Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 57

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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 57. The Tower – Chimera (3)

It took about two minutes to reach the Village again.
“Huff! Huff!”
Upon arriving at the Village, I collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily and ragged.
The moment I suddenly fell, Diana and Lee Su-young rushed toward me in alarm.
“Are you alright?!”
“Are you injured…!”
I raised my hand to assure them I was fine.
My breathing had become erratic from running at full speed.
If this had been my reincarnated clone’s trained body, even sprinting at maximum velocity wouldn’t have left me gasping for breath like this—but this current form was utterly pathetic.
“Thank goodness you returned safely. Please use this to wipe away the sweat.”
William handed me a handkerchief as sweat poured down my face like a flood.
I steadied my breathing and wiped the perspiration away.
“We were startled when a monster’s cry suddenly echoed and smoke began rising.”
“Ah. Cough! Cough!”
Before my breathing fully returned, I tried to speak but choked instead.
I sat up and coughed for a while before finally composing myself to speak.
“I spotted the Chimera from a distance. It was about twice the size described in the records here.”
At my words, the climbers’ expressions grew grave.
A monster’s size was a crucial factor when hunting.
It was even more so for climbers still in their early stages.
“So to test how sensitive it was, I approached while suppressing my presence.”
“You were discovered while approaching?”
“No. It didn’t notice me at all.”
“Then…?”
I pulled water from my inventory and drank deeply before answering.
“Ahh! Even when I got close, it showed no awareness, so I decided to test whether my attacks would actually land.”
At my words, Bogard Dellington stared at me as if I’d lost my mind.
“You attacked it? Are you in your right mind?”
“But if attacks don’t work, there’s no point in being able to approach stealthily no matter how carefully. At minimum, I needed to confirm whether damage would register.”
Bogard Dellington considered my logic and nodded in agreement, but William’s brow furrowed.
“That was far too dangerous.”
“I’m not at fault. The Chimera tempted me. Who told it to stand there so defenseless and inviting to attack?”
At my response, Bogard Dellington laughed heartily.
“Hahahaha! This guy’s a complete madman, isn’t he?”
Bogard Dellington spoke with a Southern United States accent, and the dialect came through clearly to my ears.
I wondered—did the translation system render dialects similarly?
“So you did get wounded?”
At Bogard’s question, I nodded and pointed to the center of my forehead with my finger.
“I completely shattered something like a jewel embedded in the goat head. After that, the goat head went limp like it was dead, and the lion head went berserk. So I triggered a smoke screen with a foul stench and bolted immediately.”
Everyone was shocked by my answer.
“So one weakness has already been exploited. And we’ve proven that attacks are definitely effective.”
“The only issue is that since one head got smashed, it’s in a berserk state now. For now, the smoke smell will keep it from chasing us, but we need to finish this within a few hours. Otherwise, it could reach the Village.”
At my words, the villagers eavesdropping from below went pale, and the Black climber in heavy armor frowned and reproached me.
“Isn’t that too irresponsible? You can just escape to the 10th Floor, but what about the people here?”
His anger was justified.
“I have no intention of going to the 10th Floor.”
“…What?”
Everyone failed to understand my words.
“Even if all of you give up, I won’t abandon Floor 17. Even if everyone here gives up, I’ll clear the Quest alone. I can clear it with just myself.”
Though in that case, Lee Su-young would have to attempt Floor 17 solo.
If some members of a party give up while others clear a floor, those who cleared it cannot attempt that floor again.
Because of this, they cannot proceed with the Quest until the person who gave up clears that floor.
Usually, people get tired of waiting and the party splits apart.
As I displayed my confidence, everyone was startled and shaken.
With one weakness already exploited and my strong conviction, the atmosphere shifted toward attempting the conquest.
Perhaps they thought the Chimera wasn’t such a big deal.
William seized the moment and spoke.
“We’re running out of time, so let’s decide now. If you’re continuing the conquest of Floor 17, stay here. If not, return to the 10th Floor.”
At William’s words, those who had already made up their minds remained silent, while others exchanged glances uncertainly.
“Those attempting the conquest, we’ll have a strategy meeting over there.”
When no one moved, William pulled me to my feet and left the area entirely.
Six of us—myself, Lee Su-young, and Diana included—who had already decided, followed William, and the remaining three hesitated before following as well.
Once everyone had gathered, William smiled slightly, spread a map on the ground, and placed a fist-sized stone on it.
“Let’s say this is the Chimera. And these are us.”
He arranged ten small pebbles in a line around the Chimera. When had he prepared this?
William outlined the strategy roughly and gathered opinions from the other climbers.
Naturally, my observations from having directly scouted the Chimera were heavily reflected.

* * *

The Chimera thrashed about trying to kill me for a while before finally exhausting itself and settling down somewhat.
However, seeing its fur bristled up completely, it was still in an extreme state of rage, its nerves razor-sharp and alert.
In that state, a surprise attack wouldn’t work the way it had when I dealt with the goat head.
Not just a surprise attack—even approaching closely seemed difficult.
After confirming the Chimera through the telescope and handing it to William, he marveled at what he saw.
“Can you buy a telescope like this at the Tower Shop? I’ve never seen one this small and of such good quality.”
“Ah… I bought it outside the Tower. It’s probably unavailable now since the company went out of business?”
It wasn’t a lie.
I really did buy it outside the Tower, and it was true that the company went bankrupt after obsessively churning out outdated models and dumping them on consumers, so it was also true that William couldn’t obtain one.
By 50th century standards it was outdated, but the technology inside wasn’t bad.
It was just that the cutting-edge technology they advertised turned out to be thousand-year-old tech, earning it the nickname “40th Century Telescope” and getting absolutely roasted for it.
Thanks to that, I picked up six of them dirt cheap from the children’s toy section rather than the telescope section.
Siu nagged me about buying proper ones if I was going to buy any, but I was satisfied.
I bought two generously and got four more as a bonus.
“That’s unfortunate. When I get outside the Tower, I’d like to find one with that kind of performance.”
William returned the telescope to me and asked a question.
“You attacked the Chimera on purpose, didn’t you? To analyze whether your attacks would work, you didn’t need to target its weak point—you could have aimed at another part. That way it wouldn’t have become this vigilant.”
William scanned the climbers spreading out to the sides according to plan.
“Of course, you thought the Chimera was manageable, but you deliberately targeted its weak point to create a hunting atmosphere for those villagers, didn’t you?”
I didn’t deny his question.
When I didn’t deny it, William smiled.
“As I’ve been climbing the Tower, one question has occurred to me. If we give up, will the Tower really send other climbers?”
I had wondered the same thing.
The Tower granted one wish and sent climbers, but if they fail to achieve their wish, would the Tower really send new climbers?
“How many worlds does the Tower contain? Is the Tower truly omniscient enough to grant every wish? If we abandon them, won’t they simply remain abandoned?”
The Tower probably doesn’t grant every wish.
Otherwise, the rumor that the Tower sends climbers wouldn’t be treated like a legend.
How many people actually make wishes to the Tower?
Even though the Tower already sent climbers once and gave them a chance, only to see them fail, would it really be fair to give another chance?
Giving another chance meant that climbers were needed elsewhere, and other climbers couldn’t go there.
“And even if the Tower sends climbers again, there’s no guarantee they won’t give up either. That’s why you deliberately attacked the weak point, isn’t it?”
I shrugged at William’s question.
“It was a choice I made because I was confident I could handle it alone regardless.”
I was confident I could clear Floor 17 by myself.
If I fought prepared to die once or twice, I could easily defeat a monster that was just big.
“The positioning is complete. Let’s go.”
I suppressed my presence and approached the Chimera.
Right now the Chimera was desperate to catch and kill me.
I had set off smoke and fled, but it would definitely realize it was me who killed the goat head when it saw me.
In this situation, there was no one better than me to serve as bait to guide the Chimera’s actions.
“ROOOAAARRR!”
The moment the Chimera’s lion head spotted me, it unleashed a furious roar and charged straight toward me.
To provoke it further, I hurled my hand axe directly at the center of the lion head’s brow.
The lion head flinched in surprise and batted away my hand axe with its front paw.
Though the hand axe left a small wound on its paw, the Chimera seemed unimpressed by such feeble power and glared at me with even greater fury as it charged.
The fact that it sustained an injury despite my not putting full force into the throw suggested the jewel embedded in its forehead was far harder than its hide.
I relayed this discovery to William through the Community chat and turned to flee.
The moment I deliberately exposed my back and ran, the Chimera pursued me relentlessly—whether driven by predatory instinct or an overwhelming desire to kill me, I couldn’t say.
Its running speed was faster than I’d anticipated. Had it augmented its physical strength using mana?
Still, it was decidedly slower than me using Light Footwork.
As I maintained a safe distance and passed the predetermined point we’d discussed, the Druid Climber seized the Chimera’s ankles using tree roots and vines.
“SCREECH?!”
The Chimera lost its balance mid-sprint and crashed spectacularly to the ground.
However, the trees the Druid controlled were uprooted along with the Chimera’s fall.
“Camilla! Keep it restrained! Vanguard, forward!”
At William’s command, the Druid Climber used the fallen trees and surrounding vegetation to bind the Chimera as thoroughly as possible, while the Heavy Armor Climber and Diana took the front line to intercept its attacks.
Behind the Chimera, the werewolf Bogard and the Metal Human Climber engaged the serpent tail, preventing it from supporting the lion head.
The Tamer, who had tamed two wolves, and I provided support to Diana and the Heavy Armor Climber respectively, launching attacks against the Chimera.
The Chimera pressed its assault on me relentlessly while managing its attention between the two frontline fighters.
As the lion head focused on me and engaged the other climbers with its front legs, Lee Su-young and William attacked from range, targeting the center of its brow.

(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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