Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion (Book 2) - Chapter 69 - A Purple, Shimmering Portal (Patreon)

Xavier stepped back into the Staging Room, feeling accomplished. There were an infinite number of universes. In many of those, he imagined Princess Narella had died while being escorted to the Galavantian Kingdom. Or that she hadn’t reached the place in time. Hell, there might even be Champions who simply abandoned the woman in the forest to farm monsters.

All in all, he was finding the Tower of Champions to be… a rather cruel invention for anyone who actually summoned a Champion.

And that was why he endeavoured to still save the people who needed saving.

Queen Alastea, for the first time in trillions of iterations of that floor, was saved from her fate of dying at the hands of the Endless Horde. The king on the sixth floor, at the top of that goblin keep, had been saved over a dozen times by my party alone. And Princess Narella reached theGalavantian court with enough time to warn the king of the assassination attempt.

A part of him, not for the first time, wondered if he should feel guilty about the army he’d slaughtered on the third floor. He’d slaughtered the human side once, and the elven side twice. Killed over a thousand soldiers. Neither side of that fight, as far as he could tell, had been purely in the wrong.

They could no longer even remember why they were fighting.

He’d put aside any responsibility for those he’d killed there. He’d decided that he would do whatever was necessary to get strong enough to save his world. And now, it wasn’t just his own world that was on his shoulders.

If his Otherworldly Communion spell could be believed—and unfortunately, he knew it should be—the whole damned Silver River sector was in danger.

And the person Sam served, Empress Larona, seemed to think Xavier would have some chance at stopping it from being purged.

Still, even with all that was at stake, he didn’t need to completely lose his sense of right and wrong. He didn’t need to abandon people in need just because it was expedient. If someone were the enemy, he would deal with them—he’d proven that with the Endless Horde—but if they weren’t? He would do what he could to help.

As long as it doesn’t stop me from reaching my goals.

“She got there safely, then?” Howard asked. The man was leaning against the wall, arms crossed at his chest, a curious look on his face.

Xavier lowered his head in a nod. “She did.”

“That’s amazing, Xavier,” Siobhan said. “How do you plan to get the record for this floor?”

Xavier summoned the Portal Stones from his Storage Ring. He tossed them up in the air, juggling them briefly in one hand. “With these. Time to test them.” He stopped juggling and willed their connection.

Portal Stone successfully paired.

He tossed one of the stones over to Justin. The teenager snatched it out of the air. “You want me to have the responsibility?”

Xavier shrugged. “At least for now. But other than me, you’re the most mobile. You have the ability to fly, you have high Speed for your level. You can get places others can’t. On this floor, I won’t need you for that, but maybe you should get used to using the Portal Stone for the future.”

Justin looked down at the stone, his thumb circling its top. “How do you activate it?”

“Good question.” Xavier stared at his own Portal Stone. The Communication Stone he’d given Siobhan had worked instantly, only requiring a small amount of Spirit Energy when he’d paired it to its twin. He’d felt a bit of Spirit Energy leave him as he’d paired these stones as well.

He willed it to activate.

Do you wish to open twin portals?

“Maybe we should place these on the ground.” Xavier put his on the floor and waited for Justin to do the same. They were standing at opposite sides of the Staging Room.

Yes, Xavier thought.

Spirit Energy flooded out of him. Not a great deal, considering his reserve, but it would have been a lot for someone of Justin’s level.

Is Justin losing any, or is it just me because I activated them?

He wondered if the Portal Stones required more Spirit Energy depending upon how far away they were from each other.

The stone rose from the ground, electricity sparking around its surface. It was shaking, vibrating in mid-air. When it rose to Xavier’s head height, it stopped, frozen in place.

Thrum!

The rock exploded outward in a small shockwave of energy. A split second later, a purple, shimmering portal twice the height of Xavier hovered directly in front of him.

“Whoa.” Xavier looked over to the portal’s twin on the other side of the room.

“Awesome.” Justin had a great big grin on his face. “This is unreal. I mean, I know you entered a portal back on the fifth floor, but this…”

“It feels different. Wemade this happen.” Xavier raised a finger, touched it to the surface of the portal. Then he stepped straight through it. Suddenly, he was standing directly in front of Justin.

The Airborne Duellisttook a stutter-step back, momentarily surprised, but he was still grinning. “That’s awesome.”

“Did you lose any Spirit Energy when you activated the portal?” Xavier asked, looming over the teenager.

“Not a bit.”

“Good to know.” There was no need to test it at a distance, then. If it required more Spirit Energy, he would have plenty. “Time to complete this floor.”

~

The instant they materialised on the seventh floor of the Tower of Champions, surrounded by a circle of standing stones, in a fantastical elven forest with large, natural-looking treehouses, Xavier sprinted out of the town.

His Speed attribute was over four thousand points now. He couldn’t help but smile as the trees zipped past him. Whenever he hit a difficult, thick patch of forest he used Heavy Telekinesis to clear the area.

Running has reached Rank 53!

The notification came fairly quickly. He’d already gained a few ranks in the skill when he’d been running back from dropping off the princess the first time. He chuckled when it appeared, feeling a bump in his speed.

Another notification popped up a moment later.

Welcome to the Seventh Floor of the Tower of Champions.

The Seventh Floor of the Tower of Champions is a test of your ability to escort and protect someone.

The Princess Narella of the Forest City of Mithraela has sought your protection on her travels to the neighbouring realm of Galavantian, a human kingdom where a treaty of peace is to be signed between the four races of the world.

You and your party are tasked with protecting her on her journey to the neighbouring kingdom.

Xavier glanced up at the sun, ensuring he was heading northwest. He sensed a far-off beast and sent a Soul Strike its way. The spell moved far faster than he did, the bolt of white lightning streaking through the sky. He didn’t see the soul apparition materialise, but he got the kill notification and sensed the soul ready for him to harvest.

Instead of harvesting it, he used Soul Step, closing the distance in an instant.

I can do that every minute.

Another notification appeared.

Your escort quest starts in 1 minute.

Princess Narella must reach Galavantian in two days’ time.

If she does not reach Galavantian within the time limit, the peace treaty will be compromised.

It hasn’t even started yet. Good. The more distance I clear in this next minute, the better…

As he ran, leapt, and telekinetically flattened and flung trees, Xavier had a little bit of time to think.

Running has reached Rank 54!

He felt another slight bump in his Speed and wondered if he should have been practising his Running skill before trying to clear this floor. The ranks were coming surprisingly fast. He suspected that was because of how fast he could already run—like the skill was trying to catch up to his high attribute.

Further training in the skill would have garnered him even more points in his Speed attribute, after all, by boosting the percentage modifier. But, honestly, he didn’t think that was necessary.

There was no way any other Denizen would have been as fast as he was while clearing this floor.

Unless they had the power to teleport at greater distances, with less cooldown…

He dismissed that thought. If that were the case, there wasn’t really much he could do about it.

[Princess Narella doesn’t appear happy,] Siobhan said in his mind, through the Communication Stones’ link. [I think she’s going to take a minute of convincing.]

[Tell Justin to let her Identify the Portal Stone.]

He’d wondered whether the princess would trust their plan, especially when they saw one of the Champions shoot off the second they were summoned.

Would she have even seen me? I probably got out of theretoo fast for her to spot.

Sprinting, bounding over trees and flattening them when he needed to, Xavier continued to teleport as far as he could manage, Soul Stepping once per minute on his journey toward the Galavantian Kingdom.

Faster, he demanded of himself.

Running has reached Rank 55!

Keep pushing!

The Portal Stone was safely inside his Storage Ring. The sun showed him the way. He kept track of his teleports. He was glad he could Soul Step, but he also knew every time he used it another minute had passed. Which had him worried. He’d cleared the last floor in two seconds—this was the first time in a few floors that he wasn’t absolutely sure that he would be able to break the record.

Should I try again? Rank up my Running skill? I can still deliver the princess here safely, just like I did the first time. I can portal her to the border as I’m already planning to, and run back…

Xavier frowned. There was no room for self-doubt. He was a True Progenitor. The fastest Denizen everto reach E Grade. He had more titles than he knew what to do with.

There was no way anyone could have done this floor faster than him.

He grinned when he spotted the castle. It looked just as majestic as he remembered it. The moment he was in the clear—over the border the princess said they had to escort her to—he summoned the Portal Stone and tossed it on the ground. Justin already had his ready on the other side. According to Siobhan, Princess Narella was still dubious, impatiently waiting, tapping the floor with her armoured boot.

Xavier activated the portal. The stone rose, exploding in purple energy until the shimmering pool was before him. He shook his head, staring in awe at the thing.

That’s never gonna get old.

He’d been keeping track of his Spirit Energy when he activated the portal. It had only used a fraction more energy than the last time he’d activated it.

That bodes well. If it used considerably more at distance, how would I ever be able to use it from the other side of the sector?

Only a second passed before Princess Narella stepped through, a slight look of confusion on her face. Maybe once her realm and Galavantian were allied, they could set up more permanent fast-travel between them.

Then this wouldn’t be a problem.

That made him wonder about the possibilities back on Earth. The type of transport system they could set up…

The moment the royal elf stepped out of the portal, a stream of notifications popped appeared.

Xavier had finished the floor.

He skipped over all the notifications but one. He knew what they would say. He’d gotten the solo title—despite Justin having placed the Portal Stone. Justin hadn’t fought any beasts, nor directly protected the princess, so the System hadn’t recognised anything he’d done as a contribution.

Xavier skimmed down to the bottom.

Seventh Floor Ranked 1 – RECORD HOLDER (Completion Time – 14 mins 10 secs): 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 +100 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 sighed in relief.

Another record title earned. Only three more floors to go until we’re on Earth.