Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 203

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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 203. The Tower – Trial

[Proceed to Tower Floor 34? – Disabled.]
[Proceed to Tower Floor 30? – You cannot return to Floor 33 after this.]
[Exit the Tower? – Disabled.]

According to the text hovering in the Crystal, both leaving the Tower and ascending to Floor 34 were blocked.
We were permitted only to return to Floor 30.
And I could understand why from the notification that appeared below.

[Warning! Upon returning to Floor 30, visit the Climbers’ Association or the Climber-Exclusive Bank immediately. If you do not visit the Association or Bank within a certain timeframe, the restriction will not be lifted, and you may face pursuit by the Tower’s Messengers.]

The Tower did not wish for us to release the Demon God Fragment we had recovered into our homeland or another floor’s realm—it wanted us to retrieve it.
Setting aside whether we could trust the Tower or not, we had no other option.
The four of us couldn’t spend the rest of our lives on this island or fleeing through the Tower Lower Common Levels.
“Once we return, should we head straight to the Bank? We need to go there anyway to distribute the rewards.”
Everyone nodded at my suggestion.
We returned to Floor 30.

* * *

The sky over Floor 30 was gradually taking on the hues of sunset.
Checking the Clock Tower, it was past five in the afternoon—we’d spent about six days on Floor 33, so a little over sixteen hours had passed here.
We headed directly to the Climber-Exclusive Bank upon our return to Floor 30.
The moment we stepped inside the bank building, I felt my body lift slightly as it did when moving between floors via Crystal, but instead of the familiar interior of the bank, we emerged in what looked like a Trial Chamber.
“What—what is this? Have we been forcibly transported?”
As I stood bewildered, a voice echoed from the judge’s bench high atop the raised platform.
“Do not be alarmed. You have not come here in the capacity of criminals.”
A boy who looked to be about ten years old sat at the bench, dressed in an ornate judicial robe, looking down at us.
Though his appearance was endearing, the aura emanating from him rivaled that of the golden dragon we had encountered on Floor 23.
Not only the elderly man and young woman seated on either side of the robed boy, but also the clerks and guards stationed before the judge’s bench were far from ordinary.
Everyone present except us was at minimum mid-tier level, if not high-tier—monsters in their own right.
Naturally, the most monstrous among them was the child seated at the Chief Judge’s bench.
“Climber Diana Violet, Climber Lee Su-young, Climber Rachel Eleanor Quillenberg, Climber Han Ji-woo. Is this correct?”
As everyone fell silent under the weight of the judge’s presence and the guards’ intensity, I spoke on behalf of the group.
“That’s correct. But if we’re not here as criminals, perhaps you could lower your intensity. We’re still only lower-tier Climbers in the Floor 30s range.”
Everyone reacted with surprise at my words.
“What? Ah, I see. We were tactless. Everyone, conceal your power.”
At the young judge’s command, everyone in the chamber suppressed their strength as much as possible.
Even so, we all breathed in relief.
“Missions to collect Demon God Fragments are typically given only to mid-tier Climbers, or only those approaching high-tier, and only in extraordinarily rare cases—so we were indeed discourteous.”
The apologetic child judge introduced himself.
“I am the Chief Judge of the Tower’s Messengers, entrusted with judicial matters. Your standing is too low to hear my True Name, so when addressing me, you shall call me Judge or Chief Judge.”
I’d only heard of the Tower’s Messengers in stories; this was my first time seeing one.
“The reason you have come here, you surely understand—the Tower wishes to retrieve the statue you recovered, the Demon God Fragment-13359, to imprison it in Avici Hell. Produce the statue now.”
At those words, I retrieved the statue from my Inventory.
One of the guards in the Trial Chamber carefully took the statue from me and placed it on the defendant’s stand.
“Remarkable—the sealing work is so precise and delicate that I would not believe it the handiwork of a lower-tier Climber. Had I not known better, I would have sworn it was created by a high-tier Climber.”
The Chief Judge spoke with admiration.
“It must have been a difficult endeavor, and we express our gratitude for your dedication. The Tower shall grant you rewards, which will consist primarily of Credits and Merit Points, along with other items that may be of necessity or advantage to you.”
Our faces brightened at his words.
“The rewards will be transferred through your bank accounts, so you may depart if you wish, or you may remain to observe the trial.”
At the Chief Judge’s words, Lee Su-young and Rachel showed no interest in the trial and wished to leave immediately, while Diana and I were curious about what a Tower trial entailed and wished to observe.
I understood why Lee Su-young and Rachel wanted to leave at once.
There seemed little to gain from remaining here, and the overwhelming presence of these figures—so far above us in standing—was intimidating.
Even though those present had suppressed their aura, having felt it once, we couldn’t help but feel oppressed by their very presence in this chamber.
But Diana and I found that pure curiosity outweighed the unease.
“Very well. I now commence the trial of Case 7907, Merger 13359, Joint Trial Division—the trial of the Demon God.”
As the Chief Judge declared, Lee Su-young and Rachel vanished, and Diana and I were instantly transported to the spectators’ gallery.
“Those two who did not wish to observe have been returned to their original location, so worry not. Though you may spend considerable time here, it will feel but a blink to your companions.”
From the Chief Judge’s words, I sensed instinctively that this place was at least mid-tier, perhaps even high-tier.
“Prosecution, prove the defendant’s crimes.”
At the Chief Judge’s words, a muscular giant from the prosecution’s bench spoke.
“I hereby charge the defendant, Demon God Fragment-13359, with mass slaughter, dimensional annihilation, and seven hundred ninety-eight additional counts of Dimensional Crime. I request that you review the evidence footage.”
As the Prosecutor snapped his fingers, the Trial Chamber transformed as if a hologram had been overlaid upon it.
We found ourselves seated in a grassland, and a bird flying across the sky hung motionless in the air, its wings spread wide as though time itself had stopped.
Then the Chief Judge spoke.
“Before the presentation begins, given that spectators are present in this trial, the Prosecution must take all measures to protect them.”
“I will activate the protective measures.”
As the Prosecutor spoke, a protective barrier materialized around Diana and me.
“Beginning playback of the evidence footage.”
The bird in the sky began to move its wings once more and advance; moments later, something plummeted downward like a meteor.
The instant the meteor struck the ground, the protective barrier shuddered from the violent impact.
‘Is this not merely a hologram—is it actually affecting us in real time?’
Whether the Chief Judge sensed my doubt or read my thoughts, he spoke.
“In the case of gods or supreme sorcerers, even the subtle currents of their power can serve as evidence. At times, one must feel the traces of the past through one’s very skin. Prosecutor, please play this at accelerated speed for the spectators’ comfort.”
“Understood.”
In the footage that followed, imbued with physical force, an utterly mythic and magnificent spectacle unfolded.
The sky melted away and the earth was consumed; angels collided with beings that seemed to be grotesque fish-monsters.
The bizarre creatures spawned by the sculpture were so formidable and savage that to compare them to the insignificant fish-monsters we had faced would be sacrilege itself. From time to time, sections of the image were pixelated as if forbidden to us, or entire regions were painted black.
Whether accelerated thousands or tens of thousands of times over, the sculpture in the footage encountered countless heroes and miracles, and its power waned.
Over centuries—perhaps millennia—as its power eroded bit by bit, the sculpture destroyed multiple dimensions and mocked mortals as it descended from high-tier to lower levels.
And at last, after battling countless Climbers, it was sealed by my companions and me and brought here in chains.
The playback was so accelerated that most of it blurred past, yet there were portions where the Chief Judge slowed the footage, and in those moments, vast battles unfolded—countless spells cast or displays of Holy Power on an immense scale.
Though there was no need to slow those parts, I realized the Chief Judge had done so out of consideration for Diana and me, who had chosen to observe.
Thanks to this, Diana and I were left reeling as we relived and felt the battles we had witnessed directly.
This was an invaluable opportunity, and it would become nourishment for days to come.
At last, when all the footage ended and the Trial Chamber returned to view, the Prosecutor spoke.
“The Prosecution rests, having proved the defendant’s crimes. Based on the evidence footage presented, I recommend an Annihilation Sentence.”
At the Prosecutor’s recommendation, the Chief Judge spoke.
“Defense, present your defense.”
Looking to the defense counsel’s bench at the Chief Judge’s words, I saw that in place of a defense attorney sat what appeared to be a small, cute dinosaur plush toy, as if summoned as an emergency substitute.
After observing the plush toy for a moment, the Chief Judge spoke.
“Very well. As the Defense has no objection, I shall render my judgment.”
‘What—the defense ends with just a stuffed toy?’
At the defendant’s bench, the elderly sculpture trembled as if attempting to protest or flee, but it could do nothing more.
“By the authority vested in me by the Tower and each world, I render judgment in accordance with the Prosecution’s recommendation. I sentence the defendant to Annihilation. Until the sentence is carried out, the defendant shall be confined in Avici Hell. Execution shall proceed according to the Tower’s law, and the date thereof shall be determined by the Tower.”
As the Chief Judge spoke, a chasm opened beneath the defendant’s bench and the sculpture fell through.
Once the sculpture vanished, the chasm closed, and the Chief Judge arranged his documents as he spoke.
“With this, I hereby conclude Case No. 7907-13359, Division of the Appellate Bench, trial of the Demon God.”
The Chief Judge smiled and asked Diana and me a question.
“Trials such as this are not easily observed by Climbers. What are your impressions?”
At the Chief Judge’s question, I posed one thing that puzzled me.
“To my knowledge, the Tower has no particular ruler or leader, yet seeing a trial suggests that Legislative and Judicial authorities do exist?”
At my question, everyone regarded me with bewildered eyes.
“How did you come to know that the Tower has no leader?”
At the Chief Judge’s question, I answered truthfully.
“An elder told me.”
At my response, the Chief Judge seemed to grasp something and spoke.
“Did you perhaps meet that elder in the Library?”
“Ah, you know of them?”
“Indeed! If you learned it from that venerable one, it is entirely plausible. We have heard much of you—truly a Magical Prodigy sent down from the heavens, as the saying goes.”
At the Chief Judge’s words, the judges on either side of him whispered to each other and regarded me with wonder.
‘What is this? What rumors have been spreading about me?’
“Be that as it may, I see you are cultivating Martial Arts as your primary pursuit alongside Magic, just as the Labor Reformation Officer foretold. Yet given the rich fragrance of Magic still clinging to you, it seems you have found a way to balance the two—for which I am grateful.”
‘Labor Reformation Officer…? Could that possibly refer to the Old Witch Woman who gives me quests to expand my inventory?’
“Personally, I would advise you to concentrate on Magic, yet it appears your talent extends to Martial Arts as well—you have already surpassed the level of a Lower-tier Climber. If such is the case, this falls within your personal choice, and it is not my place to meddle. I can only offer my encouragement.”
Having spoken thus, he answered my question.
“The Tower, being the foundation upon which countless lives are built, must necessarily possess both legislative and judicial institutions to establish rules and order for its people. The particulars of such matters, however, are not granted for lower-tier Climbers to know, and so I shall say no more on the subject.”
The Chief Judge glanced at his watch and spoke.
“Ah, but I have another trial commencing forthwith. I hereby order the gallery cleared of all spectators.”
There were still several questions lingering in my mind, but before the Chief Judge could even finish his sentence, Diana and I found ourselves back at the bank we had meant to enter in the first place.

(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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