Ultimate Level 1

Everyone turned and saw their ranger standing there, hand held over her mouth and her eyes wide like saucers.

“How close?” Tanila asked.

“Like sixty-nine point nine percent!”

“Bah! I’m only level sixty nine!” Fowl stated as he frowned.

“Only…” Batrire replied.

“Well, congrats to us all,” Max said as he turned and glanced around the island.

Where the pedestals had been was a large black chest, matching the color of the Kraken’s skin, larger than any they had received in a while.

“Since I got the kill, I’m going to go ahead and check out what’s inside.”

Max waited till Fowl’s mouth was open in reply and then ran, leaving his short-legged friend and the others behind, standing near the chest in just a few seconds.

It was a raid size one, and the outside had a relief of the Kraken, tentacles stretching around the front and side of it.

Running his fingers along the relief, Max turned as he sensed the others coming close, all of them laughing as Fowl cursed.

“That’s not funny!”

Ignoring Fowl’s outburst, Max gave the lid a gentle push and it flew open.

“I’m just kidding. You can look inside first. Here me help.”

A stool appeared in Max’s hand, and Fowl held up his middle finger while everyone else erupted in laughter.

Tears streamed down Tanila's and Batrire’s cheeks as they laughed for easily twenty seconds.

“Fine! But don’t think I’m going to forget this one,” Fowl exclaimed as he hopped onto the stool and peered into the chest.

Everyone took a few breaths, trying to recover as Fowl stood on the stool, not saying a word. His face had changed and his eyebrow was raised on one side.

“Something wrong?” their healer asked.

“I’m not sure what kind of potions those are.”

Everyone moved immediately, looking in to see what he was talking about.

“Huh… I’ve never seen one like that before, either,” Tanila stated. “I mean… I haven’t even read about a potion that color.”

Max reached in and pulled the one that was for him out. Each of them had a cream colored white potion and staring at it wasn’t going to do any good.

Studying it, he wondered if his Alchemy skill might help and after a few seconds itreacted.

[ Inspect Potion ]

*****

Bojundayra’s Stat Potion

Gives a random amount of stat points to each stat.

Epic Quality

*****

“Well holy ogre shite… it’s a fricking stat potion,” Max informed them. “A random amount of points is given to every stat. Epic Quality.”

Fowl had his hand in the chest, yanking the glass stopper at the top of the potion and guzzled down the creamy substance like the drinking champ he was.

Smacking his lips, he wiped them with the back of his hand and then started to shake.

Everyone moved close, ready to help him before Fowl began to laugh and shook his head.

“I’m just screwing with you. I’m fine. Anyway, it tastes like arse and I’m still waiting on… HOLY MOTHER OF ALL ELF TITS!”

He began to choke as his eye bulged and he shook his head, rubbing his eyes, blinking a few times and staring at the same spot in the air.

“What is it, you idiot?!”

Turning his attention toward Batrire, Fowl shook his head slowly.

“Twenty seven strength, fifteen dexterity, forty-two constitution, eleven intelligence and fifteen wisdom… that amount of points is…”

He never finished his words, still standing on the stool with his mouth open.

The other three retrieved their potions from the chest and all mimicked Fowl’s mannerism, each of them wincing at the taste.

Eyes went wide and mouths looked prepared to hit the dirt as the trio got to read what they were just given.

“Someday I’m going to kiss whatever god loves us,” Cordellia muttered. “It would take over twenty levels to get this many stat points!”

The four of them nodded and Max smiled, poking Fowl, who still stood on the stool.

His dwarven friend turned and saw the potion he was being offered, and his lip trembled.

“I… I can’t,” Fowl said, his voice quivering as he spoke. “I already owe you ten children named after you.”

Batrire scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Take it,” Max said, shaking it and pushing it closer. “You’re my friend and you’ll need the extra constitution if you’re going to have ten children.”

Chuckling, Fowl eyed the potion, yet hadn’t reached out for it yet.

“What… what if it fails? Like the other stat potions? Isn’t there a six months or a year cooldown between taking them?”

Frowning that Fowl remembered such a detail, and he hadn’t, Max shrugged.

“Try a sip. See if any notification comes up. If not, take a swig.”

Cordellia coughed and Max glanced past Fowl and saw her eyebrows narrowed at him.

“Why are you giving that away? It’s twenty levels or more of stat points! Surely even you can use them.”

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Wincing, Max heard Tanila’s faint giggle and rubbed his face with his empty hand.

“So… my black skill does more than just take skills…” Max said, watching as their ranger took a step back and her face began to change. Those narrowed eyebrows began to stretch untill they were as far apart as possible.

“You can get stats too?!”

Bobbing his head, Max shook the potion gently.

“I don’t need this and since Fowl is the other tank, keeping him alive is always important.”

‎ “But… surely you could use that many stats! I mean…”

It took Cordellia a moment to finally admit to herself what she had wondered all along. The speed at which Max moved, the power in his attacks, and how much magical power and mana he seemed to have.

“How… How high are your stats?”

“Cordellia–”

Max shook his head, stopping Tanila, who was about to chastise the elf for asking such a question.

“You’re part of our family and you used the tablet, so I won’t hide it.

“Every stat but Intelligence and Wisdom are over three hundred and those two–”

He stopped talking, catching Cordellia as she passed out.

***

“I’m fine… really I am,” she said, relaxing on the chair and twisting the cup of water that sat on the table Fowl had set up again. “It’s… it’s a lot to take in. So much suddenly clicked and I guess my brain couldn’t take it all.”

She looked at Max, who sat across the table from her and was softly smiling.

“You could walk through the capital and slaughter everyone with stats like that and knowing that, combined with your skills and how you were about to give away a potion like that… you really are different… I mean, I knew you were… but…”

Taking a drink, Cordellia glanced at the others, who were all relaxing as well.

The rain had stopped and the dark clouds were gone. A gentle breeze blew across the island and for a moment, the memory of the boss they had just faced was only present because of the big chest still waiting to be emptied.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

Max’s smile grew as he leaned against the table.

“Your kind words, Cordellia. I don’t want to be that guy who would do such a thing. Once more I’ll remind you, everything I do is for us. One day I hope to never have to fear any of you getting hurt.”

She smiled and then took a deep breath and let it out.

“So will Fowl accept your gift? Because if not–”

“Too late!” Fowl exclaimed. “I already drank it while you were passed out!”

Max chuckled, stood up, tapped the table with his fingers and moved toward the chest.

“It’s been long enough. Let’s get out of here and head home.”

As the others rose, waiting for Fowl to store all the furniture, Max took the last orange crystal and put it away.

He wished there had been items, but the stat gains had been a blessing for everyone, doubly better for Fowl who was being transformed into a powerhouse rather quickly.

***

“A Kraken, Everett… Can you imagine that?”

“I can’t imagine how one defeats that thing normally. I’m still impressed that you all managed to use those barrels like that. It’s a shame we don’t have more of them.”

“Maybe we could make something like them down the road,” Max replied. “I mean, how hard could that be?”

Both of the older men groaned and shook their heads.

“Explosives are possible, but at that scale it's the volatility. Even a small potion is dangerous to make. When you try to create a batch that large, one would be at risk of one thing going wrong and then…”

Tom stopped talking when he saw how his friend shifted on the couch next to him.

“Regardless. You’re about to start the fortieth floor! I can’t believe it's only been a couple months since you all joined and you are this far!”

Cordellia raised her hand and Tom gave her a puzzled look.

“Can I just say thank you again to the both of you for choosing me to join this party? I’d never have imagined being where I am today… this party… this family…” Tears formed as the ranger received a gentle squeeze from Batrire, who sat next to her on the couch. “They don’t see someone new, they treat me like I’ve always been one of them, and…” sniffing, she wiped a few tears and then took a deep breath. “No one lets Fowl make fun of my voice anymore.”

Laughter came from them all, resetting the mood from one that threatened to turn misty in a moment.

“I understand,” Everett said as he leaned forward. “Our Faction is better because of you five and we are grateful for that. Just know we are a family and as such, I’ll do anything I can to help.”

Stretching, Max yawned and ignored the chuckles that came from the others.

“Honestly, all I want right now is a nap… I feel like I’ve been sprinting this past year and I, for one, am excited to slow down for a moment and just relax.”

Tom jumped up and pointed at the door.

“Then go rest! You’ve earned it! Tomorrow I won’t even force you to train.”

‎ Everyone stood up, grinning at that joke.

***

Max rolled over and gave Tanila a kiss on her bare shoulder.

The late nap had turned into a full on coma where they both slept all night. Each of them had been worn out and the knowledge they had completed something huge and were stronger allowed the walls of exhaustion to vanish.

“Morning, my love,” he whispered before kissing her again.

She groaned and rolled over, red hair spilling everywhere.

“Do we have to get up?”

“No, you can stay here, but I’m going to sneak out and visit that bakery I like. Today I feel like I might buy out their entire store.”

Groaning, Tanila gave him a gentle poke with her finger and then rolled back over.

“You know what I like,” she said, yawning after that. “Bring me a few to keep in storage.”

Kissing her shoulder once more, Max got out of bed and was dressed, being quiet as he let her sleep.

***

The sun was out and even with the dark clouds further away in the sky, warning about the coming rains in the next month, Max didn’t care.

Life was good and their family was getting to the place they needed to be.

Carts rolled by and people were shouting, already trying to entice shoppers.

The smell of food, drink and crafted goods hung in the air as he strolled down the street, smiling and waving at everyone he passed.

Running his hands through the mop of black hair, Max couldn’t help but wonder what hair would be like.

Having to fix it every day? Man, that seems like such a bother…

A pack of kids were yelling, having fun on the weekend in, tossing back names and insults as they darted between adults.

The idea of children hit him. That would be great one day, if it was even possible. So much would depend upon –

Max’s sonar exploded with a warning and faster than a blink of an eye, he was in full armor, shield and weapon out.

The shape came, hitting him even though it wasn’t there and Max knew it was the same one from outside that perfume shop.

As he attempted to react, to strike back, he felt himself being pushed by the attacker, and then everything shifted.

Slashing his weapon, Max found nothing but air.

His attacker had been there for a brief second and then was gone.

As his eyes adjusted, it didn’t matter. His sonar skill told him everything he needed to know.

He was currently trapped in a room of stone, and there were no doors or light.

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