Chapter 39
[Author: Renard]
[Title: Summary of the Hajime Membership Stream]
They enter the Geumcheon-gu contaminated zone as soon as the stream begins.
There are four companions, presumably viewers participating(?) in the stream.
They show themselves fighting with movements like extremely well-trained agents.
In the midst of it all, Hajime Ichigo supports them and gives orders while diligently throwing potion bottles.
Wakamo blocks attacks with her shield and knocks enemies away with her hammer.
Is this membership content...? I was ignorant about VTubers!!
I thought it was only bikinis, ASMR, adult streams, concerts, and the like!
I never knew membership content like this existed!!!
-There isn't a viewer-participation premium stream like this anywhere.
-Some viewer-participation streams can only happen once in the world.
-Wow, the graphics are incredibly realistic.
-They said South Korea was a gaming powerhouse, but when did they make a new game like this...?
ㄴSo when is this coming out?
ㄴI think you're already playing it.
ㄴThis character is trash. Start over and raise them again!!
-The players are unbelievably relatable.
ㄴDid they bring a few gallery users along?
ㄴSpecial-forces gallery users? That sounds rather confusing.
-An open world with Climbers, soldiers, and all sorts of professions. What do we do?
ㄴFirst, enlist in the military.
ㄴAhㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-The concepts of the people participating are fun... They are concepts, right...?
[Author: Beoyuksu]
[Title: So You're Calling This a VTuber Stream?]
No, even if I cover my eyes and ears, this isn't a VTuber stream!!
No matter how I look at it, they're filming a movie in real life!
A VTuber with a survival-expert concept is carrying out an operation to reclaim Seoul!
(An animated clip of the agents having an elegant tea party)
Huh? Is it not?
(An animated clip of Hajime Ichigo eating snacks from an agent like a hamster)
Now that I look again, I think this really is a VTuber stream.
Her puffed-cheek quality is insane... Ehehe....
-I think this guy's brain has melted. What should we do?
-Isn't it crazy how the host's chest is pushed up by the ammunition pouch?
-A natural bulletproof vest that makes body armor unnecessary....
ㄴThere really is elasticity that bullets can't pierce.
ㄴPlease let me bury my face in them and die just once.
-Ahㅋㅋㅋ The lines are gems too, but what the hell happened to the mood when they entered the base?
-Is this seriously not a video made by a 3D CG team...?
ㄴEven if it is, that doesn't matter to us, right?
ㄴWe're never going to meet the host anyway, so it's a VTuber stream.
[『Battlefield: Seoul Reclamation』Chapter 1], a premium stream available only to Hajime Ichigo's subscribers, naturally became a huge sensation.
No one had even the slightest idea what it was, but the friends in Ichigo's fandom who had been chatting while waiting for the video to begin soon cheered when they saw the length of the video that was revealed.
Many subscribers were disappointed that it was a recorded video, but when the video began with Ichigo receiving a briefing from her manager with a serious expression, they could only marvel at the navigation route displayed on-screen.
Wakamo was also a government-supported VTuber and the most successful Climber in Korea, earning an enormous amount of money.
Some viewers watched in anticipation, marveling at how much money had been invested in this massive project and wondering how it would proceed, but they soon began to grow suspicious.
Some of the friends began to wonder, Is this actually real life...?
-No matter how I look at it, this looks like the real Seoul...?
-Even if the 3D CG is good, can they really recreate it to this extent..?
-The backlighting is amazingㅋㅋㅋ
-No, the way they deliver their lines and immediately take their positions feels so professional... doesn't it?
Since Wakamo always pursued VTuber streams overflowing with realism, they were reluctant to believe it, but it looked like they were genuinely entering Seoul.
They formed a collective stream of chatter, making silly conversation like players who had gathered to play an FPS game. Strange usernames floated above their heads, making it difficult for the viewers to concentrate. If these people were really entering to reclaim Seoul, they were risking their lives!!
The reactions were half worried and half excited.
Some viewers argued that Wakamo Inarizushi wouldn't have planned content without thinking it through, and that they had heard a company had brought this project to her. In the meantime, they wondered how someone could have a username like Gaejugi, and how a unicorn bastard could possibly be in a collaboration, among other things.
-What kind of VTuber does a membership stream with viewer participation?
-A VTuber stream where the participants risk their lives.
-"I came as the representative of the unicorns to protect the virgin."
-At this point, his horn must be made of mithril... I guess unicorns carry guns these days.
-Then what's Shikopi? Is he the host's acquaintance? Fuckㅋㅋㅋ
-I think there's a representative of the Geun-cheop faction here too.
-Look at the nun's insignia on his backㅋㅋㅋ
-The unicorn has Pia-chan emblazoned on his chest.
-Gorani... You were alive!!
They chatted among themselves while typing in the chat, but their eyes remained fixed on the screen.
Ichigo's screen displayed a danger level showing that the former capital of Korea had been severely eroded and contaminated beyond recognition. On the radar-like map visible only to her, red dots began approaching one by one.
Ichigo tore out the earphones plugged into her ears, raised her gun high into the sky, and fired.
A flare lit up the dark sky.
Then monsters poured down from the tops of buildings. Monsters burst out of alleys. Even monsters sprang out as sewer covers shot into the air.
The viewers were horrified by the horde of monsters of every variety, then recoiled again when they saw that the monsters ignored one another and charged only at the humans to kill them.
-Holy fuck!!!
-What the hell is all this???
-This is why nobody goes into Seoul.
-No, is this really okay?
-There are goblins, orcs, and so many other things that I can't even tell what I'm looking at.
-What are those dwarf bastards carrying tools?
The drone rose high into the air while keeping its view fixed from above, and the viewers stopped even typing in the chat at the spectacular sight of a massive army of monsters approaching from every direction.
It begins.
The agents unleash all the ammunition they have at the wave of monsters.
Protected by the four agents, Ichigo throws a potion bottle to create a gigantic wall of ice, then flings the potion bottles hanging from her waist one after another like a circus performer throwing knives.
The colorful potion bottles fly through the air and shatter, causing the monsters to melt, freeze, and burn.
With one hand gripping a pistol, she leaps high every time she fires, and the monsters charging at her crumple in midair.
-Wow!!!
-No, what was that, a car?
-The impact is insane, seriously.
Following the light showing them the way, the FOX Team runs with monsters in pursuit.
Wakamo kicks the car blocking the subway entrance with all her strength and sends it flying into the sky. Then, with a single swing of her hammer, she sends a charging monster flying like a cannonball, shattering the formation. The viewers cheer at her monstrous strength.
As soon as they enter below, the screen darkens like a horror game.
Following the agents as they illuminate their surroundings by switching on the lights attached to their equipment and guns, Wakamo creates a light source while the agents toss out their lines.
-There is seriously zero tension....
-That's because this is VTuber "content."
-It is absolutely not reality, everyone, understood?
-I guess it's hard to make a living as an apocalypse survival show professional....
The agents' casual attitudes briefly dispel the tension as well.
In an instant, Agent Gaejugi is wrapped in vines, abducted upward, and disappears. Even though it was obviously a monster killing him, the viewers were left dumbfounded when Agent Ruri shouted, "It was a natural death!!" Some of them lost their ability to speak after the shock, while others made comments that crossed the line and were banned from the chat.
"Breath attack!! Get out of the way!!!"
It was a desperate situation in which even Agent Ruri, who frantically warned the group and then fled somewhere else alone, abandoned them.
Following the route guiding them toward the door into the base, the four remaining members of the FOX Team sprinted forward with all their strength.
Wakamo held back a giant monster charging at them with the corpse of an undergrounder hanging from its shield, as well as the horde of monsters, using only her body to buy time. The agents fired a barrage of bullets to escort her so she could rejoin them.
At last, Wakamo fell back and entered through the door. As it slammed shut, the words [Chapter 1 Clear!] appeared on-screen.
-Did two people die...?
-Um... That was just staging, right...?
-That was the first time I've ever seen someone die....
The viewers were so shocked by the vivid sight of one agent still being dragged away by vines and another fleeing into the darkness from the monsters that they were carefully censoring their words.
"Yo."
"Welcome back, leader."
The two agents everyone had thought were dead were sitting at a tea table, waiting for her. They greeted her, saying she was late.
"Drop dead, troll!!"
Upon seeing that, the unicorn ran over and kicked Ruri, who was drinking tea.
Gaejugi, who had given them an awkward greeting, offered them tea, asking if they wanted some black tea.
Wakamo complained and chatted with Shikopi about small-time VTubers.
A scene passed by of Ichigo being fed snacks by an agent until her cheeks puffed out.
Afterward, they completely changed their weapons and equipment with a suspicious merchant in a robe, then rummaged through crates like in a game until their supplies automatically filled up.
"Let's go, my friends!!"
As Ichigo gave the signal to sortie, the screen changed. Beyond the shattered door, the FOX Team raised their respective weapons and entered the darkness filled only with silence.
They walked along tracks whose destination was unknown and disappeared.
-Fuck, this is insane, insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Landladyㅋㅋㅋ This is domestically produced!!!
-This is a VTuber stream. Even our rabbit acknowledged it.
-I can't tell whether it's CG or real, fuck....
-The agents' every single line completely destroys the moodㅋㅋㅋ
-Even so, the host said she didn't want to hear the truth about reincarnation....
-I'm living well while doing ASMR....
-It isn't reincarnation. It's "Nice to meet you," right?
Naturally, the community became blazing hot. The friends who had subscribed late after joining Hajime Ichigo's membership wandered endlessly through the community, asking when Chapter 2 would be released, sharing and resharing their excitement and dopamine rush with others.
Of course, the rules only allowed animated clips, which cut the realistic gunfire and the special agents' one-man-army action down by half. Precisely because of that, viewers gathered to experience it properly.
To watch the first massive project released by 『Wakamo Corporation』!
※※※
"The planning ends here. Some people will actually die, but—Yu Ying, I want you to understand that. Keep it a secret from Wakamo, okay?"
While climbing the Tower and helping the manager with various things, Yu Ying heard about the sudden content project.
Yu Ying knew what kind of damage China had suffered from the Tower's collapse and how difficult life was for the people hiding there. She understood the desire to reclaim that land. But to do it as a VTuber stream....
She could also sympathize with the idea that it fit the concept of an apocalypse survival expert.
She had a lot to worry about.
There were the friends who liked her and praised her for studying hard, and Wakamo, who cared for and looked after her like a real mother.
Yu Ying did not want the country where they lived to become like the great catastrophe in China that she had experienced.
She wanted to raise Wakamo to a position where no one in Korea could touch her. Wakamo would do everything on her own even without her help, but Yu Ying did not want to only receive from her.
She had received the Climbing Association's support up to Floor 25 and steadily climbed whenever she had time, investing without restraint the money she earned from streaming.
[Status Window]
[Climber: Yu Ying]
[Class: Low Alchemist]
[Age: 17]
[Stats]
Health: 100
Mana: 50
Strength: 10
Agility: 47
Vitality: 10
Intelligence: 32
Wisdom: 5
Charm: 1
Her stats had increased beyond comparison to before.
Her Agility alone had increased by thirty.
In her opinion, what an [Alchemist] needed was 『mobility』.
She had also learned four Skills: [Lethal Transmutation], [Poison Resistance], [Human Body Researcher], and [Alchemy—Metal Transmutation]. She also possessed the [Transmutation Refinement Gloves] she had obtained from the Tower.
"D-don't worry, Yu Ying is here... The content will... go well."
Wakamo did not like seeing people die.
Wakamo was a kind person.
She would not want a companion traveling with her to die, even by accident.
If someone died simply because it was VTuber stream content, it would hurt her more than anything.
Yu Ying did not know much about VTubers, but Wakamo was happy when they watched streams together and talked cheerfully, so Yu Ying was happy too.
Kill them all.
All she had to do was shoot every threat before it could approach.
Recalling her conversation with the manager, Ichigo raised her gun.
As they rose toward the surface with lights illuminating the darkness, monsters appeared before them.
Wakamo held her shield forward and took the incoming ranged fire with her body alone. An agent changed weapons and shot down the incoming magic with a grenade, while the other agents poured out bullets to escort them.
And then a gigantic rhino charged forward, taking every one of those bullets.
Ichigo accurately threw a [Potion of Decay] between Wakamo's legs, slid along the ground, and slipped beneath the shield.
Unlike the agents calmly providing covering fire, Wakamo panicked and tried to throw her hammer—when a booming explosion severed the rhino's legs and sent it crashing down.
The explosion struck the rhino's legs, already melted by decay, severing its front legs and turning it into a meat shield protecting the FOX Team. When Ichigo threw a [Potion of Corrosive Gas] to the other side of the rhino, yellow smoke rose and a pungent smell spread.
The [Alchemist] was a class with overwhelmingly superior battlefield control compared to other classes.
"Run!"
"Now it's time to show off our amazing pas de deux."
Ichigo froze the road with a [Rapid Freeze Potion] and slid across it, prompting the agents to leap onto it as well. The sight of them descending along the road, where the friction seemed to have nearly disappeared, each striking an elegant pose, looked like something from a B-grade comedy movie.
"Pirouette~"
"Grand jeté~"
Three of the agents were skilled enough to perform acrobatics, while for some reason the remaining agent had become a human sled.
"I can't use the prostate brake!"
"What's that supposed to be?!"
Ichigo, who had somehow climbed onto the agent, asked, but he could not answer. The other agents said nothing and struck the unicorn with their rifle stocks. Meanwhile, Wakamo realized the fatal flaw that her geospatial coordinate system kept her from slipping, leaving her to run a sad marathon alone.
"Don't leave me behind!!!"
"When there are five people on your team, one of them is bound to be trash."
"It was nice meeting you."
"Get off our ship."
"This is a matter of taking responsibility because Wakamo-san is heavy, so none of this is the FOX Team's fault. Understood?"
"No, how much time have you people spent on community forums!!!"
"Boss!!"
Seeing the group grow farther away, Wakamo cried out in sorrow. Ichigo called to her, then threw a bottle that rolled along the ground at her feet.
The [Spasmodic Excitement Potion] shattered and a cloud of red smoke exploded outward. The pursuing monsters fell into a state of [Confusion], attacking and biting one another.
"Amaaaazing!! An orc, a dwarf, and a Taurus! She's dragging them along and still charging without stopping, Wakamo Inarizushi!"
"Incredible explosive power! Incredible tenacity! She's a veritable locomotive!"
The agents teased and mocked her relentlessly, but their accuracy while firing in their sliding positions was astonishing.
They shot down only the monsters clinging to Wakamo, without hitting her even once.
Then Ichigo blasted the head off a stealth monster that lunged at those agents.
Without even reloading, she drew two pistols from her waist and fired wildly, making the hidden monsters reveal themselves as blood sprayed through the air before they crumpled.
"Hajime Ichigo! We're not far from the operation area! The shortest route is to go around─"
"No─too far."
There were too many invisible stealth monsters in the area to take the shortest route around. And what about the large monsters, nearly the size of cars, including the flying monsters beginning to fill the sky?
"Boss!"
The order was brief.
The instant she finished speaking, three agents fired grenades with perfect precision, sending a car flying forward. The agent who had been Ichigo's sled also easily let her ride on his shoulders, rose from a seated position, and began firing.
Whoosh─!!
A truck was thrown over their heads.
Wakamo had somehow overtaken them by throwing a truck, climbing onto it, and flying forward. She lowered her stance, clasped both hands together, and held them out.
"Can you do it?!"
"Of course. I'm a professional."
The unicorn agent easily lifted Ichigo, who was riding on his shoulders, and threw her with all his strength. Wakamo caught the pass with one hand, then immediately threw Ichigo backward with all her strength. Spinning through the air, Ichigo threw a [Rapid Metal Transformation Potion].
The potion, which transformed metal-based materials, touched the car and immediately sprouted into the shape of [Spikes]. Wakamo caught them on her back, stopped the four sliding agents, and then threw them into the air one by one just as she had Ichigo.
The agents all immediately pulled [Featherfall Potions] from their waists. They smashed the government-issued potions against their helmets, slowing their descent.
Ichigo scattered [Blind Moth Poison Powder] at the flying monsters charging after them. The monsters flew normally until they fell into the [Blindness] state, then became tangled with one another and crashed. To keep them from pursuing, Ichigo even used [Magma Fire Powder], recklessly pouring out the expensive consumables she had bought.
The bullets they fired while drifting through the air pierced every monster.
Using the [Transmutation Refinement Gloves] on her hands, she grabbed the steel spikes she had created and used [Alchemy—Metal Transmutation] to create footholds.
Finally, they created stone with a [Concrete Expansion Potion], then rolled across it as they landed.
The monsters touched by the [Magma Fire Powder] transformed into lava flames and fell while burning. The [Molten Lava Potion] thrown at them transformed the ground completely into lava, melting the pursuing monsters as they let out screams of agony.
"Ko ko ko!!"
The agents escorted Ichigo while pointing in a direction with only their fingers, knocking down every monster charging at them.
"Kieeeek!!"
Ichigo also blasted the head of a monster that burst through the wall on the opposite side. She fell onto a car after stepping on the headless body. They broke through via the shortest route, leaping over the buildings!! The agents followed Ichigo and jumped while the potion effects lasted.
"[Target confirmed! It's a 『King Triple Head Ogre』!! Each of its three heads can use magic, and the Triple Head is three times stronger than a normal ogre. It's an elite boss, so it can destroy buildings with ease. Please be careful!]"
The King Triple Head Ogre, lying on the ruins of a collapsed tower as its bed, smelled humans, opened its eyes, and rose.
Sizzle─
Ichigo lit a fuse and threw a stick of dynamite. The burning dynamite flew in a parabola with a firework-like whoosh, exploding on the ogre's face without dealing any damage. However, the various powders attached to the dynamite did have an effect.
The King Triple Head Ogre inhaled them without knowing what they were. Fire burst from its mouth, its tongue froze, and it went blind as it let out an enraged roar.
"Not as good as Wakamo's singing streams, though?"
"Seems bearable?"
"Unfortunately, we won't be able to have you join us!!"
"Our boss sings really well──!!"
""""Yeeep!""""
The agents responded like soldiers to the furious leader's clearly enunciated shout. Since Ichigo did not flee, they also refused to retreat even as the ogre charged them, pouring out bullets. Even grenade rounds dealt no damage at all. Their weapons were small, of course—but the ogre was a high-floor boss monster, so that was only natural.
"Uoooooh!!!"
Whoosh─!
Just as it roared furiously and tried to smash down a fragment of the Tower, an explosion struck the ogre's head.
"You knew how to use a rocket launcher?"
"I read the manual."
Wakamo burst through a building wall, threw away the rocket launcher, and kicked a supply crate that had appeared from who knew where.
Everything from man-sized machine guns to rocket launchers came out.
But even more overwhelming than those was a missile.
Wakamo held an object that made every viewer want to shout, Where the hell did she get that?! and simply threw it with brute force, striking the King Triple Head Ogre.
Even after being hit, the tough ogre took another step through the clearing smoke. But the melting ground gave way up to its knees, slamming the King Triple Head Ogre into the earth, and lightning burst from its mouth.
Wakamo caught the lightning fired with a blinding flash on a solid-steel shield made from an Elite Hardsteel Golem.
The ogre's flaming breath and Mana breath from another mouth poured toward the red-hot steel shield with enough force to melt it completely.
Bang─!!
Amid the ringing gunshot, the ogre clutched its head in pain after the sniper rifle in Ichigo's hands crushed one of its eyes.
It threw the Tower fragment in its other hand, but Wakamo caught it in midair as it flew toward her and instead lifted it overhead─
"One-million-ton smash!!!!"
The superhuman strike swung a small building, cleanly removing all three heads at their necks. The ogre writhed and vomited blood. The agents and Ichigo were horrified that it still had not died even in that state.
Wakamo, hovering above the ogre, slammed down onto it.
The road sank into the earth, and buildings fell as though being sucked downward.
With all three heads completely crushed, the ogre fell silent without even being able to groan.
Wakamo tossed her hair far back as she raised her head and struck a pose.
"What a magnificent view."
She looked down at the cityscape from atop the ogre's body.
Wakamo gazed in admiration at the lines of monsters pouring in from all across Gwanak-gu like swarms of ants.
The agents standing as though guarding Ichigo also remained silent.
How much time passed like that?
[A 50-floor Tower has appeared in Seoul's Gwanak-gu!]
With the familiar alarm, a Tower rose once more where the collapsed Tower had stood.
The darkness in the sky began to clear. Along with the light emitted by the Tower, the monsters charging at them became transparent like mirages and disappeared. Even the ogre beneath Wakamo vanished, leaving only the sight of the devastated city.
Perhaps because the sun was shining warmly, the atmosphere felt very different.
From Geumcheon-gu to Gwanak-gu.
"This is Hajime Ichigo. Mission clea'!"
"[As expected of professionals, FOX Team. Good work. Prepare to return.]"
A helicopter flew over their heads.
The FOX Team clung to the descending rope ladder and rose into the sky.
Then the staff roll appeared against the backdrop of that scene.
Beginning with the 3D CG team, the filming crew, lighting team, lighting crane, and CAST list, followed by the art team, props team, costume team, and music director—the names of so many people passed by that it looked like a receipt. At the end, the code names of the four agents and Wakamo Inarizushi appeared, and the screen briefly darkened.
The name of the apocalypse survival expert Hajime Ichigo appeared in large letters.
Along with the words Survival Successful!
[『Battlefield: Seoul Reclamation』Mission Clear] appeared, and the screen brightened.
Wakamo and Ichigo were shown tearing into shawarma, exhausted after fighting an entire war.
Then an agent with a unicorn insignia emblazoned on his chest burst through the door.
"Hey, you ready, cowboy?"
"It's finally come...."
[To Be Continued].
A teaser video for the next installment played as well, and the short but impactful movie, totaling an hour and a half across the two chapters, came to a clean end. The viewers who had clapped without realizing it soon smacked their foreheads upon remembering that this was not a movie released in Korea, but a VTuber membership stream.
Did they really mobilize this much manpower and film it? Was this truly a massive VTuber project? Had the government really invested so boldly?
As viewers checked the staff roll again and noticed a few people who looked familiar, they tried to dispel their doubts by telling themselves that surely they hadn't really [reclaimed Seoul].
"[With the help of a mysterious Climber, we succeeded in reclaiming part of Seoul. We received the President's support, and──]"
An emergency news broadcast announced that the collapse of the Gimpo Tower had been brought under control in real time, along with the reclamation of Geumcheon-gu and Gwanak-gu. It said that Seoul, which had merely been abandoned for ten years, had been reclaimed and its Tower restored.
Thanks to that, reporters excitedly fired all sorts of questions at the Association chairman, asking, Who is this mysterious Climber?! But he only gave a meaningful smile.
"[Surely only our esteemed President knows. We are simply delighted that the first step in the operation to reclaim Seoul has succeeded.]"
The Association chairman brazenly lied without even wetting his lips. The viewers quietly returned to the beginning of the video. They had plenty they wanted to say as they watched Ichigo enter Seoul through Geumcheon-gu, but everyone laughed when the chairman said that the Climber's identity was a state secret.
※※※
[Author: Anonymous]
[Title: Who Is the Mysterious Climber?]
Who was the Climber who broke through Geumcheon-gu and defeated the boss of the collapsed Tower in Gwanak-gu?
Is there a Climber who could defeat a King Triple Head Ogre?
Could anyone break through a place filled with monsters because of its high contamination level?
Who did it when even carpet bombing by fighter jets had failed to produce an answer, forcing them to give up?
(A photograph of the Taegeukgi donated to a museum)
Ah... Secret agent... Captain Korea... Hawk China... Is that you...?
-An unnervingly realistic reality online.
-A game affecting reality...! How fantastical~
-We do live in a fantasy worldㅋㅋㅋ
-State secret (you die if you talk about it).
ㄴIs this that Voldemort thing?
ㄴThe one whose name cannot be spoken.
-Why watch superhero movies in theaters? You can watch membership streams instead.
-If you don't want to take a "One-million-ton smash," you better mind your mannersㅋㅋ
-I saw the survival expert's abilities... and I saw them clearly....
-So when is the sequel coming out?
-Her eating shawarma is totally an AvengXrs parodyㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Where on earth did they find all these hilarious people...
[Author: I Like Gyeongdae Sword]
[Title: We Should Worship Them, Right?]
(An animated clip of the agents having tea)
(An animated clip of one of them delivering a flying kick after being greeted)
(An animated clip of them abandoning Wakamo)
(An animated clip of the agents dancing elegantly on the ice)
(An animated clip of the agents standing guard while escorting Ichigo)
We worship you, G.O.A.T.....
The people who lighten a mood that ought to be heavy...
The people who seem like they would be here because they spend way too much time in the community....
The supporting actors who faithfully elevate the protagonists...
Professionals who can even turn the host into a laughingstock.
There is a hilarious kind of moving charm beyond the tactical.
-They really don't give you a chance to take it seriously.
-I guess they can't stand it unless they throw out a gag line.
-What was with them abandoning Wakamo halfway throughㅋㅋㅋ
-She was too heavy. It couldn't be helped....
-Even the muscles that throw missiles can't do anything about an ice rink.
-Poor host, she couldn't even ride the sled....
-More importantly, wasn't the guy who sledded Ichigo rewarded???
ㄴBro... Hold it in...
ㄴI know you're jealous... but where did that unicorn bastard hide...?
ㄴ(An animated clip of a unicorn getting excited while looking at a virgin).
Thanks to the successful reclamation of Seoul, South Korea was in a more festive mood than ever before. It was already impossible to contain their joy at having twenty fully conquered floors, but now they had reclaimed at least part of Seoul's territory as well. How could they not be delighted?
The President could do nothing but suppress his anger at how quickly everything had been handled, without even having time to say it was not his doing.
Wakamo had even donated a Taegeukgi from the era of the independence movement to a museum, leaving no angle from which to attack her.
The only thing they could think of was to argue that she had manipulated things by saying, "Maybe she obtained a 『Relic』 item by conquering the fully cleared floors!!" But the Tower gave items suited to a [Class]. A [Relic] was closer to something given to a high-floor Climber when there was truly nothing else the Tower could give them, adjusted to resemble something as closely as possible.
To put it bluntly, for Climbers they belonged to the worst category of dud items.
So naturally, many people tended to think that Wakamo's belongings had been turned into items by the Tower. There were also people whose personal belongings had been recognized by the Tower and transformed into items.
Among them, if one had to choose a representative example, it would probably be the vehicles favored by the [Driver].
The worst case was probably the [Collector]. Many of the 『Relics』 he had collected possessed vicious abilities.
If Wakamo knew about it, she would be on the verge of demanding, Why does that bastard get such good stuff? Is this class discrimination?
Even when something was called 『Relic-grade』, its performance varied wildly, truly like a rubber band.
"You are truly magnificent, Mr. President."
The Association chairman provided no information about the unidentified agents or the unidentified Climber who had conquered Seoul. They claimed that they themselves did not know either—but when a lawmaker cited the VTuber video as evidence, Department Head Won Da-hye mocked him, retorting that it had all been filmed.
It was a massive project filmed without using taxpayer money, using Wakamo's accumulated wealth and the resources obtained from the floors.
Her remarks indirectly pressured them to look forward to the next membership stream. Both the lawmaker and the President's expressions darkened, but they were the ones who had picked the fight.
"──So, Manager Won Da-hye, what is the plan for the next stream?"
After seeing their expressions after taking that blow, the Association chairman laughed with satisfaction and asked her.
At that question, she scratched her head for a moment and timidly said that she was not sure it would work out.
"Since we're a corporate agency, hiring a new VTuber is the obvious thing to do... but I'm not sure it will work."
Wakamo kicked out everyone and all the supplies that had been moved in under the pretext of cleaning the room, then holed herself up.
She sent word that she was troubled and wanted to focus diligently on VTuber streams(?) for a while.
An overwhelmingly powerful superhuman inevitably becomes entangled in complicated matters, whether she wants to or not.
The membership stream had succeeded, and they had seized the upper hand politically, but perhaps she and Wakamo had grown more distant....
It was a considerable loss, but it could not be helped.
"So why are you being so cautious?"
"I think we need to announce that we've recruited an additional new member...."
The daughter of the King of Fists, sent directly by the chairman of the Japanese Association, had now come to Korea and was waiting to meet Wakamo. Even after being told that she would have to become a VTuber to work with Wakamo, she was so enthusiastic that her eyes shone as she said she would do it.
"She'll definitely be upset that we went ahead without her, won't she...?"
Feeling depressed at the thought that she would have to take the blame, Manager Won Da-hye announced the debut of a new VTuber through the 『Wakamo Corporation』 account.
─The addition of a naval-themed VTuber named 『Mare Pirate』.
As soon as Wakamo heard the news, she burst out of her room.
She had only holed herself up to catch up on the VTuber streams she had missed during filming.
"I've got to clip the new VTuber──!!!"
The manager smacked her forehead in another sense as she watched Wakamo charge over on all fours, unable to resist a VTuber debut announcement.