Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion (Book 2) - Chapter 4 - Soul Blocks (Patreon)

Xavier spoke with the queen and her adviser, Karlon, right up until the war drums began to beat once more, the thrum of their consistent thuds announcing the imminence of the next wave.

Has it really been an hour already?

He pushed himself off the cold stone, standing from where he’d been sitting on the parapet. Xavier informed the queen to once more order her soldiers not to interfere with the wave. This time, the woman did not argue. She simply lowered her head in a small nod, then had Karlon issue her orders in a booming voice loud enough to be heard along the walls.

Good. The display of power he’d shown during the first wave, taking it out with the use of a single spell and 200 souls, had clearly shown her he knew what he was doing.

“This wave will take longer than the last,” Xavier told her. “It may look as though I am in danger, but there are simply some spells I need to rank up.”

“My soldiers will not interfere unless I deem it necessary. Perhaps they will learn something by observing you.” Queen Alastea stepped up to the parapet, placing her hands upon the stone, her forehead slightly creased. The woman was usually adept at keeping poised, not betraying her emotions. Now, he could see the worry in that expression.

She knows she will die. Maybe not on this wave, or the fifth, of the fiftieth. But she must be wondering: How long can he truly hold out here?

Xavier took a few steps backward, giving him a bit of run up, and cast Spiritual Trifecta upon himself. Then he sprinted at the parapet. He leapt, soaring over the wall and the moat beyond, and landed in a smooth roll. He couldn’t help but grin as he came back to his feet in a sprint. A jump and roll like that would be impossible for a normal human. He hadn’t even neededto roll to absorb the impact to his knees, he’d simply done it so it wouldn’t reduce his momentum.

How good would I be at parkour now?

He shook that thought away as the next wave of the Endless Horde charged. Xavier summoned Soultaker from his Storage Ring. Having it in hand increased his running speed because of the Scythe-Staff Mastery boost. Though the shift wasn’t huge, he noticed it instantly.

Come on, Endless Horde. Come straight at me.

The enemy Denizens and beasts opened mouths and maws, shouting battle cries and uttering ear-piercing howls that would have curdled the blood of a normal level 14 Denizen.

Xavier stopped running and let them come. Gripping Soultaker in both hands, he felt no fear, only excitement. He cast Spirit Infusion into the scythe-staff but did not attack the first enemy. He had 210 souls stored and ready to go. He could have destroyed this entire wave in a matter of minutes—maybe less—if he truly wished.

This isn’t where the challenge comes from.

As fast as he’d run, he was now in range of the Mages and archers the enemy had. It was the mages he was most interested in taking attacks from—he would get enough physical attacks from the Wolven and the foot soldiers.

The first of the Wolven leapt straight at him, saliva dripping from its fangs, lips pulled back in a terrifying snarl.

Xavier cast Soul Block for the first time. An apparition of a Wolven appeared—one of the souls he had stored from the first wave—just like it might have had he used Soul Strike. But this apparition looked more… solidthan the Soul Strike apparitions ever did, as though Xavier could reach out and feel its fur. It leapt, throwing itself in front of the attacker.

It was as though the enemy Wolven hit a brick wall. It slammed into the apparition, trying to tear through it with its claws, but found only resistance. The beast yelped, shrunk back, then raised its hackles.

Interesting, Xavier thought. I wonder what the cooldown on this spell is.

He opened the Upgrade Quest the moment he could, reading it rapidly.

Soul Block – Rank 1

Upgrade Quest:

As you have now used this spell, you have begun your first step on the path to upgrading it to Rank 2.

Available paths:

Soul Block (Magical) – Use Soul Block to block against a single magical attack – to upgrade, infuse 100 souls into magical Soul Blocks. Progress: 0/100

Soul Block (Physical) – Use Soul Block to block against a single physical attack – to upgrade, infuse 100 souls into physical Soul Blocks. Progress: 1/100

Soul Block (General) – Allows the user to cast Soul Block against both magical and physical attacks at the cost one third defence – to upgrade, infuse 50 souls into magical Soul Blocks and 50 souls into physical Soul Blocks.

Magical – Progress: 0/100

Physical – Progress: 1/100

This spell is locked to your Soul Reaper class. Gaining Rank 2 in in this spell will not require you to forget another spell, and this spell cannot be forgotten while you remain in the Reaper line of classes.

One cannot walk backward on the path.

Xavier raised an eyebrow. The Upgrade Quest was almost identical to that of Soul Strike.

As the other enemies closed in, attacking in droves and surrounding him completely, Xavier quickly discovered that Soul Block’s cooldown worked in exactly the same way as Soul Strike’s cooldown. Considering their other similarities, that didn’t surprise him.

This meant the spell had the ability to block an attack every single second. Or, he could infuse 60 souls into the spell and block one really strongattack per minute. Either way, it would be a great help to him. But it didn’t mean that he could block everything that came at him.

Xavier’s scythe-staff cleaved through the enemies with ease. Apparitions materialised out of thin air, intercepting attacks left and right. At first, he couldn’t direct the blocks at specific attacks—they simply blocked whatever attack came at him next. But eventually, he got the hang of directing which attacks Soul Block would defend against. He prioritised physical attacks, from arrows, claws, swords and spears, until he’d accumulated fifty of them. Then he set his attention upon only blocking magical strikes.

It only took a few minutes for another notification to appear.

Soul Block has taken a step forward on the path, upgrading to the spell: Soul Block (General).

Soul Block (General) is a Rank 2 spell.

One cannot walk backward on the path.

Xavier couldn’t help but let out a laugh when the spell ranked up so easily. He didn’t stop there, however. While he fought, he kept a close eye on the walls—ensuring no enemies got too close to the moat, and taking them out with Soul Strikes, something he was able to do even against the enemies on the other side of the castle. This was only possible because he could see their auras even through the stone walls. During that wave, he managed to rank Soul Block up three more times, bringing it up to Rank 5 before every enemy had been defeated.

On his return to the parapet, the queen’s adviser told him he’d taken twenty-five minutes on that wave. Xavier nodded back to the man with a grunt. That wasn’t too bad, really, considering all he’d gotten out of it. He’d also gained a rank each in his Physical Defence and Magical Defence shills, and a rank in Scythe-Staff Mastery. Bringing them up to Rank 11, 11 and 9 respectively.

“How strong are you, Champion of the Void?” Queen Alastea paused, seeming to consider something. “Champion Xavier.”

Xavier smirked. He couldn’t help but enjoy being called that. I’m in an alternate universe, in a fantasy world, and a beautiful queen just called me “Champion Xavier,” as I fight to save her people. Xavier considered his next words. Considered how much he should tell this woman and her adviser. Not to mention the others nearby that had their ears perked, the Queen’s Guard and other soldiers on the wall eavesdropping.

Sam had told him to be wary of how much he revealed about himself. Of his class. Of his titles. But… given everything they’d told him about how the Tower of Champions reallyworked and where each floor came from, he knew for a fact that this was the one and only time his universe would be connected to this universe. The Tower of Champion’s fifth floor would always be here, but the Queen Alastea that other Champions met would be in a branched off reality to the one that Xavier was speaking with now.

He could tell them anything, and—in theory—it would never even be able to come back to hisuniverse. Xavier bit his lip, then told the queen and her adviser just how strong he really was. That he was a true Progenitor. That he’d ranked first on the fourth floor, and that he intended to rank first here. He told them of his epic class, and that he knew he’d been observed no less than twice by Denizens powerful enough to glimpse within a tower floor.

Powerful enough to glimpse into an alternate universe, Xavier realised.

When he was done, Queen Alastea’s eyes were wide. She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “It seems that we have encountered a great Denizen at the beginning of their journey.” She lowered her head in a shallow bow—though far deeper than she’d ever gone before. She was still a queen after all, and he was in her domain. “I am honoured to have you be our Champion.”

“From what you have said… there is still much that we can teach you.” Adviser Karlon tilted his head to the side. “I can instruct you in how to unlock the two other skills for your Spirit Core, if you wish?”

Xavier blinked. “You can?” He’d been hoping this would be the case. Unlocking Cultivate Energy and Core Strength was still beyond his knowledge. “You know what Celestial Energy is?”

Karlon chuckled. “Indeed.” He ran a hand through his pointed beard. “I can also help you unlock your secondary core.” He looked at Queen Alastea. “If my queen would allow me to remain here for more than five waves.”

Queen Alastea’s posture shifted. She’d relaxed slightly as they spoke and Xavier revealed his strength. Now, she straightened once more and looked sternly at her adviser. “We have already discussed this, Karlon.”

“Indeed we have, my queen. However…” Karlon motioned to Xavier. “Circumstances have changed. I promise that I will leave when it is no longer deemed safe to stay, but do you not think this man deserves such a reward?”

Xavier was still wrapping his head around what Karlon had said.

What is a secondary core?