Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: The Fox God VTuber Climbing the Tower
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"This is bad!!"
An Incheon Tower climber on the 30th floor let out a scream while watching Wakamo's stream.
Even though his body was unwell and it was hard for him to move around, he frantically typed in the chat upon seeing a nightmare-like scene from his past unfold right before his eyes—a scene he could never forget.
A monster that shouldn't be on the 13th floor.
He rapidly typed out everything he knew about the [Subterranean Dweller] into the chat, desperately hoping she would see it.
The sight of his chest being pierced was still vivid in his mind.
He had been a [Fighter] classed climber affiliated with a guild, specializing in tanking with a shield among the fighter types.
He had built his skill tree to endure as much as possible against his fear of monsters, protecting his body and fighting to win.
And before entering the 30th floor, where the [Subterranean Dweller] was known to lurk according to Incheon Tower攻略 info he had acquired in advance, he prepared torches, potions, and buffs to safeguard his life just in case, and set off fully prepared.
The moment he raised the torch in his hand, the surroundings lit up in an instant.
The Subterranean Dweller was infamous as a vicious monster that tracked climbers by the sound of their breathing and heartbeat, pursuing them relentlessly until they were too exhausted to move.
He scanned his surroundings tensely, on high alert, wondering where it might come from, never letting his guard down.
His plan was to block an ambush with his shield and counterattack immediately after.
He activated every defensive [skill] at his disposal, standing firm like a mountain to await the enemy, but the Subterranean Dweller in the darkness didn't charge right away as he had expected.
It was cornering him by listening to his racing heartbeat, proof of his tension and fear.
He held his breath as much as possible and stayed alert, but with darkness all around, he couldn't even discern directions.
Not to mention, the Subterranean Dweller made no footsteps. Making noise in the dark would be suicidal above all else.
How much time passed like that? Ten seconds? A minute? Maybe even ten minutes or more.
Knowing there was only one enemy, he couldn't hold back and screamed in terror, "Come at me!!!"
Right after, a monster lunged out, which he blocked with his shield, but it shredded the shield, pierced his armor, and he felt the chillingly cold claws sink into his chest.
The fact that he recognized this as the infamous [Heart Extraction] even without dying on the spot was fortunate in itself.
Despite being prepared, he barely escaped at death's door from the soundless hunter that burst from the darkness.
That trauma made him give up climbing entirely, even though tower climbs could heal him, and he chose to live on like that.
"That's the look of someone who has no idea...!!"
Of course it was. It was only the 13th floor, after all.
He had been driven to the brink of death, experienced it firsthand. Feeling PTSD rising from the thick darkness on the screen, he thrashed about and typed frantically into chat, but...
He and the other upper-floor climbers soon realized something was off.
The Subterranean Dweller wasn't reacting at all.
Making no footsteps was understandable.
Holding its breath was possible too.
But what about its heartbeat?
On screen, the VTuber fox god laughed and playfully said something didn't exist in reality—could she even stop her own heart...?
"Haha... Serves you right..."
Seeing the [Subterranean Dweller] standing there with its mouth agape in a dumb expression seemed to ease his painful memories just a bit.
Beside it, she slung an arm around its shoulder like she was teasing it, flashed a V-sign to the viewers, and soon vanished into the darkness.
Then came the sound of breaking bones and a chilling scream echoing out.
That creature probably never realized who killed it, even until the end.
Finally, a hand emerged from the darkness with a farewell wave as the stream ended... He staggered to his feet, drenched like he'd taken a shower, wiping his forehead with his hand. Just watching from afar had terrified him this much.
Still, vicarious satisfaction?
"Nice..."
Wakamo might not know it, but her journey was providing comfort to climbers who had lost to monsters and given up out of fear.
※※※
Wakamo Inarizushi was starting to fear whether the tower loved her this much.
But in reality, Wakamo was suffering massive losses because of her unique 『Legendary Class』.
Let's take our cute 『Hajime Ichigo』 as an example.
[Status Window]
[Climber: Yu Ing]
[Class: Junior Alchemist]
[Age: 17]
[Stats]
Vitality: 30
Mana: 50
Strength: 2
Agility: 17
Health: 3
Intelligence: 22
Wisdom: 5
Charm: 1
You might have noticed already, but climbers gain [Free Stats] as they ascend floors.
Bonuses are added based on how smoothly they cleared them.
So, our high-IQ low-Wisdom girl.
Fans watching Wakamo Inarizushi's journey—who only knows VTubing—must understand how much she's losing out.
She achieved the unprecedented feat of 『Perfect Floor Clears』, but her class comes with some brutally idiotic demerits.
-Only mana as a stat.
-Depletes to 0 and you die.
-Climbing the tower doesn't increase mana stats.
Essentially, she has to work hard as an idol outside to recruit believers, climb the tower as an idol to gather more, and prove herself nonstop... It's a somewhat bizarre class.
The tower gave it like, "Oh, Earth has this job too~," but even the tower didn't know much, so it scanned Wakamo Inarizushi's head for info and provided fitting skills accordingly.
So while Wakamo thinks, "Isn't my class super OP?",
In truth, the demerits make it so that seeing [Floor Clear Info] is the only perk allowed.
No matter how brilliantly she clears floors... Wakamo gets no bonus points.
The difficulty just ramps up ridiculously.
Being a non-combat class, she wracks her brains with her skills, squeezes out every bit of ability, and overcomes with VTuber wisdom(?) to push through.
She's voluntarily walking into inferno difficulty.
Normal clear: 3 points.
No damage clear: 5 points.
Perfect Floor Clear: 10 points.
She should get stats like that, but with no stats to raise, points don't come. So compensations go to skill enhancements, but since it's a non-combat VTuber skill derived from idol origins, and class-exclusive skills stem from Wakamo's own knowledge, they're middling.
Even idol-type skills from the tower force her to fight while chipping away at her self-sustaining mana, so she's always risking her life.
When she should be conserving mana, she's blowing through it like crazy, so yeah, she's an idiot.
Even the tower wonders if this class has a ceiling—it's a bottom-tier bully, strong only early on. Compared to [Alchemist], it might be worse.
At this point, believers don't know Wakamo's at a loss. Wakamo doesn't know either.
She's just chaining 『Perfect Floor Clears』 to scrape by with rewards.
Hard to call it a good class no matter how you look.
Ceiling-wise, she could gain mana as vast as Earth's population.
Good thing Wakamo built a base; a low-sub VTuber would drop dead in seconds without knowing why.
But the tower might be stumped too.
She whines and cries for [Attack Skills], so it made [VTuber Skills] related to her class, showed them in advance, steadily added [Attack Skills], but she won't take them.
It previews skills like "This'll come later, pick when you have room," but she grabs impulsively without thinking.
Then cries "No attack skills, boo hoo." What to do...?
Plus, despite no [Attack Skills], she squeezes her existing ones and wits to somehow perfect-clear floors, leaving the tower thinking, "This bitch is unreal."
Thus, the tower understood.
"Ah, she's a beast, that's why she's an idiot."
Her hard work was so pitiful that the tower was carefully preparing today's rewards too.
Surely she'll pick an attack skill someday? It kept VTuber skills on hold anytime.
...The problem is she's a desire-driven idiot VTuber lover. Anyway, the kid's good-hearted...
※※※
[Status Window]
[Climber: Wakamo Inarizushi]
[Class: VTuber]
[Age: 1,000]
[Stats]
Mana: 523,678
"She finally broke 500k..."
Subscriber growth is slower than expected... Means lots of casual viewers per stream.
If I ask the government to make everyone entering my 1st floor subscribe, would it boost? Nah, feels selfish.
Condition's 1-month VTuber sub, but viewers should choose their faves freely!! No dictatorships!!
Yu Ing looked at me like "President, couldn't you just force subs on your fans first??" treating me like a dimwit... But that's greed, Yu Ing!!
But crisis loomed.
The 13th floor clear reward was baffling.
[Acquired Relic-grade item [Jiang Taigong's Fishing Rod]!]
[Jiang Taigong's Fishing Rod]
Grade: Relic.
Its straight hook pierces anything.
Line made of owner's mana.
Bamboo imbued with divinity.
Inscribed: [Taigong Jiang's Hook, Waiting Three Years by the Stream].
Authentic lost in Zhou Dynasty.
Jade seal, fan, and fishing rod?
What does the tower think I am?
Am I supposed to wield fishing god arts with this bamboo...? Maintaining distance and smacking looks fun.
Line's my mana, and sure enough, holding it leaks mana steadily.
"If I'm broke later, exhibit this in a museum for cash."
"President, you don't know Jiang Taigong?"
Yu Ing, who'd struggled 10 years post-7 to survive, read it via childhood hanja knowledge. No need to say more—she wouldn't be [Alchemist] if dumb.
Zhou authentic, Jiang Taigong? The legendary Taigong Wang...
'Ah! President's from back then!'
So how old is our prez? Brain's ossified from age... Yu Ing vowed to brew a brain-softening poison.
Truth: Wakamo just uninterested in history.
Would've learned if China had VTubers.
Wanted to ask about real Taigong Wang, but per legend(?), he'd get beaten as the suffering type, so might dredge bad memories—decided not to. Secrets make girls beautiful, friends said on stream?
Just respect...!
Vowed to care for President even in dementia! Never forget the grace! Yu Ing burned with resolve!
Wakamo'd be hurt if she knew: "What do you take me for??"
World's better with mutual secrets sometimes.
"Feels like the tower's trying to kill me. Elite monsters per floor, drags high-floor ones down. Rewards are trashy, difficulty skyrockets!"
"President clears so awesomely tho? Our prez invincible!"
"If only [Attack Skill]..."
"President won't pick it?"
"Your pronunciation was spot-on just now."
"Been practicing..."
Anyway, two floors up the tower, today's Ichigo-Wakamo duo stream.
Problem: Roulette landed on co-op survival horror [Outlast: Trials].
Game: Solve tasks on given stage, escape pursuers—horror.
"Don't wanna..."
-Stream starts, why's stream energy like this lololol
-Scared of scary game ㅇㅇ
-Leader scariest tho...?
-Floppy ears so cute lolol
-They think leader scarier...
Viewers teased as game began.
Inside lab: Get [Vaccine], Wakamo & Ichigo at entrance, eerie BGM.
"Eeeeeek──"
"Kyaaah!!!!"
"Whoa, Prez freaked!!"
-Sweet bliss incoming lolol
-This is dopamine.
-Starts scared, how to play lololol
-Why fear zombies/ghosts lololol
-Not cuz bad at it...?
-Tortured by window ghosts maybe...
VTuber model on screen: tears streaming, ears drooped, muttering "Don't wanna, scary..." like a spell.
"Prez, gotta work. Let's go."
"Sob sob... Hic... Ahic..."
-No fr, why crying.... Heartbreaking.
-Wtf Ichigo? Shove prez in.
-Keep-crying fox god gets locked in horror game~
-Today too, kid leader Ichigo's life sucks.
-Brick-wielding protector, this right...?
-Too heavy for 17yo girl.
Ichigo's screen calm AF: Door opens, zombie jumpscare—but insane reaction speed bashes head with brick, proceeds into dark sans flashlight, eyes closed, ears perked.
"Sob... Hic... Hic hic..."
"Prez, don't grab... Be gentle..."
"Don't leave me... Hic hic..."
"PrezPrez! Don't shake! Dizzy!!!"
Side-by-side, Wakamo shook shoulder—Ichigo's char rocked wildly L-R.
-Light shake turns her into ride...
-Hide behind Ichigo?? Hiding even work??
-Meanwhile leader hid in trash can lolol dumbass lololol
-Play the game ffs lolololololololol
-Brick kills em??? Grab brick!!
Modded VTuber chars fully rendered—Wakamo in can stuck out, bombing Ichigo's screen with laughs.
-Trash can hid in Wakamo!
-Accepts apprentices, trash can no issue lololol
-Trash can can't hide lolololol
"Don't come near me──!!!!"
Panic-max Wakamo misses brick throws. Zombie grabs, bites, flops dead.
"Floor's... warm..."
-Prez dies, watch backup VTuber Ichigo dash.
-"I'll save her!!"
-Hell itself, true love runs to save prez...
-Polar bear asks if ok to cry.
-Aha! Not love, owner's walking big dog!
-Really won't listen.
-Muzzle time?
Lying, eyes darting, quits game—turns on VTuber stream. Believers sigh, Ichigo fights desperately in pitch black for vaccine.
Barely alive HP, spacing, dodging, hiding—pro survival moves etched in body, earning friend praise.
-Leader forgotten already.
-"Prez scared, so hurry."
-Effort needed, yet watches other stream...
-Mid-collab, clipping Ichigo highlights right??
-Multitasking this good, why no generator??
-Leader beast pup don't know power.
-Lol lightning nature's wrath lolol
"Pleasestopsufferingmygenerator!!!"
Can't spin generator, no vaccine, lost dodging zombies—screams nonstop, utterly useless Wakamo. Ichigo charges to save.
Rare in game, hell to rescue.
Pistol with few bullets—Ichigo dives zombie horde.
Wild brick swings, bottles scatter side-zombies, unbelievable aim massacres near-simultaneous.
-Death too soon.
-Tiny thing can't be full-grown.
-Unseen-speed thrusts.
-America style.
-Just prez-obsessed dummy...
-Gotta tend house owner!!!
-Does our Ichigo know white-collar corp...?
"Hic hic... Prez all done!"
-Kid tired, tongue ties more...
-Uu, worked hard today prez...
-Collab gaming, save multi-clipping bitch??
-Death is strategy. Lost battle, not war.
-Socialite woe...
-Kugh... Outta my head, client golf!!!
"Really got all zombies? For real?"
"Yup!"
All clear, Wakamo stands proud: "Guess I'll grab vaccine now?"
They didn't know: Zombies respawn on vaccine grab & escape.
"Waaahhh!!!!"
Insane control—eyes track, agile dodges show evasion mastery, Wakamo flees like wind.
"Ugyaaah"
Late Ichigo surrounded, mundanely bitten flat.
"P-Prez"
Believers sure she'd save—loves VTuber tons, right?
"Goodbye, Ichigo. I'll never forget your sacrifice."
-I'm right after all...
-Bitch lolololol
-Rabbit hunt end right? Right?!?!
-Prez lives, Ichigo happy.... This right wtf????
-Die leader!! How discard kid!!!
-Says loves VTuber!! Loves!!!
-Discard Unit 1!! New VTuber easy!!!
-Trash thinking lolol
Wakamo snags vaccine, solo escapes thumbs-up, basks in believer stones.
Horror sucks, bails—Ichigo left alone.
Viewers swarm to console hard worker.
Ichigo moved: "Prez planned all to make me earn..."
Reality: Just scared, ditched for clear.
Knew leader feared horror, but beyond imagination—newbies awed, community meme post rises.
Thus, leader's stream sailed smooth.
Until another climber's 『Perfect Floor Clear』 popped unannounced from upper floors.