Chapter 234
Chapter 234
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 234
Chapter Title: The VR Gear Promo Broadcast's Grand Success
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The 『VR Device』 promotional broadcast came to a triumphant close.
Honestly, it was a high-performance machine so outstanding that it would have been weirder if it had flopped, and with government subsidies keeping the price low, it sold like hotcakes.
Wakamo, who was pushing VTubers harder than anyone, showered them with all sorts of perks, leading to a flood of debuting VTubers—and just as many graduating ones.
With the emergence of the Tower and the rapid development of the 【East Asian Federation】, people generally had it easy making ends meet these days. Money flowed more freely too, giving folks the leisure to tune into streams—which meant more viewers all around.
The more viewers, the faster the VTuber scene cycled through its stars.
Truth be told, even if things tanked, Wakamo was ready to resuscitate it with CPR, so worrying was pointless.
"『The Wakamo Layer』 was born from Wakamo, consists of Wakamo, and forms part of the Korean Tower. In other words!! If I turn Wakamo into artwork here, I can breathe life into it!! Like a summon!"
"That's the most horrifying thing I've heard all year, and we just started!!"
Meanwhile, the Wakamo Layer had been tinkering with the 『truth』 that it was a Tower and stumbled upon a shocking revelation.
It existed because of Wakamo Inarizsi and was born from Wakamo Inarizsi, so anything Wakamo-related in this Tower came with massive buffs.
Even the casual Wakamo-themed artworks Adelheid had mass-produced for the gallery granted enormous buffs.
She and the visitors had shrugged it off as normal since they were modeled after the 『Idol』, but there were bonuses on top of that!!
Adelheid, showing off a painting of 『Zombie Wakamo』, explained that her horde of portraits—including ones where she'd jokingly threatened to unleash the hounds—could summon the full Idol roster.
The members blanched, imagining a swarm bursting forth to unleash deathly powers or pile on in a gang beatdown.
The silver lining in this misfortune? They never had to step outside the Tower. Luring enemies in was easy, so no worries there.
The biggest recent headache—protecting the house—had resolved itself so anticlimactically.
If worse came to worst, Rusalka, the Russian Tower Lord, could get allied approval to summon a boss for a showdown.
The catch? It would drag in the residents of Wakamo's 1st floor.
"[We know it's inside a Tower, so getting surprised now is weird, right? Doesn't living here build up info on the Moderator?]"
"""""!!"""""""
Nanna, already living there, felt it was far too late for regrets.
If change was coming, it would've happened ages ago.
The members reeled in horror at the realization that 【Tower of Ascension】 had manifested nowhere other than South Korea.
As their shocked gazes locked onto her, Nanna averted her eyes under the scrutiny and muttered.
"Since it's the Korean Tower, maybe it doesn't matter?"
Why did those words carry so much weight?
Everyone half-lidded their eyes, reflecting on the Korean Tower's antics, and nodded along with a "Yeah, probably."
They all silently bought into it!!
Far from logging data on entrants like Nanna, the Tower was likely holding back because it'd been told not to—and doing absolutely nothing!!
"It kinda looks like the Tower of Ascension now, doesn't it?"
Mami grumbled. She wasn't wrong; the Tower had casually shifted through Nanna's reboot.
It granted climbers skills via [Records], capping their power limits and growth paths to accelerate progress.
The Tower of Ascension, by contrast, just piled on ether to forge superhumans—everything else required ascenders to grind to death.
The Tower wasn't thinking for itself, mangling its learning to peek at others' handiwork and ape it.
It needed growth but hoarded cost instead of earning it, starving on the brink.
It even outsourced making climbers to Wakamo, idling like a true 『Solo No-Spend Idle Growth Game』.
"Alright, everyone, great work on today's stream. Go do whatever you want."
The President clapped, signaling the end.
The ad stream had been a smash hit, and minor issues were off the table.
Everyone had busted their asses, so they scattered—some to shower and crash, others to grab drinks.
Adelheid, meanwhile, was yanking out fake Lucia—summoned via skill—from her bag. She flashed Rusalka a gleaming glare.
"Monsters come from [Records], right?"
"[─Yep?]"
"No Zombie Hitler or anything?"
"[…Maybe the German Tower?]"
Rusalka wisely passed.
None of the allied Towers had it, and while she could whip up something like [Radioactive Ghoul Iosif] via [Records], it wouldn't help climber growth.
Towers needed hefty cost to fabricate stuff artificially—no Tower would waste that on pranks over testing climbers.
Rusalka shot an email to the Korean Tower.
※※※
"[Karate's rotational defense contains every element of defense.]"
-Such a thing possible?!
-Cool... defense art...
-Is this the pinnacle of blocking tech?
"[Think one machine gun's enough, you dwarf bastard!!]"
Wakamo soared screenward inside the feed, hawk-like and lithe in pursuit of prey.
She rocketed skyward in an instant, midair footwork propelling a kick at her foe.
The [Dwarf Weaponmaster] raised his shield, spinning to flick and deflect her toe.
But Wakamo twirled like a ballerina—sleeves, hair, skirt hem fluttering—unleashing a spinning heel kick with the momentum.
Shield met foot in a clash; the dwarf recoiled, yanking a sawed-off shotgun from his grip like lightning and unleashing flames.
Head earthward, Wakamo's hand snatched the bullets mid-descent, landing gracefully.
Undaunted by the shells clattering from her grasp, the dwarf ditched his gun, drew his red-hot heat sword, and infused it with mana to wrap it in lightning.
His spirit burned fierce—befitting Incheon's 63rd floor boss?
Honoring the warrior, Wakamo placed a hand over her heart.
-Oho? Oho?
-Here it comes!
-Chu. Chu. Foot. Do.
-Say it cooler, damn it lololol.
-One epic sword from within.
It devoured light yet reflected a seven-hued glow, spewing thunder, storm, and flame—the ground beneath froze solid.
The 【Celestial Omen Sword】 brimmed with natural disaster, baring its peerlessly keen blade—a gemstone edge too beautiful for "sword," enchanting all who beheld it.
Two swordsmen faced off.
The dwarf struck first! Residual images trailed his hand as the blade-tip split into dozens, firing slashing barriers—a sword-veil of strikes.
Inconceivable years of sword training to reach that realm.
The quaking 『Vibrational Slash』 warped air even at range, sucking in and crumbling floorstones to sand.
Block with shield? Shredded alongside it!
Attack was best—climbers knew this.
Mana coiled swordward in line-form, condensing into sword aura, overlaid with holy light, vital life force swelling within—space warped as the blade blackened in a flash.
A wuxia trope recalled: a swordsman's swing reveals his character.
This foe? Beyond sword ghost—a asura incarnate.
One sweep cleaved all in sight.
The dwarf parried the horrific blow with his blade!!
Seizing the clash, he spring-kicked off the ground, accelerating knee-first at Wakamo's head.
Masters' duels turn on a breath.
No blink recalled—Wakamo ghosted past, sword dangling loosely.
Spluuurt—!!
Before hitting ground, the Dwarf Weaponmaster's wounds split, blood spraying as he tumbled.
Cheers poured for the dwarf warrior: riding bipedal robots for sniping at range, traps and golem minions unleashed, then dismounting to wield [Shooter] and [Swordsman] skills without retreat.
No one called it cheap.
Had the foe not been a walking calamity, might it have dragged longer?
"Amazing! Amazing! As expected of Foreman Wakamo!"
Climber duels couldn't match this dopamine hit.
Tower-climbing streams—and this pinnacle among them!
The [Wakamo's Incheon Tower 63rd Floor Climb] stream's afterglow lingered as young Chinese man A clapped.
Masters' deathmatches were on another level!!
"Oh crap, gonna be late for the meetup!"
A wasn't a climber, but thanks to his parents, he lived on [Wakamo 1st Floor] as an 【East Asian Federation】 citizen.
Federation-wide comms enabled voice chat booms—and distinguished members by mutual intelligibility.
Hence the gripes about inequality popping up in news.
Miracle man Yung Wei, China's current Chairman, outshone all predecessors.
He kept his pledge to democratize and prosper the nation, boasting sky-high approval.
Kids got educated, literacy soared; studious grads landed fitting jobs.
Sure, minor downside of trekking to Russia—but in this era, few griped.
Comms worked fine.
Possible because they managed only a fraction—old China's third or so—the rest hived off to independent Mongolia, Taiwan, Uyghur, Tibet ex-autonomies.
Left without perks, some clamored to reunify China.
Protests visible, but he drew lines: "A true emperor cares for people over expansion."
【East Asian Federation】 sought zero expansion.
Bloating territory just bred suspicion— "for Asian peace" and such.
A tuned out politics, thinking nations getting along beat fighting.
"Gotta climb someday."
Sighing en route via subway to Wakamo 1st Floor for friends, the young man rode.
Xiaoliang's dojo newbie, months into training—still far to go.
En route, he watched Mei Shaolongbao's VTuber stream, arriving in chilly Russia.
"A, here? My buddy got nabbed by Public Security last time—now staff."
"Huh? B's Korean, right? China's ditched Public Security ages ago."
"Such things exist..."
Bitter B wasn't a climber, just Korean friend. Meetup for card tourney fun.
They checked decks, played casual rounds awaiting the last.
"Climbers hit Russia Tower upper floors—fun?"
"Devil-types spiking lately. Climbers blowing Tower coins on girls, going broke."
Non-dawn, construction-gear climbers milling—mostly debtors.
Bright faces despite debts? Scheming for big scores—rotten sorts maybe.
"People vanishing loads lately."
Africa, Saudi, Iran, Kazakhstan, Brazil—chaos/crime hotspots rife with 『Climber Crimes』 per B.
Sudden superpowers bred crooks; cleanup needed fellow climbers—manpower short.
"Good our nation's safe."
"Jails in secure spots too?"
『Six Demons』 famed, but petty gangs abounded. Mafia to Mexican cartels?
Russia/China/Japan remnants: China's black societies devoured theirs; Russia's wiped in Tower reset.
Japan's yakuza lingered, thriving—rumor they shunned VTuber biz was amusing.
Federation chucked criminals into 『Wakamo 3rd Layer』 prisons.
Escape? No exit—fox spirits' point farm at best, hellish.
"A, hear 'bout that middle-schooler flipping out after becoming climber at our school?"
"Yeah, saw news! Told ya."
"He jailbroke last time—fox spirits nabbed him alive, turned points."
"Helpful to society—paving for new climbers."
【East Asian Federation】 boasted unmatched climber numbers.
Occasional naturals, but Idol picks enabled class swaps.
Wanna climb? Watch Wakamo streams.
Rising viewers from that—plus veteran fox spirits mentoring noobs.
Thus, climber cops/soldiers filled security gaps uniquely.
"B wanna climb?"
"Tempting, but fights if trouble—guardians too. I want normal life."
Russia's vastness spawned endless Architect jobs.
Zero experience/certs needed—jobs overflowed.
Korea lifted martial law too—no draft for guys.
21-year-old B overflowed with free time.
"Still envy climbers when broke and part-timing."
"Climbers don't rake cash easy?"
Russia Tower labor, sites, loading—sturdy bodies only.
Resource runs common; climbers toiled for coin too.
They just needed loads of cash.
Pipkin Mami's solo concert soon—tickets covered, merch not.
"Sorry, late!!"
Clank clank—
Blood-dripping samurai in armor approached like from hell.
A and B freaked, shoving seats clear of bloodied cards.
Japan-based youth C apologized, shed gear for cleaning/repair, returned.
Reason for Russia Tower meetup: C.
Lifelong climber, he lived like he owned a home there.
"Damn, last home visit 3 months back. Utilities cut for sure."
"Huh? Auto-debit?"
"Japan's full of hassles."
Sighing C, as Japanese, griped politicians raging over Inari Fox Goddess as PM.
Ramen over 1,000 yen? Tears flowed—A/B couldn't relate.
"What's Japan even mad about?"
Shrines built, Idol's fave spot.
"Owners ditching Emperor, 100M jade-lock spirit—senile elders in parliament spouting that."
"Japan burns? Crash our place, got bed."
"Thanks..."
"But C, climbing that high—why broke?"
Wordless, C shoved 【Partner】 mag at B.
Tower coins boosted Partners proportionally—like custom girlfriends; overseas: "Custom GF Shop."
"See the add-on? Partner stats/IQ scale with floors climbed. I want my match Asuka-chan smart!!!"
"Bro's a bro! Respect!"
"Just date a girl?"
A and C grabbed B's collar, shaking.
Normie screamed death—but solo grudge ran deep/dark.
Federation climbers grew fast, info-rich, partied for expeditions.
Unlocked features let 【Partners】 obey plus some personality/IQ—not Asuka-level, but enough. Masses farmed coins.
Unlock via floors scaled performance—C risked life climbing.
"China's Shanghai Tower 80 floors—solo'd to 57."
"China Towers solo-friendly, popular."
"Shanghai's peak goat fr."
"What? He said goat fr!"
C's tales had A sighing: train hard, then climb.
Xiaoliang's dojo grind 'cause his class [Summoner].
"Someday, moniker like Climber 【Black-White Duo Heroes】."
"For summoning?"
Card-gaming, VTuber-chatting otakus bonded.
Class indifference—C eyed curiously.
"Grows on climb—but these won't cut it."
A summoned two ultra-cute pandas, sighed.
B paled, demanding unsummon.
"Dude! Rumors of kidnappers snatching bear summoners! Korea Climber Association sending Public Security!"
"Not China—Korea? And only you guys saw."
B/C petted offered pandas, pitying: "How climb with baby bears?"
Hence A's martial grind.
10 floors easy—but Towers target summoner bodies.
"So C, what Partner? Otakus struggle most with design."
"Rotating faves quarterly? Tough for one Partner—but I'm different!!"
Red Asuka-chan! Eyes sparkling—C got headshakes.
Card tourney time—head in, A urged.
………
……
World chaotic with 『Climbers』: crime up, terrorism via Tower collapses, monster-displaced refugees.
Protests for Federation entry, power struggles within.
PM Inari Fox Goddess darkening daily—paps snapped "Whoa, Mio hag!" mid-Wakamo roundhouse; front-page fodder.
Rapid, baffling shifts bred confusion—but 【East Asian Federation】 stood firm, visible peace.
"Ooh, new track."
Russia Tower entry: Iosif Khan's latest blared.
VTuber-geared folks huddled card-talking; others ate, streamed.
Passed vendor stalls of production-class figs.
Pipkin Mami-endorsed cosmetics, Pirate bday fan-funded billboard.
"Spinning top fighters wanted."
"Kid stuff? My Zhuque'll play."
World peaceful, most climbers freelance-free.
Russia Tower: climbers chilling leisurely.
"My deck's dumb—!!"
Tourney entry: coated woman wailed early wipe.
"Wha-wha-why'd yours work like that you bastards!!!"
Black-haired red-eyed girl despaired "Swimsuit Wakamo SSR Unique card!!!" collapsing in sobs.
Russia Tower Lord—no, [Rusalka Anastasia] hologramming the event.
Inviting VTubers for inter-VTuber tourneys, viewer streams concurrent.
"Winner gets Unique pack, C!"
"Yeah B! Snag it, sell, girlfriend year!!"
"Dude, just date?"
"Get VTuber fandom? Where's A?"
"A?"
Tourney imminent—A vanished.
Searched, no luck, no contact. Scanning, B locked eyes with Rusalka.
She scratched nape awkwardly, sorry-faced—he got it, eyes closing in epiphany.
"C... let's go. A's nabbed by Korean Public Security."
"That Association rumor real?"
Talented climbers got snapped up anywhere.
Special ones? Korean Association hires.
Red sports car revved past.
World peacefully spun on.
Politics ignored—thanks to some Idol's streams.
More viewers needed comfy lives.
"You adorable menace!! Hiding that power's no good!!"
Wakamo tilted head at beaming Manager on off-day, ripping packs.
Guy in her car...? Date maybe.
"O, Unique card."
[★10 Fully Armed Mech Bear Kumah] gleamed—she raised it.
Bear tongue slapped, snatched, vanished.
"?"
No blink—card gone. Wakamo rose, but Manager drove off.
"Manager's transcending humanity day by day."
Next Korea Association head too OP—trouble.
Or bright future?