Ultimate Level 1

Chapter 295

A guttural cry came from the stands where the praying mantis was in its box, bladed arms waving through the air as it said something Max couldn’t understand.

Even through the shouting and cheers of the crowd, it was evident that this champion had been its, and based on the smiles of the other three arena bosses, Max had just crippled that side’s pool of fighters.

“Your new champion! Ifrit!”

The announcer's shout once more brought the crowd to a frenzy, chanting his name as he climbed up off the corpse beneath him.

Retrieving his staff, he turned and moved toward the glass gate, not bothering to give them a show.

You did that in a very subtle way. I had rather hoped you might have made her suffer more, yet tell me Max, how does it feel to end a life with your bare hands?

The question wasn’t a dig or any kind of attempt to lure him down some dark path. Max could sense his skill probing, testing him. Wondering if he could answer that truthfully.

I did what I must, and you know it. There was no joy in it.

Beyond the skill we both hoped to acquire?

Waiting for the gate to rise, Max grunted, knowing that he had wanted this skill. Inside him, the hunger had grown.

A part of him had been sad that he gained nothing from the twin cat warriors he had slain.

Max had chalked that up on them being too far beneath him or not having anything that was worthy of his skill. He still wasn’t sure how it worked exactly, and now wasn’t the time to pester it again with when and why he sometimes got none, one, or multiple skills.

I need to get stronger. Those skills help me get stronger. If I can master what she did, learn how to control stone like that and incorporate it into my attacks, it will make us harder to stop.

No reply came, and Max walked into the glass tunnel, leaving the chaos of the arena behind.

***

“For a moment I wondered if you had bitten off more than you could chew,” Kauakan stated as one of his attendants handed a pouch to Aimee. “That fight went almost exactly as I had hoped.”

“You wanted a different ending?”

The insect shook his head, and a weird chuckle came from him.

“No… I would have eaten her while she was alive. You do not strike me as one who would do that. Still, I have lost a few fighters against Lukahass in the past. Removing her has been a boon for myself and the other two.”

He clicked a few times, and the attendant nodded, pulling out a piece of paper and a glowing stone.

Max noticed Aimee’s eye twitch just for a moment as the moth handed her both.

“You can enter the next part of the city. In a few days, I will find you, and we shall discuss the coming fights.”

Once again, the insect rubbed his claws together, almost as if it gave him pleasure, or perhaps it was an uncontrollable action.

“Find you a new outfit, and be prepared for those who might seek you. Word is spreading about a new smooth skin.”

As Kauakan turned to leave, Max held up his hand.

“Why do your kind hate my kind so much?”

A few moments passed, and nothing was said as Kauakan stared at Max.

“It is not just your kind. There are others who have come to our world. Specials, beings, monsters, and all of them have come here for one thing. Power.”

He pointed at Aimee with a claw and grunted.

“Your servant, slave, play toy, or whatever she is can tell you more. I have business to take care of. Today we made a lot, and I plan on leaving this section of the city if you are as strong as you seem.”

Moving slowly, Kauakan came to stand just a few feet from Max, looking down upon him.

“Do not doubt I am not your friend. You choose me as an end to a means. I am supporting you as a means to my end. If you fail too soon, I will be forced to return here, and believe me when I say, I would prefer that not to happen.”

***

Max was grateful for another robe, even though it smelled worse than the first. At least he could hide himself completely under the larger size Aimee had acquired him.

“He is right,” she muttered as they moved down the streets quickly, scanning everyone that came toward them or were moving behind them. “We need to be careful. Are you certain it is worth returning to this weapon smith you barely know?”

Max stopped, forcing her to back up a few steps to come and stand where he had not moved from.

“Did I not keep my promise to you? Why would I go back on my word to Romandis? Is not the weapon I hold in my hands proof the exchange was worthy of this?”

Grunting, she nodded quickly and glanced around Max for a moment.

“Yes! Now is not the place or time to talk about this, though! We are in the open, and I’m certain someone is following us!”

“Four are following us,” Max replied. “Two are on the rooftops, flying when the streets come across. Another two are on my right, stopped near a set of stairs pretending to be chatting with each other.”

He watched as her eyes tracked the rooftops, seeing them widen upon spotting one that he had pointed out.

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“How? How can you do that without even turning around?”

“You have your secrets, and I have mine. For now, I need to see Romandis and talk about something.”

Grunting once more, she nodded, and the pair set off.

***

“You want me to leave? To come to the next part of the city?”

Max nodded, not sure who was more surprised at his question.

Aimee was almost seething, shifting from side to side behind him.

“You don’t understand how much something like that costs… a shop there… I… I don’t think I could even hope to secure a place. Besides, all my equipment is here.”

“But if you could, would you join me? I want to learn more about your crafting, and I promised to teach you. I cannot keep that promise if you are here, as I’m not certain how often I would be able to return to this place.”

“Rarely,” Aimee chimed in. “It is not good to move backward through the rings. That is why…” She paused and then sighed as she shook her head.” That is why Kauakan told you what he did.”

“Wait! You’re a fighter?”

“Have you not heard about what he did today in the arena?”

Romandis shook his head at Aimee and pointed to the items behind him.

“I have been working, trying to use some of the knowledge Max shared with me. What did I miss?”

“He killed Lukahass.”

The smith’s two yellow eyes were almost as large as the moon, his jaw unable to stay closed. Almost as if by instinct, the man backed up until he banged into a table.

“You… you killed her?”

“I did. Now tell me, will you join me? When will you get paid for the weapon we made together?”

“Tomorrow. It… it will be a lot but… the cost of setting up a shop there… of acquiring a new place… even then—”

“Do not worry,” Max replied, cutting him off as he turned to look at Aimee. “Can you leave a message at the gate that he is to be allowed to join us?”

“Yesssss… It will cost something, and you will be responsible for him.”

“That will work. Now Romandis,” Max said as he moved to where the kemonomimi was still leaning against the table. Putting a hand on the cat’s shoulder he grinned. “You will take all that money and any other that you have, and every time I fight, you will bet it all on me. Do you understand?”

“But… if you lose…”

“I won’t. Surely after two fights you should be able to afford a new place, and I can help you become a weaponsmith that many will visit. Perhaps in time you can hire a few others to work under you.”

A snort came from behind, and Max ignored his companion, watching the whiskers and fur of the man before him dance.

“I… why? I have nothing to offer you anymore,” Romandis replied, motioning to the room around him. “You already have a weapon far greater than any I have ever seen. You gave me a weapon that will provide renown and tokens to let me be comfortable here for quite some time. What do you gain by helping me?”

A thread in Max’s chest was tight. Even though he knew everything here required him to be brutal, a part of him wouldn’t snap.

“I balance the scales, and you are my balance,” he replied. “While I must sometimes be brutal, the gods have placed you in my path, and we share a kindred spirit. As such, I shall endeavor to use those moments to impart some good.”

Romandis’s head moved up and down slowly. Through their contact, Max could feel some of the tension releasing in the smith’s shoulders.

“Then I shall do what I can to join you quickly. If you believe your gods have brought us together, I will trust that mine has as well.”

Smiling, Max gave a squeeze and moved back to where Aimee was fidgeting.

“Then I wish you the best until we meet again. Shall we?”

Aimee cracked her neck before nodding, her nostrils flaring as they had so often lately.

***

You sure you want to sleep like that?”

Max nodded, ignoring the repeated attempts to have him join her in the bed. Sitting cross-legged, he rested against the walls in the corner of the room.

“I need to meditate. It has been far too long, and I can feel it affecting me. With these fights getting harder I need to do this more often.”

A grunt came, and Max sensed her rolling over, huffing the entire time.

You appear to be caught in a dangerous trap. She is trying to keep her claws in you and does not want to share you with others. Are you certain you want to keep company with her?

It’s her culture… her world. Like that smith, no one shows kindness. Part of me wonders if parents even show kindness to their children. I still haven’t seen a child in all my days inside the city walls.

Not every world celebrates children or loves them like you believe they should. Pieces on a puzzle, stones to climb upon, or worse, food for when things are hard. That is what many view all life, including their own. Do not some animals eat their young?

Having been hoping to actually rest, Max found himself in a philosophical debate that was not part of his plan.

Forget that I asked. I made a promise to her. Once I get her enough tokens to acquire the power this world requires, we can let her go.

Laughter came, and Max sensed the reason why.

Those claws of hers will not let you go so easily.

Ignoring his skill and the truth in those words, Max instead slowed down his breathing, trying to forget about the woman on the other side of the room who was jealous of sharing him with anyone else.

Instead all he could think about was Tanila.

He tried to think about the way she smelled. The scent of her hair was so subtle, yet he had many times put his face into her pillow, breathing deep, each time smiling when done.

She had teased him over and over about that, asking why he did it, and the answer never changed.

Because I love everything about you.

The next day she had switched pillows with him. Every few days she would repeat the process, and he had never slept better.

Lemon and… a grass… some kind of grass…

It was there… his mind connected the memory, and his nose twitched, reacting as if the room had just been filled with that scent.

Smiling, Max let himself fall asleep, his skin against the cool glass walls, dreaming of the woman he loved.

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