UL1 - Book 11 - Chapter 076 -

“You going to be okay?” Miranna asked as she scratched Shale Spark’s scales.

“Please, I’m just the greatest mount in the world at this point,” the dragon replied, getting laughter from the rest of the party on her back. “I mean, what’s not to like? Every kid and most of the adults out there are wishing they were you right now.”

“She’s right,” Kurrar stated. “I distinctly heard a few kids ask if they could ride the red elephant with the long tail.”

A low grumble radiated from beneath their butts for just a few seconds and then immediately stopped as a few of the kids on the street who had been cheering cried out.

Miranna and the rest laughed as Shale Spark sent a puff of smoke out of her nostrils before letting the comment go for now.

“She’s going to get you back,” Miranna said. “You do realize that.”

“Aye, but by the time she does, we’ll all be gods,” Kurrar replied. “Still, that’s a problem for after we defeat the boss.”

“You don’t think she’ll mess with you before then?” Sabon asked. 

“Not even Sparky is crazy enough to mess with the healer during a fight,” their dwarf proclaimed.

“Focus,” Agluur said. “Just wave and smile, boys, wave and smile.”

Miranna did as their mage had told the others, smiling and waving at each person who lined the street. They had already been moving for over an hour, having started outside the city walls so that those who wanted to come and see them off again from the other kingdoms could.

It’s been a hard time feeling like some kind of show cow at each of the capitals.

Are you calling me a cow?

Smiling, Miranna laughed through her teeth.

No… but you are the biggest one out here.

A thrum emanated from the dragon as she continued walking them toward the center of the city and the tower.

That is true… still I cannot believe we are about to finally be done with this. Sixty years?

Sixty years… to think I knew you back when you could barely walk. And look at you now, able to walk with a full party on your back.

Another snort of smoke escaped Shale Sparks' nostrils and the crowd around them cheered.

“I think they believe she’s putting on a show,” Kurrar stated. “Next thing you know, Agluur is going to send magic into the air.”

The five of them laughed, waving at those gathered. Soon this moment would be over and the hardest task to take place in their adventurer career would arrive.

***

Miranna stood there, with wet cheeks, yet smiling as her parents approached.

“The time has come for you to make your mark in the heavens,” Tanila said softly, her eyes unleashing a torrent of tears. “Know that we look forward to the day we see you again.”

She stepped forward, hugging her mother, enjoying the embrace as they said goodbye for at least the next three hundred years or more.

“I love you,” Miranna whispered. “Thank you for everything.”

Her mother squeezed her for a few more seconds before releasing Miranna from the embrace. She took both hands and held her daughter’s head between them and kissed the half-elf god child.

“Know you are blessed and that your father and I are proud of who you have become. Never forget that.”

Wiping a tear, Miranna nodded. “I won’t.”

Tanila stepped back and she watched as her father approached.

His face was like her mother's, wet, and even though he smiled, Miranna could see that he was struggling to say something.

“It’s okay, Dad. I’ll be back before you know it,” Miranna said.

“I know Star. I… Outside of your mother… and Rakonath, only because he’s listening,” Max said, winking. “You hold a place in my heart no one else will ever take.”

Sniffing, Miranna nodded and rushed toward him, throwing herself into his open arms. For a moment, the wall came down, all the barriers she had erected to try and keep this moment from being filled with tears, yet she couldn’t hold back any longer.

His hand gently patted her head as Max held her close, his own body trembling with hers.

“I love you, Dad,” Miranna managed between breaths. “Thank you… for loving me.”

“Loving you is easy,” Max replied. “It’s the letting you fail that’s hard.”

Both of them laughed and each sniffed, wiping their own cheeks as they stepped back from each other.

“Failing? Please, we both know I’m not like you,” Miranna replied. 

She saw her father’s lips move a few times as he smiled and tried to speak, yet didn’t.

“Bob says that you need to be careful,” Max stated. “Don’t let the System rule you. Fight it.”

“I will, and tell Bob thank you for me,” Miranna said. “For everything.”

A cough came from behind, and she turned, seeing the rest of her party waiting near the tower portal, slightly off to the side of where she stood.

“It’s time,” Shale Spark said. “We promised.”

“And yet I see your own eyes have tears in them,” Miranna replied. 

“They do, but we must now prepare ourselves for what comes next,” the red dragon said. “We do not have time to let ourselves get distracted. We defeat this floor like all the others, and then we can laugh, cry, dance, or do whatever we desire. For now… as I was reminded by Rakonath, the time to prove ourselves has come.”

Miranna studied the expressions on the other three members of her party. Each of them wore their battle armor, no longer the festive outfits that had been prepared for them. Sabon’s gold and red dragon-scaled armor was no longer complete. His boots, gloves and helm were each tower-earned items, replacing the ones her father had made him.

Agluur’s only item she still used from her father was the crystal staff she carried, five different elemental cores twirling around the top of it, giving off a small glow in dark places. Her burnt orange robe had been one of much teasing but the stats it provided were beyond anything they could have created here.

Kurrar was the only one in their group who didn’t possess a single thing from Father. A blue and white striped robe covered his dwarven body, and in his right hand was a small symbol that glowed with a soothing aura. In his left hand was a shield, three-fourths as tall as the dwarf and yet he carried it as if it was a part of him.

“They’re right,” Max said from behind her. “It’s time. Go show the other gods who you are.”

Miranna took one deep breath and slowly let it out.  With a single thought, her soft leather and cloth outfit was gone, replaced instead with a simple brown leather outfit. The pinnacle of it was a brown chestpiece with a single massive spike on her left shoulder.  

“Oh my god, it’s the spike!” Fowl called out, causing the other gods to laugh.

“What’s so special about the spike?” Sog asked.

“A horrible fashion statement her father started,” Tanila replied with a smile. “It appears they are testing the limits of what might work.”

On her back, criss-crossed as always were the pair of blades Max had given her long ago, the red blades and black handles standing out against the simple armor.

It’s a shame I’m not using the swords Dad gave me two nights ago.  Naming them had been awfully fun.

Smiling at her party and to herself, Miranna thought back to what both of those weapons provided.

*****

* Legendary Weapon - Honor

+ 200 Strength, Constitution, Dexterity

+ 10% Damage Mitigation

+ 10% Mana Regen

Shape Shifting - The weapon may conform to any melee weapon as the wielder desires. No cooldown between the transforming of shapes. Density and weight will remain the same, and that is the only limit to what it can transform into.

Ultimate Legendary Weapon - This weapon has been named.

* May Evolve

*****

*****

* Legendary Weapon - Loyalty

+ 250 Strength, Constitution, Dexterity

Shape Shifting - The weapon may conform to any melee weapon as the wielder desires. No cooldown between the transforming of shapes. Density and weight will remain the same, and that is the only limit to what it can transform into.

Ultimate Legendary Weapon - This weapon has been named.

* May Evolve

*****

A pair of weapons, gold blades to match her eyes and hair, had been crafted from the materials she had acquired in the tower.  Miranna had worked with her dad, watching and helping as he demonstrated the skills he possessed. Their handles were made from dragon teeth, another gift from Rakonath.  Each was etched with runes that she didn’t understand, but knew contained power.

Silence suddenly filled the area around the tower, and when Miranna gave a slight nod, the sound of a hundred dragons roaring above in the sky rang out.

“Go!” Max shouted above the din. “Claim what is yours to take!”

All the emotion she had felt was stopped, as Miranna erected the barriers once again and moved to stand by her party. Their faces were like hers, focused and full of intent.

Smiling, she winked at Agluur.

“It's time to see if you win that bet,” she said, moving toward the portal. 

***

Her vision returned, and Miranna felt a firmness under her feet that had told her they were on stone.

Everywhere that she could see was a flat black rock. Half a mile away stood a giant metallic being, which she and the others had nicknamed "Shiny," much to its displeasure.

“Seems like the book was right,” Kurrar said, standing beside her. “One thing, an endless –”

“Welcome! You have made it, and your final test awaits!” Shiny called out.

She felt the power of what he had just said wash over her like a warm breeze on a hot summer day.  As it did, she could feel that it carried something else.

[ Final Tower Trial Initiating ]

[ Scan in Progress ]

“I won’t waste time,” the being called out. “I can sense that you know what is to come, so prepare yourselves.”

[ Scan Complete ]

[ Body Type - Matched ]

[ Modifying ]

[ Equipment - Matched ]

[ Skills - Matched ]

[ Selection Complete ]

[ Champion Chosen ]

Their guide for the tower from the 60th floor began to shift and to change. None of them knew what it would be, and part of that had scared Miranna.

Its body began to shrink until a twenty-foot-tall copy of Miranna stood before them, holding two red swords.

“Looks like I win that bet,” Sabon stated, moving to stand before the rest of them. “Plan C.”

A grunt from Agluur announced that she wasn’t happy about losing the bet that had been made.

“You have one minute before this last challenge begins!” Shiny called out.

Shale Spark moved to stand between their healer and mage, wings spread out over them.

“Here you go,” Agluur said, handing over a trio of potions and a backpack to Miranna. 

Chuckling, she took the three potions and quickly drank each one, smiling as a slight frown appeared upon Shiny’s face.

“You… prepared for this. Still, potions will not–”

It stopped talking as Agluur handed over the pair of golden swords to Miranna and the god child spun them around, smiling.

“We did prepare for this,” she replied, the backpack vanishing into storage. A moment later, the brown leather armor with the spike vanished, replaced with her real equipment. The armor she now wore had been earned through blood, sweat, and tears. Only her father’s breastplate, a silver scale, gifted to her from Rakonath, didn’t come from the tower. It would serve as a reminder of the family that had given so much to ensure that they made it this far.

A scowl replaced Shiny’s frown, and it turned the golden eyes it had copied upward at the sky. “They have cheated! The rules–”

The reflection of Miranna and the final boss they were going to face jerked; its very words cut off as something the System must have done stopped it.

It began to pant, the frustration of what had taken place and the lack of help setting in.

“I will kill at least one of you!” Shiny shouted. “You will not–”

“Blah, blah,” Kurrar said, holding up his hand and making speaking motions. “Times almost up, and we’re about to get this party started.”

A low thrum came from Shale Spark, whose body was like a compressed spring, ready to unleash the power it contained. “Just remember, I get to eat part of him,” the dragon said.