probablyaturnip

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CH1001

“Ugh, I never want to eat any fungus again,” Thera said as they got out the next day, the main base of every meal they ordered having been too much, even if most of it had ended up packed away after just a few bites. “This place needs a bit more variety to it.”

“I mean, we are underground. It’s not like vegetables are going to grow down here, and there’s not much room for livestock either.”

“Sure, but trade exists! This is a gate city, they can bring in as much m...

CH1000

“Oh, neat, claustrophobia. I wasn’t expecting to experience any of that,” Ben muttered as they arrived, finding what was actually a fairly large space once they stepped through the gate. There was no risk of hitting his head on anything, the cave was a bit over two stories high and seemed to stretch out for a while, even if the buildings around made it hard to tell for certain how vast it was, but that didn’t change two inescapable facts. There was a rough, stone ceiling over his head...

CH999

Standing in one of the newly made rooms, Ben was busy examining the overall structure while a family of jötunn watched with Thera and the guild master as he ran around, ensuring there were no hidden defects with the enchantments or building despite the confidence he had in the design before he finally stopped, nodding happily with the results.

“Done. As far as I can see, this should be perfect for everyone to move into without causing issues with the rest of the town.”

“Fee...

CH998

“Brrr,” Thera let out as soon as they passed through the gate to the next city beyond once morning came, a thick layer of snow covering it speaking of just how far north it was compared to the more temperate locations they usually spent their time. “Okay, this is something I would have liked some real warning about. We could have at least packed appropriately.”

“I told you the guild needs to put more effort into getting us all of the relevant info when they want us for somethi...

Side Story: A reaction to soul modification

Standing among the crowd, feeling squashed by the dense mass of bodies surrounding him, Verde couldn't help but wonder for the hundredth time just what he was doing.

His god, like so many others, had spread the word about a chance to grow stronger, to surpass his natural limits in some unnatural way, as well as making clear that their believers should take it, which had sounded all well and good until he was forced to confront what a miserable experience waiting was proving to be.

CH997

The next three walls went up just as easily, such a simple construction posing no challenge to the two by that point and let them for the first time take advantage of one of the perks of their station as they finished for the day, accepting the room from the guild as well as the offer of food as well, even if none of the guildmasters they’d met with that day could have been prepared for what that would mean as they arrived at their third restaurant that evening, Thera used to it by that poi...

December poll

Hey all, what a month it's been. So, first and most obviously, I don't have the side story up yet. I feel terrible about that and I am sorry. I expected to have enough of today to finish it and that just didn't work out, I will one hundred percent have it out tomorrow on the 28th. I am back at home now, family stuff is done so there's nothing left to distract me as I sit down and focus on work. Again, genuinely so sorry this has taken so long and don't you worry, I feel properly bad about it....

CH996

A step through to their first stop had Ben peeking in the minds around them for information to that city's guild, following the route he’d taken to lead the two of them to its doors and finding one twice the size of Stonewall’s, which actually meant it was on the smaller end of things. Stonewall’s adventurer’s guild not only belonged to a town that for normal people would be a multi-day trip to the nearest gate city, it was also forced to act as a location for the other main guilds to...

Slight delay with side story + poll

Hey everyone, just wanted to give an update that the side story and poll probably won't be posted till the 27th of this month. Usually I try to have it up by the 25th at the latest so I'm really sorry about this, I did not properly prepare for the holiday season as well as I thought I did so it's pushed me back and visiting family has caused it's own fair share of issues with trying to get things done. I will do my best to ensure that this doesn't happen again any time soon.

Once again,...

CH995

Entering the office, it was easy for Ceselee to see the stark difference between the two. One with pure excitement in her eyes in wonder over what they’d been called for while the other looked like they wanted to be anywhere else, Ben feeling no need to hide that fact as they took their seats.

“Alright,” he asked. “What is it this time?”

“You know, you could stand to be a bit more positive about the quests you get,” the guild master told him. “At least until you kn...

CH994

There really is no fairness in the world.

While Fontesh had made out well from what she’d gained from the surgery, acquiring not only a plant inclination but also mana recovery rate enhancement, her daughter had still walked away with more. A level to her own mana recovery rate enhancement and the acquisition of the same magic inclination Thera had was one thing considering that the girl had four different magics to her name that she’d work on raising as much as she could, ...

CH993

“So, time to finally reach the logical conclusion of everything you’ve been doing and leave your daughter genuinely related to you,” Thera teased as they made their way to the dryad gate. “I should have known this day was coming eventually. Do you think she’ll try calling you dad, even just once?”

“If this counts as making us related then I’m now related to most of the church of Myriad. Gods don’t even have blood; there’s no genetic line between us.”

“Just ...

CH992

Alone in the dark once more, Twan’cha waited for what would come next. His death had been horrifying; being sealed away, a humiliation. But then came the plucking. An inescapable torture on his imprisoned mind, slowly driving him mad.

When it had been happening, he’d felt stretched out, thin in a way he never had before that stained the very nature of his being. Embodied in a way that was nothing like descending upon a believer and was all the worse for it. He had been trapped, lock...

CH991

<VITALITY ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>

<MANA ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>

<VITALITY RECOVERY RATE ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>

<MANA RECOVERY RATE ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>

“I can’t believe you talked me into letting Sachel be experimented on,” Myriad groaned when Ben got up there. “What would I have done if something went wrong?”

“Nothing was going to go wrong, and I verified on Skoe and Ralia first, didn’t I? This...

CH990

“You know, I just want to say that the idea of doing this without any of my family present is horrifying to me,” Thera told him as they sat within Stonewall’s church for Ben’s god, waiting for their test subjects to show up. “Why again are we doing this?”

“It’s going to be decent life magic practice for you, and it lets me get some personal testing done before we move on to doing this for my student and possibly her mother too.”

“And if I mess up, someone could...

December holidays

Hey all, I mentioned it in the last poll but I'm going to be on vacation for the next two weeks visiting extended family so there's a chance posting hours might be a little weird. If it looks like I'm going to miss posting for a day for whatever reason then as always, I'll try to give you guys a chapter earlier or on the next available day to make up for it. Other than that, hope you all enjoy the holidays!

CH989 Thera's Perspective

Flying through the woods, Thera hopped between both the stone platforms and mana constructs that carried her, feeling on top of the world.

Everything just felt more natural. Her mana moved at her will, and she felt even less reliant on her staff than even awakening her magics had left her. For smaller, simpler spells she didn’t feel she needed it at all, only leaving it in her hands for the bigger ones as she rushed over the untamed lands, drawing all of the demons she could capture a...

CH988

“Come on now, it’ll be okay,” Ben said, more for the comfort of Mirrian and Kalley as they were led through one of his mini-gates to Stonewall, even if it drew the eyes of the other four with them as well.

“You just have these?” Woszan asked in wonder, the high priestess of their god a part of the moving party for what comfort she could bring to the other two. She’d heard about those small gates at least, she knew she wasn’t going to have to be locked away in that small vi...

CH987

Breaking into Sachel’s house since she wasn’t home to let him in herself, Ben made use of the gate hidden within, walking through to find Mora and Fontesh happily snacking while Delair sat to the side, clearly dejected.

“Hey there, sorry for barging in. Is something going on?”

“Oh, my daughter just thought it would be a good idea to use Mora to try to build a giant version of that game you made her. The one where you stack small pieces of wood and pull them out to see wh...

CH986

<Alright, they’re ready and expecting you whenever you want to head over.>

Making my way now. Ben answered as he walked into the world’s gate network, passing through to reach his ultimate destination of the siren’s capital and the main church of their god where three individuals were waiting as he arrived, sitting in the yard.

One was Woszan, the high priestess of Telenen who Ben had met a few times by that point, the woman giving an air of comfort to the oth...

CH985

In Stonewall’s training ground, Ben ignored the small crowd around them, watching as he and the two kids put the finishing touches on what they were building while he gave the final instructions.

“Delair, grease the pivot a bit, it doesn’t seem like it will be smooth enough. Mora, look at the counterweight and how it’s going to compare to the shot. It’s going to need to be changed just a bit, but I’ll let you be the judge of how. Once both things are done, then we can start....

CH984 Thera's Perspective

“I’d been expecting a change in your intelligence, but I’m not sure if this is more or less than I thought you’d get,” Ben thought aloud as he read over her card. “About an extra thousand points added to it.”

“I think an extra thousand to any attribute is going to be plenty,” Thera told him as she got up and lightly stretched, feeling no lingering pain in her head, even if the pain in her soul had gone untreated and, with a thought, she called over some of the soul spi...

CH983 Thera's Perspective

Getting up for breakfast, for the first time in the longest while, Thera found it was just the two of them, giving Ben a curious look that asked the question by itself.

“I took Mora over to Fontesh’s early so she could watch him for the day,” he explained. “Didn’t want Delair wasting her time coming over if I’m going to be messing with your head.”

“You figured it out then?” she asked as she perked up, excited to hear the results. His testing had run late enough t...