Accidental Champion of Earth - Chapter 27 - I Won’t Let This Be The End

Your health is at 1%.

The notification stared at him. Goaded him. It was the only bloody thing that he could see.

I won’t let this be the end.

Heavy Telekinesis—bless the short cooldown of that spell—was ready to be used again. The feeling in his mind was like being let free. Though he wasn’t free. He had at least two Black Pumas on his back tearing into him with claws as large and sharp as daggers, and if he was hit even one more time, he would be dead.

Focusing all of his might and concentration toward a single point, Xavier did the only thing he could do in the position he was in—face down in the dirt, unable to see and barely able to even move his arms, let alone the staff he held.

He focused the spell downward, straight into the earth, hoping it would do what he wanted it to do. Though he’d managed to make his Heavy Telekinesis spell spread outward around him like a wave in the past, he’d needed his staff and hands to direct it. He wished more than anything that he could send the two beasts on his back flying away from him, but it simply wasn’t an option.

In a movie or TV show, this next move might have launched him straight backward, up into the air. But Xavier knew that wasn’t how it would work. If Heavy Telekinesis anchored him against the weight he pushed against, he would have been flung backward when he’d tried to fling those ten Black Pumas that added up to over 8000 pounds.

His Heavy Telekinesis spell slammed into the ground with all the force he could muster. It wasn’t as strong as it would have been had he had Spiritual Trifecta active, but it was still damned strong, and more than able to dig a ditch—or, more accurately, a crater—that must have been twelve feet deep and thirty feet wide, which wasn’t all that big considering those two Black Pumas were each at least twenty feet long with all four paws on the ground.

He’d sunk down into the crater. Knowing it was about to form, he was ready for it. The Black Pumas ripping into his back? They were not.

Xavier felt like the luckiest guy in the Greater Universe when he found his feet down in that ditch, though he knew he was still in an incredibly volatile situation. His health wouldn’t magically regenerate faster than he could take the hits from these beasts, and now he was stuck in a large hole with two of them.

But those two beasts had been disorientated by the fall. The confusion they felt wouldn’t last long. He capitalised upon it instantly, slamming his staff into one of their skulls.

Unfortunately, without Spiritual Trifecta active, one hit wasn’t enough. The first Black Puma fell backward in the pit—the pit that was barely large enough to hold him and the two massive beasts—just as the second Black Puma gained its feet.

Xavier’s body was weak. Weaker than it had ever been. Blood leaked from his back, and he could barely stand for the pain. Whatever had cracked in his spine made his back arch at an odd angle, and sending out that last strike against the first puma had made all the wounds stretch and tear—fortunately not enough to dash away that final percent of health.

But he had to push through the pain if he was going to survive.

He didn’t have time to check, but he knew he was close to a level up. A level up would grant him 50% more health. Refresh his spells. It would get him through this.

Xavier unleashed a roar of his own. The pain in his back doubled as he smashed his staff into the puma that had just gotten its feet and was swiping its massive claw toward his face. Xavier slammed the paw away with a parry—a little surprised that he was even able to—then thrust the staff straight into its eye. He kept pushing the staff, half-wishing it was a spear. The eyes being a weak point, Xavier managed to puncture straight through them and into its brain.

You have defeated a Level 10 Black Puma!

You have gained 1000 Mastery Points.

You have gained 1000 Spirit Energy.

Xavier almost fell back to the ground when he didn’t gain a level from the kill. But there was no time. The Black Pumas were circling above the crater, roaring down at him. Any moment they would leap into the fray.

He pounced at the remaining puma in the ditch with him and once again struck it in the head.

You have defeated a Level 10 Black Puma!

You have gained 1000 Mastery Points.

You have gained 1000 Spirit Energy.

Congratulations, you have reached level 6!

Your health has been regenerated by 50%!

Your Spirit Energy limit has increased by 100!

You have received +1 Intelligence, +1 Willpower and +1 Spirit!

You have received +5 free stat points!

All your spells have refreshed and are no longer on cooldown!

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Xavier felt the wounds in his back stitch themselves together, causing a terrible itch. But he would take the itch over the pain. Whatever had broken in his back cracked back into place. Mostly back into place. He’d only gained back 50% of his health, after all. And he was sure some of his wounds would still be open.

But at least one more hit won’t kill me.

His spells active again, Xavier didn’t hesitate. He cast Spiritual Trifecta then leapt straight up out of that twelve-foot-deep crater he’d created. When he landed back on solid ground near the edge of the hole, one of the Black Pumas leapt at him. But Xavier wasn’t having any of it. He’d lost his patience for this fight after the pumas had gotten him down to 1% of his health. He’d been far closer to death than he’d ever wanted to get.

Xavier struck the Black Puma down then cast Heavy Telekinesis on the largest cluster he could find, flinging them straight into the air.

The beasts crashed into the trees around him, cracking bones and snapping trunks as more roars sounded and more kill notifications popped up. He could see four more massive Black Pumas left around him. Four more targets for him to eliminate.

He went in for the kill, smashing his staff into one after the other until the final Black Puma turned and bolted. It ran on near-silent feet, and if Xavier let it get out of sight, he knew he would lose it to the forest.

He needed to clear every single monster from this floor. He wasn’t about to let one get away.

Xavier sprinted after it. He’d already discovered that he was able to run faster than the level 20 Black Pumas without Spiritual Trifecta active. With it? He could outpace them easily. After about ten strides Xavier leapt into the air and fired a Heavy Telekinesis down at his enemy from above.

As the force went downward, the beast was crushed.

You have defeated a Level 10 Black Puma!

You have gained 1000 Mastery Points.

You have gained 1000 Spirit Energy.

Title Unlocked!

Survivor: This is an uncommon title. You have been taken to the brink of death and came out of it alive. You have shown great fortitude and sheer force of will. Most who have been in your situation have given up and died, but not you.

You have received +6 to Toughness!

Xavier released a small gasp of pain as whatever had snapped in his back snapped fully into place. He fought the impulse to scratch his back, either with his nails or his staff, itchy from the healing of all the healing of the wounds he’d just suffered.

Another title! That’s two from this mission. He was glad to find that he wouldn’t have to wait until the end of the floor for the titles he gained to come into effect, like he had when he’d done his first quest.

Xavier couldn’t take any more of the Black Puma corpses with him. They were simply too big and there was no longer enough room in his Storage Rings for them. Instead, he stretched out his still-sore back and looked through all the notifications he’d received, hoping he hadn’t missed one of the Black Pumas.

At the start of the battle, he’d had thirty-five trailing him. He counted the notifications, dismissing the ones that told him he’d reached his Spirit Energy limit—that was easy enough when killing beasts that offered 1000 Spirit Energy every time you took them down.

Thirty-two… thirty-three… thirty-four…

Thirty-five!

Xavier couldn’t help but do a little victory dance, one he was glad no one was around to see. All right. That’s… forty-seven monsters I’ve killed on this floor. If my theory about there being fifty monsters on this floor is correct, then there should only be two more and the boss left.

He twirled his staff about him and couldn’t help but grin. Though when he looked down at himself, covered completely in beast blood wearing robes that were torn and tattered—mostly at the back—he wished he had some way to clean himself. That, and sturdier robes.

Why do I even need Mage robes anyway? While his spells were stronger when wielding the staff, he wasn’t sure the robes offered him anything. They certainly didn’t offer him any protection. Maybe they were simply too low-level to do so.

Xavier shook his head. A problem for another time. He was hurt, but he couldn’t give himself too long to heal. He was glad he’d gained 6 Toughness from that title, but considering what he’d just been through, he put the 5 free stat points he’d just gotten for gaining level 6 into Toughness as well, bringing the attribute up to 45.

It’s now higher than my Spirit attribute, Xavier thought. What kind of Mage am I? He couldn’t help but chuckle at that last thought.

He checked his health and was astounded to see it was already at 61%. He was sure he must have pushed the limit higher gaining 11 points in Toughness over the last minute, and yet it had already healed by 10%—plus the 50% from gaining that level—since he’d been down in the pit.

That’s way, way better than it’s ever been. He still felt hesitant intentionally throwing himself into another encounter while he wasn’t at full health, but he couldn’t imagine whatever he faced next would put up as much of a fight as the thirty-five level 10 Black Pumas he’d just taken down.

Only one way to find out, Xavier thought, pressing onward through the dark forest, toward what he hoped were the final few monsters of the first floor of the Tower of Champions.