Chaotic Craftsman Worships The Cube

Stating that he intended for her to devote her time to raising herself after already securing the blessing, the realm finally exploded into a chaos of voices, the havoc leaving Ben a small sense of peace.

Ah, there it is. It really doesn’t feel right at this point if my meetings up here don’t piss someone off.

Immediately, there was a back and forth of reactions among the divine, with so many words aimed at him that he could pretend he couldn’t tell what everyone was trying to say until things calmed down, with his god on one side of him dealing with a new migraine, Anailia on the other, chuckling to herself without getting involved in the chaos that filled the realm, and Thera, squeezing his hand all the tighter, unable to believe what he’d just said.

He could see that the reaction from the gods was stressing her out though, as a mortal not used to that sort of divine reaction, even with him safely blocking her from the divinity they gave off, so revealing a larger portion of his mind to get their attention, he spoke up to try and ease their concerns.

“Okay, I see more than a few of you are unhappy about this, but I’m confused. Is this not the most reasonable choice?”

“Reasonable?” One spat. “You extracted a blessing from us, just to tell us you had no intention of doing any actual work!”

“Hmm? No, I clearly said that the soul mage, Thera Oress, will be working to awaken the earth magic contender, Thera Oress. What part of that wasn’t clear?”

Clenching their teeth so hard that Ben briefly wondered if they’d be possible to break, the god he’d spoken to was pulled back before he could say too much, another god taking their place.

“And what exactly is the point in paying someone to look after themself?”

“The security and freedom that comes with the authority to do it without anyone else getting in the way,” he shrugged, his casual attitude angering even more. “Listen, to keep the conversation smooth, I’m going to keep it to the adults in the room so the rest of you just pay attention while I talk to Phixth and then if you’re all still unhappy you can say your pieces.”

And while you’re saying your pieces, I’ll slip this bit of me back down to the mortal realm.

With the way he said it only worsening the mood of the surrounding gods, Ben simply decided to ignore them, focusing entirely on Phixth and the brand new level of stress the deity had been put under.

“Very well,” the stone god still gave in. “In that case, do me the favour of explaining your thought process.”

A part of the god wanted to add that they could withdraw the other agreed-upon payments, but there was no point. Neither Ben nor Thera actually needed the money, and the help Ben could give to all of the soul mages was actually something they would benefit from, not something to be withdrawn. Declining to awaken a skill might have been worth doing, but as things were, not until they’d had a proper conversation first.

Nodding to the other in gratitude, Ben began. “The reason for it is simple. Thera is just the one it makes the most sense to devote a soul mage to. Don’t forget how many contenders I’ve met in one way or another by now. Even just the ones I looked at while modifying their souls or all of the ones that joined in on my job runs, unless you have someone exceptional completely hidden from me for some reason, she’s objectively the best choice.”

“Objective is a strong word to use when comparing someone to your lover.”

“A fair concern, but you’re right, so let’s go over it. Thera awakened her life magic, this is true, but of the four magics she holds, it’s the one she was the third least likely to, only beating out her non-affinitied magics, and that’s for one obvious reason. Her affinities.”

The gods looked around, with it being clear that only a few among them remembered what she’d held, if they’d bothered to learn them at all. Her birth had come with curiosity and excitement at the inception of the first half-spirit and what that would mean for the world, but when it seemed that all but her passive magic was unusable, that interest had quickly faded, letting Ben go on.

“Obviously, there’s no affinity for non-affinitied, making it the hardest to learn and wield of any option. At least, sort of. If you’re like me and don’t have affinities of fifteen at the very least, then that’s the only option, with the compatibility with a given magic type only growing from there. Yet, despite being on the low end of the scale in regards to that compatibility, Thera has successfully become a soul mage through life, while only having a value in it of twenty-two.”

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An explanation that drew some surprise. They were used to those who rose to the ranks of contenders for a given magic or affinitied skill to have it in the forties at least. While lower was possible, it was rare. Of course, by the time she’d reached that level, she’d had plenty of other advantages in the form of jobs and blessings, but those advantages would apply to other skills she held as well.

“Next would be her dark magic, a skill I personally think would be worthwhile for her to try and awaken too if she succeeds in awakening earth, but that can be a future discussion. That is an affinity she has at the forty-third value.”

That more lined up with what they expected of a contender, even if more than a few couldn’t help but notice him mention the prospect of her trying to reach the third tier for a third skill, as if he were hoping to have her as the same breed of monster as himself. If Ben hadn’t been in the picture then such a thing might have even been a welcomed blessing. Her disposition seemed good overall, all things considered, and they shouldn’t have been picky when more power was a must, but their lack of faith in Ben to use his own, ever growing and ever twisted abilities responsibly created doubt at the thought of those around him growing just as much.

But too bad for those losers because now that she’s got her first awakening, there’s really no stopping how much she’ll be able to grow, he told himself before moving on to his main point.

“Finally, there’s her earth magic. The trait she inherited from her father, the great earth spirit, and the affinity she has at a higher level than any other mortal on the planet that I’ve encountered. One hundred and three. The only person I’ve ever seen with an affinity in the triple digits, that alone goes to show that there’s nobody on the planet better equipped to try to awaken something to the third tier. Combine that with what is essentially infinite mana, and so long as she practices, her chances of getting there are high enough that it doesn’t make sense to waste the time having her train anyone else. You want another third-tier awakening before the next wave? Something that would have significant combat potential? Then, like it or not, Thera’s your answer. If any of you can suggest someone else we could awaken who’d have three million points of mana afterwards and a level of magic power that could reshape multiple invasion points by themself then feel free to tell us and we can at least give it some serious consideration.”

Phixth tapped his fingers on his knees, thinking about what he’d heard before responding. “And is this reward of levels related at all to the goal of awakening her?”

“I knew I liked you for a reason,” Ben grinned. “You catch on fast. Yeah, after getting that blessing, Thera is now at the fourth level of her earth inclination, and I want you all to awaken it.”

With all of the other benefits she already had, getting that awakening would be one more significant bonus to her odds of reaching the third tier for a second skill, cementing the point Ben had wanted to make. Thera was already the best choice, but with the proper support, she’d be even better.

And gauging the reaction of the gods, it seemed despite how a few of them wanted to argue, if only to either spite him or else as a response to the feeling of being tricked in it, they had no choice but to agree. Thera had mastered her magics, had an affinity for earth like no other, and had received enough tower blessings to be well worth the investment. While awakening someone to the second tier of a skill couldn’t help but feel outrageous, especially as far as the faith cost would go, Ben was also correct on that front too. They may have been miserly about spending what they had, but that was largely in part to spend it on each wave. With how drastically the strength across the planet was growing thanks to Ben’s efforts, they could elevate at least a few promising mortals to the second tier if they held a valuable enough skill or were likely to bloom under such an awakening. The days when they’d been desperate enough that they’d pierced through the veil of reality itself to claim worthy souls had long since passed. There was power enough to be found or created at home.

With acceptance sweeping the gods, Phixth nodded once more before power from the room filled Thera, bringing forth levels and the notification of her earth inclination growing to earth affinity.

And even more power for her with it, Ben thought to himself, suppressing his grin to instead focus on trying to look properly humble and thankful, if only because, despite a few rough patches, they really had given in fairly easily. Her ninth second-tier awakening, but with how much mana she has, even that’s still going to yield a pretty good result as far as attribute bonuses go. An extra four thousand points of mana. She’s going to cross two million before I know it.

“Ben, I don’t want to see you interact with the gods ever again,” Thera told him once the meeting ended, the last few details wrapped up before Anailia decided to bring her back to Myriad’s realm with him. “How did that not stress you out?”

“Things have gotten a fair bit easier once I only had to focus on Phixth and let the rest of the gods decide how to react in the background,” he shrugged, getting a chuckle from Anailia for his reaction.

“I believe he performed more than wonderfully,” she told them. “You did an excellent job extracting benefits from those stubborn fools for my child. It makes me look all the more forward to the day I can call you my son-in-law.”

A statement from her goddess that Thera didn’t know how to react to, with eyes looking his way for help, he gave a light laugh in return before putting her out of her misery.

“Well, thanks, Anailia, but with everything she’s been through, I think Thera needs to enjoy some proper sleep while she still can, and I need to get started on looking at the soul gods’ minds.”

And need to make it look good when I do.

He’d successfully been keeping from every god but Myriad that he could read their minds fast enough that he wouldn’t be caught and he wanted to keep that hidden too, meaning that he’d have to connect to each god long enough for them to be convinced as he examined their memories. Even if what Thera had to deal with was done, he was still going to have a long night ahead.