Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 55

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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 55. The Tower – Chimera (1)

My enjoyable farming session had come to an end.
Diana seemed reluctant to take the Vampire’s belongings, finding them distasteful, but she still collected the Vampire’s magical artifacts at Lee Su-young’s and my urging.
The Vampire, apparently a mage who studied magic, possessed thirteen ring-shaped magical artifacts.
Since Diana had done the most work in defeating the Vampire, she took five of them, while Lee Su-young and I each took four—but all of the Vampire’s magical artifacts were duplicates.
The most notable example: blood-amplification artifacts.
True to a Vampire who wielded blood as a weapon, there were six blood-amplification artifacts.
These were excellent magical artifacts for frontline fighters who would lose a lot of blood during combat.
But Diana, with her excellent defense, appreciated them for a different reason.
“I dislike the Vampire, but with these, I could donate blood much more frequently. Especially for RH-negative individuals, these would be an invaluable treasure.”
At Diana’s words, Lee Su-young asked me through a private chat.

-Lee Su-young: What’s RH-negative?

I explained the difference between RH+ and RH- blood types through chat so Lee Su-young wouldn’t feel embarrassed.
Simply put, blood types were divided by A, B, O, or AB, with either a plus or minus designation, and while most people were positive, negative was extremely rare.
Because of this, people with negative blood types faced grave danger in accidents requiring surgery, as compatible blood would be unavailable.
After hearing my explanation, Lee Su-young nodded, acknowledging this new knowledge. A high school student might not know this, after all.
The other seven magical artifacts were duplicates as well: two flame-burst artifacts, three ice-burst artifacts, and three water-orb artifacts.
Diana took three blood-amplification artifacts, one flame-burst and one water-orb artifact. Lee Su-young took one blood-amplification and one flame-burst artifact, plus two ice-burst artifacts.
I collected two blood-amplification artifacts, one water-orb artifact, and one ice-burst artifact.
The grimoires and various materials the Vampire left behind all went to me.
Diana and Lee Su-young had no interest in the Vampire’s magic, and their inventories had no space anyway.
Fortunately, none of the Vampire’s books and experimental tools weighed more than a kilogram, so I could send them to Tower Floor 1 where my main body was.
“So you’re heading to the next floor as well, Diana?”
“Yes, it’s still daytime, and thanks to my holy power, I’m not exhausted.”
“Then, if possible, let’s meet on the 20th Floor.”
“Agreed. I’ll see you on the 20th Floor.”
We exchanged farewells, placed our hands on the crystal, and headed toward Floor 17.

* * *

Diana and I had an inexplicable rapport, and I’d felt regret about parting ways—so why was Diana here?
Upon arriving at Floor 17, Lee Su-young, Diana, and I found ourselves together.
After exchanging farewells, the awkwardness was palpable.
But it wasn’t just the three of us—there were many others.
Ten climbers in total, including myself, had ascended to Floor 17.
Beyond Diana, I recognized other familiar faces as well.
“What a pleasant surprise to see you again. Lee Su-young, Han Ji-woo.”
Among the climbers was William, whom I’d met on Floor 14.
“It’s wonderful to see you both again. Unfortunately, Retihoa isn’t here.”
William responded to my words with a smile.
“I met Retihoa on Floor 16. We obtained quite a bit there, so we had to stop at Floor 10 to dispose of it, which is why we parted ways. Unfortunately, it seems our paths diverged this time as well.”
He spoke with regret that they hadn’t formed a party together, rather than simply being in different cities.
It seemed William and Retihoa had a similar experience to ours—we’d obtained numerous weapons used by the gladiators on Floor 15 and had stopped by Floor 10 to handle them.
Lee Su-young and I were able to climb together because we’d formed a party in the same Floor 10 City, but William and Retihoa couldn’t do the same.
Floor 10’s cities only gathered climbers from the same homeland, so William would be in the city where British climbers gathered, and Retihoa in the city where Vietnamese climbers gathered.
“But it seems you’ve formed a connection with a lady I haven’t seen before?”
“Ah, we ended up doing a Quest together on Floor 16, and fortunately, we both made it to Floor 17. Diana, this is William. William, this is Diana.”
At my introduction, William and Diana exchanged greetings.
William was warm and friendly, perhaps pleased to meet a fellow British native, but Diana kept a subtle distance.
She seemed uncomfortable with people who were overly familiar upon first meeting.
Yet I couldn’t help but think—hadn’t Diana been friendly toward Lee Su-young and me? It appeared that initiating closeness yourself was different from having others approach you first.
As William and I exchanged pleasantries, a Western man approached him.
“Running into you again, are we?”
“Oh! Mister Bogard! It seems fortune is smiling upon us today.”
William introduced me and Lee Su-young to a middle-aged Western man who appeared to be in his mid-to-late forties, named Bogard Dellington.
He looked about ten years older than William, who was in his early thirties.
“This is Bogard, an American climber I met on Floor 13.”
Bogard shook hands with me, Lee Su-young, and Diana in turn.
Bogard appeared to be extremely extroverted, much like William.
“Pleasure to meet you. Name’s Bogard Dellington. I’ve got an ability that a lot of folks envy.”
Bogard transformed his arm into something furry and wolf-like.
“Could it be… a werewolf?”
At my guess, Bogard laughed heartily.
“Ha ha ha! That’s right. You have no idea how grateful I was to The Tower when I received this ability.”
I found myself at a loss for words.
This man looked like a hooligan who’d get drunk and cause trouble at baseball stadiums, yet he was a furry—a genuine one.
A true furry, at that.
Without being asked, he openly revealed and took pride in becoming a werewolf, which made me suspect he’d worn fur suits confidently even before entering The Tower.
Now that I thought about it, wasn’t the reason fur suits had so much blue and neon coloring in countries like the United States, where firearms were legal, to avoid being mistaken for a wild animal and shot?
Blue fur or neon-colored fur didn’t occur naturally, so wearing such colors would certainly reduce the risk of being shot.
From that perspective, it seemed Bogard Dellington would need to be cautious once he left The Tower.
Actually, he might need to be careful even inside The Tower.
After all, monsters swarmed throughout The Tower.
If he were mistaken for a monster, he could end up hunted by fellow climbers.
“It seems not everyone here knows each other.”
Among the ten climbers gathered here, some knew each other like we did, while others stood alone or were meeting fellow climbers for the first time—and it was clear some were discovering this fact now.
Naturally, the center of the climbers’ attention became us—those with prior acquaintance—or more precisely, William.
Diana and I found stepping forward uncomfortable, and Lee Su-young believed she lacked the capability to take the lead.
Bogard Dellington showed no interest in forming groups whatsoever.
William, on the other hand, enjoyed taking charge and possessed a strong sense of responsibility.
“First, before introductions, let’s check this floor’s Quest.”

[Grant Botman’s wish.]

Botman?
So this floor’s Quest involved granting someone’s wish.
But where was this person named Botman?
Until now, the person who made the wish had typically been praying directly in front of the crystal, but this time there was no one praying.
Then someone pointed toward the bushes and spoke.
“Isn’t that person hiding in the bushes the one named Botman?”
At those words, everyone looked toward the vegetation, and a child who appeared to be around twelve years old emerged hesitantly from the bushes.
Seeing the child, William stepped forward.
“Oh my, it seems we frightened you. Don’t worry, child—The Tower sent us here because of your wish, so there’s nothing to fear.”
William bent down and skillfully met the child’s gaze at eye level, waiting for the child to approach on his own terms.
Though still nervous seeing ten adults, the child slowly approached and spoke.
“Please… please save our village!”
Botman’s request was straightforward.
A monster had seized the only passage connecting the village to the outside world, leaving the village desperately short of food and all other supplies.
If things continued, everyone would either starve to death or die attempting to force their way through the passage against the monster.
Ultimately, the wish he had prayed to The Tower for was to have the monster eliminated.
“Does anyone here know much about that monster?”
At William’s question, Botman hesitantly guided us to a nearby village.
The village grew cautious yet hopeful as ten armed strangers suddenly approached.
The Village Chief came forward to greet us and asked.
“How have you come to this village?”
If we possessed enough strength to break through the monster, then it would be defeated; even if we didn’t fight it, if an alternate route existed, the village could escape—so their hope was natural.
“Botman here prayed to The Tower for a wish, and that’s how we came to be here.”
At William’s explanation, the villagers marveled that The Tower’s legend was real, and some showed joy.
But William firmly cut short their cheers.
“Fighting the monster means we’re risking our lives too. We’ll confirm information about the monster and decide whether to engage. Your circumstances are unfortunate, but we cannot stake our lives on them.”
At William’s words, the villagers grew anxious.
William gathered information about the monster from the villagers.
I wasn’t sure if accurate information would accumulate this way.
From their perspective, if we didn’t exterminate the monster, they would simply perish, so they could have hidden various details to encourage us to take on the challenge.
When a person’s life hangs in the balance, they can become quite wicked.
Well, William would understand that much.
The real problem was that there were as many as ten climbers present.
If The Tower had gathered ten climbers, it likely meant the difficulty required ten of us.
Some who grasped this fact were already contemplating retreat before we’d even begun gathering information.
Lee Su-young seemed to sense it too, whispering to Diana and me.
“It feels like we’re collapsing before we even start.”
“Everyone values their own life, after all.”
I couldn’t blame those who gave up.
No one could force another to stake their life.
Fleeing from trials beyond one’s capacity was also a form of courage.
If strength was lacking, one could spend time building it, and recognizing one’s shortcomings became the foundation for growth.
Without acknowledging those shortcomings, one simply stagnated.
“But if we give up without even attempting the challenge this way, can we really continue climbing higher?”
Lee Su-young disagreed with my perspective.
She was growth-oriented, enterprising, and possessed a strong spirit of adventure.
So it seemed she disliked those who were already contemplating retreat without properly assessing the enemy.
“Not everyone needs to climb higher. Recognizing one’s limits and leaving The Tower is also admirable.”
The Tower’s Quests grow harder the higher one climbs, and the rewards are greater when one overcomes that difficulty.
But such rewards only held meaning if one actually succeeded.
I couldn’t call someone useless simply because they gave up climbing at the 10th Floor range.
Whether they left The Tower healthy and returned to their original work, or used the strength gained from the 10th Floor range to accomplish new things, it was all beneficial to society.
On the other hand, if someone died struggling to climb higher, that was a loss to society and grief for their family and friends.
“You don’t mind failing, oppa?”
“If I fail, I’ll just challenge again. Let’s think about it leisurely.”
Ah, Lee Su-young was a high school student—would her parents worry if she stayed in The Tower too long?
Just then, William returned after finishing the information gathering.

(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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