Accidental Champion of Earth - Chapter 29 - First Floor Climber

Xavier watched the two Black Pumas slam into the stone floor of the temple.

You have defeated a Level 11 Black Puma!

You have gained 1100 Mastery Points.

You have gained 1100 Spirit Energy.

You have defeated a Level 11 Black Puma!

You have gained 1100 Mastery Points.

You have gained 1100 Spirit Energy.

Huh. He’d been right. The Heavy Telekinesis spell could take out the two beasts without needing a boost from Spiritual Trifecta. Something he was glad for. He didn’t want to waste the Spiritual Trifecta spell facing the two weak guards, only to have it wear off before he faced the main boss.

Xavier looked over at the Puma Prime. He didn’t like the look of the halberd it wielded. That thing looked dangerous. The reach on it was massive compared to Xavier’s own staff. Honestly, it seemed ludicrous to have to face an enemy that much taller than himself.

I wonder if other parties farm the first Black Puma outside of the cabin, over and over, so they can gain a few levels before going after the rest and the boss at the end. He nodded to himself, thinking that would be a smart approach for others. It was probably the advantage that established parties gained that most others didn’t.

That, and they likely had far better weapons and armour.

All right. Stop dallying. It’s time I finish this, clear this floor, and get out of here.

The Puma Prime stood from its throne. Its eyes were wide, and was it… afraid? The beast opened its mouth. “You.” It waved a shaking hand at the dead Black Pumas. “How?” Its other hand gripped the long halberd tight.

Xavier looked up at the tall ceiling. I suppose that’s why its so tall. He looked left and right. And why this hall is so wide. The Puma Prime wouldn’t be able to fight in here otherwise.

Again, he didn’t want to stop and talk. Xavier sprinted straight toward the scared looking cat with a smirk on his face, whispering under his breath, “Here, kitty kitty.” He figured if he had to live and fight in this new reality, he might as well enjoy it.

His Spirit Energy was completely full. Killing those two Black Pumas had restored the paltry 300 points he’d needed to use Heavy Telekinesis. And by the time he reached the end of the long hall he felt the spell reach the end of its cooldown.

I’ll make this quick.

The Puma Prime took his halberd in both hands and pointed it toward Xavier. A look of anger contorted its face. It opened its massive maw wide, showing off those large, sharp fangs once more, and released a roar that was louder than anything Xavier had heard back in the forest—even louder than when he’d been fighting with all thirty-five of those Black Pumas.

An observer might think he was running straight at the enemy’s weapon, the Puma Prime standing there awaiting him like a pikeman awaited a cavalry charge. Shaking in fear but determined to hold. But Xavier was just trying to close the gap. He wasn’t going to puncture himself on that thing.

When he deemed himself close enough to the Puma Prime, he activated Spiritual Trifecta, infusing his body, mind and magic with power, and engulfing him in that now familiar silver sheen.

The brightness of the spell further illuminated the temple, and he was sure he looked like a beacon in the middle of it. An easy target. That was something he might have to consider in the future. Not a good spell if I’m going for stealth.

The Puma Prime, still roaring, didn’t look as though it could bear holding anymore. It began bounding forward on two massive legs, its strides longer than Xavier was tall, its halberd pointed downward toward him. Xavier had the absurd thought that right now the beast looked like a pole-vaulter.

The moment Xavier had seen the massive beast stand he’d played the fight out in his head. At least, played out how he’d wanted it to go. He didn’t know if it would work, but he damn sure hoped it would.

They were but a few strides away from each other when Xavier leapt up into the air, as high as his legs could take him. Which only brought him up to chest height with the beast.

That’s when Xavier cast Heavy Telekinesis. He angled the spell downward as best he could, wanting to push his enemy toward the stone. The spell hit, though it didn’t hit as hard as it had been hitting the other enemies he’d used it on.

Does the Puma Prime have some sort of resistance to magic? It wasn’t something he’d really considered, as he hadn’t come up against it yet, but he supposed it must be possible. He’d seen such skills available to him when he’d been looking to spend his skill point.

But just because the Puma Prime was able to resist his spell, didn’t mean it had no effect. The beast was flung downward. It stumbled back two steps before it over balanced and fell straight onto its ass on the hard, cold floor of the temple.

Xavier had been hoping—had been expecting—his spell to deal far more damage than that. He’d been thinking to crush the beast’s bones and leave it crippled and barely able to move, if not completely dead considering he’d been able to take out the two level 11 Black Pumas so easily.

But this didn’t change what he did next. Xavier landed atop his downed enemy, right on the beast’s chest, and slammed his staff—his muscles infused with extra strength—straight into its cat head.

He cracked the beast straight in the left temple. Its head snapped to the right and the strike boomed outward like stone crashing against stone.

Crack.

He slammed his staff into the beast again.

Crack. Crack. Crack! CRACK!

He used up every second of Spiritual Trifecta, slamming his staff into the beast’s skull over and over. Blood spurted up from the wound and every strike snapped its head one way then back the other.

God, how much health does this thing have? Any one of these strikes would have taken down one of the normal Black Pumas, but it was like the Puma Prime had extra resistance to not just magical attacks, but physical ones as well. I have enough points to be a higher level than this thing, shouldn’t it be easy for me to kill it?

When Spiritual Trifecta ended, he’d cracked his staff into the beast’s head six times. It was still breathing, but it wasn’t moving. When the exhaustion hit Xavier, he’d been worried the beast might notice and attack back, but it hadn’t tried to move out of the position it was in at all.

Heavy Telekinesis was already ready to be used again. Xavier, still standing on the anthropomorphic beast’s chest, stared down at its drooping eyes. The beast locked gazes with him, blood covering its face that was caved in on two sides. The Puma Prime brought up its head. Made the struggle look like it was lifting a heavy weight. Like it was using every ounce of strength it had. “Finish. It,” it rasped out.

Xavier felt a twinge of guilt at the state he’d left the beast in. At the amount of pain it must be suffering. Not for much longer. Heavy Telekinesis might not work as well on this beast as it had on others, but it still worked.

He angled the spell straight over the Puma Prime’s head, then cast Heavy Telekinesis facing straight downward, focusing it as narrowly as he could manage. As the spell wasn’t built for precision, it wasn’t perfect, but it worked.

Most of the force of the spell hit the top of the Puma Prime’s head and snapped it straight back to smash into the stone temple floor. The Puma Prime had breathed its last breath.

You have defeated a Level 15 Puma Prime!

You have gained 3000 Mastery Points.

You have gained 3000 Spirit Energy.

Xavier frowned. 3000 Mastery Points and 3000 Spirit Energy? That was twice as much as he’d been expecting for a level 15 enemy!

More notifications began to appear. Xavier looked at them one by one.

Congratulations! You have cleared the First Floor of the Tower of Champions.

Party Member Contribution:

Xavier: 50/50 Kills.

Howard: 0/50 Kills.

Justin: 0/50 Kills.

Siobhan: 0/50 Kills.

No shared attributions apply on this floor.

Party member contribution? I didn’t know the System would track that.

Title Unlocked!

First Floor Climber: This title has the opportunity to be upgraded. You have cleared the First Floor of the Temple of Champions, and shall be rewarded.

You have received +2 to all stats!

Plus 2 to all stats. That’s not too bad, I guess. Though I was expecting to get more than that, considering. The way the System had mentioned the rewards gained from the Tower of Champions, this really didn’t feel like much.

The notifications did not end there, of course.

Title Unlocked!

Solo Tower Climber 1: This title has the opportunity to be upgraded. You have cleared a floor of the Temple of Champions by yourself. You are either very brave or very stupid for attempting such a feat. Know that whether this feat was achieved through sheer skill unbridled luck, you shall be rewarded.

You have received +8 to all stats!

Xavier couldn’t help but smile. Now that’s more like it!

He hadn’t expected to gain such a title, as the other members of his party were still technically on this floor, they were simply in a Safe Zone. But as the System tracked contributions to kills, he supposed it was inevitable.

I’m glad I didn’t let one of the others attack that first Black Puma.

He shook his head. +8 attribute points to all stats. It was the biggest title he had—even bigger than his First Defender of Planet Earth title. Is clearing a floor solo really that much of a big deal?

Xavier’s eyes widened as he spotted the next title.

Title Unlocked!

1st First Floor Climber: Out of Champions from five competing worlds, your party are the first to clear the First Floor of the Tower of Champions within your instance.

You have received +5 to all stats!

Xavier was about to celebrate when another notification took him by surprise.

Title Unlocked!

First Floor Ranked 42 (Completion Time – 2 hrs 47 mins): Out of all the Champions from all the worlds in the Greater Universe who have completed the First Floor of the Tower of Champions in every possible instance, you have edged into the top 100 fastest times at No. 42.

This title is a Temporary Title. If your record is edged out of the top 100, your title will be lost.

You have received +10 to all stats!

Xavier’s jaw dropped. He struggled to believe what he was reading.

Out of all the Champions from all the worlds in the Greater Universe…

How many Champions would that be? There were one million people here from his world alone, not to mention the four other worlds. For a moment, he contemplated how large the universe was, and how many thousands, millions, billions, perhaps even trillions of worlds must have been integrated into the Greater Universe by the system since the start of the big bang… Then there was the fact that it wasn’t only new worlds who came to the Tower of Champions. Everyone who gained access to the System at age 16 and chose Champion… they were the ones who came here.

Which means there are probably countless new Tower of Champions instance created every day…

Even with his high Intelligence attribute he simply couldn’t fathom how many would have tried to do what he’d just done. And I’m ranked 42. In all the universe. Despite the sheer number of Denizens who had likely done this before, Xavier couldn’t help being a littledisappointed that he wasn’t the first, but he knew that was sheer arrogance.

He also liked the number 42.

And +10 to all stats? That was insane! With the four titles he’d just received, he’d gained… +25 to all stats, totalling at 150 stat points! Doing the math, he was now equivalent to someone at level 40! Though he imagined his stats were more balanced than the average level 40.

And here I am, still only level 6. It made him wonder about the powerhouses out there in the Greater Universes. How long they lived. How powerful they had become over the years. How many titles they had received.

What about the first person who ever received any titles at all? Are they still out there, somewhere, billions of years old? He shook his head. Another notification popped up.

In 30 seconds, you and your party will be returned to the Staging Room.