After a simple identity check at the entrance, I walked through the three-meter-high arched gate and into the Tower.
The first floor was teeming with people.
Countless individuals bustled about in a vast, pure white space that stretched endlessly upward.
Some were frantically recruiting party members.
Others were talking to someone in thin air.
Still others had set up stalls to sell their wares.
There were the injured being rushed away on stretchers and paramedics hurrying past, their arms full of potions.
'This place still looks exactly the same.'
Five years had passed, yet nothing much had changed.
The large platform in the center was still there. Atop the round dais, unknown letters and symbols were arranged around the edge of a pentagram-shaped magic circle.
A place I used to visit as if it were my second home.
'I'm finally back in the Tower.'
This was a new beginning.
Not as Lee Do-hyun, the strongest man in the world, but as Lee Do-hee, a woman.
Without hesitation, I strode confidently toward the center of the Tower's central plaza and stepped onto it.
As I walked toward the center, I could feel an intense number of eyes focusing on me.
"Hey, lady… are you really going?"
"Shouldn't someone stop her?"
"She's not from any academy, is she?"
"A female newbie…?"
Ignoring the noisy murmurs, I stepped onto the platform and onto the magic circle. Standing there, it felt like I was on a stage, with everyone watching me.
'It was like this back then, too...'
Of course, back then, the feeling was, 'That crazy bastard is going in there again?' Now, it was, 'That crazy bitch is going in there?'
『Do you wish to climb the Tower?』
A gender-neutral, emotionless voice echoed in my head as I stepped on the magic circle.
It was finally sinking in. I was back…
"Yes, send me to the 1st floor."
『Confirmed.』
Swoosh!
In an instant, without leaving so much as a speck of dust behind, Lee Do-hee vanished from the spot.
"She really went in…"
"Hey, did you see that woman's body?"
"Wow… what a waste…"
*
『Welcome to the Tower.』
I was in a white space, commonly known as the waiting room. It was nothing special, just a personal room that looked similar to the inside of the Tower, only smaller.
You could decorate it later, but my room was, of course, completely empty.
Seeing this again after so long brought a fresh wave of emotion.
『The Trial of the Tower…』
"Skip it. Activate streaming mode. Awaiting trait opening."
『...Confirmed.』
Over the past month, as I worked on getting my body into usable shape, I'd done a lot of thinking.
How exactly was I going to get my revenge?
My old body, like that of a warrior tribe, was gone, replaced by the frail body of a woman. And it went without saying that it wouldn't be easy for a latecomer to catch up to those who started ahead.
There was a fifteen-year gap between them and me.
But there was a way to at least close that gap.
What if I gathered all the elixirs and high-efficiency gear that I either didn't know about or couldn't afford in the past?
Assuming the same rate of growth, I could become even stronger than my past self.
But simply getting stronger wouldn't solve all my problems.
If, for the sake of revenge, I were to crush all of Korea's seven great guilds—well, six now—what would people think of me? I'd be branded a criminal, cursed out by everyone, and forced to live my life on the run.
To take down the great guilds, I needed a just cause, and I needed people who would take my side once they knew that cause.
'That's right… In my past life, I acted too much on my own.'
Perhaps that was one of the reasons I was betrayed.
While other Awakeners in my past life were backed by corporations, creating guilds and gaining popularity by entering the TV, Myutube, and live-streaming markets, I did none of that.
I thought it was all a waste of time and focused solely on my training.
That must be why they could backstab me without worrying about the consequences, and why my existence was so unjustly erased from the records.
'This time, I'll make money and get famous.'
Besides, there wasn't a single woman in Korea who streamed their Tower climbs. Of course, there were female Awakeners who streamed, but they were people who had given up on climbing the Tower and were living quiet lives.
So, wasn't this a perfect blue ocean?
Becoming this soft woman was a huge penalty, but to move forward, I had to use even that to my full advantage.
Of course, there were other ways, like becoming a celebrity or just a Myutuber, but I was confident this was the fastest way to grow on my own.
'I watched a few streams while doing my research, so I should be able to manage somehow… right?'
To be honest, I didn't have a solid plan for this part, so I was a little scared.
'I'll probably start as a small-timer, right?'
And so, Lee Do-hee's first broadcast began.
*
[Newbie Lee Do-hee. Climbing from the 1st Floor]
The stream started.
For reference, all live-streaming platforms on Earth had been merged into 'Pantheon TV,' which was run by the Tower's Constellations. Aside from maybe Myutube Live, there was basically nothing else.
At first, there was backlash, with people questioning why a Constellation was meddling in corporate affairs. But after seeing that it allowed for perfect real-time communication and live streaming from inside the Tower without a camera, the other platforms lost their competitive edge and were all effectively forced into a merger.
Anyway, that wasn't what was important right now…
Ten seconds after starting the stream.
A single chat message appeared in the holographic chat window floating slightly to my right.
- Holy shit, look at those tits, lololol
"Huh? Wha… what?"
My first-ever chat message was something like that. My mind went blank, unsure of how to respond.
Should I get angry?
How do you even ban someone?
Or am I supposed to take it as a joke?
Is this what streaming culture is like these days…?
And while I was flustered, a flood of viewers suddenly poured in.
100… 200… 300… More and more people were gathering.
"Wait, why are so many people showing up? What is this?"
I was planning to start small and become a growth-type streamer…
- Wow, she's gorgeous?
- Finally, I don't have to watch a bunch of dudes.
- AWOOGA BOOM~~!
- Damn, they're huge, lol.
- Thrust, thrust, thrust, thrust!!!
- Ehehe…
- BOOOOOOOOOOOOM
- Get over here!! Bring those tits here!
"Wait, wh-what is this? Why are so many of you here?"
And what on earth were those weird onomatopoeias, like 'AWOOGA'? Or 'BOOM'?
I was sure I hadn't seen a single chat like this when I was researching female streamers and male Tower-climbing streamers.
- You're on the main page, lololol.
The main page?
I knew the platform did that to nurture new, consistent Awakener streamers, but didn't you have to apply for it? I had no idea what was going on.
I hadn't even touched the settings yet, but the chat was scrolling so fast it made my head spin.
'Why is this so chaotic…?'
I was a new streamer and had never seen the holographic UI that came with linking to Pantheon TV, so I didn't know the first thing about anything.
I didn't know how to close the window floating in the air, and I had no idea what to do in the system settings.
- lolololololol
- Look how flustered she is, lol. So cute.
- Ehehe…
- Holy shit, I can't hold it in…
"O-okay, th-this is the camera, right?"
I said, looking at a black, donut-shaped object the size of a bottle cap floating in the air.
"H-hey, everyone? Could you please calm down a little…?"
- You're the one getting us worked up.
- Aaaargh, I can't take it anymore.
- Take responsibility, take responsibility, take responsibility.
- Wow… this angle is so aggressive.
- Hnnng… I'm getting… angry…
- Ugh… I can't hold back!!!
- How can we calm down when you show us this…
- I'm just gonna grab it and pull it out and just go wild…
- Oof oof
- So fucking hot.
- You expect us to be calm when you're dressed like that?
'It's my fault? This outfit?'
This was unfair.
When I did my research, it was the standard practice for all the female streamers who made a lot of money and had a lot of viewers to dress like this.
Isn't it just 'common sense' to benchmark what's successful?
What Lee Do-hee had overlooked, of course, was that those female streamers' chat rooms were filled with regular viewers who were used to seeing them, and the chat was therefore managed.
On top of that, the same outfit could look wholesome or extremely lewd depending on who was wearing it.
But it was too late to complain about being treated unfairly. Perhaps because I was on the main page, nearly a thousand viewers had already flocked in and were spamming the chat.
Some comments occasionally crossed the line, but for the most part, people seemed to be maintaining some semblance of decency, perhaps out of anticipation for a female streamer climbing the Tower.
Still, no one was answering my questions. They were all too busy expressing their own desires.
"Ugh… I'll get the settings sorted out first, then I'll talk to you all."
Leaving the uncontrollable chat window for now, I tried to get my bearings again, slowly.
Luckily, I saw a gear icon floating above the chat window. When I pressed it with my hand, the settings menu appeared.
'Why didn't I see this before…?'
Anyway, I turned on slow mode and submitted the chat moderation criteria to the automatically assigned admin.
'Ban for severe sexual harassment and profanity. Let's just start with that.'
"Alright, everyone, quiet down! Why is this happening on the very first day…?"
- lolololololololololol
- Yes, noona.
- So cute.
- Just went and busted a nut, brb.
- Hnnng…
- lolololol
- k
- Everyone, hush! The lady is speaking.
- Yes.
Once the admin started enforcing the rules and slow mode was activated, the viewers finally started listening.
And so, it was time to get started for real…
"Uh, I had a lot of things I wanted to say… but I've forgotten them all."
- Is she going for a dumb-girl concept?
- It's okay, I'll take you in and we can live together.
- It's true that big boobs mean a small brain.
- Can't you just quit now? You look like you're about to die on the 1st floor.
I hadn't expected so many people to show up all at once, so I was still a bit dazed. For now, I decided to look at the slightly slower chat and answer some questions.
"By any chance, do you all think I'm going to die?"
- Honestly…
- Fact: The average for Korean women is Floor 1.4.
- At that rate, basically everyone dies on the 1st floor, lol.
- The Tower <<< The GOAT of gender equality.
- Please…
- ye
- yup
- ye
- Can you really not quit?
- Yes (serious).
"Quitting… it's too late for that, isn't it…?"
- 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 start within the time limit.
- Let's see you open your traits first.
- Oh right, traits!!
- If you get a good trait, you never know.
"Ah, right. Let's check my traits first."
Trait opening.
It was a ritual that had to be performed before climbing the 1st floor, and it was the reason the term 'Awakener' came to exist.
Whether you did it or not didn't make a huge difference from before, but it was extremely important for determining your direction and initial survival as you climbed the Tower.
"I will now open my traits."
『Trait opening confirmed. Please place your hand on the platform in front of you.』
Along with the gender-neutral voice, a pedestal rose up from the floor in front of me. On top of it was a flat, square plate, just big enough for a palm.
- Let us see, too!
- Streamer, if you have any sense, share your status window.
- Wanna watch together?
- Share it, let's go.
"What, you guys can see my status window, too?"
I was pretty sure the other streamers I watched didn't have a feature like this. It seemed most of them kept it private.
- Yup.
- Go to Settings > Share Function > Status Window and set it to Show All.
- Even if you're gonna die, you're gonna die…
- Don't die!!
- Please let it be something good…
'Hmm…'
I hadn't awakened my traits yet, so I had no idea what would appear.
Sharing my traits was no different from sharing my weaknesses. So, I was a little hesitant…
- Let's just see the opening traits. All the streamers hide them one by one later on anyway, lol.
- For real, it's fine to show your initial traits.
'Alright, if I'm going to stream, I might as well do it properly.'
The more information a streamer shared with their viewers, the more likely they were to become invested.
'Money and fame.'
Since I had a goal, I had to do this right.
'Besides, initial traits don't matter that much later on.'
"I'll share it."
- Hell yeah.
- This is it.
- Good, good.
- an-ti-ci-pa-tion
- an-ti-ci-pa-tion
- I wonder…
- Please be something good…
- I'm so excited.
I changed the broadcast settings to share my status window and placed my palm on the white pedestal.
『Opening traits.』
A mix of blue and pink light briefly enveloped my body. I felt a slight sense of floating as the lights mingled and entered me.
'Woah…'
I could feel my body changing slightly, and a status window appeared before me.
[Ting~]
'I wonder what I got?'
[S-rank Onahole Body]
Strength +10%
Agility -50%
Defense +100%
Mana +100%
[A-rank Mana Tank]
Mana +100%
[???]: Unlocking Progress 14%
[???]: Locked
[Final Stats]
Strength: 5.5
Agility: 3.5
Defense: 12
Mana: 0
"Huh?"
I hadn't expected it to be the same as my past life, but I had no doubt it would be something decent.
But what in the world was that weird trait?
"Oh… kay?"
- How can a person's trait be onahole, lol.
- lolololololol
- Ahahahahahaha
- It suits you, lol.
- Is onahole for real?
- How can a person… lolol
"Ah…"
An onahole…
Why did I get a trait like that…??