Classless Ascension

Near a wealthy-looking villa, two men were preparing for their upcoming assault.

A young thief was exclaiming: "What do you mean, don't worry about it?! Do you really want to enter through the front gate?"

"Sure, why not?" Josh retorted without any trace of doubt. After all, he already had all the tools he needed for the job. What he lacked the most was information. "Anyway, we need to research our target and—"

"You're not even sure who we're targeting?! Isn't this basic?!" The thief cried out.

"Basic? Then, I'll trust in you to quickly bring me up to speed." He even winked as his companion.

The thief could only sigh: "Fine! The one owning this place is called Madam Evelynn and owns many specialized medicinal fields. Thus she's a powerful woman. Honestly, assassinating her would have been easier than trying to intimidate her!"

"Is she renowned for being stubborn or something?" Josh raised an eyebrow.

"She's also arrogant. It's a nasty combination. Now, what's your plan?"

"Oh, it's simple. If they are wary of intruders, then we'll give them a guest of honor. It will be time for a real general to show up. ;)" Josh grinned.

"No, it won't work. They'll ask for a proof of identity, and we'll be in deep shit afterward." The thief shook his head in denial.

"Wanna bet it will work then?" Josh playfully offered.

"What's the point? Either I win, and we both die, or you win, and I'm broke. This is ridiculous!" The thief clicked his tongue.

"Alright, just forget about that one detail. Is there anything else that risks causing us trouble, in your opinion?" Josh earnestly asked.

"The Jammers will be an issue. It would be weird to show up to an "allied" base with this technology. But without them, their plasma cannons can turn us into gooey melted flesh!" The thief shivered as he pictured it.

"Oh? Gooey melted flesh sure sounds like a colorful way to die. Anyway, don't worry too much about it and follow my lead. First, let's do this…."

In a flash, Josh picked up both Jammers and put them away. Then he excused himself for a few seconds before coming back. Suddenly, he was wearing the general outfit…and his face had changed?! How?!

The thief was looking at him with bulging eyes: "H-how?!"

"Skin mask. While it won't stand scrutiny, it will be enough to fool anyone at first glance. This is all we need. C'mon, let's go! You're playing an eager student from the D-23 school."

Josh enthusiastically headed toward the villa's main gates with the puzzled thief following in his footsteps. A D-23 student? This was that weird Alter Tower school, right? While he had seen a few ads about it, it didn't seem helpful for his line of work.

Not long afterward, they were already getting stopped by angry-looking guards. "Halt! Stop at once, or we will shoot you!" They bellowed as they aimed their blasters at them.

Josh serenely glanced at the soldiers atop the walls. "Stop me at once, and it's your own boss that will shoot you." He even relaxedly chuckled at the end.

"Who are you, what do you —"

"I'm off-duty and only here because of Sir Markus's sincere request, so let's skip the formalities. Tell Madam Evelynn that Roderick is here." He calmly uttered before turning to the thief nearby. "See, it's not that complicated."

His companion couldn't help but ask. "What if she doesn't want to meet us?"

"What do you mean? We leave." Josh replied without missing a beat.

The youngster couldn't help but give an awkward smile. He understood the basis of reverse psychology, but wasn't this pushing it a bit too far?! That's when the guards hollered at them again.

"How can you prove your identity and—"

Josh didn't even wait for him to finish his sentence. He turned his heels and began leaving in the most relaxed way possible. He even seemed to be beaming in happiness at being rejected, as if he had just dodged a troublesome task.

"Are we seriously leaving?!" The thief cried out in shock.

"Haha. Yes, newbie. The Black Legion was created to defend the CDE area. Being a bodyguard is clearly out of our job description." Josh boisterously laughed, slapping the thief's back amicably.

His laughter resonated in the air, astonishing the guards. What was up with this man?! Only a con artist would show up unannounced, right?! But in the back of their heads, there was a little voice whispering: yes, but what if he's real?

"P-please wait!" One of them worriedly shouted as he turned to his companions, ushering them to contact their master. She would end up making the last decision.

Josh lazily stopped, turned back, waved toward them lazily, and showed two fingers. He would wait two minutes. Not a single second more. Somehow, his calm assurance had already made the guards believe that he was the real deal.

Not even a minute afterward, an MTA soldier was exiting the premises. He stopped in front of him, giving him a military salute. "General Roderick, please follow me!"

"At ease, soldier. I'm off-duty right now. Anyway, how are things here? How are your defenses set up?" Josh relaxedly asked.

"Oh, you know. Everything is well." He gave a perfunctory answer, his brows twitching. Asking about their defensive measures was so damn suspicious!

"Well? Well, you say? The LoA has placed a bounty on the owner of the villa, and you consider this to be fine?" Josh shook his head with disdain at the man's misplaced nonchalance.

"What?!" The soldier gasped along with this revelation.

At this point, they arrived at the gates, the guards letting them through. But just as they arrived on the other side, there was a surprise awaiting them. About fifty guards stood in a circle as they pointed deadly blasters at them.

The thief instantly became nervous, he who wasn't used to fighting in the first place. But, it was the complete opposite for Josh. He smiled radiantly at them all, nodding appreciatively.

"Nice, there's even a welcoming party!" He happily uttered.

The guards could only stare flabbergasted. Was this man mentally stable? Didn't he realize the trouble he was in?! Instead of pleading for mercy, he was carefully observing the surroundings with a judgmental gaze.

Then he turned toward them, seemingly feeling the urge to facepalm.

"Now, if you guys are here, then who's watching the walls?"

That's when the sound of footsteps was heard as an arrogant-looking woman showed up. She was raising her chin high up, seemingly to look down on the world— except she was 5 feet tall at best.

She wore glistering gold trinkets embedded with gems: rings, necklaces, and even bracelets. Her hair was raised in a bun that shook as she glanced at her two peculiar visitors.

"You actually dare to intrude upon my domain? Who are you trying to fool with such a shoddy disguise!" Josh didn't even retort as she continued her heated tirade.

"There is no way the MTA would have sent you alone with only this weak child as a backup. Not for something as serious as an LoA bounty! The kid is shaking in his boots, haha!"

The thief felt like crying. Why did she have to add insult to the sure-to-come injury? Even then, Josh remained silent as she kept going. Wow, it was impressive how much she could spew bullshit!

"I've met General Roderick in the past, and he is a man with boundless duty sense. He would never walk away from a task. You're nothing but a worthless sham!" She pointed at him in scorn.

Josh was seriously beginning to wonder how she was so courageous. She stood out in the open, standing in place while she shouted. Any sniper could have quickly taken her out. Perhaps even he could kill her if he acted fast enough.

"Soon enough, you shall reveal all of your secrets. My men will bring you to a nice obscure room and gently pry answers out of you. Plus, no one knows you're here." She added with a sadistic smile.

Josh could understand why the MTA hadn't bothered sending her more men. She was frankly crazy. At least, he had a cause of celebration. It seemed like her tirade was coming to an end!

"Men, grab them and—" She ordered but was suddenly interrupted by a deafening alarm sounding.

The guards warily adopted defensive positions. That's when one of their colleagues came running over in an utter panic. "Our defense perimeter has been breached! There are intruders!"

The soldiers didn't panic too much as they began messaging the MTA for reinforcements— or they tried to. One of them shouted with horror: "Communications are down!"

Another shouted loudly in consternation. "The auto-turrets and the cameras are all failing! That's way too fast! How's this even possible?!"

Lastly, a bright orange energy shield rose around the entire villa. This was the powerful military-grade technology that the Black Legion had used in their latest campaign. It was extremely sturdy and would be hard to take down.

One soldier solemnly spoke: "We're locked in here with whoever is invading." Everyone could understand how serious this was. All these measures couldn't be coincidences.

The arrogant lady couldn't help but shout in fright: "Someone, tell me what the hell is going on?!" But, no one dared to answer. "Say something goddammit!"

That's when a soldier shyly chimed in: "Madam, perhaps there really is an LoA bounty on your head…."

She instantly became livid before nodding in realization. She then beamed as she saw Josh. "You, Roderick, right? How will you deal with them?"

Really?….Really?! Josh looked at her straight in the eyes, smiling brightly.

"Sorry, I'm actually not Roderick. You see, I'm just a sham with a shoddy disguise who babysits as a hobby. No, I think I'll take a pleasant nap somewhere obscure instead." He calmly retorted.

As a finishing touch, Josh sent killing intent her way. In her confusion, she mistook it for the impressive aura of a Ranker.

That's when she realized she had fucked up…