Unwilling Eldritch Horror of Fortune

“How was the meeting, Lord- I mean Watt.” Xalla inquired as we started to walk back to the circular room I was at before.

“Not too bad,” I answered confidently, “It was productive.”

“That is good to hear, sir.”

We continued to walk in silence after that, I think Xalla noticed that I was deep in thought and felt it best to leave me to my devices. And it was true, this was the first time I had to really unpack the events that had transpired in the last few hours, and I was honestly a little overwhelmed.

Wait, wasn’t there some kind of announcement that I had forgotten about? Yeah, Noe said that I had some kind of title.

Noe, show that announcement you had from earlier.

“Acknowledged.” Noe said, “Inputting information into Host Watt’s retina now.”

Host Watt Thefuck:

Human Male - Age 27

Class: Level 1 Commoner

Attributes:

HP: 84/84

MP: 0/0

Strength: 39 (+10)

Dexterity: 45 (+10)

Endurance: 42 (+10)

Intelligence: 36 (+10)

Charisma: 42 (+10)

 

Titles - 2

Wait, 2 titles? When did that happen? I thought I only had one of them. And my attributes seemed to have changed as well.

“Clarification.” Noe said, “Host Watt obtained his Primary Soul Title before the meeting with Site Admin Q, and then an additional Secondary Title during the meeting with Site Admin Q.”

Ok… let’s check out the titles before figuring out what a primary soul title or whatever was.

Equipped Titles:

Primary: Xollon Idol (level 1)

Secondary 1: Rookie Arbiter

Secondary 2: NONE

 

Titles: 2

Primary Soul Title: Level 1 Xollon Idol

Progress to next level: 2/10

Progression requirements: Have 10 individuals idolize you.

Title Description: You are the role model for all Xollon! Your mere presence spells death and despair for all other races, and your prowess in battle is legendary. Your name will be known throughout history as the Bringer of Annihilation and the Herald of Desolation. Grow your fame across the multiverse to unlock your true potential as a Xollon Idol.

Title Passives:

• N/A

Title Skills:

• Idols Voice (Soul Passive): The user's voice will appear soothing and pleasant to any sentient being who has the ability to hear it. Additionally, your mastery over your voice is such that you can perfectly mimic the sound of any being you’ve previously heard.
• Secondary Xollon Form (Level 1 Soul Active):

Transformation Time: 5 minutes

Cooldown: 7 days (168 hours)

• The user assumes the Secondary form of the Xolloid Race. The user gains all the physical characteristics of the race and will have all physical stats doubled for the duration of the skill. Cooldown and use time will improve proportionally to Xollon Idol’s level.

 

Rookie Arbiter (C+ Rank Secondary Title)

Title Description: You’ve been officially recognized as a Rookie Arbiter! You’ve just started your career in ensuring that the sites under the Central Collective are functioning as intended, and you take pride in that responsibility. Still, you’re only starting this esteemed career, so be careful how you present yourself to others!

Title Passives:

• All stats increase by 10 when within a Central Approved Training Facility.

Title Skills:

• Lucky Eyes of the Arbiter (D+ rank Title Active): You use the authority of a Rookie Arbiter to view the most relevant information from a target.

 

Well, the second title made a bit of sense, and I could understand how I could have gotten that. Everything seems to be straightforward there. It was the first Title that had me second-guessing myself. Why the hell did I get the title of Xollon Idol? It was obviously due to my interactions with Xalla, but that description…

Ok Noe, explain what a Primary Soul Title is, compared to a Secondary Title. In fact, just explain what a title is in the first place.

“Acknowledged.” it chimed, “Titles are designations obtained through the will of the Multiverse. Generally, these are given out to individuals who meet the requirements for a specific title, and having a title equipped will provide the user with benefits in the way of passive buffs, and active skills.”

So far so good, so as long as I did impactful things or achievements, then I had the chance to earn some titles. It seemed like an easy enough way to earn some power quickly.

Noe continued, “A Primary Soul Title is the first title that an individual earns in their life. It is soul-bound to the user - hence the Soul portion of the name - and cannot be removed, whereas Secondary Titles can be swapped out freely. This title is the most influential to the user’s future growth and thus will have a much stronger effect when compared to Secondary Titles. The Primary Soul title can also grow with the user, while Secondary Titles do not.”

Wait, so that means that I’ll be a Xollon Idol forever? That’s the direction of my growth?

“Affirmative.”

Well, despite the scary-sounding description, I guess the Xollon Idol had its benefits. There were some active skills associated with the titles, let’s try the one on the secondary title active first. I concentrated, and as if sensing my intentions, the Lucky Eyes of the Arbiter skill activated and a small, transparent window appeared above Xalla’s head.

Xollo’gutha’mallo’atha (Xalla) - Level ??? Xollon Prime Reaper

Ok, seems like I could only see one set of information like the description said. I couldn’t read her level, most likely because it was a lot higher than mine, or perhaps I needed to be a higher-ranking Arbiter. I would have to test this skill out with others so I could get the nuances of the skill right, but it seems to work as advertised. And as a bonus, I didn’t have to remember Xalla’s full name anymore.

Now it’s time to review the other title I had.

“Let’s see… the Secondary Xollon Form…” I muttered to myself, rereading that skill’s description.

“Acknowledged.” Noe said, “Initiating Secondary Xollon Form.”

Wait, what? No, I didn’t mean to use the sk-

Before I could wrap my head around what was happening, I felt my body change. My height grew uncontrollably, contorting and distorting before my very eyes. Where my hands, feet, and body used to be were replaced with huge, squirming tentacles, each one having a multitude of tiny, serrated blades protruding from them. In fact, after a few more moments I didn’t even have eyes anymore, and my “vision” changed; I could now perceive my surroundings from every direction, and it was honestly very disorientating at first.

My small human mouth was the next to change, replaced with the same crimson maw that I saw on Xalla. I felt strong, deadly, and confident.

With my new enhanced vision, I noticed that Xalla - who was now about a foot or two shorter than I was - staring at me wide-eyed. In fact, I could sense her own gaze looking at me up and down, something that I didn’t perceive before.

I focused my attention back to the Xollon officer and noticed things that I wouldn’t have before. Her head frills - a term that I somehow knew meant those weird tentacles that surrounded her maw - had a pleasant circular pattern to them, and her maw was a healthy hue of red. The faint scars that ran across her primary feelers told me that she was an accomplished huntress, and the molasses-like substance that covered her emitted a pleasant aroma.

Well, that was weird.

Seeing that Xalla had stopped in her tracks and didn’t show any indication of moving, I nudged one of her head frills with my feelers and said, “Hey, Xalla, you ok?”

I felt my voice rumble through my body. It appears that I was speaking in Xolloid Primary now.

Xalla was still wide-mawed, continued to stare and I could hear a faint mutter from her, “It’s even better than I thought. Wow…”

“Hello?” I asked again, nudging her a little harder.

Still absent-minded, she grabbed the feeler that was poking her and held it close, before pulling me even closer into a hug. Ok, that was weird. Noe’s translation for nonverbal gestures should still be working, so what she did was, in fact, a normal hug. Was I supposed to hug her back?

Before I could decide, Xalla finally broke out of whatever spell she was in, and quickly backed away from me, before bowing low repeatedly. Her skin pulsed with ultraviolet light, indicating a deep sense of shame and embarrassment. Huh, I guess I could see more colors than before, that was odd.

“I- I apologize!” Xalla stammered, “I didn’t mean, I mean, I - I’m - I just didn’t expect to see you like that! No- not that I mind of course, you are… wow, uh, I mean, I thought you said that it wouldn’t change out of the guise.”

Oh right, I did say that earlier. Now how to talk my way out of this one… I couldn’t exactly say that I accidentally transformed. Speaking of which…

Noe, only activate this skill if I say Activate Xollon Form from now on.

“Acknowledged.”

Thinking off the top of my head, I said, “Well, changing forms is something I like to avoid, but I thought it rude if I stayed in that guise when interacting with a Xolloid local. I mean, we are a rare sight to see!”

I noticed that the little cube containing the Shoggoth fell on the floor during my transformation, and strangely enough, the wiggling creature looked really, really appetizing. That gave me another idea. It was probably a very dumb idea, but I was really curious as to how detailed this transformation skill is. Plus, I was relatively safe with Xalla here, and I didn’t really want to wait a week to test things out again.

“And,” I continued, “it would be rude of me not to try out the Shoggoth that you prepared.”

With that, I took a deep breath and picked up the little glass container. Instinctively, I opened the lid and grabbed the little worm thing, skewering it like how Xalla did earlier. I quickly brought it up to my own maw, making sure that it didn’t grow too big, before dropping it in and “chewing”.

My god was the taste delightful! It was like nothing I’ve ever had before. No wonder Xalla likes to snack on these things!

“These are wonderful…” I said, getting the last chucks of Shoggoth down my gullet.

Xalla blushed again, “Thank you, I was always very good at pickling them back home, but it’s really nice to see that others like them as well.”

Noticing that I probably wanted another one to snack on, Xalla quickly grabbed a bunch of little cubes out from somewhere and clumsily handed them to me. She trembled a bit, and a few almost fell out of her feelers before she composed herself.

“Um, you can have the rest of mine!”

Honestly, I was tempted to do just that, but logic won out in the end. My transformation only lasts 5 minutes, and I couldn’t exactly carry these Shoggoth cubes with me as a Human.

“I appreciate it, Xalla,” I said, “But I probably shouldn’t have them right now. I do have work to do right now.”

Xalla almost deflated right before my eyes. She looked hurt. I sighed, and despite knowing better, I decided that the least I could do was make sure that she wasn’t offended.

“But,” I added, “I would love to have some more when I’m not quite as busy. If you don’t mind, of course.”

The Xolloid woman perked up almost instantly, “Of course! I - I’ll have other flavours prepared. You’re free to have as many as you want!”

“I’d love to.” I said with whatever the Xollon equivalent of a smile was.

“Secondary Xolloid Form Expiring.” Noe’s voice interrupted, “Please stand by.”

My body shrank at a visible rate, and the sheer might I felt before disappeared as quickly as it appeared. My vision returned to its limited form, and Xalla was towering over me again, although she didn’t appear quite as intimidating as she did before.

Switching back to English, she said, “Um, and thank you for taking the time to remove the guise. I can’t imagine it being easy to go back to that form. I- I really appreciate it!”

I nodded, “It’s the least I could do.”

The rest of the walk back to the testing room was not as eventful, but altogether pleasant. Xalla was over the moon talking about her hometown, and it would have been pretty interesting if not for the really, really disturbing undertones.

Like I said before, let’s never visit Xolloid.

Eventually, I bid farewell, and after agreeing for the seventh time that I would visit to have a snack with her, I left the main site and went back to the circular room I began