Ultimate Level 1 C.249: A Gift Fit For A King

Dexic’s mouth hung open, her face completely slack as she stared at the sword in her hands.

Everett was tapping his fingers rapidly against his desk while he waited to hear what had caused his best warrior to act in such a way.

A few tears appeared and then rolled down the hardened veteran's face as she turned to Max and tried to offer the sword to him.

“I can’t… it’s too much… this…”

“No, it’s yours,” Max said as the woman struggled for words. “I made it for you. Today, you and I shall stand on that dirt before gods and people and announce that the Golden Axe Faction is not to be toyed with. Doing so will be met with consequences none will ever want to face.”

Dexic stared at Max, her eyebrows narrowing slightly as she shook her head for a moment.

“When… when did you become this man and not the boy I found in the adventurer's guild?”

Max laughed, causing her to lean back a little and peer at Everett who was wincing, still trying to understand how great the sword Dexic held must be.

“I was always this way,” Max replied. “I wasn’t this strong but everything I do is for my friends and family. I’m not here to be the best so I can make others bow before me or praise my name. All I want is to protect those who I care about. Sadly, in our world, the only way to do that it seems is by being the strongest and not backing down.”

Light laughter came from inside his mind, and Max ignored it.

Grunting, their Faction leader gave his desk a gentle slap and held a hand out toward Dexic.

“I’m dying… please, for the love of all, tell me what he made you.”

Coughing and clearing her throat, she shook her head and smirked.

Everett groaned again when he saw it and closed his eyes, tilting his head toward the ceiling.

“Perhaps afterwards I will. For now, I have something you want and that means more than Seth can imagine.”

Chuckling, Max stood up and rubbed his eyes. Moving to where his partner for tonight's event was, he gave her a squeeze on the shoulder and then motioned at the door.

“I’m going to lie down for about two hours and then I’ll be ready to go. You two can take turns seeing who wins the contest of finding out what that sword does.”

As he turned, Max stopped and glanced sideways at Everett.

“I’m going to need some more supplies soon, and I doubt you’ll find that a problem after you pry the stats on the sword from Dexic’s lips.”

Behind him, the tall woman started to laugh as Everett sighed.

***

“You two will follow me and the rest will follow the escort prepared for your Faction,” the guard announced as everyone piled out of the carriages Tom and Everett had secured for them.

“Be safe,” Tanila said as she leaned over, giving Max a quick kiss on his cheek before moving with the rest of the group that had traveled together.

“She really loves you,” Dexic said quietly as they watched their friends and family head toward the massive steps that led to the space reserved for Faction boxes. “It seemed impossible at first to believe an elf could really love a human, but her eyes tell me everything.”

Max’s smile grew as he nodded, glad to know others could see how they felt for each other.

A cough came, and both turned to see the pair of human guards, dressed in black plate and wearing the emblem of the two crowns on their chest in red. freeweɓnøvel.com

The symbol for the queen's personal guards.

“If you two are ready, we will escort you somewhere private before your match.”

The tone wasn’t a request, and both nodded, letting the guards lead them through the growing throng behind.

Outside of the colosseum was a packed crowd and rumor was that with tonight being the last night and their fight being the culmination of the three-day event, no seats were left. Everyone who was anyone wanted to be inside to not only witness the blood duel but also get a chance to see the Elvish queen, Sylvandra Gilmenor.

“I never realized how many elves were in this city,” Max whispered as they followed the guards down the stone tunnel.

Light orbs dotted the walls and even though it was soon to be nighttime and not a window was present, the tunnel was well lit.

“There are more of each race and few of the very rare ones most never see in the capital,” Dexic replied. “If you ever get a chance to ride one of the great boats across the seas, you may be surprised by what you find over there.”

Max couldn’t help but stare at Dexic, who had her famous smirk plastered on her face.

“You haven’t been there, have you?”

She chuckled, ignoring one of the guards, who turned and glanced back at them before facing forward again.

“No, but I have seen the pictures one drew of the different groups there. The woman was talented and her paintings and drawings looked lifelike. Where Grace is from, we would be the rare one, light-skinned and all.”

Nodding slowly, Max considered the warrior Dexic was talking about and also Master Tang Mu. So much of his world was still unknown since he left his town. Even now and the things that he had accomplished in the tower were small when compared to everything else in the world.

“We are almost there,” one guard said. “You two will stay there until summoned, as both of us will guard the door.”

“Do you expect trouble?” Dexic asked, her hand flexing slightly.

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“We do not, but one would not want to risk anything. It would look bad on the Queens if we did not provide the semblance of needing to guard you. As I’m sure you can tell, neither of us could stop you.”

Max said nothing but grinned. He could sense that these two had been in the tower at some point, but neither were exceptionally strong.

As they rounded a corner and started down another corridor, Max saw two pairs of doors being guarded by matching guards.

“More contestants?”

A snort came from the guard on his left.

“Those are both of your possible matches. It appears that the Elven Queen has yet to decide which pair you will face.”

Nodding, Max glanced at his partner who shrugged and frowned.

***

“At least the room is comfortable,” Dexic said as she plopped down on a cushioned chair. “I’ve been forced to wait in the rooms by the entrance of the fighting grounds and those don’t have a single cushion in them.”

Max nodded, inspecting the room and letting his sonar search every nook and cranny. Nothing stood out that there were any traps.

One day I guess my trap skill will actually detect something but perhaps it’s not as useful as I thought.

Pointing at the bowl of fruit, Max shook his head.

“I hope they won’t mind if I don’t eat anything I haven’t brought myself.”

Dexic laughed and closed her eyes.

“I doubt they would take offense to that. Only a fool would eat something they aren’t sure of where it came moments before what we are going to face.”

Max sat down and stared at the short-haired warrior until her eyelids opened up and those blue eyes looked back at him.

“What?”

Taking a breath and letting it out, Max pulled out a book.

“Can you answer a few questions about the tower and the floors you are on?”

Sitting up straight in the chair, she shook her head.

“You really want to ask me questions about the tower while we wait to fight for our lives?”

Nodding, Max tapped the pages with his pencil and grinned.

“I’m not planning on dying and getting a chance to ask you questions has always been almost impossible. Tom’s answers aren’t what I always want, and I know you’ll shoot straight with me. So why not pass the time helping me and my team prepare for what is coming?”

Nodding, Dexic’s eyes moved around a moment and then a well-worn book appeared in her hand. She grinned at seeing Max’s eyebrows raise.

“What? Can’t I have a journal as well?”

***

Flipping through the notes he had taken, Max considered the knowledge he had just gained.

“So after the fortieth floor, a few floors can be over a hundred miles long?”

Nodding, Dexic flipped through a few pages as she frowned.

“We had one that was almost that long and the thirty-seventh floor. The fortieth floor was a little over a hundred miles and the forty-first was almost that long. The worst part about the forty-first floor was the dense forest. It was always so dark and it took us two days to find the edge of the floor just so we could minimize the amount of sides creatures could attack us from.”

Max’s pencil moved quickly as he added a few more notes.

“Worst boss yet?”

Hissing as she sucked air in through her teeth, Dexic’s face scrunched up for a moment.

“I’m not sure anything could be worse than the Gorgon you supposedly fought, but we did have an elemental boss that required us to solve puzzles in order to damage it.”

She shuddered in her chair, not holding back whatever feeling ran through her.

“I lost two friends that day,” she said, her voice getting softer. “Sometimes the bosses can be bad, but the puzzles are far worse. When you can’t damage a boss because one needs to figure out a trick, people get hurt. You can only dodge so many fireballs, ice spears, and other attacks while trying to overcome a mental challenge.”

Nodding, Max winced for a second.

“We faced one of those. It wasn’t fun at all.”

Coughing, Dexic leaned forward and blinked quickly a few times before cocking her head and staring at Max.

“You faced a puzzle already?!”

“Two actually… floors eleven and twelve.”

“Ogre shite!”

Leaning back in her chair, the woman shook her head as she gripped the padded arms.

“That’s not something I wish on anyone that early on. Those things can–”

A knock on the door interrupted her and both stood immediately, changing their stances as they watched the door.

“Come in!” Dexic bellowed.

Slowly the door swung inward and a guard came inside.

“Forgive me for intruding, but the Queens have requested you both to come and talk with them for a moment.”

“Is this a request or an order?” Dexic asked as she watched the guard for reactions.

He cleared his throat just slightly and stood a little straighter.

“It would be better if you came on your own. I have been told to inform you that your Faction leader is there and waiting for you. Also the Elven Queen is in the same room.”

Max felt his heart race and could sense the change in posture when his partner heard those same words.

“The Elven Queen is there as well?”

A brief nod and the guard motioned toward the door.

“Will you come?”

Clearing her throat, Dexic nodded and motioned to Max.

“It would appear we have little of a choice, and I hate to admit that meeting Elvish royalty is on my list of things to do one day.”

Chuckling, Max moved first, knowing that he had already managed to check that box a few times.

As the door closed behind them and they walked between the two guards, Max sensed a door opening up where another pair of guards stood.

An elven head peered out into the hallway for a moment, turned towards them.

Scouting out the competition a little early… seems like a smart move.

Max couldn’t help but grin as he knew the one who had peered out had three earrings on one ear.

I guess the mage wanted to get a peek.

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