Xavier savoured the moment, breathing in deeply of the fresh air outside of his base. He wasn’t quite sure how he’d managed it, but he’d avoided being teleported by that Death Trap—the same item that had gotten Justin stuck on another world.

He didn’t have any proof as to which world had tried to do this to him, though as he made his way back to his chambers, it made him wonder about what Adranial had said. She had warned him about this, or else something like it. Warned him that people would keep coming for him.

It was a worry that they’d managed to rope someone like Alistair Reed into their plans so easily, and somehow convince him to die for the cause.

Maybe his mind was being controlled, but if it was, then it would have been controlled from another world. That would require someone incredibly powerful.

But just as he’d said to Adranial, he could face any threat that came for him on Earth. Now, he was even more sure of those words. For a fraction of a second there he’d thought he would be swept up and taken away from his world.

But it hadn’t worked.

Death Traps could be withstood. He could withstand them.

As he leapt over the wall a notification appeared in his vision. He read through the text and smiled.

All surviving Earth Champions, and every other Champion within the same instance of the tower, have now completed the first ten floors of the Tower of Champions and have been returned to Earth for 30 days.

You have 29 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes until you will be returned to the Tower of Champions.

Finally, Xavier thought. As much as he’d been able to accomplish since he’d been back here, he was aching to return to the tower. He’d been able to gain levels and titles back on Earth, but it simply wasn’t the same as breaking records no one in the entire Greater Universe had ever broken before.

He wanted to feel that rush, that power, once more.

But returning to the Tower of Champions was still a month away. He tapped his foot on the ground, contemplating everything that would need to be done before then. The first, and most important thing he needed to do was get into contact with as many returned Champions as he could. That made him wonder if there was a way he could get into contact with other members of his five-hundred-person cohort.

Something tells me there won’t be five hundred people left in the cohort…

He couldn’t know how many of his people the tower would have taken from Earth. How many would have died trying, and failing, to clear a floor. Or how many had died during the melee on the tenth floor. He wondered if anyone from Earth had surrendered. That was an option on the tenth floor, after all, even if it would send them to another world, at least they would live.

Another thing he needed to ensure before he returned to the Tower of Champions was that the world was well protected without him in it. Though he knew his message, his statement, had been heard loud and clear as there’d been no sign of invaders on Earth anymore except for a few lone, independent stragglers and adventure parties—also known as bandits from what he could tell about the ones that had wound up here—that didn’t mean the world was safe.

He had to confront the fact that there may now be people out there that didn’t want to just do him harm because he was a True Progenitor, or because he’d stopped them from getting a foothold on Earth. There would now, no doubt, be people out there who had a personal vendetta against him. He could have very well killed someone’s son, husband, daughter, wife. Many of those. Someone powerful—someone vindictive. Someone who was able to get information on when he wasn’t on Earth.

Yes, when he and his party were gone, the level of Denizen his enemies would be able to send to Earth would be incredibly limited. However, that didn’t stop them from sending E Grades in now. He was well aware that they could send a few people over Level 100 and have them hide, lying in wait, until he was safely off the planet and they could do as much damage as they wished.

The thought made something twist in his gut. He was reminded of the offer he’d just been given by Adranial. Again, it felt too good to be true. It was everything he wanted for his planet. Well, almost everything, as he wanted its protection to come from within.

Xavier paced around his base in thought, wondering what he should do next. The other Champions of Earth weren’t going to help him protect the planet when he was no longer there.

A month.

Perhaps Xavier needed to shift his focus away from his own development, at least for a short period of time. He wouldn’t completely shift his focus away, but if he rotated out members from his party when he went into dungeons, getting people like John who were to remain on Earth first-clear titles, wouldn’t that help protect Earth?

The powerlevelling had been going well, but it had been going slow. They’d been focusing on upping the levels of everyone evenly, as they needed a hundred people to reach Level 30 before they would gain access to the System Shop. It hadn’t seemed wise to narrow their focus too much, but now that he had a different goal…

Adranial was right about one thing. I don’t have as much time as I think.

He needed to stop thinking about Earth’s protection in terms of it being in danger in five years’ time. Earth was in constant danger, and the times that he was away from it back in the tower would be when it was at its most vulnerable.

Xavier took out one of his Communicators, the blocky, radio-like devices that he’d been given by Famarial. It was world-wide, and worked through portals, much like Communication Stones.

Unlike Communication Stones, however, it was not well-suited to private chats, as he had to speak out loud, meaning anyone in the area with good enough hearing would know both sides of the conversation.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Still, as he was having trouble finding enough Communication Stones for an open line between all of his party members, it was a good device to have.

Like a radio, it had different channels. Right now, it was tuned into the one he and his party shared.

He relayed to his party what had just happened—the attempt to take him off world, his suspicions that the man who’d tried it was Alistair Reed. Strange that when he spoke about it aloud, he called them suspicions, when in his own mind he was sure of who it had been.

He’d recognise that smirk anywhere.

“You resisted it?” Justin’s voice said, coming through the device. “You’re going to have to show me how you managed that.”

“You should show all of us,” Howard said. “So, I take it this call means our downtime is coming to an end?”

Xavier had given his party the day off. He was supposed to be radio silent. Was supposed to be letting them enjoy their time with their families. He wondered if they thought that’s what he’d been doing—spending time with his mother.

It hadn’t even crossed his mind.

“Of course he’s calling us back,” Siobhan said. “Didn’t you see the notification? All the other Champions of Earth have finally returned. We should be hunting them down.”

“Which means there will have already been Champions here,” Justin said. “It’s not like they would have all just shown up today. Some could have been here for a week already.”

Xavier stopped pacing and tapped his foot on the ground again. A few people walking around the base glanced his way. Some gave him nods. Others looked a little wary of him—he might be their protector, their leader, but he imagined he could come off as a little… terrifying.

“We haven’t encountered any of them yet,” Xavier said through the Communicator. “Which I find a bit strange.”

“It’s not surprising,” Siobhan replied. “We haven’t exactly got the best communication with our other bases of operation, and not everyone shares everything with us. We might all be from Earth, but there’s still a fair amount of suspicion between people, especially since we’ve all just survived an apocalypse.”

“We may have already encountered some Champions and they simply haven’t mentioned it,” Howard said. “And Siobhan’s right. It’s not exactly as though we have a bulletin board where everything can post who they are and what they’ve been through in the last month and a half.”

“I’m a little worried with how soon they’ve all returned. I thought it would be at least another month until they all returned to Earth,” Siobhan said.

That stopped Xavier’s foot tapping. He frowned. “You’re right,” he said. “I didn’t expect them to return so quickly.”

The thought made him worry. Made him think that even more Champions from Earth had died in the tower than he’d originally assumed. Could that also be why they hadn’t encountered any returning? Because there were so few of them that had actually survived? He posed that question to the others.

“No,” Justin replied instantly. “I don’t think that’s what’s happening here.”

“The idea has some merit,” Siobhan said, her voice regretful and sad. “The manual for the tower, what little information it had… it said it takes a lot longer for people to finish each floor when they’re from newly integrated planets. This… doesn’t track.”

“It doesn’t track because we fed everyone else information,” Howard said. “Xavier set up a System before he’d left, remember? We gave everyone details of the first nine floors of the tower. With how much of a threat Earth was under, no one would have been spending any more time farming levels than they needed to. That means there will actually be more Champions returning to Earth than there would have been otherwise.”

“Howard’s right. We altered the odds. Just like we have for Earth’s survival.” Justin paused. “Well, Xavier altered the odds. We’re all just hanging off his coattails being dragged along for the ride.”

Xavier could hear the grin in the Justin’s voice. He also felt a small sting at what he was going to say next. Adranial’s offer. He wanted to tell them about it. See what their reactions would be. He also wanted them to know that Earth wasn’t just safe because of him, it was also in a different sort of danger than any other newly integrated planet might be… also because of him.

He bit his lip as he considered how to tell them all this. Maybe there was a way he could frame it, so he didn’t sound so selfish as he felt in that moment, for denying the offer and remaining on Earth to protect it himself, rather than making a deal that would ensure everyone was safe.

But he wasn’t about to lie to his party.

Still, he didn’t think it was best to relay Adranial’s words to them while he was standing out in the open for anyone to hear what he said, so he headed back to his chambers first, shutting the door, relying on the soundproofing to keep his conversation private. He frowned.

No. This wouldn’t be enough. He needed to say what he needed to say in person.

“Come to my chambers. There’s something I need to speak with you all about.” He could have had the conversation in the war room, but there would be other people down there right now. He didn’t want to have to clear the room for this. It would probably just cause rumours.

“That sounds ominous,” Justin said. “Something you don’t want heard over the line?”

“It almost sounds like he’s breaking up with his.” Howard’s voice sounded deadpan, serious. Unless you knew him, it might be hard to hear the joke in his words.

“I’m sure it’s nothing like that,” Siobhan said. “I’ll be there soon.”

Within ten minutes all three of them had arrived. They sat around the table. Xavier wished they had drinks in their hands, like they were back in the tower’s tavern. Maybe it would have been easier to tell them all this if they were.

He told the whole story, not keeping anything out.

“And I refused her,” he said, after recounting his conversation with Adranial.

Howard released a long sigh. “Good.” He shook his head. “I was getting a little worried there.”

“It sounds too good to be true,” Justin said.

Siobhan nodded. “It is too good to be true. No way there isn’t a catch in all this.”

“The catch was they get me.” Xavier was honestly a little surprised by their reactions. He’d thought they would be more… angry with him. Thought they would tell him to go back to her and say he’d changed his mind. That he wanted to take her up on the offer. But they didn’t say anything of the sort. He mentioned this to them.

Howard blinked. “You really think we’d want you to agree to something like this? Are you insane?”

Well, of course Howard wouldn’t trust anything that came from Adranial. The woman may have helped to reunite all their families, but that didn’t mean she was on Howard’s good side after what she’d done.

He looked at the others. “You’re all agreed?”

Siobhan and Justin exchanged a glance. Siobhan was the first of them to speak. “Like I said, no way there isn’t a catch. We don’t want to put someone else in control of protecting our world.”

“It will make us weak,” Justin said. “As much as I wish we could live a life without worry… what happens if anything ever stops this ancestor of hers from protecting us? She seems to believe he needs you, and considering what he’s willing to offer, it sounds like that’s true.” Justin cocked his head to the side. “So, the very first True Progenitor, no doubt the most powerful Denizen alive in the Greater Universe, needs you. Why? Is there something out there that he can’t face, and he needs you to one day do it in his place?” Justin shrugged. “Maybe I’m way off base here, but if anything ever takes this guy out, Earth would be on its own, and if it had been living in a safe protective bubble for that entire time, then there’s no way anyone would be strong enough to protect it without him. Even if this is a hundred, a thousand, a million years in the future, it’s still something we need to consider.”

Xavier blinked. He certainly hadn’t thought that far ahead, but Justin had a point. Earth needed to stand for itself, else it would never truly be safe relying on others.

And that’s why he had to powerlevel people outside of his party. “I’m glad… really glad, you all agree with what I did. Now, I have another thing I need to propose, though I’m not sure you’ll all like it…”