Chapter 51 - Investigating A School?! Why?!
Josh soon arrived at the Draconic Guild. Lucas instantly noticed him.
"Josh! Josh! Haha! You are my hero from now on! No one stirs trouble quite like Josh Malum! I'm impressed!"
"What did I miss?" Josh questioned with his eyebrows raised.
Lucas could be seen counting on his fingers. "First there are people that a quite pissed about the instance thingy. Since a Newbie Classless guy like you survived, many entered and got themselves killed."
This was such a pain! He had specifically mentioned time and time again that he had survived only thanks to his luck!
"Second, apparently you said something about a level 25 Zombie on Floor 6, and people went to verify it. Well, long story short <MythBusting> is dead. Some people blame you for that."
"….." How dumb were they? They clearly were different from that one show Josh knew from Earth.
"Third, there is a lobby calling out to the murder of some Lenny guy. Of course, the Black Squad soon told them to shut the hell up but it did influence your infamy level."
That reminded Josh that he still had people he could blackmail in there if a need arose. That's why he hadn't been too harsh on punishing them back then.
"Fourth, apparently you stole Dario's Fairy. Kinda funny how he went to visit Ouroboros and they told him that his only reserved personal Fairy had already been checked out by someone with white gold status in the guild."
Oh well, that seemed like a lot of angry peeps but in fact, it boiled down to a few idiots, more idiots, some more idiots, and finally an easily explainable misunderstanding.
"Somehow you are still calm even after all this?! Are you human, Josh?! Are you?!"
"Don't worry about it….I'm very good at faking humanity ;)" Josh playfully added before heading to Dario's office.
Josh could hear Lucas shouting in the background "No, you aren't very good! You clearly are a killer robot in disguise!"
Please! Josh didn't just kill! He mocked too!
Dario was in his office, scratching his head as one with a migraine would. He seemed extremely focused on the task at hand, so much that he didn't even welcome Josh. It's only after a few minutes that he finally raised his head.
"Hey, Josh! Glad you came. We have an issue."
"Is it about the Disaster Zone?" Josh had an inkling of the situation.
"Yes, but probably not in the way you think. So the various MTAs came together and figured out that the danger of another instance happening was pretty high. We already lost a lot of people to it. So there will be various initiatives launched to strengthen humanity in general."
"Let me guess, forced military training?"
"Yes, but calling it as such would generate too much backlash. So they instead decided to regularize the Climber schools and to create public ones. Now people will learn how to fight there."
"In the future, it will become compulsory education, right? What about the current adults?"
"Anyone under 30 is going to have to go through the curriculum. Now, this is where we come in. We have a school that we are supposed to oversee. We need to control the quality of the education given."
"How exactly is this supposed to concern me?"
"If we just send a renowned member of Draconic, they will clearly notice it. What I need you to do is go undercover to judge the quality of the teachings."
"This is ridiculous! Can't you just record every class and have them send the footage over? There is clearly no need for me to do this! Plus this guild is literately one that offers training classes. Can't you guys figure this part by yourselves?!"
"We need to properly send someone to analyze the situation.
Oh yeah, I agree. This whole thing is pointless and ridiculous. Still, it's a direct order from the MTA. If we don't want to sour our relationships with them we need to comply."
That's when Josh thought of a great excuse. "Actually, I'm a Fallen! I can't be too long away from the Tower! Such a shame!"
"Yeah, pretty much everyone we can send are Fallens too. Please do this for me. You really just need to show up, listen to some lectures, and beat up some kids. Easy really!"
Josh checked his lifespan, 37 Days. It would be a huge pain in the ass but he could do it. Of course, he wouldn't just slave away for nothing. "Alright, but in exchange, I want some new gear prepared and all the furniture needed for my home!"
"Deal, haha. I'll even throw in the best home decorator there is. Still, I'm surprised I didn't expect you to be the type to have his own place. Your target is <Climber High>. Alright, good luck! Classes start tomorrow, your inscription is settled already. Have fun haha!"
Josh left while pondering about Dario's words. He was apparently not to type to have his own home, eh? That had been Josh's dream in the distant past. He wanted to make their lives better. Yet it had turned out like that…
Josh returned to his dwelling. On his way, he received a few weird glances from people seeing him entering the sewers but he ignored them as usual.
Josh simply laid on the hard floor while using the Hamburger mask he had received in the Alter Tower as a pillow. The thing was big and looked like the head of a mascot…no it actually was.
What was Josh even supposed to do in this world? Climbing was a given, he had to slowly increase his lifespan. Still, he was doing pretty well on that front. He had already gained a full month of lifespan.
Wait..?! Would that mean living forever if the lifespan kept increasing?! Was this actually a blessing in disguise? Then again maybe it wouldn't work that way. Since Josh was young, he had no way to notice such a thing.
This is what was fascinating and confusing about the Tower. There was so much that was unexplained. If Josh could rate the tutorial he would have rated it -5/10! Then again, it was actually called a welcome event…
Josh peacefully slept, lulled by the sound of U-bots cleaning outside. It was a very faint sound, one that part of him found reassuring. But suddenly came the sound of footsteps, then voices.
"Mmmm! I'm not sure how long I can keep doing this! How about I fight your father for your hand?" The voice was young and the tone playful.
"Haha, Villain! I'm sure you'd win but that's beside the- Mmmm!" That was the sound of a girl getting interrupted by a kiss probably.
'Why are there people coming into the sewers to make out? Seriously?!' Josh couldn't help but think about how deviant this was! They should have headed to a proper love hotel! Of course, he'd never admit that he was the abnormal one for living in such a place.
"Wait, I know a good place. There is a room hidden in the back. I came here to play here with my cousin here once. His father worked here before the U-bots-" Then came some more kissing. Thankfully the girl had brought an end to that pointlessly long monologue.
Josh could hear them fumble their way toward his position. He couldn't help but sigh interiorly hoping that these guys would be the last for a while at least.
Finally, they entered. The only thing was that the room was extremely dark. Josh could clearly see their shadows and even their intertwined tongues, but they were way too busy to notice him.
The man was quickly sliding his hand under the woman's shirt reaching for her full mounds. That is when Josh figured he should make himself noticed and also teach them a good lesson about surroundings awareness.
"Hey, guys! This room belongs to me at the moment, so please! Go be lovey-dovey somewhere else!" Josh kindly advised them.
"AH! GHOST!" Her scream reminded Josh of a banshee as she ran away, crashing into a few walls in the process.
"I'll protect you, don't worry! Who's there?!" Came the valiant, albeit trembling voice of the man.
"Guys, like I said. This is my home. I'm paying to live here. Now, please leave okay?"
"A-ah! S-sorry for the disturbance!" Then he ran away too in embarrassment.
What was wrong with people nowadays? Already assuming that he was a ghost! Then again, there were bound to be ghosts at some point in the Tower. Yeah, it actually wasn't that crazy.
For many nights would the both of them have nightmares? Josh wouldn't care haha. The night quickly passed.
Josh made his way to the <Climber High>, in the F district. Right, wasn't this the school that one Black Squad interrogator had said his kid was attending or something?
There was one thing Josh knew for a fact, the name sucked! Would he be blamed if he failed them for that simple reason? Possibly.
Josh could already see a few glancing at him. Actually, he had already been seen with Kasha, wouldn't they guess that he was in Draconic?! Ah, whatever. Josh would get his reward either way as long as he worked diligently.
How long had it been since Josh had attended school? Very long! Or that's how it felt at least…