Connor Drier did not want to be moved. The rage that split his face was like nothing Xavier had ever seen. He straightened, standing almost as tall as Xavier, and tried to look down his nose at him.

Xavier sighed and cast Willpower Infusion.

On the entire town.

Purple mist flowed from Xavier’s scythe-staff. The crowd of people standing in front of him barely had a split second to widen their eyes. They certainly didn’t have time to take a step back.

And no one got a chance to run.

He made every single person within the area come toward him. Influencing their minds was the easiest thing in the world. A simple push and they did everything he wished.

The power he wielded was intoxicating. Sometimes it made him wonder what he would be capable of if he took a different path—a more selfish path—and he was glad that he had been the one to become Earth’s True Progenitor, and that it hadn’t fallen to someone else, like Alistair.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever used this spell on a Level 1, but he imagined it would work just as well on someone stronger.

The purple mist had flowed from him and engulfed everything in the matter of a couple of seconds.

Howard looked over at him, then at the people, an eyebrow raised. “That’s one way to do it.”

Xavier couldn’t tell if the man disapproved or not, and honestly, he didn’t care. These people would be of no help during the floor, and Xavier was only doing this to protect them.

What lengths would I go to, to protect someone? How much of their freedom would I take?

Xavier pushed that thought away. Sometimes you had to cross a line to save a life. He wasn’t going to feel guilty for it.

“Adranial didn’t tell us much of anything about the rest of the floor,” Siobhan said. “I’m not sure where will be safe.”

Xavier nodded. With his thumb, he touched the Storage Ring on his left hand—the one that held his Portal Stones. He could move faster than the others, but despite how high he could jump, he couldn’t fly.

We’ve got time.

“Justin. Get in the air. The necromancer wants this town and the surrounding area. If we can get these people somewhere outside of that, they won’t be in danger.”

Justin didn’t delay. He leapt straight upwards, his wings springing into life from his back at the apex of his jump.

Xavier watched as Justin soared through the air, the young man’s massive white wings flapping, sending a gust of wind downward, taking him higher and higher. Xavier couldn’t help but bask in the moment. There was a beauty, to what they were each capable of. A purity in the power they held, in the things they were able to do. For some reason, it was easier to see here than it had been back on Earth.

Adranial had said it would take fifteen minutes from when the town was warned about the coming zombies and their arrival, so Justin would have plenty of time to find somewhere.

There were Portal Stones not just in Xavier’s Storage Ring, but in all of their Storage Rings. Xavier had the one they were paired with. They also each had Communication Stones. They had figured out how to set up a party-wide communication line, and Xavier was able to speak with each of them telepathically if he wished.

Howard glanced at him, then the man’s voice entered Xavier’s mind. [I’m glad you’re doing this.]

Xavier tilted his head to the side. [Why wouldn’t I be?]

Howard looked away, and he didn’t answer. Siobhan looked between them, having heard the exchange, but didn’t say anything either.

Did he think I wouldn’t bother trying to save them anymore?

The townsfolk—including their leader, Connor Drier—were all gathering together in the square. Xavier had commanded them to come together into one place. He pursed his lips as he noticed several people in various states of undress. Apparently, they hadn’t been aware of the imminent attack on the town, or maybe they were just… taking advantage of what might have been their last moments alive.

He ordered them to return to their houses and put on clothes before coming back. There was still time.

I’ll have to remember that for next time. Assuming I pull off a stunt like this again.

And chances were, he would.

Xavier gazed up at the wall. In one giant leap, the wind rushing through his hair, billowing his robes, he landed on the stone, touching a hand to it in a crouch that was more for aesthetics than actually necessary. He walked over to the battlements and looked down at the forest.

It took him a moment to spot the movement, but when he did, it was the only thing he saw.

Stolen novel; please report.

This wall isn’t going to help.

He knew what undead did when they reached a wall like this. He’d seen Game of Thrones—even if they did mess up that last season. They would simply climb it, then open it from the inside.

He scanned the area, trying to find where the necromancer might be. His vision was powerful enough to cover a great distance, but he couldn’t see through the dense canopy of trees from sheer force of will alone.

It would be good to have some sort of vision skill, or maybe an item—something like Xray goggles…

I’ll have to look into that.

He didn’t doubt that an item like that might exist.

The zombies were starting to slowly stumble out of the tree line. First there was one. A single straggler that had made it ahead of the pack. Xavier couldn’t tell the gender of the zombie. It was too far gone.

Another came out of the trees. This one had clearly been a man once. What remained of the zombie’s body was huge and muscular. The other half, however, had been stripped to the bone. Then another stepped out. And another.

Until hundreds were making their way into his vision.

Then thousands.

Some primal part of him that was still active felt fear at the sight of so many zombies. Humans were hardwired to be disgusted by the dead. A mechanism that helped them stay away from things that might make them sick, it was thought. And it was a hundred times worse when the dead walked.

What’s dead should stay dead.

That part of him was tiny, however. To Xavier, these zombies were more like ants marching toward a picnic basket. Annoying, a little frustrating to deal with, perhaps, but not an actual threat.

[Justin. How’s it going up there?] Xavier asked.

He could still see the Airborne Duellist in the distance if he squinted. He wondered if the necromancer had spotted him.

Probably not.

[I think I’ve found somewhere. A grassy plain on the other side of a valley,] Justin replied. [There’s a city somewhere in the distance as well. Somewhere safe for them, I hope.]

Xavier nodded to himself. [That will have to do.]

This wasn’t the ideal way to save the people from the town, but he figured if he let the necromancer have what he wanted, then there wouldn’t be a reason for him to go after the townspeople. He would get the land, and whatever powerful resources it contained, and the people would be safe.

Xavier and his party could bail out of the floor before the end of the tenth wave, and come back and fully clear it on their second run through.

No innocents dead.

He consoled himself with the fact that it was better than leaving them to die. Besides, these people had gotten themselves into this situation—it was their fault for being so weak in a universe that required one to be strong.

Perhaps it would be better if horrible things like this never had to happen. Better if people could live their lives without fear. But people could hope all they liked for the reality they wanted, they still had to deal with the reality they were stuck with.

There were still a few minutes until the wave officially began. Adranial said you could attack the zombies before the first waves reached the town. Some Champions completely bypassed the town and headed straight into the forest. But the problem with that was it would bar the town off to the Champions.

The walls were too strong. The undead might be able to get past them, but if they were locked, a Champion wouldn’t be able to unless they’d been invited. There was an invisible barrier that domed the place in, preventing anyone from simply leaping over the wall.

Adranial hadn’t been sure if it would work on Xavier. As far as she knew, someone as strong as him had never entered this stage of the tower before.

There were elites in other parts of the universe that were powerlevelled when they were returned to their home. People from strong families, who thrived simply because of who’d birthed them, which meant that it wasn’t uncommon for E Grades to be clearing this floor.

However, there was quite a difference between an E Grade who’d been powerlevelled, like John Hammond, Melissa Donavon, and Allegra Delacorte back on Earth, and someone who’d made it there by themselves.

John Hammond and the others Xavier had powerlevelled were strong for their level because of the titles they’d gotten from the dungeons, but they weren’t incredibly strong for their levels. They were simply above average as they hadn’t ranked up their skills and spells all that effectively.

This is often what stopped other Denizens from being powerful for their level if they were uplifted. On top of that, Denizens from elite families simply wouldn’t have access to the same kinds of titles that someone from a new world could.

Xavier was as strong as an elite D Grade right now. He could probably get through this wall. But he didn’t want to risk it.

Especially considering the door that exited the floor was inside the walls, at the centre of town. Xavier had seen it beneath Connor Drier’s feet when the man had first come up to him. The door was huge—about the size of the town square itself—which meant anyone who wanted to go through it would have to clear the square first.

Something that wouldn’t be easy if one were trapped outside the walls, or if the square was overrun by people or zombies.

Xavier pushed these thoughts away as he continued to scan the area. He still didn’t see any sign of what he was looking for.

[I’ve reached the location,] Justin said. [Landing now.]

[Good,] Siobhan said. [I’ll teleport them all to where you are.]

A brilliant white light enveloped everyone down in the town square. In a flash, they disappeared. Siobhan’s Summon spell had improved a lot over the last couple of months. Xavier had to say he was impressed—he hadn’t seen enough of what his party could do these days.

Xavier felt an odd sensation as all the people he’d been controlling were suddenly in a different place. He still felt his connection to them, even at this distance, though it was a little fainter. It was also a bit disorientating not being able to see the people he controlled.

Maybe I can one day learn to look through their eyes.

If so, that would be a definite tactical advantage.

[All done,] Siobhan said. [They arrive all right?]

[They’re all here,] Justin replied.

A notification popped up into Xavier’s vision. Before he read the words, he assumed it would be announcing the imminent arrival of the waves, and that maybe it would explain how long the waves would take.

But that’s not what the notification said at all.

Xavier stared at the notification, his eyes widening in slight shock.

This can’t be right. This…

Xavier bit his lip.

[Uh,] Howard uttered. [Are you guys seeing what I’m seeing?]

Every single one of the gathered zombies had stopped outside of the walls. They’d just frozen there. They were no longer approaching the walls as they should have been. And because the zombies didn’t breathe, it almost looked as though they were statues.

It felt eerie. Strange. He had a memory of watching I Am Legend and seeing the scenes with the mannequins, always feeling like they were going to move.

This was a little like that, but worse.

Xavier read over the notification again.