Ultimate Level 1

[ 3 Dexterity Consumed ]

[ Consume has Consumed a Skill ]

[ Skill Consumed Cannot be Merged - Rank is equal ]

[ Skill Consumed Cannot be Merged - Rank is equal ]

[ [Dagger Mastery] was discarded ]

[ [Sword Mastery] was discarded ]

Max felt satisfied and frustrated at the same time. He had hoped for more, wanted more.

Why isn’t this enough… just how much do you need?

No reply came, but Max knew whatever it was that had spoken before was still there. This skill he was given was more than just a regular skill. It craved power.

His chest was heaving, and he didn’t know why. He wasn’t tired or hurt. Lydia hadn’t landed a single hit on him.

I’m losing my mind…

The fear was overwhelming when he considered how he had felt a few nights ago. All the power and skills he had gained had awoken a thirst.

“Seth?”

Fowl was behind him, shield at the ready. Max had sensed him coming up.

“I’m ok. You’re safe.”

Fowl lowered his shield and put it away. “You sure? That looked…” Fowl couldn’t bring himself to say what that scene he had watched looked like. His friend had changed these last few days, and he could see it. “It’s the skill, isn’t it?”

Max nodded slowly. He took a deep breath and then put both swords in his storage. Turning around, he saw the look on Fowl’s face in the moonlight. “I’m ok now… a moment ago, I wasn’t. My skill is… it toyed with her. I mean…”

Fowl watched Max, trying to finish his thought. It sounded weird to hear him say it.

“Your skill toyed with her?” he asked, speaking slowly and carefully.

Max nodded again. “It was different this time. Ever since those bandits attacked me. I’ve always wanted to grow stronger, to gain skills, and suddenly it was like a dam broke, and it… I now know how quickly that can happen by doing what I just did.”

“You mean killing people?”

The way Fowl had said it pierced his core. It was true. Creatures, animals, monsters, they all provided growth but nothing like people had. Elves, dwarves, and humans all made him stronger at a faster pace.

“Yes. I just gained three dexterity. That is twelve points in two days, Fowl. Twelve points! How long does that take to happen in a dungeon at our level? And the skills… three skills, and just now it tried to consume another, but it couldn’t, or I mean it…” Max raised his hands in frustration as he tried to explain it. Gazing at his friend, Max saw the dwarf not judging him. His face was soft, lips smashed together like when one hears bad news. Fowl was concerned for him, and Max knew it. “I don’t want to be a threat to you three or anyone else! I didn’t want to be like this ever, and now I don’t have a choice!”

Glancing over his shoulder, Fowl saw that no one was behind him. It was just the two of them in a clearing in the moonlight.

“Listen, Seth. No matter what, I will always be here. You’re family. You have done more for Batrire and myself than you can imagine. When our time to stop adventuring comes, you have shown us how we can help our family and friends. You gave us hope and belief that our god gave us the skills we have so the four of us could travel together.”

Fowl took a few steps and moved till he was two feet away from Max. “Don’t give up and always keep fighting. What you did, any adventurer would have done. That woman killed a guard. We can only assume she ordered the killing of many others. You gave her the death she deserved.”

Max grunted but nodded at Fowl’s words. She had deserved death. The death he had given her was probably kinder than what she really was owed.

“Thank you, Fowl. It means a lot having a friend and little brother like yourself.”

Fowl laughed and gave a playful punch to Max’s stomach. “Come on. I’ll grab her head and leave the rest for the animals. She doesn’t deserve a burial.”

Tanila leaned against the cart edge and massaged Max’s bald head as he slept. Fowl had told them how it had gone, and Batrire had offered to watch him, but she had declined.

Her mind raced as she tried to recall anything about a skill like Max's. None of it made sense. Having a red skill starting off was rare, and her race made sure to influence those individuals as much as possible. To know there was something even more powerful, like Max’s skill, was challenging to comprehend.

And yet he was lying next to her. His growth had been incredible in these last few weeks. The skills he now possessed would make him a formidable opponent.

Thuyja help me to guide this one. I know you have a reason for us all coming together.

Having prayed, she closed her eyes and let the exhaustion she felt overtake her. What she wouldn’t give for a real bath.

The following morning, there was a somber mood in the caravan. The men felt guilty about not being able to help Private Felix and blamed his death on their own actions. Max and the others tried to convince them that Lydia had been a powerful warrior, and the odds were they would have died, too.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

A sense of urgency had them pushing the horses, trying to get to Peltagow sooner.

The landscape began to change drastically as they got within a day of the capital. The woods disappeared, and massive sections of farmland appeared. Houses were seen regularly, and a steady stream of carts, wagons, and travelers were on the widened road.

Occasionally, a cart would be on the side of the road, selling food and other items to those who might need something they had.

Every time they passed one, Max saw the hopeful look of the person manning it that they might stop and purchase something.

“This is insane,” Max muttered, trying to count the number of buildings and homes in the distance. “So many people, and everyone is doing something.”

Fowl scoffed and shook his head. “You might be surprised how many people do nothing. Towns and capitals have a knack of collecting their fair share of freeloaders.”

The land began to slope gently downward as the road headed toward the central city. They were still a solid eight hours from the main gates, and most of the land he saw was packed with something.

A patrol had come by, and the caravan had flagged them down. Informing them of what had transpired and showing the body of Private Felix as well as the head of Lydia.

The three-man team took off at a gallop, heading back to report the news and promising that someone would be in contact with them soon.

“Nothing like guards and the trouble they bring,” Batrire huffed as the two men and the woman rode off. “This may bite us in the arse.”

Fowl nodded, but then he tapped where his broach was. “No worries, either way, we will be richly rewarded.”

Max saw the look Batrire gave Fowl as she held a finger to her lips.

Fowl winked at Max and motioned with his fingers signaling money, and lots of it.

They stopped at a massive inn along the main road.

Having never traveled like this, or ever seen so many people in one place, it surprised Max to find inns every so often beside the road with a huge fenced-in area where caravans could leave their horses and wagons overnight while going inside the immense building for those staying the night.

The huge inn, The Buck Tooth Beaver was comprised of six different floors. The caravan team told them to go ahead and get rooms and that tomorrow, a few hours after sunrise, they would meet back here.

“Holy elf tits,” Max muttered as they walked toward the enormous doors where people funneled in and out in droves. “Are those really statues of beavers?”

Fowl snorted as he nodded, and even Tanila had a perplexed look on her face.

“Why would humans do this? Do you all worship beavers or something?”

Max shrugged and shook his head.

“Welcome to the Buck Tooth Beaver! Step inside, do a little shopping, try some freshly cooked meat, and talk with the hostess near the stairs in the middle if you need a room!”

Max waved at the male and female in their bright red outfits standing on each side of the doors, greeting everyone.

“They seem awfully perky,” Fowl whispered as they passed by. “It almost feels creepy, like a cult.”

Max agreed, but as they entered the building, he had trouble focusing for a moment as his sense of smell, sound, and sight were overwhelmed. People were everywhere, looking at items and stuff to buy, many with a beaver etched on a part of the armor or cloak. A few smaller kids ran around with stuffed beavers, laughing and begging their parents for more items. A long wall of stuffed beavers was on his left with a massive sign that read, ‘Proudly stuffing every beaver we find.”

“Gods, do you smell that?” Fowl asked as he sniffed the air. “I haven’t smelled anything that good in ages.”

Drool started to form near the edges of his mouth, and Max nodded in agreement. His stomach rumbled, and the other three laughed.

“I guess we need to find somewhere to eat and get a room,” he said, pointing to the sign hanging from the raised ceiling.

A pile of empty plates was stacked in the middle of their booth table, and each of them was rubbing their belly. Even Tanila had given up, letting go of the manners she often tried to maintain, and groaned as she held her stomach.

“That was so good, but I over ate.”

Fowl nodded as he reached over, plucked a beaver nugget from a bowl, and popped it in his mouth.

“Bread that wasn’t burnt or hard, and that meat… I don’t think I’ve had meat so tender and juicy in forever,” Batrire replied, her eyes closed as she leaned her head against the wooden backing of her seat.

“I’m going to be sick,” Max groaned. “I should not have eaten all of that… the only good news is that the bathrooms they have are the cleanest I have ever seen.”

A murmur of agreement came from the others. Each of them had been excited at not just getting to use a real toilet but one that almost sparkled. It was so clean.

Dinner had been more expensive than Max had expected, but Fowl had graciously paid, explaining that, later, he would share some of the newfound wealth he had acquired.

The inn gave them three rooms right next to each other, and Max ignored how the hostess tried to verify they didn’t need just two rooms.

Everyone went to their rooms except Max, who had one more stop to make. Each floor had a drawing of the massive inn’s structure, and on the sixth floor was something he had only heard of as a kid.

A casino.

Taking the stairs, Max was impressed by the presence of security on each floor and how clean everything was. Even with the amount of traffic present, someone was constantly sweeping or cleaning any dirt or trash the patrons left behind.

As he made his way up the stairs from the fifth to the sixth floor, a large amount of noise came from above. Laughter, shouting, and more that never seemed to stop.

As he reached the landing and found a set of glass doors that spun around, Max was stopped by a pair of dwarf guards that had eyed him the moment he had come into view.

“Evening, sir,” the blond-haired dwarf on his right said. “Planning on testing your luck tonight or simply looking?”

Trying not to glance past the two men, Max smiled, patted his shirt and smiled.

“I’m actually wanting to try my luck tonight.”

“We are glad to have you here then. Let me say welcome to the Beaver Casino and give you a quick rundown of the rules. First, no fighting. You draw steel or cast a spell; we won’t hesitate to put you down. If someone else attacks you, we ask you not to attempt to fight back. Trust me,” the dwarf leaned forward, and his gaze felt slightly overwhelming, “we will handle it swiftly. We employ a few A-Rank adventurers to help keep you and everyone else safe.”

Max nodded, trying not to look surprised at such a high-level adventurer being here. An A-Rank would be someone who was easily able to progress through early levels of the tower.

“Secondly, no cheating. I’ll assume by the look on your face and how you’re acting this is your first time. Don’t give in. We have ways of catching cheaters, which never works out well for them.”

Bobbing his head again, Max waited for the dwarf to continue.

Seeing that Max wasn’t talking, the blond-haired dwarf smiled and moved off to the side while extending his right hand toward the glass door.

“Lastly, go have fun! Remember to limit your gambling.”

Nodding his head, Max grinned, moved toward the door, and stepped through the spinning glass, stopping a few feet after walking in.

Like a kid in a candy shop with a silver coin, Max didn’t know what to try first.