Chapter 10
"Heh heh, this is quite exhilarating."
The association president was impressed in more ways than one by the power Wakamo displayed during the livestream covering her conquest of Floor 5.
Countless Climbers wield flamboyant, destructive, or even terrifying powers that make people fear and avoid even other humans, all through the [Skills] bestowed by the Tower. Overseas, including the United States, there were people who studied such Climbers' powers and used them in movies or broadcasts like Wakamo did, but....
People truly preferred violence that was simple, clean, and primitive.
Even if they admired someone for using magic or sending a slash flying with a sword, it didn't hit quite the same.
In an age like this, there had been more than a few hero movies, manga, and anime that turned imagination and fantasy into visual media. Even now, sports like the UFC operated under conditions that barred Climbers from participating. That wasn't to say anyone would run an arena where Climbers, important personnel for every country, fought one another.
To begin with, the Tower placed the utmost importance on 『cooperation』 among Climbers.
The Tower wanted nothing more than for humanity to conquer it. Hadn't it already made it abundantly clear that it was filtering humanity by granting eligibility only to those who met the conditions to become Climbers?
Thus, fights among Climbers ultimately arose from the state, personal greed, or matters involving companies and guilds..... ordinary problems involving money changing hands.
There had even been cases of Climbers from other countries being killed to eliminate a nation by exploiting the Tower's collapse, so fights between Climbers were nothing but harmful.
And unfortunately, this country had driven out all its Climbers itself. Would you believe it if someone said the first-generation Climbers could be counted on ten fingers? It was that miserable and bleak.
That was why Climbers in this country enjoyed greater power and human rights than those in other countries, and the penalties for crimes were more severe as well.
"If it were an act meant to deceive the viewers, I'd praise it as truly excellent, but it does seem she's sincere about wanting to stream."
Even while livestreaming, she watched other broadcasts. Whatever the reason, that fox god had become captivated by human broadcasts. She had fallen for VTubers, who hid behind virtual characters to express their talents. The association president couldn't quite tell whether she was striving to become one out of admiration, and she was floundering as a result.
Surprisingly, people couldn't help but like even things like that.
Because they would have memories to look back on together, having shared their inexperienced, immature days and accumulated experience until they became first-rate in their own way.
"The only thing I'm worried about is the VTuber concept."
The fatal weakness of 『red pill』 characters: they must not let anyone discover the real person inside.
Was it because the pill in The Matrix was taken when waking from a dream into reality, making it a metaphor? If it forcibly made someone look at reality, there could be no better metaphor. If she supported VTubers, then the appearance she showed would be no more than a character meant to captivate viewers. It was impossible to know whether she really was a fox god or something else.
"Either way, we'll need her cooperation."
Five floors shining with beautiful silver light.
With the appearance of a 『Complete-Clear Floor』, companies, including guilds, were already frantically searching for Wakamo. However, the young man's appearance and resident registration card indicating that he had bought real estate were highly likely to be disguises. After all, wasn't she a fox? Changing into someone else's appearance would be nothing for her.
In this day and age, even reusing a dead person's ID to acquire an identity was no difficult feat. If anything, the chaos caused by the Tower's appearance had made it easier for a fox god who had lived a thousand years to blend in among people. At the same time, she must have become absorbed in modern civilization... in VTubers. If she rarely went outside and spent her time on the internet, she would naturally encounter them.
"If that's the case, then other things become a problem too."
Most Towers provided Climbers with their own unique floor at each level. Thus, it was best to assume that Climbers rarely met one another. Occasionally, on floors with excessive difficulty, Climbers would 『cooperate』 with one another, though.
If she was a VTuber who couldn't let anyone discover her identity, wouldn't she try to climb alone even if it was reckless?
Moreover, since she was the owner of a 『Complete-Clear Floor』, some reckless group might try to forcibly capture her, learn her secrets or conquest methods, kill her, and then use someone who had just become a Climber to seize the 『Complete-Clear Floor』. That would be truly foolish. There was no way a Climber entering Floor 1 for the first time could display force on the level of the fox god.
Rather, it was more realistic that another country would kill her because she was such a promising Climber.
"I hope the department head's recruitment plan works out. Haha."
Well─even if it failed, they could invest money to hold a collaboration event or invite overseas VTubers for a fan meeting in the country.
It was fair to say that this would cost remarkably little compared to other Climbers. It was highly peaceful, too.
"──Hm?"
[The Incheon Tower's Floor 6 has fulfilled its Platinum conditions and is opening to all humanity!!]
"Oh, she really is diligent. Climbing the Tower every day─"
[The Incheon Tower's Floor 7 has fulfilled its Platinum conditions and is opening to all humanity!!]
[The Incheon Tower's Floor 8 has fulfilled its Platinum conditions and is opening to all humanity!!]
"....Huh?"
A lightning-fast conquest completed at intervals of roughly five minutes. It had reached the point where he could only conclude she knew how to obtain 『Complete-Clear Floors』.
But was she suddenly climbing the Tower like this? Without even turning on her stream?
Had something happened...?
"So that's why everyone is protesting and telling the streamer to turn on her broadcast."
The association president thought he could understand their anxious feelings a little.
Didn't it make people go crazy with curiosity?
Was it a silent protest meant to make them unable to bear not watching her stream?
※※※
Let's turn back the clock for a moment.
It was right around the time Wakamo had finished conquering Floor 5.
[You are climbing in the Incheon Tower's Floor 5 World]
-Let's conserve our strength and hunt the first dangerous monster encountered in the Tower, [Killer Ankole Watusi]!
[Platinum Achievement Conditions]
-[Killer Ankole Watusi] (1/1)
-[Killer Ankole Watusi] (1/1)
-[Killer Ankole Watusi] (1/1)
-Pierce the [Killer Ankole Watusi]'s weak point [between the eyebrows] and defeat it in one blow (1/1)
[The Incheon Tower's Floor 5 has fulfilled its Platinum conditions and is opening to all humanity!!]
"Was the cooking stream a little too much after all?"
In any case, this was a generation that had grown more tolerant of cruel scenes and the like because of the Tower's appearance. More people called the blood flowing down the chin and clavicle to pool in the cleavage artistic than called the scene of someone biting into a thigh gory or disgusting. It made him wonder whether men really liked anything as long as the breasts were big... but Wakamo herself had been like that too, so he had no room to talk.
To begin with, this beautiful character was a VTuber character packed to the brim with his tastes!! Everything was big!!
This was an age when videos of monsters tearing people apart were shown on YouTube channels or during education and training to warn people of their dangers. Naturally so, since people who let their guard down at the sight of cute-looking monsters continued to die every year.
Thus, to such people, a beautiful woman tearing into meat was, in a sense, closer to an erotic video that merely stimulated those with unusual sexual appetites.
[Rewards have increased due to the Tower's Platinum clear]
While thinking about how to edit the videos she'd recorded, watching VTuber broadcasts, listening with one ear to the song of a chick who had just started streaming unarchived, and using her idle hands to diligently clip VTuber videos, she uploaded about two more videos to her channel and waited for the reward to appear.
This time, she intended to get an attack skill.
She knew viewers liked primitive violence, but if she was roleplaying the concept of a fox god, shouldn't she show off at least a few sorcerous tricks?
[You have acquired the Relic-grade item [Imperial Seal of China (傳國玉璽)]!]
Tap.
".....Huh?"
Wakamo picked up the jade seal that had fallen to the floor and examined it from every angle. Unfortunately, she didn't know much about history... so she had no idea what it was.
"Is a relic-grade item something the Tower occasionally gives as a reward...?"
Occasionally, the Tower converted important objects from humanity's lost history into [Items] and awarded them as rewards.
Naturally, she had thought she would get a chance to choose a [Skill], but.... Tower rewards were always varied! Now that she had climbed as far as Floor 5, the Tower had judged that she must have acquired basic skills and given her an item instead! Of course, since she had conquered it with a Platinum clear, it had presumably given Wakamo an item perfectly suited to her?
[Imperial Seal of China (傳國玉璽)]
Grade: Relic.
Made from a piece of jade known as the He Shi Bi.
A jade seal engraved with the words 『The Mandate of Heaven, Long Life and Prosperity』.
The genuine article, lost during the Tang dynasty.
Command +50%.
"I shouldn't have used the Tang Soo Do knife-hand strike!!!"
The viewers called it Tang, so the Tower really gave her an item from the Tang dynasty!! No, it was from much earlier than that, probably... No, wasn't this only useful in something like Romance of the Three Kingdoms?
Denying reality, she carefully examined it from every angle to avoid leaving even a scratch. The patterns alone were extraordinary enough to inspire spontaneous awe: So this is the imperial seal~. But Command +50% was truly a Romance of the Three Kingdoms-like stat. Had the Tower mistaken her 340,000 subscribers for actual troops?
If she went to Liu Bei with that many soldiers and the imperial seal, perhaps he would immediately offer her a cup of wine, call it a fish-and-water bond, and ask her to become sworn siblings.
"What the hell am I supposed to use it for!!"
In an RTS game, would her troops work a little harder? Even though her body never got tired, she felt as if she were becoming dizzy.
"Status Window"
[Status Window]
[Climber : Wakamo Inarizushi]
[Class : VTuber]
[Age : 1,000 years old]
[Stats]
Mana : 72,305
It was only natural that her mana had dropped enormously: while streaming, watching streams, and even resting, she continually wasted mana, letting it leak away. What explanation was needed when she knew that and was still leaving her stream running even now?
The second day's broadcast had already been turned into GIFs and was circulating around the community. In the midst of it, some people had even composited cooking-manga memes with the act of eating raw. Starting with users calling it the return of Bear Bro. Others extracted and spread only the part where the blood flowing down her chin pooled on her chest, earning praise, and some even drew it as fan art.
The popularity boom was undeniable.
But honestly, if someone asked whether she could maintain this, she felt like she was going to die from the pressure.
VTubers really fought this kind of pressure against themselves every day... I was only on day three. And I had started from a more comfortable position than other VTubers, yet it was this overwhelming...!!
"Can't be helped. For now, let's just climb without thinking."
The viewers might protest that she was doing a backdoor climb(?), but if she filmed it and put out a cool edited version, they would forgive her.
"I'm a VTuber, not a Romance of the Three Kingdoms general, you damn Tower bastard!!! What, are you telling me to become a king with an imperial seal?!!"
Please, let that not be the case.
Surely it hadn't given her the seal so she could calm the viewers rampaging in the chat by raising her Command? Was the Tower thinking something like, "A believer who doesn't listen to their idol isn't a believer"..? I couldn't understand the Tower's thoughts!
"I'm climbing!!"
The refreshing sensation that swept through her entire body as she reached Floor 6. She felt light, as if she could fly!
[Stats]
Mana : 412,467
Her maximum mana had increased!
That meant her subscriber count was steadily rising quickly!
But mana was never enough, no matter how much she had. Unless she acquired as many natural-recovery skills as possible, her dream life as a [viewer who watches VTuber streams] would never return.
She had been far too complacent just because she could view the Tower's conquest methods through the World information.
[You are climbing in the Incheon Tower's Floor 6 World]
-The Tower contains many monsters. Overcome the [Skeleton Warrior]!
[Platinum Achievement Conditions]
-Destroy the sword held by the [Skeleton Warrior] (0/1)
-Defeat the [Skeleton Warrior] without being injured (0/1)
-Break through the [Skeleton Warrior]'s defense (0/1)
-Strike the [Skeleton Warrior]'s weak point [mana core in its head] and defeat it in one blow (0/1)
In this dark cavern, where the only way to see was by the light of torches hung on the walls, Wakamo realized she was in an abandoned mine.
Then the [Skeleton Warrior] that appeared before Wakamo carried a rusted sword with all its teeth missing and a shabby wooden shield. The undead grunt, nothing but bones with an ominous glow in its eye sockets, looked at Wakamo, clacked its jaw harshly, and raised its sword.
Wakamo adjusted the angle in fine detail with [Video Recording] so the monster would be clearly visible, shifted the viewpoint to one that looked like a fighting game, and took her stance.
When she beckoned as if telling it to come at her, the skeleton swordsman swung its sword─Wakamo caught it with her hand and stopped it, then twisted its wrist and broke it.
How was this possible?
The answer was dynamic vision.
Eyesight honed by watching countless VTuber streams.
And there was also the part she had been born with naturally.
Of course, having good eyesight didn't mean she had good reaction speed or reflexes, so she had been called a worthless bug for missing shots in FPS games.
But Wakamo's body now had performance good enough to cover for such shortcomings.
The sword split in half, and the emotionless Skeleton Warrior raised its shield as it watched Wakamo lift her leg.
Then she kicked the shield and the Skeleton Warrior behind it all at once, slamming it into the ceiling and shattering its skull.
A perfect high kick, as if drawn in a picture.
The flexibility of a body without bones or muscles─she had extended her leg straight until it was horizontal, her thigh nearly touching her chest.
Even as she marveled that such a range of motion, something seen only in manga, was actually possible, Wakamo lightly loosened up.
[The Incheon Tower's Floor 6 has fulfilled its Platinum conditions and is opening to all humanity!!]
[Rewards have increased due to the Tower's Platinum clear]
[[Video Recording] skill has gained the [Summon Additional Camera] and [Share Viewpoint] functions]
[[My Worlds] skill has been upgraded to [Medium Studio Apartment Size]]
"....Underwhelming..!"
Normally, she would have been given stats that she could freely allocate, but Wakamo had no stats other than mana.
The result was additional strengthening of her existing skills, but in practice, only [Video Recording] had been enhanced.
[My Worlds] seemed to have been enhanced simply because Wakamo had climbed a floor.
When she went inside to check, its size had at least increased enough for her to lie down.
She was overflowing with the desire to tidy the room immediately and put her figurines on proper display shelves instead of the floor, but she could do that later, so she headed straight for the next floor.
[You are climbing in the Incheon Tower's Floor 7 World]
-You aren't the only one who uses skills. Overcome the [Frog Fighter]!
[Platinum Achievement Conditions]
-Experience being struck by the [Frog Fighter]'s [Tongue Bind] (0/1)
-Defeat the [Frog Fighter] without being injured (0/1)
-Smash through the [Frog Fighter]'s defense (0/1)
-Use mana against the [Frog Fighter] (0/1)
The sensation of liquid dampening her ankles. Fortunately, it was ordinary water, but she had heard that some Towers dropped Climbers straight into the sea, so swimming was also essential for Climbers.
The complacent expectation that she would be able to obtain an [Attack Skill] gradually changed into the thought that perhaps the chance might never come, and anxiety began to appear on Wakamo's face.
"Froooog."
A toad warrior stood on two legs, its belly greatly distended as it let out a deep croak. It stood empty-handed, but the armor it wore was unmistakably metal.
This floor warned Climbers that [Monsters] also used skills and possessed intelligence.
The conditions assumed she would fulfill them all automatically, but the instruction to use 『Mana』 bothered Wakamo. Normally, using a [Skill] that required mana would naturally consume [Mana].... But did she even have a skill like that?
"Kwahack!!"
When she offered her arm to catch the toad's tongue flying at her with a sound like vomiting,
the tongue instantly coiled around her and pulled taut, dragging Wakamo toward it.
Novice Climbers would be terrified and flail around because of the fear that they might be eaten and the water pooled on the floor.
But it was the Frog Fighter that became frightened upon seeing Wakamo remain standing, unmoving no matter how hard it pulled.
She swung her arm far back, leaned her waist backward, dug her toes in, and gritted her teeth.
Just before the Frog Fighter, forcibly dragged toward her and flying through the air, collided with Wakamo,
the fist she swung with all her strength smacked into its armor, and amid a ferocious boom, the armor crumpled and bent before her fist drove cleanly into the Frog Fighter's body.
"Huh─"
[The Incheon Tower's Floor 7 has fulfilled its Platinum conditions and is opening to all humanity!!]
And contrary to her worries, the message echoed.
It seemed to have counted because Wakamo's entire body was already [Mana].
"I got lucky?"
[Rewards have increased due to the Tower's Platinum clear]
In other words, she desperately hoped it would please give her a [Skill] now─because viewers would get sulky if she kept climbing off-stream like this.
[You have acquired the Relic-grade item [Golden Fan of the Peerless Beauty]!]
A tremendously large fan dropped with a thud.
Honestly, it was a relic-grade item... but since one had appeared on a lower floor, she hoped this time it might at least be worth expecting something from, and picked it up.
If she didn't have a [Skill], couldn't she use a [Weapon]? It wasn't a fist, but she thought scenes of striking an enemy's neck with a fan could be rather stylish too.
[Golden Fan of the Peerless Beauty]
Grade: Relic.
A fan covered in gold leaf.
A splendid pattern is engraved on it.
Charm +50%.
"Damn it."
One more piece of trash had been added.
Well, was it still better than the imperial seal...? She cooled the heat rising to her head by fanning herself.
Not that the heat had actually risen. She had climbed the Tower intensely because she was too excited, but looking back, that hadn't been a good decision.
Creating two more 『Complete-Clear Floors』 in an instant was no different from announcing that she knew the conquest method.
Since things had come to this, she decided to shamelessly conquer the next floor too.
"I don't mind if the difficulty goes up, so please just give me one real attack-type [Skill]...!"
The eighth floor, rising while enveloped in blinding light.
And the World information that obscured her view.
[You are climbing in the Incheon Tower's Floor 8 World]
-Never let your guard down. The [Corrupted Dwarf Gunner] will kill you.
[Platinum Achievement Conditions]
-Do not get hit by the [Corrupted Dwarf Gunner]'s [Bullets] (0/1)
-Deflect the [Corrupted Dwarf Gunner]'s [Bullets] (0/1)
-Do not take damage from the [Corrupted Dwarf Gunner] (0/1)
It didn't take long for her to realize that the unfamiliar scent stinging the tip of her nose was gunpowder, something she had played with as a child.
Because a short, squat dwarf was aiming a gun barrel at Wakamo from beyond a translucent window.
Wakamo's reaction was delayed because the words floating before her eyes blocked her vision.
I'm going to die.
Bang─!
The gunshot echoed.
In a fleeting moment that seemed to move in slow motion, Wakamo saw the bullet's trajectory, panicked, and swung her arm.
At the same time, sparks flew from the end of the fan as it unfolded in a graceful line, and the bullet split apart and scattered.
"Whoa, fuck. You scared me!!"
[Mana] wrapped around and flowed through the golden fan.
At the same time, a message appeared before Wakamo as she was startled by the sudden ambush.
[You have acquired the skill [Mana Manipulation].]
"Since this made a skill appear, if you don't give me another skill, I'll come back and kill you twice, you damn dwarf!!!"
An anguished roar rang out.
Furious, Wakamo folded the fan and threw it, and it struck the dwarf squarely in the head.
[The Incheon Tower's Floor 8 has fulfilled its Platinum conditions and is opening to all humanity!!]
The body collapsed.
[Rewards have increased due to the Tower's Platinum clear]
A flowing silence.
And then a figure was placed in Wakamo's hands.
"....."
[You have acquired the Legendary-grade item [Idol Statue]!]
[Idol Statue]
Grade: Legendary.
An object for worshiping an idol.
It takes the form of VTuber Wakamo Inarizushi.
Placing it on a display shelf increases all stats.
All stats +10
"......"
Wakamo had no stats other than mana.
A Legendary item worth about ten subscribers' worth....
It was uselessly high-quality, as if the Tower had proudly presented it, thinking, "If you give it to the believers who worship you as a god, your popularity will explode!"
Even the black underwear had been faithfully reproduced, and the material was so fine that the easily breakable sleeves were quite sturdy. The beauty mark on her chest had been reproduced carefully, and the eye makeup was high-quality too. Even the ends of her hair had been finished neatly.... It was first-rate craftsmanship, so good that she had no idea how expensive it would be if priced.
But why Wakamo?
"If you were going to give me one anyway... you could've made it our queen... Fuck...."
Why did the tears flowing down her face carry such sorrow?
Being an idol was truly hard work!!
The Tower was blameless. As it watched Wakamo climb and choose things, it had faithfully given her only the items it thought she might need!
Was it just her imagination that it seemed to say silently, "You didn't choose an attack skill. If you're so unhappy, climb the Tower yourself"?
No, there was absolutely no way this was just her imagination....