I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 79

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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 79

“A week, then.”

Roughly a week remained before James would visit Korea.
Which meant Lowell had approximately one week to complete the custom item tailored for James.

“…If I arrange this catalyst like this, and reverse the flow… Hmm, that won’t work. The mana circuit is tangled. Then I’ll start over from the beginning….”

Lowell was so absorbed in his research, muttering to himself as though my words didn’t even reach his ears.
It would take quite some time to complete the item.
But I couldn’t simply stand here watching and waiting idly while he worked.

‘Since I started late, I need to climb twice as fast as everyone else.’

I had secured both a Clear Time Reset Ticket and a Floor Skip Ticket, so I could set aside my worries about time.
The real problem was that a completely new theme would begin from the 16th Floor.

‘…From what I found on Hunter Net, it doesn’t look easy at all.’

Floors 1 through 10 were themed around testing pure stats and basic combat ability.
Floors 11 through 15 featured an Undead theme, designed to teach that stats alone couldn’t overcome every difficult situation.
And the next theme beginning from the 16th Floor….

‘It didn’t look easy.’

According to the information disclosed on Hunter Net, I was facing quite a fierce battle in this upcoming theme.
But I had no intention of just sitting around doing nothing.

‘Well, passively observing without taking on challenges doesn’t suit my style anyway.’

Even if I hit my limit and clearance halts once more, it doesn’t matter.
Just as it did in the 4th Floor Dungeon.
I’ll keep challenging, keep persisting.
Even if everyone around me abandons me.
Even if I’m buried under crushing debt.
Even if the worst comes and I’m left with nothing in my hands.
I’ll endure and push forward.
If I’ve overcome it once, why not twice?

“Yes. Let’s go.”

I finally rose to my feet.

‘Besides, that will never happen again.’

I’m no longer some brash youngster with nothing but raw stats and combat power.

“Master! Safe travels!”

Yahwi, my most reliable first resident who had spent the longest time with me, approached with keen intuition and bolstered my spirits.

“It’s been quite some time since that chef fellow Ahn Yeong-jae stole your dining table! If you’ll permit it, I shall prepare a grand spread of drinks this evening!”

My sword training with him had been temporarily suspended.
There was much to attend to with Temple expansion and item crafting.
Moreover, I’d heard that this 16th Floor’s theme tested something beyond mere combat power, so I aimed to conserve unnecessary stamina.
Thus, Yahwi was serving only as an auxiliary chef rather than my sword instructor.

“What sort of dish would you prefer~?”

Though he didn’t seem particularly dissatisfied about it.

‘I’ve mastered the Fourth Stance well enough. Now only Yahwi’s ultimate technique remains.’

Once I perfectly complete this theme, I’ll resume rigorous sword training with Yahwi.
I smiled at Yahwi, who wagged his tail like a large, eager hound.

“Yahwi’s spread sounds perfect. I’m quite looking forward to it. Then I’ll be off.”

Ding!
【Entering the 16th Floor of the Surface Layer.】

Whoosh!

* * *

Blink.
I slowly opened and closed my eyes.

“….”

My vision had changed, but I didn’t move immediately.
All around me, a thick and nauseating ashen mist filled the space, obscuring even what lay a single step ahead.
A careless movement could lead me into a trap or leave me vulnerable to unseen attacks.

‘Just as the information on Hunter Net described.’

Ding!
【16th Floor Clear Condition: Defeat the Mist Assassin of Auditory Disruption.】

‘The Mist Assassin of Auditory Disruption.’

It sounded grandiose.
But broken down, it was simple.
An assassin hidden in mist that disrupts hearing.

‘Only one?’

The clear condition itself was far more straightforward and simple compared to the previous floors.
Rather than having to eliminate swarms of 30 to 50 monsters per floor, I simply needed to defeat this single ‘assassin’ lurking in the mist.
But.

Thud-thud-thud!

From behind me, I heard the violent sound of someone rushing forward.
I reacted instinctively, spinning my body and swinging the Demon King’s Sword in a rough arc.

Whoosh!

But there was nothing there.
Only the heavy Demon King’s Blade cut through empty air in vain.

“Kekeke!”

Then suddenly, a bizarre laugh echoed from behind me—the exact opposite direction of where I had just swung.

“Tch.”

I clearly heard the sound of something rushing from behind me.
I was completely deceived.
Yet I didn’t panic, responding with my overwhelming reaction speed amplified five-fold.

Clang—!

A sharp dagger that pierced through the mist and my jet-black longsword collided head-on, sending fierce sparks flying.

“Kssst….”

The Mist Assassin, having failed the ambush against my reflexes, let out a regretful metallic sound before retreating his silhouette back into the thick mist.

Whoosh!
The mist thickened again, filling the void.

“…Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue. This is indeed difficult.
I possessed overwhelming stats and combat power that far exceeded Hunters of my level.
I also had the cheat-like attributes of Thanatos’s Mark and the Darkness stat.
But against these sensory-disrupting anomalies, I was actually helpless.

‘No. To be precise, my senses are too strong.’

My stats were so high that my ki-sense became overly acute.
My body reacted instantly to every false sound the enemy scattered to create confusion.
If it were mere illusion or deception, I would have distinguished the truth in an instant with my ki-sense.
But this was legitimately a ‘Floor-tier Authority’ granted by the Tower’s system.

‘This is not good.’

Whoosh!

In that moment, another footstep struck my ears.
Damn it.
My ears were clearly telling me it came from the right.
But I had already been betrayed once before by trusting my own senses.
Without confidence, my response came too late.

‘Last time, the attack came from the opposite direction of the sound. So this time it must be from the left—!’

Just as I was about to swing my sword to the left.

Clang!

Ding!
【Black Armor defends against a surprise attack aimed at the right shoulder.】

“Kekeke.”

The Mist Assassin’s contemptible laughter echoed from the right.
Burning with frustration, I swung my longsword toward that direction in a wide arc.

Whoosh!

“…Tsk.”

The creature had already vanished, leaving only wisps of mist severed in my blade’s wake.
This time, the attack had come from the direction the sound actually indicated—not the opposite.
By mixing unpredictable patterns like this, the Mist Assassin was deliberately making me doubt my own perfect senses.

Rustle.
【Black Armor rejoices, having proven its usefulness after so long.】

According to the status window, my body had sustained no damage whatsoever. I had Black Armor’s insane automatic defense ability to thank for that.
Normally, since I overwhelmingly dominated my opponents, I rarely allowed attacks to connect, so Black Armor had little opportunity to act.
Having it protect me like this was almost… welcome.

‘That’s right. As long as Black Armor exists, my life is absolutely safe.’

Let me think about this calmly.
Among the cards I hold, what move could I play to break through this situation?

Tap-tap!
Crack!

Again, I heard phantom footsteps and sounds echoing near my ears.
I immediately released dense Darkness in all directions from my entire body.
Then I retrieved the old equipment I’d stored in subspace—the jet-black longsword as well.

Longsword in my left hand, Demon King’s Sword in my right.
Dual wielding.

Whoooosh!
Crash-crash-crash-boom!

I swung my blades with full force, drawing a circle with no blind spots.

Slash… tap-tap…

As my merciless Darkness blade swept across all directions, the Mist Assassin’s footsteps receded once more.
It seemed even she couldn’t rashly approach in the face of such overwhelming area-of-effect attacks, sensory disruption or not.

‘Good. I’ve bought myself time to think.’

What method did those who previously cleared this floor actually use?
And what happened to ordinary hunters who lacked any countermeasures—no area skills or automatic defense gear?
How many hunters had died on this floor to this damned false whisper?
From the blade of the Mist Assassin that hadn’t even touched me, I felt a thick, metallic stench of blood wash over me.

Of course, since I’d successfully defended, there was no reason for blood to be on me.
This nauseating smell of blood was a sensory anomaly that transcended hearing and even touched my sense of smell.
My keen senses had become a vicious poison, binding me in its grip.

‘Wait. Hold on.’

If keen senses were the poison…
As the thought reached this point, a brilliant reversal struck me like lightning.

‘Do I really need to rely on hearing?’

If the enemy’s weapon was ‘false sound’ to begin with.
Then blocking that sound itself would be enough, wouldn’t it?
I grinned wickedly and issued a command into the empty air.

“Black Armor. Seal my ears completely.”

Ding!
【Black Armor transforms its shape in accordance with your command.】

Whoosh!
The pitch-black armor enveloping my body writhed and rose upward in the form of a helmet, perfectly encasing my ears and entire head.
In an instant, all sound from the world was cut off.
The false footsteps, the contemptible laughter, the nauseating hallucinations—none of it reached my ears anymore.
Only the quiet rhythm of my own heartbeat echoed within the silence.

And I awakened the one remaining sense—my most reliable weapon.

“Black Dragon. Deploy ‘Those Near Ink Become Black’. Find the killing intent.”

Ding!
【Black Dragon’s Consciousness responds to your intent and opens a second sight.】

Whooom!
Within the monochromatic haze, a single ‘dense malice and killing intent’ burned in vivid crimson, revealing its exact position before my eyes with absolute clarity.
False sounds no longer existed.
Only that crimson killing intent was the sole truth of this forest.

“Found you, vermin.”

Toward the silent mist forest.
I extended the blade of the Twilight Sword without hesitation.

Thud!

Unlike before, when I was merely cutting through empty air.
This time, a solid and weighty sensation transmitted through my hand.

Whiiing—.

A fierce wind from somewhere swept away the thick mist.
My vision cleared, revealing the Mist Assassin impaled on the tip of the Demon King’s Sword, coughing up blood.

“…K-keh.”

That bastard was still wearing that irritating grin until the very end.
Regardless, I had caught him.
If I simply withdrew the sword now or severed his neck, he would die and the 16th Floor would be cleared.
But I didn’t relax my grip on the sword.
I had no intention of letting him die so peacefully.

‘I’ve already perfectly grasped how to respond when sensory confusion strikes.’

My strategy just now was a textbook-perfect answer to what the Tower’s trial demanded of me.
But truthfully, I didn’t need to clear this floor in such an orthodox manner.
I swept my gaze across the now-visible interior of the 16th Floor.
And I found the distant, gleaming ‘Safe Zone’.
I strode toward it with the Assassin still impaled on my blade.
And, looking directly into the suffering Assassin’s eyes, I smiled.

“See you again.”

Ding!
【You have moved to the Tower’s Safe Zone.】
【You are exiting the 16th Floor.】

Poof—!

A mid-stage exit before defeating the boss monster doesn’t count as a clear in the record anyway.
Since I’ve completely mastered the strategy, it’s not a cowardly retreat either.
There was only one reason I abandoned a battle I’d already won and came back out.

“Using the Clear Time Reset Ticket.”

Ding!
【You have used the Clearance Time Reset Ticket.】
【You gain an additional entry into the Tower for today.】
Without hesitation, I opened my mouth once more.

“I’m entering.”

Ding!
【You are entering the 16th Floor.】
Whoosh—!

Back within that unpleasant ashen mist.
I spoke with unhurried composure toward the Mist Assassin, who was surely hiding somewhere and preparing to disrupt my hearing once more.

“Black Armor, pull all the skeletons out from the subspace. It’s time to work. And Black Dragon, activate ‘Corruption of the Wicked.'”

Ding! Ding!
Two cheerful system notifications rang out in succession.
Immediately, the presence of the assassin hiding beyond the mist crystallized in my vision as a vivid crimson.

Clatter! Clang!

Dozens of skeletal soldiers poured forth from the subspace inventory.
And the Death Knight wielding a colossal greatsword radiated an overwhelming aura.

“K-kieee!?”

The Mist Assassin, flustered by the overwhelming momentum of the undead legion, hastily retreated.
I extended the Demon King’s Sword with a deep smile playing at my lips.

“Forward!”

Slash—!
In response to my command, we surged forward in unison, tearing through the mist and striking the earth.
Overwhelming numbers and power that casually disregarded the Tower’s suggested solution.
This was the true strategy I had chosen.

Ding!
【You have achieved the fastest clear of the 16th Floor.】

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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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