Chapter 17
"Dubi dubi du, Wakamo Inarizushi here! Believers, have you been doing well today? I've been lazing around all day."
The moment the stream started, the Fox God's upper body filled the screen.
An aggressively ample chest that seemed to swallow her flowing black hair sent the viewers into a frenzy.
-You didn't roll around on the road instead of in your room, did you?
-I heard you gave a Drake participating in Reality Online for the first time a taste of the [Tree Sentinel]'s bitter medicine.
-The [Dark Ring] field boss can't even beat a Floor 22 monster. Baldy, don't make games like this!!
-If you make a game like this, who the hell is left?
-You guys are. You're going to play it anyway, aren't you?
-Ahㅋㅋㅋ This is so fucking infuriatingㅋㅋㅋ
-Thank you for saving us!! You were so cool!!
-There was a time when we thought a bottom-floor Climber couldn't beat a Floor 20 monster....
-What crime did the Floor 10 boss commit? They say it's just a mook once you reach Floor 20.
-What do you think? We're here to watch the executioner who gets executed today, obviously.
-The boss's Monster Fatality, sparking a broadcast revolution on par with the French Revolution, is beginning.
-Ahㅋㅋㅋ It really is the best show in townㅋㅋㅋ
-We live in the age of barbarism.
-But what's that tail behind the boss? Can you bring it out now?
"Hm? Oh, this?"
She gently showed them a tail. It was a kind of ornament she had made using [Mana Manipulation].
Of course, since she had made it connected to her body, it had essentially sprouted anew. If she had to make a comparison, shouldn't she call it a wart...?
I hope you'll forgive the difficult comparison. The tail only looked full and fluffy on the outside; it was empty inside.
And I had roughly stuffed [Mana Potions] in there. I could use them one at a time when necessary, or smash them all at once to recover mana.
Actually, the original idea had started with the thought that if I could change my appearance with [Mana Manipulation], couldn't I increase the number of my arms and legs too?
But that would be gross.
So I thought putting something inside the tail would be a good idea and tried making it. I suppose you could call it an experiment.
I could even inflate my breasts freely. At this rate, wasn't I basically Plastic Man from DC Comics?
I was just too hung up on maintaining the Fox God's form, but this meant that if my mana increased, there would be no end to what I could do in the future. Even so, I still had to maintain the Fox God's concept.
"What's strange about a fox having a tail? I just brought it out. It's uncomfortable to sleep on my back with this thing, and sleeping on my side is difficult too."
She hugged the tail, which looked incredibly soft at a glance, and conspicuously swayed its tip while giving them a foxlike smile. The chat window began flying by.
If there had been fewer viewers, I would have read and remembered every single comment. But with the average viewership now in the four digits, even looking at them all was difficult.
I could read them because my eyesight was good, but how did other streamers and VTubers even look at this??
-I seriously want to hug it just once. It looks so unbelievably soft.
-I heard the boss found a broadcast manager in the café. Are they really an Association executive?
-Why are you asking? Go read the café announcementㅋㅋㅋ
-Our stream finally gets rules!!
-Didn't you say you were starting a French Revolution? Aren't you supposed to fight for freedom?
-ㅇㅇ, believers are fighting to see the Fox God's breasts.
-Ah! My learning was insufficient!! Everyone get the fuck out so I can have her all to myself!!
-Please hold a fan meeting just once, please!!
-Permanently ban the bastard who posted the Fox God's fur texture to the café!!!!
This was utter pandemonium. Popular streamers must suffer through things like this every time.... I was relieved to know no stalker would ever target me.
It was common for stalkers to appear once someone became this popular. And even if you received a gift, you never knew what might be inside it. I could only feel grateful that I had a manager now.
"Anyway, everyone, I'm finally going to climb Floor 10 today. I've prepared carefully. Can you see this figurine photo?"
Wakamo held up a V sign and displayed a photo of an ultra-limited figurine in a window floating in midair.
What am I hiding...? To be frank, I was showing off!
-Yes, we can see it clearly. The panties are black too, huh?
-You can't see the panty angle from here, so how do you know?
-Pekoyama's model has black panties, ㅇㅇ.
-You crazy bastard, bite your tongue and die, please.
-What color are the boss's panties?
-I'm so jealous of the signed merchandise.
-Is the boss flaunting her privilege? I'll hold back because I'd lose if I fought her.
-Seriouslyㅋㅋㅋ If we talk back, the government might arrest us and force us to "reenlist"ㅋㅋㅋ
-Wow, fuck, that's terrifyingㅋㅋㅋ
-No wonder the community was so peaceful....
They had been fairly docile to begin with, but whether in the chat window or the community, everyone maintained their manners(?) by limiting themselves to minor sexual harassment, like wondering how many kilograms the Fox God's breasts weighed.
There were a few people who went wild, saying they didn't need to remain anonymous just because they didn't live in Korea.
But the board manager wanted to live a long life, so nationality was meaningless.
A lot of internet users had probably been kicked out of the community today.
"Hm... mine are black too."
Suddenly curious because of the question, I lightly pulled up my skirt, lowered my head to check inside, and answered. The chat window exploded.
I teased the believers as they howled like wolves and frogs caught in a feedback loop.
"Bleh."
Wakamo stuck out her tongue and went bleh at them, and their reaction was truly a sight to behold.
-Why is she cute? Why is she cute? Why is she cute? Why is she cute? Why is she cute?
-Why is she acting so insolently like a bratty mesugaki when she's a giantess!!
-No, more importantly, is it for real that her breasts are so big she has to pull them aside to look down???
-Look at her giggling because she finds the believers' reactions funny, fuck, so this is what it means for women to act like foxes!!!
-Isn't it technically foxlike teasing by a fox, since the boss is a fox?
-Uu... t-yu-tai... I like femboys, but I think I'm about to discover something else...
-This calls for the boss's mental therapy.
-Hey, gay guy.... Look at the tits one more time and calm down....
-Bigger breasts, bigger tail, bigger happiness.
-I wish the boss were a paid VTuber instead. Please let us set missions. Please!!!
-Omurice-sama!!!
-Tanghulu!!!
-Yeobongbong!!!
-Please step on me and call me a worthless little thing!!
-VTuber bro.
-I won't walk you out...
"I can't step on you, but I can put my foot on my chest."
She smoothly lifted her leg, placed her foot on her chest with a light thump, and wiggled her toes.
The pose probably looked bizarre as a whole─but only her chest and the sole of her foot were visible, so it didn't matter.
-She actually did it.
-Please let me bury my face there and die!!
-Can you bury your face in her breasts and on the sole of her foot at the same time?
-I'm new here. Is this place full of nothing but beasts?
-No, it's a psychiatric ward. The attending doctor just has larger breasts.
-I think I've come to the right place!
"Instead of spending money on donations or memberships for my stream, please send it to these ten cute VTubers whose clips I made and uploaded seventeen videos of today."
-What's with the effortless indie VTuber promotion?
-Indie VTuber promotion flowing as naturally as water, as naturally as breathing.
-The boss doesn't stream without VTubers, so we have to keep VTubers alive, ㅇㅇ.
-We salute the head mod of the Korean VTuber support gallery.
-So can we go to those VTubers' streams and ask them to show us the boss acting cute?
"If the VTubers ask me to, I'll film it and upload it as a Short."
-Why won't you do it live for us!!!!
-What the hell is this discrimination!!!
-Believers are people too, people!!!
-Waaah, love us too, Mommy, waaah.
-So if we send donations, Shorts are definitely going up!!!!
-Let's goooooo!!!!
-The boss donated first, though? She donated a fucking lot too?
-No, why is the boss lying around fighting a donation war against the believers?
-And in the middle of all that, she donated to a queen whose stream wasn't even on that list.
-Ahㅋㅋㅋ I'm seriously going insaneㅋㅋㅋ
I slowly warmed up the stream with some casual chatter.
Topics included the Drake terrorist attack and the red pill, with viewers asking whether I had gone to a collab despite saying I was at home.
I answered the viewers' questions with suitably evasive replies, and since I had a new manager, I also advised the believers to be careful what they typed in chat.
I gently explained that after conquering Floor 10, I would tour the café while looking at the fan art the believers had drawn for me.
By around the sixth day of streaming, I was finally starting to get used to it.
After all, my five years of streaming experience hadn't simply vanished.
Clatter, clatter─
I had no idea why something like this had been at a construction site, but I could only conclude that I had been incredibly lucky to have gone there trying to get some rebar.
Worried about whether it was all right, I asked the manager. The manager was a little flustered, but approved it, saying that much was fine.
I'm going up to Floor 10.
Would a solo Climber ascending without any support actually be considered fairly fast? Since I had a 『Legendary Class』 and was taking my time, I was far too slow.
The first [Large Monster] Climbers encountered appeared on Floor 10.
Its name was [Giant Varan].
It was a king-lizard-like creature seven meters long.
It did not use [Skills], and its movements were sluggish and straightforward, so anyone who wasn't in a support-type class could defeat it easily. Reaching this point was essentially a Climber's tutorial.
The manager had kept asking until the very end whether I needed equipment support─but the only equipment I could wear was something I had made by hand, or something the Tower provided to match my class.
[Stats]
Mana : 32,011
'This is cutting it close......'
Hoping there wouldn't be any major problems, I went up to Floor 10.
The moment she set foot on the next floor, a voice announcement loud enough for the viewers to hear rang out.
[The Tower is checking the Climber's record]
Ding ding!!
[Truly overwhelming feat!! Summoning an elite monster worthy of it!!]
[You cannot leave until it is defeated!!]
-?????? What is it saying? What's happening right now???
-Does this mean the boss cleared it too well, so the Tower is raising the difficulty?
-No, fuck, why is it telling us this after she came up here?
-What do you do if you can't leave the Tower?? Aren't you normally able to leave?
-That kind of penalty doesn't happen unless you're on the highest floor.
-What's an [Elite Monster]...?
-It's a unique monster that occasionally appears in the Tower. It's stronger than normal.
-Then is our boss in big trouble?
[The Floor 10 boss has been changed to the [One-Bite Giant Varan]!]
[You are climbing in the Incheon Tower's Floor 10 World]
-You are qualified to challenge the Tower. Overcome the [Elite Monster].
[Platinum Achievement Conditions]
-[Complete-Clear Floors] possessed: 9 (9/9)
-[Defeat the One-Bite Giant Varan] (0/1)
It was a sight that neither the Climbers watching the broadcast nor the viewers had ever seen before.
Only Wakamo could know why this had happened.
The nine 『Complete-Clear Floors』 she had achieved while climbing were the cause of this disaster.
The Tower was raising the difficulty because she had set an unprecedented record of consecutive perfect clears?
The Tower was now increasing the danger of the trials a Climber faced when ascending a new Tower in proportion to the number of floors cleared—and that danger had come for a Climber who had only just reached Floor 10.
"This is bad!"
Even the Association president, watching the broadcast, could not help being shocked.
It wasn't an ordinary monster but an [Elite Monster]. And what if it had a title before its name?
"It'll use at least two [Skills]. This is dangerous!"
It was impossible even to leave after entering. In the worst case, this situation could result in a Climber dying horribly.
To make matters worse, this was a sudden climb after fighting the [Drake].
"Lady Wakamo isn't at full strength! If she fights while exhausted, she'll lose 100%!"
"Did she really not receive any equipment support?"
"She said she wasn't receiving support... but she did ask us to salvage something at the demolition site...."
"Salvage?"
Clatter──
Just as Department Head Won Da-hye was answering the Association president's question, a sound of metal scraping across the floor rang out from beyond the screen the viewers were watching. No... more precisely, it was the sound of a pile of chains moving and clanging against one another.
"That is..."
Some Climbers brought guns into the Tower. As long as they met the requirements for taking them inside, some even brought weapons made outside with them.
The only requirement was that they be in contact with the body, whether placed in a bag, held in the hands, or carried over the shoulder!
Weapons on the scale of a tank were difficult to bring in unless one possessed a special 『Legendary Class』.
"Kieeeek!!!!"
That was why Wakamo had "carried it in by lifting it."
The [One-Bite Giant Varan] let out a shriek and charged across the swamp. The fight should originally have taken place on rocky ground, but every aspect of the environment was terribly unfavorable to Wakamo.
The elite Varan charged rapidly on all fours, its body nearly pressed against the ground as its tail swished. Poisonous smoke burst from its skin with a fwoosh!!
The viewers had wondered whether its purple skin was just a sign of something ominous, but they were horrified when they saw that it was truly exhaling poison through its skin.
-No, where are you supposed to dodge poison smoke in a cave swamp???
-We don't even have an antidote. Is our boss in serious trouble?
-She said she doesn't breathe, so isn't she okay?
-What kind of living thing doesn't breathe! She was joking because she's a VTuber, you idiot!!
-That bastard shoots fire from its mouth!!!
-What??
-It's only Floor 10, and it's using two Skills?? Is the Tower insane??
Her vision was already obscured by thick poison smoke, making it impossible to see properly ahead.
Flames began gathering in the Varan's open mouth.
Her opponent was a reptile, a monster capable of tracking Wakamo by her body heat even if it could not see her. Even without knowing her location, the spreading poison would infect her, making her suffer before she slowly died.
But the creature did not stop there. It inhaled, gathered [Mana], formed it into a gigantic fireball, and launched it at the standing Wakamo.
"How pitiful."
Inside the poison smoke so thick that her form was impossible to make out, the shadowy shape of something enormous appeared, and the poison smoke scattered.
The poison smoke was sucked away as though someone were pulling a tablecloth from beneath a table, and something even larger smashed down on the gigantic fireball flying toward Wakamo, shattering it.
Lodged in the swamp was...
Weight: 700 kg.
A 『Wrecking Ball』 hung from a crane at a demolition site, swung by its momentum to destroy buildings.... It was also known to the public as something reused as a substitute for monsters that might emerge during a Tower collapse.
An iron ball slightly larger than herself.
And the chain attached to the end of that iron ball.
"Even a brain at a lizard's level should understand what's about to happen now──!!!!"
Kwagagagagagak!!!!
With a grinding roar that tore up the ground, the wrecking ball spun and overturned the swamp.
Wakamo had one arm secured with the chain wrapped around her forearm, while her other arm spun the wrecking ball and imparted centrifugal force.
With veins bulging as though they might burst from her slender arm, Wakamo gritted her teeth and took a step. The wrecking ball spun several times, creating a wind that sucked everything in, then shot toward the Varan's head like a cannonball.
The Varan dodged it with an incredibly nimble sidestep.
Without panicking, it opened its mouth and launched another fireball──but if she had been listening closely, Wakamo would have noticed.
There had been no sound of the wrecking ball hitting anything.
Using [Mana Manipulation], she braked the wrecking ball in midair and brought it to a stop.
The wrecking ball floated for an instant at the end of the taut chain.
Boom─!
The fireball exploded in the swamp. Wakamo jumped just before it hit, wrapped the chain around her waist, and pulled the wrecking ball toward herself.
[Stats]
Mana : 9,450
"Namu Amida Butsu!!!"
Then, using the [Additional Camera] summoned with [Video Recording] as a foothold, she spun in reverse to unwind the chain and brought it down from above.
Perhaps it could not dodge so quickly a second time. As the Varan strained to look up at the sky, the enormous iron ball slammed directly into its head.
KRAK─!!
The swamp water surged upward, splashing as high as the ceiling.
Splorch.
And Wakamo landed.
Beneath the wrecking ball, which had split completely in two, the Varan's crushed head lay submerged in the swamp.
Watching the monster's blood slowly ooze upward, Wakamo brushed back her bangs, turned toward the speechless viewers, and smiled.
"V"
Baring her shark teeth and flashing an upside-down V sign, she ended the broadcast.
With the words See you in the fan café's post-stream broadcast floating on-screen.
The viewers exploded once again.