Two—no, one young man could be seen peacefully walking back to Draconic. 

"What the Hell was that back there?! Seriously?!" Dale shouted. 

"Don't worry about it. No big deal." Josh shrugged. 

"No big deal?! That guy was hidden Boss level! There was a damn S-Rank licking his feet! How in the Hell is that not a big deal?!" 

"Well, he just got frightened by his own ability backfiring. I didn't do anything, really." Josh casually explained. 

"Even then, how are you so calm?! Didn't you see him throwing up?! That doesn't creep you out?! Also, were there really snipers?! How did you know?!"

"Experience. Experience. Experience. Anything else?"

"Brother, I still can't believe something so insane happened!" 

"Then don't believe, not like I care." Josh shrugged. 

"I swear, the world could be ending that you'd be just chilling! How are you so easygoing?!"

"Experien—"

"Experience, I know! Geez! Anyway, what do we do now?" Dale interrupted him. 

"How about some training? You know, just so you don't drag me down too much." Josh winked at him. 

"You! As if! I'm a level 24 now! I'm not the weakling I used to be." Dale proudly declared.

"Yes, yes, you are a strong independent little phoenix." Josh playfully added. 

"Little? Do you want to put it to the test?" 

"Are you proposing or challenging me? I really can't tell." Josh exaggeratedly showed a pensive expression. 

"You. Me. 1 VS 1, VR match. LV 1 status. Till death." Dale had clear fighting spirit in his eyes. 

"Till death? 1 VS 1 ? Now you're definitely proposing!" 

As they kept going back and forth, they finally arrived at the guild. Dale didn't have the mood to joke around anymore as he kept looking everywhere with his eyes bulging. 

"Say…can I really be here?! We aren't trespassing, right?" He worriedly asked. 

"Don't worry, Dale…." Josh began.

"Alright, I'll —"

"If they do kill you, I will hold a mourning event in your honor. One that will be spectacular. Say, do you prefer your funeral to be Blackjack & Hookers style or respectable Opium Den?" Josh acted as if serious. 

"What's respectable about it? Also, can I just answer both?" Dale now seemed less tense. 

The general members of Draconic were staring at them and yet none made a move. This was rendering Dale uncomfortable. 

"Loosen up, man. They are just staring at you because they want to beat you up." Josh 'reassured' him. 

"What?! Why?!" He hadn't done anything to them, right?!

As he looked around, this actually seemed to be the case. 

"Well, I'm guessing they are curious. Perhaps they want to train? Maybe they are into gingers too. Hell if I know." Josh shrugged. 

Josh brought a speechless Dale all the way to that one VR training room he had been using. There, a line of general members could be seen waiting.

A few minutes later, an undead could be seen exiting from the VR machine. Well, the monk looked like one in any case.

He had dark circles under his eyes, his gaze seemed awfully unfocused, his face could be seen repeatedly twitching and he walked unsteadily. He could have looked drunk to someone that was unaware of his condition.

"Oh my god! Is this guy okay?! What kind of inhumane training could cause such exhaustion! I've heard of Draconic being hardcore, but this! This is too much!" Dale was dumbfounded. 

Should Josh just play the fool? Honestly, he kinda forgot about his disciple. He had been really focused on Floor 14, then had been ambushed by Dale's message. It really wasn't his fault— almost. But he was instantly busted. 

"Boss, you're finally back! How many days has it been? Has it been weeks? Months perhaps? I kinda lost track of time but I've been diligently training. 200% pain setting, 2 hours sleep a day maximum, and intense fighting!" He was smiling radiantly even in his condition. 

"What?! You're the one that told him to do that, Josh?! Why does that sound like torture?! Also, why does he call you Boss?!"

"Meh, don't worry about it. Now, shall we put your strength to the test?" Josh turned toward Dale. 

"I think this guy needs medical attention first…." Dale remarked concerned. 

"Me? No need to worry I can keep going. In fact, I should be continuing. Ah, Boss. Can I watch your fight? Just so I can learn?" The dead-looking monk was now doing puppy eyes. 

"Sure. How do I do that?" 

"Just activate the broadcast feature while inside and select the direct surroundings option." His disciple patiently explained. 

"Gotcha." 

On that note, Josh and Dale quickly entered the VR world. Soon they were confronting each other. That is when Dale followed the ancient and proper fighting etiquette, he began a speech. 

"Good luck in this fight. May the best man win and —" He would have said more but Josh deeply inserted a trident in his throat. That sent him gargling in quite frankly a horrible pain. 

"Rule number one. No one fucking cares about you talking. Take your speech and shove it—"Josh peacefully taught while he looked at the distress, the agony, and the feeling of injustice he could see in his friend's eyes. 

*Garbled screams* 

"Rule number two. Once you have the advantage. Keep it." As he said so, he stabbed the man some more for good measure. 

Apparently, getting murdered at 200% pain was pretty damn excruciating. Well, Josh would have to ask Dale. But oh well, he figured the next best thing was to keep going. Eventually, the man logged off, rage-quitting. 

Except, he soon came back for revenge. He appeared, angry and ready for a rematch. Josh gladly obliged. This time Dale was ready. There was no way he'd allow another sneak attack. So, instead, he took a trident to the face head-on. How? He wasn't sure himself. 

"Rule number three. Don't be so goddamn obvious. Do you know what a feint is? The answer is clearly no. Here, a few stabs to help you remember." Josh kept going for a while until his friend (victim) logged off.

As he came back, it was a repeat of the same thing over and over. Dale would just get trashed without the ability to resist. Oh, he tried many things. He tried straight-forwards attacks. He tried feints. He even tried fancy footwork. 

But, no matter what, he'd end up stabbed and suffering. At that point, he resolved himself to his defeat. As Josh exited the VR, he could see many individuals that were still watching the now empty VR screen. 

"Boss, that was amazing! How did you beat him so much? What's the secret?!"

Everyone perked their ears. They didn't want to miss this at all. As Josh opened his mouth they held their breaths in anticipation. 

"Well, it's simple. Experience." 

"Motherfucker! Can you stop saying experience for a single moment? Also, how are you so much stronger than me?! I'm level 24!" Dale couldn't understand the situation. 

"That's exactly the kind of thinking that makes you weak. Why is your level supposed to matter? Just "git gud" and you'll be fine. I can't believe you bragged about being strong too. Ah, this lack of self-awareness is impressive." Josh "praised".

Of course, Dale understood he wasn't the weird one. No, it was Josh. What kind of monster was he?! Still, with every word his shoulders slumped a little bit more. That is when the monk suggested they fight too. 

Never had Josh seen a man agree to a fight so quickly. It was a way for him to vent and escape Josh's clutches at the same time. 

It soon began and they even projected it to the gallery. A few minutes later, Dale was already getting destroyed. But the worst was still to come. 

"Good fight. You are clearly very proficient at this. Ah, by the way, what level are you? If it's not too personal of course." Dale inquired.

"Me? Level 2." The monk scratched his head in embarrassment, it was pretty low after all. 

That's when Dale froze. Getting bullied by Josh was one thing, the man was a freak. But now he was even getting bullied by a level 2?! How?! That is when he started questioning life. 

"That's easy. You've been fighting monsters all this time. What you are lacking is simply—" Josh began.

"Experience! Alright, I got it. I'll be damned if I won't improve! Alright, let's go again!" At least Dale showed motivation.

That is how the two of them just kept going with the same training regiment. If Dale didn't improve, Josh would need to fight 1 VS 2. That would probably be impossible. There were bound to be skilled people in such a tournament, right? 

Well, Josh could only hope for the best. He had done what he could. He himself wouldn't be able to improve too much in the short term either. That was the downside of 'experience'. After a certain point, just repeating the same training wouldn't yield any result. 

The spectators were still reveling in the previous fight. They kept wondering if they would be able to cope with Josh's crazy fighting style. The strange part was that all his movements looked natural. 

He didn't seem t be fighting at all. It was almost like his weapon would somehow find its way to the enemy's weak points. Even as external observers, they weren't able to understand it. 

Every time, it really looked like he was just casually stabbing. Under their gazes of admiration, Josh slowly left Draconic. 

The tournament wouldn't start just yet so he figured he might as well go back to Climbing. Now, how was Floor 15? Apparently real challenging.

What made it so troublesome? Well, there wasn't just one Boss...