Accidental Champion of Earth - Chapter 23 - You Want To Do This All By Yourself?

The monster was on him before he even had a chance to scan it, but Xavier was still faster. He cast Spiritual Trifecta as he heard a roar permeate the air and watched as the big, black cat soared through the air toward him.

Perhaps it thinks I’m the weakest in front because I’m not wearing armour.

A sliver sheen enveloped Xavier. Power flooded through him. It infused every single one of his muscles. It infused his mind, making it work ever faster. It infused his magic, making it stronger. With his Willpower at 34 and his Spirit at 36, the Spiritual Trifecta spell made him feel stronger than ever.

Grasping his staff with both hands, Xavier swung it straight at the head of the enemy monster before it was able to reach him. His staff crashed through the big cat’s head. Xavier could feel blood splattering him.

The roar that had been unleashed from the beast’s throat died the instant Xavier’s staff made contact.

You have defeated a Level 10 Black Puma!

You have gained 1000 Mastery Points.

You have gained 1000 Spirit Energy.

That thing was level 10?

Xavier stared down at the enemy he’d just killed. The enemy he’d taken down in a single strike. He shook his head, eyes wide. The speed at which he’d struck the beast, the damage he’d done… he knew part of that was from having Staff Mastery adding 5% to his Speed and 5% to his damage when wielding a staff, but the rest?

My higher stats and Spiritual Trifecta. He couldn’t help but feel a little… invincible. Especially since the others were gaping at him, mouths wide.

“That… that beast was level 10!” It was Siobhan who spoke. She must have had a chance to scan it before it had been killed.

“You killed a level 10 monster in one hit?” Justin stepped over to the beast. “I barely even saw the thing coming and it’s already dead.” He raised his sword, gaze darting about the trees. “Do you think there will be more?”

Howard frowned, his eyebrows pinching together, eyes narrowing as he searched the trees. “Was lying in wait. Knew we’d come out of there.” He shook his head. “If this is what other parties will have to deal with…” He ran his left hand through his hair. “Don’t know how many of them will survive.”

Xavier kneeled by the Black Puma. It was huge. Far larger than any big cat he’d ever seen. Though the only ones he’d seen in the flesh were at zoos. Still, it must have been twice the size of a lion. He touched a hand to it. The monster disappeared into his Storage Ring.

“You’re… keeping it?” Justin asked.

“We might need the food later,” Xavier said, standing back up.

“Or we might be able to sell it at the System Shop,” Siobhan mused. “And buy better, cooked food. Can’t imagine puma meat will be all that tasty.”

“We need to keep moving.” Xavier didn’t wait for the others. He walked straight into the trees. Perhaps he should have been wary, especially as Spiritual Trifecta had just worn off, a wave of exhaustion slamming into him—a wave that had become easier to ignore—but he didn’t want to waste any time.

It took a moment for him to hear their footsteps catch up. “Did you guys gain any Mastery Points from that kill?” Siobhan asked.

“N-no,” Justin said. “I didn’t.”

“Neither did I,” Howard added.

Siobhan made a “hmm” noise. “Suppose that’s because neither of us attacked it. That means Mastery Points aren’t shared just because we’re in the same party. We’ll have to participate in kills if we’ll want to gain levels.”

Xavier’s gaze tracked through the trees. He wished the others would stop talking. He doubted that was the only Black Puma around. If they were silent, maybe they would be able to hear the next one coming. He wondered what might have happened if the beast had launched itself at one of the others. Would they have died? Would the System really have done that? Put a monster so powerful right outside the Safe Zone?

If this were a normal team, it could have seriously injured or killed one of them until the others got organised. If it did kill one of them, they’d only have three people in their party now. That made him wonder what might happen if someone lost their entire party. Would they be able to join another, or would they simply have to clear the floor on their own?

I’m not going to let any of them die. If another Black Puma leapt out of those trees, he was sure he would be fast enough, even without Spiritual Trifecta. Heavy Telekinesis would be able to throw it backward, negating its sneak attack before it could land.

As he searched for their next opponent, in the back of his mind he was a little bit worried about how this was all going to go. He hadn’t thought about how Mastery Points would be split. If he was the one to take out all of the enemies, then his party wouldn’t get a chance to gain any levels. He would be taking every single kill, leaving nothing for them.

That wouldn’t just stop them from gaining Mastery Points, it would stop them from gaining combat experience. He frowned, thinking about the predicament. He figured he had two options.

He could try and solo this floor—in which case they would be better off staying back in the Safe Zone—or he could try and help them level up at the same rate as him.

Xavier turned the problem over in his mind. If it takes other parties from established worlds one to three days to complete the first floor, then we need to do it faster than that. I can’t hang around waiting for each of them to strike an enemy before I kill it.

He halted, stopping midstride. He heard the others stop behind him a moment later.

“What is it?” Howard whispered.

Xavier turned to face all three of them. He wasn’t used to taking a leadership role. Wasn’t used to any of this, to be honest. He didn’t know if this was the right choice, but all he could do was go with his gut. “I think… I think the three of you should return to the Safe Zone.”

“What?” Howard stepped toward him. With that sword in his hand, he looked rather threatening. Xavier felt a thrill run up him at the prospect of violence, but he doubted the man would attack him. “You want to do this all by yourself?”

“If you do that, we’ll stagnate,” Justin said. “We won’t gain a single level.”

Siobhan narrowed her eyes at Xavier. “He knows that.”

Xavier sighed. “I don’t want to deprive any of you from gaining Mastery Points, and I certainly don’t want you three to stagnate.” He pursed his lips. “I’ll need the three of you. On the higher levels. I’m sure of it.” He wasn’t sure of it, but he wanted them to feel that he would need them. He needed them to know they would be useful later, otherwise they would fight him on this.

“The faster I clear this floor, the better. If… if I’m able to do it faster than parties from the other worlds, then we’ll know I’ve done the right thing. We’ll be able to gain a lead on them. I’ll gain more levels alone than I’d be able to get with the three of you with me, and that would get me enough strength to do the next level faster, and the next.”

Siobhan put a hand on her hip, the other holding her staff. “You want to clear five levels without us?”

Xavier nodded. “If I can clear this first level faster than any other party, that will prove that this plan will work. Then I’ll clear the next four levels on my own. Once I’ve reached level 6, I’ll bring the three of you back in and level you up. The monsters will no doubt be much stronger by then, and it won’t take the three of you long to gain levels faster with my help.” He looked at Siobhan. “You said that the floor will respawn if we step out of the level, then back in?”

Siobhan bowed her head. “Only until we clear it. Which means if you clear this floor, none of the monsters will respawn if we enter it.”

“That’s all right. If we gain a big enough lead, we can clear level 6 twice. If I’m right, it will no doubt gain all of you a lot of levels.”

Howard frowned. The man was good at that. Had the right face for a frown to look sceptical, disappointed, and slightly angry at the same time. “What happens if you can’t clear this floor faster? What if you reach the end and don’t get a reward?”

Xavier noticed the man didn’t ask, What if you can’t succeed? They’d seen what he could do when the level 10 Black Puma came at them. They knew he could handle this. “Then there will be no point trying to clear the second floor on my own. I’ll already be too late. Whatever party did the first floor faster would gain a reward, making them even stronger. Which means I can bring you three in on the second floor.”

“The rich get richer…” Justin muttered.

Siobhan nodded at Xavier. “It makes sense.” The manual appeared in her hand, summoned straight from her own Storage Ring. She nodded again, staring down at it. “I’ll read this, back to front, while you clear the level. I’m sure it’s got a lot of information inside of it that we can use. And if I read it, I can just give you the information you need without you having to slow down.” She tilted her head to the side. “I don’t want to try stepping back through the door to the Staging Room in the cabin, in case it changes things in here, but once you’ve cleared this floor the rest of us can train in our Staging Room and look at the System Shop while you clear the nextfloor.”

Xavier sighed in relief, glad the woman approved of his plan. As she spoke, it got the other two nodding. Justin, who’d looked disappointed a moment ago, now looked determined. Howard’s face was fairly clear of emotion, but at least his frown was gone.

“I guess that makes us your support team, then,” Justin said.

Howard grunted. He stared Xavier in the eye. “Don’t die out there. And if this plan is going to work, you have to get moving. I’ll get the others back to the cabin and we’ll hole up there. We’ve been standing around talking long enough. If you’re going to do this, you have to do it now.” With his sword, he pointed through the trees. “Go!”