Classless Ascension

A man slowly walked inside the orc fortress, stepping on blood, entrails, and severed limbs alike.

The ground wet with gore didn't bother Josh in the least. This, in fact, was a scene he was totally used to. He even had a large grin as he nodded to the scene of the carnage satisfied.

Many orcs were running all over the place, trying to make sense of the situation. That's when they saw him. To them, he was as reassuring as a dinosaur-shaped fluorescent sticker to a child lost in darkness.

"S-shaman! The big cats attacked, how?!"

"Shaman, they went toward the king's lair!"

"Shaman, please save us! Banish the enemies!"

Shaman this, shaman that. How old were those orcs?

In any case, what was he supposed to do right now? At this moment, he had to play the odds with the creatures' lives. Which would be stronger?

- Two very hangry black panthers?

- One OP orc king that can totally use magic?

The problem was that Josh hadn't fought any of them directly— because he didn't wish to die.

All contestants were definitely powerful. It all boiled down to: would the advantage in number overcome the gear and skills of the humanoid?

Then again, there was always a very heartless method to keep the panthers busy in case of an emergency. Luckily, the poor Nightmare didn't know what its master was thinking, or it would have probably gone crazy.

Josh cleared his throat and addressed them all!

"All of you! Fear not, for I have the solution." He reassured them.

He grabbed a few orc bones that were just sticking out in the open before circulating purple mana in it, making the entire process look quite mystifying.

"Alright, the seal must be broken. All of you take these bones and place them to replace the ones that were broken!" He ordered.

"S-shaman, wasn't your magic red?!" One orc frowned deeply.

"Someone kill that dumbass for me! It's purple when it's a temporary fix. Stop thinking, and fucking go before it's too late. I'll be helping the king in the meantime." Josh instructed. (They did kill the dissident.)

Josh quickly headed back to the king's lair as the orc army left.

He searched for the trapdoor but didn't find any. Instead, there was a massive and gaping hole. He didn't hesitate and jumped downward, already hearing echoes of a fight. As for the corridor, it was as demolished as a lying vixen claiming it was "her first time".

Those panthers were really violent. He made sure not to picture what would happen to Nightmare if caught by them…

Then he finally saw the thrown room. Actually, he arrived just in time to witness the orc king being violently thrown onto his own throne.

— CRASH! —

— CRUSH! —

The collision was so brutal that the skulls were instantly turned into dust. Yet his body was now entirely glowing red, as mystical runes flashed, enveloping his entire body with a magical armor.

Josh couldn't help but gulp at this scene:

1. He would have to evade the flying fighters for sure. So much force would 100% kill him!

2. This armor was so goddamn insane! How was he supposed to even pierce through it?

3. What a fucking waste! How much bone meal could have been made with that many bones!

Anyone else would have been running for their lives, but Josh stayed nearby, sometimes even avoiding a flying orc or a flying panther.

This whole thing reminded him of a superhero movie. Why? Because they were as good to inflict collateral damage! There were now craters all over the place, even the walls, and ceiling.

At this rate, it was only a question of time before the entire underground collapsed, the fortress above crushing them.

That's when sonorous laughter resounded:

"Hahaha, here you are! The scheming human is back! Just in time for the barbecue! How do you like grilled panthers?"

"Tch— as much as I enjoy dark meat, I'll have to decline. Now is not a good time to become nauseous." Josh chuckled.

— ROAR!—

— ROAR! —

It seemed like the panthers didn't take kindly to their opponent, ignoring them. But then they noticed where the orc king's eyes were wandering.

They saw Josh and growled at him with malice in their eyes. Wasn't this the guy that had helped the "juicy" looking black creature escape earlier?!

But even then, they returned to fighting the orc king. This green giant had tried or killed their prey! They weren't sure what had happened, but this was unforgivable! After all, while the human was irksome, at least he had just delayed them.

Yet the orc king kept laughing, not a care in the world.

"Hahahaha, the big cats are mad!"

The panthers pounced at him, and he swung his hammer, sending one flying only for the other to collide with him. Sadly for the big cat, the orc's barrier protected it from the fangs and claws.

It was a combat of tanks, with all being more powerful than bulldozers and as agile as cats— for some literally.

— BAM! —

— THUD! —

— ROAR! —

"Hahahaha, try harder, little cats. We can do this all day, and everything will be fine!" The orc king was in high spirits.

The more the combat progressed and the more signs of exhaustion the fighters began to show.

The orc king's barrier was very slowly becoming dimmer. It was as if a 600-watt taxi light was now at 587 watts. It wasn't much, but it was something, right? It still felt so full of power.

But the big cats were actually in a worse situation. Their fur was showing signs of being bloody. It was all superficial wounds so far, but the damage was accumulating. After all, the orc's hammer seemed almost as heavy as "your mom".

At this rate, the panther barbecue would happen, and he would be fucked!

What could he do? He knew that he didn't have the strength to directly contest in such a fight. What about indirectly? As he kept observing the clash, he suddenly noticed something.

The orc king's barrier seemed weaker on one side. But that's when he realized that there was a tiny chip in the orc's armor there.

Wait…was this barrier 100% because of the armor?!

Josh produced the most strident whistle that he could muster. The cats instantly turned his way, displeased. But they couldn't help but be perplexed as they were confronted with the human gesticulating like crazy.

What the hell?!

Had he suddenly gone crazy?… Almost. He was trying to communicate an idea with the creatures. Also, it turns out that playing a miming game with a cat wasn't the easiest thing.

But after a solid 13 seconds of effort, they seemingly understood. They charged at their nemesis once more, but this time was different. Instead of hitting the orc's vitals, as per their instinct, they targeted the clunky metallic armor.

— CLANG! —

As an armor piece flew away, the barrier seemed to become weaker all of a sudden. The cats cheered and went on the assault again, targeting the equipment again.

— CLANG! —

— CLANG! —

— CLANG! —

Josh looked at this happen with pride. He could now add big cat military advisor on his resume. Whether people would believe it was an entirely different issue.

A gauntlet just happened to fly right past his head, landing a little distance away. He quickly scurried over to it, happily examining it. It seemed like regular armor, besides the fact that there were patterns inscribed inside.

But as he touched it, the same red glowing barrier protected the item. It seemed like removing the gauntlet hadn't removed its power at all. It was just too far for the orc to use it efficiently.

Josh relaxed as he enjoyed the show.

— CLANG! —

— SMACk! —

— CLANG! —

— SMACk! —

— CLANG! —

The panthers would remove the armor, and the orc would slam his big hammer right into their ass. Talk about a kinky fight. Soon the orc would be left standing naked.

He rejoiced as he could already picture victory. Hopefully, he wouldn't be wrong.

Then it reached the point where the orc didn't have a single piece of armor on him. That's when a claw finally pierced through the little remaining defense he still had. It pierced his flesh and drew blood! — a few droplets only, but still.

"Hehehe, how far you've fallen, orc king. Do you bleed? The answer is yes, it seems." Josh couldn't help but taunt.

But just as he was happily enjoying himself, he saw the enemy smirk. This smirk was very deep and allowed him to see the king's fangs. That's when Josh understood that the orc was about to use his trump card!

What would happen?!

The orc suddenly began glowing red as tendrils of red energy seemed to come outward from the armor, connecting with his body. That's when the equipment began to quiver with energy as if about to move.

Josh wasn't sure how but he instantly understood what this was: he was recalling the fallen armor pieces! Oh crap, this guy was stealing that move from the Man of Iron!

Josh tried to hold the gauntlet down, but he realized that it would soon fly out of his grasp and return to its true owner. It was too resistant for him to sabotage it, either. But just as he was wondering what to do, he suddenly smelled the scent of strawberry.

What did this have to do with anything? It was freaking coming from the gauntlet! What?! How was this possible?! Then again…who the fuck cared!

The orc king was laughing on the side, having a blast. They had worked so hard and taken damage to remove his armor pieces. Yet, he would simply recall them. How would they react when they realized that all their efforts had been in vain?

He couldn't wait to see the despair on their faces! It would be so much fun! But suddenly, something strange happened. The nearby shaman-looking human abandoned his disguise, revealing his true appearance.

Then he quickly began…growing?! No, he was apparently inflating. What the hell was happening? His body, limbs, and head were just…big. How peculiar. The human looked his way, giving him a similar smirk.

"Big Chungus and Devouring Bloodline motherfucker!" The human playfully uttered.

Just as the orc king was trying to process the information, it saw the human open his mouth…and devour his gauntlet...

What the fuck?! For the first time in a long time, perhaps since its existence, the orc king felt confused. There was also a trace of a foreign emotion in there. What was it?

It was a bizarre one. It seemed to make his body shiver whenever he looked at the human. Especially the way he was now looking at him....greedily?!

At that moment, the orc king learned the meaning of fear…

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[A/N] Thanks to cbyrd_18 for the amazing gift! Golden Gachapon woot! 🔥💰 This is a great advertisement for the novel! Push it in everyone's face! Muhahahaha (World domination comes next)

Creator's Thought

This was the start of an eating rampage...great times. I still remember the shocked face of the orc king. It was so wonderful! He was feeling so confident only to suddenly realize that it wasn't as invincible as it previously thought.