Classless Ascension

On Floor 24, two eerily scary gigantic black panthers were warily guarding a stick. Yep, a goddamn stick!

Josh couldn't help but find the scene strange. They glared at Nightmare heatedly and at him hatefully. Were they mad because he had brought the horse they were hoping to devour away?

When he had been thrown to safety, he had re-summoned Nightmare at his sides. This had left the bloodthirsty predators without a meal. Now, he would just have to somehow get his stick back.

On the side, the shaman's ghost was wailing pitifully:

"H-how could this happen? Why couldn't they see his real appearance? How could he morph so fast? This doesn't make any sense!" His voice was becoming weaker and weaker.

Josh turned toward him before bowing politely.

"Thank you so much for your assistance. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to get rid of so many orcs in one fell swoop." He looked so genuine too.

"W-what?!— " The ghost somehow choked, unable to take it anymore.

"Especially how you brainwashed them to obey your orders without any rebuttal. That was great. Otherwise, they would have never run to their deaths so readily. Thank you so much!"

"Thank you? Thank you?! You're thanking me?!" The ghost couldn't take it anymore. That's when it began to dissipate, akin to a smelly fart in the morning breeze, leaving a dark residue on the ground.

< Tormented Ectoplasm >

- Contains the essence of a tortured soul.

What was that? A crafting material or something? Still, Josh couldn't help but sigh.

"Ah, he truly was a great ghost. He would have been the perfect sports show host. A spell to put the focus on one individual and great real-time commentary."

But then Josh realized something. Why wasn't his quest completed already? He had killed their leader already and— wait…maybe not. Was there some higher-level orc out there that he had to get rid of now?

Did he even have to kill all those orc troops? He could only hope that he hadn't been wasting his time. This was especially true considering a third party had killed them, and he hadn't gotten any XP.

Josh stared at the stick, then at the panthers, then finally at Nightmare. That was all it took for the poor horse to start neighing in protest.

"Neigh!!" (Refusal)

"Look, sometimes one has to be courageous and take one for the team. You're the faster one between us two, so you'll have to go. Plus, you're my pet, so it's not like you can refuse."

"Neigh!!" (Begging)

"Look, we don't know what all that this stick can do, but it's probably useful. We need to get it back."

"Neigh!!" (Despair)

"Don't worry so much. I'll unsummon you if any danger is about to befall you. I'm not a monster."

The poor horse had to resign itself as its master wouldn't change his mind. How could he be so cruel?

Sadly for it, humans, in general, were very opinionated and self-centered in their beliefs. Reduce an animal to slavery, and no one bats an eye. Do the same to another human, and everyone loses their minds— or fuck it, that too was frowned upon

"Alright, let's do this! Make them leave the stick if you can somehow." Josh instructed.

The poor Nightmare had to venture into the danger zone unwillingly. It took a few unsteady steps, ready to back off at any time. The panthers instantly locked their gazes on it and got ready to pounce.

Yet they didn't make any more as they awaited the horse to be farther inside their territory. They were worried it would run away at the first sign of danger. They also glanced at Josh, wondering if he could reuse that one OP teleportation ability.

All parties involved only stared at one another in tense silence. It was akin to the cold war, except that they fought over a stick and horse meat instead of fighting for ideologies.

A few minutes later, it all began. The panthers explosively shot out toward Nightmare, who ran for its life while neighing in panic. It wanted Josh to help it, but he was busy.

He had turned his morphing weapon into a grappling hook using spider threads. He felt like McGyver, a guy who could be lethal with absolutely everything and anything in his environment.

As the poor horse was suffering, he managed to hook his stick back. At this moment, it was almost too late for Nightmare. The panthers were pouncing on it and— oh god. What the hell?!

That's when Josh realized that he had profoundly misunderstood the panthers' intention. It seemed that they mimicked any living creatures as they complied with the four F's of evolution.

Any living creature adapted itself to fighting, fleeing, feeding, and fucking.

Josh had naively thought that the panthers were looking for the third option. It wasn't, not at all. It was the fourth all the way. It was very visible with their towering spears that stood up in attention. They were ready to do the first F to get that fourth one done too!

What the actual fuck?!

"Hey, system. We really need to have a talk over here. Sure, both are black, big, long, have thick protrusions, but they aren't the same goddamn species!"

He hurriedly un-summoned Nightmare since he had no interest in watching interracial bestiality porn. The panthers roared in anger, their plan totally thwarted once more.

"Alright, let's head back to the orc fortress and forget this ever happened, deal?"

Josh asked Nightmare, who was still shaking in fright. Never had it been so close to being eaten! As for their ulterior motive, it luckily hadn't seemed to notice.

Before long, the fortress was back in sight. On the walls, a few orcs could be seen. Where had they come out from? They were probably reserve troops or something.

Josh made sure to dismount, verified that his appearance-changing amulet was still working, and confidently swaggered through the front gates where a few orcs diligently welcomed him.

"Welcome back, shaman! What happened to the army?!"

"Oh? Do you dare question me? Know your place, worm! Luckily for you, I'm in a good mood since the human finally died." Josh arrogantly headed in, even picking a fight with the gatekeeper.

But that's when a sharp and stern voice resounded:

"He may not dare, but I do. What happened to the king's army?"

A newcomer had just arrived. This orc looked tall, powerful, but most importantly, dressed. While the regular orcs barely wore anything, this one was wearing a full set of equipment. An elite soldier, one that seemed hella strong!

He said something about the king too. This probably meant that the shaman's identity was far from infallible.

"We had to chase the human into the forbidden land, and they regrettably didn't make it. But he is dead once and for all." Josh explained, not showing any remorse.

"Tch— pathetic orc. The king should have beheaded you ages ago!" The orc growled disparagingly. "Come, the king wants to meet you."

How would the shaman react to this? Would he gently comply and follow? No way!

Josh grabbed his morphing weapon, turned it into a cane behind his back, and shoved it right in the orc's face while emitting an unbelievable quantity of killing intent and grinning.

"For the king's sake and because we're low on soldiers, I'll spare your life this once. Hehehe, weakling." Josh towered over the orc, now shaking with fury as he chuckled loudly.

But in the end, he still followed the orc toward the depth of the fortress, where they found a large trapdoor. It seemed like there was a fortress underneath a fortress. What kind of freaking fortressception was that?

The both of them kept progressing, delving deeper and deeper. It was as if the underground was the maw of a gigantic monster. Josh could only hope that his disguise would hold.

They encountered metallic doors with deadly screams coming out from time to time. Whoever was torturing people in there was having lots of fun.

They kept going in silence, eventually reaching large double bloodied golden doors. There was so much blood, and elegance combined that this reminded him of a certain red wedding.

It was as if the orc king was the final boss of an RPG.

His guide pushed open the double doors with incredible difficulty. Josh just watched him strain himself and pant without care. Then they both entered.

The room was akin to the one would find in a castle— if thrones in palaces were made out of skulls. This had to be uncomfortable for sure…

A towering orc was staring at the newcomers with a grin. His arms were bigger than Josh's head, his war hammer was bigger than fucking Nightmare itself, and his eyes glowed with a green piercing light.

It was as if this being was surrounded by death itself. Unfathomable and incredibly powerful.

He opened his mouth widely, revealing large fangs that could no doubt rival the ones of a predator. He then slowly uttered with incredible disdain oozing through his voice:

"Oh? Who do we have here? I'm surprised to see you here shaman, did you get tired of playing with the weaklings upstairs?"

Josh had to stay in character as much as possible. He answered by cackling as he imagined this one would do.

"Hehe, one never gets tired of playing with weaklings. They are so fun to break apart and mold to one's will. As for my presence here, of course, I would come if you are the one asking, my king."

"Is that so? How unexpected, "Shaman"— especially considering that you died already." The king sarcastically uttered.

That's when he took out a stone of promise, which Josh had previously encountered. It shattered when the person it was linked to died. This one was nothing but powder….

Creator's Thought

Welcome to National Geographic, Tower edition! Today we are following some really big black panthers. They are especially lively and are ready to have fun. Ah, but do be careful. The floor is slippery with all that orc blood and the panthers are slightly mean...