Unwilling Eldritch Horror of Fortune

The sense of nausea was easier to overcome this time, and I quickly surveyed my surroundings. We were back in the oval room again – its interior looking resplendent once more – and Raffiel was greeting us with a wide smile. But I also noticed that more than half of the chairs were now empty.

“Congratulations, one and all,” Raffiel said, his voice majestic, “For completing the first Trial so splendidly! And I have the privilege to say that our Cohort is home to the World’s number one and two Aspirants for this stage.”

He clapped and a bright beam of light originated from seemingly nowhere illuminated where the Regressor and his sister were seated. We all turned from our seats to look at them, some in awe, while others were glaring at them in unconcealed envy.

Raffiel continued, “I couldn’t be prouder of this group! Now, please do not mourn the loss of the people who did not make it past the first Trial, for they are now basking in the glory of our Lord. Instead, take this time to improve yourselves! Let us talk about what is to come.”

The faux Angel gave all of us some time to compose ourselves, before speaking again.

“I realize that the week you have spent in the city has been arduous, and you must all be exhausted. Our Lord did not overlook this burden and has allowed you the chance to rest and recover.” He clapped his hands, and an image appeared near the stage. This one shows a 3D image of what looked to be a resort of some kind.

“Soon, I will transport you to our Rest Area, where you will get a chance to digest everything that has happened and to interact with your fellow Aspirants." He made a grand wave at the people seated, "Making social connections is key to succeeding in the future, so make sure you get to know the others here to the best of your ability. Since you are all adults here, and have been blessed with Free Will, I will not interfere with any events that transpire in the Rest Area, but do note that your own rooms will be inaccessible for all else in case problems arise."

Right, Raffiel was practically telling the more dubious members of our cohort to make trouble with that statement. The world's gone to hell, people now have super powers, and you're telling us that there's basically no rules in the Rest Area? Yeah, that's just inviting disaster. Some of the Aspirants that barely made it out of the first Trial were already looking nervous, and the ones who had power immediately smelled the blood in the air.

"Of course," he continued, ignoring the growing atmosphere of unease completely, "We will provide you with everything you need during your rest, including food, drinks, and access to any amenity that you can dream of.”

Here the picture changed to show various rooms in the resort. There was a fancy restaurant, a huge swimming pool, a lounge area where cozy-looking sofas and chairs, some training centres, and practically everything in between. It really did look like it would be a nice place to take a vacation. Great luxuries, if you can make it to them.

“You will spend one week here before the start of the next Trial, so please enjoy yourselves.” He continued, “Now there is just one thing to keep in mind before I take you to your private rooms, and that is the gold that some of you obtained in the Trials.”

Here he made a waving gesture, and from a small, shimmering portal appeared a little floating pixie or fairy. It nodded at the audience and sat gracefully on Raffiel’s shoulders.

“For those of you who made an effort in fighting off the undead, you would have obtained an amount of gold relative to your kill count. You are free to exchange and gift your money them with your fellow peers, if you so wish, by simply using our user-friendly trade interface incorporated into your status screens."

Now some of the more able bodied people looked like they were more than ready to pounce at the opportunity to "trade" with the others. Raffiel sure knew how to sow discord.

He continued, smile still benevolent, "You can spend this gold in the Shop, and to ensure that no one is confused or lost in this process, one of the Lord’s pixie representatives will assist each and every one of you in the shopping process. They can suggest items that would be most useful to you and assuage any worries you have about spending your hard-earned money. Please make sure you pay them a visit before the start of the next Trial. I would suggest that you ensure that you are well stocked up on items before the seven days are up.”

Raffiel smiled one last time, “I hope you enjoy this brief time off, and I shall see all of you again in a week’s time.”

Then, one by one, each person in the room disappeared, some looking nervous, some happy, and we were all transferred to another new location. I was expecting to see a hotel bedroom when I came to, but I was greeted by Q in his office instead.

“Sorry for disturbing you right after your first Trial, Lord Walter.” Q said, bowing low, “But news of your reemergence has reached Central, and there are some individuals who would like to meet you.”

Great, more things to deal with. I stifled a sigh and answered Q, “News got out that quickly?”

Q nodded enthusiastically, “Of course! I notified Central Command as soon as your identifier was registered in the back door, as per protocols. I do admit that Headquarters doesn’t usually respond so quickly, but they certainly did when news that the legendary Lord Arbiter W’s back in the field!”

What on Earth was Q talking about? I can understand that the random code I punched in way back when identified myself as a Lord Arbiter, but now it turns out that the person whose identity I was stealing was some kind of legendary bigshot? Lovely.

“I was hoping to keep that part a secret for a bit longer,” I said, actually meaning it for once.

Q laughed jovially, “Of course, of course. But still, if you had told me that you were the Hero of Bladefall, the Arch Alchemist of Central Tower, then I would have given you a warmer welcome! You were missing for over 10 Cycles; we had thought the worst.”

“I was distracted,” I said, hoping Q would stop looking at me like that. “And you said others were looking for me?”

“Oh yes! Forgive me, I had forgotten, but after news of your reemergence got out, the Sponsors came flooding in, and although I managed to keep the majority of them at bay, there were two who had to meet you in person.”

“I see.” I nodded, and seeing no way out of this situation, I said, “I’ll meet them.”

Q twitched a little bit, and the door to his office opened. Three individuals greeted me, two were strangers but the third was familiar.

Xalla gave Q a quick salute, then bowed to me. Next to her stood another Xollon, although this one stood slightly taller than she was, and looked more intimidating than Xalla, which was saying a lot. Lastly, there was a human-looking individual. He was a chubby, jovial-looking man who looked to be in his mid-40s, wearing a bright Hawaiian shirt that was a bit too small for his body.

He immediately stepped into the room and gave me a huge bear hug.

“W you sneaky bastard!” He said, his joy unrestrained, “You were gone for 10 cycles and you didn’t even bother to contact your best friend?”

Well shit, this was probably the worst-case scenario. Here was someone who knew the actual Legendary Lord Arbiter W or whoever that was. And they were apparently best friends. Well, Noe’s done me right so far, so seeing no other option, I activated my Absolute Luck skill, returned the hug back as genuinely as I could, and spoke the first random thing that came to mind.

“Big Bob, that you?”

I almost cursed myself. Big Bob? Who would actually name their kid Big Bob? I was dead for sure.

Luck Charges: 134/241

But seeing my Luck Charges take such a huge dip, maybe this idiot really was called Big Bob.

“Still with that silly nickname, eh?” The man replied happily, “But I guess I should call you Walter now.”

He released me from his bear hug and started to eye me up and down.

“I was going to give you a piece of my mind for leaving me in the dark for all this time.” He said, now starting to circle me, “But hell, did you actually manage to create a soul on an artificial body? And in only 10 cycles?”

Going with the flow, I chuckled good-naturedly, “Yeah, it was a lot of work, but my prototype is complete, and I’m here to see if things are all in working order.”

“Amazing…” Big Bob continued, “I can understand the silence then! And yes, I can see that you’ve somehow managed to tether your human guise onto your Xollon Form. You have to tell me how you managed that sometime!”

He stopped his pacing and gave me another affectionate pat on the back, “And you never told me you were a Xollon all this time! You know I wouldn’t have cared what you were!”

“Well, I was a little worried back then,” I answered, “And speaking of Xollon…”

“Ah, right, sorry, I forgot we had other guests!” Big Bob backed off and gestured to the two Xollon standing by the door. “May I introduce to you the great Sponsor and Grand General of the South, Xollo’rolga’mathu’ath, also known as Rogue, and his disciple Xalla.”

Xalla looked proud to be mentioned as this person’s disciple, and given his impressive-sounding titles, I had to assume this was someone important. But then again, Big Bob seemed to be just as important as the new Xollon, and he was, well... less than impressive looking. Well, better to be safe than sorry.

“Hello Xalla, Rogue,” I said in greeting, before focusing my attention on the new Xollon, “Your Disciple has been taking care of me wonderfully, and I was wondering who she learned everything from.”

The Xollon laughed and spoke for the first time. His voice sounded like a really chill old grandpa, and he was obviously proud of Xalla.

“She’s a feisty one, but she’s secretly a sweetheart! Can you believe that she’s still single?”

I didn’t, but I could tell that Xalla didn’t want that fact revealed about her like that.

“Really?” I said, feigning surprise, “I was sure that a lovely girl like her would be taken.”

“Yes,” the old man continued, a wry smile forming on his features, “And did you know that she-“

Xalla rammed a tentacle right into his side, it didn’t look like she held back at all, “What my old Master means is that I am glad that he still has the strength to make jokes like this at such an advanced age.”

“Right, right.” He said, rubbing at his side, “And I’m not that old, dear disciple of mine.”

Xalla rolled her eyes (once again, I marvel at Noe’s ability to translate alien gestures).

“So I can understand why Bob would like to see me,” I continued, “But what can I help you with, Lord General.”

“Oh come now!” He laughed, “None of that Lord General crap with me! We’re fellow countrymen, just call me Rogue. And I came partly because I wanted to see the new Xollon that my Disciple is so infatu-“

Another sharp jab to the side interrupted his sentence, “I mean the Xollon that is working with my Disciple.”

Xalla didn’t interrupt him this time.

“And partly because I wanted to ask you a favour.”

“A favor?” I asked, unsure what I could possibly do for this man.

“Yes, if you could.”