Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 46

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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 46. Galaxy Martial God Hall – Clubs (1)

About a month had passed, and I was finally growing accustomed to elementary school life.
During that time, while I’d greeted my classmates on numerous occasions, I’d never actually invited anyone to play.
Cheon So-yeon was much the same.
As a member of the Cheon Family with exceptional martial prowess and striking beauty, the girls in her class had invited her to play after school.
Cheon So-yeon glanced at me hesitantly, but when I smiled and gestured for her to go have fun, she went off to play with them.
It was time for Cheon So-yeon to make friends with people other than me.
She was usually quiet, but whenever she got excited, her endless chatter would make my ears ring—truly.
I was too old to play with children, and Cheon So-yeon would surely find playing with her peers far more enjoyable than spending time with an old soul like me.
Or so I thought, but a few hours later, Cheon So-yeon returned home completely drained, her complexion ashen.
“Ji-woo… I’m so exhausted. So many things happened.”
She certainly looked it.
Cheon So-yeon rambled on about her experiences with the other girls in her class, and the gist of it was that an old soul caught among children couldn’t keep up with their youthful energy and had struggled mightily.
Having spent time with me, Cheon So-yeon had become an old soul herself.
Ah, what a sinful man I am.
After that, while Cheon So-yeon got along well enough with the other children at school, she no longer played with them after classes.
Break time was only ten minutes, but after school lasted several hours.
As school life became routine, my daily schedule grew somewhat monotonous.
Mornings were lessons with Riven, afternoons were physical training that felt oddly familiar, and evenings at home were martial arts practice with Siu.
During breaks, I’d surf the internet, watch movies, comics, and dramas, or play with Cheon So-yeon.
Living like a hamster on a wheel, I’d grown comfortable with the Second-rate realm before I knew it.
Perhaps it was time to start climbing The Tower?
As I pondered this, April arrived, and Riven announced information about clubs.
Seeing Riven handle the academic schedule announcements made me wonder if she was actually the homeroom teacher rather than Kim Do-hwa, but I’d let that slide.
“Clubs aren’t mandatory, are they?”
Riven nodded at my question.
“Of course not. Our school guarantees student autonomy.”
Student autonomy that involves sixteen-period classes?
No, if I say such things, I might end up back in sixteen-period classes. I prefer twelve periods.
Saying this made me feel as though I were being gaslit.
“However, we do encourage club participation. The school provides various support for club activities.”
“Support?”
“Yes, elixirs, weapons, martial arts techniques—things like that.”
“…Then isn’t that coercion rather than encouragement?”
It’s not as if they’re providing supplies necessary for club activities; elixirs and martial arts techniques are practically mandatory.
“My, what are you saying, Cheon Ji-woo? Unlike classes, we’re giving you a choice. Students have the right to refrain from club activities and not receive support.”
Her smile as she said this seemed cunning.
“What exactly kind of support does the club receive?”
At my question, Riven projected a club introduction pamphlet into the air.
Seeing something like this really drives home that this is Virtual Reality.
“Well… since each club receives different support, I can’t say definitively what it is. Still, we’re making efforts to support every club as fairly as possible.”
I nodded while skimming through the club introduction pamphlet.
The total number of clubs introduced in the pamphlet was forty-one.
Naturally, since this was a martial arts specialized school, all the clubs were related to martial arts.
The largest club was the Swordsmanship Club.
Well, that makes sense since the Cheon Family Clan’s foundational martial art is swordsmanship.
Fist techniques, leg techniques, palm techniques, hidden weapons, lightness of body, concealment—the variety of martial arts and clubs was impressive.
However, several clubs had age restrictions attached.
For example, the Lightness of Body club only recruited members from fifth and sixth graders.
Probably to prevent kids from getting lost while dashing around with lightness of body techniques.
“You can join a maximum of three clubs at once. You can change clubs every year, but once the recruitment period ends, no additional members are accepted, so be careful.”
The reason they don’t accept additional members is probably a budget issue.
If things like medicinal herbs tailored to martial arts are provided as support, the order quantities matter, and they probably want to prevent people from hopping between clubs and extracting support they won’t even use.
“For reference, I’d recommend joining just one club. Even with two bodies, you’d find it insufficient if you joined multiple clubs.”
So you actually have to participate in club activities once you join.
“I would’ve joined if it were something like a gourmet club. But it’s such a hassle to actually join.”
“Oh, we do have one. A gourmet club.”
“Really?”
Surprised, I looked at Teacher Riven, and she handed me a new pamphlet.
“It’s the miscellaneous clubs introduction pamphlet. Unlike the official clubs, clubs created purely for hobbies or studies unrelated to martial arts receive no support beyond activity fees.”
Now that’s a real club. Though they do provide funding for activities.
For reference, the Elementary School I attend was completely free.
Meals, uniforms, everything needed for education—the Cheon Family Clan paid for it all.
I thought hobby-related expenses wouldn’t be covered since it operated like a tax-funded school, but it really is a wealthy institution.
Is it because only direct descendants can attend?
“You only need to choose your clubs during April, so take your time deciding.”
After saying that, Teacher Riven paused for a moment before speaking carefully.
“…By the way, you were close with Cheon So-yeon, weren’t you?”
“Yes. We’re childhood friends. We also live next door to each other.”
At my confirmation, Teacher Riven warned me.
“Then you should be careful.”
“What do you mean?”
“In principle, the fact that Cheon So-yeon is a Heavenly Demon Body should be kept strictly secret, but it’s become an open secret that everyone knows, and there are many upperclassmen targeting Cheon So-yeon.”
Targeting probably doesn’t mean attacking.
“They’ll try to recruit So-yeon forcefully?”
“Since Cheon So-yeon is drawing attention from the upper echelons of the clan beyond just the school, rumors are circulating that clubs possessing Cheon So-yeon might receive additional support.”
I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at the absurdity.
“You believe such baseless rumors?”
Even for an elementary school student, isn’t that a bit too naive?
“…The problem is, it might not be a rumor at all.”
“Eh…?”
“The moment Cheon So-yeon enrolled, the school’s budget increased dramatically compared to previous years. The implication is clear.”
It meant the Cheon Family Clan had high expectations for Cheon So-yeon.
And the school had an obligation to meet those expectations.
“But is it really okay to tell me something like this?”
Riven answered my question as if it were obvious.
“Of course it’s not.”
“…?”
“Hehe, I know I should treat all my students equally as a teacher, but I can’t help finding students who follow my lessons well to be endearing. And since you’re the involved party, you should know.”
The involved party?
“Surely not…!”
“Cheon Ji-woo, you’re currently Cheon So-yeon’s only real friend, aren’t you? You even commute to and from school together. Information about school matters shouldn’t leak outside, but humans are vulnerable to temptation in many ways.”
So the school staff is selling information about Cheon So-yeon!
Is that even okay?
“Ah, don’t worry. Even if information leaks, it only goes to family members—specifically, a select few high-ranking officials. All the staff know that if they’re caught selling confidential information outside the family, death would be a mercy.”
Are they trying to recruit Cheon So-yeon?
It seemed some of those high-ranking officials had children attending this school.
“During quarterly loyalty education sessions, we watch video records of traitors who met gruesome ends—fates worse than death itself.”
“…Do you realize I’m still only six years old?”
“I’m well aware.”
If you’re aware, then don’t tell such brutal stories in front of a child!
“Did you tell So-yeon about this too?”
“Not the raw, unfiltered information I gave you, but I did inform her in appropriately sanitized form. While Cheon So-yeon isn’t quite at your level, her mental maturity is still far beyond her peers.”
That’s true. Sometimes she seems older than me.
But why didn’t you sanitize it for me?
“In any case, be careful, and whenever you’re at school, feel free to ask for help from me or Teacher Kim Do-hwa.”
“I will.”
“Well then, shall we begin class?”
Riven began the lesson. The first period was history.

* * *

Riven’s warning manifested into reality far more quickly than I’d anticipated.
After afternoon classes ended and I’d toweled off the sweat in the shower room, a figure towering nearly two heads above me blocked my path.
Though calling him “towering”—he was an Elementary School student, right?
Why did he look like a middle-aged man?
Had he received a botched hormone injection or something?
I could understand his height exceeding 160 centimeters, since martial arts training accelerated physical development, but the weathered, aged appearance etched into his face was shocking.
No, wait—that couldn’t be right.
“Ah! Are you administrative staff? Is there something you need from me?”
Administrative staff didn’t necessarily need to train in martial arts.
Of course, height was mostly determined by genetics rather than nutritional deficiency, and even among renowned martial artists, some were quite short.
In fact, certain martial techniques favored smaller builds, so there even existed methods to deliberately suppress growth.
At my question, the staff member—or so I thought—bellowed at me.
“I’m not staff! I’m your senior at this school!”
I was genuinely shocked by this unfamiliar senior’s declaration.
Looking more carefully, while acne scars pitted his face like pockmarks, his skin elsewhere bore fine down, and he wasn’t entirely without youthful features.
Yet dark stubble shadowed his upper lip, and deep wrinkles creased his brow—an Elementary School student?
Was he really undergoing testosterone injections?
Now that I thought about it, it was old news that some martial artists took steroids or male hormones to achieve rapid advancement.
Though occasional treatment might be acceptable, prolonged use carried a high risk of sexual dysfunction, so those who underwent it were typically practitioners of童子功—techniques requiring celibacy.
As I stared at him with undisguised disbelief, the nameless senior’s face flushed crimson.
“Th-this!”
Just as the nameless senior was about to explode in anger, two other seniors who’d been watching from behind—looking like ordinary Elementary School students—emerged and restrained their friend.
“Hae-woo! Calm down!”
“We just came to say hello!”
“You apologize too! That was harsh! Even if Hae-woo does look prematurely aged, you can’t just say he looks like a middle-aged man!”
Wait… did I actually say that?
Though the seniors restraining him didn’t look particularly young either?
True, the enraged senior did look unusually aged, but still.
Since the young man seemed genuinely hurt, I—as the adult here—should apologize.
“I apologize, Senior.”
At my apology—or rather, at the mention of looking like a middle-aged man—the nameless senior flared up again.
“You bastard! So that’s what you really think of me!”
“I said calm down!”
The three seniors suddenly launched into a comedic routine.
Hmm, was there anything else they needed from me?
If not, I should head home. Siu would be waiting.
As I tried to slip past them and continue on my way, the three seniors urgently blocked my path again.
“W-wait! Just a moment! We have something to tell you!”

(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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