Chapter 3
◎ Climbing Rule Zero.
All awakened individuals are called Climbers by the Tower, and the minimum criterion for selecting a Climber is whether they can take a life.
◎ Climbing Rule One.
Although 90% of all awakened individuals abide by social norms, they are clearly aware of their superhuman abilities and are encouraged to report their awakening to the national associations.
※※※
Modern technology and firearms cannot be used inside the Tower. More precisely, this is because certain conditions have not been met. There are very few people, truly a handful, who have satisfied these conditions and can receive help from modern scientific advancements inside the Tower.
Therefore, it’s naturally challenging to conduct internal recordings, and experiences of the Climbers have to be reconstructed based on their testimonies. Some special occupation holders can bring back information about the Tower’s interior, or the rare few who satisfy the conditions to carry a camera inside can record footage.
Climbers account for only about 2% of humanity.
But considering 2% of a global population of 8 billion is about 160 million people, it’s not exactly a small number.
In any case, while it is difficult to support those climbing the uppermost floors, the goal is to minimize the casualty rates of rookie Climbers who have just started ascending. Thus, countries cooperate globally, sharing information and developing various countermeasures.
Because of this, information about the Tower is readily available from the outside.
In novels, it’s common to see restrictions like not being able to speak about the Tower’s interior, or once inside, one can never leave, or the Climbers having to fight each other to the death. But in our world… no, the Tower in our reality is quite “gentle” in a way.
“Wow…”
All Climbers say that they can never forget their first moment inside the Tower.
Wakamo could truly feel what they meant.
No sound of birds or insects, yet he found himself standing in the middle of a forest with an unrealistic atmosphere. Modern VR technology could never replicate this level of realism. The texture and colours were beyond comparison. As a clipper, his analogy to virtual reality was understandable, so please forgive him for that.
‘It really feels like I’ve entered the world of “Virtual Chat” with my avatar.’
If he had entered with his original body, it would have made him realize he had truly become a Climber.
But with his hastily made 3D model, it felt like logging into Virtual Chat and roaming around in a world updated to a staggering level of realism, making it hard to shake off this impression. He couldn’t really get excited about it.
In modern terminal illness stories, they usually give the protagonist at least a month to a year. But me? I have less than a day—only 19 hours—less time than a mayfly. Maybe that’s why I feel even more unsettled.
“No way! There are jobs for Climbers that don’t require entering the Tower, so why am I stuck with this??”
As mentioned before, not all Climbers have occupations that require fighting the monsters inside the Tower. Isn’t the [Artist] occupation far from combat? Some awakened individuals gather materials outside the Tower and help by crafting items, or they enter the Tower as [Porters] to gather resources.
Of course, there isn’t an official [Porter] occupation.
Climbers have ways of entering floors regardless of their level, and some receive shared skills from special groups designated by the Tower, called “Companions.” Climbers can play active roles outside the Tower, not just inside.
Yes, I don’t understand it, but the Tower doesn’t force them to climb just because it calls them Climbers!
If you want to climb, go ahead. Oh, you want to ignore it? Fine. If it crumbles and collapses, then that’s your fault.
Tower, how much time do I have left?
19…
19 days?
19 hours.
What, you son of a…?
There’s no such thing as having a knife to your throat and being forced to climb the Tower! At least, that’s how it is based on the information Wakamo knew about the Tower and Climbers!
“No, am I supposed to be the ultimate idol or the best idol chosen by the Tower? If people start saying something like, ‘You are the world’s greatest VTuber,’ I’ll be labeled as a target. They’ll spend the entire day ranting: ‘What kind of qualifications do you have to be a VTuber?’”
It’s scary… Even when I haven’t done anything wrong, people still ask, “Why don’t you clip this? Why did you clip that? Are you an anti-fan?” Dealing with those kinds of emails all day long is exhausting. If the Tower declares me the greatest VTuber in the world, it’ll be like waving a red flag in front of a bull. A new internet Voldemort might be born, seriously.
“Uuuugh….”
I’m more scared of getting roasted by the invisible knives of internet users than the pressure of climbing the Tower!
“Calm down… Count the virtual YouTubers…”
He listed them off one by one: VirtualLive and their all-male counterpart, VirtualStars… the second and third generation VTubers, Otherworld Idols… Stellamis… Altogether, he recited the full names of about 70 VTubers to try and come to terms with reality. Time had slipped by watching streams and now, after entering the Tower, he had wasted another hour in denial.
“There really isn’t any tutorial fairy, huh….”
Hello! I’m the Tutorial Fairy.
Your time limit is 24 hours. Good luck.
Don’t make me laugh~ Let me out! Then, the head goes boom and the bystander thinks, ‘Is this where it all begins?’ No, none of that happens here.
There’s no such thing, yet here I am, a clipper with the body of a VTuber, risking my life climbing the Tower… Is this really happening?
‘For now…’
The Tower he entered using the [Tower Entry] skill was one of the highest-ranking Towers, and it was none other than the highly-documented Incheon Tower. Starting from the 30th floor, the Tower’s levels vary up to the 99th floor, but the highest is 100 floors. He deliberately chose this Tower because many Korean Climbers have challenged it.
‘The only way to leave a chosen Tower without clearing it is by giving up on climbing.’
If you give up, all the stats you’ve accumulated during the climb will be reset, and you can never enter that Tower again.
Taking all that into consideration, he specifically chose a 100-floor Tower to maximize his chances of climbing as high as possible.
“The collaboration café is opening in Incheon… If things get tricky, I can come out through the Tower to Incheon, so I can save some time commuting. With this huge body, taking the bus would be a nightmare…”
He had chosen the Tower meticulously after a long deliberation. He was tempted by the 70-floor Tower in Busan but dismissed it since it would be useless if he couldn’t get to Japan. Being a Korean citizen meant that he could only choose Korean Towers, and if the Tower’s location differed from his nationality, he would have to go there in person. If that had been possible, he would’ve just gone to Japan, where he had 19 hours left to live, and at least made the most of his time as a VTuber until he died.
“But really, it’s so shabby. With only [Body of the Idol] as my skill… Even the most common [Fighter] class has combat support skills like [Heavy Strike] and [Light Footstep].”
Isn’t it unfair that the Tower’s “chosen idol” only gets this one skill? Shouldn’t I have more?
After complaining to himself, he took his first step on the 1st floor, and with a cheerful ding~♪, a translucent window popped up.
[You have entered the 1st floor of Incheon Tower.]
- As a Climber, take your first step! To get familiar with the environment, try lighting a fire using an [Oil Slime].
[Platinum Achievement Condition] - Light a bonfire using the materials from a defeated slime (0/1).
“…Huh?”
His fox ears twitched and then drooped.
“Hmm…??”
Opening his eyes fully, he raised his eyebrows and tilted his head in confusion. This… is showing information on how to clear the 1st floor, right? It’s a quest guide, right?
“Platinum Achievement Condition?”
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Could it really be that simple?
According to what he’d researched, the way to clear the 1st floor of the Incheon Tower was by defeating a single slime. After that, when moving to the 2nd floor, you would choose the growth path that suits you best, which is the most basic process known.
“The achievement condition… Isn’t it too easy…?”
Maybe it’s just a matter of having the right information. Once you kill a slime, the Tower assumes the floor is cleared because there are no more monsters detected, and it creates a door to the next floor. Therefore, no one really bothers with sitting down and making a fire with the corpse of the slime, since there’s no reason to do so.
“I’ve heard that ‘Legendary Classes’ are extreme… but can it really be this easy?”
[Wizard] or [Archer] classes are said to have staves or bows and arrows in their inventories. Just because I don’t have anything right now doesn’t mean I won’t get something useful later.
Maybe there’s something good that others don’t have.
With this thought, he decided to continue exploring.
Boing boing.
While I was deep in thought, a black, liquid-like monster emerged, sloshing and wobbling around. Should I step on it? With that consideration, I lightly stepped on it, and with a splat—similar to stepping on a ripe banana—the slime was crushed underfoot. It felt like squashing a bug… I guess, as I keep climbing the Tower, I’ll eventually have to fight and kill things that look human too?
There’s a reason why the minimum requirement to be a Climber is having the mentality to take a life.
“No, does that mean I became a Climber because I’m only interested in VTubers…?”
Even if a VTuber has the qualifications to become a Climber, it’d be hard for them to fight directly, right?
Muttering to myself, I gathered some dried twigs scattered on the ground and placed the slime’s remains on top. Then, to light it… I really tried everything until I managed to make a fire. I rubbed my hands together, creating friction, and somehow, the flame caught. Since it’s flammable, the embers quickly flared up and set everything ablaze.
“Wow, I’m not getting tired at all!”
After rubbing for 30 minutes, anyone would expect to feel exhausted, but I didn’t have even a trace of muscle pain! Not only that, when the fire flared up and hit my face, I didn’t feel the heat at all. So, is this what it means to be 100% made of mana? Not bad, I thought, sitting down and watching the bonfire I created for the first time in my life.
‘I wonder how many views this would get if I uploaded it…’
After about five minutes passed…
[The 1st floor of Incheon Tower has met the Platinum Achievement Condition and is now open to all humanity!!]
I couldn’t tell whose voice it was, but it was a beautiful voice that seemed to belong to a very attractive person. The voice echoed throughout the Tower. Everyone near the Incheon Tower must have heard it. And the external appearance of the 1st floor must have changed as well.
This was one of those rare conditions I mentioned earlier.
When a floor is cleared under Platinum conditions, non-awakened humans can enter it as well.
All the resources and materials inside can be extracted using construction equipment, and the 1st floor can be used as a sort of bunker. The only requirement for maintaining it is that the Climber who achieved the Platinum Condition must still be alive.
In other words, the ownership of this 1st floor now belonged to Wakamo!
I acquired Tower real estate that surpasses regular real estate!
And all I did was spend five minutes staring at a bonfire!
[Would you like to ascend to the 2nd floor of Incheon Tower?]
Since I had no other business, I decided to ascend to the 2nd floor immediately.
[Mana: 49,371].
There wasn’t even time to enjoy the satisfaction of clearing a floor!
As I quickly moved up to the next floor, I saw a notification stating that all my injuries were healed, and my mana returned to [Mana: 70,587]. I let out a sigh of relief. With only 19 hours of life left… Not even a full day. I would have to climb the Tower like this, racing against time every day.
“Wait… isn’t this mana count exactly the same as my channel’s subscriber count?”
Upon closer inspection, I noticed it had gone up by a tiny bit—an absurd coincidence in many ways.
“For now, let’s check the 1st floor clearing rewards.”
Now that I had some breathing room, I felt more at ease. No! I was actually looking forward to it!
Since I met the Platinum Achievement Condition, the reward must be amazing, right?
Anything would be good—a combat skill or a weapon! I should definitely be able to get at least one thing!
[Due to the Platinum Achievement in the Tower, the rewards have been increased.]
[The Tower is re-evaluating the Climber’s information….]
[The Tower is updating information on Earth’s professions through the Climber.]
“…Huh?”
[Please choose one reward.]
[Flame of the Idol]
- Consumes mana to create flames.
[Video Recording]
- Enables video recording by linking the Climber’s channel to the Tower.
“Of course, I’ll go with the first one, no doubt about it. What? Did the Tower try to revise my profession based on its misunderstanding of what a VTuber is? Can the Tower even do that?”
I felt a chill when it said it was revising Earth’s profession data. It was clear that the Tower had misunderstood the concept of a VTuber as an idol. I knew the Tower was strange, but I didn’t expect it to give such a bizarre skill—obviously, I’ll choose the attack skill!
[You have acquired the skill [Video Recording]!].
“Ahaha, can’t hold it in, hahaha.”
From today, I’ve decided to debut as a Tower VTuber.
This is a matter of survival!
Anyway, this is my ‘blue pill’(?), so if I bluff enough, it’ll work somehow!
“An invincible VTuber who will never get exposed? That’s unbeatable!”
If anyone confronts me outside, I’ll just claim I’m cosplaying a VTuber.
—
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