Ultimate Level 1

“Your eye Seth… the damaged one… it’s glowing green.”

Fowl’s words seemed impossible.

Storing his axe, he pulled a sword out of storage and held it toward his face.

Dear gods…

There in the reflection, he saw it. A green glow came from the eyeball that had been a milky white since the injury. Moving the sword while staring, he saw that it was indeed glowing. Bright enough that it would be noticeable to anyone who saw it.

“Ogre shite!”

He cursed a few more times, swinging his sword in frustration before taking a few deep breaths and putting it away in storage.

What the hell have you done?! I didn’t choose to have this!

No reply came, but Max knew it had heard him.

“What happened, Seth? What did you get?”

Max spun on his heel, quicker than he had intended, and surprised Tanila, who had moved closer to him, her cheeks still wet from the tears.

“I didn’t. I wasn’t the one that said yes… my skill… something inside me chose to consume it.”

“What did you consume?”

Max saw Tanila trying to look brave. The biting of her lip didn’t help her stoic face, but he knew she cared and wanted to know.

“It said it couldn’t keep whatever that caster had, so it changed it. Changed it to Death Magic.”

Tanila’s hand trembled as she put it over her open mouth.

Fowl and Batrire both spat at the same time.

“Shite, Seth! Death Magic?!”

Max nodded, seeing the look on Batrire’s face.

“I don’t even know what it does!” Max exclaimed and then realized how to fix that problem.

[Skill Description - Death Magic]

*****

Death Magic - Uncommon Skill: Caster has yet to reach the level of corruption required to use this magic. As the corruption level increases, spells will unlock.

*****

“What the hell is corruption level?” Max asked, looking at his three friends, who were doing their best to appear unafraid.

“There are different forms of corruption,” Tanila said, moving to stand a foot from Max. She took his chin in her hand and slowly turned his head as she stared into his glowing eye. “How one gets and increases them is horrible to even talk about.”

She shuddered but never let go of his chin. “The truth is you are one of the few who I think might be able to keep from succumbing to that… atrocity. The tyrants of old legends were the ones who slaughtered innocents for power. Those who worshiped other gods and sought to bring about destruction for their own gain. Power beyond…”

She stopped talking and smiled, letting go of Max’s chin and gently brushing his cheek with her thumb as she cupped it. “Don’t focus on the negative. Don’t give in to its desire. Be the guy we love. The one who helps the weak and protects us.”

Max felt the tear she had wiped away. A few more came, and she looked up at him as she repeated it a few more times.

Fowl and Batrire came over and stood there, smiling and giving him a gentle thump on his arms.

“Dear gods,” Fowl muttered. “It’s gone!”

Max saw Tanila’s eyes widen, and she nodded, tears starting to run again down her cheek.

“What’s gone?” Max asked, moving his head and shaking Tanila’s hand free.

“The green glow… it just went dim and vanished,” she whispered.

“How? I mean, why? I–”

“It’s because you're not evil,” Batrire interrupted. “Tanila’s right, Seth. You’re one of the few humans I trust with my life, no matter what. Even more, I trust you with Tanila and Fowl’s life. Right now, this proves that I should stay the course Ockrim has put me on with you.”

Max smiled and felt all his fear and angst at the belief his skill would consume him fade away. It was quiet inside him at this moment.

“Thank you,” Max muttered. “More than you know.”

Fowl laughed and rushed forward, grabbing Max in a hug and lifting him off the ground.

“You two stop watching and give this boy a hug!”

The two ladies laughed and rushed forward, briefly joining the hug. Max let himself go, enjoying the moment.

The black cloak had been a rare drop, as the caster had been a rare spawn. Max had stored it, as none of the others wanted to touch it after what had happened to him.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The rest of the dungeon had been a slog of warriors and archers who posed no real threat besides their numbers.

Fowl’s armor kept their attacks from doing any real damage beyond the impact they caused.

Batrire had to heal Max more than Fowl, as none of Max’s kills gave him any hit points.

“Seems you’re sucking today,” Fowl teased as he leaned back and stretched a little. “I’m over here getting beat on all day, and you’re the one getting hurt.”

Max grinned, glad they had moved on from the moment earlier today with the new skill he had gotten. “We all can’t be pretty dwarves in metal.”

Shaking his hips, Fowl laughed, gyrating faster when Batrire gave out a whistle of approval.

“You three realize we have another floor to finish before the boss?”

Fowl and Max nodded, grumbling about Tanila and her reminder.

“Just trying to enjoy my best life, Mom.” Fowl quipped.contemporary romance

Max and Batrire couldn’t help it, and they started laughing when they saw how red Tanila’s face had become.

“I’m going to mom your arse when I stick my foot up it,” she growled.

They continued laughing and joking until they were almost done with the second floor. Then things got serious.

“Are you breaking dungeons again?”

Max shook his head and stared at the giant skeleton, as tall as the two-story building it stood next to.

“That has to be at least twenty feet tall,” Max muttered. “Look at how thick its bones are.”

“And that club,” Fowl added.

“How is something like…” Tanila stopped what she was saying and gasped, pointing to an object on the ground behind the massive skeleton. “A chest!”

“Holy elf tits! It can’t be!”

Max looked at Fowl, who was leaning forward, staring at the chest.

“So I’m going to ask a stupid question because you all know something I don't. Why is there a chest, and what does that mean?”

Fowl blew a raspberry, and the sound of it inside his helmet was comical.

“Chests are rare, but not as rare as that skeleton caster. As you get close to level thirty dungeons, they can start to show up. What that means is a massive boss or pack of creatures harder than the normal ones you have faced. They are higher level and stronger. We could skip it and move past, but then we would also be forfeiting the chance of whatever is inside.”

Max saw Batrire and Tanila nodding their heads in agreement with Fowl.

“So what do you three want to do?” Max asked, seeing the hesitation in their eyes.

“Kill that thing, of course,” Fowl replied, rotating his shoulders and cracking his neck. “When have we ever listened to reason?”

Max chuckled and nodded. “I don’t even know what weapon to use against that thing. A shield seems the best choice, but how long will it take to actually kill that thing?”

“Hacking through its ankles will take time, and I have no idea how that will work,” Fowl admitted as he pointed at the magically connected bones. “The problem is the head is way up there.”

They stood there for another few minutes, looking at the street and the houses between them and the creature.

“What if I just stealth and try to open the chest?”

Fowl chuckled and shook his head. “They are locked. Need a key from the guardians.”

Grunting, Max stared at the skeleton for a while longer, taking in the massive bones that made up its body.

“The head… we need to take off the head.”

Fowl snorted at Max’s words. “Of course, you fool, that’s how all the skeletons work.”

“No, listen,” Max said, pointing at the nearby houses. “That thing is as tall as these houses. Its head looks to be just a few feet above the rooftops. What if you lure it to the houses over here on the right and make it come between those two?” Max pointed at a pair of houses with about fifteen feet of space between them. “If you do that, I will be on the roof waiting for it to come by and can try to jump and land on its back, attacking the bones that connect the head to its body.”

Tanila nodded her head as she murmured something to herself.

“Elf tits, that’s a frickin amazing idea!” Batrire exclaimed as she saw what Max was talking about. “It also limits the ability of the boss to reach us compared to on this street.”

Max nodded and grinned.

“But I’m still the bait,” Fowl whined. “Why do I always have to be the bait?”

“Is what it is,” Max said as he started moving toward the house he had indicated. “Come on, and let’s get set up.”

It had taken effort for Max to break through the roof and get on the one he planned to attack from. It took five hits with his axe to make a hole he could climb through, giving some hope that the boss wouldn’t knock the house down in one blow.

Giving a thumbs up to Fowl and Tanila, he waited, barely able to see the white skull of the skeleton they were about to engage.

He flexed his fingers as he held the axe.

One big strike. I need one big strike.

Fowl whistled, and Tanila shot an ice bolt at the creature's leg.

The skeleton’s mouth opened, and a roar came out of it that shook the building Max was standing on, even though he was so far away.

Stealthing, Max watched as Fowl and Tanila came running, sprinting between the houses toward where Batrire stood a little further away.

The sound of the massive feet pounding against the street echoed out.

“GOBLIN SHITE!” Fowl shouted as he ran to the spot Max had marked on the ground and turned around, seeing the boss turning at the corner of the house.

The empty, black sockets of its skull focused on Fowl, and it began running between the houses, clearing the gap between the two with only a few feet on either side.

Max knew what was coming as it swung its bone club at Fowl, the dwarf shimmering white as he activated his new skill right before the attack hit.

As the boss attacked, Max leaped from the roof, his stealth not broken yet, and aimed his attack as he fell toward the spot the boss had exposed. When it swung and attacked, it leaned forward, head down, and exposed the bones its head connected to.

His axe crashed against its neck the moment the skeleton’s club slammed into Fowl, sending up a cloud of dust as the dwarf stood there, unmoved, and his health barely affected.

A crack appeared in the vertebrae where Max’s axe hit, sending a chunk of the bone flying.

The skull wobbled to the right side, struggling to stay upright.

Max stored the ax as he fell toward the boss and grabbed the rib cage that ran up its spine.

Another scream echoed through the gap between the houses as the boss stumbled and crashed into the house Max had jumped off.

Using the rib cage like a ladder, Max climbed up toward the spot he had hit and held on as the skeleton thrashed against the house. Its left arm came up and over, trying to slap Max off.

“Fireball!”

Max began casting his area-of-effect fire spell while waiting for the left hand to do something. Its swipe had missed him by a few feet, but it was preparing for another go at him when Tanila’s fireball struck it in the face.

The boss crashed against the building, almost pinning Max as he cast his spell, and flames erupted around him.

The entire alleyway was engulfed, the houses on both sides and the pathway, as everything burned.

A chunk of bone came free as Max fought to hold on, the damage being done to it from his fire and Tanila’s taking effect.

Max realized the boss was moving as he regripped the rib he was holding onto. It had turned and was preparing to slam itself into the house across the way.

“Look out!” Fowl shouted.

Max didn’t have time to reply as he saw what was racing toward him.

done.co