Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion (Book 2) - Chapter 28 - Agony

Xavier’s blade brought death all around him. Soultaker carved through armour and necks as though there was no resistance at all. It made him wonder what a stronger weapon would be able to do, for this blade could only do such things because it was infused with his Spirit Energy.

He barely felt the extra points in Strength that he’d gained. Twelve points didn’t make a wild enough difference when you already had over seven hundred.

But returning to the battlefield, facing that next wave, he knew something was different. Knew something had shifted in his mindset.

I’m more determined than ever.

More and more, he was starting to actually believe he could do this. The doubt that kept coming up, rearing its ugly head, was now showing itself increasingly rarely. He’d proven, time and again, that he was capable of what was seemingly impossible.

He’d already done the impossible. He came from nothing. A world newly integrated. No real fighting experience. No tactical experience. He’d gotten lucky. If that Navy SEAL hadn’t put his rifle down, Xavier wouldn’t be standing—fighting—right now.

But after he’d gotten lucky? Everything after that he’d earned. And he would keep earning it.

I hit the top spot. Out of trillions and trillions of Denizens in the Greater Universe, I hit the top spot. Me. Xavier Collins. No one else.

He threw a Heavy Telekinesis to the left, a Soul Block to the right, a Soul Strike behind him. Purple mist flowed from him. Willpower Energy, seeping into the enemies alive around him. Making them turn and face their own. Making them work for him.

I will see this through to the end.

He couldn’t keep giving himself an out. Couldn’t keep telling himself that he could turn around, step into the Safe Zone, and go back to the Staging Room. That out, that escape… it was holding him back. Holding his mind back. His body back.

The simple option he had of being able to quit… he had to throw that away. He had to believe that he could do this, otherwise he never would. He had to believe that defeating the Endless Horde wasn’t just something he was attempting, but a simple inevitability.

And if I can do this, I can do anything. I’ll blast through the next floors. I’ll return to Earth and push back the threat. No one in our sector will dare attack my world.

As the wave went by, he pushed himself to new limits. Practising his Running skill as he went, ranking it up twice. He sunk into meditation. Tossed another Wolven Fang into his mouth swallowed it, trying to see if he could assimilate the same material twice. That, he found, was too difficult to focus on while fighting. At least, it had been at first.

So he did it again. And again. Back on Earth, before the integration, he’d read articles about multitasking. He knew multitasking wasn’t truly possible for the human mind—focusing on one thing at a time was always better.

But his mind was no longer merely that of a normal human. The attributes he’d received had turned him into something else, and he could no longer let his beliefs limit what he was capable of, else he would never reach his full potential.

Besides, it wasn’t as though Xavier hadn’t split his mind before—but this seemed more difficult than merely meditating and fighting at the same time. This was splitting his mind on an entirely new level.

I keep thinking I’ve hit my limit. Keep thinking there no way I can push my level, skills, attributes, or abilities farther. But that’s all a lie. I’ve pushed through every barrier. I discovered my secondary core. I unlocked Willpower Infusion. I gained the Running skill. I assimilated a new material. I’ve blasted through every single one of these roadblocks. It’s only a matter of time before I blast through this one.

And so for every minute that passed during that wave as he was fighting, Xavier was struggling to split his mind. Pushing it harder than he’d previously thought possible—harder than he’d previously allowed himself to.

After a time, his head became sore. It ached with a splitting pain that only intensified. As though an E Grade warrior had slammed a battle axe straight into his frontal lobe. The pain was excruciating, and he was surprised to find he’d never experienced agony like this before. Not when the goblins had him on his back. Not when the Black Pumas got his health down to 1 percent.

No, this pain was worse than any of that. And it was pain he was inflicting on himself. Pain that he could take away, if only he gave up on his quest to split his mind.

His thoughts berated him, that negativity and doubt returning. A part of him wished he’d chosen the other path for Willpower Infusion, that he could instil himself with the confidence he needed to get past this obstacle.

Why are you doing this? Why are you here? You could be in the tavern back in the Tower of Champions. You could be eating a warm meal and sipping on whiskey in front of the fire. You’ve already done enough on this floor. You’ve probably already hit the number one stop on the leaderboard.

Xavier gritted his teeth. He accepted the thoughts he was having, then let them drift away. He didn’t need that self-doubt. And he didn’t need the other path of Willpower Infusion to get him past this.

Not when he could do it on his own.

So he kept his mind. Kept feeling that splitting, aching pain.

Until finally, the pain hit its peak. The world flashed white. He couldn’t see the battle raging in front of him. His body became limp. As though his muscles had suddenly turned to jelly. The ground came up and slammed into his knee—

No. He was falling. Straight to the dirt. Blows thuddeddown at his body. Cuts opened over every inch of him. This pain—the pain of being attacked by the enemies that surrounded him—it was nothing compared to what was happening to his mind. The rest of him felt numb in contrast to that exquisite agony.

What’s happening to me?

For a moment, he thought he might be under attack. Thought perhaps that whoever the E Grade wave boss of this wave was had hit him with a mental attack of some sort.

Then he remembered the pain he’d been putting himself through. Remembered that he’d been trying to split his mind.

Apparently, he’d succeeded. But this wasn’t exactly what he’d envisioned when he’d hatched this foolish plan. He hadn’t known pushing himself like this would put him on the ground. Would make the world around him entirely white. His attackers invisible.

Awareness flooded back to him. He threw spells left and right, attempting to create a circle of space around him. A buffer so he could recover from this. His vision slowly cleared. Just in time to see a massive human warrior wearing golden plate armour, a yellow glow surrounding him, swing down at him with a battle axe that would do more than simply hurt his head.

Xavier threw himself out of the way, only missing the attack by a hairsbreadth. The strike split and cratered the ground where he’d just been lying. Xavier saw the damage as he got to his feet. Though his awareness had returned, and his vision was no longer clouded by that flash of white, he still felt a tough disorientated from what had happened to him.

A notification was awaiting his attention.

For a moment, he thought he didn’t have time to read the notification. Then he realised him mind truly was in two parts. It was perhaps the strangest thing that he’d ever experienced.

But it was most definitely happening.

At the same time as his enemy came toward him, moving with a confidence that could only have been born from experience, and Xavier prepared to defend against the E Grade warrior, he read the notification.

You have learned the skill Split Mind!

Split Mind – Rank 1

This is an epic skill that grants you the ability to split your consciousness into multiple parts.

+1% Intelligence.

+1% Willpower.

Though Xavier couldn’t say that he was impressed by the percentage modifiers the skill offered, he was surprised he’d gotten the skill at all. The moment the notification popped up, however, the pain that he’d been experiencing dulled.

It didn’t disappear completely—it was definitely still there. But that pain was nowhere near as severe as it had been only moments ago.

Xavier turned the axe-warrior’s attack away with Soultaker. A physical block or parry usually wasn’t his first choice—he tended to prefer to use Soul Block or throw a Heavy Telekinesis his enemy’s way to stop them in their tracks. But the Heavy Telekinesis he’d sent against this golden-glowing bastard hadn’t done a damned thing.

His arm shuddered under the strain of blocking the warrior’s attack. Xavier glimpsed the man’s eyes through the slit in his helm. They were glowing, just as Xavier’s eyes sometimes glowed. Though where Xavier eyes glowed silver’s, this man’s glowed yellow.

What attribute is that?

He didn’t know. But apparently this warrior was incredibly resistant to magic.

Fortunately for Xavier, being resistant to magic didn’t make one resistance to soul damage.

Xavier took a swift step back, waiting for Soul Strike to reach the end of its cooldown. It was only six seconds away. Six seconds until he could blast this warrior with as many souls as he had left in his reserve.

Only where Xavier stepped back, there was no longer any ground. It dropped away. His reflexes being as fast as they were, he shouldn’t have lost his balance. But a rock suddenly jutted out, pushing his front foot up, making him fall straight backward.

Earth magic. This bastard has earth magic.

As he fell, Xavier spun so he could face the ground. He held Soultaker with one hand and was going to stop his fall with the other. Only he was falling straight into a hole that was larger than a two-storey house.

Once again, he wished he had some ability to fly like Justin. But he at least managed to reorient himself in the air enough to land in a crouch.

He sprinted for the wall of the hole, ready to leap at it and climb straight out and back up to the battlefield. Then a shadow fell over him. No… that wasn’t a shadow.

The hole was closing.

Xavier was being buried alive.