Ultimate Level 1

Chapter 196: Upgrading a Weapon

Max started to shout as the minotaur raced toward the woman he loved, its weapon prepped to end the life of anyone struck by that weapon.

Without waiting, he did only what he could think of.

Planting its legs, the boss swung its club, the trails of flame making an arc that lingered in everyone's vision as they saw it coming toward Tanila, who couldn’t move in time.

Max appeared in the middle of the air, shield out before the swing in the middle of the air.

[ Demonic Teleport ]

[ Bulwark ]

[ Armored Warrior ]

[ Regeneration ]

The club connected against Max in the air, striking the shield he held tight against his body.

A cracking sound came, and one moment, Max was in midair. The next he was sent flying, slamming into the stone wall of the boss room, bouncing off of it, and skipping across the floor like a rock.

Half of a broken shield lodged itself in the ground near Batrire, just a few feet away from splitting her in half.

All the momentum of the swing was gone, and the flaming club flashed again before vanishing.

Still, the boss didn’t turn to see what had stopped the strike. Enraged, it almost pulled back its club again, swinging at Tanila once more.

As the flaming weapon came at her, it hit a glowing barrier, bouncing off and leaving a trail of flames that washed around it.

Attack after attack came, slamming into the glowing barrier, doing nothing as Fowl struck at its wounded left leg with his mace, causing blood to pour from the wound.

“FOWL!”

The eyes of all three women were wide, looking upward at the only eye the boss had, absolute hatred pouring from the black eye as it tried to kill the elf.

Stopping his swings, Fowl activated his late birthday gift from Tom.

It took three seconds, but when it was done, his body flashed white.

“Taunting!”

The moment he said those words and his ring activated, the boss stopped midswing, turning to glare at the dwarf by its feet.

A feeble kick struck Fowl, not moving him, and the minotaur moved, positioning itself to go after the dwarf backing up, creating room between it and the others.

Max struggled to move. Bones were rejoining and popping into place, and he had to wait for his right arm to heal enough to pry the shield folded against his arm off. Storing it, he watched the fight, unable to join, and grinned.

That item… it’s worth the gold, I guess

Fowl had acquired the ring from Tom a week ago. He had saved it from the days in the tower and, after seeing and hearing how close things had gotten, gave it to the warrior. Only a single charge was left, the other two having been used while he climbed, but still, the man had given away a valuable treasure.

A late birthday gift indeed.

Smiling, even though it hurt, Max watched as his friend protected the women they loved, drawing the boss further away. He rose as his bones finished healing and the last two joints popped into place.

Glaring at the boss, Max raced toward it, pulling his halberd out and knowing what needed to be done.

“I’m here!” Max shouted as he raced around the boss toward its injured left leg. Getting into position, he started to swing at the wound again, smiling this time.

[ Demonic Magic ]

[ Magical Strike ]

[ Rampage ]

He hadn’t tested this combo yet, and the idea of using so many demonic souls hurt, but it was time to end this.

His blade shimmered and went black.

In the blink of an eye, he struck their times, each one carrying over the effect of the Magical Strike since Rampage was apparently considered a single melee attack. Demonic magic caused the boss’s leg to turn green, and after all three strikes sliced through the tender section, the boss tumbled sideways, four feet of its left leg now separated from its hoof.

As it fell, the creature howled, and everyone gave it space for where it was going to land.

Blood splattered and gushed all over the dirt from the wound.

Fowl’s strike caused it to bleed faster, and the thorn effect amplified it even more. The flaming club fell from its grip as the boss hit the ground. Max rushed over, storing his halberd and grabbing it with two hands.

Its size shifted, shrinking until it was almost as tall as him. Flames still covered the length of the wooden club, and for the first time since this fight had started, Max grinned.

Trying to roll over, the minotaur was assaulted by arrows and spells as they continued to wear down the creature.

Max came over, swinging with everything, including the weapon that was almost too large for him. The wooden grip was just a little too thick and his weapon crafting skill was giving him ideas on how to solve that problem later.

A roar erupted as the club came down on the hand the boss was using to push against the ground as it tried to rise. Bones broke from the impact, and where the hammer hit, flames transferred to the wounded area, sending up the sweet smell of cooked beef.

Fowl attacked the other hand, keeping it from being able to find purchase as the mace left holes in its skin, blood trickling out.

Falling face first to the dirt as both hands lost their position, the creature let out a snort as dirt covered its bloody face.

Max moved quickly, giving it no time to recover, slamming the club against the minotaur’s head. Over and over, he continued to beat against the skull, cracks, and groans coming from the boss. It took the cold wave of power washing through him to make Max stop, consumed by the anger he felt, knowing this beast was going to kill Tanila if given the chance.

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[ Consume has Successfully Consumed Bonus Stats ]

[ 10 Strength Consumed ]

[ 10 Constitution Consumed ]

[Consume has successfully Consumed a skill]

[Would you like to learn [Formidable Mind]?]

[ Yes / No]

Without hesitation, Max selected yes. The pain in his mind immediately vanished, and the sudden rush of stats or skills no longer seemed to affect him like usual.

[Skill Description - Formidable Mind]

*****

Formidable Mind—Rare Skill: The user is extra resistant to skills, spells, and abilities that attempt to control or alter their mind. When under an effect, the user can decide to activate the ability, freeing them from it. The cooldown is twenty-four hours.

*****

That is not one I would have preferred you to have…

What does that mean? Because it will stop you?

A few seconds passed, and frustration seemed to come from within.

It may be more difficult for me to help you during those times when you need me. If you use that skill when I am in control, I can promise you it will go poorly for both of us.

How is that–

Focus on your group. We will talk later.

Glancing at the others, Max saw that Cordellia was staring at him, seemingly waiting for an answer.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked, what the hell is that weapon?!” their ranger asked loudly.

Realizing he still held the club in his hands, Max looked at it and grinned.

“I hadn’t checked.”

[Inspect Weapon]

*****

Burning Rage

+25 Strength, Constitution, Dexterity

Rage Fire Enchanted - Bonus fire damage dealt when angry. The more rage one has the hotter the flames will burn.

Bonded

*****

“How the hell is it bonded?”

“It’s bonded?” Fowl asked as the dwarf walked over to the warrior with the new flaming weapon. “That shouldn’t happen if you stole it from the boss.”

“Seriously?” Cordellia said as she approached the pair. “You’re telling me something that doesn’t seem to make sense like this bothers you? Have you forgotten that everything that happens to this group doesn’t make sense?”

Both men chuckled, and Max shrugged before putting the massive club away and then turned, seeing that the boss’s corpse was already gone.

“Damnit… I got distracted…”

“It’s okay,” Batrire said. “Fowl managed to get the leg you hacked off in his inventory. Who knows what that hoof might be worth?”

Chuckling, he nodded and turned to see Tanila looking at him. Her green eyes were locked on his face, and she mouthed the words thank you as she came closer.

“Oh please, before these two start kissing and making out, can we at least check the chest?” Fowl asked.

Smiling, Max winked at her and turned to the chest Fowl was about to make love to.

In the center of the room stood a massive chest, typical of bosses like this, the same color as the metal doors they had first entered through to get into this room. Along it were smaller minotaurs half the size of the massive one in the middle of the chest, covering each side all the way around.

“That thing wasn’t as big as I hoped,” Fowl said in an upset tone.

“I heard Batrire say the same thing,” Cordellia replied, earning a burst of laughter from everyone but the now red-faced dwarven warrior.

“Oh, I like her more every day,” their healer quickly added.

Ignoring the hand gesture Fowl made, the group moved to where the chest was at and glanced around at one another.

“Go for it, Cordellia, you earned it,” Tanaila declared, giving the ranger a wink.

Without waiting for Fowl to protest, the woman moved forward and gave the chest lid a shove, and grinned as she got to stare inside first.

Gathering around, they saw that three massive yellow gems were waiting for them, and one blank space had a rotating black box that needed to be rolled on.

“Why doesn’t an item show up?” Fowl asked as he glanced at the others. “Usually, it shows an idea of what the item is going to be.”

“And here I was worried you were going to be upset only one item was in here.”

“That is different, very rare,” their mage said as she tapped her bottom lip with a finger. It's usually not something one sees until floor thirty, maybe?”

“So, who rolls?” Fowl asked. “I mean… besides me?”

“I think we all should,” Batrire said as she watched the object continue to spin, not telling anyone what might be acquired.

With a nod from each party member, they all touched the space, and their faces appeared on what looked like a deck of cards. Suddenly, the cards were shuffled together, and they watched as each one was turned upside down, mixing and matching over and over.

Fowl let out a howl of joy when the top card turned over, and his face appeared.

“What the bloody hell is that?!” he shouted when a second card flipped over, and Cordellia’s was on it.

Over and over, more cards were flipped, the deck getting smaller and smaller as someone's face was shown on each card.

“It’s the last card,” Tanila said first. “That’s the winner.”

Trying to do the math on his fingers, Fowl started muttering, trying to remember how many cards had his image on them and how many he had seen.

“Does someone know?!” he asked as the pile reached down to just three cards left, and the cards seemed to turn over much slower now.

Max nodded but said nothing.

Three cards remained, and he knew who was still left in the game.

A card flipped over, showing Max and his bald head.

Trying not to flinch or wince, he waited, wondering if anyone else knew the count.

When the second to last card came, the sound of someone sucking in air through pursed lips only added to the suspense.

What felt like forever but was only a few seconds had a card with Cordellia’s face appear.

Groaning, the ranger sighed and looked at Max.

He nodded, and then the last card flipped over, revealing a bald head to everyone.

“That’s a shiny head,” Tanila stated. “Congrats.”

Fowl muttered a congratulations before turning and moving away from the chest.

“Flamin club and ….”

“Well, touch it!”

Nodding, he obeyed their healer, and Max put his hand in, touching the still-hidden item.

A green gem the size of his palm appeared, runes etched in it as it pulsed and glowed.

“That can’t be!” Cordellia shouted, moving closer to what Max was holding.

“It is!” Tanila said, her face mimicking the same open mouth and wide eyes as their ranger.

“What the hell is it?” Max asked as he looked between both women.

“It’s an escape gem!” exclaimed their mage. “It's very rare, very expensive, but super powerful. Had this boss been too much, or any boss really, you could break that gem, and it would take your entire party, dead or alive, and put them outside the entrance of the tower.”

“And there is no floor limit for it to work, or as far as I’ve heard,” Cordellia added. “Factions would pay tens of thousands of gold for an item like that.”

Scratching his chin with his other hand, Max shrugged and put it in storage.

“Well, hopefully, we won’t need it, but I doubt I’m ever going to sell it. Now then, where is the portal.”

Fowl grunted and pointed behind his balded-headed friend.

“Showed up after you won. I guess I can’t complain; that’s a nice get-out-of-a-bad-spot item.”

“Maybe if you’re nice, I’ll let you hold it,” Max teased.

“Who cares? I just want to go home and brag about hitting level fifty-five,” Fowl said with a wink.

Everyone laughed and nodded, glad to get to spend five more stat points.

Moving to where Tanila was, Max gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“I probably owe Fowl for saving you.”

Shaking her head, she rubbed his bald head and smiled.

“He wasn’t the one that took an attack for me. Thank you.”

Nodding, he grabbed her hand and led her toward the portal.

“You can thank me when we get back to the Faction house.”

Fowl groaned and quickly moved through the portal first.

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