Ultimate Level 1

Drinks flowed at the Stuffed Goblin as Max, Racha, Miles, and Brutus celebrated and told the story of their fight with the kobold boss over and over.

Peter never charged for a drink as adventures flooded in to hear about the group of four who had taken down a kobold berserker. The night ran long and eventually, they were forced to turn in, barely able to stand let alone talk.

The next morning, Max woke up, his head feeling like a goblin had used it for a drum for a week. Stumbling down the stairs, he found Peter in the main room, wiping down tables and fixing a few chairs that were broken for some reason.

“Welcome back, Adventurer Seth,” he said with a smile, it growing larger as Max winced and put his hand to his head. “Care for a hair of the goblin? Will cure that hangover right fast!”

After needing a moment to catch his breath, Max slowly nodded, sliding into a booth nearby, resting his head on the wooden table, and letting out a soft moan.

“Drink this,” Peter said as he set a wooden cup near Max’s face.

Grunting, Max lifted his head up and grabbed the cup, bringing it to his mouth. The smell of it assaulted him a second later. It smelled as if someone had taken three different types of monster crap, mixed them together, then pissed on it and put it in a cup.

“What in the gods is this?” Max gasped as he pushed the cup away.

“Drink it ya fool. It’s a surefire way to cure that headache you've got so you can be stupid and drink again tonight. Now grow a pair and swallow it.”

Max glared at Peter who was standing over him with his arms crossed. Max groaned again as he grabbed the cup.

Taking a deep breath, he pinched his nose and poured the drink down his throat.

His body tried to gag the moment it touched his tongue but Max forced it down. Years of eating random things in the bakery had taught him to suppress that gag reflex and after a few long gulps, the thick sludge was doing acrobatics in his stomach.

“My god, that tastes worse than anything I’ve ever tasted.”

“There’s a reason fer that,” Peter stated, putting his finger in Max’s face. “Don’t get that drunk again and you won’t have to drink this again. There are times fer drinking and last night was one of em, but tonight isn’t another one of them.”

Max put his head on the table and closed his eyes.

A soft sound came from near his head, and he looked up once more.

“More?” he asked, his bloodshot eyes tearing up.

“No. It’s water. Now, drink this slowly and another cup in a bit. I’ll bring ya some food. Nothing spicy.”

Taking the cup in his hand, Max lifted it to his lips and took a small drink, wincing as the taste of the concoction he had just drank was renewed.

Peter grunted and walked away, content to see Max slowly recovering.

As he sat there, head on the table, Max remembered he never did what he meant to last night.

[Status Check]

*****

Max Hoste

18-Year-old Human Male

Level 1

Exp 0/1000

HP: 60/60

MP: 25/25

Stamina: 30/30

STR: 6

DEX: 5

CON: 6

INT: 5

WIS: 4

Skills:

Baking - Common

Consume - Rare

Spear Handling - Common

Shield - Common

Berserker - Common

*****

There it was, the skill from the kobold boss. The one that had almost ended Brutus’s life.

[Skill Description - Berserker]

*****

Berserker - Common Skill: When activated, your strength and attack speed will double for ten seconds, but you will be consumed by blind rage. Tactics and self-preservation will be lost during this effect. If the target is killed before the effect ends, the duration will reset, and the closest target will be chosen as the new target. There is no limit to the number of times the duration can be reset. May only be activated once every twenty-four hours.

*****

The skill seemed unbelievable to fathom. Max recalled how the power and strength of the kobold had overwhelmed Brutus, knocking him back and breaking him with ease.

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That cooldown, though.

Max stared at the description, reading it again, when he heard a knock on the table he was resting his head on.

“Drink yer water,” Peter growled.

Smirking, Max picked it up and took another drink. “Are you going to mother me all day?”

Peter sat down across from Max and shook his head disapprovingly.

“Something about you is weird.”

Max started to reply, but Peter held his hand up and shook his head no.

“I’ve seen a lot of adventurers in my time. Stupid ones, cautious ones, new ones, even the occasional old ones. Yer something different. I don’t know what it is about you, but you, I’m scared yer just plain stupid.”

“What?!” Max exclaimed, wincing afterward from the outburst.

“Just listen and shut it. Yer strong. I can tell you got no fear, which is good and bad. You don’t know stuff you should. You and yer friends last night got a little chatty last night when they got drunk.”

Max winced, not from the pain but from the thought of what might have been said.

“Don’t worry, I’ve heard crazier things in my life, but,” Peter glanced around the room before leaning across the table, “I don’t need no trouble, so if you can’t promise me none won’t come, we need to talk.”

Taking another swig of his water, Max set the cup down and massaged his temple with his fingers.

“I can promise no trouble will come to you.”

Peter nodded and spent a moment tapping a finger against the table.

“Fine. Just be smart. No more rushing into battles you aren’t ready for. Those three you are partied with weren’t ready for that boss, and we both know it. Don’t try to carry them, or all of you might die or, worse yet, only they will.”

Sliding out of the booth, Peter sighed and then put a smile on his face.

“Ignore me. An adventurer didn’t return, and I don’t want to lose another anytime soon. Just be smart.”

Max sat there, watching Peter walk away, trying to absorb everything he had just heard.

Brutus almost died because of me?

Taking another drink, Max knew what he needed to do.

“Seth!”

Wincing, Max smiled and waved as he moved to where Greta motioned for him to come forward.

“You’re a legend! You and your team are the talk of the adventurers' hall!” Greta bounced up and down on her toes, smiling from ear to ear. “Even the vice-master mentioned you and your team once word got out that one of the potions we had given you saved one of your party members. That earned both of us a few points!”

Putting on his best smile, Max couldn’t help but feel better, seeing just how excited she was.

“I’m just glad we all survived. If it wasn’t for you and those potions…” Max trailed off, watching her joy leave her face for a moment. “Part of our success was because of what you did. Thank you.”

Greta’s face changed as she got off her toes and looked at Max. “What’s wrong? Something’s different about you.”

“I just need to go and do some quests alone.” Pulling three letters from his pouch, Max put them on the counter. “When my team comes, can you give them these? I need to clear my head and figure some things out. I don’t want… No, I can’t be the reason someone might die.”

Max left the envelopes on the counter and backed away, smiling as he gave her a nod, ignoring how she looked at him and the letters.

His mind was swimming, and he needed to clear it.

Yanking his spear from the goblin’s body, Max stared down at the carnage around him. The four creatures never stood a chance. He found them in the woods, cutting them down faster than they could blink. With his new stats and his new spear, he was death to these things.

Slinging his spear and watching the blood flick from the tip, Max began hunting again. He wasn’t here for trophies. He was here for blood.

Blocking the first hobgoblin's attack with his shield, Max spun, using the back of his spear to sweep the second hobgoblin’s feet from under it. As it crashed into the ground, he ran over, driving his spear into its gut before spinning around to face the sword coming for him. His shield deflected the blow, and he drove forward, slamming the shield into its body sending it stumbling backward. His new strength was insane.

Max stepped back, bringing his spear shaft against the side of his shield and driving it into the chest of the hobgoblin as it tried to recover from its backpedaling.

It cried out, shrieking in pain as Max drove it into a tree. It dropped its sword, trying to grab the spear, but Max slammed his shield into its face, a crack ringing out from the force of the blow.

The creature went limp, and Max pulled his spear free as he looked behind him at the hobgoblin, trying to stand up.

Striding over, Max jabbed his spear into its shoulder, driving it to the ground, listening to it howl in pain.

A few seconds passed before Max grew tired of it and pulled the spear out, sticking it in the creature's spine.

Gazing down, Max couldn’t hold back and screamed, lifting his head to the sky.

“What the hell is this about?! Why me?”

Looking up through the gaps in the tree branches, he saw the blue sky, which said nothing back.

Groaning, he grabbed his spear and jerked it from the corpse.

Turning, he headed back to town.

The massive stone statue was carved of one solid piece of marble. The crafter had made Phaius look as awe-inspiring as possible, gazing down at him and with a muscular body etched with such detail that it seemed to pulse with life.

“I promised to give an offering, so maybe this will show I’m committed.”

Max tossed a silver coin into the box, listening for the clinking of coins that for some reason never came.

No words came other than some chanting that echoed through the building. The smell of incense bothered his nose as he glanced around the small Temple of Phaius in this town. Standing there, having tossed a coin, hoping it was worth it, Max felt foolish for believing.

“Seems like a waste sometimes, doesn’t it?”

Spinning around, Max saw an older woman behind him, wearing some worn clothes and leaning against a small wooden cane.

“I’m sorry, what?”

The woman brushed her gray hair back with one hand and smiled, her wrinkles creating mountains of skin all over her face.

“Sometimes it feels like they aren’t listening. Like they don’t even care.”

Smirking, Max bobbed his head and then let out a sigh. “Hard to believe they have a purpose for us if they don’t tell us what it is.”

The woman cackled, scooting near him and poking Max in his chest with her cane. “You are too young to worry about that. Phaius and the other gods are fickle. I’ve lived a life, and I don’t believe they really care about us. We aren’t strong enough to gain their attention.”

Poking Max with her cane in his chest again, she glared at him. “If you want their attention, get stronger and make them listen. Perhaps not all the gods are aware of you yet. Perhaps one of the other gods has chosen you.”

Frustrated by her poking, Max rubbed his chest and stared at her for a moment.

“The other gods?” he asked, whispering lest Phaius strike him down for saying such words in his temple. “What are you talking about?”

Her face brightened, and she smirked at him. Glancing around the room, she motioned to Max, bending her finger toward her face.

Slowly leaning toward her, Max was surprised when she spoke.

“Accept what you are, Max. You are marked, and there is no place in the heavens for one who is afraid.”

His head jerked back in surprise, and Max’s mouth moved to speak, but no words came out.

The woman’s eyes turned a dark violet, darker than the ripest plum he had ever seen. “You need to leave soon. You are too weak, and while attention is good, you are not ready for what will come. Know that many are seeking you. Some to kill you. Others to use you.”

Somehow, the old woman was gone, and a female figure leaned over him, her lips speaking with a warm breath in his ear. “I have given you a little time before they will find your trail. Embrace who you are and the power inside you. Consume everything you can and let no one stand in your way.”

His body felt a rush of peace. All the rage that had filled him was gone. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them again.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

The man’s loud voice caused Max to turn his head, realizing one of the keepers of the temple was coming toward him.

Turning back around, Max saw the woman was gone. He scanned the room, seeing no one but the keeper, who looked perplexed as he came up next to him.

“Who are you talking to? Is Phaius speaking to you, young man?”

“Uh… I was just…” stuttering, Max tried to think. “I was just pleading with Phaius to tell me his plans for me.”

The keeper nodded and motioned to the collection box.

“And you did give him an offering?” he asked, a smirk on his face.

“I did. One silver.”

“Good,” the man replied, clapping his hands. “Surely Phaius will answer then.”

The man turned and walked away, leaving Max struggling with what had just happened.

Stumbling out of the temple, Max saw the setting sun's light turning the clouds in the sky red.

“An ominous sign,” someone said in the crowd moving near the bottom of the steps.

Max’s heart skipped a beat. A sign indeed.