Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion - Chapter 44 - Those Bloody Knife-Ears

Xavier stood in the middle of a large field of long, purple grass. Two suns blared down at him and his party from above. And, on either side of them, two opposing armies marched.

One, an army of elves, five hundred strong.

The other, an army of humans, equal in number.

Xavier stared at the last line of the notification that had popped up in his vision.

Whose call will you answer?

He had to choose which army to fight with.

“Are you guys seeing this?” Xavier asked.

He looked at the others. Their eyes were slightly glazed over. A familiar expression he was beginning to recognise—when they were reading text he couldn’t see. His eyes had probably looked the same a moment ago.

Siobhan nodded. She looked at Xavier. “Which side should we choose?”

Howard and Justin looked at him expectantly.

Xavier rubbed the back of his neck. “I… don’t know. I suppose it doesn’t really matter?”

Justin looked over at the human army. “Do you suppose these people are… real? If the System creates these instances for the Tower of Champions, and each floor is identical to what countless other people experience, and we’ll be able to restart this whole floor if we leave through the trapdoor and return…”

“I’m sure they’re as real as the beasts we faced on other floors,” Howard said. “Don’t think we need to question it more than that.”

Xavier nodded. The man was right. They could get all existential about how real everything they were experiencing was, but that wouldn’t actually help them. “I think we should fight with the human side this time, then the elven side next time. Rotate between them as we farm this level. Learn as much as we can about both of them.” He looked at Howard. “I’m… not really sure how fighting in an army is going to help me train those qualities you were talking about, but I’ll do my best.”

Howard shrugged. “I know you will. I’ve seen that.”

When they’d decided Xavier needed to train his fight capabilities, rather than just brute-forcing everything, he’d been hoping they would be taken somewhere he could fight beasts in a more controlled way.

This floor? It wasn’t that.

We work with what we have.

“How are we going to get back through the trapdoor when the fighting is underway?” Siobhan asked.

Xavier ran a hand through his hair, looking from one army to the other. “We’ll just have to figure something out.” It wasn’t a great answer, but it was all he had at the moment. “We could leave one enemy alive at the end.” Though he couldn’t see a floor boss, he was sure one would appear at some point.

His forehead creased as he willed the choice.

Whose call will you answer?

The humans.

A bright, glowing white light came out of nowhere, enveloping the four of them. It was a light Xavier recognised. One he’d seen before, when Siobhan had Summoned Howard to her while they were up against the Rat King, and he’d blocked a strike that would have killed her.

Xavier and his party were teleported straight to the head of the human army. For a moment, Xavier panicked, worried the army would attack them. How would they know they were on their side?

Xavier might be confident in his abilities, but he didn’t know how to fight five hundred opponents all at once.

Not yet, at least. I wonder if that will be in my future…

Seeing the army up close, he could get a better look at them. The armour they were wearing was a step above the thin leather armour that Howard and Justin wore, but it wasn’t as good as plate armour.

It looked to be ringmail armour, no doubt with gambeson—padded jackets—worn underneath. At least, if his research of medieval armour for his writing proved to be true.

Most of the soldiers at the front line were carrying spears, which he supposed made better sense than swords for a battle. It actually made him wonder why a Basic Warrior wasn’t outfitted with a spear when they started.

Not the time to think about all of this…

He scanned the nearest soldier.

{Human – Level 12}

One level higher than the last enemies we faced on the previous floor.

Xavier was beginning to see a pattern. Though this floor was certainly very different to the last. He quickly scanned a few more of them while they were still a few feet away and found them all to be of the same level.

Five hundred level 12 soldiers… they better not decide I’m an enemy.

One soldier, a grizzled looking man that appeared to be in his forties, raised his spear high. “Halt march!” he called in a booming voice that couldn’t be natural.

Does he have some sort of skill that makes his voice louder? Xavier wondered. He supposed that would come in handy when leading an army.

Xavier stepped in front of the others, still holding his Spirit Staff of Might tightly in his grip. The grizzled soldier, spear in one hand, shield in the other, didn’t look actively threatening, but Xavier wasn’t going to take any chances.

“Bless the Expanse! Our calls were heard!” The grizzled soldier smiled broadly as he approached, stopping a few feet away from Xavier and his party. The man frowned, looking between them. “You are the Champions we called for, are you not?”

Bless the Expanse? What’s the Expanse? Does he mean the System?

Xavier tilted his chin up. “We are.” Honestly, he wasn’t really sure what else to say beyond that.

The soldier raised his spear. He turned back to face the army behind him and used that loud, bellowing voice that sounded like it carried far enough to be heard by all five hundred soldiers. “The Champions have come! They heeded our call!” He faced Xavier and the others, lowering his head. “We will follow your orders to the word, O great Champions, to our deaths if we have to.”

Howard stepped forward. He had that blank but serious look about him. “What’s the situation, uh?” He motioned toward the man.

The soldier blinked. “Sergeant Bradley, Sir.”

“What’s the situation, Sergeant Bradley?”

Sergeant Bradley looked a little confused. He pointed at the other army. “We’re at war.” He motioned to his own army at his back. “Battle’s about to start.”

Xavier had to keep himself from laughing. Straightforward, I’ll give him that. Suppose there isn’t much more to it. Though shouldn’t some lord be leading the army? With a cool-sounding last name like Stark or Aragorn?

Howard sighed. “What do we know about the enemy?”

Xavier took a moment to look at the rest of the soldiers. They weren’t all Warriors. Behind the line of Warriors there were soldiers holding bows—both flat and long—and robed soldiers that must have been Mages. Or Clerics, if that’s what healers are called.

“The enemy, well, those bastard scoundrels have been waging war with us for centuries.” Sergeant Bradley spat on the purple grass. “Excuse my language, sirs and madam—”

“Madam? How old does he think I am?” Siobhan muttered under her breath, sounding a little offended.

“—but those bloody knife-ears have been burning villages right up the coast for years.” The sergeant rubbed the back of his head. “Course, we been doing the same to them, but I am sure it was they who started the conflict!”

“You… don’t remember?” Justin asked.

Sergeant Bradley shook his head, his face lined and angry. Then he smiled again. Looked at the four of them. “But with you lot here, Champions, on our side, we’ll finally be able to tip the scales in our favour! Our armies were evenly matched, without you we probably would have wiped each other out to a man. Or, er, to a woman.” He nodded at Siobhan. “To both!” The sergeant frowned at that, as though just now realising how foolish that would have been. Two armies killing each other until no one was left standing.

The System definitely came up with this scenario, Xavier thought. And it doesn’t seem to have even fleshed out this world all that much. They can’t even remember why they were fighting?

It sounded more than a little ludicrous, but, then again, he was sure wars had been fought back on Earth over even less.

As to whether these people were real… they certainly lookedreal, and he was sure their weapons would feel real if one of them hit him. Was sure they breathed real air and bled real blood.

Could the System have created these people from nothing, just for the purposes of the Tower of Champions?

It seemed, well, rather insane.

His memory flashed back to watching the Navy Seal getting struck by lightning for refusing to fight him. Yeah, insane is right. I’ve already seen proof of that.

“Enough talk,” Xavier said. He’d been a little tongue-tied before. It wasn’t every day he spoke in front of a bloody army. But these people, real or not, were nothing more than tools of the System, and he was more powerful than all of them.

Why should he be afraid to talk?

Xavier turned and faced the other army. Even from here, he could see the circular patch devoid of purple grass in the middle of the field. “You see that area in the middle?” He glanced over at the sergeant.

Sergeant Bradley stepped forward, looking over at the circular patch where the trapdoor to the Staging Area was. The man narrowed his gaze, bushy brows pinching together. “Aye, sir. I see it.”

“Get your best soldiers to secure that area, and another twenty as honour guard protect us with their lives.” Xavier gestured toward Howard, Siobhan and Justin. “Understood?”

The sergeant, though looking slightly confused, nodded. “Aye, sir. Understood.”

Xavier looked at Howard. “You’re going to be keeping Siobhan and Justin alive through this, all right? We all have some training to do here. If you want to be a stronger tank, to better defend attacks for us, you’ll need to train that quality. You’ve got the Physical Resistance skill?”

Howard nodded.

“Good. The more you’re a tank in fighting and battles, the more likely you’ll get a class suited toward that at level 10.” Though Xavier said the words with confidence, none of them were totally sure that was exactly how it worked.

We just have to assume it will be. Besides, he should be able to rank up that skill of his if he’s taking hits. I’ve managed to do the same, after all.

Xavier looked at Siobhan next. “You’re going to get some crowd control practice what that Cast Element spell of yours.” He bobbed his head toward Howard. “And you can keep this one alive with that Heal Other spell.”

“What about me?” Justin said, shifting from foot to foot.

Xavier’s forehead creased. What about him? He hadn’t really thought up what Justin could do. If his party were to help him to clear floors of the Tower of Champions while he still gained the solo titles, they couldn’t actually attack the enemies.

Which was a shame, considering he reckoned Justin would be quite good with that sword, having been an Olympic fencer and all. He’d likely gain skill ranks really fast with that thing, too.

Xavier considered what role the man could play. Howard would obviously be a tank, made even better if he was able to get some sort of Taunt spell along with his Bulwark spell.

Siobhan would be able to heal and also Summon people toward her, which could get them out of danger and out of the woods health-wise. Her spells leant themselves perfectly to support. They hadn’t yet discovered if healing another would gain her experience if that person killed an enemy during the encounter, but even if it did, she’d be able to heal Howard and Justin.

Xavier, feeling more confident than usual, placed a hand on the teenager’s shoulder. “I’m not sure what role you’ll play yet, Justin, but I know it will be an important one. You’re fast, and I’m sure damned good with that sword. Right now, maybe focus on your combat and gathering and looting corpses into your Storage Ring. We all need to gain levels while farming this floor.”

Xavier paused, facing all three of them. “Remember, no unnecessary risks. We are here to train.” He glanced over at Bradley, then ushered the others a little bit away, huddling together so the sergeant and the soldiers at his back couldn’t hear him. “As heartless as it sounds, those soldiers are expendable.”

The words came to him easier than they should have. It was a coin flip which side they ended up fighting on, and they’d be switching sides their next run through this floor… they couldn’t be sentimental about these soldiers, whether they were truly real or not.

We’re here to train. To get as much out of this floor, out of this tower, as we can.

Siobhan frowned at him. Justin looked at the ground. Howard’s face was still mostly blank but for a crease lining his brow.

“Let them protect you. Fall behind them. Do anything you can to survive.” Xavier pointed toward the elves. “We don’t know how strong those soldiers are. And we don’t know what to expect from that army. Which means we need to let the soldiers go first.”

“Cannon fodder,” Howard muttered, shaking his head. “Makes a terrible sort of sense, I suppose.” He scratched his stubble with the top of the tower shield, then nodded curtly. “Xavier’s right. Feels different, this time, cause they’re human. But we can’t think that way if we want to thrive in this place.” He glanced over his shoulder at the army. Then over at the elves. “This is as controlled a situation as we’re ever going to get in battle. We need to use it to our advantage. Learn to prioritise.”

Xavier looked at Justin. The teenager swallowed. Nodded. “It’s what has to be done.”

Siobhan looked from one army to the other, as Howard had. “It’s so much easier in video games. But...” She shut her eyes, let out a shuddering breath. “We came here to get stronger, to protect each other. To protect Xavier. That is the main goal.”

She opened her eyes, bit her lip. “And, as much as it pains me to admit, this might be good practice for us…” She eyed Xavier. “For you. If you, with all your titles, all the power you’ll gain from this tower… if you really are Earth’s best hope, we can’t let anything happen to you.” Her gaze fell to the ground. “There may be times like this, where it’s the lives of people from Earth. Maybe even the lives of people you know. They may have to sacrifice themselves for you, and you might have to let them.”

Xavier had been holding his breath, waiting for her reaction. He hadn’t expected her to say that. The words hit him hard. He hadn’t known her and Howard and Justin long, and all he could imagine was one of them—namely Siobhan—getting killed trying to protect him, and him… having to let her, else he die himself?

That didn’t sound like something a hero would do.

I want to become so powerful that that doesn’t happen. That it can’t happen. He turned and looked at the elven army. I want to become powerful enough that I can face that army alone and I don’t have to rely on anyone else, or risk anyone else.

But before that time came, he would have to do whatever he could to get there.

Xavier turned and faced the elven army, which was still marching toward them. They had to move if they wanted to get the door to the Staging Room secured.

He’d never seen so many enemies so close together before. It made him wonder how fast he could take them out—how fast he could get to level 10.

He looked at Siobhan. “If you see me in danger, summon me to you, yeah?”

Siobhan nodded. “Call my name. I’ll hear you.”

I hope you’re right, Xavier thought.

He raised his staff, and called for the army he suddenly controlled to charge ahead.