But only a few minutes passed before all the Wolven were dead around Queen Alastea’s castle.
He glanced over at the rank of enemy soldiers and beasts, expecting them to surge forward. They didn’t. They simply stood there. Waiting.
He remembered the notification saying the first five waves would take five hours, and had a suspicion that meant that each wave would take an hour to start moving toward the castle.
Xavier deposited Soultaker back into his Storage Ring then waved over at Siobhan. A white light enveloped him as the Divine Beacon summoned him back to the wall. Being physically displaced was disorientating. He didn’t stumble, but he felt the slightest bit of vertigo as he went from standing on soft ground to standing on stone.
Siobhan had already summoned the others back. Howard and Justin were breathing heavily, both drenched in sweat and blood. Xavier’s breathing was still level, and he hadn’t broken a sweat. Though his Shrouded Robes were soaked. There were no tears in them, but Xavier had a sneaking suspicion that if he just…
Ah. That’s better.
Xavier’s robes dried as he infused Spirit Energy into the robes self-repair feature. They were no longer drenched in blood. No longer clinging to his skin.
“That—” Justin took a breath. “Was intense.”
Howard grunted and gave a curt nod. His tower shield was covered in claw and bite marks. “You certainly burned through them fast,” he said to Xavier.
Xavier glanced over his shoulder at the field of battle. “Sorry about that.”
Queen Alastea stepped over. Her back was straight, her chin raised, her hands folded neatly in front of her. She must have summoned her staff back into her Storage Ring. Her face was entirely composed but for the slight wideness of her eyes.
“I have rarely seen such strength as yours.” Queen Alastea bowed her head slightly, which made her tall adviser frown. “Thank you, Champion of the Void. I am glad that you—and your friends—are the ones that arrived. I knew that my soldiers alone would not be enough to hold back the forces of the Endless Horde long enough to get the portal open.”
Before responding, Xavier quickly scanned some of the Denizens along the wall, as he noticed something that he hadn’t before. Stepping out of the Safe Zone, he’d been too focused on his surroundings, and the fact that there were alien races—for that was what they truly were, as they were people from other worlds—among them to realise their age.
The Denizens all looked rather young. Perhaps not as young as Justin’s sixteen years, but quite close. Their levels were low, but more varied than levels on a floor ever were. The humans, elves, lizard men and Anubis-looking, jackal-headed soldiers ranged between level 10 and 15.
Queen Alastea, and her adviser, he was unable to scan.
This place isn’t real. If it was, wouldn’t the soldiers be older? A higher level? How could they have a kingdom so weak?
The ten soldiers that flanked the queen were the highest level of those he’d scanned, each being at level 20.
“You are welcome, Queen Alastea.” Xavier paused before continuing. She won’t remember this. “Why are your people not of a higher level? How have you survived this long?”
Queen Alastea tilted her head to the side—perhaps the most expressive response he had seen the woman make since he’d met her. “An interesting question, coming from someone at level 13. Though your level does not appear to reflect your power.”
Siobhan was standing to the side, raising an eyebrow at him as though he were speaking out of turn. He supposed he was. But did that really matter?
Queen Alastea turned away. “But if you must know… the bulk of my army…” She motioned toward the ranks of enemies surrounding her castle. “They have already been slain by the Endless Horde, along with my most powerful generals. The enemy has ravaged my queendom, pillaging and burning down town after town until they made their way here. The last bastion. Those you see before you are still new recruits. The civilians, hiding within the castle, are non-combat classes like my adviser.”
Non-combat classes. Xavier glanced at Siobhan. But not support classes? This is definitely more detailed than when those two armies clashed.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“And you?” Xavier asked. “I am unable to scan you.”
“I am a healer, and newly crowned. My mother was the fighter. The protector of our realm.” Queen Alastea walked to the parapet. Her head dipped down, the slightest crack in her composure. “She died trying to give us time to escape.” Her chin rose. “The second wave will be here at the end of the hour. Your party are welcome to retire. There is an inn nearby, though its keeper is no longer in residence. I shall have my adviser fetch you before the wave is to charge.”
Xavier thought of pushing the conversation forward, but the woman was clearly trying to end it. And even if she wouldn’t remember it—even if she wasn’t real—he wasn’t sure what else to ask.
A nearby soldier—one of the lizard men—escorted them to the inn the queen had mentioned. The place was empty. The soles of Xavier’s boots got slightly stuck on each step along the sticky floor. There was a large table in the centre of the place. A long bar on one side, with many barrels stacked behind it. A few of the tables had half-eaten food and unfinished drinks still sitting atop them. The clientele must have left in a hurry. At least the candles had all been blown out.
Xavier took a seat at that large centre table and considered what he’d learned.
The others sat around him. Siobhan spoke first. “These people don’t feel as though they were created by the System. They feel…”
“They feel like they’re real,” Xavier said. “I’ve been thinking the same thing. But there are things that I…” He sighed. “Things I don’t understand.” He wished he had someone knowledgeable to turn to. “They should be more powerful than they are. Shouldn’t they?”
Howard frowned. “Not necessarily. Perhaps their world is not as warlike as one newly integrated.”
“They’re being attacked by something called the Endless Horde. That sounds fairly warlike to me. Besides, the System promotes conflict. Would it truly let a kingdom survive with low-level Denizens?” He knew he was only level 13 himself, but that was only because he’d been at this for a very short time.
“The truth is, we have no idea what this world—this floor—is like,” Siobhan said. “Things on this floor don’t add up. These people feel real. Whether we’re in some locked portion of time from the past, or the System has created these people… well, maybe they are real.”
Xavier held his head in his hands. “Instances.” He sighed. “Pocket worlds. Perhaps they’re alternate realities.”
“Alternate realities?” Howard asked. “Like… the multiverse?”
“You know about the multiverse?” Xavier raised an eyebrow at the cop. He thought he was the nerdy one here.
Howard shrugged. “My kids like marvel movies.”
“Does any of this matter?” Justin said. He ran a hand through his hair, looking a little sheepish when they all turned their gazes on him. “I just mean, figuring out how the Tower of Champions works… it’s not really our priority, is it?”
Xavier frowned. “If we’re going to be stuck here for as long as we are—for a thousand floors—it seems wise to learn as much as we can about it. This tower, how it all works, where these people and the beasts come from… it could all be common knowledge out there in the Greater Universe. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to figure out what’s going on if we have the time.”
Though he had to admit, Justin had a good point. It didn’t really matter, how these floors were created. He just didn’t want to admit that out loud right now. There was something about this floor that made him more curious than usual. Whether it was the castle, the different types of Denizens among the soldiers, or the queen herself.
If this tower has existed for as long as the System, how did the System know to come up with these scenarios? Would humans and elves and all these different beasts even have had time to evolve before the System integrated them?
What Siobhan had said, about convergent evolution being real as there were humans on different planets long before they were on Earth, made him curious too. It made him think there was more going on here. More beyond even the System.
What, like God?
He shook that thought away. Even if there was some all-powerful god out there that had created this universe, he was getting way too deep into things.
Siobhan leant her elbows on the table. “This floor could be an opportunity.”
“What kind of opportunity?” Xavier asked. “I already told you that I don’t want to farm it.”
“That’s not the kind of opportunity I mean. Remember what the notification said? That any time spent on this floor will equal an hour outside of it?”
“I remember. I still don’t know how that’s possible, though. Like, is this floor stuck inside some sort of time dilation field?”
“How is any of this possible?” Siobhan said, smiling warmly. “Each wave lasts an hour, but it clearly won’t take you an hour to wipe a wave out.” She motioned toward the door. “It didn’t take you long to take down those waves, and you weren’t even trying.”
Xavier nodded in understanding. “Which means there will be a lot of downtime between waves.”
“And wiping out those waves endears you to the queen. We’ve already seen that. Whether she’s real or not, whether this world is or not, there might be things you could learn from her. Did you try scanning her?” Siobhan asked, continuing when Xavier nodded. “Her level wasn’t clear. Something tells me she’s the strongest one here.”
“She is a healer,” Howard said. “When we first arrived, she said she would fight to her last. Even after her people left.” His forehead creased. “Why would she do such a thing?”
“I’ve wondered about that as well.” Xavier folded his hands on the table. “She said she knew her fate. Perhaps the Endless Horde want her, and giving herself up to them will prevent them from going after her people on the world they’re fleeing to. I’m not… I’m not sure if there’s anything we can do about that, if the waves are never ending.” He looked at Siobhan. “You think she’ll know how I can acquire the skills I’m missing?”
Siobhan dipped her head. “In theory. That, and perhaps more.”
Xavier’s eyes widened as he thought of something. “If… if this place is real, there might be a library in the castle!”
“Do you really think you’ll have time to read?” Justin asked.
Xavier smiled. “Even if I don’t.” He pointed at the three of them. “You three certainly will, considering you won’t be participating in the fighting.”
Howard shook his head and gave a chuckle. “I wonder if the System had this in mind when they created this floor.”
Siobhan shrugged. “Something tells me the System didn’t expect people to have so much time between the waves. Either way… I hope you’re right, Xavier.” She stood, looking giddy. “If there is a library in this place, think of the things we might learn!”