Xavier stood in his quarters, looking out through the expansive window in his room. Adranial stood by his side, the other members of her team were out scouting for a dungeon. They’d left just after the fight had finished, but Xavier had asked the woman if she could stay behind.

He hadn’t told anyone about the beacon yet. Not a soul in camp knew. If the other members of his party were here, that might be different—Adranial wouldn’t be the first person he told.

But they weren’t here, and he had no way of contacting them, even if he did have a way of tracking down Howard.

“So, what doesn’t seem good?” Adranial asked.

Xavier faced her with a frown.

“After the duel—though I hesitate to even call it that, considering how swiftly you dealt with that man—I heard you whispering to yourself. Something about a beacon.” Adranial raised a delicate eyebrow. “I assume that’s why I’m here?”

Xavier sighed. “I’d forgotten I’d been talking out loud, and that other people would be able to hear… I’m still getting used to how strong people senses are now.”

Adranial smirked. “Try hiding a boyfriend in your room from a B Grade parent… I tell you, it’s not easy.”

It was Xavier’s turn to raise an eyebrow. Not at her hiding a boyfriend—though that did give him pause—but at one of her parents being B Grade. He didn’t ask about it, though. Now wasn’t the time. “I’ve got a bit of a problem. That guy I just killed, Ramith Sain, turns out his father is the vengeful type.”

“Ah.” Adranial nodded knowingly. “That was a death beacon, then.”

Xavier didn’t have to ask what a death beacon was. It was all in the name. “I’d blocked communications—I didn’t know about these.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Makes me wonder how many have gone off, and I haven’t even noticed.”

Adranial shook her head. “They’re expensive. Usually not worth giving to someone low enough level to be able to come here.”

“It was a five-sector wide beacon.”

Adranial whistled. “That’s really expensive for these parts.”

“His voice sounded old.” Xavier sighed. “You saw Howard’s memories. You know I’ve defeated a D Grade before… his voice didn’t sound like this.”

Adranial bit her lip.

“What?” Xavier asked. “What do you know?”

“At certain grades, a hint of one’s aura can be felt through a Communication Stone. That’s why his voice felt old—it was the depth of his power your subconscious was tapping into.”

“And what grade does that start?”

“C Grade,” Adranial said.

Xavier grunted. “C Grade.”

“You said he was the… vengeful type?”

“Have you ever heard of a Soul Tag?”

Adranial sucked air through her teeth.

Xavier pursed his lips. “Is there any way to get rid of it?”

“None that I know of.” She stepped up to the window, looking out of it. “Something tells me you won’t just run. I mean, a Soul Tag is world-specific—you could hide anywhere.”

“And then he’ll destroy Earth. Out of pettiness.”

Adranial made a “hmm” sound. “And you aren’t one to let that happen, are you?”

“No,” Xavier said. “I’m not going to sacrifice Earth for own wellbeing.” He also didn’t plan to let this man kill him. But that was another story.

“Well. At least he won’t be able to come here for five years.” She smiled. It looked more than a little forced. “The man you killed. His last name was Sain?”

Xavier nodded.

“I’ll contact an information broker. See what I can find about the family. Shouldn’t be too hard, though I don’t usually get information this far out, so it might take a little while.” She shrugged. “At least you’ve got the time to wait.”

Xavier glanced over at her. “And what will this cost me?”

Adranial winked. “Nothing. Yet. How about we just say you owe me a favour?”

“That sounds ominous, but as I don’t have any other way of finding out who he is right now, it’ll have to do.”

“A pleasure doing business with you. Is there anything else you need, or should I rejoin my party?”

He waved her off. “You head out. I have things I need to do, anyway.” He hadn’t yet told the woman about the invaders he’d killed around that Safe Zone city, or that there was only a week left until the barriers on all the Safe Zones came down.

He wanted to deal with this himself.

Adranial turned and walked a few steps away. Then she paused, turned back. “This isn’t the only enemy you’re going to make. You’re a True Progenitor. You won’t be able to hide who you are for long. Better to make the first move, like I suggested you should.”

Xavier inclined his head but didn’t reply. He heard her steps recede as she left.

I know, he thought. And that’s just what I plan to do.

~

Xavier stood outside the Safe Zone city once more. He closed the portal that had brought him here, placing the Portal Stone safely back into his Storage Ring. He panned his vision, looking at the destruction he’d caused. All the tents and temporary fortifications the invaders outside of the barrier had made still remained. Because Xavier had used Soul Strike on them, it hadn’t done enough to the material world, only the souls that resided within his enemies.

None of the souls he hadn’t harvested remained viable for him to Soul Step to, so he made his way to the closest portal on foot. When he’d been here last, he’d looked through his Basic Viewing Glass and spotted many portals around the Safe Zone, but there only seemed to be roughly half as many as before.

Some portals seem to close on their own. Or maybe it’s just that the people on the other side close them…

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He supposed that made sense—if you lose communication with your people and assume they’re dead, why keep the portal running?

He shook his head. He wasn’t here to speculate about portals. He already had his way back home.

Home, he thought. Am I referring to the base as my home?

He smiled, ever so slightly, at that. It was a good sign. He’d barely spent any time in his base since he’d created it, but he rather savoured every moment he was alone in his quarters, looking out at his domain. It wasn’t because he felt safe there—even though he did. It was rather the fact that it was his. He’d never really had somewhere that was his before. The house he’d lived in with his mother—or rather, the many different houses and apartments, as they always found themselves having to move due to the fact that they were renting—had never felt like home enough, not when he always wanted to leave.

And the place he’d been staying when he’d been at university… it had been nice, small, but nice, but it hadn’t been his home—more like a place to sleep.

He pushed forward, walking to the closest portal, reaching out and almost touching the surface of it. If he was going to get any time to relax in his base, he needed to do something drastic. Something momentous.

Something that Adranial herself had recommended he do.

Make a statement.

He bit his lip. It went against everything he’d been trying to achieve since he’d returned to Earth. He’d wanted to remain in hiding. But how many cities around the globe would be just like this one? And how exactly was he supposed to make it to every single one in the next six days?

He didn’t have an answer to that. Maybe he’d find the answer if he had more time, but a week wasn’t long enough, even considering how much he’d managed to get done in the last twenty-four hours.

I’m risking Earth by doing this.

That made him pull back his hand and hesitate. This wasn’t only a risk he was taking for him. If he did this, and it backfired… things on Earth would only get worse. If he did this, and he died on the other side, then Earth would lose its strongest protector.

I’m a True Progenitor. More. I’ve been grabbing the number one spot in the Tower of Champions. Adranial thinks I can do this.

He tilted his head to the side, wondering how much, exactly, he trusted Adranial. If he died, then their contract would be void. She’d be able to do anything she wished to Earth. Anything at all. She could take it over for herself…

That’s foolish. She comes from a powerful family on the other side of the Greater Universe. What use would she have of ruling a backwater planet like this? It may have strong resources for her, but that’s not why she came.

She came because he was there.

Besides, the woman had recommended he do this before she’d even made it to Earth. If she were trying to get him killed, she would have waited until she was here to do it.

Xavier gritted his teeth. Too many worries and thoughts were clouding what he needed to do. He took a deep breath and did his best to clear his chattering mind, then he took out his Subspace Communications Area Blackout Array and smiled. Because this next move? It was finally going to be the challenge he’d been looking for.

Xavier walked through the portal. He braced himself, readying to cast his Soul Block spell. His soulkeeping reserve was full, and so were his Spirit Energy and Willpower Energy reserves. It had been a while since he’d bothered to even check if they were full—he hadn’t faced any threat worthy of being cautious since coming back to Earth. Hell, he hadn’t faced any worthy threat since he’d been fighting the Lord of the Endless Horde. A rush of adrenaline ran through him, along with a thrill of excitement at what he was about to do.

This was what he lived for. A True Progenitor should be pushing themself, not fighting weaker, inferior foes.

The second he was through the portal, Xavier slammed the SCABA spikes into the ground, hastily activating the device. He wanted word of what he was doing to get out, but he didn’t want it to get out while he was still on this world. Adranial might have reassured him that there wouldn’t be anyone too powerful near the portals themselves, but someone powerful could certainly get here quick enough if they were warned of his presence.

The other side of the portal wasn’t what he’d been expecting. He’d stepped out into the middle of what looked like some sort of large dungeon or stone basement. A single soldier was on the other side.

And the man was sleeping.

He sat in a wooden chair about twenty feet away from the portal. Xavier stabbing the spikes into the stone ground hadn’t even woken the man. He tilted his head to the side. “This is their guard?” he muttered. It felt wrong, killing a sleeping guard, but he was here to wreak havoc, wasn’t he?

Maybe I don’t need to kill him. At least, not right away.

Xavier, curiously, couldn’t feel the man’s aura. That made him smile. Finally, he was encountering Denizens with their auras shielded. In fact, from down here, he couldn’t feel anyone’s aura.

Taking a step toward the Denizen, he scanned the man.

{Human - Level 120}

Xavier paused. The man was E Grade. It had been a while since Xavier had encountered someone who was E Grade.

He’s a higher level than I am. No wonder they only have one guard on the portal… they already don’t need to worry about anyone coming through, because who would be foolish enough to do so? And if someone was foolish enough? Well, they wouldn’t be strong enough to take on someone E Grade.

At least, that would have been the theory around their actions.

Xavier walked straight up to the man and give him a nudge on the shoulder. The soldier snorted. His head lolled backward, then his eyes snapped open, widening at the sight of Xavier staring down at him.

“Asleep on the job?” Xavier asked.

Before the man could answer, summon a weapon, or do basically anything more than have his jaw drop, Xavier used Willpower Infusion on him. He encountered far more resistance than he usually would when using this technique on someone weaker, which was to be expected, but more resistance didn’t mean it was near enough to actually resist him.

I’m already so much stronger than I was when I became E Grade, and I’ve only gained a few levels since then.

Willpower Infusion has taken a step forward on the path!

Willpower Infusion is now a Rank 66 spell.

One cannot walk backward on the path.

He grinned at that. It had been a while since he’d gained a level with that spell. He mentally commanded the man to stand. He wished he could get information out of him this way, but that wasn’t how the spell worked. He marched the man out of the basement, dungeon, or whatever it was. Their footsteps echoed on off the stone walls. The place was bare. There weren’t any statues about, or any tapestries on the wall. It all looked very utilitarian. Again, not at all what he’d been expecting.

Hard to make a scene when there’s no one here to make it to.

The exit to the basement led them up a set of spiral stairs. It made him think of being in a castle, and as he’d only been in one castle before, it was Queen Alastea’s castle that came to mind. The steps went on for what felt like a long time before they finally reached the top. Xavier had the solider he controlled lead the way. An archway led to the next floor, a guard standing in the hall outside the stairwell. The man Xavier controlled stepped out in the hall, the first one the other solider saw.

“Demitrius? You’re supposed to be—” The man’s eyes widened when he saw Xavier. “Who’s—”

Xavier cast Willpower Infusion once more, now taking control of both the soldiers. He also noticed the fact that he could clearly understand this man. It made him again wonder how the System was choosing to translate for him.

Maybe it’s translating everything from this world for me because I stepped through that portal.

He supposed he didn’t need the answer, and so what did it matter?

Willpower Infusion has taken a step forward on the path!

Willpower Infusion is now a Rank 67 spell.

One cannot walk backward on the path.

Another rank? Already?

Xavier had gotten a bit more resistance from this second soldier, so he checked the man’s level.

{Human - Level 160}

That’s quite a disparity. I guess fighting people higher level than me pays off…

He went on long this for what felt like far too long. This castle, or fortress, or whatever the hell it was, was sparsely populated. The strongest enemy he encountered within the walls was Level 180 and still not strong enough to resist his will.

Where were the armies? How was he supposed to make a statement when he had control of a dozen different random soldiers in what appeared to be a nearly abandoned fortress?

Then, Xavier found a large set of double doors leading outside the fortress. He had the soldiers ahead of him open the doors.

Xavier’s eyes widened, and he wondered if what he was doing had been a mistake.

He had stepped out onto what was most certainly some kind of military base. Men and women in full suits of armour or wearing mage robes were sparring one another, swinging swords, axes, hammers, throwing spells or loosing arrows. The scale of the sparring was quite remarkable.

There were thousands of soldiers out here, and he wasn’t able to feel an aura from any of them.

Bringing up his mini-map, he found it to be completely blank.

Okay, so this place certainly isn’t abandoned.