Chapter 132: Meeting Zebra?!

"Oh, I just wanted to leave the blockade without getting stopped." Josh shrugged. 

"You chose to do it in such a flashy way?!" 

"Pretty effective, don't you think?" Josh smiled. 

"This is so goddamn crazy! Then, you didn't lose any party members in the Tower?"

"Nope, I was soloing. It's easier like that. Plus, it gives better rewards."

"It does?! It's the first time I hear that!" He seemed mind-blown. 

"Eh, you gotta be the first one to clear it solo, for that. But since no one really bothers trying…."

"Holy shit, that's insane! Wait, why would you think you'd be stopped in the first place? The people out there are looking for Climbers clearing Hellish difficulty. No way that's Soloable!" 

"About that…." 

"No…..No!" He slowly realized what Josh implied. 

Josh simply shrugged as the man glared at the mass of zombie skin in the corner. Was he trying to develop an X-ray vision from his sheer will? 

"What's in that bag?!" 

"Just some gear. I felt bad leaving it behind. Alright, time to test it." 

Josh went and grabbed a set of the Ghoul King armor. When the man saw it, he couldn't help but gulp loudly. He seemed afraid to even blink as he stared at the white leather-looking set. 

Josh wore it before slightly cutting his palm. Under the amazed eyes of his spectator, Josh's palm began healing at a visible rate. It only took a few seconds. 

Then, he tried it again, but this time while chewing on some burgers Jayce had brought. This time around, the healing was instantaneous.

Josh couldn't help but frown before cutting his arms way deeper and trying again. It took a few seconds to heal once more. Satisfied, Josh repeated the same process but this time he activated the set's ability. 

He could feel his mana being consumed. It was working! Then he tested the healing it provided as he ate. But, somehow, it wasn't any faster. That's when he came to a realization. This set was useless! 

Well, for a normal individual, it could be very useful. The food poisoning resistance would be great for everyday life when tasting new dishes made with magical ingredients. Then the healing could be nice too. 

But Josh sadly already possessed all these abilities. On the side, Jayce was watching all of it happen with his mouth opened wide. He wasn't sure what the self-mutilation was about, but he couldn't help but be impressed by that healing ability! 

"Want to try?" Josh playfully offered. 

"Try what?" He seemed puzzled. 

"Here." Josh threw him a whole set. 

He came to the realization. He understood that he had to wear it. Then as he did, he exclaimed loudly: 

"This is insane! Item set bonus?! There is such a thing?!" He was looking at the equipment in wonder. 

"Yep, try it." 

Josh observed as the man cut himself slightly before healing when he began eating. Ah, but the regeneration seemed actually a notch slower than in Josh's case. Conclusion: this set truly was useless to him. 

"This is so damn cool! But I need to know. How?! Hellish is close to impossible with a team already!" He showed extreme curiosity. 

"It's not that hard, really. Many are extremely similar to their normal and hard counterparts, but just harder. You simply need to have a good strategy." 

"What Floor is this from?" 

"Floor 16. From the White Ghoul King."

"Wait, isn't that one impossible to clear without a team?! It requires three individuals at least!" He was flabbergasted. 

"Nope, you just have to find a way to stop the Boss from eating. Blocking its mouth with anything sturdy works wonder. It works with anvils easily, but it gets pretty expensive."

That's when Jayce seemed to gather his courage before asking in a resolute tone.

"Are you in Dimensional Legion? They are the only ones I know that could accomplish such a thing. I've already signed the contract. I don't mind other restrictive spells, either. I'm just curious." 

Josh had a relatively good impression of the young man. He was the kind that was relatively compassionate to others but wasn't unreasonable either. 

"The Dimensional Legion? It's fake." Josh dropped that bomb. 

"What do you mean it's fake?!"

"It was said as a joke," Josh admitted. 

"How can you be sure?…. Oh my god!" 

Josh simply remained silent, smiling. He then proceeded to grab some ice cream and blissfully began eating. 

"You're telling me you know these four legendary warriors?!" 

Legendary warriors? What kind of thing was that?

"The Devil's Apostle, The Samurai, Tiger, and finally the legendary Zebra!"

He took Josh's silence for an agreement.

"Wait. Are you one of them?! Floor 16... Does that mean you're either Tiger or Zebra?! Am I dreaming?" 

He was so shocked that he had somehow cut himself with a ghoul claw (poisonless version) and was bleeding all over. 

"Not sure about dreaming, but you're bleeding." Josh chuckled. 

That's when he came back to his senses and ate a bite, healing. Then, threw himself on the ground, kneeling. He seemed extremely driven. 

"I want to join Dimensional Legion! Please allow me to! I'll do my best to…." 

"I already told you it's fake." Josh reiterated. 

"It doesn't matter! Even if it's fake! That strength is impressive nonetheless. I don't care if there is no real guild behind it. I'm just trying to learn about the Tower!" He was almost doing puppy eyes. 

Well, he sure was motivated. Josh felt like some hidden expert. The kind that people would go on a journey to ask wisdom of. Then again, they were in the sewers right now. It did fit. He grinned as he looked at Jayce right in the eyes. 

"What can you offer?" Josh slowly asked. 

"That….I can offer my services and those of my followers." He offered. 

"Oh? You have followers. How many?" Josh was genuinely curious. 

"Only about a dozen, but they are extremely hard working and diligent." He felt like he was making a deal with some bigshot. 

"You would gladly offer them as a sacrifice?" Josh questioned. 

"No way! We can work for you but we won't become anyone's slaves!"

His body was extremely straight as he said that. In his clear green eyes, Josh could see an unyielding spirit. He wouldn't compromise on that point no matter what. 

"Fine. I can teach you. I hope you will not make me regret this choice." He slowly uttered

The most innocent and bright smile ever blossomed on Jayce's face. Chances were it would remain there for a while. 

"Alright, before that. Let's sell this junk, shall we?" Josh pointed at the item set. 

"Junk?!" The equipment that he considered a treasure was junk?! 

Josh accessed the Draconic Chat: 

- Josh MF Malum: Hey all! I'm selling the White Ghoul item set! E+ Rank! The three pieces effect prevents food poisoning (4x owned) while the seven pieces effect heals by eating food (2x), all from Floor 16. Serious offers only! 

- Dragon Daddy: This seems cool! But it doesn't beat dragons. Do you know how amazing dragons are — (It kept going) 

Josh was really about to block this guy. He would always write novels in the chat about dragons and ignore the topic at hand. 

- Emsee Hammer: I'll take them all! Tell me where to meet for the trade! 

- Lucas the Lancer: Don't be fooled, Josh! He just wants to sell them and make a profit! 

- Josh MF Malum: I'm getting 95% of the total sales, and we have a deal. Meet in the sewers. 

- Emsee Hammer: Gotcha, on my way! 

- Lucas the Lancer: (╥﹏╥) Why must you hurt me so? I'm not as rich!

-Josh MF Malum: Then don't buy….

He then happily went back to his new follower (kind of). 

"Now, you want to learn about the Tower, right? First, most of the information available about it is BS. That's because it keeps evolving, as you know." Josh explained. 

"Yes! How should one Climb then?" He was showing an ardent desire to learn. 

"You can analyze the strategy of others all you want but you need to come up with your own. That is the mark of a successful Climber, his ability to adapt to anything." Josh then pointed at the man's raised hand for a question. 

"What would you give as advice to someone having a default Class instead of a divine one like you guys?" He asked earnestly. 

"Like us guys? HAHAHA. What do you think my Class is?" Josh couldn't help but laugh. 

"The legendary Divine Knight, right? That is how you can Solo Hellish difficulty, right?" 

"I'm Classless. Is that legendary enough?" Josh pointed at himself nonchalantly. 

"WHAT?! This is impossible?!" Jayce seemed to begin to question life itself. 

That is when came a knocking sound. Josh ordered the robot to open the door, and a man entered. He was wearing a leather coat with leather jeans and also huge black shades. That was Emsee Hammer. 

"There you are, Josh. It was a pain coming here from Draconic. These guys are everywhere. Oh yeah, I saw a video of you coming out of the Tower. I can't believe they let you pass through HAHAHA. Don't worry, I'll get great prices for all that gear. I'll work for hard my 5% commission!"

Jayce couldn't help but freeze. He knew that this guy was one of Draconic's elites. How the Hell was Dimensional Legion fake when it could call S-Rankers to sell its loot?! Was there anything more extravagant than this?! 

"Hehe, I'm like Santa, you know. Red, a huge sack of goodies and magical." Josh winked at him. 

"HAHA, That's enough to cheer me up!" He guffawed. 

"You can grab the entire bag. But you know, now that I think about it...Should we play a little prank on all these stalkers above?" Josh looked mischievous. 

Play a little prank? Only Zebra would act like this! Instead of running, he was already planning on counter-attacking.  All this was an amazing level of crazy. What would happen to the ones hunting Dimensional Legion?

Jayce began praying for their safety...

Creator's Thought

Sometimes life is strange. For me, he was but a passing figure. But then we met and somehow I decided to start teaching him on a whim. Neither he nor I knew how much this would affect both our future. Sometimes I wonder if fate is real or if it is just us humans deluding ourselves in seeing order in the chaos.