Ultimate Level 1

“Be safe, Max Hoste,” Kathleen said as she bowed outside the door that would lead back to the main part of the temple. “I have sent a few letters to stop any who might be foolish enough still looking for you.”

“I appreciate that. Too many have died, and I would prefer to keep that number to a minimum.”

She bowed slightly and then pushed on the door, the sound of the area beyond immediately flooding the hallway they were in.

“Until next time.”

Max grinned and nodded.

“I look forward to it. Perhaps one day you can leave this place, even if for just a moment, and touch sand again.”

She rolled her eyes as she shook her head.

“Those are dreams I gave up on so long ago. Do not worry, though. I am content to live the life I do and the service I have been given. Not every task or job can be as exciting as the tower, but there is a safety here that makes me content. One day death will come, and when it does, I shall hopefully be brave enough to face it head on.”

As he walked past the two guards who paid him no attention, Max considered her words, watching the crowd of people who had decreased in numbers since he left.

Because her life force is bound to this place?

Correct. It is almost like dark magic, something necromancers use, binding their souls to gems or other objects. The irony is not lost on me.

***

“I’m not sure if I should be glad that Phaius said neither he nor Ockrim knew of the things Thuyja was doing. One part of its feels like incompetence. The other part feels like neither cared for us.”

Max shrugged as Everett shared his thoughts on the report.

“Still, I’m happy to know that Ockrim was ignorant of this,” Fowl stated.

An elbow gently nudged him, and Max watched as his dwarven friend glanced at the head motion Batrire had made.

Tanila was looking at her hands, fidgeting and playing with her fingers.

“You alright, dear?”

Their mage nodded and cleared her throat, aware of what she had been caught doing.

“I will be. The truth of what I have served and followed hurts more than words can convey, but I know the path we need to take. Even worse is that no matter what we do, so many will still be blind to the darkness in our god’s soul.”

“That’s not fair,” Tom replied. “We’re judging all this on our ideas and—”

“Would you give her a pass?!”

The trainer grunted and shook his head, not flinching when Tanila’s outburst and fierce gaze fell upon him.

“I am not, but let me ask you a question that seems wrong but has a reason for being considered. What makes something okay in your kingdom and not okay in another?” ȐÄNö𐌱Ę𝙎

“Like what?”

“Do most elves believe it is okay to have children out of wedlock?”

Max winced as Tanila leaned back on the couch.

“They typically do not,” she replied slowly.

“And yet if it happens, most elves would say that any mistreatment from a human point of view is acceptable because there is a social belief and system in place which dictates how relationships are supposed to be. Yet here in our kingdom when a child is born and there is no partner or father, often the whole town may surround and help the woman and infant. While that doesn’t always happen, many cases are found. Even now, we are a Faction doing everything we can to help care for Stacy’s daughter, and no one here treats her ill for what happened.”

“You can’t seriously compare the slaughtering of ten thousand to something like that!” Cordellia interjected, scraping the chair she was on as she stood up. “Those are two totally different things!”

“Philosophically, they aren’t,” Tom replied. “Cultures look at things differently. One says something is okay, and another says it isn’t. We might be peaceful, and the other might be a bloodthirsty, warring group. Just because we don’t like their way of life doesn’t matter. We have to adjust and protect ourselves against a belief that runs deep through them. Some places, like the world Max was trapped on, believed killing was okay and necessary, and no one in that place thought otherwise.”

He cleared his throat and pointed at Max.

“Did you force the entire population to stop what they were doing and adapt to how we live here?”

Shaking his head slowly, Max tried to not grin, aware of the path Tom was going down.

“I did not.”

“Did he do that because he was okay with people killing others? Or did he choose not to try and fix that with limited time? The real answer might be that he knew it would be an impossible task, changing an entire world’s belief system and way of life.

“That is why”—his finger moved from Max to Tanila, who was only slightly frowning now—“her frustration with a god means little in the grand scheme of things. Unless you can somehow kill her or change her core, nothing will be different. All you can do is fight what is before you. So stop pouting and being upset you were tricked and misled. None of that will help you right now.”

Their mage grunted but nodded, sighing after a moment.

“Always the teacher… thank you, Tom.”

He shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

“I don’t like being right about things like this, but I’m tired of seeing you act like that. In all our time together you’ve never folded in such a manner, and everyone else seemed unable to call you out on it. My job in this place is to do that. Regardless of whether you can kick my old arse or not.”

Chuckles came, and Max smiled as she grinned.

“Well then, on to the last thing for today,” Everett said after a moment, and the mood took on a positive note. He had a small box appear and set it on the table. Fine wrapping paper, covered in gold stars on a pearl white backdrop, sealed the container within.

“This is Tom’s and my wedding gift for you two. All you have to do now is wait till after you finally finish that moment.”

Fowl groaned as Batrire beat him to pick up the package. She started to shake it slightly, holding her ear up next to it.

“Do we really have to wait?”

“Yes, yes you do.”

Their healer grunted and held the gift over toward Max.

“Take it… otherwise, I’ll give in and open it early.”

Grinning, Max took it and held it to his ear, shaking it and then made his eyes go wide.

He could see the look at both of his dwarven friends’ faces.

“Wow, this is a really nice gift!”

“Dear gods, don’t do that!” Batrire shouted.

“She’s right… now I’ll never hear the end of how you know and she doesn’t,” Fowl added.@@novelbin@@

Putting the gift away, Max winked.

“I’m kidding. I have no clue.”

Two dwarves held up their middle fingers, and the room erupted in laughter.

***

For the first time he could remember, Max didn’t want to use his regeneration ability, simply enjoying the effect of the alcohol he was partaking of with his two friends.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Tom and Everett both sat quietly in their chairs as he was, admiring the color of the green liquid he had shared with them, a rare treat from Igarra’s storage.

“It’s so sweet and fruity,” Tom stated, his voice a little slurred. “I might almost say it’s better than the stuff old stuffy over there rarely shares.”

“He’s probably right,” Everett replied, taking another sip. “It also doesn’t burn near as much.”

Minutes passed as the three continued to enjoy the silence until Max drained the last of his glass and set it on the desk.

[ Regeneration ]

A moment later the fog cleared from his mind.

“I’m not sure when I’ll return, but if something happens, you both know I can use my ability to be here in a moment.”

Everett nodded, turning the cup on his desk a few more times.

“We don’t expect problems. Your sister is progressing safely, and in another month she may be the new talk of the town. As a whole, we’re only limited by a few things that are material related. All I can do now is keep the Faction on the path you’ve set us on.”

Nodding, Max pulled a bag from storage and set it on the floor next to Tom, who was almost asleep, both eyes struggling to stay open.

“One last gift. Don’t open it till I’m gone, and you’ll know why.”

The Faction leader raised an eyebrow but said nothing, slowly nodding his head.

“Wise move to keep it out of my reach.”

Chuckling, Max stood and pointed to the door.

“We’ll head out in the morning, and I have one last thing to do. Thank you again for everything, Everett.”

Holding out his hand, he smiled as the older man grabbed it after standing up.

“We should be thanking you and changing the name of this place in honor of all you’ve done. In fact some have already tried to get me to do so.”

“Gods no,” Max muttered. “I don’t want that at all. Besides, I’m not done yet. When I get back expect a lot more regents and new crafting materials. I’m going to try and get access to the dwarven tower.”

A low whistle came from Everett, who sat back down in his chair.

“That would take the help of the gods… but it is you, so I shouldn’t expect less.”

Chuckling, Max winked and motioned to the door.

“I’ve got one last appointment. Try to get some rest, and thank you again.”

***

“I… I don’t know what to say.”

Max shrugged and pointed at the large chest.

“Open it, I made a promise, and I always keep them.”

Dexic grinned, her eyes wider than he had ever seen them before.

She took the last few steps to the promise he had made before leaving to check on his family.

Dark green metal, covered in embossed vines and housing a relief of the large shambling monster he had just defeated, decorated the larger-than-normal chest.

“It’s so huge…”

Unable to help himself, Max laughed.

“If only Fowl was here to hear you say that.”

Groaning, she nodded and pushed open the lid, looking inside.

He watched as her knees seemed to give out and she caught herself on the edge of the chest.

“That good?”

“Dear gods… now I finally understand why they always complained when I was their other warrior.”

Moving to look inside, Max saw there were two objects for them to roll on, a fuzzy outline of something that changed as they looked at it, two giant purple gems, and an item for each of them.

“A belt… I’ve needed a new one for a while.”

Winking at the still-struggling warrior, Max reached in and pulled out the moss-colored belt, a chain that felt light and yet sturdy at the same time.

[ Inspect Belt ]

*****

Grotesque Shambler Belt

+ 40 STR/DEX/CON

+ 20% Damage Resist

*****

Unable to help himself, Max didn’t wait, putting the off-colored belt on and smiling at how it made him feel.

“You going to get yours?”

Dexic didn’t wait, reaching in and taking out the shield waiting for her.

He waited and watched as she held the large item that almost covered three-fourths of her body. The protective side had a covering that reminded Max of the moss that had been the outer part of the boss he had defeated.

Hopefully this protects better on that shield than it did on the boss.

I’m certain the difference in power is why it only took one hit.

Before he could respond to Bob a simple sound came, and his Sonar told him what was happening as the large warrior began to fall.

He moved, catching her under the arm.

“Woah… you okay?”

“It’s… the stats… they… how…”

“Just breathe and relax. I won’t tell you that most are like that, and if I’m honest you shouldn’t tell me what you got. Now hurry up and loot those last two items and those gems. I need to get you through the fiftieth floor like I promised.”

Dexic coughed, shaking her head and blinking a few times.

“They are all like this?!”

“Well… from this boss at least. I figured yours would be good also.”

She jerked up, freeing her arm from his hand and then took a step back.

“Wait… did you say I can have the other two items?!”

Max nodded and motioned to the chest.

“You protected my friends and family. You did that. Without your constant guidance and helpful hand I’m not sure they could have made it through any other way. Even then, you kept them moving forward without me. For that, I owe you, and hopefully those items will make up for that.”

“I… I didn’t do that for—”

“Of course you didn’t,” Max said as he put a hand on her shoulder. “But still, I owe you, and we both know you want to see what those offer. Now take them and hurry up. I need to be asleep in a little bit.”

Scoffing, she rolled her eyes and sighed.

“You… Seth… Max, are a person who makes no sense. Thank you.”

He moved back and watched as she stored her shield.

A squeal that would make Fowl laugh came as she took out a helm.

Dexic whipped around, showing him the plain-looking piece of armor with the same off-color as the belt and shield she now owned.

“Impossible! This…”

She stored it, and a second later the old helm she wore vanished.

“Are you wearing it?”

“YES!”

He started to laugh, realizing what had her so excited.

“Ahh yes, the Invisible state! Congrats!”

Once more the famed warrior squealed and turned back to the chest.

That was a sound I never expected from her… perhaps you broke her.

Let’s not tell anyone if so.

When he saw the ring and her face, Max didn’t move as she bull-rushed him, slamming into him and wrapping her arms around.

“I… Thank you,” she whispered through the hug.

Returning the embrace he tapped her on the back three times, and then when she didn’t let go, repeated it.

“If Tanila was here, she might get jealous.”

Snorting, Dexic pulled back, wiping a stray tear that had flowed down her face.

“Sorry… all this dust from the boss.”

“Of course. Now get those crystals. We got one more floor.”

***

Lying in bed, he watched Tanila as she slept.

Tomorrow would bring a new chapter in their life as a group and yet Phaius’s words echoed in his mind.

Rest. We’ll take on the tower soon enough. You made a promise, and we both know nothing will stop you from keeping it.

‎