Ultimate Level 1
Chapter 515: Harder Foes, Small Trinkets

“So… it appears you’re a master not only at fighting but also at trading,” Sog’thollech said. “Tell me, Max, is there anything you’re not good at?”

“Being humble,” Fowl interjected, causing everyone to laugh.

“Thanks again,” Max said as he shook his head. “I couldn’t have done what I did without your help.”

Snorting, the demon shook his head as a portal appeared behind him.

“We all know that’s a lie. After you bamboozled that imp and how he acted, every other merchant in that place was ready to offer their firstborn or soul for what you showed.”

The demon waved and stepped into the portal, vanishing instantly.

“He’s right,” Cordellia said as they stood in the bubble of silence that the item Max was using created. “I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t witnessed you talk two merchants into haggling against each other. How many items did we get?”

“Seventy-three,” Tanila answered. “Seventy-three different things, most of which we have no clue what they do.”

“They have to have some purpose,” Batrire said. “After all, Chromie was pretty specific about needing items for whatever comes next.”

“But a gem of hair coloring?” Fowl asked. “I mean.. Are we going to have to change the color of some boss’s hair to kill it? Or what about the indestructible brick? What would happen if someone threw it really fast at Max’s gorgon shield? I mean… who or where do these things come from?”

Unable to help himself, Max laughed as he shook his head. “That’s a pretty unique thought… The real question we must ask is, do we face the boss right now or go home?” Max said. “I’m up for either.”

“Why not?” their warrior replied.

The other three shrugged, and Max pointed at the portal at the end of the hall.

“Guess I’ll go first.”

***

“Uh… this can’t be good,” Batrire said as everyone looked around the boss's floor.

A large, almost circular area of white stone and sand filled the tower floor, but she and everyone else were looking at the drop-off near where they had appeared.

Fowl tossed a rock over the edge and grunted as it fell, disappearing into the darkness below.

“Is this a floating island?” Cordellia asked. “I mean… I’ve heard of only one in all my studying, but this… is crazy.”

Max’s sonar could feel everyone’s heartbeats pounding as they moved away from the edge, gazing across the mass of land they were on and toward the boss on the other side.

“I can’t determine what the boss looks like,” he said. “Cordellia, can you use your ability and check it out?”

Their ranger nodded and blinked a few times, staring at what they would face.

“Maybe thirty feet or more tall, and it looks made of stone and… glass? Something is swirling around in its chest. It also has a pretty big sword. Like a golem but not as blocky, while also not being that lifelike.”

“So tank and spank?” Fowl asked.

“I doubt that,” Tanila said as she began pulling items out of her storage that they had picked up from the bazaar. “Something in here should be useful. Anyone else got ideas?”

“Well no hair and I’m guessing it doesn’t have a mouth,” their warrior replied. “So the potion and gem are out.”

“Doubt the dagger is any good either,” Max replied, setting out items like Tanila had.

Dozens of small trinkets that didn’t appear to have value in a boss fight were on one side. Over a dozen weapons were in the middle. Some potions and other consumables as well as crafting items, were next to the weapons and finally large items that had been acquired were at the end of their collection.

“Maybe we should have gone home and done more research,” Batrire said as she picked up a potion and inspected it. “I’m not sure we need a potion of tail growing.”

“A broken bell the size of a dwarf, two petrified wooden beams, a rusty anchor and chain, two chairs that have six legs, a large mirror, and a glass boat,” Cordellie listed as she looked at the larger items. “Someone sure got the better end of the deal out of all our trades.”

“What about that hammer that glows?” Fowl asked, pointing at it. “Think it might do something when you hit the boss with it?”

Lifting the weapon in question, Max inspected it again.

[ Inspect Hammer ]

*****

Hammer of Echos

Track enemies by hearing past movements.

Striking stone reverts many things to their original form.

*****

The thick leather wrapped around the shaft smelled… almost like old parchment. It hummed slightly in his hands, larger than a typical crafting one. The hammer head was of a crystal of some kind with lines and veins of pink metal he didn’t recognize.

“Maybe… but I think it’s more for crafting,” Max replied. “I’m not sure it would survive smashing into a boss. The problem is each of these items has different qualities and they make sense, I guess, but some are weird like that hair coloring gem.”

“A bell that absorbs sound and a mirror that doesn’t reflect anything,” Tanila said. “Or how about an anchor that holds no matter what or a glass boat that doesn’t float?”

Batrire chuckled as she tapped the large boat. “Seems kind of stupid, but it might look good over one’s table at the Faction house.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I got a belt that comes undone when one says ‘twister’ and a pair of gloves that can’t grip anything,” Fowl stated as he held up the two items. “Almost as good as the box that blob of… slime? Or was it jello? Either way, who doesn’t love a box you can put something into, and it’s gone forever.”

“Only if it's smaller than six by six inches,” Cordellia said. It's too bad we can’t fit your head into it.”

Max ignored the two as they gestured and made faces, picking up the last pieces and storing them.

“Are you sure you want to fight this without knowing what anything does?” Tanila asked. “We could still leave and come back later.”

Shaking his head, Max glanced at the others, who had stopped talking and were listening to the conversation.

“We only have two more escape crystals. Yes, we can get another one or two from Everett or another Faction, but I’d prefer not to waste them unless it’s a real emergency. What you’re talking about right now is like that first boss we faced in the tower.”

Cordellia grunted and nodded her head once. “He’s right. We’re not going down that road again.”

Max could see the concern on Tanila’s face and tried to read her as she bit her lip.

“What’s wrong? What has you so worked up?”

She took a deep breath and sighed. “The warning… the one Chromie gave us… just how bad are these next floors going to be that the tower gives a warning? I mean… can you even really imagine how strong what we will face must be?

“That last boss was impossible to damage. I’m not sure any other person could have done what you did. I mean, maybe, but then you’re trying to time getting past its mouth and into its throat. Who thinks about stuff like that?”

“We do,” Fowl muttered. “But I hear what you’re saying. Trust me… I get it. I wasn’t looking forward to getting chomped on or stepped on just to see if I could do damage.”

“You all need to knock it off,” Batrire said, clapping her hands twice. “This is beginning to sound depressing. We’re on the 80th floor in the tower. The 80th floor! None of this will be easy, yet we all know we can’t stop. Especially after what happened last week.”

Nods came from everyone as Max considered what they were saying.

Your healer is right. Now is not the time to be afraid. Let’s see what the tower throws at us. We are so close to completing this and moving on.

Max snorted as Bob weighed in.

I'm glad to have you back… It was hard not having you, and not just because I didn’t learn any skills!

A chuckle came from inside, and he found himself grinning.

“Bob and Batrire are right. We need to keep going. Tanila and Batrire can be ready to use an escape gem if we need, but right now there is only one path and it’s through that boss.”

As Max pointed toward what they needed to face, he equipped his weapon and shield.

“Let’s buff up. We’ll find out what it does and then try to figure out what we acquired in the bazaar might be useful,” he said, cracking his neck. “Anyone can yell out something, and we’ll give it a go. Even the hair coloring gem.”

Fowl grinned and rotated his shoulders. “Let’s do this. I’m ready for whatever comes next.”

The sound of wood on metal rang out as their healer struck their warrior in the head.

Laughing, Max waited until they were buffed and then took the lead, moving quickly across the white stone and sand, making sure everyone got some distance from the edge.

Halfway across the island, a ticking sound came, and the boss charged at him, the large sword held back, ready to attack.

Thoughts?

Get bigger. We’ll need the size and stats for sure. Let’s see what it can do.

[ Ultimate Form ]

Doubling in size, Max held up his shield, preparing to block the incoming swing when his sonar went crazy.

[ Demonic Teleportation ]

The blade passed through where he had been, not from the front but from the back as the boss vanished from in front of him and then was directly behind. Inside its chest the white sand rotated like a cyclone, glowing slightly as it attacked.

A frost nova radiated around him, and the boss moved through it, not appearing to suffer any movement impairment at all.

White blocks of stone rose from the ground as Bob sent them at the glass portions of the boss. Each attack was shrugged off as the stones crumbled against it.

Racing to where the boss was, Max moved at its legs, slamming his sword into the stone leg.

A small chip came from the impact and it radiated through his arm.

Dodging and weaving, Max continued attacking, the occasional one getting through as the boss parried and used its stone hand to block his strikes.

Every spell Bob sent at it only managed to take off small pieces of stone.

His allies began sending spells and arrows, and Max winced as Cordellia sent in her purple pet wolf. It had tried biting down on the stone foot, doing no damage, receiving a kick to the side, and dissolving into a purple cloud.

Mid-swing, Max felt his sonar go haywire again.

[ Blink ]

Even with him moving twenty yards away, the boss did as well, the second he appeared, its oversized sword slamming into his shield.

[ Regeneration ]

Somehow, it sent him tumbling, covering a good hundred yards, the sword coming at him again.

[ Armored Warrior ]

[ Bulwark ]

The pain in his arm had started to lessen as his healing skill took over, yet blocking the boss’s attack again made them go numb for a second.

Blow after blow rained down upon him, and Max stood there, unable to attack back as the golem’s attacks seemed to speed up, matching something similar to his rampage or quick attack.

What is it doing? What do we do?!

Bob didn’t reply, instead using their new spell.

[ Personal Barrier ]

The boss's next attack struck it, emitting a flash of light as it continued to assault Max’s newest defense.

The sand in its chest! Look!

Max ignored the attacks with a little breathing space, letting his barrier absorb them and studying what Bob had pointed out.

The sand moved faster, changing colors, turning bright orange and swirling like a top.

Does it–

The boss vanished and an attack came from behind.

Max spun around, blocking the strike with his barrier and shield, and saw that the sand had spun the other way for a moment before returning to its normal direction.

What do we do?

Try to figure out what item will help here! You can’t keep this barrier up forever!

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