Ultimate Level 1

“You cheated?”

“Shhh… don’t tell Fowl!” Max exclaimed, watching his dwarven friend snore as he lay across Batrire’s lap, holding his trophy under his arm.

“Regeneration actually helped against the effect of alcohol?” Batrire whispered as she continued to stroke Fowl’s hair.

The carriage they had reserved for the trip home had been a godsend, as finding one after the competition was over would have easily taken an hour based on the line leading to the area where carts picked up their patrons.

“I tested it after the first two beers, knowing that if it didn’t, I was going to be out soon. I honestly didn’t expect it to help with the liquid I had already consumed. Where it went, I have no idea.”

Batrire snorted, shaking her head. “Had you won using that, Fowl would have been pretty upset.”

“There was no way I could have won that last part. I didn’t know the trick; it was all over once my breath was gone. What really makes me wonder is how that elf, Seujjana, seemed to have no problems with the amount of alcohol she drank. Is it possible for an elf to have a regeneration skill?”

Tanila frowned, her eyes gazing up at the carriage's ceiling. “I wouldn’t bet on that, as regeneration isn’t really a skill any of the three main races can get naturally. She may have had an item that helped, but risking someone finding out they had it… doesn’t seem worth it for a silly trophy.”

“And free ale for a year,” Fowl muttered, his voice slurred as he spoke. “Gods... Seth... you cheated... I take back the half-dwarf…”

The three of them chuckled as Fowl opened one eye for a moment before shutting it and holding his trophy tighter.

“I would have quit right before you did,” Max said. “There is no way I would stand between you and that helm.”

A grunt of acknowledgment came from Fowl as he shifted a little and started snoring again.

“Is he asleep?” Max whispered.

Batrire shrugged, stroking her man’s hair once again.

“Guess I'll keep my dwarf jokes to myself when he's sleeping near us from now on.”

“That’s cuz they’re not funny,” Fowl said before letting out a massive ten-second belch that left the other three holding their noses and trying to stick their heads out of the carriage.

“Finally. Been waiting on that since the cask.”

No one paid him any attention, trading the dank smell in the carriage for any scent the city could provide.

“So let me get this straight,” Tom said, shaking his head in disbelief at the party’s news. Are you actually ready to have a skill upgraded?”

“Tanila is going to upgrade one of her skills to epic. Everett said we could do that, right?” Max asked

Tom nodded as he frowned, looking at the four of them.

“Most don’t upgrade their mage first, but it’s not my place to tell you four how to spend your points if you got them. I’m here if you want help and advice, so I won’t lie, I’m surprised by the decision. I had anticipated Seth getting the first upgrade, but if you want, we can go ahead and get that taken care of.”

“Actually, can you see if Everett is free also? I have a question for him while Tanila does that.”

Max did his best to not shift under Tom’s gaze.

“Should I ask?”

“You can, but then I’d have to repeat myself, and I think both you and Everett are going to want a say in what I ask,” Max replied.

Grunting, Tom motioned for the two of them to follow him.

“I'm still surprised your dwarf warrior isn’t back on his feet yet. How much alcohol did he consume?” Tom asked as he led them through the main foyer of the faction house and toward the stairs that led to Everett’s room.

“I lost count, but the half of a cask he drank without taking a breath is what I think finally did him in, even if he threw most of it up.”

Tom’s laugh bounced off the walls, filling the room. “Any dwarf that drinks that much deserves a morning off.”

It had taken a few minutes to get to Everett’s office, and when they arrived, Tom made his request, and the attendant outside the Faction master’s office took Tanila to where the skill shard was kept.

Everett and Tom sat on the same couch, each looking at Max and waiting to hear whatever he thought was worth bringing them together on such short notice.

“Have you shared what we discussed a few days ago with Tom?”

Tom turned his attention to the man next to him, and Tom’s eyebrow, which was closest to Everett, was raised.

“I have not… I thought we had discussed keeping some things secret,” Everett replied, frowning at being put on the spot.

“I know, but this next part is something my group and I have been discussing. We feel we are coming to a point where we need to make a decision about it. We need to find a fifth-party member, and none of us know anyone who would work. We would trust your recommendation for that slot. Obviously, keeping our secrets needs to be high on the qualifications.”

Everett chuckled and then coughed when he heard Tom grunt.

“Why do I feel like I’m missing out on something?” Tom asked, looking between the two.

Leaning forward in his seat, Max pulled a cloak out of his storage and held it in his hand. “You can touch it but can’t take it because it's bound to me. Tell me your first thought, Tom.”

Tom and Everett reached out and touched the cloak, their eyes narrowing before going wide after feeling it. Tom stood up and moved closer, his eyes getting wider as he brought the cloak a foot from his face.

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“Is this… spider silk?” Tom asked, his tone sounding like he almost didn’t believe his own words.

“It is.”

Looking over his shoulder at Everett, Tom mouthed something Max couldn’t see. No words had been spoken, or he would have easily heard them.

“It’s from a rare spawn on a rare dungeon floor,” Everett replied.

Max was afraid Tom’s neck was going to break from the speed at which his head snapped back to face him.

“You fought on a rare dungeon floor?!” he shouted. Realizing how loud he had been, Tom rubbed his eyes and groaned. “Do you have any idea how rare those are? I’ve only been in one myself, and I still have the item I got there.”

Max nodded and laughed. “I do understand they are rare… I still use the items I have received from my rare dungeon floors.”

Tom nodded in agreement, and then his head froze mid-motion, his face scrunching as he processed what Max had just said. “Are you saying–”

“Yes,” Max said with a sigh, interrupting Tom to save time. “Four… we have been in four.”

“HOLY GOBLIN NUTS!” Tom shouted, jumping to his feet and looking at Everett, who was smiling, before turning his attention back to Max. “How? When? What?”

“Tom, settle down… obviously Seth is going to tell you, and I expect this to not leave the three of us.”

“But… but…”

Tom groaned and nodded, returning to his seat before flopping down onto the padded chair. “Four… four Everett… before the tower…”

“Yes, the gods aren’t fair. Now, Seth, do you want to share the rest with him?”

Max nodded and leaned back, smiling at Tom, who was pouting like a child who had their candy taken from them.

Tom sat there in disbelief, not saying anything.

“With that said, Now I want to know the real reason you asked us both here,” Everett said, chuckling at Tom’s reaction.

“We need a fifth partner. Someone you trust and will also be privy to this and a few other things we don’t want getting out.”

Shaking off his shock, Tom looked at Max, opening his mouth for a moment before closing it again.

“I’m assuming these are things you haven’t shared with us yet, either?” Everett asked.

Nodding slowly, Max smirked. “Our group is very special, and after our last dungeon, it was evident that we need another teammate who understands discretion.”

Everett stood up and walked to his desk.

Tom crossed his arms and slowly shook his head at Max, rubbing his chin with each shake. “That’s why you’re having Tanila upgrade a skill—to hide your power.”

“That doesn’t sound like a question,” Max replied, grinning at the older man. “I’d like to believe that you think me and my team aren’t idiots.”

Chuckling, Tom shook his head and then sighed. “I’ve seen a lot of adventurers in my time, and your group was higher on the list of impressive teams than most the first time I met you all. That is even without Everett’s stamp of approval on you all. My real question, which I don’t expect an answer to, is what you all are hiding. I can tell Tanila and Batrire are stronger than one might expect from their class, and Fowl also has some advantages. Even then, I’ll reaffirm my previous statement. You are stronger than all of them. I really want to know how you are getting something any other team could only dream of… rare dungeons… Of course, they’re dangerous, but the items are beyond imagination until higher levels in the tower.”

“Which is why we go into all of them.”

Max hadn’t told them about the red portal that appeared when the massive dungeon break occurred. When they had determined this plan of action, Tanila made sure they understood that no one should know about it.

“Smart… dangerous, but smart. I’m assuming you have an idea of what class you four want for your fifth?”

Max nodded, watching Everett return to them with a book in his hand. After the Faction leader sat in his chair, he opened the book and frowned.

“So, what class are you thinking?” Tom asked, not waiting for Everett to chime in.

“A ranger or archer of some kind. Damage and survivability. We can handle a lot of creatures at once, but our biggest problem is depending on Tanila and myself for the damage. If we get overrun, handling things as effectively as we would like becomes difficult. After the city break last week and seeing what an archer could do in a group setting, we all knew it was time.”

Tom nodded, smiling slightly at Max’s plan.

“Do you have a racial preference?” Everett asked as he started flipping back and forth between a few pages. “Also, is there a timeframe for when you want this addition?”

“If you say they’re good, we’ll trust your judgment,” Max replied with a shrug. “We have to assume that you know your people, and it's better than some random person we found from the adventurers guild. Not that it’s easy to find a solo person at our level anymore.”

Everett nodded as he ran his finger down a page in his book. “Most aren’t that way unless they lost their team in a dungeon, and, in that case, most of the time… they aren’t always the same.”

Memories of how he had felt when Batrire was dying in his arms flashed through Max’s mind. Had Batrire died, he knew that their team would never have been the same.

I wouldn’t have been the same…

“I have two possible people, both elves, one male and one female. The problem is they are already level fifty and slowly progressing through the tower.”

Everett handed the book to Tom and pointed at what Max assumed were the names of the archers.

Tom frowned at the first and then shook his head at the second. “We’d have to break up one of those groups regardless of which way we go. Based on how I see the dynamics, I’m almost certain we would be better off adding her to their party.”

Max opened his mouth, running his tongue over his teeth. The way Tom had said that didn’t sit right with him.

“What’s wrong with the one?”

Everett sighed, took the book from Tom’s hand, and shut it. “You’re the leader, and your party reacts to the instructions you give without asking questions. The one we both don’t think would work likes to lead; sometimes, he can be a pain. Two bakers in the same kitchen can sometimes butt heads over how much sugar needs to be in the cookies.”

Max started laughing harder than Everett had expected. It took about thirty seconds before he stopped, wiping away the tear that had formed.

“Sorry, baker jokes always seem funnier to me,” Max replied. “I wanted to be one when I was younger.”

Everett continued, not concerned with Max’s explanation. “Our other choice would be best, but I want to talk with her before I share her name.”

“She’s in the tower as we speak. I’d expect her to return in a few days.” Tom added.

“That would be perfect. Now I just need to wait for Tanila unless you two have other questions.”

Both men looked at Max and then at each other before laughing.

“We have a list longer than your body,” Tom said between his laughter.

Max smiled and stood up. “Write them down. Perhaps I’ll answer a couple of them in time.”

Everett and Tom both rose. After the three shook hands and Max left the room, the other two flopped back into the chairs.

“Do you have any idea what those four are capable of?” Tom asked, watching as his lifelong friend sat there, tapping his finger on the book he was holding.

Everett shook his head and frowned. “No, but if what they have encountered so far is any sign of what is to come, they may be the group that makes it higher than any of our other teams… imagine if they actually get past the fifty-ninth floor.”

Everett started laughing and shook his head. “Slow down there… let’s see what happens when they get into the tower first. As for an archer, are you serious about her?”

Nodding, Everett closed his eyes and laid his head against the back of his chair.

“Tom, if I weren’t old and wore out, I would have signed up to go with them. Since I can’t, that leaves me trusting one of our most promising groups with someone, and she is the first that comes to mind.”

Grunting, Tom mimicked Everett’s posture. “She’s going to be intrigued, to say the least. Think she’ll be up for it?”

“When Seth tells her how many rare dungeons they have faced? She’ll offer to wash his clothes or more.”

Both men chuckled.

“She does like loot and shiny things,” Tom said with a sigh.