Standing in the forest clearing on the hundredth floor of the Tower of Champions, Xavier breathed deeply and looked at the description for the spell he was about to cast.
Otherworldly Communion – Rank 1
Otherworldly Communion is a legendary spell specific to the Otherworldly line of classes.
Otherworldly Communion is a spell that gives the Denizen the ability to commune with the Otherworld and gain insight.
One cannot walk backward on the path.
I had forgotten just how little this spell description tells me.
Xavier tapped his foot on the dirt ground. There was no point procrastinating. He cast Otherworldly Communion.
Just as he’d known it would, the world was bled of all its colour, turning a dull grey. Time froze for him and him alone.
A notification appeared, and he slowly read through it.
You have successfully connected to the Otherworld.
What kind of insight do you wish to receive?
1. Strategic insight
2. Personal insight
3. Sector insight
The cooldown for this spell varies depending on the level of insight you receive. If you have a specific question you wish to gain insight on, hold it in your mind as you choose your option.
Xavier stared at the different options, wondering exactly which one this would fit under. It certainly wasn’t option number three, sector insight, so he scratched that one off right away.
Strategic insight. Maybe that was something he should have used in his last battle, but it wasn’t what he was after here, either.
Personal insight… he supposed, in a way, information about his spells was something personal.
Before choosing that option, he took a moment to think about what his specific question actually was. There were a lot of things Xavier wished to know. About himself. About the Greater Universe. About the System’s plans for him. He could only wonder at the types of questions he could actually find answers to…
But today, he could only ask a single question, and the one that was currently burning a hole in his mind wasn’t how to move forward with his Time Alteration ability—for he was hoping he would be able to find a Denizen on this floor that could help him with that.
It was how he could summon the Spirit of Vengeance to this reality another way—how he might be able to make the dragon corporeal.
And so it was that question that he held in his mind as he selected the second option, personal insight.
A bright light filled the clearing. Colour shot forth from the light, spilling back into the world.
The brightness of the light was overwhelming, but only for a short time. Xavier squinted, then opened his eyes fully as the figure standing before him was revealed.
The last spirit he had communed with had been a humanoid in white robes, whose features had been obscured beneath a large hood.
This spirit was… altogether different.
For one, the figure was tiny. Far smaller than he would have expected. The last spirit of this kind had been roughly his height.
This one was…
A hamster?
At least, it looked like a hamster. He supposed that in all the universes, there could be creatures that had evolved sapience, or beasts that had become sapient, that remained small and looked like… hamsters.
For a moment, he couldn’t help but find the humour in this messed up Greater Universe. Goblins. Elves. Dwarves. Dragons.
And now hamsters.
He shoved those thoughts away. Whatever spirit this was, he had brought it here to ask questions of it, which meant it was likely infinitely wiser than he was.
He didn’t want to tick it off with his thoughts.
Unlike the last spirit, this one wore silver robes. It raised its chin and stared up at him. Its hood fell off its head, revealing shining green eyes.
Greetings, Denizen. What insight do you wish to receive?
Xavier had been holding the question in his mind. He brought it forth now.
I wish to learn how to bring the Spirit of Vengeance into the physical realm in corporeal form.
The little hamster spirit tilted its head to the side in thought.
An interesting goal. Spirits of the Otherworld are known to tempt those from the mortal realm to bring us forth. It looks as though this spirit has gotten its claws into your skin, so to speak.
Xavier thought—inwardly—about that for a moment.
Was the Spirit of Vengeance simply… tempting him? Trying to trick him to bring it forth into this world—this realm—for its own gain? This spirit had used the term mortal realm, not physical realm, though Xavier thought that must be rather similar.
He shrugged off those thoughts for now.
Is this possible?
Anything is possible. First, you must understand something—there is not merely one Spirit of Vengeance, as there is not merely one Spirit of Time or Protection. These are merely titles that different spirits have taken on or been assigned through the eons. You have made a connection with this Spirit of Vengeance, and every time you summon it, you will be dealing with the same one.
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I make this clear simply so you know that when you find a vessel for the Spirit of Vengeance, you must ensure you are calling upon the right soul to inhabit it.
Xavier took in the spirit’s words. He wasn’t surprised there was more than one Spirit of Vengeance. He doubted he would be the only Denizen around who could use these spells, and he now recalled the fact that the Otherworld was a place between universes—these spirits were likely being summoned all the time, and he doubted they were outside of time, with the Ability to be in multiple places at once.
How do I acquire a vessel for the Spirit of Vengeance? And what do I do when I acquire one?
Ah, that is a fine question. A vessel for such a powerful spirit must be three things—young, soulless, and a match. I cannot tell you where to locate such a vessel. I have been summoned with the intention of providing personal insight, and that does not fall under my immediate purview.
I can tell you, however, that as a reaper of souls, you are in a unique position. You may not currently have the ability to create a soulless vessel from a beast or Denizen, but the possibility lies in your future.
Now, Denizen, your time is up.
Time slipped back into its infinite forward march as the spirit disappeared. Xavier took a breath. The air was crisp. Fresh. A little cold. Night would be falling soon.
He lowered his head in thought.
A young and soulless vessel… beast or Denizen.
It wasn’t every step. He didn’t know how to pull the spirit into the vessel—or even how to create this vessel—but it set him in the right direction.
He smiled, liking this plan. He might not be able to bring his party along with him—and he knew they would never be able to catch up to him and match his power—but the Spirit of Vengeance in a physical vessel… it had potential.
A lot of potential.
Even if he didn’t fully understand it yet.
Xavier had more questions he wanted answers to. He wondered if summoning the spirit again would get answers to those questions.
He checked the cooldown, knowing what he would find.
Otherworldly Communion currently has a cooldown of 1 month. It cannot be used for another 29 days, 23 hours and 55 minutes.
That is far, far too long.
But he knew he wouldn’t have to wait that long—it wouldn’t be that long until he reached his next level, after all. He could use Restorative Spirit, but he didn’t think that would be wise to use just yet.
It again made him wonder how long it took other Denizens to reach new levels in the E and D Grade if cooldowns like this existed.
He gained a small number of Mastery Points from each of these fights, given the discrepancy between his level and the levels of his opponents, so for someone who was D Grade, it must take them a long, long time to level.
Cooldowns like this will have far more of an impact if it takes months or years to level up.
On his return to Hunter’s Home, Xavier, thinking about the vessel, contemplated what young might even mean in the context of universes where some beings lived to be billions of years old.
Hunter’s Home looked exactly as it had when he’d left it, except much of the clientele appeared to have changed. The dwarf Gimble and the rest of his party had left, off to train or finish off their next Hunt Quest. He doubted they would have taken a break from this floor, but if they had, he supposed he would never see them again.
Felicia, the barkeep, was still at her post. Xavier wondered if the woman ever slept or took breaks—he wondered that about Sam, sometimes. The tavern back in his instance of the Tower of Champions never seemed to be closed.
I suppose the System doesn’t bother restricting people to forty-hour work weeks…
Xavier didn’t dawdle. He may have gotten ahead of himself when he’d faced his last opponent, the Magma Bull, but he had defeated the beast—even if it had been with the help of the Spirit of Vengeance.
Though doing so had been a tremendous risk, it had also come with quite a reward—twenty-four ranks in his Summon Otherworldly Spirit spell.
That hadn’t been the only spell of his to rank up—he’d barely skimmed over the other ones after the fight had concluded—but it had been the most significant.
He again wondered why Otherworldly Communion hadn’t ranked up, considering he’d just used it, but he supposed he’d only used it to gain information… but wasn’t that what the spell was for?
He strode to the wall with all the notices, his gaze flicking across it until he found the one he was after—a Stone Bear. He grabbed the notice, and a notification appeared.
Do you wish to accept the Hunt Quest for the Stone Bear?
One must be on a hunt for at least two days before going back on a quest and choosing another hunt. No Champion can be on two hunts at the same time.
Xavier instantly accepted the quest.
Only then did he head to the bar. He had a feeling Felicia was the one he needed to go to if he wished to claim his reward.
Felicia’s eyebrow raised. “You returned.” She looked him up and down. “And you look… unharmed.”
Xavier smiled. “Did you not expect me to return?”
The woman tilted her head from side to side. “Well, truth be told, there was a bit of chatter about that…”
Xavier leant on the bar. “Was there, now?”
“I’ve been behind this bar for…” She smirked. “Let’s just say a lady doesn’t like to announce her age when it comes with as many digits as mine does, and it’s rare to see a Champion come in and successfully solo this floor.”
Xavier made a hmm noise.
“And when unusual things like that happen, some people like to make bets…” The woman summoned a ledger to her hand, which she placed on the bar. She pulled on a ribbon that had been keeping her place, using it to lever open the book. There were different notations he couldn’t read written on the pages.
“And you’re the one people come to to take these bets, are you?” Xavier said.
“Let’s just call it a hobby,” Felicia replied. “And a second stream of income. I took the liberty of placing a small bet for you on your behalf. I figured it was only fair.”
Xavier shook his head and chuckled. Perhaps he should have been offended or angry, but he found it more amusing than anything else.
“Were the odds in my favour?”
Felicia smirked. “No. They really, really weren’t. But in this context, that’s actually a good thing.”
“Well, it’s only a good thing because I came back alive.” Xavier looked around the bar. A few of the Champions who’d been there the last time he’d popped in that he recognised avoided his gaze. “Did Gimble bet?”
“The dwarf? Oh, he put money on you. Not much, but some.”
Xavier wondered how much money the woman had bet on his behalf. “There aren’t going to be more bets on this, are there?”
The woman drummed her fingers on the bar. “That depends entirely on what beast you end up going after next. A Stone Bear?” She shrugged. “I don’t think that’s going to get anyone’s attention.”
“Well, why don’t you just hold onto those winnings. The next time someone wants to bet against me, you put them down on me, yeah?”
“I like your style.” Felicia rapped the bar with her knuckle. “Now, are you ready to receive your reward?”
Xavier nodded. He waited for a notification to appear, but instead, the woman simply kept speaking.
“There are three options: monetary, Mastery Points, or ability acquisition,” Felicia said.
Xavier considered the options for a moment, drumming his own fingers on the bar as he did.
Money, experience, or powers…
Money was always good, but without a System Shop here, he wasn’t exactly sure what he would spend it on. And Mastery Points seemed like a good thing for him to go after, but he didn’t think it would be worth it. While he did want to push his levels forward, he wanted to do it through meaningful combat, not through quest rewards.
He’d done enough of that when he’d been clearing all those dungeons.
“What might I get for ability acquisition?” Xavier asked.
The woman shrugged. “That depends on few different factors. The System is the one that decides what rewards to hand out, and it is all based on your performance during the Hunt Quest.
“For instance, if you were in a party of four and utilised only healing spells, then the System would offer you ranks to those spells, or ranks in skills that help those spells. If someone were not to have participated in the battle much at all, but just been on for the ride, their reward would be considerably smaller.
“Sometimes, an ability acquisition reward will be gaining a spell or a skill, as well.”
Xavier contemplated that for a moment. The ability acquisition reward would be based on his performance in the fight, and could even offer him a new spell…
He could see how this could be used to one’s advantage. A Denizen could shape a fight purely based on what kind of reward they wished to receive, even if they would only be able to push it in the right direction and not control it completely.
“So, which one will it be?” Felicia asked.
“Ability acquisition,” Xavier said without hesitation.