LIGHTNOVELSTORY A brief moment of embarrassment passed by.
Wakamou looked at the information about the 11th floor layer.
──It was different from the Incheon Tower information she had received.
Forcing a match this way wasn’t unheard of, but not from such a low floor!
[Climbing in the 11th floor world of Incheon Tower]
-The tower doesn’t have to be climbed alone.
-Matches are made with suitable climbers based on the conditions of the climber.
-If your strength is lacking, combine forces!
[Platinum Achievement Conditions]
-Befriend [Non-Combat Occupation] companions (0/2)
-Become friends with each other [Non-Combat Occupation] (0/2)
-Combine forces among [Non-Combat Occupation] to defeat [Bunja Monster Tree] (0/1)
Could there be a more difficult condition in life?
What she had seen so far seemed laughable compared to the intense difficulty now facing her.
Making friends wasn’t hard. Even now, she could claim that the believers are her friends!!
But to befriend and become friends with someone she just met.
Moreover, she could sense that the person was wary of her right now. It was a look of concern, but also a gaze as if wondering if she was a monster of this layer, with their hand hovering over their waist.
From her point of view, it seemed like the tower was suddenly trying to kill its climber.
How is suddenly being asked to pair up with a friend any different from now!!
Furthermore, by labeling them as [Non-Combat Occupation], it seems malicious in tying them together to be friendly with each other.
But more concerning than that, what if this layer forcibly mandates future pairings as well?
If the tower continues to match Wakamou in a way that climbers worship her as an idol without much thought?
I don’t even want to imagine such a scenario…
It felt like her plan to continue delighting her believers in the ‘Complete Strategy Layer’ was thrust into chaos from the start.
Somewhere, a pink-haired lewd VTuber young lady occasionally shares a cosplay of herself. I could thrust in like that and change the direction, but─I don’t want to.
What I want is to be a VTuber who hides the red pill…!! This time, with the help of the climbing association, I got the red pill video taken down, but it’s circulating overseas.
Though, I can’t do much about that!!
I dislike the forced pairing by the tower. If I need a companion to do it together.
In that case, I have no choice but to make this young lady a VTuber.
The answer was clear.
I decided to abduct the cute girl.
There was no other choice. The tower threatened my VTuber.
As soon as I activated the Skill [My Worlds] to create a portal, I grabbed her and dragged her into the room before closing the door. The advantage of a [Spatial Type] skill is that it still counts as being within the tower even with such movement!!
Despite being forcibly abducted by a giant fox monster(?), unlike the worry of fierce resistance, she was calm.
The only one panicking was Wakamou, realizing she was only 17 years old!!
“Waaang”
Whether or not Wakamou was agonizing, she blinked and looked around Wakamou’s house with curiosity.
As the setting specified full options, a refrigerator and microwave were included, and now there was a proper bathroom and toilet. Though there was concern about ventilation due to the lack of windows… electricity was replaced with Wakamou’s mana, and while it wasn’t explained, it seemed the water supply was also mana-powered.
After all, maybe the tower told Wakamou that it’s only using electricity.
I politely pulled out a chair for the girl wandering around the kitchen and asked her to sit at the table.
“I lost my mind for a moment and got excited, but….let’s have a VTuber interview. If you pass, you’ll get the best treatment in the industry(?)”
She still seemed excited and somewhat out of her mind. But rather than being surprised, the girl, witnessing Wakamou’s state of mind, was unperturbed, acting as though she was visiting her own home. Was it because of the tower’s selection? She soon pondered for a moment before speaking.
“Can I grab my bag for a moment?”
Cute. Her tongue-tied response was covered by her lively voice.
This young lady does have talent for being a VTuber…!!
Could it be that the tower introduced her to me to save the unfortunate life of a climber as a VTuber?! (No, it didn’t).
While worrying, I considered her running away through the portal.
I didn’t chase her. But could it be that this was seen as listening and showing consideration, leading to trust? Not long after, she returned with a huge, dirty bag, sat atop it as if relieved of any insecurity, and smiled at Wakamou.
“I’m Liu Ying.”
The girl introduced herself. I thought she was Korean, but she turned out to be Chinese, catching me by surprise.
Climbers of the tower are not restricted by language. Among East Asians(?), they often look similar at a glance.
Only then did Wakamou start wondering about her identity with a wild guess. Though just a vague assumption, if correct, she might be quite a pitiful person.
The goggles on her head, the abnormally large bag, the police handgun which wouldn’t be usable in the tower but was hanging there. While climbers do carry them, the gas mask, not often carried, and upon closer inspection, her worn-out clothes and shoes gave a strong impression of being discarded collections.
And lastly, what solidified Wakamou’s assumption was her red eyes.
“If you’re from a location closest to Korea──Beijing?”
“That’s right.”
She nodded, as if she had nothing to hide.
As with South Korea, China was a country that suffered the damage of the tower collapse. They attacked the suddenly appearing tower in their capital but this led to a tower collapse.
Unfortunately, the monsters that emerged from the collapse were plant types, spraying spores that caused various bizarre phenomena, turning the country into ruins in no time.
A surveillance-heavy nation even through cameras, regulations on climbers were strict, frequent forced conscription occurring, climbers with dissatisfaction banding together and causing uproars.
Even the infamous [Collector] blamed for recent terrorism in Korea was a Chinese climber.
There was no need to explain how many lives perished in Beijing ten years ago due to the tower collapse.
Liu Ying was a climber who barely survived that disaster at just the age of 7. Such a child, why would she be obediently listening to me?
Despite being unusable in the tower, having a gun for self-defense against people or climbers targeting her was understandable.
Imagining the days she endured each day alone in a monster-occupied city made tears come to my eyes, but I had to ask.
“I’m the one who kidnapped you, but why are you so calm…?”
“Because the tower praised me? I can work well.”
Receiving a cute act of not wanting to be abandoned struck my heart like a critical hit. Such talent…the talent of devilish charm!!
Though I couldn’t accept immediately, I decided to listen to her story. Before that, I told her I’d make her a VTuber. She might not know what that is─ but Liu Ying seemed surprisingly worn out. That’s likely why she accepted an unknown proposal from the tower.
──The world calls people like her [Tower Collapse Victims].
Those who lost parents, those who lost children, ones who have lost more than they can reclaim, due to the tower.
A worldwide issue that created innumerable refugees. And those who couldn’t be resolved continued to be neglected.
Liu Ying, who barely survived at the age of 7.
She said she struggled to survive the tower collapse. Her red eyes were due to contamination by monsters, causing her poor vision.
Yet at the same time, surviving at such a young age was because she awakened as a climber.
At the revelation of being a first-generation climber, instead of marveling, there was no time to be amazed.
Growing up without parents allowed her to quickly adapt to situations, getting clean water from the tower, gathering supplies from ruins, abandoning climbing to reset her stats and move into distant towers, ultimately reaching North Korea.
North Korea was long gone. It suffices to say they poured gunfire at the appearing tower.
Fear existed in China of possibly being conscripted due to being a climber.
The smart Liu Ying, even at a young age, traveled down to near Seoul over ten years, entering the Incheon Tower, climbing not seeking high elevation but mere survival, halting at the 10th layer due to her occupation’s limits, when suddenly an invitation came from the tower.
“Would you like to meet an idol who could change your life?”
Living like this forever wasn’t possible.
Thus, she accepted the tower’s invitation and met Wakamou, she explained.
Having heard everything, Wakamou concluded.
The tower indeed gave me a careful consideration rather than a middle finger.
The benevolent tower rubbing and coddling…. An indescribably complicated feeling.
“…If you work with me to become a VTuber… I’ll provide three meals a day, give you all the revenue from broadcasts, and even support your debut as an idol. Essentially, I’ll take full responsibility for your life!! I’ll even talk to the climbing association to get an ID card!!”
“Really? Should I call you boss then?”
“Will you be a VTuber?”
“Yes.”
Deceiving the girl who didn’t understand, I had her sign a VTuber contract. Though it verged on scam to employ an underage illegal immigrant, I saw a gemstone of star potential in her.
If anything goes wrong it’s the tower’s fault.
“The manager will probably be angry…”
Taking advantage of Seoul being a lawless land, illegal climbers of [Incheon Tower] weren’t few. Perhaps being unregistered as a citizen, with her name recorded on the Incheon Tower’s list as a climber, Liu Ying could have been a listed fugitive by the association.
“Wonder if I’ll get scolded for asking to quickly make a 2D live model…?”
However, our Wakamou doesn’t care about that kind of stuff!! Our kid wants to become a VTuber, so what’s the big deal about it?!
The VTuber mom(?) who picked up a stray girl off the street had no brakes.
“From now on, you’ll use the alias ‘Hajime Ichigo’ when broadcasting publicly.”
“Yes, Liu Ying. Listen to what the boss says.”
“Now, sit in front of the computer. This is called a click.”
The 11th floor that was left unattended felt bittersweet.
We perfectly hammered in the concept of a ‘VTuber’, and temporarily drew a 2D overlay. It might take a little while to get a moving model, but that’s okay.
Back to the 11th floor, I set up a camera in front and lifted Ichigo into my arms.
The height difference was drastic. I was 243cm, and Liu Ying was only about 156cm!
“Look into the camera here and say your name and age.”
“Today, I’m debuting as Hajime Ichigo. I’m a VTuber who listens well to the boss. Hello.”
Liu Ying bowed her head and waved gently at the camera.
Judging by her looks, she might seem a bit boyish with a neutral charm, but her short tongue made her speech sound like a chirping chick, and her unique voice had a strange allure that wasn’t uncomfortable for listeners.
“PIPIPIPIPI. It’s Wakamou Inarizushi, believers. Today, I’m going to collaborate with a newly debuted cute VTuber and climb the tower!!”
To avoid any accident, today’s session was prerecorded!!
“Please understand that it’s prerecorded. I wanted to do a live broadcast, but I’m a bit busy right now!!”
“My apologies.”
As Wakamou bowed his head in apology, Ichigo followed by bowing. Her eager eyes seemed full of potential.
Yeah, I managed to help Bakuura win after training a horse girl who only experienced defeat.
If I decided to become the ideal VTuber, this time I’m going to train a VTuber myself, reflect on myself, and train!
Well, this is kind of like a master-apprentice relationship!!
Weren’t there others who created a martial art just by watching falling petals? Wakamou can do it too.
I’ve studied VTubers diligently, so having the skill to train at least one apprentice is something I’ve got!
“Ichigo, I’m an [Alchemist] for my job. I’m good at hunting with this.”
“Oh….”
Ah, that’s why it’s called a [Non-combat profession]. Imagining how rough Liu Ying’s life must have been brought tears to Wakamou’s eyes.
If she had a combat job, life would have been easier… As a non-combatant, didn’t 7-year-old Liu Ying strive so hard to escape China?
Moreover, she was smart. She had learned some language by herself. She didn’t know Hangul, but she quickly learned and remembered everything taught to her.
I wondered if she had accidentally taken wrong substances or been poisoned by a monster, leading to her speech. But she said it was always like this, which was surprising.
Well…. [Alchemist] was so infamous that it was known as [Piss Pants].
You might ask why, when it can make potions and substances.
To learn [Skills], you have to climb the tower and meet certain [Conditions].
There might be cases where weapons are provided, but once they go up, learning [Offensive Skills] is an unavoidable choice.
As I said before,
The tower is never climbed alone.
Once a climber reaches a level, they can bring in other climbers to gather resources. Of course, in such cases, the entering climber can only [Exit the Tower].
Climbers on the same level can form parties and help each other climb. In these cases, the tower’s trials change in proportion to the number.
The most critical problem is that the number of rewards drops exponentially as more people are involved.
Unless there’s some sort of ‘trick’.
The tower counts the number of heads as soon as you step into a level.
With a unique skill in the [Space category], if you merge climbers and make them climb together, rewards aren’t reduced.
Should I say the tower is generous enough to look the other way to some degree if you use your brain?
However, ultimately, you will hit a wall.
The climber climbing together is considered non-existent, so they can’t claim rewards.
You might think, why not bring a strong climber from the start?─In such cases, the tower imposes restrictions.
If you bring a strong climber, as you conquer levels, the difficulty increases accordingly.
Even if you never bring that climber back, it doesn’t change.
There’s even a tragic story of a climber who lost the rare [Space Skill] obtained from resetting the tower.
Since you could end up with penalties, it might have been impossible to exit the tower, leading to possible death.
Some people were forced from [Wizard] class to other classes, showing spiteful penalties.
Hence, people say there’s a great will residing in the tower.
“Naturally, there’s no healing skills, huh….”
[Alchemist] is a job that requires a lot of resources.
Liu Ying possessed five skills like [Scrap Combination], [Venomous Substance Creation], [Lethal Toxin], [Sturdy Anatomy], [Robust Endurance]. It means she chose [Materials] for the remaining five floors. Since she’s reset the tower several times, it must be the best combination she’s come up with.
[Sweet Flame Throwing Bottle]
Grade: Consumable.
Contains gum to give a strawberry fragrance.
An incendiary grenade that explodes with a burst of flames when thrown.
The content is sticky and tend to adhere easily.
[Sweet Flame Potion]
Grade: Consumable.
Contains honey for a good aroma.
Causes the stomach and esophagus to burn when consumed.
[Toxic Chocolate Potion]
Grade: Consumable.
Has a luscious chocolate taste.
Causes muscle dissolution leading to meltdown upon drinking.
Don’t mistake it for chocolate milk.
“I am good at hunting with these, boss.”
Items truly meant to hunt mindless monsters.
It seemed like Liu Ying had maximized the [Alchemist]’s advantage of being able to use anything as a material.
The thought of monsters getting lured by the scent, consuming them, and questioning how they died was not pleasant.
“Shall we get going?”
“Yes.”
Ichigo, who left her heavy bag at home, followed me into the forest. The difference in step size was so great that I took one step forward while she had to take three steps. Her trailing along eagerly seemed like it would be adored by the believers.
Apostolic apocalypse survival-themed girl…. This concept is undoubtedly a hit!
I worried that believers might be horrified, thinking we’re exploiting an underage foreign illegal resident worker, but that’s for later!!
The monster we’re hunting this time is called [Burna Monsterwood].
Known as a troublesome monster with a gimmick.
Its root needs to be cut off to open its body, and you have to attack a core-like part inside to defeat it. For [Combat Positions], they could just use big magic or powerful attacks to shatter the body protecting the core and hunt, but.
For both of us in poor [Non-combat Professions], it was challenging.
“Boss, it’s here!!”
“Huh? What’s here?”
Ichigo shouted, jumping as minor tremors were felt on the ground, but my response was a beat late.
In an instant, the ground was uplifted, its roots grasping my ankle strongly and pulling hard.
Seeing that, Ichigo shrieked in fear as she hurled a firebomb with all her strength.
Despite her poor vision, wasn’t she throwing better than expected? Is this the desperate survival expert skill for staying alive?
It flew precisely, breaking with a sound, and flames spread out as the [Burna Monsterwood] disguised as a tree shrieked and emerged.
Normally, we could just attack to finish it off─but cooperation is the key here.
How do you unify efforts…physically merge, maybe?
Doesn’t seem entirely impossible. Would Ichigo be safe, though?
….Safe?
At that moment, the god of VTubers granted Wakamou a flash of inspiration. Yes, that surprise move happening suddenly on a broadcast!!
“Boss?!”
Grabbing a [Sweet Flame Potion] like snatching it from the waist, I gulped it down in one go. Then, a heated sensation began welling up from my stomach. Is it burning by consuming mana as fuel?
Moving Ichigo behind my back to protect her from the roots silently hurtling at us, I took a deep breath.
“Wakamou Fire─!!”
Exhaling all my might, a jet of fire burst forth with a pwoooosh!!
The [Burna Monsterwood] paused, startled by the approaching flames.
A tremendous explosion occurred, as mana-imbued flames started devouring everything, bringing down trees in its fiery path.
What I intended was a fire-spitting attack like in a certain ninja manga….
“A bit too hot, huh…?”
Judging from the devastation wrought, it was like a kaiju emerged from the sea and breathed fire terribly.
The forest caught fire, with the monsterwood struggling in agony untill it halted and collapsed as a congratulatory sound echoed.
[Incheon Tower’s 11th floor has achieved a platinum condition and is now open to humanity!!]
“Boss, are you okay? Don’t consume weird stuff, okay.”
“If it’s given by a cute VTuber, even poison is fine.”
“VTubers are amazing…!”
It seemed like she misunderstood, but with Ichigo’s eyes sparkling in delight, it didn’t matter.
Wakamou’s first collaboration and debut broadcast as a VTuber seemed to have been better than expected.
……Even though I pondered over if letting a rookie VTuber debut was alright, amidst not setting any channel rules.
No worries.
That can all be tomorrow’s Wakamou’s problem!!