Ultimate Level 1

She was not happy, but it appeared that Tanila understood.

You and I both know no one could keep up with us for this long. All we can do is focus on covering as much distance as possible.

You’re correct, but the exertion will finally catch up with you. Do you have a plan for once you reach the area the dragons are supposed to be in? Besides walking up and asking if one will raise the egg you carry.

There are no other options. Returning it to its original world would be problematic if we cannot find someone to care for it here. Adding such a creature to that environment, being so young and weak, would create potential problems and power struggles I don’t want to consider. We still don’t know if Jazzjak and Quilazmore are alive and managing things.

And yet you still want to return and check in on the place. Is that a battle we need to fight right now? You are right to believe that the potential power and gains that can be made from keeping the world operating as it is are worth it, but that would mean changing what you are doing now. Are you ready to leave this world again?

Maybe… but you know we wouldn’t go alone.

Yet could you protect them if you brought your friends?

Letting go of the ice spear that he had been holding onto that was flying across the sky, Max landed on the air, one right underneath him, balancing on it as it carried him high above the ground to the south.

He knew Bob was right, and that truth had kept him from already checking in on the other world. In a place like that, if someone tried to harm his friends there, it would be a real test of his strength and resolve.

Eventually, we’ll have to return, and I won’t leave them behind. The longer I wait to go back, the more likely someone will attempt to gain power. What kind of fight could I be walking into then?

There will always be a fight wherever you go, Max. You seem to keep forgetting that you are going to face conflict. Someone will always want what you have or desire to destroy you simply because of the threat you present. The day will come when you find yourself standing alone, facing everything the system can throw at you.

You always make it seem so bleak.

A chuckle came from inside his head, and Max couldn’t help but grin as he moved through the night sky, most likely invisible to anyone who looked up.

***

That looks like what we’re searching for.

A large opening was hidden in the shadows of the seventh mountain they had been searching along.

Dark clouds drifted overhead, filled with the ash from the volcanoes that had become visible the night before as the lava flowed down the black stone that housed the molten rock.

The last one was too small, and the beasts inside were nothing more than food.

Bob created an air spear that allowed Max to ride it down from the sky, moving toward the opening that stood out from all the other shadows.

I’m glad we’re doing this during the daytime instead of at night. Without light, I can’t imagine seeing anything amidst all this smoke.

It’s the perfect place to be a hunter.

Checking the sky once more, Max nodded.

As he drew near, the size of the cave revealed itself to be larger than either of them had expected, easily being at least fifty yards high and almost two-thirds that wide.

This looks like the place.

Both could see the marks in the stone that bore scratches where something had used the extended shelf along the mountain to launch and land from.

Are you still going to go in?

There is no telling if what we’re looking for is inside or out hunting. We’ll go slow. Besides, you and I both know how to defeat a dragon if we have to. Combined with that knowledge and whatever mark I received from the dungeon, I’d suspect something this large should show some semblance of intelligence.

We both know what assume spells, but you’re right.

A thread of amusement moved through his mind.

Dropping from the spear as it vanished, Max’s boots crunched against the hard stone, his presence and arrival creating a sound that felt louder than it should.

As he moved slowly toward the cave, he and Bob reacted simultaneously.

Traps!

A layer of magic covered the stone and led into the cave entrance, noticed by his own command of magic and the Trap Detection skill.

It would appear that this beast is intelligent, after all. To have such a thing in place would reflect a knowledge of magic and the need to have something that protects its home. The question is, why?

He could read Bob’s concern and the knowledge that there might be a trap that could do considerable harm or simply notify the owner of this place that someone had trespassed.

What could it be nervous about? Other dragons? Surely not people like us. Who would venture this far to simply fight a dragon in these places?

Everett did tell you some said a few dragons were in this area. They might have to deal with other dragons who invade their home.

Tapping his boots against the stone just a few steps from where the aura of magic lay across, Max considered his choices.

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I wish I had a disarm trap skill now.

Laughter echoed in his head.

Yes… why not go find an assassin or rogue group, see who has one, and then take it from them?

He ignored the joke, studying how far the aura seemed to travel across the open stone.

What if we flew over it? Used the magic like we have to travel here?

It should work, since it appears that only touching the aura would set it off, and it seems to go into the entrance. Still if they can create a trap like this which easily extends at least a hundred yards for this ledge and into their home, the power they command is impressive.

Max pulled a piece of dried meat out and ate it, then used a water skin to wash it down. After a minute, he withdrew one of the muffins he had bought back in Alundra and let out a sigh after consuming it.

Well I’m about as ready as I’ll be. Ready when you are.

Slowly, Max glided into the massive opening on a wind spear, staying above the stone floor beneath him by about twenty feet, feeling the presence of the trap and all the mana contained within.

Occasionally, he had to swap between ice and wind spears, following the cave’s twisting and turning as it descended into the mountain. Darkness was all around after the light from the opening vanished well over a minute ago, and his Sonar skill told him where every crack, stone, and bug that skittered across the floor was, along with any small creatures hiding behind anything they thought would protect themselves from his presence.

Seems funny that they can sense us.

We give off an aura that some can sense. Those creatures have learned to sense the passing of whatever lives within this cave and know not to get in its way.

Considering Bob’s point, Max’s nose started to twitch slightly, the scent of smoke beginning to drift up in one tunnel as they made their way downward.

It’s widening some… and that smoke…

A possible sign we are coming up somewhere with fire. I am ready.

Let’s move closer to the ground. My skill isn’t warning me of anything up here now.

Drifting lower, Max continued his descent into the creature’s lair, only a few feet from the stone floor now.

Nothing shows up on my skill. Thoughts?

It matters not to me. Both ways have pros and cons.

He could sense those thoughts of his skill.

Walking might make noise, even with the sound of wind and the echoing in his ears. All it would take is one rock sent skittering across the floor to make a noise something could potentially hear. Likewise, moving through the air could cause other problems, such as using magic sometimes detectable by some races and beings. Even he could sense the use sometimes, depending on the power within a being. Similar to how he could tell that Phaius and Ockrim were both stronger than him.

There is no telling how deep this will go. Even worse, I can see the grooves of the creature that moves along this tunnel. It has to be a dragon, close to the size Kuneoss was.

Bob didn’t say a word, simply laughing as the spear Max had been standing on began to move closer to the ground and then vanished a few inches above it.

Doing his best to be quiet, Max ignored the smoke that tickled his nose and irritated it and quietly continued his descent through the darkness.

***

It has to be sleeping. The breathing is too slow and steady.

Never underestimate a dragon. We learned that the hard way.

Max wanted to groan but didn’t, keeping his breathing steady and slow. He had seen the light coming from the opening further ahead and adjusted to the smell of rotten eggs and the acidic taste in his mouth.

Water dripped from the stones around him as heat billowed through the tunnel upward, gently running down the side of the stone walls before vanishing as the heat evaporated it.

I can feel the temperature of this floor. We might be right above a lava flow.

So don’t use your stone skill to dig into it. I’d rather not test how much damage that might do to you.

Grumbling internally, Max knew Bob had been right when he had wanted to use his magic to just burrow through the stone, creating a shaft for him to travel through. The process could be quicker, but he was also not sure if the direction would have been right as multiple turns had taken place. His mind had created a map of most of the cavern, and he could now easily recall much of what he saw due to his skills and stats.

Fine, let’s just go and see what lies down there.

[ Stealth ]

Max’s steps became silent even to him with his Sonar skill, the improvement of the ability now showing its true colors as he worked his way toward the opening he knew was ahead.

Each second passed without any change in the breathing he had heard. No sound was out of place, nor did it appear that their approach was being detected at all.

Slowly, the opening to where all the light and heat was coming from came into view, and Max paused for a moment, blinking as he saw lava running in a circular pattern down parts of the cavern. Like a hollowed-out sphere, a river of molten stone swirled toward a large section in the middle, creating a walkway that had to be fifty yards wide.

This space inside the mountain. It’s about half a mile wide, at least.

More than that. And look, it appears we have found the owner of this place.

Max had already seen what Bob had been talking about.

A red dragon lay on a large stone floor, its scales shimmering in the orange and red light the lava gave off.

Its head was pointed at the opening where he stood near the left side, peering in.

Both of its gold eyes were open, locked exactly upon him.

“Welcome. I was wondering when you might finally show yourself.”

Those words echoed through the cavern and reverberated in his chest.

It is a shame your small companion isn’t here.

Why is that?

Because right now, I’m pretty confident he would say holy elf tits and, for once, have the timing perfect.

Max couldn’t help it as he laughed, seeing the dragon’s lips pull upward, giant teeth now displayed.

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