Chapter 23
“Big trouble!!”
An Incheon Tower climber on the 30th floor shouted while watching Wakamo’s broadcast.
Though his body was weak, making it difficult to move, he urgently typed into the chat when he saw a nightmarish scene unfolding before his eyes—one he could never forget.
He frantically typed in the information he knew about the [Unknown Entity], desperately hoping that the others would heed his warning.
He could still vividly recall the scene of his chest being pierced.
He had been a [Fighter] class climber, wielding a shield as a tank, climbing the tower while suppressing his fear of monsters, building a skill tree focused on enduring attacks and protecting his body.
He had carefully prepared before entering the 30th floor of Incheon Tower, where the [Unknown Entity] was rumoured to exist, with torches, [Potions], and [Buffs] to preserve his life in case of emergency.
As soon as he raised the torch, the surroundings lit up in an instant.
The [Unknown Entity] is known to detect climbers’ positions by hearing their breathing and heartbeat, chasing them relentlessly until they are too exhausted to move.
While he remained tense and scanned his surroundings, wondering where the threat might come from, he never let down his guard.
He planned to counterattack after blocking any ambush with his shield.
He cast every defensive [Skill] he had, taking a sturdy stance like a mountain, waiting for the enemy. But contrary to his expectations, the [Unknown Entity] in the darkness did not attack immediately.
It seemed to be pressuring him, having sensed his nervous, rapid heartbeat, a sign that he was scared.
He tried to hold his breath and stay alert, but the darkness all around made it impossible to determine the direction.
To make matters worse, the [Unknown Entity] made no footsteps. Making any noise in the darkness would be a deadly mistake.
How much time had passed like this? Ten seconds? A minute? Perhaps more than ten minutes.
Knowing that the enemy was alone, he shouted in desperation, “Come at me!!!”
Right after, a ghastly figure leaped out, and he blocked it with his shield, but its claws tore through the shield, pierced his armour, and buried themselves into his chest with a chilling sensation.
He felt fortunate just to be aware that this was the infamous [Heart Extraction] without dying on the spot.
Despite his preparations, he narrowly escaped death from the silent hunter that emerged from the darkness.
That experience left him traumatized. Even though climbing the tower could have helped him recover, he had given up on climbing and continued living.
“They have no idea…!!”
Of course, they wouldn’t. It’s only the 13th floor.
Having been pushed to the brink of death, having experienced it himself, he trembled with PTSD from the darkness he sensed through the screen and desperately typed in the chat…
But soon, he and the other upper-floor climbers realized that something was off.
The [Unknown Entity] wasn’t reacting at all.
Not making any footsteps was understandable.
Holding its breath wasn’t impossible either.
But a heartbeat?
On screen, the Fox God VTuber, laughing, joked that such things didn’t exist in reality. Was it possible for her to stop even her own heart?
“Haha… serves them right…”
Watching the [Unknown Entity] stand there, mouth agape with a stupid expression, eased some of his painful memories.
Next to it, the Fox God, pretending to put an arm around its shoulder, laughed mockingly, made a V-sign to the viewers, and then disappeared into the darkness.
And soon, a snapping sound and a blood-curdling scream echoed.
That creature probably never realized who had killed it until the very end.
As the broadcast faded out with a hand waving goodbye from the darkness… he staggered to his feet, drenched as if he had taken a shower, and wiped his forehead with his hand. Just watching through the screen had made him this afraid.
Still, could this be called vicarious satisfaction?
“It feels good….”
Wakamo might not realize it, but her journey was bringing comfort to climbers who had once been defeated by monsters and had given up climbing out of fear.
※※※
Wakamo Inarizushi wondered if it was right to receive this much favour from the tower.
However, in truth, Wakamo was suffering greatly due to her unique [Legendary Class].
Now, let’s take our cute [Hajime Ichigo] as an example.
[Status Window]
[Climber: Yu Ying]
[Occupation: Lower-ranked Alchemist]
[Age: 17 years old]
[Stats]
Health: 30
Mana: 50
Strength: 2
Agility: 17
Vitality: 3
Intelligence: 22
Wisdom: 5
Charm: 1
You might have already noticed this, but climbers receive [Free Stat Points] as they ascend the floors.
Additional bonuses are given based on how smoothly they conquer the challenges.
Then, our low-IQ but high-mana fanatic,
Wakamo Inarizushi, who knows nothing but being a VTuber—her followers understood just how much she was suffering.
Despite achieving the unprecedented accomplishment of being a [Complete Conqueror], her occupation had some unexpectedly harsh drawbacks.
– Only has Mana as a stat.
– If her Mana reaches zero, she dies.
– Even after climbing the tower, her Mana stat does not increase.
Essentially, she has become a strange class where she must work hard as an idol outside, gathering followers, and then climb the tower to gather even more believers, proving herself over and over.
The tower might have given her this occupation thinking, ‘Oh, so this kind of job exists on Earth, huh?’ But in reality, even the tower was learning by peering into Wakamo Inarizushi’s mind and providing skills accordingly.
So, while Wakamo thought, ‘Isn’t my class totally overpowered?’
In reality, it came with enough demerits, such as being allowed to see [Floor Conquest Information].
No matter how excellently she conquered the tower… Wakamo didn’t receive bonus points.
Only the difficulty level kept spiking.
Since she had a non-combat occupation, she had to use her wits and squeeze out every bit of skill, overcoming challenges with her VTuber’s cunning (?) and wisdom.
She willingly walked into a hellish difficulty.
A normal tower climb would yield 3 points.
Clearing a floor without a scratch would earn 5 points.
And for a complete conquest, 10 points.
Even though stat points were supposed to be provided like this, Wakamo had no stats to increase, so she didn’t receive any points.
Therefore, the rewards she received were focused on skills, but they were non-combat skills derived from her VTuber background, which meant even her job-specific skills were based on the knowledge in Wakamo’s mind, making them somewhat lacking.
Even when the Tower gave her skills from the idol series, Wakamo had to fight by depleting her own mana to maintain herself, always putting her life on the line.
She was already short on mana, yet she wasted it like crazy, so yes, Wakamo was indeed a fool.
Even the Tower doubted whether this class had any potential beyond its early strengths, as it was overwhelmingly strong only at the beginning. In some ways, it might even be worse than an [Alchemist].
At this point, her Believers didn’t know how much Wakamo was losing, and even Wakamo herself didn’t realize it.
She was only barely managing to get by with the rewards she received by achieving the [Complete Conqueror] floors repeatedly.
Looking back, it was hard to say it was a good job.
If you consider its potential, she could gain mana equivalent to the Earth’s population.
But thanks to Wakamo laying the groundwork, she was safe. If she had been a VTuber with fewer subscribers, she could have died suddenly without even knowing why.
But perhaps even the Tower was struggling.
Despite crying and begging for [Attack Skills], when the Tower showed her the job-related [VTuber Skills] in advance and included [Attack Skills] as well, she still didn’t take them.
The Tower showed her skills in advance, telling her to take them when she was ready, but she didn’t even think about it and just snatched them up.
And then she would cry sorrowfully, “I don’t have any [Attack Skills]!” What was the Tower supposed to do?
Yet, even without [Attack Skills], she managed to squeeze out whatever skills and wisdom she had to somehow achieve the [Complete Conqueror] floors, and the Tower thought, “This kid is something else.”
And so the Tower understood.
“Ah, she’s a beast and a fool.”
Seeing her try so hard made the Tower feel so sorry for her that it prepared a reward for her once again.
It thought, “Someday, she’ll take the [Attack Skills], right?” and always kept the VTuber skills on hold for her to choose from whenever she was ready.
…The problem was, she was a fool of a VTuber driven purely by desire. But she was kind, at least…
※※※
[Status Window]
[Climber: Wakamo Inarizushi]
[Occupation: VTuber]
[Age: 1,000 years old]
[Stats]
Mana: 523,678
“I’ve finally surpassed 500,000….”
The number of subscribers was growing more slowly than expected… It meant that people just watched her broadcasts whenever they were on, then left.
If I asked the government to make everyone who entered the 1st floor subscribe, would it increase…? But that seems too selfish, so I don’t like it.
The condition was a one-month subscription to the VTuber, but viewers had the freedom to choose their favourite VTuber!! Dictatorship is unacceptable!!
Yu Ying looked at me with a gaze as if I was an idiot and said, “Can’t you just tell them, ‘Subscribe to Boss’s channel for a month and pick Boss’ channel…?’” But that’s just being greedy, Yu Ying!!
However, the situation was becoming a bit dire.
The reward for conquering the 13th floor was something inexplicable.
[Acquired the Artifact-Grade item [Jiang Taigong’s Fishing Rod]!]
[Jiang Taigong’s Fishing Rod]
Grade: Artifact.
The straight fishing hook can pierce anything.
The fishing line is made of the owner’s mana.
It’s made of bamboo but possesses divine power.
It bears the inscription [Taigong’s Fishing, Three Inches Deep].
A genuine artifact lost during the Zhou Dynasty.
A seal, a fan, and now a fishing rod?
What does the Tower think a VTuber is? What does it see me as?
Does it want me to wield fishing techniques with this bamboo rod…? It did look like it would be good for keeping a distance and smacking things.
I tried holding the fishing line made of my mana, but my mana started draining again.
“If I ever run out of money, I should display this in a museum to make some money.”
“Boss, don’t you know about Jiang Taigong?”
Yu Ying, who had struggled for 10 years to survive after the age of 7, read the item description. Despite her hardships, she had learned to read some characters as a child and had gained wisdom. If she were stupid, she wouldn’t have become an [Alchemist], so there was no need for further explanation.
A genuine item from the Zhou Dynasty, and if it’s Jiang Taigong, it must be referring to the legendary strategist Taigong Wang….
“Ah! Boss must have seen it firsthand, then!”
Just how old is my boss, anyway? It seems like she’s lived so long her brain has fossilized… Yu Ying resolved to make a potion to soften the brain.
In reality, Wakamo just had no interest in history.
If there had been a VTuber in China, she might have learned about it.
She wanted to ask what the real Taigong Wang was like, but considering the legend (?), it would probably only bring back bad memories, so she decided not to. Didn’t her friends on the broadcast say that keeping secrets makes a woman beautiful?
Just respect…!
Yu Ying was determined to care for the boss even if she suffered from dementia, never forgetting the gratitude she owed her!
If Wakamo knew the truth, she would have been disappointed, wondering what she thought of her.
But there are many times when keeping secrets makes things better between people.
“It feels like the Tower is trying to kill me. It keeps giving me [Elite Monsters] on every floor and dragging high-level monsters down. The rewards are shabby, but the difficulty just keeps increasing!”
“Isn’t it because Boss is super strong? Our boss is invincible!”
“It would be easier if they just gave me [Attack Skills]…”
“Isn’t it because Boss refuses to choose them?”
“Just now, didn’t your pronunciation sound incredibly clear?”
“It’s because I’m being polite…”
Anyway, since they had climbed two more floors, today’s broadcast was a duo stream with Ichigo and Wakamo.
Unfortunately, the roulette spin landed them on the collaborative survival horror game [Outlast: Trials], which was a problem.
The game involved completing tasks on a given stage and escaping from pursuers in a horror setting.
“I don’t want to do this…..”
– Why is the stream vibe like this as soon as it starts, lol
– I heard this game is scary, yup…
– Isn’t the host scarier though…?
– Why does she look so cute with her ears down, lol
– They’re probably more scared of the host, too…
Amidst the viewers’ teasing, the game began.
With a prompt to retrieve the [Vaccine] inside the research lab, Ichigo and Wakamo stood at the entrance of the lab as eerie background music played.
“Uuugh──”
“Waaah!!!!”
“Ah, Boss, calm down!!”
– Welcome to sweet happiness, lol
– This is pure dopamine.
– How are you getting scared right from the start, lol
– Why are you so afraid of zombies and ghosts, lol
– Maybe it’s just something they can’t handle…?
– Maybe they got haunted by a [Chang-gwi]…
T/n: “Chang-gwi” (창귀) refers to a malevolent spirit or ghost in Korean folklore.
The VTuber model on the screen was already crying with tears streaming down her face, her ears drooping as she muttered, “I don’t want to, I don’t want to, I’m scared…” like some sort of incantation.
“Boss, we have to work. Right?”
“Sniff… Ugh… Sob….”
– No, why is she actually crying…. my heart hurts.
– What are you doing, Ichigo? Push the host in.
– We’ll trap the constantly crying Fox God in a horror game~
– Once again, young breadwinner Ichigo finds life tough.
– They promised to protect her with a brick, is this even right…?
– The weight of being a breadwinner is too much for a 17-year-old girl.
On Ichigo’s screen, as calm as ever, a zombie suddenly appeared when she opened the door.
Yet, with impressive reflexes, she swung a brick, smashing its head, and then, as if nothing had happened, she walked into the darkness without even turning on her flashlight, closing her eyes and listening intently.
“Sniff…sob…sniffle…”
“Boss, don’t cry….be quiet, please….”
“Don’t leave me…sniff…”
“Boss, boss! Don’t shake me! It’s making me dizzy!!!”
Since Wakamo was right beside her and shaking her by the shoulder, Ichigo’s character on the screen swayed wildly from side to side.
– Even a light shake feels like a roller coaster….
– Can she really hid behind Ichigo?? Does it even matter if she hides??
– Meanwhile, the host is hiding in a trash can LOL
– Hey, focus on the game LOL
– I’m telling you, just hit them with a brick!!! Pick up the brick!!
With the mod, the VTuber characters were fully modeled, so even when Wakamo hid in the trash can, her character still stuck out a bit, making her a source of laughter on Ichigo’s screen.
– The trash can is hiding inside Wakamo!
– It’s not even a problem since it accepts our garbage lives anyway LOL
– The trash can can’t hide her LOL
“I said don’t come near me──!!!!”
Wakamo, too panicked and terrified, couldn’t even aim properly when she threw the brick. In the end, she got caught and bitten by the zombie, collapsing coldly onto the floor.
“The floor…is warm…..”
– Look at Ichigo running right after the boss dies.
– “I’ll save you!!”
– A true love that would chase her boss to the depths of hell…
– The polar bear is contemplating whether it’s okay to cry or not.
– Aha! This isn’t love; this is a dog owner taking their large dog for a walk!
– She’s probably a stubborn one.
– Shouldn’t we muzzle her?
Wakamo, lying on the ground, rolled her eyes around and then closed the game to open the VTuber stream again. While the Believers sighed, Ichigo was desperately struggling in the darkness, searching for the vaccine.
Ichigo moved like a seasoned professional, narrowly keeping her health bar from dropping to zero, maintaining distance, avoiding enemies, and hiding her body, all while receiving praise from her friends.
– At this point, the host doesn’t even exist.
– “Since the boss is scared, I’ll finish quickly.”
– She’s watching other streams when she should be watching her own.
– Is it okay to clip this epic moment of Ichigo’s duo stream?
– If you can multitask like this, why can’t you turn the generator?
– The host is an animal and doesn’t know much about electricity.
– Ah LOL, lightning is the wrath of nature LOL
“B-Boss, don’t suffer…I’ll save you!!”
Unable to turn on the generator, unable to find the vaccine, unable to navigate while avoiding zombies, and only screaming helplessly, Wakamo was utterly useless.
Ichigo ran in with only a pistol, with barely any bullets, to save her.
Despite swinging her head wildly, she knocked down the zombies with bricks and bottles, taking down those on either side with unbelievable aim, almost as if simultaneously, slaughtering the zombies.
– Dying is still too soon.
– It’s impressive for someone so small.
– Unseen speed slicing through.
– This is American style.
– A fool who only knows her boss…
– Take care of your landlord!!!
– Does Ichigo even know what a white-collar company is…?
“Huff, huff…. Boss, I did it!”
– Her tongue is getting more twisted as she tires….
– Ooh, our hardworking part-timer, good job.
– Is it worth saving a gal who’s just clipping moments while saying she’s tired during a co-op horror game?
– Dying is a strategy. she lost the battle but not the war.
– This is the tragedy of being a working adult….
– Ugh… Get out of my head, client golf!
“Did you really kill all the zombies? Really?”
“Yes!”
Just as they were about to collect the vaccine, they didn’t realize that as soon as they obtained it and tried to escape, the zombies would respawn.
“Uwaaah!!!!”
Showing some truly insane control, Wakamo read the zombies’ movements and demonstrated what agile dodging looked like as she fled like the wind.
“Aaaargh!”
Ichigo, who had fallen behind, was surrounded by zombies and got bitten, collapsing pathetically.
“B-Boss.”
The Believers were sure that she would go back to save Ichigo. Didn’t the host love her VTuber companion so much?
“Goodbye, Ichigo. I will never forget your sacrifice.”
– I knew it, I wasn’t wrong…
– You bleeping bleep LOL
– Is this really a betrayal story? Is it really???
– The boss surviving would make Ichigo happy…is that right, really???
– Damn it, how could you abandon a kid like that?!
– Didn’t you say you love VTubers?! Didn’t you?!
– Abandon Unit 1! You can always find a new VTuber!
– Truly a garbage-like thought LOL
After grabbing the vaccine and escaping alone, Wakamo gave a thumbs-up, thoroughly enjoying the scolding from her Believers.
Claiming she really, really didn’t want to play horror games anymore, she ran away, leaving Ichigo alone.
Viewers flocked to comfort Ichigo, who had worked so hard, showering her with donations.
Watching this, Ichigo thought that her boss had planned it all to help her make money.
In reality, it was simply because she was too scared and just abandoned her to clear the stage.
People knew that the host was scared of horror, but they were surprised at just how scared she actually was, turning this new piece of information into a topic of conversation on the community forums.
In this way, the host’s stream seemed to be running smoothly.
Until a [Complete Conqueror] unexpectedly appeared from the upper floors, announced without any warning.
—
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