The young man took a deep breath with determination visible in his dark brown eyes. Still, he was obviously highly nervous. How could he not be!
"Sir, can you tell me how I should become powerful with Dumpling Maker as a Class?" He had chosen the gamble rather than the certitude.
Josh pondered a few seconds before he approached his ear and murmured: "Dimensional Legion will soon open a Climber School in D-23. You can try your luck there."
"Seriously?!" The young man jumped in shock before frowning.
How was he supposed to be admitted to a school that would no doubt be an elite one?! But then he turned to Josh once more, seemingly believing in him. He would follow his advice even if the chances of success were low.
Josh couldn't help but marvel at how much trust these people had in him. Somehow, meeting with the government leaders had given him so much credibility. Hard to fathom, wasn't it?
All the onlookers were curiously wondering what Josh had told him. But another voice resounded before they could ask.
"You're Josh Malum, right?"A man that wore a yellow hard hat and a construction outfit was approaching while smiling.
"What is it?"
"I'm Bob, and I'm a builder. Emsee sent me. He said you had a job for me! Wait, didn't he already contact you? We need to go over the building's specifications."
Josh checked his messages, and sure enough, his friend had sent word already. Apparently, this guy could build anything in existence. He would be the one taking care of the bunker that Josh desired in D-23. There remained only to discuss the specifics.
"Ah, I see. Let's do this quickly. Afterward, I'll resume Climbing."
"If by quickly you mean a few hours, then sure. We have a lot to discuss. There is the size, the robustness, the decoration, the entertainment inside, etc."
"Can't I just give you a few pointers, and you improvise the rest?" Josh asked, hopeful.
"Of course not! This needs to be extremely precise as it is custom made!" Bob was oozing with professional pride.
Oh well, it would seem Josh would need to postpone the Sapphire acquisition for now. It was a shame that they couldn't discuss this inside the Tower. He had lots of time to waste inside, after all. Actually…what if?!
"Say, Bob. Have you ever Climbed the Tower before by any chance?"
"Yes, but I didn't go far. I only reached Floor 20. Afterward, I stopped to focus on my job as —"
"That's perfect! Alright, how does sending a party invite work again? Ah, right, just gotta stand near each other if I remember correctly." Josh grabbed the stunned Bob.
"What?! I'm not ready to Climb! I'm super rusty and—" He complained.
"No excuse! We're going to Floor 18. It only has slow golems, so everything will be fine! I thought Emsee said that you are reliable…."
"F-fine! But I'll stay far away from any monster!" Bob exclaimed.
"Yep, that's what I'm expecting! Teleport in!" They both disappeared to the total surprise of the bystanders.
People were shocked at how low of a Floor this was. Someone on Floor 18 had taken care of the sloth problem?! At that moment, many took for granted that he definitely had a rare tamer Class or something similar.
****
"Ah, this reminds me of memories. I've always loved the construct Floors; maybe it's because of my profession. In any case, let's be careful. You are better assuming you will be solo against all of the enemies." Bob warned.
"Of course, don't worry. Now, Tower Protocol, please launch Hellish mode. Alright, what kind of questions did you have for me?" Josh inquired.
But Bob wasn't responding. He was as white as chalk, trembling, and his eyes were bulging like a frog. "?!"
"Are you alright, man?"
"H-hellish?! What is wrong with you?! We'll both die here!"
"Naw, you're overthinking this. It's not that bad." Josh shrugged.
"What do you mean not that bad?! No one has ever cleared Floor 18 Hellish! We don't even know what happens on that Floor! The hard version requires one to kill an impossibly strong Boss already! Only the top teams are able to clear it! We're fucking screwed!"
"Relax, dude. Your information is so wrong! Hellish has been cleared, I know what happens, and it's easily soloable. Just take a deep breath, and let's get this over, alright?" Josh calmly refuted.
"There is no way that—" He began complaining once more.
"I thought Emsee said that you are reliable…." Josh clicked his tongue in displeasure.
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"F-fine! Show me how it's soloable then! You can be sure my ghost will haunt you once we both are dead!"
His mood had changed so quickly! Josh would remember to bring up Emsee often. It was akin to a magic chant that gave Bob courage.
Josh went toward the first golem and began to mine it with his exploding pickaxe happily.
In the background, Bob was rubbing his eyes in disbelief. What kind of overpowered skill allowed such damage power?! Also, what was this purple energy that enveloped the tool?! The weird part was that Josh wasn't doing anything special.
He was swinging and evading: there was no fancy footwork or needlessly showy skills at all. He was always in the right place at the right moment. Was this why Emsee had told him to treat the man as a VIP? He had a boundless future!
The more it went, and the more comfortable Bob became. He even actually began to do his job. He had to explain the different models of housing he could construct to Josh, who did not know any of it.
Hell, Bob even forgot that they were in the Tower, and about the whole Hellish thing. He was simply taking mental notes of the features that Josh wanted. When he heard about the school part, he brought up lots of new ideas.
Before he realized it, Josh had destroyed 30 golems. Wasn't the pace a bit too quick?! He had been dispatching the iron golems as if they had been made of paper! But that is when Bob received a brutal reminder that this wasn't over.
The entire realm began shaking. That is when rose the biggest, scariest, and the most despair-inducing monster he had ever seen! Just the creature's fist would be enough to flatten the both of them in one hit!
But it got worse. There was now a system message declaring that they had to defeat this Iron Giant to complete the mission. This was goddamn impossible! Bob understood at that moment that they were doomed.
That is when Josh's calm voice brought him out of his stupor: "Hurry up and get on the horse before it's too late. Have you never seen a Boss before?"
"T-this is no Boss. This is death itself! We're going to die and—" He was terrified.
"I thought Emsee said that you are reliable…." Just as Josh uttered this sentence, Bob went toward Nightmare and rode it to the pet's dissatisfaction.
Josh then turned toward his opponent. He would just repeat the previous round's strategy. It took so little effort to kill this Boss using the proper tactic that it was laughable.
That's when Bob saw something horrible from the corner of his eye. The Iron Giant's fist landed directly on Josh, creating a crater in the ground.
"Holy shit! This is crazy! He's dead, just like that. Sorry Emsee, but that friend of yours is gone, and so am I. Talk about a pitiful way to kick the bucket. At least he got squashed in a split second. He probably didn't suffer too much."
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This annoying guy monologuing on Nightmare's back irked it. The horse began neighing to tell him to shut up.
"You too must be sad about the death of your master and….wait! If you're still summoned, it means that he's still alive! How?!"
Bob looked everywhere, trying to find Josh while Nightmare evaded the Giant's attacks.
"Ah, he's on the monster's arm! When did he even get there?! This is amazing! But, this doesn't change our situation. There is no way we can defeat it."
But that is when a hit almost sent the mount and rider flying. Bob had barely recovered from it that he could discern a scene he would never forget. The titan raised its arm for some reason, bringing Josh right in front of its face.
He struck with his purple glowing pickaxe with all his strength. There was the loud sound of a collision CLANG along with the shattering of a small part of the monster's face CRACK! This was bound to cause lots of damage!
But what followed scared the living hell out of him. The entire creature seemed to crumble unto itself, soon merging with the ground. Josh had killed the invincible-looking Boss in one hit?! WTF! Who was this man?!
He was relaxedly walking toward him:
"What's up? You look like you've just seen a ghost. I guess you really are rusty from not Climbing for a while. This is what killing a Boss looks like." Josh's breathing didn't show any sign of exhaustion.
For a second, Bob froze. Was he so out of touch? No way! It was this man in front of him that was impossibly strong! "Killing a Boss is supposed to take a team and a steady barrage of skills!" He argued.
"Not really, that's only for beginners. Why bother with that when there are faster and easier solutions? That's just dumb." Josh scoffed.
He made it sound so simple, but was it? No way! Bob felt as if his whole life had been a lie. All he knew about Climbing turned out to be false. Still, he was glad it was over.
"Teleport out!" Bob murmured in relief, with Josh giving him a peculiar look.
"You know, it's not over. This was the easiest part."
"What?!" Bob seriously wondered if he would survive this day...
Creator's Thought
Bob was quite the specimen. He was what one would call a scaredy-cat. Just the mere mention of the term Hellish was enough to send shivers down his spine. Weird, right?! Well, one had to admire his professionalism. He had followed me in the Tower just to talk about our upcoming collaboration.
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