Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion (Book 6) - Chapter 49 - I Make My Own Decisions

Xavier widened his eyes slightly, staring at the hologram that hovered above the stone in the middle of the table.

He hadn’t seen a hologram for some time. Not since he’d first entered the tower during their introductory session where he’d met Howard, Justin, and Siobhan.

He leant forward a little in his seat. The hologram was of a woman who had the same white hair and pale skin as Adranial, though she wore dark blue, full-plate armour.

The image was frozen.

“Ah. Of course.” Adranial looked at Xavier. “I’ll put a privacy bubble around the table. You’ll need to drop the time dilation field for this.”

Xavier nodded. Though he didn’t drop the spell—he simply matched the time within it with the surrounding area.

The fire once more crackled in the hearth, the other Champions chattered, laughed, clinked mugs, the barkeep continued cleaning a mug, yet the hologram remained frozen for a moment before it flickered. The same woman stood there—in miniature—except she looked slightly different than the image that had been there a moment ago. As though that had been a default image that people contacting her would see until she picked up the call.

“Daughter,” the woman said, looking at Adranial.

“Mother,” Adranial replied. Her words lacked what Xavier thought would be the requisite emotions for a chat with one’s mother—assuming one got along with their mother.

The woman’s chin rose as her gaze fell upon Xavier. “Ah. You must be the boy who is responsible for my daughter temporarily forgetting who I am.”

Ah. Of course. She had no memories of her mother—at least, none before swearing her loyalty to Earth. Clearly, they still communicated.

Xavier almost opened his mouth to say that, in fact, it wasn’t his fault. However, after the conversation he’d had with Adranial, and seeing the stern look on this woman’s face, he thought it best to avoid the issue. “Pleasure to meet you, uh…”

“Rowalla.”

He inclined his head. “Pleasure to meet you, Rowalla.”

“Why have you called?” The abrupt question was addressed to Adranial.

“We have a problem,” Adranial said. “One I hoped you could help us find an answer for.”

Rowalla’s eyes narrowed. The expression was so similar to how Adranial had looked not a few moments ago that the resemblance between the two became rather striking. “Already? You mustn’t be that far along in the floors. I was hoping you and your party would be intelligent enough to figure these problems out for yourselves.”

Xavier raised an eyebrow.

Harsh.

Adranial frowned.

Xavier wondered what she thought about this interaction. She had no memories of this woman, and the way she was talking to her now…

“I’m the one who has a problem,” Xavier said, figuring he ought to speak up.

Rowalla looked at him. It was hard to read her emotions. He recalled Adranial saying her parents were B Grade, and this woman wouldn’t be B Grade like the Collector was B Grade.

She would be a true B Grade, from the most powerful sector in the entire Greater Universe. A descendant of one of the first Champions of the tower—the one who once held the records Xavier was currently usurping.

“Explain,” Rowalla said.

Xavier glanced at Adranial before speaking up, telling the woman what he’d discovered on the eightieth floor. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this “brainstorming session.” He didn’t want to make any bargains for the information—and he certainly wouldn’t be signing any contracts of service.

But none of those things had been mentioned.

Rowalla was silent for a time after Xavier had finished speaking. “I can see why he has taken an interest in you.” Her expression softened, slightly. “Perhaps my daughter’s memories are in good hands.”

They won’t be in any hands if I can’t defeat the World Destroyer.

“First, I must express my interest in this scenario. I have a great deal of knowledge on the Tower of Champions. Studying its floors, even long after I left, is a hobby of mine. I have never once heard of anyone perceiving the entity that was to destroy the planet. People who remained on the floor too long simply never returned. And that the floor is based on your world…” She closed her eyes, her lids fluttering as there was movement behind them. “I will catalogue this information for future study.”

Her eyes flashed open, and she continued. “Second, I want you to be sure you wish for my advice. I do not know what the Old One’s plans for you are, and I would be remiss to interrupt them.”

Xavier held back his frustration, not letting it colour his face or words. “I make my own decisions, regardless of his plans.”

Rowalla raised an eyebrow. “Indeed. Well, given that, and what you have told me about the entity, I do not see how you will be able to defeat it within the deadline you have provided. You are simply too weak.”

Xavier leant back in his chair. He looked at Adranial. “This isn’t helpful.”

Rowalla frowned. “You informed me that the other version of yourself was C Grade. You are D Grade. He was not strong enough. You cannot begin to imagine you would be close to his level of power in such a short time, let alone exceed it. You would be better off if—”

Xavier raised a hand for the woman to stop talking. This took not only Rowalla off guard, but everyone else on the table. He supposed none of them would be used to treating someone of this level of power with any form of disrespect.

But Xavier wasn’t going to sit there and let this woman tell him what he could and couldn’t do.

I won’t set myself to their limitations.

“I have to fight the World Destroyer,” Xavier said flatly.

“Then you will die.”

Xavier gritted his teeth. “If I die, your daughter might be stuck here. Unless you plan on getting her out? Or would that go against the plans of the Old One?”

Xavier wouldn’t actually let Adranial and the others die if it ever came to evacuating. He was sure if they didn’t figure out a way to get out of the sector that he would certainly have one for them.

Rowalla paused. “Fine. I will pretend, for a moment, that you are serious about this. Place your hand on the stone and share with me your status screen.”

Xavier hesitated. That wasn’t something he’d expected, nor was it something he wished to do. But… He supposed the only way for this woman to get a true picture of the situation was to give her as much information as possible.

He released a sigh and did as she instructed.

Rowalla’s eyes glazed over, then widened. “Oh, my. Thazamar? Areildon?” she muttered. “Top tier titles? Over… Over a million attribute points at Level 280?”

Everyone at the table stared at Xavier. They’d been quiet as Xavier had talked to Adranial’s mother. They remained quiet, but he could see the struggle they were having staying that way.

They’d known he was powerful, but these insights were something they hadn’t had a moment ago.

When the woman had finished reviewing Xavier’s status screen, her gaze refocused. “Perhaps I spoke in haste. I always instruct never to form opinions without all of the information, and yet it is something that, even after all these years, I cannot help but stumble into myself. When you have been around as long as I have, it feels as though you know how everything will play out, because you’ve seen it all play out a million times over.”

That made Xavier wonder just how old the woman was. He knew that becoming C Grade and becoming B Grade were two very different things. That the time scales between levels and grades became staggeringly high as it moved up, especially if one was doing it “properly” and not propelling themselves forward too swiftly from one grade to the next.

A trap Xavier was trying not to fall into himself.

Xavier was a little surprised by how honest the woman’s response was. In his experience, when people were given information that went against their preconceived notions, it was liable to make them angry, not change their mind.

He certainly suffered from that.

Perhaps it was something one grew out of, given enough time.

“You no longer believe I will lose?” Xavier asked.

Rowalla blinked. “I no longer think you have no chance. It is still a staggeringly difficult task to have been given. It is still difficult for me to suggest, with a clear conscience, any other course of action but escape. But, if you are the one…” Her words trailed off. “Perhaps the gap between its power and yours can be bridged in time. You are not here to gain advice on levelling, however. Not that it appears as though you need it. You want a brainstorming session. A way to defeat this enemy, given its defences and apparent immunities.”

Adranial’s mother lowered her head. Nodded.

“Given the information you have provided, I have just run ten thousand battle simulations in my mindspace in the assumed parameters. This is a difficult task as I know far more about you than this World Destroyer and Soul Amalgamation you speak of. It would be more valuable for me to have your actual memories, but alas, that is not something which can be transferred over this device.

“It is clear to me that your most valuable asset moving forward is a spell you have yet to utilise. A spell that you disregarded during the fight against the World Destroyer, as it still remains at Rank 1.”

“Recursive Analysis,” Xavier said, before the woman could speak. He was still reeling with the idea that Rowalla had the ability to run battle simulations in her mind. Xavier couldn’t help but wonder if those simulations were as powerful as what the Spirit of Time could do… Somehow, he doubted it.

Thinking on Recursive Analysis, Xavier had been initially quite pleased when he had received the spell, but the woman was right, he’d neglected it completely.

He didn’t need the new spell to usurp the top spot on the leaderboard for the Tower of Champions floors he’d been completing. There was a certain momentum that he had achieved, and after losing those two months…

He once again didn’t feel as though he could slow down, though even as he thought that he knew it was a mistake.

During the battle, he’d contemplated using Recursive Analysis against the enemy. But there was a problem. The enemy didn’t cast any spells—none that he could see.

The World Destroyer had never even entered the fight, always letting its Soul Amalgamation do the heavy lifting. And when Xavier had touched it…

Perhaps he could have stolen that energy-sapping spell it possessed, but he’d lost so much in that instant.

It wouldn’t have been enough. And my spell was too weak to take true advantage.

That was, however, something he could change.

“Recursive Analysis, when ranked up high enough, can provide one with the ability to fully learn an enemy’s spell, if that spell is compatible with your spellset and class.” Rowalla seemed to say the words slowly, putting more weight on the words spellset and class.

Xavier’s spellset had always been an eclectic mix of anything useful he’d gained or picked up since being integrated into the Greater Universe. And his class, Wayfarer of the Infinite Path, gave him the potential to learn any spell.

Which meant…

“Whoa.”

“Whoa indeed.”

“I could learn… Anything?”

Rowalla lowered her head. “Potentially.”

Xavier could barely keep himself in his seat his excitement was so inflamed. He wanted to jump off his chair and head straight to the next floor, but that wasn’t all Rowalla had to say.

The woman went on to explain exactly the types of spells that would be best for him to get, given her limited information on the enemy. Xavier noted the different spells she mentioned, nodding at each one. A full battle strategy was not, however, forthcoming. Without seeing Xavier fight, there was only so much she could provide.

That was fine with Xavier. He hadn’t really expected much to come of this brainstorming session, anyway.

There was a part of Xavier that worried about the guidance he was receiving. The reason he’d refused the deal with Adranial’s ancestor was because he didn’t want some sort of predetermined path. He didn’t want handholding.

He wanted to figure it out by himself.

But that wasn’t what was happening here.

Rowalla was giving him a few things to aim toward, nothing more. He would have to be the one to find those spells and utilise them properly.

At the end, Rowalla looked him in the eye. “If you are to do this, Xavier Collins, make sure you win.” She turned to face her daughter. “You’ll remember me again soon.”

The hologram flashed off.