Classless Ascension

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?" 

They watched the massive creature with tears in their eyes. "I can't believe I've seen such a sight in my life. I do not have a single regret anymore!" A bloodhound remarked, emotional. 

For Josh, this was such natural sight that he had forgotten how it could seem to newcomers. Was he perhaps getting desensitized to giant monsters because of the Hellish difficulty? 

He let them have fun for a little while before calling it quits. The speedy scalies had begun slowly regrouping after noticing that something was wrong. They were still wary of them, but they were slowly creeping closer. 

Picking up a nearby rock, Josh threw it directly at their positions, making them scurry away in fright. The return to the village was peaceful. At the entrance, they met the other village chiefs that instantly made a ruckus. 

"You guys are alive. How?!" 

"This is good! I guess the creature had eaten its fill with Old Poodle. How lucky!"

"Still, this is so wrong! Old Poodle died because of you! We should have never followed you!" 

"The only one that should be kicked out of the selection is this insane youngster. You guys all agree, right?" 

Josh wondered what he should do about it when the boxer went forward and began doing something that was very fitting of his name. He began uppercutting them one after the other, sending them flying! 

"Stop spewing dogshit! We all survived thanks to him. Also, he's our new leader. If anyone has any objection, we'll go to war with them." He growled.

Instantly the five offending dogs began shaking as they all shut up. This was one truth of the world. If violence didn't solve your problems, then you weren't using enough of it. 

As they returned to the village, Josh was welcomed like a king, especially when Old Napolitan announced that he had won the challenge.

Then came a feast! This had always been something that he loved, but this one was relatively plain. It was roasted lamb with no spices whatsoever. Plus, the food wasn't genuinely filling. But he still enjoyed the celebratory ambiance. 

All the dogs were happily barking with their tails wiggling. For some reason, that husky kept sticking to him as if she had just learned that a dog was supposed to be a human's best friend. 

But, at some point, an incident happened. An old dog fell right next to the husky girl that extended her hand to catch him. This slight diversion was enough for one of the cowardly dog chiefs to steal the scaly lizard bone that she had been guarding. 

She instantly protested: "This belongs to my master!" When had Josh gotten this title?! 

But, the villain ignored her, made sure to be in everyone's sight, and proudly displayed the bone!: 

"This is my submission to the succession event. I would like to see the bone our new leader brought! This ceremony can only be finalized with this process! "The sharpei barked loudly. 

Instantly the ones that had accompanied Josh instantly came to his defense along with the husky girl and the Heroic-Paws villagers:

"This is the leader's bone, you thief!" 

"Give it back at once!" 

"Quick, hand it over!"

"We can vouch for him! It's the leader's bone! He had it even before the contest!" 

But the offending dog was as shameless as cowardly. "It doesn't matter! I am holding it, and I am officially announcing it as mine! Since it hasn't been registered as proof of eligibility before, I have the right to do it!" 

The crowd instantly calmed down even as they showed apparent disdain toward that chief's actions. Apparently, there was such a rule in their traditions. 

The sharpei kept going strong: "Now, if the leader doesn't manage to produce a bone of better quality than this one, it will be my victory! How about it? You can't, right?!" 

Josh looked pensive for a second. "It's true that I can't get a bone that has a better quality than this one." He admitted. 

That sentence made the dog gloat so much. He looked like a conqueror that had managed to outplay all his opponents tactically. 

That's when Josh spoke once more while shrugging: "Still, I believe I can produce something better." 

"Something better than a scaly devil's bone? I'd like to see you try!" The sharpei scoffed. 

"Sure." Josh nodded, smiling. 

That's when he took his gathering pouch out. He opened it, taking another bone identical to the one his opponent had. This instantly provoked a huge reaction from everyone. 

"I-impossible! How can there be two pristine scaly devil bones at the same time?! This new one has to be a fake!" The dog instantly contested, refusing to come to terms with reality. But, it was far from over. 

Josh took another bone out, and another, and another...All until a few dozen of them were resting at his feet. He winked at the wannabe bad dog: "So, are a few dozen bones of the highest quality better than one bone of the highest quality you stole from me?" 

The dogs that had stayed with him in the Savage Land began laughing. The man could kill these devils by himself. Of course, he would have more bones! That was so obvious. How had they even forgotten it?!

At that point, the bad dog was stupefied. It was as if the world had stopped making sense. He looked like a dog in headlights right before getting hit by a truck. He began shaking violently, noticed the others sending it death glares, and finally kneeled. 

"I'm sorry. I was wrong. The sharpei clan will follow you, leader." He tried looking as pitiful as possible.

Josh shrugged: "No need. Your clan is now banned from our alliance. You have 10 seconds to leave this village before I chop your dog head off." He accompanied that warning with a beautiful yet oddly scary smile. 

As the sharpei was freaking out, frozen by fear, Old Dalmatian stepped forward. "I dislike him, but we probably shouldn't condemn a clan for the actions of one dog. Plus, that is very drastic." 

"I don't care. Anyway, 5...4...3....2....1...." The sharpei was still shaking in place. "It can't be helped." Josh moved forward and removed the animal's head with a single strike. 

It was at that moment that the party stopped, not that Josh minded. Some were disapproving, others were frozen in fear, and some didn't care that much. That dog had really gone out of his way to anger Josh after all. 

Thus Josh became their leader, the one that would be remembered as the only tyrant leading the clans. But, even with how questionable the process had been, they accepted him. All the clan chiefs had been intimidated by that little excursion into the Savage Land. 

Plus, there was supposed to be a war soon, according to the realm's setting. This made it so they actually didn't mind him ruling with a fist of steel. 

A few hours later, when no one was looking, he headed toward the outskirt of the village. Right in the middle of the plain, there was now an elevator that seemed so out of place.

Josh entered casually, not announcing his departure in the least. The sooner he cleared this, the sooner the training in D-23 could truly begin. 

But, just as the doors were closing, there was a shadow dashing toward him. What?! That husky girl had somehow managed to jump into the elevator! How?! 

Had he just found a bug?! He could only stare at the smiling dog that was shaking her tail happily…