Accidental Champion - Chapter 34 - I’m Just Going To Need To Kill Them As Fast As I Can (Patreon)

Xavier stood just outside the small archway outside of the Safe Zone on the second floor of the Tower of Champions, facing down two ugly beasts that bounded toward him.

They were coming at him fast, but with his Speed being what it was he had plenty of time to scan them.

{Giant Mole Rat – Level 11}

{Giant Mole Rat – Level 11}

Xavier smiled. The beasts were barely higher level than the ones on the last floor, though he imagined they would pose quite the challenge to a normal party of level 6s.

Will every floor increase in difficulty this slowly? Will the next floor be level 12 monsters, then 13, and so on and so forth?

Though, he supposed that would be rather difficult when it came to reaching floor 1000…

No point thinking too hard on it right now. I’ll find out eventually.

The slavering beasts opened giant maws as they ran toward him, their screeches so loud they stung his eardrums.

In fact, there was something odd about their screeches. He could see a shift in the air, reverberating forward from their disgusting mouths. Like their screeches were some sort of sonic attack. If my Toughness was lower, would this incapacitate me?

The Giant Mole Rats had no fur, and they were deathly skinny, no meat on their bones at all. It was almost like he could see their entire skeletons through their pale flesh. Their white, taut skin contrasted beady, glowing-red eyes, and their teeth looked sharper and longer than any rat’s had a right to be.

The sonic attack was interesting. None of the Black Pumas had used any spells. I suppose this is a different floor, with different difficulties. He’d have to keep that in mind. His enemies might have tricks up their sleeves that he wouldn’t expect.

But if the Giant Mole Rats were capable of anything beyond this, he wasn’t going to wait and find out.

Xavier activated Spiritual Trifecta then slammed a Heavy Telekinesis into the two mole rats. He didn’t want to waste any more time than he needed to. The mole rats flew into the rock walls with a loud crunch.

I’m getting far too used to the sounds of bones breaking…

He didn’t know how much longer Spiritual Trifecta would last for now that he’d gained all those titles and was wielding the Spirit Staff of Might, but he was eager to find out.

It almost didn’t feel worth it keeping track, as his stats changed so damned quickly, but knowing how long his spells and their cooldowns lasted would make everything run a hell of a lot more smoothly.

He glanced quickly around the cavern he found himself in after the Giant Mole Rats had been dealt with. More glowing moss on the ceiling. The same rock walls. Only one exit—that last part he was glad for. The first floor had been a straight line. Maybe, if he were lucky, this one would be a straight line too.

But something told him that wouldn’t be the case. Something told him this would be a maze.

If this is a maze, and I clear every cavern before moving through to the next tunnel in the underground world, then I’ll need to make sure the others know which way I go if the tunnels go forking off in different directions.

If Howard, Siobhan, and Justin took a turn he hadn’t through the tunnels, chances were high they’d be forced to fight. And that, he couldn’t afford.

He sprinted through to the cavern’s exit, glancing at the Safe Zone countdown timer at the side of his vision. That timer won’t be there when the others leave the Safe Zone, which means I won’t be able to track how long this floor takes. I suppose that won’t change how long I do it for.

Only a few seconds passed before Xavier encountered the next set of Giant Mole Rats. He wondered if he should take the same approach as he had with the Black Pumas, making them run after him, getting all of their aggression and taking all of them down at the same time.

There had been risks in that. He’d almost died in the process, for one. But if he hadn’t done it, he would never have finished the first floor of the tower as quickly as he had.

Except the Giant Mole Rats were too damned big for that to be a viable option, and the cavern and tunnels too narrow. The second cavern was far smaller than the first, and he couldn’t see how he’d get past these beasts and run to the next cavern if they weren’t dead first.

I’m just going to need to kill them as fast as I can.

The next cavern was a narrow one, and it had two Giant Mole Rats just as the first had. They bounded toward him with their slavering maws opening wide, and their screeching screams stinging his ears. Their bones shifting, pulling their skin this way and that as they ran. The silver sheen from Spiritual Trifecta had yet to dissipate—only five seconds had passed since he’d cast it.

Xavier slammed his new staff into the skull of the first Giant Mole Rat as it leapt toward him. The beast died instantly, but that didn’t stop its momentum from moving toward him. The weight of the beast slammed Xavier into the rocky ground.

He felt something bite at his ankle, puncturing his flesh. The other Giant Mole Rat.

Spiritual Trifecta chose that moment to run out. The exhaustion slammed into him, and the pain came with it. But the mole rat’s teeth weren't able to penetrate more than Xavier’s flesh—they were stopped at the bone, as though trying to gnaw through metal.

And the pain... wasn’t as intense as it could have been. In fact, once he solidified his resolve, it felt more like something was pinching the flesh of his ankle rather than biting it.

A harsh pinch—like with pliers or something—but he could deal with that.

Xavier could have pushed the corpse of the dead Giant Mole Rat off him—with either raw strength of Heavy Telekinesis—but he went for the wiser, more efficient option.

He willed the corpse directly into his Storage Ring.

A weight lifted off him. Or rather, disappeared completely. But the other beast still gnawed at his ankle like a starving dog on a bone with a bit of meat still on it. As Xavier hadn’t let go of his staff, and its reach was downright incredible, he simply slammed it straight down on the head of the Giant Mole Rat.

His ears stopped ringing the moment the rat beast died. He hadn’t even noticed that screeching, roaring spell had still been coming from its mouth.

Xavier snapped back to his feet, stumbled one step, then kept running through the cave tunnels.

The pain in his ankle doubled, but it still held his weight. Felt like he’d rolled it a little on a jog rather than had it ripped into by massive teeth. I guess this is what it’s like, having effectively 74 Toughness.

He didn’t quite feel like a tank, but that might have been because of his lack of armour.

Looking through his notifications as he ran to the next chamber, one of them made his eyes widen.

Physical Resistance has reached rank 2!

It was the first time any of his skills had actually ranked up and Xavier couldn’t help but be surprised. All it took was being tackled to the ground by a corpse and having my ankle gnawed at by a giant rat monster. All in all, he couldn’t complain, though it did seem like a dangerous skill to train.

He would bring it up later and see what changes gaining a rank in the skill had brought.

Xavier sprinted down the tunnel, already disappointed in how he’d handled that last fight. Yes, he’d managed to turn it into a win, and it hadn’t taken him that long, but getting taken to the ground while fighting only two opponents… it made him realise how fragile he still was. Made him realise that if he was determined to solo every floor of this tower, he would be the only one that could get himself out of danger.

If I make even a single mistake, it could cost me my life. And if I die, the chances of the people of Earth surviving plummet. He knew how arrogant that thought sounded, but it was simply the truth. No one else would be able to get the titles he’d gotten. He might not be a force to be reckoned with yet, but that would change quickly as he rose through the levels and gained more spells.

And my next class. He was still four levels away from that. He couldn’t help but wonder what the class might be, and what new spells it would have to offer. While he loved Heavy Telekinesis and Spiritual Trifecta, he felt like there was something missing from the way he fought. Felt like he could benefit from more variety.

He was definitely disappointed to find that Spiritual Trifecta still only lasted six seconds despite having 76 points in Spirit. The cooldown for the spell had only reduced by two, as well, putting it at twelve seconds. Maybe I’ve hit the limit for how long it lasts, and the cooldown as well. I wonder when that spell will gain another rank, and what that might do for it. Will it simply make it stronger?

Heavy Telekinesis had an absurdly short cooldown time. It hadn’t been taken down more than three seconds, which was frustrating, but the spell definitely felt stronger than before.

Now that he knew the type of floor this was—tunnels and caverns filled with Giant Mole Rats with sonic, ear-piercing screams—he figured he knew exactly what he needed to do to clear it fast.

As long as no surprises come my way, I might even be able to complete this floor faster than the last one. Especially as I won’t need to worry about looting the corpses. The countdown timer for the Safe Zone had stopped a few seconds ago, which meant the others had stepped out of it. They’d be coming upon the first two corpses now.

He made it to the next chamber and grinned. It was larger, and there were even more Giant Mole Rats to fight.

Shouldn’t be long until I gain my next level.