Xavier stared back at Liana, sitting in the grove within the bubble of time. “There’s someone you wish to save?”

The woman bit her lip and turned away. “My husband.”

Xavier’s eyes widened. “You have a husband?” he said, surprised.

Liana glared at him. “Of course I have a husband. Why wouldn’t I have a husband?”

Xavier put his hands up. “I didn’t mean that you wouldn’t, I just.” He gestured toward her. “You look so young, and…”

Liana sighed. “Oh, that’s what you meant. Well, of course you would think that. You’re from an unintegrated world. You people age fast, don’t you?”

“Not anymore,” Xavier muttered.

“Yes. I’m married. I have been for three years now. We met in the tower, back on the first floor.”

Xavier kept his astonishment to himself that this woman could have been married for three years. If she met the man in the tower… how many years, exactly, had it taken her to get to the one hundredth floor? Unless they married the moment they met, he had to imagine it had been more than three years…

“Were you in the same party?” Xavier asked.

She shook her head. “No. He was partied with his twin brother, and, well, there are reasons it wasn’t wise for us to party up together.”

Xavier nodded, as though he understood what those reasons might be, even if he really didn’t.

“We met in the tavern at the bottom of the tower. He was in my cohort. Whenever there was a break between floors, we would meet up there. Our parties got to know each other, always hanging out with one another. We eventually started to sync our clearing of floors, never clearing a floor before the other party was ready to if we could help it. When we returned to Ronaran—my world—we found each other. Apparently, we had lived only a few streets away in the same city for our entire lives. Born on the same day, yet we’d never met each other. This is rare, considering on my world people born on the same day tend to get to know each other early on, as the chances of them being in the same cohort—especially if they are in the same area—is incredibly high.”

Xavier nodded again. This he knew a little something about. He wondered how long it would take people back on Earth to start thinking in this way. He supposed if he steered their thinking toward the goal of creating more Champions for the tower… but with the knowledge that only half the people that tried and make it to the tower actually survived, he couldn’t imagine a great deal would wish to enter.

And yet, there are billions upon billions of people in the Greater Universe who do…

God, it was a dangerous thing. He still wondered why the System would do something like that—why it would test people in such a way.

Maybe one day he would find out.

Liana shook her head. “It didn’t take us long to tie the knot. Then…” She looked away, that same dark look upon her face.

“Then… what?”

“I lost my entire party on the ninety-eighth floor.”

Xavier gasped. “You lost your entire party? And… you knew them well, didn’t you?”

“They were the closest thing to family that I ever had. I was raised to become a Champion. I know what it is to lose people. Half of all my friends were lost when they tried to make it to the tower… but I never thought I’d lose my party. Adron—my husband—and his party kept pushing through the floors. They couldn’t delay for long enough to wait for me to find a new party and catch up. The System doesn’t allow such a thing. There are consequences for dallying, though they don’t apply in the same time frame if you’re outside a party, as it can take far longer to solo tower floors.” Liana took a breath. “When Adron entered the one hundredth floor… it was only a blink of an eye and his party were back. Without him.”

Xavier hung his head. “They lost him to The Nightmare?”

Liana simply inclined her head.

Xavier frowned. He gestured around, motioning to the forest, but meaning to take in the entire one hundredth floor. “How do you know this is the right version of the hundredth floor?”

Her eyes flashed away. “There are ways to ensure such things. Secret ways. Expensive ways. Originally, both our parties had been planning to meet up on this floor. But… it never happened. Adron’s party, even his twin brother, moved on after his loss. It was only after getting Adron’s brother drunk that he confessed Adron didn’t strictly die.”

“He was taken by The Nightmare,” Xavier whispered.

“Yes. He was taken by The Nightmare.”

“That’s why you were there…” Xavier’s face scrunched up. “But… how could succumbing to the nightmare save him?”

She looked away again. “I realised saving him was impossible. So, in a moment of weakness…”

“You were going to join him.”

“It wasn’t until it was too late that I realised it wasn’t what I wanted. The Nightmare already had me in its clutches, I could feel my own mind, my personality, drifting away. Adron… he never would have forgiven me if he knew that I threw my life away.”

“You said you were eager to move on from this floor,” Xavier said. “Have you given up on saving your husband?”

Liana stared at him. “The Nightmare was destroying my mind. Even if Adron’s body remains alive… I don’t think there will be anything left of who he was. I’ve spent enough time dwelling on this. Enough time wallowing in my pain. He was a Champion—he knew the risks as well as I.”

There was a fire in her voice that Xavier had never heard before.

Xavier thought hard about what he was going to say next. Perhaps Liana was right. Perhaps there would be nothing left of this Adron after The Nightmare had infected him. Perhaps there was… no one left to save.

But something told him that Liana would wish to find out for herself if she could.

“You don’t know that his mind is gone. Maybe we can save him together,” Xavier said. “I don’t want to give you false hope… but there could be a chance. I was able to control The Nightmare, maybe I could force it to release him, like I did for you—”

“The Nightmare didn’t fully have me in its clutches. What you did for me is different. That control you had? It was fleeting. You told me so yourself! Do you really expect me to believe that you’re strong enough to do this?” She shook her head. “The Nightmare… it would need to be killed to free him. I know you walk a path to power that I cannot begin to understand, but that doesn’t mean you’re strong enough to do something like that. Not yet. Not now. Not here.”

Liana crossed her arms. Looked away. “Adron is dead. This floor… I’ve had enough of being here. I’m glad I was able to teach you what I could, Xavier, but I’m not sure I ever want to see you again—doing so would only remind me of what happened in this place.”

Xavier looked at the ground. He supposed he could understand where this woman was coming from. She had already lost so many people in her life. First her party, then her husband… She was used to moving on and had already lingered more than she wished.

Why would she keep putting herself through being somewhere that hurt so much?

“No,” Xavier said. “I don’t accept that you’ve given up.”

Liana blinked. “Are you trying to tell me that you know my thoughts better than I do?”

“I think there’s a reason you spent so long training me, so long still on this floor, and it wasn’t that you were in mourning. It was because you hadn’t let go of hope yet. You saw what I could do—you knew you might be able to use that.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Facing The Nightmare…” The woman shuddered. “It was the most terrifying feeling I’ve ever had. I’m not going to make you go through something like that. You want to save the damned universe, Xavier. You were chosen by the System. Why would you risk your life to try and help me?”

Xavier thought on that for a moment. She was right. He had bigger fish to fry. More lofty goals to attain. He couldn’t throw his life away facing some C Grade beast before he was ready to.

Then again…

Xavier shrugged. “I always planned to face The Nightmare before I left this floor.”

Liana blinked. “You—you did?” There was a tone in her voice that he hadn’t heard before. Something he couldn’t place. She spoke haltingly. “Are you joking? Because… because that wouldn’t be funny, Xavier.”

Xavier lifted his chin. “It’s not the only C Grade beast I want to face before leaving this place.”

Xavier told the woman about the C Grade dragon, and the egg that it was protecting.

“You want to steal the dragon’s child?” The woman looked aghast. “That’s terrible! And also absolutely insane. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

Xavier inclined his head. “Maybe. But I don’t think so. I’ve been facing D Grade enemies as an E Grade for a long time now. I can defeat a C Grade when I’m D Grade.”

Liana did not look convinced. “The gap between E Grade and D Grade is far smaller than the one between D and C. It’s not an equal comparison.”

“I’m sure you’re right. You know far more about all of this than I do. But you also know what I’m capable of. I don’t speak this way out of arrogance.”

Liana looked away. “No. Even if you sound arrogant.”

“You taught me how to be patient, Liana. Right now, I need you to be a little more patient too. If there’s any way to save your husband, I promise I’ll help. But it’s going to take a little time.”

The woman looked away. Xavier could have sworn that her eyes were shining, but not a single tear fell from them, as though she was willing them not to fall.

After a pause that stretched for several minutes, as their pauses sometimes did, Liana sighed. “Fine. I’ll stick around a little while longer. I just hope I won’t regret it.”

I hope so too, Xavier thought, but didn’t say. There was no way that he could guarantee that this woman’s husband was okay, but if it was someone who he cared about? He would do his best to save them.

“How long until you reach D Grade?” Liana asked.

Weeks in floor-time had passed since he had defeated the Alpha Rhinoceros Monkey. Since then, he’d gone up against several of the floor’s boss-beasts for his Hunt Quests.

He had been disappointed to find that the bartender, Felicia, had been right. He wouldn’t always gain random spells from every enemy he killed, especially as the encounters were beginning to grow easier for him. He had a feeling the System was altering its parameters for giving him such a reward as it saw how relatively easy the challenges had become.

While training, Xavier had been focused on making his transition to D Grade as effective as possible. Before reaching D Grade, he wished to bring every single one of his skills and spells—or as many of them as he reasonably could, as not all of them were strictly cooperative—up to Rank 100.

This was, however, proving more difficult than he’d imagined it would have.

He brought up his status screen and looked at all his attributes and ranks.

XAVIER COLLINS

Age: 23

Race: Human (?)

Grade: E

Moral Faction: World Defender (Planet Earth)

Class: Otherworldly Reaper (Legendary)

Level 195

Strength: 7,717 (22,765) [Attunement: 10%]

Speed: 6,707 (23,139) [Attunement: 10%]

Toughness: 7,209 (20,546) [Attunement: 10%]

Intelligence: 7,746 (21,689) [Attunement: 10%]

Willpower: 8,436 (28,682) [Attunement: 10%]

Spirit: 9,000 (31,950) [Attunement: 10%]

Mastery Points (E Grade) until next level: 15,000/100,000

Available Spirit Energy (E Grade): 324,250/324,250

Available Willpower Energy (E Grade): 250,600/250,600

Available Skill Points: 1

Free stat points remaining: 0

Titles:

Bloodied Hands, Born on a Battlefield, Settlement Defender, Quester, First Defender of Planet Earth, Survivor, All 100, First All 100, 1,000 Stats, First to 1,000 Stats, Greater Butcher, All 1,000, First All 1,000, Level 100, First to level 100, E Grade, E Grade Progenitor, E Grade Speedrun (Unmatched), Destroyer of Hordes (Unmatched), Ahead of the Pack 2, Goliath Killer 2, Tenth Floor (Tower Milestone), Homeward Bound, First Dungeon of Earth, Dungeon Diver 110, Dungeon – First Clears, Dungeon – Solo Clears, Dungeon – Record Clears, 10,000 Stats, First 10,000 Stats, All 10,000 Stats, First All 10,000, Nineteenth Floor Climber, Nineteenth Floor Ranked 1 – RECORD HOLDER, Solo Tower Climber 19, 1st Nineteenth Floor Climber

Spells List:

Spiritual Trifecta – Rank 95

Heavy Telekinesis – Rank 94

Spirit Break (All) – Rank 90

Spirit Infusion – Rank 91

Soul Harvest – Rank 70

Soul Strike (Ranged) – Rank 70

Soul Block – Rank 65

Soul Harden – Rank 65

Willpower Infusion – Rank 85

Core Burn – Rank 73

Summon Otherworldly Spirit – Rank 30

Otherworldly Communion – Rank 1

Soul Shatter – Rank 75

Soul Puppet – Rank 75

Hover Dodge – 60

Enhanced Telekinetic Strike – 75

Time Alteration – 70

Time Prison – 60

Skills List:

Physical Resistance – Rank 90

Magical Potency – Rank 82

Magical Resistance – Rank 75

Physical Damage – Rank 92

Assimilate Properties – Rank 35

Scythe-Staff Mastery – Rank 65

Meditation – Rank 80

Aura-Control – Rank 80

Core Strength – Rank 80

Cultivate Energy – Rank 80

Identify – Rank 100

Split Mind – Rank 90

Evasion – Rank 90

Aerial Combat – 75

Dismantle – 50

Red In Tooth And Claw – 70

Iron Grip – 65

Close Combat Fighting – 65

Predator’s Gaze – 40

Minor Spirit Coins: 5,542

Lesser Spirit Coins: 33

Xavier stood from where he’d been sitting—the conversation with Liana had come to a natural end—and paced around the time bubble. He had reached Level 195. This was, he supposed, something he should have been proud of, but more than anything he was frustrated. He’d gotten there faster than he’d planned to, at least in regard to how swiftly his spells and skills were ranking up.

There was a problem when it came to ranking his spells and skills, something he hadn’t realised until he’d really started focusing on it.

Xavier needed challenges to really push his spells and skills. He needed to fight enemies of a higher level than himself. That was easy to come by around here, though it was becoming rarer that the fights were actually challenging—very rare.

The problem was he knew his ranks wouldn’t be where he wanted them when he reached Level 200.

While he wasn’t gaining levels faster than he was gaining ranks, he was gaining levels faster than he wanted to.

This wasn’t ultimately the problem, of course. When he had reached Level 100, he’d been put in a state which meant he could no longer gain Mastery Points, but he could still upgrade his spells, skills, and gain attributes.

It was the perfect state to be in, he supposed, if one wanted postpone the inevitable for as long as possible and further develop themselves.

But some of his inherent impatience seeped in at the idea of forcing himself to wait longer to evolve to D Grade than he strictly “needed” to. He wanted the transformation to go as well as possible. There were very few times that he was able to choose new classes, and this would be one of them.

The System would judge him on where he was, and base his class selection not only on the paths he’d taken, but off of his level of power as well.

He needed to be as strong as an E Grade possibly could be.

It wasn’t only the ranks of his spells and skills that he was trying to strengthen either. It was his attunements. Xavier tapped his foot on the ground as he looked at what he’d achieved. He had attuned each of his attributes to 10 percent, and… he was annoyed with himself.

A 10 percent attunement was amazing considering how long he’d been at this. Before this floor, he hadn’t even known attuning attributes was a thing. Now, he had accomplished in a short time what took many Denizens countless years.

And yet, he was disappointed.

It was difficult to hold yourself up to incredibly high ideals. He knew that doing so would mean he would never quite measure up.

Xavier blinked, then his eyes widened, as he scanned over the status screen a second time. There was something that caught his eye—something he hadn’t noticed before.

His age had changed.

The status screen no longer said that he was aged 21. Now, it said he was aged 23.

When in the hell had that happened? His eyebrows rose as he realised that he had been aging within the time bubble, and that the System had been keeping track of just how long he’d been in there. And it wasn’t just the time bubble—it was the floor itself he’d spent a lot of time on.

But even so, had so much time really passed within the time dilation field? Had he been training with Liana for that long, and not even realised?

He shook his head, feeling a little astounded, but no less motivated than before. In the grand scheme of the Greater Universe and the lifespan he now had access to, and would in the future have access to… 23 years of age was absolutely nothing.

Looking through his spells and skills, Xavier scrunched up his face, trying to figure out how he could push each one to their limit.

Otherworldly Communion was the worst offender. He’d used it multiple times, and yet it had stalled at Rank 1. It also wasn’t a spell he could use all that often—especially when he stopped gaining levels that rejuvenated his cooldowns.

I’ll need to use the spell to learn how to upgrade the spell…

Summon Otherworldly Spirit had also resisted his attempts to push its rank higher, but perhaps that was because he didn’t rely on it for too many fights. It was currently only Rank 30. He frowned, thinking on that. It was a pitiful rank, as far as he was concerned. The spell was incredibly powerful, and the power of it seemed to be based on his own power.

But how much stronger would it be if the potential was truly unleashed?

Besides, his class was Otherworldly Reaper—he needed to respect half of his class by ranking up the spells properly before D Grade, else he might lose the option to use them.

Xavier had come to the conclusion that he needed to find another teacher. Someone who could instruct him in the ways of summoning from the Otherworld, and if he wanted to achieve his goals, he needed to do it before clearing this floor.

He wasn’t even sure if such a thing was possible.