Chương 51: Chapter Fifty

Bob had noticed the 'Blessings' tab before, of course. It was the only one on the entirety of his 'character sheet' that he hadn't yet managed to fill in. Sitting awkwardly empty next to the overflowing 'Obtained Skills' section of his Status Page. Previously though, he hadn't really given it much thought. The early weeks of his existence here were mostly spent in denial. Him still holding onto hope that he was only moments away from waking up and discovering this whole thing had been nothing but a coma dream.

Or perhaps some accidental drug-induced hallucination. He'd been to multiple bars that night after all. And had exchanged drinks with numerous, shifty-looking individuals. All this was to say that Bob hadn't spent much time contemplating the existence of other-worldly divinity. Heck, even when he was desperately praying for heavenly assistance, it was only to the Gods of his home universe.

Those beings he'd previously presumed to be fictional still seeming far more real than anything that could come out of a 'fantasy' world. Which was something that Bob could now very much admit he was wrong about. Because fictional beings couldn't be this annoying. Ding! Safety can be found in the light of Ayridis. All troubles can be made small under the service of The Lady of Law. Accept Oath of Servitude? Yes / No'Shut up! Shut up you stupid, idiot god! You're going to get me killed!' Bob screamed internally.

Quickly canceling out the window obscuring his vision as he once again teleported across the room. Only to unfortunately be, once again, quickly spotted.

'ENEMY!' The octopus screamed out. The tone it took sounding far more jubilant than murderous. The creature seeming to find their current life-or-death struggle to be endlessly entertaining; watching the impossibility of him teleporting around the room with an obvious sense of awe. Bob, unfortunately, was not having quite so pleasant a time. Ding! The Goddess Ayridis, crafter of all true civilization, offers you placement amongst her Knights.

Acceptance of Oath of Servitude will open the tier 4 Class: Paladin of Order (A) Accept Oath of Servitude? Yes / No Bob twitched at the offer, but forced himself to quickly dismiss the window. His opponent already halfway to his location. It had become quite apparent in the last twenty or so seconds that his battles with the crabs hadn't done much to prepare him for high-speed combat.

And that his ability to accurately cast any spells when his enemy was both aware of his location, and decently mobile, was negligible at best. The octopus simply cleared the distance too quickly for him to safely use 'Shattered Space'. Bob barely having the mana put together before he was forced to once again teleport away. The level-less Trait-ability luckily requiring far less in the way of personal attention. Which he supposed made sense, given they were meant to be used by non-sapient beings.

Easy to use or not though, it still cost mana. Which was something Bob was very quickly running out of. Already down to only one use of 'Shattered Space' as it was. Just before the monster impacted, he once again disappeared. This time reappearing slightly behind some of the water-worn statuary sitting at the temple's heart. It apparently not having been given the same immortal treatment as the rest of the city. Or maybe it was just a sign of exactly how far this particular god had fallen.

Either way, it made for decent temporary cover. He had tried the tactic before, hoping to get a spell off in time, but had sadly been unsuccessful. The octopus simply able to move through the water at too-ridiculous a pace. So, this time he was going to try something a little different. His body shook as he went through yet another Skill swap. Momentarily left helpless as his foe scoured the room for his location. Spotting him only as the final tremors left his wooden form.

'FOUND!' And apparently quite excited to do so. As Bob made what he hoped would be his final 'Sudden Step' – the octopus's tentacles missing him by a fraction of an inch – he allowed himself to again think over the 'offer' which was being spammed into his metaphorical inbox. Clicking 'yes' would have been far quicker than any of his other actions so far, after all. And would have come with a number of benefits. More being added to the list every second he kept playing 'keep away'.

Unfortunately, it would have also come with a number of disadvantages. Some more apparent than others. The most obvious of which was the fairly blatant 'Oath of Servitude'. With Bob particularly disliking the consistent capitalization in the offer. Had this been earth, such a thing wouldn't have bothered him much. Over there, oaths, contracts and agreements were things that were easily bent, if not outright broken.

The only real concern being whether what you got from doing so was worth the trouble or required reparations. In a world of magic and mind control however, Bob didn't think things would be so easy. He had already been mentally enthralled by what was likely a giant crab after all. He wasn't sure he wanted to see what an actual god was capable of. Still, had that been the only issue – and had he no other available options – he might have actually considered it.

He'd always had a rather jaded perspective on 'free will' anyway. Being of the belief that people's thoughts, actions, and emotions were primarily under rule of the place and situation they found themselves in. A deity he was bound to 'obey' being just another situation. One he'd be willing to deal with should he find the benefits worth doing so. Of more concern was actually its plan to aid him by 'purging' the temple of 'tainted mana'. Tainted mana he himself might well be constructed of. Ding!

The love of Ayridis is all Shielding. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Accept Oath of Servitude to gain the Protection Path Blessing: Chosen Caste (A) Accept Oath of Servitude? Yes/No'Good offer. But you're not really helping your case with both the Blessing name and the apparent reading of my mind.' Bob thought to himself. And apparently to a rather desperate deity. Quickly canceling the window before opening another.

Deciding it was best to try out his own prospective solutions before asking for help from on high. Ding! You have chosen to evolve Taunt (E) into Calming Words (D)! Skill has changed from the 'Provocation' Path, to the 'Taming' Path Congratulations! Bob smirked as he felt the Skill shift inside of him. Deciding that if force was failing to work, then he'd try negotiation. He'd actually first remembered the potential evolution before he'd even reached the temple.

The mildly-tender feelings he'd felt towards his now would-be murderer sparking something in the back of his mind. He'd only thought to actually make use of it around half-way into the battle however. The octopus's speed, and the constant haranguing of a withered eldritch being, making him realize that he probably wouldn't be making it out of here without some sort of alliance. And of the two creatures in the building, Bob had pretty firm opinions on who was more trustworthy.

'Okay, time to make a new friend.' Ding!' Calming Words' (D) Has Leveled up! 1 – 2 As soon as it activated, Bob couldn't help but notice that the Skill felt… strange. He had been expecting the sensation to be at least somewhat similar to 'Taunt'. Perhaps the feeling of 'enticement' replaced with something more pacifying, but with it holding at least some resemblance to its parent ability.

However, instead of the Skill casting whatever energies it created out into the world, it seemed to simply detonate them within his own body. A trill running down his every splinter as he felt something within him almost blossom. Unfortunately, this 'blossoming' didn't really seem to accomplish much. Which was an issue, given that the creature he'd been intending to target had once again spotted him.

'ENEMY!' As the black mass grew ever-larger in his eye, Bob quickly preformed another 'Sudden Step'. This one landing him again on the opposite side of the central statue. Once there though, he found panic beginning to creep around the edges of 'Battlefield Meditation'. He attempted to spam his newest Skill a few more times, but nothing happened. Whatever outcome was intended apparently already having occurred. The only upside being that none of the activations had cost him any mana.

'Calming Words' apparently being as free as its predecessor. Not that it really mattered for much, if the Skill itself didn't work.

'Found Box!' As Bob was forced to once again teleport away from his location, he struggled to think of what to do. He only had a few more jumps in him before he was under the amount of mana needed for 'Shattered Space'. Something which would more or less mean game over; given his complete inability to face the creature physically. At that point, his only options being to accept a shady deity's offer or resign himself to being octo-chow. Ding!

Ayridis the Merciful offers her protection to even the most meager and unworthy. Accept Oath of Servitude? Yes / No Something said deity was also herself aware of it seems, what with the sudden downgrade of her offer. Not that Bob supposed he could really complain, given his former profession. Game recognizes game, as they say. Still, nothing says he couldn't find it annoying.

'KILL!' Bob's form stilled. Eye currently staring at the similarly startled-looking body of the octopus. The octopus who hadn't yet seen him. And who certainly didn't 'sound' like a British Sci-Fi villain. His mind blared an alarm as he finally paid attention to what 'Treasure Sense' had been attempting to inform him of for the last few seconds. The large 'blob' of a powerful monster already near-halfway across the room; charging towards his location.

He almost instinctively began forming the mana within him as he turned. Eye spotting the one-armed 'burrower' crab already in the process of rounding the central statue. The greater portion of him recognized that the appearance of the second monster more or less signaled his defeat; but just enough of him felt unwilling to admit that without first throwing out everything he had. And if nothing else, the crab's arrival had at least given him enough time to actually cast a spell.

Just as he was about to release it however, the inevitable happened.

'Found Box!' Distracted by the mass of tentacles flying towards him, he felt himself twitch just as the magic left his body; its course ever-so-slightly sent off. At the same time, he also felt the hold 'Battlefield Meditation' had on his emotions finally slip loose. The strain he was currently under causing something to burst out of him. Something he hadn't heard in a very long time.

'Would you stop trying to kill me you stupid octopus?!' The spell hit. Its course luckily not being too off-set by the distraction. The underwater implosion impacting between the massive crab and the worn statue at the temple's center; shattering both in a spray of guts and stone shrapnel. Bob however, found himself blind to all of it; even as he was impacted by the shockwave of his own ability. Eye instead focused on the suddenly bewildered looking monster floating in the waters above him.

And not, for the moment, attempting to tear his face off.

'Did I just speak?' He eventually put out. Almost looking towards the creature in front of him for reassurance.

'Enemy?' It said in reply. Seeming just as confused about the situation as he was.

'NO!' Bob immediately shouted back, wincing as the octopus started slightly at his volume.

'No…' He stated more softly.

'No. Not enemy. Friend.'

'Friend?' It said back, voice almost tasting the word.

'Yes, friend.' Bob repeated, his relief apparent.

'Not enemy. No fight. No kill.'

'Friend.' It repeated back, almost matter-of-factly. Its form now seeming far more casual and relaxed. A feeling Bob also found mirrored in himself. That, plus a sudden joy brought on by the ability to actually communicate with someone. Even if that 'someone' was broadly limited to only single-word answers. It was honestly a sensation that, were he still made of meat, likely would have brought him to tears. Which, of course, is just when the system felt the need to interrupt. Ding!

You have defeated a LV: 6 Burrowing Blade Mad-Crab (C) (312) Experience gained for Class: ' Dimensional Mage (A)' (119) Experience gained for Class: ' Treasure Hunter (B)' Ding! Congratulations!' Dimensional Mage (A)' is now level 7! Intelligence + 30 Willpower + 18 Constitution + 12 Ding! You have destroyed the last vessel of Ayridis, Goddess of Order and Collective Growth. With no followers, the Lady of Light and Law has been erased evermore from the lands of Seraphia. Ding! You have gained (4) new titles! Ding!

You have gained (3) new Classes! Ding! Your actions have greatly satisfied Aldais, God of Endings and Breaker of Chains. In his Righteous Glory, he has granted upon you a Great Blessing. Ding! You have been granted the Blessing:' True Servant of the God-Killer' (A) Congratulations!

'…What?'