Ultimate Level 1

The four of them stood in the stone alcove on the other side of the portal. Behind them was a grey portal, able to be used once they had been in the boss's room for two minutes. A faint yellow line glowed on the stone floor ten feet past where they stood. Beyond that was a massive fifty-foot round stone cavern. The same fungus from the other part of the dungeon gave off a blue light and covered the ceiling, creating a fairly bright room. A kobold that appeared to be six feet tall held a massive scimitar in one hand as it stood in the middle of the open space.

“I’m guessing that line is what keeps us safe from the boss?” Brutus asked.

“Yes. Once we cross it, he will attack. Peter from my inn told me to wait until the portal out is active. If things get bad, we try to get out. Any questions?”

Miles turned and looked at Racha who was shaking her head, looking like she was preparing herself.

“You sure you want to try and hold its aggro?” Brutus asked as he stretched his arms.

“I’m the only one with a shield and we have all seen how well you handle damage.”

Brutus chuckled and nodded. “Tis true. That’s why Miles always gets a gift from me on his birthday.”

A snort came from behind them as Miles finished up casting their blessing.

“Give me a few minutes to get full mana, and we can start. Something tells me I’m going to need every bit of it.”

“Remember the plan. I’ll attack first and turn its back to you all. If one of you draws its attention, I’ll do everything I can to get it back. We need to kill it fast before we find out what skill it has.”

“What if it has berserk?”

Max glanced at Miles who was gripping his staff so tight that his fingers were turning white.

“If it does and it’s not on me, run.” Max paused and looked at Brutus, who was scowling after he said that. “I’m serious Brutus. Whoever it is on needs to run. You will only have a moment, from what Peter told me, before it attacks. Better to miss out on a boss kill than to die.”

Racha nudged Brutus who then grunted.

“Fine, but why won’t you run?”

“I’ve got a shield. Peter says tactics go out the window so it will just smash its sword over and over. That should buy you all enough time to hopefully kill it.”

“My buff is wasting,” Miles chimed in.

“Bah, if this goes ten minutes, we’ll be dead,” Racha replied.

Max nodded and turned to face the boss. Slowly he stepped up to the yellow line and stopped right at the edge. This was the riskiest thing he had ever done, and his heart felt ready to explode in his chest. Taking a few deep breaths, he calmed himself as best he could.

Ok… this time I promise. If I live through this, I’m going to the temple and giving an offering…

Max darted forward, watching the boss’s eyes light up the moment he stepped over the yellow line. It let out a bark as it lifted its sword into the air, lowering its body and preparing for Max’s charge.

The distance between them was gone in a matter of seconds and as Max thrust his spear toward the boss, it raised its sword just enough to deflect his strike. It moved sideways, using the momentum of its block to slash down and across at him.

Bringing his shield forward, Max darted to the left, hearing the scraping sound as the boss thrust again.

The kobold danced back quickly, moving faster than the grunts or casters ever had. Its eyes tracked him and the others, waiting for Max to turn the bosses back toward them.

Every step Max took it matched, doing its best to prevent Max from flanking it until both were against the back wall of the cavern.

“Flank it,” Max shouted as he saw Brutus coming towards them.

Without waiting for a reply, Max gave a feint and then stabbed again. The boss deflected it away but Max scored just the tiniest scratch against its right leg.

“Shoot it!” Brutus yelled.

The kobold barked at Max before it sent a flurry of attacks toward him. Its sword swung in a three-strike combination but the wall interfered with its swing. The kobold had positioned itself against the wall to keep from being left open to attack but this had reduced its potential to use its own sword. Max blocked each swing, losing ground as the sword beat against his shield.

Brutus rushed in, swinging his sword from left to right at its back. The boss somehow reacted in time, bringing its sword around as it spun toward Racha and Miles, stopping Brutus’s attack completely.

As the impact of the swords rang out, an arrow buried itself into the boss's left shoulder, just as Max’s spear pierced through the tough skin of its right leg. It roared slashing at Max’s spear with its sword.

Leaping back, Max pulled his spear out, avoiding the chop that would have cut his weapon into pieces.

Brutus didn’t wait, thrusting his sword at the kobold’s chest only to see it use its arm to block the attack and suffer a nasty gash on its left forearm all the way to the bone.

Another arrow zipped through the air, piercing the hide on its abdomen.

The kobold cried out, sending another attack at Max as it howled, jabbing its sword and forcing him back.

Brutus attacked again, this time going for the leg. His swing cut deep, slicing through to its bone where his sword stopped.

The boss’s head snapped toward Brutus, and it shrieked in rage.

A red glow began to surround it.

“RUN!”

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Max saw Brutus’s eyes go wide as the kobold turned on him. He tried stumbling backward to get free and run, but before he could turn, the boss had stopped glowing and pivoted on its wounded leg, swinging its sword with such speed that Brutus could not shift his body enough to prevent getting cleaved in half.

The scimitar tip cut through Brutus’s studded vest and sliced across his chest, sending a spray of blood and causing a cry to escape from his lips.

Max saw the health bar on Brutus dropping only for a glow to land on him, bringing it back up to just a bit under two-thirds.

Lunging forward, Max speared the boss in the back, trying to pierce its heart, but it moved so fast its body was a blur. He managed a strike that caught the kobold’s left shoulder blade and felt it slide against the bone, slicing its hide. As Max’s strike failed an arrow clinked off the stone wall behind it.

Crap! She can’t hit it now.

Brutus was backpedaling, blood coming from the gash across his chest, holding his sword out as he tried to parry the next attack that came. The sound of metal on metal echoed through the cavern as the blades collided, sending Brutus to the ground from the force of the blow.

“Hel–”

Brutus’s cry was cut off as another blow came down at him. He barely got his sword up enough to slow down the strike that buried itself in his left shoulder.

The full blade of the scimitar sunk into his chest, bones shattering and a wail coming from Brutus’s mouth.

His health bar dropped to less than ten percent.

“Special down!”

Max had already thrown his shield down, grabbing his spear with both hands and driving himself and spear at the boss.

Brutus’s health rose to just a hair over half way. Miles had used his special heal, and it was down for twenty-four hours. There would be no other heals for a bit.

The kobold lifted the sword again, preparing to chop Brutus with all its might.

Max’s speartip pierced its back as he angled the tip up, driving with his legs, using every bit of the strength he owned as well as the strength from the blessing Miles had given. He drove the metal tip of his spear into the boss’s back, feeling it come out of its chest as Max pushed with his hips and legs.

The kobold stumbled forward. The swing of its attack gave the slight boost Max needed to its momentum, pitching it forward so its sword clanged against the stone floor six inches from Brutus’s head.

They stumbled over Brutus, both of them stepping on him as they went to the ground, tangled together for a moment. Max wasted no time. Letting go of the spear with his right hand, he grabbed his dagger from his belt and began stabbing the kobold in the side. It flailed for a moment, and then Max saw its body go red before the glow faded.

Its strength left it, and as it struggled to move, Max reached up with his left hand and lifted its jaw, driving the dagger into its neck and skull.

It shuddered for two seconds and then went limp in Max’s hands.

As he tried to stand, Max felt a wave so cold it ached in his bones.

[ 1 Strength Consumed ]

[ 1 Constitution Consumed ]

[Consume has successfully learned a skill]

[Would you like to learn [Berserk]?]

[ Yes / No]

His eyes watered as he saw the notification and clicked yes, not wanting to waste time on it right now as he heard Miles and Racha running toward Brutus.

A jolt of power surged through him as he turned and saw the blood pouring out of Brutus.

Their friend's life was draining fast, and Miles was babbling something but Max wasn't paying attention.

Without hesitation, Max tore into his pouch, yanking out a healing potion and pulling the cork. He moved to Brutus and lifted his head, pouring the contents down his throat.

A green glow began to surround Brutus. A second later Brutus cried out, screaming as Max heard bones popping and cracking. Max saw the skin closing as blood stopped flowing through the gash in Brutus's shoulder and chest.

“Goblin shite,” Racha muttered as she watched.

Miles chanted, casting his healing spell that had just come off cool down.

Brutus was panting, blood on his lips and all over his neck and armor. “Oh gods… that hurt so bad…”

Max glanced at the health bar in their party interface for Brutus and saw he was now at ninety percent.

“You ok?” Miles asked.

Brutus turned his head, squinting as he looked at Miles, bent over now, checking his injuries. “I about died. In fact, I think I might have died. Did I die?”

“Sadly, no,” Racha replied as she knelt down and squeezed his leg. “If you had, it would have meant more loot for us.”

Brutus let out a chuckle and slowly started to try to get up.

“Slow down now,” Miles told him. “Make sure you’re good enough for that.”

“I’m fine… tired but fine,” Brutus said as he rolled to his knees and stood up. Once standing, he looked at Max and the empty bottle in his hand. He frowned as he shook his head and then extended his hand.

“I owe you my life, Seth. Whatever you need, I’ll do what I can to repay that debt.”

Smiling, Max shook Brutus’s hand and then clapped him gently on the shoulder.

“We’re good. That's what teammates are for, right?”

Bobbing his head, he smiled and then cursed. “Ogre tits… you’re going to make me lose my hatred of nobles, do you know that?”

Everyone chuckled and laughed before turning to check out the wooden chest that had appeared in the cavern's center. A slight red glow radiated from it.

“Holy goblin shite,” Miles muttered. “We really did it…”

Everyone nodded slowly, and then each of them started to smile.

Max turned to grab his spear and noticed it lying on the floor. The kobold boss had vanished. Its sword and body were gone.

Retrieving his spear, Max went and picked up his shield while the others made their way to the middle of the room, waiting by the chest for him.

“Want to do the honors?” Brutus asked as he motioned with his hand toward the chest while looking at Max.

A mischievous grin filled Max’s face, and he nodded, opening the chest.

“Well, I’ll be a troll's girlfriend.”

Racha turned and looked at Miles, who smiled at her and shrugged.

“Seriously, look at it!”

Inside were eight items that somehow fit inside a three-foot chest.

A spear, a sword, a bow, a staff, and four silver rings all appeared in a weird purplish glowing area.

“Is that–”

“Dimensional storage,” Racha interrupted Brutus.

“First time I’ve seen one of those,” Brutus stated.

Reaching into the chest, Max felt the spear suddenly appear in his hand and pulled it out. It was a few inches longer than his current one, it felt stronger yet lighter. Dropping his old one to the ground, he moved back and gave a few thrusts.

“Damn, this is nice!”

Each of them laughed, reaching into the chest and pulling out the item that was meant for them.

Soon, they were swinging or practicing a shot or even casting a heal to try out their new equipment.

A timer appeared over the chest.

“Looks like we’re on the clock,” Miles said as he grabbed his old staff off the ground. “Don’t forget your ring.”

Max ran back to the chest along with the others and pulled out a ring. Emblazoned on it were the words ‘Kobold Berserker.’

“Who’s buying drinks tonight?” Racha asked as she put her ring in her pouch.

Everyone turned to Brutus, who groaned but gave a big grin. “I don’t mind buying drinks at all. What you really need to do is check out how much experience we got from that.”

Max watched as the others reacted a few seconds later.

“Half a level… That’s…”

The room faded, and a moment later, the four of them stood outside the portal, Racha with her mouth still open.

“Yup… that’s crazy,” Brutus said as he elbowed her gently.

“I’m ready for a drink, so let's stop talking and get moving!”Miles laughed, and they all headed back toward town, laughing and joking as they went.