Ultimate Level 1

“I don’t remember much about what they do, just that they are immune to fire, have very dangerous abilities and are hard to kill.”

“So like basically what we’d expect from a fire boss in an elite dungeon,” Fowl muttered.

Tanila glared at their warrior and his response to the information she shared.

“What about that floor? It looks like there are sections missing and paths between them,” Max said. “It looks like the center portion is decently sized, but if for some reason we get pushed off that middle area, one might get separated and that wouldn’t be good.”

“Want the three of us staying close?”

Sighing, Max nodded slowly.

“With your barrier, it’s the one trump card we can play for a moment. Fowl should be okay for a bit with his resistance skill and ability. Ice magic will be our friend, but we have to make sure Fowl and I keep aggro.”

“I’ll watch my rotation,” Talina replied.

“Then let’s go.”

A single path ran all the way to where the boss waited.

The boss was thirty feet tall, its horns on its head and back adding another seven feet. Two massive horns came from the thick armored plates as the bright glowing red eyes watched them approach. A smile of fire came from the maw of the beast. Its back had four giant spikes sticking off to the sides, curling upward slightly, almost looking like wings. Massive claws were on its armored hands and its feet had matching weapons of destruction where its toes were.

Every inch of the body seemed to be armored, and flames occasionally washed over it as it breathed.

When they got to the edge of the center platform that was probably a hundred and twenty yards wide with no areas missing, the boss began to laugh.

“Foolish mortals. You choose to face me when you could have taken the easy way out, fighting a lesser being that doesn’t deserve the name I carry.”

“Now Batrire,” Tanila whispered, and their dwarf began to cast her newest buff.

For five minutes, they would have a twenty-five percent increase to their stats and they would not waste it.

“Go!” Max shouted the moment the buff set in, racing forward, shield and weapon out. Fowl was right behind him, staying a little closer to the other three as they got safely onto the center platform.

An Ice Spear began to form above him and the boss laughed, moving its hand in a pattern.

Balls of fire began to rain down around it, creating a protective area of destruction, as the barrage of flames would assault anyone foolish enough to get close.

Max, of course, was foolish enough and raced toward the boss, dodging the spells that came down, his speed and sonar allowing him to minimize all but the splash of flames that washed over him.

[ Regeneration ]

The boss swung its arm, a sword of fire appearing, easily ten feet long, at Max.

Sending the Ice Spear at the boss’s chest, Max smiled as the Ifrit seemed to ignore the spell, more concerned with hitting him.

Dodging sideways, he held up his shield, feeling the giant blade scrape across the gift of the fallen gorgon. With this new buff of and his stats, he felt unstoppable.

A roar came as the boss suffered the impact of the Ice Spear. A few feet of it pierced the hardened scale, sending a cascade of black blood that immediately ignited upon hitting the ground.

“Foolish mortals!”

Still smiling, Max was at the boss’s feet, swinging his axe and chipping away at the thick layer of protection that seemed at least eight inches thick based on how a piece jutted up near the knee.

Part of him wanted to go all out, using his skills, but the other was cautious.

“Join the battle my minions!”

The boss seemed to ignore Max as he chipped and hacked away at its legs. All around the boss six foot wide circles of fire appeared and from each one a flaming dog leapt out.

In a matter of seconds from the flaming portals appearing, over thirty of the threats were now present on the inner area.

A glance toward his friends saw Fowl hitting one with his hammer while running back toward the other three.

Tanila already sent a spear through one and was casting her Ice Storm while Cordellia fired arrow after arrow, enchanted with ice magic, into the dogs that were coming toward them.

“I got them!” Fowl yelled out.

Pissed, Max continued his dance, dodging the fireballs that still fell from above, weaving between the kicks and stomps while parrying and blocking the flaming sword that only missed by a foot at most.

Every second meant their buff was wearing off and yet a dozen of the flaming wolves or dogs were coming at him, a few opening their mouths and a ball of fire beginning to form.

Goblin shite …

He began casting his own Ice Storm, needing to do more damage to the boss while also decreasing the number of ways he was getting attacked.

His sonar was going crazy trying to keep up with all the projectiles falling at him and everything else. Max knew his luck had run out when he couldn’t block the strike, or a kick. Even worse would be if he was overwhelmed by the pack of summoned dogs.

[ Bulwark ]

[ Armored Warrior ]

The kick came as Max blocked the sword, knowing it would be the worst of the attacks.

Even with his skills, the boss hit him hard enough to move him a few feet, which was impressive. Ten percent of his total hit points were gone from that one attack, but Max was almost done preparing his spell when the three gouts of flame hit him.

Flesh began to burn, but his mind stayed strong, assisted by the ability he now had.

Two more seconds passed and the rain of ice spears fell, gouging the bodies of the summoned hounds and the boss.

Max felt the Ifrit move back a few steps, turning toward him and bending over.

Glancing up, the flaming maw was open as wide as possible and giant flames appeared in its mouth.

As the stream of fire raced toward Max, an arrow struck the side of its neck, shattering the scales there and plunging deep inside.

The Ifrit’s head moved sideways from the attack, sending its own attack away from Max who had hidden behind his shield, preparing to endure as long as he could the attack.

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Only a few short seconds washed over him, burning the flesh beneath his armor immediately.

Half his life was gone in that brief moment and Cordellia’s attack had saved him from something he hadn’t really been prepared for.

“Big heal!”

Max regretted having stood there, being overconfident in his ability and self. It had almost cost him his life.

Seeing an opportunity with the boss distracted even in the slightest, Max went for the kill.

[ Demonic Teleportation ]

[ Power Strike ]

[ Magical Strike ]

[ Rampage ]

As his flesh regrew and the pain of the muscles that had burnt away subsided, Max swung at the area Cordellia’s arrow had struck.

The barrage of attacks connected and as they did, the world seemed to shift.

Laughter came from the Ifrit and a hand approached.

Max turned, holding his weapon, spike pointed toward the incoming hand as he leaned against the boss’s head.

Black blood squirted as the weapon pierced the Ifrit’s palm, splattering on and around Max, turning into flames again and sending waves of pain from the burnt flesh once more.

Casting Ice Nova, Max held his ground, grabbing the horn he was near as the boss pulled its hand back, flicking more blood as it did.

The spot he had struck looked exactly as it had when Cordellia’s arrow had struck. He recognized the arrow that was partially sticking out as one of her special ones and bent down, grabbing it and tore it free.

More blood gushed out and ignited around him, earning another roar from the boss.

“Why won’t you die?!” it bellowed, shaking its body and trying to get Max to fall.

Ice rained down upon them and these shards were a lot larger and penetrated more deeply into the boss’s thick armor.

Max formed an Ice Spear as he held onto the horn with one hand.

His sonar told him that Tanila had just sent her next attack toward the boss and the impact and reaction almost broke Max’s grip when the boss stumbled sideways.

He could tell that the spear Tanila had sent was twenty percent larger than usual and with her boosted stats and the glowing hair, there was no doubt she wasn’t holding back either.

As the Ifrit regained its balance and turned toward Tanila, Max jumped off its shoulder, sending the ice spear he had into its right eye from point blank range.

It couldn’t dodge or block the attack as the six foot long spear hurtled into the blazing socket, quenching the fire inside and sending both hands to the boss’s face.

The roar it let out seemed to shake the entire boss floor.

Max summoned a stone wall at an angle and slid down it as he landed, rolling after hitting the ground.

Glancing around at the sword he had heard clatter, he saw it was gone. Whatever magic had summoned it and kept it alive, no longer active.

Here I was, hoping to get a new weapon.

The boss was recovering and Max went all out, knowing even if he failed to overcome the Ifrit right now, any damage done was better in the end.

Charging the legs, Max let go.

Take over. I can tell you want it.

Without a response, his vision shifted, and the world around him turned a different color.

His body moved as the skill took control, and Max watched, learning what it did that was different and better.

The halberd came around fast, striking a crack in the armor he had already created, dancing again as Ice Storm began the casting process. Each strike hit the same spot over and over with accuracy he hadn’t realized was possible.

No skills activated beyond magic as his weapon rained down blow after blow upon the same spot on both legs.

Each time the boss tried to stagger, to move, to escape the pest at its feet.

Fireballs rained down but none struck him, and when the Ice Storm began anew, Frost Nova started.

A few strikes later, a massive chunk of the armored plate on its shin broke free, dropping to the ground, and Max watched himself pick it up, store it and move for the next strike.

[ Berserker ]

The shift was always different. The red color wasn’t as bright and in the orange and red glow of the lava, Max felt it was almost a dark blood color.

Every swing of his weapon hit same spot that had lost its protection and in the first three seconds, half of the boss's shin had been destroyed, the other half quickly succumbing to the strikes.

Mid swing, the boss vanished, moved twenty yards away and behind Max.

A smile appeared on his face and Max turned, seeing the boss summing a ball of fire with both hands together, black blood gushing from the open wound.

The sound of maniacal laughter filled the air, not from the Ifrit but from his own mouth.

Another ice spear slammed into the boss’s arm, yet it ignored the gaping wound, keeping the ball of fire aimed at Max, who ran toward it.

When the ball moved, Max blinked out of where it was going to impact.

[ Demonic Teleportation ]

The speed and power behind the next swing connected with the open wound, a loud crack filling Max’s ears.

Flames washed over him from behind and the burning sensation was dulled completely by the rage of the berserker. His life didn’t matter and as much as Max wanted to take control, he knew the cost.

He had given over control at this moment. The elves and their actions had angered both him and his skill. Blood had been spilt and a roaring fire inside had never been quenched.

Now there was a chance for him to let what both he and his skill longed for.

A bolt of lightning erupted from his hands, something Max hadn’t even realized he was casting, traveling upward into the underside of the boss.

Another strike hit and then the blade dug deep into the wound, almost stuck as he yanked it out, the shattering of bones and armor.

He moved, beginning to strike the other leg as the boss crashed to its knee.

The second a hand hit the ground for support, his body raced towards it, a single bound putting him there.

A swing of the halberd came downward, cleaving through a finger and then another before the boss could jerk its hand back up, its body tipping sideways when it lost the support needed to keep that position.

Each movement of the boss brought a reaction from his body.

A ball of lightning formed, slamming into the exposed face as the boss lay sideways for a moment.

His weapon swung, cleaving into the neck, two attacks landing before the boss’s hand and arm forced him to move.

Words filled his ears and Max finally realized it was his own voice screaming out.

“MINE! IT’S MINE!”

No more spells came from Tanila, nor arrows from their ranger as Max.

Roars of pain came from the boss but every attempt to stop the onslaught failed.

Time passed so quickly as chunks of flesh, bone, more fingers, hardened armor and even a horn were brutally hacked off in the killing of a boss. Each piece was collected without a lost bit of movement or stride, stored within his dimensional necklace.

When the last swing connected and then the boss’s body began to fade, Max only then realized it was over.

His body was panting, and then he fell to his knees, feeling weak and spent.

Satisfaction and a sense of peace came through his connection with his skill.

Thank you for that. I’m certain you will find the moment was worth it for both of us.

Max tried to respond, but his invisible helmet hit the stone floor as he passed out, hearing his name and sensing the others coming.

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