Ten unfoldings had passed before a version of Xavier was able to defeat the Skeletal Dragon.

  Each new version of him that fought against the Skeletal Dragon was aware of what had happened to the previous version, and with that knowledge came power—came the ability to fight their enemy with renewed strength.

  But even with that strength, killing this thing was a tall order to fill.

  Finally, when the tenth version of him that emerged had defeated the Skeletal Dragon, it had been an incredibly close fight.

  It wasn’t the swift, easy kill that he’d eventually had against the Fetid Forest Troll. This had taken a tremendous amount of effort.

  And there was something else that Xavier had become aware of during this time.

  For the first seven fights against the Level 285 Skeletal Dragon, the Dragon Elemental remained within its cave.

  It wasn’t until the Skeletal Dragon had been injured enough, and was close to death, that the beast finally emerged.

  Xavier had thought—and hoped—that it never would. He had hoped that he would have time to recover between fighting the two different dragons. Time for his spells to reach the ends of their cooldowns. Time to recover whatever health he had lost.

  He wanted to go into the fight with the Elemental Dragon fresh.

  But that was turning out not to be an option.

  That seventh version of him had died only a moment after he’d realised what had happened. The Elemental Dragon had distracted him long enough for the Skeletal Dragon to knock his spirit out of his body.

  Then his body, defenceless, falling through the air toward the rocky, ice-laden ground below, had been incinerated by a blast of flame from the Elemental Dragon.

  Xavier hadn’t felt that pain. He had been observing from where his spirit had been dislodged.

  The spirit version of him simply floated in the air for a long moment, observing what had happened in mute despair.

  Then Xavier had cancelled the unfolding and started the next.

  The seventh version of him had been the first to lose their life. Xavier had been feeling less and less guilty about using the Spirit of Time as every version of him had been surviving the battle, even if they hadn’t been defeating their enemy.

  The unexpected death of the seventh version of him in this fight had brought those feelings back—but he pushed them away easily enough.

  At that moment, part of him had worried that this fight was simply too much for him. He had been able to defeat The Nightmare on the first try—why wasn’t he able to defeat this damned Skeletal Dragon?

  True, the Skeletal Dragon was significantly more powerful than The Nightmare.

  But that didn’t bode well for the fight with the Elemental Dragon.

  The tenth version of Xavier—the one to defeat the Skeletal Dragon—had done it inside of a time dilation field. That way the Elemental Dragon wasn’t able to interfere with the fight.

  It also meant that when it came time to fight the Elemental Dragon, he’d have one less spell at his disposal. It didn’t take a great deal of time for the spell to reach the end of its cooldown, but the time it did take…

  It would simply be too long, he was sure of it.

  The tenth version of Xavier hovered in the air, his wings flapping heavily, keeping him airborne. There was great big tear in one of those wings, and he was missing a foot—the Skeletal Dragon had clamped its jaws around it, ground through his bones with its powerful teeth, and taken his foot.

  That pain, Xavier had felt.

  This version of Xavier had had to expand the time dilation field considerably so that there would be room enough to fight the Skeletal Dragon. A small time dilation field simply hadn’t been enough.

  You are suffering from Soul Sickness. Soul Sickness occurs when one’s Soul Energy reserve is almost depleted. This status effect is temporary and requires a great deal of rest to recover from.

  Soul Sickness will cause all of your cores to be influx and hinder your ability to cultivate energy.

  The version of Xavier inside the bubble released a long sigh. “I know,” he muttered. “But I had to. It was the only way to defeat this thing.”

  He had once again fallen into the trap that the first version of Xavier to fight this fight had—using too much of his Soul Energy.

  As the time dilation field had been made so big, it was taking its toll on the spell. Soon, the field would fall, and the Elemental Dragon would be able to make its way to him.

  This version of him needed time to rest and recover. They were more injured than the first version of him had been.

  But at least they’d been able to defeat the first of the two dragons.

  It’s not enough. It’s not bloody well enough.

  Xavier drew on all of the patience that he possessed. He needed to observe more unfoldings. He felt like he’d been through this fight a hundred times—felt like he would need to go through it a thousand times before he finally got to a satisfying end.

  ~

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  The fifteenth fight was the one that finally ended with Xavier feeling fresh.

  At least, as fresh as he figured he could manage.

  From where he sat within the other versions of himself, only able to contemplate what he saw and not have any actual influence over it, Xavier once again couldn’t help but wonder at how absolutely, insanely overpowered the spell he had access to was.

  Essentially a time-loop that allowed him to try a battle over and over and over again until he finally found a satisfactory ending.

  There was simply no way that Xavier, as he had been when he’d first turned up on this mountain, should have been able to defeat the Skeletal Dragon.

  And yet that was exactly what he’d done.

  He wondered about the spell he was using, summoning the Spirit of Time—wondered if he would be able to use it against whatever it was out there that was to eventually end the universe.

  There were also other things he could use this spell for. He wondered if, when he was a much stronger D Grade Denizen, whether it would be wise for him to go after a B Grade enemy…

  That sounded like the height of foolishness, but so did what he was doing right now.

  The Skeletal Dragon lay dead. The Elemental Dragon had already emerged from the cave below. The pure rage in its eyes felt as though it had a power all by itself. The beast wanted to melt his bones. To tear him from limb to limb.

  Xavier had yet to do any damage to the Elemental Dragon. Had yet to face this terrifying beast.

  All he’d really done so far was use Identify on it.

  {Level 390 - Elemental Dragon}

  This is one of the most powerful types of dragons that exists within the Greater Universe. They belong to an ancient and noble line of dragons that have roamed the universe since near the beginning of time.

  An Elemental Dragon can call upon all the elements. They can freeze the air, melt bones and the toughest enchanted steel. They can move mountains and summon storms of immeasurable power.

  Elemental Dragons are also extremely territorial. When faced within or in close proximity to their den, their power and defences are further enhanced.

  This creature isn’t merely a beast. It is considered a Denizen by the System, with the ability to go through the Tower of Champions, for this race of beasts begins with a higher level of intelligence than most humanoids. Though it is unlikely that a humanoid Champion would ever encounter a Denizen such as this while journeying through the tower.

  Xavier had been taken aback by that. The description itself hadn’t said much about the skills and spells the dragon possessed, but he couldn’t help but zero in on the fact that it was also considered a Denizen.

  Xavier had often wondered at what the distinction between a Denizen and a beast even was, especially when they became just as, if not more, intelligent than the humanoid races he’d encountered.

  Xavier had trouble imagining a version of the Tower of Champions that was entirely dragons or other beasts considered Denizens. Something told him they wouldn’t have the same sized rooms, or a tavern at the bottom of the tower, like his tower did.

  Which had made him wonder… Did other races have different versions of the Tower of Champions than he did?

  He was getting distracted, he knew, but since there wasn’t anything that he could do while he was stuck observing himself, no harm had been done to the fight.

  Twenty-five and a half seconds after the Skeletal Dragon had been killed and Xavier had started to battle the Elemental Dragon, he had died.

  Just like that.

  Or rather, that version of him had.

  As fast as Xavier was able to move and think, he hadn’t even seen the attack coming.

  The Elemental Dragon had frozen the very air where he had been—just as the description of the dragon had said it could. And Xavier, unable to teleport away as his Portal spell required him to actually move through a portal, had been defenceless with no way of escaping. He’d found that he couldn’t move his limbs at all. He was frozen in midair, as though in the middle of an iceberg floating in the sky.

  The only thing that he had been able to do was cast spells, but not a single one of his spells had helped.

  Stuck inside that iceberg floating in the air, he wasn’t able to fight.

  Death had come for him.

  Xavier stood, once more, in that pocket of time he shared with the Spirit of Time. The beautiful spirit looked at him with raised eyebrows.

  Denizens have gone mad pursuing certain outcomes with this spell. The woman paused, as though waiting for his response. When he didn’t say anything, she sighed. Do you wish to experience another unfolding?

  Xavier paused, gritted his teeth. There has to be a better way to do this… he thought to himself.

  You have not answered my question, young Denizen. Do you wish for the next unfolding to begin?

  Xavier looked at the Spirit of Time. How long can I remain here before making that decision?

  There were things that he needed to think through—the entire fight being one of them.

  That was two versions of himself that had died. Each of those versions died because the Elemental Dragon had intervened. The strength, the power of that thing… He was struggling to imagine it.

  Xavier closed his eyes, recalling the fight, trying to see the exact moment the attack that had trapped him had been launched.

  You may remain in here for as long as I wish, the Spirit of Time replied. For now, I am happy for you to take your time. I have as much of it as you need, after all.

  Xavier, his eyes still closed, experienced the fight within his mind.

  The Elemental Dragon had flapped its massive wings and shot straight for him. The beast was even larger than the Skeletal Dragon—perhaps twice its size. It looked significantly more formidable even though there was only a handful of levels between the two.

  It had been flying toward him when the fifteenth version of him to experience this fight had delivered the final blow to the Skeletal Dragon.

  That had enraged the Elemental Dragon, as it always did. The beast roared, and in that roar came its attack. There had been no visible hint of magic building up within the beast…

  There! Xavier thought, replaying the fight within his mind for the seventh time.

  It lasted for barely a fraction of a second, which was why he hadn’t spotted it earlier. A flash of silver light from deep within the dragon’s mouth. That must have been the iceberg spell he’d been trapped within activating.

  Xavier hadn’t been able to fight that spell. Hadn’t been able to do a damned thing. He’d flung his spells at the beast. Spirit Break had made it flinch, very slightly, but otherwise it hadn’t done a damned thing. Chronomantic Mindforge had stopped time but not his own mind. He’d been able to grip the dragon’s mind. Pull some of its power from it.

  But he had only taken the merest fraction of its power. Not enough to do any actual damage to the dragon. Not enough to stop it from being able to cast spell. Or to exhaust it.

  And it hadn’t damaged its mental walls, either.

  The beast was just as strong as ever.

  Using Time Alteration hadn’t helped him, either. The ice he’d been frozen within didn’t melt like normal ice. The trap had been set, and he was stuck within it, without knowing how to get through.

  There has to be a way… Has to be a way…

  Xavier had had a lot of breakthroughs while in the middle of a fight, but this fight… With each version of him, he was getting better and better at fighting the Skeletal Dragon, and he had gained many ranks along the way as he fought it.

  But the fighting hadn’t caused any revelations in his power. He hadn’t discovered a new way to use any of his spells. He hadn’t pushed his level of power higher in any significant way.

  Even when he defeated the Skeletal Dragon, the Mastery Points that he’d gained from the beast’s death… They weren’t enough for him to gain another level.

  Xavier was beginning to wonder if the dwarf had been right. Perhaps he had bitten off more than he could chew. Perhaps he should abandon this fight and simply move forward in the tower. Surely he would one day come upon another vessel out there to use to summon Volkarin forth to this world.

  But Xavier wasn’t the type of person to give up. He needed to keep pushing. And he realised… He had an idea of how to get out of that iceberg trap.

  He just didn’t know how he was going to kill the Elemental Dragon.

  One step at a time, Xavier. One step at a time.

  Xavier opened his eyes and looked at the Spirit of Time. He gave the woman a nod.

  Accidental Champion!

  my patreon has 29 ADVANCED CHAPTERS to enjoy!

  https://www.patreon.com/posts/free-tier-book-4-116513628

  https://discord.gg/nsgnbpWJ7S