Ultimate Level 1

“I thought you two were lying,” Tanila grumbled after she watched Max start squeezing black blood from the corpse of the rabbit he had just killed.

“Why would I lie?”

“Vampire bunnies. Doesn’t that strike you as a bit… off?”

Fowl chuckled, grabbing one of the rabbits and squeezing it like Max was, watching the black liquid pour into the glass containers he had procured from a local alchemist. “They got those red eyes and big teeth!”

“Enormous teeth,” Max added as he tossed down the corpse and grabbed the last one. “Besides, we all know why we are in this dungeon.”

Tanila turned to Batrire for support and felt rejected when the dwarf shrugged her shoulder.

“The experience isn’t bad, and the two of them do all the work. If Seth can pick up the skill they have, then why not?”

“Because they’re rabbits!” exclaimed Tanila. “We are killing two-foot-tall rabbits!”

“Vampire rabbits,” Fowl corrected. “Two-foot tall, red-eyed, massive-toothed vampire rabbits.”

Throwing up her hands in defeat, the elf turned and moved back to where Batrire was standing. “Never in my life would I have imagined this.”

Snorting, Batrire nodded. “Never in my life would I have imagined you so frustrated by a human.”

Tanila’s face went red, and she turned away her face to keep it from being seen by Max or Fowl.

“I really feel like I’ve been slacking in this dungeon,” Fowl complained as Max killed the last rabbit in a pack of five. “You go in stealth, slaughter one, and then proceed to turn them into chopped pieces of fluff. Even when one manages to land a bite on you, it doesn’t slow you down.”

Max nodded and put his sword up as he traded to fill up the last jar in his storage.

“What really sucks,” Max said with a grin that made Fowl laugh, “is that I still haven’t gotten the skill I was hoping for from them.”

“Any idea why?”

Max shook his head as he started to wring out the rabbit's headless body over the jar. “Part of me has been trying to figure my skill out. I killed three bosses and nothing yesterday. I’m not sure if some skills can’t be consumed.”

“Do you want to keep trying this dungeon and save the boss for another day, or what?” Fowl asked as he brought another corpse to Max.

“After we clear it, I say kill the boss and move on. I’ve killed over fifty of these bunnies, and not once have I gained a single thing.”

“Well, let’s finish so we can hop towards the boss.”

Max groaned, and Fowl had a look of hurt on his face. “Hey, I laugh at your jokes!”

Nodding, Max put the jar in his storage and looked at Fowl. “Yes, but your joke actually sucked.”

“So what’s the plan?” Tanila asked as they stared at an eight-foot-tall black rabbit with eyes so red they made rubies look dull.

“Max tanks it and kills it while I take a nap by you two,” Fowl answered.

“I doubt that’s going to be possible, and you know it. Just look at those claws and teeth.”

Fowl had noticed them, so he wanted to sit out of this fight. “And after we kill it, we need to collect its feet, right?”

“Yup. Supposedly, they have some luck factor in them,” Max replied, pulling his spear out and storing his shield.

“Doesn’t sound very lucky for the rabbit if he loses them,” Batrire joked, getting laughter from everyone but Fowl.

“You aggro, I’ll stealth,” Max said, giving Fowl a gentle bump.

“Bah, whatever. Just remember me when you conquer the tower someday.”

The rabbit moved faster than Fowl or Max had expected, covering the fifty yards between them within three seconds. Its feet moved so fast they were a blur of black fluff, and its claws dug into the dirt ground of the boss's room.

“Shite!” Fowl managed to mutter before the boss struck his shield with a claw, sending him back a step.

Max moved to strike from behind when the boss turned, a claw coming toward him as its eyes burned red.

He felt his stealth end, and Max used his spear to parry the strike, giving up some ground as it caught him slightly off guard.

Casting the area of affect ice spell, Max spun his spear, going for a strike, when the boss leaped backward twenty yards in a single hop.

The ice spell went off, and Max moved to get near the boss, who kept hopping back, staying out of range of him and his spell.

“Stop!”

Max froze as Tanila shouted and slowly began to retreat, pulling out his shield as he did and watching the boss move toward him at a slower pace, keeping its distance for a few more seconds.

“It knows what you’re doing,” Fowl said, trying to get a bead on the boss. “It's faster than anything I think we have faced before.”

Grunting, Max nodded, watching the boss, who had moved closer as his ice spell ended.

“Come at me!” Fowl shouted.

A sound came from the rabbit, and Max realized it was laughter. It held up both paws and wisps of darkness came from them toward Max and Fowl.

“Shadow bindings!”

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Max moved to the right as Fowl held his ground before the two women.

The strands chased Max, and within seconds, both he and Fowl had the strands trying to bind their arms and legs to an anchor in the ground beneath the dirt.

Max used everything he had, grateful for every ounce of strength, and managed to tear a few strands when the boss raced forward again, ignoring him and Fowl.

Grunting, Max fought against the strands, seeing Tanila’s root spell attempting to bind the boss. It skidded to a halt for a moment as the vines and roots grabbed its feet. It shrieked weirdly, lurching toward the two casters but unable to break free as the roots held it in place.

Max was angry, which helped him snap the last two strands holding him and charged the boss.

It pivoted as best it could, still unable to move, as Max came forward.

Every thrust seemed to miss by inches. The boss’s clawed paws gently pushed the spear’s shaft aside at the last second, keeping it from hitting it.

“Seven seconds!”

Max didn’t hesitate, casting his area of effect fire spell.

The boss’s red eyes burned red, its attempts to free itself from the roots and vines grew more frantic, but it could not escape.

Thrusting his spear at its leg instead of the creature’s body, Max felt his fire spell go off and saw it envelop the rabbit. The scent of burnt hair and flesh filled the air as the tip of his spear managed to graze the leg.

The rabbit clawed both paws, striking Max in the arm with one and hitting his shield with the other.

[ Consume has detected an attack by the Skill Vampirism ]

[ Consume is trying to defend ]

[ Vampirism has attempted to drain Hit Points ]

[ Consume has resisted attempt ]

The attack stung a little, but Max saw the eyes of the vampire rabbit go wide.

“Three seconds!”

Max aimed two more thrusts at its leg, ignoring the attacks the boss was hitting him with.

[ Vampirism has attempted to drain Hit Points ]

[ Consume has resisted attempt ]contemporary romance

[ Vampirism has attempted to drain Hit Points ]

[ Consume has resisted attempt ]

They traded two more attacks, his right arm getting hit each time and the boss’s same leg getting a spear through it.

The boss leaped back as the roots fell away, stumbling some as it did and only getting about eight yards per hop this time.

“Wait a minute!” Max shouted as Fowl’s bonds began to fall off. “Let me think!”

The boss stayed away from them, eyeing Max the entire time.

“What is it? Why is it doing that?”

“It’s skill doesn’t work against mine. It has the skill I am trying to get. It can’t heal from me. Consume blocks it.”

Max eyed the boss room they were in. The area was massive, with over two hundred yards of nasty dirt and tombstones in a circle. The ceiling above looked like night with an enormous moon that cast a white light over the entire floor.

“What can we do?” Batrire asked as she finished healing Max to full.

“We could try to wear it down,” Max replied. “Root it in place and attack, but if it lands a spell on me and I get rooted, it will come after you three. I’m not sure if the risks outweigh that plan.”

“Or we could try something stupid and reckless,” Tanila said.

Max glanced at Tanila once more and shook his head. She nodded, and Fowl grunted.

Both swords were out, and Max glanced at the boss, who was still fifty yards away, watching them and waiting to see what would happen.

“Remember, if you die, this isn’t my fault,” Max muttered, taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out.

[ Haste Activated ]

That first step he took towards the boss almost caught Max off guard as he crossed what felt like ten yards. The second step was just like the first.

Grinning, Max focused on the boss, who appeared confused by the man with two swords now hurtling toward it.

It hopped backward, its injured leg having healed slightly but still limiting its distance and speed.

Seven seconds later, Max was in its face. The boss was trying to swing at Max and seeing every blow dodged or deflected.

Realizing it couldn’t hit Max, it lifted its hands, holding them out and preparing to cast its spell as the wall behind it closed in on them quickly.

Max grinned. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

[ Berserker Activated ]

The boss’s red eyes went dark as Max’s vision changed. He had been only inches away from the boss, not having to go his full speed, matching its every jump and move with ease.

Now, with its hands held out, trying to cast a spell and create space between Max and itself, the two swords that flashed toward it were unhindered by its ability to deflect them.

Both struck simultaneously, Max’s right sword slicing a gash to its shoulder as Max’s left sword took the left arm clean off above the elbow.

It roared, trying to adjust and attack, but the onslaught was more than it had believed possible.

Max swiped up and down, left and right, carving tufts of black fur and flesh from the boss as it stumbled backward, holding up its right arm and left stub to try and deflect the attacks.

Its height helped limit Max’s ability to go for its neck in his rage. Instead, its chest and waist succumbed to the flurry of swords and brought it to the ground, sending it tumbling over itself.

The beauty of the rage was Max couldn’t be bothered to feel pity. There were cries of pain and terror as the boss understood that this fight had gone from one it could easily win to being defeated in just a few moments.

Its right arm was gone as Max descended upon it, ignoring the pain in his side when one of its legs kicked at him.

A sword took off the offending appendage at the knee as Max pressed the attack.

Another kick sent him backward a few steps, chest heaving, and Max prepared to move forward again when the red rage and fury that had filled him were gone.

He stumbled a step, coughing and feeling the blood in his throat as he felt the injuries he had sustained.

Backing up a step, he watched as the boss tried to move, using its only remaining foot to push against the floor as it slid on its back, hissing and squealing in terror and rage.

A flood of messages distracted him as he put his left sword in storage and pulled out a healing potion.

[ Vampirism has attempted to drain Hit Points ]

[ Consume has resisted attempt ]

[ Vampirism has attempted to drain Hit Points ]

[ Consume has resisted attempt ]

[ Vampirism has attempted to drain Hit Points ]

[ Consume has resisted attempt ]

[ Vampirism has attempted to drain Hit Points ]

[ Consume has resisted attempt ]

[ Vampirism has attempted to drain Hit Points ]

[ Consume has resisted attempt ]

[ Vampirism has attempted to drain Hit Points ]

[ Consume has resisted attempt ]

“That’s a lot of hits you landed,” Max said, his voice ragged and weak as he popped off the cork and drank the potion.

He felt ribs popping back into place and winced for just a moment. Feeling one that must have punctured a lung come out on its own. A few seconds later, he stood there, feeling almost like new.

“Seth!”

He heard his team but never took his eyes off the rabbit. Putting his sword up, he pulled out his axe.

Destroy it.

The voice inside him was different this time. There was no desire for him to consume it. It needed to be destroyed.

Hefting his axe over his head, Max brought it down, chopping off the leg and causing the boss to squeal loudly. It flopped around, thrashing on the floor and baring its teeth at him.

“You lose,” Max said, his voice almost unrecognizable as his axe descended, decapitating the boss.

The body thrashed on the floor. Even with the head gone, it continued to writhe around.

Remember the stories of old, Max put his axe away, bringing his spear out. Moving to the body, he plunged it into the spot its heart would be and saw the body arch up. It shivered, and then the body turned to dust.

A wave of cold, followed by a wave of fire, overwhelmed him.

He heard voices and felt the presence of his allies, but Max couldn’t do anything as he fell to the ground.

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