Felicia stood behind the bar. She looked to be casually polishing the long wooden countertop without a care in the world, and certainly without caring about what was happening around her. Yet she watched the clientele like a hawk. It was easy not to make her observations obvious—she had a skill that let her observe everyone in Hunter’s Home no matter where they were standing.

Hunter’s Home was her domain, and so she had complete control over it. The System had ensured that for her a long time ago.

She smirked when Xavier Collins walked through the heavy door, letting a cool breeze roll in from the forest behind. When that man had come to the hundredth floor, it had been snowy out there. Now, it was spring, and the flowers were blossoming in the small garden she kept out front.

Xavier didn’t realise just how much she’d already known about him when he appeared here. Felicia wasn’t just a barkeep, or the owner of Hunter’s Home. She was the steward of the hundredth floor of the Tower of Champions. She had a little pocket of an entire world that was under her purview, and she was far stronger than she looked.

She had an inherent knowledge of anyone who was in her domain. At any one point, she knew exactly where each Champion was. On her mini-map, they stuck out like a pool of blood on a blanket of snow.

“Back so soon?” Felicia asked. She had a coffee brewed and ready for the man before he’d stepped through the door. She brought it up from under the bar and placed it in front of him as he climbed onto a stool. The mugs were designed in such a way that the coffee never got cold. This appeared to be a novelty for Xavier.

Xavier blinked, but didn’t question the mug. Instead, he placed a few Minor Spirit Coins onto the bar and took a sip. He released a small sigh and visibly relaxed.

Minor Spirit Coins. And this man thought I didn’t already know he was E Grade.

“I have a question for you,” Xavier said.

“Of course you do.”

The System had tipped her off about this man. That had never happened before. When Xavier Collins had entered Hunter’s Home, she’d received a notification. The notification hadn’t just been text, either. It had contained recorded memories of what this man was capable of.

It had piqued her interest—the System hadn’t addressed her directly in this way since she’d been tasked with the stewardship of the hundredth floor. It was a strange, strange thing indeed, but she didn’t question it.

She, like other stewards of other floors in the multiverse that comprised the Greater Universe, had a small awareness of the System’s greater goals.

And apparently this E Grade was a part of those plans—what kind of part, Felicia didn’t know.

After the dossier on Xavier Collins she’d been given by the System, the System had addressed two words to her:

Challenge him.

And so that was exactly what she’d been doing, sending him off to fight difficult beasts he shouldn’t be able to defeat easily. Honestly, she’d thought she’d been harsh with him that first time when she’d sent him to the Dark Mountains without any warnings about what resided there.

She hadn’t expected the man to return.

And yet, he kept coming back, and he always came back stronger.

Though there was no System Shop in Hunter’s Home, or anywhere on this planet, as the steward for this floor there were some things she was able to grant—this wasn’t something the Champions that came to this place were made aware of, however.

“So, what is your question?” Felicia prompted. The man had just been sitting there, savouring his coffee.

“I need another teacher.”

Felicia tilted her chin up. Another teacher?

This man was capable of things no E Grade should ever be capable of, yet he still had things he wanted to learn?

That thirst for knowledge will take him far.

“What is it that you wish to learn?” It was luck alone that there had been a time mage in the area the last time he’d come to her. Time mages were rare—this was the only time she’d seen two on the floor at once.

Xavier motioned that he wished for the conversation to be private. Felicia made a gesture, then nodded for him to speak.

“I need someone to instruct me on my otherworldly summoning magic.”

Felicia couldn’t help but be taken aback. Otherworldly summoning magic? She had seen what this man was capable of when he summoned the Spirit of Vengeance—that had been a part of one of the memories shown to her when he’d arrived—but he was the only Denizen she’d ever encountered that had actually used such spells.

Felicia opened her hands and shrugged. “I don’t know how to help you with that.” She paused. “Haven’t you been able to gain any ranks in those spells from the Hunt Quest rewards?”

Xavier shook his head. “They don’t seem to work for that.”

Felicia nodded. “I don’t know much about the Otherworld, but if you need a teacher… couldn’t you summon one?” She smirked, half-joking, but the frown on the man’s face said he took her seriously.

The words entered her mind once more: Challenge him.

She hadn’t been able to do that lately—this man was simply far too strong for the D Grade enemies he was facing on this floor. She drummed her fingers on the bar as she came up with an idea. But, of course, she would need an incentive…

“Where did your scythe go?” the woman asked.

The man used to sometimes enter the tavern with the weapon in hand, something he hadn’t done in a while. It got her curious. Though she could only see everything that happened within the tavern, she also had little helpers that could show her glimpses of what was happening to the Champions outside of Hunter’s Home.

Little birds that she could send out and about. She could channel their sight and observe battles happening. She often did this for the raids against C Grade beasts. It was a way to pass the time—it also helped her with the odds when it came to people placing bets.

She’d sent one of these little birds to observe Xavier recently—he no longer fought with a weapon at all. He’d become… bestial in nature. It was frightening, but intriguing.

“Huh?” Xavier, who had been lost in thought, looked over at her. “I lost it. It broke during a fight, and I couldn’t repair it. I’ve outgrown the weapon, anyway. Why?”

“Hmm.” Felicia leant forward on the bar, resting her elbows on the surface she kept pristine. She spoke in a whisper. “Do you want to get your hands on a soul bound weapon?”

Xavier blinked. “I didn’t think gaining one of those would be possible. Not here.”

“There are certain special rewards the System grants Champions for… unique achievements.” She peered over at a group of Champions talking in the corner of Hunter’s Home—they were organising a raid for later that week. “If you were to be a part of the defeat of a C Grade beast, especially as an E Grade, you might be granted such a reward.”

“C Grade?” Xavier shook his head, then paused as though in thought.

He’s really considering it? He isn’t even D Grade yet.

“I don’t qualify to join a raid group,” Xavier said, matter-of-factly, as though that was the only thing stopping him from doing this insane thing.

“The Champions who raid take my recommendations seriously. If I say you’re up to the task, they’ll take me on my word.”

Xavier shook his head again, though there was a spark in his eyes that hadn’t been there a moment ago. Once this man got an idea in his head, he went after it, no matter how dangerous it seemed. That was something that had been clear to her from almost the moment he’d stepped into Hunter’s Home.

The man was seriously considering Felicia’s words. Felicia stopped herself from shaking her head in dismay. Actually, she stopped herself from gripping the man’s shoulders and shaking him.

He was a fool if he was actually going to take her up on this. Facing a C Grade in a raid… yes, it was technically a lot less dangerous than facing one alone, but just because you were in a group didn’t mean you were safe.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The members of raid groups were uniquely insane. She had never really understood them. Risking their lives to try to take down a C Grade. The success rate was something like 3 percent, at least in her instance of the hundredth floor—she had no idea how well Champions on other instances had faired.

It was still strange for her to imagine an almost unlimited number of versions of herself in other taverns on other worlds just like this one, doing the same thing she was doing now…

But that was just how the infinite universe was. Even if she hadn’t agreed to be the steward for a tower floor, it would be the same—there would still be countless versions of herself out there, they’d just be doing something else.

Xavier paused. He seemed to fall inward whenever he took these pauses in conversation. The pauses weren’t all that long—at least, they wouldn’t seem that long to someone who was E Grade or F Grade. But to someone like her? The gap was rather noticeable.

A smile began to twitch one side of Xavier’s lips. “All right. I’ll do it. I had given up on ever finding a soul bound weapon—at least any time in the near future. And I plan to take some C Grade Hunt Quests when I’m D Grade. Doesn’t seem like a bad idea to go into the first one in a group, even if I tend to prefer working alone.”

Felicia blinked. She couldn’t help herself. This man… he was actually going for the challenge she’d just set for him. Hook, line, and sinker. She felt bad, once more, for doing this to the man. He seemed like a good kid.

Honestly, Felicia wasn’t sure how he had lasted so long. Then again… he had lasted this long. The System was watching him, too. Not just watching him either—it was having a clear influence on him. She’d seen what the System had done for him—or rather, to him—to get him here. It had made him skip all the way to the hundredth floor because it felt like he wasn’t being challenged enough.

Then it had spoken directly to her and told her to challenge him.

It’s not like I’m going to refuse what the System wants me to do. That seems like a very, very bad idea.

She bit the inside of her cheek. Usually, even this hidden tick wasn’t something that she would let happen, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this level of anxiety over something.

“In that case, I’ll set it up.” She nodded over at the group of Champions in the far corner of Hunter’s Home who were currently discussing a C Grade raid as Xavier and her spoke. “It shouldn’t take me long.”

She was talking out of her ass, of course. She’d never actually done anything like this—no Champion in their right mind would want to go on a C Grade raid before they were deemed ready.

But, she figured she’d be able to get them to agree to this. And if she couldn’t…

Maybe I can call in a favour from the System itself. It’s the one who put me up to this, after all.

~

Xavier stepped out of Hunter’s Home feeling energised. Not only did he have a line on how to obtain a soul bound weapon—even if it meant going up against a C Grade beast as an E Grade Denizen—he had an idea of how to find his teacher.

He had considered asking the spirits for help on this, but his current idea took that a step further.

Well, it took it a few hundred steps further.

Earlier, he had learnt the spirits from the Otherworld made deals with Denizens from the mortal realm. He supposed it made sense, really. The idea of Faustian deals had to have come from somewhere.

Summoning these spirits already did something to his soul. He wondered what making a deal with one of them would cost him.

This wasn’t something he wanted to involve Liana in. When he had left her in the grove, he’d been able to sense that she wanted some time alone. That was something he could certainly understand, considering the wounds he’d made her open up when he’d spoken to her about her husband.

I wonder if that’s the C Grade beast the raiders will be going for… if it is, then I’ll need to make sure her husband—assuming he’s actually still alive—isn’t harmed during the battle.

Her husband, Adron, would be among the enemies the raid group would be facing…

God, he hoped it wasn’t The Nightmare they would be going after. That sounded like too much to deal with right now.

Xavier sped through the forest. He wasn’t exactly sure of what he was looking for—he figured he would know it when he found it.

It wasn’t long before he came upon a small clearing at the top of a cliff. A stream ran down one side, creating a waterfall at the cliffside that splashed down into a pool far below.

The constant flow of water was rather soothing. He figured this would be an incredible place to work on his mediation.

But that wasn’t what he was there to do.

There was a large, standing grey stone in the middle of the clearing. He touched a hand to it and smiled. In one of his favourite books, stones like this were said to be portals to the realm of faerie…

It wasn’t a faerie realm he was about to make contact with, but he felt as though this area suited his intentions well.

Xavier sat, cross legged, on a large boulder that faced the standing stone. The stream flowed. Birds chirped in the trees—one, with a red tail, he could have sworn he’d seen before.

All in all, it was a beautiful day to make a deal with a ghostly entity.

Xavier cast Otherworldly Communion, holding what he wished in his head.

As always, time stopped, and the world looked black-and-white. The spirit appeared in a flash of light. It wasn’t one he had encountered before. This spirit wasn’t human, but it wasn’t a hamster or some strange amalgamation of beast parts, either.

It was an elf.

The man had long, dark hair that looked like it had been professionally straightened. His ears were sharp as daggers and his eyes even sharper as his gaze pierced into Xavier.

Why have you summoned me?

The elf’s voice was deep. Somehow, it was even deeper than the voice of the dragon had been.

I need a teacher in the art of Otherworldly summoning. My spells have stagnated, and I cannot have that. I am willing to make a deal.

The elf did not bother to hide the smirk that came onto his face. He stepped forward, his hands folded behind his back, those sharp eyes gleaming.

I have heard of you. You have created quite a stir in the Otherworld.

Xavier blinked. I have?

The fact that the Otherworld existed between universes often threw Xavier for a loop. He wondered if there were other Xaviers out there, summoning spirits from the exact same place. And would those be the same spirits, or different ones? Could there be multiple versions of the dragon whom Xavier knew as the Spirit of Vengeance?

He didn’t see why there wouldn’t be.

Xavier shook those thoughts out of his head. They were not helpful right now. He needed to focus.

Order your thoughts.

Something told him that making a deal with a spirit would require all of his attention, lest he give away something he shouldn’t be parting with.

Indeed. It has been some time since someone like you has been encountered. The elf looked Xavier up and down, then raised his chin. Strange that a human should hold so much potential. I would have thought you were an elf, after all I heard about prowess. I also expected someone… taller.

Xavier wasn’t sure he should respond to that. He supposed racism—speciesism?—was alive and well in the Greater Universe.

Now, as to this deal you wish to make with me, what are you offering in return?

Xavier wasn’t sure how to answer that question. He didn’t want to just go out and say, “My soul!” Because it wasn’t as though he wanted to be offering that.

I don’t know. I’ve never made any deal like this before, Xavier replied.

Hmm. Indeed. That much is abundantly clear.

What would one usually offer for something like this?

Xavier wasn’t sure how else to pose the question. He wanted to put the negation squarely in the spirit’s court. He knew if he was the first one to offer up a price, then he might have already showed his hand.

Besides, he had no idea how any of this worked.

I want a tenth of your soul’s energy for a single year.

Xavier blinked. He had no idea what that even meant. Do you mean spirit energy?

The elf raised an eyebrow. You really are green. How have you come this far, be an Otherworldly Reaper, and yet know nothing about the soul?

Xavier didn’t look away from the elf. Perhaps the old version of him, before he’d been integrated by the System, might have felt embarrassed about being made out to be a fool. But, well, he was ignorant, and that wasn’t something he was about to hide or be ashamed of—especially with someone who could end up teaching him.

Though he did wonder if he wanted this man—this elf—to be teaching him. It wasn’t as though he had made a good first impression. He seemed arrogant and self-important. But Xavier didn’t have any other options at present. He could wait until his next level and use the spell again in hopes of summoning another spirit, but that just felt like stalling the inevitable.

He could easily summon someone worse.

Yes. I am green. Please, explain to me what you mean by soul energy.

Soul energy is what living souls produce. It is something that exists on a different plane to that of spirit energy. The elf cocked his head to the side. It’s not even something that you would miss, really, especially someone like you, who has such a strong soul already.

Huh. Xavier didn’t let his thoughts seep out. There was something in the shift in the way the elf spoke. There was a hint of mocking, but mostly it seemed as though the man was flattering him…

He wanted this deal. He wanted it badly.

What does soul energy do for you?

Something flashed on the spirit’s face. A micro expression that was there for barely a fraction of a second. Xavier couldn’t quite read it. If he had to guess, he would say it might have been sadness… or perhaps longing.

I suppose this is one of the things I would have to teach you, if we were both to make a deal. The dead elf sighed, which seemed unnecessary, considering he couldn’t actually breathe.

Soul Energy might exist on another plane, but it’s what… The elf swallowed visibly. It’s what allows mortals to remain in the realm of the living. Without it, your souls would drift off to…

Other places? Xavier asked.

The elf spirit inclined his head. Indeed. It keeps one centred in their own reality. Though there are other things that it does, things I could one day teach you. Each time you make a connection to the Otherworld and summon one of us to you, it eats away at your soul energy.

Xavier felt a flutter in his chest. You mean to say that if I used too much of my soul energy, by using too many Otherworld spells, I’d what, drift away? I would die?

In a manner of speaking, yes. At least, your soul would. Your mortal body might still live. The brain might still be intact. Even your personality could remain with you. But you would be a heartless, cold thing without your soul. Certainly you wouldn’t be anything like you are right now.

Xavier considered that for a moment. He looked at the elf. The other spirits that he had summoned had other specialisations. This elf… if he was to be Xavier’s teacher, that must mean he had experience with summoning from the Otherworld. At least, when he was alive.

Is that what happened to you? Xavier asked.

No. I died in a more… traditional way. My body is long gone.

Xavier nodded. It seemed bad form to ask how the elf had died, even though he was curious.

Xavier didn’t see how this bargain could be a bad one. A tenth of his soul energy didn’t sound like a large amount—not that he really knew much about it, anyway. Though that was exactly the reason he was wary. This felt too easy.

How would you teach me? Xavier asked.

With the soul energy you provide me, and as part of whatever deal we might strike, I would appear to you almost as a soul apparition until your studies are deemed complete. Only you would be able to see me.

Xavier thought on that. So, he would essentially be walking around with a ghost? That… didn’t really sound all that bad, actually. He might look a little strange, talking to himself wherever he went, but he could endure looking strange if it meant giving him an opportunity to learn.

He just needed to know a little more about soul energy before signing in blood.