Chapter 30
Japan.
When China lost half of its territory and its capital due to the Tower collapse, North Korea was devastated, and South Korea was left in a dire state after losing its capital.
While Korea quickly adapted because of the popularity of the tower climbing genre,
Japan, being a haven for otakus, saw its enthusiasts jump into the Tower as if they were protagonists of their own stories the moment the world turned into a fantastical reality. All for the sole purpose of becoming stronger.
Japan also suffered from the Tower collapse, but not as severely as China due to its smaller land size.
Moreover, Japan had many who preserved traditions.
There were various dojos across the nation, each with its own martial arts school. The legacies of disciplines like Aikido, Kendo, Judo, and Karate were kept alive.
Unlike Korea, where club activities provided only minimal exposure, Japan had more accessibility to martial arts. Thus, climbers who awakened would ascend the Tower to prevent its collapse and band together to fight off the swarming monsters when it did collapse.
However, Japan’s suffering was exacerbated by an ineffective government and bureaucratic inefficiency. The prime minister was too preoccupied with managing the potential dangers posed by powerful climbers rather than swiftly addressing the disaster relief from the Tower collapse.
The situation escalated to the point where an exasperated climber assassinated the prime minister, leading to a different kind of catastrophe.
While the relationship between the Korean and Japanese governments remained at its worst,
there were climbers in both countries who, despite the chaos, fought to save as many lives as possible. These individuals became the current chairmen of the associations.
※※※
“Wow~ So this is a Shrine.”
Wakamo had just arrived at the Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto and looked around as if she were a country bumpkin who had just set foot in the city.
Watching her nonchalantly claim that it was okay to walk around in Japan under the guise of cosplay, Manager Won Da-hye had many things she wanted to say but held back.
After all, the Japanese chairman had asked her to bring soy sauce marinated crab, and she had to deliver it before it spoiled.
The shrine, which had existed since the Edo period, was famous for its 10,000 torii gates. Walking under them, Wakamo wagged her tail slightly, thinking it was a magnificent sight.
With her camera in hand, Wakamo took photos with Yu Ying, enjoying herself like any tourist.
“This is all part of the experience!! Sharing stories from what you see and feel on trips during broadcasts is content too!”
“Yup!”
Whether they were there to enjoy sightseeing or find content was unclear, but having fun was what mattered, right?
To the passing tourists, a giant with fox ears and a tail appearing at the Shrine dedicated to the Fox God was a spectacle, causing them to whisper, wondering if she was divine.
Some thought it was an event and tried to take pictures, while others approached Wakamo, only for her to shamelessly claim that they had mistaken her identity and that she was just a tourist.
She insisted, with her fox ears perked up, that it was all just cosplay.
Yu Ying was too embarrassed to raise her head. Couldn’t she have at least worn a hat or changed her clothes?
Wakamo chose not to disguise herself to conserve mana. It had absolutely nothing to do with watching VTuber streams and clipping moments in between, causing her mana to deplete rapidly.
“Wow, so this is a Shrine. It’s my first time actually visiting one.”
“Boss, is it your first time at a Shrine…?”
Yu Ying couldn’t believe that the Fox God was visiting a Shrine for the first time.
Wakamo, who had been crossing the ocean to line up overnight and buy merchandise, had never actually done any sightseeing, only staying in hotels to watch VTuber streams. So she claimed it was her first visit.
“They say the main path is where the gods walk.”
“Then, shouldn’t you be walking on the side, Boss…?”
When Yu Ying teased her about why she was walking with her, Wakamo responded that it would be disrespectful otherwise.
At least they took pictures.
Yu Ying felt a bit conflicted as she took a picture of the Fox God standing beside a fox statue.
Amidst this, Wakamo spotted a Shrine Maiden sweeping nearby and approached her. Could she really be a Shrine Maiden working here? Wakamo approached with excitement, and the Maiden, upon seeing the approaching Fox God, rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
The color was black… but was it a fox… or a spirit?
“Are you a real Shrine Maiden?”
The Shrine Maiden, taken aback by the polite question, answered with a nervous stutter, looking up at Wakamo’s towering figure and unsure whether her eyes were open or closed. She confessed that she was just a part-time worker.
“Well… I’m only working part-time. There aren’t any real Shrine Maidens these days…”
There were no climbers with the occupation of Shrine Maiden either.
“But there are Shrine Maidens among VTubers…”
“Boss…”
Yu Ying grabbed Wakamo’s wrist and dragged her away from the puzzled Shrine Maiden. The Fox God must have been disappointed to learn there were no real Shrine Maidens.
Yu Ying felt relieved that Wakamo didn’t try to go inside, wondering if there were other gods in the Shrine.
Of course, if asked, Wakamo would have said, “What god? They don’t exist.”
“There’s something I always wanted to do when coming to a Shrine! This is called an Ema. It’s a wooden plaque on which people draw and write their wishes. I heard that at Inari Shrine, they are shaped like foxes! Here, Yu Ying, write your wish.”
“I want to be on a stream with Boss.”
While Yu Ying earnestly scribbled her wish in Korean, Wakamo smiled warmly and wrote her own wish on the Ema.
[Please let me buy limited edition VTuber figures on this trip] she wrote sincerely, clapping her hands together in prayer.
Please… Inari God… make this wish come true…!!
She offered 10,000 yen as an offering. That should be enough to grant this kind of wish!
What followed was a leisurely sightseeing time. There was more to see than she thought, and the scenery was beautiful.
“Japan really has its own charm… I wish I could have something like that. Would I need a license to possess a sword…?”
While walking, Wakamo’s eyes caught a decorated Japanese sword displayed on the Shrine wall.
Wouldn’t she look cool wielding a Japanese sword as the Fox God? Always at full power, wielding three swords for Three-Sword Style!!
“Boss, where are we going next?”
“Since there was a collab with Yangimo in Kyoto, we’ll first look for second-hand shops to find those goods. Then, we’ll visit the collab café currently running and check out the figure shops in Kyoto. If we have time, we might go to Akihabara too.”
“I want to eat a lot of yummy food, Boss!!”
“Granted. You can buy it all…!!”
“Yay!!”
※※※
“…Is this really okay…?”
“Assemblyman Tetsuya!!”
“Y-yes!!”
“Hah—now that I’m older and hold this position, shouldn’t I stand tall and act with more confidence? The old man said he even found the next chairman. I hope you understand the sighs of a woman like me who sees no talent around.”
The woman in a business suit, scolding the timid-looking Assemblyman, was Watanabe Tomoko, the chairman of the Japanese climbing association.
From her vantage point in a high-rise building that offered a panoramic view of the city, she looked out at the Towers scattered across the skyline and frowned.
She had conquered as many as five Towers, with her highest record being the 70th floor, making her one of the climbers at the pinnacle of Japan. For someone like her to say there was nothing to worry about meant only one thing: they were declaring their intent to act as they pleased.
“Did the Japanese Sorcerer Association and that foolish man make a move?”
“Yes, yes… claiming they would exterminate the malicious yokai that crossed into Japan…”
“They’re truly being reckless toward a climber from Korea. They’ve crossed a serious line! It’s tantamount to mocking me!”
“I, for one, don’t understand why the Korean chairman would release such a monster…”
“Well, it’s because she’s the strongest.”
Undoubtedly the strongest among the Korean climbers and a comrade who had fought back-to-back with her, staking her honour on this issue.
There was no room for doubt. She was tired, as always, of the ungrateful Japanese government that couldn’t even utter a word of thanks to those who rushed to help during times of crisis.
If all the climbers in Korea attacked, that old man alone could knock them all down and more. He was overwhelmingly confident in his abilities — he could see the flow of mana and intuitively sense danger.
He could even detect how many people had been killed and see through doppelgangers imitating humans at a glance.
For someone like him to have said she was a “good climber,” it left no room for doubt — she must be one who cherished humanity.
“I was so worried I had someone tail her, but she’s just enjoying herself like a tourist… what’s all this concern about?”
The Chairman grumbled, half-jokingly contemplating defecting to Korea, while the Assemblyman desperately pleaded for her to refrain.
“Politicians playing their games have no sense of reality.”
The era had changed rapidly.
Climbers didn’t want to lose the civilization they had grown accustomed to, and they already knew from countless movies and stories what would happen if it were lost. Some even tried to stage coups to wake up the incompetent government, but — unless a climber was overwhelmingly powerful, there was no way to defeat military forces.
“They treat me as if I’m their personal hunter, sent to kill climbers.”
“Haha…”
“Then let me ask you this. What if it’s not a yokai but the actual Inari God?”
“Pardon…?”
“If they’re not saying they’ll kill a promising Korean climber, but rather that they’ll exterminate a yokai — what if it’s truly a god?”
The young Assemblyman, sent just to bear the brunt of the conversation, couldn’t respond to her question. He was just a scapegoat, not someone who spoke on behalf of his country. But listening to her words, he thought, if it really was the Fox God…
Even if not, this was already a diplomatic issue.
“And anyway, we’ve already acted on our own. The [Fist King] wants to meet her.”
“…What?”
“So I told him he could do as he pleased♥.”
“N-no, but to handle it so arbitrarily…”
“Do you have a problem with it? If so, come and say it directly.”
Kicked out by Watanabe, the Chairman, who dismissively told him she was going to speak with Manager Won Da-hye, the Assemblyman had no choice but to contact the National Assembly, feeling that the issue, chaotic from the start, was escalating even further.
The message he had to deliver was this… Japan’s strongest man was on his way to meet the Fox God!
And that too, for a battle!!
※※※
Fights between climbers often depended on how much they could conceal their information from one another.
Even if a job was revealed, it didn’t mean all their [Skills] were known. Weapons, consumables, accessories, and armor all needed to be considered.
On top of that, fighting outside the Tower meant that underestimating an opponent for being weaker could lead to death when they pulled out a gun in desperation.
Hadn’t an American Tower Conqueror died an unfortunate death from being shot randomly while passing by?
Conversely, climbers generally avoided fighting among themselves unless it was an extreme situation.
They were busy enough fighting monsters and climbing Towers, so why pick fights?
If someone did provoke a fight, it meant they were either an assassin-trained climber sent to kill or a government-created weapon, in which case it was better to run.
Of course, if it were the government, they would probably kill more cleverly with long-range sniping.
“I can’t eat any more, ugh…”
Yu Ying trembled, holding her mouth shut after overeating to the point her stomach bulged.
Wakamo, who had just arrived at the pre-booked hotel and unpacked her things, immediately opened a portal and shoved all her newly bought VTuber merchandise and figures into it. She had bought so many that even hugging them tightly didn’t encompass them all.
She had swept up Nendoroids, chibi-style figures of VirtualLive members, and cleared out figure shops to the point of turning them upside down. With enthusiasm, she thought of arranging her studio to be a display hall.
There were so many that she couldn’t even get into her house through the portal.
She stacked bags from the bathroom onward, realizing, ‘Is my house really this small…?’
“I only bought 700 figures!!!”
Of course, that was just the figures. She wouldn’t even mention how many other impulse buys she made. As she cooled down and realized she might have overdone it, her lips curved up again at the sight of the towering pile of VTuber merchandise.
“Ehehe… this is happiness… Wakamo is happy!!!!”
Wakamo, whose excitement was through the roof and whose tail puffed out with glee, turned on her game console, excited to play the new VTuber game she had bought.
While many of them were low-quality games made just to sell characters, and some were just fan-made level games, Wakamo didn’t mind.
“So, this is the 7th VTuber game I bought!!”
– Yeah… ah, yeah…
– When will we hear your thoughts on your Japan trip?
– We’ve been listening to her talk about VTuber merchandise for 2 hours.
– Is this a VTuber seminar?
– Since the professor is lecturing, please take your seats.
– No roll call is such a relief…
– Ichigo’s streaming too.
– What’s she saying?
– She said she bought so many figures she couldn’t even enter her house. Said she got 2,800 items, and I couldn’t believe my ears.
– …What?
– Wait, what? That many…?
– Including figures and other stuff, it’d add up. Keychains, random stuff…
– Is she building a pharaoh’s tomb or something? Is she making a VTuber museum?
Her excitement reached heights where her tone soared, and she giggled with her ears twitching as she chatted with her viewers for nearly four hours. Whether it was really a conversation was questionable, but she wanted to share stories of the collab café dishes she ate, just like when her Oshi, the Queen, did after her own Japan trip.
“So, the VTuber associated with this dish is…”
– Is this review time?
– Wake me up when the professor’s lecture ends….
– Is all of this going to be on the test?
– This hellish exam is insane, this semester is done for.
– I heard it’s an open-book test?
– Even if it’s open-book, I still won’t make it. LOL
– Why do you even have all that memorized???
– Info) The channel owner has memorized all public profiles.
– Terrifying, holding even the dark pasts of VTubers…
With the rapid-fire VTuber talk, some Believers switched over to Ichigo’s stream to listen to stories about delicious food. There, Ichigo was sharing her first impressions of Japan with friends and showing pictures from her visit to Kyoto’s Inari Shrine.
To anyone watching, it was clearly the scene of the Red Pill VTuber disaster, but Yu Ying just mumbled that Wakamo’s image was edited into a VTuber model, per instructions. The viewers, having moved past such petty nitpicking by now, just responded with “Ah, I see,” and moved on.
– Fox God visiting Inari Shrine.
– There’s a Fox God who says only gods can walk on the main path and won’t go?
– Is it right for the Fox God to take a photo next to a fox statue?
– More disappointing is that there aren’t any real Shrine Maidens there.
– No gods, no Shrine Maidens at the Shrine… must be lonely.
– Isn’t that Shrine basically the channel owner’s turf…?
– Visiting a friend, but the fox friend doesn’t come out when called…
– But why hasn’t the channel owner gone to China?
– Gotta have something left to go for, LOL.
– True LOL, everything there is just burned up, LOL.
While Ichigo and Wakamo were streaming and discussing what they would do next in Japan, the Believers assumed Wakamo would just go VTuber shopping and didn’t hold much expectation. However, as Wakamo chatted briefly, she crossed her arms, deep in thought.
She had learned Taekwondo in Korea, but – honestly, it felt like she was at her limit.
Japan was full of different schools that taught various types of martial arts, such as karate and judo… weren’t there plenty of places worth learning from? There were also various schools of kendo.
She wondered if it would be okay to register and learn at a suitable place. Individual training could solve the Red Pill VTuber issue, but inviting a master like that would cost a fortune…
‘I might have to fight not just monsters, but climbers in the future.’
For monsters, she could just brutally defeat them, but she didn’t want to kill fellow climbers unless absolutely necessary, so she wanted to learn various combat techniques.
Won Da-hye, her manager, told her that getting approval for a [Tower Climbing Ticket] would take time, so she could enjoy more sightseeing. The Japanese Chairman even contacted Wakamo separately, saying it was fine to go ahead and enter. He told her to just go for it… rather recklessly giving permission.
However, Wakamo politely declined, as it could become a diplomatic issue.
The [Tower Climbing Ticket] was essentially the first of its kind. Both the Japanese and Korean Tower Countermeasure Associations had verified and registered the item’s information, so climbers around the world knew of its existence.
Since it was exclusive, there would be no attempts to steal it.
The advantage of negating Tower penalties and climbing as if it were the first time was immeasurably valuable.
For a climber who had already conquered a Tower, this was an opportunity to climb at a reduced difficulty level, making it easier to grow stronger – even potentially aiming for the status of a Complete Conqueror.
Why wouldn’t foreign countries try to persuade Wakamo to naturalize with them?
To climb their own Towers, climbers had to reset the Tower, losing all their accumulated skills and stats.
There was no guarantee that lost skills and stats could be regained, and without transferring items, even those would disappear – that was the reality of Tower resets.
Won Da-hye had mentioned that some countries, thinking Wakamo would remain strong even after a reset, had sent agents to persuade her.
Those agents, who had tried to make contact covertly, had been “taken care of,” without any public acknowledgment, when they tried to expose the Red Pill VTuber. Hopefully, they weren’t dealt with lethally…
Anyway, if Wakamo obtained another item like that, some countries might even resort to threatening her to make her climb their Towers.
Imagining such scenarios felt overwhelmingly burdensome… though Wakamo didn’t really care.
However, if they threatened her with destroying her collection of cherished VTuber memorabilia displayed in her studio, she might just give in.
If those irreplaceable items were lost in a fire, she might indeed become a cursed Fox God.
‘Taking that into consideration, I want to fight smarter.’
The fantasy of her strength had grown immensely due to her flashy displays of power, aided by the fact that mana recovered while climbing Towers.
In reality, her skills were such a chaotic mess that she fought by pushing herself to the point of exhaustion, risking her lifespan in the process.
Honestly, using power during a fight meant consuming as much mana as fighting those Thunderous Rage Rhinos or goblins. Does that need any further explanation?
‘—Plus, showing some martial arts performance would be good content for my studio.’
Although things had changed a lot, Taekwondo demonstrations were still performed overseas.
The more skills she could showcase, the richer Wakamo’s VTuber broadcasts would become.
‘I should learn Japanese instruments, dances, and study various things…’
So tomorrow, let’s clear out the convenience stores for VTuber collaboration items.
Even if that decision seemed oddly determined, Wakamo had set her plans meticulously.
…
…
“I’ve been wanting to meet you, Fox God.”
Until the moment she stepped out of the hotel early the next morning and met a middle-aged martial artist with an imposing aura blocking her way, Wakamo’s plan was perfect.
The grand plan of setting up a tent and waiting in line from dawn!
“—Who are you?”
“Though I’m grandly known as the [Fist King]… I am just a mere martial artist. I came from afar to meet you.”
Would you grant me a duel?
The title of the man, who bowed and respectfully made his request, was well-known even to Wakamo, who had no interest in climbers.
The strongest climber in Japan, who cleared the 90th floor of the Osaka Tower, a labyrinth, using only his fists…!!
‘…But why a duel with me?’
Just how much had the illusion of her strength inflated?
Wakamo sighed inwardly and quietly bid farewell to the collaboration items she had planned to buy…
Sorry I can’t come for you, convenience store collab items…
The fact that she even briefly considered waking the peacefully sleeping Yu Ying made Wakamo feel utterly guilty, plunging her mood into gloom.
—
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