“Take a break!” Tom shouted.
Max pulled back from the match he was having with the Faction member named Grace. The woman gave him a nod before moving to the bench she sat on each time they rested.
“I’m fine,” Max protested as he moved to where Tom was waiting. “I feel amazing.”
“Which is impossible, but I won’t argue about this again,” the older man stated, glaring at Max. “You should be dead, and you aren’t. The guards have come by three times expecting me to verify you are deceased, and I have yet to give it to them. The truth is you’re going to get a lot more attention than you want.”
Tom started to stare off at the sky as he continued talking. “I should have guessed someone would make a move after what you told me, but not like that. Only Everett, myself, and our healer know the extent of what you were poisoned with. Why someone would use that on you…”
Trailing off, Tom turned his attention back to Max, waiting to see if the bald-headed warrior would finally shed some light on the situation. When no answer came, Tom grunted and pointed at the water on the bench. “Drink it, and you can go again in a minute.”
“Why are we doing this?” Max asked as he grabbed the pitcher of water. “You and I both know I am fine. Are you really just trying to get a better read on my abilities?”
“I am, and you know it,” Tom replied, not hiding his reason for this exercise. “You’re still holding back, and I can tell. The power and ability you demonstrate is beyond what should be possible, but I know you’ve been keeping things a secret from Everett and me.”
Frowning, Tom pointed at the gate to the property, where a few extra guards stood watch. “We protect our own, but I can’t protect you if I don’t know who or what I’m protecting. Your whole team is impossible, and even Cordellia isn’t doing what we asked.”
“We thought Cordellia was loyal to the Faction and us, but somehow, she is more loyal to you.”
Tom ground his teeth after saying those words.
“Is that a problem?” Max asked, wiping his mouth and setting the jug of water down.
Taking a deep breath, letting it out, and repeating it once more, Tom finally shook his head slowly. “No… it isn’t because we trust her. If Cordellia is that committed to you, then we are committed just as much. She did mention, however, that you figured out the best path for getting stronger in the tower.” It almost appeared Tom forced himself to grin, but when it had finally appeared, he snorted. “You’re smart, strong, dedicated, loyal, and more dangerous than anything Everett and I have seen in a long time. Combined with the other four in your group, I will admit, for the first time, that you actually have a chance to make it further than most can imagine.”
Tom turned and poked Max in the chest. “I’m not saying you can beat the tower, but I will say you’re dumb enough to try.”
Chuckling, Max nodded and pointed at Grace. “Do you trust Grace? With secrets?”
Frowning, Tom raised an eyebrow as he studied Max. “I do… why?”
“I’ll give you one brief moment to see. Grace is currently adventuring somewhere withing the twentieth floor, if I’m right. She’s at least level sixty, and based on how she holds herself back, I’m willing to bet you expect me to beat her if I go all out.”
Tom didn’t say anything as Max moved to the sparing field.
Only the three of them were out there. Everyone else was inside or in the tower.
Nodding at Grace, the woman approached Max, taking out her shield and sword while he stood there with nothing but his armor.
“You seem very cocky to not take out anything this time,” Grace said, a slight grin visible between her plate helmet. “You certain you want to do it this way?”
Setting his feet and getting balanced, Max nodded.
Extending his left hand, he motioned for her to come, smiling the moment she sprang toward him.
She cut at him, her sword immediately going for a crippling strike, being smart enough to know that a different one was what Max had expected.
He stepped into her, his left arm catching her wrist. She tried to bring her shield toward him, but Max had already gotten too close. The speed at which he was moving was more than she had anticipated, and she hadn’t gone all out. Even now, trying to adjust and adapt, he had her wrist and wasn’t letting go. Like a vise, it didn’t matter if she tugged or pulled. Max’s grip wasn’t going to be broken.
His right hand grabbed her breastplate, right between the joints at the base, and in a single motion, she was airborne, feet no longer on the ground, and all the momentum from her strike added to what he was doing.
Like a person driving an axe into a log, trying to split it, Max drove her toward the ground, every ounce of power as her body hurtled downward, slamming into the hard-packed dirt.
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Grace bounced a few feet off the ground from the impact, air leaving her lungs.
She couldn’t follow Max’s movements, the dazed moment of what was taking place making her oblivious to the knife now held to her throat as she came back to the ground.
Tom’s voice rang out over the two of them, and Max immediately backed up, letting go of her arm and storing the blade.
Blinking her eyes, Grace saw Max holding a hand out to her, smiling.
“What the hell was that?” Grace asked after a few breaths, taking the offered help up.
“Just something I saw Dexic do during a training session.”
Shaking her head, Grace bowed her head at Max and then nodded at Tom, who was moving toward the two of them.
Grace started to laugh and then coughed, her lungs needing a little more time to prepare for such a thing. “Did I try? Are you serious, Tom? This kid just made me look like a fool, and you want to insult me like that?”
Though Grace’s black skin didn’t show redness like most would when upset, the tone and expression she wore as she glared at Tom, snarling almost was all that the older man needed to realize the mistake he had made.
“Forgive me,” he replied, holding up his hands. “I… I was just as surprised as you were and might have spoken poorly. I have no doubt you didn’t hold back.”
Huffing loudly, Grace’s dueling equipment was gone, replaced with some normal clothes, and she headed toward the Faction house.
“I’ll be inside. I may need a few hours to get over my anger,” she said, glaring at Tom over her shoulder.
Neither said anything as the warrior walked away, waiting till she was inside before speaking again.
“Will that suffice?” Max asked. The frown he gave told Tom about the thin ice he was on with two people at the moment.
Sighing, Tom nodded. “Forgive me… I just needed to know.”
Max nodded and immediately swapped into his normal clothes. “I’ll be inside, preparing for tomorrow.”
Tom watched Max walk away, upset with himself at how that had gone. “You’re getting old,” Tom told himself out loud. “One of these days, those young ones are going to kick your arse.”
“Holy goblin balls,” Cordellia said as they entered the third floor. “This isn’t the kind of zone I wanted to come back to.”
Max and the rest nodded, taking in the city they could see slightly below them. They appeared on a small elevated spot that led into a broken city below. Stone buildings, roads, and walls all reflected a major city that had come to ruin for hundreds of years. High above the city in the sky was a full moon that shone brightly down upon the city, casting shadows all over it.
“Any ideas what could be–”
A howl came from within the walls, cutting off Fowl’s question.
“That sounds bad,” Fowl immediately said. “Wolves are never fun.”
Max nodded, swapping out his gear and nodding at Batrire, who cast her buff on the group.
“We’ll go slow, learn what we’re facing, and make a plan from there.”
Everyone grunted in response to Max’s statement, and the group slowly began to move toward the town, unsure what they would find.
“Four werewolves,” Max whispered as he pointed at the pack. “Three black ones and a white one. Do you have any ideas?”
Cordellia shook her head, and Max knew the notes he had read didn’t contain any real information about them either.
“Ok, same plan as always. Root two, focus one, Fowl tanks the other. Any questions?”
With everyone ready, Fowl tossed his rock, earning a howl from the pack of werewolves that immediately bounded toward them.
Tanila rooted one of the black ones and then immediately encased the white one in ice.
Max held his halberd ready, waiting for one to get closer as the first ran on all fours and slammed into Fowl. His dwarven friend moved back a few feet from the impact, but the werewolf yelped in pain from the aura that had damaged it.
Max waited for the werewolf to come toward him, feet set. When it lunged, he swung with his weapon, surprised when the blade cut through the werewolf with ease. His weapon had cut from the collarbone down to its hip, slamming the creature into the ground as Max finished his downward swing.
Cordellia and Tanila were killing the rooted werewolf, and with one last attack, Max felt a cold chill rush through him, letting him know the monster was dead.
[ 1 Strength Consumed ]
[ 1 Constitution Consumed ]
Immediately moving to where Fowl was, Max took off the werewolf’s head, noticing that Fowl’s new weapon was causing a good chunk of damage compared to before.
No chill came, and Max fought back the sigh he felt.
The third werewolf was down, burnt to a crisp, and riddled with a few arrows.
“Fowl hit that white one. Let’s see what’s different.”
“Always the test subject,” Fowl grunted as the two of them moved to where the white one stood encased in ice.
Fowl hammered at the werewolf, getting about four attacks in before the ice broke completely.
Once freed, the white creature began attacking the Fowl with a speed far greater than the black ones, which Max could tell were at least a foot taller and more muscular than this one.
Suddenly, its hand glowed blue, and it struck at Fowl, getting past his defenses and slicing along his weapon arm.
Fowl groaned, and almost five percent of health vanished from the dwarf’s health bar.
Max didn’t wait. He engaged the wolf and swung, surprised when it dodged his attack from the side.
“This thing is fast!”
“No goblin shite!” Fowl yelled back.
Max hadn’t tested the skill in a while and knew that even with it being low ranked, the odds of it working weren’t perfect, yet there wasn’t a better time to see.
The werewolf swung its claws wildly as Max's spell took hold. Max moved forward, cleaving the creature almost in half. The cold sensation he longed for filled him.
[ 6 Dexterity Consumed ]
[Consume has successfully Consumed a skill]
[Would you like to learn [Magical Strike]?]
Grinning, Max pulled his weapon free from the remains and saw Fowl frowning at him.
“I don’t want to know…” the dwarf muttered, pointing at Cordellia behind them. “Just tell me later.”
Nodding, Max clicked yes and felt his mouth go wide as magic seemed to flow through his whole body.