Classless Ascension

Many dogs were assembled in front of a crack in a rocky wall, watching it with great unease. On the other side, there was the Savage Land.

They all knew how dangerous a place it was. How many of their ancestors had died to the monstrosities there? Far too many! Still, there were 6 of the random dogs that kept their calm and only hardened their gaze. 

As for the husky girl and Old Napolitan, they were probably the ones that were the most confident. The latter had blind trust in him while the former was so curious about the place that it helped her overcome the fear. 

Josh gave a small appreciating smile. There were actually half of them that were courageous. This was already better than he had expected. Sure, they were rivals now, but they would be on his side in the grand scheme of things. 

He slowly clapped his hands, making a few of the most cowardly ones jump in fright. "Alright, let's head inside everyone. Let's get this new leader selection event started!" 

He then led by example as he marched forward, volunteering to be the vanguard. One had to know that the vanguard was usually the first one to perish in such a situation. But this wasn't enough to convince many of them: 

"Why the hell would we follow you?!" a beagle cried out. 

"The stress obviously made him lose his mind." A sharpei 'explained'. 

"This is madness! You're crazy!" a terrier remarked 

"What a lunatic!" A poodle scoffed. 

But that's when Old Napolitan intervened. "I actually agree with such a plan. The original meaning of the tests was to choose a hero worthy of leading us all. So what if there is a test of courage added to it?" He stared at them sternly. 

They obviously wanted to retort but didn't have any worthwhile argument. They were worried that they would all die there, but they would seem like cowards if they admitted it. They could only grimace in displeasure. 

Josh grinned as he relaxedly waved at them. "Are you guys coming?" 

They had to swallow their pride and fears as they forced themselves to move. But then they seemed to change their minds as they 'realized' that this was definitely an elaborate chicken game. They couldn't wait for Josh's bluff to fall through. 

"Take care. This place is extremely perilous. If you aren't confident in your capabilities, then you should remain behind." Josh warned, but his earnest words fell on deaf ears. Many took it as him trying to scare them needlessly. 

They went deeper and deeper into the Savage Land. The air was so tense, with no one talking as they warily watched their surroundings. They were ready to retreat at the first sign of an enemy.

They were akin to wannabe ninjas in training. Still, they were doing a pretty shitty job since there was already a speedy scaly heading their way. 

"There is an enemy incoming, be careful!" Josh even pointed in the direction it was coming: he wouldn't let his allies die that easily. 

But, there was a poodle that didn't take kindly to it. "Nice try, but I know you're bluffing! There is no way I will believe a bastard like you! Watch me walk forward and prove how much of a fraud you are!" He sounded incredibly confident and disdainful. 

Josh could only shake his head in disappointment. Was this dog suffering from mental illness? He watched the scene that unfolded in front of them. For him, it was a mass of killing intent moving swiftly, but for the others, it was only a blur at best. 

When the group realized that there was something wrong, it was already too late. The poodle was now missing half of its body, its lower half falling to the ground lifelessly. 

Some instantly lost their cool and began running. In total, five abandoned them without a second thought as they rushed back to the entrance screaming in fright. 

"W-what the fuck?!" 

"RUN!"

"Ahhh!" 

The remaining ones had severe expressions. They had realized that this creature was insanely fast. In a pure contest of speed, none of them would stand a chance. All of them would perish before they could retreat to safety.

"Group up!" the boxer shouted. 

They formed a circle with their backs against each other. They began defending with their claws, not moving a single inch. They had organized a formation around Josh as they now understood how useful his scouting ability would be. 

Even if their speed was lacking, their attack speed was enough to bridge the gap. Well, that was only as long as they were grouped. The problem was that they were pretty much sitting ducks at that moment. 

Josh relaxedly talked with Old Napolitan. "So, what's your verdict?" 

The old dog shook his head. "For running away, these five are disqualified." 

The six remaining couldn't help but twitch as they wondered why the heck they were discussing such a thing now! What good would a posthumous leader position do? But that's when they saw Josh leave the safety of the pack. 

He was relaxedly walking away as he even turned toward the sky to look at it as if distracted. What was wrong with him?! 

"Quick, come back to the circle, and—!" a shepherd shouted. 

But it was already too late. They saw the creature clearly this time around, and it was a nightmarish lizard with a maw even bigger than its size. Just as it was about to devour Josh, he lazily punched backward. 

This simple-looking punch made the creature fall to the ground, utterly bloated for some reason. In fact, he had simply summoned his rat with perfect timing. 

Then a few instants later, the monster exploded in a gory mess with Josh unsummoning his pet and picking up the bones. He had done it all in one fell swoop! 

The allies' eyes were as big as saucers. What kind of attack was this?! The old dalmatian quickly asked with stars in his eyes: "H-how did you do that?!" 

Josh assumed the air of an expert with his arms behind his back and his head raised. "Lots of practice. If you work very hard, you could even do it one day too." He even gave him an encouraging nod. "Alright, let's keep going."

That's when they realized how awesome this youngster was. He could freely move around the Savage Land! What kind of insane feat was this?! 

A retriever murmured embarrassedly: "There is no need for that, right? You are clearly the best candidate possible. All this time, our tradition was to find the one that came the closest to the heroes of the old….but you exceed it!" 

"I may as well show you the meeting spot that was planned. It looks pretty cool!" Josh replied playfully. 

They all nodded. They knew this was dangerous, but he had already saved their lives, and they now trusted him. As they kept going, they were watching their surroundings intently. From time to time, Josh would warn: "There is another coming, right there." Then he would dispatch it.

The rest of the way actually went pretty well. That's how Josh guided them to one of the mammoth dinos. He pointed at it while chuckling: "Here is our meeting area: on its back... Doesn't it look cozy?"

Cozy?! They watched the shockwaves it produced from time to time. How would one even get on its back?!