Free Ultimatum: The Proving Grounds by Wade Adrian Page A

one.
    Tim was the first to appear beside him. “Well, that was a hell of a thing.”
    Toby nodded.
    Amos and Jesse followed. The ranger knelt down and started poking at the goblins.
    “Oh, score.” His hands came up holding a thing made of leather and scraps of fur. “Who wants a hat?”
    Jesse gave Toby a mild glare with narrowed eyes.
    “What?” He glared back at her.
    “We use similar gear. Wanna roll on it?”
    Paul and Claire showed up last. The tank raised a hand. “We should give it to Tobin, he needs-”
    “Yeah, yeah.” Jesse crossed her arms. “But we all need gear, and it doesn’t seem like he’s so fragile as you feared.”
    Toby shrugged as he looked her over. He had a chain shirt along with his leather armor and fur mantle. She had nothing metal on her. Just leather and pelts. “Take it.”
    She shook her head. “No, no. We need to be fair about this. We should roll on it.”
    Amos muttered. “Claire and I can wear it, too…”
    “Oh please, as if either of you would be caught dead with a rotting animal on your head. It’s clearly meant for we outdoorsy types.”
    “I am a ranger. I practically define outdoorsy types.”
    “Yes, but it’s visibly unrefined. You have such nice and clean armor.”
    “I really don’t care how I look. Stats are important.”
    “Hush, now. The adults are talking.”
    “I am older than both of you!”
    She ignored Amos as she held up a closed fist before Tobin. “Best out of twenty.”
    He shrugged. “Shoot.”
    She shook her fist as one does with dice, though she hadn’t taken one from a pouch or anything. The game just seemed to understand her intent. More of the gesture reading. She opened her hand and a twenty sided die fell from her grasp.
    He was concerned it would be lost in the grass under their feet… but it struck a glowing flat surface that appeared about a foot off the ground.
    Seventeen.
    She raised an eyebrow at him.
    He mimicked the gesture, completely sure nothing would happen, but a die appeared when he opened his hand.
    Five.
    She smiled and cheered. “Awesome.” She held out her hands to Amos. “Gimme.”
    “Not-uh.” He shook his head and a closed fist. He opened his hand and a third die landed on the flat surface.
    Fifteen.
    Amos’ shoulders slumped. “God damn it.”
    Jesse stood with her arm held out to Amos, her hand opening and closing repeatedly.
    “Yeah, yeah.” He handed her the hat.
    She wasted no time plopping it onto her head. Her blond hair, still containing a few sticks and leaves, stuck out around the edges. “Victory!” She held up her hand, her fingers making a V.
    Paul shook his head. “Yes, yes. We’re not done here, though it looks like we cleared out the north end. Lets press south to the center and see how everyone else is doing.”

7
    There were a few more items to distribute from the pile of dead goblins. Paul got a set of bracers and Claire ended up with a belt. Both were plate and had stats weighed to the given class, so no arguments were necessary.
    Apparently Toby had been getting money each time a goblin died. He’d had no idea. It was just appearing in his inventory.
    Strangely enough, the money had weight. That was kind of uncommon. It had been a few years since he needed to bank money to move around… but he was glad upping strength would ease that requirement. He was going to up strength anyway, after all. The more things it benefited, the less he could feel he needed to only spend on stamina.
    He pondered whether or not he would drop money when he died… only to realize the answer didn’t matter. He only had one shot. There was no respawn.
    The other parties were still fighting to the south. The goblin camp was holding them at bay rather effectively.
    They kept on toward the fight, readying their weapons.
    Tim scoffed as he pulled his hood a bit lower. “They’re afraid of dying. Taking no chances.”
    Paul shrugged. “What’s wrong with that?”
    “It’s not going to help us win.