Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion (Book 6) - Chapter 33 - A New Core

Xavier always felt like there was more to do than he had time for.

Which was funny, considering he could practically stop time entirely. He would have killed to have an ability like that back before the System integrated Earth.

He remembered having that fantasy, more than once—oh, the things that he would have been able to accomplish…

Now that he had that power, he was taking full advantage of it.

Xavier knew he’d had the ability to unlock his core for a while now, but he had procrastinated unlocking it for one main reason—a insight he’d gained from using his Otherworldly Communion spell.

When he’d been gaining his first few levels since arriving at the Hell Moon Thazamar, he’d been thinking heavily on the time he’d unlocked his Willpower and Speed cores.

Willpower Infusion had become a staple of his fighting style, but these days he was aware that not every Denizen gained the same spell when they unlocked a core. There were many dozens of different spells one could gain when unlocking a core. Every Denizen, assuming they moved through enough grades, will unlock all their cores and gain a spell from each.

If they all gained the ability to control others and stop time… Well, let’s just say Xavier was glad there weren’t a load of other Denizens out there that shared those two traits.

Originally, Xavier had thought unlocking a core early would be to his strongest advantage. It would mean he could be cultivating energy from that core earlier. But, thinking of the spells he’d gained, he’d wondered if there was any way to influence the acquisition of a better spell the next time he unlocked a core.

That was why he’d sought guidance.

The Otherworldly Spirit he’d summoned had been some strange humanoid dog. They had white fur and dark red eyes. They’d worn what appeared to be a monk’s red robe—almost like a Buddhist robe—and they’d been floating in the lotus position, hands resting on their knees.

The spirit had informed Xavier that the stronger his attribute was when he unlocked the core, the better the spell that would be available to him. He still wouldn’t have an opportunity to choose a spell—there were too many factors, too many variables, for such a thing to be possible. Even twins who’d been trained the same way since they birth and had both taken on the same classes and put the same points into each of their attributes, then unlocked their cores at the same level at the same time might not unlock an identical spell.

Which, if he were honest, baffled him.

He took the advice of the spirit, however, as he knew with the Otherworldly Communion spell, those spirits he asked questions of couldn’t lie to him.

After leaving the tavern, Xavier entered the Staging Room. Sam had been staring at him. The man clearly wanted to talk to him. Xavier wanted to save that conversation for later. There had been fear in the barkeep’s eyes—he’d heard everything Xavier had said.

He knew the threat to the sector was only three years away.

Adranial hadn’t been down there. The others had told him they’d seen her and her party periodically visiting the tavern. They were still dutifully informing Champions about the different tower floors, just as their contract said they would.

Xavier sat cross-legged in the middle of the Staging Room’s floor. The Staging Room had become even larger than the last time he’d been here. He was starting to realise that must be a reflection of the floor he was up to.

He hadn’t touched the door that led to the next floor. Not yet.

Xavier rested his hands upon his knees and closed his eyes. Meditating and cultivating were things that came naturally to him after all this time. He could slip into a meditative state at any moment, even in the middle of life-threatening combat. And he could cultivate in every moment if he wished to.

He focused inward, on the different pathways within him. He’d been doing this for a long time with Body Cultivation, and he found that every single one of his pathways was as familiar to him as the back of his hand.

Xavier had actually had to hold back on discovering his next core.

There had been a few times when he’d almost stumbled upon it by accident. He’d created mental blocks within him that stopped him from examining certain areas within him. They weren’t things that would last forever—he could remove the blocks easily enough—but they’d gotten the job done.

Xavier systematically removed each of the blocks he’d put in place and suddenly felt as though he could breathe a little more easily than before. A smile drifted onto his face at the feeling, like taking off a heavy pack after a long hike.

He already had his Spirit Core, his Willpower Core, and his Speed Core unlocked. If he were honest, he wasn’t even sure which core he wanted to unlock next—not that he was able to influence it. Strength would be a good one for physical fighting. Toughness would no doubt give him some sort of tanking ability. And Intelligence… Whatever spell that gave him was liable to be powerful.

Taking a deep breath, Xavier got to work.

It took him mere minutes to unlock the core. Even as powerful as he was, Xavier didn’t know which one it would end up being until it happened.

He knew that his actions influenced the choice—at least, that was the prevailing theory—but what actions were they, exactly? When the notification came, he felt a sense of excitement. He would have felt that no matter which core he’d unlocked. This was another step along his journey toward possessing ultimate power.

Unlocking this core would help him get to C Grade.

He read the notification that appeared with a smile on his face.

You have gained +100 Intelligence!

You have discovered your Intelligence Core.

Spell Quest Unlocked: Recursive Analysis.

To unlock Recursive Analysis, you must:

1. Cultivate 10,000 points of Celestial Energy into your Intelligence Core, turning it into Intelligence Energy.

2. Successfully cycle 10,000 points of Intelligence Energy through your Intelligence Core.

Progress:

1. 0/10,000

2. 0/10,000

Inside of him, his Intelligence Core was revealed. He released a long breath as he could see it clearly in his mind’s eye. The core had always been there, and now that he had revealed it, his body felt more… Right.

More whole.

The notification he’d just read, however, caused a deep frown to settle onto his face. The Spell Quest he received named a spell he’d never heard of before. When he thought of an Intelligence-based spell, he imagined something that would make his magic more powerful, or his mind more powerful.

This didn’t sound like that.

He’d read the names of thousands of different spells in his research, and he couldn’t ever recall coming across one that had this name.

Xavier could either sit there contemplating what the spell was, or he could get on with it and start cycling Celestial Energy through his core.

He did the latter.

Cultivating wasn’t something difficult for him. He didn’t need to contemplate the universe or the dao or his navel or anything like that. He simply needed to move the energies of the universe through his body. It was a simple and yet complex act. At first, it had required all his concentration. Now, though it was still tremendously complex, it was almost a natural function of his body—like his heart pumping blood through his veins.

The sensation was a familiar one, and though he’d never before consciously interacted with his Intelligence Core, all the cultivation that he’d done in the past made this part easy.

It only took him a few minutes to unlock the spell.

Congratulations, you have completed your Spell Quest and gained the spell Recursive Analysis!

Xavier’s frown turned into a grin. He might not know what the spell was, but he was about to learn. In his time walking the different paths of power, he’d found just about any spell could be turned into the ultimate weapon if used correctly—though some spells were far more versatile than others.

He was optimistic about this one.

Recursive Analysis – Rank 1

Recursive Analysis gives the user the ability to infuse Intelligence Energy to the air with the express purpose of “catching” an enemy spell. This lends the Denizen the ability to break down an enemy’s spell and temporarily learn that spell.

Xavier’s jaw dropped, his eyes widening to an almost comical amount.

This was not the type of spell he’d been expecting to learn, but in a way… It made sense. Xavier had a class that could learn any spell, and in the past few months he’d started to unlock the secrets of the patterns that formed a spell when it was provided by the System.

This spell—Recursive Analysis—giving him the ability to learn enemy spells… It would open a huge number of possibilities for him in combat.

It also made him wonder what “catch” meant in this context. For instance, would “catching” an enemy spell negate it? He doubted it would—that sounded like a whole different spell—but he was eager to find out.

He recalled the enemies he’d fought in the past, and wondered how much easier things might have been if he’d been able to use their own spells against them.

Xavier shot up from his sitting position on the ground. He’d been intending to review his different attributes and spells and titles before he stepped onto the next floor of the tower, but he couldn’t help himself—he had to experiment with this new spell.

It was the only thing occupying his mind.

There was a part of him that wondered if he should contact his old party members. They might still be in the tavern downstairs. Maybe he could spar one of them, practice catching their spells in a controlled environment…

Only, that wasn’t what he wanted to do. Besides, he didn’t think he would be able to party with them, not now that he was so far ahead of them in the tower.

Xavier strode across the room, to the door that would take him to the next floor, and grabbed the handle.

He was being impulsive, he knew—but he also knew he could handle whatever was on the other side. When Xavier touched the handle, a familiar notification appeared.

Open Floors:

Floors 20 through 99 of 1,000.

Floor 100 of 1,000.

Which floor would you like to enter?

Twice in a matter of minutes, Xavier’s jaw dropped.

When the System had transported Xavier to the hundredth floor, he’d just finished the nineteenth floor. That was where he’d been ambushed by the Voice of the System.

That was where everything was changed on him—it was also when he learnt about the end of the universe, and that he was expected to be the one to stop it.

But now, the System was telling him he could go to… Any of the floors that he hadn’t completed? The floors that he’d skipped—that had been skipped for him? Like it was… Returning what had been taken from him?

Why was it allowing him to go back to those now, when it had forced him to skip them in the past? It didn’t make sense—not if the System wished him to take on more challenges…

Completing those floors won’t be any kind of challenge.

Was this some sort of test? He shook his head—no, the System didn’t seem to test him. When it wanted something from him, it wasn’t particularly subtle.

Perhaps it isn’t a test. Perhaps it’s a reward.

Or maybe… Maybe there’s something on those different floors that will be valuable to me—something that I need to learn…

Xavier didn’t have the answers. Maybe he never would. He found it interesting that he could choose which floor to go on next. That was a type of freedom he’d never experienced before in the Tower of Champions.

Well, at least I’ll get those titles I missed out on.

Xavier selected the twentieth floor.