Ultimate Level 1

“That is about the ugliest thing I have ever seen,” Batrire stated as they stared at a pair of monsters about a hundred yards away.

They looked like someone had taken clay or flesh and partially melted it into a twelve foot blob of a person. Two large black eyes and something that resembled a mouth decorated the head, while a wide, fat torso was supported by a pair of stubby legs.

Two arms that almost reached what would be its knees lay against the blob’s side.

“Those are flesh golems,” Tanila said, her voice carrying a hint of displeasure. “Nasty and horrible things that are supposedly summoned by using the body parts of people who are sacrificed in their creation.”

Max’s mind recalled two pages in a book he had read about golems like these.

“If you’re right, then these are highly resistant to damage, strong against magic and, like everything else, hurt when they hit you.”

“So, what’s the game plan? We each tank one and focus on yours first?”

Nodding at Fowl’s question, Max summoned his weapon and pointed to the one on the right.

“I’ll try and stealth attack it. The good news is these tunnels aren’t that wide and if need be we can summon walls to block them in.”

“Go ahead and toss your stone, little warrior boy.”

Giving Max the finger, Fowl pulled a stone out and tossed it at the one on the left, moving forward and preparing to engage.

Entering Stealth, Max moved to the right a little more, grateful for the fifteen yard wide tunnel system they were in.

As the pair ran towards Fowl, their steps echoed down into the darkness, only masked when they had roared at first.

Fowl held his shield at the ready, prepared to take the first strike as Max swung from behind at his target.

The blade cut deep into the leg of his enemy, slicing through the flesh until it slammed into something halfway through, stopping his momentum completely.

Without having to turn around, the creature's face appeared on the side he had attacked from and both arms moved toward Max, who had to yank his weapon free.

It took every bit of strength and all of his speed to avoid both attacks that came.

“Careful your weapon will–”

“Goblin shite!” Fowl cursed, and Max could sense his dwarven friend's hammer stuck inside the leg of the golem he was fighting.

The sound of the golem's fist hitting the dwarf’s shield as the squishy end splattered around it was a muffled thud, almost like a wet towel slapped against something hard. Yet there was a squelch that came as the moist material spread and clung to the shield, keeping Fowl from moving it as he hoped.

Casting Fire Nova, Max sensed the ice spear coming toward the one he was facing, seeing its impact against the creature’s side.

Cold ice formed for a moment on the flesh as the impact shifted it, maybe a foot, the spell traveling through the creature and mitigating most of the force.

His spell went off as he dodged another attack, slicing at the arm that came toward him, hitting what had to be the bones or whatever inside. Once again his blade came to an immediate halt.

Waves of fire rolled off from him, the air filled with the scent of burnt flesh.

Flames covered the golem Max faced, a guttural growl coming from its mouth as both arms came at him once more.

Dodging and weaving, hacking and slashing, Max cast a fireball, watching more flesh burn, seeing the creature lose a little of its massive size as the outer layer was slowly burnt away.

“Fire!”

Tanila quickly shifted to fire spells as Max tried to cut off chunks of the golem instead of trying to cut through it.

Soon the worked stone floor of the hallway they were in was littered with clumps of burning flesh, and the golem now before Max was no longer thick but instead a metallic skeleton, black eyes and a weird wide mouth head, swinging much faster at him as its size grew smaller.

The fire spells did little more than continue to burn off flesh, Max’s weapon's hammer side was a much better tool for attacking the bones inside the flesh.

[ Power Strike ]

His attack struck the hip of the golem where the joint came together and a cracking sound filled the hallway as the metal shattered, causing the creature to fall sideways.

How strong are these things? Even one attack like that doesn’t do much!

Lost in that thought, Max hammered over and over the golem's metal head, doing his best to hit the same spot over and over.

Small dents began to appear and when a plate on its skull shifted and a tiny opening formed, he drove the tip of his spear into it, feeling the creature jerk as the dark stones became darker.

Turning, Max moved toward Fowl when the pressure from behind him came.

An explosion rocked the hallway, chunks of metal flying everywhere.

Four large pieces pierced his back as he dodged and evaded the others, his shield having been summoned as he twisted.

He tossed an air wall up before Tanila and the others, unsure how far those pieces might travel, taking the damage he knew wouldn’t kill him.

[ Regeneration ]

Quickly, his body began to push the pieces that had pierced him out, and ignoring the pain, Max grunted in frustration.

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Fowl was about three-fourths health, the constant attacks that hammered down on him combined with the way the golem could almost immobilize the shield by its flesh sticking to it, meant his dwarven friend couldn’t dodge or block every attack.

“Fowl! Go two shields! Tanila, be ready to air wall!”

Dancing around the globs of flesh that had fallen from Fowl’s target, apparently his Thorn skill able to damage even this thing, Max summoned a stone wall and moved up it.

[ Magical Strike ]

Slicing downward at the creature's head, Max’s blade cut through the metal skull, the armor of it no longer protected by whatever it had been.

The creature shuddered and two seconds later, as Max hid behind his shield, it exploded as the other one had, this time with more force.

Flying through the air, Max set his feet and absorbed the impact against the wall of the tunnel, seeing that Fowl had not been moved and appeared only slightly damaged from being next to the creature when it exploded.

“Okay, someone tell me what the heck are these things?” Fowl muttered as he used hand and started swiping flesh chunks off his shield.

“Resistant to physical attacks and magical attacks,” Tanila said as they moved to where the dwarf was standing. “This is going to be a slow and painful grind.”

“Especially with my cooldown on that one skill. Power strike might do something if I clear off some of the flesh on the head before trying to smash it but even that’s no guarantee.”

“Should we try to kill a pair without the use of skills?” Cordellia asked.

Tsking his tongue for a moment, Max saw the expression on Tanila’s face and nodded.

“Might as well.”

***

The fight against the next two took over fifteen minutes as Max and Tanila burnt away the flesh, allowing him to break a hip socket again and eventually repeat the process once more.

Fowl’s target was killed in the same time and fashion, wearing it down and disabling it before creating a weak point and piercing its skull.

“It’s doable,” Max said as he watched a piece of metal that had struck his foot be pushed out by his Regeneration skill. “Just slow. At least the experience is good, right?”

A few nods came, and they set off further down the tunnel, not looking forward to the speed at which this tower floor was going to test them.

***

“Four days in a tower floor. It almost makes me feel good to know not even you all can blaze through every level.”

The smile on Tom’s face was almost enough to lighten the mood the five felt as they ate in the Faction dining hall.

“How many have joined?” Fowl asked as he pointed at the four groups no one recognized.

“We’ve had eight commit in the last three days. There are another five that may meet our testing,” their trainer replied as he pointed at a table. “That group is the one Everett had talked about possibly trying the fiftieth dungeon. They are strong compared to most of the others.”

Everyone spent a little extra time studying the party.

It appeared a pair of human women were the warriors while another woman was their healer. A pair of elves rounded out their party, one being a mage and the other being an archer.

“Five women in one party? That sounds awful,” Tanila muttered.

Batrire and Cordellia both grunted and nodded.

Max, Fowl, and Tom all cocked their heads and squinted at the three women.

“Why would that be a bad thing?” Fowl asked.

“Because if you ever piss off a woman bad enough, she might let you die,” Batrire replied with a scowl.

Tanila and Cordellia both laughed and bobbed their heads.

“You do not know how bad things can be until you upset every woman in your party…” their mage said and then paused, frowning at Fowl. “Or perhaps some of you do.”

Waving his hands in surrender, their dwarf warrior shook his head.

“I only try to upset one of you at a time. I’m not that dumb.”

Each of the women smirked and grinned, all chuckling at some joke Fowl was obviously missing.

“So now what?” Tom asked as he tapped the table to change the conversation. “I’d say we got our people researching possible bosses, but again, nothing matches up with what you’ve faced before. Golems come up occasionally, but as always, what you described isn’t till much later in the tower. Closer to the mid forties.”

That knowledge answered some of the questions Max had been going over in his head about the aspect of the golem. His Weapon Mastery skill was still rare and part of what made him feel what they were facing was higher was how he couldn’t do as much damage to it. Finding something with an epic ability to consume was on his list, but that was all left in the tower’s hands.

It was a shame none of those elves had an epic weapon skill .

You have been silent for almost a week. What has changed?

No power from what you fight. We need to fight something soon that will help us grow stronger. I have been considering if the tower has specifically chosen to hurt you with its choices. Not giving you what you need to get stronger.

Can it do that? I mean… is it alive or aware enough for that?

It is sentient and yet…

A sensation of something troubling came through the connection with his skill.

The system is controlled and directed by a select group of beings. They can sway or change certain things within the system. Perhaps…

Max heard a cough and turned to see everyone was looking at him.

“Sorry, just lost in my head, working out some ideas and things,” Max said as he stood up from his seat. “Actually, I want to check a few notes in my room if you don’t mind.”

Tom nodded, not hiding the frown as he watched Max quickly depart.

***

What is it you are thinking?

You created a new skill. Not a new skill in the system, but a skill not designed for this world. Doing so could have gained attention from those beings, and they might have shifted things against you because of it.

Because I made a weapon that shouldn’t be in our world?

Yes… Do me a favor. Write your elf a note and go lay down. I do not have the power to do this outside of your dreams.

With that, Max felt the presence of his skill vanish and let out a groan.

Putting the note on the door, he laid down in bed, closing his eyes and found sleep came as quickly as he hoped.

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