Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 86

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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 86. Public Settling of Accounts (1)

More than a year and a half had passed since the kidnapping misunderstanding involving the seniors.
Fortunately, regarding the advance payment I’d received, no one demanded I return it, so I kept it.
Whether my earnest petition had worked or the influence of the Cheon Bo-ryeon and Cheon Jung-hwa families was simply that formidable, I heard the two of them got off with just twenty pages of reflection essays without major consequences.
Later, I received apology emails from both of them for deceiving me into coming out, and gratitude for actively defending them.
After that incident, we didn’t meet frequently, but we’d exchange greetings on holidays.
After that event, I played online games with Cheon Cheol-young and occasionally hung out with him.
Beyond that, my daily routine remained completely unchanged, and there were no particular incidents to speak of.
If there was an incident, it was that even by the end of second semester in my second year, I hadn’t been granted permission to lift my inner energy seal because my body hadn’t developed enough—so Cheon So-yeon declared an emergency and put me through special training.
I genuinely thought I would die during that period.
Fortunately, before the ranking tournament, I spread rumors that my inner energy seal hadn’t been lifted yet, which induced challenges from those who hadn’t reached the second-tier realm, and I managed to get through by carefully selecting only manageable opponents.
As a result, I went 4-1 and dropped to 3rd place, then three people below me challenged those ahead of me and won, pushing me down three more spots to 13th place as I entered my third year.
This was thanks to the ranking tournament structure where top-ranked fighters rarely challenged each other.
And now I faced my third ranking tournament season as I approached my fourth year.
Starting from 13th place, I dropped 2 ranks on just the first day.
Naturally, I only accepted challenges from those I was certain were third-tier and won against them.
The problem was that those ranked above me were losing, which naturally caused my ranking to drop as well.
At 15th place, the decline accelerated—by day two I’d fallen 4 spots to 19th, by day three I was at 23rd, and by day four I’d reached 29th.
I won all my challenges, but it was because the rankings above me kept shifting dramatically.
Among those who hadn’t shown much growth through second year, some had made remarkable progress that was now evident.
As my ranking plummeted, my classmates watched Cheon So-yeon’s reaction, and only Cheon Myeong-tae was pleased, saying I’d finally separated from her.
But Cheon So-yeon, whom everyone was watching, remained calm.
As Cheon So-yeon stayed composed, my classmates became even more frightened.
On the final day of the ranking tournament, I challenged Cheon Ha-sung, who had maintained 2nd place continuously since enrollment.
It was my first time challenging anyone since I’d enrolled.
Cheon Ha-sung found it absurd, but since no one else would challenge him, the match had to happen.
“What nerve do you have challenging me?”
“Well, isn’t this just a final desperate attempt? If I become Class 2 without doing this, So-yeon will be upset. If I’m going down, I might as well go out spectacularly.”
Cheon Ha-sung accepted my explanation.
The moment the match began, I immediately drew my inner energy to its maximum, reinforced my sword, and shattered Cheon Ha-sung’s blade in two while he was caught off guard.
“Cheon Ji-woo wins!”
Hearing the referee teacher’s declaration of victory, Cheon Ha-sung blinked in confusion, unable to comprehend how he’d lost his sword so suddenly, then shock washed over him.
“You…! Weren’t you supposed to have your inner energy sealed?!”
“I lifted it yesterday.”
To be precise, I could have lifted it during winter break in second year, but since building my body was more important anyway, I essentially left it sealed.
And it wasn’t yesterday—I lifted it the day before the ranking tournament started.
“Why didn’t you say anything!”
“Why should I tell them?”
If I did, third-rate fighters wouldn’t challenge me anymore.
And in the end, I was able to draw out this kind of carelessness.
For the past year, living school life with my inner power sealed wasn’t an exaggeration to say it was all for today.
At my matter-of-fact response, Cheon Ha-sung sensed my intention and grew furious.
“Hey! You cowardly bastard!”
“Kekekeke! Second place Yami~! If you’re upset, challenge me. See you later.”
As the match results were reflected in real-time on the rankings, Cheon Ha-sung huffed indignantly back to class and immediately challenged me to a rematch.
The moment I accepted the challenge, I forfeited on the spot, citing a cold.
“Wow! Congratulations on reclaiming second place!”
“Hey! You bastard! Are you messing with people right now!”
“Ahahaha! Since the ranking tournament is over, I’ll head home first! Everyone, have a great break!”
I slipped out of the classroom, evading the raging Cheon Ha-sung.
Though Cheon Ha-sung chased after me, without having learned lightness martial arts, he couldn’t catch up to me.
Later, I received a scolding from Teacher Kim Do-hwa for intentional defeat, but I insisted my condition had been poor.
Match manipulation would normally result in severe punishment, but in a case like this, it was difficult to classify as manipulation, so I was acquitted.
Match manipulation only makes sense if someone gains something from it—no money changed hands, and even if the rankings shifted between second and third place, there was no real benefit to manipulating it.
Cheon Bu-hyeon, who had climbed to thirteenth place by then, gave me a backhanded compliment, asking if my habit of winning and running away would ever change.
Thus, I advanced to fourth year in third place.

* * *

I opened my status window and pondered for a moment.

[Name: Han Ji-woo (2-Slot Avatar) / Age: 9]
[Strength: 32 / Agility: 35 / Stamina: 33 / Intelligence: 41 / Mana: 15(-45)]
[Status: Partial Mana Seal]
[Abilities: Multidimensional Avatar Lv 24, Martial Arts Lv 39, Regeneration Lv 2]
[-Martial Arts: Wind Blade Lv 39, Wind Step Lv 37, Wind Palm Strike Lv 38, Wind Energy Lv 60, Wind Lightness Art Lv 40, Bone Strengthening Lv 30, Daoist Qi Art Lv 34]

My stats had grown noticeably across the board, and all my martial techniques, including the Azure Wood Sword, had been replaced with arts that matched the Feng Lian technique.
Judging by my current state, my physical abilities were at a stable second-rate level.
As for my martial techniques, it seemed I could break through to first-rate whenever the right opportunity presented itself.
To be honest, I already sensed what it felt like to be first-rate.
What I was deliberating over was whether to absorb this clone now or not.
If the clone was recreated, the seal would be lifted, and I’d have to receive a new seal from Siu.
Once a seal was applied, I only needed periodic maintenance, and the maintenance itself wasn’t particularly bothersome.
But applying the seal from scratch was dreadfully painful.
How should I describe it? Like receiving intramuscular injections throughout my entire body with thick needles?
Well, actually, when applying a seal, I could just stay in my three-dimensional avatar form, so it wasn’t a major problem.
When I first received the seal, it hurt so much that I retreated into my main body and received it through my three-dimensional avatar instead.
My three-dimensional avatar was synchronized with me to some degree, but pain signals didn’t transmit properly.
The real problem I was wrestling with lay in my main body.
When I absorbed the clone, the ‘unnatural’ negative states of my clone would be filtered out during absorption.
The seal on my inner energy was a measure to balance my damaged spirit core, but in terms of ability, it constituted an unnatural negative state.
If I absorbed it this way, my main body would absorb the ability without the inner energy seal, meaning the absorption would occur with my spirit core’s balance already distorted.
A distorted balance was negative, but it was ‘natural’ in nature.
Honestly, having more inner energy was a good thing, not a bad one.
After deliberating, I decided to postpone the absorption.
Completely lifting the seal and then rebalancing my spirit core would require considerable suffering, and my main body didn’t need to carry that bomb.
When the moment came while climbing The Tower where I urgently needed to raise my physical abilities, it wouldn’t be too late to absorb the reincarnation clone then.
I returned to my reincarnation clone’s body and entered my main body and The Tower clone’s body.

* * *

I opened my eyes at the inn on Tower Floor 20 and sat up to assess my physical condition.
While my body’s capabilities had diminished compared to my reincarnation avatar, freely manipulating qi without the internal energy restriction felt rather pleasant.
I drew my blade and poured my full power into it, and a faint bluish aura shimmered across the steel.
If I could project this energy further and hone it sharply, it would become a sword aura, but I still didn’t quite grasp the sensation of creating one.
I couldn’t handle something I didn’t understand the feel of, even if I had talent for internal energy cultivation.
Otherwise, I would have manifested a sword force technique long ago.
The moment the energy left the blade, it simply scattered.
“Well, I’ll figure it out with enough practice.”
While waiting for Diana and Lee Su-yeon, I consumed an elixir and began circulating my energy.
My mana surpassed the barrier of 29 and reached 30, then climbed to 32.
Now my Tower avatar’s balance of mind, qi, and body was gradually tilting considerably toward qi.
From experience, I should be fine even at the precarious edge of 39 mana, but since I wasn’t lacking mana right now, maintaining balance seemed wiser.
After breaking through one internal energy barrier and ascending to Floor 20, there was no news of their arrival, so I glanced at the clock tower visible through the window—it wasn’t yet noon.
“Maybe I’ll stop by the Hunter Association and then visit the Library.”
I considered filling the third slot, but it felt better to choose after completing some of my business on Floor 20.
Learning various things from other worlds and growing stronger was good, but my fundamental goal remained climbing The Tower.
Especially from Floor 20 onward, I needed a certain amount of merit points from the Hunter Association.
In The Tower, merit points were the standard for measuring climbers’ credibility.
If I had to compare it, it was similar to how banks measure credit scores.
Since there were things obtainable only with merit points, the more I earned, the better.
The Old Witch Woman, who gave me quests to expand my inventory, had given me a separate commission to earn merit points, but since I didn’t know where the Ancient Ruin was, I needed to earn merit points another way.
Looking at the Community, there were several standing commissions the Hunter Association posted on the bulletin board at all times.
Standing commissions didn’t award many merit points, but once I got used to them, I could earn merit points quickly and reliably.
At the Hunter Association, I reviewed commissions that Lee Su-young, Diana, and I could take together.
“This one pays too little for the time, this one will take too long, this one requires going too far, this one has too tight a deadline….”
I habitually tried to take a photo with my mobile phone, but it suddenly went dead, which startled me.
“Oh, right. Electronic devices don’t work in The Tower.”
I’d forgotten since it worked fine on Tower Floor 1.
I had no choice but to write down each commission in a notebook and planned the optimal route using only commissions I could complete without traveling far from the City.
Each commission didn’t award many merit points individually, but if I planned the route well, I could complete multiple commissions in a single outing.
After mapping out several routes focusing on standing commissions, I headed straight to the Library.
The Library in the 20th Floor District charged an entrance fee like the one in the 10th Floor District, but the cost had increased tenfold to 1,000 credits—roughly 100,000 won.
“Damn, that’s expensive.”
Stepping inside the Library, it certainly justified the higher price.
The collection appeared far more extensive than the 10th Floor District’s, and according to the guide, unlike the 10th Floor, it operated 24 hours.
Moreover, if you wanted the books on display, you could purchase copies, and you could also rent meeting spaces like study rooms.
It seemed designed for people who wanted to examine materials without letting others know.
Naturally, there was a rental fee—the minimum rental period was 30 minutes, maximum occupancy was 6 people, and the price was 1 credit per minute, roughly 100 won.
I went to the geography section, purchased a map of the lower worlds of The Tower, took out detailed maps of the 20th Floor District, and headed to a study room.
It seemed the system required prepaying 30 credits for the minimum rental time, then paying additional credits for any extra time used upon leaving.
I made the payment using credits I had deposited at the Bank.
“Oh, nice space.”
The conference table was clean and spacious, and the wall featured a green chalkboard with magnetic pieces attached to it.
I spread out a world map and maps of the 20th Floor District on the table, comparing them one by one with the map I had received from the Old Witch Woman.
As I marked the world map I had purchased and spent considerable time comparing, I received messages from Diana and Lee Su-young in succession, each confirming they had arrived on the 20th Floor.

(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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