Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 102

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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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Chapter 102. The Magician of Sephiroth – A City in a Dying World (5)

The Department Store that Andromallius led me to was a sprawling ten-story building.
“Even within the Inner Wall, there are large structures like this.”
“Convenience facilities tend to be accepted by people regardless of size. I’ve heard that the interior uses spatial expansion magic so extensively that people often get lost inside.”
Once I stepped into the Department Store, I understood why people would lose their way.
Since creating my Astral Body, my ability to sense magic had developed considerably, and I could roughly perceive just how vast this Department Store truly was.
It was strange that I could sense it without even deliberately spreading my aura to expand my perception.
“Let’s start with a subspace magical tool.”
“Something that expensive right away?”
“It’s not quite that expensive. The crafting isn’t difficult enough that many high-ranking mages at the Magic Tower and members of the 72 Shadows create and use them personally. Everyone just finds it bothersome and buys them for the superior finish.”
As he spoke, he led me to the fourth floor of the Department Store, where various forms of subspace magical tools were displayed.
Bracelets, necklaces, rings, cloaks, hats—the variety was impressive.
“Compared to other shapes, the cube form is the most stable. Since you’ll be moving vigorously and engaging in magical combat ahead, high stability and spacious interior capacity are paramount.”
The cube was roughly a square with sides of about ten centimeters.
According to the manual, items like rings or bracelets had a capacity of ’10x10x10 meters,’ while the cube form offered ‘100x100x100 meters.’
“The space differs by a thousand times, yet the price only differs by tenfold?”
The cube form cost 30,000 dollars, while bracelets and necklaces cost 3,000 dollars.
Wait—the money I received, which was supposedly about ten years’ worth of average salary for a Shadow mercenary, was 20 million dollars, and a subspace magical tool only costs 30,000 dollars?
Had I misjudged the value of money?
Andromallius answered my question casually.
“That’s because this cube-form subspace is a warehouse-type subspace, while bracelets and necklaces are luxury accessories with convenience functions added.”
Ah, so the accessory types weren’t primarily subspaces—they were just accessories.
“In other words, it’s like an expensive bag?”
For reference, the cube-form subspace weighed only 100 grams.
I never imagined I’d acquire a subspace magical tool like this. Should I call it good fortune?
I was about to pull out the check card I’d received this morning when Andromallius stopped me and paid with his own card.
“This is like a gift we give to all new recruits, so put that away.”
Andromallius purchased no fewer than ten cube-form subspaces and placed them in a specialized belt with a dedicated case, which he handed to me.
“Why did you buy ten of them?”
“If you’re going to learn magic from me, you’ll need more than one or two. Naturally, you should have at least this many. I’m not a stingy master with my disciples.”
He added, “If you run out, you can buy more with your salary.”
Run out? How much am I going to be carrying around that ten would be insufficient?
“Now, let’s go shopping for clothes.”
I was dragged about by Andromallius, purchasing a necklace enchanted with a manifestation spell containing 1,000 clothing designs, 21 sets of everyday clothes, 7 pairs of magical shoes, 7 small magical staffs and 3 large magical staffs, cloaks with various defensive enchantments, a bracelet with cleansing magic, air-purifying masks, and more.
I couldn’t help but exclaim, “You’re buying all of this?”
My still-undeveloped sense of money felt like it was already becoming numb.
After the Department Store shopping—or rather, Department Store ransacking—ended and we returned to the Safe House, Heidi, who had come in for her shift, complained that he was giving so much to someone who was no longer even a newcomer.
Andromallius seemed aware of his own overspending and made excuses, glancing nervously at me while insisting that I had agreed to join.
I wasn’t joining immediately, but I decided to keep quiet about it.
Heidi was about to let it slide with “Well then…” when she spotted the ten cube-shaped spatial pouches hanging from my waist and resumed her nagging.
“You said you’d take a break! What about our finances?! Do you think money grows on trees?”
Heidi quickly located the receipt and, upon seeing its length and the total price at the bottom, erupted in fury.
“Boss!!”
It seemed the items I’d received were far more than what new recruits typically got.
After being thoroughly scolded for a while, Andromallius whispered to me.
“Don’t be too afraid of Heidi. She handles the Andromallius Family’s finances, so she’s sensitive about money, but she’s usually kind.”
“Then wouldn’t it be better not to give so much away?”
“That’s not easy.”
This man had a natural tendency to be taken advantage of.
Still, Heidi didn’t ask me to return the items she’d bought me.
She simply held the accounting ledger and furrowed her brow.
Andromallius spoke as he watched Heidi.
“She’s really reliable, isn’t she?”
I wondered if perhaps Andromallius was the one who had shaped Heidi’s personality.

* * *

Andromallius prepared to head out.
Though he’d decided to take a break for now, he said he needed to finish yesterday’s work, so he gathered his weapons and left the Safe House.
After seeing Andromallius off, Heidi asked me a question.
“Now that you’re a colleague, I realize I don’t even know your name. Once the boss finishes his work, I’ll arrange an introduction with everyone in the family.”
“Ah… well, you see…”
As I hesitated, Heidi spoke in a calm voice.
“If it’s a difficult topic, you don’t have to share it.”
“No, it’s not a difficult topic. It’s just that I haven’t officially joined yet.”
“What?”
“I’ve only recently begun learning magic and I’m still inexperienced. Andromallius scouted me after seeing my potential, so we agreed that I would join once I reach a certain level of skill.”
At my words, Heidi frowned and sighed.
“Hmm… normally we scout people with immediate combat capability, not just potential.”
She seemed disappointed that I wasn’t someone she could put to use right away.
“Potential, you say… though there have been rare cases like that. What’s your specialty? Unique magic? Enhanced modified human? Mutation ability?”
“For now, it’s magic.”
Mutation ability? Could that mean controlling transformations into mutant monsters?
Looking at my smartphone, it seemed I could access the city’s intranet to gather information.
I’d look into it later.
“You’ve only recently learned magic and it’s already your specialty? Are you joking?”
“I’m not joking. However, Andromallius told me not to reveal my main magic carelessly, so it’s probably unusable for now.”
“Hmm… the captain said that? Then there must be a reason. Alright, so I should understand it as a unique magic with risks?”
I nodded at Heidi’s question.
“Something like that. So for now, since I’m still learning magic, I don’t plan to join until I’m at least somewhat combat-ready.”
Heidi nodded approvingly at my answer.
“A wise decision. Every mission in Shadow is perilously dangerous. Especially those undertaken with the captain.”
“If I join, will I operate separately from Andromallius?”
“Of course. The captain is among the top-ranked grand mages of the 72 Shadows. A monster who ranks within the top fifty across the entire City. Only a select few can keep pace with the missions such a monster undertakes. Most of us handle dangerous odd jobs that occur throughout the City.”
So we’re essentially mercenaries.
Surviving after being backstabbed by a comrade during such dangerous missions was quite the feat.
“Even if you’re planning to join, it’s good to have a gathering with the Family. There’s no harm in establishing connections beforehand, and everyone is grateful to you. I’m also thankful to you… truly grateful that you saved the captain.”
Unlike when she had been pecking at the exhausted Andromallius, she offered her gratitude with genuine sincerity.
“Ha, you’re too kind.”
“Now that I think about it, I never properly introduced myself. I’m Heidi, handling the finances of the Andromallius Family. I look forward to working with you.”
“I’m Credit. The pleasure is mine.”
After exchanging greetings with Heidi, I returned to my room and organized the items I’d purchased from the Department Store.
I arranged daily necessities—toothbrush, toothpaste, cup, slippers, underwear, watch, and more—throughout the room.
Though the room had furniture like a bed and table, it had been unused for so long that it lacked any personal items.
Filling it with these small necessities transformed the barren room into a lived-in space.
Next, I removed all the items I’d haphazardly stuffed into the subspace and reorganized them methodically before storing them again.
Then I checked whether the cube-shaped subspace could fit into my inventory.
“Oh! It fits!”
When I’d purchased the subspace artifact, a warning had been attached stating that placing space-attribute magical artifacts inside a subspace was impossible, and attempting to force it would result in spatial collision damage or, in the worst case, an explosion.
Confirming it had entered the inventory, I next verified that it hadn’t malfunctioned.
“Excellent! It’s not broken! Yes!”
Now I wouldn’t have to make the tedious trip back and forth to Tower Floor 1 whenever I needed something!
Since Tower Floor 1 was overwhelmingly vast, I’d continue storing items there, but thanks to the inventory’s weight limit, I could now handle everything in one trip without the constant commute.
Each cube weighed only 100 grams, and with ten of them, that was merely one kilogram total.
Of course, unlike the inventory, I couldn’t summon items from the subspace artifact instantly, but being able to store without weight restrictions was a significant advantage.
“Well then, let me learn more about this world.”
I accessed the intranet using the magical phone I’d received this morning.
Accessing the intranet required citizen ID authentication, and my Grade 3 citizen ID allowed access to quite a bit of information.
Of course, that didn’t mean I could access military secrets or anything of that nature.
Such classified information probably required a Grade 1 citizen ID or special credentials.
After spending considerable time researching and exploring the information, I discovered several facts.
“…This place is hell.”
The Surface City was suffocating but relatively peaceful.
However, the Underground City was nothing short of a human inferno.
Down to the 5th Underground Floor, even Grade 4 to 6 citizens lived there or descended to work in underground factories, but from the 6th Underground Floor onward, it was essentially a den of vice.
It was so horrifying that I couldn’t help but wonder if those living outside the City, unrecognized as citizens, might actually be living more human lives.
The City’s economic structure was so distorted that it was nearly impossible to gauge currency value by the price standards I knew.
No, it was meaningless.
Especially with food prices spiraling out of control.
A single serving of mana ration cost 1 cent, an energy block 2 cents, and oatmeal 10 dollars.
Since 1 dollar equaled 100 cents, a single serving of oatmeal could buy a year’s worth of mana rations.
Flour and bread were luxuries beyond even looking at.
The average monthly wage for citizens of rank 7 and below was roughly 4 dollars.
The primary currency was cents—400 cents—and for a family of four, buying a month’s supply of mana rations left barely 40 cents remaining.
Only from rank 6 citizens and above, the threshold for ascending to the Surface City, did circumstances improve.
Average monthly wages around 20 dollars.
For a family of four, every meal still relied on mana rations or energy blocks, yet at least savings became possible.
But there was no hope in it.
A place where murders occurred regularly over a mere scrap of bread.
A place where even sunlight was a luxury of the middle class.
“Is this the city of a world dying away?”
This was the city ruled by the 33 Magic Towers.

(Continued in the next chapter)

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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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