Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 36

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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 36. The Tower – Escort (5)

I gazed up at roughly a hundred Harpies descending from the sky in a second wave and came to a decision.
Flying creatures were unbearably troublesome.
If I continued riding this sluggish carriage while facing an endless stream of Harpies, I would never reach the City alive.
I wouldn’t die, but no matter how hard I fought, at least one person would inevitably perish.
According to the map, roughly two hours of travel remained by cargo carriage.
With the carriage laden with goods, we were moving at seven to eight kilometers per hour, meaning the remaining distance was at most fifteen kilometers.
“Here’s the thing—I used to be a pathetic soldier.”
During my Military service, my personal best for a three-kilometer run was fourteen minutes and fifty-one seconds, and most of my fitness assessments clocked in around fifteen minutes and two to thirty seconds. I never imagined I’d find myself thinking like this.
I climbed onto the cargo carriage and grabbed the bag containing Monster Growth Elixir.
The bag, plastered with seals like an attaché case, was quite heavy.
It seemed to weigh at least three kilograms.
Since I couldn’t store it in my inventory, I naturally had to carry it.
“Wait! What are you doing?!”
Lorolren asked in alarm.
“The monsters are swarming because of this cargo anyway. Once I deliver this, your business won’t go bankrupt. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”
Everyone stared at me in shock at my words.
“I’ll see you all in the City.”
“Wait! Oppa!”
I ignored Lee Su-young’s call and sprinted toward the City at full speed.
This was the best option.
If I stayed, the cargo would be lost anyway.
So choosing a method with a chance of success where no one dies was clearly the superior choice.
Even if the Quest failed, even if I died countless times in my clone body, as long as I alone faced the monsters, no casualties would occur.
Though I hadn’t mastered Lightness Technique, by strengthening my leg muscles and cardiovascular system, I could run at roughly twenty-five kilometers per hour like a marathon runner.
My burst speed might reach thirty-five or forty kilometers per hour, but I couldn’t sustain that pace for long.
By rough calculation, I only needed to run at full speed for about thirty-five minutes.
Hmm, I might run low on inner energy. If I do, I’ll just drink a Mana Recovery Potion and keep running.
As I sprinted forward, the Harpy flock that had been diving toward the carriage sensed something amiss and grew confused, then began flying toward my direction.
Still, I was moving fast enough that they didn’t catch me immediately.
A swarm of Goblins, having caught the scent of the elixir, rushed toward me.
I leaped high, vaulted over the Goblins’ heads, and continued running without pause.
Naturally, the Goblins gave chase, but their slow legs couldn’t keep up with me.
As the Goblins fell behind, an unexpectedly positive effect emerged.
Though the Goblins couldn’t possibly catch me, the Harpies—viewing them as rivals—split their forces and some began attacking the Goblins.
Harpies, the flying variant of Goblins, and Goblins, the crawling variant of Harpies.
Naturally, the Goblins stood no chance against the Harpies.
If I didn’t have to flee, I would’ve hidden somewhere to watch this entertaining spectacle unfold. It’s a shame I can’t.
After running for about fifteen minutes, I encountered two monster packs, which I bypassed without engaging—just as I’d done with the Goblin.
Some of those creatures were remarkably swift, but they ended up clashing with the Harpies while eliminating their rivals.
After another five minutes of sprinting, the flying Harpies finally caught up to me.
“Tsk, nothing ever comes easy.”
But while I’d evaded those monster packs, the Harpy swarm had suffered considerable losses in their skirmishes.
The remaining Harpies were exhausted and wounded without exception.
“Still, this might be manageable.”
I stopped running and set the bag containing the spirit elixir on the ground.
Then I buried it deep underground using earth magic and purchased a basic mana recovery potion with points, which I drank immediately.
“Come on then, you flying Goblin bastards!”
The Harpy swarm seemed to understand my words and rushed at me in unison.
Five or six of them dove down simultaneously, thrusting the blades attached to their legs forward.
I blocked two Harpies diving from the left with the shackles on my left arm, and severed two more diving from the center—but I couldn’t evade the blade of a Harpy attacking from behind, and it slashed across my back.
“Damn, this is blade-resistant combat gear!”
To be precise, it’s the combat suit sold in the 50th century Galactic Martial Arts World that resists both bullets and blades.
I spun around and swiftly severed the two Harpies that had struck my back.
My back remained unscathed, but the combat suit had been cut.
It wouldn’t lose its blade-resistant function immediately, but if I kept taking hits like this, eventually it would become nothing more than ordinary cloth.
But it didn’t matter.
Even if my entire body was slashed to ribbons, even if I died in the end—as long as I killed every last one of them, victory would be mine.
The Harpies attacked in groups of five or six, coordinating their assaults.
I evaded with footwork, slashed and was slashed, cutting down four or five of those attacking simultaneously each time.
So I was cut and I cut, cut and cut again.
Before long, my combat suit’s protective function was completely gone, leaving it nothing but tattered rags.
“Come on! You chicken-pigeon bastards!”
My entire body was drenched—whether in the Harpies’ blood or my own, I couldn’t tell—and their corpses piled up on the ground.
My face was caked with blood as if I’d washed it in gore, and I wiped it away with my left hand.
My cheek throbbed intensely; I must have been cut there at some point.
But adrenaline surged through me, and I swung my blade in a trance-like state.
About seventy Harpies had reached me while I was dealing with the monster packs pursuing from behind.
But now only about twenty remained flying in the sky.
I staggered as I swung my sword.
I’d lost too much blood. My vision was blurring.
I felt death drawing near, its presence palpable.
The battle felt like it had lasted an eternity, but when I glanced at the electronic wristwatch I’d used in the Military, I’d only been fighting for just over ten minutes.
Thinking I was nearly finished, a large Harpy that appeared to be the commander—who’d been observing from behind—finally stepped forward.
It was an individual roughly 2.5 times larger than a normal Harpy, which itself was only about a head taller than a Goblin.
“Ptui! So this is dying prey, is it? Come on then, you bird-brained bastard.”
I spat out the blood in my mouth and issued my challenge.
My provocation worked—the Harpy shrieked “Kyiiiii—!” and dove straight at me.
Despite her larger frame and status as the pack leader, she attacked in much the same manner as any ordinary Harpy.
After barely ten minutes, I’d grown far too familiar with this attack pattern.
I grinned wickedly, reabsorbed my clone, and regenerated it anew.
My combat suit remained drenched in blood and tattered, but my clone returned to pristine condition.
I sidestepped the leader Harpy’s blade-sharp kick and drove my sword through her chest with all my strength, cleaving her in half.
“Hm?”
A tingling sensation lingered in my palm.
Was the cutting sensation simply more satisfying than before?
Had adrenaline flooded my senses, deceiving me?
From the corpse of the leader Harpy, bisected diagonally across the chest, a blue magic stone glimmered.
“No ability stone, then.”
Though I couldn’t say what the odds were, I’d obtained ability stones even on Floor 13—to expect one here would be greedy. Still, shouldn’t the leader have carried one?
Regardless of my disappointment, the moment their leader fell, the Harpies panicked and scattered away from me.
Was it truly over already?
If it ended this easily, I could have fought alongside the others in the carriage—why did I have to show off?
The instant that thought crossed my mind, I glimpsed a third wave of Harpies approaching like distant specks from the direction the others had fled.
“Damn it! I knew it!”
I bolted toward the City before they could reach me.
The leader I’d cut down was merely the pack leader, not the tribal chieftain.
Once I reached the City gates, even these foolish Harpies wouldn’t dare pursue further.
The distance was considerable enough that reaching the City before the pack arrived would be simple.
I wondered how far behind the others were following.
The carriage would carry some scent, so they’d inevitably encounter monsters—though perhaps not entire swarms.
I harvested the Harpy’s magic stone using water magic, retrieved the bag I’d buried with earth magic, and sprinted toward the City.
After another ten minutes of running, the City faintly appeared beyond the distant mountains.
As I drew closer to the City, the Harpies—who had closed considerable ground—abruptly halted.
The City’s periodic purges of the surrounding area must have taught them caution.
As I approached the gates, the Harpies withdrew, and I saw a queue of people waiting to enter.
According to Lorolren’s map, this City served as a gateway through the Mountain Range; on the opposite side from where I’d come, an open plain stretched endlessly.
The guards at the gate, spotting me approach drenched in blood, leveled their spears and ordered me to halt.
“Stop! Who are you!”
I raised both hands and answered.
“I’m a Climber! I won’t enter the City—I’ll just wait here for my companions!”
At the word “Climber,” both the guards and those queuing to enter turned their gaze toward me.
“A Climber, you say?”
“My companions should arrive in about an hour. They’re exhausted from breaking through the Canyon in that Mountain Range—would it be alright if I rested here?”
Without waiting for a response, I sat down at the end of the suspension bridge to rest.
Even with a freshly regenerated clone, running had drained me completely.
One of those waiting in the queue showed interest and asked me a question.
“You’re really a climber? You actually made it through that Canyon, the one that’s been closed off?”
“Yeah, well.”
I answered half-heartedly, exhausted, and pulled a water bottle from my inventory to wet my throat before using the cleaning magic tool I’d received today to wash away the blood.
This is more convenient than I expected.
The moment I suddenly became clean and pulled items from thin air, everyone gasped in amazement, convinced I was a genuine climber.
As we waited, a familiar supply cart appeared in the distance.
Arriving fifteen minutes earlier than I’d anticipated told me just how urgently they’d driven.
“Oppa! Are you alright?! My goodness! Those are all slash wounds? You’ve been slashed to pieces!”
Lee Su-young, the first to rush toward me, examined my condition with tears streaming down her face.
“Ah, it’s just the clothes that got torn. I recovered from all the wounds with potions while waiting.”
William and Retihoa, who came running behind Lee Su-young, also expressed their concern upon seeing me.
“Han Ji-woo! That was far too reckless! No matter how dire the situation, you shouldn’t treat your own life so lightly!”
“That’s right. It was too reckless.”
William and Retihoa scolded my impulsive actions, their worry for my safety taking precedence over whether the quest was completed.
The Community spoke of climbers with such disdain, calling them all fraudsters, but I seemed fortunate enough to have met genuinely good people.
“Haha, my apologies. I was a bit hasty in that moment myself.”
William told me how he’d moved after I departed first.
He’d stopped Lee Su-young from following me, had Lee Su-young and Retihoa guard Lorolren—who was essentially our client—and had rushed after me himself to provide support, but he couldn’t possibly keep pace with my speed.
Seeing the corpses of monsters littering the path, he’d grown worried about what kind of battle I’d fought.
Though most of those monsters had actually been dealt with by the harpies.
“The merchandise! Is the merchandise safe?!”
Lorolren, who’d jumped down from the supply cart late and waddled toward us, received cold stares.
I hesitantly handed him the bag, smeared with dirt and blood.
“The merchandise is safe.”
“Ohhh! Thank you! Truly, thank you! You are all my saviors!”
I’d developed a habit of unconsciously glancing at Retihoa whenever Lorolren spoke.
Retihoa nodded, confirming his sincerity.
Right, people should be grateful.
“Well then, let’s head back to the 10th Floor now.”
The sun was setting.
Having climbed three floors, even meditation wouldn’t easily dispel the fatigue that clung to me.
“It would have been nice to form a party with such good people.”
At my words, William smiled warmly and spoke.
“They say people who meet while climbing through the 10th Floor range arrive at the same City on the 20th Floor, so let’s think about forming a party after we reach the 20th Floor. And if the timing works out, we might even encounter each other on the way up.”
“I hope we meet again then.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Though our meeting was brief, parting was bittersweet.
We registered each other as friends using one of the Community’s features.
With friend registration, we could send private messages or invite each other to group chats anytime.
“Ah, just in case—here’s my contact information outside The Tower. Han Ji-woo, I won’t forget your dedication.”
“Me too.”
Before William and Retihoa departed for the 10th Floor, they wrote down their email addresses for Lee Su-young and me.
Since we were from different countries, email would be far more convenient than phone numbers.
Lee Su-young and I exchanged email addresses as well.
Immediately after, we returned to the 10th Floor.

(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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