Chapter 434: CH434

As the rest of them recovered from the mental strain, Ben went to his clothing that was left in a pile off to the side and got dressed as he tried to keep the memories of what he just experienced from flooding him, with thoughts of what sort of sacrilegious acts he’d do to make up for any of what just happened. He may have tried to cheat the trial, but the fact that the gods were willing to put any mortal through something like that was simply going too far.

He didn’t get far in his planning before a light appeared before them all, taking the shape of a goddess he knew well. Helori floated just slightly above them all, exuding her divinity and refusing to meet his eyes.

“So you again, huh?” He asked dryly, not in the mood to make friendly, even if it was a god he actually liked. A god who for her part seemed more than a little uncomfortable being there.

“Ahem, yes. When someone completes a tower, if any of the participants has a connection to a god it represents then that god will be the one who shows up. Since we know each other and Myriad doesn’t qualify, I was selected to come down.”

“Fine. Give your little congratulations speech and then hand out the blessings first again. Also, we’re talking before you give any skill levels.”

She wasn’t used to his eyes being so cold, nor that strange feeling that came with his sacrilege being directed at her and she made no move to argue, instead focusing on the rest around who weren’t so used to interacting with gods.

“You’ve all done well making it to the top, it’s a rare enough occasion that deserves to be celebrated. At such a time, having more life mages is just as valuable as having any fighters, maybe even more so, so it’s the earnest wish of all who just witnessed the work you put in that you’ll use the new strength you’ve gained to aid the world as a whole. Congratulations, you’re all more than deserving of the reward.”

 

<COMPLETED THE LIFE TOWER>

<ACQUIRED LIFE PANTHEON’S BLESSING>

<UNNATURAL MIND LEVEL INCREASED>

<DEEP CONNECTION LEVEL INCREASED>

<MENTAL SYMBIOSIS LEVEL INCREASED>

<LESSER INSPIRATION LEVEL INCREASED>

<FINE MOTOR CONTROL LEVEL INCREASED>

<ALL AFFINITY RESISTANCE ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>

<RAPID THOUGHT SPEED HAS COMBINED WITH THOUGHT SPEED ENHANCEMENT LV9 TO TRANSITION TO ABSOLUTE THOUGHT SPEED LV0>

 

His thoughts pounded as his mind grew again, hundreds more coming into place as each one there already was strengthened further, all while he tried to keep it from showing on his face as he brought them to order and tried to count them up.

So four hundred and ninety-nine new ones, meaning I’m getting that many each level considering that I had nine ninety-eight at the first. The more surprising bit would probably be my thought speed skills transitioning instead of awakening. So now each level, the speed I think at will grow by one hundred and fifty percent? Sounds insane but okay, and I now have even more minds to make it grow all the faster.

Since his thought speed skill was once again at the zeroth level he immediately put it to practice with all of the new minds in his head as he acknowledged what notifications he heard in the thoughts of the others.

As nice as it was to hear Thera raise her mana recovery, earth sense, and mana examination, the real score was for her magics, and not just her own, but everyones.

All four of her non-affinitied options gained levels, while at the same time, the life magics of herself, Steph, and Sonya all grew as well. Even Sachel had the fortune of gaining a level to her earth magic amongst her skills as they each felt the success that came with so much growth.

So after Thera takes her reward level that’s going to put her at the fourth, and Sonya’s sitting at level nine of the first tier which means when she gets her rewards she’ll be able to awaken to level one. It’s almost enough to put a smile on my face. Almost.

He didn’t intend to let that bit of success distract him from the torture he’d just gone through, a fact he was going to make clear as he spoke.

“Alright, me, Thera and Steph will take our levels here, but the other two are taking them later.”

His eyes were daring her to argue with him, to say something about how it needed to be done in the trial to save a bit of faith, but that wasn’t what he got.

“Yes, Myriad is already making sure everything is set up and ready for you.”

He wasn’t sure if it was his face or his thoughts that gave away his surprise at how easy things had just gone, but Helori spoke in his head to clear it up, trying to keep it private.

<You are right, this does cost us more faith, and some gods were arguing against it when Myriad explained what you wanted to do, but considering the… accident that happened on the last stage, this is being treated as compensation.>

I’m sorry, what accident? Are you saying I wasn’t supposed to be torn apart like that?

<No, you were. The accident is that the trial wasn’t designed to take into account that you think with your soul. You may need to put your lives on the line at each floor, but we aren’t needlessly cruel. You should have been unconscious for the whole thing.>

Hearing that knocked a bit of the rage out of him. A large part of his anger had been from the idea that the gods would do something so torturous to any mortal, hearing it was a mistake didn’t fix things, but it altered the scale at which his anger was being measured on.

Alright, well I don’t think that agreeing to something that’s literally going to help the world as a whole puts us on even grounds for a mistake like that, but you can help me argue that point when it comes up later.

She felt whatever emotions he was giving off decrease as she breathed just a little easier. The fact that no harm was being done by his skill meant it probably couldn’t affect her in a meaningful way, but it was the most unpleasant experience she’d gotten from a mortal which made it bad enough.

Ben for his part was unaware of any of this, whatever his sacrilege did being driven by instinct, not controlled with intent, as he tried to put on a slightly lighter mood.

“Okay, give me two levels to my mental symbiosis.”

 

<MENTAL SYMBIOSIS LEVEL INCREASED>

<MENTAL SYMBIOSIS LEVEL INCREASED>

 

It wasn’t what he really wanted, he thought defense enhancement was far more worthwhile overall, but what he did want was every chance of success for what would come next, and a higher level of mental symbiosis was his best shot at making it happen.

He listened as both Thera and Steph asked for their levels to their life magics before the exit appeared and they all walked off, with both Sonya and Sachel left in confusion as to why they were taking their levels later.

 

---

 

When they got to the gate they parted with Steph, with her needing to go off to share the news of her success, as well as let Will know that she was safe, while the rest of them carried on to Allfaith.

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Thera asked him for the untold time, still worried about any lingering effects of what just happened. “Your body is moving alright? You don’t feel ill or sore at all?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry. You all did an excellent job of putting me back together, I’ve got no complaints.”

No attempt at reassurance kept her from hanging onto his arm, trying to keep him close though.

“This time no more towers for real.”

“No argument from me, I still think I might destroy one or two of them if the world doesn’t end as a little treat to myself. We’ll see what the future holds I guess.”

None of them made any comment against the thought like they usually would, not after seeing that. The inborn respect for gods they each felt could only go so far, and the final floor had just pressed it to its limits.

<Which isn’t surprising.> Myriad sighed. <Coming up with appropriate trials for life magic especially isn’t the easiest thing compared to other magics, but a few of the options it has probably should have been re-evaluated before being implemented.>

Oh hey, you finally showed up after your sweet little apostle was just tortured. I’m going to need a therapist after that, man.

<You’ve clearly needed a therapist for years now and I was busy yelling at the others.>

You were yelling at other gods? Ha, I actually would have liked to see that, you always come off as a bit meek with the ones that show up in your realm.

<Excuse you, I’m friendly with the ones in my realm, huge difference. And of course I had to yell at some. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about what happened to you either, you know. I wasn’t going to let anyone argue with letting you help Sonya and Sachel get the most out of their levels.>

And that’s why you’re the god I like best. Love you buddy.

<Ha, you better. Now go in there and let's see if your crazy idea actually works. They’re expecting you.>

His god went silent when they reached the door of a building partly within the sea itself as he introduced himself to the guards out front to be let in before finding many a familiar face waiting.

“Woo, I win!” Jake cheered. “I told you it would be him doing something crazy.”

“Ugh, fine, dinner’s on me tonight,” Amy grumbled, still giving them all a smile that disappeared as Yuzu went up to him again, grabbing his shoulders and shaking with all she had as the other soul mage, Elvat looked like he wanted to do the same, the only thing stopping him being his aquatic nature binding him to the water he swam in.

“It’s only been three months! Last time wasn’t even a year! How does your status keep changing so much each time I see you!”

The comment immediately drew looks from the others, not just Jake and Amy, but Uliel and Vasta who were standing to the side, along with three more who were standing at the back, one of which was Valaria who stood with an exhaurire he didn’t immediately recognise but nonetheless had to be one of Myriad’s believers that she’d selected, plus what could only be the most surprising second pick of all.

I really wasn’t expecting to see Cheele here.

Greed’s son, the very same son who’d tried to eat the crab, was standing with the other two. Ben had known he’d converted to Myriad after he’d grown his shell, but he hadn’t expected to see him again like that.

Did she actually pick them herself or did you give some suggestions Myriad?

He’d honestly been expecting to just see succubi coming with her, the fact that she got two different races, with one of them not even being an enchanter, couldn’t help but surprise him.

<She selected them both. Since Anailia is the only gate city with a church to me, my believers come from all over to pray there and she’s met and spoken with many of them, though I do agree with her choices.>

Well, works for me.

He gave them all a friendly smile before focusing back on the soul mage who still had him in her grasp.

“Nice seeing you too Yuzu, please stop being so blatant about reacting to my soul. If you’re going to look, at least pretend you aren’t seeing anything.”

“How am I supposed to pretend about this? Look at how your skills changed! Not to mention all of the jobs and titles! Ben, I don’t know anyone with a third of the titles you have!”

“Alright, well I can update you all later, but for now, do you think we could get to work on our reason for being here?”

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“Ahem, that’s probably for the best,” Elvat said. “Supposedly we have two people who are going to awaken skills?”

“We do indeed. Sonya, Sachel, these are the soul mages Elvat and Yuzu. They’re here to help get the most you can out of your levels.”

While Sonya looked surprised, she had at least known that he had met them. Sachel for her part had her jaw hanging on the floor as she dealt with the shock of what she’d just been told.

“Why did you not give us any warning, how do you know so many people!”

“Ah, I mean, even if I’m the least valuable human on the planet, the fact that I’m on good terms with plenty of others does help a bit in the whole connections department. I just know the two of them because I know Jake and Amy. Speaking of, Jake and Amy, these are Sonya and Sachel, the first being Thera’s aunt and the second being the oracle of Myriad.”

The two gave their hellos as Sachel just rubbed her head.

“Somehow, this became just as stressful as the tower.”

“Not for me. Anyway, back to… what?”

Yuzu was giving him a strange look, but at his questioning, she could only shake her head.

“I just don’t think it’s appropriate to call yourself the least valuable human given the state of your soul. As you currently stand, you're probably comparable to Jake.”

The remark widened the eyes of those in the room who could understand it, but Ben just laughed it off.

“Ha, you’re sweet to say it Yuzu, flattery will get you everywhere but I don’t need my ego inflated, don’t worry.”

<She’s being serious Ben.>

Well, that’s even dumber Myriad. Jake’s the sixth most important summoned, right? He’s only short of the ones who came with third-tier skills, I obviously don’t compare.

<Ben, of all the others, the most awakened skills they’ll have is five since that’s the hard limit of blessed skills one can have, and the majority of the summoned haven’t gained a single level to anything. You on the other hand currently have seven, with every single one being above the zeroth level. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that some people would kill to get you on their side.>

Alright, sure, I’m good, but the closest thing I have to an awakened combat skill is my magic, and even that’s more suited to my crafting anyway. Besides, Jake is able to use every single branch of affinitied and non-affinitied magics. When you add in Amy who can fight with any weapon and use any augmentation, including one that nobody knew existed before she arrived, they have to be above me.

<Maybe, maybe not. Sure, they have powerful skills and they’re growing them thanks to the towers, but there’s something to be said for you who’s grown so much from your own efforts. Don’t sell yourself short.>

Ben wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so instead he didn’t, directing his focus to the people around him.

“Alright, well back to the matter at hand, Sonya’s up first if you guys want to get started.”

He was freed from Yuzu’s grasp as she and Sonya went to Elvat, the two soul mages both placing hands on her as the room filled with mana.

Hey, this might actually be interesting, won’t it?

He knew that soul mages could see souls and they were about to witness one awaken, something that was far from a common sight. Ben slipped in close, activating his deep connection and spreading it out to see through their eyes, only for both of them to tear their gazes off of Sonya, looks of horror on their faces.

“What are you doing?” Elvat asked, the first to react as Yuzu wasn’t able to articulate a question.

“Ahem, I have a skill that lets me see through the eyes of others. I just thought that seeing what it looked like when someone awakened from the perspective of a soul mage could be interesting,” He answered innocently as the both of them still looked shocked.

“Your soul was doing that because of a skill? Which one was it?”

“Um, deep connection. Why?”

“Deep connection,” Elvat muttered, ignoring the question. “So it must connect the soul then. Gods above, this is a first.”

“Explanation please?”

It was Yuzu who answered, looking like she was prepared to start shaking him all over again. “Ben, your soul just left your body.”

“Not exactly,” Elvat spoke before he could panic. “Souls fill their vessels, but yours just expanded beyond it. It’s the ability you use for your enchanting, correct? It seems it’s awakened in a particularly unique way, but now that I at least understand what’s happening you can go ahead. You’re right after all, this isn’t a sight many get to see.”

Nodding in thanks, Ben reached out with connect again as he saw through both of their eyes. Neither of them experienced the world in quite the same way as him, but it wasn’t so different that he couldn’t interpret what was happening, at least for the world around them. Seeing Sonya’s soul was an entirely different matter.

He didn’t know how to put it to words. It was a shifting, pulsing thing of unfathomable depth, structure within it he couldn’t begin to guess at and skills on the surface, recording the life she’d lived. He’d been told about the structure at least during his research into how to seal one, but seeing it was a different matter entirely. He could guess at what bits were for affinities and what bits resistances based on how things were arranged, but that still left untold thousands of structures within with no clear purpose but still beautiful in their mystery, and that was before he watched Sonya awaken.

As both soul mages were casting their spells, doing their best to ensure that the awakening growth would be all the larger thanks to their intervention, Ben witnessed the whole of her soul change beyond just her life magic reaching the first level. In his eyes, it looked as if it had grown deeper, with new structures forming where there’d been nothing before as the room filled with light from the process, Sonya’s already high attributes growing all the more as she fell just short of the two thousands for many of them, her mana alone breaching that barrier.

 

<ABSOLUTE THOUGHT SPEED LEVEL INCREASED>

 

By the time the light faded there was cheering in the room, Jake showing his positive side with Thera joining in as she ran to her aunt, taking her in her arms while Sonya just looked stunned by it all, never having expected to get to such a place, even with help.

It was a huge moment, and as far as he was concerned there was no need to rush it. He let her take it all in as he grinned at the side, talking up to his god as he did.

Alright, almost Sachel’s time so let’s take that final quest and see if this works. Myriad, let’s achieve something great here.

 

<RECEIVED QUEST- LEADER OF THE FAITH>

 

The last quest he had from Myriad beyond completing an achievement in his name, it demanded he lead some of the believers of Myriad to completing a great goal, with the rewards being that he’d get a level to something three or lower, while the other believers would get three job levels.

And what greater goal could there be than showing it’s possible to forcefully awaken someone, along with actually doing it for the oracle of my faith? I just wish I had a low-level skill that was actually worth raising.

Eventually, Sonya got up, the shock of it all leaving her a little unsteady on her feet as he waved Sachel, Valaria, Cheele, and the last believer of Myriad over.

“Alright team, this is it. We’re going to be trying to forcefully awaken our lovely oracle here so let’s all do our best.”

“Um, Ben,” Said oracle chimed in. “I’m only going to be able to get two levels from the tower, how am I supposed to awaken my skill like this?”

“I know that, and it’s real simple. First things first, ask for a single level to your life magic.”

She did as he told her and he saw the comparatively minor change to her soul through the eyes of the soul mages, as well as his own connection to her, before he moved her over, sitting her between Yuzu and Elvat and getting them to start casting on her.

“Alright, so we’re going to see if we can cheat the way souls work by giving you everything you would need to materialize something. I’m going to give you my knowledge and brain power, and the other three are going to help me supply you with mana. All you need to do is shape the power.”

“What?”

“It will be fine, you’ll understand after I merge our minds a bit. Now you three, hands and claws on my back and treat me like a staff. Pour your mana into me when I tell you like you’re casting a spell. Don’t question it, it will work.”

They seemed unsure but were nodding along, all ready to obey the directions of their apostle as Ben sat down behind Sachel, placing a hand on her back as he began disassembling his minds, filling them with everything he had learned about the seed she was going to try and create as the shape of her thoughts changed radically the more he added, everything weaving together to create a whole with a single goal as he gave the order and felt the mana pour into him before passing it further along, controlling the output to make sure she would have a high yet constant supply as her soul strained against the unnatural increase.

He felt the mana within her move as she tried, points of it flying into the ether as he picked and prodded at her mind, seeing what went wrong and trying to correct it as she did, doing his best to guide as more was wasted in failure, success just outside of her grasp.

I refuse to accept this isn’t possible. Maybe she doesn’t awaken it because of the help, but she has everything she needs to materialize it. Just gotta keep trying.

He added the effect of his thought speed skill to her mind as seconds turned to minutes under her attempts. The other three believers had to regulate their mana for something they couldn’t help but think was a fool's errand, not seeing what Ben was. With every failed attempt, she got a little bit closer, the flow of her mana ending a little more correct compared to each previous attempt as he pushed and prodded at her mind, aiming her to the final goal before it snapped into place. Where there was nothing, an atom formed, quickly becoming a compound, then a gene and then more, along with all of the other organelles a cell would contain as more and more cells appeared, linking together within a woody membrane and making a seed, smaller than a grain of sand but clearly there in her hand as her body lit up with mana, her magic awakening while Ben listened to the notifications in her head as not only life, earth, and water, but her spell unification and connect joined too, giving her the unique variant of deep plant magic in the end.

 

<ACQUIRED TITLE- AWAKENER>

<QUEST- LEADER OF THE FAITH COMPLETED. REWARDED WITH ONE LEVEL TO A SKILL CURRENTLY THREE OR LOWER>

 

And I guess I’ll take my free level to my marksmanship since that at least has the benefit of helping my eyesight.

 

<MARKSMANSHIP LEVEL INCREASED>

“Ahem. I don’t believe any waiting gods need to ask what she wants for her second level. Plant magic is partially life affinitied after all.”

He felt her mind immediately agree before she could speak and the gods wasted no time in giving it to her, bringing her up to the first of her skill, bypassing the usual work it would take to get there all at once as he leaned back and grinned.

“Alright gang, good work, that went well-”

His words were cut off by Sachel, the oracle turning around and burying her face in his chest and bursting into tears, catching him off guard for just a second before placing a hand on her head and speaking in a comforting voice.

“Hey hey, you got there. You achieved your dream and you did excellent. Me and Myriad couldn’t be happier for you.”

He could imagine pretty easily how she’d felt. She was the only one in her village who didn’t have any sort of plant magic and she’d finally reached it, to finally be able to look at herself and see someone on an equal footing as the rest, those first few moments didn’t get much better and he made no attempt to take it from her. Instead, he just let her cry as her emotions came out.