Classless Ascension

A young man slowly came out of the Tower, looking all as calm as humanly possible but completely covered in rock dust.

A young MTA soldier quickly saw the man he recognized as Josh and eagerly waved at him. He was just about to speak when he suddenly froze, his mouth gaping open.

His entire body began to tremble while his eyes were bulging. For a second, he wondered if he was dreaming. What the fuck was this?!

Behind Josh, there was a large, muscular, and completely green humanoid creature. The soldier then quickly figured out what it was... "Is that an orc?! Sir, careful!" He shouted loudly.

Instantly all eyes turned his way, both soldiers and a few courageous Climbers. First, there was shock, then pure disbelief, and finally fright. It was a goddamn gradient of emotions.

"A monster!?"

"Quick! Call the MTA!"

"Dumbass, they're already here!"

"Establish a defense perimeter. Hurry!"

"How many enemies are there?! Is the Tower leaking?!"

They instantly tensed up as they got ready for a fight. It probably didn't help that the orc was happily growling at them. His evil-looking smirks sent terror in their hearts and pee in their pants.

That's when Josh finally stepped forward:

"Stop panicking, all of you. Haven't you seen pets before?" He shook his head, showing great disappointment.

As they heard that, many relaxed a bit. Still, a soldier quickly strode forward: "Sir, please recall your pet! This is to assure Metropolis-D's safety!"

"Yeah….not gonna happen. Just roll with it." Josh instantly denied.

"Sir, please just—"

"Nope. I'm letting him breathe a bit."

This, in turn, made the bystanders frown as the soldiers were already regretting being on duty today. Why were they the ones needing to deal with such a troublesome situation?

They usually would swarm both pet and master alike to restrain them, but what could they do against this guy? Not only did he personally know Markus, but he also owned a Climber school.

If that wasn't enough, the guy was extremely stubborn. He was the kind who wasn't easily swayed. Many Climbers were already laughing, not having recognized him. After all, news came and went. Many had forgotten his face.

"Haha, buddy, you sure are bold."

"Bold? He's reckless! He should just recall his pet."

"Hehe, I can't wait to see him beaten up by the MTA!"

"Yep, anyone wants to bet on the outcome? Shot down or restrained?"

"Sounds fun, count me in! Putting 300 Credits on shot dead!"

"This guy feels familiar…but I'm not sure where I've seen him."

"Who knows" ¯_(-_-)_/¯

They sure were enjoying themselves. For some reason, they all seemed convinced that he would be in deep trouble­. They had utterly missed the MTA peeps' reaction.

The soldiers grimaced as they heard talks about killing, maiming, or even arresting Josh. There was no way that they would dare! This was especially true considering they might be sent to train at his place shortly.

They knew better than to antagonize the training instructor. This was especially true when there already had been deaths in the Alter Tower. All the ones who had barged into it hadn't come back yet and probably never would.

Suddenly a U-Bot came barging!

"Monster detected! Monster detected! Alert! Alert! Alert!"

Without even changing facial expression, the orc near Josh suddenly made a hammer appear out of nowhere, one that was larger than his whole body. He then smashed it, the metal pushing the air away until it collided with the piece of metal.

Hammer 1

U-bot 0

Tower Plaza —> +1 Crater

As for the orc, he didn't show remorse or any sign that he was stressed. He simply took back his spot behind Josh.

While this happened, the man relaxedly took out his phone and called a friend. Many guns pointed his way, but a single look from him was enough to get their owner to lower them.

The many Climbers were flabbergasted:

"Oy, what the hell is happening?"

"Why are the MTA soldiers staying far away?"

"Did this orc really just flatten a U-bot just like that?!"

"Wait…is he intimidating them?! He's not doing anything!"

That's when a man suddenly gasped in shock.

"Oh shit, guys. I just remembered! He's Josh Malum! Still, what the hell is he doing?!"

That's when all the ones who had bet against him suddenly realized how foolish they were.

"Still, what's with the dust on him?"

"It couldn't help if we didn't recognize him because of it."

"What Floor do you all think he's on? It must be a tough one."

"Let me check something real quick. Wait, that's weird…."

"What's up?"

"The only known Floor with orcs is Floor 24."

"He used a taming emblem on a Floor 24 mob?!"

"Talk about a huge fucking waste, ridiculous!"

"I would have gotten a succubus instead. 100% better!"

"Idiot, why risk your life to get one when you can visit a nice human lady."

Afterward, the conversation quickly degenerated on the pros and cons of having a succubus pet. From time to time, U-bots would appear and promptly be turned into scrap.

Orc 9

U-bots 0

Tower Plaza —> Too many craters

The soldiers felt like they were nothing but a decoration at this point. They could only watch this travesty happen. Luckily their superior soon showed up.

He was a man who didn't seem to belong to the military. He was too easy-going for that.

"Captain, what should we do?!" a soldier asked perplexed.

The man simply grabbed a packet of beef jerky and began munching on it. He then very nonchalantly replied:

"Eh, we have to keep him here for now. Actually, spread out and make sure no more U-bots come nearby. We have enough metallic pancakes as is." He instructed.

"Captain, what about Josh Malum?"

"What about him?" He asked, raising a brow.

"Aren't we going to do anything?"

"Of course we are, don't be stupid!" the Captain's statement made them sigh in relief, but then he kept going. "I heard he likes to eat. Get him plenty of snacks!" He ordered.

The soldiers were completely at a loss. That wasn't what they had pictured to be doing at all. Bring him snacks, really?! Since when were they errand boys?!

Josh wasn't the least worried as he slowly waited for Markus to show up. As he turned toward his new subordinate, he couldn't help but ponder. Not only wasn't it a pet but it wasn't linked to the Tower directly.

That's when a nervous soldier suddenly appeared. Was he trying to bring him in custody? But as he noticed the food in the man's hands, he couldn't help but smile. The MTA wasn't that bad after all.

How many would have winced had they heard this? The MTA defended justice, but they would definitely be cruel to criminals. How the fuck did he believe this to be usual treatment?!

"Pizza, sandwiches, and even chocolate bars? Great job, you all! I'm going to put a good word for you with Markus."

At that moment, the soldiers sure felt that this was dumb. They were freaking getting praised for snacks?

"It comes with perfect timing. After all, I didn't eat that much in the Tower." He offhandedly remarked.

He was eating in the Tower? This felt weird because he hadn't been gone that long in there. Sure, a lot could have happened, but Climbers usually tried to avoid eating in the Tower at all costs. Why did it sound so casual when he said it?

That statement also made the orc's face cramp. He remembered very vividly this devil eating his powerful armor whole! He didn't know which was worse: that he had eaten his armor or asked him if he could make more as a snack?!

That's when the big boss of Metropolis-D finally arrived. He quickly walked as fast as possible toward Josh and took him to the side to talk.

The bystander could only grumble as they were forced to evacuate the nearby area by MTA soldiers.

Markus looked at the troublemaker, not sure how to react:

"So, what's this about your pet?"

"Oh yeah. I just told them that he's a pet, so they wouldn't freak out. He's a Tower creature, but he's not really one anymore either."

"Do you mean like the sloths?!"

"Nope. The sloths had their own Tower that they had to Climb. If anything, you can consider him a friendly NPC." Josh explained.

"I see. Are there any other orcs? Where did you find him? How is this possible?" Markus asked a flurry of questions.

"I found him on Floor 24. It's possible because of the latest Tower update. Be careful with that since the difficulty increased a lot. I really mean it…well maybe that's just Hellish, I'm not sure. Also, don't worry about other orcs. He's the last one."

"The last one? What happened?" Markus asked.

That's when the orc chimed in: "He killed them all."

What?! Makus couldn,t help but gasp. What kind of twist was this?! They had been enemies?! How had he come to serve him?

"T-then, how are you guys so friendly now?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. We decided to team up to fuck some gods up. They're the ones that started this whole mess after all."

"You call this the usual?!" Markus cried out.

"I mean, it is my usual. So...yeah?"

That…actually sounded about right. Honestly, what the heck was happening with that guy?! Markus took a second to calm his nerves.

"Alright, keep telling others that he's your pet. This will be easier to explain. We were talking about passing a law allowing pets in Metropolises, so I guess I'll push to move it forward."

"Oh? People will be able to show up in the city with cool creatures? Nice!" Josh gave a thumb up.

"Not nice! Do you know how much trouble this will cause?!"

"A shitload, but you'll take care of it as you always do, haha. Don't worry, I believe in you."

"I wish you believed in me less! How about you cause less trouble instead?!"

"Hehe, no worries. Anyway, I need to get better equipment cause I'm getting fucked in the Tower with the new update. Where can I upgrade my morphing weapon?"

Markus couldn't help but stare. Things had to be bad if even Josh admitted to having Climbing issues….

Creator's Thought

Progress often comes from necessity. By coming over with a literal orc I was forcing Markus to change the law of the city. This lie was for the best. After all, people were already tense enough as is.