Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 140

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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 140. Galaxy Martial God Hall — Branch (1)

We’d set out around eight in the morning, but by the time we returned to the 20th Floor District, the Clock Tower’s hands had barely crossed half past eight.
The battle with the Yong-ah-byeong had seemed quite elaborate, yet from start to finish—selecting rewards after overcoming the Golden Trial—it couldn’t have taken more than two hours.
“What should we do now?”
After resting well yesterday, taking another break today felt slightly excessive.
Diana turned the question back to me.
“How’s your condition?”
“Perfect. I’m in good enough shape to head straight to the 24th Floor if needed.”
I meant it. The coat made from Lizardman King’s hide had kept me from sustaining any serious wounds.
“Then let’s head to the 24th Floor after maintenance and lunch.”
I pulled out the trouser hem I’d picked up after the Yong-ah-byeong battle and retrieved it from my pocket.
“My pants need repairs.”
My trousers weren’t just missing the hem—they were slashed in several places.
Still, the cuts were clean enough that repairs shouldn’t take long.
A master craftsman at the Climbers’ Association could have them fixed in ten minutes.
“And one more thing.”
I spoke through the Community party chat.

-Han Ji-woo: Is it okay if we don’t redistribute any more gold?

Both of them nodded, saying of course.
We’d agreed to split one ton each, but I’d given them five tons instead—there was no reason they’d complain.
That’s when Lee Su-young sent me a private message.

-Lee Su-young: But doesn’t it bother you, spending that much gold on us?

At her question, I chuckled and replied.
“Didn’t you say you wanted this party to last? So what’s there to regret? It’s all investment. The stronger my teammates are, the safer I am. The stronger I am, the safer they are. That’s what a party is, isn’t it?”
Besides, of the over one hundred tons of gold I’d been carrying, I’d only spent roughly a tenth on them.
They seemed to think they hadn’t contributed much on the 22nd Floor, but from where I stood, they’d done more than enough. And thinking ahead, the value of investing a tenth of the spoils far outweighed any cost.
And being honest about it, I still had an enormous amount of gold left.
So why would I begrudge spending what remained?
Even if I spent seventy tons, forty tons would still be left.
I was still wealthy.
“Let’s each handle personal maintenance and familiarize ourselves with our new equipment. We’ll regroup at noon.”
They needed time to identify and understand the rewards the Golden Dragon had added or modified for them.
I’d chosen good items from the start, and the Golden Dragon hadn’t added much, so I didn’t really need any time to inventory.
“So much to do—repairs, the bank, the library. I’m busy.”
The abyss cube’s space wasn’t infinite, and I couldn’t exactly pile a mountain of gold on Tower Floor 1, so I decided to deposit the forty tons at the Bank.
Of course, I’d need to keep some emergency funds on me at all times.
The library was necessary because I needed to search through maps to resolve the quest the Inventory Old Woman had given me.
At my words, we scattered to handle our respective tasks.

* * *

I headed to the Bank first and deposited my gold.
True to its role as a Climbers’ exclusive, the Bank operated twenty-four hours a day like the library.
The private booth guaranteed privacy, so I had no qualms about retrieving the gold.
The bank receptionist was startled at the sheer volume, but she swiftly transferred it all using magic and stored it for me.
While the Bank offered no interest, being able to deposit items without limit was a tremendous advantage.
“We’ll store a total of 40,870,785.7 grams of gold. The Bank also offers gold buyback services—shall I arrange a purchase?”
At the receptionist’s suggestion, I paused briefly before shaking my head.
“No, that’s fine.”
The current market rate displayed at the counter was roughly 1,200 Credits per gram—about 120,000 won.
It was significantly lower than outside the Tower.
Since I wasn’t in immediate financial need, I saw no reason to sell.
I’d spent everything I earned on Floors 21 and 22 crafting the Lizardman leather suit, coat, and backup sword, but I still had 550,000 Credits remaining after purchasing the Gung-gi Leather Wrist Guards and Purification Magic Tool—this came from selling Chimera by-products on Floor 17 for 400,000 Credits, the 100,000 Credit bounty from Floor 18, plus incidental Credits earned from merit hunting on Floor 20.
And above all, gold was an excellent catalyst for magic.
Since I was both a warrior and a mage, I intended to experiment with gold myself.
After finishing my business at the Bank, I had my trousers repaired through the Guild.
Repairs, unlike tailoring from scratch, didn’t cost a fortune.
Even so, thirty thousand Credits for a simple trouser repair—wasn’t that highway robbery?
After the repairs were done, I considered heading back to the Inn, but since I needed to study maps in the Library anyway, I made my way there instead.
Upon arriving at the Library, I gathered the map books for the 30th Floor District and Common Area, then rented a conference room.
I stacked the map books on the desk, checked the time, and retrieved the Appraisal Glasses (S) I’d purchased from the Golden Market.
At first glance, they were simply unremarkable glasses—sturdy-looking, nothing special.
“So this is worth a ton of gold?”
The Appraisal Glasses (S) were, in essence, a semi-permanent Appraisal Document (A-grade).
In fact, the Tower Shop only sold Appraisal Documents up to A-grade.
Even a single-use Appraisal Document (A-grade) cost a million Tower Points, so an Appraisal artifact with better performance than that for a ton of gold was practically stealing.
By simple calculation, the Bank had quoted gold at twelve hundred Credits per gram, making a ton of gold worth 1.2 billion Credits.
Since one Tower Shop Point equaled a thousand Credits, 1.2 billion Credits came to 1.2 million Shop Points.
It was a price I couldn’t help but consider a bargain.
When I was told that defeating the Yong-ah-byeong earned me access to the Golden Market, I was flabbergasted, but seeing what it sold and at what prices, the reward seemed anything but insufficient for overcoming such a trial.
Beyond the Appraisal Glasses, the Elixir of Youth cost only about fifteen million won per pill.
People say youth can’t be bought with money, but fifteen million won could buy you ten years of youth, and 1.5 billion won could buy a hundred—the market’s products were absurdly cheap by any measure.
“Let me try it out.”
I used the glasses to examine the map the Inventory Old Woman had commissioned me to find.

[Map to Magranov’s Ancient Ruin: A map that guides one to the ruin where the legendary grand sorcerer Magranov left trials and inheritance prepared for his young successor.]

[Located in the Lower Common Area at coordinates ‘000,234.000,201’.]

I opened the Common Area map book and searched for the corresponding coordinates.
“…Definitely worth the money.”
The terrain of the commissioned map matched perfectly with the map book.
“Wow, I thought I’d have to wrestle with map books for at least another month.”
The glasses’ performance didn’t stop at simply revealing the location and saving time.
They also revealed information about Magranov himself—his existence as a grand sorcerer—that no map alone could convey.
To attempt this ruin, I’d need to reach at least the 30th Floor, but I also needed to research this grand sorcerer Magranov.
As I was about to return the glasses to my inventory, I suddenly remembered the stone I’d failed to appraise before.
It was the stone I’d bought from that slick merchant on the 14th Floor—the conman who’d tried to deceive us.
I pulled the stone from my inventory and examined it with the glasses.

[Nightmare Heart Fragment Dust (Soldier-class): The heart of a Soldier-class creature from the Nightmare, a cosmic monstrosity swarm that has devastated countless worlds. Called a pseudo-dragon heart material for its properties of easily absorbing and amplifying magical power. A soldier’s heart that fell during the great war on Tower Floor 97, drifting through the cosmos before…]

Setting aside the ominous footnote about coming from Floor 97, this was material called a pseudo-dragon heart?
Given that it was only fist-sized and described as a fragment, let alone dust, the original thing must have been enormous.
I couldn’t research it myself right now, so I’d need to consult Andromallius about it.
I’d bought it because it gave off a peculiar magical aura, and it seemed I’d struck far richer pay dirt than I’d expected.
No wonder an F-grade Appraisal Document couldn’t identify it.
I settled myself, placed the glasses and stone back in my inventory, and sat quietly in the chair, meditating and reflecting on myself.
My battles with the Lizardman King and the Yong-ah-byeong had brought many insights—not the grand revelations of Sudden Enlightenment or True Enlightenment, but visceral understanding earned through direct combat about how to move my body, how to fight.
“To integrate these insights, I’ll need time to spare, won’t I?”
Whenever my attention scattered elsewhere, even hard-won physical insights would evaporate.
All the more so for someone physically untalented like me.
I needed to inscribe these bodily insights into my flesh and bone.
In the library conference room where no one could enter, I closed my eyes and slipped into my Reincarnation Clone Body.

* * *

Late winter break of third grade at Elementary School.
Living as a magical clone in the three slots, I’d often entered my Reincarnation Clone Body to acquire various necessities and backup magical texts, so winter break had nearly ended before I knew it.
Upon entering my Reincarnation Clone Body, I went to the Training Room and drew a sword from my inventory.
The long greatsword that poorly fit my current frame felt powerless and ordinary in my hands.
Besides this one, I had several other swords—the Mithril Sword I favored and the Sword Made from Lizardman King’s Bone among them—but my choice of this blade was simple.
It was a Growth-type Weapon I’d purchased from the Golden Market.
There are three main ways to cultivate a sword.
One is to feed it my Magic Power steadily.
Another is to cut enemies with it and feed it their Magic Power.
The last is to build Great Deeds with it.
From now on, I must train relentlessly to make this sword grow.
I took a deep breath and began to move the sword slowly.
The blade’s arc followed the Swordsmanship I had learned and mastered, but what flowed within it was the sensation and Intent I had felt fighting my enemies.
Pouring Intent into the sword.
When I first heard the phrase, I thought it sounded like nonsense, but as I swung the blade and fought with all my strength, I began to glimpse its meaning.
Focusing on the sword’s movement and continuing without pause, I slipped into a Flow State and deployed my Swordsmanship.
Sword Qi began to gather at my blade’s tip and grew steadily clearer, more refined.
The severe drain on my Internal Energy lessened bit by bit; my movements quickened and intensified, then slowed and softened again in endless cycles.
After swinging the sword for what felt like hours, I came to my senses to find my whole body drenched in sweat, heavy and limp.
Because of the Restriction limiting me to only part of my Internal Energy, my Dantian remained full even as my usable power felt utterly drained.
Though I had almost no immediately available Internal Energy, the Sword Qi gathered at my blade lingered still, faint but steady.
“Still far to go.”
With my meager talent, it would take a long time to carve this sensation fully into my body.
All I could do now was hold fast to this feeling before it faded and train repeatedly, methodically—like chiseling marks into stone, bit by bit.
I dispersed the Sword Qi and sheathed my blade when Siu, who had drawn near without my noticing, offered me a towel with a satisfied smile.
“You’ve reached the First-class Realm. Congratulations.”
I smiled at her words of praise.
“I still have far to go. Teach me more.”
“Of course.”

(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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