Chapter 378: An Old Acquaintance

Over the course of a day, an orc and a man cleared Floor 26 so many times! They kept doing it all until Josh finally managed to loot the full wraith set!

He now stared at it with the satisfaction of a job well done.

"Master, at this rate, we may as well open an exorcism agency, haha." The orc chuckled.

"Maybe. Who knows if there won't be ghostly beings coming out of one of these new Towers. Heck, there are even goblins roaming the world nowadays!" Josh replied, shrugging.

He carefully wore his armor set, and a few seconds later, he was...flying?! Actually, floating would have been more accurate. He was gliding a few meters in the air, obviously enjoying himself greatly.

"From now on, call me Super Josh! Badass, flies and doesn't wear his underwear above his pants!" He called out heroically.

"Oh! Is that from the armor, master?!" The orc excitingly clapped.

"Yep, it barely takes any mana if I stay near the ground, and there seems to be a height limit too. But it's pretty damn neat! Oh yeah, it also comes with a drain ability." That's when Josh suddenly sized up the orc.

"M-master?" The green warrior unconsciously tensed slightly. What was up with the way he was gazing at him?! It was so intense!

"Hey, how about you help me test its effect?" Josh mischievously proposed.

There was no way that any sane person would agree to such a ludicrous request! This attack was so damn painful just with the wraiths. Who knew how bad it would be if Josh were the one using it!

But orcs weren't sane, not by human standards anyway...

"Go on, master! My body is ready!" He loudly gulped as he began to undress, showing his well-defined green abs.

"Alright, be ready. I feel like it might hurt a bit at first." Josh warned.

"No need to be gentle. I can take it!" He showed incredible resolve!

Josh waved his hand, and a ray of dark energy flew toward the orc. He flinched a bit as he felt the cold touch on his body but didn't make a peep.

A wave of energy was suddenly transmitted to Josh. It felt so damn good! He could feel his entire body being revitalized! It was as if he was splashing in a fountain of youth.

As for the orc, he was grinding his teeth as he endured the pain as everything was slowly sucked out of him! Both his mana and HP were getting transferred to Josh. Still, it was a very slow process.

Josh stopped the magic with a sigh. He was already missing that sweet, lively sensation. Offensive-wise, this magic was trash-tier! But it opened incredible sustain opportunities, especially paired with his gluttony bloodline!

If he ever ran out of food, he'd be able to drain his enemies and bite them!— as long as they were living beings, of course.

"Thanks for helping."

"No problem, master! We can even keep going if you want! Orc warriors are extremely sturdy!" The orc had a strange glint in his eyes.

Did he see this as proof of loyalty? Either way, there was no need to remain here longer than necessary. "System, teleport us out!" He ordered.

The orc by the side shivered in excitement. Every time he saw his master order the system around, he felt his blood pump a little faster. He had low-key tried to do it a few times but without any result.

He gave one last look at this realm as their bodies were teleported outside. He couldn't help but chuckle as the expected shout resounded.

"W-what is that?!"

"Monster! Monster!"

"Why is this orc half naked?!"

Many climbers were already freaking out. But for every group losing their shit, there were a few that recognized him. After all, he was VERY memorable.

"Oh! That Josh guy is back!"

"Every time I see this orc, I'm like DAMN!"

"I know, right! Look at how big those fangs are!"

"Please, gurl, we all know that you ain't looking up there."

Laughter echoed as anyone government-related just played dumb. Annoy a guy that hung out with Markus? How about no! But Josh didn't plan on staying here for too long. He looked at his partner sternly.

"Remember how you had so much trouble in the previous floor against the Blattagriff swarms?"

"Of course. They were really tricky to hit...." The orc replied, his head hung low.

"Cool, the first step of improving is to realize your shortcomings. Now, are you ready to have fun? I'll bring you to my place to train." The way Josh said it would have scared shitless anyone sane...

"YES, MASTER!" The orc replied with such gusto that he made the entire plaza tremble as the Climbers jumped in shock. What the heck was that?!

"Great! Follow me!" Josh slowly began roaming the streets, trying his luck.

The orc couldn't understand what his master was doing, but he followed nevertheless. Just as the man showed disappointment and was ready to give up, his eyes suddenly lit up with such incredible joy.

"Nice! This has to be fate!" He happily exclaimed, leading the way toward the yellow taxi.

The orc had seen plenty of orange ones so far. Was there anything special about this one? Seeing how eager his master was to board, there had to be a secret, right?!

As soon as the driver saw them, he aligned near them, lowering a window.

"Say, kind sir, would you like a lift? I've got snacks, a HUB, and very comfortable seats."

"Of course!" Josh replied so enthusiastically.

He looked even more glad than if he were boarding a royal carriage. The man hadn't seemed that excited even when Markus himself had come over to guide him! Who the hell was this driver?!

They made their way inside as Josh made the introduction:

"This is Armin, the best goddamn taxi driver ever. He's a living legend as the only man with a proper yellow taxi! As for this green fellow, he's my new companion. One day he's gonna become the true orc king!"

"I'm glad to see you again! Also, it's a pleasure to meet you! Any friend of Josh is a friend of mine!" The kind-looking man replied without missing a beat.

The orc couldn't help but raise a brow. This guy looked so damn casual! Humans always glanced at his hulking green physique with apprehension, curiosity, or even excitement. But this guy? No freaking reaction!

Hell, he would have probably reacted the same if Josh had brought a world-ending calamitous abomination with him! He was that chill! How was he remaining so calm?! This guy had to have a story!

"Where shall we head to, friend?"

"D-23! You can stay for a bit and visit. This guy here will be training anyway, so we'll have some time to catch up." Josh happily proposed.

"Oh! That seems nice! Alright, let me clear out my schedule for the day!" Armin quickly dialed a few numbers, repeating the same message to all: "Hey, I won't be able to do the job today. Take care!"

On the call, they could hear faint angry voices. There were general Climbers, powerful guild members, and even one S rank guild leader getting thrown on the side like used chiffon! What the hell?!

Neither Josh nor Armin seemed to care about such a small detail either.

So what if a few guilds were annoyed? The world didn't revolve around them! They could always reschedule with another taxi. It just wouldn't be one armed to the teeth with state-of-the-art technology.

"Anyway, what have you been up to lately?" Armin excitingly inquired.

That's when Josh began recounting a few stories. Any one of his recent adventures would have been enough to baffle any Ranker— or that's how it should have been! Armin was just in front, nodding with rapt interest.

"Oh, that's really cool!" He excitingly said.

Sure, he was excited. But wasn't that way too chill; of a reaction?! Josh had just fucking told them he had cursed a god and devoured part of its power! What the fuck was this?!

Even the orc that was getting used to his master's world-defying nature was about to go insane...yet this Armin guy took it as if normal?! What kind of madness was this?! Before the flabbergasted orc knew it, they were already at their destination.

It was easy to notice as they were swarmed by tons of students working to pay off part of their tuition and MTA soldiers! They were all defending the perimeter! What kind of crazy security was this?!

"Master, who are they?" The orc asked, perplexed.

"Oh, they're all my students. I told you that I own a school, right?" Josh casually replied.

His master had his own private army?! Then why the fuck was he always going around alone then?! What kind of logic was this?!

As a worrying number of blasters were pointed their way, even the proud and valiant orc felt the tension. He had seen the prowess of these little metallic canisters on the Internet. If they were all to shoot at them, they'd perish for sure!

Dying in battle was honorable, but not if it meant getting one-shot recklessly killed by their own men! How silly would such an ending be?! But even now, the Armin guy was still fucking smiling! How?!

"Wow! That's a lot of blasters! Those are almost the latest models too. Well, the other ones aren't yet available on the market, I guess." Armin appreciatively nodded.

"Oh yeah, but it does the job well, haha." Josh chuckled.

What kind of taxi driver had access to black technology?! What kind of hidden big boss was he?! This was one human the orc couldn't figure out at all! Also, why wasn't his master speaking up.

"There is no flying past this point! Either turn back, or we WILL shoot you down!" One angrily shouted. But suddenly, he was nudged in the side by one of his companions, who was slightly livid.

"What is it?" He grumbled.

"T-that's Boss's favorite taxi! W-what if he's inside?!" He replied, seemingly scared.

"What if he isn't?! Can we afford to slight him even if it's just that Armin guy? No way! I've seen him once and—" They began to whisper the rest.

Even they had heard about that Armin guy?! Who the heck was he for them to be so afraid?! The orc felt that this scene was so damn surreal! He'd have to get to the bottom of this story for sure!

That's when Josh rolled down a window, gently waving at them.

"Sup guys!"

It's at this exact moment that they lost their shit. Seeing them looking at Josh in worship, the orc felt at a loss. He had so many questions...