Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 81

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 81. Galaxy Martial God Hall – First Ranking Tournament (1)

When I arrived at the Training Hall, my opponent was already waiting for me.
Just as Cheon So-yeon had said, Rank 27 Student was tall with long, lanky limbs.
While sheer height wasn’t always advantageous when learning martial arts, a larger frame certainly offered benefits in combat.
“We will now begin the ranking match between Cheon Ji-woo of 1st Year Class 1 and Cheon Bu-hyeon of 1st Year Class 3-A. Both of you, take your weapons.”
So Rank 27 was from Class 3-A.
If he was from Class 3-A at enrollment, he wouldn’t have properly formed his dantian back then, yet he’d already reached the third-rate realm—that was impressive.
“How could someone without talent bear to live?”
Well, Rank 27’s current standing was probably the fruit of blood and tears.
I had no intention of belittling the boy standing before me for his efforts.
I could only lament my own lack of talent.
But somehow my muttering reached Cheon Bu-hyeon’s ears, and he frowned in displeasure.
“Wait, I think there’s been a misunderstanding….”
Before I could say anything, the referee teacher immediately declared the match started, having already scheduled the next bout.
With only three hours allotted for ranking matches per day, the rush was unavoidable.
Unlike Rank 36 Student, Cheon Bu-hyeon approached cautiously and swung his sword at me.
His movements were neither too large nor slow.
I raised my sword and blocked his strike.
A tingling shock and pressure ran through my sword hand.
Cheon Bu-hyeon’s basic physical strength seemed lower than Rank 36 Student’s.
Yet when he reinforced his strength with inner energy, I was pushed back considerably.
The gap in inner energy was indeed significant.
Though weaker than Rank 36 Student, unlike him who relied purely on brute force, Cheon Bu-hyeon was deliberate and skilled with his blade.
Despite his young age, I could see the effort he’d invested in honing his swordsmanship.
Looking closer, he appeared lean for his height and frame.
It seemed he was only just beginning to fill out.
After just a brief exchange, an inexplicable sense of resentment welled up inside me.
I knocked his sword aside and pressed into Cheon Bu-hyeon’s guard.
As I closed in, Cheon Bu-hyeon retreated and swung his sword.
But a sword swing executed while backing away lacked proper force.
Rather than meeting his blade head-on, I let it slide past.
The basic sword technique, Green Wood Sword, is fundamentally a flowing sword style.
The advantage of a flowing style is that it allows you to overwhelm your opponent with less force.
After letting his sword slide past, I aimed for his neck and swung—Cheon Bu-hyeon hastily pulled back his extended sword to block.
Clang!
A hasty movement could never generate proper force.
I pressed forward as if pushing him back.
My analysis about his weak lower body was correct—the opponent who shouldn’t have given ground lost his stance and stumbled backward a step.
I seized the opening, twisting my blade slightly to cut the inside of his right shoulder.
“Cheon Ji-woo, one point.”
The referee must have judged that my inner energy hadn’t fully transferred into the strike, awarding only a single point.
If that attack had landed with proper force, it would have been a five-point strike—dangerously close to the carotid artery—not a mere one.
Cheon Bu-hyeon gritted his teeth and surged his inner energy forward, attempting to drive me back.
I retreated a beat faster than his push, using his own force against him.
I swung my blade at Cheon Bu-hyeon’s exposed flank as his center of gravity wavered.
“Ugh!”
“Cheon Ji-woo, four points.”
Once momentum takes hold, escape becomes nearly impossible.
The more panic clouds the mind, the more the stance crumbles.
I pressed deeper into Cheon Bu-hyeon’s guard.
Flustered, he retreated, trying to shake me off.
In such moments, the better strategy was to advance further rather than grant distance—to deny him any breathing room.
The spacing was now perfect for my blade work.
And fundamentally, humans were creatures built to move forward, not backward.
My blade bit into Cheon Bu-hyeon’s left thigh.
“Cheon Ji-woo, six points.”
The scoring has been stingy since the start.
I unleashed a flurry of consecutive strikes.
Cheon Bu-hyeon realized this wouldn’t do and poured strength into a powerful swing.
But he’d already lost the optimal attacking distance to me.
The farther from the hilt, the more force a blade carries.
By closing in and meeting near the guard, I could match his strength even with inner energy reinforcement.
Cheon Bu-hyeon gritted his teeth and threw a punch at me with his left arm.
A sound decision—having surrendered distance, he’d reclaimed it with a different weapon.
Right now, that weapon was his fist.
His eyes, his stance, his blade technique—everything about him was legible to me.
Siu and Cheon So-yeon had asked if I’d experienced real combat for a reason when they saw my swordwork.
Was it always this transparent?
I lowered my body slightly and blocked with my left arm, minimizing damage.
“Cheon Bu-hyeon, two points.”
Two points for that? Shouldn’t it be one at best?
Ah, they assumed I couldn’t defend without inner energy?
That wasn’t entirely wrong. But a punch needed space to generate true force.
Considering the protective quality of the school uniform, I could easily block such an attack without inner energy.
Well, the match was already decided.
I swept Cheon Bu-hyeon’s legs out from under him and brought my blade to his throat.
Regardless of points, complete suppression like this determined victory.
“Cheon Ji-woo wins.”
The moment victory was decided, I sheathed my sword and extended my hand to the fallen Cheon Bu-hyeon.
“What I said before the match about talent—I was talking to myself. Unlike you, I have no talent.”
At my words, Cheon Bu-hyeon’s eyes welled up and he swatted my hand away.
“No talent? You won without even using inner energy!”
Ah, so that’s how it sounded. I seemed to have accidentally trash-talked.
“If I’d been raised as well as you, I would’ve been stronger than you!”
His bitter expression looked somehow sorrowful.
Not all direct descendants of the clan lived in wealth.
Judging by his large frame despite apparent nutritional deficiency, it seemed his parents rarely missed administering the family’s prescribed tonics, feeding them to him diligently.
I brushed off my struck hand and spoke.
“I started learning martial arts while I was still learning to walk, but you’ve achieved this level of skill after only starting when you entered the academy. That’s the talent I envied in you. It took me far longer to reach your current ability. I just wanted to say that what I said before the match wasn’t meant with any strange intention. If I offended you, I apologize.”
At my apology, Cheon Bu-hyeon spoke as if displeased instead.
“When you say it like that, it makes me sound like a bad person.”
“Well, not a bad person exactly. Just someone who misunderstood for a moment and complained a bit.”
I extended my hand once more, and Cheon Bu-hyeon grasped it and stood up.
“This time I lost because I let my guard down at the start and gave you an opening. I won’t make that mistake next time.”
“Then it’ll be a tough fight next time. Challenge someone else tomorrow. I don’t think you’ll win, so I won’t accept anyway.”
“C-coward! Running away after winning!”
“Haha! Didn’t you know? Winning and running is the best strategy.”
I laughed as I left the Training Hall.
“See you when we’re in the same class.”
At my words, Cheon Bu-hyeon’s eyes widened.
“…If you end up in the same class as me later and try to avoid sparring, I won’t let you off easy!”
“Sure, we’ll see after the break.”
I suspected Cheon Bu-hyeon would probably make it to Class 1.

* * *

After winning and returning to the class, Cheon So-yeon’s sharp demeanor softened.
“Now I’m in the safe zone.”
Since I’d maintained 7th place through day three, even if I lost consecutively to opponents ranked 30 positions below me, I’d only drop to 12th place.
With my final ranking at 19th, becoming part of 2nd Year Class 1 was essentially guaranteed.
Just then, the back door of the class opened and a small first-year student I’d never seen before entered. They wore the same uniform and name badge color as me, marking them as a 1st Year student.
After glancing around, they spotted Cheon So-yeon and spoke.
“Cheon So-yeon! I challenge you!”
The challenger’s name badge read ‘Cheon Myeong-tae’.
A newly ranked 8th place student from Class 2, at the second-rate level, fearlessly threw down the gauntlet to Cheon So-yeon, and the class erupted in murmurs.
“Cheon Myeong-tae. Challenges are issued through the system from your own seat. If you want to challenge, return to your class.”
At Teacher Kim Do-hwa’s words, Cheon Myeong-tae didn’t shrink back and shouted confidently.
“Yes! Understood!”
Then he dashed off toward his own class.
Since he’d already challenged and defeated Cheon Hyo-jun, who was 8th place, he’d know the ranking system. Did he come specifically to see Cheon So-yeon just to make an impression?
Even though Cheon So-yeon was still young, she was certainly beautiful.
It wouldn’t be strange if she’d been kidnapped for her looks rather than her martial prowess.
“Lucky bastard.”
Cheon Ga-ryeong and Cheon Gong-hu agreed with my assessment.
“If it had been when So-yeon was sharp just now, they wouldn’t have found his bones.”
“Right.”
At our three’s evaluation, Cheon So-yeon pouted.
“I wasn’t that sharp.”
“No, you were exactly that sharp.”
At Cheon Ga-ryeong’s point, Cheon So-yeon thrust out her lower lip.
But everyone was watching Cheon So-yeon’s mood too carefully to contradict her.
Even Cheon Ha-sung, who was usually the most spirited and reckless, became cautious in front of the sharp-edged Cheon So-yeon.
Ding!
“A challenge just came in. Pressing this accepts it, right?”
“Yeah.”
Cheon So-yeon accepted Cheon Myeong-tae’s challenge without waiting for other challengers.
“I’ll finish quickly and be back.”
Cheon So-yeon headed straight to the Training Hall assigned to her.
“I’ll be heading home early today.”
I activated the hologram display attached to the Virtual Reality machine and pulled up the match between Cheon So-yeon and Cheon Myeong-tae.
The two faced off under the Vice Principal’s supervision, their swords drawn.
“How quickly do you think it’ll end? One minute? Since this Cheon Myeong-tae is second-rate, maybe two minutes?”
At Cheon Ga-ryeong’s question, Cheon Gong-hu answered.
“Probably… not even one minute?”
As Cheon Ga-ryeong and Cheon Gong-hu looked at me, I shrugged.
“Since So-yeon’s in a good mood right now, it might take around ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes? Why?”
“She actually enjoys teaching others, but the problem is she’s terrible at explaining verbally. On top of that, her talent is so extraordinary that she gets incredibly frustrated when someone can’t do something she thinks is possible. That’s why she usually prefers to let people figure things out for themselves through sparring matches.”
At my response, Cheon Ga-ryeong looked at Cheon So-yeon on the display with an expression of disbelief.
“So basically, she’s got the mindset of a true master.”
“What about when she’s in a bad mood?”
At Cheon Gong-hu’s question, I held up one finger.
“One minute?”
“No, one second.”
At my answer, Cheon Ga-ryeong and Cheon Gong-hu laughed, thinking I was joking.
But Teacher Kim Do-hwa, who was listening to our conversation from the front, didn’t laugh.
If Cheon So-yeon swung her sword with genuine intent, Cheon Myeong-tae would be dead before the referee could even react.
Well, the Vice Principal is a master of the highest caliber, so he’d probably still manage to respond and block it somehow.
The Vice Principal raised his hand and declared the match to begin.
Cheon Myeong-tae rushed forward quickly and swung his sword.
As expected for a second-rate martial artist, his swordsmanship was far superior to the other students.
However, compared to Cheon Gong-hu and Cheon Ha-sung, who were already at the second-rate level from the time of admission like me, he fell a couple of steps short.
Then again, Cheon Myeong-tae had only formed his dantian when he entered, so the time invested was fundamentally different.
Still, reaching the second-rate level in just one year was a talent that couldn’t be dismissed.
Without Cheon So-yeon, it would have been talent worth aiming for top honors at graduation.
As for me? I’d be satisfied if I could just reach the upper ranks by graduation, let alone the very top.
Next year, I’d have to unlock some of the restrictions on my inner energy one way or another. Otherwise, Cheon So-yeon might kill me through sparring to develop skills that would let her reach Class 1 without relying on inner energy.
“Sigh… I really need to exercise harder.”
I had another reason to work out more diligently. And I still hate special training.

(Continued in the next chapter)

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————