I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 9

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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 9

Ding!
【You have entered the 5th Floor.】
-Clear Condition: Defeat 10 Werewolves.

Whoooosh.

The moment the scenery shifted, a pleasant breeze swept across me.
The grass swayed in unison, as if every blade were a single organism.
Before, this wind brushing against my cheeks had felt terrible.
It was as if it were telling me I could never clear this floor.

Ding!
【You have been exposed to sunlight.】

And then there was the blazing sun.
It was nothing like the faint light I’d endured in the underground until now.
This was direct sunlight.
But.

‘I’m different now too.’

Whoosh—!

I tensed my entire body and released my Darkness stat.

Ding!
【You have been exposed to sunlight.】
【Special Stat, Darkness attempts to resist.】

Grrrrgh—!

A substantial amount of Darkness stat surged up across my body.
The stinging sunlight that had burned my skin diminished considerably.
Of course, I couldn’t ignore all the light.

Ding!
【Partial resistance successful. Current value: 7】
【Stats will not decrease.】

My stats, which should have dropped by 90%, remained intact.
Of course, it wasn’t enough to trigger Nix’s blessing completely, but I’d take what I could get.
It was thanks to the Darkness stat I’d painstakingly built up in the Underground.

Auuuuuu—!

That was when it happened.
A howl announcing the arrival of monsters.
Soon, from the grassland that had been empty moments before.
Large wolf heads began sprouting up one after another.

‘Werewolves.’

The very ones who had frustrated me countless times until now.
They were different from the Kobolds of the 2nd Floor.
If you called them the evolved form of Kobolds, you’d be spot on.
Their height, their build, even without being enhanced by sunlight—they were comparable to adult men.

Shing—!

I drew out the new sword I’d brought along.
A jet-black longsword purchased for a whopping 50 Moonstone Shards.

‘With sunlight here, it won’t have much effect.’

Still, it was far sharper and more powerful than my previous blade.

Whoosh!

“I’ll wash away the shame of all these defeats.”

I swung the sword to provoke them.
The creatures maintained their distance and prepared to charge.
At first glance, it seemed all 10 had appeared, but that wasn’t the case.
My eyes, which had assessed their full strength the moment they emerged, couldn’t be deceived.

‘There are only two of them.’

They’d likely aim for my flank or rear.

‘I need to prepare for ambushes too.’

I’d already devised tactics.
That would be enough to clear it.

‘Clear? That won’t do.’

What I was aiming for wasn’t a simple clear.
It was to wash away the shame of these past trials and shatter my limits.

Tap.

“Yahwi Style. First Form.”

I lowered my stance so much that the tall grass reaching my waist tickled my nose.

‘Fastest clear time.’

-Basement 1 Fastest Clear: Kang Ha-jin.
-2nd Floor Fastest Clear: Kang Ha-jin.
-3rd Floor Fastest Clear: Kang Ha-jin.
-4th Floor Fastest Clear: Kang Ha-jin.

As you can see, my name was plastered all over the rankings up to the 4th Floor.
But the 5th Floor wasn’t mine.

-5th Floor Fastest Clear: Ahn Jae-jun (5 minutes 21 seconds.)

‘Ahn Jae-jun.’

A record befitting an S-rank.
And I’m not even SSS-rank.
I’m EX-rank.

‘I need to show a record worthy of that.’

No buffs?
No problem.
I haven’t merely been playing around in the Basement all this time.

‘Status window.’

Whoosh—!
【Kang Ha-jin.】
【Level: 4.】
【Class: Eternal Knight of the Night (EX).】
【Stats】
-Strength: 14
-Agility: 15
-Endurance: 10
-Mana: 7
-Darkness: 7

My stats were higher than Hunters of the same level.
I possessed a fine blade and swordsmanship to match.
This meant I far surpassed the level of the 5th Floor’s monsters—the Werewolves.

“Woof! Woof!”

Whoosh!

The enemies lunged at me with ferocious speed.
In my vision, I saw razor-sharp claws and fangs stretched long with dripping saliva.

Gulp.

Reflexively, I swallowed hard and my body went rigid for a moment.
It was a fear ingrained through long years of conditioning.

Click.

I quickly steadied my mind and adjusted my grip on the blade.
Now there would be no fang marks etched into my body.
At least not on the 5th Floor.

Crack!

I shifted my weight to my lower body.
Then I released the condensed muscle and strength naturally.

Whoosh—!

“…First strike, one slash.”

Like releasing a bowstring pulled taut.
Tremendous force shot through the blade.

“Screech!”

Ding!
【You have defeated a Werewolf.】

One creature fell with a single strike.
The verdant grassland was stained crimson.

‘This is it.’

My grip on the sword tingled with electricity.
Adrenaline surged through my entire body.
Knowledge and direct action are worlds apart.
Now that I had cut down the Werewolf that tormented me so.
I could feel a bright future awaiting me ahead.

【Remaining: 9.】

Perhaps because this was the beginning of a new theme where the cave ended and the grassland began.
The number of monsters appearing was sparse.

‘Merely ten.’

The next floor and the one after would surely have more.
But at this rate, I could kill them all within five minutes.

Patter-patter-patter!

I didn’t stop moving—I slid forward through the tall grass.
The high-grown vegetation served as a hiding place, concealing the enemies from view.
Being canine, they possessed keen olfactory senses and could detect my presence.
At first glance, the environment seemed disadvantageous for me.

‘I’ll simply cut them all down.’

Whoosh!

Where my blade passed, my vision opened up.

“Agh, ow-!”

The Werewolves attempted to share information about me—their enemy—through their howling.
Had I made even a slight mistake, I would have been surrounded by the remaining enemies in an instant.

Slash!

Ding!
【You have defeated a Werewolf.】
-Remaining: 8.

If only my blade had arrived just a fraction faster.

Rustle.

A sound came from the grass behind me.

‘Is this the one that was targeting my rear?’

Whoosh!

My blade swept in a wide arc, cutting through all directions simultaneously.
Three creatures charging toward me were sliced down.

Splurt!

Ding!
【You have defeated the Werewolves.】
-Remaining: 5.

Formation and battle lines no longer held any meaning.
Tactics were equally irrelevant.

“Auuuugh!”

The remaining beasts charged forward, desperate to survive by throwing themselves at death.
It was the best strategy left available to them.

Whoosh—!

In that instant.
A massive shadow fell across my head.
They were converging on me from all directions.

“Shade, is it?”

Ssshhh—.

I curled my lips into a smile.
Unfortunately for them.
They had chosen the wrong opponent.

Ding!
【Sunlight has vanished.】
【Nix’s Blessing activates.】
-All stats increased by 500%.

Kuuuuuuuu—!

A tremendous surge of power erupted from my body.

“K-kieeng…?”

The werewolves plummeting toward me contorted their faces in bewilderment.
They had clearly thought they could manage this and launched their coordinated assault.
The moment they dove in, their opponent suddenly became overwhelmingly stronger.
For them, the current situation was nothing short of catastrophe.

“Farewell.”

I smiled and swung my blade in a wide arc.

Whoooosh—!

With the strength and agility of level 26, my sword cut through the air.

Shwing.

The blade swept through the werewolves and beyond.
Combined with my heightened agility stat, the Obsidian Longsword lived up to its name—the blade was nearly invisible in the darkness.
Only the pitch-black shadow trailing along the sword’s edge revealed its passage.

Boom—!

Before they could even cry out their final screams, the enemies detonated in unison.

Ding!
【All enemies have been eliminated.】
-Remaining: 0.

Patter-patter-patter.

A rain of corpses fell from the sky.

‘Well. I hadn’t planned to butcher corpses that hadn’t even absorbed sunlight anyway.’

Since they’d exploded, collecting loot became entirely impossible.

Ding!
【You have cleared the 5th Floor.】
【Your level has increased by 1.】
-Current Level: 5.
【All stats increase by 1.】
【You obtain 3 distributable stat points.】
【You have obtained 5 Magic Stones.】

“Finally cleared it!”

I raised my sword high and cheered.
I knew that maintaining composure was considered impressive in this place.
But now, freed from the shackles that had bound me for so long.
I couldn’t help but cry out as the sense of accomplishment erupted from my core.

“Ahhhhh!”

Only after that outburst did my mind settle somewhat.
I collected myself and checked the rewards for clearing the 5th Floor.

‘Come on, show yourself.’

Did it look like I was only after a level-up and some Magic Stones?
I told you.
I’d clear it ‘overwhelmingly.’
And the next moment.

Ding!
【Congratulations!】
【You have achieved a new record.】
-Time taken: 2 minutes 18 seconds.

The message I’d been waiting for appeared.

Ding!
【You have become the fastest clear holder of the 5th Floor.】
【Your name will be recorded on the rankings.】
-5th Floor Fastest Clear: Ahn Jae-jun → Kang Ha-jin new!
【With the birth of a new fastest clear holder, a global announcement is sent to all Hunters.】

“That’s it!”

I clenched both fists tightly.
And at the peak of Taesan.
I pictured Ahn Jae-jun, who would be watching this announcement from the Guild Master’s office.

‘Keep your eyes wide open and watch carefully.’

This wasn’t a hallucination or a misperception.
Ahn Jae-jun’s radiance.
To stop the tyranny of that light.
The night I had briefly hidden myself in had returned.

Ding!
【You have been exposed to sunlight.】
【Nix’s Blessing activation is deactivated.】
-Your stats return to normal.

‘….’

I glared up at the sky.
I was lost in appreciation for a moment there.
Regardless, the fact that I had cleared the 5th Floor at an astounding speed remained unchanged.

“Just wait….”

I muttered brazenly at the sun floating above.
It was my own way of steeling my resolve.

“I’m going to invest all my remaining stats into Darkness.”

Ding!
【Darkness stat has increased by 3.】
-Current value: 11.

Upon leveling up, all my stats increased by 1 each.
On top of that, I poured all my distributable stats into Darkness.

Whoosh!

As I channeled power throughout my entire body, the darkness flowing from me intensified.

‘Even so, I still cannot overcome the sun.’

But that is only for now.
As I climb higher in the future.
And descend deeper into the underground.
One day, I will surely break free from the sun’s dominion.

“Now then, hand over the reward.”

There was still more to the reward.
Surely the entire announcement couldn’t be the only compensation.
That was merely a means to make Ahn Jae-jun eat his words.
In itself, it held no value.
Of course, for a typical fastest clear record holder, honor is where the reward ends.
But with special conditions attached, additional rewards are granted.
And that condition was precisely.

Ding!
【You have achieved your 5th fastest clear record.】

Five accumulated clears.

【You have obtained a Tower Entry Time Reset Ticket as a reward.】

‘Excellent!’

Ahn Jae-jun’s Awakening rank was merely S-grade.
Not that S-grade was so low as to warrant the word “merely”.
But his position as rank 1, with a gap no one could bridge, wasn’t solely due to his rank.

‘It was this reset ticket.’

Unlike the Underground Layer, where you must wait 24 hours before re-entering after one entry.
The Surface Layer Tower typically only allows entry at midnight—when the date changes.

‘Of course, it varies by country depending on time zones.’

One expert once joked that in theory, if one could simply move nations around, they could clear one floor per hour indefinitely.
In any case, it was merely humor, but with this reset right, things were different.

‘I could clear two floors a day.’

It meant faster clears and faster growth compared to hunters with the same stats.

‘Ahn Jae-jun must have been living the dream with this.’

It would no longer be his exclusive privilege.

“Exit The Tower!”

Ding!
【Exiting from the 5th Floor.】

Whoosh!

When I stepped out of The Tower with such a pleased feeling.

[From: Shin Hyeon-jun.]
-Hey! All the meat sold out! Congratulations, and I got promoted! I’m planning to propose to my girlfriend soon.
-What’s going on? Why aren’t you picking up?
-Answer the phone, man. One piece of Kobold meat deserves one shot of soju!

An enormous amount of messages from Hyeon-jun had arrived in intervals.
And naturally, the last message was.

-…Hey you crazy bastard!! Who makes a survival report as a public announcement!

It was about my 5th Floor clear.
It wasn’t just Hyeon-jun.

[Hunternet.]
-What’s with that announcement just now?
-????
-Kang Ha-jin? Isn’t he that forgotten prospect from back then?
-Wait, hold on. 5th Floor in 2 minutes?
-Ugh! My national pride is swelling.
-Look at how people switch their tune after trash-talking. Gives me chills;;.

The world had turned upside down.
Naturally, I stood at the center of it all.

“…Hmm. Do I need to wear a mask from now on?”

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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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