Free Tier - Accidental Champion (Book 7) - Chapter 13 - Tavern Interlude

Sitting in the corner table in Collinsville’s main tavern, Xavier considered the best way to answer Siobhan’s question.

Before he replied, Justin raised an eyebrow at the redheaded woman. “The man just got back here. Who knows how many months he spent inside that time dilation field. Maybe the questions can wait a few minutes?”

Siobhan blinked, shook her head, looking a little sheepish at the young swordsman’s sudden admonishment. “Right, sorry.” She smiled again. “Hi, Xavier. How are you?”

Xavier grinned. He didn’t mind Siobhan getting straight to the point. He’d never been much for small talk, but he appreciated Justin’s remark all the same. “Good,” he said, finding it was true. “I’m really, really good.”

Siobhan looked surprised, and even a little excited. She clearly wanted to ask the “progress” question again but held off.

“And the two of you?” Xavier sipped his coffee. Closed his eyes. It wasn’t the best coffee he’d ever had, but it was still good. He couldn’t help but notice the quality of the brew had improved since the last time he’d been here.

“It’s been far too quiet here.” Justin crossed his arms and sighed. “This is the longest break we’ve had from the tower. Things are getting… Dull.”

Siobhan tilted her head at Justin. “Dull is good. Dull means things are going well.”

Xavier hadn’t even asked about how things were going on Earth since his return. “How are things going here?” He waved a hand to encompass not only Collinsville, but the world at large. He’d left other people in charge, and the city had been running itself without him having to intervene for a long while now. If there were any emergencies, anything that needed his level of power to solve, he knew they would have brought it to his attention.

Siobhan raised her chin. “The strongest groups all around Earth have been connected to the city’s Portal Hub. So far, every city, town, or settlement we’ve encountered have either pledged their allegiance to Collinsville—and, ultimately, to you—or they have stated they wish to be our allies.”

“Those ‘allies’ are just holding out to better themselves in the negotiations before fully throwing their lot in with us,” Justin said with a sigh. “It’s exhausting. We could crush them into complying in a heartbeat… But obviously that’s ‘not the message we want to give.’” He spoke those last words as though he was reciting something oft repeated.

Xavier sat back in his chair. “You’ve made that much progress already? Have there been any hostilities? Any pushback or violent conflicts?”

He’d given permission for Collinsville to expand its realm of authority, but he hadn’t realised it had stretched so far. Nominally, Xavier had been referred to as the “leader of Earth,” but that was only ever because he was the most powerful entity on Earth.

Now, he might have that title in earnest, despite barely having been involved.

He still felt strange about the imperial nature expanding his territory, about taking control of Earth simply because he was stronger. And it wasn’t only Earth he wanted to take power over. When he’d decided to learn the Territory Defence spell, his goal had stretched toward taking over much of the sector, or at least the part of the sector where he’d face the World Destroyer—though that was something he hadn’t shared with the others.

Would it be so wrong to bring unity to the sector? To bring peace, even if it’s peace at the tip of a sword?

He pushed those thoughts down as Siobhan answered his question.

“There have been hostilities,” Siobhan said. “And more than a little pushback. There are those who are still trying to cling to the power they held before the System, but that’s a difficult thing to do when that power no longer means anything.”

This was, of course, to be expected. Still, the thought made him wince. “How has it been handled?”

“By offering knowledge.” Justin shrugged. “In a sense.”

Siobhan’s lips quirked to the side. “Knowledge? That’s how you see it?”

Xavier frowned, not sure what the two were getting at. His food arrived, making them pause as Siobhan lowered the privacy bubble while her and Justin ordered something for themselves.

When the young waitress left, Justin rested his elbows on the table as he interlocked his fingers. “I’ll use an example. We recently found an army base in the mountains of what used to be Colorado. John Hammond sent me, Howard, and Siobhan to make contact with the Denizens inside—the man has taken to his post well, by the way. Has a head for this stuff.

“The people in the mountain, their auras were easily sensed, all of them low-level. That’s how we knew they were there in the first place. The base is built into the mountain, and the thick, metal door at the tunnel’s entrance was intact with only a few scratches from beasts. Clearly nothing powerful enough to break through wanted to get inside.

“The man in charge—an Air Force General—wouldn’t even let us through the door when we arrived. There was a loudspeaker outside the door, but of course that didn’t work. He spoke through a grate at the top of the door—this door was like, sixty feet tall, by the way—said if we didn’t vacate the premises, they would start shooting.” Justin grinned, then. “Howard stepped in front of us. He didn’t activate any of his spells, just called up to the guy—the general—to go ahead.”

Xavier nodded. Mundane weaponry wouldn’t have done a damned thing to an E Grade, so that didn’t surprise him. “And did he shoot?”

“Without hesitation. Perhaps he thought to call our bluff. Except, Howard wasn’t bluffing. The bullets pinged off his armour like pebbles, then pinged off his forehead, leaving only the slightest scratch that healed in moments.”

Siobhan sighed. “After a moment of silence, the general had the audacity to call that a warning shot and again ordered us to leave.”

“Howard just told the guy he didn’t recognise his authority, and that if he didn’t open the door it would be opened for him,” Justin said. “The general retreated into the complex. We waited five minutes before cutting straight through the thick door. It’s kind of ridiculous how weak the defences were. Honestly, I’m surprised they lasted down there for so long. We were instantly met with weapons fire. Howard didn’t bother raising his shield. The bullets were only a nuisance, and he wanted us to demonstrate the futility as we casually walked through the tunnel toward the dozen soldiers at the end, all wielding guns. They would have been given weapons, armour, robes, when they chose their class but they must have changed back into their uniforms, because they just looked like… normal soldiers.”

Xavier frowned. “There were no Champions among them?” He’d met his fair of Earth Champions at the tower who’d been in the military. In a whole army base, he would have expected quite a few of them to have become Champions.

“A few people from the base did become Champions, I think,” Siobhan said. “We found out later that they just disappeared and never returned. The remaining soldiers had no idea where they went. We weren’t returned to the same spot we were taken from, and we were returned as a party. The same thing must have happened to the soldiers from the mountain. And, with the System rearranging the planet, I doubt any of them would have been able to find their way back. Assuming any of them survived the tower…”

“Plenty of people who didn’t choose Champion were moved around when they chose their class, too,” Justin added. He waved his hand, continuing the story. “The soldiers retreated, rappelling straight down an elevator shaft. We made our way through the entire complex, finding heavy resistance through every one of the tunnels and hallways. They even had small turrets set up at the corners with sandbags piled for defence. Sometimes they would throw grenades at us, even flashbangs. Of course, none of it worked. Some of them tried to attack us with knives but we didn’t even bat them away, just let them hack at us. We kept pushing forward until we made it to where the body of the force was holed up in this large room. Howard pulled the thick doors open with his bare hands, his fingers bending the metal inward. The general stood on the other side, eyes wide, mouth agape, and Howard just grunted, saying ‘Time for that chat.’

“Except, he didn’t talk to the general. He talked to the soldiers and other base personnel. Those with weapons clutched them close, a few hundred barrels pointed our way, arms shaking in freight, but none of them bothered firing. I think it must have been comforting for them to hold the guns, even though they weren’t working on us.

“So, Howard clears his throat, raises his chin, and looks over the head of the general at everyone else in the room, not sparing the man so much as a glance, and says, ‘We have come here to offer you a chance to become a part of the New Earth. I don’t know if you’ve seen what’s going on outside, considering you’re all Level 1, but—’”

“They were all Level 1?” Xavier gaped, cutting Justin off. “How long ago was this?”

“Last week,” Siobhan muttered.

Xavier was dumbstruck. That meant they’d been in that base for over two years, just hiding. That general must be a coward. How they hadn’t been found was a mystery to him.

 Justin continued, “‘But the world has changed. I represent the Ruler of New Earth, Xavier Collins, a D Grade Denizen who has already protected our world from invaders from other planets. He is the only reason you’re all still standing here today, alive and free. Everyone here has already benefitted from his actions, and now you have the opportunity to continue to benefit from them.’ And he looked down at himself, then at us, then back at the people all around.

“‘You threw everything you have at us, and yet we’re unscathed. It would take very little effort for us to destroy this base and everyone inside it, but I didn’t come here to harm you, or to threaten you, but to inform you. If you want to fight for your world, you should join us. If you want to gain power, you should join us. If you want a peaceful, good life, you should join us.’ The general stepped forward, stared Howard defiantly in the face. ‘Or what?’ the man had spat. Howard shrugged. ‘Or you’ll remain defenceless. Even if you do finally step outside this place, the beasts in the area have out-levelled all of you. You’ll die before you can make any real progress.’ He withdrew a Communication Stone from his Storage Ring—half the people in the room gasped as its sudden appearance in his hand—then held it up. ‘We’ll leave this here so you can contact us if this base comes under attack. We won’t leave anyone to die without our protection, and asking for our help won’t mean you agree to join us.’ He tossed the stone at the general’s feet, then withdrew a Portal Stone. ‘Or, you can come with us today and start living your lives again.’ Then Howard activated the portal.”

Xavier sighed inwardly, relieved that no one had been harmed. Not that he’d been worried about his old party. No, it was the Level 1s he’d worried about.

“Our party stepped through the portal,” Siobhan said. “It came out just outside Collinsville’s main gate. Then, we waited.”

“Did they come through?” Xavier asked. They would have been fools not to. But it sounded like they already were fools for staying down there for so long.

Justin nodded. “Every single one of them. Even the general. Though, stubborn as the man was, he came out last. “He looked at Siobhan. “All we gave them was a bit of knowledge.”

“So, there’s… Been no killing in any of this?” Xavier asked, finding that hard to believe. “They were all Level 1s, but that must have been a pretty isolated thing. The rest of the world can’t be that weak. They wouldn’t have survived.”

Siobhan shrugged. “The most powerful fighters on Earth are all here, or they’re Champions, and they already know how powerful you are, and aren’t willing to piss you off,” Siobhan replied. “John always sends people strong enough to be able to take down whoever they encounter without needing to resort to killing. Besides, you’d be surprised to discover just how many Level 1s are out there, protected—or enslaved—by those who seized power early.” She shifted in her seat a little. “There have been deaths. Not of any of ours. But all of those, well”—she stared hard at Xavier—“they’ve been justly deserved.”

Xavier grunted at that. He didn’t like to think about it, but he knew there were a hell of a lot of terrible, opportunistic people out there with morals far greyer than his own, or simply with no morals whatsoever. Many of those same people would have taken to killing beasts or other humans with ease, making them likely to be the first to gain levels and force their power on others.

He hated to think about the abhorrent things those people would have done, what people like that might still be doing. Xavier might use his power to take control, but he wished to make a better world—he intended to make a better world. He wished to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves, not harm them or force them to do unthinkable things.

And with the resources at his disposal, he could ensure that not a single person on Earth ever went hungry again and even provide housing for all.

Something everyone on his world had never had before.

Xavier pulled himself out of his thoughts and focused on his friends. “Have you needed to break any forced contracts?”

“We haven’t,” Justin said. “But John said he’s seen his fair share. Apparently it’s an easy enough problem to solve when you’re stronger than the contract holder.”

Xavier dipped his head in a nod, thinking through the consequences of all this. Whether he had the “right” to rule Earth of not, it was already happening, and when it came time to spread his influence beyond Earth, it would be good for him to dissect how it all went down.

I wonder how Empress Larona will take my wanting to expand our territory. What if it’s one of her worlds that the World Destroyer attacks first, and I need to rule it to use the Territory Defence spell? Would she try and make me pledge my allegiance to her, or will she hand over the world to save the sector?

I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Xavier didn’t want to push his control on everyone, but he did want to stop the warring between Denizens. Stop the needless conflicts. The needless deaths. The atrocities he knew full well were perpetrated not just on Earth, but on just about every world out there.

The Greater Universe was a hard place, but… If Xavier succeeded at everything he wanted to accomplish, it didn’t have to be.

It could be changed.

Peace. Unity. Freedom from oppression for all…

It sounded like a totally naïve dream, especially for someone as destructive as him to hold. But maybe if he could achieve it on Earth, he could achieve it on other worlds, too.

Of course, to bring peace to the sector there had to still be a sector.

When Xavier finished catching up with what his old party had been up to, Siobhan and Justin exchanged a glance. Justin nodded, and Siobhan asked the question again. “So… Have you made any progress?”