Classless Ascension

In the middle of the ghoul troop, there was one creature that looked stronger. Instead of basic bronze armor, this one was wearing a full plate that covered its entire body.

"Jackpot!" Josh rejoiced as he charged toward them.

The monsters couldn't be happier. Not only had they found a tasty human, but the imbecile was even approaching them! They had yet to fathom the horror of Josh Malum…

"Grab the human. Tear his limbs apart." Their leader ordered, his voice sounding like the last exhale of a dying man, low and raspy.

How soon would this fight be over! Apparently, not that soon. This one enemy turned out to be strong.

<Awakening-Priest Ghoul Commander lv 28 ☠>

A Mini-Boss?! How surprising! A priest in heavy armor and equipped with gauntlets was quite the peculiar sight.

Josh slowly went forward, cutting through the enemies left and right. He had to be careful, as every attack he did was met with 50. The nightmares they were riding didn't help either as they tried to trample him.

Slowly but surely, he still made his way toward his target, leaving plenty of corpses in his wake. Just as he thought everything would be over soon, the priest waved its claws in the air "Awaken, my brethren."

Suddenly the defeated foes began rising up. Somehow, their movements seemed different too, as if they were suddenly smarter...not that it would change anything. Still, the defeated nightmares remained unmoving. It seemed like this power had limitations.

"Tch— Necromancer, is it? Naw, I bet Awakening-Priest is the weaker version, right? Do you only have boring ghouls? What about archers, mages, knights, and all?! No can do, right?" Josh ridiculed.

"You're surrounded, human. There is no escape, only anguish and death along with—" The priest monologued like a true bad guy.

"You talk way too much for a dead guy!" Josh lightly remarked.

Suddenly having the dead rise around oneself would be a traumatizing experience, right? Nope. Josh actually pitied them. They would get to die over and over...and over again. Should he test the priest's limits? Oh, this would be fun!

Josh grinned as he began maneuvering the battlefield akin to an acrobat. An enemy trying to destroy his head? Slight duck. One sweeping the legs? Jump toward another enemy.

The ghoul legion around him had a fatal flaw. They were now all melee range! Every attacker gave him a body to use as a springboard, or even better, as a meatshield. A ghoul would slash at him from time to time, only for Josh to drag an ally in the trajectory.

While trying to destroy him, they would hit each other even when being careful. His movements were too unpredictable!

Their numbers quickly dwindled, with Josh even finishing the last nightmares that remained. They were now completely stranded. Josh could see how complacent this priest had been, not having asked for reinforcements! But it was already too late.

The creature could be seen grinning as it raised its arm once more and revived all the ghouls. It "knew" it had the situation under control. After all, this dumb human was trying to outlast the undead! Talk about a dumbass!

This reasoning was quite logical, to be honest. Hence lay the problem…it was logical. The poor priest would soon learn the meaning of the Malum Law.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

On the battlefield were plenty of listless ghouls. They would reluctantly get up as they kept dying and being revived over and over again.

What was up with this human?! Why wasn't he getting tired?! Why was he grinning so much?! They were scary ghouls! They devoured the living and— wait, what the fuck?! One ghoul had seen something that chilled even its undead bones.

The human was slicing their flesh, sending some of it everywhere, and he…he….he had gobbled some up?! What the fuck?! The ghouls' eyes were bulging as they watched this impossibility.

"Ghoul sashimi is surprisingly not that bad. Is this a new ability of the Devouring Bloodline? Making anything magical taste good, perhaps? Curious…" Josh nonchalantly commented.

That's when he leisurely advanced toward the priest, every step making the creature freak out even more.

"A-awaken my brethren!!

"Aaaa—awaken my bbb-brethren!!!"

"Go away, human!! No, go away, monster!!!"

"What are you doing?!" It protested as Josh removed its armor piece by piece by slicing at the joints.

"AHHH!!!" Then came a horrifying scream as the creature stopped moving, eternally.

Josh then turned toward the remaining ghouls. It wouldn't take long for him to clean them up and… Except they seemed relieved with the death of their leader. Without waiting further, they crumbled to the ground and played dead.

One could even be seen "sneakily" opening an eyelid but closing it right afterward. It seemed they were trying to convey: "with our leader's magic running out, we are now deader than dead…."

Josh couldn't help but freeze. These ghouls had the potential to go into comedy, the visual gag kind. He slowly passed over them while exaggeratedly mumbling. "Nice, it seems they are all dead! I guess I will go destroy their city now!" Some twitched in reaction.

"Alright, Nightmare, bring us away!" Josh heroically ordered.

The sound of gallop was heard becoming fainter until it disappeared entirely. The ghouls slowly opened their eyes, so damn glad! They had managed to escape the devil. They had managed to— They froze.

Right behind them was the smiling Josh that had never actually left. No! Oh god, no! That's when a genius ghoul exaggeratedly held its chest, faking a heart attack, before collapsing to the ground.

"HAHAHA! I wonder if it's possible to tame some ghouls." Josh mused to himself aloud, the creatures shaking. "Whatever, time for loot!"

He slowly approached the fallen Mini-Boss. He couldn't help but grin as its armor was lying there. Actually, it wasn't even an item. It seemed more like a quest prop, and it suited Josh perfectly.

He had flashbacks of his time back in the Training Tower. Ah, but he could absorb the XP, and there was also one actual drop.

<Ally Awakening Gem>

- "Revives" any defeated ally in the nearby area. They may look slightly different. Lasts 2 minutes.

This would likely mean getting a few weak ghouls for 2 minutes. While it probably wouldn't be that strong, it could change the outcome of a fight.

Josh decisively grabbed the bronze full-plate armor, wore it, and left after resummoning Nightmare. Behind him, he left ghouls that were too wary of opening their eyes.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The both of them reached Ghoul Town.

Josh's disguise was probably good enough. He wore the plate armor, hiding his features thoroughly, and had even stuffed some ghoul skin inside it to make sure his human smell didn't give him away.

As for Nightmare, it looked slightly different from the other in its species. Hopefully, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference. He felt like confidence would be everything.

He couldn't help but wonder if these ghouls had the same greed as the others from a few floors ago. He tried sending Navi with a golden watch to fly above them. But, it barely got any reaction at all.

Since a diversion wasn't possible, Josh wouldn't overthink it. Rider and mount charged straight toward the town! Luckily, no one stopped them. The settlement was very basic. This was to be expected since it wasn't like the undead needed much to live.

There were a few buildings, but they seemed to be reserved for their leaders as a symbol of status. The biggest was the size of a large house but far from a manor either. Josh wandered into the camp until he found his objective: a challenge ring.

He slowly went over to inspect it, entering the area. But, as soon as he did, countless excited screeches resounded all around. The ghouls were pointing at him as if just him standing there was a miracle.

Welp, it seemed like the mission was progressing, right? After a few minutes of constant noise pollution by over-hyper ghouls, the crowd suddenly parted, frightened beyond belief.

There was a newcomer: It was a hideous ghoul that seemed to be emitting a foul green fog around its body. It was riding an overgrown ghoulish nightmare that looked extremely horrifying.

<Smelly Mounted Ghoul Conqueror Lv 32 ☠>

"Another idiot challenged me?! Who is it?!" The creature bellowed angrily and confidently. Just its tone promised an eternal slumber to whoever fought it.

Another? The ghouls pointed to Josh, with the boss sneering. "I'll trash you soon, don't worry."

That's when another riding ghoul appeared. Josh would describe it like a ghoul that worked out, very muscular. Both of the "alpha" ghouls took their position at each side of the area, sending death glares toward their opponent.

These two would fight? So, this was the tournament? A single challenger besides him? Then again, perhaps he had accomplished the previous part of the mission too quickly to allow others to sign up?

"Your reign will soon be over!" The buffed ghoul declared.

"Fool, I am eternal!" Replied the smelly ghoul

Nice, there was even trash talk included! This reminded him of jousting, with both participants using large spears. There was also a referee ghoul that wore the same bronze full-plate armor as Josh.

He gave the start signal and, both contestants ushered their mount forward in a deadly charge! It all went extremely quickly, and they were already crossing each other, crashing their lances into one another. The smelly undead seemed to be on the losing end...?!

How peculiar!... What would happen if the other ghoul were to win? Was Josh supposed to do anything about it?

Then came the second and third exchanges. That's when Josh finally realized what this was all about. This creature's fog affected even the ghouls! Weren't they immune to such status effects?!

He kept watching until the smelly boss defeated its opponent, crushing it to flesh and bone dust before sprinkling him away. This would be his fate should he fail.

Josh valiantly stepped forward to fight. "Alright, Nightmare. Make sure to dodge the hits. I'm counting on you!" This was Josh's secret weapon.

He steeled himself, and it began. As they met in the middle, he felt the incredible force from the tip of his heavy lance land unto the enemy, but he also breathed in the fog.

This was so horrible! It wasn't poison: it was simply downright disgusting! It felt like a perverse attack that attacked the soul as much as the body. It was unpleasant, but he could somehow support it.

That's how Josh relentlessly went against the boss, round after round until he finally pushed the creature off its mount in a final decisive blow! But, there was no applause, only a weighty silence.

"I will not go down!!! ARRRRGGGG!!" The boss screamed.

[Mission, survive the Smelly Knight's Rage!]

"Oh, C'mon!!" Give me a fucking break!" Josh couldn't help but complain…