Chapter 188
Chapter 188
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Motion Capture and Mechanical Menace
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[Acquired exclusive job skill 【Motion Capture】!]
"They're not even giving me options anymore?"
She'd felt like some kind of patch had been applied, but now they weren't even offering choices before assigning skills.
Wakamo was full of complaints herself, but now even her believer climbers were grumbling about how they weren't getting good skills anymore.
It was an inherent limitation of 【Idol's True Form】, so there was nothing to be done about it~ but at this point, she figured it was time to do something about it.
Well... it was a 100% non-combat class to begin with, and since she wasn't following the normal growth path for an idol at all, the class compatibility was still under 30%.
...Yeah, she had to admit it.
【Legendary Class】 had its peculiarities compared to others, including clearly defined limits.
Inherent limitations couldn't be overcome.... unless she wished on a 【Babel Fragment】, maybe.
Honestly, though, Wakamo would probably just get lured in again and waste it on something like "Please restore my broken figure!"
No matter what, wasting a wish like that was a bit much.... She'd find an answer if she kept climbing.
Exclusive job skill 【Motion Capture】
- Captures motions and outputs them by consuming mana.
'So, how do you even use this thing?'
Testing it out brought up a prompt saying "Please capture a motion!" along with a camera view.
......Hmm, she didn't do much MMD work, so she wasn't familiar, but she'd have to study up.
'I haven't even tried [Lion's Ascension] yet, either.'
Asuka was convinced her master would use it at the perfect moment! She was sparkling expectantly in a way that was almost burdensome.
"I don't have anything special."
"Me neither."
"Hmm..... Nothing good, huh."
Everyone had a 【Legendary Class】. For the first-gen members, aside from skill enhancements, nothing seemed particularly noteworthy.
Meanwhile, Ichigo was riding some unknown horse with a dignified expression.
Didn't the emperor say expression management was key? Wakamo briefly considered sending Ichigo to twelve academies like Xiao Liang, but Xiao Liang's little sister blocked her with a firm "No need for that with my little sis!!" so she dropped it.
In this day and age, having an emperor didn't amount to much anyway.
As long as Xiao Liang, the next chairman-in-waiting, studied hard, that was enough.
"So, why'd you get a bow, Pyret? Wizards usually get staves, right?"
"I don't use a staff. My sub-class is transformation, and the third job change has a big influence, maybe?"
Pyret held the bow with a despairing expression.
How could the Korean Tower give a wizard a bow of all things?
It was the kind of outrageous choice you'd expect from the bastard who wouldn't even give a VTuber like her a microphone.
Damn monkey bastard.... She'd beat him senseless someday.
"Isn't [Shadowless] the horse Cao Cao rode?"
[Shadowless]
Rank: Unique.
Restriction: Emperor-exclusive item.
Will not fall from most attacks.
Runs so fast its shadow can't be seen.
It was the famous steed Cao Cao rode in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
For Yu Ying, who had zero movement speed, it was exactly the mobility she needed right now.
The only questionable part was whether this horse was supposed to appear right away.
She was riding it, but Yu Ying's face looked extremely uncomfortable.
Was it because it was Cao Cao's horse instead of Liu Bei's?
"I'm not used to relying on gear...."
"Ah...."
Ichigo had always fought with her instincts, honed martial arts, and self-brewed potions.
With the Russian Tower enabling alchemists to produce potions more easily and efficiently, her position was shrinking, so switching classes was a good call.
Even with the dragon robe's insane [Ignore Ranged] option, she was busy defending against attacks.
She didn't need to advance, but she didn't like lagging behind alone, so she deliberately entered the castle at a slow pace.
Old habits from years of accumulation weren't easy to break in an instant.
Don't they say you appreciate good meat after chewing it yourself? Ichigo would adapt gradually.
The tower's malice was palpable in giving her gear with near-zero agility penalties and forcing her to use even more items like the horse.... but the Chinese Tower had its intentions.
"So, the bow Pyret got.... Oh...."
There were already plenty complaining about returning Admiral Yi Sun-sin's relic to the museum.
"This is problematic."
[Famed Bow (名弓) Royal Archery Set (御弓具)]
Rank: Relic.
Restriction: [Strength 300+]
The bow used by King Taejo Yi Seong-gye.
A bow unfit for ordinary folk.
Archery Skill +2
Accuracy +50%
[Great Whistling Arrowhead (大哨鳴鏑)] [Cooldown 5 min]
A mighty bow that flies with a deafening roar.
[Qi Cannon Blast] [Cooldown 30 min]
A powerful shot infused with mana.
Even so, the original bow of Taejo Yi Seong-gye, founder of Joseon.... Didn't it burn up during the Korean War while in storage, its whereabouts unknown after?
Pyret was half out of it. She looked like she wanted to chuck it in a museum....
The monsters on this floor all wielded at least high-grade [Mana], like it or not.
Mana-infused attacks damaged her even if she turned her body to mist via form change.
Sure, if they used lava or lightning, she'd take damage too while hitting back.
But not knowing what skills they'd use, she was stuck wearing Yi Sun-sin's armor without options.
She was also using three ring swords... the armor's skill gave six more swords.... Adding one bow wouldn't hurt.
"I can make arrows from elemental mana, but it just feels wrong."
"You're already far from a pure wizard anyway."
"Damn it."
A variant wizard was probably the most accurate description.
Pondering how to use their new skills, and seeing the party neither exhausted nor heavily depleted, they decided to head to the next floor right away.
[Climbing Incheon Tower Floor 56]
- A trial befitting hardy climbers.
- Difficulty rises based on climber [Wakamo Inarizushi]'s achievements!
- Overcome the trial with your companions!
[Platinum Achievement Conditions (Eased)]
- Defeat Floor 56 boss (0/1)
- Destroy Floor 56 facility core (0/1)
"Huh?"
Beep beep─
The members gathered inside the massive research facility looked around in confusion.
After orcs, elves, and dwarves, they'd expected lizardmen or something, not a futuristic city.
It was packed with machinery everywhere, like the inside of a space colony from a movie.
The intricate design exposing the internals instead of covering walls with metal plates was impressive.
-A sudden genre shift?? What??
-Golems coming out?
-Looks like a research facility.
-Research... Russia... Ugh... My head...
-Tower occasionally has golem monsters, right? Not that?
"No, even so, this is too much."
There was a limit to how disorienting they could make it.....
Doors everywhere were a headache too. Was it a maze? She explained the two conditions needed for total clear to the members.
Even finding the boss, they couldn't just kill it immediately due to penalties.
Worse, monsters popping from corridors might be the boss—who knew!!
Creak, creak─
"Mannequin?"
"Android?"
"Droid?"
"Finally ushering in the love doll new era."
"Mami?"
She had a feeling a new partner category would be added to the Russian Tower.
Steel humans appeared, never seen before.
Mannequins packed with machinery inside, hands equipped with glowing red metal swords heated to scorching temps.
A light swing cleanly sliced the wall, smoke rising with sparks.
Then an explosion—lights out, red emergency lights on.
[Facility damage 98%.... Severe damage will trigger self-destruct.]
"Whoa, for real."
It was practically "don't fight" for Pyret who could shapeshift or Adolf who could reshape terrain wholesale.
"Cute-ify, yap─★"
Of course, not for Pipkin Mami.
With a cute line, she clenched her raised fist—scrap metal clunked to the floor.
"A-nicotine craving♬"
"Super fresh cute smile and sparkling eyes say no smoking."
"You know the entertainment industry's dark side? Not weed—even cigarettes are elegant rich folk hobbies."
Giggling back at annoyed Iosif, she puffed her cig in one go and swallowed it.
The cigarette burned to ash mid-air in an instant; Pipkin Mami exhaled steam.
Wakamo scanned the party while watching her.
It wasn't spacious enough for Ichigo to ride around. Wakamo's head nearly brushed the ceiling.
"No space to swing a sword...?"
Everything was inconvenient.
For safety, Wakamo pushed a camera drone ahead as they advanced.
Gaping at mounted turrets, clicking her tongue at faceless mannequin robots emerging one by one.
All identical in form and action, but sword-wielders now sported unknown gear on necklaces.
"To Asuka, they seem to be learning."
"Learning?"
"Electronic fields visible only to Asuka fill the facility."
"Mami sees too─★"
"Shut your stinking mouth. Time for Asuka to shine with her one good trait. You feelin' overshadowed next to Byakuryu, human?"
"Sorry.... Not on Byakuryu's level."
"Mami?"
Hoping the crack in first-gen friendship was just imagination.
Asuka explained: surveillance cameras everywhere, all mannequins linked, learning from destructions to update countermeasures.
Wakamo and Mami tested phasing through walls, but high-voltage currents and dense mana flows made it impossible.
Mami chuckled bitterly at how cheats got patched instantly.
-Tower climbing is brutally tough.
-Normally doesn't counter this fast.
-We massacred those dwarves too one-sidedly...
-Korean Tower bastard...!! Service your VVIP!
-Info) Korean Tower forced Wakamo into climbing too.
-Sob sob... Ultimate bastard...!!
-Just countering 'cause we can't be like other towers?
-Chinese Tower, if you're watching, help out...
-Russian Tower Lord) Chicken out now and superchat lololol
-Dude, why so MZ?
-Internet adaptation speed is insane.
-Russian Tower Lord) Gotta be fast so your partners get kinkier.
-Can I buy doujins at Comiket as a gift?
-All weird fetishes in Russia.
"Russian Tower Lord. Any info on these monsters?"
-Russian Tower Lord) [Artificial Humans] made by [Scientists] or [Engineers]. Looks low-grade? Korean Tower cribbed from Russian records. Hiding 'em pre-partner addition to avoid leaks!
"Man, how do you keep astonishing people every time?"
Was this guy's learning aimed at screwing over Wakamo Inarizushi?
......On second thought, maybe.
With Wakamo smashing towers nonstop, maybe they researched her daily.
"Wakamo Corporation!! Adolf, step back—everyone huddle."
Now even 【Legendary Class】 summons were appearing.
At Wakamo's call, they huddled heads for ideas.
"Ah, I get it. Why... We had similar in our radiation facilities? Modified humans."
"Ah.... Took that upgrade path?"
"Seems so. These [Artificial Humans] are truly bottom-tier. If fights drag, won't it get annoying?"
"Then accessories granting resistance to telekinesis/mental attacks? Telekinesis affects space, so maybe."
"If we use [Form Change] to counter, they might adapt? Fight with swords then....?"
"Then I can't fight? Can't summon generals either."
The party's murmurs showed no sign of ending.
Iosif Khan was strong sans dragon form, but the facility couldn't handle it.
Ichigo summoning hordes to clash weapon-style might prompt enemy swarms.
Resistance rose with each defeat, so even her generals weren't ideal.
Worst off was Wakamo.
The 【Idol's~】 series was utterly unusable.
"Here, Asuka's gotta step up, human."
"Got a good idea?"
"Just turn electric, ride circuits to core, Asuka destroys it."
"Then lure enemies.... Only one with skills ignoring [Resistance] entirely?"
Seeing Asuka thump her chest confidently, Wakamo named the member overwhelmingly favored here.
Adolf Lucia, blankly staring without a thought.
Her [Art] skill rendered enemy resistances meaningless.
Problem: stats like a normal person.
"Um.... What if a blind bullet hits...? I'm not that strong."
Wakamo named her the key to clearing; she mumbled uncertainly.
Unlike intelligent dwarves, mere machines [Artificial Humans] required closing distance for her skill.
Hated pain, frail as a civilian.
Against hordes, even with help, winning seemed impossible.
Wakamo pondered, then reluctantly whispered 【Victory Chant】.
"Those are minions made by [Engineers]."
"Ho─"
"Even a virtual character's expression changes like that..."
Lucia, not using brush or chisel, eyed the engineer-made minions littering the ground.
Crude human imitations.
Purely utilitarian scrap, devoid of art.
"─That's not how you handle mannequins."
Her bag birthed puppets via [Mannequin Art] skill.
A grotesque silver-haired mannequin stood straight—joints twisted, nails hammered like curses, bloodied like dragged from a coffin.
"My happiness that dwelled in me, my true love, farewell now!"
Quoting Opera [City of Death], she hurled the mannequin at foes with all her might.
Performance art like a wingless human yearning for sky.
The avant-garde solo 【Adelheid's Corpse】 began ballet on stage.
Pipkin Mami halted incoming bullets telekinetically.
"Asuka, go!!"
At Wakamo's shout, Asuka lightning-zapped into the wall, vanishing.
Scanning whole facility, firewall considered—she'd finish in 10 min, declared confidently.
Meanwhile, Adolf's mad mannequin smashed 10 artificial humans.
It grafted their blade-arms, upper torsos, moved tree-like.
Over 20 arms swinging blades simultaneously—artificial humans couldn't withstand.
But reinforcements in seconds blocked 【Adelheid's Corpse】 entirely.
"Changed exoskeleton!"
Darker hue meant alloy swap.
Even [Heat Blade] plundered to [Aura Blade], but mana-short ones emerged wielding sustained versions.
Shoulder cannons fired [Mana Laser] at Lucia.
"[Magic] too?"
Mami incredulously deployed [Trump Cards], intercepting magic.
One use singed cards—that power would've killed Lucia on graze.
No fear on her face.
Instead, the smile spreading—eerily like Wakamo's.
The gambler's grin that never loses momentum...!!
Pssshhh─!!
【Adelheid's Corpse】 sprayed from mouth everywhere.
Simultaneously, sticky fluid from joints ensnared [Artificial Humans], yanking them.
Splat—human clumps formed.
"Adhesive...!!"
Iosif shouted, catching the acrid scent.
"[Assemblage]!"
Like spiders clumping into spheres.
The fingertip-born artwork rampaged.
Tap-dancing, crushing artificial humans under weight; survivors absorbed as [comrades].
Ballooning, it coiled upright.
"Ahahaha!! Splendid, this artwork!! Mimicking human form yet forever inhuman.... Shall we call it [Mechanical Sheep Centipede]!"
Mannequin centipede thudded down, grotesquely devouring all.
[[Artificial Human] auto-production halted!]
Facility-wide alert.
Asuka's doing.
[Activating [Gear Wheel Golem] to protect facility]
Boom─!!
[Facility damage 72%.... Severe damage will trigger self-destruct]
Gear Wheel Golem crushed the centipede's waist, spewing lightning everywhere, roaring.
Visibly shockwave-bursting, rampaging to crumble facility.
Invisible energy aura—Pipkin Mami ID'd electromagnetic field.
Kiiiiing──!!
Gears spun, sparks flew, lightning zapped Iosif black.
Too fast for response; Mami's telekinetic shield warped space, lightning snaked through, piercing her chest like viper.
"Gyaaaaah...!!"
Two down foaming instantly.
Clang─!
"Goes straight for the king, huh."
Lightning-form Pyret landed before Adolf, intercepting, sword out charging Gear Wheel Golem.
Boom boom─
Heart-like thumps, fists "fired."
Piston principle: hundreds of hyper-speed punches/second battered her shieldless into wall; she slid down vomiting blood.
"Damn...."
[Form Change] attempt met instant [Dispel].
Split-second—no counter. Machine-human gap unbridgeable.
Thudududududu──!!!
Golem unleashed 700+/sec piston punches at Wakamo.
Material nullified all [Mana] attacks.
Wakamo solo'd the obnoxious [Mana-Immune Hardsteel Golem]-like foe.
"─Actually, the fiercest expression is the President's."
Adolf beside her glared murderously, pondering engineer dismantle while laughing—her hand charred to crumbs.
Electricity raging, yet reaching to smash in madness.
Ichigo pulled her back, knowing no emperor summon beat this machine.
As [Alchemist], she'd corrode structure or induce failure, but [Transmutation Skill] gone—watch only.
Attacks ineffective.
Overpowered in speed/power.
Pushing to force [Idol's True Form].
[Idol's Body] hit limit, couldn't keep up.
All irrationalities.
Under inequality stress, suppression, disgust piling—
The more cornered—
Could anyone laugh easily?
How to攻略, how to fell.
Wakamo endured, body-memorizing patterns, as tower pushed her to reveal winning moves for learning.
[Facility core destroyed!]
[Facility self-destructs in 3 minutes!]
Unreasonable warning blared.
'As climbers rise, tower tempers change most—who changed most, President? Or true nature showing?'
Ichigo unworried, fed Lucia potion.
"Aaah─!!"
Grabbed mid-straight punch, Wakamo's arm halted it.
Sleeve hid transforming structure. [Idol's Ore] implanted metal, reshaping body—steam burst, lightning cracked, minigun punches erupted.
Eye-defying hyper-rush brawl.
[Idol's Light] ignored process—pure strikes clashed fists with golem.
No damage, obviously. Wakamo knew.
"Stomping ants without crushing.... Hard to control strength."
[My Worlds] opened front—golem's thrust punched its own back precisely.
"As meticulous as machines get."
Portal rear shot [War God's Arrows].
Blast explosion scattered debris sans damage.
Wakamo jammed [Enlightened Monk's Staff] into cracks.
Knew internals from mana flow, materials—grinning savagely.
"[Idol's Thunder]"
All remaining mana—idol's heavenly punishment struck.
Boom! Darkness fell facility-wide; shattered golem collapsed.
"Obvious patterns, obvious weak points—no learning ability? Korean Tower?"
Instinct dulled.
[Mana] foes beyond boring—tedious.
Wakamo's eyes flashed feral crimson in dark.
"Got soft. Instincts dulled?"
Landing with blatant taunt.
[Incheon Tower Floor 56 achieves Platinum, opening to all humanity!!]
[Tower Platinum clear boosts rewards]
Victory fanfare echoed.
Believers, viewers, climbers all sensed.
No pointing out not 56-floor difficulty.
──The 【Idol】 before them clearly beyond tower's handling.
==================================
One for the readers.
It's Dongtan Wakamo.
Emoji example added below.
Not colored yet, but about 6 made in this style.
Planning to make ones from top-recommended comments, so readers, participate lots!