Classless Ascension

On the arena stood four incredible combatants. On each side were two rankers from Immortal and Devouring Panda, respectively. The crowd was going ballistic as these two guilds rarely exhibited their might.

After all, both were often in the Tower either in search of information or cooking ingredients. Finally, the people would see them in action today. Sure, this tournament didn't include any skills, but it was better than nothing.

The four of them gave wry smiles as they heard the cheers of the crowd. They prepared themselves to do the goddamn best show they could. This fight had low-key been planned by the organizers to be the highlight of this tournament.

They had both joined the queue at the exact same time and had 'luckily' encountered each other. Every region would have a few of these coincidental match-ups appearing early to keep things interesting.

Then again, it seemed like contestants themselves were getting in the way of entertainment. They had almost all voted to make a few strong people progress straight to the finals. Of course, these Rankers had voted no, but the vote had till passed.

It seemed like the guys that votes yes really didn't want to be defeated by randoms. They didn't mind the rankers at all. It was probably a matter of pride. They were fine with losing to renowned fighters instead. It was ridiculous.

Anyway, the fight began, and the Rankers showed their amazing capabilities. The Immortal members were using katanas while the guys from Devouring Panda wielded kitchen knives. Before long, the collision started.

At first, they made sure to clash theatrically a few times to sell the fight, but then they simply got into the mood. They were all of a similar level and had plenty of experience in the Tower.

They were soon trading blows after blows. A magnificent and elegant dance of death appeared as they clashed repeatedly. A single misstep would mean demise. In the background, they could hear the gasps and exclamations of the crowd.

All eyes were on their performance and….

- RandomDude1234: "Wow, this Dimensional Legion sounds awesome as fuck! How do I join?!"

- AverageNetizen: "I know, right?! Can you believe all the classes they are naming! Why do I feel like that's their current classes?!"

- BirchPlease: "Of course it's their current classes! These guys are clearly from a hidden S+Rank guild. I just wonder if there are others similar to Dimensional Legion out there."

- SpeaksTruth: "This is such a waste. Why did these guys have to vote them out of the competition?! I agree they all deserve the top 1, but let us see some more of their fights. So what if it's one-sided!"

- NoWorryMan: "No worry, man. Just watch their replay as I'm doing right now. You have to watch that Zebra guy. He's low-key the leader of that group. He's probably a promising rookie in their guild."

On the arena stood four amazing but incredibly dumbfounded combatants. The crowd was going ballistic, but it seemed like no one was actually watching their fight.

They even stopped fighting, and no one noticed. At that very moment, they had only one thought. Who the Hell was this Dimensional Legion?! They had stolen their spotlight!

Meanwhile, other fights were suffering from the same problem. Suddenly the audience stopped paying attention. They were all surfing the net watching replays, yes, even those that had seen the original fights.

The previously tense atmosphere was nowhere to be seen. What was the point of contestants giving their all now?! Some began to regret signing that dumb petition.

As for the guy that had started it, he was currently checking out how much it would cost to change his face and name legally while crying. He had made a mistake, to use his real appearance…

****

Back in Draconic, Josh woke up in time to see Dale doing a victory dance.

"You seem happy."

"Of course! I'm not sure if you've forgotten, but only recently I was a guildless nobody. Now, I'm a guildless hidden bigshot! The incredible Tiger from Dimensional Legion!" He was even posing heroically.

"Oh? So what are you going to do? Wait until I create it for real?"

"What?! You will?!" He showed expectation.

"Of course, I plan on buying a small farm and call it <Dimensional Legion>!"

"I'm not sure if that's really funny or plain evil. Part of me really wants to see how long you can fake being a hidden expert, kinda like that appraiser guy." Dale added.

"Should we bet on whether I can accomplish it?" Josh playfully offered.

"Hell no! I know perfectly you have more than 100k credits. I'm sure you can buy one epic-looking farm with that."

"Well, just the farm may not be enough."

"Please! You have that simple but crazy training regiment that even impressed the members of Draconic. If you verify your account as Zebra and use that fame, you're set!"

"Actually, these funds are already gone." Josh shrugged.

"How did you blow it up so quickly?!"

"Mortgage."

"Alright, give me a second…now, tell me what you bought." Dale sat on the ground, apparently afraid to fall in shock.

"D-23."

"ARG. My heart! Quick I need CPR from a cute girl!" Dale threw himself on the ground faking cardiac arrest with his tongue out. It looked incredibly silly.

That's when the monk came nearby. Liam followed him.

"Oh? Don't worry, everyone. This humble monk can accomplish funeral rites." He was grinning.

"No need! I'm good!" Dale quickly got up, faking fright.

"Guys, I have a suggestion. We will get the custom capsules soon with access to <Climbers' World>. Why don't we start a guild in-game? You can be the guild leader Josh, or should I say stripes master?" Liam chuckled.

"Good idea, but what the Hell is up with the Samurai nickname in the tournament! What happened to the low-key?!" Dale pointed out.

"A samurai never lets go of his pride for…." Liam began.

All of them were happily reveling in the sense of victory and the atmosphere. They had all enjoyed teasing that tea-time girl with fake info without really saying anything concrete.

"All of you. Just remember that this tournament doesn't mean anything. We all have plenty to learn. All of you need to train your fighting sense a lot more. Well, I too have many things to work on too." Josh reminded them.

"Like what?! You've been crushing the Tower! I've heard about all the hellish difficulties you're clearing solo!" Dale interjected.

"Well, for instance, I still don't have a single skill." Josh gave a self-deprecating smile.

That's when they all sucked in a cold breath. They often forgot that Josh was Classless. More like they knew but had forgotten all the disadvantages it brought. Initially, a few of them had been worried for him, but…

They couldn't help but painfully grimace as they imagine themselves climbing without any fire spells for Dale and without any mana-improved attacks for Liam.

The monk on the side was pensive. At first glance, his own class seemed even worse than being classless, but Josh was also a fallen. What was impressive wasn't that he had kept Climbing but that he had done so solo even while he had easier options.

While training, they had often wondered why Josh was threading such a hard path. The way he looked now showed a tiny hint of what he had to face. Yet, he was always so confident. It had never felt like arrogance or naivety either.

"Remember that you guys have been training fighting without skills while the others probably just winged it. The smart ones will notice their shortcomings and improve. If you aren't ready for hard work, you'll be left in the dust." Josh declared solemnly.

They all nodded seriously. Still, that didn't wipe the huge smile off their faces.

"Alright, I'll go back to training!" The monk seemed to be heading back to a VR capsule.

"Honestly, you should be strong enough to clear floor two now, right?" Josh asked.

"Yes, but the problem is my luck. It will take me an eternity to clear the collection mission." He sighed.

"Then take an eternity and use this time to train too. Here are some credits. Go buy a hundred fasting pills and try it." Josh ordered.

By the side, the two others couldn't believe their ears. Was he really sending him to the Tower for more than three months?! Who the Hell would accept such …

"Alright! Thank you so much, Boss! As for the training, what should I focus on?" The monk asked with sparkles in his eyes.

"This. Try attacking me. I'll show you." Josh nonchalantly closed his eyes.

The monk trusted him completely and swung his fist, but Josh easily evaded it. In no way did he seem blind at all.

"Ah, I see! I need to use the sound and the flow of air to figure out the dangers!" He said as if enlightened.

"Nope. You shouldn't even need that. Whenever a creature decides to attack, there is killing intent generated. Sense that instead. Do you understand?" Josh patiently guided.

"Yes, Boss!" He thumped his chest in assurance. He would work hard until he figured it out.

On the side, Liam was whispering to Dale something about how Josh was clearly a real-life cultivator. The other couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"Say, Josh. How do you think I should improve?" Dale asked expectantly. Would there be another mystical-sounding training suggestion?

"You can use fire, right? Skills are apparently super strong. Try to incorporate some into your usual routine. But, your goal should be efficiency above all else. Well, that's just a wild guess on my part." Josh admitted.

"It makes sense. That's what I'll be working on too. The hard part is using skills without slowing down at all." Liam was nodding in agreement.

"Alright, good luck all. See you guys later." Josh turned around, waving them goodbye.

"Let me guess. You'll be Climbing?" Dale stated the obvious.

"Of course…" Josh murmured.

He left to prepare a few things. He was giving advice, yet he wasn't sure if he'd even be able to clear the next Floor. Quite ironic. It was a land of death, after all.

He wasn't exactly going in blind this time around. He had discussed it plenty with the analyst guy. In theory, it was possible to clear it. In practice, however...

Creator's Thought

Did I just send the monk to train for 100 days on Floor 2? Yep. Regret? None. Lucky for him he wasn't a Fallen. Otherwise, that would have been a death sentence. I can't help but chuckle whenever I picture the Monk of Calamity just killing weak beetles for ages with that serious training gaze of his.