Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 60

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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 60. The Tower – Defense (1)

William smiled at my proposal.
“It’s gratifying to receive such high praise from someone like Han Ji-woo. I deeply admire people who possess your spirit of sacrifice and willingness to lead from the front. I’m afraid I lack such qualities.”
Really? Sacrifice? Leading from the front? Me?
Well… now that I think about it, I suppose I have done that within The Tower.
But that’s only because my life can respawn like arcade coins.
If this body were truly my own, I’d be the first person to preserve myself above all else.
After all, I’m the one who was too afraid of getting injured to even leave Tower Floor 1.
“Have you considered forming a party with Diana as well, Han Ji-woo?”
“Yes, of course. Honestly, talents like Diana are rare to come by.”
A healer who could tank—what an extraordinary combination.
She was the kind of top-tier talent everyone desired.
“Of course, that would only apply if Diana agrees to my proposal.”
My request could very well be rejected.
Top-tier talent meant everyone wanted you, and that translated to a steep price.
I was like a scout who had spotted a player of exceptional value entering the transfer market before their fame truly exploded.
While I was ahead of other climbers, there was no guarantee I could secure her for my party.
“Then I’m afraid I must decline your proposal, Han Ji-woo. Diana won’t refuse your offer.”
“What? If Diana won’t refuse, why are you declining? Shouldn’t we be doing the opposite—bringing her in?”
I couldn’t comprehend it.
If Diana joined, the party’s value would skyrocket. Why would she refuse?
Surely he understood the worth of a reliable tank and healer?
Seeing my confusion, William laughed bitterly.
“If there were no prior commitment, I would have gladly accepted your proposal without hesitation. But I have family waiting for me here in The Tower—we agreed to reunite at the 20th Floor. Several people I knew from outside The Tower will be joining us, so we’re looking at a minimum four-person party.”
In the lower floors, party capacity was capped at six members.
With William included in a four-person party, there was no room for the three of us.
Had I not intended to bring Diana into my party, William might have invited Lee Su-young and me instead.
“I see. It’s unfortunate, but of course family takes priority.”
I would have done the same.
My parents, naturally, and even that cremated gorilla—he’s still my brother, after all.
“But you could say you’re fortunate? To have maintained contact with people you knew from outside The Tower, and to have actually reached them—I’m envious. At least you have people you can truly trust and rely on.”
Just looking at the Community alone, betrayals and backstabs were rampant.
Lee Su-young and Diana didn’t seem like that type, but what con artist would write “con artist” on their own face before scamming someone?
It’s a harsh truth, but within The Tower, everyone except yourself is a stranger.
You needed to maintain at least some business-like relationships.
In that sense, losing William was a real shame.
There was no one quite like William from a business standpoint.
At my words, William looked slightly uncomfortable before leaning in and whispering to me as if sharing a secret.
“In truth, there are methods to enter The Tower besides receiving an invitation.”
“…What?”
“More precisely, there are ways to induce an invitation from The Tower. Only a select few within WPTO know of this. I suspect Lee Su-young may have intentionally induced an invitation from The Tower to enter, wouldn’t you agree?”
Lee Su-young had induced an invitation from The Tower?
As I stood there clueless, William covered his mouth as if he’d misspoken, then spoke carefully.
“It’s merely my personal speculation. The Tower fundamentally values climbers’ self-reliance. From that perspective, minors are rarely found in The Tower. At that age, one inevitably depends on their parents. So when I saw the minor Lee Su-young, I simply assumed she had induced an invitation from The Tower like I did.”
Lee Su-young’s mother was a WPTO employee, so she could have picked up such information.
“However, when I was outside, I never heard that one could induce an invitation from The Tower.”
“Of course not. If anyone could induce an invitation from The Tower, the world would be flooded with ability users in no time. We’re already struggling with ability user crimes—imagine if suddenly a massive number of ability users appeared regardless of morality.”
The world would descend into chaos.
“So that’s why governments and WPTO control the information.”
Now that I thought about it, even in the Military, we were taught to enter The Tower and leave immediately.
Was that also to prevent too many ability users from emerging in society?
“Exactly. At the same time, governments worldwide are secretly inserting secret agents and soldiers into The Tower.”
So was William a secret agent or soldier as well?
No, I shouldn’t pry into that.
Some curiosity kills the cat.
Perhaps he was simply someone from a wealthy family who sponsored WPTO and learned the method to induce an invitation that way.
His demeanor seemed closer to the latter.
If it were the former, he wouldn’t have spoken so candidly.
Moreover, William lacked the characteristic rigidity that soldiers possessed.
Of course, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that it was all an act.
“Why are you telling me this?”
At my question, William smiled brightly.
“As we climb higher, The Tower’s world expands. Having an ally like Han Ji-woo benefits me, and I hope that when guilds or clans are established in the future, I can adventure together with your party.”
Guilds. Indeed, if parties existed, guilds and clans likely did too.
After all, even at the 18th Floor, we needed ten climbers.
Higher up, there might be floors requiring even more members.
Perhaps one day hundreds or thousands of climbers would gather on a single floor to undertake Quests.
“I’ll consider it positively.”
It was good to maintain friendly relations with organizations of considerable scale.
Of course, if joining that organization imposed restrictions on my actions, that would be a different matter.
“For now, that answer satisfies me. I hope we can maintain a good relationship going forward.”
“Likewise.”
After shaking hands with William, I consulted with Lee Su-young and Diana before heading straight to the 18th Floor.
If luck was on my side, I’d meet Diana again on the 18th Floor.

* * *

Upon arriving at the 18th Floor, I immediately surveyed my surroundings.
Fortunately, Diana had arrived in the same location as me.
Lee Su-young glanced around and spoke.
“There are quite a lot of people here.”
This time, there were more climbers than on the 17th Floor.
“Twenty-five people? What kind of monster are they expecting to appear that they’ve gathered this many?”
As I looked around in bewilderment, I spotted familiar faces.
The Wolf Man Bogard Dellington I’d seen on the previous floor, the heavily armored tank Jonathan, and the African Druid—was her name Camilla?
The Alchemist wouldn’t wake up today, so his absence was expected, but William, the Metal Man, and the Tamer weren’t here either.
Had they split up? Or perhaps, unlike us, they chose to return to the 10th Floor for repairs rather than continue climbing?
The Metal Man had a broken arm, and the Tamer’s wolves—his primary assets—had been nearly wiped out, so he’d need to replenish them.
Outside the City on the 10th Floor, there were monsters from the 11th to 19th Floors, so acquiring new monsters would require some effort, but it shouldn’t be a problem.
Unlike summoners, tamers found this inconvenient.
Of course, unlike summoners who could only handle a single type, tamers had the advantage of managing multiple monsters.
While pondering this, I spotted another familiar face.
“Oh! We meet again.”
When I called out to Retihoa, whom I’d noticed quietly observing her surroundings, she smiled faintly.
With her naturally expressionless face, it was difficult to read her emotions.
“It’s good to see you. I’m relieved to have two trustworthy people here.”
There was something about the way she spoke that suggested she’d been burned by another climber before.
Well, we’d also been targeted on the 17th Floor when the Alchemist tried to use a sedative on us and steal from us.
It only failed, but if it had succeeded, we’d have been in serious trouble.
“I met William on the 17th Floor. I heard you two completed a Quest together on the 16th Floor.”
At my words, Retihoa nodded.
Then she casually moved closer to where Lee Su-young and I stood.
“Is this person someone you met while climbing The Tower?”
In response to Diana’s question, I introduced Retihoa.
“This is Retihoa, who cleared a Quest with William on the 14th Floor. And this is Diana, who’s been climbing with me since the 16th Floor.”
The two exchanged slight nods in greeting.
Unlike with William, Retihoa was taciturn and spoke only when necessary, so Diana didn’t feel burdened.
As Lee Su-young, Diana, and I gathered together, the Wolf Man Bogard Dellington, the heavily armored Jonathan, and the Druid Camilla—whom I’d fought alongside on the 17th Floor—naturally approached us.
It was a natural instinct; people you’d fought with before were more trustworthy than complete strangers.
Though we hadn’t known each other long enough to understand their exact personalities, we at least knew what abilities they possessed and how they fought.
With twenty-five climbers gathered here, they naturally began forming small groups with those they already knew.
Roughly, they divided into three major groups.
Our group of seven, including myself.
A group of six, notable for including a climber who appeared to be over 2.3 meters tall.
Seven people—a party of four and three others who seemed connected to that party.
Beyond that, there were three people standing alone, apparently unacquainted with anyone, and two women who appeared to be a party together.
We were standing atop the City Wall, which wasn’t particularly high.
The Quest that appeared in my crystal was straightforward.

[Assist the Guard Corps in protecting the City from a monster flood until reinforcements arrive.]

“So it’s not a single powerful monster, but multiple creatures swarming in hordes.”
Just then, a man who appeared to be from the Guard Corps noticed the climbers arriving late and rushed toward us.
“By the Tower! Are you climbers? I never thought I’d see climbers again in my lifetime. The Tower be praised! Thank you!”
A bearded Guard Corps member, apparently having encountered climbers before, gazed at us in astonishment and offered a prayer to the Tower.
The other guards standing beside him murmured among themselves, seemingly having never met climbers before.
Moments later, another guard with a different helmet climbed atop the City Wall and shouted.
“I am Hans, Captain of this City’s Guard Corps! Who among you is the representative?”
At the Guard Corps Captain’s question, the climbers exchanged glances with one another.
Then someone spoke.
“All the climbers here are meeting for the first time, so there is no representative. Please, just speak to all of us.”
The voice that reached us was in Korean.
Looking more closely, it was a man around my age standing apart from the others, blending in with no one.
He appeared to be in his mid-twenties, perhaps three or four years older than me.
When no one contradicted the Korean Climber’s words, the Guard Corps Captain’s expression hardened slightly.
If they were all strangers to one another, there was little reason to expect any coordinated teamwork.
However, twenty-five climbers who knew how to use their abilities were a precious asset, so he resigned himself to accepting the situation.
“Then gather here at once!”
But it seemed the Guard Corps Captain was unaware of something.
The climbers could simply abandon this and return 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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