I Inherited the Basement of the Tower - Chapter 71

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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 71

“So you’re saying that if you reverse the arrangement of that magical formula, the very nature of the catalyst transforms? Extraordinary! How did you ever conceive of such an idea!”
“It’s a simple principle, really. Truth often crouches in the place closest to us. Your paper had excellent direction as well.”
“No, sir! Compared to your teachings, my research is nothing but the trivial play of a child!”

In one corner of the office in the underground temple.
Lowell, England’s national-level alchemist, was engaged in an animated conversation with Elder Barkalor, spittle flying from his lips.
Before them lay an exquisite meal specially prepared and packaged from Chef Ahn Yeong-jae’s restaurant, displayed in all its splendor.
Between listening intently to Elder Barkalor’s teachings, Lowell would pick up dishes and eat, constantly letting out rapturous exclamations of delight.
Jeong Min-hee, watching from a distance, quietly approached me and whispered.

“…Only our boss would use Chef Ahn Yeong-jae’s meals as hospitality food, I’m sure.”
“Is that so? But Min-hee, I caught you sneaking off to go there frequently yourself.”
“Which is exactly why I know how abnormal this really is….”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, it’s nothing! Anyway, it’s nice to see, isn’t it?”

Jeong Min-hee smiled brightly, gazing at Lowell and Elder Barkalor.
The face of Lowell that lingered at the end of her gaze was not the stern, reclusive visage of an old scholar she had encountered in articles or photographs.
Though she had never met him in person during his youth.
The vigor and passion of those days—when he climbed the mysterious Tower in pursuit of truth—remained vividly present.

“…I’ve never seen my mentor make such an expression before.”

Jeong Min-hee murmured as if struck anew by the realization.
Soon after, she bowed deeply to me, conveying her heartfelt gratitude.

“I thought I knew everything about my mentor. Thank you, boss. For letting me see this side of him.”
“I didn’t do anything special. It’s Elder Barkalor who’s remarkable.”

As I shrugged my shoulders, a sense of déjà vu suddenly struck me.
Now that I thought about it, Gu Jang-hun, the hunter who serves the Association President, had once expressed similar gratitude.
At that time, he had said he was genuinely delighted to see the Association President’s long-forgotten combative spirit once more.
Then and now, Elder Barkalor stood at the center of it all.

‘Truly capable indeed!’

That overwhelming knowledge and insight that could turn even such a demanding national-level alchemist into a disciple in an instant.
A pleasant thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘It’s already absurdly broken as it is, but what would happen if Barkalor’s rank increased too?’

Yahwi, who had been Rare-grade, was promoted to Artifact-grade, and his physical abilities surged dramatically, allowing him to demonstrate his Fourth Technique to me.
Thanks to that overwhelming martial prowess, I was able to achieve tremendous growth in a short time.
Barkalor, currently Artifact-grade, would undoubtedly show even greater potential if he evolved to Legend-grade or Myth-grade.

‘…I really do need more Wol-yeong-seok.’

It took 500 of them to evolve Yahwi to Artifact-grade, so promoting him to Legend-grade would require several times that, perhaps even dozens of times more.
Right then, I was resolving to tackle the Underground Layers intensively again soon.
Lowell, having finished his lengthy conversation with Barkalor, approached me with a deeply reluctant expression.

“Thank you, truly thank you, young man.”

He grasped both my hands firmly as he spoke.
He didn’t specify what exactly he was grateful for, but the meaning came through clearly from his trembling hands and glistening eyes.
It was deep gratitude for allowing him to meet his lifelong mentor, and for rekindling his pure spirit of inquiry as an alchemist.

“Yes, please take care on your way. You said England, correct?”
“Hmm, yes. I need to go back and reopen my workshop.”

Lowell seemed reluctant, as if his feet wouldn’t leave the ground.

“Once I return to England this time, when will I ever come back to Korea? I wonder if I’ll be able to visit this place even once more in my lifetime.”
“….”

Really, what a heavy thing to say and put me in an awkward position.
As I stood there with an uncomfortable expression, the quick-witted Min-hee noticed my unease and linked her arm through Lowell’s as she approached.

“Mentor, it’s time for your flight now. You should go. Come on, I’ll safely escort you to the airport.”
“Yes, that’s right. I should go….”

But despite his words, Lowell couldn’t bring himself to turn away so easily.
Being an alchemist through and through, his gaze kept drifting sideways toward the giant Eltos’s forge.
The sunstones piled high like mountains there and the leather gleaming with sunlight seemed to captivate him utterly.
Such is the nature of alchemists.
Moreover, since the meal he’d eaten earlier had suited his palate exceptionally well, his eyes kept glancing wistfully toward the empty lunchbox.
English cuisine is notoriously tasteless throughout the world, so this was likely deeply connected to that fact.
Well, Chef Ahn Yeong-jae’s cooking would taste like heavenly fare to anyone from any country who tried it.

‘Honestly, if Lowell wants to stay at the Temple voluntarily, I’d be thrilled.’

He was the great mentor who taught the genius alchemist Jeong Min-hee.
No matter how retired he claims to be, his skills must be at least comparable to Min-hee’s, if not considerably superior.
Since Eltos and Min-hee are working in tandem at similar levels, if Lowell joined, it would be like gaining at least one more artifact-grade alchemist for free.
But Lowell also has his workshop to manage in England, which is the foundation of his life.
At his advanced age, completely settling in Korea would be a significant burden.
At that moment.
A brilliant idea suddenly struck through my mind like lightning.

“Ah, Mr. Lowell, whereabouts in England do you live?”
“Hmm? Why do you ask?”
“Is it near London, perhaps?”

London, the capital of England.
Just like Seoul in Korea, a Tower surely manifested right in the heart of that most densely populated capital.
And from that terrible magical aftermath, London too must have been deeply contaminated as the Black Land.

‘Elder Barkalor said it—portals can be opened anywhere treated as a Temple.’

The reason I could freely connect this shabby underground building and the underground Temple was because I planted a purification tree in the yard, making this place Nix’s sanctuary.
Then, if I were to plant a purification tree right in the heart of London, England.
What would happen.

“London is contaminated. You know well enough about the Black Land—that land of death where humans cannot breathe and live.”
“The capital of Korea is Seoul. My underground building is right near the boundary of that Black Land.”
“What are you saying? I haven’t coughed once since coming here. In fact, the air is far cleaner and better than in my workshop on the outskirts of London.”
“I can make it that way for you. On the condition that you enter into a ‘contract’ to keep all these secrets to yourself alone.”
“Y-you! Are you saying right now that you can purify the Black Land so people can live there? Do you truly understand what that means?”
“That I can restore the capital, you mean. Of course I understand.”
“This is absolutely absurd…!”

Lowell’s mouth fell wide open.

“Just a moment, please. Wol-yeong-seok Shop.”

Ding!
【Connecting to the Wol-yeong-seok Shop.】
【Purchasing ‘Purification Tree Sapling of the Black Land’.】
-100 Wol-yeong-seok stones have been deducted.

Crackle!

The air shimmered, and in the next moment, a purification tree sapling emanating a pitch-black luminescence materialized in my hand.

“That’s… a pocket dimension…?”

He was mistaken.
I do have a pocket dimension.
But this operates on a different principle.

“Something similar.”

I couldn’t be bothered to explain further, so I simply brushed it off.
I handed the sapling to Lowell and told him to take it to his house in London and plant it there.
Lowell accepted the sapling with trembling hands and examined its mysterious leaves for a long while before nodding firmly.

“I happen to own a house in London under my name. I haven’t set foot there once since the Tower appeared and the land became corrupted. I can use the yard there.”
“Good. It should take roughly half a day to fully mature. The toxic miasma of the Black Land will be taxing during your travels, so please use this mask. As long as you’re not staying there continuously, it will allow you to endure for about a day.”

I retrieved the remaining mechanical oxygen mask and handed it over.
Lowell’s eyes gleamed sharply as he took the mask.

“Impressive. The craftsmanship is exquisite, and the mana circulation structure is excellent. It appears to be the work of a highly skilled artisan.”
“It’s a creation of mine and Eltos’s, Mentor.”

Jeong Min-hee, standing beside me, shrugged her shoulders and spoke with pride.
Lowell patted her head warmly with an approving expression.

“You’ve improved tremendously, Min-hee.”
“Hehe. It’s all thanks to you, Boss. You’ve trusted me completely and invested generously in all sorts of rare new materials. Eltos’s skill has been instrumental as well.”

She smiled shyly and looked toward me.
Lowell then suddenly startled.
He glanced around cautiously before whispering to me in a serious tone.

“…It seems our Min-hee has fallen quite hard for you. The poor girl came to a foreign land at such a young age and has suffered much. Please treat her well.”
“…No, sir. You’ve misunderstood entirely. We are simply in an employer-employee contractual relationship.”
“Yes, yes. I understand. Young men and women can be that way. I would approve of you.”
“No, I’m serious.”

Just as I was about to deny it with a stern expression, Elder Barkalor called out to Lowell.

“Lowell. Come here. We’ll establish a confidentiality contract. The price is your life.”
“Ah! Of course, Mentor!”

Lowell seemed to have completely forgotten that breaking such a contract would result in instant death on the spot.
He gazed at Elder Barkalor with infinite reverence in his eyes and scurried after him.
His bright face and sparkling eyes were utterly unimaginable for someone about to enter a life-or-death contract.
In any case, all the pieces fit together perfectly.
Once Lowell successfully planted the purification tree in the heart of London, Elder Barkalor would be able to sense Nix’s aura and open a direct portal connecting London to this place.
Rather than the burden of taking flights back and forth, traveling from the workshop in England to the house in London and then using the portal would reduce Lowell’s strain considerably.
This way, I would obtain a “free national-level alchemist” for the Temple without spending a single penny on wages—an overwhelmingly advantageous deal.

“Kekeke. Everything’s going according to plan.”

A sinister laugh escaped from my lips of its own accord.
A national-level alchemist, no less.
I had merely hired one skilled alchemist, Jeong Min-hee, but it felt as though a pumpkin had rolled in along with the entire vine.
I would need to quickly construct a spacious and comfortable dedicated workshop within the Temple that both Min-hee and Lowell could use together.
For that, I would need a large quantity of Wol-yeong-seok again.
I grasped the handle of my jet-black longsword lightly and opened my mouth toward the empty air.

“Then let’s go earn plenty of Wol-yeong-seok.”

I held the jet-black longsword in my hand and spoke.

“Entering Basement 15F.”

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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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