Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 8

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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 8. The Tower – Residential Floor, 10th Floor (3)

The Library was the largest building in the center of the City.
With its ancient palace-like architecture, the Library possessed an air of classical grandeur that was itself a cultural treasure.
As I attempted to enter the Library, a notice materialized, and an invisible barrier reflected light, revealing itself.

[Entrance fee is 100 Credits.]

I pulled 100 Credits from my pocket, and as the Credits vanished, the floating notice and barrier disappeared with them.
“100 Credits? That’s expensive. Or is it cheap?”
There must be some magic at work here. Still, it felt extraordinary.
Upon entering the Library, I was immediately struck by the sheer volume of books lining the shelves.
There were quite a few patrons inside, and without exception, they all wore swords at their waists or carried staffs that resembled magical implements on their backs.
The natives and climbers didn’t differ much in appearance, but as I wandered through the City, I began to discern the distinction between them—it came down to whether they carried weapons.
Since the natives rarely ventured beyond the City, only the guards stationed at the gates surrounding the City or those posted on the walls carried weapons; the rest did not.
Climbers, on the other hand, needed to venture outside the City at any moment to hunt monsters and accumulate Shop Points, or to ascend to higher floors, so they carried weapons with them.
I couldn’t say what it would be like on higher floors, but at the 10th Floor level, the weight restrictions of the inventory made it impossible to store weapons, so I had to carry them.
Had I been more outgoing, I might have struck up a conversation, but that wasn’t my nature, so I examined the books instead.
The collection was diverse—novels, humanities, magic, martial arts, geography, history, philosophy, and more.
Since I had learned the Azure Wood Sword, I pulled out a book on swordplay from the martial arts section, but it contained little of practical value—mostly philosophical musings on the mindset required to wield a sword and the definition of the blade itself.
The magic section, which interested me next, also proved unhelpful; the books focused on what magic was and what types of magic existed, rather than how to actually learn it.
While magic was unfamiliar enough to be somewhat interesting, the books offered little practical benefit.
Then again, it would have been strange if a place anyone could visit held meaningful methods to acquire abilities.
Hadn’t all climbers received one superpower each on the 1st Floor?
As I wandered between the shelves with these thoughts, I discovered a book titled 【Abilities Obtainable from The Tower, Rarity 1, Section ‘A’ Volume 1】.
Beside section ‘A’ volume 1 were volumes up to 4, and next to those were subsequent volumes filling several shelves—sections for ‘Ā’, ‘Ŏ’, ‘Ě’, ‘Ō’, ‘Ōe’, and so forth.
The preface of section ‘A’ explained that abilities had rarity ratings, and in this book’s classification system, rarity 1 was the most common while rarity 10 was the rarest.
I wanted to check whether my ability, “Multidimensional Avatar,” was listed here, so I pulled out section ‘D’ volume 1 to verify.
Since it started with ‘D’, I only needed to check the table of contents on the first page, but “Multidimensional Avatar” wasn’t listed among the rarity 1 abilities.
Well, just from the name alone, it clearly wasn’t a rarity 1 ability.
I looked for books on rarity 2 abilities, but I couldn’t find any books specifically for rarity 2.
I decided to ask the Librarian Elder when I found him, and I proceeded to pull out section ‘Ch’ volume 2 to verify “Azure Wood Sword” in the table of contents.
“Ch, Chŏ, Chŏn, Chŏl, Chŏm, Chŏp… not in volume 1, but in volume 2, Chŏ, Chŏng. Starting from page 160… Azure Wood, Azure Wood… here it is.”

“Qingmu Gong?”
The similar name made it easy to find.

“Qingmu Step? But more importantly, qigong? Is this really a wuxia novel?”
After searching, I learned that Qingmu Step was a movement technique.
But I obtained Qingmu Sword through an ability stone—where am I supposed to get the other Qingmu Gong and Qingmu Step?
Is The Tower telling me to figure it out on my own?
The Tower is less helpful than I thought.
There was no more information to find in the Library.
Agent K had recommended visiting the Library to search for information whenever I hit a wall climbing The Tower, but never suggested I explore the Library before climbing at all.
Well, my primary goal was to learn about my abilities, so I’ve at least accomplished that much.
Still, I’d like to see the ‘Ability Rarity 2 Edition’ at least once.
As I looked around with that thought, I spotted an elderly man dressed as a librarian reading a book in a secluded corner of the Library.
“Excuse me.”
When I approached the Librarian Elder and spoke to him, he looked at me with startled eyes.
“…Are you speaking to me right now?”
At his question, I glanced around.
It was a secluded corner between bookshelves with no one else around.
“Yes, there’s no one else here but you, sir.”
At my response, the Librarian Elder gazed at me in amazement.
“Huh, it’s been a very long time since I’ve met someone with so little talent.”
“…Isn’t that rude to say on first meeting?”
I was only trying to ask where the Rarity 2 Edition was, yet I had to hear such disrespectful words.
It was absurd.
Apparently my expression was transparent, as the Librarian Elder apologized to me.
“Haha, my apologies. I was so intrigued that you found me that I stared, and ended up peering into your talents as well.”
Isn’t that even more rude?
“You say finding you is intriguing—were you perhaps concealing your appearance with magic?”
Given the magic at the Library entrance, it wasn’t entirely strange.
“Yes, you’re the third person in The Tower’s long history to discover me. You have every right to be proud.”
From the Librarian Elder’s words, I sensed he was a being far beyond my comparison.
“Are you someone who oversees ‘The Tower’s duties’?”
The Librarian Elder nodded, apparently catching my meaning.
“Something like that. Though I’m not an original inhabitant. You have no talent for ‘The Tower,’ but you do have talent for ‘magic.'”
So talent for The Tower and talent for magic are separate things?
“Very well. Since you’re the first person in ages to find me, ask what you’re curious about. I’ll answer what I can as a reward.”
“Oh, then….”
I paused for a moment, then asked the most fundamental question underlying all my doubts.
“What is the purpose of The Tower’s existence?”
“Heh! Quite the lazy question. You’ll understand the answer as you climb The Tower.”
It wasn’t a proper answer, but the Librarian Elder seemed to regard me more favorably because of it.
“Then what are the Original Inhabitants?”
“The same as my previous answer.”
“What do people like you do, sir?”
At my question, the Librarian Elder’s expression hardened.
But it seemed less like displeasure and more like he was furrowing his brow in contemplation.
“…I cannot answer that now. It will be difficult with your current talent, but reach the upper floors and come find me. Then I will be able to answer.”
From those words, I realized the Librarian Elder was something like a doppelgänger, just as I was.
Then was the Old Witch Woman who expanded my inventory a similar existence to the Librarian Elder?
The Librarian Elder seemed to notice that I had grasped something, and he smiled with interest as he looked at me.
“Continue asking questions.”
“What is the talent of The Tower you mentioned earlier?”
“The talent of slaughter. As for the details, you’ll understand as you climb The Tower… or rather, I think you’ll figure it out before long with your abilities. Do you have any Shop Points?”
At the Librarian Elder’s question, I shook my head.
“No. I used them all to expand my inventory.”
“I see. Take this.”
The Librarian Elder tossed me a small mana stone.
“Exchange this for Shop Points and buy ‘Mana Growth Elixir 1’ from the Shop.”
I exchanged the mana stone for 1 point as the Librarian Elder instructed and purchased the elixir.
There were five elixirs in total, each named according to their respective stat.
The moment I purchased ‘Mana Growth Elixir 1’, the price changed to 10 points.
According to the product description, ‘Elixir 1′ was an elixir that increased a stat by 1 when it was below 10, and became ineffective once it reached 10 or higher.
“Drink it.”
I immediately uncapped the elixir and drank it in one gulp.
“Oh, green grape flavor.”
The moment the sweet taste registered, I felt something within me stirring and flowing.
“Don’t lose that sensation. And look at my hand.”
Following the Librarian Elder’s words, I focused on the flowing sensation in my body while observing his hand.
There was nothing on his hand.
Or rather, there was something.
The same something that was flowing through my body.
“Six?”
At my murmur, the Librarian Elder grinned widely.
“Then what about this?”
The old man’s hand hadn’t changed at all, yet something had.
“Seven? Eight, six, two, one, zero… C?”
Numbers appeared faintly and transparently at his fingertips, continuing to shift and change.
“That’s correct. Check your status window. Your mana should be around 3 or 4, shouldn’t it?”

[Name: Han Ji-woo / Age: 21]
[Strength: 9 / Agility: 11 / Stamina: 9 / Intelligence: 15 / Mana: 4]
[Status: Normal]
[Abilities: Multidimensional Avatar Lv 10, Azure Wood Sword Lv 15]

Indeed. My mana had risen from 1 to 4.
The elixir should only increase mana by 1, shouldn’t it?
As I expressed my surprise, the Librarian Elder chuckled and explained.
“The status window merely displays your current state. The elixir raising your mana by 1 means it contained enough mana to reliably increase it by that amount. Normally, when someone like you has almost no mana, you can’t even sense the mana within your own body. But you sensed it, and I simply helped you absorb a bit more of the mana contained in that elixir.”
“Those numbers you mentioned?”
“Those were to help you sense it clearly at the moment when your sensitivity to mana was at its peak. I merely confined your mana so it wouldn’t escape your body—you wouldn’t have felt my assistance at all.”
At the Librarian Elder’s explanation, I bowed my head in gratitude.
In a way, this was a stroke of fortune.
“Thank you.”
The Librarian Elder waved his hand dismissively at my thanks.
“It’s nothing. I called it help, but it was merely like holding the hand of a child taking their first steps so they could stand. It’s embarrassing to even call such a simple thing help. In the end, the child took those steps through their own effort, and you absorbed the mana through your own talent.”
“You mean talent for magic different from The Tower’s way?”
“Yes.”
Still, it was fortunate to have some talent at all.
“If you look at the Community, you’ll learn that climbers’ bodies don’t age. And time flows differently in your world than it does here. Rather than The Tower’s method, try growing as a mage by taking your time. I think that would suit you better.”
Good heavens! So those Community posts about not aging were actually true!
“How long would that method take?”
“Well… wouldn’t a thousand years or so suffice?”
…A thousand years? Can that really be called talent?
“A thousand years is shorter than you might think. If you were to grow The Tower’s way, you’d need at least ten thousand years. Compared to ten thousand, a thousand is quite brief.”

(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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