Free Tier - Accidental Champion (Book 5) - Chapter 65 - Class Grafting

Class Grafting was more sinister than Xavier expected it to be, though he supposed it was all in the name.

It required two things—a skilled Inscriber, and the corpse of someone whom you wished to “become.”

At the first instance, Xavier couldn’t help but be repulsed by the idea. He was no stranger to killing, but seeking someone out in such a way…

“There’s a black market for these sorts of things,” Alexic had told him, back when he’d been in the war room in Collinsville.

“What… Buying corpses?” Xavier had replied.

Though the System Shop bought up the corpses of beasts all the time and sold them as well, it didn’t buy up the corpses of Denizens—despite, according to Alexic, there being plenty of uses for them.

“Best you find someone with a class you can actually replicate in some way.”

Xavier had nodded at the former spy. That made sense. He was able to walk a number of different paths of power. It should be easy enough to simply pick one of them and go with that—something that wasn’t too unique.

Creating portals and stopping time was too passive. Reaping souls too indicative of who he truly was, and summoning spirits from the Otherworld… Well, that was a dead giveaway.

He considered taking on the persona of a mage and using his Heavy Telekinesis spell for just about everything, but there was a better way. He could wield any kind of weapon he wished, and his soul bound weapon—Lost Bone of a Dead God—could shift into more than a scythe-staff.

It could shift into a sword, as well. And when it did, it didn’t look too unusual.

And so, Xavier decided his fake identity would be that of a sword-wielding warrior.

He still hated the idea of walking around pretending to be someone he wasn’t, but he’d let go of any scruples in doing so.

Rhaalir was right. There were powers out there far greater than himself. Stepping out into the sector wasn’t like being on a floor of the Tower of Champions, in an entirely different universe.

This was the only way to get the target off his back.

“A warrior. Well. That shouldn’t be hard to find. Though it should be at least D Grade,” Alexic had told him.

D Grade.

Much harder to get on the black market. At least, harder in this sector, and travelling to a whole different sector just for someone’s corpse wasn’t in the cards. It was far too expensive, not to mention risky.

Besides, why pay for something he could go out and get for free? It was certainly something distasteful, tracking down a D Grade Denizen just for the use of their corpse to hide his own identity, but Xavier had no shortage of enemies in the sector. No shortage of powers that would gladly try to take him out given the chance.

And if he could use someone’s soul to his own advantage, why couldn’t he use their corpse, too? It’s not like he hadn’t done it before with his Soul Puppet spell.

Yes, stepping out into the sector just to make himself a target was the exact thing he was trying to avoid, but it was exactly what he needed to do in this instance.

That was where Famarial came in.

The elf had made his safe way back to Earth after being at those hunting grounds where the Elite Hunt Squad had found Xavier.

Now, standing in the man’s penthouse apartment, Xavier watched the elf squirm on his seat.

“It’s good to see you alive, Xavier!” Famarial said. “When I saw those C Grades were after you, I thought you were a goner for sure. I kept checking the contract, waiting for it to be broken, but it never did.”

Xaiver tilted his head to the side. “Were you hoping it would break?”

Famarial’s eyes widened. “System Above, no! This deal we’ve got going on only works to my advantage, and seeing how strong you’ve become…” He cleared his throat. “So, what can I do for you this time? Don’t want me to be your guide again, do you?” There was clear trepidation in Famarial’s voice. Xavier could feel the fear wafting off him.

“No, nothing like that.”

Famarial sagged in his chair in relief. “Oh, good. Not that I didn’t have fun showing you around, but that target on your back… It is proving to be far larger than I’d first thought.”

“It’s that target I’d like to talk about.” Xavier took a step forward. “Kylina. The information broker. She’s the reason I was found.”

Famarial’s eyes widened. “And I… I introduced you to her.” The elf swallowed, growing pale—more pale than he already was. “Have you come to kill me, Xavier?”

Xavier blinked. “What?”

“A mistake I made put your life in danger. Do you wish to forfeit my own life as payment?” The elf sounded oddly resigned, as though he’d been expecting something like this his entire life.

Xavier frowned at the elf. “No. I don’t want to take your life, Famarial. The mistake was more mine than it was yours.”

Famarial, who’d hung his head, glanced up at Xavier. “You… You don’t?” He seemed to take a moment to digest that fact, then, his mood shifted entirely. He smiled and clapped his hands together. “Then I would be happy to help you!”

Xavier smiled. “I’m not so sure that you would.” He started pacing around Famarial ’s apartment. He couldn’t help but notice that the beautiful elven women who usually attended the elf weren’t there this time, which made Xavier wonder if Famarial had truly thought he would kill him.

An elf’s honour is a different thing to that of a human’s, Rhaalir said. The elf spirit stood in the corner of the large room. He spoke unbidden, almost as though he could tell what was going through Xavier’s mind. Even this elf has ghost of the honour of a true high elf.

Xavier frowned at the spirit, who was invisible to Famarial, wondering what he meant by true high elf. Were they a different race of elves? Orr was it simply a caste thing? Famarial glanced in the corner with a frown of his own, no doubt wondering what Xavier was looking at.

“What would you have me do?” Famarial asked.

“I need you to speak with Kylina again—but this time, I need you to get her to sign a contract. There’s information I want shared, but I only want it reaching the ears of those I choose. Is that something she can do?”

Famarial opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, all without saying anything.

“You look like a fish breathing. What is it?”

The elf sighed. “She can do that, but she can’t restrict the information once it reaches whoever you want it to reach. Besides, she might take issue with what you want.”

“She almost got me killed because of the information she leaked about my whereabouts. Why would she take issue with this?”

Famarial inclined his head. “I should have seen that coming, though I didn’t know you had people as powerful as that after you—you seemed not to worry about being a target. I followed your lead. Had I known—”

“Again, Famarial, I don’t put any blame at your feet.” Xavier paused. “You’re saying she was fine putting information out there that endangered my life, but she has scruples when it comes to this?”

“Information brokers, though not a homogenous profession, often comprise people who are ambivalent about the information they share, and the consequences of sharing that information. Leaking something might get someone—or a lot of someones—killed, but they don’t deem themselves responsible for that. All they did was share the information. It’s up to whoever pays for it to decide what happens to it. You, on the other hand, want her to hand the information straight to one of her enemies. The information is tailormade to trap someone. Isn’t it?”

“This gnome has a strange set of morals…”

“Who do you want the information reaching?” Famarial asked. “Perhaps there’s another way to do this?”

Xavier kept pacing around the elf’s large penthouse apartment. The floorboards creaked beneath his weight. As strong as he’d become, his muscles incredibly dense, his bodyweight had increased significantly. He hadn’t bothered standing on a scale to find out just how much he weighed, but he knew that it was impossible for a normal human to weigh as much as he did now.

These old human buildings weren’t designed for someone like him.

“The Bellaran Federation Council and the Tri-World Imperial Army.”

The Tri-World Imperial Army, Xavier knew, had a bone to pick with him after the mess he’d left on one of their army bases. If he turned up on another world, off Earth, they most certainly not hesitate to take him down. He was pretty sure the Bellaran Federation Council felt just about the same.

Famarial raised an eyebrow. “Quite the duo. Aren’t you worried they will both come after you at once?”

Xavier shook his head. “That’s exactly what I’m hoping for. I think I can kill two birds with one stone. Acquire what I need to acquire, while giving the sector another message.”

Famarial looked off in the distance for a moment. “She will do it. I think. Yes. I can convince her. Unless… Do you wish to seek retribution against Kylina?”

Xavier had thought about that. From one perspective, the gnome had betrayed him by supplying his location to The Collector. On the other hand, Kylina had just been doing her job. Having this happen taught him a valuable lesson.

“No. Tell her doing this will make us even.” Xavier told the man the information he wanted passed on, and that he wished it to be done as soon as possible.

The elf nodded and stood. “I’ll attend to this immediately. Do you wish to make yourself comfortable? I foresee that I will only be gone an hour. Two at the most. At this time of day, Kylina should be easily contactable.”

“No. Contact me when it’s done. I have things I need to attend to.”

Famarial nodded. He started to walk out of the room when Xavier stopped him.

“Oh, and Famarial?”

“Hmm?” the elf replied, stopping in the doorway.

“Make sure she signs a contract this time.”

Famarial gave a weak smile. “Of course.”

Xavier portalled out of there before the elf stepped through the doorway.

There was someone he needed to talk to—and something he wanted to set in motion. He thought, perhaps, that he would in fact be able to kill three birds with one stone.

Xavier stood over a dungeon entrance. The entrance was non-traditional.

It was… A coffin.

He had been here before, though it felt like a long time ago.

{The Deathly Dungeon}

Level Restriction: None

Level Recommendation: 30+

Active instances possible: 1

Only 1-4 Denizens are allowed to enter this dungeon at once.

Dungeon Record Holder: Xavier Collins

Dungeon Repeats: Unlimited

Would you like to enter The Deathly Dungeon?

Xavier smiled.

It had been a while since he’d seen the Great Romalda Heralda. What better person to gain advice from about defeating a B Grade than someone who’d been B Grade before the System put her in this dungeon?

Yes, Xavier willed, answering the System notification’s prompt.

Xavier appeared alone in a large, cold stone room. The air in the room was still. Flames burned in braziers along the walls, somehow adding no warmth to the freezing cold of the room.

This was a mausoleum. The walls had small squares of stone with what looked to be runes inscribed in them—marking for the dead who resided within.

Xavier wondered if Romalda would send her minions to attack him. She should be able to sense that he was here. Should have a way of seeing through the eyes of her minions and know that it was him.

Suddenly, every single one of the crypts burst open at once, stone flying every which way.

Xavier scanned the first of the undead to climb out of its crypt and raised an eyebrow—the undead minion was stronger than before. Which was strange, as the level restriction on the dungeon had remained exactly the same.

“There’s no need for this, Romalda. It’s only me,” Xavier called out to the empty room.

But he didn’t hear anything in response, and the undead minions began to close in.

Xavier released a long sigh. He tilted his head to the side, an idea forming. He rested a hand on his Companion Cube.

“Come forth, Volkarin.”

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