Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 177

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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 177. The Tower – Ancient Ruin (2)

[Destroy the stone statue located at the end of the Ruin.]

The moment I checked the Quest, the statue’s location and coordinates appeared, just as they had on Floor 22.
From the coordinates, it looked like we’d need to venture deep underground.
Since no one seemed to have made a wish to the Tower here, it appeared the Tower had sent us of its own accord.
Then Diana asked Mano a question.
“Are you perhaps Coptic Christian?”
“Oh! You know about Coptic Christianity? Most foreigners don’t.”
“Yes, a friend of mine who studied abroad while I was at university was a Coptic believer.”
At Diana’s words, I ventured a question.
“What’s Coptic Christianity?”
“Ah, it’s a branch of Eastern Orthodox Christianity—basically the Egyptian Orthodox Church. The cross he’s wearing is a Coptic cross.”
I’d taken it for a simple pendant, but it was indeed a cross.
While ordinary crosses are longer at the bottom, the Coptic cross Mano wore had equal-length arms, and the ends of each arm split into three sharp points, like a snowflake’s crystal formation.
Diana, having once aspired to study theology and being a devout Christian, seemed to recognize it at a glance.
The Egyptian man nodded at Diana’s words.
“About 20 to 30 percent of Egypt believes in Coptic Christianity like I do.”
“Ah, I thought Egypt believed in sun gods like Ra and Horus, but I guess they practice Christianity now.”
The Egyptian laughed at my comment.
“The old religions died out due to Roman religious persecution. Modern Egypt primarily believes in Coptic Christianity or Islam. Of course, despite that, the old beliefs never completely disappeared—they’ve blended with the culture and left their mark.”
The influence seemed to be more about practical traditions than religious meaning.
Was it similar to how Korea has a subtle faith in fortune-telling based on birth charts?
Not religious fervor exactly, but checking one’s fortune at the new year, or blaming bad luck on unlucky numbers or cursed years—that kind of thing.
Before Mano could finish, Rachel spoke up.
“I think we should establish our formation before entering the Ruin. But we only have one Vanguard, so the balance isn’t ideal.”
At Rachel’s words, Diana spoke.
“Ah, I can take on the Vanguard role as well.”
“You’re a Healer?”
“Since Mano compared it to an MMORPG, I’d say I’m more like a Paladin—I can fill both roles.”
Diana pulled a Mace from her Inventory and tapped her leg firmly with it, just as she had when we first met.
Rachel gazed at Diana with sparkling eyes at her demonstration.
There was something almost covetous about her gaze.
Well, who wouldn’t covet someone who could be both a capable Healer and a reliable Vanguard?
Apparently I wasn’t the only one sensing it—Lee Su-young hooked her arm through Diana’s.
“There’s no Vanguard as dependable as our Diana.”
“Are you two in a Party together?”
At Rachel’s question, I raised my hand slightly.
“We’re a Party of three, including me.”
“I see. Then how about we arrange Positioning like this?”
Rachel positioned me and Diana at the very front, Mano in the middle, and Lee Su-young and herself in the rear.
“Is there a reason my position is in the middle?”
At Mano’s question, Rachel answered.
“As a Debuffer, don’t you need a good view of the enemy?”
“Well, that’s true. My main weapon is the Crossbow, and I’m not particularly confident in my accuracy—if allies are too far away, it becomes difficult to use.”
Mano’s primary weapons were a Shield large enough to cover his entire body when crouched, and a Crossbow, though he also carried a Short Dagger at his belt in case of close combat.
The Crossbow appeared to be designed for magical reloading.
“Meanwhile, Lee Su-young and I specialize in long-range attacks as our primary abilities, so we need some distance.”
“Understood.”
Once Mano nodded in agreement, Rachel pulled a lamp with a candle from her Inventory and handed it to Diana.
“The interior looks dark, so it’s better if the Vanguard carries it.”
“Ah, I have a Flashlight.”
Diana pulled out the small Flashlight I’d given her on Floor 16.
When Rachel looked at me, I produced my Flashlight as well.
In truth, we could have managed with Magic to provide light, but in a Ruin one never knew what might happen, so conserving Mana was prudent.
“Right, it’s always good to have backup. Let’s do a final equipment check and head inside.”
At Rachel’s words, we performed a final equipment check and entered the Ruin.
I led the way forward, a Growing-type Sword in my right hand and a Flashlight in my left.
The Growing-type Sword was still only slightly better than an ordinary steel blade, but I had to wield it in combat for it to grow, so there was no choice.
If I grew lazy about leveling it and relied only on good weapons, it would inevitably become dead weight later.
Speaking of which, I should use the Growing-type Magic Staff as well—should I hold it in my left hand instead?
It was only about thirty centimeters long, so wielding it in combat wouldn’t be inconvenient.
As I walked lost in thought, the corridor branched.
“Don’t tell me the interior is a maze?”
If this were a ruin that had been used in daily life, there should be signs of human habitation, yet we’d walked in a straight line before suddenly encountering a fork. It was only natural to suspect a maze.
The suspicion was unavoidable.
At my words, Mano furrowed his brow and spoke.
“If this is a ruin built to protect something, we should account for traps as well.”
At Mano’s words, Lee Su-young spoke up.
“Then it could be a maze like you said, so I’ll check the mini map and draw a map as we go.”
Everyone nodded at Lee Su-young’s suggestion.
“So shall we go right? Or left?”
As everyone pondered my question, Rachel spoke.
“Since we don’t know what’s either way right now, let’s just pick one. Let’s go right.”
Rachel seemed to be the decisive type.
At Rachel’s words, I marked the right wall with a Crayon I’d brought from the Galaxy Martial Arts World, imprinting my magical energy into it.
Since I’d infused my energy, even if the Crayon mark were to fade, my magical signature would serve as a beacon.
As we proceeded down the right passage and I suddenly stopped, everyone looked at me.
“There’s a trap.”
According to my Aura Sensing, the floor ahead was designed to collapse, dropping us into a pit bristling with blades below.
I pressed myself against the wall and walked carefully along it. Diana followed without hesitation, hugging the wall as well, while Mano and Rachel watched us both.
After avoiding the trapped section, I drew a line with the Crayon to mark its location.
“Come this far by sticking to the wall.”
At my words, Lee Su-young spoke.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll go first.”
Lee Su-young pressed herself to the wall as I’d instructed and reached the marked spot.
Once three of us had crossed the trap, the other two had no choice but to hug the wall and make their way across.
“Is there really a trap here?”
At Mano’s question, I nodded.
“If you doubt me, you’re welcome to test it with your life.”
“No, I don’t need to stake my life on it.”
I led the way forward and soon stopped again—another trap.
“Another trap?”
Rachel looked at me with a slightly skeptical gaze.
At that look, I nodded and spoke.
“Arrows will fly out, so dodge left or right.”
I needed to show them a trap in action so they’d trust my warnings.
I lowered my body and extended my leg to step on the trigger.
The moment my foot lifted, rusted arrows shot out from ahead and embedded themselves in the wall.
As the arrow flew right to where I’d been standing, Rachel gasped and stared at me in shock.
“It’s a Pressure-activated Trap. I’ll mark the safe bricks as we go, so just step on those.”
I spread my Aura Sensing to identify the bricks connected to the trap mechanism, marking the safe ones with Crayon as I pressed forward.
Once I’d finished marking and drawn a line on the floor, Diana began carefully crossing, stepping only on the bricks I’d indicated.
After Diana made it across safely, the others followed in turn.
“Didn’t you say the ability you received from the Tower was swordsmanship?”
At Mano’s question, I smiled slightly.
“It’s an application. If you sharpen your senses, you can recognize structural traps easily enough.”
Honestly, magical traps would’ve been easier.
“Well, I…”
When Mano didn’t seem convinced, Rachel spoke.
“So what? Having a capable guide is good enough for us.”
Right—black ox or yellow ox, it didn’t matter as long as the work got done.
Rachel didn’t seem to care whether I used abilities from the Tower or special items.
A pragmatist through and through.
As we continued walking past several more branching paths and traps, we suddenly encountered a cliff face.
Rachel clicked her tongue lightly and spoke.
“Dead end. Let’s go back.”
As Rachel turned around, I spoke up.
“Just a moment. Let me check what’s beyond that cliff first.”
At my words, Rachel asked with visible concern.
“You mean cross over there?”
Lee Su-young messaged me through the Community.

-Lee Su-young: Should I use my Magic Carpet?
-Han Ji-woo: No. I can easily clear a gap this size with a simple leap. Items that invite such temptation aren’t meant to be flaunted in front of others unless truly necessary.

The cliff, despite its name, was only about thirty meters wide and ten meters deep.
Blades were densely embedded in the bottom, but the Lightness Martial Art was more than sufficient to cross it.
“I’m not suggesting we all cross together—just that I’ll go alone and scout it. We need to know what’s on the other side. But could you perhaps reach the other side using Flight Magic?”
Since Rachel’s main strength was Magic, she might be capable of using Flight Magic.
“Yes, I could use such fl—no, I lack the skill for such difficult Magic.”
I see. Flight Magic, even the most basic form, belonged to gravity manipulation techniques, which were notoriously high-difficulty.
One slip meant death—it was a spell you couldn’t cast without complete confidence.
But what was she about to say with “fl”?
“Are you really sure you can cross that distance?”
At Rachel’s intrigued question, I smiled, then put some distance between myself and the cliff before launching forward at full speed, using the Lightness Martial Art.
Using weightless movement, I cleared the thirty-meter gap effortlessly, and I heard gasps from behind.
“Wow, you’d clear the world long-jump record without breaking a sweat.”
“Didn’t you say swordsmanship was your primary skill?”
I spoke to both Rachel, who was expressing pure amazement, and Mano, who still seemed skeptical of my abilities.
“Let me scout what’s beyond this cliff.”
With that, I quickly checked the area past the cliff.
Beyond the cliff lay a path that bent to the left, and past that narrow passage opened a single chamber.
The room was piled high with Silver Ingots, and numerous Metal Ingots that resembled silver were stacked just as abundantly.
“A Treasure Chamber?”
As I stepped into the room in amazement, a massive Golem rose from among the treasure piles.
The towering creature, easily four meters tall, appeared to be entirely composed of metal.
“Wow.”
The Golem, without warning, swung its heavy arm at me, the intruder.
Boom!
I deftly dodged the sluggish punch and leaped onto the Golem’s fist.

-Diana: I heard a loud sound just now. What happened?
-Han Ji-woo: Nothing serious.

I gave Diana a brief reassurance and used the Lightness Martial Art to dash across the Golem’s arm, locating its core.
Every Golem necessarily possessed a core that served as both fuel tank and engine.
“Standard placement—right in the center of the torso.”
Golems were commonly used throughout the City of 33 Magic Towers, and their cores were quite valuable commodities.
Though this particular Golem did look rather primitive, admittedly.
The Golem twisted its body to attack me, but its movements were so slow that I nearly yawned.
“Let’s see… there’s got to be a seam I can work with… ah, there it is.”
I gathered Fist Aura into my knuckles and struck at the gap.
Clang!
The thick iron plate cover dented, and the seam widened.
The Golem’s torso was too thick for me to reach the core even with an extended arm, but I had Telekinesis at my disposal.
I seized the Golem’s core with Telekinesis and tore it free, and the Golem went still.
“Might as well clean this place out.”
I swept the Silver Ingots, various Metal Ingots, and even the massive iron Golem itself into my Dimensional Cube.
Once I’d cleared everything, Ancient Characters written on the wall became visible.
“Oh, jackpot.”
I copied the Ancient Characters into my Notebook, then made my way back across the cliff to where my companions were waiting.
“Did something happen?”
At Lee Su-young’s question, I smiled and pulled out my Notebook.
“Nothing major—just found something interesting.”
Everyone who saw the Notebook was astonished.

(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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