I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 22

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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 22

The car ride back to the Association was filled with silence.
Gu Jang-hun was preoccupied with thoughts of what had just transpired.
More precisely, it was because of the two individuals he had just witnessed.

‘…Security? Thirty-one A-rank hunters?’

A laugh escaped despite his bewilderment.
It was self-mockery directed at himself.
His judgment had been a mistake—he’d thought that personnel would be sufficient.
As the image of the elderly man whose power he couldn’t fathom surfaced in his mind, his hands trembled against the steering wheel.

‘If he’s a hunter, he must be S-rank. His level is… 50th Floor or above? Then what’s his nationality?’

His strange attire seemed to have flown in from the medieval era, and his exotic features were unmistakable.
Yet the strength emanating from him was genuine.
Despite his long tenure at the Association, he’d never even heard rumors of a powerhouse of that caliber.
In the end, he had managed to treat the Association President.
But when he first appeared, the sheer presence had startled him enough to clench his fists.

‘And then there was that swordsman-like man who appeared afterward.’

Power that rivaled the elderly man who had appeared earlier.

‘I didn’t sense either of them.’

It was incomprehensible where they could have been hiding in that cramped room.
Unless they had performed teleportation—something that only appeared in fantasy novels—it made no sense.

‘Spatial displacement. I’ve never even heard of such a thing.’

Did both of them lack learning ability? He had said they were guests. Would they both have prostrated themselves?
If Hunter Kang Ha-jin hadn’t stopped them….

‘…Even if I had faced each of them one-on-one, I couldn’t guarantee victory.’

An A-rank hunter like myself.
What puzzled me was that despite neither of them appearing to be Korean, they both spoke fluent Korean.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

The important thing was that the Association President’s condition had improved.

-This isn’t a complete cure, so visit me periodically. Master—I mean, always maintain gratitude toward Hunter Kang Ha-jin. My greatness exists only because my master exists.

The old man’s words echoed in my mind.
Of course, that was my intention.
Both the periodic visits and my gratitude toward Hunter Kang Ha-jin.
Looking at the Association President’s current condition, there was no reason not to.

“Jang-hun.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Prepare a press conference. We need to announce that one of the conquest permits for the Special Dungeon Floor has been used up.”
“You shouldn’t overexert yourself.”
“I’m fine. I feel lighter than I have in the past three years. My body’s itching for action.”
“Just to be safe, but the Tower is absolutely off-limits.”
“…What about the lower floors in the tens?”

Gu Jang-hun shook his head firmly.

“Off-limits.”
“…Sigh. If you’re that adamant, I understand.”

A chuckle escaped me.
I had forgotten.
Before his illness, the Association President was an aggressive man.
He was probably burning with passion after seeing those two powerhouses earlier.
Though we didn’t share blood, my temperament resembled his, and I too was burning with this same fire.
And watching him like this felt quite satisfying.
Afterward, the Association President continued to mutter endlessly about things like “Actually, we should make Hunter Kang Ha-jin Korea’s symbol hunter!” and “But for that, we’d need justification.”

‘By the way, who are those two people really?’

Were they hunters at all?
Both of them had given off a subtle impression of revering Kang Ha-jin.

‘I shouldn’t dwell on this.’

The Tower’s world was vast and sprawling, a place where countless forces and phenomena intertwined.
What mattered was that Kang Ha-jin was conquering the Tower at an overwhelming pace, and he was healing the Association President’s ailment.
Just then, a sudden ranking board notification shattered Gu Jang-hun’s thoughts.

Ding!
【A new record holder for the 7th Floor has emerged.】
-Kang Ha-jin: 8 seconds.

There it is again.
Another new record.
And it’s 8 seconds no less.
I’m not even surprised anymore.

I tried to say something to the Association President, who was likely watching as well.

“Association President?”

I called out, but instead of a response, only the sound of snoring came back.
Thinking it might be a misunderstanding, I glanced at the rearview mirror. The Association President in the back seat was fast asleep with a peaceful expression on his face.
I stared blankly at the sight for a moment.
He was someone who couldn’t sleep well at night because of the pain.
Yet sleeping like this in the car was something I hadn’t seen from him in a long time, despite serving him for years.
That day, the snoring in the car didn’t stop until we arrived at the Association.

* * *

After that, the world became noisy.

-Seriously, this crazy Ha-jin hyung!
-I knew it all along.
-Ahn Jae-jun, are you watching? James, are you watching?
-How Koreans who just met recently become friends these days. Bring up Kang Ha-jin.
-Not just Koreans. It’s the same for people all around the world.
-Do you know Kang Ha-jin?
-He’ll do it again today, right?
-OMG, it’s only been a short time since his return and he’s already about to reach level 10.
-LMAO.

My rapid conquest of the 8th and 9th Floors following the 7th Floor was naturally a hot topic as well.

[Good day. I am Yun Tae-sik, President of the Korean Hunter Association. It has been some time since I last addressed the people, and I am both delighted and regretful to do so now…]

The other major issue was the Association President himself.

-?
-Didn’t he say he was ill?
-Compared to photos from his prime, he does look gaunt. But not that severely?
-No, no. I work at a hospital, so I know. The Association President came to our hospital once, and he was practically a corpse. They told me not to speak of it as it was confidential. But seeing this video now, it seems he’s made a full recovery.
-Wow, so is he going to attempt another conquest?
-Nah, he’s still recovering, so it probably won’t come to that. Still, it’s reassuring though.

The Association President, rumored to be gravely ill, appeared looking pristine. He even held an official press conference.
And that issue too was not entirely unrelated to me.
Because—

[Well, that’s why. Our Association has decided to set one of the conquest rights for this Taesan-bal Special Dungeon Floor as a ‘designation right’ that can be transferred to a hunter who has made significant contributions to the current Republic of Korea and the Association. The remaining conquest rights will be auctioned off in two weeks…]

…he dropped a bombshell statement.

-Click click click click click click-!

Countless camera flashes erupted in the press conference hall on the video.
It was understandable.
What the Association President said essentially amounted to parachuting one person into the Special Dungeon Floor expedition without going through proper channels.
And this was coming from the Association, which was supposed to be impartial.

Public opinion was divided.

-This is ridiculous.
-? Didn’t they say he was ill? Has he lost his mind?
-This is an abuse of power.
-The Association is inserting whoever they want into the second Special Dungeon Floor expedition. Didn’t they get paid for this?

First, there was critical public opinion.
This was inevitable.
It was true that the designation right was one of the Association’s prerogatives, and the justification for activating it only in the special circumstances of Special Dungeon Floors to prevent guild monopolies was sound enough.
However, it was a nominally invoked right that was rarely used in practice, and even if it could be used, it couldn’t suppress the fury of the actual stakeholders involved.
But not everyone felt the same way.

-Yeah, next up, Taesan fanboys.
-Judging by the IP, they’re near Taesan’s headquarters.
-Pathetic.
-If they failed, they should just brief us on the Special Dungeon Floor info and shut up. Don’t make an international embarrassment out of another failure.

Because of Taesan’s actions, there were people who simply held a grudge against them.
Or rather.

-But has the Association President ever spoken up like this before?
-Is there someone he’s marked?
-Who is it?
-I work at the Association. I think I know. Actually, all Association staff probably know? There’s someone who’s been coming to the Association a lot recently.

There were those who could read between the lines of internal affairs.

-Ah, I think I know too.
-It has to be them, right?
-Yeah, recently gained attention, and as an unaffiliated hunter who’s Association-friendly, it could only be that person.
-It’s common knowledge that the Association President’s health improved after that person started visiting frequently.
-Honestly, if that person gets the designation right, it’d actually be great.

Hold on a moment.
What does the Association President’s designation right declaration have to do with me?

‘Everything.’

[A message from the Association President.]
-Have you confirmed the video?
-Of course, from here on, it’s your responsibility, Hunter.
-I hope you’ll demonstrate results convincing enough to satisfy the public.

I gazed at my phone with a wry smile.

‘I’ll take the designation rights for myself.’

Even as I thought this, the Association President’s voice continued flowing from the press conference video.

[Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all the citizens who waited for my recovery, and to Hunter Kang Ha-jin, who helped restore my health from the brink of death. Now that I have returned, I will do my utmost to root out all guild abuses and corruption to build a clean Korea….]

The Association President’s—no, the Association’s project to consolidate designation rights had only just begun.
I wasn’t burdened by such things. I would gratefully accept what was being given.
Because there was a reason I had to enter this Special Dungeon Floor, even if it meant receiving special treatment.

‘Thanatos.’

Whoosh.

At that moment.
The space behind me rippled and opened.

“Master.”

It was a portal opened by Barkalor.
When Gu Jang-hun visited last time, he had moved freely within the one-room building like this as well.
Today, I had assigned him tasks related to holy power in preparation for conquering the Special Dungeon Floor.

“I have discovered it.”

Swish.
Elder Barkalor handed me something.
I received it.

【Kobold Hide Imbued with Sunlight.】
【Crude Goblin Dagger Imbued with Sunlight.】
-Iron imbued with sunlight transforms into sunstone.
-Stat increase when fighting darkness-attribute monsters.
-Enhances light-attribute related traits.

The status window revealed the identity of the materials.
They were spoils I had obtained when I first conquered the Underground Layer.
Materials I had left abandoned in the Swordsmanship Hall storage because I didn’t know how to process or utilize them.
And this was.

“As expected, the answer was here all along.”

This would be the key to conquering this Special Dungeon Floor.

‘Moreover, it might become the key to persuading not just the remaining expedition members, but their guilds as well, and even the general public.’

However, there was an immediate problem.

“Processing it is beyond my capabilities, I’m afraid.”

Elder Barkalor shook his head.
He seemed to understand the principles and methods, but maintaining the mana and sunlight’s power while processing it was a matter of skill.
It wasn’t something that could be accomplished simply by being intelligent.

‘That’s true.’

Where in this world would you find a genius who could replicate something perfectly the moment they learned it?

“What we need is a skilled alchemist and blacksmith.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Understood. Thank you.”

I’d need to make inquiries through the Association.
I watched Elder Barkalor bow and return to the Underground Layer, thinking to myself.

‘…But the existence of the Underground Layer is a concern when it comes to hiring people.’

Finding someone who would become truly my ally without the Temple’s restrictions or contracts was an extraordinarily difficult task.
I hadn’t even revealed this to my old friend Hyeon-jun yet.

‘Two weeks remain until the auction. The conquest should happen around then as well.’

Checking the calendar, I realized time wasn’t as abundant as I’d hoped.
If I hired someone, began work, processed the material, and converted it into an item….

‘I’ll need to hurry as much as possible.’

Though it was random probability, it would be more advantageous in terms of security and skill to get someone from the Temple Resident Selection Ticket.

‘A blacksmith or an alchemist. One of them is bound to appear.’

I had currently conquered the 6th Underground Layer.
Clearing the remaining 4 layers and the final quest would consume a total of 5 days.
Before that, I needed to tackle the 10th Surface Layer first.

‘Last time when I cleared the 5th Floor in record time, an entry time reset voucher dropped.’

I had been planning to safely reach level 10 anyway, which was the entry restriction for the Special Dungeon Floor.
If it drops again this time, it would help shorten my overall time.
Having made my decision, I opened my mouth immediately.

“Enter the Tower, 10th 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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