Chapter 287

“Who is this one who stands behind you? Why does he have a collar, and how do you expect to keep me from taking him?”

Max tried to not interfere. It was getting increasingly difficult as the crowd grew to about forty-plus lizard people.

Before Aimee stood a lizard woman who wore bands of leather wrapped around her body and tail. It was adorned with multiple shards of the sand glass, each one looking sharper than any object he had held yet.

“I have already told you, One Who Pierces Your Heart, this one is with me. I owe him and must lead him to Quan Ma.”

Chuckles came, and a few thrums reverberated from the crowd.

“The rumor is you were sold as a slave, and now you have returned, leading one of his kind, bound in a collar, and you expect me to let him just leave?! Do not think that I will hesitate to end your life, or worse yet, make you blind like your mother while I drag him behind me to Igarra!”

Max watched as the one he had finally figured out was called Kaurma pushed herself against Aimee, towering over her by a few inches, making her move back in the sand.

“Do not do that again,” Max said, letting the growl in his voice be heard by all. “Touch her once more, and I will strip the hide off you like I did the demon cats.”

Every head snapped in Max’s direction, and a murmur came, all in that same language he couldn’t understand, but Kaurma scoffed, moving to the side of Aimee and bared her teeth at Max.

“You dare talk to me like that?! I will strip your skin and make our healer heal you over and over until you beg me to let you call me master!”

Max sensed the crowd beginning to back up, felt the daggers that were set in leather sheaths vibrate slightly as the woman appeared to be smiling.

Or maybe she is smirking.

“Max, don’t—”

He didn’t wait.

Before anyone could react, Max summoned an ice prison, and the woman’s eyes started to bulge as it crept up her legs and tail.

Shards of glass came free from her outfit, all moving toward Max in an instant.

His wall of air came before him, causing them to bounce off, watching the sand controller struggle to understand why they had stopped for a moment.

Each second had the ice rising faster, and Max summoned an ice spear, placing it near the woman’s face.

Her daggers began to move around the sides of the walls, causing the other lizard men and woman nearby to leap out of the way, trying to not get cut by the flying shards.

Max summoned a wall of stone and ice on each side, smiling as they buried themselves inside his protective barrier.

“My weapon won’t miss, and your time is almost up. Drop your daggers and surrender, or I promise you, I won’t miss.”

She hissed, retracting them from the walls and sending her shards of glass at him, causing them to chip off pieces as they collided.

A shape appeared behind him, rising from the sand, a scimitar in its hand.

Max spun, one hand grabbing the weapon hand, the other his attacker by the throat.

Eyes bulged from the male lizard, his red and black pattern of scales accentuating his yellow skin.

“She’s not worth it. You don’t want to do this.”

Squeezing his hand, Max felt the wrist snap, and he tossed the warrior back, sending him about fifteen yards and into a wall of a house.

Two daggers came around the back, and Max sighed.

His ice spear moved forward, piercing the heart and chest of the woman he had imprisoned.

Both of his hands came up, catching the glass blades, which sliced his skin, almost shearing his fingers off as he held them in place, slowing down their attack.

[ Regeneration ]

Suddenly the power behind them stopped, and a cold blast of power came through him.

[ Consume has successfully Consumed a skill ]

[ Would you like to learn [ Sand Mastery ]? ]

[ Yes / No ]

He wanted to click yes, but the thought of gaining a skill right now and not knowing how it might impact him made the choice to wait easy.

Gasps and groans came as the people around him backed away further.

“You killed her,” Aimee muttered. “She… she was so strong, and you… like she was a child.”

Dropping both shards of glass, Max watched as his blood dripped onto the brown sand. Soon the gashes sealed themselves, and any chance of not impressing Aimee more went out the window as she watched his hands repair before her very own eyes.

“I told her. She ignored me and then crossed the line.”

Max’s voice had no anger, but it carried the tone of metal on metal.

He scanned the crowd, dismissing the stone and ice wall.

“She had a chance, and she dishonored me and my friend. If anyone else would like to think they can keep me as a slave, let them try now.”

No one in the center of town where they had gathered moved.

“Good. Now before someone makes a mistake, let me say this. I plan on returning, and that woman,” Max said as he pointed at Aimee’s mother, “she is under my protection. If I find out someone has harmed her, I will hunt them and their family down, not stopping till each and every one of them is dead.”

Max heard his own voice and was surprised by how it sounded.

Why am I so angry?

Not allowing himself to show his confusion, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“We need to go.”

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Aimee nodded and moved to the dead woman. Digging through Kaurma’s clothes, she collected a small pouch that clinked, causing his companion to smile as she moved toward him.

“I’m ready.”

Nodding, Max held out his arms, and she jumped into them with a laugh.

“Remember,” he said as he slowly spun around, glaring at each person still there. “Hurt her and you will wish you had never been born.”

Like the wind, Max vanished, moving so fast many were not able to see him move.

***

“That was amazing!”

Max only nodded, frowning to himself inside.

Why… I reacted so quickly. Sure, there was only one choice, but if I had shown my power would Kaurma have backed down? Did I need to kill her?

A decision was still waiting for him, and Max slowed down before coming to a stop.

“Aimee, I need to do something, and I’m not sure what may happen. Let’s sit on this stone wall for a moment, if you don’t mind.”

The skin above her left eye rose a little but she nodded, letting him set her down on the rock Max had created from nothing.

Sitting cross-legged, Max closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Yes.

Pain like lightning came, and he fought to not flinch or quiver. Every fiber in his chest began to throb, and Max felt his heart racing.

Time moved differently, and a weird sensation inside him came to life.

[ You have learned Sand Mastery - Rare ]

Gasping for air, Max opened his eyes, seeing Aimee on her knees and watching him.

“Are you okay? You’re sweating a lot.”

Glancing at his chest and stomach, Max saw that he was covered in sweat. Not something he typically had to worry about, even in this heat.

“How long was I here?”

“Five minutes?”

Max nodded. He was glad he had waited.

[ Skill Description - Sand Mastery ]

*****

Sand Mastery - Rare Skill: The user has the ability to control sand. They may change its structure or keep its original form. Once modified beyond its original design, it may not be changed back. There is no limit to the size or shape of what one may design. As long as sand is available and the user has mana, they can construct walls and even buildings. Weapons may also be created and controlled.

*****

Reading the description a second time, Max wanted to test it out but couldn’t bring himself to. Doing so might tip off to Aimee his full power, and right now he preferred to keep that a secret.

Standing, Max cracked his neck and wiped off his chest with his hands.

“How much further?”

Scoffing, Aimee stood and shrugged.

“With how fast you run? Perhaps tonight. Usually, it takes two weeks or more for a group to reach Quan Ma. Even now, I’m surprised nothing has come to attack us.”

“I guess the gods like us,” he replied, holding up his arms and bending down some.

Laughing, Aimee jumped into his arms and pointed in the direction they needed to go.

***

Both suns were almost nothing more than yellow globes at both ends of the horizon, but Max already knew they were getting close.

Off in the distance he could see the tower, rising into the sky, not hidden by magic like it was on his world.

A sensation of excitement and also dread came over him as he considered what this might mean.

Could Fowl, Tanila, Batrire, and Cordellia be attempting the tower? I guess they wouldn’t wait forever for me.

Buildings began to appear before long, and Max started to slow down some as Aimee squeezed his shoulder.

Large walls constructed of solid black glass shimmered from the light of the setting suns.

“Slow down! We need to talk!”

Max nodded, coming to a stop and letting her down.

“Listen,” Aimee said as she stood between Max and the city, “I’m not sure what you’re expecting to find here, but I need you to understand. I have never been here, and I only know what my mother told me. The city is dangerous… well, maybe not to you, but to me. Power is everything. The weak suffer, and the strong… they do horrible things.”

She pulled out the pouch she had taken from Kaurma’s corpse and opened it slightly.

“We have enough tokens for a decent room and some food, but finding one will require us to go into the city, and you… you need to hide that collar.”

From inside her sleeve, Aimee produced one of the glass weapons she apparently had pocketed and began cutting at the fringe of her robe. Soon she had enough material torn off and motioned to Max to come closer.

He felt her wrapping it around his collar a few times, sliding it between his skin and the thing that took away his equipment.

I’m just glad that fool gave me a few items… Had I been sent naked out into the wilderness…

He shuddered, and Aimee paused and cocked her head.

“Did it hurt?”

“No. Sorry, I was just thinking about when it was first put on.”

Clicking her tongue, she nodded and continued wrapping the cloth, finally tying it in a knot around his neck.

Stepping back she made some weird face but shrugged.

“It will work for now. Perhaps we can find some material and hide it better. Something strong, though, that won’t be easily destroyed.”

“Thank you,” Max said, giving a slight bow. “I might have rushed in there like a fool, not thinking to hide this.”

Snorting, Aimee nodded.

“Now listen, when you slept last night, my mother told me more about the city. We need to work our way through the different rings. It will take time, but I have no doubt you can manage it.”

Max watched as she bent down and started drawing a small circle and then added multiple rings.

“There are seven sections within Quan Ma, and we need to advance through all of them. The first one,” Aimee stated as she tapped the last ring with her new weapon, “is the easiest. After that, we can find a room and start looking for fights. It will take money and fame to push past that second ring. In time… perhaps the fourth or fifth ring will present to us someone who can take that collar off you.”

Looking up at the suns that were fading, their golden light waning and the large moon now appearing overhead, Max knew time wasn’t his ally.

“If that’s our only choice, then I’ll trust you to take the lead.”

She nodded and frowned.

“We also need to get you a cloak. Some might not like seeing your smooth skin.”

Chuckling, Max nodded and pointed toward the city.

“Can I still carry you, or do we need to walk the rest of the way?”

“Just a little bit more, but eventually I’ll need to learn to walk again. You wouldn’t want to get accustomed to carrying me everywhere I go. That would look bad.”

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