Ultimate Level 1

Tanila was still trying to handle the knowledge that Max had received, a skill most could only dream of. Falling off a cliff, getting poisoned, a slice to the neck, or even a strike from a god all seemed like they couldn’t kill him.

“That cooldown is horrible, though,” Max said. He bit the corner of his lip as he considered how long it would really take to refresh. The other question he had was if his skill could reactivate that one. Not knowing how much power it required to reactivate a skill left him with a lot of questions, some he hoped to have one day.

“Still, avoiding a single blow is a gift. One you shouldn’t tell anyone about.”

Nodding, Max and gave her a grin.

She groaned, knowing he had something else to share.

“What is it?”

[ Base Stat Check Only ]

Strength - 252

Dexterity - 220

Intelligence - 237

Wisdom - 237

*****

So I hit two hundred and fifty naturally in strength and constitution—”

“WHAT?!”

His Elven princess was out of the bed again, her mouth hanging open as she stood there naked as a jaybird with her red hair draped over her chest and back.

“That’s not very ladylike,” Max teased as she stood there shaking her hands at him before scratching her head and blinking a few times.

“Two stats! TWO STATS! Do you have any idea how impossible one stat is, let alone two?!”

Holding a finger up to his lips, Max got on his knees and tried to calm her down.

“I’d say I do, but you wouldn’t believe me. I mean, I never asked for this or expected it and now I’m probably going to hit the other three in at least ten floors at this rate.”

Tanila groaned and shook her hands again at him.

“Seth! Do you have any idea what…” stopping herself, she took a few deep breaths and let them out. Glancing down she saw how she was standing and ignored the smirk on his face, climbing back into bed and making sure to pull up the sheets.

“Listen… I’m eager to hear what they provide, but you have to understand that you can not tell others about it either.”

“Till when?”

“Ever? Maybe at floor fifty, it won’t matter, but right now, it would paint a target on you. What you represent and what you can achieve, kings and queens would do everything in their power to control you. If it weren’t possible through wealth, land, or riches, they would seek out ways to imprison and hurt those you love.”

The thought of someone using Tanila or the others to force his hand instantly lit a roaring fire that Max had never realized he had until he grew close to Tanila.

“I understand. I guess we should go to bed then and forget I ever mentioned it.”

Max quickly jumped under the covers and rolled over, pretending to fall asleep.

“Unless you want a cold bed, you better roll over and tell me what those grant,” Tanila informed him as she poked his back.

Laughing, Max rolled over and winked.

***

“Twenty-five floors… in record time,” Everett said, motioning for everyone to take their cup from the table. “Today, we celebrate for a moment just what you five have accomplished. The adventurers I see before me today are nothing like the ones who stood in here the first time and pledged themselves to our Faction.”

Everyone picked up their small metal cup and Fowl scowled as he inspected the tiny glass between his stubby fingers.

“Seems like so little for a moment like this,” the dwarf stated.

“Wait till you try it,” Tom replied. “Much more, and I doubt you would be of any use in the tower.”

“Here’s to the next twenty-five floors!”

Everyone lifted their glass and tossed back the drink, as Everett and Tom had done.

The sweet flavor of the fruit masked the massive kick it gave about a minute later.

Most of them began smiling, and a noticeable air of relaxation took over everyone but Max and Everett.

“You all go ahead and head downstairs,” Everett said as a knock came on the door. “Someone is here to see Seth and Tom still needs to check in all the items you keep bragging about having acquired.”

Laughing and giggling, the group made their way out the door as Dexic came in.

Max smiled and gave her a nod as she strode to where he was standing and held out his hand.

“I owe you, but I’m not sure you know what you’ve signed up for,” Dexic said without waiting. “The truth is, I acted rashly, and this may cost me my life if what Everett says could happen.”

Max shrugged and motioned to the couch before plopping down himself.

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“I'm not worried. Together, we’ll defeat them and earn back a little recompense for what they cost us.”

Frowning for a moment, Dexic nodded and sat down with a little more composure, watching Everett who was smiling at the both of them.

“Forgive me, I had a little to drink and I can’t help but find a little extra joy in this moment. Did you know they beat the twenty-fifth floor yesterday?”

Dexic’s face looked stunned as she stared at Max, unable to show any reaction.

“Already? The twenty-fifth floor?”

Nodding, Max grinned and reclined even more on the couch.

“Bit of a way since that troll dungeon you took me through.”

Snorting, the woman nodded and then studied Max, tapping her chin as she looked him up and down.

“You’re not drunk, and you might be attempting to look like you are. I can tell you’re ready to pounce at any moment if needed. Did you not drink yours?”

“I did, but alcohol has never affected me like it does others,” Max lied. “Regardless, you told Everett you wanted to see me. If it's just to try to talk me out of it, you can forget it. Nothing is going to keep me from that fight.”

“You did hear me when I said I might die and if I might die, that doesn’t bode well for you.”

“Has he told you how my duel with Tom went?”

Max’s question caught the veteran tower climber off guard, and she twisted on the couch, leaning toward Everett while pointing a finger at Max.

“He dueled Tom? All out?!”

Everett nodded, still grinning like a fool.

“And it was a tie. I even gave Tom some of my jewelry.”

“What?!” both of them exclaimed at the same time.

“I thought he was faster and stronger than he should have been!” Max exclaimed. “You cheated!”

Dexic glanced at Everett and then at Max before turning back to the older man.

“You two cheated, and he still tied?! How?”

“Actually, I’ll tell you what,” Max said as he leaned over toward the golden warrior and smiled. “How about you and I duel? All out. No holding back. If you can defeat me, I’ll try to pull out of the fight. If not, you’ll let it go.”

She shook her head and stared at Everett, who continued to sit there silently, grinning like an idiot.

“Are you okay with this? Tell me you still have some brains after taking a drink or two!”

Rising from his seat, Everett finally gave the first frown Max had seen in a while.

“I’ve been nice and fair and I’m going to tell you right now, Dexic, you will lose.”

She started to protest, but his hand came up as he shook his head.

“You can go outside right now and fight. I can’t promise you that I can keep everyone from watching but even if I let you borrow my jewelry I have no doubt he would win. So listen to the boy who is trying to save your life as he did Fletcher and Cressida. Or ignore what I’m telling you or find out the hard way you are going to have him for a partner next week.”

Max could see the rage and fury on the woman’s face he had once aspired to be like. Her hand shook slightly at her side, clenched into fists.

“How? How can you be this strong?” Dexic asked as she turned to face him.

“Some of us are blessed by the gods. I didn’t ask for it, but I’ve accepted it,” Max replied, his voice steady but firm. “Know that you are part of my family because you are part of my Faction. You may not realize it, but I have killed over twenty-five elves, all sent to kill me. Don’t just think about this as me protecting you. Realize that it is mostly why I’m doing this. Know that it is also because I am going to make everyone of them suffer if they think they can push us around and kill us.”

She saw the glint of commitment in Max’s gaze. He wasn’t lying, and she knew it. Even though he wouldn’t answer her questions, there was no doubt the boy had done everything she had dismissed as rumors.

Sighing, she nodded.

“I will accept your offer, then. Just promise me when we defeat those two that I get a chance to exact a little revenge. It wouldn’t be fair if you got to do all the killing.”

Grinning, Max nodded and held out his hand.

“It’s a deal.”

***

Max arrived in time to find Alfreda and Tom in shock at everything they continued to pull out of their storage. Long ago, they had moved to the largest room because of the occasional haul they brought in, yet even now every inch of the table and half of the floor in the room was covered with body parts from the Ifrit and a few dozen bags of fire giant testicles.

“How… I mean… no don’t tell me,” the older elf woman said. “I’m not sure we can technically classify some of this yet. It will take time for me to know what all this can do.”

“The scales have some alchemical ability as well as weapon and armor crafting,” Max said as he moved toward the group. “Those horns likewise can be used for all three, though I think long term you're more likely to get a far better return for using them for alchemy. These bits of flesh should also be mainly used on the alchemical side, and those fingernails would make a very strong dagger or spear.”

Alfreda glanced at Max and then at Tom, who shrugged and nodded.

“He has a habit of doing research and making sure that he knows as much as possible,” Tom informed her. “Now then, as far as a value for them all, that will take a while. We may end up selling some of the parts to other Factions.”

Max moved to where the two were standing and handed a piece of paper he retrieved from storage.

“This should help with that. I broke it down based on assumed cost and uses. Obviously, I could be wrong since I’m not certain about the actual prices of things, but I did note that the dwarves might be more interested in certain things while the elves would fancy something different.”

“If I wasn’t buzzed, I might not find this so funny,” Tom muttered.

“You’ve been drinking?! Does Everett know?”

Everyone chuckled at Alfreda’s question and she turned to see that everyone else appeared to be suffering the same effect.

“What am I missing?”

Max pointed at the body parts before her and smiled.

“This is from the twenty-fifth-floor boss.”

As the older woman swooned, Max moved and caught her in his arms.

After about a minute of fanning her and giving Alfreda some water, the woman perked up and stared at them all.

“You can’t have beat that boss already… that’s just not possible…”

Tom sighed and shrugged as she looked at him.

“Welcome to our newest crack team, Alfreda. Just remember to not tell anyone until the day you hear a story about them in a tavern. Then you can say you used to take their monster parts.”

Groaning the Elven woman frowned a second before letting herself smile.

“I guess the really good news is that I should be getting to see things I haven’t in a while.”

Fowl grabbed a bag full of testicles and held it up.

“Does that mean we can stop harvesting these?”

“Gods no,” Alfreda replied. “We make so much money off the potions those create.”

Moaning, Fowl ignored the laughter that echoed in the room.

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