Ultimate Level 1

Max’s mind throbbed as he saw the notifications.

It took a moment for the pain to dull enough to realize he was leaning against the now-lifeless corpse. Dull eyes stared at him from beyond, the glow that once had always been present gone. Riniya’s braid was a mess, hair sticking out in many places, slowly turning white before him.

“Holy elf…”

He stopped himself, pushing back from the wall and rising to his feet, the room almost spinning as he did.

We… are fortunate this happened here. I’m unsure if I could have deleted that tracker attached to a skill. Someone, most likely Thuyja, appears to closely monitor their minions.

Minions… as if Riniya was nothing more than an ordinary elf.

The power she had is nothing compared to a god, as you yourself witnessed the same truth about how you stack up to one while in the presence of Phaius and Ockrim. If either of them control you, the same title of minion would be correct, no matter how powerful you are compared to anyone else around you.

Max knew Bob was right, yet the idea of such a thing being possible made his already swirling mind suffer even more.

What is this effect? Are you hurt?

Not much. In time, we should be fine. That elf had a few traps inside her that I’m not certain she might have been fully aware of. Had I not been able to do what I did… she might have exploded.

He could feel both of his eyes widen, his vision locked upon the tied-up corpse.

That’s possible?

In the system, there are many possible things. While I’m not certain what is and what isn’t typical on this world, it would appear some have gone to great lengths to prevent knowledge of what had been done from being shared. You know she died not from the bond Thuyja had on her?

Frowning, Max found his head moving up and down.

I wondered… no one talked about the last floor of the tower. She… seemed willing to try, and I could feel her heart stopping, forced to quit, not from whatever held her tongue against every other question. Riniya actually outplayed me there… by being willing to go against that. She knew she would die, didn’t she?

It would appear so. That makes me wonder why the last floor of the tower is so closely guarded. What could be there that prevents anyone from talking about it? How dangerous could it really be?

Far more dangerous than I want to consider right now. The next thing I want to know is what were the racial skills you couldn’t convert, and what is that bloodline?

A tremor of excitement ran through him as Bob appeared to be excited.

Each race has skills… I knew that, but I had forgotten or couldn’t access that knowledge about how exact some of that might be. While I’m not able to give a list or a full breakdown of what didn’t come across, there is a unique set of skills possible for each race. Riniya might have gained them from her own world, but part of me believes there must be some like this on your world.

Bloodline isn’t a skill; it is a state of you, a… component of how you are made. If I deduced correctly, there lies within the royal line of elves a unique bloodline that is passed down through them. Those… ṜΆΝÔʙЁS

Max could sense Bob trying to think how to word something as his skill paused momentarily.

Think about the sand you control now. All those little pieces are unique, and yet the same. Still, some of the sand you can access here is different than the sand in the world we were imprisoned in. While both materials are technically both called sand, they have different makeups. Had you taken some from those beach tower floors, I’m certain the knives you make would be a different color than the ones you have now.

He took a deep breath and let it out after Bob finished explaining.

So even though Tanila and Cordellia both bleed the same color of blood, the elf that I love has a different kind running through her… And that bloodline skill. If we get it to 100%, will change what is inside me?

A chuckle reverberated inside his mind.

It has already begun to change you, yet you don’t remember. When all the pain hit and you struck your head against the wall, did you not feel the burning sensation inside?

Bob’s statement tickled a thought in his memory, and closing his eyes, Max could reach out to it and found that he could draw it close. When he did, there was that moment he had overlooked, the pain and danger of the skills he had absorbed being the most important thing at that moment.

Yes… right there. Remember how your blood boiled, and yet your body didn’t fight to remove it like it would a poison? That is because your very flesh, bones, and core are starting to change. The next problem comes from how you will get that last 80%.

Both eyes flew open, and Max knew exactly what his skill was thinking.

The elves… the royal family. Tell me—

For you to finish that and evolve, you might have to do such a thing. In time you’ll need to talk with Tanila and tell her what has happened. For now, we need to inspect the corpse. Something tells me we’re about to be upset.

Looking down at Riniya and the places in her armor that he had made holes, Max knew what Bob was talking about.

I have three stones for unbinding things. I guess we can try to see if any of them work.

His skill chuckled again inside his head as Max got to work unraveling the rope he had secured the elf with.

You don’t make me feel any better about my chances.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

That is because something tells me we’re not dealing with items we’re used to. It’s like the weapon you made on the other world. Even in death, I doubt most could have taken that from you.

Frowning, Max continued the chore of spooling the rope as he used a foot to keep the body in place as it rolled over and over, each tug of the cord that had bound her no longer needed to secure the dead.

***

A wave of anxiousness hit him as the door to his dimensional storage opened, and outside it was Rakonath, shifting side to side, silver eyes locked on him the moment the door swung open.

You have done it. I can sense that you have changed.

A small huff escaped Max’s mouth as he stepped out of the space and back onto the cavern’s stone floor, seeing everyone had risen from their chairs.

“He did it,” Fowl whispered.

“I did,” Max said, watching his dwarven friend frown before giving him the middle finger.

“Sometimes I forget how good your hearing is. I’m proud of you.”

Those words seemed wrong, but everyone around the table seemed to convey the same thing by wearing tight smiles, most of their heads bobbing slightly.

“One of the hardest lessons a fighter must learn, regardless of race or creature, is that killing is required,” Aerthen stated, giving the table a smack with her open palm. “You appear to have learned this lesson and now stand ready for the next.”

Cocking his head to the side slightly, Max shifted his feet, the large purple door shutting behind him and sealing the dimensional storage he had been in.

“What lesson is that?”

“Not losing sleep over your actions,” she replied. “A decision was made. Right or wrong, you must own it. If you allow yourself to fester and wonder if what you did was the right move, it will cause you to falter and lose the very thing you just overcame. Nothing is worse than second-guessing every action you make.”

“Hear, hear!” Cordellia exclaimed.

Seeing their ranger and how she stood, chest raised slightly, her eyes scrunched slightly, made him take a moment to consider why she had made the outburst.

“The first boss in the tower.”

She nodded at him after he spoke those words.

“You helped me overcome my second-guessing. After that, we made sure none of us ever dwelled upon the what-ifs and kept pushing forward. It might not have always been the best choice, but we are here today because we never looked back.”

A grunt came from Fowl, who bobbed his head in apparent agreement.

“It would seem then that you five have already learned the value of that lesson. Take it to heart, Max Hoste,” Aerthen said as she moved around the table, her long legs closing the short distance quickly as her tail dragged across the floor behind. “Now then, tell me, where is this last corpse? I would like to see it.”

Grunting, Max summoned Riniya’s body from his dimensional storage, but her body did not allow him to put it in his normal one. All three stones he had used had failed, dissolving as they couldn’t break the bond on any of her equipment.

The elf’s corpse appeared in his arms, and even though most might not have shown her dignity based on how she had treated so many humans, Max bent down and gently set the body at his feet.

“I tried to unbind her equipment, but none of the stones I had purchased worked. Even one I thought might work failed.”

“You mean one of the greaters?” Tanila asked, her eyes widening a little.

He nodded and pointed at the fingers. Not a single one had a ring on it, and each one disappeared the moment he cut the finger off in his space.

“I am assuming it’s inside the necklace. Every piece of jewelry vanished upon me cutting the body part it connected to. Only a bit ago did I finally remember that her swords had also vanished once she was defeated, and I had knocked them free from her hands.”

A grin began to form on Aerthen’s lips.

“You do not know how good of a thing this is!” she exclaimed, snapping her large finger at Rakonath. “Come! This is how you shall grow stronger!”

Max started to open his mouth, and the red dragon held out her hand. The tan flesh started to turn into red scales that reflected the light of the cavern.

“No, listen and learn, Max. This is how your dragon will grow! Simple things like meat are good but for him to be able to eat items of power at such an early age is… something that makes me jealous. Even now, I wish to revert to my normal form and swallow her whole, but this is not my prize to claim.”

Her golden eyes sparkled as Aerthen grinned, a row of white sharp teeth displayed for him to see.

“Do you now understand why dragons are fine with adventurers coming into our home?” she asked.

“The more you eat, the stronger you become.”

She nodded at his reply and pointed at the body at his feet.

“Rakonath needs to eat this elf. While you might not like it, take a look around and ask yourself, where are the other three bodies you tossed out earlier?”

Max didn’t have to scan the area. He already knew they were gone, and the salivating eggling near him, shifting from side to side, reminded him of Bob early on.

“Will he continue to desire such things the more he eats?”

Aerthen let out a bellow that reverberated in the cavern, the sound of which did not match her current body. Once she had finished her outburst, she grinned again and nodded.

“Max, you don’t realize that it takes great effort on my part to not simply eat your friends. You are easy to ignore because of the mark, yet their flesh calls to me like a siren, begging me to snatch them and grow stronger.”

He sensed Fowl and Cordellia take a slight step back, their bodies tensing as they lowered slightly.

Without bothering to look back, Aerthen sighed and waved a large-scale hand over her shoulder.

“Do not worry, little ones. You are safe because of him. Somehow though, I can sense that he knows the hunger of what is often before him. If Max can resist the urge to kill you, so can I.”

Inside his head, laughter turned into a howl, and he almost winced as Bob didn’t hold back.

She is a wise one…, and it is a good thing she is on our side. Otherwise, I would hate for us to have to kill her. Feed your dragon. We have wasted enough time.

“Rakonath, the body is yours.”

Without waiting a second longer, the silver dragon that was growing quickly came forward, his jaws opening wide, and the other four turned away as the first bite took place.

Max, however, didn’t, watching what he knew would happen many more times in the future.

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