Classless Ascension

[Gratz on completing the chain quest! Issuing reward!]

"Can my reward be to beat this system instead? I just want it to cough a bit of blood!" AIYA couldn't help but remark, making the others smile. 

[Haha, nice joke xD] 

That's when Josh could see his cosmetic tab start flashing purple. Clicking on it, there was a new addition: 

<Bloodstained Apparel.> 

- Cosmetic set with cool bloody special effects, powered by the souls of the innocent you have killed in the previous rounds. Great for intimidation! Unique to Josh Malum. ^_^v

That's when the whole party began excitingly wearing their new items. Their faces lit up in amazement and sheer joy as they inspected it all carefully. 

"Oh my god! Look at how stylish this is! I forgive you, system!" AIYA had received a ranger-looking leather outfit. Somehow it was classy enough that it wouldn't lose out to any modern clothing. 

"HAHA, this is wonderful! Look at this, guys!" Emsee began drumming on the Floor. Every hit made his whole outfit pulse with light. 

"Wait, won't that give away your position easily?" Joe remarked. 

"Nope. I can turn it off whenever. Plus, it might not have an actual magical effect, but it should enhance my magic if I use it adequately." Emsee looked extremely pleased. 

"You guys want to see something crazy? Watch this." Minor murmured, grinning from ear to ear. That's when he summoned his golden barrier armor. 

"Yes? What about your barrier? It looks exactly the same as usual…" Emsee commented, puzzled. 

"That's the thing. This isn't my barrier. It's the cosmetic set." Minor revealed. 

"Holy shit!" They knew how huge this was. With this, he could easily fake a perfect defense. The enemy would have no way to know when he was vulnerable at all! This was hands down the best one! 

"What about you, Joe?" Emsee asked. 

"I got a copy of the outfit I currently have. It can also change into a construction outfit.  It allows me to, and I quote: 'Demolish to my heart's content," Joe shyly explained as he rubbed his head awkwardly. 

"HAHAHA! This is priceless! A demolition outfit!" AIYA was on the ground, rolling in laughter. 

"What about you, Josh?" Joe tried deflecting. 

"I got this. How is it?" Josh smiled as he wore his outfit. Compared to this, any horror costume felt cute. 

There was a sinister aura to it that reminded one of death. It was brownish and looked faded (tainted?) as if it had been through too much wear, the gory battlefield kind. Bloodstains gave it some color.

Then there was the blood. It was dripping and forming small puddles on the ground. Yet, when they looked again, it wasn't there anymore. He looked like a real-life vengeful ghost. 

They all turned ghastly pale and silent. Josh could hear them nervously gulp as they stared at him. Every second they were gazing at him, they felt their souls leave their bodies. Yet, they couldn't avoid it. 

"L-let me put it this way. If I saw you on the side of the road at night in Metropolis-C, I'd definitely change Metropolis. He'll I'd move as far as possible!" Emsee explained. 

"Please, haha, as if." Josh chuckled, but they just kept nodding. They were serious. That's when he decided to try something. He condensed as much killing intent as he could and sent it their way. 

"What the Hell?!" A second later, they were all in fighting position, hiding behind Minor. 

"This is crazy! What kind of OP armor ability is that?! You got the best one by far! I guess it's probably because you cleared the first two rounds alone." Joe commented. 

Armor ability? Not really, but Josh just left it at that. Chances were they'd eventually figure out how to handle killing intent the more they fought. It had taken Josh a long time back then too. 

Sometimes he forgot that the Tower had only appeared a few months back. This meant that most of the renowned Rankers were powerful but hadn't necessarily been fighting for a long time. 

"Alright, shall we go? System, talk later." Josh waved. 

[Bye Bye!] 

Thus ended this relaxing expedition, full of fun times: Drinking fake coffee, eating brownies, having a sleepover, slaughtering innocents, killing a little girl and wrecking bystanders in a mall, and most importantly getting gifts! 

As they teleported out, an extremely relieved Jayce came running. "You guys are finally out! I thought you were all dead!" He had had a somewhat sickly expression, and his eyes were red too. Why did the guy watching the car outside looked the worst?!

"Why would we be?" Josh inquired. 

"It's that crazy guy's fault! He kept saying that a clear usually takes less than a day. Well, he's pitiful too." He pointed to the tent nearby. 

The same old guy as the previous time could be seen popping his head out and giving a thumbs up. He looked relieved, probably because he didn't want anyone to live the same distressing experience as him. 

"He may be crazy and pitiful, but he also impresses me," Josh admitted. 

"Why?" Jayce asked, confounded. 

"He understands rationally that his loved ones died in the Disaster Zone. He knows that his efforts are probably wasted. Yet, he still does it on the one off-chance that they are alive. He somehow manages to keep hope without running from reality." Josh explained. 

"That is both beautiful and extremely sad." Emsee chimed in. 

"Indeed." Minor agreed pensively. 

"Alright, enough mopping around! Shall we leave? I'm famished!" Joe shouted enthusiastically, shattering the heavy atmosphere with his jovial personality. 

"There is something I still do not understand." Minor took a heavy tone as they boarded the flying vessel. "Josh, where did you get all these brownies back then?!" 

"I used the money you gave me, but I do have a counter-question. How did you make a few hundred $$$ in a few minutes of dancing and singing?!" Josh exclaimed. 

"Ah, the power of a pretty boy. I would be jealous, but I just receive the perfect outfit to go on dates with, so I'm not even mad." AIYA comforted himself. 

"If we are talking outfit, I bet Josh could get money super easily with these bloody clothes of his. He'd just have to walk to people, and they would run away, leaving all their possessions behind!" Minor teased. 

"I agree with that!" 

"+2" 

"+3" 

They then began chuckling at Josh's expense. Honestly, he was pretty happy about the item he had gotten. At least it was memorable.

Meanwhile, Jayce was completely lost. Brownies? Dancing and singing? Outfits? Rankers fearing Josh? It was better just to ignore it all. 

That's how they peacefully returned to Metropolis-C. But then, they suddenly remembered why they had done all this in the first place. 

"Right….We wanted to do that… Are these guys still stalking?" Joe inquired. 

"Indeed, there are fewer of them, but still enough to be a pain in the ass. Their search for Dimensional Legion continues." Emsee answered while looking at his UW. 

"Then, how about we 'reveal' ourselves to them? I have something in mind that would be really fun," Josh said that while grinning. 

The others couldn't help but share a glance. Yep, these bored people were all royally screwed. No one would die, right? 

****

The Tower Plaza was still full of life. There were the usual Climbers, but there were also lots of spectators chasing after Dimensional Legion. One could see various reporters interrogating people that clearly didn't have anything interesting to say to fill air time. 

That's how a gray-looking man with a gray-looking suit and gray-looking hair was holding a microphone in front of a young bystander. On his shirt, one could read Daily-Scoop. Except, it was a stretch to call this event a scoop or a daily one. 

"Tell me. How long have you been standing here? Do you still have hope to meet Dimensional Legion?" The reporter asked.

"I've been coming and going, you know. Like earlier this morning, I went home, and I made myself a PB and jelly, and then I walked a bit, and I….—"The young man's chattering was incessant. 

"What about the second question?" The reporter cut him off. 

"EH? Oh right! Gotta have hope brotha. Without hope, what are we? Just snails wandering the vast world in search of anotha shell, you get me? Yeah, you get me brotha" He 'wisely' said. 

"Yes, of course!" As the man was recording that footage, he couldn't help but curse the editor who had sent him here. Now he was stuck talking to dumbasses that mistook snails for hermit crabs! This day was the worst! 

Oh well, it came with the job. These were the woes of living in a Climber's city as a normal man, always getting pushed around. 

He had to repeat his usual mantra mentally. 'C'mon Luis. You can do this. Just gotta endure this shit for a few years, then it's back to the village with enough savings to last a few lifetimes!'

He heaved a sigh as he found his inner peace for a short instant. But, very soon, it would crumble. At that moment, four individuals came out of the Tower. That happened often. What was peculiar was the gear that they were wearing. 

One had a golden resplendent full-bodied armor glistering in the sun.

One wore a magnificent leather one with a hood hiding his face mysteriously.

One had a dark outfit that seemed pretty simple but would rhythmically flash with every footstep. 

One guy was wearing some kind of magical-looking construction outfit. What was up with that?!

That's when the entire plaza erupted in shouts and cheers. Who were these mystical men?! At this point, the people would do anything to try their luck. 

Luis couldn't help but thank his good work ethics that had made him stay. Now, this was a scoop! A real one! That's when the golden champion said something that sent the crowd into a frenzy. 

"Hello, everyone. We've heard that some of you are interested in joining Dimensional Legion." His tone was calm, reassuring, and music to their ears. They all held their breath, waiting for him to continue.

"Well, I will be going on a walk. Anyone is free to follow. Perhaps this shall bring opportunities." 

It's at this very moment that Metropolis-C turned crazy!...