CH809

The other four didn’t understand what was going on throughout Ben’s battle. The real one had been on the defensive the entire time while the fake was repeatedly asking him to just kill it already but with Ben’s proposal, everything changed. Both attacks and defenses stopped, all acts of magic did as they looked to each other in silence, all communication by that point happening in their heads in order to properly transmit the flood of ideas needed to make the original’s goal possible but ending after a handful of minutes of real-time when compared against the speeds both of them would perceive the world.

“Gotta say, this is kind of exciting,” The real Ben said. “Not often I get to do something like this, I really feel like the Apostle of Myriad right now.”

“You sure though? Even if it works, which we both know is unlikely, this is going to limit one of two shots you have that would be better spent after getting to the third tier.”

“I’m hopeful the benefits of doing something like this are going to outweigh the drawbacks, and besides, I still have months to go. If the payoff isn’t worth the effort then I’ll figure out a way of safely getting a third time, it might even be as easy as getting Yuzu and Elvat’s help.”

“True.In that case, I’m still right in what I said before though. Let’s get started and if it fails, well, just give in and kill me.”

“Yeah, won’t really have any other choice by then, will I? Still, I’m confident.”

His copy laughed. “You know what? Same. Now let’s do this already.”

Both reaching out, real and fake alike, the two took each other’s hands while Ben stretched out with connect as far as he could go, feeling both the mind his replica held and the mana that made up its body, same as he’d feel any time he created a resistance brace and acting as one, the two began their unnatural act of ritual magic, melding the powers one had and the power the other couldn’t quite grasp as material manipulation was used to make up for any shortcomings of the fake while mana was expertly controlled and moved.

One Ben could already change the world but two of them? Anything was possible in that moment as all of the knowledge he’d worked towards in his time on the world was used, mana turning to essence and capturing the form of the replica in its entirety, the replica participating in the ritual to convert its own body into the ethereal substance as well, binding it to the true Ben in a way that combined the two as the fake was giving a soul and directly incorporated into the original, going beyond his experimentation with the demons and leaving him alone on the stage with its success to take in all of the changes that had come with what they’d accomplished.

<ACQUIRED SKILL FALSE BEN>

<SOUL SOURCE LEVEL INCREASED>

<SOUL AFFINITY LEVEL INCREASED>

<SOUL RESILIENCE LEVEL INCREASED>

<UNNATURAL INSPIRATION LEVEL INCREASED>

<UNNATURAL INTELLIGENCE ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>

<HIVE MIND LEVEL INCREASED>

Levels raised, more than he’d honestly expected but that had been what he’d been looking for from the start. He’d gotten a few the last time he’d been merged with a copy of himself as well but everything he’d just claimed had been on a different scale, although more interesting was the change that had come without its equivalent notification to back it up.

His maximum thought speed had just increased and there were hundreds of new minds in his head, both changes that felt like the equivalent of any time he’d leveled his unnatural mind and thought speed in the past but at the current maximum, the only way that they should have been growing more was if they were awakening, something that had clearly not happened no matter how much he would have welcomed it.

But I guess I can chalk that up to being part of the effects of false Ben then.

The skill the modification he’d made to his soul had been listed as, there was less pain to it than he’d been expecting after what he’d inflicted on the demons but it still hurt, likely would for a few more days but that wasn’t a concern. What mattered was his success and all that had come from it.

His minds were strengthened but more than that, he’d acquired the memories of what his copy and all the others before it had been through as they were forced to improve to create a challenge for him, the experience it had gained in the process becoming his own as well in a way he’d need to look at more closely later, leaving the last change that needed to be examined hidden in his card as he pulled it out to take a look at what had happened to his attributes.

With results being positive, arguably better than he’d expected going into it. They’d all grown by just shy of ten percent, telling him that soul modifications he made on himself would be equivalent to what he’d get from the buff bracelets he’d made instead of only the five percent he would see in both cases when used on others, with the benefit that three were above what he’d originally expected to be their upper limits.

Both his mana and its recovery rate were closer to a fifteen percent growth, likely due to the unusual process managing to catch some of the power the tower had been providing his duplicate, at least that was what he was telling himself, while his intelligence was closer to twenty with all of the new minds added to his head. A fantastic haul if not for the trade-off that had come with it.

Ben knew he could safely modify his own soul two times based on the experiments he’d run on the demons and he’d just used one up. The levels he’d just claimed for it had been nice, but would they be worth the potential he’d just lost? If he’d waited until after he’d awakened the skills he’d wanted to the third tier then the attributes he would have claimed for himself through that would have been incomparable to what he’d just gotten, now he only had the one shot to do it.

…Yeah, I’m okay with this.

Perhaps it was a worse choice in the long run, he couldn’t know for sure but he didn’t regret his decision. He’d been in the mind of his copy and seen himself. He couldn’t imagine condemning his other to oblivion without even trying and no matter what might come of it in the long run, he would make it work and with the tower finally over, it was time to get their rewards.

The rest of his group walked over, all but Thera still looking sore despite what bit of healing she and Vasta had been able to manage with their non-affinitied magic and all of them looked confused on top of that. From their perspective, he’d somehow made peace with his replica and after holding hands for a bit it had vanished, ending that final section.

“Ben, my guy, don’t tell me we were actually supposed to find a peaceful solution,” Jake asked him, still sounding worn out as he nursed his ribs. “Cause that really would have been just so, so much nicer.”

“Ah, no, that wasn’t really an option for you guys, don’t worry.”

“How is it that you always manage to get along with every version of yourself you meet?” Thera wanted to know, shaking her head. “You’re way too good at it by this point.”

“Eh, what can I say, I’m full of self-love.”

“Well-” Vasta started, about to ask what exactly had happened but losing her chance. With the trial over it was time to get their rewards and that meant one thing in particular. A god was coming to greet them.

But not one Ben recognized. The one who would appear was meant to be a god that represented their particular tower and none of the ones he knew fit the bill, leaving them with an unfamiliar deity he could only describe as cute.

Taking a smaller appearance than any of them, its form resembled what he would compare to a winged hedgehog. An extra set of eyes on it, sure, but it would have fit in with any of the wildlife on the planet as the rest felt its divinity and prostrated immediately, leaving him alone to stand.

“Excellent work, all of you. You’ve taken on the trial and you’ve come out on top no matter the hiccups along the way-”

“Does my heart count as a hiccup?” Ben asked, the god making the choice to not look at him as it answered.

“I’ll politely ask you to take that up with Nare when you see him next, I played no part in helping design that particular floor. And of course, we’ll heal all of your wounds before you get out but based on what we’d heard, can I assume you’d like to leave that one?”

“...Yeah, I still wanna try something.”

“I look forward to seeing just what,” It laughed before the mana around them grew dense and the others’ injuries were treated, with some of the aches Ben had accumulated through all of that leaving him as well.

He gave it a nod that it returned before flying down, taking its place on Vasta’s shoulder.

“It’s good to finally have you here Vasta, we’ve been waiting.”

“Osotasano, it’s a pleasure to finally be here. No matter how lacking, I hope my performance has made you proud.”

“You always do and now it’s time you claim the benefits for your efforts. I know one among you prefers to get their blessings first so let’s start with that.”

“One thing,” Ben cut in before any notifications could ring out. “We’re going to need just a quick pause in between that and the level so don’t do the next one immediately.”

“...May I ask why?”

“My continued attempts to try and help this doomed planet.”

“...Very well, in that case, let's give you what you all deserve first then.”

<COMPLETED THE NON-AFFINITIED TOWER>

<ACQUIRED NON-AFFINITIED PANTHEON’S BLESSING>

<EVIL AFFINITY LEVEL INCREASED>

<DESTRUCTION AFFINITY LEVEL INCREASED>

<DEFENSE INCLINATION LEVEL INCREASED>

<BITE ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>

<ILL INTENT LEVEL INCREASED>

<BALANCE ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>

<ESOTERIC ACTUALIZATION LEVEL INCREASED>

<MATERIAL MANIPULATION LEVEL INCREASED>

He felt his eyes light up at the final notification in particular, it signaling that he’d just become a contender for one of his magics and was about to become one for another soon enough, having only one thing left to try as he looked to Thera.

The blessing had been enough to get her levels in her dark magic, magic affinity, and mana enhancement, as well as both her life and dark sense and her mana empowering. All great skills for her to get levels in, leaving him to only see if he might get her one more.

“Alright Thera, remember what I mentioned before?”

“That you’re going to try to somehow get me one more level to my non-affinitied magic in the very last possible minute?”

“Bingo, you ready?”

She looked at him for a moment, waiting for something a bit more that might give away just how he intended to do that but, seeing he didn’t understand the need to be forthcoming himself, eventually just gave in.

“Okay, sure, what should I do then?”

“Put up with me being all up in your mind and prepare to materialize.”

When he’d first helped her awaken that particular magic, he’d gotten her to materialize water but that was structurally simple. Something he was sure anyone could pull off with a bit of practice so he instead had her attempt something far more complex, giving her the same structure he’d given the plant mages of the world as he provided all she’d need to materialize a seed, leaving her to only provide structure to her mana to make it possible as she focused, straining herself under her efforts and the feeling of his mind on top of it, giving shape to power in a way he hadn’t expected.

Ben had known from the beginning there was a chance it wouldn’t work. When Thera tried to materialize she’d typically make more than she intended, a lingering effect of her massive mana pool and the control she’d struggled for so long to manage and there was always a chance the same thing would happen there, with the only issue being that making too many of all of the atoms she was creating would mean she wasn’t actually making the complex structure that was a seed.

That wasn’t what happened though. It was clear she’d succeeded, he could tell from the notification ringing in her head and the end product he saw, but what she’d made wasn’t one seed either. It was thousands of them, all created at once and all matching the schematic he’d provided, left falling to the ground while she was left with a subtle golden blush touching her cheeks, embarrassed despite her success from the mess she’d left around while he left her mind and focused back in on the small god.

“Alright, and now we’re officially good to get our levels if you don’t mind. I’m raising my divine enchanting.”

<DIVINE ENCHANTING LEVEL INCREASED>

And with that, I am officially a contender for six skills. I’m on my way.

He heard the others request their rewards as well, the three mages claiming their levels and Amy getting her augmentation and with that, they were done, the god giving them one final nod.

“I hope you all continue to devote your efforts to the world. You’ve worked hard, continue making us proud.”

He faded with that, leaving them to make their own way out as Ben took one more look at the group, smiling brightly as he did.

“Sooo,” He began, feeling all of their eyes on him. “Who wants to come see me getting a new heart?”