CH777

He was curious enough that he really did want to broach the topic as the day ended but not so curious that he did. Children needed to be allowed their privacy, same as any adult. If Mora didn’t want to mention it then both he and Thera would wait until he was more comfortable to say anything, pushing that conversation further into the future, even if Ben still tried to make it clear that what happened was a good thing.

“Now that’s what I call a great day,” He said happily. “More awakened healers means more people surviving their injuries, getting four on top of all of those other levels in the end couldn’t have turned out better.”

“It also means my workload might finally decrease a bit,” Thera agreed, not knowing what Ben was doing but not needing to to be just as happy. Four extra awakened healers wouldn’t exactly eliminate her workload but it would undeniably shrink it, with more patients being sent to their own hospitals rather than having so many funneled to where she gave the majority of her time.

“And with that done-”

<Ben.>

Hmm, what’s up?

<Vasta is free right now, you can find her in the library if you still need her.>

Oh sweet, thanks.

“Ahem, with that done, I’m going to need to break off from you guys for a bit. Sorry Thera, would you be able to walk Delair back?”

“Sure, but what’s up?”

“Looks like I can finally bother someone about a tower.”

---

“So Ben, what do I owe the pleasure?” The non-affinitied mage asked as he met her, sounding happy and personable and altogether still pleased with the bit of help he’d given her the last time. He had managed to speed up her own job as he worked his way through world killer, helping her to finish it in the end and let her move on to something new for all the bonuses that would come with it. “It’s not every day a god tells me you’ve been looking for me.”

“Just hoping to get some advice. I’ve recently found out about how few people take on the non-affinitied tower and I was wondering if you and Jake and the rest have challenged it yet.”

“I haven’t yet.”

Darn.

Even if that was the most likely answer, it was still a disappointment. It meant there was no point in digging through her thoughts to see what any of the potential floors held and it was clear it wasn’t what he’d wanted to hear, even if he didn’t let that stop him. That might not have been the answer he’d been looking for but that didn’t mean there wasn’t more to ask.

“In that case, do you have anyone you’d know who might be interested in challenging it? Maybe either of the other two non-affinitied mages if you don’t plan on taking them for your own attempt or anyone who might hold a handful of the more specialized options at decent levels?”

“...Ben, when are you planning on taking it on?”

“The sooner the better but I don’t mind waiting a couple weeks if you’d know anyone who’d be up to join us if they just need a bit of time.”

His best idea was still just to grab either Glob or that grey’s teacher but having someone with only a barrier magic didn’t feel like the best use of a spot. Not a bad one of course, but when he had no way of knowing what he was going to walk into, he wanted as much flexibility as possible instead of entirely relying on Thera’s power again if he could help it.

I guess we do have the one wraith on the world now too but I’m not exactly sure about asking someone who’s been a prisoner for who knows how long to risk their life when they won’t be able to enjoy any of the benefits they might get for that.

Blessings were meaningless for mana-base life when it seemed a universal fact that they couldn’t grow and there’d be no levels to be gained for them taking it on either. If they were going to challenge it with others, no matter how much easier or harder it could be for the fact, he wanted to bring people who could actually benefit from it.

With Vasta giving him an unexpected offer to match his requirements beyond any of his hopes as she answered. “If you have three spots free then I’ll make you a deal instead. As you know, we unfortunately have some rather high hopes for Jake despite how unfocused he can be.”

“I mean, even if he can be a bit all over the place he does have some sense of duty when it comes to helping the world.”

“Which is meaningless in the face of his more distractible nature, but that’s neither here nor there. I have taught him to the best of my abilities and he’s learned numerous spells under me, even if he was kicking and screaming the entire way, but despite my position as the non-affinitied mage, there are still aspects of the magic I’m not personally proficient in so here’s what I’d like to propose. I know it’s a lot to hope for but if you’d train him and manage to force a level out of him in the next few weeks, he, myself, and Amy will accompany you to take on the tower.”

“What, are you sure?”

“You and Thera were both already in our consideration for asking, we just intended to do it a few months from now instead which is why I’m placing getting Jake a level as a condition. Even if he’s already exceeded our expectations with what he’s gained in the time he’s been training, in no small part thanks to the help you’ve already given him, we want to do our best to get him to gain just one more level before challenging the tower for it. If you don’t think you can however, I’ll be fine with trying to help you find some others who might assist you.”

“No, I’ll do it, I was more meaning are you sure you’re okay with taking me and Thera? I know they wouldn’t actually get much from it beyond the blessing but what about Uliel and Yuzu?”

As far as he knew, Yuzu had been carried through most of the towers with them to get her the blessings so she could grow her power and Vasta herself had been carried as well, having nothing to contribute to the fourth and fifth floors of every tower she’d joined until that point, being brought along to gain the blessings to help raise her own difficult magic.

It was a question she chuckled at though, shaking her head as she answered. “Yuzu is officially too important and it’s too late to be worrying about raising her attributes anymore when everything’s already come to a head and as for Uliel, well, as incredibly jealous as she is about not getting to enjoy the same help I have, she does understand the difference in difficulty between our two skills and the potential danger of this tower. With the third wave on the way, it makes the most sense to take another non-affinitied mage and even if you don’t have the general skill, you’ve more than proven your worth when it comes to the talent you wield your magics with.”

“Okay, sounds like a plan and a half. In that case, send Jake to the magic tower’s guild tomorrow and tell him to go to the guild master’s office and I’ll look after him. Will Yuzu be coming too? I can do my best to put the guy through hell to get him that level but having her there as well would help a bunch.”

“He is her pet project, trying to raise him up is enough of a priority that you can expect her to stick with him until he’s in the tower. Do whatever you need to to train him in the time you have him, you won’t hear a peep from me and if he levels his skill sooner than expected we can move up our date to take on the tower if you’re feeling rushed.”

“Okay, sounds like a plan. In that case Vasta, hope you look forward to the results.”

And Jake, you get my heartfelt sympathy for what I’m about to put you through in the name of said results.