Max’s halberd tore through the spider's leg, hacking a four-foot-long section off. This caused the spider to stumble for a moment, and as the leg came down again, another section was cleaved off.

The spider let out a screech, freeing Fowl from the fangs that had him wedged between them.

The dwarven warrior fell twenty feet, crashing into the ground with a massive thud, but Max didn’t see that as the rage had him focused on one thing. Killing the damn twenty-two-foot spider.

The spider started to turn but couldn't put the leg missing an eight-foot section back down, and Max forced himself to override the rage. The skills upgrade allowed him to think momentarily, and he focused on the plastron above him.

Leaping from the ground, he shot at it like he had been fired from a catapult, blasting towards and then through it, holding his weapon out before him.

An ear-shattering shriek came from the spider as it was knocked upward, and Max found himself inside the creature's body, pressed in on from every side.

Time was ticking down on the berserker buff, and Max went to work. His strength was unstoppable for a few more seconds, and his blade tore through the creature, slicing its connecting ligaments and organs. The skill kept him from being overwhelmed by the darkness and smell, while his sonar skill kept him informed of his position.

With two seconds left, Max fought back the rage and forced himself to go upward, carving a hole in the top of the spider's body as it danced around. The spider's legs created massive holes and threatened the lives of his allies beneath it.

His vision returned to normal, and Max tried to take a deep breath of air, only to suck in the gore and ooze that was all around him. There was a hole above him where he had managed to puncture the top part of the spider’s carapace.

Gagging, Max stored his halberd and tried to swim through the creature's hacked-up innards. He finally made it to the outer shell, grasping it with both hands and wiggled his head out.

He spit out a mouthful of innards, grimacing at the taste, and took a deep breath, thankful he could finally breathe.

The creature was going crazy, spinning around and trying to figure out how to remove the pain inside it.

Smiling, Max knew what to do next as he started casting his fire area-of-effect spell. When it went off, the creature's innards erupted in flames, blowing out guts through the holes at the top and bottom of its body. The force threw Max up and out, landing on top of the boss as it started to wobble.

An explosion against the side of the boss caught Max’s attention, and fire swept over its body. Max smiled, realizing Tanila had joined the fight, as more spells began to slam into the boss’s carapace.

Running to the midsection of the boss, Max took his halberd out of storage and drove it down into the carapace. A small crack appeared, and the boss began to thrash side to side, attempting to throw Max off it. Instead, Max grabbed onto one of the many long hairs that ran along the boss’s body.

Driving his weapon down again, the impact shattered part of the carapace and created a hole. Max grinned, seeing it was big enough for what he needed.

Storing his weapon again, he put his hand inside the hole and powered up a lightning blast. Pouring most of his mana into it, he unleashed the spell and was immediately thankful he had held the spider's hair tight as its entire body began to shake and spasm.

The stench of burnt flesh filled his nostrils, and Max decided to go for broke once more.

Right before he could cast the spell again, the boss tipped sideways, and Max saw a colossal ice spear lodged in the place where its eyes should be.

The boss continued to fall over as Max held on tight, preparing for the impact against the ground.

Its body slammed into the earth, sending up a huge cloud of dust while also creating a shockwave that sent dirt and stone everywhere.

Max found himself flying toward the dirt as the hair he had been holding onto for dear life snapped.

[ Regeneration ]

Slamming feet first into the ground, Max cried out in pain as his left leg snapped from the angle and speed he hit.

A wave of healing came over him, and his regeneration also helped. His bones moved back into position and fused together.

Panting, he stood up and moved to where he knew Batrire and Fowl were.

[ Regeneration Canceled ]

“You all ok?” Max shouted as he joined the others.

“We’re fine!” Batrire yelled back. “Did you kill it?”

Max realized the boss was actually dead when he heard the question.

“It had to be Tanila. I didn’t get anything from it.”

“Holy elf tits, you missed out!” Fowl said as Max arrived next to them. “I gained over half a level from that damn beast.”This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“I won’t complain,” Max said with a slight sigh. “I would have liked to see what I would have gotten, but everyone living is the best thing. Besides, your armor looks a bit–”

“Holy dwarf balls!”

They all turned toward Tanila, who was approaching them, drawn by their voices as the dust finally settled down.

“What?” Fowl called out. “You need to see my blessed ones?”

Tanila arrived, her face covered in sweat, and Max could tell she was almost out of mana.

“Sorry… I killed it,” she said, frowning.

“It’s fine. Better to do that than let it eat Fowl again.”

The three of them chuckled while Fowl snarled. “What was worthy of talking about my balls?” he asked.

Tanila’s eyes widened, and her face lit up as she remembered why she had cursed. “Quick, come this way and see why!”

They followed her around the hulking corpse, and as Max got closer, he spotted an object on the spider's underside.

“A key!” Fowl shouted. “A goddamn key!”

“I think that’s worthy of that curse,” Max teased as he gently bumped Tanila.

Some crashing sounds came, and the four of them turned, looking at the burning forest as the fire continued to spread. More trees fell over as they succumbed to the destruction Max and Tanila had unleashed.

Without waiting, Max ran and jumped onto the massive spider's corpse, feeling its body crunch under his steps. He ignored the hole where Tanila had sent a spear through its head.

The key was about a foot longer than the one they had gotten from the skeleton boss, and it gave off a dark glow.

Grabbing it, Max stored it, then quickly moved back to the rest of the party.

“Now what?” Fowl asked as the four of them stood together.

“Harvest those fangs!” Tanila said. “If we make it out of this, those will probably be something Everett would trade his kingdom for.

“Harvest its fangs,” Fowl repeated in his best imitation of a female elf voice. “Looks like you and I are up, warrior boy.”

Max nodded and pulled his weapon back out of storage. “You two rest and try to recover. My lackey and I are going to see what we can do about getting these things off.”

For about five minutes, Max hacked with his weapon, over and over, around the spider's mouth. Fowl screamed like a frightened dwarf when the fangs suddenly moved, coming in on each other after Max hit some nerve.

Not stopping his attempts at hacking the creature to bits, Max promised to not tease him about it too often.

When they finally got the first one free, Max lifted it up, amazed at how massive it was.

“That thing has to be worth something,” Fowl declared. “I mean, it didn’t even chip when you hit it.”

Nodding, Max stored it and turned to start on the other one when Batrire whistled at them.

“We got four spiders incoming! Normal ones!”

Fowl put his helmet back on and groaned as he pulled his shield and hammer out of storage. “Looks like I get to be bit again.”

Max nodded, pointing at the warped section of Fowl’s armor. “It's a good thing she didn’t kill you when she gave you a kiss.”

“She? How do you know it was a female spider?” Fowl asked.

Laughing, Max jogged to where their two teammates awaited them. “That’s easy. No guy would want to kiss an ugly mug like yours.”

Fowl laughed and moved into position as he located the four spiders Batrire had called out. “Well, protect me from these four. I can’t handle being treated by all these female spiders wanting a piece of me.”

Batrire groaned as she recast the buff spell on the party. “Stop yacking and protect us, you fool. I’m the only one dumb enough to want to kiss you.”

With the second fang in his storage, Max looked at the fire they had started. It was dying down, and only a third of the trees had been engulfed. Two-thirds of the trees were still left to burn, but Max began to consider a possibility he saw.

“You three want to try something stupid?”

“More than normal?” Tanila asked, turning her attention to where Max was looking.

He nodded and pointed at the trees they had set fire to first. “I think it might be safe to go in there and push into the woods that way. If the fire has burnt out, we could try traveling through the burnt area instead of staying here. We might be able to find the exit and, hopefully, the chest that key goes to.”

Fowl shrugged and looked at Batrire, who only winced once before nodding.

“I guess it beats worrying about getting eaten,” Batrire declared. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Max laughed and tapped the ground with his foot. “An army of spiders gathers here, and we have to face them?”

“It was a rhetorical question, you moron,” Batrire replied. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”

Smiling, Max moved next to Tanila.

“So my berserker upgrade is a little better. I can fight against the rage for a moment, but it does come with a cost.”

Tanila looked at Max and realized he had never shared what the upgrade actually did. “What does it do now?”

[Skill Description - Berserker]

*****

Berserker - Uncommon Skill: When activated, your strength and attack speed will double for fourteen seconds, but you will be consumed by rage. Tactics and self-preservation will be lost unless the user has a strong will and can briefly focus their attacks. When the user adjusts their focus, the strength and attack speed bonus will be reduced by half. If the target is killed before the effect ends, the duration will reset, and the closest enemy will be chosen as the new target. There is no limit to the number of times the duration can be reset. May only be activated once every twenty-four hours.

*****

“Wow… that is huge. Four seconds more, but also being able to think? How does that work?” Tanila asked.

Max checked part of the area as they neared the edge of the woods, holding his hand out toward the ash-covered ground. “It’s not too hot. I think we can go through.”

Stepping on the ash-filled dirt, Max slowed down and waited for Tanila to rejoin him. “I’m not certain, but I think my intelligence and wisdom being as high as they are allow me to do that. It also made me think about how my… whatever inside me was able to control it.”

Tanila grunted and shook her head. “We really need to name that.”

“My skill?”

She nodded and tapped her chin for a moment. “A good name. Something that will strike fear in all the other skills we encounter.”

Max could see the grin Tanila had. “What are you thinking?”

“What about Bob?”

Roaring with laughter, Max nodded. “I like it… Bob.”

A growl of displeasure came from inside him, but Max just shook his head. “I’m not certain Bob is happy about that name.”

Both of them started laughing as they walked through the smoldering remains of the woods.

“Elves and humans are weird,” Fowl whispered as they followed a few yards behind Max and Tanila. “Who the hell laughs like that while walking through a burnt-down forest?”

Batrire nodded and shrugged. “Crazy humans and elves.”

They both chuckled and laughed.

“We’re crazy too for following 'em,” Batrire said, “but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”