Chapter 6

Chapter 6. Tower - Residential Tier 10th Floor (1)

When I reached the 10th floor, I blinked at the notification I saw before I could even check my surroundings.

Slot 2?!

Did that mean I could conquer the Tower with two clones?!

Startled, I brought up the ability window and pressed the newly created Slot 2.

[Searching dimensions….]

[Search complete.]

[Dimensions available for avatar creation: 1. Earth / 2. #33669 / 3. #759990 / 4….]

The number of dimensions where I could create an avatar had increased, but they were all just incomprehensible numbers, and the Tower had disappeared.

So a two-track strategy was impossible after all.

Well, even I had no idea how I was supposed to control a clone once it was created.

Still, I could not help feeling disappointed.

I had gotten my hopes up, thinking it might finally become a truly broken ability.

The scenery of the 10th floor, where I had just arrived, had a somewhat cathedral-like atmosphere.

There was no immediate threat, so I checked the new notifications next.

[Tower Common Ability ‘Tower Shop’ function unlocked. ‘Tower Shop’ items have been updated.]

[You have acquired the Tower Common Abilities ‘Minimap,’ ‘Tower Community,’ and ‘Translation.’]

New products and Common Abilities had been added.

When I checked the shop window, the selection of items had increased dramatically, and the prices had increased dramatically too.

There were various types of one-handed swords and shields, and the prices varied as well.

The price of the one-handed sword I had bought had jumped all the way to 10 points.

If the one-handed sword rose this much, would the High-Grade Healing Potion go up by 50 times?

Thinking that, I checked, but when I saw the potion prices, my mouth fell open.

“What the fuck?! What is this?!”

[Low-Grade Healing Potion 10 points]

[Mid-Grade Healing Potion 100 points]

[High-Grade Healing Potion 1,000 points]

[Highest-Grade Healing Potion 10,000 points]

The price had not jumped 10 times or even 50 times, but 1,000 times.

Were they insane?!

“That wasn’t just a discount!”

If I had known this would happen, I would have spent every last point on potions!

When I shouted, a middle-aged man dressed as a priest entered from outside.

“Oh, are you a new Climber?”

When I looked at him warily because of his sudden appearance, the priest gave me a good-natured smile and said,

“If you are thinking of attacking me, please stop. According to the law of the Tower, on the ‘common tiers,’ Climbers cannot harm us native residents, and native residents cannot harm Climbers or commit illegal acts against them.”

“...Is that so?”

I had not particularly been planning to attack him.

I had only been planning to run away if he attacked.

But were the law of the Tower and illegal acts different things?

“Yes. If someone commits an illegal act, the terrifying Tower’s enforcers will take them away and impose a very frightening punishment.”

At the priest’s words, I felt something off.

“If Climbers cannot harm native residents, and native residents cannot harm Climbers, does that mean the opposite is possible?”

At my question, he laughed hollowly.

“Usually, people ask about the Tower’s enforcers or whether those restrictions apply only on the common tiers. That is an unusual question. Yes, that is correct. Climbers must be wary of Climbers, and native residents must be wary of native residents.”

“I see. And since you said ‘on the common tiers,’ I suppose friction between native residents and Climbers is allowed on other floors?”

“So I am told. I have never left this city, let alone the common tiers.”

At the priest’s words, I nodded and asked,

“Then what are the Tower’s enforcers?”

“They are those who enforce the law. I hear they are a special unit composed of powerful figures from at least the middle floors. As someone who has lived honestly, I have never met them, but... the Tower is like a nation unto itself. In the worlds of Climbers, there are guards, or in your terms, a profession called police, are there not? You can think of the Tower’s enforcers as powerful people in that line of work.”

His answer surprised me.

“You know about the police?”

At my question, the priest nodded.

“Of course. It has already been about 25 years since the Tower connected to your world. Over that time, there have been many exchanges, both known and unknown.”

25 years? Not 10?

As if he had read my thoughts, the priest continued speaking.

“Ah, by the standards of your world, was it 10 years? They say time flows more slowly the lower you are in the Tower, and faster the higher you climb. As for me, I was born here and have never left, so I have never felt it myself.”

The priest pointed to the pamphlets placed beside the entrance where he was standing.

“This is a guidebook distributed for new Climbers like you by the organization from your world... what was its name again? The World Protection Organization?”

“Do you mean the World Protection Treaty Organization?”

“Ah! Yes, that was the name. At any rate, this is a guidebook they distribute for new Climbers like you. Take one and read it.”

After saying that, the priest bowed without even introducing himself and tried to go somewhere.

“W-wait! Could you tell me where I can sell scrap metal?”

“If it is metal, a blacksmith or weapon shop should buy it. The locations are written clearly in that guidebook. It is helpful enough that even people from this city sometimes look at it and use it. If you have nowhere to sleep tonight, come back here. Is it not the duty of a religious man to care for wandering lambs?”

The priest smiled brightly and left, and I took one copy of the guidebook, put it into the Inventory, and moved my consciousness to my main body.

---

For now, the 10th floor seemed to be a safe zone, but just in case, I checked the additional ability from my main body.

[Dimensions available for avatar creation: 1. Earth / 2. #33669 / 3. #759990 / 4….]

Unlike at first, the second slot had more dimensions I could choose from.

However, unlike Earth or the Tower, they were written only as incomprehensible numbers.

Perhaps Earth and the Tower were held in my mind as clear concepts, but the other dimensions were not, so they did not have names assigned.

“If they’re only expressed as numbers, how am I supposed to know what kind of dimension I’m entering?”

I glared at the ability window.

Then a strange image of the numbered dimensions rose into my mind.

At the same time, I realized that the newly added dimensions were dimensions that had formed causality with me through my newly acquired ability, ‘Bluewood Sword.’

“So I can create an avatar only when causality forms through an ability, an item, or something like that.”

Then were these dimensions like martial arts novels related to swordsmanship?

While using Bluewood Sword, I had thought it felt like a sword art from a martial arts novel.

When I stared at Bluewood Sword and Multidimensional Avatar at the same time, I could feel which dimension was most deeply connected to the Bluewood Sword I had learned.

Dimension #33669.

I see. So the order of the dimensions where avatar creation is possible follows the order in which my ties with them deepened.

After thinking for a while, I reached toward Earth.

After all, I had been dragged into the Tower without even having time to say anything, so I had not told my parents either.

Time flowed differently, so even if I spent a long time in the Tower, it would only be a few days in Earth time, but if I went silent for several days on the day of my discharge, there could be problems.

It would be embarrassing later if they reported me missing for no reason.

When I touched Earth, a warning message appeared.

[Warning!]

[This dimension is connected to the first slot in spacetime. If you spend time in this dimension, the clone in the first slot will also experience the passage of time. Create a clone in this dimension?]

I paused for a moment at the warning message.

The first clone was safe, but it was still standing at the church entrance.

If I was going to do this anyway, it would be better to do it at an inn or somewhere similar.

I closed the ability window and decided to check the other Common Abilities.

When I activated the Minimap, only a blue dot showing my location appeared inside a small white circle.

Beside the blue dot, a crystal shape was drawn.

Did it display a radius of about 5 meters?

“It really is like a game.”

Would other people be displayed too?

I would have to check that on the 10th floor.

Depending on whether it was just a substitute for a map or also included scouting ability, how I used it would change.

Next was the Tower Community.

When I opened the community window, it somehow felt like looking at a community from the old PC communication era, which I had only ever seen in photos.

There were no banners, profiles, or pictures. Its simple structure, composed entirely of text, was intuitive, and because there were explanations, it was easy to understand.

Broadly speaking, there were Search, Chat Messages, Public Community, Lower-Floor Community, Middle-Floor Community, and Upper-Floor Community.

Chat was divided into individual chat and group chat, and with the community function, it seemed to work like a common messenger app where you could invite people to chat rooms.

The Public Community could be used no matter what floor you were on, but access itself to the Middle-Floor and Upper-Floor Communities was blocked.

The distinction between lower, middle, and upper floors classified floors 39 and below as the lower floors, floors 69 and below as the middle floors, and floor 70 and above as the upper floors.

If you climbed higher, you could only view the Lower-Floor Community and could not write posts there.

If you wanted to communicate with lower-floor Climbers, you had to invite them to an individual chat or use the Public Community.

When I entered each community, categories with different topics were divided out, and when I entered those categories, I could check posts written by Climbers.

Since the Tower invited people from all over the world, all kinds of foreign languages were rampant, but perhaps because of the new Common Ability ‘Translation,’ I could read unfamiliar foreign languages as naturally as my native language.

“It’s nothing but useless posts and shitposts.”

Regardless of nationality, there were plenty of people writing strange garbage.

I felt lucky that there was no photo upload function.

If photo uploads were possible, the community would have been nothing less than a demon realm.

In any case, finding useful information here would be like finding a needle in a sandpit.

So that was why there was a search function.

Since I had finished a rough check, I examined the guidebook.

The first page of the guidebook listed instructions on how to use the community.

“Due to limited space in the guidebook, detailed guidance will be provided through community posts, huh.”

After that, rather than a guide to the Tower, it was more like a guidebook to the city where I had arrived.

Major shops, inns, libraries, and other locations were marked on the city map, and it listed what the shops mainly sold and their general prices.

The update date was June 1 of last month, and it seemed that a WPTO agent stationed in the city updated it once every half year.

I understood what the priest I had just met meant when he said even people from the city sometimes looked at it.

It was written in more detail about the city than I had expected.

“Credits are sold at the very bottom of the Tower Shop, so refer to that when you need them urgently.”

When I checked after reading the guidebook, 1,000 Credits were being sold at the very bottom for 1 point.

“1 Credit is about 100 won in Korean currency... which means 1 point is 100,000 won?”

100,000 won for killing one Horned Rabbit?

Could prices be maintained that way?

Wouldn’t there be inflation?

However, the guidebook said that one meal cost about 50 to 100 Credits, and in the case of inns, cheap places cost about 300 Credits per night, while expensive ones cost about 1,000 Credits.

Usually, when Climbers could earn money this easily, wouldn’t people rip them off?

Looking at how prices were especially high in wealthy neighborhoods, that was obvious economic common sense.

“Ah, the Tower’s enforcers take people away if they break the law. Would overcharging count as fraud?”

I did not know the details. Since I was curious, should I look into it later?

“Public safety within the city is fairly good, so there is no need to insist on expensive lodging, but expensive lodging establishments have better environments, so keep that in mind.”

After finishing my check of the guidebook, I searched the community as it instructed.

[WPTO Agent K]

When I searched, posts by Agent K appeared in the Public Community as well as the lower, middle, and upper floor communities.

I pressed the very first post, <Community Usage Rules>.

[The supreme rule of using the community. Do not trust community information.]

[Do not trust even me, the person writing this post. Remember that this place is full of scammers. If you are going to trust community information, trust a political YouTuber instead. A political YouTuber deceives you and leads you into donating, but community information deceives you and leads you to your death.]

[Remember this. Do not trust community information. Doubt, then doubt again.]

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