Chương 52: Chapter Fifty One

'…What?'

'Friend?' Bob started. His attention torn from the insane system messages in front of him as he realized he still had something of a situation on his hands. Staring at the puzzled-looking creature floating above him, Bob for a moment felt completely unsure of what to do next. He had no idea how long the duration of 'Calming Words' was or if the ability had any sort of cooldown period. Meaning there was an all-too-real chance that the monster could, at any moment, suddenly revert to its prior behavior.

He considered trying to send it away, but didn't really think it would work. The Skill seemed less able to command a given monster and more to simply 'turn off' the programed-in desire to destroy all sapient life. Which, don't get Bob wrong; great feature. But it still left him at a bit of a loss as to where to go from here. Eventually, with the silence beginning to run a bit too long, he decided to simply mimic his own human ancestor's first attempts at domestication.

Catering to the basest desires of the creature in front of him in an attempt to associate himself with 'pleasure'.

'Eat Crab?' He asked, breaking the awkward stalemate and angling his body to 'point' at the remains of the hog-sized crustacean.

'Crab?' The octopus replied. Appearing confused until it turned to look where he was indicating. At which point its mood took a drastic shift.

'CRAB!' The monster squeaked loudly into his mind. Seeming to then ignore his existence entirely as it immediately tore-off to begin feasting on the larger bits of gelatinous flesh scattered about the room. The now far emptier room. What with the statue at its center being near-entirely demolished. Which was another situation Bob supposed he needed to deal with. Or, perhaps less 'deal with', than 'face'.

With his new colleague temporarily distracted, and him having no interest in leaving the temple until his mana regenerated, Bob decided it was time to finally open up his status window. Only to find the results of doing so to be even more bountiful than he'd expected. Ding! You have (11) unopened messages! (2) Skill Level ups! (4) New Titles! (3) New Classes! (1) New Blessing! Congratulations!

After taking a moment to appreciate exactly how much he'd gained from his accidental murder, the first thing Bob decided to open up were the Skill notifications. Partly because he hadn't expected to see them at all, and partly because he felt they had the lowest chance of containing any distressing information. An assumption which turned out to be correct. With him being pleasantly surprised to see that 'Battlefield Meditation' had gained two levels during their game of 'keep away'.

Him likely canceling the alert for both while trying to ignore the now-dead goddess. After that, he felt a bit torn on what to open next. A part of him wanting to check the Blessing first – given its fairly extreme implications – with the rest wanting to save it for last. Though whether out of avoidance or anticipation, he couldn't be sure. Because, concerning though the name 'True Servant of the God-Killer' might be, it was still an A-rank Blessing. One he got without having to make any Oaths of Servitude.

One which would hopefully grant him enough in the way of benefits to be worth any potential downsides. Hopefully. Either way, Bob decided he would start with the Titles. Even if none of them were terribly impressive, they were far more likely than the new Classes to actually be useful to him. And while 'Hard to Swallow' had indeed served him well, it was well past time for a replacement. His life no longer under threat from the machinations of ne'er-do-well catfish.

Though, as he opened up the first message, Bob couldn't help thinking he might be stuck with it for a little while longer. Ding! New Title Earned! Title: Heretic Rank: F Unloved. Unsung. Unhonored. Feat: Immunity from the positive effects of Divine Path Skill use. Increased damage taken from the harmful effects of Divine Path Skill use. Requirements Met: Commit an unforgivable slight to a Divine Being Equip Title? Yes / No He quickly pressed the 'no' button.

Frankly feeling a bit shocked that even an F-rank Title would have a purely negative effect. Still, he supposed he couldn't be surprised by its acquisition. Not much more unforgivable a slight than killing someone, after all. It was something Bob felt like he should feel worse about than he actually did, honestly. Especially given how much he'd quailed over doing harm to a monstrous cephalopod not minutes earlier. At the end of the day though, a god dying felt almost too… abstract a thing to feel guilt over.

Especially given how it happened. A Divine Being, almost by definition, shouldn't be capable of being inadvertently 'shuffled from the mortal coil'. Not by a slightly stray shot from a walking box, at any rate. Bob nodded slightly to himself, feeling a bit surer of his position on the moral high ground. After which – now being done with his victim blaming – he decided to move on to the next tab. Ding! New Title Earned! Title: Aldais Touched Rank: A To be touched by the God-Killer is to be Hated by all others.

Hated. And Feared. Feat: All physical strikes are imbued with the Power of Ending. Nullifying resistances and dealing increased damage to immortal creatures. Requirements Met: Touched by the Spirit of Aldais, Worldender Equip Title? Yes / No If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. After Bob had stared for a considerable time at the screen in front of him, he was forced to admit that, technically, this Title was better than 'Hard to Swallow'.

By quite a margin, in fact. It just also happened to be one he never wanted to have need to make use of. Frankly, if Bob had his druthers, this would be the last time he had anything to do with a creature not on this physical plane. He would be doing his best to avoid any structure even faintly resembling a place of worship from here on out. The gods of this universe being far too personally involved with things for his liking. Him finding he missed the comfort of having a deity you weren't actually sure was real.

Despite the Title being A-rank and granting him an admittedly impressive passive ability, he didn't feel any rush to equip it. Using something provided by this 'Aldais' seemed almost like a statement of intent. One guaranteed to piss off beings he'd really rather have completely ignorant to his existence, thank you very much. So, hoping for something with a slightly different theme, and not really wanting to think about the previous title anymore, Bob decided to open the next window.

Only to be pleasantly surprised by what it contained. Title: Rank Defier Rank: B Bigger does not mean Stronger. It just means there's a larger target. Feat: All attacks deal more damage to creatures with a higher species level than your own. The more they outrank you, the greater the increase. Requirements Met: Defeated multiple Creatures 2+ Ranks higher than yourself in single combat. Equip Title? Yes / No Now that… that was a Title worth swapping for.

Despite being a rank lower than the one previous, Bob found it to be far more to his liking. Wiping the metaphorical drool from his mouth before clicking the 'yes' tab. Only to find that his pleasant surprises weren't yet over for the day. Ding! Which Title slot do you want to use? Hard to Swallow (Treasure Hunter) (empty) (Dimensional Mage) Bob grinned at the unexpected gift from the system. Him having assumed 'Titles' to very much be a 'one and done' situation.

He quickly added 'Rank Defier' to 'Dimensional Mage' before closing out the window. Feeling quite content to still be impervious to being Consumed. Then, having become at least slightly more optimistic after that banger of an acquisition, he opened the last Title alert. Only for his grin to immediately freeze when a number of brightly glowing boxes appeared before his many-faceted eye. Ding! Congratulations! You've obtained a Legendary Title! Each Legendary Title is singular in the world of Seraphia.

Granted for feats of extreme import that can never again be replicated. Due to this, the benefits of each Legendary Title are as grandiose as the actions required for accomplishing them. Title: Slayer of Ayridis Rank: S To have chiseled out part of the world's foundation makes you either a Madman, or a Monster. Both common traits, in those seeking true power… Feat: Near-Immunity to all negative effects from (Light) and (Law) Path Skills Requirements Met: Slew the Lady of Light and Law Equip Title?

Yes / No The golden text almost glimmered on the window in front of him. The color seeming deeper and more vibrant than any of the ranks that came before it. Before he even read the description, the mimic part of him near demanded it be immediately equipped. The lust he felt for it eclipsing every other treasure he'd yet seen. The more human bits however wanted no part of it.

Even the idea of selecting the Title feeling like walking around the worst neighborhoods in Chicago wearing a million bucks in easily visible jewelry. After reading the actual effects however, Bob knew he couldn't justify saying no. Near-Immunity from two separate sources of damage was way too good to pass up. Even if the sources in question weren't ones he'd yet encountered. He still hesitated, the flavor text not being at all to his liking, but eventually he equipped it.

Swapping out 'Rank Defier' for 'Hard to Swallow' before adding the S-rank Title onto 'Dimensional Mage'. It felt appropriate, given what attack actually destroyed the Goddess's 'vessel'. Titles over, Bob paused for a moment before moving forward. Still feeling anxious over equipping what might well be a glowing golden target above his head. Looking over, he found the octopus was in the midst of cracking open the crab's remaining arm in an attempt to get at the juicy meat within.

Deciding to check that things were still good between them, he tried to call out a simple ' friend, happy?' to assess the situation. Only to find that he was no longer able to speak. He panicked, staring in terror at the currently distracted octopus as he again spammed 'Calming Words'. Rapidly clearing the 'level up' alert as he felt the 'blossoming' sensation fill him again.

'Friend, Good?' He quickly spat out towards the happily munching monster, his non-existent heart beating through his chest. Only to receive an almost aggressively placid reply back.

'What?' The creature responded. Appearing confused by the interruption and looking over at him only briefly; it almost immediately returning to its task upon not receiving an instant response back. Now beginning to beat the heavily-armored claw against the tiled floor in an attempt to break through to its gooey innards. Bob nearly collapsed in relief. Deciding that from now on he would make sure to use the Skill at regular intervals to keep it active.

Luckily it ending didn't seem to send the monster back into a blind rage. Which said good things for their collective continued survival. Deciding to hurry things along, Bob opened all three Classes at once. He wouldn't be able to use any of them right now anyway, given that he was currently full-up, so there didn't seem to be much point in belaboring the process. And he really didn't like the idea of not keeping most of his attention on the octopus.

Even if it was seeming pretty occupied at the moment; a steady 'thud' continuing to echo through the temple. Ding! Congratulations! New Classes Available! Alert! (2) Classes are currently over-tiered! Over-tiered Classes are those whose minimum Species Ranking you have yet to attain. Leaving them currently unavailable for use. Ding! New Class! Class: Cleric of Aldais Rank: A Being Bound to Aldais is to be bound to his mission. The destruction of all Gods, old and new, and the tearing down of the System they govern.

Class Focus: Divine Magic Attributes: Willpower, Intelligence, Perception Requirements met: Chosen by the God Aldais Ding! New Class! Class: (Over-Tiered) Rank: Tier 3 Class Focus: (Over-Tiered) Attributes: (Over-Tiered) Requirements met: Destruction of a Powerful Being of Light, Intelligence: 120, Perception: 100, Willpower: 100, 'Heretic' Title Ding! New Class!

Class: (Over-Tiered) Rank: Tier 5 Class Focus: (Over-Tiered) Attributes: (Over-Tiered) Requirements met: Killed a God And apparently, he'd been right to open all of them at once. Given he was only able to see one of the Classes anyway. And also, given that he had absolutely no interest in equipping any of them. Not even the ones whose name, class focus and attributes were censored. Just reading the requirements told him all he needed to know. Which was that he wanted to stay as far away from each as possible.

Bob had no interest in shoving himself in the middle of some massive religious conflict. He was already fighting both sides in a 'Species' based war as it was, he didn't need any more enemies. After closing out the final class window – and firing off another 'Calming Words' just to be on the safe side – Bob realized that there was only one thing left for him to do. And, oddly enough, it didn't feel nearly as intimidating as it had previously.

Nothing like a surprise 'Legendary' title to lower the volume on an A-rank acquisition. So, he quickly opened it up. Honestly starting to feel genuinely curious about the contents of his first 'Blessing'. And instead, being reminded that none of his actions on this world seemed to come without inadvertent, and horrendous, consequences. Ding! You have been Granted a Blessing! Congratulations!

Blessing: True Servant of the God-Killer Rank: A You have been marked as Beloved by Aldais, God of Endings (System note: This might not be great news) Blessing: Become Empowered by each Immortal Being you kill As he re-read the first foot-note he'd yet to see in the system, Bob felt his absent heart sink past his non-existent shoes. A feeling which only grew worse as he realized that he'd never been asked whether or not he wanted the Blessing 'equipped'.