Ultimate Level 1

“Sorry I took the kill,” Fowl groaned as he stored both shields, finding himself suddenly wrapped up in a pair of dwarven arms as he apologized to Max.

“You saved me!”

Kisses came and soon Max felt his stomach roll from the grunting between the two dwarves.

“He really did kill it,” Tanila said as she pointed at the boss’s corpse.

With their minds working right, Max cursed and dashed forward, grabbing stray bits of flesh and metal, storing them as the body began to vanish.

“Sorry!” Fowl called out for a moment before turning back to the hungry lips of their healer.

Chuckling, Max ignored the fact they had missed out on a few more pieces of the boss but was grateful that Tanila had reminded him of it.

A chest appeared near the broken building and Max whistled loudly.

“You want to keep kissing or open this chest?”

One moment their dwarven tank was lip locked and the next he had left his woman standing there, lips still pursed as he raced toward the chest Max had pointed out.

“Fowl Hammerfall!”

Ignoring their healer's shout, the dwarf came to a stop at the chest, admiring it as Max came to stand next to him.

“Nice work back there. I guess you can finally say that you’re strong enough to kill a boss.”

Fowl snorted and waved off Max’s compliment, looking at the copper colored chest and the etching it had. Outside, what had to clearly be a replica of the fortress was the boss, the tentacle arm held upward with a cannon showing.

“Seems a bit smaller than I’d like, but let’s see what’s inside.”

Flicking the lid open, the dwarf peered in.

“Well, Cordellia’s going to be happy,” he stated. “I guess the rest of us will make do.”

Max looked inside as the others came toward them.

A bow waited for their ranger, and Max was going to get a new ring for himself. A copper colored robe was for Tanila and Batrire appeared to have earrings waiting for her. Fowl had a necklace, which Max thought seemed off. Three large orange crystals also waited for them all.

“Go ahead,” Max whispered as the others arrived.

Laughing, Fowl reached in and took the necklace out, studying it as the copper necklace twisted in his hand.

“Impossible… it’s better than my other one…” Fowl put it on and grinned. “I get fifteen percent more reflective damage.”

“Wow… on top of your skill and shield or?”

Fowl shrugged, never letting the smile leave his face.

“I guess we’ll have to test it out back at the Faction house.”

Cordellia reached in, pulling out the bow.

“Forgive me for pulling a Fowl,” she said as she studied the metal bow. It had a bronze color and even a metal string.

“Holy mother of dwarven sacks! Twenty-five percent more damage!”

Fowl gave the ranger a slap on her back.

“Welcome to team damage!”

“You two go ahead,” Max said, and both Tanila and Batrire reached in, removing their items.

Each of them stood there, marveling at the new loot.

Tanila’s robe changed and its place was a bronze colored robe that shimmered slightly. It was a little tighter than her previous one, and Max couldn’t help but wink as he stared at her.

“Mana regen, ten percent,” she stated.

“Ten percent better heals,” Batrire chimed in.

Max reached in and pulled out his ring, wondering what fortune he might find.

[ Inspect Ring ]

*****

Tentacle Ring

+40 Strength, Constitution, Dexterity

Bonded

*****

“Huh… I got screwed… nothing but stats.”

Everyone looked at him, their eyebrows cocked and shaking their heads.

“No really, what did you get?” Fowl asked.

Snorting, Max rolled his eyes.

“Seriously, only forty to Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity.”

“Only he says,” Batrire scoffed.

“Well, perhaps Ockrim does love me more,” Fowl muttered.

Taking the crystals and storing them, Max pointed at the portal that shimmered in the moonlit night.

“Time to head home and recover for a few days. We need to probably let Tom work with us before we face the boss.”

A few groans came as the group turned and moved toward the portal.

Working with Tom was never fun.

***

“Focus on your targets!*

Max stopped talking with a few of the newer recruits as he waited for his turn again, watching Tom berate Cordellia and Tanila.

Both were not excited that the man had added multiple rings for them to send spells and arrows through. Each of them had improved since the first few hours but the moment they did, he swapped out the rings for smaller ones, making them have to focus even more.

Cordellia yelped in pain as Tom shot her with a padded arrow.

“Dodge and shoot! Dip, dive, duck and dodge!”

Without responding, she bobbed and weaved as Everett occasionally sent an arrow at her.

Tanila’s air wall stopped the one he sent in her direction as she fired off a smaller stone spear at her target.

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“Good!” he called out, clapping his hands.

A few near him joined in with some applause, causing Tom to look at Max and grin.

“I don’t like it when he smiles like that,” Max said as he winked at a warrior near him. “Just know every time you get a chance to train with him, take it. Tom has probably forgotten more about combat than most of us will ever learn.”

“Even you?” a dwarven warrior asked from the group.

Nodding, Max pointed at the trainer who was making his way toward them.

“Every time we practice, I learn something. Just being strong or fast isn’t enough. You need to have solid tactics and skill knowledge. It’s like having the sword skill and fighting someone with an axe skill. Both use different forms of fighting and while part of it is the same, you can study and learn about those movements and combinations.”

“Seth is right,” Tom declared as he got within hearing distance. “Too many people depend upon their skills and don’t use their minds. Even a warrior with limited intelligence points is technically smarter than the average person.”

A few chuckles and some pokes came from the crowd.

“You see both Tanila and Cordellia working on minor tricks and techniques. Casting a spell doesn’t change, but how you cast, how much mana you put into that spell, where you aim it, and a few other tricks I can help teach are what make the best mages even better. Likewise, just shooting a bow isn’t hard, but doing it while being attacked and having to thread the needle to make the shot that matters is what can be the difference between life and death.”

“But what about someone like Mr. Pendal, who is already stronger than everyone else?!”

Both Tom and Max laughed at the old man in the back.

Everyone turned to see Everett had snuck up from behind, smiling at them.

Immediately, the group of adventurers stood taller and gave the man space.

“Relax, I’m here like all of you to watch how the training goes. I actually have a treat for you all and that is in about twenty minutes Dexic should arrive and you can watch those two spar for a bit. After that, both of them, as well as the rest of our famous party, will give each of you some pointers and work with you.”

Cheers rang out, and Max smiled.

When Everett had asked if they were willing, he was the first to sign up, signaling the doom for the rest of the group.

***

Picking up the training equipment, Max tossed the last items into the barrel and watched as Everett stored it in the training chest.

“I think that went well,” Max said as he looked at the marks across the dirt that had come from all the people moving across it. The sun was almost gone and everyone else had gone inside, ready to talk about what they learned while partaking in some of the food and drink Everett had promised.

“Better than you realize. Those three groups didn’t just learn tactics and tips today, they each got a chance to work with someone they idolize and worship.”

Max started to reply, but Everett held up his hand.

“No, they worship you in some ways. At least eighty percent of those who apply here do so because they believe they can be the next you. My job is to help them be smart, train hard, and see that rising to the top takes time and work. You showing them and telling them those things will keep them from being stupid, hopefully.”

“You being here meant a lot as well. It’s nice to know the Faction leader cares enough to occasionally rub elbows and be present.”

Nodding, Everett pointed at the doors.

“Speaking of rubbing elbows, we need to get inside and get some food and drink, or your dwarven friend may consume it all.”

Laughing, both men moved to join the party.

***

Max’s head felt the pulsing of the alarm, waking him up immediately.

Tanila groaned, rising up as he did.

“A dungeon break?”

“Sounds like that alarm,” she replied, slapping her cheeks a few times and standing up, dressed the moment her feet touched the floor.

Both of them raced out into their main room, finding everyone ready for battle.

“Bah, why tonight? My head is killing!”

Ignoring Fowl’s complaint, they all moved toward the door, rushing downstairs to find Everett and Tom in the main common area.

The Faction leader moved to where they were, letting Tom talk with the others.

“This is a bad break, four dungeons again. Similar to what you faced before, but the one we’re supposed to help with is undead this time.”

“We’re ready,” Max said as he motioned to the others.

Shaking his head, Everett held up a hand.

“I need them and Dexic to go to the south gate and help with a dungeon there. None of the main teams are back for the other Factions and we all know you should be able to handle this one alone.”

Glancing at the rest of his party, Max saw Tanila nod.

“Fine. I’ll head out.”

“You don’t want me to portal you?”

Shaking his head, Max moved and gave Tanila a kiss on the cheek, spotting Dexic who just entered the room.

“No, I can make it there faster and you can save on the power.”

Turning to Dexic, Max held out his hand as he left the party.

“Keep them safe.”

Her head jerked slightly as she saw the party invite and then at Everett, who nodded.

“I will.”

Nodding, Max moved to the door, and the moment they were open vanished.

Everett laughed and turned back to the group, his small amount of amusement now hidden behind a stern face.

“Let’s get you all moving.”

***

The city was a blur as he raced through the empty streets. With the alarms having gone off, no one was in the middle of the roads and Max only had to dodge one party that was running toward the gates.

Above him the half moon provided some light, but none of that mattered. His Sonar told him everything he needed to know.

Even it struggled to feed the information to his brain, as all he could do was react, speeding through the town, sending up a cloud of dust behind him.

A few shouts and cries had come, but they were gone, unable to be heard for even the briefest of seconds.

Open gates were ahead and the guards that stood there, preparing to shuttle citizens in tried to react to the gust of wind that blew by.

Ahead, the roads were packed with people trying to flee, so Max took a new route.

Jumping, he landed on a roof and began leaping from roof to roof, clearing streets and sometimes jumping over two or three buildings at a time.

For so long, he hadn’t really allowed himself to run free.

In moments the outer town was ending and the fields were ahead.

Without missing a beat, he was on the ground, racing along the dirt road and headed in the direction of the dungeon off in the woods.

The first undead appeared and as Max ran, two swords turned into the threshers blade, harvesting the heads of countless zombies and skeletons as he raced toward the portal.

He was gone, a shadow in the night, leaving headless corpses, taking a step and stumbling before falling to never rise again.

The portal appeared through the trees, sitting on a stone platform, and more undead fell as he ran to it, entering and slashing at those creatures inside.

The first floor was a long tunnel, packed to the edges with skeletons.

Laughing, his voice echoed off the stone walls, the dim torches that showed the shambling horde, taking his time as he cut down every single one of them.

It would have been easy to run through them, destroying the ones in his way, but something felt right about instead taking an extra few minutes and clearing the entire floor of them.

Ahead, the portal pulsed, twenty more skeletons coming through and before they had taken two steps, their bones began to fall apart as he stepped through to the second floor.

Now the reddish glow of fire that ran along the top of the worked stone walls filled a labyrinth-like dungeon. From every path more undead came and Max sighed at the knowledge that this would take too long to clear completely.

Instead, he pulled out his shield, held it before him and charged through the monsters, bashing into the wall and through it.

Three feet of stone seemed like a barrier most wouldn’t imagine trying to break or push through, but Max continued to blaze ahead, smashing through each wall in less than a second.

After less than a minute, he stood before the final portal, watching it shimmer and pulse, a dark red color to it.

Pausing, he frowned.

Tanila had once said these were death, but that was so long ago… yet why another?

Unwilling to wait, Max ran toward the portal.

It was time to see what lay beyond.

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