Accidental Champion - Chapter 33 - Like Swinging A Heavy Barbell (Patreon)

Xavier Collins took up the Spirit Staff of Might. The staff looked rather different to the wooden staff he’d first received when he’d chosen the Basic Mage class.

The moment he’d accepted the purchase of the staff, it had appeared in his hand. And… it felt right. He’d felt the boosts it offered him the moment he’d wrapped his fingers around it.

The staff was still made from wood, but the wood felt inherently different. It had a weight to it that didn’t make sense to Xavier in anything but metal. Like the wood was denser than it should have been.

Is that a property of the wood that it was made from? Some kind of magically heavy tree in an enchanted forest in a galaxy… a fair distance from here? Or was that heaviness infused into the staff during the crafting process?

Were a normal, unenhanced human to have picked up this staff, they would have struggled to wield it. It would be more like swinging a heavy barbell around than a fighting staff. He supposed that’s why it required 40 Strength to wield. As Xavier had 62 Strength, he found wielding the weapon to be a breeze, and looked forward to what kind of damage that heft could do to an enemy.

He wondered how Siobhan would fair with it. Wondered if she would even be able to pick it up, given she wouldn’t have the requisite stats to do so. How did the System restrict someone from using a weapon they weren’t ready for? He supposed he could have simply just handed it to her, but he found he didn’t want to let it out of his grasp.

Like a musician with their instrument, it felt wrong to hand it to someone else, even for a moment.

The wood was a dark brown that was almost black. He could feel the grooves in it when he ran his hand along the shaft, unique as a fingerprint. At the staff’s head was a crystal just like his previous staff, but where that one had been clear—unless he’d been casting a spell—this one was silver. It glowed slightly, reminding him of the silver sheen that enveloped his body when he cast Spiritual Trifecta upon himself.

The crystal was roughly diamond shaped—like two triangles attached together—and looked rather sharp at the point. Could this be used to cut the enemy? Even penetrate armour? It wasn’t a spear, but something told him it could be wielded like one if he wished. He wondered if his Staff Mastery skill accounted for that.

The staff was also longer than his last one. Perhaps eight feet tall. It was almost ridiculous, but he knew he would grow to appreciate its reach.

Now that he’d purchased the staff, he couldn’t see the stats and other boosts it offered him. I really need to purchase the Identify skill. But he could see the changes it made to his stats.

Xavier brought up his stats, seeing if he could fiddle with the settings of how they appeared. Ever since he’d gained Staff Mastery, he should be getting a +5% boost to his Speed when wielding the staff, but he’d never seen that reflected in his stats before.

Now, he realised if he willed it, he could make that information appear in several different ways. He tilted his head to the side, deciding to put any stats modified by a percentage into brackets beside the stat. He also found that the percentage modified stats that were boosted by equipment. He’d wondered if it might make a distinction. Which meant the extra Intelligence he’d gained from his equipment—5 from his Robes of Intelligence and 5 from his Spirit Staff of Might—got boosted by the +5% to Intelligence received from his Magical Potency skill.

That must be another way rich Denizens gain such a huge advantage. I only filtered for weapons I could afford. I imagine there are very pricey weapons that need even less stats than this one to wield, but could even offer more advantages and boosts to the wielder.

He made his equipment stats appear exactly where his normal stats would, simply adding to the total number like his titles did. Happy with how he’d set it out, he looked at all his information—attributes, titles, spells, skills and all.

XAVIER COLLINS

Age: 20

Race: Human

Grade: F

Moral Faction: World Defender (Planet Earth)

Class: Basic Mage

Level 6

Strength: 62

Speed: 53 (56)

Toughness: 70 (74)

Intelligence: 69 (72)

Willpower: 62

Spirit: 76

Mastery Points until next level: 29200/48000

Available Spirit Energy: 7000/8200

Available Skill Points: 0

Free stat points remaining: 0

Titles: Bloodied Hands, Born on a Battlefield, Settlement Defender, Quester, 100 Stats, First to 100 Stats, First Defender of Planet Earth, Lesser Butcher, Survivor, First Floor Climber, Solo Tower Climber 1, 1st First Floor Climber, First Floor Ranked 42

Spells List:

Spiritual Trifecta – Rank 3

Heavy Telekinesis – Rank 3

Skills List:

Staff Mastery – Rank 1

Physical Resistance – Rank 1

Magical Potency – Rank 1

Lesser Spirit Coins: 1,415

It was the first time Xavier had taken a proper look at his stats since he’d received all the titles from finishing the first floor, and he had to say… he was impressed. With all those titles, his new robes and his new staff, not to mention the two skills he’d just gotten, he felt more ready than ever.

If this is how strong I am now, how strong will I be once I clear the tenth floor? That’s when they would complete the first mission and be able to return to Earth. At least, for a short time.

For a moment, his mind wondered. When I entered the first floor, it said it was one of a thousand. Will we have to clear all one thousand floors before we can fully return to Earth? And if we do have to do that… how much stronger will I be by then?

He gazed at the door, then up at the ceiling. One thousand floors… And if he earned a title for each of them? I would become unstoppable.

Xavier gripped the new staff tightly. He already felt like he’d spent far too much time in the Staging Room, even though he knew they were well ahead of any other team. He was itching to enter the next floor. His heart beat faster as he anticipated it.

How many levels will I gain this time?

Without hesitation, Xavier stepped up to the door. He looked at Howard, Siobhan and Justin. He had an idea. “I don’t know what this floor will look like, but if we can…” He bit his lip. “I won’t have time to loot everything I kill.” He touched his Storage Ring. “Nor will I have the space to store everything. But the three of you…”

Siobhan smiled, excitement clear in her eyes. “You want us to trail behind you?”

Xavier nodded. “Only after I’ve slain the monsters. And, well, you might not be able to keep up.”

Howard hefted his new tower shield, his forehead creased. “I suppose we’ll have to get used to being outside a Safe Zone, as there’ll be floors without ‘em soon. But what if we get in some danger? If we so much as hit an enemy, you’ll lose your solo bonus.”

Justin glanced between Howard and Xavier. He leant forward, cleared his throat. “And, you know, we don’t want to die. Don’t forget that part.”

Howard gave Xavier an intense look. “He’s not going to let us die.” The man tilted his chin up. “Are you?”

Xavier looked at the floor. He didn’t want to put them in danger, but he couldn’t think of a better, more efficient way to loot the floor than having them trailing behind him, doing it for him. It would save him a lot of time, which he would need if he was going to get into the top 100 again. But if one of them were in danger, and he had to move backward to save them… it would mean a loss of time.

He raised his head. “I’m not going to let any harm come to any of you. Only move forward if it’s safe. I’ll kill everything in my path. Head back to the Safe Zone if you have to.”

Siobhan nodded. “It’s the least we can do for you.”

Xavier smiled. Glad she was onboard. Though he still felt a little guilty, thinking about the fact that he was risking their lives by asking this of them. But if he put things into perspective… Everyone’s lives back on Earth are at risk. I’ve gained these titles, and it would be selfish not to do the best I can with them.

The second floor looked entirely different to the first. The party had been teleported to the middle of a small, cozy cavern. The walls were rough, jagged rock, and dirt fell to the ground when they brushed against it.

The ceiling was covered by some odd-looking glowing moss that was enough to illuminate the place in an eerie, green light. Xavier wondered what would appear if he had the Identify skill.

The cavern was their Safe Zone. Xavier had to say he preferred the last one. But it wasn’t as though he would hang around. He walked straight toward the archway leading out of it. At his back, there was the door out of the tower.

The wooden door looked strange in the cave. A part of him wondered if he should get a lay of the land before attempting this floor, as it would give him a better chance of clearing the floor fast enough to gain a record, but he knew that shouldn’t be necessary.

If I were to do that, it would slow our time getting to the next floor, which would mean it would take us longer to get back to Earth. That’s what he was doing this all for, after all.

Xavier didn’t wave goodbye to the others. He didn’t want to waste a single second of his time.

He held his new, weighty staff in both hands. There was a thin film of wavy air at the archway, almost like some sort of protective barrier. It obscured the view of what was ahead. He stepped through it, sure that no matter what was on the other side, it wouldn’t be able to do him any real damage.

The instant he stepped through, a series of screeching roars filled the musty air and two beasts barrelled toward him.