Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion (Book 2) - Chapter 66 - Record Holder

Xavier returned to the Staging Room like a man on a mission, sprinting up the stairs with a sense of urgency he hadn’t felt since his body had been degrading. It turned out what he wanted and what he needed were two very different things. He wanted to linger on the last few floors and give his friends more levels. He’d thought that’s what they needed. Him to be there to help powerlevel them.

But he’d been distracted. Everything was feeling too easy, and that was a trap. Only a single day had passed since he’d returned to this place, but he needed to get back to Earth.

He no longer knew what to think about Sam. The man had treated him well, provided him with information—even if that information had never been entirely… complete. Maybe it shouldn’t have been too shocking to learn that a powerful, C Grade Denizen would want to rule his planet if they had the chance.

He wondered what it would be like if he were in that situation. He was the most powerful Denizen from Earth—that he was absolutely sure of. Yet he’d never really contemplated ruling Earth.

But he needed them to listen to him, didn’t he? Didn’t he need Earth to be stable, if he were going to help protect it? And Earth didn’t only need protection from invaders, did it? Since the first humans crawled out of the mud there hadn’t been peace on Earth. Hadn’t been one ruler able to provide order to the entire planet. There had always been war.

How would things change now, when killing another human gave them Mastery Points? When it actually made them stronger?

For too long, Xavier had been worrying about the outside threat, not the inside one.

The people of Earth need someone to rule it. I don’t think I’m the best person for the job, but I’m the most powerful, which means I have a responsibly to do something about it.

Don’t I?

The others looked startled as he burst into the room. They’d been sitting on their loot boxes, speaking with one another. Howard was the first to stand. “What did you find out?”

Xavier strode past the man and headed straight for the doorway to the tower floors. “Honestly? Not a whole lot. The threat’s real enough that the most powerful Denizen in our sector is worried. A C Grade empress who can see the future. Apparently, she’s been looking for me to solve the problem.”

“You?” Siobhan blurted.

Xavier was an inch away from grabbing the doorhandle. He turned. “I’m surprised too.”

“I’m not,” Siobhan said. Her face was red. Then again, her pale skin reddened easily. “I mean, consider what you’ve already achieved. If anyone could become strong enough…”

Xavier smiled. Some of the tension released from his shoulders. Not all of it, but a little was better than none. “Glad you think so.”

“When?” Justin asked. “When is this threat coming?”

“I have no idea,” Xavier said. “But we can’t linger here any longer. We’re heading back to Earth. Then, on our return, I’m blasting through these floors as fast as possible. Alone.” He grabbed the handle. “I’ll need every title we can get.”

He didn’t say what else he was thinking. Yes, he would need them to be strong when they returned to Earth, but he didn’t have time to be the one to make them strong. Not at the expense of his own development. Which meant the titles they were going to get over the next few floors, and the extra levels they’d just gained from farming this floor, were going to have to be enough.

“Are you all ready?” Xavier asked. When they got to the floor, the others wouldn’t need to do anything, but they needed to all enter the floor at the same time.

“We’re ready,” Howard said.

“Then let’s do this.”

Xavier entered the sixth floor of the Tower of Champions.

He materialised atop the mountain, the tall stone goblin keep visible the moment he arrived.

Soul Strike!

He infused almost 2,000 souls into the spell. Energy flowed through him and out of Charon’s Scythe. White lightning shot forth, the jagged bolts extinguishing all shadows from existence in the immediate area.

The soul apparitions materialised. Goblins, moving through the air as though they could fly, heading toward their own. The instant he saw it, Xavier couldn’t help but realise he was using the souls of the very goblins that were in that keep—even if they were from an alternate reality, they were technically the same goblins.

I can make their own souls turn against them…

That kind of power was… intoxicating.

The floor boss—whatever it was, for Xavier had not bothered to set foot on the top floor of the goblin keep—died at the same time as every other enemy. He’d been prepared to Soul Step to the top of the keep to finish off the floor boss with a slash from Charon’s Scythe, but he was glad that such a move wasn’t necessary.

Xavier let out a breath as the notifications began to appear.

Congratulations! You have cleared the Sixth Floor of the Tower of Champions.

Party Member Contribution:

Party Member Contribution:

Xavier: 4,000/4,000 Kills.

Howard: 0/4,000 Kills.

Justin: 0/4,000 Kills.

Siobhan: 0/4,000 Kills.

No shared attributions apply on this floor.

Title Unlocked!

Fifth Floor Climber: This title has been upgraded. You have cleared the Fifth Floor of the Tower of Champions, and shall be rewarded.

You have received +12 to all stats!

Note: the title “Fifth Floor Climber” has been stricken from your soul.

Title Unlocked!

Solo Tower Climber 6: This title has been upgraded. You have cleared a floor of the Tower of Champions by yourself. You are either very brave or very stupid for attempting such a feat. Know that whether this feat was achieved through sheer skill or unbridled luck, you shall be rewarded.

You have received +48 to all stats!

Note: the title “Solo Tower Climber 5” has been stricken from your soul.

Title Unlocked!

1st Sixth Floor Climber: Out of Champions from five competing worlds, your party is the first to clear the Sixth Floor of the Tower of Champions within your instance.

You have received +30 to all stats!

Note: As you have a similar title, “1st Fifth Floor Climber” has been combined with this title and shares its stats.

Title Unlocked!

Sixth Floor Ranked 1 – RECORD HOLDER (Completion Time – 2 sec): Out of all the Champions from all the worlds in the Greater Universe who have completed the Sixth Floor of the Tower of Champions in every possible instance, you have completed it in the fastest time.

This title is a Temporary Title. If your record is edged out of first place, your title will be turned into a normal top 100 title.

If your record is edged out of the top 100, your title will be lost.

You have received +80 to all stats!

Note: As you have similar titles, each has been combined with this title and shares their stats. You may still view the previous titles and your standing on the leaderboards, if you will it.

In 1 minute, you and your party will be returned to the Staging Room.

Xavier’s body shuddered. Another threshold had been passed. His Speed was now at 4,041. God, he felt good. He took a deep breath. He’d gained far more titles when he’d finished the last floor, but every title he’d just gotten here would help him.

“Time for the next floor.” Xavier didn’t wait for the countdown timer to finish. The gold he would get from the goblins here simply wouldn’t be worth it for him. Not when he could create gold if he really wanted to.

He walked straight past a bewildered looking prince and the man’s soldiers. The prince—whom Xavier hadn’t even bothered to learn the name of—tried to thank him as he passed but he kept walking. He wasn’t trying to be rude, he just had places to be.

In seconds, he was back in the Staging Room. He looked around the place. The others were probably waiting for the countdown timer to reach its end before the System returned them here.

The loot boxes were in a circle. He didn’t expect much from them. They barely gave him a single E Grade Mastery Point last time, despite the fact that he’d done something no one ever had before in defeating the Lord of the Endless Horde.

He looked at the record-breaking title.

I cleared that floor in two seconds. That’s twice as fast as I cleared the fourth floor.

It was difficult to feel proud of his accomplishment this time around. The goblin keep had been… far too easy. His party could have completed the floor by themselves, without his help.

Xavier couldn’t help but remember the difficulty he’d had on the first floor. When he’d almost died. But the first floor had only been difficult for him because he’d been moving through it so fast, trying to obtain a title. Now, it didn’t matter how fast he moved through the floors. They were easy, no matter what titles he was able to gain.

I need another challenge, and I’m not going to face one until I’m back on Earth.

He walked over to his loot box, undid the latch, and threw it open.

You have gained 2 Mastery Points (E Grade).

You have gained 150,000 Lesser Spirit Coins.

You have received 2 Communication Stones.

Xavier frowned. He’d expected to gain more skill points. He still had two waiting to be used—none of the skills he’d found appealed to him right now, and he wasn’t in need of any particular skill. If a challenge came up that he couldn’t get through, then he would find an appropriate skill to help him.

Two Mastery Points, he supposed, were better than one. He was now 3 percent of the way toward his next level. God, that was moving slow. When he’d been pushing to Level 100, gaining levels had become incredibly easy.

As easy as slaughtering countless E Grade enemies…

He supposed he would come across E Grade enemies again soon enough.

More Minor Spirit Coins always helped.

It was the Communication Stones he was most interested in. The others arrived as he was staring down at them.

“What are those? More Portal Stones?” Siobhan asked.

Xavier shook his head. “Communication stones.” They’d appeared in his hand the moment he’d opened the loot box. They were blue crystals, each the size of a grape.

{Communication Stone – Restriction: Sector}

A Communication Stone has the ability to form a mental connection with two people, allowing them to communicate telepathically over distances both great and small. Once a connection is established, the stone can be used while inside spatial storage.

The power of this Communication Stone is restricted to a single sector and does not allow users to communicate with other sectors.

A Communication Stone is useless if it is not paired.

“Interesting,” Xavier said, then told the others what it did.

Justin rubbed the back of his neck. “It sounds useful. But, back on Earth, wouldn’t we be able to communicate with phones and radio?”

Siobhan shrugged. “Assuming those even exist. May I have a look at one?” Xavier handed her a stone. She examined it closely. “This will be far more effective tactically. Could you imagine being able to communicate with someone telepathically while in the room with another? You could easily communicate in secret.”

“It would be good in a fight, too,” Howard said. “A way to communicate without giving away anything to the enemy.”

Xavier took back the Communication Stone when Siobhan offered it. “The fact it can work sector-wide is fantastic, too,” he said, cocking his head to the side. “Makes me wonder who else has things like these. I guess it wouldn’t work once someone stepped onto a tower floor, as that’s whole different universe.”

The Communication Stone made him think of Sam. Did the man have one of these? A direct line to his empress? He looked at his party members. Should he give one of the stones to one of them? What about his mother, when he returned to Earth? Assuming he was even able to find her…

Maybe I’ll be able to decide when I’m back on Earth. There could be someone there I need to communicate with.

He blinked, a realisation coming to him. “Do you think someone from Earth would be able to communicate with us here in the tower?” He began pacing, juggling the stones one handed. “If they were able to communicate with us, we’d be able to know what was happening on Earth even while we’re stuck here. We’d be able to come there prepared. We will have to return to the tower after our break on Earth, after all.”

“It’s definitely worth trying,” Howard said. The man looked over his shoulder at the door to the next floor. “Are you going to push forward?”

“Get your loot first.” Xavier nodded toward the boxes. “Then yes. Onward to the next floor.”