Ultimate Level 1

Chapter 50

Max stared out over the city, the light of the torches flickering as Tanila sat beside him.

“You really think that’s what they meant?” Tanila asked. “That you would have been better off without us after the tower?”

“I don’t think it was about me,” Max replied, squeezing her hand that he held. “I think it was because they knew what it would put you at risk of. For all of you.”

“Look at me,” she said.

He turned and saw her gold eyes glowing softly.

“Listen, I love you but you can’t worry about us like this all the time,” Tanila said, placing a palm against his cheek. “This isn’t a fight you’re going to fight alone. My bloodline should be a wakeup call to you that even the system understands that I’ll need to defend our daughter at some point. Each of us wanted this. Batrire and Fowl have told you many times how they set off since the beginning to be adventurers and defeating the tower was always a dream. Cordellia endured everything she did because she wanted to complete something like the tower. She wanted to be strong enough to overcome all the things that had happened to her. Out of everyone here, she knows true pain. How many party members had she lost before she came to us?”

Max started to respond, but she put a finger to his lips.

“Listen, we get it. It’s hard being you. You’re the one who was hunted. You’re also the god with a black skill and a destiny to die…” Her voice cracked on that last word, and Max felt his heart ache as she shook her head, not taking her finger from his lips. “But you and I and every other friend you have are going to do everything we can to ensure that doesn’t happen. So stop playing this card. Do you hear me?” Max nodded slowly and kissed her finger. “Forgive me. I just—”

“No, just. All you can say is you’re right my love, I’m an idiot,” Tanila said.

“Forgive me, my love,” Max replied. “I’m an idiot.”

She nodded and leaned forward, placing her forehead against his. “And I love you regardless. Now then, tell me, what’s your plan for dealing with our daughter? You know she’s a bit upset about missing out on being in a dungeon today since you were fighting.”

Max winced, knowing how much today had meant to Miranna and that she had made the whole team wait a day because of him.

“Yeah… I’ll take care of it.”

Tanila stood and winked at him. “You’d better. Now then, I have some things to take care of around here. Not all of us get to play around in the arena like you.”

Watching his wife leave, Max stayed seated, waiting for Bob to chime in.

She’s right. Your daughter is going to make you suffer.

Bah you’re avoiding the other topic.

That’s because she is right. In 10,000 years, will you still whine about this? Or will you finally let it go?

I’m trying. I’ve been good for what, twenty or more years? Sorry if I got caught up like that.

Don’t apologize to me. You’re the one who acts like that when you do. Tanila is frustrated. You can feel it oozing from her. For a man with so many intelligence points, you keep letting this one thing be your weakest point. I understand better than anyone the power of who you are, but you, Max, need to listen to the advice I gave since we first spoke and really consider it.

If Phaius and Ockrim were warning you of what may happen to your friends and loved ones and the risk they’ll face because of you, that means you have two choices. Either abandon them, move to one of your other worlds, and never see them again, hoping by doing this you can minimize their risk…

Or harden yourself for what is coming. Stop looking at every god you meet as a potential ally. Don’t view the life of every being you suddenly are connected to because you defeat another god as one you must protect. No one is that strong. Not even the Nine. Wekime showed you that by serving his own children up on a platter to make you stronger.

Max frowned, wanting to argue with Bob, but deep inside his core he knew his skill was right.

It’s like I have to choose between being the person I’ve always—

You’re not a person anymore, Max. You’re a god now. That means life as you saw it and understood it is no longer the same. Come, let’s go bug Jazzjak. Ask someone with 80,000 years of existence their thoughts.

Rubbing his eyes, Max rose and used his skill, transporting himself to the room where the table they had kept from the Faction was.

“Max? Is everything alright?” Jazzjak asked the moment Max appeared.

“Not really. I got a question, do you have a moment?”

Max watched as an eyebrow raised on his helper’s white furry face.

“That’s kind of my job. To answer questions and always be available.”

Snorting, Max moved to the chair closest to his helper and pointed at the one next to him. “Sit, if you would. This isn’t an ‘ I’m your boss’ or something like that kind of moment. More like a friend asking another friend for advice.”

Jazzjak slowly nodded, leaving his tablet at the end of the table, and then moved to the chair next to Max. He took a seat and cocked his head. “So what do you need?”

Max shared what Bob and Tanila had just said, as well as explained how he felt and the struggle he faced about abandoning his life and others. When he finished, he sighed, pulled out two cups from his storage, and filled them with a bottle of alcohol his old Faction leader had given him, pouring some for both.

“So what’s your thoughts?” Max asked.

Jazzjak sat there, white fur-covered hands gently turning the crystal glass before him, studying the green liquid. “I’m… finding myself in an interesting position. 99% of the time, if a god asked me whether they should be hard, ignoring lives and seeing them as nothing more than currency to trade or bet on, I’d say yes. But…” The rabbit paused, picked up the drink, took a sip, and grinned. “Right now, I’m enjoying a moment I haven’t had in over 80,000 years.”

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A few tears formed on Jazzjak’s face as the rabbit stared at the cup in his hand. “It’s been so long since someone has treated me like a friend. I mean… since I’ve experienced common decency and concern for my own well-being. Max, I can’t tell you how hard it has been sometimes to be treated as nothing more than a tool or some object to be abused. You and your friends… they… they treat me as if I have value and not just because of the knowledge and aid I give.”

“That’s because you do,” Max said.

A chuckle came from the vorpal rabbit as he set the cup down on the table carefully and leaned back in his chair, interlocking his fingers. “No… I really don’t, Max. If I die, the system will simply bring me back to another new god or gods. My value comes from being able to help guide you and those before and after you. If I fail, it delays the promise I was given to pursue something I was too afraid to chase long ago. Sometimes I’m jealous, wishing I still could go back in time and redo the choice I made of not finishing the tower. Part of me would rather fail and know I died trying. The other part of me is scared, even now, after all these years, of dying. Not like dying once, as I’ve been killed multiple times, but just knowing that who I am… or was, is gone forever.”

“Kind of how we all felt when we learned our belief in what happened when we died was a lie,” Max said.

“Yes… a hard truth for many,” Jazzjak replied. “Still… I’m older than a lot of gods and yet weaker than all of them. The only value I have is the knowledge and aid I provide, yet you, Max, saw me as more than some faceless being. You gave me a body of someone you cared about as a sign of my worth.” A big sigh escaped from their helper as Jazzjak closed his eyes. “And now you want me to tell you that you should stop caring about others besides the ones you hold close. I don’t know if I can, even though every part of me believes your friends are right.”

Did you know he would say these things? I can sense some amusement coming from you.

Not exactly… I guess I underestimated the power you have over someone like him. It seems I’m not the only one good at corrupting others and turning them into what I desire.

Which is what?

A friend. Someone who sees themself as how you see them. With potential.

Max smiled and saw Jazzjak looking at him, head cocked to the side, one ear flopped over. “Sorry, I was just talking with Bob. He wasn’t expecting your answer.”

Jazzjak laughed, shaking his head, and smiled. “No… I doubt the skill you possess would allow me to say such soft things. I agree with him and Tanila. You need to be harder, but at the same time I understand what you struggle with. So let me present this differently. What is your plan for the world you acquired by defeating Sirocco?”

“Well, there is no way I’m going back to Naga Reef. Not now.” Thɪs chapter is updated by novel★fire.net

“Not even if they send you a summoning through the system?” Jazzjak asked.

“No. I’m pretty certain Gyr Quill made it clear that it was a foolish mistake that I came to try to save those hawk people.”

“It was… as I believe I and the others had commented. Still, you somehow came out ahead,” Jazzjak said. He leaned forward, and his tablet appeared on the table before him. “Let me show you this. I could have bothered you, but I wasn’t sure yet if it was a problem.”

Max glanced at the screen where Jazzjak had pulled up a report. On it was the population he was now god of on Naga Reef. The number was slowly declining.

“They’re killing Sirocco’s kind?” Max asked.

“I think so. It’s not as quick a decline as the previous time against the hawk people, but it seems that way. Tell me, are you going to defend those birds as you did the others?”

Grunting, Max sat back and shook his head. “No… I might have defeated Sirocco, but I do not doubt that facing those other three would be a fight I might not come back from right now. Before… Bob and I considered ourselves strong enough to possibly win, but now I know. Facing a creature who had talents and skills along with strength and speed I didn’t possess made me realize how dangerous every god might be. Especially those who are older.”

He’s still avoided answering our original question.

Max rolled his eyes and waved off the look Jazzjak gave him. “Sorry, Bob was mentioning that you still haven’t given a solid answer for my original question.”

“That’s because I’m smart enough to know you already know the answer,” Jazzjak replied. “Tell me, Max, can you imagine living 80,000 years or more and looking back, realizing that you no longer care for others? How long till that outlook changes the way you feel about your friends? You might argue and say that could never happen, but a small rift, over something that might seem petty, has led to gods waging war upon each other. I believe a good example of this would be seen from the world you came from. What could bring three gods together to create a world and then cause them to end up fighting each other later on?”

Max had many answers to that question. As he considered them all, one kept rising up above the rest, over and over.

“The desire for power.”

Jazzjak nodded slowly. “What would you do if, say, Cordellia changed? What if, after 10,000 or 20,000 years, she suddenly was consumed with a desire to acquire power no matter the cost? What if she attacked one of your friends or perhaps Tanila or Miranna?”

A pain grew in Max’s chest as his answer came immediately. “I’d stop her… but I also know your next question. If I had to… and there was no other choice… I’d kill her.”

Jazzjak didn’t say a word, simply returning to his tablet and tapping on it. Above the table, a number appeared that made Max frown.

“27,410… that number isn’t what I expected,” Max said.

“That’s without Naga Reef. That is the amount of DP you’ll earn per day from the worlds you acquire by winning in the arena. While it is still higher than your friends can imagine, I would prepare yourself for the truth.” Jazzjak leaned toward Max, his red eyes glowing. “If you’re not careful, you won’t reach the 5th tier before your friends’ period of safety ends. For the next few hundred years, you need to be prepared to do things that are going to seem hard and ruthless. If you want to protect your friends as you say you do, then you need to become a god for a while that doesn’t let a world or two put himself or them at risk.”

“So if someone challenges another one of my worlds? Then what?” Max asked, feeling the urgency of his plan kicking in.

“Either go and risk everything to make sure it doesn’t slip away or find other gods to kill and collect their planets. You’ve got two more challenges to make in the next few hundred years. Be ready to make them good ones.”

The glow in his helper’s eyes faded as the vorpal bunny sat back in his chair.

“Thank you,” Max said. “For the advice and being willing to give it as a friend and a helper.”

Jazzjak shrugged and smiled. “Thank you for listening and for the friendship. Now unless you’re wanting to pour me some more of that drink, I need to get back to work. Sog’s gambling enterprise is causing me some problems.”

“Problems?” Max asked.

“Yes… it appears that he is too successful, and some of his citizens are finding themselves… short on funds and addicted to gambling as he is… Which means there are a few demons who have taken it upon themselves to loan coins to other demons…”

“Wait, you’re telling me that Sog has crime in his capital?”

“Yes… not a full-blown problem yet, but I’ve seen it before. Don’t worry, we’re working on it. His plan to fix it… is unique.”

Laughter echoed inside his head as Max rubbed his eyes.

A demon with a gambling problem… oh, this should be comical.

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