Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion (Book 2) - Chapter 75 - Leverage

Stepping into the tavern always felt like stepping into a different world. Xavier breathed in the smell of mead and ale and beer. Felt the warmth of the many fires burning. He closed his eyes and let it all settle over him for a moment.

Then he strode over to the bar. There were a few parties scattered at different tables. He noticed some of the Champions nudging at each other and gesturing toward them—and they weren’t all people he recognised. Word about what he’d done must have gotten around. The money he’d given Sam had certainly gotten used, as almost every party within the place had on decent gear.

Well, that’s a good sight to see.

A few of the men and women he passed nodded his way. He nodded back, feeling a little awkward doing so, and hoping none of them approached him. He wasn’t totally against talking to them—he didn’t keep to himself near as much as he used to—but he didn’t have time for idle chitchat.

“How are you faring?” Sam asked.

Xavier was still a little frustrated with Sam after their last conversation. He didn’t like the fact that his boss—the most powerful Denizen in the entire sector—would rule Earth if she could.

But he’d also had a bit of time to think on it, and part of him… understood better now why she might wish to do that.

Earth needs order.

Though he would never let a foreign invader be the one to give it that order. And he figured he had enough leverage over her right now to ensure that would never happen.

“We’re about to enter the tenth floor,” Xavier replied.

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Already?”

“I’ll be honest, it feels like a long time coming.” Xavier ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He glanced over at the other parties. Howard, Siobhan, and Justin would be down soon—they were only a few minutes behind him—to give out information about the last few floors.

Not that these people will need it any time soon.

“What brings you down here?” Sam asked.

Xavier rested a hand on the bar, tapping his fingers against the smooth wood. With his other hand, he summoned the Sanctuary Seed, Seed Garden, and Portal Hub, placing each side by side on the bar.

“I’ve got a few questions about these items.”

“Whoa.” Sam gave an incredulous chuckle. He gestured toward the Sanctuary Seed. “May I?” He had a great big grin on his face.

“As long as you don’t steal it from me,” Xavier said.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Sam snatched the item up and turned it around in his hand. His gaze slid from the Sanctuary Seed, to the other items on the bar. “How’d you manage this? They can’t all have been loot box rewards?”

Xavier remembered when he’d asked about the Sector Travel Key. Sam had told him that normally, a key like that was most definitely not a reward Champions would usually get this early on in the tower.

“These extra rewards… the System is preparing me, isn’t it?”

Sam nodded. “It certainly seems that way. I’ve neverseen someone rewarded by the System to this degree. Not in all my years.”

Xavier touched a hand to his Storage Ring. Though he had a few questions about the items, there was something else he’d recently been thinking about. “When I go to Earth, invaders of one level higher than myself will be able to travel there.”

Sam made a “hmm” noise and waited for him to say more.

“What happens to those Denizens when I get sent back to the tower?”

Sam frowned. “They remain there. If they leave your planet, then try to return while you’re away, they’ll be killed. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise they get to stay without any repercussions.” Xavier sighed. “I was worried about that.”

Sam placed the Sanctuary Seed back on the bar and locked eyes with him. “You need to be very careful on your return. Whatever you do, you cannot let the enemy know what level you are.”

Xavier sighed. “I don’t plan on leaving any of the enemies I encounter alive to report back, but… what if they’re able to communicate telepathically? What if they somehow get a message off in the middle of a fight? They won’t be able to scan me or feel my aura unless I drop it, but if they survive long enough to see how much power I wield, they’ll know I must be a much higher level than I should be.”

Sam rapped his knuckles on the bar in a constant rhythm and seemed to be gritting his teeth. He glanced to the side, as though checking if anyone was there. Xavier was getting used to this kind of behaviour from the man. He always looked a bit squirrely whenever he wanted to tell Xavier something he wasn’t supposed to.

The barkeep leant forward over the bar. “There may be ways to block the types of communications you’re talking about.”

Xavier frowned. “Block communications?” That was new to him, but he supposed it made sense. It was both a good thing to hear in the context of what they were talking about, and a bit worrying. If he could gain this ability, wouldn’t others be able to do the same? “And something like this might be available in the System Shop?”

Sam shrugged his shoulders and picked up a bottle of whiskey. He poured Xavier a glass and put it in front of him. “It’s possible. Though something like that is liable to sell fast. And, honestly, most people who acquire such an item don’t do so to sell it.”

Xavier nodded. Now he worried he wouldn’t be able to find this item, and even if he did, something that rare must be very expensive—likely outside of his price range.

I’ll get Siobhan to have a look in the System Shop.

The door to the tavern opened just as he had that thought. Siobhan and the others stepped in. They nodded at him and Sam. Siobhan and Justin made their way to one of the parties sitting around the tavern while Howard stopped by the bar to get drinks. When Howard stepped away, Xavier and Sam resumed their conversation.

“I have a question to ask you, Sam.”

Sam chuckled. “You always seem to.” He waved his hand in a circle. “What’s this one?”

“Are you allowed to leave this tavern?”

“I am.” Sam paused. “But not for long.”

“Are you able to quit this job of being our caretaker?”

“Why, you trying to get rid of me?” Sam asked with a grin. Then he frowned. “You’re not trying to get rid of me, are you?”

Xavier put up his hands. “No. Not at all. But…” He sighed. “I’m worried about Earth.”

“Are you asking what I think you’re asking?”

Xavier raised his chin. “Would you be able to travel to Earth? Help protect it while I’m in the tower? I’ll be sent back there soon, but then the tower will just yank me back out again…”

Sam poured himself a drink. Took a hefty sip. “Few problems with that ask. One, I’m not supposed to provide that kind of help.”

“While working at the tower,” Xavier said. “But what if you weren’tworking at the tower anymore?” He took a sip of his own whiskey. “You’re only working here to look for me, after all. And, well, you’ve found me now.”

Sam frowned. “Part of my job is seeing how you do here. Through the whole of the tower. Not just the first ten floors.”

“Part of your job is to earn my trust. I mean, isn’t it? Why else would you warn me against being so trusting? Why else would you be up front about what your empress would do with Earth if she could? I know what you’re after—what your empress is after. The sector is in danger. You think I’m the solution to that.”

Sam raised a finger. “That’s above my pay grade. The one I serve, however—”

“I think you know what I mean, Sam. You want something from me. I want something from you.”

“I can’t travel to Earth. I’m too high level. Besides, I’d need a portal.”

“What level are you?”

Sam looked into his drink. “I’m not at liberty to share that information.”

The barkeep tilted his head to the side. “But I suppose I would be able to travel to Earth soon enough. When you’ve gained, say, fifty levels…” The man winced, touched his jaw, as though he’d just felt some pain. He looked up at the ceiling.

The words “the System is Watching” suddenly entered Xavier’s mind. It certainly seemed to have just punished Sam for that little slip.

“All right. And if I were to get high enough level, would you travel to Earth? Protect it?”

Sam frowned. “I’m an envoy of my empress. If I travelled to Earth, I would be an invader, not someone there to help. Surely you understand that? The only way I’d even be able to get there is if she sent me. I don’t have the kind of resources to make a trip like that myself… and you would need to be on Earth at the time for me to do it.”

“No,” Xavier said. “You can’t come as an envoy. And I’d want System contract signed to that effect.”

“You’re asking for a lot here, and not really hearing that I’m saying I can’t do this.”

Xavier thought about what the empress wanted of him. Thought about how long she must have been at this long game of hers. With or without Sam, or the Empress’s help, Xavier wanted to save his sector from whatever danger would one day befall it. When he’d heard of the danger, he’d already known that’s what he would choose to do. To him, it wasn’t even a choice at all. It was simply… his duty. He felt that in his bones. Felt it in his soul. He couldn’t stand by while such a thing happened. He couldn’t simply flee the sector and look for greener pastures, even if that might benefit him and keep him safe.

Keeping himself safe wasn’t his primary goal.

“Talk to your empress, Sam. Tell her what I want, and why. I know what she wants from me, and if she’s going to get it, she can’t simply sit on the sidelines while my world gets invaded. And she can’t take it over, either. Right now, Earth is my top priority.”

Xavier still had questions. About the Sanctuary Seed, the Seed Garden, and the Portal Hub, but part of him wanted to turn around and walk out. Instead, he took a steadying breath followed by a sip of his drink.

“Now, what can you tell me about these items?”