Classless Ascension Chapter 30
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Lenny approached him. "So Josh, what do you think? It's more efficient than going at it alone, right?"
It really wasn't but Josh still adopted an impressed expression. "It was an eye-opener for sure!" As in, he expected better from them.
"Of course, haha. I and the boys are going to a bar to celebrate, wanna come?"
"Of course! Count me in!" Josh enthusiastically replied.
They surprisingly headed to the H district. "Wait, aren't most places to eat and drink in the G district?"
"Haha, most of them yes. But it would be unrealistic to have all of these in one area. After all, eating is a core component of life. It is the same for convenience stores. There are a few allowed in every district. Usually, it would be extremely hard to get a permit for that, but the H district is special. No one really cares about drinking there so… Anyway, the owner is a good friend of ours since we are regulars there. We even have our own table haha."
That certainly made sense. Josh ignored so much about the city. Not that it mattered too much. He had time to slowly explore it. He felt like a tourist discovering an entirely new world…actually he was haha. They soon reached the .
"What's with the name?"
"Hehe, he lost a bet and had to put that. At first, it was a joke, but it somehow became real. Honestly, you'd be surprised by the number of official names that began like that. With the advent of the Tower, people needed a place to relax after the gruesome Climb. They were perfectly fine with leaving their seriousness in the Tower."
They headed in. As soon as they entered the tavern keeper shouted: "If isn't the , you bunch of handsome bastards! Ah, Lou is as cold as always haha. Ah, who's this? A new face? New member?"
"Haha, we'll see. He shows potential. We just came back from the Tower, now we want to Celebrate!"
"Roger that, I'll bring you guys some drinks. Just make yourself at ease."
For some reason, there was no other customer in the entire establishment. What were the odds? They sat at a big table in the corner by a jukebox. The old-style looking kind, except that the interior was clearly new.
Lenny fiddled with it a few moments before a cool melody started playing. One that sounded very pleasing to the ear and relaxing. He gave a smile to Josh before sitting again. Then came the food and the drinks. While it was pretty ordinary hot dogs and beer it was nice.
The hot dogs tasted wonderful. The kind that you know is kinda trashy but still delicious. Meanwhile, the beer had a very rich taste, one that was very peculiar. While it definitely wasn't good it wasn't bad either. Lenny kept encouraging everyone to drink and be merry, especially Josh.
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Josh complied quickly. Chugging it all to the satisfaction of his new companions. Then it was more partying and dancing. At some point, they even had fun trying to throw chips into each other's mouths.
Josh clearly was flushed red from the alcohol and was talking as loudly as a drunk could, the same could be said for Lenny. At some point, the other bid them farewell. They were going to sleep early for tomorrow's work thus leaving both men alone. That is when Lenny took out a pendulum and a contract.
Swinging it in Josh's face he uttered calmly: "Joining us is the best opportunity for you, you should take it. We will welcome you as a family because that's all is about."
Josh suddenly stood up intoxicated, pouting and slurring his words: "No! I want to Climb! I wanna be the very best Climber like no one ever was!"
"Yes, we'll help you do that.", Lenny coaxed.
"No! I want to Climb right now! Actually, I'm going! Hahaha! You coming?", Josh bolted away laughing childishly.
Lenny sighed before following him. Soon they entered Floor 8 once more. As soon as they were inside he turned to the giggling Josh: "You can drop the act, now."
"What?"
"You are pretty good at acting drunk you could have fooled even me. Honestly, I was sure you drank the whole thing, with everything mixed in it. But, you clearly don't know how to act drugged. Drop it. Tell me, what made you suspicious of me?"
Josh sighed. "I already was when I first came, but then you insisted I drink and somehow I only met with three additional members of the guild. Why is that?"
"The others are all weaklings and drug addicts. Couldn't really show them, right? But hey, at least they are decent workers. Give them a constant supply of Firgone and they'll do anything. Without it, they'll be back to their useless selves after all. Well, that and how addictive it is haha."
"So you drug people, make them addicted, and exploit them afterward?"
"Pretty much. But hey, the official version is that I give them the opportunity to join a great guild. We are all a big family after all."
"So you tried to drug me and failed yet you still followed me here? Aren't you worried at all?"
"Did you know that the Tower allows up to a 3-level difference between party members? I have Climbed up to Floor 11."
"And?"
"Well, simply put this place is all a game of numbers you know. I am higher level than you and I have more skills than you for sure since you are classless haha." He then took out the contract again. "Sign it, or there will only be one of us coming out of here."
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Josh took it and started reading it. It was basically a slave contract. 90% of the wealth would go to the guild with Josh only getting the scraps. Furthermore, there were no guild benefits at all, ah except for some supply of Firgone. It was literal poison to help calm their nerves and forget their shitty lives.
"Here I thought Gemini's offer was bad, here you are totally topping it. What makes you even think I'd respect such a contract."
"Oh, I believe you will. You could try and break the contract but you'd be blacklisted from joining a guild in the future no matter what. You'd be screwed."
Josh looked at him right in the eyes. "There is no way this is that simple. This is a magical item, isn't it? One that is impossible to breach or something?"
Lenny chuckled: "How perceptive. I can't believe someone as smart as you decided to enter a Floor alone with me. You can't communicate with anyone here either. You asked why I am so confident, right? Let me show you exactly why haha!"
He gestured in the air clearly in order to look cool, then gear appeared on his person. Full gear from head to toe. Earrings, rings, a necklace, everything.
"See this! My worst items are F Rank! This is giving me about 50% more power hahaha. Once more, sign the contract or I'll kill you. You know, I wanted to do this the easy way but…you just had to struggle. No matter."
Josh simply started laughing. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA."
"Have you lost your mind?!" Lenny showed unease.
"How coincidental. I also happen to be in a similar situation. You know with the F-Rank items. Well, that's because F-Rank Imp earrings are actually BiS for a swordsman compared to the E-Rank version."
That is when Josh willed his gear to show up. Appeared on him mismatched-looking equipment. The difference was that his was pretty much all E-Rank and chosen by Liam directly. Let's just say it had better stat distribution than what one could easily find on the market.
"E-Rank?! Impossible! How did a guildless guy like you ever…?!"
"Oh, that? I did join a guild, well kinda. Ever heard of Draconic?" Josh simply stood there smiling at him with his arms crossed.
The distorted face of Lenny now showed sheer horror. The defenseless newcomer turned out to be a dragon in disguise. Lenny simply started running. No word, just a mad dash away. Running for his life. Just as Josh was about to catch up the man took a pearl out before throwing it toward him. What was…. *BOOM*
Apparently, it was a bomb. How?! Technology was supposed to be …. Ah, it was probably an alchemical product or something. Still, it didn't cause any damage to Josh at all. The explosion wasn't that strong. Lenny simply kept running. Killing a golem from time to time using a well-timed explosion.
Josh realized what the man was hoping for. If he was lucky and got a rare core, he could complete the mission and escape. The city was a lawful zone. He may be busted and his guild over, but he could possibly escape with his life.
At that moment that was all that mattered to the man. He kept franticly going until finally, lady luck smiled at him! He started laughing instantly muttering the exit command and disappearing in a flash of red light.
Back in Metropolis C Josh and Lenny suddenly appeared. The latter had a grinning and victorious expression on his face. Josh simply left without turning back. Before long he had reached Dale's place.
"Josh, you are back! How did it go?"
"He truly was scum. His whole game was to enslave people to work for him with dubious contracts and drugs."
"I see, what happened exactly?"
"Switch the news on, I'm sure it will be there."
Lara in the back heard it and complied. Then on the screen appeared a reporter.
"Hello, I am Don from . Today we have a report of a bizarre Tower-related incident. A few minutes ago, a severed head appeared out of the Tower. As we know death is a very real reality in the Tower. What makes this case special is that the man's party member could be seen leaving the area without even looking back. This makes some believe that this could be a case of cold-blooded murder. The Black Squad is currently looking for the man to interrogate him and…"
Then came a shout from the door.
"This is the Black Squad open up! According to article 42-B of the public safety department, you are now hereby under suspicion of harboring a criminal! Should you refuse to comply with law enforcement you will be dealt with as if accomplices!"
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Blightbane
Miscellaneous Notes: - I want to see about making a crude map of Shroud to help readers. - I also want to get back to writing Coalescence updates. Schedule Notes: - None for now, updates when I can. [ Thank you for your patience and support as I improve my writing and storytelling abilities. I'm also using this story to better develop lore that extends far beyond it. ] Thanks to another exceptionally talented artist, Hiroeth, Blightbane now has an official cover! Vera was alone again. “You’re completely unprepared. Never before has sending one of you off made me feel quite so guilty.” Whenever she found herself in doubt, she would weigh her actions against the guiding principles of the one whom she revered. “When you don’t know the rules of the game, start making them up. When you are constrained by unfavorable conditions, inject a little chaos.” It was the supplementary message that concerned Vera the most. It was difficult to follow because it was intentionally vague and mired in subjectivity. “How can I enjoy myself when you look so tormented? Are we in danger?” Vera fell silent. An experiment is taking place on a planetary scale. Across the surface of the planet, a phenomenon referred to as "Blight" is spreading. Festering regions defended by fierce creatures called “blightbeasts” taint the surface, warping the land and proliferating unceasingly. Among the sentient creatures of the planet, it is the Blightbane Guild’s responsibility to stem the tide. They endeavor to cleanse the land in a struggle of attrition, but they are losing ground. A young man named Caim has been uprooted from his former life and transported to The Shrouded Theocracy, an isolationist nation with fanatical policies. He must struggle to survive with only an unfamiliar strain of magic to aid him. There is a secret to this magic. One he knows very little about. He intends to explore just what makes this magic special. On the far border of the theocracy, a mage scientist named Inis discovers a revolutionary new way to infuse strength from defeated blightbeasts. Using herself as a test subject, this process allows her to grasp magical concepts previously thought beyond her reach. Though she tries to document any side effects that arise, something escapes her awareness. She is playing with a dangerous force that will claim her most treasured asset if she isn't careful. Everyone and everything on the planet is a part of the experiment. The experiment is a lie.
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In the streets of Ilusia, the greatest industrial city in the world, streets are filled with children fighting for the life the machine world stole from them. A one particular young orphan lives on stolen goods and a reality built on deceit and theft, but her reality is shattered to pieces once the world reveals it's true colors. Can a child change the world's dismay?
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8 53Dream Theater
Long casted shadows danced in the background, as a man squibbled and jotted words on yellow papers. A mere novelty, remnant and ghost that was left to age away along with the forgotten theater, a man grasped for inspiration to salvage what was left of his soul. Abandoned in the squalid room, Pxan was left hauntedly in the furthest corners of insanity that bubbled in his mind. No one would listen to his plight, denouncing him and claiming his mind was not right. Even though the world left him with nothing, turning their backs to him, he knew the books would never betray him in the same fashion. Faceless pages and books yet to be read ogled puppy eyes, ready to be penned by the madman. “Pxan! Pxan! Over here! To me!” Clamored the unpublished manuscripts. Pxan’s fingers quivered nervously, thoughts of failure flooded his mind. Wanting to surrender to the pressure. “No!” He cried. “I’ve had enough of writing.” Books with eyes all stared at him, begging for the tales to be written. Their pleaful eyes were all that Pxan needed to be moved to writing again. The man sighed and raised his pen again, stroking the first letters of inspiration that bore fruit from his mind. A maddening tale of a policeman, cultists and a violent revenge… -Currently on Hiatus while writing the second volume.The first volume is up. I will take a few days to rewrite a few chapters. Afterwards, updates will proceed as usual.Current rewrite progress 17/59 chapters rewrited. This is my first real novel, any kind of criticism or feedback is appreciated. I am looking for an editor, if someone wants to help me avoid typos please contact me. The cover is a detail of Faust in His Study by Ary Scheffer, c. 1831, watercolor and gouache on paper.
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