I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 80

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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 80

Ding!
【You have successfully cleared the 16th Floor in record time.】

A cheerful clear message floated through the air, but I didn’t return immediately.

‘Whenever I enter a new themed floor, there’s always something I need to do.’

I gathered magical power in both eyes and muttered softly.

“Night Vision.”

Ding!
【Skill ‘Night Vision Lv.2 (Search)’ has been activated.】

Whoosh—
A dark veil covered my vision, and the 16th Floor’s ashen mist forest transformed into a monochromatic world.
Within my sight where brightness and saturation were drastically reduced.
I slowly surveyed my surroundings.

‘Where is it?’

The moment I turned my head, a faint blue light flickering from deep within the mist forest caught my attention.

‘Just as I thought.’

My hypothesis that a ‘special dungeon floor’ always exists on floors where the theme changes proved correct once again.
Without hesitation, I moved toward that blue light.
As I walked, I recalled the list of ‘Children of Nix’ that Elder Barkalor had mentioned to me before.
After learning the connection between special dungeon floors and their marks, I made sure to familiarize myself with their names and powers whenever I had the chance.
Death, Fate, Desire, Suffering, and so on.
There were many children.

‘But for this 16th Floor’s theme, there’s only one that fits perfectly.’

The Mist Assassin that had confused senses, induced hallucinations, and made one chase after things that didn’t exist.
Apate, the god of deception and falsehood.
This special dungeon floor’s master was likely that creature.

“Well then, shall we open a new special dungeon floor—”

It was the moment I reached out to place my hand upon the glowing blue hidden altar.

Ding!
【This special dungeon floor has already been discovered.】
【No further conquest rights exist.】

“…What?”

Upon seeing the message floating in the air, I was momentarily stunned.
Doubting my own eyes, I read through my status window once more, but the result remained unchanged.

A special dungeon floor that had already been cleared.
Until now, the only special dungeon floors revealed to the world were the lower-tier dungeon that Guild Master Choi Yeon-su had cleared, and Thanatos’s Fortress that I had conquered not long ago.
The fact that a special dungeon floor in the relatively high 16th floor had already been stripped by someone was unexpected.

‘…An unforeseen development.’

I was momentarily flustered, but soon regained my composure.

‘Well, I suppose that’s possible.’

If someone deliberately concealed it from the Association, hiding items themselves wasn’t particularly difficult.
After all, I myself was hiding countless things—from the key to the Underground Temple obtained from the Treasure Chest on the 4th Floor, to the Mark of Thanatos.
My belief that the discoverer of this special dungeon floor wouldn’t have done the same was far too naive.

‘Perhaps there are far more special dungeon floors already cleared than what’s known to the public.’

My head suddenly ached.
My concerns multiplied.
It wasn’t simply a matter of how to retrieve the Mark, as with Choi Yeon-su’s case.
Now I had to find a way to identify these unknown hunters who were concealing special dungeon floor items.
I grimaced bitterly and turned my body to leave the 16th floor.
Then I stopped in my tracks.

‘…Wait. Now that I think about it, something’s off.’

I turned back and gazed at the altar of the special dungeon floor I’d discovered with my night vision.
Then I lifted my head again and estimated the distance to the entrance where I’d first entered the 16th Floor.

‘It’s far.’

Abnormally far, in fact.
This place was filled with ashen mist that completely blocked vision, and it was a vicious floor where the Mist Assassin’s attacks constantly rained down to disrupt hearing.
Unless someone had cleared it like me—blocking hearing with Black Armor and piercing through with Black Dragon vision, or using the ‘special workaround’ of summoning an Undead legion.
An ordinary hunter would have accumulated tremendous physical and mental exhaustion battling the assassins within this mist.

‘But after catching the assassins, they walked all the way from the entrance to this remote corner of the mist forest and happened to discover this?’

That was truly strange.
I could excuse Choi Yeon-su’s case as lucky discovery along her path, but not here.
Even I, with keen senses, wouldn’t have found this altar in such a remote corner without ‘Night Vision Lv.2’.

“….”

My eyes narrowed.
My concerns multiplied in real time.
Whoever discovered and swallowed this Apate dungeon.
They definitely didn’t seem like an ordinary person.

* * *

“How is the research progressing?”

After escaping the 16th Floor, I immediately went to find Lowell at the Temple’s alchemy workshop.
Lowell, who had been doing precise work with a magnifying glass in front of his workbench, pushed his safety goggles up onto his forehead and looked at me.

“How much progress did you expect me to make while you were away?”
“True, I did clear the 16th Floor rather quickly.”
“Sigh. At first, I thought I’d use your ‘fastest clear message’ as a countdown calendar, but these days you’re sending me two or three messages a day. It’s become useless.”
“Oh, does it show up for British hunters too?”
“Not all of them. Only when British hunter records are broken.”
“…I see. How embarrassing.”
“Don’t worry about it.”

Lowell refocused on his work as he spoke.

“Anyway, completion will take a bit longer. You’ll need to clear another floor or two.”
“You mean James’s item? It’s taking quite a while.”
“Of course. That brat James—after reviewing the combat data you provided, he’s grown into quite the monstrous fighter. To withstand that kind of abnormal strength, a standard magical circuit structure simply won’t do.”
“Please, no complicated explanations. I wouldn’t understand them anyway.”
“Tsk tsk. From now on, you should study a bit. This British national-level alchemist will give you some ‘precision tutoring.'”
“Precision tutoring? Wait, Lowell, are you really British? Your speech pattern sounds so much like a warm-hearted Korean uncle.”
“That cunning bastard Yun Tae-sik hasn’t bothered learning English for decades. I got fed up and learned Korean instead. How is a fellow who’s an Association President supposed to handle diplomacy anyway?”

Lowell grumbled and gave a sharp critique of Association President Yun Tae-sik before.
equipping the complex steel gauntlet that had been resting on the desk onto his right hand.

Clank—!
Hisssss.

With a heavy metallic sound and a burst of steam, the gauntlet sealed perfectly against Lowell’s arm.

“…It’s still far from completion. But I can at least demonstrate the prototype’s power.”

Lowell gently clenched his fist toward empty air with the gauntleted hand.

Clank!
Whirrrr—!

In that instant, the gears inside the gauntlet spun ferociously, mechanically drawing in the surrounding air.
Then, as Lowell thrust his fist forward with a sharp motion—

BOOM—!

The compressed air exploded outward, shattering a steel cup that stood dozens of meters away.

Crash!

“…Wow.”

I whistled as I gazed at the mangled remains of the cup.
A national-level alchemist truly is something else.
To casually craft a prototype of exactly what I wanted like this.

“Fluid dynamics and air compression mana formulas, combined with the propulsive force of a jet spray structure, all harmonized perfectly with the Wol-yeong-seok filter….”
“Ah, yes. I understand completely and perfectly.”

Honestly, I didn’t understand a single word.
But what was certain was that if this could be perfected to withstand James’s insane strength,
he would absolutely love using it.
Just thinking about it for a moment was staggering.
Compressing that tremendous brute force and firing it like a cannon—a martial artist like that.
The flying monsters in the 50s floors soaring through the sky probably wouldn’t even leave bones behind.

A thick smile naturally spread across my lips.

“Then, please endure a bit more for the completion.”
“Understood. I’ll be back.”

Leaving Lowell to his hard work, I left the workshop.
Now that I’d cleared the 16th Floor, it was time to collect what I’d been promised.
I made my way toward the central plaza of the Underground Temple.
Already, an incredibly delicious aroma was wafting through the air, stimulating my sense of smell.
The sizzling sound of grilling meat mixed with the bubbling of stew.

‘I thought my palate had become quite picky from eating Ahn Yeong-jae’s high-class cuisine recently.’

The fact that just the scent brushing my nose made me swallow hard meant Yahwi hadn’t been idle all this time either.
Since Garet had appeared recently and was mining Wol-yeong-seok at an incredible pace, Yahwi was essentially unemployed.
To avoid being abandoned, he must have been honing his second-best skill—cooking—to the extreme.

“Oh, Master! You’ve arrived! Please, sit down!”

Yahwi, wearing an apron and holding a ladle, greeted me with a bright smile.
Before him lay premium boiled meat made from Wild Hog infused with sunlight, stew, and two bottles of soju chilled refreshingly, gleaming beautifully.

“Oh, Yahwi. The aroma is incredible.”
“Hehe! To not lose to that outside chef Ahn Yeong-jae or whoever, I’ve been honing my knife skills day and night! Please, have a taste!”

Yahwi’s eyes were trembling slightly.
Within that tremor lay the pitiful worry: ‘What if he says it doesn’t taste good? Am I really going to be abandoned?’
I chuckled inwardly and picked up a piece of meat, placing it in my mouth.

“…!”

A genuine exclamation of admiration burst from my lips.
If Chef Ahn Yeong-jae’s cooking was a refined work of art born from meticulous calculation, then Yahwi’s dishes were rough-hewn yet stirring—a profound, wild flavor that resonated with the soul.
Perhaps because his worry and devotion were poured into every bite, it tasted remarkably more delicious.

“Yahwi, you’re the best. Truly delicious.”
“Krkrkrk! Masteeeeer!”

At my single word of praise, Yahwi shed tears like chicken droppings while still clutching the ladle.
I uncapped a bottle of soju and poured it generously into his cup before sitting across from him.

“Why are you crying? Sit down and drink with me. I was pretty exhausted breaking through the 16th Floor today too.”
“Yes! Yes! It’s an honor!”

We sat facing each other at the clattering stone table and clinked our cups together.
As the meat and alcohol went down, warmth spread through my body, and the tense muscles began to relax languidly.
When a pleasant buzz rose up and the atmosphere grew ripe, Yahwi carefully opened his mouth.

“Um, Master. Lately I feel like I’m not helping much in combat like I used to… Do you perhaps think I’ve become useless?”
“….”

I stared at Yahwi, my cup swirling slightly.
This large martial artist’s greatest weakness.
The fear of being abandoned.
I understand it, though.
I’ve experienced betrayal from a disciple I trusted.
I set my cup down firmly and tapped his shoulder gently.

“Yahwi. You’re my first resident. Would I really abandon you for becoming useless?”
“M-Master….”
“Family isn’t measured by usefulness. It’s simply about being there beside each other. You’re already my excellent mentor and my family.”

At my calm sincerity, Yahwi’s eyes turned completely red.

“Waaah! Sob! I’m so moved! I’ll serve you loyally for the rest of my life!”

Yahwi sobbed excessively and tried to grab my pant leg.

“Ah, back off a bit! You’re going to spill the drink!”

I pushed him away with exasperation, but a pleasant smile was already playing at the corners of my mouth.
And so the cups passed back and forth between us.

“…Master, the 17th Floor…aren’t you going…?”
“…Yeah. Just for today, I don’t need to go.”

I mumbled with unfocused eyes, my tongue loose from drink.
It’s true I need to grow stronger quickly and face the gods.
But mythologically speaking, Dionysus spent all his time drinking and carousing anyway.
And that Thor fellow from the Norse lands—doesn’t he constantly guzzle beer?
Since the gods themselves love to drink, they’re probably all toasting with me remotely right now.
So surely, I can afford to take just one day off.
Though I’m not sure what my true enemies, the Egyptian faction, are up to.

“Hehehehe. Master, cheers, cheers!”
“Yeah. Cheers….”

Deep in the night of the Underground Temple.
Yahwi, my first subject, and I lay sprawled against the stone floor, surrounded by empty soju bottles, completely passed out.

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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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