Chapter 379: Back to D-23: Brother AT!
A commotion was happening at the D-23 school. Josh was finally back! How long had it been?! His last visit had been incognito after all.
The newer students especially jumped in excitement. That was the legendary guy on top of every damn challenge rankings?! They escorted their idol eagerly, following from a distance.
"Master, if their glares were any more intense, we'd all be dead already." The orc chuckled lowly.
But Josh's companions also shared the spotlight as many curious glances targetted them. Gone were the days when Armin was only an unknown taxi driver. As for the orc, many were sizing him up, confused.
"He's a pet, right?"
"No, way! Look at his eyes!"
"They're pretty normal? I guess they're fierce?"
"He's obviously smart! Pets aren't that intelligent!"
They weren't? Josh felt slightly confused as he heard that. Sure the rat was dumber than a brick, but Nightmare had always been good at following instructions— albeit sometimes reluctant. Was it because it had been a boss, perhaps?
That's when that recruiter Frank guy arrived.
As soon as he saw Josh, he power-walked toward him like a man encountering a warm strip joint during a cold winter. Oh, and he was about to make it rain too— reports, not money.
"Welcome back, Boss! Everything is in order, the numbers are great, there is only the issue of the VIP packages. The buyers are wondering when they'll get their private training with you." He explained.
"Sounds good. It will be whenever I have time. Anyway, these two are with me. Give them a VIP badge or something." Josh ordered.
"Yes, Boss! Also, there is a new challenge in the Alter Tower."
"Oh? I'll check it out then." Josh casually answered.
He would?! The students grinned happily. What kind of feat would he accomplish this time?! They couldn't wait to see his name appear on yet another ranking as if taunting them.
Frank led the way. Was had once been shitty walls with very few buildings almost looked like a proper town. Hell, there was even a cinema!
"Hehe, we built this place to introduce the newbies to the Alter Tower. There is only one movie playing in there: 10 000 ways to die in the Alter Tower!" frank chuckled.
"That sure is creative." Josh praised. "But what's with the PTSD warning?" He raised a brow as he looked at a poster advertising it.
"Oh, some people just can't stomach it for some reason. Something to do with remembering the many ways they died in the Tower all at once or something." Frank shrugged.
"Died?" The orc asked, puzzled.
"That's the whole thing with AT. It's similar to the regular Tower, but my brother's the system there. He doesn't kill people from our faction and just teleports them out." Josh explained.
"Brother?!" The orc was utterly confused.
"That's right. AT is very polite too!" Armin chimed in the back.
That's when they reached the Tower. It was still partially hidden in vegetation, even if the surrounding trees had been cleared out to accommodate more people.
"Is this it, master?"
"Here, we are. Have fun in there." Josh happily declared. He was akin to a new trainer dropping his monster at daycare for it to level up.
The orc nodded and went to enter with incredible resolve— only to be refused access. He turned crestfallen as he suddenly realized his pseudo-pet status and his inability to interact with the system.
"Oh well. Guess I'll have to go in there with you after all."
"Haha, don't worry about me, Josh, and just do your things. I'm just happy you invited me. I'm going to the cinema: it sounds hella fun!" Armin jovially replied in tourist mode.
"Frank, take good care of Armin while we do a short run," Josh instructed.
"Yes, Boss! You can count on me!" He sternly replied.
Josh went near and with but a thought they were in. The orc gawked all around as if a child left at a shopping mall alone for the first time. He was already eagerly gazing at the shops' display windows.
"Oh wow! Master, I've read about this! This is the humans' past from before technology's advent!" He had the pep or an archaeologist digging some very decrepit bones.
[Mission: Assassinate 7 Wild Influencers!]
[!!!...Josh?!]
[You're back!]
[Who's the green guy?!]
[You're even stronger than last time I saw you!]
[Oh right, I created a new challenge. You'll love it!]
AT rambled so much and with such speed that he reminded Josh of a puppy welcoming his best friend back after a long day of work.
"Of course, I will! You're a true artist after all!" Josh gave him a thumb up.
[Praises! I'm gonna blush! ^_^]
The orc was on the side with his mouth open in shock. What the heck was this?! Wasn't this a bit too much?! Why was this system so damn lively?!
"What are you waiting for? Go on and do the mission." Josh shooed his orc away as he went to sit at that one cafe he loved.
[Tell me everything!]
"So here's what happened recently—" Josh began his tale.
This would take a little while...
━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━
At first, the orc thought this mission would be straightforward. He knew about influencers. They were the DIY of the gravure idol world.
They were plagued by an incurable disease that prompted them to take pictures of themselves every other second. They also had trouble with focus: even when taking a beverage picture, the camera would aim at the boobs! How crazy!
The orc shivered just thinking of such horrifying sickness!
Still, thanks to it, they were extremely easy to track down. But the issue was taking them down! This Floor was so unique, and he had the faint feeling that he should conform himself to its rules or something horrible would happen.
For the first time in his life, the orc had to do something sneaky. He wasn't in his element at all! His hammer mastery? Freaking useless! But luckily, this previous orc king was smart, very smart.
He just needed to get them alone in a room to snap their chicken necks! This shouldn't be that hard, right? He needed to do research!
He precisely knew what to do!....
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Josh was lazily sipping on a chocolate lemonade.
"What's he doing now?"
[He just invaded the bookstore...]
"Anything wrong with that?"
[Now he's reading a book.]
[How to pick up chicks 101....]
"Ah, they grow up so fast. I still remember when he was exactly the same height as he is now, but a few days ago." Josh sighed.
[So you didn't see him grow...]
[Here, watch this!]
With a flash of purple, AT spawned a round TV screen that showed the orc's progress. Josh quickly got himself some strawberry-flavored popcorn, and they were good to go.
It was movie time!
━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━
This was so damn complicated!! This was so different than the instructional videos on courtship he had watched in the past!
According to his previous knowledge, humans were very horny beings that would easily follow strangers to a fake Taxi or voluntarily get stuck in a dryer just to have some fun. But the more he read, the more confused he got.
He had to compliment the human lady, but not about something she'd hear often.
But he couldn't compliment too much, or he'd become a SIMP (whatever that was, it seemed bad).
He had to be respectful and understanding of her circumstance.
But he also had to push forward without backing down.
He had to show strength but also show his weak side.
Weak side? Did the book mean his back? It was the spot he had the most trouble defending for sure. Or did it mean his vitals? After all, the head or heart was even weaker— kinda?!
This was so damn confusing!
It didn't help that he had trouble reading in peace. There was an annoying human harassing him! The little thing kept going on about how this wasn't a library or something.
Please! The little thing sure was cocky for one whose world was 100% fake!
But even in adversity, he would grit his teeth and keep persevering. That is how he finally mastered the art of picking up chicks! (Basic)
But then he disregarded it as he figured out a secret technique: flexing! This was the ultimate best. He would use their sickness against these influencers!
They would go, "Wow, so powerful-looking! Let me take a few selfies with you!"
He'd lure them in and would finish them off just like that!
That's how he finally accomplished the mission!
[Congratulation! Obtained Infinite Tower Ticket!]
[Your True Training Can Now Begin! ^_^v]
For him, this moment was significant as it was his first time completing a solo mission. As the golden-looking Training Tower ticket appeared, he grinned so damn much!
Understanding how it worked, he stepped into the elevator.
He was ready to show his prowess!
━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━
Outside, a crowd gathered around one of the leaderboards.
Some were drinking hot cocoa, others were munching on protein bars, some were even recording— but none of them blinked as they stared at the ranking.
It was so different compared to the others:
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Floor 6 Rounds Survived
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1. Unlucky Monk 8
2. Phoenix Dale 7
3. Gary (student) 6
4. Jarvis (student) 6
5. Megattron (Student) 6
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Ever since the Draconic members had left, more students appeared at the top of the rankings.
Then there was that mysterious Unlucky Monk. He had come out of nowhere, claiming to be Josh's follower, and had quickly climbed the rankings. But now, he was about to be dethroned as the number one.
They were all waiting for the moment Josh would appear on it. None wanted to miss this historic moment!
Little did they know that he wasn't even fighting. He was laughing his ass off as he watched the orc's struggles....
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[A/N] The Unlucky Monk. It's been a while since we've seen him, haha. What do you guys think happened to him? ^_^v