Ultimate Level 1

Batrire stared at Max after they had collected the tails. She was still struggling with what she had seen.

“This isn’t going to be a problem, is it?” Max asked as he stood next to her. “I really don't want everyone to know what I have. Even though my spear is bound, that doesn’t mean someone out there won’t try something stupid.”

Shaking her head, their healer began stroking her beard as she closed her eyes for a moment.

“Let me be honest,” she said, her eyes still closed. “I appreciate why you told us from the start. Knowing that helps me relax a little bit, but it also freaks me out. Why join with us?”

She opened her eyes and looked up at Max, trying to read him.

He sighed and tsked his tongue on his teeth as he glanced at the other two watching them.

“I had a group. A good group. We fought a boss, and one of them almost died.”

Max paused, digging the butt of his spear into the ground.

“It messed me up because no matter how strong I was, I couldn’t carry the team. One mistake and they would die. It hurt to leave them, but I couldn’t bear the weight.”

Glancing at Fowl, Max saw the warrior nodding and the look in his eyes.

“It isn’t easy when it is your job to protect the team, and you don’t know if you can do that. After that, I chose to come here and try to get stronger. I’m unable to really progress unless I group. That is why I wanted to join a team. I could fill in as a damage dealer. I could help tank when the need arose but not be responsible for that again.”

A moment of silence hung in the air, the gentle breeze in the dungeon blowing over them.

Max felt a pat on his back and saw Fowl smiling and bobbing his head.

“Glad to have ya with us, Seth. I feel the truth in every word you just said. I’ve been on the losing side too and…” Fowl paused momentarily, looking at the two women watching him. “It sucks. It sucks big ogre nuts.”

Batrire and Tanila both chuckled, and Max couldn’t help but join in.

“Thanks for understanding. I’m here as long as you three want me.”

“Good!” exclaimed Fowl as he slapped Max on the back once more. “Now, one last question and we can really get moving.”

Max raised an eyebrow and wondered what was coming next.

“So, what level are you really?”

Max coughed and looked at the three of them, who were all standing with their heads cocked a little to the side.

“Uh… I’m level fifteen.”

Fowl rolled his eyes and nodded.

“I thought so. When you stood there and took that hit from the lizardman like that, I knew you weren’t at the level you say you are. Unless you put everything into that stat, it would take a full set of magical gear to offset that kind of strength difference. I also saw how little you got hurt from that one hit. That tells me you got points in Constitution, and you move way faster than me. So why hide it?”

Max sighed and frowned. “I guess I’m not used to sharing everything with people. I’ve been hurt, and it’s hard to trust others.”

“How can we trust you to protect us if you won’t be honest with us?” Tanila asked as she gave him a hard stare. “We will be honest with you if you are honest with us.”

Clearing his throat, Max took a deep breath and slowly released it.

“I’ll tell you the truth about things that I can. There are a few things in my life that are impossible to talk about right now. In time, perhaps I can once we know each other better. Will you all accept that?”

He looked up, seeing the three of them nodding. Smiling, he gave a slight bow.

“Does this mean we are ready to begin hunting again?”

Roaring with laughter, Fowl smacked him once more on the back before pointing in the direction they had been heading. “That’s why we are here!”

The next two groups were far easier, with only one hulking brute of a lizardman and two smaller ones. Max was doing his job well, laying waste to the creatures from behind when they were focused on Fowl or keeping one busy until Tanila could ensnare the other and he could help out.

Then, things got crazy as they reached the portal.

“That for the boss?” Max asked, looking at the green glowing portal.

“Nope. Second floor.”

“A second floor?” Max asked, looking at Fowl, who was scratching the hair on his chin. “Already?”

“It’s a level fifteen dungeon. Don’t ask me, it’s just how it works. You should know this.”

Sucking air in through his teeth, Max found the three of them staring at him.

Stolen ; please report.

“What if I said I might have ‘skipped’ some of the training new adventurers were supposed to get?”

Tanila groaned and let out a long sigh as she looked up at the sky.

“How much did you actually skip?” asked Batrire.

“All of it… I’d like to say I had a good reason, but there was this girl and…”

Laughter erupted from Fowl, who began to choke it off after he caught the glare from the two women in the party.

“You missed all the training for a girl?”

“We had talked about marriage if my skill worked out… it didn’t. I’d have given everything to make it work.”

They saw how Max was looking at the ground and how his voice changed.

“How did you get a token then?”

“I lied and said I lost mine. They just issued another.”

Batrire started to chuckle and looked at Tanila, who glared at her.

“It was an accident!” the elf shouted, turning red as their healer laughed harder.

“Enough,” Fowl called out, still coughing from his earlier laughter. “We’ll help get you caught up on stuff you don’t know. In the meantime, some of us have lost our token before, so we know how easy it is to get a new one. For now, let's focus on the next level.”

Max was taken aback when the next level was not the open plains, but instead a cave system lit by green glowing moss on the walls. It reminded him of the kobold dungeon.

A glowing blue portal stood behind them a ways and when Max pointed at it, Fowl nodded in understanding.

“No going back to level one. If we leave now, we are done for the day.”

Once Batrire had buffed the party again, they started moving slowly toward the bend in the tunnel.

Glancing around it, Max and Fowl spotted four lizardmen. Two were the smaller ones, one was the giant one, and the fourth was wearing robes and holding a bone staff.

“Elf tits,” Fowl muttered to Max as he motioned him back.

“What is it,” Batrire asked as the two of them returned from their scouting.

“Two lessers, one giant and a caster. It looks like our day ends here.”

Tanila cursed and spat on the ground.

“Always that group and impossible to get past.”

Max saw the three of them frustrated and felt a twinge of guilt bothering him.

“What if we could take out the caster from the start?”

They all looked at Max and he saw the confusion on their faces.

“You going to summon lightning from your arse and magically kill them all?” Fowl asked.

Shaking his head, Max sighed and gave a grin.

“We’re being honest about what we can do, right?”

The three of them slowly nodded, eyes opening a little wider as they waited for what he would say next.

“If I share something with you, can I trust that you won’t go telling others? It stays here.”

Fowl looked at his two companions and they nodded, shrugging their shoulders.

“What you say stays here.”

Max grinned and then took a deep breath.

“I have a second skill.”

“That’s not a secret, we all know that.”

“What?” Max asked, confused at what they knew. “How did you know that?”

“You can use a shield and a spear. It’s obvious. The way you block isn’t something people can just do,” Fowl stated. “I got two skills also. In fact all three of us do.”

Max sighed and shook his head.

“My shield skill comes from my bracers,” he lied. “They're a rare drop also. Bound to me as well.”

“Goblin shite,” Batrire said as she moved toward Max. “That’s not possible. The gods themselves must bend over and let you have your way if that’s true.”

Taking one of his bracers off, Max held it out on his hand.

“Try to take it.”

Batrire smirked, impressed at the level of commitment Max had and reached out, grabbing the bracer and attempting to pull it from his open palm.

She grunted, caught off guard when it didn’t budge. She used a second hand, tugging at it, still getting nowhere.

“Holy elf tits,” she exclaimed. “Let me try your spear!”

Max put his bracer back on and then held his spear out on his palms, smiling as he watched her attempt to take it from him.

She yanked with all of her might, and Max almost thought she was going to pull her shoulder out of the socket from how hard she tried.

“Impossible,” Tanila said. “Two bound items, at this level.”

“How? How in the gods did you manage that feat?” Fowl asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

“My spear was a total fluke. I have no idea. Perhaps the gods were kind since I saved my party member from dying. My bracers…” he looked at them as he paused, letting out another sigh for a moment. “I soloed a boss.”

“What?!” Batrire asked as she smacked herself in the face.

“Damn, Seth, now I feel like you should be the one tanking and let me do the killing.”

Shaking his head, Max rolled his eyes at Fowl’s joke.

“So what is your other skill then?” Tanila asked the only one of the three who hadn’t forgotten how this whole conversation started.

“That’s the tricky one… I have Stealth.”

“What the mother goblin humpin' shite?”

Max’s eyes went wide at the curse that came from Batrire, unsure how a healer would be able to speak like that.

“It’s how I manage to solo hunt so well. Depending on their levels, I can kill one outright and then handle one or two.”

“Stealth,” Fowl murmured as he watched how Max was acting. “You aren’t lying, are you?”

“No. Why would I lie about this? I’m being honest as we agreed upon. You three know my secret. We can take out that pack and keep moving through the dungeon if you want.”

Batrire looked at the other two, and her scowl began to fade. Soon it was replaced with a grin as she shook her head and snorted.

“Maybe the gods love him, and maybe they love us. I’m game if we want to try. The portal is right here.”

“Can I see it?” Tanila asked, keeping her eye on Max.

“Sure but you’ll still be able to see me, but not like before.”

[Stealth Activated]

“Holy elf tits,” Fowl muttered, barely getting it out before Batrire said the same thing.

Max moved around a little bit as he bent over, smiling as he saw the three of them watching him.

Canceling the skill, he gave a bow like he had just completed a performance, grinning the entire time.

“I guess this means we are going to keep on going,” Tanila said, motioning to Max with her finger. “Our new spear-carrying rogue will be our secret weapon.”

Fowl laughed and nodded, rotating his shoulders to prepare for what would come next.

“Praise be to the gods,” Batrire said.

Max smiled but kept the praise to himself.

No point risking someone I don’t want getting wind of me because I accidentally praised them…