Chapter 44
All sorts of clips poured into the community.
There were clips of Mare Pirate demonstrating the pinnacle of bug-eating, and clips of Hajime Ichigo showing off her astonishing FPS skills.
Once something started trending in the community, viewers kept spreading the news, so becoming famous was a matter of a single moment.
But among them all, the hottest VTuber right now was, without a doubt, Wakamo.
Honestly, she was closer to a mutant than a VTuber.
She monopolized oil-grade resources to the point that she could practically be called an oil-producing nation by herself, running an outrageously shameless(?) business.
A vivid scene of violence that could not be seen anywhere else.
The advantage of being able to see firsthand what Climbers fought against inside the Tower.
And, of course─even people who flocked there because they wanted to see Wakamo Inarizushi herself.
Wakamo's audience was becoming a mixture of people in every sense of the word.
Wakamo targeted that influx by tirelessly promoting her other VTubers, telling viewers to watch them too, and spreading even minor news, such as the Queen being listed on the wiki. But aside from the VTubers who had already been famous, the views on Wakamo's clip videos were lukewarm.
Still, she was simply happy that their numbers had increased even a little.
[One-Punch Man VTuber], [The Strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer Appears], [Wagolass Descends], and so on─even just opening the community brought up posts related to Wakamo everywhere. And whenever they opened YouTube, there were other clippers taking clips or people arbitrarily turning them into Shorts.
The clips were even spreading overseas, so the time had finally come for Wakamo's subscriber count to start rising rapidly.
She still was not popular enough to shoot upward like a rocket, but her numbers were climbing after passing through a stagnant period.
And finally.
Climbers had been waiting for a long time, and thanks to Wakamo's promotion, the day her believers, friends, and sailors had eagerly awaited had arrived.
The 『Incheon Tower Trio Climbing Collab Stream』 was here!!
※※※
"Chiwa-su! I'm Wakamo Inarizushi, the president of Wakamo Corporation~"
"Shabaiba ppro shenjogya, I'm Hajime Ichigo!"
"Recruit, if you've entered our stream, abandon all hope of leaving."
"Where did the self-introduction go? Are you going to sue me for not provoking you again?"
"I do have an appealing charm like fragrant sesame oil!! I'm Mare Pirate! What a great tsukkomi!"
"It's not tsukkomi!!!"
"Why, it's only this much─"
-The host hurriedly grabs Pirate by the wrist.
-There are things you must never do in Korea.
-The mercenary problem has surpassed even the owner risk ㄷㄷ....
-Come to think of it, Ichigo is really tiny when they're all together.
-Pirate's proportions are the weird ones, if anything.
-More importantly, the host is so huge that we can only see her stomach. Is that right?ㅋㅋㅋ
Before they even began, messages were already filling the chat, apparently amazed that all three Climbers had gathered together.
In the meantime, a few clueless viewers asked why Pirate looked exactly like her model, violating a taboo and getting kicked out.
Even if Wakamo and Ichigo could simply be said to have been modeled after themselves, could Pirate, who always wore such a stupid expression, really look like this in person?
In the middle of all that, Wakamo caught Pirate putting her finger in her mouth and chewing on it, pulled it out, and wiped it with a handkerchief.
Seeing this, Ichigo stealthily tried to put her own finger in her mouth, then flinched.
-Upvote if Ichigo is cute for trying anything to get Mom's love.
-For realㅋㅋㅋ You can totally tell she wants attention.
-Doesn't Mom give her milk after the stream? Doesn't she hug her and sleep with her?
-The reason Ichigo gets lonely is mostly her mother's fault.
-Wouldn't she benefit from a consultation with Dr. Oh Eun-young?
-But shouldn't we call Animal Farm for the host?
-What if they release them into the wild after saying, 'They need to learn to survive out there'?
-That's so damn convincing that I can't even argueㅋㅋㅋㅋ
"All right─!! Sailors! You can call today my fourth debut stream! Great!! I'll show you the skills of this Pirate! Then I'll earn recognition, learn jujutsu from Captain Wakamo, and become the strongest in Japan!!"
-Uddya uddatta.
-If you're becoming the strongest in Japan, doesn't that mean you'll be Fist Kingㅋㅋㅋ? Can you win??
-There's a rumor she's the Fist King's daughter.
-Ahㅋㅋ If you want to get stronger, eat him up!!
-Pirate!! Make your father proud!!
-Then, does that mean the Fist King doesn't have a wife because...?
-You've gone too far, bro....
-This is why people call us losers....
-They say the Fist King fell for the host.
-The host is going to get arrested;;;
-She's way too youngㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Ahㅋㅋㅋ It's onee-shota, they sayㅋㅋㅋ
"Stop saying crazy things, you idiots!! Though Wakamo as my stepmother might be kind of appealing?"
-She's not even trying to hide her identity...
-Do you realize we'll die if she accepts this?
-Ahㅋㅋㅋ We'll get [Information Erased]ㅋㅋㅋ
-Don't be fooled!! It's the Water Ghost's trap!!!
-She's planning to drag us along like drowned ghosts!!
-Ah, I didn't hear anything.
-Wakamo is the woman who would become my mother!
-Ichigo drew her knife?
Regardless of whether Ichigo glared at her jealously, Pirate met her eyes, grinned foolishly, and gave her a thumbs-up.
Ichigo's face trembled at that unbelievably oblivious behavior, her expression changing wildly as though her facial tracker had malfunctioned.
"Now, now, don't fight... Ichigo, be patient, okay? Good girl?"
"Huh? What did I do wrong?"
Pirate pulled a beer from her bag and drank it, asking with genuine curiosity.
Ichigo's eyes rolled back when she saw Pirate gulping down alcohol before they had even started climbing. Before she could run wild, Wakamo lifted her up in a hug, and Ichigo vanished offscreen with a whoosh.
-Mom is having such a hard time raising her child.
-Stop chugging alcohol... you're about to climb the Tower....
-This is... a [Wizard]...?
-More importantly, if she's a Wizard, why doesn't she have a robe, a staff, or anything??
-Because her body is her staff.
-Apparently muscles develop a consciousness of their own once they reach the pinnacle.
-Right, I saw that in a manga.
-This isn't a manga.
Even though they had not begun, it must have looked like a nerve-racking scene to the viewers.
In reality, before climbing, they had gathered to explain what potions Ichigo could make and what else she could do. Pirate had explained what she could do as a [Wizard], and they had shared their opinions on what monsters might appear on the 25th floor. They had spent a long time making meticulous plans, with Wakamo included.
The floors that had to be climbed with other Climbers did not receive the same penalties as floors climbed as a party.
But there was no guarantee that the difficulty would decrease just because two other people had joined Wakamo, so she always had to be careful.
She asked the manager to fill the mansion with supplies, and while shopping, they had also stocked up on plenty of food in case the climb lasted a long time.
The fact that they could return home from anywhere, at any time, was incredibly useful. Was [My Worlds] actually the best skill?
"All right! Then let's prepare our cheer!"
""Yep!!""
"Safety!"
""First!!""
"Life!"
""Before all else!!""
"Three claps"
Clap clap clap.
"Great!"
-What a very big-corporation-esque opening.
-Wow, following safety rules? How reassuring.
-I almost muted the stream and left when I thought they were starting a safety-training videoㅋㅋㅋ
-You are supposed to do this before starting workㅋㅋㅋ
-No, but do people usually do this at times like thisㅋㅋㅋ?
"Before we go in, let's check our consumables and equipment! We'll also take some time to check the snacks we brought."
"Teacher, how many bananas can I have?"
"Please check the potions first instead of the bananas, Pirate."
"Ichigo will hand them out."
"What?"
-This isn't requisitioning, it's relocating supplies!
-Borrowing from the Army is something the Navy does too.
-We're comrades!!!
-She's seriously packing bananas in the middle of this, damnㅋㅋㅋ
-All I can see in her bag is alcohol. Is this really okay??
Before setting out, they showed the viewers how meticulously they checked everything, then all moved together from the 24th floor toward the 25th floor. Ordinarily, the boss that should have appeared was the [Orc Gladiator].
The first party floor of Incheon Tower was characterized by three Orc Gladiators emerging from an arena-like place with different weapons, including nets, and engaging in a team battle.
[You are climbing the Incheon Tower 25th Floor World]
-You don't have to climb the Tower alone.
-You will be matched with suitable Climbers who meet your conditions.
-If you lack strength, join forces!
[Platinum Completion Conditions]
-Defeat the [Orc Gladiators] (0/3)
-Defeat the [Orc Gladiators] single-handedly (0/1)
-Take no damage from the [Orc Gladiators] (0/1)
'Oh'
It was a floor with a strategy guide already available.
Naturally, the standard strategy was to gang up on them. All the Climbers would gather and combine their strength to fight; there was no reason to battle one-on-one honorably.
Three of them charged simultaneously the moment they entered, so accomplishing the conditions would never be easy.
Every time she felt it, the Tower seemed rather kind to [non-combat classes].
Looking at information about the other 『Fully Conquered Floors』, every single one was not merely demanding but downright murderous.
「Waaaaaaaaaaah──!!!」
A dark passage, with a single light visible beyond it.
The three VTubers stood in a narrow passage with a dead end behind them and looked at one another. Seeing Wakamo silently nod, Pirate confirmed that the information matched what they had been given, rolled her shoulders, and confidently took the lead.
"Can you defeat all three without getting hurt and by yourself?"
"I'll finish it in three minutes."
One was the holder of the record for consecutive fully conquered floors, and the others were Climbers who had already conquered the Tower once.
For people like them, wasn't an ordinary 25th floor practically an amusement park?
They followed the recorded cheers of the crowd through the light and entered the arena, only to find empty spectator seats.
At the same time, the cheers abruptly cut off with a clunk, and silence descended.
Wakamo and Ichigo stood leaning against the passageway, merely watching Pirate move forward alone.
"Sailors─engrave this in your minds!! No matter how much a 'monster' struggles, it's still a 'monster'!! It doesn't even know that melee types are at a disadvantage against a [Wizard] with powerful firepower!!"
-But why are you going forward?
-You said you were going to beat them up with body enhancement!!! How are you a Wizard!!
-No, no, Captain. You'll get your head smashed in!!
-Maybe she's confident because she's a blockheaded idiot?!
-....That's... surprisingly convincing!!
"All right, take a swing at me. I'll let you have the first hit!!"
Pirate advanced leisurely, brimming with confidence. An Orc Gladiator carrying a net approached her, along with another armed with a sword and shield.
Finally, an Orc Gladiator gripping a whip approached as well, the monsters taking up perfectly coordinated positions.
"Kweeeek!!!"
The Orc Gladiator launched a vicious thrust at Pirate, who did not even seem to intend to dodge.
And instead of blocking, Pirate simply stood there as the sword pierced her chest.
Before anyone had time to be horrified, her body was slashed diagonally and Pirate was cleaved in two. It was such a gruesome sight that even the believers stopped typing in the chat.
─Then they realized that not a single drop of blood was flowing.
Next, question marks appeared as smoke billowed from the severed section.
-No way, is she a walking punchline?
-What's a walking punchline??
-There are some bizarre ones among the Wizard skills.
-What was it... something romantic but completely useless...?
-Something that gives terrible returns no matter how hard you level it...?
-A class where more people die to their own skills than after actually using them...?
-What the hell is that supposed to be!!
-Stop talking about things only you guys know!!
With a poof, Pirate turned into a cloud of smoke, then returned to her original form and stood up as though teasing the Orc Gladiator.
The Orc desperately swung its sword at her, slashing her, and slashing her again, but──
Unless it was a skill that used [Mana], Mare Pirate was effectively invincible right now! She was practically immortal!!
-This girl...? Her body turned into mist??
"Hyaa─!!!"
The Orc Gladiator's skull split open from a single downward punch, and it died instantly.
Overwhelming strength that an ordinary [Wizard] could never display!!
How on earth could she be this strong!!
Because she had dumped her stats into Strength!!
[Status Window]
[Climber: Ooyama Sadako]
[Class: Shapeshifting Wizard]
[Age: 20]
[Stats]
Vitality: 420
Magic Power: 3,000
Strength: 115
Agility: 40
Health: 42
Intelligence: 50
Wisdom: 30
Charm: 1
If you stopped a passerby, showed them these stats, and asked whether this person looked like a Wizard, eight out of ten would probably say no.
Ooyama Sadako─no, Mare Pirate's true identity was that she had chosen the so-called [Wizard] entertainment build, the walking punchline that looked good on paper but had terrible efficiency, and charged ahead with it.
While climbing floors early on, she learned roughly nine [Magic Skills] and raised Intelligence to use them, but she was a Climber who admired her father, the Fist King.
Thus, she threw herself recklessly into pioneering a path that no one else took.
It was absolutely not because punching things felt good! The sailors need to understand this!!
In addition to her nine magic skills, Pirate had learned four more skills: [Shape Shift], [Metal Transmutation], [Shape Substitution], and [Fusion Assimilation].
As with Wakamo, her skills had received additional enhancements, but it was difficult to call the [Shape Shift] skill tree good for a [Wizard].
To speak only of its advantages, she could fuse with terrain and surroundings, transform her shape into elements such as fire, water, or wind, and even turn her entire body into metal to make it suitable for combat.
Seen only from that perspective, she was so powerful that she could be called a conscious natural phenomenon against which ordinary physical attacks had no effect whatsoever.
The reason she was scorned as an inferior version of a [Shifter] or [Druid], classes capable of transforming, was that the disadvantages far outweighed the advantages, no matter how generously one looked at it.
Pirate possessed four support skills: [Immovable Mind], [Clear Mirror Still Water], [Indomitable Spirit], and [Unyielding Ego].
A few of these were innate skills she had possessed from the moment she changed classes.
The disadvantages of a [Shapeshifting Wizard] were that transforming could make her lose her ego and prevent her from ever returning, that while physical attacks could not harm her, magic attacks only benefited from her larger hitbox, and that although she could freely alter her body, doing so required intense concentration because she had to calculate everything.
And finally, the most fatal disadvantage was that she could not wear any equipment whatsoever!!
Even if she put something on, transforming would simply make it fall off with a clatter.
That was why she was a [Wizard].
She possessed the stubbornness to retain her ego even after changing her form into Mare Pirate, and her extraordinary computational ability allowed her to treat even her clothes as part of her body and transform her entire body. That was why she was not an [Alchemist]!!
It was absolutely not because the Tower had thought, 'Ah─this one will do nothing but drink if she changes into that class,' and refused to give it to her!
She could transform into only one thing at a time─but that alone was enough.
"Jehahahahaha!!!"
The net passed straight through her when it was thrown.
No matter how many times the sword or whip struck, the mist merely scattered and gathered again.
Then, naturally, it should have been impossible to inflict physical damage on her.
But a fist suddenly emerged from the mist and pierced through the Orc's stomach.
Overwhelming destructive power from a Strength stat of over 100...!!
To put it bluntly, it was a terrible build!
"I use magic and martial arts! That means I'm invincible!!!"
-She's just a complete idiot!!
-It's a terrible build!!!
-She's playing a Strength-based mage character!!!
-Use magic for once!!!
"Okay!! Fire fist──!!!"
Pirate instantly returned from mist to Mare Pirate, then transformed the fist itself into fire and drove it into the Orc that was retrieving its net.
Rather than striking it, the moment the fire touched the Orc, it spread with a deafening Kwoaaaaaah!! and turned it into a whole roasted pig in an instant.
On top of that, she wrapped it in mist and cut off its oxygen, so another Orc Gladiator that had been breathing without a care was already unconscious.
"Ossu─!!"
After dealing with the last Orc, Pirate shouted a spirited cry and struck a powerful pose.
"Minna Konpairet. I'm Mare Pirate-chan, Wakamo Corporation's Navy! Am I cool?"
-Would an air purifier suck her up?
-If she's a shapeshifter, she could make herself a little more voluptuous....
-It really feels like she just made the model as quickly as possible because she was lazy.
-Is biting her finger some kind of trigger to affirm her own existence?
"Um.... No, it's convenient when your appearance is simple. I didn't think about it at all?"
-Does this face look like it has thoughts?
-Wow, she's so transparent that there's nothing there~
-She's just a pure idiot....
-VTubers usually have big heads, don't they? No wonder hers looked so small.
"Manager, ban me at the end─ Ooh!!"
[The Incheon Tower 25th Floor is being opened to all humanity after achieving its Platinum conditions!!]
[Calculating rewards for the Tower's Platinum conquest]
"I got 10 stat points and a [Dual Transformation] skill!!! I'm dumping them into Strength!!"
-Stop!!!
"Ichigo got a skill too, boss! It's [Alchemy—Artistic Sculpting]!"
Ichigo was excited to announce that she had gained the [Alchemy—Artistic Sculpting] skill, and she too boldly invested 10 points into Intelligence.
Wakamo, who had also gained the [Idol's Messenger] skill, wondered expectantly whether she could distribute the stats separately.
But an entirely unexpected choice appeared before her.
[Please choose your reward]
[1. Give 5 stat points to a companion]
[2. Receive an item as a settlement reward]
[3. Receive a skill as a settlement reward]
'Huh...?'
Wakamo was a little taken aback, but after hesitating briefly, she chose option 1.
Options 2 and 3 were tempting as well, but since she loved her affiliated VTubers more than herself, it was an obvious decision.
"Boss...."
"Boss, you're so generous!!"
-Wow, I'm kind of moved.
-The company benefits are insaneㅋㅋㅋ
-There are no benefits like this anywhere.
-If I'd been born a woman, I would have become a VTuber too!!!
-I'm going insane with envy!!!
"Huh...? You could see that?"
She had chosen it immediately without hesitation, but unlike the other choices, this one seemed to be visible to the viewers watching the stream as well. Wakamo would have needed to experience something like this to know what it meant, but she had not, so she was merely flustered.
Ichigo was so moved by Wakamo that she nearly cried and opened her arms, asking for a hug. Pirate muttered that there was such a thing as being too generous, then charged in shouting, "Hug me too!!" only to be kicked away by Ichigo.
When Pirate turned into mist and her attacks had no effect at all, Ichigo finally seemed to have reached her limit and began flinging daggers.
"I'm a Wizard! You're an Alchemist! Our abilities are in a superior-inferior relationship!!"
Even against Ichigo, Pirate laughed loudly, effectively invincible because potions still required precise attacks on weak points.
Wakamo's fist came down on Pirate's head with a bonk.
"Uheh."
Her neck vanished into her body, and Pirate pouted her lips while making the stupidest expression in the world.
It looked like something out of Tom and Jerry: her head popped back out and shook violently. Wakamo was relieved that she had decided not to do the same thing herself. It was rather grotesque, almost like the uncanny valley...? Since it was close to a VTuber character, the viewers laughed and asked whether she was Patrick, but it had been a close call.
"Great!! We're riding the momentum and cruising ahead!! Cast off, cast off!!!"
"By the way, who gets ownership of the floor now?"
"It's for public use, they say."
Nothing in particular had been consumed, and although their mana had decreased, it would recover as they climbed floors, so that was not a problem either.
Pirate urged them onward like an excited child, and Wakamo and Ichigo stepped toward the next floor.
The 25th floor had been like that, so they climbed with the vague assumption that the 26th floor would be ordinary as well─only for a scorching heat to rush up at them the moment they arrived.
Before Wakamo could react to the ominous feeling, Ichigo threw a potion from her waist and lowered the temperature.
She immediately pierced the plastic bottle she had thrown with a knife and splashed the water around, then threw a freezing potion in a quick draw and created a massive wall of ice.
Normally, one ordinary potion would have been enough, but their opponent was so powerful that such a thing was impossible.
Then a vicious blade of fire slammed into the ice wall with enough force to shatter it.
[You are climbing the Incheon Tower 26th Floor World]
-A trial befitting powerful Climbers will be imposed.
-Join forces and overcome it together.
-Defeat the [Elite Boss Monster]!
[Platinum Completion Conditions]
-Defeat the [Mana Burn Flame Aura─Advanced Flame Giant] (0/1)
"That's the boss from the Swiss Tower!! A [Wizard] killer!!"
Pirate shouted in terror, drenched in cold sweat.
Their opponent was an advanced Flame Giant whose passive was [Mana Burn] and which possessed complete resistance to flame-type attacks. Considering how difficult it was to extinguish its flames before they could even inflict damage, it was one of the most troublesome monsters in the Swiss Tower! The heat gradually filling the floor was so intense that even if Ichigo threw a bottle, it would melt before reaching the giant.
Even if they held out against it, they were effectively trapped inside a microwave and might be burned to death by something like [Spontaneous Human Combustion].
But that was not the problem.
"Be swallowed by the purification of fire!!!"
The problem was the area-wide instant-death attack crashing down across the entire floor──!!
"Seriously?!"
Wakamo had warned Pirate and Ichigo that they might encounter their [counter] the moment they entered the Tower, but─this was truly beyond anything they had imagined.
Ichigo had no way to approach, Pirate was useless because despite being a [Wizard] she could do nothing but fight at close range, and Wakamo would be finished the instant she touched [Mana Burn].
The Tower had even brought out an opponent with immunity, as though to ensure that the self-destruct trick they had used before would not work!!
Without even having time to read the noisy chat, Wakamo signaled Pirate.
"[Shape Substitution]!!"
She pressed her palm to the ground and activated the skill, turning the earth into black metal.
It looked like the Alchemy of an [Alchemist], but what Pirate used was closer to an inferior version of it.
As though she intended to show them what the real thing was, Ichigo adjusted her gloves and placed her hand on the ground.
[Alchemy—Metal Transformation].
It was not a rapid change in shape but a complete transformation.
A gigantic bell large enough to hide all three of them appeared. Ichigo threw potions inside to cool the temperature, then crouched with Pirate as Wakamo covered the top and held it in place.
It was one of the measures they had prepared in case they had no time to open a portal or do anything else.
Wakamo held the bell down with both arms pressed inward as though it might be launched away at any moment, while Ichigo desperately kept lowering the temperature inside. Pirate had even turned into ice and was holding on, but the heat was so murderous that she would turn into water in an instant.
Kugugugugugung──
Just as the viewers began to panic at the violently shaking screen,
No sooner had things grown quiet than Ichigo passed Pirate special earplugs. Pirate hesitated for no time at all before stuffing them into her ears and activating her skill.
"[Metal Transmutation]!!"
Pirate shaped it into the optimal curve for producing a bell's resonance, signaled with her hands, and took position together with Ichigo.
Wakamo lifted the bell, making it rise, then laid it on its side. With a single knife-hand strike, she knocked its head clean off.
Ichigo and Pirate took positions supporting the bell.
"Hooooooooo──!!"
Wakamo's chest swelled as though it would burst, and she inhaled with all her strength, gathering mana.
Holding the broken section in place with both hands so it would not fly away, Wakamo unleashed a high-pitched sound so intense that even a demon crawling up from hell would have fled in terror.
The "sound" expanding through the bell became visible to the naked eye as it was fired directly into the advanced Flame Giant in a buzzing wave.
Kwagagagagak──!!!
The superheated earth split apart and shattered beneath the deafening sound.
The flames on the advanced Flame Giant's body died down. It staggered, and just as it dropped to one knee, its head exploded with a booming Kwang!!
Wakamo spun and threw the bell away, then shook out her hands.
"This is Wakamo Corporation's combined finishing move!!"
"Mooong....."
"Uheh....."
Ichigo stood there with her eyes open but unconscious, drool running from her mouth, while Pirate had stuffed her entire hand—not just a finger—into her mouth and was chewing on it.
They had worn earplugs, but apparently they had not been completely protected, because both of them had been turned into idiots.
Wakamo tapped their cheeks and told them to come to their senses. Only then did they regain consciousness and barely manage to stand.
-I've seen this in a Chinese movie.
-"The classic Lion's Roar."
-Did you know she was originally an unparalleled beauty?
-Don't whisper truths I never wanted to know!!!
-Of course, the best martial-arts movie is by Stephen X.
-Attack and defense at the same time!!
-Put girls inside a bell and heat it with fire... So this is the Emille Bell.
-Korea has a culture like this (not really).
-Isn't that Kiyohime? Isn't that Japanese culture?
-Does China have anything?
-The Cultural Revolution?
-Get in....
[The Incheon Tower 26th Floor is being opened to all humanity after achieving its Platinum conditions!!]
[Calculating rewards for the Tower's Platinum conquest]
"Yes!! I got [Elemental Transformation]!! It didn't give it to me even after I conquered the Tower, but the boss is the best!!"
"The boss is the bezt of the three!!"
Ichigo did not seem to have gained a skill, but she looked delighted. Wakamo pinched Ichigo's cheek as she smiled like an angel and lifted the bag containing her materials.
Pirate, on the other hand, seemed to have gained a skill.... What was the difference between [Shape Shift] and [Elemental Transformation]? She was still a little envious.
Even the joker known as the Wizard world's walking punchline had a properly arranged set of skills.
But why only me!!
The reward choices were still the same, so she handed the five points over to her employees.
"A mother can be happy when her daughters are full even if she goes hungry...."
-That's exactly the kind of thing someone who skips meals to watch VTuber streams would say....
-She doesn't need stats, skills, or equipment!!!
-She's really doing everything for themㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-She already gave you everything!!
-The fact is, the VTubers are getting healthier.
-But seriously, isn't this insane?
You gained 3 stat points for simply climbing, 5 for doing well, and 10 for fully conquering a floor. And Wakamo had additionally transferred 5 points... That meant a whopping 30 points in only two floors!!
For the two of them, this was no different from climbing ten floors through ordinary conquest.
That was why the Climbers watching the stream writhed in envy.
How could they not be jealous when the two of them had gained skills through fully conquering floors that they had not even obtained after conquering the Tower?
"Let's go straight to the next floor!!"
Pirate shouted excitedly, her spirits showing no sign of settling down.
"Ko ko ko!!"
Ichigo was also thrilled after receiving 30 points and urged them to go.
They had made plenty of plans─and they were confident that they could overcome anything that appeared with the combination the three VTubers were displaying now.
.....At least, they should have been.
"Pwoooaah!!"
The moment they felt that they had crossed a floor, Ichigo reacted first.
No, could it really be called a reaction...?
Because they had started underwater, Ichigo hurriedly surfaced and looked around in bewilderment.
There was nothing. They were in the middle of the open ocean.
"Help me! Help me!! I can't swim!!!"
Pirate thrashed around so pathetically that the viewers would have called it pitiful if they had seen the scene in person.
Ichigo ran over, punched her in the face once to calm her down, then embraced her and swam.
Ignoring Pirate's whining that her nose hurt, Ichigo looked around for Wakamo, but she could not see her.
Why....? Could she not swim...?
──And just as Ichigo had guessed, Wakamo was sinking.
No matter how much she flailed her arms and legs, Wakamo would not float.
"No, she can't swim."
She could speak underwater and did not need to breathe, but she could not swim.
It was a shocking truth she had never known because she had never had any reason to enter the sea.
In a situation where she had no answer and could only keep sinking, Wakamo furrowed her brow.
[You are climbing the Incheon Tower 27th Floor World]
-A trial befitting powerful Climbers will be imposed.
-Join forces and overcome it together.
-Defeat the [Elite Boss Monster]!
[Platinum Completion Conditions]
-Defeat the [Tyrant of the Sea Chain Mail Shark Rider] (0/1)
Was it an environmental attack because there was no answer to her counter...?
The Platinum condition looked extremely easy, but in reality, this was little different from being told to die. Seriously....
Even if they were not supposed to encounter it, suddenly falling into the sea would make them leave the Tower!!
The viewers were flustered as they watched Wakamo, arms crossed, sink in real time while brooding over her complaints about the Tower.
They had never imagined she might not know how to swim!!
-Wow! Deep-sea exploration!
-Everyone prepare to dive!
-How can the host talk underwater...?
-How on earth did she get to Japan?
"You people are remarkably carefree, as always...."
Cameras had also been attached to Ichigo and Pirate, so the situation was visible, but both of them were in just as much trouble.
In a place with this much water, if Pirate turned into something like water, there was a high chance that her existence itself would disappear. On top of that, she was afraid of water because she could not swim, so there was no way she could concentrate.
And Ichigo only demonstrated control on the assumption that she could throw potions and spread their effects.... She was helpless in a sea like this.
"This is the Italy Tower...."
Cases where the environment itself changed were extremely rare. In that Tower, Climbers who had learned [Skills] suited to the environment were the ones who shone.
Throwing Climbers unsuited for fighting underwater straight into the sea was truly no different from telling them to die.
'What do I do?'
It had been a long time since she had felt this helpless.
Judging by the presence she sensed in the sea, it seemed to be watching Wakamo's movements slowly. But then, perhaps mistaking her for dead, it lost interest and began surging upward toward Ichigo and Pirate on the surface.
'.....Do I have no choice?'
It was not as though there were absolutely no way. She was simply worried about what would happen to her, the person operating the VTuber Wakamo Inarizushi, if she did it.
──Even so, she would do it.
It had always been this way!!
"It's coming!! It's coming, Ichigo!!!"
"You didn't have to tell me, I can see it!!!"
In a state where swimming was all she could manage, the only thing Ichigo could do was draw her knife. Pirate clenched her fists as well, declaring that she would beat it up if it came.
A shark's shadow stretched beneath their feet.... They held their breath and tensed at the rapid movement visible below the surface.
Suddenly, a gigantic shadow appeared beneath the monster.
"Huh?"
"Ah?"
Even if they had been unable to deal with it anyway──with no warning or sign whatsoever, a gigantic ship suddenly burst through the surface, emerging from the sea itself, not from anywhere else.
"A dragon...? No...."
"Captain Pirate has a ship!!!"
It was a gigantic wooden ship with a roof covering the entire deck, iron nails densely embedded across it, and a dragon-head ornament mounted on the bow.
They naturally did not know about the existence of a panokseon, and no one was especially familiar with the names of ships, so it was only natural that they did not know what it was.
But no Korean could fail to recognize this ship.
-Why is this the captain's shipㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-No, where did it come fromㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Really? Is it really the captain's? If so, I really want to steal it!!!
-It's not a ship a Japanese person can claim as her own!!!
Oars moved on their own despite there not being a single sailor aboard. The ship moved even though there was no wind.
To put the cherry on top, the dragon-shaped head breathed fire and blew up the Chain Mail Shark.
The ship's rise left them lying atop the nails, but the blunt nails did not hurt them, so the two got up and tried to figure out what had happened.
What appeared in the sea with a majestic bearing was─『the Turtle Ship』.
Ichigo immediately realized that this was Wakamo transformed. Pirate also─as a [Shapeshifting Wizard] herself, she marveled at the astonishing transformation and tried not to show it.
"Did we get it?"
No sooner had Pirate spoken to lighten the mood than─
Kwang─!
The entire ship shook, and a fishman wielding a mace appeared before the two of them on the spike-covered deck.
'Damn it, this is bad. I can't help them like this...!!'
Wakamo was relieved that her consciousness had remained intact even after changing her [Model] into a Turtle Ship.
But in this state, Wakamo had no way to help them.
Her body was no longer human, so she had not adapted to it at all and could do absolutely nothing!!
Could they win? Would they be okay?
As Wakamo watched anxiously with worried eyes and prepared to undo her transformation if necessary─Pirate committed an insane act that made Wakamo scream.
"Sailors!! I learned in Korea that sex is chicken! Sex!!"
"Wha, what are you doing!! Don't eat that!!"
Ichigo hurriedly tried to take it away, saying it was poison and asking when Pirate had taken it, but Pirate swallowed it.
The [Crispy Elasticity Potion] Ichigo had made, which tasted like fried chicken!!
The moment Pirate drank the potion she had been eyeing greedily among all the things she could make, the rider swung its mace and knocked her head off.
"Hiccup."
Her head vanished above the neck.
Her body stood there without even realizing that it had lost its head.
Then the rider turned its gaze toward Ichigo─but an arm that suddenly shot upward swung hard into the rider's chin.
"It doesn't hurt at all──!! Why????"
Even with her neck bent backward into an N shape, Pirate continued speaking.
The potion would not kill her; it merely increased her body's elasticity.... In that case, all she had to do was adjust her body appropriately with [Shape Shift].
"I'm rubber!! Jehahahaha!!"
Pirate put a finger in her mouth and stretched out her cheek as she laughed mischievously.
Then her expression hardened.
"I won't forgive anyone who hurts my companion.... You fish-head...! Let me show you karate!!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh──!
Perhaps she still had not mastered her control, because she began rotating her arm like a windmill. In that state, Pirate used [Dual Transformation] to apply [Metal Transmutation] to her arm, turning it into black iron, then loaded it with mana and punched the rider in the chest, driving it back.
In the sea, Pirate would have been the one pitifully hunted.... But once the fishman was out of the water, if it had no mount to fight with and could not use its [Skill], then!!
She thrust her arm straight backward with all the centrifugal force generated by its rotation, and it stretched endlessly, extending farther and farther into the distance.
Using [Dual Transformation] once more to accelerate its contraction and retrieve her arm, she cast [Elemental Transformation].
"Special Navy Karate!"
As her arm returned, she applied [Metal Transmutation] at precisely the right moment.
"Flame Iron Fist─!!!"
As a dazzling dance of flames blossomed, her trained straight punch combined with the metal body. The rider's chest caved in, and it staggered while vomiting blood. It squeezed out its last strength and swung its weapon at her head, but her rubber body contracted and simply bounced the blow away.
The boss collapsed with vacant eyes.
It had been the very embodiment of terror in the sea─but it had faced the wrong opponent.
Ichigo opened her bag, and Pirate took out a white coat and draped it over her shoulders as she struck a pose.
"Justice will prevail─!! Ossu!!"
".....Spit it out!!"
Ichigo came to her senses belatedly and repeatedly punched Pirate in the stomach, trying to make her vomit up what she had eaten.
Pirate shouted, "Swallow it!!" again, stood there stubbornly, and then vomited spectacularly.
Ichigo, covered in vomit, felt a strange sense of déjà vu but.... did not bother to say anything.
She simply punched Pirate in the face one more time.
'Well.... Children grow up fighting....'
Wakamo, still transformed into a ship, displayed the words Everyone~ See you tomorrow~ on the screen and ended the stream.
She even wrote, The Turtle Ship rescued them, to reassure any believers who might be worried.
"Aah─collabs are exhausting too!!"
[The Incheon Tower 27th Floor is being opened to all humanity after achieving its Platinum conditions!!]
[Calculating rewards for the Tower's Platinum conquest]
The two girls did not even look surprised at the talking Turtle Ship; they merely turned around as though they had expected it.
"The stream's over!! Everyone, let's go get some pizza...."
""Yeees~""
She was truly exhausted.
She would have to ask the manager for support, if only because she was nervous about what might appear on the next three floors.
'What kind of content can I make with a Turtle Ship...?'
Maybe she could get an advertisement for a warship game.... She had been in such a hurry that the Turtle Ship had caught her eye while she was choosing, but was this really okay?
Wakamo let out deep sighs, regretting the one empty slot she had used in her haste.
Life really... never goes as planned....