[Choose one: Fight as a group | fight alone]

In front of Josh appeared a floating blue translucent panel, very similar to the one you’d expect in games. On it were the two options, group on the left and solo on the right.

Josh observed the five individuals. They seemed uncertain about the situation, taking a moment to consider their options. Well, all but the young man that instantly picked the solo option. After a little while, they had all chosen. The little girl was the only one waving her fingers clicking the left side.

It seemed these 4 understood one simple truth. A group could be more harmful than beneficial, especially if its members were unable to coordinate thanks to fear. The best choice was obvious, yet Josh still picked the group option. He did so with his thoughts only. It seemed like this interface could react to their minds directly.

A few seconds later, a red glow enveloped everyone. Then Josh appeared alongside the other humans. He saw them trembling, the urine and the shit making them look quite pitiful. Josh distanced himself from the sorry group, that was huddling together in a failed attempt at security.

The ground was solid rock, the walls were white and in a circle. It was a huge coliseum! At regular intervals in the walls were big sturdy-looking metal gates. Behind each awaited a Cerberus, 30 in total.

[Have fun ^_^!]

Then all the gates opened at once. The creatures pounced toward their prey. Prey, that didn’t even adopt a fighting posture. Most were trying to hide behind others. None dared take the brunt of the assault and in their distress simply pushed others to their deaths.

Josh ignored the fools and simply dashed toward a cerberus. This way he had the initiative and was only fighting one creature. The combat was short-lived. A few kicks later the creature was dead. Turning around, he saw the 29 left enjoying themselves.

The humans were screaming and dying. A few that were slightly smarter ran toward the edges but this place was different. It was an enclosed space. With their earlier sacrificial pawns gone, they now had to pluck their courage to fight back. None seemed worth saving so far.

Josh quickly ran toward the nearest Cerberus and killed it. This was a race against time. How long would the weak and pathetic humans survive against the bloodthirsty creatures? The answer turned out to be exactly one minute and six seconds. After which there were still 5 hounds.

Only Josh and the little girl hiding in the corpses were still alive. The creatures all pounced on him at the same time.

This brought back some memories. Like that time he had challenged a group of bikers to train his skills. Later on, he had upgraded to gangster groups. Apparently, 5 Cerberus were way stronger than regular gangsters.

Not that it mattered anyway. Josh kept circling around them. Dodging claws and maws alike. After a long while, he lazily defeated one. Now would come a vital part.

“Next time one passes above you, trip it!”Josh told the girl.

Then he went toward her hiding position. Baiting the dogs there. He could see her face ashen with fear. Yet, when the creatures pounced on him, she followed his command. She tripped one of the dogs, messing up their entire coordination.

She had valiantly put her life on the line. Josh crippled two in quick succession thanks to his perfect positioning. The little girl ran away as fast as she could before the Cerberus nearby could turn on her. Josh pursued the other two remaining ones, quickly disabling them too. Then he finished all of them.

Any external observer would have seen a scene filled with tension, where the human man could die any moment. Truth is, the situation had been under his control the whole time. Josh simply wanted to know one thing. Would the little girl save herself?

The first time one fights back is usually the hardest. She would need such strength here. He roughly guessed what to expect from this world. Funny how Josh based his reasoning on knowledge from novels. It simply fitted the situation too well.

He was convinced there would be hardships beyond the training he had done. There would be no safety net at all. A short moment afterward, the red glow came again. Then they were back. The many corpses were still there. Out of everyone, six humans had survived.

[Did you have fun? YES | YES]

“Motherfucker!” grunted the muscular man.

“I guess I will answer yes.” Chuckled the old lady.

“This is bullying.” Cried the young lady pitifully.

The little girl remained silent trying to hide behind Josh.

“Yes! Very much! Quick send the next quest! One Cerberus’s XP is pitiful…I should have picked the group option.” Said the young man while enviously glancing at Josh.

Josh understood instantly. He had gotten none because he hadn’t picked a class. He would have to figure that out later.

[Ta-da-da! This officially concludes your welcoming ceremony to floor 1!]

[Unlocked Status!]

[Binding User to Dimensional Tower!]

[Mission Accomplished Teleport Out Available!]

Josh moved toward the old lady and gestured to his straitjacket with his chin. She then took out her sword.

“Wait! What if he’s a criminal! What if he attacks us afterward!” The young lady warned.

“Hehe. Young lady, you seem to be mistaken. I AM in fact a criminal. Also, I can murder you as I am.” Retorted Josh.

The old lady curiously raised: “How did you even survive this long like this?! Especially while saving a child!”

*SLASH*

Then the jacket fell. For the first time since coming into this world, Josh could move his arms. He quickly stretched. Meanwhile, the young man simply left, happily walking away.

“Right, what was that about a teleport out? I can get out? Take me away quick!” Then with a red glow, the young lady disappeared.

“Hehe, guess she’s gone. You can call me Lana Ensis, just your average elderly woman.”

“I’m Behem Vali, do you guys know anything about this place?” He asked still holding onto the dead Cerberus.

“I’m Josh, Josh Malum. This is obviously a game. I’m unclear myself about the rules, but it seems this is a tower we need to climb until the end. This should be floor 1.”

“S-Sophie Seek” Mumbled the kid.

Josh quickly concluded they didn’t know anything more than himself.

“Status!”

[Status!]

Josh Malum Lv1

#STATS#

HP: 100

Mana:100

Magic Ability:10

Strength:10

Agility:10

Defense:1

Magic Resist:1

#SKILLS#

-F Weapon Mastery

It seemed that his defense and magic resistance were both truly lacking or perhaps these were the default values. Everyone around quickly did the same, carefully studying their own screen.

“B-brother, I have a two 100, three 10, and two 1, is that good?”

“Same here!”

“Exactly!”

“Guess it is the same for everyone.”

“What about classes? This old lady has Spell blade.”

“I have Berserker here! What about you Josh and Sophie?”

“H-healer…”

Josh did not answer and simply changed the subject.

“I’ll be exploring this place. You guys take care.”

He figured out that he needed to talk to the young man for he seemed to be very decisive for a newcomer. As if he knew something.

The others decided to simply leave. There was a certain risk to it, but they didn’t want to abandon the other young lady either. Thus the three disappeared in a red glow.

Josh headed toward where the man had left and before long heard laughter. His target was battling a single Cerberus. One that had a red name and a special icon.

<Cerberus Lv2☠️ >

It was about 3 times the size of a normal one. While it seemed fast and strong, the young man clearly had everything under control.

He kept dodging by rolling on the ground, then delivering punches to the creature, cackling all the while. Every hit only did minimal damage, but he didn’t seem to care. He seemed prepared to hit the creature all day if needed.

“Is it fun to watch?” He asked.

It seemed he could even concentrate on noticing his surroundings while fighting.

“You seem used to this place already, have you been here before?” Josh asked.

“Haha, never. But look around you! What do you see?”

“A weird red glowing space and a Cerberus Boss I assume?”

“Don’t you realize it?! This is a goddamn game! We are the players!”

“You seem to be right in your element already.”, Josh commented.

“Of course, I’ve done martial arts in my life. Still, this is way more exciting. Being able to hit as hard as one desires.”

The young man seemed to be a battle addict. One that lived for the thrill of fighting. Josh had met many like him back in his 2 years of training. Josh dubbed such people as the best training partners. The good thing about them was that they always pushed themselves, and others, to the very limit of their capabilities.

“I’m Josh, you?”

“Liam, the one that will become the strongest samurai there is!”

“This is the first time I see a punching samurai, to be honest.”

“Just you wait! I’ll defeat this boss and he’ll definitely drop a cool katana for me!”

“How are you so sure?”

“Game design. If this place is a game, it must obey certain rules. The stronger the enemy you kill the more the rewards. This is basic logic.”

“Well, it’s all assumptions, but it makes sense. Right, you said something about XP, didn’t you? What did you mean exactly?”

“What?! You seem pretty young yourself! You don’t know what XP is?! Did you live in a cave or something?!”

“Then, how much XP does one need to level up and how much are we supposed to be getting per kill?”

“Just open your status man! You should have gotten plenty of +XP prompts already! I saw you kill some dogs.”

“So how does it all work?”

“Just open your damn- *sigh* 1 XP per kill it seems, and you need 1000 to level up.”

“Oh? And what happens when you level up?”

“You grow stronger, duh!”

“Yes, but number-wise, what’s the increase?”

“I have no clue man, why do you think it’s taking me so long to kill this lv 2 boss?! I’m still level 1 myself!”

“True. Want help?”

“Don’t you dare! This one is my target! Find yourself one!”

Josh then left wandering the place but without finding anything of interest. It seemed like this truly was a welcome event. Besides the initial rush of enemies, there wasn’t much difficulty. Well, that was only for someone that considered dealing with a giant rabid dog one on one easy.

Still, he wouldn’t waste more time there. Josh prepared himself mentally for any eventuality. Perhaps he would have to fight as soon as he arrived.

“Teleport Out!”

Turns out he would still get the shock of his life.