Ultimate Level 1-Chapter 468: Secrets Kept

“Two hundred… in each stat.”

Max nodded and watched the red dragon as she sat down in the chair she always carried.

Part of him wanted to laugh about how she shifted forms and accepted the drink he gave her.

“That explains so much. It’s almost as if our father himself has put a special blessing on the two of you.”

He winced, and she saw it, cocking her head sideways.

“What?”

“It’s nothing. Just something I’ve been wondering for a while on how things seem to occasionally go better for me than most.”

“You think he might be helping you in some way?”

Max looked at his palm where the mark was hidden and rubbed it a few times.

“Is that even possible?”

Her metal cup rang out as she tapped it against the arm of her stone chair.

“Perhaps… I know he can bless his children if he chooses. It’s rare but possible. Right now I’m beginning to learn that you, Max Hoste, are one of those things.”

He glanced to the west, knowing he couldn’t see Rakonath but sensed he was returning.

“I can tell he’s coming back. So what do I need to do?”

A wisp of smoke left her nostrils as Aerthen snorted.

“I cannot answer that question, but you must be with him eventually. While he hides the pain, I know it is there. You are a part of him, and when you are gone for so long, it causes him actual pain. Even your short time together weeks ago did more than you might realize. He took to lessons with a new amount of energy.”

“My problem is I can’t just have him flying around a city, and he doesn’t fit in my dimensional space.”

“And yet his neck has a spot you fit perfectly on.”

Frowning, his heart and mind were torn as he stared off in the direction he knew his dragon was.

You never make life easy. Why don’t you try something different this time?

Bob’s thought seemed so crazy, but it also seemed right.

Do you think it would work?

What I think and what might work doesn’t matter, does it?

But if it fails…

You can ensure his safety. If what Aerthen says is true, then you must consider the possibility. Better to check now than later.

Bursting out in laughter, Max let out a sigh.

“I’m going to try something stupid. So, I’ll tell you my plan, and then I’ll need a day. You two can stay here, right?”

“There is no need for us to leave this place right now. We will be fine.”

“That's good. Then just wait until Rakonath gets here. I’ll tell you both at the same time.”

***

“Wait, we’re leaving? What about the boss floor?”

Max nodded, ignoring Fowl’s question.

“We’ll do that in Peltagow. For now, we need to leave, and I need to get some things set up. There isn’t much time, and we’ll need to walk into town as well.” ℞𝒶ℕỌ𝐁ΕŜ

“Uh… why can’t you just take us to the Faction house?”

“Just trust me,” he told his friend. “When I’m done, it will all make sense.”

***

“Okay, none of this makes any sense,” Tom muttered.

“You’re telling me that you have a dragon.”

“Yes.”

“And that this dragon is not even a year old, and yet you want to try to take it into the tower to face a boss?!”

“You do understand.”

Throwing both hands in the air, the Faction trainer let out a scream and began to pace around.

“I don’t think he understands,” Tanila whispered. “I mean, I do, but I’ve also learned a long time ago that you do crazy stuff daily.”

Everett sat in his chair, tapping his fingers together, both eyes narrowed as he stared at Max.

“You’re awfully quiet. I thought you would have said something by now,” their trainer muttered

“Experience means I’m silent until I’m ready to talk, not walk around a room squawking like a chicken.”

“You can go hump an ogre!” Tom exclaimed. “Forgive me, but some of us were lacking a little bit of information, and you didn’t share that with me after getting back from your trip with them.”

“Do you tell me everything?”

Their trainer groaned and turned around, moving to where the desk was and leaning against it.

“So can we protect him?” Max asked, ignoring the tiff between the two.

“I’m assuming we can get approval from the queens as I don’t see either of them going against you. Most of the other factions should also give a wide berth. The only one that might not would be the Enlightened Souls, and if they chose to upset you… that would be on them. This leaves us just keeping the average person who might find out about this from doing something stupid.”

“Then let’s do this.”

Everett shook his head and chuckled, closing both eyes for a moment.

“What, by the gods, did I sign up for?”

The rest of his party had already shared their thoughts, and as Tanila had stated, they took it rather well.

“Remember when we first came here,” Fowl said with a grin. “You seemed to have believed you got the better end of that exchange.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Everyone in the room laughed except the Faction leader who sighed.

“And I have learned that instead, I signed up for getting way more than I bargained for. Still, I would do it all over, and this time not give a discount.”

***

Shouts came the moment he appeared, and even though the guards had been warned and multiple faction leaders were present, the appearance of a silver dragon with him and an incredibly tall woman with a red-scaled tail still surprised them all.

“EVERYONE HOLD!”

Multiple shouts came as Max quickly jumped off Rakonath and moved to stand between him and everyone present.

A line of his party and Faction members all stood shoulder to shoulder, each prepared for battle.

“Are we good?” Max asked as he reached Everett.

“Yes. As you can see, some guards here have not managed to stay on their feet. The other Faction leaders are all holding off anyone from coming in the area, but many have requested an audience with you sooner rather than later.”

“I’ll deal with that later then. Thank you.”

The older man nodded and immediately moved to talk with those not in their faction.

“You four ready?”

“No, but let’s do this.”

Quickly they all moved to the portal where Rakonath was standing, moving slightly from side to side.

“This is exciting!”

Fowl chuckled.

“You’ve grown since I last saw you. What have you been up to?”

“Just eating things and training.”

Max reached the edge of the portal.

“Okay, like I said. Let’s see if this works. If you can’t enter, you’ll need to fly off, and I’ll find you as soon as we beat this boss.”

“I understand. Either way, I am overjoyed that you are attempting this with me.”

He patted Rakonath’s snout and dug his nails as gently as possible under one of them.

Slowly he stretched his hand toward the portal.

If anyone up there can hear me… I could use some of that favor if I still have it.

The option appeared in his vision, and he selected the 69th floor.

[ Error - Attached Entity Has not Met Qualifications to Enter ]

[ Error - Entity cannot Enter with – ]

[ … ]

[ … ]

His eyes hurt, and his mind felt on fire as Bob attempted to do the impossible.

Time was lost as he felt every part of him vanishing and reappearing.

His body changed, and for a moment, he saw millions and millions of lines of pulsing threads, all connecting and forming a gigantic one .

And then he could finally breathe.

“Is it like that every time?”

He wanted to laugh, and yet, tears fell first as his sonar and hand told him that Rakonath was next to him. None of his party was there with him.

I… need to rest…

He could feel something from Bob, and it felt like agonizing pain.

Are you okay? What happened?

The tower… it caught me as I did what I did. I don’t know… something is off. I need to rest and see what it has done.

Blinking, Max felt his skills presence almost disappear, and a lump in his chest started to form.

“Is he okay? I can sense something from you and him. Did I cause it?”

Max turned and looked up at the pair of silver eyes staring at him.

“He will be fine. It took a lot out of him to allow you in here. I’m not sure we can do this every time. Perhaps instead, we’ll have to do this the right way.”

“Which is staring on the bottom floor of the tower?”

He nodded, finally looking around to see where they were.

“There are oceans in here?” Rakonath asked.

Before he could speak, laughter came, and Max sensed the rest of his party entering.

“You did it! By the gods you did it, Max!” Fowl shouted as his friend came and hugged him. “I might have finally earned my gold back betting on you against Tom!”

Each of them approached the silver dragon and scratched his scales, getting a few trills in return.

“I am grateful for you all allowing me to come here with you. For so long, I have wanted to be a part of this family.”

Max watched as Tanila shed a tear and scratched the bottom of his dragon’s jaw.

“You’ve always been a part, and we’re happy to have you with us as well. Hopefully, we’ll get more time together.”

“Is this another one of those tower floors?” Cordellia asked as she pointed at the ship waiting by a long dock.

“What does she mean by that?”

Max smiled and then started to laugh.

“It means we’ll take a boat ride, and you’ll have to fly around. The good news is you can see if anything is nearby and tell me if so. Somewhere out there will be a boss like I told you and all we need to do is defeat it.”

“And I can help fight it?”

Max nodded.

“Then let us begin! I am excited to see how this works!”

Laughter came from them as they jogged to the boat, watching Rakonath fly past them, sending up small gusts of wind and dust.

“He’s overly excited,” Tanila said as they climbed onto the ship. “If I’m honest, I’m surprised he was allowed in.”

Max frowned and ensured none of the others were close as they scoured the deck.

“Bob’s hurt. I don’t know how… I just know he is hurting. He said the tower caught him and that something was wrong.”

She grimaced and squeezed his hand.

“Are you okay then?”

Nodding, Max tried not to frown.

“I just hope this is all worth that.”

“Look! I’m the captain!” Fowl shouted, and Max turned to see his friend at the wheel.

The dwarf gave it a spin, and the moment he did, the sails unfurled, and the ship began to pull away from the shore.

“Hey do you know how to sail?!” Cordellia yelled from the crow's nest she had climbed up into.

“Not a fricking clue!”

Max motioned to the wheel with his head.

“I’d tell you we could go to the front of the ship, and I could hold on to you while you lean over the edge with your arms spread wide, but that would mean risking our lives with a dwarf at the helm.”

Tanila laughed.

“Later. For now, go be this ship's Captain.”

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