Ultimate Level 1
Chapter 502: Traps

Chapter 502 - Traps

The sound of his own laughter didn’t seem right, yet Max couldn’t stop himself from filling the hallway with it.

“MAX!”

Tanila’s shout came again, and he winced.

All he wanted to do was be free.

To fly into the sky and soar.

Each death caused by his blade felt like the heavens called for him to join them.

The joy he was experiencing right now was fighting against a chain that bound him to the ground.

“REMEMBER OUR CHILD!”

Max felt his mind jerk back to the moment as if a boulder had just crushed him.

Blood dripped from the tip of his double-bladed staff. Parts of the elven guards he had fought were scattered along the hallway.

A head lay wedged against a body, empty eyes staring at him.

Inside his chest, the thread pulsed repeatedly. Like an infant in its mother's womb, it longed for what he had just given it.

Max could feel it begging for more.

“You okay, bud?”

Turning slowly, he saw the look on Fowl’s face. Tight lips, drawn together and narrowed brows. His shield was still up slightly, no weapon present.

“I’m… fine. The… skill… called out to me in a way I haven’t felt in so long,” Max said, looking at the others for a moment. “I know it sounds weird, but Bob needs me to do this.”

“There’s a way to fight and then there is what you just did,” his friend stated. “That wasn’t a battle… You toyed with them.”

Swallowing hard, he could see the slight movement of the others, their heads all bobbing in agreement with their warrior's words.

Max felt a twinge of guilt, not doubt that what lay beneath him matched what he had seen when Bob had been given free rein.

“You’re right. Whatever it was it came at me and for a moment it was glorious. I… I yearned to be free.”

“I’ve been there,” Tanila said as she moved to where he stood, putting a hand on his forearm. “You helped me overcome my desires. Listen to us. This isn’t the way to help Bob.”

Max could see the look on her face. The pain of what she had witnessed couldn’t have been portrayed any better by a master painter. Her bottom lip was pulled in, and those beautiful gold eyes trembled slightly.

Cordellia drew close and Max felt her presence as she stood next to him. “We’re all here. Don’t forget that.”

Taking a deep breath he held it for a few seconds before letting it rush out.

“So… what do we do? Change our plan?”

Tanila shook her head slowly.

“No. We’ve come this far and now that we know traps will most likely be everywhere, we’ll need to be careful. I have no doubt my father believes what he has set will be enough to stop us. He is wrong.”

Max watched as her concerned expression changed to one of stone. In that moment her resolve to end this had returned and he knew he needed to find a way to match it.

“Then lead the way,” Max replied. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”

***

Dozens of elves lined the hallway that led to the throne room and Max fought against the desire to overwhelm him. Like a raging river, now filled with a torrent of storms that never ended, his lust for what was taking place threatened once more to overrun the banks.

The thread connecting him to Bob was pulsing rapidly, and it felt like it had swelled in size, unable to handle any more power before it might burst.

“That’s… that’s the door, right?” Max asked, his voice trembling slightly.

“It is,” Tanila replied, her hand squeezing his arm. “Don’t forget it should be trapped.”

Nodding, Max took a deep breath and summoned walls again. “I’m ready when you are.”

Together, they protected their party and sent large stone spears that filled the twenty-foot-wide area at the doors, which rose floor to ceiling.

Fowl stood before Batrire and Cordellia, his two shields protecting them if spells came at them, as they had the last few times. Max did the same for himself and Tanila.

Large wooden doors with intricate designs groaned against the spells, runes illuminating as stone spears shattered against them.

“Again,” their mage said.

It took three more spells before one of the doors was partially ripped off the wall, causing an explosion to rock the entry area. The two columns nearest the doors collapsed as three different kinds of magic erupted around them.

Max’s Stone Mastery took control of every rock it could, only able to use the ones knocked loose from the blast as whatever enchantment had been on them before was broken.

Even with the magical walls they had created and the barrier he formed with the new materials, magical energy still reached them, causing pain and debuffs to appear.

[ Weakness Resisted ]

[ Disease Resisted ]

[ Cursed - 2x cost to all spells ]

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Words that would get a dwarven mouth washed out came from their healer as she began healing and attempting to rid everyone of the afflictions the trap had given them.

“What in the gods was that?” Batrire asked. “I have four debuffs!”

Tanila winced, and Max saw that she looked ready to throw up. “It’s… not one I know but…”

Her words were barely out of her mouth before she turned green and started to retch.

Cordellia made it only a few seconds more before she too matched their mage.

“Goblin nuts and…” Batrire muttered as she cast spells, different shades of magical auras appearing on both elves as she went through the variety of spells she had. “Take a potion for the disease, I can’t cure it.”

Between the gagging, both elves struggled to hold a potion and managed to get it into their mouths and down, stopping the nonstop retching.

Groaning, their ranger wiped her mouth with her sleeve and spit. “That… was awful.”

“I think it was meant for us,” Tanila replied as she took a few breaths, holding her stomach with one hand. “The way it felt… he knew an elf would be here.”

“Seems like a bastard,” Fowl muttered. “Doing that to his own kin.”

“Trust me, that’s not the worst he’s ever done.”

Max waited, and once Batrire had managed to cleanse them all, he pointed at the room.

“I’ll go first. You four wait.”

No one complained as he moved forward through the rubble, sweeping aside the stones and wood scattered along the entry area.

Gone were the two doors that had once decorated the entrance; now, only a few pieces hang from the top hinge near the blackened ceiling.

His trap skill didn’t detect a thing, and the knowledge that there had to be some difference in the ones placed here and his ability to find them made him wonder what the king was able to do.

Is there a specific talent that allows for this? Tanila said that both spells and skills can create traps. Rakonath said Aerthon told him that hers are a combination of abilities that dragons possess. How many skills does Savantus have to do all this?

Knowing that the elf had access to red potions but also not knowing how many potential red skills someone could have bothered him. Only once had Bob mentioned that red skills didn’t work like clear ones. The power they possessed at the highest rank was why the kings rarely fought.

Looking in through the wrecked opening, Max saw the object of their visit and the carnage Savantus had unleashed.

Rage boiled up inside him as he saw the remains of bodies that had been destroyed by whatever spell had gone off.

The white stone was blackened, and large pocked sections were missing across the giant throne room floor.

Using his Wind Magic, Max flew to the metal throne that rested upon a pedestal and couldn’t help but grimace as he moved around it.

It looked like a tree was growing up, with minute details of bark, leaves, animals, and more.

Yet, engravings on the back of it, down near the base, made him want to destroy it right now.

The bodies of humans and dwarves were encircled by the roots, pain etched upon the faces of those who had been forever immortalized upon the throne.

Savantus is one sick elf…

Max let the rage he felt for the King of this kingdom grow and began reaching out with his Stone and Metal Mastery.

He could not find any weak points; each object was imbued with magical energy. He turned his weapon into a pickaxe, smiling at how he had learned it could become so many things.

White stone flew in every direction, pieces bouncing off of him and the throne as he carved out a section around the base.

The speed at which he worked made a constant booming sound, and for just a few moments, there was a two-foot-wide gap around the entire throne.

Grabbing the base of the metal seat which signified one thing, he yanked upward with all his might.

A crack rang out as the stone gave way, freeing the throne from its foundation.

Max knew it weighed more than most men could hope to lift, yet he could have easily played with it like a ball if there had been time.

Moving his hands to get a better grip, his glove touched the throne and a jolt of pain roared through his body.

[ Regeneration ]

Someone had called his voice as he dropped the throne, and the stone was still attached to it.

Every pore of his body was on fire, a burning sensation raging across his skin.

MAX!

Dropping to his knee, he felt his healing ability working overtime, trying to keep up with whatever was afflicting him as Rakonath called out his name again..

Seconds passed and out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Tanila and Batrire at the door of the throneroom. Holding a hand up, Max gritted his teeth, keeping his mouth shut lest he cry out from the pain.

I’m fine… I… will be fine…

Everything inside him was on fire and different from any he had ever felt. The worst part was Rakonath's sensation of concern through their bond.

A minute passed, and the pain slowly dissipated, and the ability to breathe returned.

Taking huge gulps of air, Max blinked multiple times, his vision quickly returning as his eyes had been destroyed under the spell.

What in the gods was that?!

It only took a few more seconds before he felt good as new, the improved regeneration ability curing what most couldn’t imagine.

Standing he waved off the party still watching him.

I am fine… a trap…

For a moment… I was afraid that you…

But I wasn’t. Don’t worry, we’ll be outside soon enough.

He reached out more cautiously, touching the throne once more, glad when nothing happened.

Not wanting to wait another minute, Max summoned his dimensional vault and grabbed onto the throne with one hand. He tossed it inside like a stick, flying back to where his friends were waiting.

“Are you okay?” Batrire asked when he got close. “Your hitpoints… for a moment, you were at twenty percent.”

Shaking his head and realizing his eyes had widened, Max saw their expressions, concern for what had happened to him.

“If it had been any of us, it would have killed us instantly,” Tanila said, her voice harder than usual. “He always said his throne was meant for no one but himself… I never imagined it would be trapped like that.”

“Well, I’m glad it was me and none of you,” Max replied. “I’m fine, though. For now we need to get back to the capital. We need to do a few more things before the sun rises over there and the battle begins.”

Opening his vault again, he motioned to the three he knew who would take the trip home inside it. “Perhaps one of you wants to sit on it?”

Fowl shook his head and held up both hands.

“Before watching what I saw, I would have pissed on it… after seeing what happened to you, I think I’ll not risk it.”

Chuckling, he tapped his dwarven friend on the shoulder and motioned for them to go inside.

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