Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion (Book 2) - Chapter 20 - Quick Work We Will Make Of This Swine

An immense pressure filled Xavier’s mind, a pressure that he’d never before experienced.

The strand of energy between himself and the E Grade boss he now controlled was more solid than any he’d used yet, but it came at a cost, one he hadn’t realised until the spell connected his mind to the beastman’s.

Energy streamed out of Xavier’s secondary core, and it wasn’t the cost of the spell he was feeling, for that had already been paid.

What the hell?

The spell had never used more energy than its initial casting before.

It’s taking more energy to maintain the connection!

Xavier gritted his teeth. The enemies crowded in around him. Wolven fangs dug through the fabric of his robes. Swords slashed at his head, stabbed at his side. Axes cleaved into his back. Spears thrust for his chest. His mind was stuck. He’d put all his focus into this one task and his body had frozen as the connection solidified.

Your health is at 55%.

No. No no no.

His health was falling waytoo fast. It was lower than it had ever been during one of these waves! He’d just gotten it back over 90%. A panic settled over his mind. A panic that tensed his entire body.

Stop thinking. Stop thinking and move!

But he couldn’t. Something strange was happening to him. It took him mere seconds to realise what that was, but those seconds cost him dearly.

My Willpower… As the energy was being drained, every ounce of his secondary core set upon the task of controlling an E Grade Denizen, it was like he’d lost the attribute altogether—at least the mental aspects of it. Without it, he was clamming up.

No. I can’t let this happen!

Xavier clenched his jaw. He finally moved, slashing around him with his staff-scythe, separating heads from bodies all around him in a circle. Pushing other enemies away with Heavy Telekinesis. Defending ever more with Soul Block. A space formed around him and with that space his mind got a moment to breathe.

And so he pushed a command toward the E Grade boss.

Kill them all!

The beast had stopped convulsing. Now, it was frozen where it stood.

Xavier sent the mental command two more times before he saw it stick. The beastman moved. Slowly, at first, then green energy infused its entire body and it was off like a shot, tearing through its own ranks, destroying everything in its path. Green, translucent glowing claws grew from its normal ones and sliced through the bodies of its own allies.

Xavier fought the enemies around him, regaining more control of his own body and mind with every second that passed, forever keeping an eye on the Willpower Energy within him. He’d paused—without meaning to—cultivating more of it into himself when the connection had been made. He began cultivating it again even as he moved, but it wasn’t enough.

He couldn’t bring in more energy fast enough.

His control over the E Grade boss wavered several times. The beastman would freeze in the middle of one of its attacks. A mental push got the thing moving again, but every one of those pushes cost him more energy.

Then, all too fast, he used the last drop of his Willpower Energy. His secondary core had been completely emptied with a single spell. The spell had grown more and more expensive as it had increased its ranks, but his Willpower Core had increased how much energy it could store at the exact same rate—which showed him that somehow the core was connected to the spells along with his Willpower stat.

Xavier grinned. Despite the mess he was in. Despite his core being empty. Despite another ten thousand enemies and another E Grade boss joining the fray. He grinned because he knew that now, he was the one in control.

A great roar of anger filled the air, which only made Xavier’s grin turn into a wide smile. The beastman had regained control of its body and mind.

It’s going to come after me.

Xavier let it.

The beastman must have killed a thousand soldiers and beasts of the Endless Horde in the nine seconds that Xavier had been able to control it. Nine whole seconds. It might not sound like much, but he knew it was a massiveamount of time. When I fight the beast, I’ll be able to kill it. I’ll take over its mind and it won’t be able to fight back.

At least, that’s how he envisioned the fight going.

He drew Willpower Energy back into his core, cultivating it faster and smoother than he ever had before. Another roar sounded, and somehow—over the sound of the thousands of enemies around him—he could hear the thump, thump, thump, of the E Grade boss’s heavy steps on the ground.

Everything around Xavier blurred as his vision tunnelled, narrowing at the enemy barrelling toward him. His Willpower Energy was steadily rising, and he felt the influence of the attribute once more.

Losing it had been rather startling. Though he realised he hadn’t actually lost it, it had just felt like he’d lost it—that was why he’d been able to regain control of himself.

Still, he would need to keep that in mind for the next time he cast the spell. It had a cost, but as long as he knew that cost, he could ensure it didn’t hurt him.

Or, at least, he could do his best to ensure it didn’t.

As the beastman neared, Xavier cast the spell again. It wouldn’t last for as long as last time, but he didn’t need it to. As long as it lasted even a couple of seconds, it would be worth it.

Once again, the pressure entered Xavier’s mind. This time, he was ready for it. This time, he didn’t let it stop him from striking out at the enemies around him.

The strand of Willpower Energy connected him to the E Grade werewolf-beast.

Kill them all, away from me.

Xavier pushed the command, three times in quick succession, and watched as the beastman turned around and instantly started carving into its allies for a second time. He’d commanded the beast to move away from him, so it would take time for it to come back—assuming it came back a third time.

Xavier grinned. The enemy lines were finally, finally thinning.

This is going to work.

If he could clear all the enemies before the next wave began, he’d finally be back on track. He’d be able to get to the wall and figure out what he needed to do in order to reach the next rank.

Then, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the other three E Grade wave bosses begin to stir. They’d been watching this whole time.

~

Uthor Golbrack was the mightiest warrior from his planet. Though human, he stood at seven feet because of his class—a berserker class. He hefted his massive, double-bearded war axe onto his shoulder and sniffed as he watched the Champion of the Void kill more of the Endless Horde’s fodder. His instructions told him to stand back. To wait. To let the waves accumulate until the Champion became completely overwhelmed.

But Uthor was growing restless. The Champion was, somehow, managing to turn the tide. He glanced over at his fellows. The E Grade wave bosses from the two waves above his own. They were beginning to stir. Talber, an elven archer, gripped his staff in both hands, while Creledifisda, a Wolven Matriarch, growled softly in her throat.

They’re growing just as impatient as I am.

They each glanced his way. The eagerness in their eyes was evident. This farce of a battle had gone on long enough. The System may have forced them to do it in this way, but now that their waves had begun, they should be able to do as they wished—consequences be damned.

Small nods were sent back and forth between them.

A grin alighted Uthor’s face. He gripped his war axe—Tabitha—tightly.

He would greatly enjoy separating that Champion’s head from his body.

~

Talber breathed deeply, then coughed.

Fallen Gods, the smell of this place made him ache for the ancient forests of Yea’ldr.

I shall return their soon, once this fight is over. Once my duty has been fulfilled.

The woman who was their target stood upon the wall’s battlements. He could see her, hands clasped and clutched at her breast, fear and worry seeping from her eyes. He could make quick work of the woman—one of his arrows might even be able to reach her from here—but that was not how things went.

Not until the Champion was dead.

Talber did not smile as he stepped forth and nocked an arrow, the Champion of the Void in his sights. He took no joy in battle. He had spent more than a century in the Endless Horde now, and he had only joined so that it would not consume his planet. He did his duty—whatever was needed of him—and when nothing was needed, he was given his peace. It had always seemed a fair trade.

This man’s death will bring my peace.

~

Creledifisda sniffed the air. She’d been twitching and ready to move since the moment those war drums had thudded. Why her orders told her to wait, she didn’t know. Uthor and Talber looked as though they would wait no more, and so she figured it was time for her to move as well.

Quick work we will make of this swine, and after his death we shall all dine.

Crel chuckled to herself. It wasn’t the best rhyme, but what else could she occupy her mind with while she waited? She’d stepped through the portal three days ago, and all she’d bloody done since then was stand in a line.

Stand in a line and try not to whine.

Crel cast Strength Infusion on herself. Energy thrummed through her body. Her strength grew. Her muscles enlarged. Legs. Arms. Torso.

Time to ravage, time to kill, and in that I find my only thrill.