I'll Become Fire Punch...

I'll curse you... you fox god bastard... How dare you repay kindness with enmity.....

You were so obsessed with hiding the red pill that you did this to me...!!

My property—the real estate that had been the backbone of your wealth!!

─The detached house burned fiercely. The sad day I had moved in only recently flashed before my eyes. I had moved in recently, but....

"That bastard was double-selling the property, wasn't he? Better this way"

The sorrow of being scammed in a real estate fraud after buying the place with my own money. I decided to forget it all along with these flames.

Goodbye... to me, the clipper who lived in Korea.

Greetings! The fox god who is a VTuber!

"Every time I played a game, people said I was unfit to be human, and now I've qualified as a beast!!"

There weren't many people in this neighborhood to begin with, what with the Tower's dangers and urban development. Watching the smoke billow, I saw people who had come out to look around reporting it. When I heard someone shout that there was someone in the fire, I went back through the portal.

"So it doesn't burn in fire, huh?"

For now, this was an experiment. From what I had confirmed─I was no longer human. I had changed, like people whose entire species had changed.

But I had become something even more twisted—something like a Mana Ghost with physical force. I had thought I was breathing, but even when I inhaled smoke inside the flames, nothing happened. I expected to cough at least a little, but I was so perfectly fine that it surprised me. And although the fire touched me, rather than feeling hot... my mana was simply dropping rapidly.

Other Climbers had their stats distributed differently and gained points to invest in those stats as they climbed the Tower, but nothing like that existed for me.

It was exactly as simple as becoming stronger in proportion to the number of believers. I wondered if all eight billion humans subscribing to me would result in the birth of a super-powered fox god, but if strength increased in such a way, people would inevitably try to keep me in check. Excessively powerful forces also tended to invite suspicion.....

What if a novel-like development came crashing down on me, with Climbers from Japan, China, and Russia, wary of Korea's promising Climber, coming to kill me?!

"For now, I think having lots of mana means I can take hits without worrying."

At the level of an [Angry Boar], collisions didn't deal any damage. Curious how hard I would have to hit something to feel pain, I slammed my head into a rock on the third floor of the Tower with all my strength, only to lose a little mana. Was having a body made entirely of mana like constantly having an aura active in fantasy or a protective qi technique deployed in martial arts stories? In game terms, was it like super armor?

I still felt it was too early to fully understand it unless a battle became more intense.

"Ugh, it's cramped."

I tidied the room diligently despite grumbling. It was a space so cramped that I had to squeeze my body inside... no, with my original height, it would have been large enough to lie down and rest comfortably. At my current height, it was so disgustingly cramped that I couldn't even stretch out my legs.

"Either way, I have no choice but to climb the floors."

They said the interior structure improved as I climbed higher. Who knew? Since the Tower seemed to be figuring out information about my class through me because I was a 『Legendary Class』, maybe it would even supply electricity for me!!

Of course, if that consumption came from my mana, I might suddenly die while maintaining the house, so I had to be careful.

"This is stressful...."

The decision to burn down my own house had been admirable, but it was sad that climbing the Tower kept me from watching VTuber streams. My body no longer needed sleep, so I could watch overseas VTubers' broadcasts, but then I wouldn't have time to catch up on the videos I had missed.

"On top of that, [Internet Connection] only brings up one window. I usually watched with nine monitors, so this won't do...."

The longer I dragged things out day after day, the more streams piled up without me watching them. I would lose track of the flow because of the ever-growing backlog, and in the worst case, a live stream might be edited down so thoroughly that I couldn't obtain the video, or an unarchived stream might vanish the instant it ended... What if I became unable to watch them!

"It's not dying when my mana runs out that's the problem. I'll die mentally exhausted first!!"

Whether my subscriber count increased or not, I still had to climb the Tower to survive..!

"....Could it open multiple windows if I use it several times?"

Still unwilling to give up hope, I used [Internet Connection] again, and another window appeared.

"The world really is full of dreams and hope!! All right!!"

I connected immediately, since it seemed I would barely make it in time for the collab. Considering the schedule, I could stay busy here like this, so I left messages for the VTubers.... During the remaining spare time, I finished editing the clip I had left unfinished and uploaded it to my channel.

I felt curious enough to check the terrifyingly soaring view count and the comments that surpassed it, but I stubbornly held back.

"I have a collab with the VTubers I like today! I can't ruin my condition!!"

"The days I spent clipping to promote the popularity of the VTubers I liked... Yeah, that alone isn't enough..."

Looking at the 27 windows floating before him, Wakamo steeled his resolve.

"I'll... become Fire Punch...."

※※※

"Welcome! Have a wonderful day today as well! I am Queen Märchen Echo!"

A sparkling, dazzling, colorful palette.

A beautiful girl who looked like a rainbow personified smiled brightly as she chatted with the viewers who had come to see her today. Rather than starting her content as soon as the broadcast began, she slowly warmed things up, accommodating latecomers while exchanging small talk about what had happened and what she was doing.

She only had about 38,000 subscribers, but as a broadcaster in her third year, she showed a certain seasoned grace.

With her always-cheerful energy, gentle voice, and overflowing sensitivity that showed even in her VTuber expressions, she seemed like a young lady. Her fans, who called themselves the Jewel Squad, enjoyed teasing her, but they also loved cheering on their goofy queen. Most importantly, however, the viewers were captivated because she possessed enough charm to ensnare them.

A talented VTuber who never failed to seize every opportunity and always maintained her persona!

-Are you doing a singing stream today too?

-Hey, duel me.

-It's time for an uprising! Turn off the metric system; from now on, this room uses inches!

-But is Queenie going to be okay? Isn't this going to get crazy?

"Hmm? Has something happened?"

Donations poured in as she tilted her head in confusion.

She protested, "Stop sending them!" because she felt overwhelmed, but most of the donations were about the veteran clipper who was more famous than her and was joining her duel content today. She had only just woken up and had no idea what was going on, so she said, "I'll look into it for a moment!" She briefly left, then returned with a frightened expression.

"Um... How am I supposed to process this? They're someone I appreciate for clipping my videos every day. Uh, um... Are they really a fox god? Not a VTuber avatar?"

-They never said they were a VTuber character, though. They're a clipper.

-When did you ever think I was human?

-No wonder they acted like a beast; maybe they really were an animal.

-Did the Tower drag them away because they holed up to live as an otaku and it told them to quit screwing around?

"Uh... No, they won't come here... Right?"

Märchen Echo felt uneasy, but she still had content promised to the Jewel Squad, so she began preparing, insisting that she couldn't back out of it.

Even so, she was still paying attention to the fact that she hadn't received a donation yet. There was someone who always watched her broadcasts, whether they were collabs or not, and came to ask permission before clipping them... no, that someone was a fox god, after all.

They had been an avid viewer since she had only 100 subscribers! They were an early fan who had been with her for three years! The clips the fox god made had also helped promote her, bringing in more subscribers!

"Um... What was it... Would it be enough if I added a state religion to our kingdom, too?"

-A fox god in the Rainbow Kingdom? That's fucking badass.

-The fox god (2 meters tall) is literally the kingdom's guardian deity.

-Where does that skinny arm hide 200 kg of weight? If it hits you, you just die, right..?

-You can really feel that they're a different species.

"Anyway, now that I've created the room! Jewel Squad, just follow the message I sent and come on in!"

In any case, she decided to follow her schedule and stream, nervously sending a message to the clipper as well. The clipper had applied to participate and even been selected, so sending a message was only polite. She wondered whether the clipper would really come, but a donation flew in the instant she sent the message.

Ding~

[Wakamo Inarizushi has donated 10,000 won! Thank you!]

-Queen, I can clip this, right?

"Yes! Of course you may.... Ah... uh... welcome..."

-Look at the queen's energy plummet.

-We were your beloved Jewel Squad until yesterday!

-A Jewel Squad that went nationwide overnight?

-You've been exiled from the world of us loners....

-Then who's going to clip our queen's stream?

-We have to take them back as one of us.

-Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The comment section began scrolling faster with the arrival of a hot figure who had become famous throughout Korea. The Jewel Squad members, excitedly calling the queen cute as they watched her eyes tremble as though there had been an earthquake, soon sensed that something was wrong. The soaring viewer count told them what she had been worried about.

Her usual average viewer count was around 700 at most, but as the rumor spread in an instant, it broke past 2,000, then soon surged toward 4,000.

"N-no! This won't do! Subscribers—subscriber-only chat... H-how do I block them???"

-How would we know, Queen?!

-There are so many of them that they could drive the Jewel Squad out?

-Streamer, you crazy bastard, turn on your stream! [This chat violated the chat rules].

-Whoa, look at how fast the chat is getting cut.

-Should we bring the guillotine, Queen?

"W-wait, we have to stop this! Uh, how did I freeze it again...?"

After streaming for three years, she had centered her broadcasts around communicating with viewers, but she had never stopped one before. She had become a complete newbie in an instant, and donations began pouring in because her flustered confusion was cute. Half of those donations, however, were practically the furious cries of Wakamo's fans.

-No, fuck!! You said you were collabing today!! Why are you climbing the Tower!!!

-Streamer, turn on your stream! I said turn it on!!!

-You don't check the community, the comments, or your emails!!

-Get your ass to the café, you crazy fox bitch!!

-Streamer, I think I'm going insane! Streamer, I think I'm going insane! Streamer, I think I'm going insane! Streamer, I think I'm going insane! Streamer, I think I'm going insane!

"Uaa, uaaaa..."

-I knew this crazy bastard would show up here. Turn on your stream!!!

-Why are agitated rioters flooding our innocent Queen's room?

-Is it time for a revolution? Should we bring the guillotine?

-If you're going to act up, pay for it!! Feed our Queen!!

-Isn't this bastard dueling in the next room right now?

-?

-?

"Hmm? Er, um... Where was it again..?"

-They got mana-screwed, got demolished, and were eliminated immediately.

-They donated to our room and left?

-They're in the room on the xxx side?

-? What are you talking about? They donated here.

-They're waiting in our streamer's room?

"....??"

-Looks like this streamer bastard turned on all 27 VTuber streams at once and is watching them?

-Huh? What did you say?

-Ahㅋㅋㅋ These bastards must not know much about our beastㅋㅋㅋ

-Ah, a fresh-faced newbie...?

-I knew they were a crazy bastard, but are they really watching and donating to 27 simultaneous streams with all of them turned on???

-Turn on your stream!! Turn on your stream!! Turn on your stream!! Turn on your stream!! Turn on your stream!! Turn on your stream!! Turn on your stream!!

"Whoa, I've been watching for three years, but is it really okay for your skills not to improve at all?"

-Queenie with the cutting remark....

-You hit way too hard, Queen!!!

-Fun fact, the streamer's win rate is only 1%.

-What a beastly idiot.... But a newbie, too...

-Wait, when you think about it, isn't it impressive that a fox god from a thousand years ago even knows how to use the internet?

-And this is what they do with that effort? Clipping? If they'd shown their face and streamed, they'd have ten million subscribers by now.

The viewers and Märchen Echo had now grown naturally accustomed to one another.

She watched as Wakamo donated to and appeared in all 27 VTuber broadcasts at once, carried out the scheduled collab, and was eliminated in an astonishingly rapid succession of losses. Although she had known Wakamo for three years, she could only click her tongue at the truly incredible skill.

"Um, at this point... Wouldn't it be merciful to lift the banlist and let them use a strong deck?"

Wakamo was getting crushed so quickly that even the viewers were sighing. Naturally, viewers flowed from one of the 27 VTubers' broadcasts to another, and before long, an enormous number of them had poured into her stream. Some VTubers whose content ended early even came over because they were curious about what was happening.

-Here they come!!

-They showed up!!

-Turn on your stream, fuck!! [This chat violated the chat rules].

-Please, even if you're just editing the broadcast, turn it on, please.

-No, not the MikoMiko theme!! Your VTuber deck sucks!!!

-Don't you know the host only uses VTuber themes? lol No one can stop them.

-You didn't see the madness of them saying they'd buy company stock and become a shareholder to get support, did you?

"Uh, um... Welcome! You came again today... Uh... Um..."

A quick glance.

The astonishing figure of 20,000 viewers.

At this point, it was fair to say that people who had heard the rumor had rushed in from all over town. Seeing comments in English and Japanese pass by from time to time, she squeezed her eyes shut because she had no confidence she could handle it. Yeah... it was okay... This counted as promotion too, didn't it? Although she was flustered, the queen had a talent for never letting an opportunity pass. She would captivate all these people by showing them her talent right now.

To make them want to see more of the VTuber Märchen Echo...!!

[Wakamo Inarizushi has donated 10,000 won! Thank you!]

-Subscribe to our Queen and become one of her subjects, and I'll turn on my stream tomorrow. Got a problem? It's a threat.

"Ah"

The chat exploded.

At the same time, Wakamo was so unbelievably bad that even if the queen gave him three turns, he had no chance of winning, so victory practically fell into his lap. Märchen Echo happened to be the last VTuber. Wakamo's name was fixed at the top of the viewer list with a subscriber badge, even the founding-member mark, so the viewers could tell that Wakamo was watching her stream, and the chat was burning.

-Queen, are you doing a singing stream today?

Oblivious to the queen's spirits sinking into darkness, Wakamo posted an expectant comment, and the queen made a decision to save the kingdom.

"That's all for today's stream. If you don't turn on your stream tomorrow, I'll have you sent to the guillotine, so keep that in mind!"

That day, the massive online firestorm involving 27 VTubers spread spectacularly throughout Internet communities. The users of the Duel Gallery, who had no interest in Climbers, reportedly showered Wakamo with every kind of abuse over the horrific skill─but the VTubers who successfully captivated the viewers who had gathered saw their subscriber counts rise and their promotion succeed as well.

And among them, Queen Märchen Echo, who issued the royal command to turn on the stream, gained a huge number of subscribers.