CH823

The muscles of every body he held were left sore after the long day so he stretched out at the end of it, trying to rub some life back into them while he cleaned up and began packing away his clones, his student following suit. Their talk still lingered in Delair’s thoughts in the days since, pushing her to work all the harder in her efforts to train and learn and with it, Ben himself was thinking about how best to help her grow.

His original goal had been to get her to the fourth levels in both her crafting and enchanting after all but since she’d already reached the third and second, there was no reason not to try and up the goal a bit more if that was what she herself wanted. It would pose no challenge to increase the speed she could think at more than he was already doing to let her enchant faster and when he reached a certain point in her lessons as well, they could easily change to having her work more at once if he got Thera to make her a few clones of her own. That sort of thing was certainly an advantage most people wouldn’t get after all and would easily reduce her leveling time significantly if she even only got two to use.

And she did ask if she could be turned into a demigod the other day but as for that, definitely waiting for the results the gods get testing it first before I let anyone perform surgery on my little student.

It was all things he needed to think about and consider. After all, with all of the knowledge he was making sure to give her, he was creating a foundation that would help her continue to grow, even if he wasn’t around, an all too real possibility for the future but even if that did come to pass, he wanted to help her do her best while he knew he’d be there to do it too.

Mmh, we’ll start on getting her to enchant faster tomorrow and then all of the rest we’ll leave for a bit later. For now though-

His thoughts were broken with two coming through one of his gates, Thera and Mora back from their day with one looking extra exhausted for it.

“Bad one I take it?”

“An entire legion of soldiers managed to be ambushed in an expedition and half of them came to me,” Thera explained, practically collapsing against him. “It was a very, very long day but at least a few of the others got levels from it.”

With Mora looking light beside her, neither of them had to guess if he’d contributed but Ben focused on rubbing Thera’s back for what comfort it would bring. Her work at the hospitals she would go to had slowly been getting easier but days like that would still pop up to make every healer's time worse as they were forced to tear others from the jaws of death, leaving one of the greater resources on the planet perpetually stressed.

Hmm, but it’s not like the day is over yet and it’s been a while since we’ve had a nice outing… Okay, why not?

“Well, wanna come with me for a bit and take your mind off it?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Seeing as how we have all of these conveniently placed mini-gates just lying around the shop, what say we go through one and find a nice market?”

---

“Stay in sight you two,” Ben called out while Delair and Mora ran around.

Really it was more Delair dragging Mora with her as she explored but he didn’t want either getting lost. They’d chosen a market in Nare’s lands by virtue of the fact that it was the newest location he could access from the shop but there was plenty to enjoy about it.

Back when he’d first come to train Nati and Xilly, he hadn’t taken the time to give it a look but the environment created options for foods and ingredients he’d never normally get access to as he stopped at a stall to look at spice blends, Thera’s arm linked with his as he picked out everything he wanted before tapping cards to exchange funds and storing bag after bag in his rings as he went.

More ingredients meant more to experiment with as he cooked, only growing his range of recipes and what he could do with them while at the same time, adding to what he could teach Delair as well. Cooking fell under the umbrella of crafting after all and teaching her how to use a broader range of ingredients would only help her in the future.

Which reminds me, I’ve been content to just give her some theory lessons on the topic but I really should add some more hands-on lessons into the rotation for her. Man, so much to consider with having a student, I’ve definitely gotta thank Falk again sometime.

With the student in question having her eyes glued to a stall she’d found, Mora looking at her in curiosity more than what was being sold while he and Thera made their way over to see what exactly had claimed Delair’s attention, Ben giving a small laugh once he knew.

“We’ll take three please,” He said to the person there, being handed three confections as money was exchanged as he looked at what seemed like a small pastry that itself had been candied, taking a bite to get an explosion of fruit flavour from it after as he snuck glances at the other two to see both Thera and Delair’s eyes lighting up.

Hmm, if they both like it so much I should be able to replicate it pretty easily. I’ll have to think about what could make some other decent filling options later.

“Is that really so enjoyable?” Mora asked them, still looking curious, with Delair being the one to answer.

“It’s so good, Mora. I could eat another ten.”

She glanced at Ben as she said it, the hint there but he just laughed and ruffled her hair.

“No can do kiddo, you’ll make yourself sick and ruin your appetite for whatever meal your mom is going to have waiting for you. If you like them so much then we’ll work on figuring out how we can make them ourselves later, okay?”

“Mmh, okay.”

Mora still looked curious though in a way that Ben couldn’t help but feel bad for. His nature meant the boy was both freed from the chore of eating but also denied the pleasure of it while the unique nature of his birth that had mingled the thought structures of both spirit and succubus meant he might have felt some impulse for it, even if he wasn’t biologically equipped to carry it out.

But if he’d let me, I could let him experience what tasting things was like. Ben thought. Connect to him and let him share my senses as I eat something and then… No. No, I suppose that’s not actually a good idea.

He didn’t know if the boy would like that or not but if he did then that would be a curse more than anything else. Mora was immortal by his very nature, only destined to die if he either somehow expended all of the mana that made up his body or else had his soul damaged to an extent where it couldn’t be repaired, while Ben himself could only potentially have a few more centuries on the planet, so long as nothing killed him and he got the two third tier awakenings he wanted to expand his lifespan. Still though, however long he might live would be a blink of the eye against eternity and if he showed Mora the joys of food but was the only one who could safely do so then that meant the boy would have no way of reexperiencing it once Ben was gone, something he couldn’t help but think was a far sadder option than never getting to enjoy it at all.

So many things to think about when raising a kid and only more when you aren’t even the same species I guess. He thought with a sigh, wanting to give the boy what he could but knowing he needed to consider the child’s future as well. Just one more thing to worry about.

---

Once shopping was done, the three took Delair back home before returning themselves, finding Sonya already there with a book in hand while Ben went to prepare dinner with his new ingredients, tasting and testing as he went until he had something he was happy enough with to call the rest over to eat and talk about their days, indulging in each other’s companies as the evening wore on until the meal was done, with Sonya turning to Mora once it was.

“Sweetheart, what do you say you join me for a few games until it’s time for bed, hmm?”

“Alright, what do you want to play?”

“You decide, I’ll be with you in a second,” She told him, letting the young spirit walk off to the living room as she turned back to the other two, giving them a wink. “And I don’t think you both have had time to relax together for a while, I can look after him for a few hours if you want to spend some time together.”

The two looked at each other when she said it. It was true that they’d both been busy, with the closest they’d gotten to spending quality time together other than the little bit they had before falling asleep each night being their time in the last tower and when he’d been training her in enchanting, with neither event exactly being pleasant. They were both important enough to the world by that point which meant they were both busy and now with him having taken on an apprentice and Mora in their lives too, they were all the more so.

But if Sonya’s going to offer…

“We could go for a walk for a bit?” He said, putting the idea out there. “Stroll through town and enjoy the night for an hour or two?”

“Yeah, that sounds really nice actually. Thanks, aunty.”

“Of course, you two kids have fun now.”

---

The setting sun left Stonewall quiet as they went, making their way through empty streets with only a few others out and about to be seen along the way, with Thera giving a content sigh as they did.

“You know, I really wish we could get a bit more time like this,” She told him as she leaned her head against his arm. “When did life get so busy?”

“Ha, was it ever not busy?”

“Maybe not for you, you workaholic. I on the other hand feel like I used to get a lot more free time. Wonder how long it will be before I ever get regular days off again?”

“Well, the war needs to end and whatever demons do make it onto the world would still need to be dealt with, sooo-”

“Don’t say never.”

“Ahem, some indeterminate time in the future?”

“Just as bad. Ugh, if things ever do get better I’m quitting everything. I’ll materialize magic materials like dad and live off that.”

“Ha, sounds like it would get dull.”

“That’s the thing about being able to make money out of thin air, if I get bored of it I can just find something else to fill my time after I’ve filled my accounts. What about you? So bound and determined to get some heroic sacrifice, have you considered what you might want to do after?”

She sounded sad as she said it, the mood slipping through despite her intentions as she once more considered that Ben wanted to throw himself up against a god incomparable to any the world held while he moved to change it, picking her up in his arms and spinning around.

“What I want for the future, huh? Easy,” He laughed. “You and me enjoying the hell out of life, figuring out this whole ‘raising a spirit’ thing and helping Delair get to a point where she can awaken her skills, spending time with friends and family and making stuff the gods of this world never dreamed of. Nice and easy humble dreams.”

“Ha, I don’t think much of that was really humble.”

“No? I think it all seems pretty manageable to me. Hell, it’s mostly stuff I’ve done before anyway. I’ve shocked the gods, I’ve awakened people, and I’ve had a great time with you and everyone else I love. All that leaves is childrearing to figure out but we’re kind of getting the hang of that, right?”

“Maybe? Gods above, I sure hope so.”

“Ha, well I say we are. He’s more talkative than when he first joined us, even if only a bit and even if it’s subtle he lets us know how he feels. Just wait, before you know it he’ll be as open as a book.”

“Well, I hope,” She smiled, continuing to walk until the edge of town came into view, an exit within the very wall that gave the place its name that led to her taking his hand to tug him along.

“Thera?”

“You know, I’ve known you since you only had your first few levels, before you had any sort of magic and now here you are,” She laughed. “But you know what I don’t know right now? Most of what you do with your mana is materializing, what can you do when you’re not burning it all away?”

He looked at where they were and then back to her, the public training ground right there to be used and empty of anyone else. “If you’re asking to end this romantic little walk with a spar then is there any chance I can politely decline?”

“Ha, just show me something cool you dolt.”

“Cool huh? Well, if that’s all then you’ve got it.”

She was right, most of his mana went to materializing or else shaping his work, he didn’t often use spells to manipulate the environment around him unless he had to but as a contender for his material manipulation and over eight thousand points of mana, he wanted to know too so he poured his power into the ground, combining it with both his material sense and his extraction enhancement as the earth itself was torn apart and remade while it rose, the training ground being left with a fully stocked house in its center.

Only one story but it was enough, Thera’s eyes gleamed while he caught his breath, dragging him along with her to look it over as she examined not only the building itself but appliances within, testing some lights and finding they worked with everything in there being enchanted.

“Okay, colour me impressed.”

“Not my best work though. The enchantments are basic and the items are too. Nothing in here is above lower uncommon.”

“‘Not your best work’ is going to be enough to leave everyone else in your field in tears,” She laughed. “Hell, my field too, unless you think other mages would somehow be unimpressed by this level of control and power?”

“Well, I suppose when you put it that way…”

“So want to see me try my best too?” She asked playfully. “I could try to see if I could carry the entire town for a bit, or maybe add a mountain range to the skyline? It would be good to mix things up every now and then, nothing but trees and a few hills gets stale.”

“Ha, I’d comment on the environmental impact but since the planet’s ecosystem is already messed up beyond repair, I’ll say go for it. If you do, there'll be new things living on it before the end of the week.”

“Hmm, true but then I’d have to deal with all of the heart attacks seeing that would cause in the morning. This however should be perfectly fine.”

Her look turned mischievous as she pulled him close before the ground beneath their feet blasted up, leaving them at the top of a growing pillar as it shot into the sky above while he grabbed her back, taken completely off guard by the same speed she was reveling in until it finally slowed to a stop, giving them a view of everything around.

There were lights to be seen down below, both Stonewall as well as some of the surrounding towns and villages but the dark had fallen in full enough force that it wasn’t much of a view, at least not that way. Looking up though, the stars were out in full force, filling the sky as they stared up.

“You know, at least for humans on Earth, traveling through space was still basically impossible,” Ben said. “There was no way we’d get to another star in my lifetime but here they’re so in reach.”

“Mmh, sounds like your world was better off then. Having everything so easy to reach is basically all of this planet’s problems.”

“Ha, you aren’t wrong. Still, Quilith told me something similar before too. We have the whole galaxy open to us here, maybe even the whole universe beyond. Makes me wonder about what else is out there is all. Especially more spells! The gods of this galaxy had their hands on two powerful ones but I don’t even know what one does. There’s gotta be more out there too and all of the other little mysteries this place has.”

“Mmh, I don’t need a galaxy of ruined worlds, plenty enough on the planet to enjoy,” Thera told him. “But for now, wanna head back down?”

“Yeah, sure, I guess it’s a good time.”

“And wanna take the quick way?” She asked him, looking playful again but without Ben understanding what she meant until she nodded downwards. “You have an incredible amount of mana now, Ben and the skill to go with it. There’s no reason you couldn’t fly down under your own power.”

…Is that accurate?

When he thought about how much he could do with his magic, the mana and regen rates he held and the skill he wielded it with he realized she was actually almost certainly right, not that it changed his answer.

“Even if I can, trying to learn to fly going down instead of up feels like it might be bad for my long-term survival.”

“Ha, alright, I’ll bring us down but one of these days you should see how far you can take us by cart if you can. Save me the trouble driving for once.”

“Well, let’s wait for my mana to rise just a little more before we get to that point. As the demigod of growth and gain, I’m sure it won’t be long.”

“Gods above, I knew that was going to go to your head,” She told him, shaking hers as she brought them down and taking the pillar she’d pulled up with them. “You aren’t humble enough to be able to handle a title like that.”

“What are you talking about? Not only am I humble, I might be the most humble person on the planet! Why, I deserve titles calling me as much and maybe even a job or two to go with it.”

“Keep dreaming,” She laughed, taking his arm as they touched down. “Now come on, we shouldn’t keep aunty waiting much longer.”

<I’m going to need you first.>

Huh? Myriad, what’s up and is it really so important that it needs to interrupt my first little date in ages?

<Unfortunately, I have no one else I can turn to and you conveniently have your overpowered lover. It’s an emergency Ben, the demidemons are all going to die.>