Classless Ascension

- Dario the Dragon: Why?! What happened?! He's probably our most normal healer…

- Josh MF Malum: He's annoying as fuck. He's bothering me for bringing my new subordinate to train here and all. Right, can we get the pain setting limit on the VR raised above 200%? It's not gonna cut it for what I have planned. 

- Dario the Dragon: This could already be mortal! Be extremely careful! It could end badly! 

- Josh MF Malum: No worries, he just coughed a bit of blood. 

- Dario the Dragon: ?!? This isn't supposed to happen! How about a compromise? Just make Jack do whatever you want until you are satisfied. That shall be his punishment. Until then, he's officially out of the guild. Gotta go, later! 

Well, Dario had a point. Why kick him when he could use him as free labor instead? Yes, this was clearly the superior option. At first, he felt rather uncomfortable about it, but now that he had the guild master's approval directly…

That is when Jack the Healer's UW beeped. As he glanced at it, his face lost all color, his eyes bulged in horror and he slowly raised his trembling eyes to stare at Josh in dread. He could be heard muttering. "How is this possible?! This is a nightmare…" 

He was now just standing in a corner completely shellshocked. In the meantime, Josh's pupil was patiently waiting by the side. 

Actually, there was a problem. If he only trained with this idiot it wouldn't end well. Chances were his disciple would gain bad habits. He turned toward Kasha, she was clearly enjoying the show. "What's the situation of the general Draconic members? I feel like we saw many on our way." 

"We have about 10 regular teams of different rank and power. So about 50 of them. As for today, they are all awaiting the Curse Related news as the rest of the world is doing I believe. Why?" She had a glint of curiosity in her eyes.

"Oh, nothing much. If they aren't busy I'm going to put them to work. That's all. Wait, do those guys have a general chat too like the gold members or no?" 

"Yep, they have one. In fact, you can access it too. Just click on the Gold Chat icon and downgrade to general chat." Kasha explained as she awaited what was to come. 

Josh simply typed a very simple and to the point message that sent the scout laughing once more. 

- Josh MF Malum: ­@Everyone To all the lazy bums just waiting at the guild for bullshit to happen: get your asses in here ASAP. VR-Room-O!

- Tanky Barbara: Who the hell are you?! 

- Dimitri the Musician: Isn't that Dario's….I'm not saying anything more, I wanna live. 

- Raffa loves Kunais: Are you handing out free kunais? This IS a deal-breaker! I need to know...

- Joel the Explorer: Too busy exploring how comfortable this sofa is. How about no…

- Lucas the Lancer: OMG RIP! You guys fucked up so much! LOL 

- Dimitri the Musician: ?! I didn't say anything! 

- Joel the Explorer: Don't try and scare us it won't work haha. 

- Gorgeous Kasha: ­@Everyone To all the lazy bums just waiting at the guild for bullshit to happen: get your asses in here ASAP. VR-Room-O!

- All of the above: ?! WTF ?!?

- Josh MF Malum: @Lucas the Lancer, that includes you buddy. 

- Lucas the Lancer: *Sob* Akin to Icarus, I flew too close to the sun and burned my wings….On my way…

Josh gave a thumbs up to Kasha for the assist. He couldn't help but notice that only a few dumbasses had written a clear refusal in the chat. The others had most likely been waiting to see how it would play out. 

Before long, about 2 dozen Climbers assembled in front of Josh along with Lucas. They were looking at the scene perplexed. There was a mobster none of them knew, one of theirs that looked more dead than alive, the legendary Kasha, and finally Josh himself.

At that point, they were all visibly wondering what was up with this mysterious Josh. They knew he was a gold member somehow, but they also knew that he wasn't that strong. Then there was that rumor about him being Dario's son. 

They were still waiting for an official statement about it. Well, it didn't seem to be coming in any case. Now there he was ordering them to gather. Plus he clearly had Kasha's support. After today, rumors would begin about the nature of the two's relationship. 

Josh began his speech. "Now, to all of you waiting for the Greenwood Lord news, there is no need. It's clear as day how it will all end up. They'll convey for a while to show that they are taking action but really it will just be a pointless endeavor. Even they know it." 

The crowd seemed unsure. 

"Then, they will reassure the public. They'll probably dig out a curse expert from somewhere or straight-up create one. Then this new guy will point out the inactive part of it and tell people to stop worrying. He may even claim that the whole thing is a 'prank' or something."

Many seemed to be wondering what he was talking about but he could see a few nodding along. 

"After that will be the actual actions. They'll delegate because they have no fucking clue how to deal with this. There will be an official bounty against whoever 'pranked' humanity. Then, of course, the real bounty will be issued to S-Rank guilds, for them to do something about it somehow. That's us so you guys will learn of it anyway."

They seemed to agree that it made sense. Not necessarily that it would happen exactly like that but still. With this, their perception of Josh had changed a bit. They felt he had some substance to him at least. They were now ready to listen to him. 

"Alright people. I'll have you do something actually productive. Right there is a dueling VR station. You'll all try it and fight my newest disciple. Rules are simple. 200% pain setting. No breaks. Healing is allowed. Level two stats. Two hours of sleep a day, otherwise keep going. Any question?" 

"You want us all to fight him in succession?!" 

"That's what I just said. Anything that I didn't already state?" 

"Isn't 200% pain dangerous?! It can actually cause physical injury from the body reacting to what the brain interprets as happening. No?" 

"That is why there is healing allowed. Don't worry. The worst that will happen will be a few blood puddles as you guys can see there, there, and there. They all shivered as they gazed at the blood Josh was pointing at. 

"I hope I'm not overstepping but since when do Draconic members have disciples? Is it possible to apply to have some one-on-one coaching? How long have you been teaching him?" the individual that asked seemed so eager! 

"It's not related to Draconic, just a pet project of mine. I can't speak for the others but my criteria are very strict. I started teaching him about an hour ago." 

"Why the level 2? Why not level 1 or higher? I don't mean any disrespect, just curious." 

"That's because he's level 2. There won't be much learning if you bully him with stats now." Josh could hear gasps of surprise. They had expected the man the be stronger than that. 

"T-that. I'm afraid it will still be one-sided. The average level here is about 30. We have way more experience in the Tower. There is no way he will be able to cope…" 

That sure was surprising. The trash of Draconic would have been the strongest in lower-ranked guilds. This sure was an interesting power dynamic. Still, to Josh, it didn't matter if they were all higher level than him. Now, as for the question at hand…

"Fake monk, can you handle it?" 

"Yes, Boss! For sure!"

"Good. Alright, anyone that manages to crush his spirit in there will get a recommendation to Dario directly from me." Josh could see their eyes burning with determination, he kept going. 

"Other than that, you guys can use this idiot as much as you want for healing. His guild membership is on the line after all." Josh pointed to Jack. That made all of the attendees tense. Membership on the line?! 

That should be all, right? Josh felt like he was forgetting something. Ah! That was a close call. "Barbara, Dimitri, Raffa, Joel, Lucas, and of course Jack. You guys better work extra hard! You know what I'm talking about, right?" Josh could hear them suck a cold breath.

"Wait, Josh. I'm a gold member too! You can't do this to me! We're friends, right?!" Lucas was pleading, even doing puppy eyes.

"Nope. This is you apologizing for last time!" Josh didn't especially remember any such situation but he felt he deserved it anyway.

Actually, the true reason was that he wanted someone to watch the kids. Lucas would be easygoing enough that he wouldn't stress them, but he'd be able to correct their mistakes if they made any. 

Now, there was just one thing remaining. "Alright, I'm hungry. Want to go for a bite Kasha?"

She smiled sweetly: "Sure, but you're paying!" 

They left behind a group of people that were either confused, despairing, or staring at the monk with extreme curiosity. But as a hardworking student, he instantly prepared himself to enter the VR training. 

There were already a few that wanted to spar with him if nothing else to test his capabilities or simply gossip. After all, both he and his master were extremely mysterious. The monk couldn't help but chuckle as the first sentence he heard upon entering the VR was: "Is your teacher really Classless?!" 

They soon learned that the monk called his teacher the Devil. This is how another rumor started. Meanwhile, Josh was appreciating the moment. He felt that being tyrannical could actually be useful and pretty nice from time to time. 

It was time for him to start thinking about where to build a headquarter for his own faction…

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[A/N] Check comments for survey lol