CH753

When he opened his eyes the next morning, he found Thera already awake beside him, staring at what had been his sleeping face.

“Hey.”

She didn’t say anything at first, watching longer until a small sigh broke free from her lips.

“The gods changed your mind.”

“They did.”

“Really got my hopes up that you might have given up on throwing yourself into danger.”

“Sorry about that, I’m now back to working as hard as I can for the sake of this doomed planet.”

“Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t keep calling it doomed.”

“I don’t know any other good descriptors for it.”

“Mmh, so what now then?”

“Now? I technically wait a bit to see if the gods are going to agree to the deal me and Phixth discussed, if they don’t then I’m back to giving up.”

“Don’t give a girl hope like that. When Anailia spoke to me before it was clear that enough gods managed to see in a day of you doing nothing how valuable you are as a resource. If you already got one to agree with you then I’m sure it will go through.”

“A guy can hope. Now though-”

<ACQUIRED DUNA’S BLESSING>

<ACQUIRED TITLE- ENEMY OF DUNA>

<ACQUIRED JAGAL’S BLESSING>

<BALANCE ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>

“...It looks like they agreed faster than I was expecting. What was that? A few hours?”

<The fact that you’re creating the potential for the third-tiers to become more powerful and the chance to raise the odds of awakening more made for a strong motivator, tied with all of the arguments that happened after you walked out the other day.> Myriad told him. <We’re looking to start in only a few hours too so would you be able to get to the magic towers guild by then? We’re pushing to gather everyone we can so we can start this.>

A few hours? Yeah, I can manage, just going to need to make something first.

“So, it looks like I’m off to help some people finish their jobs.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

“Any chance I could get a hand on the way there before you go off to work?”

“I was supposed to show up in the afternoon a bit later today anyway. What are you doing now then?”

“This is going to be a frequent trip for me from the sounds of it, might as well make it a little shorter.”

---

“Um, what exactly is this?” The guild master of the magic tower’s branch asked when he saw Ben and Thera come into his unusually crowded guild hall holding what by all accounts appeared to be a doorframe.

“Mini gate. I don’t suppose you have a closet or something I can shove this in?”

“Not really and what do you mean by mini gate?”

“Okay, we’ll stick it in your office then, that way it should be safe.”

He’d designed it slightly differently from the rest he’d made, requiring a key to activate it for anyone who wanted to go through but had the benefit of massively shrinking how far he was going to need to travel the next time he wanted to get to that city, cutting out the need to pass through Anailia first.

He didn’t bother explaining more, that guild master knew why he was there and knew that this time the gods were involved. It left the man afraid given he’d stood in Ben’s way before, not that he blamed him. He was following the orders he’d been given by his boss, there was no helping it.

Still, it made things smoother for him as they were led through and Thera, who’d been carrying it with her magic, placed it down.

“Alright, so now that that’s done, just how are we doing things?”

<We had groups made up for you already.> Myriad explained. <They’re numbered but the guild master can lead you through them as you go. There’s multiple for each job you take, you won’t be completing every one through a single party alone so there will be a lot of movement as a result.>

I hope that’s not true of the party with the third-tier I’m joining. Speaking of, I don’t see any.

<We found people just beginning their jobs for the third tier you’re helping and they’ve already joined the adventurer in question. We’ll be getting you to start with the soul mages for the benefits they can provide the world, beginning with Elvat and then Yuzu will be next whenever you finish him. Given that you were able to finish your own soul mage job because of soul source and that your mind skills seem to double as soul skills that saves a few other spots in the party too that we won’t need to fill while we look for potential mind users.>

So all of the experience I’ll be gaining until then will be pulled off through soul source alone, got it. In that case, let’s start.

“Alright, the gods have told me how we’re doing things so lead the way.”

The guild master did as he requested, bringing him to the first party and after only a brief introduction he joined it, making the souls he needed to before he heard the expected notification in the others’ minds, telling him he’d finished that party and let him move onto the next.

It was a total of four more parties he went through before his own job was finished and he noticed a few of the groups he already helped had rearranged themselves into other waiting groups but he didn’t care however they were being sorted. With connect master done, the only thing on his mind was the options he had and just what he was going to take next.

AVAILABLE JOBS

• Trap user

• Craftsman- alchemy path

• Craftsman- artistic path

• Craftsman- blacksmith path

• Craftsman- cooking path

• Craftsman- stonecrafts path

• Craftsman- sewing path

• Mathematician

• High tank

• Divine enchanter

• High marksman

• High destruction mage

• Beginner puppeteer

• Holy adversary

• Title master

• Multiversal material mage

• Outsider 

• Body user

• Slayer

• Judge

• Assassin

• Cycler

• Beginner dancer

• Entrée

• Hive brain

• King of intelligence

• Master of destiny

• Soul creator

• Beneficiary

• God defiling gardener

• Expert

• Master actualizer

• Inclination master

• Abysmal connecter

Huh, two new jobs then.

The fact that only one seemed to be a connect variant was a disappointment when he so badly wanted to raise that skill but there was nothing he could do to change that, instead focusing on what he needed to. He’d fully intended to finish every connect job he could with that run for the bonuses it would give and he’d take it without hesitation, even if his curiosity was piqued by the other new one.

He’d never heard of a master job for inclination skills but given it looked like he’d only gained it after getting three of them, that was the most likely reason. It wasn’t hard to guess at what it would raise either but given both his destruction and evil affinities were growing unreasonably quickly thanks to his world killer bonuses and that his soul affinity was likely to start raising as well now that he’d gotten over the hump that was his awakening, he placed it in his mind as something potentially useful, just not immediately, as he made his choice.

Give me abysmal connecter.

<ACQUIRED JOB- ABYSMAL CONNECTER LV0>

<MAJOR BONUSES GRANTED TO IMPROVING ALL ATTRIBUTES>

<ALL CONNECT AND SACRILEGIOUS SKILLS WILL RECEIVE A MAJOR GROWTH BONUS>

One down.

He got no new skills from it but with how many levels he’d gotten recently he hadn’t been expecting it, just claiming the bonuses was enough for him as he went on, moving through parties again to take the next ones.

Give me master of destiny.

<ACQUIRED JOB- MASTER OF DESTINY LV0>

<MAJOR BONUSES GRANTED TO IMPROVING ALL ATTRIBUTES>

<ALL DESTINED SKILLS WILL RECEIVE A MAJOR GROWTH BONUS>

<ESOTERIC ACTUALIZATION LEVEL INCREASED>

<ACQUIRED SKILL SOUL RESILIENCE LEVEL 0>

Yeah, I’ll take that.

It seemed par for what he’d expected, a job that gave him bonuses to all skills he had a destined holder title for which should have meant it would be giving him connect bonuses as well. What he hadn’t been expecting was the new skill, which would seem to imply that the job was not only giving him bonuses to unawakened skills he was the first to claim but that he might have been the first person to get that new one as well.

If you tie it into the effects of my skill learner title then that may not be surprising but if finishing this is going to give me permanent bonuses to gaining skills that nobody’s gotten before then that in itself is pretty cool. Even cooler to get a skill that sounds like might keep my soul from getting damaged or make it better at repairing itself after. I wonder if having soul affinity helped with that too? It’s not like I’ve actually gained more evil or destructive skills despite those affinities supposedly making it easier but at the same time I’ve only had those skills for around a month and I don’t know if I really want more evil or destructive skills either… Unless they seem useful. Okay, doesn’t matter right now, back to work.

He had two more to take and one more that would obviously help him with his goals so without a second thought, as soon as he was done working through the parties around him he touched his job crystal to make his choice.

Hive brain.

<ACQUIRED JOB- HIVE BRAIN LV0>

<MASSIVE BONUSES GRANTED TO IMPROVING INTELLIGENCE>

<ALL CONNECT SKILLS WILL RECEIVE A MAJOR GROWTH BONUS>

The job before had left him with no advanced variants to pull from, unlike what he’d normally expect from a master job, and with nothing else of interest he finished that last one so he could join his final party, taking the last job on his list that would obviously grant him any connect bonuses.

Divine enchanter.

<ACQUIRED JOB- DIVINE ENCHANTER LEVEL 0>

<MAJOR BONUSES GRANTED TO IMPROVING MANA, MANA RECOVERY, AND INTELLIGENCE>

<ENCHANTING SKILLS WILL RECEIVE A MAJOR GROWTH BONUS>

<ALL OTHER SKILLS WILL RECEIVE A GROWTH BONUS>

<CYCLING LEVEL INCREASED>

Name: Ben Heph

Race: Human

Titles: Apostle of Myriad, The Forgotten One, Miracle Maker, Skill learner, Enemy of Eneth, Trial Defier, Trial Breaker, Godslayer, Monster, Madman, God killer, Threat, The mad apostle, Destined holder of Connect, God of Destruction, Creator of Life, Awakener, Maniac, Brutal Blacksmith, Defier of Gods, Title Holder, Enemy of Olensia, Great Teacher, Student of Helori, Myriad’s Monster, Outsider slayer, Demigod slayer, Transgressor, Destined holder of Mental symbiosis, Destined holder of Alien thought structure, Destined holder of Soul production, Job Holder, Destined holder of Actualization, Enemy of Duna

Jobs: Divine enchanter (lv 0)

Previous Jobs: Apprentice craftsman, Craftsman, Priest, Enchanter, Mind user, Magic item maker, Magic weapon maker, High enchanter, Fractured mind user, Tree tamer, High craftsman, Apprentice mage, True mage, Tank, Heretic, Adventurer, Divine heretic, Kin, Master craftsman, Master enchanter, Scholar, Connected enchanter, Infernal craftsman, Marksman, Destruction mage, Material mage, High material mage, Profane enchanter, Master material mage, Impious creator, Mind master, Master adventurer, Otherworldly craftsman, Material creator, Master of all, Ritual enchanter, Holy craftsman, Cursed item maker, Actualizer, Summoned enchanter, Destructive craftsman, Soul mage, Freak mind user, Unholy thinker, Polymath, Alien mind, Soul user, Soul master, Evil soul user, Soul defiling gardener, High actualizer, World killer, Connect master, Abysmal connecter, Master of destiny, Hive brain

Attributes:

• Vitality: 2827

• Vitality recovery rate: 67/hr

• Mana: 5282

• Mana recovery rate: 437/min

• Strength: 2293

• Agility: 621

• Stamina: 4985

• Intelligence: 19710

Affinities:

• Light: 3

• Life: 2

• Fire: 4

• Water: 3

• Air: 4

• Earth: 2

• Death: 3

• Dark: 1

• Space: 4

• Time: 5

Resistances:

• Light: 68

• Life: 72

• Fire: 75

• Water: 69

• Air: 66

• Earth: 81

• Death: 78

• Dark: 85

• Space: 63

• Time: 61
  

Blessed skills:

• Unending crafting lv8*

• Divine enchanting lv8*

• Unnatural mind lv9*
  

Passive skills: 

• King of sacrilege lv9*

• Bind

• Integrated demonic body lv9

• Defense enhancement lv9

• Absorption resistance lv9

• Knowledge lv9*

• All affinity resistance enhancement lv9

• Unnatural inspiration lv6*

• Bite enhancement lv7

• Piercing resistance lv9

• Artisan’s touch

• Unnatural intelligence enhancement lv3*

• Reconstructed alien thought structure*

• Blood regeneration lv4 

• Extraction enhancement lv9

• Soul affinity lv0*

• Modifier compatibility

• Material sense lv9

• Flavour enhancement lv2

• Ill intent lv3*

• Balance enhancement lv4

• Soul expansion lv5

• Defiler of ambrosia

• Destruction affinity lv4*

• Evil affinity lv4*

• Soul resilience lv0

Active skills: 

• Stealth lv2

• Deep connection lv8*

• Cycling lv2

• Marksmanship lv9

• Material manipulation lv8*

• Swimming lv2

• Dance lv1

• Unnatural thought speed lv9*

• Hive mind lv5*

• Rule bender lv1

• Aim lv8

• Esoteric actualization lv4*

• Soul source lv3*

• Lucid dreaming

Blessings:

• Myriad’s Blessing

• Anailia’s Blessing

• Helori’s Blessing

• Galwax’s Blessing

• Elvat’s mana regeneration Blessing

• Eneth’s Blessing

• Earth Pantheon’s Blessing

• Life Pantheon’s Blessing

• Dark Pantheon’s Blessing

• Olensia’s Blessing

• Nare’s Blessing

• Yuzu’s mana regeneration Blessing

• Witness of Chaos

• Oaun’s Blessing

• Phixth’s Blessing

• Passive Pantheon’s Blessing

• Duna’s Blessing

• Jagal’s Blessing

Trials:

• Trial of Anailia and Tolona

• Trial of the Dead God

• Earth Tower

• Life Tower

• Dark Tower

Not the most immediately useful level in the world but whatever, I’ll take it.

Since connect was at least partially classified as an enchanting skill, that meant it would be getting bonuses but from there he was done. No more second-tier crafting or mind jobs, no more enchanting jobs in general, and no more connect jobs. Almost everything else he had was either first-tier or a mystery to him, making whatever he’d have left to pick the next time significantly harder.

But that’s a future problem I guess. Now that I’ve got this last job, all that’s left is to raise it.

Author’s note

Almost didn’t put the status because there hasn’t been much change between now and the last time it showed up in ch741 and because that would mean doing the math for how much Ben would grow in what would be, in universe, only like three days, but then I figured that hey, maybe someone wants to see how fast he grows in only a matter of days now, it could happen and I kind of just assume that people who aren’t interested in status pages just skip over them so this one is for you, reader who’s into these details! I hope you enjoyed it!