Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 114

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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 114. The Tower – The Airship (2)

The moment I saw Lee Su-young and Diana, I nearly asked how they’d been doing.
I’d spent half a year learning magic in an apocalyptic dystopian world, while these two had merely spent an hour or two browsing the Market at most.
“Looks like you two had quite the shopping spree.”
Lee Su-young and Diana were draped in items they’d purchased from the Market.
“Oh! It was so much fun. I wish you’d come with us, Ji-woo.”
“No, shopping really isn’t my hobby.”
I personally enjoyed tinkering with model kits and machinery, or spending time on computers—being dragged around on shopping trips wasn’t my style.
If I had to shop, I’d much prefer doing it online.
“Come on, there were so many fascinating items. Wasn’t there, Diana?”
“That’s right. I found some really interesting things.”
Diana pulled out what looked like a small magical wand and waved it around.
Light emanated from the wand, and as Diana traced it through the air, an image appeared in the empty space.
“Wow, how much did you pay for that?”
“Not much. About 50 Credit—5,000 won?”
Fortunately, they hadn’t been overcharged.
It was a magical artifact containing simple light magic, useful only for writing letters in the air—essentially a novelty toy.
“I should have gone with you.”
If I’d known such things existed, I would have gone myself.
Even my magical clone would have had difficulty obtaining such useless yet entertaining items.
No matter how abundant magical artifacts were in that place or how magic-centric it was, resources were limited—there was no way they could produce toys like this.
As my eyes lit up, Diana smiled knowingly and pulled out another wand, handing it to me.
“Here, it’s a gift.”
“Oh! Thank you so much. Let me pay you.”
I’d wanted it the moment I saw it. As I reached out to transfer Credit through a handshake, Diana smiled and declined.
“I said it’s a gift. You worked hard investigating alone yesterday, and just now you had something else to do and couldn’t join us for fun, right? It’s not much, but consider it my thanks. Please just accept it.”
“That’s right. It’s just a cheap toy anyway. If you feel bad about it, next time don’t skip out and come play with us.”
I was genuinely touched by what they said.
“Ah, but I’m absolutely refusing to do manual labor like yesterday. Seriously.”
Lee Su-young growled seriously, and I surrendered, raising both hands.
“Ha, okay, I got it. Next time something involves manual labor, I’ll tell you upfront.”
She was more stubborn about this than I’d expected.
“Good! Then I won’t say anything more about it.”
Lee Su-young nodded, satisfied.
We ate at a Restaurant near the Hunter Association, then went to meet the leather-working Dwarf Craftsman at the time he’d mentioned to pick up Diana’s Gung-gi leather outfit.
The leather was difficult to pierce even with a blade, and the tailoring was impeccably precise.
The golden thread used in the stitching was woven from Gung-gi fur through magic and appeared just as durable as the leather itself.
I couldn’t craft clothing from Gung-gi leather myself, but by now I’d mastered the magical tanning process well enough.
“How is it? Do you like it?”
Diana nodded at the Dwarf Craftsman’s question.
“Yes, it’s quite splendid.”
“If you find rare leather again, come back next time. It’s been a while since I’ve met a climber with such impressive merit points, so I was able to do proper work. I’ll give you a better price next time.”
The Dwarf Craftsman had accepted our commission not simply because we’d brought materials and paid substantial Credit.
Honestly, if we invested time, we could accumulate enough Credit for one or two commissions from the Dwarf Craftsman fairly quickly.
The Dwarf Craftsman had accepted the commission because we’d accumulated considerable merit points.
Merit points were credibility within The Tower’s residential district, and they served as the means to commission such craftsmen through the Hunter Association.
Without them, the Dwarf leather craftsman would have been swamped with requests, and we never would have gotten an audience.
With this level of skill, anyone would want his work.
I hadn’t accumulated merit points through all that tedious labor for nothing.
Once Diana finished changing into her new outfit, we headed straight for the City Central Crystal.
“Now then, let’s challenge the 21st Floor.”
We ascended to the 21st Floor.

* * *

Upon reaching the 21st Floor, we arrived in a space that resembled the helm of some great vessel.

[Protect the airship’s power source until you reach your destination.]

It wasn’t just some ship’s wheelhouse—it was an actual wheelhouse.
And not just any ship’s wheelhouse, but that of an airship.
Through the massive windows at the front, I could see clouds spread out like a sea below us.
When we suddenly appeared, a middle-aged man—whether captain or helmsman, I couldn’t tell—was so startled he fell flat on his backside.
Looking at the nameplate on his uniform that read “Captain Bilrum,” he appeared to be the head of this vessel.
But if his title was captain rather than commander, could this ship actually be a military facility?
“Are you perhaps a climber?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
At my response, the captain seemed intrigued.
His demeanor didn’t appear particularly urgent.
“I see. I’ve heard quite a lot about climbers. They say you appear frequently at the Southern Front?”
The captain’s casual manner seemed ingrained in him.
While climbers were treated as legends in the lower floors of The Tower, they seemed to be spotted fairly regularly here.
Was this world truly that dangerous?
“I’ve heard the stories, but seeing you appear suddenly from nowhere like that is something else. If you hadn’t materialized from thin air, I would’ve assumed you were an intruder and tried to subdue you immediately. But what brings you to this place?”
We were rather taken aback by the captain’s question.
“Isn’t this airship under attack?”
Wasn’t the system supposed to match climbers with those who desperately wished for their aid?
“What? Under attack? Well, we are transporting military supplies, but since we’re at war with monsters rather than other people, there’s not really a high chance of supply lines being targeted.”
“The Tower told us to protect the power source until this ship reaches its destination.”
“The power source? You don’t mean…!”
At my words, the captain’s face suddenly drained of all color.
“Is there not a shred of falsehood in what you’re saying?!”
“No, it’s the truth.”
At my response, the captain hastily manipulated the machinery and activated the ship-wide broadcast system.
“This is the captain addressing all crew members! Effective immediately, I am issuing a green alert! I repeat: effective immediately, a green alert is issued! This is not a drill—this is a real situation! All personnel are to assume combat readiness and search the ship!”
As the announcement echoed throughout the vessel, the sound of boots thundering and clattering echoed from various sections of the ship.
“What is a green alert?”
At my question, the captain replied with a grave expression.
“A green alert is an order issued when there is ‘suspicion’ of a gremlin’s appearance. Do you know what gremlins are?”
“Aren’t they goblins that break mechanical devices?”
Some claimed they were fairies rather than goblins, but since no footage had ever been captured, only witness accounts had been compiled into a composite sketch.
Cameras were mechanical devices too, after all, and gremlins would destroy them on sight.
“They resemble goblins in appearance, but they’re far more cunning and dangerous creatures. Especially aboard an airship like this one.”
Indeed, if the power source of an airship flying above the clouds were to malfunction, there would be nothing left but to plummet to our deaths.
“But how did you know a gremlin would appear?”
The captain nodded at my question.
“You weren’t ordered by The Tower to protect this airship—you were ordered to protect the power source, weren’t you?”
“It wasn’t an order exactly, but it was something similar.”
Orders were mandatory, but whether we accepted a Quest or not was our decision, so “request” was the more accurate term.
“Ah, my apologies. After spending so long in the Military, my speech has become rather stiff. In any case, the crux of the matter is the directive to protect the power source.”
I understood what he meant perfectly.
If the attack had come from flying monsters outside the airship, the power source wouldn’t have been in danger.
But if a monster was already hiding inside the vessel, it would attack people—not necessarily seek out the power source, which was hidden deep within the complex interior.
The power source was located somewhere not easily accessible.
“Where is the power source located? We should help guard it as well.”
The captain laughed heartily at my words.
“Aha! There’s no need for that. To be honest, you’ve already done your part by alerting us to a danger we hadn’t yet perceived. All the soldiers on this ship are seasoned veterans. No matter how cunning and dangerous a gremlin may be, it won’t reach anywhere near the power source once we’re in defensive posture.”
The captain added that this was assuming his suspicion proved correct.
In fact, he seemed to hope it was a gremlin—because if it wasn’t, they’d have to sweat blood trying to find some unknown problem causing equipment malfunctions and power source anomalies.
Just then, the radio crackled to life.
“Secure channel. Captain speaking.”
-Secure channel! This is Deck 2 Squad Leader! Captain, we have confirmation! Green signal detected! I repeat! Green signal confirmed!
“Acknowledged.”
The captain set down the radio and activated the ship-wide broadcast.
“This is the captain broadcasting to all personnel aboard! As of this moment, green signal confirmed! Escalating alert status from warning to full alert! I repeat. Green signal confirmed! Full alert status now in effect! This is not a drill—this is an actual situation! All personnel assume combat readiness and stand by!”
The crisis level had been escalated from warning to full alert.
The captain saluted us and offered his thanks.
“Without you, we would have remained unaware of this danger and lost precious lives and vital supplies. As captain of the Samchuri Airship and representing the Euphrates Air Force, I offer my sincere gratitude.”
I returned the salute naturally, but Lee Su-young and Diana, who had no military background, awkwardly mimicked the gesture.
“Is there anything else we can help with?”
The captain shook his head at Diana’s question.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but this is a military facility. Under military security protocols, this is a restricted civilian control zone. I’m afraid I cannot allow you to move about freely. I hope you understand.”
“We understand. All secure facilities operate that way. But how long until we reach our destination? Our objective is to ensure this airship arrives safely at its destination.”
The captain checked the time and consulted the flight map before answering my question.
“At our current cruising speed, we should arrive in approximately thirty hours. If you wish to rest, I can offer you the officers’ lounge. If you need separate sleeping quarters, I can also provide the female barracks for the two ladies.”
The captain called over his female adjutant sitting beside him and assigned her to us.
“These are our honored guests who saved our lives. Treat them with the utmost respect.”
“Yes, understood.”
“I apologize for restricting your freedom, but please follow Sergeant Lurgin’s guidance. She’ll show you where you’re permitted to go.”
“Please follow me. I’ll escort you to the officers’ lounge where you can rest comfortably.”
Having received their polite thanks and understanding that restrictions were natural in a military facility, I quietly followed the sergeant.
As I moved through the airship’s interior, I noticed the machinery didn’t emit any particular magical aura.
Was this airship flying through scientific means rather than magic?
Or was magic used, but not for the ship’s structural components?
Suddenly, the concept of an airship fascinated me.

(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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