Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion (Book 8) - Chapter 23 - There Are No Limitations Imposed

The Staging Room looked exactly the same as he’d left it. Stepping inside he took a moment to breath. Out of all the places he’d ever been, the Staging Room—without a party—was where he had the most privacy, especially when inside his time dilation field. There was a System Shop terminal on one side of the room and the door to the tower floors at the back of the room, plus a whole bunch of different training equipment.

Xavier released a long sigh and felt a surge of excitement run through him. As focused as he’d been about everything else, he hadn’t taken much time to actually think about what being able to enter any of the tower floors might mean for him—and not just for him, for everyone.

The moment he entered the Staging Room, a notification appeared—as he’d expected.

This is a System Announcement.

Changes have been made to the Tower of Champions. Changes that effect every Champion in the Greater Universe. As of now, all Champions will have access to every floor in the tower, no matter what their level is or how many floors they have previously cleared.

There are no limitations imposed.

The tower floors are not scaled to a Champion’s level.

There are no restrictions on who can party with whom, though parties must remain 4 members or less.

That is all.

Xavier blinked, staring at the abrupt ending of the notification. That is all. There wasn’t even any kind of warning.

He gritted his teeth, looking at the ceiling, staring through it and hoping to find the System out there somewhere looking back.

“You should put a warning on that notification,” Xavier said flatly.

The dragonkin stood there, head raised, waiting. A part of him expected a response. But of course, there was nothing.

The System may have interacted with him before, sent messages that he was sure were personalised—even had its lacky, the Voice of the System, speak to him directly—but that didn’t mean it was about to actually listen to him.

He released a sigh and hoped the other Champions out there—especially those newly integrated into the System—weren’t about to make any foolish decisions.

Xavier shook his head. Right now, he couldn’t think about everyone else. As far as he wanted his ideals to take him, what he’d told Adranial had been the truth. He wasn’t naive. He knew he couldn’t save everyone.

Other people’s choices were out of his control. The only thing that was in his control was what he did.

Xavier walked straight to the door to the tower floors and placed his hand on the handle.

Welcome to the Tower of Champions!

Please select the floor you wish enter.

Available floors: 1-1,000

Xavier stared at the available floors. The last floor he’d been on had been the one-hundred-and-fifty-fourth floor. It felt like a lifetime since he’d been there—and in fact for him it had been many—and what he’d done there… having his cores and so much more shattered.

He shut his eyes as a flash of pain, a powerful memory, assailed his mind, the memory strong enough that he felt the agony. Even if only for a moment.

“So, what are you going to do?” Roln asked, arms crossed, leaning against a wall a few feet away.

Xavier shook his head. “I hadn’t thought this far.” He let out a little laugh. “Though picking floor 1,000 does sound appealing. It would be nice to check it out.”

The mental construct blinked. “I can see all your thoughts and even I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”

Xavier was joking.

Mostly.

He couldn’t deny that his curiosity was piqued. The System prevented him from learning anything about floors he hadn’t ventured to. He couldn’t gain any information from people like Adranial. He ran a hand along the wooden door.

“I wish I knew…” He blinked, looked over at Roln.

The dead Wanderer raised his hands. “No.”

Xavier opened his mouth, stopped himself. He’d already discovered that the System didn’t appear to read his thoughts, and the mental construct was clearly protected from its view. He moved his communication into his mind.

What if you told me? You basically know everything, don’t you? What do you know about the tower floors in this universe? You were observing me here, after all.

Roln pursed his lips and looked away. “I know….” The mental construct sighed. “I know all about the floors.” He tapped a knuckle to his forehead, his brow deeply furrowed, his eyes clamped shut. “Which is weird, because I never remember learning anything about them. Not in this universe. You know, I think she placed this information in my head.”

Xavier knew the “she” the man was referring to. The Wanderer that had been the head of his faction when he was alive. The woman who’d put Roln in Xavier’s head in the first place.

She implanted memories into you?

Roln nodded meekly and wrapped his arms around himself. “I didn’t notice until this moment.” He lowered his head. “What else did she change?” he breathed.

Xavier frowned. He pulled his hand away from the tower door. You’re worried she changed you?

“Wouldn’t you be?”

I don’t think she changed you, Roln. She must have added those memories so you could aid me in the tower better, that’s all.

“Maybe. But you don’t know that woman like I do.”

I don’t know that woman at all. All I know is what she did to me—what she did to us.

Roln released a breath. Not a real breath, of course. He wasn’t actually there, but it was rather convincing. “Just because she put this in my head doesn’t mean I should tell you what’s on every single floor.”

Xavier raised his chin and considered that. The man—ghost, cluster of memories, whatever he was—was right. However… this was an asset he couldn’t ignore. He’d gotten creative with the tower floors in the past, and that was without going off information other people had.

Still… What if he did know more about the floors? Would that really hinder him?

He frowned as something occurred to him. The notification he’d received when he’d entered the Staging Room hadn’t said anything about breaks from the tower. With the freedom they now had accessing tower floors, he would have expected a mention about that.

He had more to say to the mental construct. He wasn’t through with that conversation. But he wanted to test something first.

Xavier had a hunch. He walked to the other side of the Staging room, opened the door, then stepped out. The moment the door closed behind him, he received another notification.

You have not cleared enough floors to receive a break from the tower.

Accomplish 10 full clears of any floor to receive a tower break.

Ten full clears?

He reread the notification. As he could choose any floor he wished, as far as he could tell this meant he could clear any floor and it would count. Hell, unless he was wrong, he could clear the very first floor ten times over to get his break from the tower.

Will it let me choose how long that break is?

Xavier felt another jolt of excitement. This new freedom over the tower was exhilarating.

Though it was time he actually took advantage of it.

Stepping back into the room, he stared at the mental construct, who hadn’t moved from his place against the wall.

I’m going to enter the thousandth floor, Xavier thought to the dead Wanderer, stepping confidently over to the door.

Roln, arms still wrapped about himself, simply stared at him. “That isn’t going to work, you know.” He tapped his forehead with his index finger. “I know what trick you’re trying to play.”

Xavier smiled. Then you know it isn’t a trick.

Roln frowned. “I warn you, I’ve never responded well to ultimatums.”

This isn’t an ultimatum. This is simply what I’m going to do, as I see no reason why I shouldn’t enter the thousandth floor.

Roln shut his eyes and released a sigh that echoed about Xavier’s skull. “Because if you enter that floor you will die in seconds! You’re not ready!”

Xavier stopped. He’d only made it midway through the Staging Room when the mental construct gave in.

I’ll die, will I? The fact that you told me that means one thing—you can give me information about tower floors I haven’t been on. The System isn’t able to restrict you at all.

“Of course it can’t restrict me. As far as it’s concerned, I don’t know I exist. Besides, I’m technically you as I only exist in your mind.” Roln sighed again. “You’re going to be annoying about this, aren’t you?”

You don’t have to tell me everything, Roln. Hell, I even agree that would be a bad idea. But I’d rather use the time I have here wisely. Tell me, what floor should I go to first?

Roln looked over at the tower door, his expression going blank, eyes glazing. Xavier wandered what the mental construct was thinking. It wasn’t fair that Roln could read his thoughts but Xavier couldn’t read Roln’s in return. “You should go to the eightieth floor,” Roln said.

Xavier frowned. The eightieth floor? I’ve already cleared that floor. Why clear it again?

He followed Roln’s gaze, looking at the tower door himself, and took a moment to think about the eightieth floor. That… that had been a memorable floor for him. He’d spent a good while there, at least in a time dilation field. He’d even summoned the Spirit of Time while he’d been there. And he’d spoken, at length, with a different version of himself.

That was where he’d laid eye on the World Destroyer.

He’d tried everything he could to defeat it, but he hadn’t stood a chance. Not back then. The World Destroyer was still on its way to the Silver River sector in his own universe. When Xavier was teleported into the tower, the last thing he’d intended to do was go back to a floor he’d already visited.

But maybe the mental construct had a point. Maybe it would be wise to enter the eightieth floor again. Face the World Destroyer in a different universe.

See how he measured up now that so much had already changed.

He started walking to the tower door again with exactly that on his mind, but stopped himself once he’d reached it, his hand almost touching the handle.

Xavier dropped his hand and looked at the construct. Why that floor? You still haven’t answered.

“Because you need to see what you can do, Xavier Collins.”

Xavier frowned again, more deeply this time.

The World Destroyer. It was a threat that had been looming over him for so long, with a time limit that had been breathing down the back of his neck. Yet with all he’d done recently, there was still a long while until he actually had to face it.

And what was Roln trying to show him? Did Xavier need to see, once again, just how big the gap was still between him and the World Destroyer? Was this to give him a sense of perspective—another push?

Or was it something else?

“Retracing old steps. Not what I thought I’d be doing.”

He’d asked for the mental construct’s advice, and because of that it seemed rude to ignore it. Xavier did as the man suggested.

He entered the eightieth floor of the Tower of Champions.

~

For the second time, Xavier found himself hovering in space across from a man who was and wasn’t him. A man who, in another universe, he might have become.

A man who wasn’t strong enough to face down what was in front of him, but was doing it anyway to give the people of Earth a chance of escape.

Xavier didn’t waste any time introducing himself to this other version. The moment he made it to this little section of space he brought the other Xavier into his time dilation field.

The man hovering across from him was C Grade, just as he was C Grade. The last time he’d met the man—though technically that wasn’t this man, as this was an entirely new alternate universe—Xavier had surely been the weaker of the two.

Now, it was no contest. This other Xavier was strong for a C Grade, but not in the same way.

Not even close.

Xavier didn’t feel like spending a long time chatting and convincing. So instead of going through all that he cast Willpower Infusion and took over… his own mind. Sort of.

Then, he fed the other man some memories.

Well, more than some—a lot of memories.

Memories that would help him become a far, far stronger version of himself. In their minds an introduction was made, and an understanding was reached. Though Xavier had taken control of the other man’s mind he’d also invited the other Xavier into his own mind.

He laid everything for this man bare. They’d seen into each other’s very souls.

When this exchange ended it was as though they both came out of a trance. The other version of him knew just about everything the dragonkin Xavier knew. They exchanged a simple nod, then Xavier created a portal for the other man. An escape from this place. The other Xavier drifted straight through it, knowing that no matter what happened here Xavier would get the people of Earth out of there.

Then, it was only him hovering in that infinite black. He doubted what he’d done for the other man would be “enough,” and doing what he’d done hadn’t even occurred to Xavier until he’d gotten there, but to him it felt like the right thing to do. Xavier had been extending vast amount of trust to people who were essentially strangers. Why wouldn’t he put even more trust into someone who was… well, him?

Whenever Xavier visited a tower floor, he always tried to empathise with the struggles the people there were going through. They may live in a different universe, one he would likely never visit again, but that didn’t mean he suddenly became heartless to their plight—though he knew that wasn’t the case for many other Champions.

For a moment, as he stood there after the other version of him had departed through the portal, he wondered if he’d been thinking big enough. All this time he’d only been focused on saving his own universe.

What about all the others? Who’s going to save all of them?

Focus, Xavier. Do not fall into the future and forget the present.

Roln’s words were strong in his mind. The dead Wanderer was wise, and Xavier heeded his words.

Xavier was wearing Force Armour—the very same Force Armour that had been given to him by the Empress Larona of this universe—so he was able to breathe out here in space. Thus, he took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then shook away thoughts of being responsible for the lives of everyone in every single universe out there.

In the emptiness of space ahead of him was the World Destroyer and its Soul Amalgamation. Xavier vividly remembered facing these entities. It seemed to him as though they were completely invulnerable. Throwing them into the sun, for instance, hadn’t done a damned thing. The Soul Amalgamation was resistant to mental control as it didn’t technically have a mind, or the mind that it did have must have been shared with the World Destroyer—the Devourer, as some called it. Honestly, he was a little sketchy on those details. It was also resistant to his spirit attacks. Spirits from the Otherworld bridged into this one had been turned into nothing and devoured by the beast.

If calling it “beast” was even the right way to describe it.

Xavier’s control over time dilation fields was far, far superior to what it had been the last time he’d been in this exact same position. Back then, the World Destroyer had pushed hard against his time dilation field, making it impossible for him to alter the size and shape of it. Xavier had made several breakthroughs because of the pressure it had pushed down on him.

This will be different.

He didn’t feel pressure from the World Destroyer at all. As far as he could tell, the beast had yet to identify him. The Soul Amalgamation was absolutely frozen in time.

Xavier cracked his neck and stared across the dark expanse at his two targets. He wanted to say he wasn’t afraid, but a trickle of fear ran up his spine, making him shudder at the thought of facing them. He’d built up the strength of the World Destroyer for so long it was hard to think he was already ready to defeat it.

Am I ready, Roln? Is that why you sent me here? Because I’ve already passed some threshold I wasn’t aware of?

Roln, though the mental construct had spoken only a moment ago, was curiously silent.

Xavier sighed. Of course. You’ll send me here but won’t give me any insights as to why. Wonderful. He drew Bones from the soul bound weapon’s sheath and contemplated his next move.

“Well, no point dallying. Time to get things started.”