Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Fox God VTuber Climbing the Tower
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"Ten years since Seoul turned into that mess. I can't even remember the last bit of good news."
What rose into view from the towering skyscraper was the Babel Tower, piercing the heavens.
The wrinkled old man stared toward the direction of what was once the radiant capital of South Korea, visible beyond the incongruous hundred-story tower that didn't belong in Korea, a faint smile on his lips.
At sixty years old, he wouldn't be considered old in this era of aging populations—but the twists and turns of his life over the past decade had been brutal.
"Chairman, we've obtained information on the Incheon Tower climber."
"I've been waiting for this. I was so excited I didn't even touch my favorite strawberry milk."
"At your age, you should probably cut back on dairy..."
"Young folks have it good! Haha!!"
The woman set down a stack of documents—her stockings torn here and there, suit rumpled, hair unwashed for days, eyes hollow. The chairman shot back at his Surveillance Team Chief's scolding with a petulant tone, something along the lines of how she shouldn't overdo the caffeine if she was so young.
"What do you think, Chief Won Da-hye?"
South Korea Climbers' Association Chairman Yu Kyung-yeon asked his most trusted subordinate—the young woman he'd arbitrarily pegged as his successor. Ten years might sound like a long time, but to him, it was barely a blip.
The tower had sprung up in Seoul out of nowhere. The ruling party regulated the Awakened as ticking time bombs, while the opposition tried to recruit them—countless parties chased power far beyond what any one person should wield. No wonder groups like the Incheon Climber Labor Union had once existed.
He didn't even want to think about how much blood had been spilled before the Climbers' Association was established to deal with the towers.
Leave a tower alone too long, and its collapse rate climbs. Harvest too many resources from it, and the rate climbs the same. But climb it, and the rate drops. That's how they managed resources—slowly ascending floor by floor, harvesting, profiting. Corporations, Awakened guilds, and the new political parties backing them...
Tired stuff, all of it.
Politics wore him out, especially since he hadn't sought the position.
"There'll be a cabinet meeting, won't there?"
Climbers could communicate the moment they Awakened—even if they couldn't read the language. That must be why so many exhausted Awakened on that nightmarish day just up and left, country be damned. Voices still grumbled about those who fled.
South Korea had the fewest Awakened in the world.
Ironically, should he laugh or cry that tower-climbing stories had prepared them better? This was a country that once regulated adult toys for adults. Things had changed a lot. The new president prioritized guilds and corporations over citizens—a rotten, materialistic power-grabber—but that made him easier to deal with.
Chairman Yu Kyung-yeon had always done his utmost to keep the country from collapsing.
Guilds and corporations couldn't ignore the Climbers' Association. It was the sole deterrent, ensuring climber-related crimes never happened—thanks to him.
Busan 77th-floor clear, Icheon 50th-floor clear, Hwaseong 40th-floor clear... His authority as a top Korean climber and first-generation powerhouse let him seize power through sheer force.
His creed was simple: conquer the towers.
Guild, corporation, climber—whoever, as long as the Seoul disaster never repeated. That was enough.
But he'd never imagined something like this, so his grin stretched ear to ear.
"Chief, I'm not dreaming, am I?"
Seeing a real "perfect clear floor" in Korea was a first for him, too.
Called "Platinum clear" inside towers, marked by a color change on the outside—a perfect clear floor had appeared in Incheon Tower.
From the start, no one knew the conditions. Even if revealed via [Tower Rewards], you lost the chance to retry once you ascended past it. Abandon the climb and reset all skills/stats? Same deal. The only way was sharing info with other climbers, but that was rare.
Perfect clears were scarce but solved via shared intel or occasional in-floor hints.
The absolute rule: each climber got exactly one shot upon reaching the floor.
Basically, fail and it's over.
The benefits of a perfect clear floor were beyond imagination. Even non-climbers could enter via the tower; it fully supported modern tech—and could serve as a bunker if needed. Best part: without ascending, the environment auto-reset on a long cycle. Semi-permanent resources until fully conquered.
Such floors popped up occasionally across countless towers.
But snagging one on Floor 1? Never happened. Not once.
And now it was Floor 2.
"A regressor climber come back to save doomed humanity?"
"Stop reading novels, sir... A regressor would be better. The problem is it's not."
Flipping open the file, Chief Won Da-hye showed a photo that was unmistakably a 2D character drawing. The chairman pondered if he should respect her tastes but decided to calmly ask the young woman.
"Explain it so this old man can understand?"
"Wakamo Inarizushi. Fox god, 243 cm tall, 211 kg. Sealed away for 1,000 years, freed in modern times, now in her fifth year as a stre—er, VTuber doing internet broadcasts."
"What's a VTuber?"
"Uh... people who stream with avatars like this."
Even explaining it, Chief Won Da-hye looked dubious. Honestly, she was dumbfounded too.
Perfect clear entry rights went to the conquering climber—making them the floor's de facto owner. The tower etched their name in honor at the top: 【Wakamo Inarizushi】! She wanted to snap at her subordinate if she'd been day-drinking, but sadly, it was reality.
"So, isn't it just the streamer herself climbing while broadcasting virtually? A real millennium-old fox god? Towers pop up; why not something like that?"
"Will the higher-ups buy it?"
"They will."
The air grew heavy. The chairman's ever-kind eyes gleamed like a beast's. Finally, a stellar Korean climber appeared—what did identity matter? No criminal record? Good enough. Any party interfering or probing? They'd better be ready to bleed.
"But a broadcaster? Lucky break. Those types always mind their image for the fans. Sure, fame or greed can corrupt some—but make nice contact, Chief. Don't you like that stuff?"
She kicked his shin on her way out, yelling "Got it!" Teasing her personal hobby like that? Deserved.
In this era, everyone had an otaku quirk or two. Why get embarrassed? But her frantic dash had another reason.
Who could've guessed the Surveillance Team Chief—who got hooked on a stock-streaming VTuber, became a fan by accident, half-neglected a fan cafe, and even managed it—was stalking her own charge?
"Whoa, no. Sigh. What the... this is insane."
Yanking her hair, she checked the YouTube channel, the cafe, every community—but everywhere was chaos. All forums buzzed about the one gifting Korea its first perfect clear floor. And it wasn't even human—a VTuber!
Her oshi, who barely streamed, just clipped other VTubers' broadcasts all day, spamming donos!!
"Team lead, turn on the stream!! What the hell is this?!"
[Japanese climber sneaks in and climbs Incheon Tower?!]
"Eeeeek!!!"
Meanwhile, front-page articles spewed unvetted nonsense.
The fancy honor stele visible upon entering Incheon Tower's 100 floors bore a bizarre name. Not Korean-sounding, not quite Japanese either. Who names themselves "Fried Tofu Sushi"?
"We're screwed."
Chats polluted the stream? She didn't care—no manager. Self-edits, no editor. Knew about the fan cafe but never checked it. Contact? Email, but streamers' inboxes were infernos. Phone? Fat chance.
"Yesterday she was hyping clips and dual tournaments, and now she's in a tower?!"
Other collab VTubers might have her contact.
"Is this right...?"
Chasing leads like this?
Hesitantly, Chief Won Da-hye opened the Association's first-floor door. Reporters swarmed like rabid dogs, questions flying. But how to explain? Claiming illegal entry from Japan might be better—Korea stole their talent!!
But her Wakamo was Korean!! Or maybe a real fox god...
And explain that now?
[Incheon Tower Floor 3 achieves Platinum conditions—open to all humanity!!]
Head pounding, fanfare blared like mockery.
Just days ago, she'd worshipped her as a stock god for her killer picks...
Too scared it might really be a fox god, she just trembled, posting "Start streaming!!" on the channel community.
※※※
"Whoa, look at these posts flying in."
An open internet meant real-time live streams!!
"Now I get why Floor 2 took no damage."
Perched on an [Angry Boar]'s corpse on Floor 3, she'd worried about the backlash, but with channels and inboxes ablaze, cold sweat led to blocking it all. Now she had breathing room.
[Status Window]
[Climber: Wakamo Inarizushi]
[Job: VTuber]
[Age: 1,000 years]
[Stats]
Magic Power: 149,367.
Magic power skyrocketed exponentially! Riding hotter than any algorithm—spreading her name in Korea... Clipper and VTuber pals were asking what happened, but priorities first.
[Internet Connection]
-Connects to internet recognized by [Climber].
-Can link [Video Recording] with skills.
-Skill use consumes mana.
Internet meant... games!!
"Got time—time to build a dual deck for collabs."
Logging in, checking cards—reading the popup.
[Climbing Incheon Tower Floor 3 World]
-Towers spawn various monsters. Hunt [Angry Boar]!
[Platinum Achievement Conditions]
-Use weapon crafted on Floor 2 to defeat (1/1)
-Defeat [Angry Boar] unscathed (1/1)
[Tower Platinum Clear increases rewards]
"Absolutely picking an attack skill this time."
[Choose 1 Reward]
[Idol's Flame]
-Consumes held mana to summon flames.
[Idol's Thunderbolt]
-Consumes held mana to launch thunder spear.
[Worshipped God]
-Mana recovery speed scales with believers.
[My Worlds]
-Same functions as 『Virtual Chat』.
-Room quality scales with [Climber]'s cleared floors.
-Summons small studio apartment-sized personal space.
[Acquired skill [My Worlds]!]
"[Tower Exit]!!"
Faster than light, back home—strike a pose.
"[My Worlds]!"
No need to study; shoved face into the portal, picked a studio layout, crammed everything in. Bed, PC, precious VTuber merch—emptied house, entered, sealed.
Space skill...! Top-tier unique rarity!!
Brief dilemma.
Split-second decision. Grabbed VTuber collection and PC tower. Sure, hardships won this place.
But if it blocks my VTuber path? Gone!!
Could exit tower in Incheon!!
Boldly set her house ablaze.
Never returning... until VTuber success...
"Sorry, Going Mary Ho...!!!"
Tears flowing, dove into the portal.