Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 109

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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 109. The Sephiroth Magician – Murderous Clown (3)

The navigation app linked to the map functioned clearly even hundreds of meters underground.
This was naturally not GPS-based technology relying on satellites, but rather a system utilizing communication signals from transmission towers.
With the world destroyed and only one City remaining, there was no way to launch or maintain satellites.
Of course, the map and navigation were apps that only functioned within the City.
Transmission towers connecting phones and the intranet were densely installed throughout both the Surface City and Underground City.
They were installed so excessively that I suspected they weren’t created merely for civilian surveillance.
After all, in a City this dire, there had to be people inciting crowds by shouting “revolution.”
Honestly, from my perspective, the City Standing Army existed solely to suppress internal rebellion forces.
The defensive magic system constructed so ferociously along the Outer Wall meant that if they only needed to counter mutant monsters from outside the City, the Standing Army wouldn’t need to be nearly as large.
I headed toward the location where the Murderous Clown had been spotted, observing my surroundings.
“The ceiling is quite a bit lower compared to the upper levels.”
The ceiling height of Underground Level 3 appeared to be roughly fifty meters.
It was noticeably lower than Levels 1 and 2, which were around one hundred meters.
“The ceiling height decreases further as you descend.”
Underground Levels 1 and 2 were approximately one hundred meters.
Underground Levels 3 and 4 were approximately fifty meters.
Underground Levels 5 and 6 were thirty meters.
Underground Levels 7 and 8 were ten meters.
Underground Level 9 had a ceiling height of merely five meters.
Practically speaking, Underground Level 7 and Below should be considered a massive underground structure rather than an underground city.
Since you only needed to build walls without constructing ceilings, those walls became homes and rooms.
In fact, Underground Level 7 and Below had such easily modifiable structures that it supposedly transformed into a labyrinth that constantly shifted.
Moreover, there were few communication relays in Underground Level 7 and Below, so maps weren’t accurate and navigation frequently became useless.
Consequently, many mercenaries, including Shadow, tended to avoid missions descending to Level 7 and Below.
After hearing various explanations about the Underground City from Andromallius, I arrived at the location containing the sighting information.
“Well, should we start by gathering information?”
First, I needed to find this Murderous Clown before I could capture or eliminate him.
Andromallius responded to my question with a smile.
“That’s also a good approach. The residents of the mission area often know more about the mission details than those incompetent city officials. I’ve experienced disappointment more than once by relying solely on the commission information.”
His voice was laughing, but the content of what he said was anything but amusing.
Wait, wasn’t it a problem if important information about commissions was frequently inaccurate?
“Well, the officials can’t help it either. The commissions handed down to us are usually extremely dangerous, so from their perspective without military power, investigating directly would feel like suicide.”
Hearing it that way, it did seem to make sense.
Of course, from the position of actually having to solve those dangerous problems, it was infuriating.
As if their safety was all that mattered.
Since the residents of the Underground City, worn down by harsh circumstances, wouldn’t willingly share information without compensation, it was best to offer pocket change or tempt them with snacks like candy or chocolate.
For someone living on Underground Level 3, one meal a day typically consisted of mana rations or energy blocks, making sweet snacks an extraordinarily expensive bribe.
To be honest, food prices in this City were exorbitantly high compared to everything else.
Whether high-income or low-income, the Engel coefficient was simply too steep.
However, through my Reincarnation Clone or Tower Clone, I could procure snacks at remarkably affordable prices.
A piece of chocolate the size of a fingernail, which cost at least 5 dollars here (roughly 5,000 to 2.5 million won depending on status), could be purchased in the Galaxy Martial Arts World for about 10 liang (approximately 10 won).
Even more remarkably, the 10-liang chocolate tasted better than the 5-dollar variety.
The 10-liang chocolate was genuine chocolate, while the 5-dollar version was merely chocolate substitute—naturally, there was a difference.
How could one obtain cocoa in a world that had already collapsed?
“At the Underground Level 3 standard, cent currency might not be effective, so using dollar currency would be more reliable. However, if we go deeper, it becomes dangerous to openly display high-denomination currency.”
The residents we needed information from could suddenly turn into robbers, so using cents—the currency they primarily used—was safer than displaying high-value dollars.
Even setting that aside, we possessed the power to protect ourselves, but someone who received dollars as compensation for information could be discovered as a corpse the next day.
“Still, given that the resident witness accounts are specific and corroborating, this commission appears trustworthy, so let’s skip the information-gathering phase.”
This was an appropriate first assignment for a newcomer.
I reviewed the commission details once more.
“So next is… mutation detection magic?”
“Correct. You may use mutation detection magic directly, or you can use the magic stored in the supplied multi-purpose magical tool.”
At Andromallius’s words, I retrieved a dictionary-like magical tool.
This magical tool couldn’t use magic itself, but was created for those who needed to cast spells—by inserting a ‘Memorize Chip’ with a specific spell inscribed on it and channeling mana into it, the magic would activate.
The supplied multi-purpose magical tool already contained twenty spells necessary for mercenary operations.
A magical phone could perform similar functions, but commercial phones allocated most resources to practical magic like calls, messages, and intranet access, so professionals used these dedicated magical tools separately.
In other words, it was the difference between a user-convenience-focused phone and a military-specification rugged phone for professionals.
The latter naturally had greater magical capacity than the former.
Most importantly, using this magical tool allowed me to conserve my main body’s mana by using mana stones instead.
“I don’t sense any mutation detection nearby.”
“Let’s move along the reported sighting route.”
I moved along the sighting route with mutation detection magic activated.
However, after completing one circuit, the mutation detection magic picked up nothing.
As I contemplated whether I should continue patrolling while wasting time this way, I examined the spells stored in the multi-purpose magical tool and discovered a magic with a much wider detection range, though it detected general mana instead of specific mutations.
“Let me head to where the victims or traces might be.”
The Murderous Clown, even as a flora or fauna that couldn’t use mana before its transformation, had learned to use unique mana after becoming a monster.
Traces would certainly contain residual mana from the Murderous Clown.
“That’s sound judgment.”
Andromallius didn’t instruct me on what should be done; he merely evaluated whether my judgment was good or bad.
I went to the area where the Murderous Clown had appeared and searched for traces, finding blade marks but no residual mana.
Even Andromallius became slightly grave upon seeing that no residual traces remained.
“This was deliberately erased. Otherwise, it’s impossible for absolutely nothing to remain so cleanly.”
Mana residue persists longer than one might expect.
Under normal natural conditions, dissipation would occur naturally, but since this City was sustained by magic, mana was prevented from scattering to maximize magical efficiency, allowing residual mana to be recycled.
In such an environment, mana residue doesn’t disappear easily, and residue typically vanishes not through dissipation but through time, as traces from other spells accumulate and mix, rendering the original form unrecognizable.
“Does this mean someone is harboring the Murderous Clown?”
Andromallius nodded at my question.
“Such cases are uncommon in the upper levels, but they’re quite frequent in the lower districts.”
There were several reasons why mutants harbored aberrant monsters.
To enslave and exploit aberrant monsters for their own purposes.
Crime Organizations deliberately destabilizing security to seize control of a region.
Individuals or anti-government factions expressing social discontent.
Consuming aberrant monsters to gain power.
Avoiding interference when hunting down monsters for personal revenge, and so forth.
“Do mutants actually consume aberrant monsters? Isn’t that insane?”
Aberrant monsters contained mutation factors within them.
Those who could control mutation factors and make them their own power were nearly as numerous as body-modified enhanced soldiers, but absorbing them through consumption was essentially suicide with low success rates.
Even if one succeeded in absorbing the mutation factor, the probability of becoming an uncontrollable new aberrant monster was far too high.
Andromallius exhaled a weary sigh.
“Because society is unstable, there are those who seek power through any means necessary. Most people lack the conditions to implant and control mutation factors through orthodox methods.”
Everything came down to money.
Implanting a mutation factor required accepting the risk of becoming an aberrant monster beyond a certain threshold.
Methods to reduce that risk demanded substantial capital.
Consequently, most mutant ability users were mortgaged to corporations or organizations.
From the corporations’ perspective, they needed military force to protect themselves, so they employed or created mutant ability users and body-modified enhanced soldiers.
Of course, free ability users did exist, but most of those cases involved escaping during corporate bankruptcies or seizing freedom amid comparable chaos.
Otherwise, someone else had purchased and liberated them with money.
“Underground Level 3 is considered part of the upper levels, so security maintenance is relatively well-preserved there.”
While pickpocketing, theft, and robbery occurred not daily but by the second, murders were rare enough that one could say security was being maintained.
“The Crime Organizations there have barely transcended thug-level operations, so there wouldn’t be any organization capable of exploiting aberrant monsters.”
Descending further revealed numerous substantial Crime Organizations that even the City Standing Army wouldn’t rashly provoke.
Of course, when Crime Organizations crossed the line, the Standing Army would swarm down for suppression, or unstoppable monsters like the 72 Shadows would descend and massacre them, so they remained cautious in various ways.
“Then anti-government protests?”
“That’s ambiguous too… First, let’s examine the corpse left by the Murderous Clown.”
Andromallius sent a message via magical phone to somewhere.
“Are you contacting the Corpse Storage Facility?”
Until the monster was subjugated, the corpse would be preserved as evidence.
Of course, descending to the lower levels meant such procedures didn’t exist.
“No. The situation appears larger than expected, so I’ve requested a compensation adjustment. If someone is harboring the Murderous Clown, it’s not a simple subjugation—the request difficulty increases significantly.”
I caught a glimpse of the message he’d sent.
“Isn’t that blackmail rather than a request?”
A message demanding compensation adjustment if they didn’t want to bear responsibility for inadequate investigation was closer to blackmail than a request.
With a 7-Class Magician sending such a message, few would dare ignore it.
“I simply wrote what was true. Being righteous and being a pushover are entirely different matters. If work is done, appropriate compensation must be received.”
Somehow, I sensed Andromallius smiling beneath his mask.
“Now then, let’s head to the Corpse Storage Facility. If the scene preservation there is also a mess, we’ll truly need to prepare ourselves.”

(To be 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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