Gimble looked more than pleased with himself as he leant back in his chair and looked over at Xavier. He had him on the hook, knowing how much Xavier wanted the information.

And so that was when Xavier asked, “Something tells me you want something in return for the information about the C Grade beast?”

Xavier was still wrapping his head around the fact that there might be a C Grade beast somewhere on this floor that he could face. Hell, he was still wrapping his head around who Gimble, the innocent looking dwarf, was.

Someone rather crafty, that was for sure. Someone who’d clearly spent many years in this place. Perhaps he was doing what his fellow party member had mentioned other Champions did—grinding the floor until he reached C Grade himself.

Xavier had to say if that was the case, he was impressed with the dwarf’s dedication.

No wonder he was able to survive a hit from that first C Grade we fought.

That wasn’t the only time Xavier had seen the dwarf do something that none of the other D Grade Champions present were able to manage, either. Indeed, it was just the first of a long list.

“Ah, well, yes, there is something I want in return. But don’t worry, it isn’t much.” Gimble smiled. “All I want is a contract stating that you owe me a favour in the future.”

Xavier raised his eyebrows. “That’s all, is it?” He had to admit, that wasn’t a bad deal. Of course, he couldn’t help but wonder what the favour might be. “Any hint regarding what you might be needing?”

The dwarf shrugged with a shake of his head. “Nah. Haven’t the foggiest. But I know value when I see it, lad, and you have that in spades.”

“Thanks,” Xavier said, not sure what else to say. Was that what the dwarf saw in him? Simply something of value? It made him remember something the dwarf had said to him not that long ago, about the C Grade dragon and the way Xavier had been staring at it—he’d told Xavier that he had gold-gaze.

Xavier wondered if that was what Gimble had right now.

“All right, though I’ll want to have a look at whatever contract you have in mind.”

Rhaalir, the spirit from the Otherworld who was ever present, but not always visible to Xavier, popped into existence and stared down at the dwarves at the table.

Do you really think that’s a wise choice for you to make?

Xavier didn’t so much as glance at the elf. There were some secrets he didn’t want to share. You’ve never liked dwarves. Would I really trust your opinion on the matter?

Rhaalir stood to his highest and sucked on his bottom lip. He looked down at Gimble from the top of his nose. This dwarf isn’t so bad as others I’ve met.

Xavier thought there was a begrudging respect hidden somewhere in the elf’s tone.

And he should know, as he’d heard that same tone when the elf had spoken to him.

It wasn’t long before the dwarf drew up the contract and the notification sprang up in Xavier’s vision. The contract, as Xavier had feared, wasn’t very specific at all. It simply stated that Xavier owed the dwarf a favour, one that he could cash in on at any point in the next one thousand years.

“A thousand years, really?” Xavier raised an eyebrow at the dwarf. It seemed like a long time to make such an agreement.

The dwarf inclined his head. “I didn’t want to hold you to it for all time, lad. Figured a thousand years would be enough time to claim it. Besides, it might be difficult to find you after this floor, so I wanted time enough for that at least.

Xavier shrugged. He didn’t much mind when the favour would be for, he was just surprised at how far ahead the dwarf was thinking. It made him wonder just how long he’d spent here. Time moved differently on this floor than it did back in their universe, passing faster here, but the Champions still experienced every second of that time passing.

How much had the dwarf experienced?

What he was concerned about was that he was signing a contract promising he would do something that he… well, didn’t know what was.

What if the dwarf asked him to kill someone who didn’t deserve to die? What if he asked him for something even worse than that?

Except that the dwarf seemed to have considered things like that. There was a veto clause—Xavier was allowed to refuse favours on “reasonable grounds,” whatever that meant.

The way the contract was phrased, it was clear that either this was a standard contract for such things that Gimble had pulled from somewhere else, or that the dwarf had most definitely used something like this before, refining it along the way.

How many other people owed this dwarf favours?

Xavier eyed Gimble. There was certainly more to the dwarf than it had first seemed. When he’d met Gimble in Hunter’s Home that first day he’d been on the hundredth floor, Xavier hadn’t thought he was anything special—other than a friendly face, really.

He had quickly realised he’d been wrong about that.

Xavier tapped his fingers on the table. He trusted the dwarf well enough. He didn’t seem as though he was a bad person. He was crafty, a bit of a liar—but he didn’t seem to do those things with cruel intentions.

Xavier signed the contract with a sigh.

Gimble’s face lit up as he received the notification that the contract had been signed.

“Don’t make me regret this, Gimble,” Xavier said.

Gimble rapped his fist against the hardwood table. “Oh, lad, I can assure you, you won’t be regrettin’ this.” He leant in and, in hushed tones, dtold Xavier about the C Grade beast.

For just a moment, as the dwarf explained where this beast was and told him a little bit about it, Xavier wondered if there was any chance the dwarf could be leading him into some sort of trap. He could certainly get a contract with the dwarf to make sure such a thing wasn’t happening, but he didn’t want to have to rely on such things when it came to who to trust—not too heavily, at least.

Besides, why would the dwarf want any harm to come to Xavier now that he owed him a favour? That wouldn’t serve the dwarf well at all, would it? Not only was Xavier an asset as a subcommander in the raid group with the ability to alter time, which had dramatically changed the way the raid group had operated and the number of kills it had racked up, he was also not an investment. One that Xavier figured the dwarf knew would pay out big time in the future.

No, there was no reason to think this was a trap.

That was just Xavier’s paranoid mind at work. He’d learnt how to be trusting, back when he’d first met his party in the Tower of Champions. He could have hidden how strong he already was, and what his intentions were, from Howard, Justin, and Siobhan. But he never did.

He could have hidden who he was from Liana, as well, but telling her had only been good for her mentorship of him, and the burgeoning friendship they had developed stuck inside that time dilation field.

Xavier wondered if there were other things that he should tell the dwarf. This could be someone who might end up being a true ally to him in the future. Perhaps, even, a true friend—one he could trust as much as he trusted the members of his party.

His… old party, he supposed.

But, then again, there was being trusting, and there was being naive. Though he didn’t think the dwarf would betray him, knowing who he truly was… well, that might just get the cogs in Gimble’s head moving to see how he could use that to his own advantage.

When Gimble had finished his description of the C Grade beast—the weakest C Grade beast he had encountered on the entire floor—Xavier leant back in his chair.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Well, lad, what d’ya think?” Gimble asked, an expectant look on his face.

Xavier shook his head. He wasn’t sure what he thought, if he were honest. The beast sounded like a nasty one. Though Xavier was confident in his own abilities, one thing he’d learnt during these raids was that it would be suicide for him to go after the beasts he fought in the raid group alone.

That first one they’d faced… if it hadn’t been for all of the precautions he’d taken, all the defences he’d had, there would have been no way that he could have survived being hit by it. That, he knew for sure.

And there was no way he would have been able to kill it without being hit.

But this beast? According to the dwarf it was newly C Grade, and by the sounds of it, it hadn’t been a particularly powerful D Grade.

Xavier weighed the risks and the rewards of facing this C Grade. He tilted his head to one side and wondered about something. Xavier wasn’t one to go into a situation with backup, not since he’d become a member of the raid group, and then a subcommander, at least. Having backup almost seemed like he was admitting defeat.

But how foolish a way of thinking that was. When he’d been helping the other members of his old party level or rank up their skills, he’d always been there to step in if need be.

Had that hindered them?

He sat there, sipping the mug of coffee that Gimble had ordered for him, and wondered if having a safety net in place would mean he wouldn’t give the battle with the C Grade his all.

As foolish as the thought of him being a failure simply because he needed backup made him feel, he also knew that—at least for him—there was some truth to it.

I’ve never had back up during every other big risk that I’ve taken. Not back up that would actually help, anyway. Even with the raid group there when we faced the Iron Wolf, there would have been nothing they could do to protect me while I was alone in the time dilation bubble with the enemy. I had to survive the strike on my own.

Still considering the risks of doing this, with an uncharacteristic spark of self-reflection, Xavier realised something about himself. He chuckled into his mug.

Xavier always took risks, and as far as he could recall, every single one of those risks had paid off. He wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t. He would have died, a long time ago, skewered to death by a dozen goblin swords back at his old university, or killed by the pumas on the first floor, or by any number of things he hadn’t been cautious enough around.

Originally, when Xavier had come to this floor, he’d thought the System was trying to help him become more cautious. He’d thought the System wanted him to take fewer risks, and to take the threat of those he faced more seriously.

Whether that was the System’s intention or not, Xavier had only done the latter.

But he hadn’t stopped taking risks.

And the reason he’d chuckled was because he realised why—he was like a gambler, addicted to the thrill, only ever seeing what they could win, and never what they could lose. He was on a winning streak, and he had been ever since Julian Myers put down his weapon.

Why would he stop taking risks when they all paid off? When they had made him what he was today?

He had often contemplated going up against a C Grade enemy while he was still E Grade, but it had always sounded like the height of foolishness. Now that the possibility had been handed to him on a platter, there was no way he could walk away from it. It was as though someone had given him thousands of dollars’ worth of free gambling chips, then seated him at a roulette wheel.

It was time, once again, to put it all on black.

~

Xavier ventured out of Hunter’s Home feeling as strong as he ever had. Every single one of his attunements had hit 21 percent. Though he wished to push them further, he knew what he had already achieved was a worthy accomplishment. He’d pushed every single one of his ranks up too—all of his skills, all of his spells, had reached Rank 100.

Even his Assimilate Properties skill.

That one had been the easiest and the hardest of his skills to rank up. There weren’t many E Grade beasts in this place. In fact, he had only been able to find the Rhinoceros Monkeys, and he’d done all he could with their parts.

And so, one day, he’d had to test out his theory on whether or not he could head back to the Staging Room, use Time Alteration to speed up time in his own field, then use the System Shop while time was altered.

His test had succeeded. In the time it had taken him to cast the spell once he’d returned to the Staging Room, then use the System Shop, only a minute had passed back on the hundredth floor. If anyone else were to take a quick break from the floor they would have lost a hell of a lot more time than that.

Xavier had bought as many beast parts as he thought he would need. He hadn’t intended to use his Assimilate Properties skill while he was still back at the Tower of Champions. All that would have done was potentially have more time on the hundredth floor pass, and now that he had made that promise to Liana, and was also a subcommander of the raid group, he didn’t want to lose touch with anyone there.

When he had returned, he’d taken to the forest and gone somewhere to be in seclusion. There, he had used all the beast parts he needed to push the skill up to Rank 100.

Every part that he put inside of himself made him stronger, faster, tougher, more powerful. And each of those parts threatened to change him in ways that he might not be ready for. In the time since he’d begun using his Assimilate Properties skill again, he’d come to rely on the abilities it granted him rather heavily, sometimes changing his entire fighting style because of what he could now do.

Many months had passed since those transformations had begun happening, and he was finding he became more and more familiar with this new version of himself. It made incorporating new changes even easier to deal with.

The attunements, rank ups, and levels he’d gained weren’t the only things that had made him stronger, either. He had finally gained a soul bound weapon. The System had given him the reward when he had returned from facing his first C Grade with the rest of the raid group, just as Feleicia had said it would.

Xavier hadn’t been able to choose the weapon. The System had simply rewarded him with something it seemed to think fit his needs. At first, Xavier had responded with confusion when he was presented with the weapon and its name, for it wasn’t a scythe-staff like he had expected it to be. Though there were parts of him that had felt dubious about wielding a scythe again after all of the changes he’d undergone. He had become quite the unarmed fighter, after all, with many new skills being solely reliant on that modality.

But, considering how quickly he could summon and deposit things into his Storage Ring, he thought maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

The first strange thing about the weapon had been its name—Lost Bone of a Dead God. It didn’t sound like a weapon to him, and when he’d held it in his hand, his eyebrows had shot up.

It was… just as it had been described. It was… a bone. Xavier wasn’t exactly knowledgeable in anatomy, but if he had to guess he would say it was a femur, and quite a long one at that.

Xavier had tilted his head at the weapon and wondered why it wasn’t a scythe-staff, and in the instant he’d had that thought, the weapon had shifted. The bone—which had felt tough, yet slightly pliable—had turned almost into a liquid.

The weapon had reformed itself in his hand. When it was done, the bone was still stark white, in complete contrast to the robes that he wore, but it was now… a scythe-staff.

It resembled the scythe-staff that he had wielded up until recently. The one the Alpha Rhinoceros Monkey had stolen and then destroyed. The blade was as white as the rest of it, and the entire weapon was smooth.

But the blade… was sharp.

Not incredibly sharp, for the soul bound weapon he’d held in his hand had been at the very start of its life, which meant it was still an F Grade weapon, one that had yet to advance. In that form, it had been considerably weaker than the scythe-staff he’d just lost.

But Xavier had known a soul bound weapon wouldn’t start off strong.

After the weapon had shifted, he’d stared at it for a long while. Then, he wondered how he would incorporate it into his fighting style. Would he simply deposit it into his Storage Ring whenever he fought unarmed? Was there a way that he could practice that before his next fight, or would it be better to do that in battle?

All those thoughts had been running through his mind when the weapon had shifted in his hand again, turning to that strange liquid that helped it reform into something completely different.

It had seeped down and covered his hands. Xavier’s eyebrows had raised as this had happened. Then he’d winced in pain as it didn’t just cover his hands, and then his forearms—it dug through his skin and entered into him.

The pain was intense, but bearable, and so he bore it, staring at the strange weapon as it flowed under his skin, assuming that it must know what it was doing.

When it had finished shifting, it reinforced his forearm—a shield-like formation appearing on the outside of it, along with sharp blades that now ran between his wrist and his elbow.

It didn’t stop there, either, the Lost Bone of a Dead God reinforced the very bones in his hands, and the claws that grew from his fingers. It was the most strange sensation that he had ever felt, and he had been through a lot since being integrated into the System.

Xavier simply stared down at his hands for a long while.

This strange thing had happened while he’d been alone in the forest. He hadn’t wanted to look at the weapon while he’d been in the bar. It hadn’t seemed like the right time.

It turned out that instinct had been the right one.

Xavier had spent a long while testing the weapon. He discovered that when it reinforced his bones and claws, the System no longer counted it as him wielding a weapon, for he wasn’t holding it, which meant his unarmed skills still worked when it was in this configuration.

That must have been why the System had granted him the strange weapon in the first place, because it had known the exact right reward for him. It had known what he needed to function as both a long-range caster and a close-combat, bestial fighter.

Since then, Xavier hadn’t spent any time training with the weapon. Unfortunately, as he had been Level 200 when receiving the weapon as a reward, it meant that he hadn’t been able to gain any Mastery Points—which in turn meant that the soul bound weapon couldn’t advance in power until Xavier advanced to D Grade and started gaining Mastery Points again.

Though he did find it interesting that there was a way to speed up the process of giving the weapon Mastery Points. There was a way to allocate different percentages of the Mastery Points a Denizen gained to the weapon they held.

That would be something that would come in useful to him later.

As the weapon didn’t change much for him, being so weak as it was, he’d kept it in his Storage Ring and fought without it much of the time. That was one of the many reason he was so eager to make it to the next grade.

Xavier contemplated all of the changes in himself as he made his way toward his target—the C Grade beast Gimble had told him about. The dwarf, along with the rest of his party, had offered to come along to observe the fight, and to even step in if that became necessary, but Xavier had declined the offer.

This was something he wanted to do on his own.

And so, Xavier entered the beast’s den alone.