Ultimate Level 1: Shattered Boundaries, page 1
Ultimate Level 1: Shattered Boundaries
Shawn Wilson
Mango Media Publishing LLC
Dedication
I will always be thankful for my wife and six kids, who gave me a reason and time to write.
To Mango Media, for believing in me from the start.
To IsyDexicsUntie for all her editing help!
Blurb
With the threat on Tanila's life, Max gives into the Black skill, Consume.
It has evolved, and the destruction it brought was glorious, frightening, and overwhelming.
Now with the new growth and power that came with it, Max and the others find themselves once again fighting against difficult odds as they make a push to get strong enough to reach the tower.
Copyright © Shawn 'DadsBedtimeStories' Wilson 2024 produced by Mango Media LLC
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permission requests, contact the publisher at admin@mangomediapublishing.com.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
Book cover by Ha. Typesetting by Miblart.
Contents
1. Unfettered Power
2. A Buffet of Gains
3. True Commitment
4. Getting Back At It
5. Trying New Things
6. Golden Axe
7. A Contract In Blood
8. Ogre Nuts
9. Storing Power
10. Life or Death
11. Sacrifices Made
12. Two Choices
13. Defending a City
14. An Onslaught of Ogres
15. Pinched Between Lines
16. Fighting On the Streets
17. Checking In
18. Secrets and Dungeons
19. Honest Words in a Dungeon
20. Sharing The Truth
21. Making Plans
22. Fires and Spiders Oh My
23. Why I Hate Spiders
24. The Power of Magic
25. Finding What One Looks For
26. Finishing The Dungeon
27. Tower Explained
28. Outdrinking a Dwarf
29. A Tough Team Decision
30. Tanila's Secrets
31. Battle of the Apes
32. Battle In the Trees
33. What's In the Chest
34. Naming The Generations to Come
35. Elemental Time
36. Dwarves on Ice
37. Dealing With Drama
38. Window Shopping
39. A Magical 50
40. A Dwarven Party
41. Demonic Dungeons
42. A Whole Different Dungeon Experience
43. Things That Go Bump In A Dungeon
44. Who Hunts Who
45. The Demon Champion
46. Fighting as One
47. Valuable Information
48. A Dragon Dungeon
49. A Dragon Like No Other
50. A Game
51. Meeting With an Ancient
52. Entering The Tower
53. A Hunter is Paid
Chapter one
Unfettered Power
Feelings warred within Max as he loosed the monster inside.
Trepidation at what he might do once he released control and the ecstacy he already felt rising from within.
Joy at the unbridled strength that filled every fiber of his being.
Max crossed the distance between him and the elves in a few steps, watching everything as a spectator within his own body.
The elves were shocked when Max swung his halberd without concern for being flagged as a murderer.
Enjoy the show, and let me show you what we are truly capable of…
[ Berserker Activated ]
The power filled Max’s body, yet his mind was at peace. The first elf before him was a warrior covered in a full plate of armor, and yet when Max’s halberd swung with the bladed axe coming at him, his shield was still by his side.
A plate helm flew up into the air as the warrior's neck was sliced through with surgical precision.
His foe's expressions seemed frozen in shock, mouths opening and words attempting to come forth.
Max felt the power of the ice area of effect beginning to cast as his weapon cleaved a healer behind the headless corpse in half.
Blood sprayed as the weapon tore through her body, and Max watched as the swing didn’t stop, catching another victim in the side.
The bladed edge ran through their waist and then up and out their neck, slicing them in half diagonally.
As their body fell, the two halves sliding apart, the first elf able to respond came at Max with two swords.
A male elf wearing chain armor, his body flashing green, for longer than usual, not because of the ability but because everything seemed to be slowing down around Max.
Max twisted and turned, his weapon almost whistling through the air, moving toward the man’s midsection in a wide swing.
The elf warrior saw the weapon coming toward him as he charged and brought both swords together in an ‘x’ to block the attack.
A loud crack, followed by the shattering of bones and the first scream Max recalled hearing, came from the elf as his body was launched through the air.
The warrior crashed into the elf behind him, starting to spin from the impact before colliding with a wall twenty yards away.
It was too far to hear the crunching sound the elf’s body made when it impacted the stone wall, but when it finally fell to the ground, the warrior didn’t get back up.
A smile flashed across Max’s lips as he sensed two people stealthed and approaching him.
Their corpses fell with thuds, both cut like ribbons with a pair of sharp scissors.
See what we can do… feel how they fall… like wheat stalks before the thresher…
The power was overwhelming.
He felt unstoppable.
No one felt worthy to stand before him.
Max wanted to reply, but nothing came out. He could see and feel everything, yet a tinge of fear ensnared his heart.
Five seconds later, four more bodies fell as the remaining two elves, both mages who stood a few yards behind where the others had been, attempted to cast a spell.
Their hands were raised, and both appeared to be casting a root spell, but before either of them finished, the halberd cut their extended arms off.
He had dashed forward, one step covering the distance, his weapon whistling through the air as it spun in his hand.
Before their severed arms hit the ground, both had lost their heads.
An ice bolt struck him in the back, and Max watched as his body spun, looking at the remaining twelve men and women coming toward him.
One had cast a spell at Tanila, and the flames had erupted, licking around the stone wall she had cast.
Anger, rage, and hatred filled his heart.
Yes! Give in! Let me have my revenge!
Every step covered ten yards, an impossible feat. Yet Max knew nothing was impossible anymore as his halberd thrust forward, the tip sliding through a warrior’s chain armor and exiting the warrior’s back.
He watched as the shaft twisted sideways, drawing back and using the elf, now stuck against the axe blade and hammer part of his halberd, as a weapon.
Cries rang out as Max slammed the body into an approaching elf.
Two more elves activated abilities, one a warrior and another a rogue.
He didn’t care. They meant nothing.
His halberd slammed down on a warrior, who held his shield to block the attack.
The elf appeared stronger than the rest, moving faster than the others, but it didn’t matter.
Gore sprayed out as the corpse at the end of Max’s weapon turned into paste from the blow.
The spray covered a stealthed rogue nearby, exposing a blood-covered figure as his skill failed.
Max ignored the warrior, still trying to regain his footing after the strike to his shield.
Two quick thrusts of his weapon dropped the rogue as the other warrior came at him.
Whatever skill this one had activated hadn’t done enough, as the head of Max’s weapon turned the elf’s head into a mist from the impact.
The warrior shouted something in Elvish, and Max understood it even though he didn’t know the language.
Yes, I can help with that too.
“Run! Tell the others!” the warrior cried out.
Laughter came from the alley, and Max realized it was coming from his mouth.
The remaining elves took off in a sprint, running away toward the side street.
He charged the warrior, the elf holding his shield out to block the incoming attack. Instead, Max jumped onto his shield and propelled himself toward the fleeing elves.
The nearest was only a few yards from the cart when Max ran her down. His halberd sheared her clean in half, her mage’s robe not even frayed from the cut.
The second the killing blow was made, he rushed back at the warrior, the only one left standing, who was still trying to take it all in.
Four attacks later, the elf was on the ground, each of his limbs cut off at the joint.
Max leaned over him, ignoring his shouts and cries of pain.
“You zealots never learn.”
Max heard his voice, but it sounded different. There was a power behind it.
“You’ll watch me eat your heart before you die!”
His hand thrust toward the warrior’s chest.
“Seth!”
A single inch of space remained when his hand stopped its thrust.
Stop! Don’t do that!
You have no idea how fantastic of a feeling it is. Holding the beating heart of your enemy in your hand.
Like lightning, his hand came back up, and the hammer portion of the halberd crushed the armor over the elf’s heart, ending his life.
His weapon was gone, stored again, and Max heard shouts from both ends of the street.
He turned to see Tanila looking at him, her eyes wide in horror, tears running down her cheeks.
I have kept my part of the deal. Enjoy the victory. Realize what we can do together, what we can become.
Tanila had paused ten feet away, watching him.
Give me back control!
You must wait! If I relinquish it now, the berserker ability will cause you to attack your friend. You would blame me for that death.
Time seemed to drag in his heightened state, and Max heard shouts getting closer.
This next part falls to you. If you desire to fight your way out, I will make no promises about innocents. I will simply allow us to survive.
Finally, the presence that controlled him vanished as his body sagged as the ability wore off.
“Seth?” Tanila asked, stepping toward him.
Max nodded and moved closer, wanting to reach out his arms and embrace her.
Then he saw the blood that covered them. Glancing at his body, he realized that he was covered in blood, bits of flesh, bone, and other matter.
“You need to go,” she whispered, her voice trembling as she watched him struggle to accept how he looked.
“Where?” Max asked, glancing at the carts on both sides and seeing one of them starting to move. “Could I make it anywhere safe?”
Tanila moved over and grabbed his arm.
“Stand behind me, move closer to the wall. If things go south, use your haste ability and get away.”
“What about y–”
“I am not flagged for murder. You are.”
Those words cut deep. He was a murderer. Every one of these elves was dead because of him, yet if he hadn’t, he and Tanila might be the ones bleeding out on the ground, never to rise again.
“I…”
His statement was cut off as the carts on his right were rolled away, and half a dozen guards froze as they entered the street.
Tanila and Max watched the guards as their eyes scanned the scene.
Blood, body parts, entrails, and more were strewn about. It looked like a battle had taken place, and in the middle of it, hiding near a wall, were two people, one covered in gore and flagged for murder, the other holding her hands out wide, barring any who might come toward them.
“Don’t move!”
The shout drew Max and Tanila’s eyes to a woman wearing plate armor and a helm with a large plume striding past her men. The sight of all the bodies on the street didn’t seem to faze her, and she walked with purpose, not having drawn her weapon yet.
Max could sense that the woman was far more muscular than he was, and based on how she moved, he wasn’t sure if he could get away, even with his haste ability.
“You two!” she shouted, never slowing her pace, “Resist, and I will strike both of you down!”
“We are innocent!” Tanila yelled. “They attacked us! He did –”
“I said quiet!”
The woman’s voice echoed in the street, and Max saw that over twenty guards were streaming in from both sides.
“Captain Vella!” one of the soldiers called out, “You should see this!”
The woman turned to see what the guard had run up with in his hand.
She held the item, turning it over in her chain gloves.
Her helm turned, and Max felt her eyes appraising him.
She motioned with her free hand, and a dozen guards moved toward Max and Tanila, surrounding them in a half-circle.
“It’s him,” the man who had given something to the captain said.
The captain’s head bobbed slightly.
The man behind her watched Max. His blue eyes widened in recognition.
“Seth Pendal. Would you care to tell me what happened here and why you are currently flagged as a murderer?”
Max nodded, gently touching Tanila’s arm to get her to lower it as he moved in front of her.
“I will. I just ask that no matter what happens, my friend is unharmed.”
Captain Vella’s helmet vanished, her face surprising Max with a massive scar running from one ear to her lip. Her brown hair was trimmed short, and her brown eyes seemed to shine as she smiled at him. Her face seemed to smirk as the scar raised one side of her cheek.
“I have no problems letting someone not flagged for murder go. You, on the other hand, will need to explain to me why I shouldn’t strike you down right here.”
Chapter two
A Buffet of Gains
That moment in the street almost made Max feel like a bard at an inn, telling a tall tale and doing his best to ensure everyone who heard it believed every word.
The guards surrounding him occasionally made sounds in reply, each time quieting down when Vella barely tsked her tongue.
After he finished, the only sound around him was the noise from both ends of the street. Max waited and watched the captain’s face.
“How many bodies, Sergeant?”
“Twenty-four, Ma’am.”
She tapped her chain gloves against her plate vambraces, and her arms crossed as she watched Max.
“Twenty-four elves dead and only one person, a level thirty if I recall, standing here alive.”
“Yes, Ma’am. Two of the elves we … identified had traces of the system showing they were murderers- the parts that remained, that is.”
Vella nodded slowly. The edge of her lips betrayed a slight smile, but Max wasn’t sure if this was wishful thinking or just the scar and how it connected there.
“I will require you to submit to an inspection, Seth Pendal. I will personally take you with my squad, and we will return to the outpost on this side of town. You will be sequestered there until your flagged state has worn off.”
Tanila started to speak but stopped when the woman gazed her way.
“I had already heard of the attempt on your life in the inn. That knowledge, combined with what you both told me and the clues we can deduce from here; I believe your story.”
She turned and motioned to the blue-eyed sergeant to come closer, “Bring me a transport wagon. I want twelve guards with me the entire way. And make sure you send someone to the outpost to inform them of what has happened.”
The man saluted and took off toward the entrance of the street they had come from. Some shouting was heard, and Max ignored it, turning back to the woman, who had moved till she was just a yard from him.
Standing this close made Max realize she was taller than him by a foot and seemed to have at least fifty pounds of muscle on him.
“I hate to admit it, you are a different adventurer than most. I can tell from what happened here that you have a skill that explains how you killed that noble’s son. I witnessed it and wondered, yet now…” She paused and turned her head, looking at the carnage her guards were cleaning up. “I am not certain how no one has heard of your name until now.”
Max did his best to keep a straight face.
“Some of my friends are dealing with some things that we would prefer to keep quiet,” Max said as he motioned to Tanila with his head. “I only entered the fights to earn money to help a sick friend.”
“I heard,” she said, chuckling after. “Your ability to stay hidden is long gone. All you can do now is make people wonder if they should keep away. What happened here will give your enemies something to think about, but you will probably find they won’t wait forever before attempting again.”
“Remember, Sir,” the guard said as he opened the door. “You cannot access your dimensional storage inside. The wagon will prevent it, and an alarm will go off.”
