Ultimate Level 1 - Book 6 - Chapter 323

“Impossible… for one of your kind to be so strong, and yet I do not feel like you are boasting or lying. Yet here you are, uninjured and standing before me, and I can see that you are confident by the stance you have taken.”

“I felt no need to lie to you, Kuneoss. Now tell me, must we fight? I would prefer to not kill you.”

Thrumming echoed again as the dragon stood up on all fours and began to stretch.

“Max Hoste… you are a funny one. Again I sense you believe you can win, but there is a reason I am here. If she had not locked me in this place, I would have devoured her. I would be the one running Quan Ma.”

“So if I kill you, I should be able to kill Iga… her.”

A snarl had formed as Max started to say her name, and stopped when he had.

“I would assume she is far stronger than I am now. She has had hundreds of years to acquire power. Even worse, if what you said is true, I doubt I would provide much of a challenge to her.”

“You never told me how you were captured. How did she manage to collar you? Surely that would be hard to do if you were stronger.”

A breath of hot air surged through Kuneoss’s snout as he glowered at Max.

“Trickery… deception… We had an egg, and she had me fly all over the world, seeking something for her while she stayed by it. When I returned, she offered to let me sleep, to feel our child while she went and searched.”

Kuneoss went silent, and Max stood there, just watching the majestic dragon in the light of the arena shift slightly.

“She used my love of our child. I never realized how treacherous she really was. I always thought my strength would overcome her weakness, but as I slept, deeper than any other time, she put the collar around me. Once it was on, I was as weak as a dragonling.”

He began to growl, raised his head high, and roared, the noise filling the entire arena.

“She collared me! The destroyer of life! Everyone feared me! Now, none remember who I was!”

His large chest filled as he took another breath of air and let it out again, the second roar louder than the first.

Then Kuneoss hung his head and went silent for half a minute.

“She abused me and told me what I would do. If I did not protect this tower, she has promised to sell our child.”

“How has the egg not hatched?” Max asked, feeling a few tears had escaped without realizing it.

“She is a bitch! She keeps the egg in a dimensional pocket so that it doesn’t age, doesn’t hatch! Occasionally she comes here, every forty or eighty years, and taunts me with it, lets me look upon it, never allowing me to sense the child I know that is within!”

Both yellow eyes were like embers, glowing and filled with energy.

“If I do not destroy you, she will sell our child, and I will not allow that to happen!”

His shout came, and the dragon squared up, taking a few larger steps backward.

“Prepare, Max Hoste. Our time of talking is done. You have given me something I needed, and as such I will not fight without giving you a chance. Make the first move, and pray it is worthy of a swift death.”

Thoughts?

We go all out. Nothing gets held back.

“Kuneoss, one last thing before I start. Your egg. How big is it?”

Max’s question caused the dragon to turn its head slightly.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because after I free you, I shall go and kill her. Then I shall find your egg and take it somewhere to be free. I’ve met another dragon before, and I know that each of you gets to choose the kind of dragon they want to be.”

Both eyelids on Kuneoss blinked rapidly three times, its large jaw descending slightly.

“You would do this? This is not some trick to make me fight less?”

Shaking his head, Max smiled.

“No. I wouldn’t do that. I’m just the kind of man who believes no one should be chained up or used as a tool to enslave others.”

Kuneoss began to breathe heavily, over and over until after about eight breaths he stopped.

“One attack. I shall give you one attack. Land the best one, and hope it is strong enough to prevent me from what I must do. My collar won’t let me go easy, but I can do that. Make it a good one.”

“It will be,” Max said with a chuckle.

Let’s do it.

A smirk crossed his lips as Bob tried out something they hadn’t used yet.

[ Ultimate Form ]

His body began to grow, and Max couldn’t help but realize that for the first time in his life he was going to be tall.

Power and strength began to flow through him, and then suddenly he started to choke.

The collar around his neck wasn’t growing like the rest of his body or the pants and boots he wore.

Kuneoss’s head lifted up and backward as he watched Max choking, teeth showing as its lips pulled back.

I can’t breathe!

The skill! It won’t stop!

Blood flowed down his neck, and Max felt pain as his body continued to swell and the metal ring fought against the bulging neck.

[ Regeneration ]

What was supposed to take a few seconds felt like it was taking hours as the ring fought to not let his body expand. 

Pain flared through his neck, and Max heard a crack, certain his neck had just broken.

Then a sound of popping came, and then the clinking of metal on stone as air rushed into his lungs.

[ Ring of Binding Removed ]

[ All Restrictions Removed ]

Neither Max nor Bob said a word as he glanced down and saw what he had already felt through Sonar.

There on the purple stone was the silver neck ring, no longer keeping him captive. His body felt alive, and only needing a moment, Max reached out with his mind.

Power surged through him as his Conqueror of the Broken Prince appeared in his hand.

We’re… free…

That skill… non-bound magical items break.

We could have been free all this time if we had just done that?

Apparently… Now I feel like a fool. We saved that ability for so long, wanting to use it as a trump card… All this time we could have been free.

Max stored his weapon, reached up, and rubbed his neck, wiping the wet blood that had come from when it had torn his skin.

“You… you broke your own collar! How?!”

Max took a step back, feeling his larger body and the power within it as he moved.

“I used an ability. I… I didn’t realize it would do that.”

Both of them stood there, staring at each other, in shock and awe at what had taken place.

Then the silver dragon’s eyes widened.

“That mark… impossible! You have met him!”

Clearing his throat, Max realized what Kuneoss was talking about.

“You can see it now?”

“The collar… it hid the mark… but still, you bear something you shouldn’t. How?!”

Sighing, Max shook his head. 

“That is a story I promised I would not reveal. I earned it. In fact, I earned a lot of things.”

Touching his inventory for the first time in so long felt impossible to describe.

When the dragon tooth appeared in his hand, the silver dragon backed up a few steps.

“A tooth? From him?! It is! I can see the power radiating from it!”

Storing it, Max nodded and set himself.

“I don’t have a lot of time left on this ability. I mean what I said, Kuneoss. If I win, I will find your egg and give your child a life, not one of slavery but of freedom.”

Two seconds passed, and then a large tear fell from the silver dragon’s golden eye.

“I now know you will honor that promise. I must fight, and when I do it will be with everything that is within me, but I also have vowed to give you one free attack. For the future of my child, I pray to the one who gave you that mark it strikes true.”

Giving a slight bow, Max began moving toward the dragon, his steps covering even more ground than usual.

[ Stat Only Check - Expanded ]

*****

Max Hoste

19-Year-old Human Male

STR:                948+1976

DEX:                926+1008

CON:                972+1050

INT:                 918+901

WIS:                905+890

*****

That strength bonus… from this skill…

Yes. Now stop staring like an idiot and attack.

Max dashed forward, his will set as he repeated the same attack he had used on a golden dragon that felt like a lifetime ago.

[ Blink ]

[ Demonic Teleportation ]

[ Stealth ]

[ Power Strike ]

[ Magic Strike ] 

[ Weakness ]

[ Quick Attack ]

[ Ghost Strike ]

[ Berserker ]

[ Rampage ]

There was the sound of scales shattering. 

Bones were vaporized in a second.

Everything that had been there at the back of Kuneoss’s skull was gone.

The brain that was protected by a skull most would never imagine could be shattered was half missing.

Particles of silver scales caught the light as they fell to the ground, reflecting the glow of the arena.

Power surged through Max as he fell from the height he had been at, using everything he had to get into position, taking advantage of the one free attack.

A cold bath of fire raced through his body and bones.

[ Bonus Stats Consumed ]

[ 75 Strength Consumed ]

[ 75 Dexterity Consumed ]

[ 75 Constitution Consumed ]

[ Stat Milestone 3 Reached ]

[ Strength of 1000 acquired ]

[ Evolution is required for Milestone Upgrade ]

[ Stat Milestone 3 Reached ]

[ Dexterity of 1000 acquired ]

[ Evolution is required for Milestone Upgrade ]

[ Stat Milestone 3 Reached ]

[ Constitution of 1000 acquired ]

[ Evolution is required for Milestone Upgrade ]

[Consume has successfully Consumed a skill]

[ Skill does not match being’s body type ]

[ Consume is adjusting skill ]

[ Consume has Consumed a Higher Rank Skill ]

[ Power Strike - Epic has been upgraded to Power Strike - Legendary ]

[ Consume has Consumed a Higher Rank Skill ]

[ Skill does not match being’s body type ]

[ Consume is adjusting skill ]

[ Consume has Consumed a Higher Rank Skill ]

[ Intimidation - Epic has been upgraded to Intimidation - Legendary ]

[ Consume has successfully Consumed a skill ]

[ Skill does not match being’s entity type ]

[ Power stored for future use ]

[ Consume has successfully Consumed a skill ]

[ Skill does not match being’s entity type ]

[ Power stored for future use ]

[ Consume has successfully Consumed a skill ]

[ Skill does not match being’s entity type ]

[ Power stored for future use ]

Pleasure beyond comprehension flooded his soul as whatever hadn’t been converted to a skill he could use instead was given to Bob.

So… close… We are almost there…

Max slid off an airwall that had appeared and landed on the back of the dragon.

There was no final words to say. No last command to do right.

Whatever spirit Kuneoss had once had was gone, and it pained Max that it had to end this way. Even the power he desired for so long left a bad taste in his mouth as he slid off the body of the magnificent creature.

Blood was beginning to flow from the gaping wound, a smell of acid and sulfur as it burned and popped on the stone.

A tongue lay partially out of the head that was turned toward him, all light that had once filled those golden eyes gone.

You need to harvest what you can, and you know it.

Bob’s statement was true, but for a moment, all Max could do was move to put a hand on the still-warm scales. Soon the body would be cold.

Closing his eyes, Max did what he felt he needed to.

“Kuneoss, I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it. May your spirit fly free in the heavens, never to be collared again.”

With a sigh, he opened his eyes and faced the mountain of flesh and scales before him.

Are you willing to do this? I… I need a minute.

Yes. Rest, Max. I’ll let you know if something arises.