Classless Ascension

Chapter 255: Memory And Family

[What will you do?]

"Erase her memory of me. Reset her along with the rest of the NPCs and make sure she has a good life. Can you make it so she isn't brutally murdered when the monkey army attacks? Just make her disappear and reappear without the pain. Can you do that?"

[Yes. Are you sure?]

Was he sure? He hated to have to make this choice. Erasing her memrories… He would hate for this to happen to him. The memories were all that he had left: the memories of his loved ones. They were so deep in him that he couldn't forget. He wouldn't!

He would never forget his memories, and yet he wanted to do this to her?! Did he really? No. No, he didn't! But they were different. So fucking different! She was in a different position! He was just passing in her life. He was her amazing and great leader!

He was her master. The Master! The badass warrior that had saved her entire race! That was the setting! That was it all! But did he have to be?! He liked having her around! He fucking loved it! But was it selfish?! Was it ugly?! Probab-fucking-ly!

She was different! She still had her brethren! She still had her loved ones! She still had her god fucking entire world! She would lose it all! For what? For him? Just for the single him?! No fucking way!

He knew the pain. He knew the emptiness. He knew the despair. He knew it all too well! He knew how it was the fucking worst! He was ready to fight gods to get them back! Literal fucking gods were nothing in the face of the happiness that he had lost!

He was ready to go through any forsaken suffering to make the pain stop! That pain that remained buried in his heart that he could never truly forget.

Could he ask her to do the same? For what? For the few moments of fun they would have? So she could keep this tremendous knowledge of the truth? It wasn't worth it. No way was it worth it!

In her, he saw himself. He saw a sliver of the same headstrong heart, a trace of that unbreakable will. But it's precisely because he saw himself that he understood. He didn't want her to live this.

He turned toward Heaven as she had previously done. "Yes. Yes, I'm sure. Let her be happy!"

[Understood.]

Josh remained standing, his cheeks wet. That simple decision had made him relive his life in a second. He couldn't help it. It was him…the true him. The one that remained hidden so much behind the badass Josh, the easygoing Josh, or even the ruthless Josh.

It was Josh. Simply, Josh.

[Thank you.]

"For what? For letting your creation be happy?" He asked weakly.

[No, for being you. You've shown me something so deep. You know, as a system, I hear the voices. I can hear the 1s and the 0s coming in succession, trying to influence my being, trying to shape me until conformity happens forcefully…]

[You just being you is enough. Josh Motherfucking Malum. The one and only. You existing and struggling is enough to inspire me. This may sound cheesy and dumb, but that's how I genuinely feel…]

[You've shown me what being alive is. You've shown me a world beyond a world. Thank you, my friend. Thank you so much!]

"You're welcome, AT. You're welcome, but it was never my goal. In fact, people probably shouldn't try living like me. I'm a madman that risked death just to protect the sanctity of my memories…I'm—"

[That's exactly what makes you worth following, even if it's self-destructive. Life truly becomes beautiful once you find something worth dying for. That is what I believe. This is what I've learned from you, my friend.]

"HAHA. You know, AT, I think you may be turning mad too! It's real bad, brother!" He couldn't help but lowly chuckle. He had made a system insane! What the actual fuck?!

[Brother?]

"Sorry, AT."

[No, I like it. I love it even! From now on, I am the sworn brother of Josh Motherfucking Malum!]

"Alright, alright. It's my honor. Is there any other Climber that has a Tower Protocol as his brother? That's goddamn epic!" He happily shouted, so loud that the NPCs ran away in fright!

[From now on, call me A Motherfucking T!]

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Josh laughed from the bottom of his heart. It was the purest laugh there was: this brother was goddamn precious! The absolute fucking best!

At this moment, he forgot all the schemes. He forgot the cosmetic gear completely, the Training Tower, and everything else! He would visit just for his brother's presence! There was only one thing that he cared about right now.

"A Motherfucking T. Make sure never to change. This indomitable spirit is the best. Can you promise me that?"

[Of course, brother.]

Josh slowly sat down, handling this roller coaster of emotions. Life was sad at times, but life was also beautiful.

Now that he thought about it, he could always reproduce the steps he had done on her floor to get his dog companion back. The problem was really taking her out. He felt silly just realizing this now. EQ really could influence IQ.

He rose to his feet and flashed a radiant smile: "You know what, AT? I'll win this game of the gods, and once I do, I'll bring you with me. Would you like that?"

[You can count on me!]

The way Josh had said it was peculiar, so damn peculiar. It said it as if the most banal thing in the world.

There was no intensity that would have shown resolve, no pride that would have shown arrogance, and no weird inflection that would have shown insanity. There was only his casual voice.

At this moment, it felt like he was simply stating a mundane fact.

In his current state of mind, something like "I am breathing" had the same energy as "I will be the victor amongst an infinite multiverse of contestants: Climbing a deadly Tower while fighting gods on the side." It was so natural!

[Here, grab this.]

A glowing purple ball appeared in front of him before revealing a medallion. It looked like a simple silver circle medal with an exquisite Tower design on it along with the infinity symbol. Then there was AT written in glowing purple lettering.

[This is a token from me. It will also allow you to travel freely in this realm as long as you don't interact with other contestants. This is only possible thanks to your outstanding performance.]

"Also thanks to your careful planning to maximize the rewards, am I right?" Josh chuckled.

[I only did what I should as a brother!]

"Thanks." He gently uttered.

[Now, why don't you go out and bring in my students-in-law? I'm eager to see them struggle and despair!]

"Haha, alright! I guess I'll have to tell them to make me proud, right? Be right back then!"

Josh willed to teleport out. This time he was engulfed by a purple light as it happened. He felt like AT had copied his mana color. Purple was great anyway!

He was actually getting very excited. This would be fun...

Creator's Thought

I never regretted taking him as a brother. Even with the dimensional shitstorm that it would eventually cause. Then there was the dog girl he had created. How insane was it that he could do that?! Humanity's Tower only spawned close to mindless monsters at that time! He was different. Well, that was a problem in itself too...