Classless Ascension

On the slightly uneven plain, two individuals were running at a quick pace. Anyone sane would have been screaming at them to turn back, for they were heading straight toward a bloodthirsty army!

It took Josh and the husky girl about an hour of running before they found the monkey army. As it marched forward, it caused a resounding rhythmical thumping. There was even a tiny dust cloud rising in their wake.

Josh could see their levels from a distance: between 25-35 for the monkeys. As for the small worms sprinkled around their formation, they were level 49. It seemed as if worm rider was a position reserved for their elites.  This army would easily be able to crush the dogs!

The husky girl approached him. "What's the plan, Master? How do we kill them?"

"Kill? How violent! No, we won't needlessly kill them. We will start with a peace offer instead." Josh replied.

She became deathly still, trying to figure out if he was joking. "S-seriously?!" She stammered. After all, she had seen him decapitate a traitorous dog. When did he have a change of heart?!

"Don't you know? I am a pacifist at heart. Of course I will try to avoid needless conflicts if possible." After saying this, Josh walked toward the army with his arms above his head, even hollering at them.

* Dog girl '”> Hold X to doubt. *

But even if she was extremely confused by this turn of events, she still trusted him. She remained still and watched what would happen.

It seemed the monkeys understood this universal peace gesture as they sent a representative. This monkey was the size of a human, wearing a black turtleneck-looking suit and held a sharp spear. He came over oozing with so much arrogance!

< Monkey D. Junior Lv 30 >

"What is this? Two little lost doggies! What could have brought such pitiful creatures here, I wonder." The monkey sneered as he looked at them condescendingly.

But, Josh remained surprisingly calm. He looked as tranquil as a wise monk in an ancient monastery on a mountain, one that was probably too stoned to care.

"Hey there! I'm Josh, the one representing the dog clans. Let's discuss the future of our two races. I would very much like to avoid a war." Even his tone was pleasant!

"Pfft'” Hahaha! This is so funny! You guys are nothing more than dumb naked animals. There is no future for your race other than to be domesticated by a stronger race." The monkey guffawed as if he had heard the funniest joke.

The husky girl nearby evidently was resisting the urge to attack the insolent bastard. She seemed to be wondering why Josh was even bothering with this charade and hoping for them to attack soon.

Her Master had, in fact, already realized that negotiations with this one particular monkey wouldn't work. He was too arrogant and clearly lacked insight. Had he been wiser, Josh's steadiness and confidence would have rung alarm bells in his head.

Josh produced a pristine bone and offered it to the monkey.

"Bring this to your leader. This is a small token of my sincerity: it could be used to craft powerful equipment. Tell him that I wish to speak about terms of surrender."

"HAHAHA!"

The monkey didn't even bother to conceal his disdain for this bribery attempt. Still, he picked it up and returned to the monkey army. He did so while laughing like a madman and holding his sides.

Josh relaxedly waited as his companion looked at him, confused.

"Master, why talk about surrendering? There is no way we will, right?" She asked in a small voice.

"What? We are obviously going to be discussing the terms of THEIR surrender. how could you misunderstand this?" Josh asked her, puzzled.

"Ah, right! I'm sorry!" She looked embarrassed. But even then, she still seemed full of questions.

"What is it?" Josh patiently asked.

"Master is powerful enough to kill them all. Why not just do this?" She said as she pointed to her backpack.

"Killing is not always the best solution. It would be a waste of a life, don't you think?"

"?!"

"We should instead use them as a free labor source. We can also start cultural exchanges with their home nation if they turn out to be important players in the rest of the world. Do you understand now?" Josh was akin to a wise teacher.

"Yes, Master! Thank you for clearing my doubts!" For some reason, she was showing an evil grin as she said that. Still, she was a good student.

Josh softly rubbed her head as her expression turned to bliss. This didn't stop him from observing the monkey representative, and he was currently relaying the message to their leader.

The top monkey wore a flashy red cape that distinguished him from the rest. Josh activated his sight-enhancing ability and drove mana to his eyes until he could see their leader's lips. He went:

"There is no need to negotiate with the mutts. All of them will be chained in a few hours, begging us for scrap. This one is especially dumb! Trying to bribe us with bones! Hahaha. What a joke!"

What a small-minded individual! He couldn't even be bothered to sit down with them for fake negotiations. How he would regret it! Josh sighed:

"It seems there won't be any discussion. guess we'll need to use it after all."

That is when the husky girl placed her huge backpack on the ground. She then happily removed the top, revealing its content. Inside was something nightmarish: it was filled to the brim with speedy scalies!

They were all tied up with webs, unable to move an inch, and looked like white balls. Josh slowly removed the bindings around one and held the monster very carefully. It looked resentfully at him and even sent a sliver of killing intent his way.

Josh instantly slapped it violently! After a few powerful slaps, the lizard finally realized what was happening: Killing intent = Get slapped like a bitch. It began acting meek every time it looked at him.

That's when Josh pointed to the monkeys in the distance, gesturing the creature to eat them. It tentatively sent killing intent their way with Josh smiling. It then understood the importance of picking the right target!

It was time for the real event! Josh positioned himself akin to a pro baseball pitcher, aimed carefully, and threw the raptor with all his strength. He then watched it draw a very nice-looking parabola in the air before landing right amidst the enemy army.

What happened next was worthy of a horror movie. As soon as the creature landed, it happily went on a rampage. This proud predator had never felt so helpless and hungry, and it was resolving both of these conditions using the poor monkeys.

It jumped from one to another with so much speed that it looked like a blur. With every passing second, there were dozens of monkeys dying an atrocious death. There were tons of screams, so much panic, and blood flowing everywhere!

It was the first time the monkeys were facing such a creature. They had no clue what it even was. In their eyes, it was death incarnate. But even then, they fought back. After about 100 deaths, they finally managed to get rid of it.

So many of them collapsed, completely exhausted. Well, it was mostly a mental problem. The fear of death had been mixing so strongly with the fear of the unknown after all. The ones that hadn't collapsed were shaking, and many were panting.

They had survived! But then one of them pointed at Josh. That is when relief about their survival turned into anger. They had finally understood that he was the mastermind behind the incident.

Sadly for them, that sentiment of control was short-lived. He slowly took out another speedy scaly and threw it in the exact same way. Instantly their expressions turned extremely dark, but they kept their cool. They knew what to do now!

Except, this was but the beginning. They could soon notice Josh getting another doom-level lizard and throwing it at them. This was so unjust! Why the hell wasn't the creatures turning against the one that had captured them in the first place?!

That's when their leader gave them an order, and the worm cavalry charged straight at his location. This was such a grave mistake! Josh couldn't believe how dumb that guy was. He should have been begging him for mercy instead!

Josh turned toward the backpack once more. Inside there still remained seven more lizards. Honestly, that dog girl would have been a pro Tetris player back on Earth. She knew how to stack 'em! That's when he began throwing them left and right.

He watched approvingly, with the satisfaction of a job well done. He had even given the enemy a chance to surrender, talk about great ethics! He was just missing popcorn. Hearing his stomach rumble, the husky girl came to the rescue!

"Master, would you like some meat? I've grabbed some at the camp."

She thoughtfully offered him. How nice! As he munched on the dried goodness, he couldn't help but think that she wasn't that bad to have around after all. Perhaps he could try and get himself a good assistant once he came back to the real world. Yes, that would be nice.

That is how the two of them enjoyed the spectacle relaxedly. It was quite poetic: monkeys calling others "animals" getting eaten by a monster that couldn't even talk. Ah, life sure was fun!

Josh would soon be enjoying it a whole lot more too....