Ultimate Level 1

Everett sat behind his desk while Tom fumed silently.

Dexic didn’t hide her displeasure at being ordered before everyone, her and Tom both having had a few harsh words aimed at each other on the trip here.

Tanila and the rest of his party had confused looks, wondering what had happened and why the man they knew had a reputation for being harsh sometimes was acting completely pissed off.

“Tom, breathe and tell me why our two most prominent members are currently sitting across from my desk as if they are in detention.”

It took multiple breaths for Tom to relax. The color in his face and head returned to a normal tan instead of the bright red it had been a few minutes ago.

“These two were supposed to be dueling, practicing, and training, and instead, they were making a mockery of it!” shouted Tom.

Dexic jumped up, about to reply, when Everett held out a hand and shook his head.

“Let Tom finish, then you can have a turn.”

His eyes told her he wasn’t asking even though the way he had said it almost seemed like he had.

Huffing, the top member of the Faction, sat down, gripping the arm of the chair so tight one of them cracked under her fingers.

Sighing, Everett shook his head and motioned to his friend, who was visibly shaking with fury.

“Continue.”

“They danced around, blocking and parrying each attack. Sure, they went faster, and while I was surprised that Seth could keep up as long as he did when Dexic had a chance to injure him, she didn’t! She pulled her blow and sent the blade to the side!”

“I did no such thing!” Dexic bellowed, jumping back to her feet in an instant. “The blade stopped on its own! I am not the kind of–”

“I said wait,” Everett almost growled, rising from his chair, his fingers pressed against the desk.

Clamping her mouth shut, the daggers coming from her eyes at Tom were obvious. This time, she sat down a little slower and made sure not to destroy the chair with her grip.

“Tom…”

“I don’t care what she said!” he exclaimed. “As if that wasn’t enough, in a foolish move, Seth grabbed the sword we just gave her, wrenched it from her hands, and put it into his storage! After that, it was nothing more than a show, her punching and kicking him around the dirt!”

Glancing up to see if the man he trusted with everything was finished, Everett turned to Dexic, leaning against his desk and resting his chin on his hands as he clasped them together.

“Dexic… your turn.”

Max watched as the woman who had been ready to go toe to toe with Tom a minute ago closed her eyes, took two breaths, and when done, opened her eyes, calm as every other time he had seen her.

“The first part was true. I let Seth show me what he had, and I wanted to see his skill, speed, power, and technique. It was impressive, and when he realized there wasn’t anything left he could show me, I’m certain he stepped back so I could have fun.”

She turned, looking at him, and Max nodded, not risking to say anything right now.

“I increased my speed and strength, wanting to see how good he was. If you allow me to give my humble opinion, he’s better than you told me. Everything I sent was blocked or parried, with a skill that I doubt most ten or twenty levels higher than him could master. It’s obvious his weapon skill is epic.”

Unable to stay completely still, Max shifted just slightly, and he saw that all three of them turned their eyes on him at that movement.

“I’ll take that as a sign I’m correct,” she stated. “As far as me pulling my attack, something you know I have never and will never do, I’m not certain what enchantment his armor must have, but the weapon stopped dead when it should have pierced through the shoulder completely.”

Tom moved forward, his mouth beginning to move when Everett’s hand rose, stopping the man from interrupting.

“The next part caught me off guard as I hadn’t expected Seth to do something so bold. The truth is I was confused and a bit upset by how the weapon had failed.”

Shifting in her chair, a squeaking noise came from that movement since the structure had been damaged from her grasp. Dexic frowned.

“That move he did was foolish. Grabbing a weapon like that isn’t something one should ever do unless they’re certain they can win that fight and not be cut by the very blade they are trying to hold. Seth’s speed at which he moved,” she said as she pointed to the balded-headed warrior sitting near her, “was faster than before. A calculated risk? A foolish and desperate action? Either way, it worked, but I cannot answer how he managed to pull the sword from my grip. There is no way it should have ever vanished as it did.”

Grunting, she folded her arms and leaned back in her chair.

“After that, I decided to beat the crap out of him for using whatever trick he had, gladly teaching him a lesson in the process.”

With her mouth closed and her blue eyes focused on Max, Everett turned his attention to the one both Tom and their golden warrior were staring at.

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“Care to shed some light on this?” Everett asked. Again, his tone and gaze told Max he had no choice in the matter.

“Do you want the truth?”

All three almost looked like clones of each other, with one eyebrow raised while the other lowered slightly.

“Unless you want me to let Dexic spend the rest of the day beating on you in the training field, yes, the truth, please.”

Nodding, Max sighed, glancing at Dexic, his lips moving between a frown and being drawn tight.

“Take your new sword out and stab my leg with it.”

Their golden warrior shook her head and looked at Max before turning to see what Everett wanted her to do.

“Seriously?

Max nodded and put his leg closer to her.

“Just thrust it. Don’t try to hack it off.”

Everett shrugged, and Tom seemed just as perplexed, but both said nothing as Dexic stood and retrieved the weapon. Slowly, she extended it toward his thigh, less than an inch between the two.

“Don’t blame me if you can’t walk for a week.”

“Just do it,” Max replied, ready to weave the story he had been working on all this time.

She pulled back, thrusting with enough force that Max was certain she might have taken his leg off if he didn’t already know the outcome.

The tip of the sword hit the cloth on his leg and stopped immediately. Then, it slid off the side, sending Dexic stumbling a step and almost putting the sword into the floor.

The sound of Everett’s chair sliding back and Tom's gasp was barely covered by the curse Dexic let out of her mouth.

“What in a goat humpin' troll is that?!”

Everett moved around the desk slowly, and a dagger appeared in his hand when he stood next to Max. Immediately, Max recognized it as the one he had crafted.

Without hesitating, Everett plunged the dagger at Max’s neck, ignoring the shout Dexic let out, and watched as the blade again stopped, touching his skin but not damaging it before sliding across the front, leaving no mark.

“What in the gods is that skill?!”

Everett stored the dagger and turned to Dexic, ignoring the look of confusion that was written across her face.

“You need to go–”

“But he just–”

“Go! I will tell you details later, but one of the problems with being a Faction leader is keeping secrets,” Everett said. “Do I need to remind you that I keep secrets for everyone?”

Her face turned red, and Max wasn’t sure if it was because she was getting forced out of the room or because Everett had just commented on something private.

“Fine!” she huffed, turning her attention to Max. “One day, you and I will have a talk, and when we do, I expect an answer!”

Giving a soft smile and a single nod, Max watched as the woman stormed out of the office, slamming the massive door as she left.

Tom was staring at the two of them in shock.

Glancing back and forth between Everett and Max, the man seemed to be struggling to put together what he had just seen.

Sitting in his chair, Everett stared at Max, slightly shaking his head.

“You said you’d tell the truth. Are you certain you can do that, Seth? Or should I call you Joshua?”

Tom’s mouth dropped as his eyes went wide, and then realization struck.

“He’s the crafter? How? Why?”

When his friend's hand came up, Tom stopped and glanced around the room. Seeing the chair Dexic had just vacated and went to it, grabbing it and moving it so that he could see both men at the same time.

“You know that dragon dungeon… there is more to it than I can share…” Max said, shifting slightly under the gaze of the person he was receiving. “The story we told was slightly different from what you were told.”

“Why would you lie?” Tom asked. “Haven’t we proven ourselves?”

Max shook his head.

“It’s not just that. Not all of my team knows everything. Some things I can’t share. Others… there was a dragon on the last floor, and it made me promise things… stuff I haven’t even told Tanila.”

Max’s words were softer, and both men saw that his head was looking down at the floor instead of at them.

“What would be so dangerous you can’t share with her?” Everett asked. “I doubt you keep much, if anything, from that woman.”

“I dislike keeping secrets, but as you told Dexic, sometimes they’re necessary. After all, how would you react if I suddenly told you that I have a legendary weapon crafting skill?”

Tom’s eyes went wide at the truth Max just casually dropped.

“It would have been very suspect,” Everett replied, his eyes narrowing slightly. “As you might guess, I would have a lot of questions and probably not take just any answer you gave so easily.”

Max nodded and stood up, motioning for both men to stay seated.

“I’m going to show you something. Know that the only way you will ever get this is if you kill me,” Max said in a deep voice. “This was a gift from the dragon, and the other was to use it one day.”

Hesitating a moment, he watched both men, waiting for them to acknowledge his words with a simple bob of their heads.

When he pulled the dragon tooth from his storage, holding the massive thing in his hands, Tom fell backward, his chair tipping over, and no sooner than he had crashed to the floor, rolled, and was back on his feet.

Everett’s chair was falling over also as the man jumped in surprise.

“A dragon's tooth!”

“My dragon’s tooth,” Max replied before storing it a second later. “The dragon gave it to me and the means to fashion a weapon from it when I have acquired the items to make something worthy of it. That is why I was crafting items for materials. Trying to find if there was anything I knew would work with this.”

“And did you?” Everett asked as he moved backward and stood up his chair, sliding it back into place. “Do we have items that would work with that?”

Shaking his head, Max sighed.

“You and I both know anything worth real gold or having wasn’t shared with Joshua.”

A chuckle came from Everett, and he glanced at Tom, who appeared to be unable to handle everything thrown at him.

“Low intelligence stat?” Max asked playfully.

“Boy, I will–”

“Don’t,” Everett said, cutting him off before chuckling. “Seth is right. Intelligence is one of your lowest stats, though it is higher than most warriors. The truth is that Tom operates based on what he sees, and his knowledge of tactics is one of the best. Yet telling him a dragon gave you a tooth and a skill to turn it into a weapon and then realizing you were smart enough to purchase an item, hide your identity, and fool us… well, that’s too much.”

Slowly, Tom nodded.

“So now what?” Max asked.

Everett’s cheeks tightened as he frowned slightly.

“I’ll need a moment. Tom, can you grab a drink from my special jar for all three of us?”

Immediately, the trainer perked up and grinned, moving to the shelf that held exactly what he knew his friend wanted.

“Sit, Seth. We need to talk.”

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