Chapter 5
“It’s been 10 years since Seoul ended up like that. How long has it been since we’ve heard good news?”
The elderly man, gazing in the direction of what was once the brilliant capital of South Korea beyond the hundred-floor Tower of Babel, which stretched towards the sky like a spear, smiled.
If he was 60 years old this year, then in this era of aging society, calling him old would be an exaggeration—yet the last 10 years had been a series of tumultuous ups and downs in his life.
“Chairman, we’ve obtained information about the Climber in Incheon Tower.”
“I’ve been waiting, truly. I was so excited that I didn’t even drink my favourite strawberry milk.”
“Wouldn’t it be wise to refrain from consuming dairy at your age…?”
“Young people have it so good! Haha!!”
The woman who placed a pile of documents on the table had torn stockings, a wrinkled suit, and hair that hadn’t been washed for days, her hollow eyes gazing at him. The Chairman of the Association responded to the monitoring team chief’s remark in a tone as if sulking, saying that drinking too much caffeine at a young age wasn’t good either.
“What do you think, Chief Won Da-hye?”
Yu Gyeong-yeon, the President of the Tower Countermeasure Association, asked the woman, whom he considered his most trusted employee and had arbitrarily designated as the next Chairperson. Although 10 years had passed, for him, it still felt like just yesterday.
The sudden appearance of a Tower in Seoul. The ruling party regulated Awakeners as potential dangerous elements, while the opposition sought to recruit them—countless political parties pursued excessive power that was too much for an individual to handle. At one point, there was even a “Incheon Climber Workers Union.”
He didn’t even want to think about how much blood was shed until the Tower Countermeasure Association, established to handle the Tower crisis, was formed.
When a Tower is left unattended for a certain period, its collapse rate increases. Even if you mine a lot of resources inside, the collapse rate rises the same. However, if you climb the Tower, the collapse rate decreases. By such means, resources are supplied from the Tower, slowly ascending floor by floor, mining the resources, and companies, guilds affiliated with Awakeners—and new political parties that supported them from behind—all profited from the resources.
It was all tedious to even speak about now.
Politics is exhausting, especially since this wasn’t a position he sought out himself.
“There will probably be a national conference.”
The moment one awakens as a Climber, even if they can’t read, they can communicate. That’s why the Awakeners who were exhausted by that day of nightmare probably left the country, whether it fell apart or not. Even now, there’s much resentment towards the Awakeners who left.
South Korea had the fewest Awakeners in the world.
It’s ironic that thanks to the popularity of Tower Climbing novels, the response was quick enough to save the country. This was a country that regulated even adult products for adults, after all. So many things have changed now. The new president is a rotten elitist who cares more about guilds and corporations than the citizens, but that made him easier to deal with as a power-hungry authority figure.
Chairman Yu Gyeong-yeon always did his best to keep the country from collapsing.
Neither the guilds nor the corporations could ignore the Tower Countermeasure Association. Crimes involving Climbers were non-existent due to his deterrent influence.
He held power through sheer force as South Korea’s strongest Climber of the first generation: Conqueror of Busan Tower’s 77th floor, Icheon Tower’s 50th floor, and Hwaseong Tower’s 40th floor.
His ideology focused solely on the conquest of the Tower.
Whether it was guilds, companies, or Climbers, as long as someone conquered the Tower and prevented a repeat of the tragedy that occurred in Seoul, it was enough for him.
However, he could not have imagined that this kind of event would occur, and his lips couldn’t stop curling up to his ears.
“Chief, am I dreaming?”
Seeing a “Fully Conquered Floor” in South Korea was a first even for him.
In the Tower, they called it a “Platinum Achievement” and outside, it was displayed as the floor’s colour changing to indicate a complete conquest—a fully cleared floor had appeared in Incheon Tower.
The problem begins with the complete unknown nature of the conquest conditions. Even if one somehow discovers these conditions through the Tower’s rewards, they can never again attempt it once they pass that floor. Even if they reset all acquired skills and stats by giving up on climbing the Tower and challenge it again, it’s the same outcome. The only way to clear it again is by passing on the information to another Climber, but such cases are extremely rare.
Complete Conquests are rare, but they are often achieved through either discovering information in some way or encountering hints within the tower floors.
An absolute condition is that any Climber can only have one opportunity at each floor, at the moment they arrive at that floor.
In essence, it’s no different from saying, “Don’t complete the conditions.”
The benefits of a “Fully Conquered Floor” are beyond imagination. Even those who are not Climbers can enter through the tower, they can use modern scientific technology without restrictions, and in an emergency, the floor itself can be used as a refuge or bunker. What’s more, even if no one ascends the floor, the environment inside the tower automatically restores itself according to a long cycle. Until the tower is conquered, it provides a near-inexhaustible supply of resources.
Although such fully conquered floors appear occasionally in many towers…
There has never been a case where a “Fully Conquered Floor” was achieved right from the 1st floor.
Now, it’s already the 2nd floor.
“Could it be that a Climber who returned to save humanity after its fall has appeared?”
“Please stop reading so many novels… It’d be better if it were a returnee, but The fact that it isn’t is the real problem here.”
The picture that Chief Won Da-hye showed as she flipped open the first page was, by all means, an illustration of a character. A 2D character, to be exact. Chairman Yu Gyeong-yeon, not knowing how to respond, wondered whether he should respect her tastes for a moment, but then calmly decided to ask the young woman.
“Could you explain it in a way that even this old man can understand?”
“Wakamo Inarizushi. 243 cm tall and weighing 211 kg. She is a 1,000-year-old fox god who was sealed away and then released in the modern era. For the past five years, she has been doing internet broadcasts as a str… no, as a VTuber.”
“What’s a VTuber?”
“Umm… someone who appears with this kind of image and does personal broadcasts. That’s what they’re called.”
Even as she explained, Chief Won Da-hye’s expression was awkward. To be honest, she herself found it absurd.
The right to access a “Fully Conquered Floor” is given to the Climber who achieved it, making them akin to the owner of the floor. The tower bestows high honours upon that Climber by inscribing their name prominently… and that name is 【Wakamo Inarizushi】! The Chief also wanted to sarcastically ask if the Chairman had been drinking in the middle of the day, but unfortunately, this was reality.
“So, doesn’t that mean the one doing virtual reality broadcasts is actually climbing the tower herself? Are you saying she’s a real fox god who’s lived for a thousand years? Considering the tower’s appearance, such an existence might not be that far-fetched, don’t you think?”
“Do you think the higher-ups will accept that?”
“They have to.”
The air turned heavy. The Chairman, who always had a kind demeanor, now looked as fierce as a beast. Finally, an outstanding Climber had appeared in Korea, so what did it matter what she was? The fact that she had no criminal record was enough. If any political party tried to hinder her climb or approach her unnecessarily, they would have to be prepared to shed blood.
“But isn’t it fortunate that she’s a broadcaster? People in that field are always conscious of others and manage their own image well. Of course, there are cases where fame or excessive greed becomes a problem—just make sure to approach her cautiously, Chief. You’re good at that, aren’t you?”
With a kick to the Chairman’s shin, the Chief stormed out, shouting that she understood. He deserved to get kicked for teasing her personal preferences as if they were a joke.
In an era like this, who wouldn’t have at least one or two otaku hobbies? The Chairman couldn’t understand why she was so embarrassed. However, there was another reason she hurriedly ran out.
Sure, life is full of strange coincidences, but… who would have guessed that the person who found interest in a stock broadcasting channel, became a fan by chance, started a café, and even became a manager—would turn out to be the Chief of the Monitoring Team at the Climber Association?
“Wow, just… what the hell… This is driving me crazy.”
Pulling at her hair, she entered the YouTube channel, checked the café, and scoured every possible communication platform, but it was chaos everywhere. Every community was in an uproar, calling her the one who gave Korea its first fully conquered floor. The problem was, she wasn’t even human; she was a VTuber.
And not just any VTuber—one who rarely streamed, known more as a clipper, who spent all day talking about other VTubers’ broadcasts and donating to them.
“Manager, start the stream!! What’s going on here?!”
[Did a Japanese Climber illegally enter Korea to climb the Incheon Tower?!]
“Aaah!!!”
In the meantime, a completely unfounded article, with no proper investigation, had already hit the internet front page.
When you enter the Incheon Tower’s 100-floor level, there’s a massive and glorious monument with an unfamiliar name carved into it. It wasn’t a typical Korean name, nor did it sound like a Japanese one. How could someone’s name be “Inarizushi” anyway?
“This is a Disaster.”
The channel chat was a mess, but there was no manager to control it. There was no video editor since she edited all her videos herself. She knew about the existence of her own fan café, but she never visited it. The only way to contact her would be through email, but even she knew about the VTuber… no, the streamer’s ecosystem. Her inbox would already be on fire. Contact information? There’s no way there would be any.
“Just yesterday, this madman was promoting dual tournaments and cutting clips. Why is he in the Tower now?!”
He must have some contacts among the other VTubers he collaborated with.
“Is this really the right way to go about it…?”
Is this really the proper way to gather information?
Feeling hesitant, Chief Won Da-hye opened the door to the first floor of the Association’s building, only to be swarmed by a horde of reporters, attacking her with questions like rabid dogs infected with rabies. But how could she explain this situation? It might have been better if it were a case of an illegal immigrant from Japan hiding out in Korea. In that scenario, Japan would just have to accept that a valuable talent had been snatched away by Korea.
But the Wakamo she knew was Korean! As much as she didn’t want to believe it, he really might be a fox god…!!
And now she was supposed to explain that?
***
[Incheon Tower’s 3rd Floor has achieved Platinum status and is now open to all humanity!]
Her head was already splitting, and the announcement fanfare sounded as if it was mocking her.
She remembered how, just a few days ago, she had revered him as a god, thrilled that every stock investment her oshi made turned into success.
Now, unable to speak harsh words because he might truly be a fox god, she could only tremble in frustration.
The only thing she could do was leave a comment on Wakamo’s channel community, begging him to start a stream.
※※※
“Wow, look at how fast the posts are coming up.”
The fact that the internet could be accessed meant that live broadcasts were possible!!
“I see now why there was no damage on the 2nd floor.”
She was sitting atop the corpse of an [Angry Boar], a monster that appears on the 3rd floor, but the level of impact it had exceeded her expectations, and her inbox and channel mailboxes were all ablaze, so she blocked everything. But thanks to that, she felt calmer.
[Status Window]
[Climber: Wakamo Inarizushi]
[Occupation: VTuber]
[Age: 1,000 years]
[Stats]
- Mana: 149,367.
Her mana had exponentially increased! She had ridden something more explosive than the algorithm itself, so this was an expected result, right? She had already made her name known in Korea… While her clipper acquaintances and other VTubers were all asking what had happened, that wasn’t the important thing right now.
[Internet Connection]
- Connects to the internet perceived by the [Climber].
- Can link [Video Recording] with the skill.
- Consumes mana when using skills.
The fact that the internet could be accessed meant… games were also possible!
“Since I have some time, I’ll set up my dual deck for the next collaboration.”
She logged into the game and checked her cards while reading the new pop-up window in front of her.
[Currently climbing the 3rd floor of Incheon Tower]
- The Tower contains various monsters. Try hunting [Angry Boar]!
[Platinum Achievement Condition]
- Defeat it using the weapon created on the 2nd floor (1/1).
- Defeat the [Angry Boar] without taking any damage (1/1).
[Platinum Conquest Achieved, Rewards Increased.]
“This time, I’ll definitely pick an attack skill.”
[Please select one reward]
- [Flame of the Idol]
- Consumes mana to create flames.
- [Lightning of the Idol]
- Consumes mana to shoot a lightning spear.
- [Worshipped God]
- Mana recovery rate increases proportionally to the number of believers.
- [My Worlds]
- Functions similarly to 『Virtual Chat』.
- Room quality varies depending on the number of floors conquered by the [Climber].
- Summons a personal space the size of a small studio.
[You have acquired the skill [My Worlds]!]
“[Tower Exit]!!”
She quickly returned home faster than the speed of light and readied herself.
“[My Worlds]!”
Without even bothering to understand the skill, she plunged her face into the portal that appeared in the air and confirmed the modest studio-like space. She hastily crammed everything inside: bed, computer, and all her precious VTuber collectibles, emptying her house before entering and closing it off.
***
A spatial skill…! One of the rarest skills in terms of uniqueness!!
And then, she pondered for a moment.
The hesitation lasted only an instant, the decision made in a heartbeat. She packed all the VTuber collections and her computer tower that she had gathered up until now. Although she had faced many hardships to acquire this property…
If this was going to interfere with her VTuber path, then she didn’t need it…!!
Since she could always come out to Incheon when entering the tower!!
She boldly set her house ablaze herself.
She would never return again… Not until she succeeded as a VTuber…
“I’m sorry, Going Merry…!!!”
With tears in her eyes, she bid farewell to her home and threw herself into the portal.
—
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