Ultimate Level 1

Chapter 168: Going All Out

Max reached the boss, storing his shield and not caring about the ice that began to assault him.

[ Regeneration ]

Swinging his weapon with both hands, Max winced at the sound and vibrations that came as his weapon struck the invisible shield.

Over and over, Max swung, and each time, the same thing happened.

Out of the corner of his eye, Max saw Fowl glow for a moment, and his health bar stopped decreasing as fast.

What the hell was that?

With one eye on the his friend’s health bar and the other eye on the spot he was attacking, Max dodged the boss’s attempts to kick him or swat with its weapon.

Every blow that he struck bounced off harmlessly.

Another fireball bloomed over the boss, scorching its hide and drawing its attention.

[ Fire Nova ]

[ Fire Ball ]

Two spells went off seconds apart, and Max smiled as the boss’s spell broke down from the impact directly beneath it, centered on its arse.

Max’s mind raced, wondering how he could injure this thing since none of his weapons were able to touch it.

Storing his weapon, Max rammed himself into the boss’s tail, trying to pull it away from his allies. The barrier stopped him for a moment, but then, as he continued to press, he was able to grab around the base of it.

Angry at what was happening to Fowl, Max slid his grip down the tail until he could firmly grip it, struggling as it twitched its tail, attempting to free itself from him.

“I might be a third your size, but I’ll show you size doesn’t matter!”

Max’s shout didn’t bother the boss as much as his yanking on its tail did. It spun, bringing its weapon down on Max, who went for broke.

[ Armored Warrior ]

The weapon bounced off him, doing nothing, and with his feet firmly planted and no longer able to be moved, Max used his hips and all his strength to twist with all the speed and power he had.

The boss’s feet came off the ground, a shriek of confusion escaping its mouth as Max slammed it into the ground.

Bouncing off the rock a few times, the boss seemed stunned for a moment, and Max took the opportunity to move toward its head.

He ran along its body, the shield that protected it failing to react. When he reached the boss's head Max saw a tiny hole with a small flap of skin over it slightly open that he assumed must be its ear.

The boss started to roll, preparing to get up, and Max didn’t hesitate, slamming his hand wrist deep inside the hole.

It jerked its head back while howling in pain but Max ignored the ear-piercing noise, clinging to the flesh inside with his fingers. The boss shook its head frantically and brought its hand up, slamming it into Max to try to knock him free, but that only drove Max’s hand deeper into the canal.

[Fire Nova]

Max’s spell went off, erupting all around the boss’s face and making it stagger from the pain of the fire inside its ear and the flames that burned across its face.

With only a moment to do what he planned, Max swung his arm in front of the boss’s face, grabbing onto the ridge of its left eye socket. The huge head was huge and long, and the way the skull was shaped left him pressed against the scales as he squeezed.

“Die!” Max shouted as he began to squeeze his hands together, moving his left fist deeper into the eye socket as bones began to break under the stress of the bearhug he was giving its skull.

The boss started shaking its head frantically while still swatting at Max, who ignored its weak attempts to injure him.

Seconds passed as the pressure from Max’s embrace increased. No matter how hard the boss tried, it couldn’t shake or knock Max off. His grip was like a vice.

Bones continued to shatter and crack around the orbital socket as Max squeezed, slowly bringing his hands closer together.

After ne last popping noise, Max couldn’t crush the skull any more. It was too dense, and all of the thinner and weaker sections were now crushed.

Another slap hit Max, but the boss wasn’t designed to overpower with might.

Remembering what the rare spawn could do, Max cast his Frost Nova.

[Frost Nova]

The spell went off, creating a brain-freezing effect that made the boss cry out in pain, throwing its head back as it shrieked.

[Fire Nova]

The second spell washed over the boss's head, igniting the newly exposed flesh and eyes, causing the boss to struggle to keep its balance.

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Giving everything he had left, Max activated the last skill he hoped he would need, but he was unsure it would be enough.

[ Power Strike ]

With his grip still firm inside the lizardman’s ear, Max pulled his left arm back and slammed it into the boss’s skull with everything he had.

Bone broke like twigs, and the skull on the left side of the boss’s head was shattered.

A howl came, high and long, as the boss tripped, unable to handle the pain lancing through its skull.

It fell to the ground, landing on top of Max, pinching him between it and the hard rock below.

No movement came except for the boss breathing slowly, and Max pressed himself up. His sonar told him what he was aiming at. There, just a little bit away, lay the brain, and Max wanted to have a talk with it.

He began punching it, attacking the brain like it owed him money, and he was here to collect, fists smashing it to bits, and it wasn’t until the cold shock of power washed over him that Max finally stopped the assault on the dead boss.

[ 6 Intelligence Consumed ]

[ 6 Wisdom Consumed ]

[ Consume has Consumed a Higher Rank Skill ]

[ Ice Magic - Uncommon has been upgraded to Ice Magic - Epic ]

[ Elemental Mastery - Uncommon has been upgraded to Elemental Mastery - Epic ]

Breathing was difficult, wedged in between the skull of the boss, covered in gray matter, and his body and mind struggling with what had just taken place.

Dear gods… I have Tanila’s power…

Pressing and twisting, Max cracked more of the skull as he made his way out of the eye socket, covered in blood, brains, and chunks of bone. The smell was awful, but when he got out of the boss, he found the others racing toward him.

Fowl was kneeling on the ground, panting and using his shield to keep him upright, it appeared.

Max raced toward his friend, dropping down next to him and slowly removing his helmet.

“You ok?”

“Gods, you smell like an ogre's arse,” Fowl muttered, his tone playful, but his voice was weak.

Bobbing his head, Max chuckled and gave a gentle nudge. “Glad you’re no longer a frozen dwarf treat.”

Batrire made it a few seconds later and almost barreled Fowl over when she embraced him, tears on her face.

“You did good, my love,” Fowl whispered. “Nice job keeping me alive.”

She sniffed and ruffled his hair. “Way to use your new skill. I guess you do have half a brain.”

“The elemental warrior…” Max muttered. “I wondered what that was… I had forgotten you just picked that up.”

“So what did I miss?” Fowl asked as he stood up, letting Batrire help him.

“Something I never imagined was possible,” Cordellia replied. “Did you really crush that thing with your bare hands?”

“I had armor on,” Max said. “It had some shield that protected it from all the attacks. Thankfully, once I touched it, those attacks weren’t stopped.”

Shaking her head from side to side, Cordellia stared at the man covered in head to toe except for his bald head and face with gore.

“Why isn’t your head or face like the rest of you?”

Max started to laugh and took off his helmet, revealing the messy helm and still sparkling clean noggin. “Probably the greatest trick in the world,” Max stated before slipping it back on, the helmet disappearing.

“You all done talking?” Tanila asked. “I’m not sure about the rest of you, but that chest looks like we need to go and loot it.”

Winching, Max realized he hadn’t even tried harvesting the boss’s body, more worried about getting out of it and checking on Fowl. Instead, when he turned around and saw the raid chest waiting on them, his disappointment quickly vanished.

“Fowl, go ahead and open the chest since you didn’t do anything this fight.” Max teased.

Giving Max the middle finger and a wink, Fowl walked to where the massive chest was and pushed it open.

“Sweet Ockrim’s beard,” Fowl exclaimed. “You really need to look in here.”

Max and the others didn’t wait, crowding around the chest and staring inside.

“Everett’s going to flip!” Cordellia gasped. “Four of those gems! Four!”

“Maybe we can just turn one in every few days,” Batrire said as her eyes took in the rest of the loot. “Just to string him along.”

“Before you ask, yes, this happens a lot,” Fowl said, gently poking the tall archer.

“That’s so not fair,” she muttered, her voice still higher than normal. “Five rings… five!”

“I got an idea,” Tanila announced as she grinned. “Everyone takes theirs at the same time. That way, it doesn’t take forever, and we have to endure waiting for our turns.”

A round of grunts and nods came quickly, each of them holding their hands over the swirling void.

“On three,” Tanila said, “One, two, three.”

Each of their hands touched the swirling purple void, and a ring materialized in their grip.

Max looked at the ring in the palm of his hand. It was a light blue color that reminded him of a piece of sculptured ice he had seen as a child. The ring seemed to capture the light of the tower floor, illuminating it with a soft blue glow.

“Seth… have you inspected yours yet?”

Max shook his head, glancing up for a moment at Fowl. His friend had displayed a variety of expressions during their adventures together, but Fowl had never been expressionless, his face completely slack.

“Oh my,” Batrire gasped. Her head shook once, and her expression matched Fowl’s.

Unable to wait for them to say something, Max needed to see what was causing the problem.

[Inspect Ring]

*****

Frost Mages Ring of Growth

10% Stat Increase

Bonded

*****

The sound of a ring hitting the hard stone at their feet made the group turn. They saw Cordellia’s hands trembling, her ring spinning for a moment until it came to a stop at her feet.

“How?” She asked the question, looking at the group, her shoulders shaking slightly. Her face was blank like the others, unable to register any emotion.

“We don’t know,” Max replied. “We have ideas, but none of us know.”

Tanila moved next to Cordellia and gave the archer a gentle squeeze on her arm. “Listen, we know what this is like. Trust us, we have gone through it. Even still, the expressions on our faces should tell you that what just happened is far from normal. None of us expect anything like this.”

“But… people would kill… our… your father would–”

“I know,” Tanila said, stopping Cordellia from saying something she shouldn’t. “That is why we don’t want people to know. You have to decide. Will you be faithful to us and to me, or will you choose to betray a path you cannot deny Thuyja has put you on?”

For a moment, their archer stood there, weighing the question posed to her.

“You’re right, princess. I will walk the path Thuyja has put me on.”

She bent down and slid the ring on her finger.

Everyone else smiled, slipping their matching rings on.

“Let’s get those crystals and finish making our way to the exit,” Max said. “I’m ready to take a shower.”

Everyone started to laugh, making faces and backing away from the bald warrior covered in brain matter.

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