Chapter 35
"I don't have a cheokdu, so can I just use something random?"
From the moment the broadcast began, Wakamo was greeted with such passionate enthusiasm that she brought a kitchen cleaver from the kitchen, stood it roughly upright, and climbed onto it. By setting its weight to zero and maintaining her balance, there was no chance of the cleaver falling over.
-Is this really what a cheokdu is??
-They say a blade won't cut you if the downward pressure is strong.
-But she's standing on top of a knife. What is that supposed to be?
-It's just that a kitchen knife can't pierce her.
-There's a reason Climbers are superhuman.
-What about standing on the tip of her foot?
-What the fuck is thisㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Wakamo stood only on the tip of her big toe, displaying an astounding sense of balance. In truth, she possessed a body that would remain perfectly steady in any position as long as the cleaver itself did not fall over, making this circus-like feat possible.
"Arabesque"
Wakamo stretched one leg straight back and smiled elegantly as she demonstrated a ballet move.
-You really can't predict the flow of this broadcast at all.
-Why did ballet suddenly start?
-Is she declaring her ambition to devour foreign countries beyond Asia?
-Welcome to our Wakamo's castle....
-Nice to meet you, newcomers.
-Newcomers, broadcasts don't normally go according to the broadcaster's plans.
-Isn't that what makes the boss's streams fun?
"A cheokdu is something a shaman rides. I'm the fox god, so I don't need to ride one! I have a cheat item!"
-The cheat item that rules Asia.
-Why the hell does she have something like that?
-The accepted theory is that the Tower had it, so it turned it into an item.
-The genuine article certified by the Tower is hereㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Fox God, why don't you just host an antiques appraisal show??
-I heard that bronze bell is an artifact from the time of the Dangun myth....
-How old are you, exactly...?
-The Fox God just lied so much that she said she was a thousand years oldㅋㅋㅋ
-A thousand years old is youngㅋㅋㅋ
"Is that so? My believers sure are energetic without exception. This is just a ceremonial bronze bell."
She displayed the item's description on the screen. It was an interface that every Climber could use, though it was neither a Skill nor anything else... perhaps that was how one should describe it.
Thanks to that, Climbers were rarely cheated when buying and selling items among themselves. If something was not classified as an item, it could be considered a fake with no actual effect, after all.
The believers simply laughed when Wakamo displayed the descriptions of the Imperial Seal and Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi once more, showing that the Tower had certified them as genuine.
Perhaps their laughter was closer to the unhinged snickering of people who had lost their minds. They were probably wondering what sort of person this fox god really was.
Relic-grade items did occasionally appear, but considering how the Tower raised Climbers, it was safe to say the probability of such items appearing from the Tower approached zero. Some Climbers believed they were merely souvenirs(?) awarded at an extremely low rate according to a climber's needs or desires.
In other words, trying to pull a relic-grade item meant....
The Climber's class was so strange that there was no equipment or weapon to give them, so the Tower gave them this instead, saying they could at least have it.
Or perhaps it was because their class was this type(?) that they received a whole pile of such items.
And astonishingly, Wakamo fell into both categories.
It was truly pitiful.
The Tower's Mana increased in proportion to the number of believers outside, so it gave her items that would turn her into an idol, draw in believers, and help her climb the Tower.... Anyone could see that this was not a class meant for climbing the Tower, but rather a noncombat profession intended to operate outside it.
But Wakamo had overcome that through violence... no, through effort, so how proud must the Tower have been?
Here, have an item for your idolhood.
Even the Tower had never told her to use it like this.
"Yes! Jackpot!! What was it again, 'Eolssigu'... uh... what was it?"
-How old is this person?
-Is it her age, or her era...?
-Is it for real that she only put together the content roughly and didn't even prepare her lines?
-Such an immediately relatable, high-quality low-budget broadcast....
-The five-star rate is 0.6%, so what are the odds of getting three in a row?
-Dunno? If we had the intelligence to know that, we wouldn't be playing this game.
-Why is this bastard watching a broadcast with that level of intelligence?
-Wow, I'm so jealous!!
"Three five-stars came out. Of course, none of them were what you wanted, but they came out anyway, right? You must have been lacking sincerity."
-If the Fox God gave you three five-stars and none of them came, it's definitely the believer's fault.
-You must not have put out fresh water and prayed hard every day.
-You're lacking sincerity! Sincerity!!!
-Please respect the customs of the Republic of Korea, where shamanistic worship has survived into the modern age.
-You probably didn't perform the ancestral rites properlyㅋㅋㅋ
After a believer asked for the busty character in a buruma outfit from the event in a mobile game called [Ppeudeo], Wakamo immediately made an incredible pull, getting three five-stars in a ten-pull. But the screen was packed with male characters instead of the one the believer wanted, and the believers burst out laughing.
"Aaaaaaah!!! My diamonds!!!!"
A desperate scream rang out through the Discord call. The believer begged, "Please, Fox God, just spin it one more time!!" but Wakamo quickly disconnected.
"All right, next is the believer who wants me to enhance some Star Force or whatever in [Maple Story] to twenty-four stars. What's the success rate?"
-One percentㅋㅋㅋ
-Wow, is that guy a fucking lunaticㅋㅋㅋ
-How much does that item cost for him to entrust it to her?
-Isn't it better than praying to God and enhancing it yourself?
-Wouldn't it be better if God enhanced it for you??
-I guess so?
"No, if it's genuinely an important game item, don't entrust it to the Fox God. Enhance it yourself, okay?"
Wakamo knew the game well because it was famous, so she replied with a stunned expression, but the believer prayed fervently, saying, "I believe only in the Fox God!!" Seeing that there was no chance of persuading the believer, the Fox God narrowed her eyes and autopsied the viewer.
While viewers excitedly fired off messages at Wakamo, who had opened her eyes halfway, she finished the autopsy and smiled brightly.
"Wow! This guy has been a devoted viewer since before I became a VTuber!! Well, if you saw me back then, I suppose you could make a bet on me."
-The legendary era of one-hundred-percent success with Bitcoin and stocks....
-If I'd had money to invest back then, I would have bought it with that moneyㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-They say he bought that with the money.
-Could you ask if he's a complete fucking lunatic?
-He's genuinely a madman who transcends common sense.
-Why would he bring something he bought with that money to the Fox God tooㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Wowㅋㅋㅋ I was going to ban him as a newcomer, but this is too funny.
If she destroyed an item this expensive, the believer might turn into an anti-fan. But Wakamo watched the ancient believer who had watched her since her clipper days raise his hands and chant, "I believe only in the Fox God!!" three times, so she had no choice but to go through with it.
"Gods of Heaven and Earth! Please bless this poor believer who has never dated and devoted his life to games!!!"
-Nothing but painfully accurate facts....
-If his life is this pitiful, even God would acknowledge him.
-God: What exactly does a male have to do to be unable to meet even a single woman?
-Who are the gods of Heaven and Earth the Fox God is praying to? Dangun?
-Maybe Dangun's fatherㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Is she gathering the gods of Korea, China, and Japan in one place?
-The scale is fucking enormousㅋㅋㅋ
-He didn't devote his life to games. His life is games!!!
Ding─!
"Huh? It worked?"
-?
-?
-?
-Fuck, Fox God, please, I'm a pitiful virgin too, show me mercy[You have been banned from chatting].
-Phew, I almost went off the rails after seeing that too....
-Three five-stars in a ten-pull is possible, so one percent is easyㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-The believer who worshiped the Fox God for five years has won.
"Wow, it really worked."
-Noㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why are you doubting herㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Our god is more capable than I thought(?)
-Wouldn't this be easier than asking her to make it rain?
-Easier than praying for victory in a war.
-They say human affairs are decided by Heaven, but this is just a game, so it isn't difficultㅋㅋㅋ
-Isn't she manipulating the odds???
-But doesn't this game have an enhancement-rate bug, so it isn't really one percent?
-Anyway, if it worked, that's one hundred percent, right?
-Enhancement either works or breaks, anywayㅋㅋㅋ
-All the crazy gambling addicts have gathered here.
Even Wakamo found it astonishing. Did she really possess divine power like this...? Something that raised her believers' luck...?
Then I should have used it on myself. What a waste.
For things like entering VTuber merchandise lotteries or booking concert tickets..... What a damn waste..... I shouldn't have used it on a believer....
-Why does the boss look like she ate something rotten?
"If I'd known it could be used for this, I would have done it myself.... Do you know how many concert tickets I couldn't get.... I can still see all the merchandise I missed...."
-If a believer and merchandise fell into a river, she'd save the merchandise first....
-Huh? Isn't merchandise more valuable than a believer?
-The merchandise won't unsubscribe from the bossㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Why are the two of them together in the first place? Believer, did you steal it?
-Maybe she threw the believer into the water so she could take it.
-She sacrificed a believer at Indangsu for the sake of the other believers....
-As long as it isn't meㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Even after that, the unbelievable streak of miraculous successes continued, and Wakamo herself was horrified by her absurd luck. But she shouldn't be thinking this while doing the content..... Isn't this a disaster?
She needed to fail occasionally, but wasn't she winning without ever knowing defeat?
"What a horrifyingly low probability.... The chance of getting the rate-up character in ten pulls is 6.7%, and the chance of getting the character the believer wants is 0.7%.... How vicious!!"
-"Fucking doomed 『Blue Envelope』"
-"Off-banner 『Pink Envelope』"
-"Pity 『Recruitment Points』"
-What the hell are you, baldy!!!
-You don't have to shout. He isn't giving it to you, Blue Archive player!!
-Can't you pull it....?
"I win."
-She declared victory the moment she started!!!
-Yes, the Fox God must be the strongest among us!!
-You're the challenger, Cheonggyecheon.
-The one who turned Korean Climbers upside down the moment she appeared....
-Japan's strongest shaman, Wakamo, is on her way!!
-It's hilarious that none of the comments above are wrong.
Ding─
-????
-No fucking way, she pulled this one too???
-That's a lie, right? That's a lie, right? That's a lie, right???
-How can she have never failed even once?????
-No, I'm watching it with my own eyes and I still can't understandㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Still, she's better than the guy who pulled five Tamamos and adopted them.
-He got five five-stars, so shouldn't he be happy...?
-Tamamo (bad performance).
-The mistake was asking the Fox God to play a game with Tamamoㅋㅋㅋ
-I shall bestow a fox upon you.
A cold sweat began to run down her back. Surely her luck wasn't this high...? Was the effect really powerful enough to make the success rate of a ritual this tangible? Wakamo danced as though she had truly been possessed by a spirit, shaking the bell with a jingle and waving the sword this way and that.
Why was it succeeding?! She was supposed to turn off the stream after one spectacular failure and run away~!
"All right, my believer. What do you want me to do? Open FIFA card packs? Ah, you want me to enhance the card."
"[Yes, please take good care of me, Wakamo. Sob.]"
"Well... if the success rate is thirty-eight percent...."
Crunch.
-Ah
-Ah
-Ah
Along with the stream's good momentum, Wakamo's mind had become warped enough for her to think that thirty-eight percent wasn't all that low(?) She pressed the enhancement button without much thought and had to watch the card shatter into pieces.
"No, can't you just start over...? Was it expensive...?"
-It's not that expensive. Maybe 120?
-Don't bullshit me, it's 10.
-Boss, this guy's crying.
-? Is he really crying?
[Sob sob sob...]
-Run, run.
-Should we start running soon?
-Let's get out of here, bossㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Should we have a crying contest?
-A woman's tears are stronger, you knowㅋㅋㅋ
Seeing the believer begin crying even more miserably, perhaps because the other believers were teasing him, Wakamo scratched her head with a troubled expression, thinking, This isn't how it was supposed to go. What was she supposed to do?
"You're not really crying, are you? No, you really are crying."
[N-No, I'm not crying....]
"Um... believer, stop crying. You've been watching the broadcast for a long time. I'll send you an autograph. Is that all right?"
[Really?]
-Why did this bastard's voice suddenly brighten?
-What? I can cry too.
-I can cry even more miserably!!!!!!
-Die, die, die, die.
-No, how did he squeeze tears out of this and walk away with an autograph??
-Why do you get one when none of us have? You get one? You get one?
-Uh-oh, these guys are turning evil....
It was as though he had never been on the verge of crying so bitterly. Comforting him by saying that men shouldn't cry over things like this did not work, but the moment she offered an autograph, his face blossomed with smiles and he kept repeating his thanks.
Meanwhile, a believer who had become the subject of ridicule appeared in the chat asking, "Could I trade him for five foxes?"
"All right, from now on, even if you cry, I won't do things like this anymore, okay, believers?"
-No, no, I want an autograph too.
-Waaaaaah.
-I can collapse on the floor and cry really miserably!!!!
-I can absolutely act out tears by remembering when I was bullied, damnㅋㅋ
-Dude.... Hang in there....
-We should give this guy one....
-That was the boss's first autograph!!!!
-Oh, really? Then shall we hang him?
-Anyone who bawls over a single game is too weak to be a believer!!!
"Good grief...."
Pressing a hand to her throbbing head, Wakamo soothed the believers by saying that the first part of today's broadcast was over. They calmed down quickly when she said she would climb the Tower in the second part, but she was deeply worried when she saw them swarm toward the believer who had been promised an autograph, like hyenas trying to tear him apart.
"A VTuber's autograph is something a fan would want...."
"I want one too, boss-nim."
"I'll give you as many as you want. First, I'll change the background settings... and carefully choose the background music... and before I go in, the potions Ichigo made for me.... Huh?"
Before climbing the Tower, Wakamo was preparing her consumables in case something troublesome happened, since the Incheon Tower was trying to kill her.
She could open [My Worlds] anywhere, making it as useful as an [Inventory]. She could put potions in the refrigerator, enter the Tower, and take them out when needed, but that would be awkward for the broadcast, so she stored them separately inside her body.
While checking everything, she saw an unfamiliar exclamation mark. When she pressed it, a Skill window suddenly blocked Wakamo's view.
Class-Specific Skill 【Broadcast Points】
-The points accumulated from broadcasting can be used to bestow blessings upon believers.
Current Points: -17
[There are no available blessings]
"......?"
Negative...?
Where had all the more than 500 points she had diligently accumulated through broadcasting gone...?
Uh, Tower...? Something's wrong...? Was using blessings on believers' gacha pulls being paid for with my points? No wonder they succeeded so easily.
No, but I could use them like that...? It says there are no available blessings????
What was this hidden second Skill of 【Broadcast Points】 that even Wakamo herself didn't know about?
Was it providing her with something she could bestow upon believers because she was an idol...?
A strange chill seemed to creep over her.
It was a cold sensation, as though warning her, You absolutely need to check this before entering the Tower.
"Hey, Manager. Can you really support 『anything』?"
"[.....What are you planning to ask for?]"
※※※
"Ohayō gozaimasu, everyone. I'm Wakamo Inarizushi."
-Welcome to the second part of the broadcast.
-Looking for the guy who bawled his eyes out.
-Is it for real that he immediately changed his nickname and ran away?
-Did this bastard quit the game after trading it for the boss's autograph????
-I would quit tooㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-If it's the Fox God's autograph, how much is the relic worth, for fuck's sake?
The enraged believers were still searching for the one who had received Wakamo's autograph.
Wakamo prayed that he would survive on his own and, without showing her concern on her face, checked the information on Floor 18.
Unlike any monster she had seen so far, a gigantic mountain of steel stood there staring blankly at Wakamo.
It was far away, but its astonishing scale was comparable to a three-story building.
Wakamo broke into a cold sweat inside when the so-called [Golem] appeared, realizing that things had gone terribly wrong. This was a complete disaster. Poison, fire, and ice probably wouldn't work.
Still, not every golem was immune to Mana...!!
[You are climbing the Incheon Tower Floor 18 World]
-[Wakamo Inarizushi]'s difficulty increases according to the Climber's achievements!
-Defeat the [Elite Monster]!
-Defeat the [Mana-Immune Hardsteel Golem].
[Platinum Achievement Conditions]
-Do not use any [Skills] against the [Mana-Immune Hardsteel Golem] (0/1)
-Block the [Mana-Immune Hardsteel Golem]'s attack (0/1)
-Destroy the [Mana-Immune Hardsteel Golem]'s weak point [Core] (0/1)
-Defeat the [Mana-Immune Hardsteel Golem] (0/1)
I'm fucked!
Still holding on to the faint hope that it was too soon to know for sure, Wakamo leaped forward and kicked the golem with all her strength.
Ten-thousand-Mana roundhouse kick!!
"....."
She kicked with all her might, but there was no sound. The part of her foot that touched the golem simply slid off with a squeak.
-....?
-Why isn't it taking damage?
-Is it immune to physical attacks too?ㅋㅋㅋ
-Ahㅋㅋㅋ Is the boss's sorcery (physical) not working on it?!
-The Tower's monsters are too strong....!!
-It's only Floor 18. Is she really going to lose???
And the viewers who completely misunderstood Wakamo were not worried at all.
No, this is such an obvious counterpick!
Is this right?!
Wakamo caught and stopped the steel fist flying at her with one hand, but she had no way to deal damage to it.
Everything she had displayed in Japan had been an attack produced by Wakamo's massive Mana.
If Mana itself was ineffective, the only remaining method was to beat it physically.
Wakamo's body was Mana!!
'It's only Floor 18. Why is it only me...!'
Could it be that even the Tower had mistaken her for the Fox God?!
"Ahh─ honestly.... I wasn't planning to use this here!!!"
When Wakamo set down a bag that was so large it made her enormous height seem small, it landed with a boom─and a cloud of dust billowed up.
It was a bag that clearly appeared to weigh a considerable amount. Some believers were questioning the design of the bag, which they had never seen before.
Among them, some Climbers....
Recognizing what it was, they typed in the chat, Boss, no way? But it finally revealed itself.
Everyone in the Tower had thought of it, but they couldn't use it, so they never did!!