I failed the 4th Floor.

‘Yet someone still came to my home at this hour…’

And if they found their way to this Basement Room near the Black Land, where even breathing is difficult,
then they must be someone who has a claim against me.

“Kang Ha-jin! I know you’re in there, so open this door, you bastard!”

Bang bang bang bang!

The pounding on the door grew louder.
It was a familiar voice.
From the time when I made my name known as a promising prospect.
There was someone who awakened around the same time as me, and despite having a fairly high rank, received no attention because of my emergence.

‘Was he A-rank?’

He was probably one of those most delighted by my downfall.

‘His name was definitely….’

I don’t know.
I can’t remember.
Back then, my heart carried deep wounds.
I tried to erase everything around me from my memory.
It was unavoidable if I wanted to survive.

‘Anyway, why did that A-rank bastard come here?’

Unlike me, who fell into the abyss, he must have been thriving.
Yet he came all the way to this basement room himself.

“Open up, or I’ll break it down.”

His voice rang out again.

‘Damn it. What did he say?’

I hesitated for a moment, then crawled through the hole at an even faster pace.
Break it down and come in.
If he’s A-rank, it’s entirely possible.
The fact that he’d held back this long was remarkable in itself.

‘If he comes in, he’ll find the hole leading underground.’

That absolutely cannot happen.
I forced strength into my exhausted muscles.
I had to get inside before he broke down the door.

CRASH!

“Come out, you bastard!”

Soon the sound of the door shattering echoed through.

Whoosh!

I attempted one final leap.

Whoosh—!

* * *

“Cough, cough. Damn it.”

Park Seong-cheol, the man who had smashed through the door and burst inside, coughed incessantly.
The concentrated mana flowing from the Black Land tormented him far more than his fist that had shattered the iron door.

“Living quite comfortably in a place like this, aren’t you? Well, what else could you do? Right, Kang Ha-jin?”

He sneered at Kang Ha-jin, who lay sprawled in an awkward position.

“I heard you moved to a basement after failing to clear the 5th Floor. But I never expected you’d become a cockroach. And you keep your place pitch black too.”
“…Why did you smash down my door and break in?”

Kang Ha-jin rose to his feet, asking with an embarrassed expression.
At those words, Park Seong-cheol let out a scoff.

“Unbelievable. How shameless can someone who borrowed money be? This is why parasites who live off others’ money never amount to anything. They don’t know gratitude, gratitude.”
“Money?”

Kang Ha-jin’s expression shifted as if he’d finally remembered something.

“You joined Taesan.”
“That’s right! Unlike you, who got kicked out right after joining, I’m living well with good treatment even now. And today, I came as Taesan’s representative to collect the debt you owe.”

Snap.

Park Seong-cheol extended his hand.

“Hand over 100 mana stones—the overdue amount plus interest.”

In truth, an A-rank Hunter like himself had no need to handle such tedious work.
But anything related to Kang Ha-jin wasn’t a chore—it was entertainment.
He wanted to see how the man who once lived so arrogantly was getting by now.
Seeing it in person today was far more satisfying than he’d imagined.

‘How pathetic.’

Until now, he’d been consistently sending payment for magic stones, so there hadn’t been an opportunity.
But suddenly, contact had been cut off for the past week.
He probably kept challenging the 5th Floor without knowing his place.

“So, your body’s all healed? You look fine to me. Ah, then hand over the money.”
“I don’t have it right now. I’ll send it soon, so just leave today. And make sure to fix the door.”
….

Tendons bulged across Park Seong-cheol’s forehead.
In truth, his role ended here.
What could he do if the man claimed to have no money right now?
He couldn’t kill him.
No matter how much of an A-rank Hunter he was, as long as he belonged to the Taesan Guild, he couldn’t act independently.
From the guild’s perspective, killing a cash cow that paid debts on schedule wouldn’t be looked upon favorably either.
Yet leaving like this wounded his pride deeply.
That stiff neck held high without knowing his place, just like before—and those eyes full of hope—none of it sat well with him.

“I wouldn’t know. Maybe you’re hiding something and playing dumb, hm? So, shouldn’t I conduct a thorough investigation?”

He moved slowly.
Kang Ha-jin probably hadn’t leveled up since then.
Even if he was SSS-rank, he’d be level 4.

‘And I’ve grown steadily to a whopping level 10—more than double his.’

Sssick.

The corners of Park Seong-cheol’s mouth lifted.
Even if I rampage now, that bastard can’t do anything about it.

“Hm? What’s with that bulging bag?”

Thwack!

He roughly ripped the bag off Kang Ha-jin’s shoulder.
As expected, the man did nothing and merely glared at him.
Park Seong-cheol smiled and unzipped the bag.
And the moment he confirmed its contents—

“Pfft!”

Laughter burst out of me.
I didn’t need to check my status window to know what it was.

“This is monster meat, isn’t it? Oh! There were Kobolds on the 3rd Floor, right? Don’t tell me you’re eating Kobold meat?”
“….”

Even at my provocation, Kang Ha-jin remained silent.
He even smiled faintly.
As if relieved.
His expression only fueled Park Seong-cheol’s anger further.

Thud!

He threw the bag aside.
Something else.
Was there anything else that could provoke Kang Ha-jin?
His eyes darted around as he eagerly searched the small room.
And just as his attention was about to reach deeper into the room.
Until that moment, Kang Ha-jin had shown no reaction.

Click.

Suddenly, he grabbed Park Seong-cheol’s shoulder, immobilizing it.

“That’s enough. Get out.”

Smirk.

At that, Park Seong-cheol’s lips curled up again.
He’d finally found it.
Kang Ha-jin’s reverse scale.

‘So this is his last shred of pride, huh?’

“Why? Is there somewhere I can’t go? Move aside so I can look for something useful.”

Park Seong-cheol attempted to shove Kang Ha-jin away.
But then.

Squeeze—!

“Ugh!”

Pain erupted from his gripped shoulder.
It was strange.
Kang Ha-jin was merely level 4.
Even by stats, he was far below me.
How could I not push him away?
As unease gripped me and I lifted my head, Park Seong-cheol flinched in shock.

“So, have you finished your little tricks?”
“…!”

It was because of the piercing gaze in Kang Ha-jin’s eyes.
I knew of his abilities.
That’s why I deliberately broke the door to let sunlight in—but how could this be…?

“…!”

Looking closely, something was rising from his body.
A dark, ominous aura.

Flicker, flicker.

Click.

As if misfortune piled upon misfortune, even the fluorescent light that had barely illuminated the basement room flickered out.
In the darkness, Kang Ha-jin’s eyes glowed crimson.
Park Seong-cheol realized he had touched a monster.

* * *

【The special stat, Darkness, resisted the faint sunlight.】
【The skill, Blessing of Nix, activates.】
-Ability stats increased by 500%.

I stared at the message floating at the edge of my vision.

‘It really works.’

The Basement Room had fewer windows than the surface level.
Which meant less sunlight filtered through.
And with blackout curtains hung on top of that.
only the faintest traces of sunlight entered this room.
Just enough to deserve the phrase “infused with sunlight.”
So I decided to test releasing my darkness stat.
And it actually worked.

Click.

【You have acquired night vision through the blessing of Goddess Nix.】

‘…Ah, the fluorescent light went out.’

The fluorescent light wasn’t intentional on my part.
It was a fortunate coincidence, but I had no idea it would happen.
I was simply annoyed and irritated about having to replace the burnt-out bulb.

‘Well, it worked out perfectly.’

That little theatrical display (?) had completely terrified the intruder.
I almost got caught revealing the hole leading down to the basement.
It was lucky I’d covered it with a blanket when I came up.
That would have been a disaster.

“…Wait, hold on.”
“I told you. Leave now.”

Thud—!

My kick sent him flying out of the room.

“Ugh!”

Thud—!
He clutched his struck face, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Y-you! Do you know who’s behind me? Taesan is—!”
“Then go tell him. That great Ahn Jae-jun.”

Crack, crack!

I straddled the fallen man and brought my fist down on his face repeatedly.

“Gasp….”

I opened my mouth to the man with his swollen face gasping for breath.

“A lone 4-level Hunter beat me up. Please take revenge on me like this. What would they say then?”
“I’m s-sorry. Please spare me.”

The man began pleading frantically, as if he hadn’t been defiant moments before.
At first, I’d considered dropping him into the hole to kill him.
Even if he survived, there was no way Yahwi below would let an intruder live.
But this man belonged to Taesan.
If he died, Taesan would learn that my home was his last destination and send people after me.

‘If higher-ranked Hunters came….’

I had no confidence that Yahwi and I alone could defeat them all.
And this bastard would certainly keep silent about today.
The treatment a weak guild member would receive.
He knew better than anyone, having been the one who enjoyed my demise the most.

“Get out of here now. Handle the cleanup yourself. I’ll pay you soon, so tell them that.”
“Y-yes!”
“Oh, wait. Park Chul-seong.”
“…!”

I grabbed the man crawling away like a cockroach.

“Fix it. Now.”
“I, I don’t have any money on me right now….”
“Transfer it to my account.”
“….”

Ding—.
[100,000,000 won has been deposited.]

“As expected of an A-rank Hunter. You’ve got 100 million won.”
“Ugh. It’s not like the door’s made of gold or anything. Why 100 million?”
“Emotional distress compensation. And, um…. Oh, that fluorescent light too. That about covers it. Now get out.”

I offered him a kind smile, different from before.
Since the Tower appeared, transactions between individual Hunters—items, artifacts, and the like—had become frequent.
Even with a deposit record, there’d be no legal issue.
Even in a basement room like this, there were security cameras.
If it went to court, he’d be the one at a disadvantage.
If a Hunter abused their power privately or used it for illegal purposes, the severity of the crime increased significantly.
And the sentence became far more severe.

“Damn it! My name is Park Seong-cheol, not Park Chul-seong! Can’t you even remember my name!”

Slam—!

Park Seong-cheol—not Park Chul-seong—rushed out hastily.
Once outside, Goddess Nix’s blessing would fade, so I didn’t chase after him.

‘Making money is easy.’

I’d covered the overdue penalty fees and interest.
Now it was time to process the meat.
I hoisted my backpack again and thought to myself.

‘He couldn’t even tell. Tsk tsk.’

If he’d paid just a little attention, he would’ve noticed the light emanating from the meat.
Well, if Park Seong-cheol had recognized the true value of this meat, I wouldn’t have let him leave alive.
His carelessness is what saved his life.

“You haven’t changed your number, have you?”

I called one of the few friends I’d mentioned earlier.
He was the guy I’d cut contact with first after he’d made a fuss, insisting on paying my penalty fee in the name of loyalty.
Since I hadn’t even given him my basement room address, it had been a full year.

Brrring…
Click.

-Hello?! You bastard! You’re alive!
“Yeah, you’re annoying.”

I smiled at his audacious tone.
I should have kept in touch more often if I’d known he’d be like this.

“Let’s grab some soju after all this time. I got some good meat.”
-What? You call after a year and suddenly want to meet up?
“Don’t complain.”
-Complain? Where are you?
“Never mind. I’ll come to you. Give me your address. Oh, right. You still work at the Hunter Association?”
-What kind of idiot would kick away a steady job? The pay’s tight, but I’d rather work than starve. But why?

At his question, I looked at the backpack containing the Kobold meat.

“Just handle one item for me. Post it on Hunternet under the state’s name. You should be building up your track record anyway, right?”

—————
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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