Ultimate Level 1-Chapter 404: Facing Fears

That went about as well as I hoped it might. It appears that your stats were beyond anything it could handle.

Well, that combination is extremely potent. You and I both know it still isn’t much compared to those with real power, though part of me is glad to know that my body is stronger than whatever metal the boss was made of with that skill.

Even if it hadn’t been, your new regeneration would have easily taken care of your legs .

Yeah, I’ll just ignore the pain.

Hearing a laugh from Bob, Max moved to where his friends were waiting, seeing a chest having appeared beside them.

It was half the size of the last one, and as he had expected, made of the same patchwork metal that the boss had been constructed from. A relief of the clockwork he faced was etched on it, and as he drew close, Max considered what this would mean for future floors.

So the truth… there are other sapient races, and the tower is part of their world or lives. It would also appear that some of them are well aware of what this means. Do you have any idea what they gain by defeating us?

No, but hopefully in time we can find some answers. Until then we stick with the plan.

“That was… impressive,” Fowl said as Max came to rest on the ground near them. “Even more is, uh… how tall are you now?”

Chuckling, Max remembered he was still in his Ultimate Form and shrugged.

“Almost twelve feet?”

“Damn… that uh… is impressive.”

“Stop thinking dirty thoughts,” Batrire said as she punched their warrior.

“Gods, woman, I’m not! I’m more of the… I mean just look at him.”

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Wishing he could change from his armor but knowing if he did his clothes would immediately tear and be gone, causing a much worse scene, Max struck a pose, flexing a few times.

“Should we be watching this?” Cordellia asked, pretending to cover her eyes. “I’m not sure I feel comfortable with this.”

A small snort came from Tanila, who smiled at him and shook her head.

“I think they got the message. Now then, all that is left is to see what we got.”

She turned and moved to the chest and tapped it.

“Want to do the honors?”

Her tone and behavior were so different from normal that Max could see that the expressions of the others were different from when moments like these occurred.

Fowl even shot him a look with his eyes, motioning to where their mage stood.

“You can do it,” Max said as he moved closer, staying a little off to the side as he towered over both of the dwarves.

Without replying, she opened the chest and looked inside.

“That’s unusual.”

Her statement made everyone hurry up to look inside and see what had prompted her choice of words.

“Is that a skill shard?” Cordellia asked.

“I believe so,” Max replied.

A single shard changed color as it waited for the team to decide who would try to win the drop. Next to it were two more clear crystals.

“Seems a bit of a letdown,” Fowl muttered. “I mean… I know those are ultra rare, but still.”

“Who is going to roll on it?” Batrire asked.

“I’ll pass,” Max said quickly. “Obviously, that’s not something I need to worry about.”

The other four looked at each other and all shrugged.

“I guess we’ll see who wins,” Tanila said as she held her hand out over it. The other three joined her, and soon, a single gray die with five images of each appeared and started to spin.

“Good luck,” their healer said as they all anxiously watched the gods decide who would get a new skill.

As it tumbled and rolled, finally coming to a stop, Cordellia let out a high-pitched squeal as her face faced upward.

“I won!”

“Congrats,” Fowl said as he gently patted her arm. “Now tell us what you got.”

Reaching in she pulled out the shard, which had settled on a light purple color.

Her eyes widened after she obviously inspected it. A second later, her hand squeezed it, shattering the object and causing tendrils of what looked like purple water to coat her hand and run up her arm.

Their archer shuddered as it continued past her shoulder and climbed her neck.

“Oh my!”

As she spoke, the liquid rushed into Cordellia’s mouth, and she started to gag before swallowing it. Coughing a few times, she stood up and grabbed her chest, wincing at whatever was taking place.

A soft green glow coated their archer as Batrire cast a healing spell on her, but it appeared to have no effect.

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“I’m fine,” she stated, holding up her other hand. “Just… the pain was so intense for a moment.”

“Well… what did you get?”

Clearing her throat and wiping a few tears that had come from her eyes, Cordellia smiled.

“Let me show you!” she exclaimed, taking a few steps away from them.

Holding her hands out before her, they glowed purple for a moment. A runic circle of the same color appeared on the ground, and from it a three-foot-tall wolf rose upward. It took a few seconds for the creature to manifest completely, but when it did, it sat on the ground and looked up at her.

“Is it real?” Max asked.

“No,” their ranger said with a sigh as she bent down and rubbed the purple fur that it was covered in. “It lasts for up to three hours or until it dies. Still, I can tell it what I want it to do if that doesn’t seem strange. Like…”

As she stood, the wolf suddenly bolted forward, crossing the metal Colosseum floor faster than anyone but Cordellia or Max could. It began to zig-zag and run around in obvious patterns before returning to where it had started and sitting down again.

“That’s pretty cool,” Fowl said. “Can it play fetch?”

A groan was the only reply he got from Cordellia.

“That should be a useful companion,” Tanila stated. “I guess we just need to get the crystals, and then we can return back to the Faction house and call it a day.”

Max nodded. As he began to reach into the chest, his hand became smaller. By the time he had gotten the first one out, he had returned to his normal size.

“Well at least it only lasts a little bit,” Fowl said. “Not sure how I’d feel if I had to be around you like that all the time.”

Retrieving the last crystal, Max motioned to the portal that appeared near them.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’d like to be that big all the time either.”

***

“I’m fine, really. I know you think I’m not, but you need to let it go.”

Tanila’s expression showed just how frustrated she was from the question he always asked, but inside Max couldn’t shake that something had happened to her since the red skill had been upgraded from the elixir.

“You say that, but trust me, all of us can see the change in you. I’m just saying you’re acting differently, and if you need someone to listen or talk with, you know I understand the struggle of controlling a skill like that.”

“But you don’t,” she stated, glaring at him. For the first time he could ever remember she was almost scowling at him. “You haven’t had this for years. You didn’t have to live with this power and be taught how to use it to become stronger. Every day you didn’t have to tell yourself you wouldn’t give in and go against your family’s wishes.

“Even when you did give in, you were able to justify your actions by giving someone mercy as they were going to die. I didn’t. Whenever I used the skill to end someone’s life it was for myself. Now… it’s like tenfold… no, a hundred times worse!”

Her eyes were filled with rage, and Max watched as she waved both hands in the air.

“All my life I just wanted to ignore this skill, promising myself I would never let it get stronger.”

She moved closer to him, thrusting her finger in his chest.

“I have seen what happens when one of my family members uses their skill points and upgrades it. They change. Do you know how many of my kind are like me?”

“You and your sister?”

Shaking her head, she laughed, a dark edge to it.

“No… I wish it was just her and I. There are five of us. My sister is the only one I know of that is actively causing problems, though I’m certain my three brothers are either in a prison cell within the castle or off somewhere getting in trouble.”

“Uh… no one ever mentions you having brothers.”

“That is because only my family and a few others know of them. Do you know why that is?”

They are a threat to her father.

He knew his eyes reacted to what Bob said, and Tanila frowned as she shook her head.

“Bob told you. I can see it. Even he knows. Each of them are a threat, and yet they are given a chance to grow stronger. Just like my sister and I… all for a single reason I only now really understand, and that scares me beyond anything else.”

“Thuyja.”

She frowned and nodded.

“Everything I believed came crashing down when we learned what she was doing in this world.”

The rage on her face vanished, and a look Max recognized as shame came. Her eyes went to the floor immediately, unable to hold his gaze for longer than a moment.

“I knew at that moment that if you hadn’t been here… if we… we didn’t have this child growing… I… I’m not sure what I would have become.”

Standing there, feeling like there was a massive chasm between them, even though only a couple feet of actual space existed, Max struggled with how to respond.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly reached out with a hand. Even after she shrugged it off at first, he didn’t give up, putting both arms around her.

Pulling her close, he said nothing, not letting her push away as she had tried for a brief moment before she stopped, and the tears began to come.

Her legs started to give out, but Max didn’t let her fall. He was easily able to support her with his strength.

Minutes passed as she sobbed in his arms. Through it all he said nothing.

“What if I cannot stay strong and… our child… I—”

“You’re not in this alone,” Max replied, cutting her off. “I’ll never leave your side.”

Kissing her forehead, he used a hand to lift her chin and stare into her bloodshot eyes.

“You’re the kindest and most amazing elf I know. I’ll be your anchor like you were mine. Together, we’ll overcome our fears and doubts and conquer the tower and raise a child who knows real love.”

Sniffing she smiled and then laughed, choking as she saw him hold out a handkerchief.

“How did I ever get so lucky?”

“Somewhere is a god I guess that knew we both would need each other,” Max replied, giving her his best smile. “Even if they thought we might be oil and water, we’ll show them that we’re proof we choose our own paths. And I, Tanila Gilmenor, choose you to be the one I love.”

Sighing, she reached up and ran her nails over his bald head. “When you talk like that, I sometimes feel my inner dwarf calling out to me.”

“It’s a shame we can’t do a double wedding, because I would marry you right now.”

She nodded and rubbed his head one last time.

“Well, we’ll just have to wait. Not too long, though.”

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