Ultimate Level 1 - Chapter 223 - The Difference in Power (Patreon)

His sonar told him that there was a small alcove for the boss room and when his eyes adjusted, the black stone was back with an intricate pattern of glowing crystal almost etched into the floor.

The room was only about a hundred yards across and the boss stood on a large crystal circle that seemed to bathe light upon it from underneath.

Black-skinned, two tails with stingers and standing at about thirteen feet, the boss looked overwhelming.

“Seems a bit anticlimactic,” Fowl muttered as he moved next to Max.  “Where’s the fifty foot tall giant?”

“Are we ready?”

Everyone nodded and Max pulled out his weapon, pointing at the boss while glancing over his shoulders at the other.

“Hit it with everything. I’m going all out.”

He could feel Cordellia as she drew her bow, activating her empowered shot.  Tanila was summoning a spear, preparing to attack.

Fowl’s short legs were moving toward the boss, shield and weapon ready.

Max, however, was a blur, speeding across the stone floor, ignoring the boss as it roared at him.

Usually he held back in the tower, choosing to not go full speed, knowing that doing so might leave the rest of the party open if he left them behind.

Cordellia had often wondered how he could kite so many monsters with ease, luring them along while attacking and always staying ahead.  That was because none was faster than he was.  Today was the first time in a while he truly showed off his speed.  

[ Power Strike ]

[ Magical Strike ]

[ Rampage ]

It felt like overkill, but he wasn’t playing.  Somewhere an adventurer might be about to die, and if he could prevent that by going all out, he would.

His axe cut the head off as the creature raised it, preparing to finish its roar.

The second strike sliced the creature in half while the third quartered the remains.

In less than a second, what would have been impossible to defeat a few months ago was now dead.

“Seriously?!”

Cordellia’s shout rang out behind him, but Max was already moving, stuffing the head and pieces of the body into his storage, hiding every part of the boss before any of it dissolved away.

The light in the crystals began to pulse and a hum came from the floor.

After five seconds an explosion of bright light washed over the room and then vanished, leaving everyone blinking.

“Why did I even bother to come?” Fowl asked, chuckling as he made it to his friend's side.  “I mean, you just soloed a boss and basically all of this dungeon.”

“True, but you could have done the same,” Max said as he poked his friend's metal chest piece.

“Not this fast.”

“He’s right,” Batrire said with a grunt.  “All that work and you just walk in and slice up the boss, putting its entire body away to.  I’m not sure Dexic could have done that.”

Snorting, Max rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Alright, enough of that.  No matter what kind words you say to me, I’m only going to let Tanila sleep with me.”

Fowl chuckled and pointed at the chest that had appeared.

“Man, that seems so tiny…”

“That’s what she said,” their ranger called out.

Groans and more laughter came as Max nodded and moved to the chest.  It was a standard size dungeon chest, but compared to what they had been getting lately, it felt very lacking.

Fowl lifted the lid and groaned, reaching in and pulling out a black band with crystal running around it.

“Just the token for the boss.  Enraged Manticore.  I’m not sure it was even able to be enraged.”

Nodding, Max moved to the chest and took his, seeing that indeed the only thing in there was the tokens for killing the boss.

A blue portal appeared after they all had taken their token and, as a group, they moved to it.

“Not what I had hoped for expected at all, but at least we know we did what was required.”

Everyone nodded, agreeing with Tanila’s statement.

Saving lives was important, but Max knew everyone had been hoping for a little loot.

***

The walk back to town revealed the damage the monsters had done along the way.  Beyond the torn up fields and destroyed areas where fights between beasts and adventurers had taken place, a pair of mangled corpses lay by themselves.

With care, they collected the bodies as best they could, wrapping them up in a tarp and storing them for now.

Guards met them on the edge of town, taking the bodies and thanking them for the help in closing the dungeon.  Both of the groups from their faction appeared to have helped with the defenses and, as they walked back down the streets, people who lived there were already returning and many cheered or offered thanks for protecting them.

“Feels weird to be on this side of things,” Batrire said after rubbing the head of a pair of dwarven children who gave a hug to her and Fowl.  “I don’t feel like I deserve this kind of praise.”

“That’s how you know you’re doing it for the right reason,” Cordellia replied. “If you only do it for money or the praise, then one might wonder if you could ever allow yourself to be called a hero and not a mercenary.”

Their healer nodded and when they finally reached the city walls, the captain came out to meet them.

“Your response time was quicker than most, if I’m honest, that helped more than you realize.  No actual damage was inflicted on the outer city, and that is not always the case.  I’ve already started drawing up a report and will acknowledge the help the Golden Axe Faction gave in this break.”

The woman bowed slightly, turning to leave just as quickly as she had come.

“I kind of feel sorry for her,” Tanila said as they watched the captain start barking out orders to the soldiers who were working on keeping the flow of people moving and dealing with problems that arose.  “Imagine being responsible for all these lives and yet unable to do much about it without the help of adventurers like ourselves.”

Max nodded and motioned toward the gate.

“Let’s find a cart and head back to the Faction house.  I need to ask Tom and Everett a question and want everyone there when I do.”

***

Tom glanced at Everett, and both men were frowning slightly.  They had been encouraging and cheering on the group for what they had done, having already heard about the success from the other two parties that had responded.

“So you really want to know the difference between tower climbers and their stats,” Tom said, watching Max, who nodded once.  “Is this because of Dexic and –”

“No,” Max replied, stopping Tom from going down that path. “Today made me realize something, and I mentioned it on the carriage ride back with everyone else.  When we fought against those dungeon breaks as an adventurer, each one almost left us dead.  We were at our limits, fighting against more monsters than we shouldn’t be trying to deal with, having to overcome impossible odds, all while waiting on someone to save us from the very thing we were trying to protect the citizens from.  Sure, those moments teach teamwork and help you learn to depend upon your allies, but the risks are so great, I wonder now how many adventurers die.  

“Then came the truth of what we saw when the ogre dungeon broke and we witnessed the tower climbers tear through those creatures like they were nothing.  What was pushing us back, threatening to overrun and destroy us, was vanquished in a moment.”

Grunting, Max cleared his throat and leaned forward in his chair.

“Today we were those tower climbers who saved the day.  Both groups from here might have been able to defeat the dungeon in time, but it would have taken them a while to get there.  Which brings me back to the point I want to know about.

“I witnessed in the Colosseum a fight between tower climbers and they moved so fast that without the crystal and whatever magic slowed down their movements, I wouldn’t have been able to see the fight.  Just how strong do people really get by the time one reaches the fiftieth floor?”

Everett tapped Tom’s shoulder and nodded, smirking as he knew the older man read his mind.

“I guess it would be easier to show you, but we’ll have to change one thing. I’ll use my skills and wield a sword that won’t harm you.  Likewise, you’ll use a sword that won’t harm me, but they will keep track of successful strikes.  In the end, we can decide if that answers your question.”

Max grinned, each of his teeth showing as he cracked his knuckles.

“When do we do this?”

Tom laughed and shook his head.

“Right now.  Let’s go outside.”

***

A crowd had gathered from the two parties that were there and the others within the ranks of crafters and servers.

Max studied Tom, seeing that the man wore a set of chain armor that was completely gold like Dexic’s was.  His fingers were adorned with rings and even a pair of earrings could be spotted on the man.

His shield was similar in size, gold and emblazoned with an ax on it.

Everett had drawn a few different lines around the field, adding about fifty more yards for everyone to stay back.  

Moving the sword around that he had been given, Max felt the weight as if it was there and yet wasn’t.  The sensation was different, and he had to look a few times to make sure it wasn’t disappearing as it became weightless again.

“It’s part of the magic,” Tom said, studying Max, who was wearing every bit of armor and jewelry as well.  “When you swing it the sword will allow you to sense the weight, knowing how the strike should be, but when not actively using it, your mind doesn’t register that it's there.  Now I want you to know once he calls for this to start, I’m going to go all out.  So don’t hold back like you did against Dexic.”

Smirking, Max nodded and banged the sword against his shield.

“I only wished we had done this before.  No matter what happens, just know I appreciate you teaching me.”

The older man gave him a nod and moved back about ten yards, cracking his neck once and looking at Everett.

“Alright, the rules are simple.  All skills are allowed,” the Faction leader said. “Choose what you want to reveal, but know that when I call for you to stop, I expect it to be immediate.  If something results in a killing blow, we’ll start again.  When you both have decided you have had enough, tell me and we’ll end this.  For now, just know that everyone is watching and they expect a good fight.  Both of you understand?”

Each man nodded, smiling at the other.

Shaking his head, Everett moved back from where he had been standing near the two men.  Coming to the edge of the field, he glanced at Tanila and saw her expression.

“Nervous?”

She nodded yet was smiling.

“Seth is excited about this and I know he needs it. The real question is, how strong is Tom?”

Grinning, Everett raised his eyebrows at her a few times.

“We’re about to find out.”

Holding a hand up in the air, he turned and faced all the faction members that were locked on the two men.  He couldn’t help but notice a few of them appeared to be making bets and wished he had thought about doing that.

“Members of the Golden Axe, may you see what power looks like and attempt to achieve it!” Everett shouted.

Dropping his hand, he yelled “Begin!”