Classless Ascension

That's when a friendly older student approached. "Hey, guys. Welcome to the Village Hidden in the Sloths! ;) How are you all doing?"

"That's not important! What's up with them?!"

"Them? Oh, you mean the failed challengers. Nothing, they're just a bit shaken after a hard training session. Nothing to worry about." He reassured them with a smile. (OS)

"What the heck did they face in there?!"

"It's hard to explain. You guys will understand once you've tried it. Then again, the first experience varies a lot depending on the challenge you get. It's all random, after all." (OS)

"How bad is it? How many have cleared the Training Tower and obtained their graduation diploma? How long did it take them?"

"Cleared? This would technically be impossible as the Tower itself is a work in progress. So far, there are six challenges and—" (OS)

"What?! We're paying so much for only six challenges?! What are we supposed to do once we're done with all of them?" One exclaimed, outraged.

This outburst sent all the old-timers rolling on the floor in laughter once again. These newcomers sure were confident!

"What's so funny?"

"Can anyone explain?!"

But they simply couldn't stop laughing. That's when Kasha passed nearby as she chimed in. "You guys are wasting your breath trying to explain it to these idiots." She then headed straight into the Tower, ignoring them all.

"What?!"

"Did she just call us idiots?!"

"That was Kasha from Draconic, right?"

That's when the older student began chatting again: "Oh, so you guys know draconic?" (OS)

"Of course! They're a mighty S-Ranked guild in Metropolis-C!"

"Then, you know how strong their Rankers can be?" (OS)

"Of course! They're complete monsters!"

"They're overpowered!"

"Would you guys stand a chance against them?" (OS)

"This is impossible! A thousand of us wouldn't suffice!"

"No way! Do you think I'd be here if I were as strong! Some are teachers here, right?"

"Teachers? Nope, they're just trying to clear the available content like everyone else." (OS)

"...."

"...."

"Wait...Rankers can't clear these six challenges?!"

"To answer the earlier question, I'm not sure what one should do after completing the six challenges since no one has yet. I guess there is the founder..." (OS)

This shocked the newcomers to the very core. In their minds, Rankers were invincible existences. Now, they were supposed to accomplish something that even these heroes couldn't do?! Impossible!

"Fuck, I'll never graduate from here!"

"Very probable." (OS)

"What about the recruitment from D.L., is it conditional to succeeding?!"

"Very probable." (OS)

"Then won't people remain here forever?! That can't be! Food and lodging are included! It would cost a fortune!"

"Not really. With the food quality here, it should cost about 50 credits a year to feed someone? It's not that bad. As for lodging, I hope you guys brought a bed cause there ain't any. You can borrow a blanket at least, and there are many empty buildings. Just crash in any." (OS)

That's when the newcomers realized the enormous mistake they had made. With the contract signed, they had no choice but to pay no matter what! It didn't matter whether they attended the training or not! What the hell had they gotten into?!

1. A training Tower that they had no hopes of clearing.

2. A quality of life worse than the one of non-Climbers.

3. A graduation certificate that they would never obtain. (See #1)

4. A guild membership opportunity that was nothing but a pipe dream. (See #1)

When they had seen that the training would be extremely challenging they had all assumed that it was a marketing ploy. No school would voluntarily fail its students, right? The owner here didn't give a fuck!

As for their expectations of the living conditions, it hadn't technically been a lie either. But who the fuck called empty buildings and commoner food as all-included lodgings?! They didn't know whether to cry or cry heavily.

As they were despairing, Frank came over to do his intro speech. They lifelessly listened as they remembered all the people online calling this school a scam. Many of them had even defended it since its founder had saved Metropolis-D and seemed like a cool guy.

What a fucking joke! He wasn't even there for the opening ceremony! But, it was far too late, for they had joined this pirate ship— one on fire! They wanted nothing but to go back in time and beat their previous naive selves!

Frank's speech included many well-wishes. Hopefully, they would improve quickly, enjoy this wonderful experience, rely on each other like a family, and lots of motivational bullshit. Many wanted nothing more than to attack the "scammer" but knew it wouldn't accomplish anything.

Left with no other choice, they finally figured that they might as well try this Training Tower. They approached it fearfully, but they feared wasting 10k even more! Their newly impoverished state fueled them!

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In there, they would all have life-changing experiences— not for the better either. Many finally learned the meaning of PTSD. Whether it was shit, office work, blood-thirsty worms, dinosaurs, a monkey army, or getting lost forever: they would always have to live with this bad experience!

That is how they all ended up quickly thrown out of the Tower. Perhaps the worse was realizing that this would be their life from that point onward. Either they accepted it, or they had wasted 10k Credits.

That's when a youngster with fiery hair enthusiastically hollered at them. "Why are you Newbies standing there like dumbasses? Come here!"

He was gesturing to the area filled with some medicinal cups. As they were in the depth of their despair, this man acted as a beacon. He made them feel like it would be alright after they drank whatever he was offering.

Either consciously or unconsciously, they all went next to him. Then, he gave them drinks. They smelled of warmth, comfort, and sugar.

"Guys, once you drink this, you'll feel way better! Don't worry about it. Everyone reacts the same the first time. By the way, you can call me Dale. If you need help, you can ask me. Totally bragging, but I'm on a third of the leaderboard rankings here."

They instinctively felt the confidence in his voice, and it reassured them. This youngster didn't seem that strong, but he was a Ranker! He would teach them a way out, right?! He was happily drinking alongside them.

"How is it? Better, right?" Dale smiled at them.

Many lightly nodded. They had no idea what was in there, but it was effective!

"I-if I can ask. What are we drinking right now?"

"It's the staple drink of the Hot Coco Cult. It makes everything better!" He shared.

"Yes, but what's in the hot chocolate?"

"Water, sugar, cacao, and milk," Dale replied that poor naive soul.

"No! What kind of medicine is in there?!" The newbie was starting to wonder if Dale was trolling him.

"There really is nothing else in there. It's 100% pure Hot Coco." Dale explained.

"W-what?!" Were they supposed to forget their suffering with nothing but a regular drink?! There was no way this would help in the long run!

That's when Dale smiled as he seemed to change entirely. He turned profound and wise, which was a stark contrast to his usual demeanor. He then slowly uttered:

"Whenever you despair and feel beaten." Dale took another sip of the sugary beverage. "Simply find one thing, one tiny thing that brings you joy. Then from that simple thing, get the strength to keep going."

"That's all?!"

"Yes, and it works. It's a trick a friend gave me, a sage friend." (D)

"So, we're supposed to brave the insanity inside, clear the challenges and then recuperate by drinking Hot Coco?"

"You learn fast." (D)

"...."

"Well, even if you manage to clear a Floor, you can keep going and try to get a better leaderboard score." (D)

"About that, I've seen the leaderboard. Isn't it broken?!"

"Broken? How so? It was working perfectly last I checked." Dale replied.

"The rank one is impossibly high and—"

Dale began chuckling, understanding what they meant.

"No, it's not the leaderboard that's broken. It's Josh MF Malum that is! You'll get used to it soon enough. In the meantime, as long as you keep fighting, there will be hope. Never forget that."

They couldn't help but look at the man pensively. Perhaps joining this school wasn't as big a mistake as they initially thought...

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[A/N] There are two Requests in this chap, can you find them? Also, taking some more soon ^_^v