Classless Ascension

In a dark hallway, a monkey was leading the way toward a rusty elevator. Even as he did so, he seemed shellshocked while he kept glancing at his new boss.

"Hehe, that's what you get for underestimating Master!" The husky was as proud as dogly possible.

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you." Josh casually remarked. That small comment seemed to bring her so much joy. Perhaps she'd still be smiling in weeks!"

"B-boss. You should be able to exit using this elevator. As for me, I need to remain here to watch over this Floor." The monkey explained. He was already leaving?! Talk about a useless subordinate!

"Don't you need to go back to that first Floor?" Josh asked, perplexed.

The monkey faked not having heard anything and even looked away while awkwardly coughing, not that Josh cared. He excitedly walked forward with his companion clinging to him.

A few minutes later, they were back on the ground Floor. As they exited the elevator, many kids began pointing at the husky excitedly. "Mommy, mommy! Look, there's a mascot!"

This put his companion on her guard as she growled at the humans, sending them scurrying away in fright. Who dealt with kids like that?! Josh naturally gave her a thumbs up, but as she glanced at him, she froze.

"Are you okay?" He asked with concern.

"M-master?! B-but, how?!" She looked at him with stupefaction, as if she was seeing him for the first time.

Ah! That's what it was. Before, she had been seeing him as a dog for some reason. Only now did she see the true him. She turned to the other mall bystanders then back at him, observing the features of humans attentively.

Her eyes swam over his body, reacting to the lack of fur, noticing the absence of claws, looking at his dark hair in wonder, and staring at his face. The clash between before and after must have been enormous!

Josh used the calmest voice possible while pointing to their surroundings: "This place is a Mall. It's where humans buy the things they need like food and clothes. As for the elevator we came through, it connects the places in this world together."

She took a deep inspiration, turned toward him once more, and nodded serenely: "I understand, Master!"

He still remembered the crying and panicking earthlings back when they had been transmigrated. There had been monsters but also fiction about the topic on Earth. Her entire world had crumbled around her, yet she was dealing with it so well! Had humanity showed half this NPC's courage, they would have been unstoppable.

[Hey there! What did you think of the journey?]

"Who's there?! Show yourself! I'm warning you, my master is very powerful!" The husky growled at AT. She could hear him?! Josh focused, and then he too began to hear the system messages.

[HAHAHAHAHA!]

AT had the voice of a playful youngster. Hearing the system laugh, she gave a wary look as if facing a terrible enemy. She showed such spirit as she seemed ready for battle! Josh could only give a wry smile at the two's interaction.

"This is AT, the Alter Tower Protocol, not to confuse with the ATP: the men that love to play with balls. He is also the one that created you along with every other thing you see in here or have ever seen." Josh explained.

"That means that he is some sort of god?" She asked carefully.

[Exactly, little girl. Are you scared now?]

Would she regret her earlier attitude? Would she beg for salvation? They both awaited her reaction with interest. She raised her hand and pointed high up in the air, right at the mall lights!

"So you're a god! I understand now. I'm warning you, my master is very powerful!" She repeated the same goddamn thing! Her confidence in him was over 9000! Seriously?!

[That sounds about right. He's pretty great, isn't he?]

If AT had a physical body, he would be nodding in agreement right about now. The husky girl looked at the air, beaming that a god had recognized her master. Him being a human? Who cares! Meeting the literal creator? Disregarded! Josh found himself happily grinning. He liked her style!

[Anyway, Josh, are you ready for the results of your trial?]

"Sure thing!" Josh enthusiastically answered. He felt like an employee going to his performance review but knowing he was getting a promotion. It felt amazing! The husky's ears were perked in noticeable interest.

[Bonus Floor 420: The best Floor and the worst test to start things up. You bulldozed right through it! You made it seem like it wasn't even a challenge at all!]

"Wasn't it just about picking any option and explaining it?" Josh remarked, puzzled.

[Nope. Both options were supposed to lead to a near-death experience. Yet…]

"Oh, it's probably because of my gluttony bloodline. I can eat stuff without getting sick. It's pretty useful." He relaxedly revealed.

[Floor 1: Typing monkeys. You were supposed to survive a month without getting fired while resisting the mind attack magic. Instead, you made the whole business close and found a new job for the exploited monkeys! OP!]

"Right, that annoying clock." Josh had never thought about just surviving since it hadn't felt that bad to him.

[Floor 2: Worms! This one was a test of survivability. One had to take possession of one of the caves somehow. There was only two in the whole realm that had no occupant and many with weak worms. You conquered the goddamn world! GG!]

"Hey, this one was too easy to mistake. I mean, anyone seeing monstrous worms would think them to be enemies to defeat!" Josh argued with the dog girl nodding along.

[Not when they are thrice your level! How did you even defeat that boss! You were supposed to run! I guess I used so much power creating it that I lost consciousness for a little bit after that fight.]

"No, that was probably because of the Worm God appearing. With the whole 'You killed a newborn worm, and you now must perish' thing!" Josh made his best worm god impression. It was weird AF.

[What?! There was a god and a curse?! How did you survive?!]

"No biggie, gluttony bloodline. I ate the curse, and it made me more powerful. It's not the first time I'm cursed to die by a dumbass god, and it won't be the last either. Anyway, let's keep the evaluation going." Josh didn't look at the sparkling eyes staring at him in awe.

Creator's Thought

Hearing AT list the challenge and their clear conditions made me feel like he was describing another Tower entirely. It was a weird feeling. I was like a worker tasked with setting up chess pieces for a tournament, yet ended up challenging a grandmaster by mistake — and winning!