After completing a simple identification process in front of the entrance, I enter the tower through a 3-meter-high arched door. Numerous people are gathered on the first floor.
In the vast, pure white space that seems to stretch endlessly upwards, many people are moving around busily.
Some are urgently recruiting party members.
Others are talking to someone in the air.
Some have set up stalls and are selling goods.
Injured people are being rushed out, and paramedics with arms full of potions are running urgently.
'The scenery here is still the same.'
It's been 5 years, but not much has changed.
The large platform in the center remains as it was. On the round platform, unidentifiable letters and symbols are arranged along the edges of a pentagram magic circle.
This place used to be somewhere I came to as often as I ate.
'I've finally returned to the Tower.'
From now on, I'm starting over.
Not as the world's strongest man, Lee Do-hyun, but as the woman, Lee Do-hee.
Without hesitation, I stride confidently forward and step onto the central plaza of the Tower.
As I walk towards the center, I feel the intense focus of the surrounding gazes.
"Hey, miss... are you really going?"
"Shouldn't we stop her?"
"She's not from any academy, is she?"
"A female newbie....?"
Ignoring the noisy murmurs, I step onto the platform and step on the magic circle. Standing there, it feels like I'm on stage, with everyone watching me.
'It was like this before too....'
Of course, before, it was more like 'Is that crazy bastard going there again?', but now it feels more like 'Is that crazy bitch going there?' [Would you like to ascend the Tower?]
The neutral and emotionless voice echoes in my head as I step on the magic circle.
I'm finally feeling it. That I've returned....
"Yes, send me to the 1st floor."
[Confirmed]
-Whoosh!
In an instant, Lee Do-hee disappears from the spot, leaving not even a speck of dust behind.
"She really went in..."
"Hey, did you see that woman's figure just now?"
"Wow... what a waste..."
***
[Welcome to the Tower]
A white space known as the waiting room. There's nothing special; it's similar to the inside of the Tower, but with a smaller area, like a personal room.
You can decorate it later, but my room is, of course, still empty with nothing in it.
Seeing this after so long brings back new feelings.
[The Trial of the Tower...]
"Enough, use streaming mode. Awaiting trait unlock."
[...Confirmed]
I've been thinking a lot over the past month while roughly preparing a body that can be used.
Exactly how am I going to get revenge?
The body of a battle maniac from the past has disappeared, and I've become a frail woman. And, of course, it's not easy for a latecomer to catch up with an early starter.
There's a gap of 15 years between them and me.
But there is at least a way to narrow the gap.
What if I scrape together all the elixirs I didn't know about in the past or couldn't afford, and the efficient equipment?
Assuming we grow at the same rate, I can become stronger than I was in the past.
But simply getting stronger doesn't solve all the problems.
If I take revenge and destroy the top 7 guilds of Korea, well, now 6 guilds, but if I crush all those bastards, what will people think of me? I'll be branded a criminal, get cursed out with every curse word imaginable, and have to live on the run for the rest of my life.
To deal with a huge guild, I need a cause, and I need people who will inform me of that cause and become my allies.
'Right.... In my past life, I acted too much on my own.'
Perhaps that's why I was betrayed.
While other awakened individuals in my past life created guilds with corporations backing them and advanced into the TV, YouTube, and live streaming markets to gain popularity with the public, I didn't.
I thought it was a pointless endeavor and focused only on training.
So those bastards backstabbed me without worrying about the aftermath, and I was unfairly erased from the records.
'This time, I'll make money and gain popularity.'
Moreover, there's no woman in Korea who broadcasts while climbing the Tower. Of course, there are female awakened individuals who broadcast, but they've given up on climbing the Tower and are living modest lives.
So isn't this a perfect blue ocean?
Becoming this soft, tender woman is a huge penalty, but to move forward, I have to make the most of even that.
Of course, there are other ways, such as becoming a celebrity or just doing YouTube, but I'm convinced that this path allows me to grow the fastest on my own.
'I've watched some internet broadcasts while researching, so shouldn't it work out somehow...?'
To be honest, I don't have a plan for this, so I might be a little scared.
'I'll start with a small audience at first, right?'
And so, Lee Do-hee's first broadcast begins.
*
[Newbie Lee Do-hee. Climbing from Tower Floor 1]
Broadcast start.
For reference, all live streaming platforms on Earth have been completely merged into 'PantheonTV,' which is operated by the Tower's Constellations. With the exception of something like YouTube Live, you can consider them nonexistent.
At first, there was resistance, with people questioning why a Constellation was interfering in corporate matters, but after seeing the perfect real-time communication and the ability to live stream inside the Tower without cameras, other platforms lost their competitiveness and were all effectively forcibly merged.
Anyway, that's not what's important right now....
10 seconds after starting the broadcast.
A chat message appears in the hologram chat window, slightly to the right of the center.
- Wow, those tits tho lol
"Huh? Wha...what?"
My first chat is something like that, and I don't know what to say, my mind freezes.
Should I get angry?
How do I ban someone?
Or should I take it with humor?
Is this what internet broadcasting culture is like these days...?
And taking advantage of my bewilderment, a flood of viewers rushes in.
100 people... 200 people... 300 people... more and more people are gathering.
"No, why are so many people gathering? What is it?"
I was clearly planning to start small and become a growing streamer....
- Wow, she's so pretty?
- Finally, I don't have to watch dickheads
- Wakyapya Bbaang~~!
- Huge lol
- Uryah Uryah Uryah!!!
Ehehe...
- Bbaaaaaaaaaang
- Come here! Bring the boobies!
"No, wha.. what is this? Why are so many people here?"
And what are those strange onomatopoeias like Wakyapya? Bbang?
When I was watching female cams and male streamers climbing the Tower for research, there were none of those chats.
-You're on the main screen lol
Main screen?
It's something the platform does to foster consistent awakened streamer rookies, but wasn't it something you get when you apply? I don't know what's going on.
I haven't even touched the settings yet, and my head is spinning from the crazily rising chat.
'Why is it so chaotic....'
I'm a newbie streamer, and I've never seen the hologram UI that comes with PantheonTV linking, so I don't know what's what.
I don't know how to turn off the window floating in the air, and I don't know what to touch in terms of the system.
- lololololol
- Look at how flustered she is lololol Cute
- Ehehe....
- Wow, I can't take it anymore....
"I, well, is this the camera?"
I say, looking at the black donut-shaped object the size of a bottle cap floating in the air.
"E, everyone? Could you please calm down a little...?"
-You're making us horny
- Uaaa I can't take it
- Take responsibility take responsibility take responsibility
- Wow.... This angle is so violent?
- Heueung.... I'm mad...
- Ugh.... I can't take it!!!
- How can we calm down when you show us this....
- I want to grab them right away and take them out and squeeze them...
- Oouyah Oouyah
- So hot
- You can't expect me to be quiet when you dress like that?
'It's my fault? This outfit?'
This is unfair.
When I did my research, all the female streamers who made a lot of money and had a lot of viewers wore things like this; it was the standard.
Of course, benchmarking what's successful is 'common sense', right?
Of course, what Lee Do-hee overlooked was that those female cam broadcasts already have a fixed audience of people who watch them every day, so the chat is managed.
In addition, the same outfit can look wholesome or very lewd depending on who wears it.
But I've already been put on the main screen, so there are already close to 1,000 viewers pouring in and chatting, so it's too late to complain about the unfairness.
Also, there were occasionally chats that crossed the line, but most of them were keeping a certain line, perhaps because of their expectations for a female streamer climbing the
Tower.
Of course, even so, no one is answering my questions, and everyone is busy expressing their own desires.
"Ugh.... I'll set things up first and then communicate."
Leaving the uncontrollable chat window alone, I slowly organize myself again.
Luckily, I press the gear icon floating above the chat window, and the settings window immediately appears.
'Why couldn't I see this before....'
Anyway, I put it in slow mode and submit the chat management standards to the automatically assigned moderator.
'Severe sexual harassment and swearing will result in a ban. Let's just do this for now.'
"Okay, everyone quiet! Why is this happening from the first day...."
- lolololololololol
- Yes, big sis
- Cute
- Just came from jacking off
Heueung...
- lololololol
- Yup
- Everyone shush! Big sis is talking
- Yes
The moderator's sanctions begin, and when slow mode is enabled, the viewers finally listen.
So now, in earnest...
"Um, I definitely thought of a lot to say..... But I forgot it all."
- Is she playing dumb?
- It's okay, I'll take care of you
-You're always dumb when you have big boobs lol
- Can I still quit? You're going to die on the 1st floor
I still feel a little disoriented because I didn't expect so many people to gather so suddenly. First, let's look at the slightly slowed down chat window and answer the questions.
"By any chance, does everyone think I'm going to die?"
- Honestly....
- Info) The average Korean woman is 1.4 floors.
- At that rate, everyone just dies on the 1st floor lol
- Tower<< - Please....
- Yep
- Yup
- Yep
- Can you really not quit?
- Yes (seriously)
"Is quitting.....already too late...?"
- Please don't go
- Can't you just stay here?
- Don't go
- It's already too late.... Once you're up here, you have to leave within the time limit
- Let's unlock the traits first
- Oh right, traits!!
- If you get good traits, it's really unpredictable
"Ah, okay. Let's check the traits first."
Trait unlock.
It's a ritual that you have to do before climbing Tower Floor 1, and this ritual is why the name Awakened was created.
Doing it or not doesn't make a huge difference from before, but it's very important for the direction you'll take in climbing the Tower and for your initial survival.
"I will unlock my traits."
[Trait unlock confirmed. Please place your hand on the platform in front of you
Along with the neutral voice, a platform with a flat, rectangular panel that fits the palm of your hand rises from below.
- Let us see too!
- Streamer, if you're not braindead, share the status window
- Watch together?
- Share
"What, you guys can see my status window?"
When I was watching other streamers, I'm sure there wasn't even a feature like this, so most of them must have kept it private.
- Yup
- Settings>Sharing Function>Status Window, select Show All 1
- Even if I'm going to die....
- Don't go!!
- Please, let us see good traits....
'Hmm.....'
I don't know what will come out because I haven't unlocked the traits yet.
Sharing traits is no different from sharing my weaknesses. So it's still a bit reluctant....
- Let's just look at the unlocked traits. Either way, streamers hide one at a time later on lololol
-0720 You can show the initial traits
'Well, I'm going to broadcast anyway, so I should do it properly.'
The more information a streamer shares with their viewers, the more likely they are to become invested.
'Money and popularity.'
I have a goal, so I have to do it properly.
'Anyway, the initial traits don't really matter later on.'
"I'll share it."
- Kya
- That's the way
- Good good
- Anticipation
- Anticipation
- I wonder
- Please good stuff.....
- So excited
I change the broadcast settings to status window sharing and place my palm on the white platform.
[Unlocking traits]
Blue and pink light mix and briefly envelop my body. I feel a slight sense of floating, and the lights mix and enter my body.
'Ooh....'
I can feel something changing in my body slightly, and a status window appears in front of me.
[Ding~]
'I wonder?'
[Traits]
Strength +10%
Agility -50%
Defense +100%
Mana +100%
Mana +100%
Unlocking progress 14%
Unopened
[Final Stats]
Strength: 5.5
Agility: 3.5
Defense: 12
Mana: 0
"Huh?"
I didn't expect it to be the same as in my past life, but I didn't doubt that it would come out pretty well.
But what is that strange trait?
"Oh.... Yeee?"
- How can a person's trait be an onahole lol
- lololololol
- An onahole irl? lololol
- How can a person be...lol
"Ah..."
11
An onahole.....
Why did such a trait come to me...