Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 34

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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 34. The Tower – Escort (3)

“…Wow.”
William fired off magical arrows while watching Retihoa’s combat with an awestruck expression.
I could guess what he was feeling, but he seemed cautious about offending Retihoa.
Though it wasn’t fear of her so much as concern that she might feel emotionally wounded.
Britain historically conjured images of gentlemen who were actually thugs in disguise, but it seemed real British gentlemen were different.
Still, Retihoa seemed aware of how her combat style appeared, letting out a small cough.
“Forced possession only works when the target’s intelligence is significantly lower than mine. Goblins or beasts are manageable, but it’s difficult otherwise. And it’s a method I use when enemies are far away—I fight differently when they’re close.”
“No one said anything, Miss Retihoa.”
As the possessed goblin causing chaos died, the spirit Retihoa controlled transferred to the last goblin she made contact with.
The final goblin among the five picked up a totem and smashed its own head with a stone axe.
The possessed spirit returned to the totem’s body and came back to Retihoa’s side.
“Couldn’t you just use the possessed creatures as escorts the way you control them?”
Retihoa shook her head at my question.
“Simple structures like totems are one thing, but living animals consume enormous amounts of mental energy.”
Mental energy, not magical power.
So necromancy uses mental energy as its cost rather than magical power.
I thought it would be useless without nearby animals to control, but since she mentioned fighting differently in close combat, she must have another combat method.
While my companions with ranged combat abilities eliminated the goblins, I contributed little to the battle itself.
I hesitated about using magic, then remembered I’d received sword training through psychic abilities, so suddenly using magic felt awkward, and the fight ended before I could act.
With only about twenty goblins attacking us, the battle couldn’t have lasted long anyway.
“Well, it ended before I could even step in.”
“That’s not true. You provided the exact locations through your tracking ability, Han Ji-woo.”
William smiled warmly, sparing me from embarrassment.
Of course, the goblins’ magic stones were excluded from the distribution.
As the journey continued, we were ambushed seven times within just a few hours by monsters like goblins, nolls, and kobolds.
There were more ambushes than expected, and since the harpies Lorolren mentioned never appeared, everyone’s looks toward him grew hostile.
“Lorolren, are you hiding something from us?”
At William’s question, Lorolren laughed and spoke.
“Ha, hiding something? There’s nothing like that.”
When everyone looked at Retihoa, she narrowed her brows in concentration.
“There’s something deceptive here.”
William and I slowly brought our hands to our sword hilts.
Though we didn’t assume a drawing stance, Lorolren felt the pressure enough to break into a cold sweat.
After rolling his eyes frantically, he swallowed hard and spoke.
“I-I can’t say anything about the cargo.”
I see. The cargo itself is problematic, which is why all these incidents are occurring.
I lightly climbed onto the carriage and sat beside the sweating Lorolren, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“You said this delivery fails and you’re bankrupt, right? Want to go bankrupt?”
My subtle threat caught him off guard.
“But you all made a contract with me!”
“A contract? You have a written contract? We never even brought up money—you’re the one who offered to pay us. Did you really think we’d help with your delivery for pocket change? That pittance you offered? We could earn that in an hour. No, an hour? We’d make it in ten minutes.”
Eleven thousand credits was substantial, but for climbers, it was merely the earnings from hunting five or six Horned Rabbits and selling them through the Tower Shop.
While credits were precious to the natives, climbers had far more use for Tower Shop Points and rarely bothered converting them—earning credits was simply too easy.
“We’re only disappointed because if this delivery fails, we’ll need to rest for a day.”
Failing a Quest to ascend higher floors in the Tower meant you couldn’t attempt it again for a set period.
Fail on the 10th Floor range and you’re locked out for a day; the 20th Floor range, three days; the 30th Floor range, about a week—the Tower forced you to regroup and address your shortcomings.
“But you’re different, aren’t you?”
“A-are you threatening me right now?”
“Threatening? That’s a serious accusation. I’m simply stating facts. I’ll guarantee your safety even if it costs me my life. We’ll definitely make it safely back to the village where we ‘started.'”
At my words, Lorolren’s face went pale.
“Reasonably speaking, we should know what dangers might come our way so we can prepare. Don’t you think?”
After all, knowing what risks lay ahead meant we could buy potions from the Tower Shop.
“What merchant wants to make too many enemies?”
Mutual crimes between climbers and natives were prohibited only on the Common Floors.
Of course, even without resorting to illegal acts, there were countless legal ways to make someone’s life difficult.
Failing a Quest didn’t mean immediate forced expulsion to the 10th Floor, after all.
Under my subtle pressure, Lorolren finally confessed the truth.
The goods Lorolren was transporting were a type of growth-accelerating elixir for monsters.
The destination was the Magic School Research Institute under the Magic Tower in York City, which studied monsters—if even a whiff of the scent escaped, it could attract hordes of enchanted monsters and trigger a monster wave, making it extraordinarily dangerous cargo.
Originally, the containers should have been properly sealed to prevent any scent from leaking, but somewhere during transport, microscopic gaps must have formed, as the cargo was somehow attracting monsters.
The mercenaries he’d originally hired knew about this and deliberately took medicine to induce stomach pain, faking food poisoning to abandon the job.
Hearing the truth, we fixed him with cold stares.
“I think we need a moment to discuss this. What do you say?”
At William’s suggestion, the four of us excluding Lorolren gathered to hold a meeting.
“What does everyone think?”
At William’s question, I remained silent for now.
Since I was a clone, I could push forward regardless of danger, but the others couldn’t.
They only had one life, so I couldn’t be selfish about it.
Most importantly, if my party member Lee Su-young chose to withdraw, I was prepared to respect that decision.
But contrary to my expectations, Lee Su-young spoke with a serious expression.
“I don’t think proceeding as planned is a bad idea.”
“Lee Su-young. If the seal breaks during combat, we could end up in an extremely dangerous situation.”
“But I think it could also be an opportunity.”
At the word “opportunity,” my gaze and Retihoa’s naturally turned toward the cargo carriage.
“Are you planning to demand something in exchange for not abandoning this mission?”
At Retihoa’s question, Lee Su-young nodded.
“From what I could see, there are some decent magical tools and potions available.”
Lee Su-young glanced at me as if seeking my approval, and I nodded in response.
I could sense quite a few magical tools within my range.
Though they were packaged as merchandise, Lorolren’s penalty clause specifically targeted the spirit elixirs that attracted monsters—not the magical tools themselves.
The Tower Shop sold recovery potions, but they hadn’t yet begun selling magical tools.
Once we climbed higher, the Tower Shop would likely stock magical tools, but from what I’d seen in the Community, they primarily sold disposable or consumable items.
Semi-permanent magical tools had to be obtained by hunting monsters while ascending the Tower, looting ruins, or acquiring and crafting them from blueprints.
So finding semi-permanent magical tools on Floor 14 was genuinely an opportunity.
Even if they became obsolete beyond Floor 20, their value was substantial—they could help us ascend at least five more floors with relative ease.
William and Retihoa fell silent for a moment, lost in thought at Lee Su-young’s words.
“You’re certainly right, Lee Su-young. This is indeed a good opportunity.”
“Of course, we should examine what magical tools suit us first.”
All three seemed to have made up their minds.
I offered them a word of caution.
“Greed is what destroys a person’s life. Remember that greed can cost you your very existence.”
At my words, William regarded me with surprise.
“Are you opposed to continuing, Han Ji-woo?”
I chuckled softly at his question.
“No. I simply thought someone needed to instill a sense of caution. Before making a decision, someone should give you all time to reconsider.”
William smiled, seemingly pleased with my answer.
“Well said. Unchecked opinions prevent people from reflecting on themselves. Still, I’m glad you haven’t given up, Han Ji-woo. Honestly, four of us is far more reassuring than three.”
With that, William stepped forward and created three types of magical arrows.
“Since we’ve become a community of shared fate, facing this danger together, allow me to explain my abilities in detail for our mutual safety.”
William launched into his explanation before we could object.
The glass-like transparent arrow was a basic arrow—it consumed the least mana and had the shortest cooldown.
The red arrow was a flame arrow, capable of igniting whatever target it struck.
Conversely, the white arrow was a frost arrow, capable of freezing whatever target it struck.
“And I’m fortunate enough to possess a detection ability from an ability stone—specifically, ‘Hostility Detection,’ which senses the malice of enemies.”
With William sharing not just his innate abilities but also those acquired from ability stones, the atmosphere naturally shifted toward everyone revealing their capabilities.
Lee Su-young went next after William.
Lee Su-young didn’t have much to hide.
The only thing worth mentioning was that she possessed a light wind technique in addition to her water wind technique.
I couldn’t reveal my ‘Multidimensional Avatar,’ so I disclosed that I’d trained in swordsmanship, footwork, and unarmed combat, and had learned basic magic at the Magic Tower Branch on Floor 10.
I didn’t mention spirit magic since it was still level 1 and had no practical combat applications.
“Ah, but since today marks my third day in the Tower, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t expect too much from my magic.”
Hearing this, William and Retihoa were surprised that there was a Magic Tower Branch on Floor 10.
“Magic, you say? As someone who wields magical arrows, I would have asked for guidance had we been in the same city. What a shame.”
Had we been in the same city, I would have refused to go there anyway.
It’s best to avoid madmen.
“But you don’t possess a detection ability like mine?”
“Yes, after learning martial arts, my senses developed so I can determine the enemies’ positions and numbers by their breathing or subtle sounds. I don’t have any special tracking ability.”
“Ooh! The mystery of martial arts!”
This guy was really infatuated with orientalism.
What martial arts from a hundred years ago? When was that even relevant?
Besides, I learned martial arts after entering The Tower.
When it was Retihoa’s turn, she manipulated her totem.
“When the totem is near me, I can consume my mana to use beam-like attacks. And if I possess it myself instead of just controlling it, I can enhance my own body.”
Retihoa’s other ability—possessing a goblin’s body—had been so shocking that her other powers seemed rather underwhelming by comparison.
William stood up from his seat and spoke.
“I’ll handle the negotiation with that merchant. I’m quite confident in negotiations. Of course, since Han Ji-woo already intimidated him, there doesn’t seem to be much left for me to do.”
William flashed a subtle smile.

(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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