Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion - Chapter 58 - Ghostly Scythe Of Darkest Night

Xavier placed his hand on the System Shop’s terminal, opening up the menu and feeding in his search parameters.

Scythe-staff, at the maximum I can afford, at the maximum I can wield. He bit his lip, pausing before beginning the search. This will likely show me only just afford, and whatever the most expensive thing I can get, I know I’ll want.

Xavier paused, considering this for a moment. Armour was important. But… was it important right now? He tilted his head to the side. Originally, he’d worried that min-maxing on his attributes would end up getting him dead.

But this was different, wasn’t it? He’d already proven he could take a beating, and all it did was literally make him stronger by giving him more ranks in his resistance skills.

His Robes of Intelligence might be flimsy, but they always healed right back up when he returned to the Staging Room. If he wanted to clear levels as fast as possible, he needed a weapon that would make himas strong as possible.

Soon, I might need to focus more on defence, especially in anticipation of returning to Earth. But right now? It’s not my priority.

Xavier smiled, easily convincing himself that spending every last one of his Lesser Spirit Coins on the most expensive weapon he could afford was a wise choice.

First, Xavier looked at his Spirit Staff of Might to compare what weapons he came across now, remembering it had cost him 45,000 Lesser Spirit Coins.

Spirit Staff of Might

This staff requires 50 Intelligence, 60 Spirit and 40 Strength to wield.

+5 Intelligence

+10 Spirit

+5 Speed

+10 Strength

+10% Spirit Energy recovery

+15% Magical Damage Dealt

+15% Physical Damage Dealt

Next, he sold his old staff to the System Shop, a little peeved that the shop only let him sell it back for 30,000 coins.

I lost 15,000 coins just from buying and selling it back?

Then Xavier entered his search parameters and looked at the top five choices within his price range.

Ghostly Scythe of Darkest Night

This staff requires 100 Intelligence, 100 Spirit and 80 Strength to wield.

+15 Intelligence

+20 Spirit

+10 Speed

+15 Strength

+20% Spirit Energy recovery

+25% Magical Damage Dealt

+25% Physical Damage Dealt

This item costs 200000 Lesser Spirit Coins

Xavier couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the name of the weapon. Ghostly Scythe of Darkest Night. It sounded so ridiculous it made him chuckle, but he couldn’t say he wouldn’t mind wielding something with a name like that.

It definitely gave him more stats than his current staff, with the added bonus that his new Scythe-Staff Mastery skill would actuallywork with the weapon.

I’d probably be able to afford decent armour with the money left over, too…

But Xavier didn’t stop there. He wanted to see what else there was to offer. The other three scythe-staffs he looked at, Scythe of Reaping, Phantom Stave of Spirit and one simply named Reaper Scythe all looked remarkably similar and cost about the same as the first had.

Finally, he looked at the fifth and most expensive choice.

Soultaker

This staff requires 150 Intelligence, 150 Spirit, 100 Willpower and 100 Strength to wield.

+30 Intelligence

+35 Spirit

+15 Speed

+20 Strength

+30% Spirit Energy recovery

+35% Magical Damage Dealt

+35% Physical Damage Dealt

This item costs 240000 Lesser Spirit Coins

The requirements took him by surprise, but the stats it offered couldn’t be denied. Again, it made him wonder how much high-end equipment could offer an incredibly rich Denizen. Though this weapon would require a high number of stats to even use.

He itched to take away his search parameters and see what more expensive weapons would offer him—if the attribute requirements would be lower and the attributes offered would higher, the more expensive the item—but he didn’t want to waste time indulging his curiosity on items he couldn’t yet afford.

This will be more than enough.

As it was the best weapon he could find, Xavier purchased the Soultaker without hesitation. The scythe-staff appeared in his hand. The moment it did, he felt his attributes rise. His muscles tensed, relaxed. His mind raced, slowed. The world did too. And he felt a warmth, deep inside, that he supposed must be his soul.

I guess there’s no threshold when an attribute reaches 200 stats. The weapon had brought his Intelligence over 200, but he didn’t notice any difference other than the improvement in stats. Maybe, if there’s another threshold, it’s at 500?

The Soultaker was… well, a beautiful weapon. So far, all (two) of the weapons he’d wielded had been staffs. This was a different beast. The blade at the top was larger than he’d expected—as long as his damned arm—yet somehow the weapon was perfectly balanced.

Not to mention considerably heavier than his last weapon.

I guess that’s why it requires so much Strength to wield.

It was nine-feet long, and he could feel that it was heavier, but he was still able to wield it with incredibly ease. He stepped into the middle of the Staging Room, where he had plenty of space, and couldn’t help but swipe it this way and that.

The weapon felt right in his hands. His strikes smooth and true, but different to how he’d wielded the staff. These strikes utilised the arm-long, vicious looking, sharp-as-anything scythe blade at its top.

A blade that looked like it could decapitate a heavy soldier through their plate armour.

He paused his swipes and examined the shaft of the scythe-staff. The wood was even darker than the wood of his last staff. Dark as night, much like the grim reaper itself. There were intricate runes worked into the wood, runes he could barely see—black on black—but ones that he could feel when he ran his hand up it.

Much of the beauty of the weapon was in its simplicity and craftsmanship. In its perfect balance and remarkable weight. In the sharpness and strength of its blade—the blade, too, was made of some strange black metal he couldn’t identify, though it was perfectly smooth.

Xavier smiled. I love it.

Though the others were keen to head to the tavern—not to mention get some rest—Xavier felt more energy than he ever had. He looked over at his party. The three of them were gathered not far off, having been watching as he swung Soultaker.

“I think you guys should go on ahead to the tavern alone.” Xavier wasn’t even feeling hungry. He just wanted to train. He looked over at the door to the tower. “I think I’ll check out the fourth floor and farm a few levels on my own. Test out my new spells.” He ran a hand along Soultaker. “And test out this beautiful beast.”

Howard raised an eyebrow. “You sure you don’t want something to eat?”

Xavier nodded. “I’m sure.”

Siobhan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You don’t want me to come along? In case you need some healing?”

“I think I’ll be all right. Don’t worry, I won’t clear the floor without the three of you.”

Siobhan nodded. “All right, then. We’ll, uh, be down in the tavern, then I think we’ll be able to spare one night’s sleep, with the lead we have?”

Xavier nodded. “I think that would be alright.” He turned away from the party, too eager to move toward the next floor for idle chitchat, and put a hand on the door.

Congratulations! You have cleared the first 3 floors of the Tower of Champions! You have reached the first Milestone in the tower.

As you have reached the first Milestone, the Tower of Champions will be locked to you for 90 hours. You have 89 hours and 27 minutes remaining.

If you are ahead, you need not worry about losing your lead, as every Champion who reaches this Milestone must pause and reflect for the same amount of time before re-entering the tower.

You may use this time to enter a different party, learn from your fellow Champions in your cohort, or train in the privacy of your Staging Room, preparing your next step on the journey of the Tower of Champions.

Xavier balked at the message. “Are you serious?” He felt a bit of sharp rage threaten to take him over.

“What is it?” Howard asked from the other side of the Staging Room, where the others had been about to leave.

“The Tower of Champions has locked us from entering the floor for almost four days.” Xavier stepped back. In his right hand, he gripped Soultaker tightly. Part of him wanted to cleave a hole through the damned door, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to.

He’d achieved so much in those past three floors, and now it wouldn’t let him move forward? We’ve only been here for a day and it’s already stopping us!

Xavier shut his eyes, took a breath.

“That’ll slow us down getting back to Earth,” Howard said, cursing under his breath. “I was hoping we’d be back there soon. Within the next day or two, at the rate you’re burning through the floors.”

Xavier let out his breath, opening his eyes, releasing the anger that had clutched at his chest. It’s only a few days, he told himself, but he was worried about what those few days would mean for the people back on Earth.

“It’s all right, Xavier. There’s nothing to be done about it. Come down to the tavern with us, maybe there’ll be others down there,” Siobhan said.

Others. Xavier wasn’t a fan of other people. Not really. He’d always been a bit of a loner, and the thought of entering the tavern and having to talk to a bunch of other Champions, all displaced from Earth just like the four of them had been… it felt far more difficult than killing five hundred soldiers and a level 40 hell beast had.

He turned away from the tower door all the same and nodded. Maybe a drink or two down in the tavern would settle his nerves. Maybe… maybe talking with others would put things in perspective.

Then, when he came back, he’d be ready to try out his new class, and plough through the last seven floors as fast as he could before finally returning to Earth.