CH272

“Holy shit! Did you just awaken a skill?” Greed called out as he saw Ben’s body flash with light as it flooded with mana.

“Yeah, and it’s a sick joke,” He told the crab, feeling all the more annoyed for it. He’d have to test the difference for his enchanting skill, he was sure it would have improved leaps and bounds above what he’d just done, but that was meaningless in the face of what he was seeing. With the incredible increase to everything that came with improving his skill, he also had an increase to his mana sense unlike with any other level up. “Honestly, saying I have divine enchanting is just bullying at this point. There’s no way I can enchant like that.”

He tested it out too, trying to make a simple enchantment on his clothing that would do nothing, just to see the overall quality change of his skill, and if it weren’t for the improvements to his mana sense he would have been more than satisfied. His enchanting still wasn’t as good as what he’d originally seen from the trial, but he actually wasn’t far off. A couple of levels and he was sure he’d reach what the god who’d made the trial had done.

That was until his sense had improved and showed the enchantment to a whole other level. Along each ring, there seemed to be some non-affinitied mana binding each one. He could only assume it was strengthening it, but he didn’t know if it had any other effects. All he really knew was that he doubted he’d be able to do anything like it without being on the edge of the third tier, maybe even needing it to be a third-tier skill. He could only shake his head in frustration, all the more so for the way his enchanting had awakened.

The skill had absorbed enchanting knowledge, but it didn’t take connect like he thought it would. He’d have to test it out to be sure, but he was certain that meant he wouldn’t be able to enchant with awakened skills like he’d hoped, though he at least had Greed around to test that concern out.

Greed though had a different immediate thought. “Wait, are you seriously saying your skill is called divine enchanting? You didn’t just awaken to the third tier, did you?”

“No, second tier. Why?”

“Legs, the name your skill changes into matters. I’ve never once heard of a second-tier skill with the word divine added to it, only third-tier ones. The system is basically saying your enchanting is good enough to be considered akin to a gods.”

He could only laugh as the crab said it. “I think the system just has a bit of a sense of humour then. I’ve got a long way to go. Anyway, give me a minute, I’ve got a lot to think about.”

An awakened skill, a title, two new skills, one of which he was already feeling the changes from, and his job complete. There was a lot to think about and consider. He knew he’d be exploring the awakened skill in detail soon enough, and he could only hope that the title did something useful for him, so he focused on the two new skills.

He couldn’t be certain, but he thought that mental expansion felt akin to both parallel thought and complex mind in the extent it had just changed things in his head. If complex mind gave him more strands of thought that would arrange themselves into new minds in his head and parallel thought strengthened those strands, then he got the impression that mental expansion affected the breadth of his thoughts, letting a single mind hold bigger ideas and envision things in greater detail. He’d need to look into it to be sure, but it seemed like he’d just drifted even farther from the human standard for what was going on in his head, he was only grateful it hadn’t left him passed out again.

As for the other one, his new skill destruction, he had to assume it had come from enchanting, but he didn’t immediately know what it might do. At the very least he knew it would be easy to level since, in theory, it would get all of the same bonuses that enchanting did, meaning his crafting jobs should cover it too. Now that it looked like he’d have time he’d need to experiment with it, but that was an issue for later.

He let himself slide down the wall until he was sitting, giving Greed a chance to keep healing him as he looked out into the room and thought for a bit.

Huh, there really are two piles of stuff this time. Maybe my theory before was wrong then? I’d have expected less things to show up on each floor if it was collecting things from the people who died and putting them on the next one. But if my idea was wrong then what was with all of the stuff that clearly came from this world? People couldn’t just be leaving it behind, could they? God, there’s too much to think about. I’ll have to check it over, but first I need to wait and see if the enchantment I made before actually holds or if I’m going to need to reapply it from time to time. And before that…

He reached his hand into his pocket, letting the options fill his mind while at the same time being immensely grateful it had worked. He’d never heard of someone bringing a job crystal into a trial before, but given that the skill system wasn’t impeded at all it made sense the job system wouldn’t be either. He made a mental note that he should try to learn more about how both worked as he let himself go over the options filling his head.

AVAILABLE JOBS

• Trap user
• Craftsman- alchemy path
• Craftsman- artistic path
• Craftsman- blacksmith path
• Craftsman- cooking path
• Craftsman- stonecrafts path
• Craftsman- sewing path
• Heretic
• Holy craftsman
• Kin
• Tank
• Mathematician
• Adventurer
• Cursed item maker
• Scholar
• Master craftsman
• Material mage
• Master enchanter
• Destruction mage

…Well I guess I got my answer about what the destruction skill does.

Of the two new jobs on the list, he’d only expected one, having known he would unlock the master enchanter job after awakening the skill. The destruction mage job was a whole other bonus entirely. At the very least, it made sense when he thought about it. For a magic skill to be the bonus skill he got from awakening enchanting seemed reasonable enough given that it was technically a magic skill as well, and some of his earliest training with enchanting had focused on using its destructive properties as a way of carving statues. He’d need to test it out still, but he couldn’t say he wasn’t happy to get it, even if it did seem like it wouldn’t be as useful to him as the material user skill seemed like it would be.

“Whatcha got there?” Greed asked him as he used his healing magic, referring to the job crystal and pulling Ben from his thoughts.

“Job crystal. If you complete yours while we’re in here let me know.”

Hearing that, Greed looked like he wanted to say something but in the end only shook his head and got back to work treating Ben’s many wounds, leaving him to think on just what to take.

It was honestly tragic he hadn’t taken the master craftsman job earlier. Even if awakening enchanting wouldn’t have been nearly enough to get it complete the way it had for his true mage job, it would have been good experience and likely given him a few levels. Now though, given the situation they were in he needed to think long and hard about just what he thought would give him the best chance he could have at surviving.

All magic jobs are out. I have enough bonuses going to material user and destruction already that it would be a waste, and with enchanting just awakening I don’t think I’m going to be so lucky as to get a level any time soon if I take master enchanter. All craftsman jobs are out too for the same reason. I want to survive this, what options do I have that might help?

He eyed the heretic job, thinking about how improving the skill might help him considering he was in the trial of a god but ultimately decided against it. He’d just leveled the skill up, and its effects felt too vague to immediately be useful if he did.

There was a chance adventurer wouldn’t be completely useless, but it really seemed more like a combat job than anything else, and he didn’t see any immediate benefit to merging his job pool with Greeds. In the end, there was one option he felt reasonably sure of, even though it still seemed like a gamble.

Taking a breath, he did something he’d never done before when selecting a job. He grasped the crystal in both of his hands, holding it tightly in front of his face as he closed his eyes and began to pray.

“Please, please you great and powerful system on my soul, do me a solid and give me something good with this. A skill, a level, anything to help out. If I was ever going to gain anything from this, now’s the time.”

“Feeling desperate, are you?” Greed asked as he watched.

“If there was ever a situation to be called desperate, I think this is it.”

He continued to pray and hope despite the fact that he was sure nothing was listening, until he gave in and named his choice.

“I’ll take tank.”

<ACQUIRED JOB- TANK LEVEL 0>

<BONUSES GRANTED TO IMPROVING VITALITY, VITALITY RECOVERY, STRENGTH, AND STAMINA>

<ALL DEFENSIVE SKILLS WILL RECEIVE A GROWTH BONUS>

<ACQUIRED SKILL HEALING ENHANCEMENT LEVEL 0>

<ACQUIRED SKILL ALL AFFINITY RESISTANCE ENHANCEMENT LEVEL 0>

<DEFENSE ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>

<ABSORPTION RESISTANCE LEVEL INCREASED>

Name: Ben Heph

Race: Human

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it’s taken without the author’s consent. Report it.

Titles: Apostle of Myriad, The Forgotten One, Miracle Maker, Skill learner, Enemy of Eneth, Trial Defier

Jobs: Tank (lv 9)

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

Attributes:

• Vitality: 401
• Vitality recovery rate: 6/hr
• Mana: 306
• Mana recovery rate: 19/min
• Strength: 430
• Agility: 161
• Stamina: 1416
• Intelligence: 1249

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: