Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 156

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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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Episode 156. Galaxy Martial God Hall – Field Trip (10)

Cheon So-yeon exhaled deeply as a crushing pressure settled over her entire body.
It was starting already.
“I didn’t even get a chance to warn Ji-woo yet.”
When the hidden guards refused to heed her warnings, she spent the entire day searching for Cheon Ji-woo to protect her friend, but couldn’t find him anywhere.
Since he wasn’t visible at the Blue Prize Resort or the Ski Slope, it seemed he must have ventured far off-course while skiing.
Cheon So-yeon checked her mobile phone, still unfamiliar to her.
Whether her mind had already hardened at such a young age, or her awareness had calcified, adapting to such an advanced society was extraordinarily difficult.
She’d managed to learn how to answer and hang up calls out of necessity, but texting proved so cumbersome that she had to press each character one by one, taking her time.
She regretted not having mastered typing beforehand, but it was already too late.
The enemies must have already made their move—the phone displayed an out-of-service indicator.
“Please, stay safe.”
Cheon So-yeon murmured like a prayer and activated her concealment art with all her strength.
It was the hidden technique of the Divine Thief, a master of divine arts from ages past.
In a situation like this, the enemies would target Cheon So-yeon first, so if she disappeared, they would fall into chaos.
She decided to seize that chaos and find a way to turn the tide.
But hiding herself was merely a temporary measure to buy time.
If the enemies continued to search for her without success, they would take hostages to lure her out.
That meant their target would become Cheon Ji-woo.
So while the enemies searched for her, Cheon So-yeon moved to find Cheon Ji-woo.

* * *

The leader of those who had infiltrated the Blue Prize Resort spoke into his radio communicator.
“B-10, still no sign of Cheon So-yeon?”
Their radio communicators could maintain contact even through the special jamming frequencies and formation barriers they’d set up.
Without such specialized equipment, their own communications would be cut off too, which would be problematic.
“We found the hidden guards quickly enough.”
There were ten infiltrators in total.
Six were dispatched to neutralize the guards protecting the primary target, and one was controlling the resort’s systems from the central control computer station.

–Back then the CCTV was fine. Right now, the resort’s management AI is putting up serious resistance. It keeps attempting to reclaim authority, and it looks like it’s been tampering with the CCTV feeds.

“How can it tamper with the CCTV if it doesn’t have the authority?”

–If I explained it in detail, the leader wouldn’t understand anyway. Even if we have control authority, if the CCTV is sabotaged down to individual cameras, there’s nothing we can do about it. To put it simply: the brain decides what you see, but if you’re blindfolded or your optic nerve is severed, the brain is helpless either way.

The leader of the infiltration team furrowed his brow.
“The AI physically destroyed each CCTV?”

–No, that’s not it… Sigh, explaining this properly would require a rundown of multi-layered computer security architecture. If you can’t be bothered to understand it, just know that the CCTV is blocked for now.

“So I’ll have to hunt down Cheon So-yeon manually, then.”

–We haven’t lost central control authority yet, so I’ll get the CCTV feeds flowing back to us. But I’m swamped defending the central control right now, so let’s talk later.

Hacking and cybersecurity were both about swapping in pre-built tools, but running second-by-second macros to install them left one thoroughly occupied.
When the transmission cut off, the leader clicked his tongue lightly and spoke.
“For now, B-7, B-9—start harvesting the useful ones in the resort. Our Plan A is to extract talent from the Cheon Family and put them to our use.”
Kidnapping promising seedlings that others had painstakingly cultivated and modifying them through drugs and brainwashing was commonplace in the Galactic Martial Arts World.
Of course, targeting young talent from a super-massive sect like the Cheon Family—especially bloodline members—was uncommon due to the risks, but the Heavenly Martial Divine Body was attractive enough to warrant those risks.
“High-aptitude talent is easily identifiable by their development, thanks to the Cheon Family’s growth-promoting elixirs, so harvesting shouldn’t be difficult.”
Having decided to bear the risk once, he intended to maximize profit by kidnapping other talented individuals besides those with the Heavenly Martial Divine Body.
“Understood. What about you, Leader?”
“I need to locate the primary target.”
The leader of the kidnapping vanguard deployed his energy sensing to find Cheon So-yeon.
“And if we can’t locate the primary target, we’ll need to find someone we can use to call her out, so keep your eyes open for that too.”
While working as a janitor and eavesdropping, she’d mentioned there was one boy she was close to—the only male student she actually spent time with.
Finding out who he was didn’t prove difficult.
A few teachers would crack under interrogation, no question about it.

* * *

I clicked my tongue as I watched the CCTV feed on the kiosk screen.
“They’re gathering the students in the Resort 1st Floor Central Hall.”
Nine enemies were confirmed moving on the cameras.
One more was probably managing the central control computer, so that made ten total.
Six were engaging the four family guards, and three others were moving separately.
Two of those three were gathering students in one place, while the remaining one wandered through the resort searching for something.
Grind—grind.
Teacher Kim Do-hwa ground his teeth as he watched the CCTV screen.
The enemies had made examples of teachers who resisted while gathering students, killing them to instill fear and ensure compliance.
With the Internal Seal draining their combat strength to First Class or below, the teachers couldn’t stand against enemies operating at full power.
The students, their bodies sluggish from the Formation Barrier, moved frantically—whether from the enemies’ killing intent or pure terror, they scrambled to obey.
“Five to ten minutes remain before the Formation Barrier breaks. Going now would be suicide—you’d accomplish nothing.”
The enemies, perhaps not wanting to waste time killing more teachers, were dragging a bloodied instructor around as they barked orders.
A small mercy: they seemed intent only on gathering the students, not harming them.
But the situation could turn at any moment.
I watched anxiously as the family guards fought at a disadvantage, six against four.
If they fell here, everything collapsed.
Hold on five more minutes. Just five. Then an opening appears.
“Blue Eyes. The enemies haven’t noticed the jamming is down, have they?”
The resort’s AI, Blue Eyes, answered through the kiosk.

—No, sir. They seem preoccupied blocking hacking attempts and securing CCTV footage. But as you predicted, once the Formation Barrier breaks, they’ll realize what’s happened.

I fell silent at Blue Eyes’s words, thinking.
On the CCTV, one of the guards took a serious wound.
He was barely holding on, forcing his Internal Force to work, but at least one guard would die before the barrier broke—no question.
Watching that unfold, I made my decision.
“I think I have to unseal my Internal Seal.”
Teacher Kim Do-hwa looked startled. “Unseal your Internal Force? No. What good is a First Class cultivator, even at full strength? You could damage yourself, twist your Qi and Blood, trigger Demonic Cultivation Backlash.”
“Internal damage is unavoidable, but with my control, my Qi and Blood won’t twist. Probably.”
“You said ‘probably’—that’s not confidence.”
“It can’t be helped. We need every hand fighting at full capacity right now.”
At my words, Teacher Kim Do-hwa scowled.
“You’re that capable? Wait—can you even unseal it? Your Internal Seal is the kind they use on violent criminals.”
Teacher Kim Do-hwa knew well how ironclad the seal on my Dantian was, having applied such seals during Martial Arts lessons countless times.
“Well, it’s possible, so I’m saying it. My Martial Arts may only be First Class, but my spell-craft is another story entirely.”
I smiled and absorbed my clone, then regenerated it.

[Multidimensional Avatar has achieved Level 30. A new ability activates.]
[‘Avatar Stacking’ is now active.]

I’d check what Avatar Stacking did later—for now, I examined the newly formed clone’s status.

[Strength: 40 / Agility: 42 / Stamina: 41 / Intelligence: 55 / Magical Power: 60+]
[Status: Normal, Magical Power Dualization (60/1)]
[Abilities: Multidimensional Avatar Lv 37, Martial Arts Lv 45, Regeneration Lv 4, Magic Lv 1, Hardening Lv 1.]

I wouldn’t be able to spam the clone regeneration trick anymore, and dying before cooldown reset would stack death penalties, but there was no choice.
I hadn’t planned to create an Astral Body with this clone’s frame, but the current situation left no room for such reservations.

I sat down, closed my eyes, and fed my Internal Force into the Astral Body, nurturing it as though it were still in its embryonic state.
When I opened my eyes again, the sensation of compression that had gripped my entire body vanished.
“The Formation Barrier has completely collapsed.”
I rose to my feet and drank down Mana Recovery Potion after potion.

[Status: Normal, Dual Magical Power (60/60)]

I’d thought that once the Astral Body exceeded 50 Magical Power, I could shed it once, but it seemed there was still quite a distance to reach full capacity.
Did it really require 9th Class levels of Magical Power to achieve a molt?
At this rate, I can barely manage 5th Class magic.
Well, there’s no helping it. Still, 5th Class makes me a high-tier mage.
“Have you broken the Internal Seal?”
I nodded at Teacher Kim Do-hwa’s question.
“We move immediately.”
Teacher Kim Do-hwa and I rushed toward the Resort 1st Floor Central Hall where the enemy had gathered the students, using concealment techniques.
In the hall, enemies panicked as the Formation Barrier suddenly collapsed and severed the neck of the Class 11 homeroom teacher.
I drew a Magic Wand from my inventory and froze the legs of two attackers.
“What, what is this?!”
“Gah!”
While they were confused, Teacher Kim Do-hwa came from behind using concealment and drove her sword, wreathed in dense Sword Force, through an enemy’s heart.
“Urgh…!”
The moment they realized they were under attack by an elite fighter, the enemies shattered the ice and tried to swing their blades at Teacher Kim Do-hwa.
But from behind, my sword wreathed in Sword Force caught them, and like the Class 11 teacher, another enemy’s head rolled free.
“…Kh!”
A final gasp escaped the severed enemy’s mouth.
The thought that I had killed for the first time made my hand tremble, my heart pounding so violently I thought it might burst.
“Cheon Ji-woo!”
“…Yes!”
“This isn’t your fault.”
At Teacher Kim Do-hwa’s words, as she gripped my shoulder, I took a deep breath and forced a smile.
“Of course not.”
“When we get back, let’s get you some counseling.”
“Ha, how annoying. Let’s move now.”
I clenched my fists and fought to steady my trembling body.
“You’re still a student.”
“But I’m the only one here who can fight using Special Electronic Warfare. If necessary, I have to fight.”
Teacher Kim Do-hwa met my gaze, sighed, and nodded.
“Don’t die.”
“Of course not.”
“Everyone! We’ve successfully made contact with the outside, and a rescue team is on the way!”
At Teacher Kim Do-hwa’s announcement, everyone cheered.
Most of the students were gathered in this place.
“All assistant teachers by class—guide all the students gathered here to the Spacecraft Landing Zone! Teachers Jang Cheol-yeong and Ma Yeong-gi, follow me. The rest of you, help evacuate any remaining students inside the resort.”
At Teacher Kim Do-hwa’s words, the two teachers she named nodded with expressions of resolved death.
No teacher there was unaware that where Teacher Kim Do-hwa was going would be the most dangerous battlefield.
Just then, Cheon Gong-hu rose from among the group of students and cried out.
“I, I’ll help too!”
I hadn’t expected the timid Cheon Gong-hu to step forward.
“Right now, following the teachers’ orders is how you help.”
At Teacher Kim Do-hwa’s words, Cheon Ha-sung also stood up.
“B, but Ji-woo is helping the teacher! We should too…!”
“Enough! We don’t have the capacity to indulge your whining—follow orders! If you won’t, I’ll knock you out and carry you away!”
At Teacher Kim Do-hwa’s sharp rebuke, everyone flinched.
“Move now!”
At Teacher Kim Do-hwa’s shout, the teachers led the students out of the resort to safety.
There were still students and teachers remaining inside the resort.
The teachers scattered and ran; I too sprinted toward the Resort Underground.
My objective was to retake the central control center of the resort.

(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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