probablyaturnip

CH258

No matter how long he looked at it, it was hard to truly accept. Apprentice mage was there, clear as day for him to take if he wanted to, he was just struggling to understand why. He knew that in theory he could learn a non-affinitied magic, and now that his mana wasn’t so horribly low the option felt more and more possible, but he would have thought he’d need to put in months or years of training, at least if he didn’t plan on paying for Zandale’s services, but that left him with onl...

CH257

Pre-chapter authors note

This is a long one so why not grab yourself a snack and a drink? You've earned it.

Though Ben spent the night planning to get as much rest as he could while talking to Myriad in his realm, that idea was foiled by a persistent knocking on the door in the early hours of the morning.

Holy crap, what now? He couldn’t help but wonder as he pulled himself from bed and made his way to the door, finding the apologetic face of...

CH256

Second last day. Ben thought to himself as he started to feel the pressure. He knew he’d be able to basically get everything he needed to done, but as he experimented he was beginning to realize one aspect of his design wouldn’t work.

Maybe if I had awakened versions of my skills I could, but for now I’m just out of luck. He thought sadly as he knocked his hand against a firm barrier he’d created, unable to give it anything more than a minor level of spring and...

CH255

The next day actually managed to be calm for Ben after the hecticness of the prior two. His friends all seemed strangely on edge despite his constant assurance that he was used to just what sort of world they now lived in and would probably be fine if they wanted to do something else, but there was always at least a few hanging over his shoulder as he finally got to work on Amy’s weapon.

What he had been putting the most of his effort that day towards was cutting the white mana crysta...

CH254

After a long conversation with the girls that basically amounted to confirming that whatever cultural issue that kept Yuzu from talking to him wouldn’t extend to him reading her mind, as well as spending an hour all but begging Uliel to allow the young soul mage to help him, they all parted ways for the night, Thera still expressing her disbelief by the time they got back to the embassy.

“Are you really telling me you were kidnapped after me and uncle left you alone for a single eve...

CH253 Thera's Perspective

Is making friends supposed to be this exhausting? Thera couldn’t help but think to herself as she went through the untamed lands with the other three girls and the archmage.

It wasn’t the hunting that was getting to her. Considering her own strength, along with the fact that the others had awakened skills, it was actually quite easy compared to anything she’d have gone through hunting alone in the past. No, what was really exhausting her was having to deal with the conver...

CH252

With Greed’s arrival, Ben got to work in earnest, having the crab show him how he performed while carefully examining his body. It was like he thought, he was sure he’d be able to do something for his voice easily enough, but it was the claws that would create some issues.

It wasn’t just a matter of deciding how he would wear them, it was how they would be built at all. His first idea was to basically make him metal gloves, but that completely changed the sound Greed’s music too...

CH251

In the morning things went much the same as they had before, with Ben starting the day making small talk with the other contestants before moving on to working on his ideas, feeling he already had a far better grasp of what he wanted to make as he did. He’d have to go through the day’s testing to be sure, but he had his confidence.

It was as he was waiting for Amy to show up that he let himself spend a little time on other projects too, namely, figuring out how he wanted to make Gre...

CH250

He looked out into the crowd and saw almost no one, and for a second he thought it must have been in his head, or maybe a call for someone else that was already answered. What he did see though was that it was getting late. A lot of the other tables looked like they were winding down as far fewer people were out inspecting the goods, and it seemed like as good a time as any to finish up for the day.

“Should we start heading back?” He asked both Thera and Falk, only to hear another q...

CH249

Waking up far earlier than he needed to for the contest after his illuminating conversation with his god, Ben got to work preparing breakfast, an outrageously large one at that. He not only had the supplies that the embassy provided for its guests at his disposal, but all of the ingredients he’d bought at the market the previous day as well, and it was all put to use, making enough to feed dozens of people and taking hours to cook and pack up after.

It was only by the time the contest...

CH248

Out of nowhere, Ben shivered as a chill ran down his spine as they relaxed in Jake's home, enjoying the food and drink his servants had brought to them. “Feels like someone just walked over my grave,” He muttered, doing his best to ignore the brief sense of dread that brushed through him.

“Given the circumstances that might have actually happened,” Will said with a shrug as the expression made a question pop into Jake's mind.

“Do you think they ever recovered our bodies?...

CH247 Thera's Perspective

Thera did her best to suppress a headache as she let herself be dragged around the competition grounds by Steph. It was only the first day of it and somebody had already attacked Ben, and an extremely powerful person at that. As much as she liked to tease him about his poor luck, that really was too much.

Still, uncle and Will are going to be with him for the rest of the day, it’s fine. He doesn’t need me to babysit him, no matter how much I want to.

As things had cal...

CH246

The two had been walking arm in arm, enjoying the festive feeling of the contest as they browsed what was available, but whipped around to his as they heard their names, seeing not only Ben, but Steph and Will cheerfully waving to them, happy to have run into members of their own species after so long and getting them to rush over in excitement as hugs were exchanged while Thera watched from the side.

“We thought we might see a couple classmates here, but we didn’t expect one to be ...

CH245

“Well, this is a bit unexpected,” Ben said as he found himself being hugged by two familiar faces, namely his old friends Steph and Will.

“When we heard this was happening we figured we might be able to find you here,” Will told him as Steph went to give Thera a hug as well, being expertly avoided despite the amulet he’d made last time hanging around her neck. “Gotta say though, I didn’t expect you to be one of the guests of honour.”

“Ha, well technically my teac...

CH244

Authors note

I woke up super sick so there's a chance a few more spelling mistakes slipped through than usual. Just a heads up now on to the chapter

Despite the long night dealing with the issue that was Helori’s competition, Ben woke up feeling refreshed and energized. Not only had he won the contest and presumably gained his god a new source of faith good enough that he’d move past the fact that Ben had agreed to it without his consent, but he could now...

CH243

“Um, what?”

Ben didn’t know how to react to what he was seeing. The cold, distant goddess was now pleading with him desperately, tears in her eyes and destroying the dignified image she’d managed, placing herself more along the lines of how he thought of Myriad as his god seemed to sigh at his side, having a far better understanding about where she was coming from than he did.

“Everyone up here already knows what you’re like and I shouldn’t have made a move against y...

CH242

<PLANT KNOWLEDGE LEVEL INCREASED>

<MAX LEVEL OF THE TREE TAMER JOB ACHIEVED>

God I love knowledge skills, they’re so easy to level with just a bit of work.

<You just think they’re easy because of how ridiculous your reading speed is. Most people wouldn’t be able to get through four or five thick books a night to read up on a topic.>

They could if they started buying my circlets with my mind skills tied to them. I still can’t belie...