Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 6

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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 6. The Tower – Residential Floor 10 (1)

Upon reaching the 10th Floor, a notification appeared before I could even survey my surroundings, and I blinked in disbelief.
Two slots?!
Could I really conquer The Tower with two clones?
Startled, I opened my ability window and tapped the newly acquired second slot.

[Searching dimensions….]
[Search complete]
[Avatar creation available in dimensions: 1. Earth / 2. #33669 / 3. #759990 / 4….]

The available dimensions for avatar creation had increased, but they were nothing but incomprehensible numbers, and The Tower had vanished from the list.
So dual-tracking wasn’t possible after all.
Besides, I myself had no idea how to control a clone once it was created.
Still, it was disappointing regardless.
I had hoped this ability would become truly broken.
The landscape of the 10th Floor I had just arrived at bore a cathedral-like atmosphere.
Since there was no immediate threat, I proceeded to check the new notifications as well.

[The common ability ‘Tower Shop’ has been unlocked. The inventory of ‘Tower Shop’ has been updated.]
[You have acquired the common abilities ‘Mini Map’, ‘Tower Community’, and ‘Translation’.]

New products and common abilities had been added.
When I checked the shop window, the variety of items had dramatically expanded, and so had the prices.
The selection of one-handed swords and shields had become diverse, and their prices varied accordingly.
The one-handed sword I had purchased before had skyrocketed to 10 points.
If a one-handed sword had jumped that much, wouldn’t the superior recovery potion increase by fifty times?
With that thought in mind, I checked, and my jaw dropped at the potion prices.
“Insane?! What is this?!”

[Inferior Recovery Potion 10 points]
[Intermediate Recovery Potion 100 points]
[Superior Recovery Potion 1,000 points]
[Supreme Recovery Potion 10,000 points]

The price skyrocketed a thousandfold—not tenfold, not fiftyfold.
Have they lost their minds?!
“This wasn’t even a bargain price!”
If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve just drained all my points and bought potions!
As I shouted, a middle-aged man dressed as a Priest entered from outside.
“Oh, are you a new climber?”
At his sudden appearance, I sent him a wary look, but the Priest responded with a warm smile.
“If you’re thinking of attacking, I’d advise against it. According to the Tower’s laws, on the Common Floor, climbers cannot harm us native inhabitants, nor can we harm climbers or commit illegal acts.”
“…Is that so?”
I hadn’t actually been planning to attack.
I was only prepared to flee if things went south.
But are the Tower’s laws and illegal acts different things?
“Yes, if anyone commits an illegal act, the fearsome Tower’s Messengers will apprehend them and impose a most dreadful punishment.”
Something about the Priest’s words felt off.
“If climbers cannot harm native inhabitants and native inhabitants cannot harm climbers, then the reverse must be possible, correct?”
At my question, he chuckled softly.
“Most people wonder whether the restrictions only apply to Tower’s Messengers or just the Common Floor, but your question is quite unique. You’re right—climbers must be wary of other climbers, and native inhabitants must be wary of other native inhabitants.”
“I see. So ‘on the Common Floor’ implies that on other floors, friction with native inhabitants is permissible?”
“That’s what I’ve heard. Though I’ve never left this city, let alone ventured beyond the Common Floor.”
I nodded at the Priest’s words and asked further.
“Then what exactly are Tower’s Messengers?”
“They enforce the law—a special unit composed of at least mid-tier powerhouses, or so I’m told. I, having lived righteously, have never encountered them myself. But the Tower is like a nation unto itself. Don’t you have police in your world? Tower’s Messengers are essentially the strongest of such professions.”
I was startled by his answer.
“You know about police?”
The Priest nodded at my question.
“Of course. The Tower has been connected to your world for about twenty-five years now. During that time, various exchanges have occurred, known and unknown.”
Twenty-five years? Not ten?
The Priest continued as if reading my thoughts.
“Ah, by your world’s reckoning, it was ten years, wasn’t it? Time flows more slowly the lower you are in the Tower, and faster the higher you climb. I was born here and have never left, so I haven’t experienced it myself.”
The Priest pointed to a pamphlet placed beside the entrance where he stood.
“This is from your world… what was the name? The World Protection Organization?”
“Do you mean the World Protection Treaty Organization?”
“Ah! Yes, that was it. In any case, it’s a guide pamphlet distributed by them for new climbers like yourself. Take a copy and read it.”
With that, the Priest bid farewell without introducing himself and turned to leave.
“Wait, just a moment! Could you tell me where I might find someone who buys scrap metal?”
“For scrap metal, a blacksmith or weapons shop should purchase it. The location is well marked in this pamphlet. The people of this city consult it often enough that it should be helpful. If you have nowhere to stay tonight, come back here. Caring for lost lambs is a religious duty, after all.”
The Priest smiled warmly and left. I took a copy of the guide pamphlet, placed it in my inventory, and shifted my consciousness back to my main body.

* * *

The 10th Floor seemed safe enough, but just to be certain, I checked for additional abilities from my main body.

[Avatar Creation Available Dimensions: 1. Earth / 2. #33669 / 3. #759990 / 4….]

Unlike before, the second slot now displayed multiple dimensions I could select.
However, unlike Earth or The Tower, they were listed only as incomprehensible numbers.
It seemed that Earth and The Tower had become clear concepts in my mind, but other dimensions hadn’t, so they remained unnamed.
“If they’re only represented by numbers, how am I supposed to know which dimension to enter?”
I focused my gaze on the ability window.
Then a peculiar image of the numbered dimension surfaced in my mind.
Simultaneously, I realized that the newly added dimension had formed a causal connection with me through the Blue Wood Sword, a skill I’d recently acquired.
“So I can only create avatars in dimensions where I’ve established a causal connection—through abilities or items.”
Then these must be dimensions related to swordsmanship, like those in martial arts novels?
While wielding the Blue Wood Sword, I’d thought its technique resembled the sword forms depicted in martial arts fiction.
Focusing simultaneously on the Blue Wood Sword and the multidimensional avatar, I sensed which dimension held the deepest connection to the Blue Wood Sword I’d learned.

Dimension #33669.

Ah, so the order of avatar creation dimensions corresponds to the order of my deepening connections.
I deliberated for a moment, then reached my hand toward Earth.
After all, I’d been dragged into The Tower without warning and hadn’t even told my parents.
Though time flowed differently, so spending extended periods in The Tower wouldn’t translate to many days on Earth, disappearing for several days without contact right after my discharge could cause serious problems.
If they filed a missing person report, it would be embarrassing later.
As my hand touched Earth, a warning message appeared.

[Warning!]
[This dimension is spatiotemporally connected to the first slot. If you spend time in this dimension, time will also pass for your clone in the first slot. Do you wish to create a clone in this dimension?]

I paused at the warning message.
My first clone would be safe enough, but it was still standing at the Cathedral entrance.
If I was going to do this anyway, it would be better to do it somewhere like an inn.
I closed the ability window and decided to check other common abilities.
When I activated the mini map, a small blue dot representing my location appeared inside a faint white circle.
Next to the blue dot was a crystal-shaped icon.
Did it mark a radius of about five meters?
“This really is like a game.”
Would other people show up on it too?
I’d have to check that on the 10th Floor.
Depending on whether it was just a map substitute or if it included tracking capabilities, the way I’d use it would differ significantly.
Next was the Tower Community.
When I opened the community window, it felt like looking at a PC communication era community that I’d only ever seen in photographs.
With no banners, profiles, or images—just text—the simple structure was intuitive and easy to understand with its explanations.
There were roughly six main sections: Search, Chat Messages, Common Floor Community, Lower Floor Community, Middle Floor Community, and Upper Floor Community.
Chat was divided into personal and group chats, and the community function allowed invitations to chat rooms, making it similar to common messenger apps.
The Common Floor Community could be accessed regardless of which floor you were on, but the Middle and Upper Floor Communities were completely restricted.
The divisions were classified as Lower Floor for floors 39 and below, Middle Floor for floors 69 and below, and Upper Floor for floors 70 and above.
As you climbed higher, you could only view the Lower Floor Community but couldn’t write posts.
If you wanted to communicate with Lower Floor climbers, you had to invite them through personal chat or use the Common Floor Community.
Each community had different topic categories, and within those categories, I could see posts written by climbers.
Since The Tower invited people from around the world, various foreign languages filled the community, but thanks to a new common ability called “Translation,” I could read even unfamiliar foreign languages as if they were my native tongue.
“Nothing but useless posts and garbage.”
Regardless of nationality, people spewed strange content everywhere.
I was grateful there was no image upload function.
If image uploads had been possible, the community would have been absolute chaos.
Finding useful information here was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
That’s why the search function existed.
After a cursory check, I reviewed the guidebook.
The first page of the guidebook contained instructions on how to use the community.
“Due to limited space in the guidebook, detailed instructions will be provided through community posts.”
After that came a guide to the City I’d arrived in rather than information about The Tower itself.
The city map showed major shops, inns, libraries, and other landmarks, with information about what was primarily sold in shops and their main prices.
The update date was June 1st of last month, and it seemed that an agent from the WPTO stationed in the city updated it every six months.
Now I understood why the Priest I’d just met and the city’s residents occasionally appeared here.
There was surprisingly detailed information about the city.
“Credits are sold at the bottom of the Tower Shop, so refer to it when you need them urgently.”
Looking at the book, I confirmed that at the very bottom, 1 Point was being sold for 1,000 Credits.
“If 1 Credit is about 100 Korean won, then 1 Point is 100,000 won?”
100,000 won to catch one Horned Rabbit?
If that’s the case, how are prices maintained?
Doesn’t inflation occur?
However, the booklet stated that a single meal costs between 50 and 100 credits, while lodging at an inn ranges from 300 credits for cheaper establishments to around 1,000 credits for more expensive ones.
Wouldn’t most climbers inflate prices excessively if they earned money this easily?
Seeing how prices in wealthy districts are particularly steep confirms this as basic economic sense.
“Ah, they mentioned that Tower’s Messengers arrest those who break the law. Would overcharging customers constitute fraud?”
I couldn’t determine the specifics, so I’d look into it later out of curiosity.
“While security within the City is good enough that expensive accommodations aren’t necessary, note that pricier lodgings offer superior environments.”
After finishing the booklet, I searched the community as it had instructed.

[WPTO Agent K]

Upon searching, Agent K’s posts appeared across the public community and lower, middle, and upper tiers alike.
I clicked on the first post titled 【Community Usage Guidelines】.

[The cardinal rule of community usage: Do not trust community information.]

[Do not trust me, the one writing this post either. Remember this fact well—this place is filled with scammers. If you’re going to trust community information, you might as well trust political YouTubers instead. Political YouTubers deceive you and lead you toward sponsorships, but community information deceives you and leads you toward death.]

[Remember this: Do not trust community information. Doubt it, and doubt it again.]

[This post was written with the support of the WPTO. Your trustworthy friend, the WPTO, stands with you.]

(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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