Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion - Chapter 92 - Champions of the Void

A wide smile burst onto Xavier’s face as he read the notification explaining what would happen on the fifth floor of the Tower of Champions.

He was in a castle about to be under siege by countless waves of enemies. Perhaps he should have felt some dread after reading the last line of the notification—

The waves are never Ending

—but this seemed like the perfect floor for him.

Though he had identified a few issues. First of those issues was the fact that he couldn’t play the floor out until the end to see what every wave had to offer. Not only because those waves were apparently infinite, but because after clearing four he’d need to turn back and head to the Staging Room if he wished to refresh the floor.

Surviving five waves clears the floor.

The second problem was, he didn’t know how many waves he would need to defend against to get into the top 100 of the ladder, let alone grab the number one spot.

A wave based record, not a time based one.

Xavier had—wrongly—assumed that the Tower of Champions floors would always be time based, thinking he would need to do each floor as fast as possible.

This changed things.

At least only on hour will pass in here, no matter how much time we’re on this floor. Though that does mean each refresh—even if we’re only in here for a short time—will take an entire hour.

He pushed away those worries and headed back to the Safe Zone to grab the others. Though he didn’t want to take the time to have them level up again, he wasn’t going to clear the floor on his first time on it. So he might as well let them test out their new classes against the first few waves of enemies.

Xavier opened the door to the Safe Zone and grinned at the others. “I was right. It is a castle.”

Siobhan smiled back at him. “A castle? Really?”

Xavier stepped aside, holding the door open as she walked through it and into the flagstone-paved bailey.

Her eyes widened as she looked around. She turned and gazed up at the castle. “Whoa! This is just like being back in Ireland. But… I’ve never seen a castle look so new.” She chuckled. “Usually they’re hundreds of years old.” She touched one of the walls. “This stone doesn’t look that old.”

Howard and Justin stepped out next. Howard’s gaze fell straight onto the gathered soldiers. He already had his tower shield summoned. He paused—so did the others—eyes glazing over.

They must not have gotten the notification while they’d been in the Safe Zone.

“Waves?” Howard muttered. “I suppose that means that group of Denizens over there aren’t our enemy. Despite how… varied they are.”

Siobhan turned around and looked at the soldiers. Justin was already gawking at them.

“Is that… lizard men? Anubis? Or would it be Anubi…?” Justin took a step back. “And demons?”

“I don’t think they’re demons,” Siobhan said. “Though that would be exciting, wouldn’t it?”

Xavier couldn’t help but chuckle. “Demons would be exciting?”

“Think about the implications! Of all of this! These floors have been around for billions of years. Not only does that tell as that convergent evolution is real.” She waved a hand, motioning toward the soldiers, some among them human. “Because, well, humans! We’ve been around for billions of years! Before we evolved on Earth! Isn’t that damned fascinating? Then we find out elves are real.” Her smile widened. “How could elvesbe real? They’re supposed to be something we invented. A myth we created. Yet they’ve been around just as long, and, somehow, we knew about them before the integration.”

Howard grunted. His forehead creased deeply. “Does your head in, that.”

Justin’s mouth had fallen open as he stared at the soldiers. “I hadn’t even thought of that. That’s… that’s… what does that mean?”

“I don’t know!” Siobhan said. “But it’s fascinating.” She walked forward. Another bell was ringing. The portcullis in the inner bailey was being brought up, the gathered soldiers filing through it.

Xavier was about to follow her out when the double doors to the castle opened. Ten soldiers—knights?—stepped out, flanking a young, stern looking woman with impeccable posture, and an old, stooped, wizened man with a pointed grey beard.

Xavier and his party froze, turning around to look at those walking down the steps. The knights wore golden armour with what looked like a griffon etched into each of their breastplates. Their cloaks were the deep red of blood. Some were human, some elf, and two were demons—or at least, they looked demonic.

The woman at the centre, however, was clearly human. And, well, strikingly beautiful. She wore a crown of gold bejewelled with various coloured gemstones, mostly rubies and emeralds. Though as this was another world, Xavier supposed they might be something else.

She wasn’t wearing armour, or mage robes. Instead, she wore a rich, silver gown that flowed all the way to the ground, though it didn’t have any sort of trail. Her hair was a brown so dark it looked almost black, and was pulled up in some intricate bun beneath her crown.

Xavier took a step forward without even meaning to.

The woman looked like a princess, and comported herself like a queen. She stopped at the step second to the bottom and raised a hand.

The old man behind her straightened and cleared his throat. “Her Majesty Queen Alastea thanks you for your swift arrival, Champions of the Void.”

Champions of the Void?

Xavier had never heard that term before. Looking at the queen, and at the man who was clearly some sort of adviser to her, he had to remind himself that this place wasn’t real. These people weren’t real.

They’d been created by the System. Or they were stuck in some sort of time-loop. He didn’t know. But they wouldn’t remember a single thing that happened once Xavier and his party left. It would all simply… begin again for them.

He stepped forward, standing in front of his party. Queen Alastea turned her gaze onto him. Xavier wasn’t exactly sure what to say. “We are honoured to serve, Your Majesty.” He gave a small bow and saw a smirk curl the sides of the queen’s lips.

“You need not stand on formality with me, Champion. I may be the ruler of this land, but I am not your ruler. How can I be, when you are not even of this world?” Queen Alastea stepped down to the bailey. She looked at Xavier, then at the others. “I have garnered the wrath of the Endless Horde.” She lowered her head. Sighed. “I do not doubt my fate. I will fight until my last breath, for I know that I cannot be spared.” She motioned toward the castle doors. “Half the kingdom has already been evacuated. However, creating portals takes time. It will be some hours until we can create another. Though I know that I and my queendom cannot endure, all I wish is for my people to survive.”

“Why can’t you leave?” Siobhan asked, a frown on her face.

Queen Alastea raised her chin. “My fate is sealed. I do not wish to speak more on the matter.” She raised her right hand. A staff appeared in it.

Summoned from a Storage Ring.

Queen Alastea walked toward the portcullis, her guard trailing behind her. The old adviser, however, stayed behind.

The adviser stared at the three of them with a furrowed brow. “You are Champions of the Void, and you have not heard of the Endless Horde?” He placed a hand on Xavier’s shoulder as he passed, releasing a long, weary sigh. “You will learn of them here.”

Xavier and his party watched as the queen, her guards, and the tall adviser streamed into the outer bailey, heading toward the battlements at the front walls.

“There felt like there was more… backstory in here than usual.” Siobhan pursed her lips. “These people feel so real.”

Justin shrugged. “At least… at least we’re not here to fight them.”

“I guess the portal will open after the fifth wave is cleared. And everyone is supposed to escape through it but the queen,” Xavier said. He started heading toward the portcullis. He wanted to get atop the walls. Wanted to see what the enemy looked like. He could hear their horns—horns of war—blaring again in the distance.

“Does that mean all the soldiers will leave after that wave? It will just be us and the queen?” Howard asked.

“Something tells me the waves will get much harder after that,” Justin muttered.

Part of Xavier wanted to leave the others behind and run to the battlements to get to them sooner. He couldn’t help but be intrigued by what the queen had said. Her fate being sealed. And… what was the Endless Horde? Simply something the System had created for this floor?

Or was it something that existed outside of it as well?

They headed through the gate and into the outer bailey. The wall the battlements stoop atop was curved, and Xavier spotted four sets of switchback stairs leading to the top. Gripping Soultaker in both hands, he wondered if he should be out on the ground when the first wave arrived. He hadn’t had a chance to rank up his Staff-Scythe Mastery skill, and his Physical Damage skill was lagging behind.

It would also be easier for him to train his resistances, and try out Soul Block, if he were out in the thick of things. Though he supposed it would be wise to see what they were dealing with before stepping out there.

There were ranks and ranks of soldiers gathered in the outer bailey. The space was large enough for several thousand of them, and there were hundreds more on the walls.

That’s a lot of defenders. How bad can these waves be if we’ve got that many soldiers fighting with us in a well-fortified location?

They hurried up the switchback stairs, a bell on the wall still ringing incessantly, and made it up to the battlements. Xavier glanced around until he saw Queen Alastea. The woman had one hand on the parapet, another on her staff. She gazed, wide-eyed, at the enemies gathered below.

Xavier stepped up to the parapet a little ways from the queen and looked over it. “Holy…”

Countless ranks of enemy soldiers, Denizens of all races, shapes and sizes, wearing dark, spiked armour, were slamming swords, hammers, axes into shields. The bell stopped ringing. The horns stopped blaring. And the sounds of the Endless Horde carried to where Xavier and his party stood.

War drums. Battle cries. Rabid roars, from Denizens and beasts. For there were a great many beasts standing alongside the humanoid ranks of denizens.

“How many are there?” Justin whispered.

The castle was in the middle of a long expanse of flat plains, walled on every side. And the enemy ranks were ringed all around it. And—just as the notification had said—their waves were never ending.

There were ranks farther than Xavier’s eye could see.

“Too many,” was all Xavier could find to say in reply.

The first wave began their charge.