Ultimate Level 1

The last lizardman fell just seconds later as Max came up from behind, driving the tip of his spear into the back of its skull, causing it to fall to the grass.

The familiar cold sensation came again, already telling Max what was coming.

[ 1 Dexterity Consumed ]

A sensation of hunger came over him. It wasn’t like he needed to eat something, but he desired the power that came from each kill. Every time he struck something down, consuming whatever part of his victim was stronger than him, life became sweeter. The world felt more alive. He felt alive.

Coming to his senses, Max saw the others celebrating a little bit, a whoop and a cheer from Batrire, who didn’t look to have done much this fight as her mana bar was still full on the party view.

“Nice work, Seth!” Fowl said as he came over and gently hit Max’s arm. “You handled that with ease.”

Unable to help himself at the praise, Max smiled and shrugged. “You did all the work, taking the two on till Tanila could root one. I just did what I could.”

Tanila moved up to where the two warriors were standing and pointed at the corpse at their feet. “I’m just glad these are the grunts. They are fast but nowhere near as difficult as the other two types. The mage for these things is tricky, and the massive version of these guys can overpower most strong warriors. We will need to change tactics some when we find them.”

“Enough talking. Let's cut off these tails and get a move on before my buff wears off. I don’t like wasting mana,” Batrire grumbled as she joined them.

[Status Check]

*****

Max Hoste

18-Year-old Human Male

Level 1

Exp 1/1000

HP: 180/180

MP: 35/35

Stamina: 80/90

STR: 11+6

DEX: 9+3

CON: 11+7

INT: 7

WIS: 7

Skills:

Baking - Common

Consume - Rare

Spear Handling - Common

Shield - Common

Berserker - Common

Ice Magic - Common

Stealth - Uncommon

Swordsmanship - Common

Buffs:

Improved Blessing +2 STR/DEX/CON - Remaining: 18:37

*****

Max snuck a peek at his new stats and found himself trying not to leave his mouth hanging open. Two points of dexterity made his whole body feel more fluid and react faster. The swordsmanship skill had flooded his mind with different ways to use a sword as well as defend against sword attacks. There would be questions he couldn’t answer if he suddenly started using a sword and healed off a kill.

“You ok?” Fowl asked as the dwarf tossed two tails to where Batrire was standing. “You look a bit dazed.

“Oh, I’m fine!” Max replied, bending down to grab the weapon and shield from the corpse he was standing by and adding them to his storage. “I was just thinking about things I could have done better during that fight. Wanting to make sure I don’t make stupid mistakes.”

“A warrior who thinks and doesn’t just rush in,” Tanila said as she cut off the tail of the first one Max had killed. “Imagine that Fowl.”

The dwarf grunted and stripped off the weapon and shield from the lizardman he had killed. He handed them to Max, who deposited them with the other two he had just stored a moment ago.

“Enough complaining. We have creatures to find and kill. That was some of the best experience I can recall getting in a long time.”

Two more packs of three lizardmen died in a similar fashion. No more Dexterity had been acquired from Consume. Max now understood how the flow of battle would work, his new dexterity allowing him to easily take out the target he handled. Tanila always rooted one, leaving the third one to die once Max came up from behind.

They were scouring the open field, traveling left so that finding the portal to exit wouldn’t be difficult when it was time to leave.

Eventually, their easy hunting took a turn as they moved deeper into the dungeon.

“Goblin shite, those things are huge,” Max said as he looked at the two dark brown lizardmen that dwarfed the normal size one between them. “And those clubs are at least four feet long.”

Their newest foe stood taller than the orcs he had soloed, the top half of their body bristling with muscles as they appeared to scan the grassy field around them.

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“Three of them. Can we take them?”

Fowl ignored Tanila’s question for a moment as he stood there, trying to determine if defeating this group was even possible.

“How long will your root last on one of the big ones?” Fowl finally asked as he weighed the odds in his head.

“Maybe ten seconds,” Tanila replied. “They break free faster, and they are a lot stronger. One could resist even. You know that has happened before.”

Grunting, Fowl turned and looked at Batrire before giving her some signal that had her casting her buff again.

“How quickly can you kill that small one? You need to kill it and prepare to engage the second one till Tanila can root it again before helping me with mine.”

Max looked at the group and saw their faces. It was obvious they had fought these before and from the looks of it, he was going to take a beating from one of them before they could focus on one as a team.

“Don’t forget it's thirty seconds between roots, and I won’t cast damage spells until there is just one left. I don’t want one getting pissed off at me again and almost ending my life.”

Max glanced at Tanila and then at Fowl, who chuckled as he nodded his head. “Adventuring isn’t easy but you’re the one who said they wanted a life of it. So stop complaining, and let's get this done.”

“How long have you three been together?” Max asked Fowl as they moved into position.

“Six months. I’ve been carrying them for most of it.”

“That's ogre shite, and you know it,” Batrire called out from behind him. “If it weren’t for me, you would be buried somewhere with no one to mourn you.”

Winking at Max, Fowl nodded again before he rotated his shoulders a few times to prepare for what was coming.

“Remember. Don’t attack the big lizardmen one-on-one. Just defend till we can focus on them together. One wrong move can make your life pretty bad.”

Max smiled. His heart began to pound at the thought of what this kind of fight would mean. The chance to get stronger. If those things were that tough, what could he hope for?

“Go!”

As Tanila cast her root spell, Fowl moved toward the massive lizardman on the left, trying to draw its attention and move it away from its ally.

The smaller one came running toward them, this one only having a sword, and Max wasted no time, delivering a brutal strike to his target’s stomach, punching a hole through it, and sending it to the ground.

Prepared to stab it and end its life, Max hesitated a moment and drove his spear instead into the creature's hip, shattering it and leaving it immobilized on the ground.

“Three seconds!”

Max began moving toward the lizardman, who was yanking its legs up. It was trying to snap the roots that had bound it in place. It roared, finally freeing itself a little bit before the spell had expired.

Crap, that can’t be good.

It came charging toward Max, swinging its massive club in a wide arc, forcing him to jump back and dodge the swing, only managing to avoid it by a few inches.

The creature never hesitated, swinging its club in a backswing, aiming for Max again as he planted his feet and held his shield in place, knowing he couldn’t dodge this one.

Clang!

Max stood there, having slid only a few inches from the blow, and saw the lizardman react with the same surprised look as he had. His arm throbbed from the vibration, but the shield had held, and so had he.

Not wanting to miss an opportunity as the creature started to raise its club up, Max darted forward, thrusting his spear at its leg, piercing its quad. The strike only went about four inches in, not near as much as Max had hoped, but he pulled his spear free and prepared for the overhead strike that was coming at him.

Again, his shield resounded with a loud clang as Max angled the strike to the side, the club slamming into the dirt and sending chunks of grass and earth outward.

Max thrust, hitting the same quad again, this time using his hips more and piercing its leg a little bit deeper.

The lizardman roared in anger, reaching out with its left hand to try and grab Max’s spear. Max darted to the right as it reached for him, his new dexterity giving him plenty of speed and athleticism to escape its attack.

“Ten seconds!”

Unable to take his eyes off of the one he was engaged with, Max knew once she cast her spell, he would have to sprint to wherever Fowl was behind him with the other creature. There had been a few sounds of a club on Fowl’s shield but Max figured the dwarf had been smarter and angled his shield better to resist those strikes.

Max’s foe turned, trying to use its left leg but finding it not working as well from the damage done to him. Its swing across its body was slower and more of a wild attack than the previous three.

As its swing passed by, Max risked one more attack, managing a small glancing blow as he thrust at the lizardman’s right forearm. It wasn’t deep, but it did cause the creature almost to drop its club.

“Casting!”

Leaping backward, Max saw the vines and roots rising from the grass, wrapping around the lizardman’s feet and lower legs, securing it in place.

Once he knew for certain it couldn’t move, Max ran toward the one Fowl was fighting, seeing it attacking with a flurry of blows that the dwarf kept deflecting just slightly.

As he ran, Max came up behind the lizardman, using its size to block his team's view as he cast his ice enchantment, finishing it just as he planted his feet and thrust with everything he had at the middle of the lizardman’s spine.

His spear pierced the thick skin, shattering the bones where he had aimed, and sent the creature tumbling to the ground, roaring as its lower body wouldn’t respond. His attack hadn’t pierced very deep but the aim had been true.

“Look ou–”

Max never heard the shout from Tanila, but when the club from the lizardman that had been immobilized struck him from behind, he was smashed forward, tumbling past the creature he had just downed.

Pain lanced through his back and shoulders as Max tried to stand but couldn’t

He realized his right collarbone was broken from that attack and he was struggling to breathe, the taste of blood in his mouth.

A green light washed over him and he grunted as his bones moved back into position and began to rejoin each other. His health bar hadn’t gone below sixty percent but had the other lizardman been able to move, he could have easily died.

Spitting out the blood in his mouth, Max stood, groaning not because of pain but the embarrassment of what had happened.

“Finish it!” Tanila shouted as Fowl swung his hammer at the head of the lizardman at his feet.

Rising to his feet, Max saw the creature defending itself with its hands and arms as Fowl continued his assault.

“Let me kill it!” Max shouted as he moved toward Fowl. “Get on the other!”

“Two seconds!”

Fowl didn’t hesitate, moving toward the last lizardman standing, moving to engage it as the roots and vines vanished.

It howled, trying to get past the dwarf, but Fowl kept moving in front of it, swinging his hammer and using his shield to block its punches.

Max got to the downed lizardman and thrust down with his spear, piercing its hand and sending the spear tip into its skull, killing it.

Raw power filled his muscles as the cold wave of Consume washed over him.

[ 1 Strength Consumed ]

[ 1 Constitution Consumed ]

[ 48 Hit Points Consumed ]

He felt the lingering pain vanish in a moment as he ripped his spear from the corpse beneath him.

“Holy elf tits,” Batrire cursed as she watched Max’s hit points return.

A firebolt flew across the grass, impacting on the face of the lizardman as it tried to push Fowl out of the way. It hissed and roared as flames burnt its face, blinding it for a moment as Fowl delivered a strike to its knee, causing it to buckle.

Another blow from Fowl smacked into the side of the beast's head, a crack sounding from the impact.

“Wait!” Max shouted again as he ran up, driving his spear through the lizardman’s throat as Fowl stopped his hammer from delivering another blow.

A gurgle came as Max wrenched his spear free from where he had pierced the creature’s throat.

Five seconds later, when the lizardman lay still, another cold rush of power came.

[ 1 Strength Consumed ]

“Why did you need to kill it?” Fowl asked, looking at Max and then realizing the smaller lizardman was still groaning. “Do you need to kill that one?”

Max shook his head and shrugged. “I wasn’t sure if I was full health and wanted to see if it would heal me again.” As he said that, Max tapped his spear.

Snorting, Fowl walked over and bashed the last creature alive, putting it out of its misery before turning to look at Tanila and Batrire. “Did he really heal himself?”

Batrire nodded slowly, running her fingers through the beard on her chin.

Turning to face Max, Fowl smiled and then winked.

“Looks like you weren’t lying. Glad to have you with us Seth!”