Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 139
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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 139. The Tower – Golden Market (2)
Lee Su-young and Diana were absorbed in carefully reading the product descriptions displayed in the Golden Market shop windows before them.
I’d told them to choose freely without worrying about Points, but it seemed they planned to find what they wanted within 10,000 Points.
I browsed the shop window at my leisure, examining the goods.
The Golden Market’s inventory was incredibly diverse—most items cost several thousand Points without hesitation.
Of course, that didn’t mean there were no items worth a single Point.
“Wait, what kind of bread is made from gold? Why does a loaf cost a hundred grams of gold?”
The Golden Market sold bread too.
Who buys bread here?
Golden Dragon answered my question matter-of-factly.
“A hundred grams of gold is actually dirt cheap. That bread isn’t ordinary bread—it’s the Holy Sacrament Bread. It’s a miraculous product that can feed a thousand people for a hundred days on just one loaf.”
The Holy Sacrament Bread? One loaf feeding a thousand people for a hundred days? Is this the miracle of the loaves and fishes?
Looking at the product description, it certainly carried the weight befitting a Trial’s reward.
-Holy Sacrament Bread, 1 kilogram: Consuming 1 gram eliminates hunger for 100 days and improves nutritional status. Multiple consumptions extend the duration. (Maximum 1000 grams of repeated consumption possible.)
Since the bread weighed a thousand grams, it truly could feed a thousand people for a hundred days—a genuine miracle.
It really is the miracle of the loaves and fishes.
The bread was worthy of being called the Holy Sacrament.
“But does anyone actually buy this?”
Would a Climber preparing for the upper floors need something like this?
“More people than you’d think. Mostly those with eating disorders make the purchase.”
Ah, eating disorders.
That usually referred to anorexia.
If someone had an eating disorder before entering the Tower, or developed one after entering, something like this made sense to buy.
Even with an eating disorder, swallowing saliva was still possible, and one could mix bread crumbs into it and get them down.
The Tower prevented aging, but that didn’t mean you could stop eating, sleeping, or resting.
Moreover, the Tower couldn’t cure Climbers of their disabilities.
If you contracted an illness before entering the Tower and couldn’t treat it inside, you’d die of disease rather than old age. And if you suffered from psychological trauma-induced illness, you had to overcome the trauma by yourself.
Of course, though hidden, the Tower was full of miracles, so there were ways to treat illnesses and disabilities.
I know there are actually documented cases where Climbers drank the “Intelligence-Boosting Elixir” sold at the Tower Shop and improved their borderline intelligence.
“Besides, there are those without eating issues but with taste dysfunction—they perceive food as if chewing rubber—and those who buy it to take Outside the Tower. The Holy Sacrament Bread doesn’t spoil, after all.”
It was arrogance to assume everyone felt the way I did just because I didn’t want something.
Thinking about the “nutritional improvement” effect alongside the hundred-day satiation, buying a few loaves didn’t seem like a bad idea.
Of course, I had no intention of eating any, given the hundred-day fullness effect.
Eating was one of life’s great pleasures, and I couldn’t bear to give that up.
I carefully scanned through the products.
There were truly all sorts of things.
From animal-transformation potions that made me wonder where anyone would use them, to magnificent holy swords and demon blades.
Of course, the holy swords and demon blades cost millions of Points in gold—several hundred tons’ worth—so I couldn’t dream of buying them.
Even if I pooled all the gold I had, it’d only be about 110 tons.
Even clearing Floor 22 four or five times over would barely scrape together the vast fortune needed.
“Those holy and demon blades are for upper-floor Climbers. Even among upper-floor Climbers, those on the 80th Floor and above would struggle to wield them.”
So what level is Golden Dragon, selling such things so casually?
No, I shouldn’t wonder. I don’t think I could handle the answer.
Diana, who had been concentrating intently on the shop window, suddenly cried out in astonishment.
“Look at this! They’re selling Elixir, Nectar, and Ambrosia too!”
Seeing the price made me curse involuntarily.
“A million Points each? No matter how miraculous these foods are for granting immortality, they’re completely useless in the Tower!”
Not immortality exactly, but Climbers in the Tower were fundamentally ageless.
According to the description, agelessness was unlimited, but immortality from a single consumption granted five resurrections.
If you bought one, you could consume it across at most two occasions, making Ambrosia and Nectar resurrection vouchers worth ten resurrections.
Well, resurrection was valuable for Climbers recklessly ascending the Tower, but not for me.
The Elixir, meanwhile, was a legendary medicine that restored all injuries, illnesses, curses, and disabilities as long as you didn’t die—but I didn’t need it.
That’s because my current body is a duplicate, so I resurrect even if I die.
Though thinking about eventually leaving the Tower, it’s not that I don’t wish I had some, but unlike shared abilities, Tower abilities don’t get returned when you leave the Tower, so they weren’t particularly attractive.
Besides, buying immortality for myself alone didn’t really appeal to me either.
“Oh, there’s Rejuvenation Elixir too! It’s 100 Points.”
The Rejuvenation Elixir was a medicine that made you one year younger per pill.
One bottle of 100 Points contained a hundred pills.
At the exchange rate just before entering the Tower, one year’s worth was about 100 grams of gold—roughly 22 million won.
Thinking of it that way, it seemed almost reasonable.
After all, this wasn’t some cosmetic that merely made you look younger; it actually made you younger.
It didn’t seem like a bad idea to pick some up as a souvenir of coming to the Tower.
Beyond that, there were endless items—an Infinite Water Pouch that produced water endlessly (3 Points), Baby Skin Cream (5 Points), Stone That Turns Water to Alcohol (2 Points), Lucky Dice (results: six equals great fortune, five and four equal moderate fortune, three and two equal minor fortune, one equals misfortune; 2,000 Points), Clairvoyance Glasses (12 Points), Emotion Glasses Grade S (10,000 Points), Height Growth Medicine (30 Points), Evil Ward Talisman (120 Points), Misfortune Absorbing Doll (350 Points), Scale of Truth (1,200 Points)—everything from seemingly useless trinkets to coveted treasures without end.
I was busily dumping eye-catching items into my cart when Diana finished her deliberations first.
“I’ll purchase these.”
Diana’s selections were sparse.
A thin Rosary necklace with a small cross pendant, Two-Handed Leather Gloves, and a Silver Mace—three items totaling 8,300 Gold Points.
“You could pick out more if you wanted. Is this really all you need?”
“Yes. This is sufficient.”
Diana truly seemed to have no further needs.
All three items looked formidable, but the Rosary’s price was surprisingly reasonable.
It seemed to be because the item was currently unremarkable—it would grow alongside its owner.
“Growth-Type items require considerable effort to develop. Most Climbers undergoing trials already possess powerful equipment, so they don’t typically choose Growth-Type items. It’s simpler and faster to swap weapons than to spend time nurturing a Growth-Type piece.”
No demand meant low prices.
“But for lower-floor Climbers like you two, I recommend Growth-Type items. You’ll grow regardless, and if you grow together with your gear, you won’t need to invest extra time—besides, over the long term, the ceiling is higher and there are fewer restrictions than other products.”
No restrictions was good. The Mace and leather gloves Diana had chosen were scheduled to have their power sealed until the 50th Floor.
Golden Dragon answered before I even voiced my question.
“Is there anything else you’d recommend? We have enough gold.”
At my words, Golden Dragon broke into a wide smile, grabbed Diana’s shop window, and began stuffing items into it.
“It seems you handle Holy Power, so these and these and this and this would be good to have. How much of a budget did you have in mind?”
“Go ahead and add whatever you like. I’ll adjust my selections to fit our budget. Ah, and please recommend items for this friend as well.”
“Ahahaha! Excellent. I’ll drain every last bit of gold you’ve got.”
Diana looked flustered as her cart rapidly filled.
By the end, Diana’s cart totaled 56,200 Points.
As I reviewed the list to see if anything should be removed or added, Golden Dragon rattled off descriptions of the items like a docent.
He swapped Diana’s chosen gloves for a superior pair, and her primary weapon, the Mace, for a Growth-Type version.
The gloves were naturally far more expensive, but they were items that would remain perfectly usable even at higher floors.
Just how much did Golden Dragon covet gold?
I finally relented and pulled out more gold, placing it on the scale as he’d recommended.
Golden Dragon grinned from ear to ear with delight.
“Huh? Did something happen?”
Lee Su-young, who had been too focused on selecting her own items to notice Golden Dragon adding things to Diana’s cart, looked puzzled at the flustered Diana and the grinning Dragon.
“Nothing much.”
“Is that so? Well, I’ve picked out about this much.”
Lee Su-young’s cart contained five items.
A Summoner’s Bracelet that increased summoning slots by three, a necklace with defense magic, a Flying Carpet, a Magic Bow with self-loading magical arrows, and a space-expansion bag for storing summoned creatures.
Since each summoning drained considerable magical power, it seemed her plan was to summon once and then keep her creatures with her to conserve Magical Power.
The total came to 9,997 Points.
“Ahem! You really packed it tight, didn’t you?”
Lee Su-young’s item selection showed signs of careful deliberation.
Golden Dragon snatched her shop window just as he had with Diana’s and began filling it.
The three-slot Summoner’s Bracelet became a five-slot one, the defense magic was upgraded to something stronger, and the space-expansion bag was replaced with a creature-exclusive Subspace.
The creature-exclusive Subspace was a special subspace that could house living beings, but nothing unrelated to the contracted creatures could enter it—a unique restriction.
After the replacements and additions, the total reached 53,000 Points.
“W-what?! Eh?! Huh?!”
Lee Su-young stared at me in shock as her carefully chosen items transformed and multiplied.
I let out a quiet laugh and tossed more gold onto the scale.
Then I finally showed them my cart.
I’d selected a Growth-Type Magic Staff, a sword, a Ring of Transformation that could change into any form, Emotion Glasses Grade S, and every manner of miscellaneous trinket.
“You’re even buying stuff that’s completely useless.”
“Should I remove some?”
“Absolutely not! You never know when you’ll need something—an excellent decision!”
The man was spouting nonsense. Just how much did Golden Dragon love gold?
“Since you use magic, though, I’d like to see some Grimoires and Crafting Manuals, perhaps some Elixirs as well.”
Unlike the other two, Golden Dragon didn’t add many more items to my selections.
I removed the Elixirs related to Magical Power from my selections—I didn’t need them.
It’s my own choice, but I really did buy every conceivable thing.
My cart total came to 567,800 Points.
That’s fifty-six tons of Gold, plus 780 kilograms.
Counting everything we three used—including what went into weakening the Dragon’s Vessel—that came to 69 tons and 700 kilograms of Gold.
I placed all the purchases into the Subspace Cube.
The Golden Dragon seemed satisfied with the Gold, yet bemused all the same.
“I never imagined a lower-tier Climber could amass such a quantity of Gold. Truly remarkable.”
“You’re too kind.”
Even after spending it this way, roughly forty tons remained.
The Golden Dragon smiled at me.
“You brought no Scripture or Altar dedicated to me among your offerings—so you must still possess those things yourself.”
He knew. Of course he would; they were his own creations, after all.
“Within the Tower, their use is limited. But should you need my strength later, offer Gold in prayer. Especially if it is your prayer, I shall answer it.”
The Golden Dragon was generous toward me, but I preferred to avoid summoning rituals with self-aware entities, so I doubted I’d ever use an Altar.
“Then I do hope you all reach the upper floors. May our paths cross again.”
The Golden Dragon snapped his fingers, and we found ourselves back in the Center of 20th Floor District City.
(To be continued in the next part)
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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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