CH387

<PARALLEL THOUGHT LEVEL INCREASED>

<MENTAL EXPANSION LEVEL INCREASED>

As the two notifications went off in his head, Ben let out a slow, drawn-out breath as he felt the change to his mind, the entire forest he was connected to reacting to the feeling as well.

There was pain of course, but not nearly as much as there had been when his minds had last split or when he’d gained a level to mental expansion so shortly after. What he currently felt wasn’t a full-blown migraine, instead just being a headache, with the pain he was experiencing being comparable to what he’d dealt with a little over a month before his last one had disappeared. It was going to be annoying to deal with, but he would live as it eventually went away.

Other than that though was the feeling of the shape of his mind changing with the two levels. Like the last time he’d gotten a level of mental expansion, he felt the strands of thought in his head fray, but now even more so with the effects of parallel thought added to it.

It was to the point where they’d gone from just a little short of a typical human mind to perhaps the peak of what one would normally achieve, everything in his head being strengthened with the skills as the very way he would think changed to accommodate the new level of mental power.

But that’s fine because this is just my mind now and I should be safe from any more level-ups. I couldn’t even begin to guess how any of those skills would awaken.

<I’m still betting on the idea that they might transition into a new skill.>

Hey, don’t go wishing that evil on me.

<You literally deserve this. Anyone who links their mind to a forest with your skillset is asking for this to happen, it doesn’t matter what the original goal may have been. A goal that looks like it’s failed by the way.>

No need to rub it in. He grumbled back. The fact his connect hadn’t awakened after a solid month of training with the woods was nothing but a disappointment. Since the forest’s interconnected mind just felt so big he’d thought he’d had a chance by going at it but as each day passed the odds of success had felt worse and worse. Adding to the fact that he’d leveled the two skills he didn’t want to on his very last day of trying and it all combined to reflect his level of luck in the world.

Who knows though, maybe this will be the blessing in disguise that lets me finally get a level of pain resistance?

<Doubt it.>

“You okay Ben?” Delair asked him, pulling him from his thoughts and back to her as she finished up carving a branch, only to see the pained look on his face.

“Ah, I’m fine so don’t worry,” He told her, ruffling her hair as he did. “Just had a small headache come over me is all. It looks good by the way. You’ve been an excellent student to teach over the last month so make sure you keep practicing everything, okay?”

“Mhm.”

She knew he was leaving that day as well as anyone, but as much as she wanted to ignore it she couldn’t keep it from her head.

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“Do you really have to go?”

“I do. Sorry kiddo but I’ve got some responsibilities to take care of.”

“Mmh, but everyone’s been a lot happier with you here,” She muttered, resting her head on his arm as they sat. “All the adults keep worrying, but while you’ve been here they’ve been too focused on getting your help than to worry.”

“Ha, well I’ve also helped about as much as I can.”

He’d redone plenty of enchantments in the town again while he was around, having a whole new level of skill to do what he could since the last time he’d been there and more than a few of them had been happy to take advantage of that, meaning plenty of his time not in the woods had gone towards that as well. Not that he minded, it let him show Delair a bit more about enchanting as a result, but it had been one of many things that kept his visit busy.