I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 21

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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 21

Vroom—.

Inside the car cutting through the city.
Gu Jang-hun, a Hunter affiliated with the Association, observed the Association President through the rearview mirror.

“Cough, cough! Ugh….”

At the sound of him stifling his cough, Gu Jang-hun’s brows furrowed.
He was already a critically ill patient.
But….
He glanced briefly at the navigation on his phone.

[Warning: Entering the influence zone of the Black Land.]

“Are you certain? We could turn back and apologize right now.”
“No, Jang-hun. No. I’m fine. Hunter Kang Ha-jin called for me. It would be disrespectful not to at least pay my respects.”

Association President Yun Tae-sik spoke while clutching his chest.
He looked anything but fine.
Gu Jang-hun gripped the steering wheel tightly.

—So your name is Gu Jang-hun. You’ve got some strength. Ever thought of using that strength for the nation?
—Well done. South Korea remains peaceful today because of you.
—No, Jang-hun. Tending a garden is different from hunting monsters. Ease the tension in your hands.
—I think of you as my son.

Creak—.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened. He had to exert all his control to keep it from breaking.
His chest felt suffocating.
Kang Ha-jin, whom he’d learned about recently, was a trustworthy person and a benefactor who had cured the Association President’s ailment.
But watching him cough made him want to immediately turn the wheel and escape the Black Land.
The Association President, with his severe condition, needed rest.
Originally, he wasn’t someone to be called for such personal matters.
Yun Tae-sik was South Korea’s pride and pillar.
Gu Jang-hun glanced at the rear of the car through the rearview mirror.

‘Good, they’re following along.’

I could see several escort vehicles from the Association trailing behind us.
Just in case—truly just in case—we needed to be prepared for the unexpected.

‘Kang Ha-jin, the Hunter.’

I desperately hoped the message I’d sent was genuine.
If I’d summoned Father over something trivial.
I wasn’t sure I could contain the suffocating frustration burning in my chest.

Vroom—!

….

How long had we been driving?
Before I knew it, the Underground Building I’d visited before came into view.
The Association President was struggling to catch his breath.
Click.

“We’ve arrived.”

I opened the rear door and helped him out.
The escort vehicles arrived in sequence after us.
Gu Jang-hun raised his hand, directing them to park at a distance.
After all, Kang Ha-jin was a national dignitary.
He might take offense, so it was difficult to accompany him openly.
The Association President had suggested leaving them behind entirely, but I couldn’t override Gu Jang-hun’s stubbornness.

‘This distance is close enough to rush over if needed.’

The security personnel in the vehicles were all A-rank like myself, Hunters from the 30th and 40th floors.
Even if Kang Ha-jin was a rising star, they were more than capable of protecting the Association President while subduing him if necessary.

The lead security officer gave a small nod of acknowledgment.

“Sigh, so our Hunter Kang Ha-jin has been staying in a place like this. My heart aches for him.”
“….”

No, please worry more about yourself.

“Wait a moment. I’ll call Kang Ha-jin.”
“That said, something feels off.”
“Pardon?”

Gu Jang-hun, who had been about to leave, turned back.
The Association President suddenly drew a deep breath.
*Wheeze, exhale.*

“This is near the Black Land, isn’t it?”
“…That’s correct. More precisely, it’s the surrounding area.”

Now that he mentioned it, something was indeed strange.
The Association President, who struggled to breathe even outside the Black Land itself.
Even a healthy and powerful Hunter like myself found my breath catching in the lands near the Black Land.
Yet I heard no rasping sounds from the Association President’s lungs.
My own breathing felt easy.
It hadn’t been like this the last time I visited.
Something was different.
What had changed?

“…Huh?”

My gaze landed on something.
The only thing different from before.
It was a tree.

‘Wait. Now that I think about it, that spot…’

That was where the sapling had been.
Now that I recall, I was told the tree had grown.
But how on earth?

‘Did someone transplant it? Why would they tell such a pointless lie?’

I knew from my expertise in the Tower, items, and plants alike.
There was no officially confirmed tree that could reduce the Black Land’s influence.
But what was this?

The door swung open.

“Welcome.”

In that instant.
Gu Jang-hun could no longer focus on the tree.
Someone had emerged from the underground building.
Black hair, dark-toned clothing—a man with an overall shadowy presence. It was Kang Ha-jin.
Even seeing him again, I couldn’t help but think he was remarkably handsome.
Though I was taller and possessed a higher level.
Yet that sharp, unapproachable aura remained unchanged.

‘It’s those eyes.’

Eyes that only those who endured hardship and adversity, rising from the depths, could possess.
Somehow, they resembled my own.

“I’ve been expecting you. Please, come in. Association President. Hunter Gu Jang-hun. And—”

Suddenly, a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes.

“Thirty-one security personnel.”
“…!”

Gu Jang-hun’s eyes widened.
How on earth.
Kang Ha-jin’s words were accurate.
The security personnel accompanying them numbered exactly thirty-one.
Had information leaked?
A spy?

‘…His gaze.’

Gu Jang-hun caught the direction of Kang Ha-jin’s eyes.
Kang Ha-jin’s gaze was fixed on where he had stationed the security personnel.
Too precise to be coincidence.

‘It wasn’t information leaking.’

What on earth is this guy?
Gu Jang-hun was an A-rank Hunter. He had accumulated enough experience not to be surprised by most things.
Moreover, his natural disposition leaned toward composure.
Yet as shocking events unfolded one after another, even he found himself taken aback.
It felt as though my very soul was being drained away.
He barely managed to support the Association President as he followed Kang Ha-jin into the building.

* * *

Inside Unit 101.
I prepared instant coffee and distributed it to Gu Jang-hun and the Association President.
I made absolutely certain never to accidentally open the basement door.

“Are you truly certain about dismissing all the security personnel?”
“Yes. I’m certain. In fact, I’ve caused you considerable trouble. My apologies.”

I felt uncomfortable seeing the Association President bow his head.
He was older than me, and one of them was even an Association President. Yet here he was again, doing this.
No matter that I had cured his ailment and was rapidly conquering the Tower.
Such excessive courtesy from an elder felt burdensome to someone raised in the Eastern Land of Propriety.

‘Barkalor is the exception.’

Just as the Temple residents felt loyalty toward me as their master.
I too naturally felt affection toward them as their master.
Calling them Elder or Old Man and treating them that way didn’t feel jarring or difficult at all.

“I-I apologize. The Association President warned me several times, but I was stubborn.”

Gu Jang-hun also bowed his head in turn.
I understood.
Though not bound by blood, they considered each other father and son.
Of course, Yahwi and Barkalor, who had detected them through detection magic and ki-sensing, held different thoughts.

-Master. I’ve detected unknown personnel approaching the Temple. Thirty-three in total. All formidable warriors. But fear not, my lord. The moment they set foot in the Temple, a total of twenty-seven varieties of curses and dark magic will activate. Hehehehe. Trust only this old man.
-No, my Yahwi comes first before that. Don’t worry, my lord! Hehehehe!

‘….’

If I hadn’t scolded him just yesterday over that delivery man Choi Hyeon-min incident… well, who knows.
Wouldn’t I have been able to confirm the specific combat capabilities of the Temple residents right here?

“Oh right. That tree is…”

Association President Yun Tae-sik changed the subject of conversation.

“Ah, so you did notice it after all.”

I shrugged my shoulders.
It was something I’d confirmed had tremendous effects not long ago.
With such a striking appearance, even I—who had never shown the slightest interest in garden maintenance—found myself thinking it was magnificent.

“It’s a Black Land Purification Tree that I was fortunate enough to acquire.”
“Oho…! Just as I thought. Somehow, *inhales deeply*, *exhales*. The air feels so much easier to breathe. Haha!”
“Yes. It’s a shame that I only have one.”
“Ah… I see.”

The moment I emphasized “only one,” the expressions of both the Association President and Gu Jang-hun darkened immediately.
They too understood from their long years managing the Association and their Hunter careers.
The latent added value that this Black Land Purification Tree possessed.

“If we could only acquire more Black Land Purification Trees, we could reclaim Seoul.”
“Right. If that happens, the land value would be merely a bonus. We’d be restoring the capital for the first time in the entire world. Truly a momentous event.”

The Association President reinforced Gu Jang-hun’s opinion.
As expected of the Association President.
He’d already thought that far ahead.
A man who’d risen to that position through patriotism alone.
The Black Land wasn’t limited to Korea.
The United States, China, Russia, France, England, Germany, Japan, and so on.
Towers appeared in densely populated areas regardless of whether they were superpowers or developed nations, and the Black Land spread with them.
But what if I were to mass-purchase Black Land Purification Trees with the Moonlight Stones I’d acquire going forward?

‘Korea reclaims Seoul.’

Once this became known worldwide, people everywhere would want to come to Korea, which would be relatively safer.
And beyond that, they’d want to purchase the secret to how it was done.

‘Even if they had to pay everything they possessed.’

Capital cities, no less.
Beijing, Washington D.C., and Tokyo.

‘For that very reason, it would be wise to conceal the fact that I can still purchase more.’

Even from the Association President and Gu Jang-hun.
I needed to secure my own gains as well.
What of it if I was selfish?

“Pardon me for a moment.”

I raised my hand toward the Association President.
Gu Jang-hun flinched slightly.
But the Association President calmly restrained him.

“I too have been awaiting this.”

Of course. It could be no other way.
After absorbing the Darkness, my physical condition had improved considerably.

‘I too have been awaiting this.’

With a slight smile, I pulled back the hand I had extended in a sharp motion.

【You have absorbed Darkness.】
【Your Darkness stat increases by 1.】
-Current Darkness stat: 19.

‘Excellent.’

“Ah, ahhh…!”

Yun Tae-sik slowly rose from his seat.
The turbid energy flowing through his body subsided, and vitality returned to him.
His physical condition had improved far more than before.
Gu Jang-hun, witnessing this directly for the first time, could not hide his emotion and seemed ready to prostrate himself.

“Thank you so much. Thank you!”
“It’s nothing. Compared to what the person you’re about to meet has to do.”
“There’s someone else I need to meet? Oh!”

Hunter Gu Jang-hun let out an exclamation, recalling the message I’d sent him yesterday.

“It’s the Congressman, isn’t it?”
“That’s correct.”

Snap!

I flicked my fingers toward the Old Man, who should have been listening.
Then, moments later.
The Old Man’s voice rang out from nearby.

“You called for me?”

Barkalor approached with a respectful posture.
But was it just my imagination, or did the Old Man’s aura seem more formidable than usual?

“….”

This felt like a familiar situation somehow.
After a brief silence.
I could see Hunter Gu Jang-hun clench his fists, unable to ignore the overwhelming pressure.

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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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