Classless Ascension

"W-what the hell happened?! D-did you do all this?!" 

A mound of soil had talked?! That's when a creature came out of the earth, its features slowly transformed into one of a human being. 

He glanced at the various lizard bones as if seeing a miracle. "Y-you even killed a Class 4?! I've never met anyone able to do that!! Then again, I've never…" the man kept rambling. 

He was akin to a very lonely child that finally met his best friend after weeks of isolation. He babbled endlessly without structure. Every little thought of his, he revealed. 

Still, Josh managed to learn about this place: 

- Not so long ago, it had been a village 

- Lizards had appeared out of nowhere, devouring everyone and trampling everything 

- The man was a hunter living aside from civilization and had somehow gained some power after killing one of the lizards. 

- He had been hiding ever since, sneakily wandering the forest searching for a survivor. But none had been found, not that he had covered much distance. 

"I need you to bring me to where it all began, to the creatures' origin." Josh resolved once he heard everything. 

"A-are you crazy?! We should be running instead. Why are you so insistent on—"

"I have to go back to the Tower and Metropolis D if possible. Does that ring any bell?" Josh asked with hope….but it didn't. 

The man was about as helpful as a three-year-old: lots of chatter and enthusiasm, but he couldn't expect him actually to carry his weight.

Usually, he could have acted as a guide, but the place had changed so much that he couldn't even do that. The man would nostalgically sigh the more they saw. 

From time to time, they fought. It was a non-ending struggle that always ended with a barbecue. Lizards, more lizards, flying lizards, and even burrowing lizards. It was chewy…especially the scales. 

The conversations were plenty and usually went like this: 

"Wow, you're amazing! Where did you learn to cut monsters like that?!" The man exclaimed in awe. 

"Lizard Butchering Academy, obviously." Josh absentmindedly replied. 

"Wow! It must be amazing! I really want to attend it! I hope there are friendly—wait, are you pulling my leg?!" 

It was peaceful….far too peaceful. 

Ample game to hunt, enough rainwater to sate one's thirst, and plenty of fresh air. This would have been a paradise had they been here… but this just felt wrong. 

Well, it wasn't the only thing that was wrong. 

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[ STATUS! ]

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Player: Josh Malum Lv ?

Class: Josh MF Malum

*Calibration Required*

Remaining Lifespan: -3.7

Current Mood: Lizard Slayer

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According to his status, he was a lizard-slaying mystery walking dead man. Why did it feel like something the little one would come up with? 

<br/>In any case, a slow life full of aimless wandering was torture to him. He explored as quickly as possible, committing a scaly genocide in the meantime. 

He thought it would never end, but they sensed something different one day. The air became salty, even saltier than a MOBA's online community. 

Never had two dudes rushed forward so quickly.

After the endless search, they had found another kind of endless, the deep blue billowing kind—the kind with towering waves that crashed on the white sandy beach. 

Josh rejoiced, even eating some of their emergency lizard jerky in celebration. As he did, he saw a mirage. The sand covered her feet, her crystalline laugh echoing in his mind. 

"A sea? Look at you! Did my man just discover and claim himself a private beach? I'll be able to brag at book club, haha!" 

Right, he had done something other than wandering and killing. He had been losing his sanity day after day. He could now see and hear her on short occasions. 

Any sane person would have been worried, but he was simply glad. She wasn't real, and it was obviously his brain going crazy with grief, but who cared? 

"What do you think? Can you figure out where we are now?" Josh asked his companion. Unlike the lizards, Such a significant expense of water hadn't appeared in a day, right? 

"T-this, maybe!" 

Just like that, hope was rekindled, hope for a plan that was as simple as insane: 

Sea —> Find a City —> Information —> Return to D.L. —> Reach the top of the Tower —> GG 

They roamed the gorgeous and incredibly empty coast, searching for any trace of life. Here the lizards had disappeared, replaced by crabs. 

They were sneaky fuckers that would ambush their victims in the sand. They reminded him of the worms he had faced long ago. Well, the crabs were weaker and hung in groups. 

The creatures had cheered at seeing the two unsuspecting humanoids brave their beach. The cheering had soon ended with their insides gouged out, grilling on a brochette stick. 

An equilibrium quickly established itself: 

Josh casually walking by —> Crabs fleeing, clanging their pincers in horror. They almost looked cute as they ran sideways. 

It kept going for ages, until… "Ah! I know where we are! Follow me!" Jack's companion shouted as if possessed by a holy spirit. 

He decisively ran forward and they soon arrived at their destination. 

There stood a rock fortress, an incredible mix of primitive and modern. It combined messy giant rocks with cement in an ugly but reassuring fashion. Most importantly, it was intact! 

"There are other survivors! We're not alone, can you believe it?!" The man ran forward with joy in his stride, only for Josh to yank him backward hurriedly. 

There was no fire, no warmth, no life. 

"It's only an empty husk of stone, one that's long been abandoned." He sighed. 

"W-what if it covers the entrance to an underground soundproof bunker where they party every day? What if…" Even he realized how improbable this was. 

It wasn't that he disliked Josh's company, but he wasn't blind either. He had sensed that they would soon part ways. 

One was a fearless being with a death wish, while the other just wanted to live peacefully, possibly finding himself a pretty girlfriend, hopefully female. 

They intruded upon the bastion, searching for any clue as to the whereabouts of the inhabitants. They almost gave up until they found a journal in some cryptic language. 

Just as they were rejoicing, they suddenly realized that the fortress wasn't as abandoned as they had once believed as everything started shaking.

— Tremble! — 

— RAWR! —

Was that a roar? The loud sound was covered by the even louder grinding of stones on the ground. That's when they felt an acceleration….in a fortress?! 

— Bam! Bam! Bam! — 

Running to a window, they couldn't help but draw a cold breath. The "dragons" they had seen earlier were nothing compared to this. 

They finally realized why the humans had left. The very land under their feet had been a monster all along, and it was moving! 

Gigantic, scaly, mean-looking, its back covered in rocky plates and lots of vegetation by now. Some mad lads had unknowingly built their base on a monster! 

"W-what is this?!" The man suddenly turned pale in dread and disbelief. 

"This is one crazy powerful creature. That's what it is." He could feel the creature overflow with power, various lizards bowing in reverence on its passage. 

Before long, it was stopping somewhere they were very familiar with: the sea. The creature slowly went into the water, waves invading the stone fortress.

Just as they were prepared to take their chances and swim out, the creature stopped. Was it taking a bath or something? 

— RAWR! —

Along with his roar, the unthinkable happened. Lizards came out on the beach in droves as if an army, swimming straight toward them! What the hell?! 

"W-what are we gonna do?!" His companion screamed in fright. 

Still, something was strange. There were all kinds of lizards, even some they had seen fight in the past. Now they were all obediently coming over, utterly peaceful.

A second later, they all started diligently scrubbing the titan's carapace. Wait, could it be possible that…?! 

"Clean up!" Josh instructed as he began scrubbing the floor as if his life depended on it. 

"W-what are you doing?!" The man asked, flabbergasted. Had the warrior lost his mind?! 

"If I'm not wrong, that's the only way to survive. We need to—"

"Hell no! You're crazy! Don't think I haven't seen the way you talk alone at times! I'm not gonna go down with you!" The man rebuked as he went into a corner to hide. 

Crazy? Perhaps he was… In any case, he kept scrubbing, even as countless monsters invaded. 

Many jerked in shock as they saw the human. Even their lizard brains could comprehend that his presence was odd, but then they remembered the overlord's orders. 

Clean, they had to clean, and he too was cleaning… Strangely they all avoided him as they made their way around the room. 

Lizard maids sure was an unusual sight, but he did not question it. He simply kept working, even when a commotion happened. They had found his companion! 

Cleaning Human —> Ally? 

Hiding Human —> Invader! 

The man was frozen in fear, unable to even move a muscle as so many creatures surrounded him. "S-save me!" He barely found the energy to beg. 

"What are you doing?! Save yourself! It's not too late, just—"

"I-I can't…." 

Goddammit, this guy sure was a pain. Josh dragged him nearby and used his body as a mop. The monsters finally backed down, resuming their respective tasks. 

The man was soaked and half-drowning but alive. Before long, the creature roared again. 

— RAWR! —

All the minions dispersed as quickly as their legs could carry them as if on cue. They had accomplished their duties and were free again! 

Things returned to quiet as the behemoth went to crash on the beach to dry. 

"T-thank you so much for—"

"Hurry up and translate this." Josh hadn't simply saved him out of generosity. 

"S-sure…" 

It took the man an hour to read the journal. In this hour, they learned more than they had in the previous days of wandering. There were a few takeaways: 

1. The world was ending with Towers and monsters spawning. 

2. Climbing was the fastest way to gain strength by gaining a Class. 

3. There was nowhere to hide. It was the same Hell on the nearest Alliance's continent. 

Alliance was a term he had heard often from Markus. At that moment, Josh would have kissed whoever wrote that journal. He finally knew the path forward. 

No wonder he couldn't find any Metropolis. He was on the freaking wrong continent! He diligently observed a map drawing they found on one of the pages. 

He was currently on a puny island, one barely inhabited by man. Now, how was he going to return home? 

Plane —> It would be very hard to find one. 

Boat —> Crafting one able to resist the sea would be a challenge. 

Swim —> This seemed like the better option by far. Of course, he wouldn't be the one swimming. He simply had to find himself some fast sea monster, right? 

"Well, it's time for fishing." He happily resolved. 

She had been the one to teach him this skill, and now it would serve her rebirth. She would have probably called it fate….