Ultimate Level 1

Miles of desert lay plowed like a field prepared for planting.

Each of them sent out spells that carved through the sand like it wasn’t even there.

Max’s own Sand Mastery had been sending blocks of glass from countless directions, trying to slow down or do damage, but none of the attacks that landed had any lasting impact.

To the left. Keep moving left. Draw her that way.

Bob’s plan was a solid one. He needed the tactical advantage, and his attempts to appear a little weaker had drawn her renewed assault.

A golden braid never moved, no matter how fast she did, and it was only after a few minutes that Max figured out she had to have a helm like his.

Lightning had come from her once, but after Bob had deflected it, she didn’t send another attack like that, choosing instead to use the wind blades that provided a more significant threat.

He had almost taken a surprise attack from behind by her, but his Sonar skill had detected the incoming pair of blades she had sent from the rear.

An air wall and a stone wall stopped the pair, only for a third one to come from above.

Using sand, he had created a glass wall that shattered upon impact, thankfully slowing down the spell enough that the damage it did when it struck his shoulder healed quickly as he moved away from her.

Both of them had a sheen of sweat on their faces from the heat and exertion.

When do you want to go on the offensive?

Not yet. She doesn’t know all of your skills. It’s enough that you have teleportation and the ones you do. I’m confident she has some in check. Remember, once spent, the cooldown starts to matter.

Berserker?

No. Trust me. My plan is better.

Max gave up the discussion, knowing it was distracting and he needed to stay focused.

Each time the elf began to break away, he attacked, forcing her back into the fight.

“I thought your people were skilled. Perhaps the noble blood isn’t anything at all.”

“How dare you speak my language! You are not worthy!”

“I’m certain you’re not worthy to be called a royal,” Max shot back, dodging to the side to avoid a strike while blocking the other sword.

She roared, attacking with a bit more enthusiasm.

Each time he parried, the sensation of the impact flowed through his body.

He knew she wasn’t stronger, but it wasn’t by much. All Max needed to do was keep her moving and following the direction Bob was leading him. From there, he knew the real fight would begin.

***

Overhead, the sun baked everything below, but as the pair approached the mountain area Bob had directed him toward, she slowed up her attacks, requiring Max to engage more often.

“Where are you trying to lead me?! Don’t think I can’t tell that you’re simply trying to bait me!”

Laughing, Max shook his head.

“Stay out here. The time is almost upon us. I would rather not die when it comes!”

He began backing way faster, directing himself toward the mountains.

She looked around, unsure for a moment, at the man who was leaving her out there.

The sand began to tremble and shake, and Max felt what she was trying to do.

[ System Travel - Block Successful ]

A scream came from the woman as she raced toward him.

“It won’t work here! Only one place does!” he yelled, keeping on his path toward the mountains.

A salvo of wind blades came at him, and without having to worry about her swords, he quickly deflected them, grinning like a fool the entire time.

Suddenly a pair of his own took shape and toward her, earning a scowl and another howl from the woman as she deflected them with her weapons.

It would appear you’ve learned how to make those as well.

Yes. It took some time, but I figured out how. The hard part was sending them so that they flew correctly. I tried a few up higher in the sky out of your Sonar skill and hopefully out of range of whatever she has, trying to get it right. Later, we can discuss it, but pick up the pace.

Sand spears and wind blades barraged his opponent from all sides, and Max sensed an attack coming from her that differed from the rest.

Leaping into the air, he aimed off the air wall Bob summoned, watching the wind attack that rushed downward from above. A rain of smaller air blades twisted and turned in a spherical pattern, each moving in almost random directions as they cut through the space he was in.

Storing his weapon, Max swapped it out for a second shield, trying to summon defenses to help against the onslaught. His Sonar skill was going crazy trying to track the hundreds of blades that filled the entire area.

[ Blink ]

Pain lanced through his body as a blade swept between the shields he held. The sound of flesh being cut was louder because of how heightened his Sonar skill was right now.

[ Demonic Teleportation ]

It took both abilities to move far enough away that Max could sense that he was almost at the outer edges of the trap his opponent had obviously been setting up.

Leave it! Keep moving!

Back in the desert, blood flowed from the arm that had been cut clean off, the second shield that he carried still in its hand.

Already, regeneration was doing its job, stopping the blood and growing a new arm, yet Max’s biggest concern was how easily that spell had cut his armor.

With renewed vigor, his opponent began to chase him, and Max ran, this time not wasting time for taunts or anything else, letting Bob handle the defenses as the number of wind blades increased, as did their thickness.

Holding his shield over his upper body, he summoned blocks of sand, creating jumping points as he dodged and weaved, getting sprayed with sand when her spells impacted the ground he had been on.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Max sent each particle that was sent airborne toward her, turning it into small pieces of glass that created a shimmering effect in the air.

What is she doing?

Finally getting serious. Like us, she has not even shown her true power. I’m afraid that the fight will be far worse than I had anticipated. You—

Bob’s voice stopped as he sent wind and ice spells to parry another salvo of attacks, this time eight blades whirling in random directions, all shifting and changing to find Max. Three of the blades he had evaded had looped around, coming at him again and requiring more effort to keep up defenses.

It’s like a boomerang! She can either keep them tracking or attacking you, or it’s something else.

Walls of sand grew, forming into hardened glass, helping Bob, who dealt with the blades coming from above. Large chunks of black glass flew through the air as her spell destroyed them.

Ahead was the wall of stone that had at one point made him wonder if climbing it was even possible. Now he knew that it was.

When we reach that place, I can’t hold back. If I flee, she’ll just return to our world, right?

Bob finished defending against another barrage of attacks, sending a few blades of his own at the elf, who easily deflected them.

Glancing over his shoulder, Max could see the smile she wore, a predator chasing down a meal, enjoying the hunt.

Correct. This fight ends here one way or another.

Skills and combinations of spells ran through his mind as he considered his options. This last year of his life had been a constant battle, and every trick he had learned, all the things Bob had shown him played out in his mind as he ran for his life.

Clenching the fist of his regrown right arm, Max said a silent prayer to someone that Tanila and the others would be okay. With what he was facing here, his fear of how his friends were doing in the room he had left them, ate at him.

Focus!

Bob’s words brought Max back to the moment, and due to his wandering mind, he had to burn his ability again to evade another set of air blades.

[ Demonic Teleportation ]

The blast of sand turned into glass again, the spot he had been now a crater from the spell’s impact that would have potentially ended his life.

Less than a minute, and then we are there. Be ready.

Max wanted to smile and laugh.

One moment, the stone wall was out of view, and the next, he was almost there, his speed and the elf’s easily covering the distance like it was nothing.

Racing ahead, he prepared for what was to come, knowing that however this played out, it was going to hurt and require every skill he had.

Max began drawing upon his Stone Mastery skill as his foot touched the first section of rock, the small shelf that provided safety from the sand and what lived inside it.

Wait… just a little more.

A second later, he was against the wall, back to it, facing the elven woman, who had both swords out. Small flecks of blood were present around her eyes and mouth, long dried by the hot sun. Standing about twenty-five yards away, it was obvious she felt this was her victory.

“You’re trapped and soon to be dead… tell me… who are you, so I can write down the name of another in my book.”

Her taunt and the smirk she wore rubbed Max wrong, but he glanced both ways, playing the part, letting everything unfold as he hoped.

Maybe twelve more seconds.

“Just promise me you won’t kill the woman back on my world! Then I will.”

She snorted, shaking her head and pointing the tip of one sword at him.

“That I will not do… perhaps she will find favor or forgiveness from our god, but that isn’t a promise I can make. To have seen what she did… it will cost her. As for you…”

Larger blades than ever before began to form all over and around her. Thicker and twice his height, almost a dozen of them were floating above her in the air, spreading out to surround him from every side but his back.

“Any last words?”

Her teeth were on full display as she grinned.

“Just make sure to tell Thuyja when she sees your soul in the afterlife that Max Hoste says hello.”

Both of her eyes widened, the golden glow seeming to lessen just a moment. As her mouth opened slowly, words started to form, and he attacked.

Large blocks of stone, each larger than a cart, began to rain down upon where she was, sent with a force well beyond what simple gravity could cause.

She reacted, sending her blades at him, streaking faster than ever before.

Dust filled the air as stones crashed into the rock, and her blades cut into the wall.

[ Demonic Teleportation ]

Bob had it timed perfectly. The last air blade was just inches from his back where he appeared, their momentum unable to be stopped as each of them carved through the stone.

His arm bled, the knife he had stuck in it causing a trickle to come forth as Max found safety from her original attack.

[ Demonic Summoning ]

Everything changed as the world began to shift and transform into the kaleidoscope that signaled the coming of what he needed.

A river of blood flowed from his wound, far more than he could ever remember the last time, rose into the air, and began to form a rune that he knew meant one thing.

Consumer of Souls.

He shuddered as the rune grew, turning into liquid lava, and then vanished when it finally seemed ready to burn brighter than the sun.

Next came the black-and-purple door. Unlike the other times when it was a portal, something new took place. Like a living tapestry almost, it towered easily thirty feet into the air, covered in grotesque imagery of demons slaughtering so many other creatures, their actions shifting and changing every second.

As power pulsed around it, a loud boom sounded, and then the door swung open. No claws had pushed it apart.

Behind it was a room, and as Max gazed through the opening, it reminded him of what a throne room might look like. Large ornate pillars lined a hall, and far away was a large chair, made of what looked like countless bodies mashed together.

A creature he didn’t recognize stood at the entrance of the door.

The twenty-foot-tall demon he had been expecting wasn’t there.

No red flaming skin covered this being.

Instead, Max thought it looked almost comical compared to what he had expected.

A seven-foot-tall demon, bald like the one who had summoned it, with purple skin, red eyes, and human-like features, stood there in nothing more than a simple pair of black shorts. Every part of its body was rippled with muscles, but Max could feel the power coming from it.

“You… have changed me… again.”

“Sog’thollech?”

Like thunder, his laughter filled the area they stood in and was weird, considering the size of the demon before him.

“Yes. No doubt my appearance does not match what you were expecting.”

Chuckling a little, Max bobbed his head.

“I had expected perhaps a forty-foot-tall demon with larger horns this time,” he admitted. “Still, I can feel the power that comes from you. Tell me, what does this mean?”

Striding past the doors, the demon moved to where Max stood and snapped his fingers.

The black-and-purple door closed without making a sound, vanishing the moment the edges touched.

“There is much to share, but let me ask you, why have you summoned me? I only sense one being outside this place.”

Nodding, Max motioned in the direction of the elf woman. Her body was frozen, unmoving beyond the shimmering barrier.

“She is probably just as strong as I am. That is why I need your help.”

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