Classless Ascension

In the room turned into a movie theater, twenty-ish Climbers aggressively charged toward a lone man amidst the gas.

— Wooosshhhh! —

"C'mon, give me a break!" Josh complained as they all charged at him, equipping all their gear!

Without waiting, he used his secret weapon: the smelly set! As the invisible smelly domain formed….nothing at all happened. These fuckers were all holding their breath to resist the gas.

He wouldn't waste time with them as he used the Zoom ability to dash away, heading in a straight line for the exit. But suddenly, he felt a magical projectile bypass him, one so perversely cold! The ear it had passed near was already frostbitten!

But then it landed, right at his destination, exploding all over. Oh god! It blossomed into an enormous ice flower laden with ice pricks that looked insanely sharp— and he was heading straight for them!

Of crap! He had to stop himself, but it wasn't that easy. Without waiting, Josh transformed his weapon into a spear and used it to redirect his movement. A second later, his body was flattened on the ceiling, all his bones creaking.

Below the enemies were already coming over. Screw this. He was getting the fuck away from this place! Josh hurriedly attacked the ceiling. He'd make a hole in it and escape to the floor above.

— CLANG! —

But as he swung with all his might, an orange light appeared and blocked it. An invisible barrier protected the structure?!

"Quick, kill him!"

"Be ready! He'll fall back down!"

"Grab the antidote on his body if you have to!"

What motherfucking antidote?! Also, he wasn't coming down!

He used the Equipment Changers he possessed to don the spider set quickly. The Climbers couldn't help but stare in shock as they saw Josh run away on the ceiling.

"What the heck is his class?!"

"Is that asshole a cockroach or something?!"

"Who cares! Shoot him down and beat him up!"

That's when tons of unidentified objects began flying at him. There were arrows, magical projectiles, swords, seats, and one guy was even throwing shit at him?! What was wrong with those people?!

"He's moving like an insect too!"

"Cough cough. We gotta hurry up!"

"Stop running, you bastard, and come down!"

The mob was still intent on killing him for an antidote that didn't exist. That's when one of them couldn't take it anymore as he opened his mouth wide and— began screeching deafeningly!

All the Climbers instantly held their heads in their hands, Josh included. He fell from the ceiling, landing heavily on his back. His spine cracked, and his eardrums shattered.

He lay there bloodied and groggy. The cause of it all slowly approached him while cackling happily:

"Screw you. How do you like that, eh? My sonic attack is pretty great, ain't it! With that much damage, you won't be able to move! This will teach you to poison us, hehe. You get what you fucking deserve."

He then began rummaging Josh's pockets. There were a few odd things and a few generic pills, but no antidote. That's when the guy started grimacing.

"It's in your freaking inventory, isn't it? Go on, spit it out! I see that defiant look in your eyes, haha. But so what?! You're at my mercy right now. Either you play nice and give me what I want or—

But his sentence was rudely interrupted by a blade in his throat. The dying man stared at Josh with bulging eyes and incomprehension. "Passive regeneration, bitch." Josh spat out with the man falling to the ground.

He then turned to the others. They were still wriggling on the ground, all thanks to that guy's attack. How ironic that the one who wanted him dead had unintendedly helped him. They were staring at him with so much hate!

"Listen up, you dumbasses. I didn't poison anyone. I just have an insect-based Class, one that's immune to poison and allows me to walk on walls. How about you mind your own fucking business and leave me alone?"

Some showed regret, others uncertainty, but many kept showering him in killing intent. As if they'd believe him! Josh could only sigh as he headed toward the exit, forcefully hacking the ice away little by little. But before leaving, he turned around.

Out of the 20, there were seven that were still sending killing intent his way. They were only fools who were sorely mistaken. Of course, he would spare them….from living their pitiful existence.

Josh quickly got rid of them, leaving helpless and despairing Climbers behind.

The corridor was full of the same gray fog, the visibility extremely bad. If anything, it tasted a bit like pepper, or perhaps that was just him. Josh checked his UW real quick.

- Josh MF Malum: Are you guys the ones attacking the place?

- Dario the Dragon: What?! There's an attack?! What's happening?!

- Josh MF Malum: Guess that's a no…

- Dario the Dragon: What the hell is going on—

Josh closed the chat without a second thought. What was he going to write? That there was smoke? That he had killed a few pricks? Either way, who could be behind this if it wasn't the MTA?

This could potentially be an opportunity. He headed toward the ballroom, looking for his target. That's when he encountered a small group of Climbers who all had gas masks. They instantly pointed their weapons at him.

"Who goes there!"

"This guy doesn't have a gas mask! How is he fine?!"

"Either he's one of the invaders, or he has a way to resist this thing."

Josh gave them a quick look before uttering displeased:

"Look, guys. I'm trying to figure out what's going on here. Either come along or get out of my fucking way." He kept walking, ignoring them.

A few of them seemed about to attack him, but their leader stopped them.

"There's no need to fight him for now. It would just weaken us."

"Boss? There are 10 of us and only one of him! What do we have to fear?!"

"He didn't even twitch as he saw us all. He's not your run of the mill weakling."

The inexperienced man nodded in understanding, warily eyeing Josh nonetheless. Nice, finally someone with a brain!

"I'm Klein D—" Their leader began to introduce himself.

"I don't care." Josh stopped him abruptly.

A few Climbers seemed outraged, but they were urged to follow him without making a scene. Time was of the essence— well, maybe? No one really knew what the fuck was going on.

From time to time, they would encounter lone or small groups of Fallens. They all had their own ways to resist the poison and would get agitated upon meeting them. But, the Klein D man would disarm the situation quickly, offering them to join them.

That's how Josh found himself leading a group of a few dozen Climbers. Well, he really was going his own way, and they were following behind. Eventually, they reached their destination.

But, they stopped, listening to the voices that were echoing inside:

"Gemini really stooped so fucking low on this one. Can you imagine how shocked I was when I learned that you were organizing a Fallen-only party? I was like…really?! They're doing what?!"

"Who are you people?!" The Gemini recruiter growled.

"Who are we? Isn't that obvious? We're the good guys! We're the ones that can't stand you guys catering to these illegal aliens. Think about it. This isn't their home, not at all! What are they doing here in the first place?!"

"They're helping us all clear the Tower, you idiots! We're the ones that invited them here!"

"You invited them. We never did! They're nothing but filthy vermin plaguing our great Metropolises! Don't you see? At every chance they get, they try to corrupt our civilization. Open your eyes and witness how trashy their culture is!"

"Tch— Another crazed extremist. There's a reason everyone hates you. If you think that you'll be able to defeat Gemini, then you're dead wrong!"

"Defeat you? HAHAHAHA! We don't have to defeat you directly. As we speak, gas is slowly spreading, affecting all those maggots you invited here. Before long, they will all become paralyzed, for life! How great, am I right?!"

"You insane bastard!"

Whoever was in there was a complete nutjob. One so crazy that reality had lost all meaning. Logical thinking? Sense of judgment? All gone!

Josh's group gasped in shock at hearing this. They could be seen shivering in rage as they glared at the fog in front. They were so eager to fight.

"Whatever, just go already." Josh gestured to them.

They charged akin to mad dogs, driven by their fury. Coincidentally, the song currently playing was a remix of "Who Let the Doggos Out!"

Soon enough came the sound of intense fighting! Josh, like a brave man...went to the side. He had no intention of joining a chaotic and blind melee. Hell no!

A few seconds later, the crisp crunch sound of chips resounded, adding to the magical explosions, the steel clanging, and the dying screams.

"Oh well, it's not popcorn, but it's better than nothing." Josh sighed to himself. He intently listened to the fight. Was this how blind men watched MMA shows?

All that he knew was that the mad guy was still cackling as much as earlier, that his target was still alive, and that there were tons of people grunting in there as they exerted themselves.

But suddenly, shadows left the fog, led by an old lady that he recognized instantly. That's when the man eating chips and the bloodied Climber made eye contact.

Oh? An opportunity? Would you look at that…

Creator's Thought

From my experience, too many good men died from stray bullets. I wasn't about to risk my life for an LoA mission! I had my reasons to join them, but it wasn't that big a deal if I failed— or so I naively thought back then...