CH230

I still can’t believe that when you first recommended that I get Falk as my teacher, it was because you asked a crafting god to tell you about the best smith in the area. Ben couldn’t help but complain to his god again after throwing some ground-up food and medicine around in the early hours of the morning before making his way back to Falk and Thera once he was done.

<What do you want from me? I’m not a crafting god, of course I had to ask someone for advice when I recommended him. It worked out for you, didn’t it?>

Huuh, I mean, yes but I sure do want to know more now. Are you sure you can’t just tell me a little about his status? When he’d questioned his teacher about exactly what he saw he was basically brushed off, being told that he’d already figured out that he had awakened skills so what more was there to know? That was ignoring the fact that not only was it obvious the yeti could consistently make ultra-rare items, something that supposedly only happened once or twice every few hundred years, but it was possible he could consistently make legendary ones too if he truly put himself into it, a level of skill that was seen every millennium. It was always possible he’d gotten lucky with that one success, but Ben doubted that.

Asking about it a bit after, based on what his teacher told him it was almost impossible to break into ultra-rare with an item that wasn’t enchanted to help add to its quality, that being the sort of thing only third-tier skill holders might be capable of. That did put a cap of sorts on how high a level his teacher could be, but that wasn’t saying much.

<Looking into a mortal’s soul isn’t as easy for gods as looking into minds is you know. You remember what I had to do to get a better look at yours?>

Ugh, don’t remind me. I guess I’m not so curious that I want my teacher being eaten.

<I wouldn’t be eating him! I didn’t eat you, did I?>

I actually can’t say for sure, the moment your body opened up my brain sort of just shut down. Maybe you coughed me back up after?

<I didn’t eat you! What are you going to do if people start thinking I do that?>

I don’t know, you seem pretty content to slander me to your other believers based on what I saw when I met them; but relax, you know I won’t.

<Yeah yeah, so I can’t tell you anything about your teacher. If you want to know so bad I’d say find someone with an awakened analysis skill and ask them to check for you, but I think you should respect his privacy on the matter. He’s treated you well, you shouldn’t pry.>

I know, I know, you’re absolutely right, the curiosity is just killing me is all. What’s he doing in Stonewall if he’s so good? For that matter, what sorts of clients does he have that could afford to drag him out of town for months at a time? No wonder he can afford to have the shop closed for so long, it must basically just be a hobby for him. I bet he’s loaded!

He kept complaining to his god for the entire walk back through the seaside town, longing to know more than his teacher wanted to tell, until he made it back to Thera and that very yeti as they waited for him, his statue loaded in the cart with the ladder he’d be needing as well for placing it.

“Finished up whatever you needed to do?” Thera asked, curious about why he’d gone off alone instead of just placing his statue and being done with it. Her experience there left her no love for the town so she was looking forward to getting home again, planning to put far more speed into that goal than either Ben or her uncle would like.

“Basically. Let’s just wait an hour and then I’ll set it up and we can go.”

“Ugh, why though? Any time I asked uncle he’d just laugh. Come on, what’s going on?”

“Ha, let’s just say the church of Eneth messed up extremely bad with how they decided to treat me. You’ll see when I put it up, it will be worth it.”

They got to the church soon after that, the priests were only beginning to move as he had Thera park her carriage directly in front of the statue of Eneth, making it clear just what a mess had been made of it.

“Oh gods Ben, was this what you were doing?” She asked, sounding one part shocked and the other part amused. It seemed that someone had almost deliberately attacked the statue, having flung a ground-up feed that would bring a local species of bird to it in droves, while at the same time lacing it with a laxative, leading to predictably explosive results. It looked almost painted, and the smell would be lingering until it was thoroughly cleaned. “I don’t think you should be going out of your way to get any more levels of sacrilege.”

“Relax, there’s no way I get another one from this,” Mostly because I just got one the other day. “Anyway, we just need to get to the main reason I’m here and then we can leave, so without further ado…”

He quickly stood up the ladder he made before going for the statue. Normally its weight would have been impossible for him. An almost cubic meter of metal and other materials piled together, the idea that he could move something like that under his own strength was outrageous. Even with how much stronger he’d grown in the last couple years working at the forge, there was a limit to what could be done. At least, so long as tools weren’t involved.

Calling them tools was probably too generous even, at least from his point of view. All he’d done was set his remaining rainbow and white mana crystal into some moribusial and placed it on top of the statue, aiming it so that the mana would flow directly into the sindian that made up all but the statues base to provoke its magical effect.

Even then it still wasn’t exactly light, but by exerting himself he was able to walk it up the ladder on shaking legs, constructing the enchantment that would replace the dummy one he set up as soon as it was in position.

It was as he reached the top and held it out above the statue of Eneth that the church doors flew open as Felth all but flew out screaming. “What in the infinite hells do you think you’re doing!”

If he wanted to stop him though, it was too late, not that Ben would have stopped anyway thanks to what they’d agreed upon. As the words left the other apostle’s mouth, Ben’s barrier enchantment was complete. As clear magic walls fell down from the base of the cube, suspending it in the air, it also trapped the statue of Eneth within, leaving it in its current state for all to see.

<SACRILEGE LEVEL INCREASED>

<ACQUIRED TITLE- ENEMY OF ENETH>

“Really?” He asked as he looked to the sky. “This is what made me your enemy, placing a statue? I almost killed your son.”

He got no answer, not that he was expecting one, but a small part of him couldn’t help but pity the demigod given the sudden turn of events. Despite that though, he didn’t need to guess too much at what a title that named him the enemy of a god would grant bonuses to, he was just surprised that the system awarded it to him first.

Really, isn’t sacrilege a little too easy to level up?

<No! Unfortunately, you just seem to be a natural talent at it!>

Ah shucks Myriad, you’re going to make me blush.

<That wasn’t a compliment!>

Ha, it’s fine. It’s a little surprising to get another so soon, but it’s not like we didn’t know it was a possibility. Honestly surprised I didn’t get it as soon as I made it really, given I turned a statue of you into a weapon after all.

From the get-go, the statue had been made with revenge in mind. He had built it to be as expensive as possible for when it was time to replace it, something he had no doubt in his mind would come to pass, as well as to deal as much damage as it could to the surrounding area, the barrier enchantment on the interior was designed to release if a certain trigger occurred and dump all of the mana from the crystal into the pondus, raising its weight to tremendous levels and wreaking unspeakable destruction. He couldn’t help but admire his work, even as he let most of his minds focus on the yelling apostle and priests behind him at the foot of his ladder.

“In all that’s good. What is this? The agreement was a statue, not hanging a brick over the head of my god!”

Ben couldn’t help but smile again as he walked down the ladder after removing the two crystals he used to reduce the statue’s weight. It was as he stood toe to toe with the enraged man that he let himself act out in the face of his seething, slapping Felth across the face.

“What-”

“Shut up,” Ben told him, still wearing a grin and seeming to scare the other apostle as he remembered seeing that very expression when he got himself into this mess. “I knew you were shameless, but I’d never have imagined you’d break your agreement as soon as I got here. An agreement you swore to in the name of your god for that matter.”

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“What are you talking about?”

“Calling the divine form of Myriad a brick? You swore that you would treat it with the level of dignity and respect as if it was your own god, and to only talk about it in a positive light, but that’s the first thing you say? Or is that just how little respect you have for your own god in that case? Honestly, if this is how you’re acting immediately then isn’t our agreement not to push the issue of punishment for you and Eneth already void?”

It was important for him to show a strong front, he needed not only Felth, but his entire church to know that they were at fault and that such things would not be tolerated. Now that their god had gone so far as to decide he was their enemy, he’d be sure to treat them as such.

<You’re uncomfortably good at being evil when you want to be you know.>

May I remind you he tried to kill me? Considering how often that seems to happen and the fact that this is the first time I’ve actually gotten to do anything about it, let me work out a little stress.

“Wait,” Felth began to beg, immediately understanding his mistake.”Nobody would think that’s a statue of a god, I didn’t know-”