<MATERIAL KNOWLEDGE LEVEL INCREASED>
<PLANT KNOWLEDGE LEVEL INCREASED>
<BIOLOGY KNOWLEDGE LEVEL INCREASED>
Pages were fluttering through his fingers as Ben went from one book to the next, learning all he could in the time he had. With only two weeks left, he wanted to make the most of it while he could before all of the books were moved away.
Information was valuable after all, and with so much of it existing near one of the invasion points, it couldn...
2023-06-22 06:34:14 +0000 UTC
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“So what did you think of him?”
“He’s brilliant,” Naloth sighed. “I’d do anything to bring him into my fold if I could. The things we could accomplish, who cares if he can only use some obscure non-affinity branches? I feel like just letting him plan how different rituals could work and getting others to carry them out could revolutionize the world if given the chance. My project just went from something I wasn’t sure I could finish to a goal that has the potential to pa...
2023-06-20 13:28:22 +0000 UTC
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So this is the tower, huh? Ben thought as he stood before the giant trial, taking it all in.
It was just as large as any of the magic towers, though it had a few key differences to go along with it. Instead of there being a single door for the terrestrial races to enter, there were five, each of which had a different symbol at the front.
A hammer and tongs for smithing, wood and a knife for woodworking and construction, beakers for alchemy, pencils and brushes for the art...
2023-06-18 14:29:21 +0000 UTC
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“And that’s everyone done,” Thera sighed as she leaned her head on Sonya’s arm. “How long do you think till this place starts to fill up again?”
“I’m sure it won’t be truly full until the wounded start being rushed in. Since you brought the patients down to zero, Lux can stop in easily enough before going to do the rest of her work.”
The hospital of Anailia was going to be one of the main treatment grounds for any patients whose injuries walked the fine line be...
2023-06-16 15:56:16 +0000 UTC
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“You look terrible.”
“Thanks for that.”
“I’m serious. Did you sleep even a little bit last night?” Thera asked, looking at Ben’s exhausted form with blatant worry.
“Technically.”
“So you were up all night talking with your god, of course you were. But you don’t usually look so bad after it.”
“Er, it was a slightly more involved conversation than usual, don’t pay it too much mind,” He explained, not wanting to go into too much detai...
2023-06-15 16:02:45 +0000 UTC
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Opening his eyes after leaving the archive, Ben couldn’t help but let out a disappointed groan before letting his mind out of it.
“So it looks like that also failed.”
In the hours spent flying from the dryad’s village back to the gate, he’d been in there, experiencing almost ten days subjectively because of the time-dilation effect acting on his mind, only to fail in the goal he’d gone in with, awakening meditation.
When he’d asked himself how he’d ever conce...
2023-06-13 15:01:32 +0000 UTC
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<PARALLEL THOUGHT LEVEL INCREASED>
<MENTAL EXPANSION LEVEL INCREASED>
As the two notifications went off in his head, Ben let out a slow, drawn-out breath as he felt the change to his mind, the entire forest he was connected to reacting to the feeling as well.
There was pain of course, but not nearly as much as there had been when his minds had last split or when he’d gained a level to mental expansion so shortly after. What he currently felt wasn’t a full-blo...
2023-06-11 13:12:00 +0000 UTC
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<MANA EXAMINATION LEVEL INCREASED>
“Alright, are you feeling better now?” Thera asked, trying to gently smile at the child before her as he beamed back brightly.
“I am. Thank you miss healer!”
Hearing that, her smile became less forced as her hand started to reach out, only to pull back in the end. With Ben’s last two levels he’d gotten for his divine enchanting, he’d been able to bring her charm on contact down to three. So low that the chances of anyone...
2023-06-09 12:01:30 +0000 UTC
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As morning came, Ben woke up, only to find Delair already at the ready to help him put together breakfast for everyone, eager to practice what she’d been shown only the night before as he watched from the side, prepared to step in at a moment's notice but not needing to in the end as the meal came together and the other two joined.
It was only after they ate that everyone parted, each of them off to prepare for their own tasks for the day. Thera going off to Hentath’s home, wanting ...
2023-06-08 13:35:02 +0000 UTC
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“Alright, since I’m here let me handle dinner,” He told Fontesh as they got back to her home. “Since Delair was showing off that she got the crafting skill does she have any practice with it?”
“A little,” Fontesh said with a smile, rubbing her daughter's head as she did. “When you left she was so insistent on trying to get it so we got her to balance out learning a bit of cooking, sewing, and art with a few of the villagers that could help her with that.”
“Awes...
2023-06-06 12:54:40 +0000 UTC
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After another hour of enchanting, he finally finished all of the tree collars and let himself get set up for potion making, pulling out everything he’d brought for the act as he pulled out a mortar and pestle to show to Delair.
“Alright, are you ready to attempt some alchemy?”
“Yeah!”
“Great, now since these potions are important I’m going to just have you do some of the simpler stuff, with one of the main things involving using the wood everyone just brought b...
2023-06-04 07:34:20 +0000 UTC
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With agreement received, Ben wasted no time getting to the nitty-gritty of what he needed to have to finish up the plant collars while he waited for the wood to be collected.
“So who in the village would you say has the highest level of plant magic?”
“Me and one other have the skill at the eighth level, why?”
“Just going to need your hand for a moment,” He told her, taking it and opening the connection, unable to keep himself from peeking to see if she had any ot...
2023-06-02 13:49:33 +0000 UTC
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It was a short week later that Ben and Thera were flying through the skies, one of them tensed in fear as the other only seemed tired.
“I still say this is insane,” Thera told him, how many times she’d brought her concerns up being impossible to remember. “The chances of leveling your mind skills are so far above your chances of awakening connect. I can’t understand why you’d be willing to risk that after all the pain you’ve gone through in the past few months.”
...
2023-06-01 07:10:29 +0000 UTC
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“...So anyway, helping with the rest of the setup wasn’t too bad, but then we were left trying to get back to a gate all by ourselves!” Sachel complained. “Couldn’t you have arranged anything like the trip out there?”
“Your trip out there and mine back meant making an ultra-rare item,” He shot back. “Besides, Myriad found a different space mage to help you eventually, didn’t he?”
“I mean, yes and I appreciate it, but getting back still ended up taking almos...
2023-05-30 17:17:11 +0000 UTC
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Author’s noteynote
It’s not often I do this but I feel an intense need to explain myself for this chapter so there will be my thoughts on it and what I’m going for at the end of it if you want to see where my heads at. I don’t think it’s anything too spoilery, but since it is going to touch on where things are going a bit if you don’t like anything like that you might want to skip over the second author’s note.
---
I think I understand all of the...
2023-05-28 15:00:21 +0000 UTC
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In the second church of Myriad, Ben stood and waited, admiring the structure he’d put so much work into designing as he did.
He was in the main hall, the public area that wasn’t locked away to hold his spare books and supplies where anyone with the connect skill could come to copy the enchantments on the hundreds of metal tiles coating the walls. Not that the church saw much use in that capacity for the simple fact that it didn’t get many visitors.
Sure, some would stop by o...
2023-05-26 15:38:47 +0000 UTC
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Hello hello, hope everyone's doing well and ready for this months poll.
So you might have noticed it's a bit longer than usual. Typically I give four options, but I was feeling like getting a bit crazy with it. After all, I've been doing this for over a year and have plenty of options that didn't make the cut in previous polls, so I wanted to give them all a chance again as they go head to head against each other in this massive one. If we have any ties I'll make a three day poll after ...
2023-05-26 00:21:18 +0000 UTC
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First things first, need to prepare. Ben told himself as he pulled out his personal job crystal when he got to the shop, before destroying the enchantment on it, leaving him with nothing but a plain rainbow mana crystal in its place.
He’d made himself the job crystal what felt like ages ago, and in a way it was. He’d been a level six enchanter when he’d first had the idea to make something so small for his personal use, but now he was at the second level of his divine enc...
2023-05-25 15:56:30 +0000 UTC
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<MEDITATION LEVEL INCREASED>
<DEFENSE ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>
Ben’s eyes shot open as he woke up, not from the notifications or any other stimulus, but more the lack thereof as he gently rubbed his temples, exploring the feelings and experiences of each of his many minds as a grin broke out across his face.
“Headache’s finally gone.”
It had been his constant companion for an unreasonable number of months, but in the last week he’d realized it...
2023-05-23 16:41:36 +0000 UTC
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As he cooked breakfast, the day ahead of him planned out in his mind, he stopped briefly with the feeling of both arms and tail wrapping around him, a face pressed into his back.
“Smells fantastic,” Thera spoke, sounding only a little groggy after just waking up. “This is one nice bit of motivation to get out of bed.”
“And I’m sure keeping your clinic head sane is another,” He laughed. “What would he do if you didn’t show up?”
“Drari would still have au...
2023-05-21 13:52:38 +0000 UTC
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Nothing like the smell of money in the air. Eudut thought happily to himself as he made his way through a town that was basically in the middle of nowhere as far as he was concerned.
Stonewall, an unremarkable place that was five days from its nearest gate, didn’t have much to offer, even if that could be appealing in its own way. With only a hundred days till the beginning of the end of the world, there were plenty who might want to escape there as if any amount of distance ...
2023-05-19 17:18:36 +0000 UTC
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“Well, didn’t that go great?” He asked as he turned to his companions, with Thera seeming to mostly agree while the other three were left with complicated expressions painted across their faces. “What? Did that not go great?”
While he did have the minor bit of disappointment that despite all he'd done he hadn't completed his quest and he never actually got the broken bits of his used-up bombs back, as far as he could see the rest was a complete win, though it didn't appear tha...
2023-05-18 15:01:46 +0000 UTC
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They could still hear the sounds of movement behind them as stone continued to rush by, not stopping just because they’d reached the end as all of them stared at the doorway to the last and final section of the tower, each preparing to face whatever was left to come.
It was Ben who spoke first, sounding more resigned than anything to whatever the final floor held for them.
"Well, let's get this over with already,” And with that, he opened the door.
As they all stepped th...
2023-05-16 16:46:10 +0000 UTC
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The second he stepped foot through the door he had to stop himself from taking another as he swung his arms out, holding the people by his side back from going over the narrow ledge in front of them, into a hail of oncoming earth bullets before an unending chasm.
Wow, I really don’t like how this one started.
He pressed his back against the wall they’d just come through, barely daring to breathe with the scene in front of them all. Only inches from his face was what s...
2023-05-14 17:06:26 +0000 UTC
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“What?” She asked him, not able to believe he’d fight her on that. “What do you mean you think we should keep going? Ben, we beat three floors so we can at least get a very good blessing and not have to worry about you almost dying again. You didn’t want to do this anyway and now I’m agreeing so let’s just go.”
“I mean, yeah you’re right I don’t want to do this, but you do. That’s reason enough to keep going. Also, the gods only lose out on how much faith they ha...
2023-05-12 11:20:21 +0000 UTC
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Pre-chapter author's note
Just saw I misnumbered the last chapter, my bad everyone, should be fixed now. Also sorry this is going up a bit later than usual. I have family in town and I didn't think they'd keep me too busy but things have been hectic. Tomorrow should be up at an earlier hour.
---
Notifications all but ignored, she grabbed Ben and pulled him close as she raised the stone she’d flown off on back into the air at the same time the next wave began, with one diff...
2023-05-11 19:58:16 +0000 UTC
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“Isn’t this just a game over for us then?” Jake asked. “If our spells are just going to keep getting cancelled then we’re kind of fucked. Even if Amy has another sword and shield on hand, she can’t handle everything alone.”
“Well, if you’ll notice Thera’s success in keeping us all safe so far things aren’t that bleak,” Ben explained, not seeming as worried as it seemed like he should have been. “Magic nullification is definitely annoying, but it’s the sort of...
2023-05-09 18:07:29 +0000 UTC
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Thera silently watched Ben from the side as he modified some of his sticky pads to give himself more space bombs as she tried to handle all of the emotions filling her. He’d almost died because she wanted to do the trial just to get a little more power, and while he seemed to be handling what he’d gone through well she doubted how much of that was really the case. He’d said as much himself.
Another nightmare to his collection…
Guilt was eating at her. Since she’...
2023-05-07 13:34:29 +0000 UTC
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“Man, I’m a smith, and an artist, and an alchemist, and a woodworker, and a stoneworker, and a cook, and an enchanter, and whatever else I can squeeze out of my crafting skill,” Ben muttered to himself. “And you know what all of those things have in common? None of them are runners. There isn’t a single thing that any of my main skills need that involves running. So why do I keep getting dragged into situations where I need to run and try not to die?”
No answer came though a...
2023-05-05 17:13:01 +0000 UTC
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He didn’t have time to pick up his bag, nor the leeway to reload his gun as he ran with everything he had, pushing beyond his limits to get to Yuzu, the girl firmly cornered by the false golems surrounding her before it was too late.
From the potions he’d already downed and the bands on his arms he could already feel his mana regenerating as he forced his legs to move faster with each step, pushing past his limits while reaching to his vest for the only things he could grab as he to...
2023-05-04 16:30:13 +0000 UTC
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