Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion (Book 3) - Chapter 64 - Lowbies (Patreon)

Howard, Justin, and Siobhan took Xavier’s plan rather well. On the surface, his plan to powerlevel others from Earth looked almost like he was cutting his friends out of getting first-clear dungeon titles. And, in a way, that’s exactly what he was doing.

But they didn’t seem to feel as strongly about it as he’d suspected.

“We have enough titles,” Howard said. “Though I’m not trying to speak for Justin and Siobhan. Like you said, Xavier, the people here need to be strong, otherwise they won’t be able to face what’s left behind when we’re forced to leave.”

Siobhan dipped her head in a nod. “Honestly, if you hadn’t suggested something like this, then I was going to.”

Xavier raised an eyebrow at the healer. “Really?”

“Is that such a surprise?”

Xavier shrugged. “I know how I’d feel if I lost out on those first-clear titles.”

“It’s different for you,” Justin said. “Yeah, we all want to be strong. Yeah, I’d love to have those titles. But for us… we don’t have the same weight you’re carrying.”

Xavier considered that for a moment, then nodded. They were right. He was in a very different position to the three of them. Besides, apart from him, they were already the three strongest Denizens on Earth. Simply because they were associated with him, they had an unfair advantage that no one else in the world—or even the entire sector—could dream of having.

“Then I need to get started now.” Xavier looked at the others, his gaze resting on each of them for a second before passing to the next. “I trust you three can start gathering together the returning Champions? Or at least making contact with as many of them as you can?”

“We’ll need more radios,” Howard said, then frowned. “Them Communicators, I mean.”

“Looks like a visit to Famarial is in order.” Siobhan said with a smile.

“You like pushing that elf around, don’t you?” Justin remarked.

Siobhan shrugged. “The guy makes it easy.”

“Who will you be powerlevelling first?” Howard asked.

Xavier tapped his fingers on the table. He’d decided John Hammond would be his first recruit, but he should bring two other people along with him. Unless he was going for grabbing a solo title for a dungeon, it was a waste to bring any less than a full party of four. “John, for starters.” He smiled. “And Melissa. I think she deserves to come along, after what she went through.”

After they’d saved Justin, Xavier had had a conversation with Melissa. She’d confessed to him that she had chosen a different moral faction to them. The three moral factions everyone from Earth had been able to choose had been: fight for your world; fight for yourself; and fight for chaos. She had chosen the second. At the time, hearing her say it had made him shift in the seat.

He realised the reason she’d come with Xavier and the others to save Justin on another world was mostly so that she could get them to feel indebted toward her. It was a transactional favour, but… it was also very brave, and it was something he could understand.

She wanted to be a part of what they were doing because she knew it was the safest place for her to be, and where she would have the best opportunities to become powerful.

Knowing her motivations made him trust her. As long as being on Xavier’s side was what was best for her, she would always be there.

I just have to make sure that always stays that way.

Justin bit his lip. “What about Allegra?”

“Allegra?” Xavier blinked. She wasn’t from Earth and hadn’t been Xavier’s first choice. But she wouldn’t be snagged by the Tower of Champions like they would… still, he wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. “Do you think that’s wise?”

Justin nodded. “I do.”

“The woman abandoned her world. Turned her back on her own people. Even fought them,” Howard said. “How do we know that we can trust her? What if she does the same to us?”

“She could sign a contract,” Siobhan offered.

Justin shook her head. “I don’t think that’s the best way to get her on our side. Also, she turned her back on her people because they weren’t treating her right.”

Justin interlocked his fingers together on the table and stared down at them, his forehead creasing. He had been spending a great deal of time with this Allegra, so as far as Xavier could tell the woman was a few years older than him. But, in a few more years, Xavier supposed that wouldn’t make much of a difference.

“She didn’t have to save me. She didn’t have to save the captives back in that invasion camp, either. Didn’t have to go to you.”

Howard smiled. “You sweet on her? Is that it?”

“I think she’s got a good heart,” Justin said, his words barely above a whisper, his face going red.

Xavier didn’t push the issue. He just nodded. “I’ll have a chat with her. See what her intentions are. She earned a great deal of trust, helping us save you.”

“You wouldn’t have been able to do it without her,” Justin said.

“That’s true. We wouldn’t have. Still, I’m not making any promises. Not yet at least.”

Justin nodded. “I understand. The fact you’re considering it is enough.”

Xavier slapped the table lightly. “All right. Meeting adjourned. I’ll go have a chat with Allegra, then find John and Melissa.”

~

Xavier found Allegra outside the walls, hunting beasts with three citizens from the base.

Xavier was hanging back, high up in a tree, watching the fight go down. She had a few other people from the base with her, and when he scanned them, he found that all three of them were lower level than here.

Allegra Pescatore stood slightly to the side of the fight, flanking two large wolves. The beasts in this forest seemed to grow in power with the inhabitants. Scanning the two wolves, he found them to be Level 15. Not high, certainly, but Allegra was the only one strong enough to take them down. She was Level 25, while the other three people with her were Level 4, 6 and 8.

He frowned. They seemed far too weak to take on two large wolves, but he didn’t want to intervene. It was clear they had a plan here. The other members were two mages and a warrior, all still too low level to have chosen their second class.

The wolves each had several shallow wounds which were pulsing blood and puss at an unusual rate. Allegra’s sword had a dull green sheen.

Some kind of poison spell?

The wolves weren’t just wounded, they were weakened. They moved incredibly slowly, their swipes looking pitiful.

The mages attacked from afar. One sent a fireball. The other a telekinetic push. The warrior swept in and thrust his sword at one of the wolves.

When the three low-level members of the party had each landed at strike on the beasts, Allegra came in and easily finished the job, then she released a sigh. She nodded at each of the others—all of which had gained a level. “That was great work, you three. You’ll all reach Level 10 in no time.”

Xavier smiled. He hadn’t realised Allegra had been taking on the responsibility of levelling up the citizens of his base. She’d stepped up without him even asking her to. Maybe Justin was right about her.

He dropped down from his perch atop a high branch, startling them all. Except Allegra. She simply smirked. Had the woman already spotted him up there? That was impressive, given their level discrepancy.

“Lord Xavier.” Allegra lowered her head in a small bow.

Xavier chuckled. “Lord. I like that.” He shook his head. “But just Xavier is fine.” He put on his serious face. “Allegra, I thought the two of us could have a little chat.”

She raised an eyebrow, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. “Of course.” She looked at the others. “That’s enough training for the day.” She aimed her next words at Xavier. “We’ll need to escort the three of them back to the base. They won’t be safe out here alone.”

Xavier nodded. “Perhaps they can go ahead, and we can keep an eye on them and chat while we walk. Nothing will be able to sneak up on them with our Aura Sight.” Though Xavier still had a month in this place, he was beginning to realise just how little time that really was. He didn’t want to wait until they were back at the base to have this conversation.

When the others were out of earshot, Xavier figured he’d just be blunt. If anyone could be straightforward and cut out the small talk, it should be the most powerful person on the planet.

“Can I trust you, Allegra?”

The woman blinked. “Have I done something to make you think that you can’t?”

Xavier smiled. “That’s not an answer to my question. But fine, I’ll bite. No, you haven’t done anything to make me think otherwise, but I also don’t know you all that well. So far, everything you’ve done has worked well in your favour.”

Allegra frowned. “That’s why most people do things, in the hopes that it will work out well for them. But that doesn’t mean it would have. When I helped bring Justin into that invasion camp, there was no real benefit to me. When I saved your people from remaining captives of my former world, I was risking my life in the process. And when I helped you get Justin back? That could have easily ended up differently.”

Xavier nodded. “Still. What happens when me and the other members of my party aren’t here anymore? In a month’s time, we’ll be back in the Tower of Champions.”

Allegra smiled. “Ah. I see. You’re worried what I’ll do when you’re gone? Don’t worry, I’ll be on my best behaviour.” She cocked her head to the side. “But something tells me my word alone won’t be enough. Do you want me to sign a contract to that effect?”

Xavier considered it. Justin had said making her sign a contract might not be the best way to go, but contracts were bound by the System. They were the best way to guarantee trust, weren’t they?

Maybe. But I haven’t signed any contracts with the other members of my party. I don’t need contracts to know that I trust them, or that I have their loyalty.

He’d certainly come to understand that Adranial’s approach to the Greater Universe—contract or kill—had merit. But he also knew that it shouldn’t be the only way to make new friends.

“Would you consider signing a contract?” Xavier asked.

The woman sighed. “That would heavily depend upon what the contract was. I don’t like the idea of being stuck in this world taking your orders if something goes horribly wrong, or you start doing thing I disagree with.” She shrugged. “I’ll help you protect this place but I’m not going to needlessly die for it. If I had signed a contract to follow every single order I received on my old world, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

“That doesn’t fill me with comfort, considering you betrayed your old world. What happens if you find a better world to go to, and you want to betray this one?”

Allegra shrugged. “I don’t really see that happening.” She let out another sigh. “Look, I get that you’re worried. I’m not one of your people. I’m an outsider. But I like it here, and I want to protect this place. I’ve seen the way you treat your people, and it’s the way I want to be treated. If we had someone like you back on my planet, well, let’s just say I wouldn’t have been so keen to leave.” She motioned to the people ahead of them, the other members of her little party. “If I didn’t care about what you were doing here, I wouldn’t have been out here babysitting lowbies.”

“Lowbies?”

“Back home, it’s what we call low-level Denizens without military experience. A lot of military are low level, but we’ve been training for years—both before we reach System age and after it—so we can be a part of invasion forces for new worlds when they crop up.”

“Lowbies,” Xavier said again, testing the word. It reminded him of the word “newbies.” Strange how the universe worked that way. He shook his head. Refocused. “So, again, can I trust you?”

“As long as you keep treating me and your people right,” Allegra said. “Then yes. And while I’d rather not sign a contract to take commands from you, we can do a quick truth contract, so you see that I’m not lying.”

“That does sound like a good idea.” It wouldn’t be the first time they’d made a truth contract. It was the only reason he’d trusted her about what had happened to Justin, after all.

When the contract was made, she repeated what she’d said, and Xavier was set at ease.

Maybe he could gain some true loyalty from this woman, just as he had from others.

“Now, something tells me this isn’t just about you and your party leaving for the Tower of Champions in a month. Why did you actually want to speak with me?”

Xavier smiled. “I want to powerlevel you.” He tilted his head to the side. “How does that sound?”

Allegra’s eyes widened. “That… that sounds amazing.”