Classless Ascension

Right next to the Sunny nightclub was a small apartment. Right by the door, someone had left a letter inconspicuously. 

Josh was currently inspecting the black envelope with interest. There was a thin and elegant silver dagger print on the outside. The presentation was on point, but was it fine just to leave it there?! 

He slowly opened it with trembling fingers. He couldn't wait to infiltrate their base and hopefully figure out who had ordered the messy raid on his school. Had the sloths not been there, it could have been highly troublesome instead. 

The content was simple: 

𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝟑𝟒𝟖𝟐 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝟏 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠...

- 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐀

There was so much wrong with it. The address was pretty straightforward, but then there was the LoA part. Couldn't they have written League of Assassin in full? How much longer would it have taken them? 

Then there was the "we will be watching" part. Was this supposed to be intimidating? Wouldn't it be weird if they weren't? This would be an evaluation, after all! 

Josh could only sigh as he shook his head. An hour, was it? He'd head there right now! It wasn't like he had anything better to do. As for preparations, he really had no clue what he would soon face, but he wasn't overly worried. 

He replaced the pieces of the Zoom set he had eaten and went on his journey! As he left, there was even heavenly music to celebrate his departure…aka the one always playing at the nearby nightclub. 

He followed his UW GPS until he finally reached his destination. He could only check and double-check in confusion. He could peer into it thanks to large windows letting plenty of sunlight inside. 

The interior was extremely colorful, with various animals painted on the walls: bunnies, chickens, ducks, etc. There were plenty of toys strewn on the floor, along with kids happily running around. This was an extreme clash compared to the earlier scene with the Climbers going crazy! 

This place was a daycare?! What the hell?!

Josh couldn't help but be taken aback. Was he at the right place? He only hoped that the test wouldn't involve killing younglings. Otherwise, he'd have to give up: professionals had standards after all! 

For now, he bought some burgers from a street vendor, sat on a nearby bench, and waited for time to pass while keeping the daycare in his sight. At some point, an amicable lady took place right next to him. 

"Hey there, it's a great day, isn't it?" She happily chimed in. 

Great day? People were dying by the dozen just in Metropolis-D alone. Damn, this woman was definitely from the Assassin League! Only they would happily revel in the suffering of others.

Surprisingly, Josh couldn't detect any hint of evilness in her, she looked too innocent. He would never have doubted her had she not opened her mouth. 

"Of course, it's a great day. I'm lucky to have survived the Tower." Josh chuckled lightly. 

"Oh, so you're a Climber? That's awesome! You're right. We need to be grateful for every day we live. My husband is a Climber too! Well, he takes a lot of jobs outside the Tower too…." She happily shared.

So he was an assassin... Was it fine for her to talk so wantonly about her husband's assassination contracts? Perhaps it was acceptable as long as nothing incriminating was said? 

"That's great. I've been trying to get into these kinds of jobs, if you know what I mean." Josh shared his desire to join the League. How would she react? 

"That's wonderful news! If you want, I'll introduce you both." She excitedly offered. 

"That would be nice," Josh admitted. 

"Anyway, which one is yours?" She curiously asked. 

"What?" He couldn't help but be taken aback. 

"Which kid is yours?" She pointed at the inside of the daycare. 

"Oh, none. I don't have a kid." Josh truthfully replied. 

"Ah, are you babysitting?" She kept going. 

"No? I guess I have a few men under me, but that's as close as it gets to babysitting…." His subordinates were all pretty much all at his school, and they were independent enough. 

"Oh, I see…." The lady's face twisted in a grimace for an instant before she showed a forced smile and rose. 

Josh could only see her walk a distance away as she began calling the MTA….That's when he realized the blunder. Apparently, she was just a crazy mom that seemed utterly ignorant of the tragedy that had just happened in the Tower. 

Right now was the time of the meeting too. It had just happened that an utterly unrelated lady had chanced upon him. Not only had she been misleading, but she was now jumping to conclusions. 

She was talking in a hushed voice as she faced his direction. He could read her lips and follow the entire conversation. She was arguing with someone on the line. She wanted the MTA to take care of the one she called a public danger. 

She insisted that they send someone from the MTA to take care of it since Josh had told her that he was a Climber. He could only picture the poor phone operator trying to explain how thin their available manpower was during this crisis. 

But the woman pushed through, using the superpower known as entitlement and exaggeration. She had now gone from calling him a deviant stalker to a potential kidnapper. Wow, talk about an upgrade! 

Josh kept devouring his burgers happily. What was the worst that could happen? They'd send someone to check up on the situation. He was only sitting on a bench, eating while waiting. It wasn't like he was hurting anyone….

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A few minutes later, the MTA had already sent someone— or so it seemed at first glance. The uniform was the same, but there were too many discrepancies. 

Josh knew better, for he had interacted with many MTA soldiers at his school. The standard soldier equipment while in the city included a baton for close-quarter combat and a blaster with various settings going from paralyzing to lethal. 

Not only wasn't this guy armed at all, but he wasn't even wearing the conventional helmet. Plus, his posture also gave him away. He was too casual, slovenly even, and lacked the usual ramrod straight posture that his colleagues all had. 

This guy was a sham! There was no way that he was with the MTA! As soon as he appeared, the crazy lady rushed toward him. 

"Thank god you're here, officer! This is the guy that's been lurking while coveting our children. Please handle the issue so our kids can remain safe!" 

Josh couldn't help but chuckle, seeing how relieved she was. This guy was most definitely someone the LoA had sent. The timing was way too surreal for it to be a coincidence. How would she react were she to know?

The man looked his way, acting all serious. 

"Sir, I'll have to ask you to come with me for interrogation." 

"Sure, let's go!" Josh happily complied, surprising the woman who was at a distance away. Her mouth was open in consternation. Why wasn't he trying to escape?! The letter had said to follow the instructions! 

A bunch of kids watched them leave as they excitedly pointed at the MTA officer through the window as he led the way. They walked in silence as the man seemed lost in his thoughts. He simply whispered a small "follow me. We'll make this quick." 

Josh couldn't help but rejoice. He had hit the jackpot. This recruiter was just trying to finish this as fast as possible. It would allow him to complete this trial quickly. 

Eventually, they reached their destination. Josh couldn't help but wince as he saw where it was: the goddamn Metropolis-D MTA! They were heading to a small building nearby that was well guarded. 

Josh couldn't but gulp at their audacity: the test would be held at the MTA?! It seemed like it was true that the darkest shadows were present right next to the brightest of lights. 

As they cleared one security layer after the other, he was brought to what could only be an interrogation room. It was very similar to the one he had already experienced and was filled with blinding white light. 

The man slightly grumbled as he left: "This is bullshit! I should be doing office work. Why the heck are they making me their errand boy? Yes, yes, the MTA is overworked but so what! Ah, whatever..." 

Josh was left alone in the room, not sure whether to laugh or cry. It seemed like this wasn't the LoA but truly the MTA. Had he just stumbled upon the worst recruiter of all time? Which dumbass had selected a daycare as the meeting spot? 

Either way, Josh peacefully closed his eyes for a nap. He still had his UW but couldn't connect to the net in there either way. 

The sound of a door opening woke him up. 

—Clang!— 

Then he heard high heels tapping on the ground with every assured step the newcomer took. Whoever was approaching was confident and displeased with him. He could feel this much. 

"Wake up, lowlife! Are you ready to confess?!" 

Josh slowly raised opened his eyes and zeroed in on the newcomer. As he saw her, he couldn't help but freeze a second before a chuckle escaped him. 

There stood a tall and fit young lady wearing a black uniform. She had braided hair and was still wearing similar shades as last time. Yes, last time! 

This was the lady that had tried interrogating him ages ago in Metropolis-C! What was she even doing here? Had she been forcefully transferred here, or had it been of her own volition? 

He couldn't help but feel like teasing her a bit....