Chaotic Craftsman Worships The Cube

“Er, Ben? My guy, what exactly are you doing to my wife?” Jake asked as his eyes glanced between him and the fabric Yuzu was already untying.

“Trying to keep all of my little secrets from being shouted to the world is all, which I personally don’t think is too unreasonable. Even if there’s not many people around, there’s enough that things might become a pain for me if she just screams it out like that, willy-nilly.”

“Mmh, sorry,” Yuzu told him once freed. “I guess this can wait, but I want answers. You, you’re… Ugh, how!”

“All things in due time, but for now, you mind helping with my very sore, very stretched-out soul?”

That request forced her to look at him deeper than the surface-level system information and past all of the souls around him, making her gasp as she did before rushing over.

“How did you even do this?”

“It’s a long story. If we head to somewhere marginally more private then I’ll fill you in.”

Seeming to have no patience when it came to getting the answer she wanted, Yuzu practically dragged him and Thera along, healing Ben the best she could as she did while Jake and Amy followed along with anticipation and confusion, both wondering what could have gotten such a big response from the young soul mage and not getting an answer until they arrived at Elvat’s home, with the merman’s head poking above the water locking into Ben the way Yuzu’s had as he looked like he wanted to shake him the way his apprentice was so prone to while they both shouted out questions.

“What are you doing?”

“Wait, he’s a soul mage?” Elvat asked, looking beyond the souls Ben was creating to the deeper information within his status. “How? No, it’s either because of soul production or soul expansion from the looks of it, but those are both tier-one skills, how does that make sense, but… Soul production. That’s what’s letting you create all of the souls around you. Gods above, it’s like you gained a third-tier skill at the first tier, no wonder you got that job, are you materializing them?”

“Good eye, I am.”

“I can’t believe something like that is possible…”

“Um, would it be possible for the rest of us to get clued in?” Jake asked as he and Amy both looked equally lost. “What the heck is going on to get you guys like this? And Ben’s a soul mage?”

“Ah, well I’ve had a hell of a month so if our wonderful Elvat and Yuzu would both be willing to help heal my poor, tortured soul I’d be happy to give the full story.”

Just as his student had, Elvat looked closer at Ben after he’d said that, seeing the injuries that lied within.

“Goodness, how did you… No, just come here so we can start healing you and give the explanation as we do.”

It was obvious everything the two soul mages were seeing in him had caught them off guard but they did their best to heal him as he once more explained all that he’d been through in the last month, ending the story quickly enough given how many times he’d already been forced to repeat it, with reactions not changing much by the end.

“Wait, so how many souls have you created since you got that skill?” Yuzu asked him.

“Rough estimate? About three hundred million,” He told them, rolling his shoulders and feeling significantly better after that round of healing and repair. “I was doing it constantly without rest and was always pulling more and more mana into me to do it. It kept me busy.”

“I feel like there’s some horrifying theological implications to that,” Amy muttered and was otherwise ignored while Elvat spoke up, sounding thoughtful.

“Well, that would explain how you managed to get through the job so fast. After having it for years, I’m not even halfway myself. I can’t deny a bit of jealousy when you're going to be done in, oh, from the looks of it, a few minutes.”

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“Wait, you’re that far from finishing it?”

“Ha, Ben, I don’t believe you properly understand just how big of a deal the jobs unlocked with third-tier skills are so think of it this way, if you average it out, each level you gained had to have taken you roughly three million souls to acquire.”

“...Well when you put it that way, yeah, it’s a lot.”

“It’s the price of acquiring something that is the equivalent of a tower blessing for the aspects it raises.”

“Wait, is that how good massive bonuses are?”

“It is, with the cost to finish it reflected in that price. Seeing firsthand how much you acquired after taking it, can you really disagree?”

He couldn’t. All of the levels and skills he’d gotten just by taking the job were undeniable, knowing that it was all equivalent to what he’d gotten from completing a tower only made it more so and left him to re-evaluate just how he wanted to approach his future job options from there, feeling plans shifting in his head as he went on with their talk.

“Alright, well thanks for that piece of info but getting my soul fixed and catching up wasn’t the only thing I wanted to talk about. I was hoping you guys would have some idea on how I could awaken my soul production too.”

“How would we possibly know that?” Yuzu asked, her eyes still glued to all of the souls coming into existence around him. “The fact that you haven’t managed it when you’ve made so many doesn’t really give many options.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Her teacher countered. “Have you tried creating souls with the traits you’d see when they awaken, Ben?”

“I have and I can’t.”

It was something he’d at least put some effort into when he’d been trapped, experimenting even at the ninth level of his skill to see what he could do and as a way to pass the time, but whatever changes a soul went through when they awakened was a limit he couldn’t currently touch, with Elvat nodding as if that was what he’d expected.

“Of course, I suppose that would be obvious to try so I have a different suggestion instead. You might try to create a more unusual unawakened soul.”

“Unusual how? I’ve experimented plenty but not much really seemed to do it.”

“I’m sure, but there are a few on this world whose souls take on a slightly different nature. Namely, those few on the planet with a beastform skill. It’s not necessarily something I could do today but I should be able to find someone with a soul like that for you to examine if that’s something you need.”

Beastform skill, huh? Oh Elvat, you bright, handsome genius you. That is a very good idea.

He not only knew that holders of the skill had souls that were amalgamations brought forth from an ancient soul mage of a long-lost world, but he also personally knew one, making things significantly easier for himself.

“That might not be necessary, give me just one second. Myriad, I know you’re working but do me a favour please.”

“Sachel and Ralia should still be near their point doing clean up, right? Can you send them through the gate to Allfaith for me as a favour? And I guess Skoe can come too if he wants to. Tell them it’s important.”

Is that all?

“Maybe one more thing. One second first. Hey guys, Any chance you all remember a conversation we had a while ago? You must have finished your current jobs in the last wave, any chance either of you took the adventurer one?”

It was the reason he’d dragged Thera along too but if they hadn’t he wasn’t going to hold it against them if they’d forgotten. With how insane things had to have been for them during the second wave, he wasn’t going to hold it against them if they hadn’t thought about it or chosen different priorities, but the smug look on Jake’s face told him all he needed to know.

“Of course, you promised us some easy power, you think I wasn’t going to take it?”

“Awesome, in that case, what level are you at?”

“Right now? Two.”

“I’m sorry, two? How could you possibly be only at two?”

That actually worked out incredibly well, all things considered, he just struggled to understand how it could be that low with all the fighting they had to have been doing, with Amy giving him the answer.

“Having Yuzu in our party slowed down our leveling pretty significantly, you were literally just telling us how hard jobs like that are supposed to be to raise.”

“Okay, true, that makes sense. In that case, sorry Yuzu but I need Jake to kick you right now, you’re already plenty strong and I won’t be able to help you speed-level like I can the rest. We can however add two more without her so Myriad, for my last little favour of the day, talk to Steph and Will’s god to have them sent my way and we’ll do some insane cheesing for this system, just you watch.”

“You’re the best.”

Being able to do things that way meant he’d be able to finish even more jobs than he’d originally hoped that day as well as help others along with him, with the only thing that was really going to matter being how many he’d get in the end, a question he was eager to answer as he focused on making souls from there, all to finish the little bit he had left.

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