Max finished reading and copying the book Adam had loaned him. He was only allowed to have it for one whole day and would make the most of it.
Every rare spawn, boss, and anything else he considered worthy of facing within the capital went into his notebook.
Tanila had joined him in the private room again, both occasionally comparing notes before returning to the books they had acquired.
“You two have been doing that for how long?”
Rubbing his eyes, Max shrugged and closed the book for a moment. “What time is it?”
“It’s dinnertime. Alexander told me to let him know when you two want food brought in. He said both of you barely paid him any attention when he came in and gave you a snack and some more drinks.”
Max nodded and saw Tanila was still writing down something.
“I only had one day. I needed to make the most of it.”
Fowl grunted and sat down in a chair across from the two. “Well, Batrire looks the same. Someone is coming in and bathing her and giving her beard a good waxing. She will appreciate that when she wakes up.”
Max saw how the dwarf looked. “How are you?”
Letting out a sigh, Fowl shrugged. “I’m keeping those things inside. She is my everything. If something were to…” The dwarf choked a few times, and tears started to form as he dwelled on those thoughts. “She will be fine, and so will I. I still haven’t said thank you for bringing her to the hall.”
“Sure you have, multiple times,” Max said, waving off his friend's words. “You and I both know she also means a lot to us.”
Fowl nodded and stroked his beard a few times.
“You two think you can put those books away while I tell our host we are ready for dinner?”
Max nodded and started stacking up the books and notes.
“You ready to stop?” he asked Tanila as she looked up from her notes for a moment.
Yawning, she nodded while covering her mouth and letting out a small groan.
“I haven’t studied this much since I was a child. I forgot how much I actually enjoy books.”
Once dinner was done and the dishes were cleared away, Max pulled out the book again.
Fowl laid back in his chair and dozed, snoring slightly.
“I think I got everything out of here that I can,” Max said. “There isn’t much more I can glean that is useful. What about you?”
Tapping her pencil against her notes, Tanila bobbed her head from side to side as she thought. “I guess I’m the same. We have a lot to go over in the next few days. You still think you can trust that librarian?”
“I don’t think he would dream of telling anyone about what I shared. He will probably spend the next few months secretly investigating the red skills I mentioned and hinting at there only being a few black skills. I thought he would offer me literally anything when I started giving him a few small breadcrumbs.”
“My search was a lot harder. The books I wanted were locked in the restricted section.”
“How did you manage to get one out?” Max asked, watching her tap one with a finger.
“Let’s just say I may have traded some of our supplies for this. It will be worth it, though.”
Max nodded and let it go. He had already traded away more than he wanted, but they were close to a breakthrough, and he knew it.”
Yawning again, Tanila nodded and began storing books in her storage as Max did the same.
Max tossed a crumbled-up piece of paper at Fowl, and the dwarf woke up, snorting at the two of them.
“Let’s head to bed. Neither of us wants to carry you.”
Fowl stretched and groaned before getting out of his chair. “You say that like lifting me would be an issue. I saw you carry Batrire like she was a feather. We both know she weighs more than I do.”
Both men laughed while Tanila shook her head disapprovingly at the two of them.
“When Batrire returns, I will make sure she knows both of you mocked her weight.”
They groaned, heading for the door and the room they would all be sharing tonight.
Closing his eyes, Max took comfort in knowing the other two were in the room right beside him. Alexander had given them a room that must have cost way more than the original amount they had paid. He would have to make it up to the man somehow.
Worn out from the day's events and last night's excitement, Max fell asleep, dreaming of elves trying to kill him.
For four days, Max and Tanila had scoured every book they could get their hands on, and the day before Batrire would get her potion, they had finally found what they had been afraid of.
“This could get us killed,” Max muttered. “If word got out… there would be panic or worse.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Talina nodded, looking at the stack of papers they had written and finally condensed into seven pages. “That man you fought, Alfred, had a red skill.”
Max nodded. “Why would he be allowed to have one when others are captured and removed?”
“The lists we have of known skills show there some are similar to yours but different, regardless of whether it's a monster or a person. I also know from our King and Queen that they have red skills. This confirms that both human queens here must have a red skill.”
Their research and what he experienced the night he killed Alfred confirmed that. It explained a lot, as he could only imagine what the man’s skill actually did. None of Alfred’s stats were higher than Max’s, which meant the man had spent his points in a pattern similar to his.
“I’m still not sure he was even level thirty… if he could absorb the other person's stats or skills or whatever when they were within a certain range, it would mean he was better off being balanced.”
The part where Consume only partially resisted the Queen’s skill also concerned him. He knew there were three different black skills, and the one sounded like the queen's power came from that it.
Could the queen have a black skill?
No answer to his question came, and Max sighed, wishing he could converse with the power inside him.
Max looked at Tanila, who was staring at him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, now what? We have an idea about the other skills, who have some of the more powerful ones, and that there is something going on within the human nobility where they seem to think it is okay for them to have skills . Someone had to know about Alfred’s skill. Someone had to be okay with it, creating a system to use and grow him while also making money. They were able to control him. What you told me about how he talked and treated others…” Tanila shuddered, having witnessed the horrible death that man had performed with his bare hands. “He must have been a monster to keep in check.”
Max nodded, imagining if Alfred had acquired his skill instead. How many people would have suffered and died at that man’s hands?
“Now we stay smart and steer clear of anyone we suspect to have these skills. We go tomorrow and see how Batrire does then start the grind again. There are dungeons to be conquered and levels to be gained.”
Max took the pages they were going to keep, put them up in his notebook, tucking them deep inside a special backpack he kept his important stuff in. Storing it, he turned to Tanila and stood up.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
She took the hand that he held out and smiled, rising to her feet and letting him lead her out the door.
Walking through the city streets, neither said much, enjoying the weather as it cooled down, the sun starting to hide behind the city’s western edge. People were running around, returning from adventuring or other jobs they had. No one seemed to recognize Max, in his bronze armor, as the warrior from the coliseum.
“It’s weird,” Max finally said after they had walked half a mile. “I never would have imagined this life. The idea of being an adventurer was foreign to me. All I wanted to do–”
“Was bake,” Tanila said, cutting him off as she smiled and motioned to a bakery further down the road.
“Exactly. I knew it took a while to level, but I didn’t care. I was going to be content spending my life playing with ingredients… now…. All I want to do is conquer everything that comes our way. To see how far our team can go.”
Tanila nodded, letting Max lead.
Tanila snorted, covering her nose in embarrassment as she did, but Max didn’t tease or make fun of her.
“Is this the life you expected when you got your skill? When you first met Batrire and Fowl?”
Chuckling, Tanila shook her head. When she spoke, her voice was quiet.
“I hated what I was forced into. They had expectations and demands. They tried to force me to be something I didn’t want to be. I resisted and fought. Threats were made. I… I ran away.”
They kept walking for a few more blocks before she spoke again. “Like you, I changed my hair. I colored it.”
Max looked at it, unable to see any telltale signs of a woman who colored her hair.
“It’s not like you all do with your dyes or potions. I used magic. It won’t change back unless I want it to and… I’m not sure I’ll ever want it to.”
“Like me,” Max said, rubbing his bald head.
Rolling her eyes, Talina nodded.
Walking, the two laughed, talking about changing his hairstyle or her color when Max felt it.
Glancing around, Max realized that, at this moment, there were fewer people around them than before. The street they were walking down was a side road, and no one appeared to be around. Three carts rolled ahead, blocking the road ahead of them, and Max quickly glanced behind him, seeing three more do the same from the rear.
Pulling his shield and halberd out, Max put himself in front of Talina and moved toward the side of a building.
“An ambush?” Talina asked, her hands preparing for whatever might come.
Max nodded, unsure who or what was pulling the strings.
I cannot let Talina get hurt. I won’t let her get hurt.
You cannot protect her on your own. You can see with your eyes what is coming from both sides. Right now, you may not survive this if you don’t let me take over.
A dozen male and female elves came from each side of the street, moving as a group and slowly closing the distance between them, positioned so Max and Tanila were surrounded and unable to defend from all directions.
Her voice was nervous, and Max knew why. His heart was breaking, knowing she was in danger because of him because of what he had done.
“I need to do something. Promise me you’ll understand. It’s the only way.”
Tanila looked at Max and saw his expression. Saw the hardness in his eyes.
“What? What do you need to do?!”
“There’s no time. I have to let it take over. I have to give in. It’s the only way.”
Glancing at the street and the people moving in toward them, Talina looked back at Max, who was taking deep breaths.
“We can fight them together. I can help!”
“No. If you get flagged as an attacker, you’re dead. There are too many, and it's obvious that is what they are planning to do. Force us to fight and then be free to attack, or one of them will strike the killing blow, and they will protect them after.”
There were only twenty-five yards between them and the groups approaching, and Tanila saw the anger and hate in each of their eyes. None of them seemed to care that she was an elf-like them.
Max turned. Pulling her head down, he kissed her on the forehead.
“Wall yourself. Earth and Air. No matter what happens, I won’t let them hurt you.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but Max shoved her back against the building they were next to.
He turned and moved to the center of the street.
Promise me two things. We won’t hurt Tanila or anyone innocent.
A feeling of excitement erupted inside him, like a caged animal about to be set free.
I promise you that I will not hurt your friend or anyone that does not mean us harm.
A rumble came from inside him.
This time, and only this time, I swear to keep that promise. Now, let me be free to do what I must before it is too late.
The part of him that he had walled off to hold back the hunger and desire he knew was inside him crashed down. Like a massive rock falling from the heavens and flattening a castle, it was gone, no trace left of it having ever existed.
Max’s eyes burned green.
[ Consume has evolved ]