Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 179

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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 179. The Tower – Ancient Ruin (4)

“I think it would be best if we went down that way.”
“Let’s take the elevator shaft down.”
Rachel and I had spoken the same thought simultaneously, and we turned to look at each other.
Mano made the sign of the cross, offered a brief prayer, and then spoke.
“If four of us have already decided on a direction, I suppose my opinion isn’t necessary. Still, might you explain why we should go down that particular route?”
It seemed he assumed that Lee Su-young and Diana, being members of my party, would simply follow my lead.
A quick glance at the two of them showed they were waiting for my explanation—not opposing it.
I pointed toward the elevator shaft and spoke.
“It’s nothing dramatic, really. I just think taking that route would offer us several advantages.”
“Advantages?”
“First, we save time. We can’t be certain whether this marking on the map actually indicates a lower level, and even if we reached it, we couldn’t be sure we could descend. Second, we’d face less risk.”
The map showed what looked like stairs, but we had no way of knowing whether the creators of this ruin actually used symbols like this to mark stairways.
And given that the wall bore a warning about the research chamber being dangerous, there might be multiple security measures blocking the way.
The fact that arrow traps are still active suggests either we could find a way through the security procedures, or they’ve already failed and the path downward is open. Either way, the approach is uncertain.
If it’s the latter case, we could descend immediately; if the former, we’d lose considerable time breaching the security.
Mano listened intently to my explanation.
“Furthermore, the fact that this elevator shaft is hidden suggests it’s a shortcut deliberately installed by the upper levels of the research facility for convenience. If that’s true, the lower levels are likely hidden as well.”
“I see—if there are monsters below, a main passage would draw their attention easily, but using a shortcut means we might avoid direct confrontation altogether.”
Mano nodded in understanding.
Rachel added to my explanation.
“If it’s a shortcut for high-ranking personnel, it would likely be positioned close to the central area for their convenience.”
“Of course, this is all speculation, so it could be wrong.”
Mano nodded at my words and spoke.
“Just on your first point alone, taking that elevator shaft seems like the better option. When you can save time, it’s worth doing.”
With our direction decided, we examined whether the elevator could be operated.
“It appears the power source has been completely depleted.”
Looking upward inside the shaft, the elevator was motionless.
The elevator’s structure was fairly simple in design.
The presence of golems and Magic Stones stored as military supplies suggested this world operated on Magic.
If that were the case, they’d likely use magical energy as a power source, but unlike golems, the Magic Stones used as batteries seemed to have dissolved into the air as if completely drained.
To restart it, we’d need to locate the power source, but there was no way to find it immediately.
“We’re going to have to climb down using a rope….”
I grabbed the rope and pulled it lightly. The moment I did, it snapped with a dull “crack.”
“If that’s a rope meant for an elevator, it should be incredibly sturdy. How long has this place been abandoned?”
Diana stared at the rotted, severed rope and spoke.
“I think it would be best to descend using the rope we used to climb up here.”
I searched for a suitable anchor point but found none, so I did what we’d done before—I wrapped Sword Energy around several Support Pins and drove them diagonally into the ground.
Naturally, the direction the pins faced was opposite to where the rope would descend.
This way, when the rope was pulled, the pins wouldn’t be extracted.
As I used Sword Energy, Rachel showed interest.
“That’s Sword Energy, isn’t it? The kind used by B-rank and higher ability users who’ve learned Martial Arts?”
“B-rank?”
“Ah, you weren’t aware. It’s not official yet, but WPTO uses a universal evaluation system that ranks ability users and Tower Returnees across six tiers.”
I hadn’t known WPTO used such a system, but terms like A-rank and S-rank were something everyone used informally.
In fact, thinking about it, such evaluation systems existed in reality as well.
University grades, corporate performance reviews, even certification exams often used six-tier scales from 1st to 6th class or A to F.
Of course, when finer differentiation was needed, some systems went as high as nine or ten tiers.
I was simply surprised that this wasn’t just an internet meme but an actual classification standard in use.
“Did you learn Martial Arts before coming to the Tower?”
At Rachel’s question, I shook my head.
“No. I learned Martial Arts for the first time after entering the Tower.”
Rachel looked astonished at my answer.
“Really? That’s impressive. From what I’ve heard, learning Martial Arts usually requires extraordinary effort. I understand there’s yet to be anyone outside the Tower who reached B-rank level after taking up Martial Arts.”
Well, I grew up in the Galactic Martial Arts World where Martial Arts were extremely developed, supported by the vast resources and Spirit Elixirs of the Cheon Family Clan, one of the greatest sects in existence, and reached the First-Class Realm by age ten. Without all that, thirty years wouldn’t have been enough.
Of course, with a monstrous talent like the Heavenly Demon Body, the story would be different.
It was then that Lee Su-young spoke.
“Japan’s S-rank, what was their name again? The one who uses that weird sword technique…?”
“Tanaka Sanmei, the Gagaga Sword Technique user?”
Lee Su-young snapped her fingers at my words.
“Right! That person didn’t become S-rank just through sword technique, did they?”
“Tanaka Sanmei is classified as an A-rank ability user by WPTO standards, but he’s not a Tower Returnee who climbed on his own strength. He reached that level with the Tower’s assistance, just like we’re doing now. Of course, Han Ji-woo is in the Tower as well, but he hasn’t even reached the 30th Floor yet.”
Rachel explained how ability user ranks corresponded to Tower levels.

Floors 1–9 = F-rank
Floors 10–19 = E-rank
Floors 20–29 = D-rank
Floors 30–39 = C-rank
Floors 40–49 = B-rank
50th Floor and above = A-rank

“If we’d encountered Han Ji-woo on the 40th Floor range, I’d think he received the Tower’s assistance like Tanaka Sanmei. But this is the 28th Floor—so he’s beyond the Tower’s aid.”
Rachel looked at me the same way she had when she first witnessed Diana’s power.
At Rachel’s words, Lee Su-young poked me playfully in the ribs with her elbow, laughing.
“Wow, a martial genius.”
Who would’ve thought the day would come when I’d be called a martial genius?
It felt oddly uncomfortable hearing the word when I knew I wasn’t actually one.
“But if 50th Floor and above is A-rank, how do ability users above the 60th Floor get classified? Still A-rank?”
Rachel shrugged at my question.
“I’m not a WPTO executive, so I don’t know for certain. I’ve heard they might call it S-rank or A-plus, but since so few Tower Returnees have climbed above the 60th Floor, the classifications aren’t clearly defined yet.”
At Rachel’s answer, Lee Su-young nodded.
“That’s right. The Tower has only existed for ten years. From what I know, most Tower Returnees stayed below the 40th Floor, and most of those who reached the middle levels are still climbing.”
Time flows roughly ten percent faster with each floor you ascend in the Tower.
If Earth’s time is counted as one multiplier, the 10th Floor runs at approximately 2.6 times speed, and the middle levels around the 40th Floor at roughly 45.2 times.
In the ten years that passed on Earth, over four hundred fifty years would have elapsed in the middle levels—yet climbers are still ascending?
Rachel, seeming to guess my thoughts, smiled as she spoke.
“They say ninety-nine out of every hundred climbers invited to the Tower can’t break through the wall of the middle levels and leave. With such a formidable barrier, how many people who hadn’t even experienced a Gate ten years ago could have climbed high?”
True enough—even without formal combat training, knowing about monsters versus not knowing made an enormous difference.
If you understood monsters, you wouldn’t at least panic at the sight of something you’d never seen and freeze helplessly.
Many talented climbers likely gave up and left, facing trials they could’ve overcome with proper talent, simply because they didn’t know about monsters or the Tower itself.
I suspected serious Tower climbing only began roughly five years ago in Earth time.
That’s when society fully stabilized and public information about the Tower was released.
And the Tower held people who entered not ten years ago, but five years ago, one year ago, or perhaps just yesterday.
If a talented climber who entered a year ago was now in the middle levels, only about forty-five years would have passed.
Not that forty-five years is inconsiderable time, mind you.
“I see. But you seem quite knowledgeable for someone who isn’t a WPTO executive, Rachel.”
Diana asked, and Rachel answered casually.
“Before entering the Tower, I had contacts at WPTO. My family also donated quite generously to international organizations for peace.”
From the way she spoke, I gathered she was more like William than like Lee Su-young.
“Anyway, let’s stop chatting and head back down.”
Just as Rachel and Mano couldn’t climb up the rope, neither could they descend it.
So I decided to carry Mano down the rope while Diana carried Rachel.
I went down first with Mano on my back, gripping the rope, when Lee Su-young enlarged the Slime’s body beside me and rode it along the wall.
So the Slime’s size was adjustable.
“With one like this, I think I can make it this way.”
Looking closer, the Slime was clinging to the wall while she sat on a handkerchief-sized Flying Carpet she’d reduced, descending alongside us.
Her trick of making it look like she was riding the Slime was quite clever.
“How many basement levels does this place have?”
Given it was built as a military warehouse combined with a research facility, I understood the high ceilings, but it ran deeper than I’d expected.
Still, counting elevator exits as I descended by rope, I could tell the elevators went down to Basement Level 4.
The labyrinthine area where we’d been wandering was the first floor, and having passed four more elevator exits below, it must be Basement Level 4.
Mano, clinging to my back, whispered softly.
“It seems we made the right choice coming this way. It was so dark I couldn’t judge the depth, but if we’d gone through the entrance shown on the map, considering the size of the first floor, I can’t imagine how many days it would have taken to reach Basement Level 4.”
I was thinking the same thing.
Even with the map secured, circling the first floor took nearly seven or eight hours—I couldn’t fathom how long it would’ve taken wandering the basement in darkness without a map.
Assuming each level takes roughly a day to traverse, that would mean spending nearly five days in this Ancient Ruin, but we’d skipped at least four.
Of course, I couldn’t say the shortcut was entirely without cost.
He was letting go of the Shop Points he might gain from dealing with any biological weapons and the treasures that might be on each floor, passing them by without a second thought.
In truth, judging by the documents he’d seen in the elevator shaft, anything worthy of being called treasure would be little more than research materials.
Research on biological weapons that control monsters?
It wasn’t that he lacked curiosity, but not enough to justify the risks and trouble involved.
He landed on the ground, confirmed there were no dangers in the vicinity, and sent a Community message to Diana telling her to come down.
Once Diana and Rachel made their way down safely, he spread his Aura Sense and slowly opened the elevator doors.

(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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