Classless Ascension

In a house in the periphery of Metropolis-C, two monsters lied in wait. They were both expecting their prey to appear at any moment now.

Then finally came the knocking sound they had been expecting. "Hey, Brad! I'm here! Let's do this quickly. I don't have all day!" The tentacle man had organized a meeting with a previous colleague from Golden wolves, and the young Climber had naively taken the bait. 

Josh happily opened the door. 

"You, who are you? Where's Brad?" The man asked, on edge. 

"Just come in, and we'll talk. He's waiting for you inside." Josh shook his head. How impatient the younger generation was! 

The man could instinctively faintly feel that something was wrong. But, just as he wanted to fall back, he remembered the debt he owed and reluctantly stepped forward. That's when Josh slammed the door shut. 

— Clang! — 

The newcomer couldn't help but shiver as his eyes warily checked his surrounding. He tried to shrug off the fear, but then he saw the floor, and the walls, and the whole fucking room! Nothing looked as it should have. 

As he turned around hastily, he saw the man who had just welcomed him. No, he didn't look like a man at all! The red glowing eyes weren't ones a human could have! There was also this malevolant aura! That's when the devil's face began morphing. 

It was as if his skin was melting! The face was ever-changing as if it couldn't settle on one appearance! But then it suddenly stopped. Yet, this respite filled the man with profound dread. In front of him appeared his own face. How?! 

"You seem stressed. Are you alright?" The devil grinned at him, probably planning to devour his soul! He wasn't ready to die just yet! He was far too young! He still had to build himself a harem! That's when he found salvation. 

In the corner of the room was a door. Without waiting, the man ran through it, making it explode in the process! Somehow, he just knew that he didn't stand a chance against the devil. 

He began searching all over, trying to find an exit or anything he could use! He searched so frantically while keeping an eye on the now empty door frame. Wait, why wasn't the evil creature following him?! 

At that very moment, he felt something squishy, wriggly, and wet make contact with his ankle. He was instantly invaded by fear and tried running away. But, it was already too late, far too late! The tentacles crawled his way as fast as lighting, wrapping around his limbs and holding him in the air. 

Then he saw him. No, he saw it. He faintly recognized the creature before him, one that used to be human, one that used to be Brad. That's when he lost consciousness…

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Josh couldn't help but chuckle. That guy had run straight to his helper, how nice!

Now that he wore the man's face, he was ready to begin his plan. He headed to the H district, where he found the training ground for the Golden Wolves, infiltrating it. Once again, he was so glad to have that one appearance-changing medallion! 

In the main courtyard of the guild, he found about a hundred Climbers who seemed extremely restless for some reason. As he walked near them, he heard their hushed voices as they shared the news, making him smile. 

"Hey, did you hear?! The LoA sent Josef an Assassin's Promise!" 

"What?! Are you kidding me?! Do they have a death wish?!"

"Whoever that assassin is, he's gonna have a really bad time!" 

"Guys, I'm worried. Would they really send it without confidence?!"

"I heard that other guilds received it at the same time too! Is it a coincidence?"

Josh couldn't help but notice something peculiar. There wasn't any news about the custom message his targets were receiving? He had the whole Death concept too! Such a waste for it to be ignored so easily! He could only sigh.

That's when an old Climber came running! 

"Guys, Josef is coming! Quick, form ranks!" He shouted fearfully. How ironic that a holy paladin inspired such fright from his own men. 

The guild members all looked like scared kids who had just heard that their parents were on their way. Without waiting, they all took stood up in lines as if awaiting roll call. Naturally, Josh followed along smoothly with none the wiser about his infiltration.

They waited a few minutes under the blazing sun before they finally heard the clanging of heavy armor as a man appeared.

No one dared to look his way at all! Well, except one very stupid-looking Climber who just happened to be Josh. He flashed a gaze of pity toward the incoming paladin before hurriedly looking away. 

Josef was renowned for being prideful and a discipline freak. To him, Josh's innocent and fleeting look had already been considered a grave insult! The man quickly made his way toward the tactless gold member. 

"You, what's with your eyes?" He growled, intimidatingly. 

"W-what do you mean, Sir?!" Josh questioned, his voice breaking from the panic.

"I saw the way you looked at me, you know! Do you think that I'm blind or weak?" He chuckled with an ominous voice. 

"That's not it, Sir! I'm just worried because the LoA are vile creatures that won't ever fight fairly!" Josh screamed, trying to salvage the situation. 

"Oh? So you're worried about me? How nice! After this inspection, let's train together! I'll show you a sliver of my strength so you can rest easy. Aren't I a great boss?" Josef almost looked well-intentioned. 

"Yes, Sir!" Josh happily replied.

At the same time, the others were resisting the urge to facepalm as they raised their eyes to the sky. How could this guy be so stupid?! He was 100% going to get beaten up. 

"Good!" Josef was smiling, but his eyes weren't. 

Nevertheless, he kept working, inspecting the troops, seemingly ignoring the earlier incident. From time to time, he would slightly redress the posture of a member, test their prowesses, and even kick some out of the guild if they disappointed him! 

This was truly a case of a few elites exercising ultimate power on a minority of others. Fairness? What was that? Could it be eaten? 

The man reveled in the people's fear, and he seemed to associate it with respect. He even began a long speech on how he wouldn't cower in the face of dumb assassins! 

Josh couldn't help but find it hypocritical. Normally there was only one supervisor that was inspecting the place at once. But not this time. When Josh had insinuated that they should be afraid of the assassin, two extra strands of killing intent had locked on him. 

There was a man hiding in the ancestral tree that stood in the training courtyard. To be fair, the leaves were luscious, and he seemed to be using a magical technique to hide from mana sense. 

This one was probably the one Brad had called Daryl, aka the bored mercenary. It wouldn't be the first time he was hiding in that very tree, after all. 

Then, in a nearby large building was another one. This guy ought to be Joey, the one that he had been warned to be careful of. This guy had a hobby that included targeting weaker members' Chrysalises! 

So in total, there were two protectors who were likely as strong as the target. This would complicate a clueless assassin's task so damn much" But Josh had seen through it. So much for their claim that they weren't scared of their opponents! 

This guy being here was all a trap! But, as if he'd stupidly spring it open! 

For now, he would observe and remain patient. As long as he wasn't too out of line, they wouldn't suspect him. After all, to them, he was nothing but cannon fodder.

After a bit of bullying disguised as training, Josef gestured Josh to follow him, bringing him to a smaller private courtyard next to the big building. Josh had only taken a few steps inside that the man began to use him as a punching bag. 

Every insult was accompanied by an incredibly heavy punch or a kick. 

— Bam! — 

"Do you really think that I'm weak?!" 

— Bam! — 

"Do you really think I fear assassins?!"

— Bam! — 

"I'm part of the goddamn Adamantium Wolves, you shit-head!"

— Bam! — 

Only when Josh was lying on the ground in a pool of his blood did the man stop. 

"Let this be a lesson. No one disses the elite members!" Josef spat out with a look of superiority. 

"I'm sorry! I'll be careful in the future! please spare me!" Josh begged vehemently while breaking down. 

"Fine, but just this once. Be careful in the future." He scoffed. 

"Thank you! Thank you so much! You're a great hero in our guild!" Josh began to kiss his ass, but then "accidentally" misspoke "All the people that say you're a power-hungry idiot that only knows how to bully the weak are all wrong and—" 

Josh didn't even get to finish his sentence. The man had violently grabbed him, carrying him inside. "It seems you need more teaching. Lucky for you, I am very benevolent. I'll only leave you half dead." He promised. 

Just as he was about to bring him into an individual room, a tall and handsome man appeared. "How about you let me punish him instead?" He lecherously grinned at Josh, staring at his ass. 

"I can let you play with him once I'm done. You can have all the fun you want then." Josef shrugged. Just like that, Josh's fate was sealed. It was as if he was nothing but merchandise. What the fuck was wrong with these people?! 

As they entered a room, Josef quickly closed the metallic door it sported. 

— Clang! — 

This place even seemed soundproof! 

Josef gave a bright smile. "Now, let's teach you to keep your mouth shut, shall we? Every time you speak, shout or cry, I'll help your body remember how bad such conduct is!" 

It was time for him to vent all the frustration he had accumulated! The whole teaching part was frankly nothing more than an excuse. It was tiresome to fake righteousness after all. He truly hated his Class of (Fake) Holy Paladin at times! 

As Josh began begging in front of him once more, he happily enjoyed it. He simply loved this feeling of power so damn much! His smile was as sadistic as huge.

His smile persisted as he swung his mighty fist toward his target and it persisted when a dagger perforated his throat. He barely had the time to register what was happening. 

"Now, let's have some fun, shall we?" Josh's smile was even brighter than the man's....