CH667

“My grandmother is never going to accept that,” Sachel instantly told him, even without knowing what his reason behind it was. “I’m sorry Ben, I can try to talk her into it if you have a good reason but even then I honestly can’t imagine I’d be able to convince her.”

“Well, we’ve just gotta try,” He shrugged. “So anyway, off we go.”

He’d already started walking but Sachel kept up at his side.

“Can you at least explain why you’d need that?”

“Hmm? Didn’t I already?”

“No.”

“…I’m trying to improve the effects of the strengthening potions I’ve created,” He admitted. “I’ve got a lot of ideas and theories on what might work but I’ve gotta put them to the test and since I’m already using some wood from your family’s groves to do it, that’s an area I can improve on too.”

“Oh, she’s really not going to like that.”

“If I can’t convince her then that’s life,” He sighed. “But I really do have to try. I understand her concerns about what’s going to happen to your people if your woods start being viewed as nothing but materials again but that’s really the sort of worries you get to have when the world isn’t ending. Right now though I need to chase down every avenue I can to improve our odds and this is one of them.”

The current strengthening potions he would make were derived from a recipe using the corpses of gods, something that existed in too small of a supply for anyone to really experiment with, but using the fruits of his possessed tree turned that into another matter entirely. There was no reason he couldn’t experiment with dozens or hundreds of recipes until he figured out something better, with the goal of increasing their potency by at least a few points, both for the world as well as himself.

Assuming the effects of defiler of ambrosia held true for his potions, the three points anyone else would get per bottle would mean six points for him and any increase he could manage would double as well. It was a temptation impossible to resist, even if his results left him with something only a single point better than what he could already create. Any extra would add up in the months to come, what mattered was getting every point of power he could in the time he had left and he continued to think on just what might get him there as they passed through the gate to a different city before Thera lifted the earth beneath their feet to get them out to that distant village for whatever negotiations would follow.

Ben took in the sight of the village after they landed, feeling his heart swell with pride at the most obvious change. It seemed his young apprentice-to-be had been busy, since unlike the last time he’d been there, he could already see a few new sheds standing by each house bearing the signs of her handiwork, telling him exactly how much effort she’d been putting in during her training.

Better say hi while I’m here too so I don’t hurt her feelings. I’ll stop by later after I’m done talking with Hentath.

That was his intent at least but it seemed he had little choice in the matter of how that would work out. It was only a few minutes after walking through the village that he heard his name being called and felt a small body throwing itself at his back while he laughed.

“Ben!” Delair cheered. “What are you doing here?”

“Ha, I had to come see your grandma… great grandma? Hentath. Don’t worry about it, how did you find me so quickly? You don’t have some tracking skill locked onto me, do you?”

“I saw you after finishing up my work,” She told him proudly. “Everyone in the village has been depending on me since I got back, I’ve been getting so many snacks each day too!”

“Fantastic, I’m glad to hear you’re keeping up with your practice. I was admiring a bit of your work while we walked by too, it all looks good.”

She beamed as he ruffled her hair, enjoying the chance to see how the girl had progressed in the time since they’d parted and only had it interrupted by a cough coming from the rest of the group.

“And I’m here too,” Sachel said, holding out her arms and waiting for a hug. “Your beloved cousin who you definitely love just as much as a person you only met a couple years ago. Now act like you’ve missed me already.”

“Hmm? It’s nice seeing you too Sachel, mom will want to see you while you’re here so make sure you say hi to her before you leave.”

Hugging her back, it was only a second before she’d slipped away to grab Ben’s arm to pull him along.

“Come on, you’ve gotta see all of my work since you’re here!”

“Yeah, sure, I have time.”

“Ben,” Ralia spoke up. “Weren’t you telling us before how you wanted to get this done as quick as possible?”

“I mean, yes but if my talks with Hentath don’t go well there’s a very real possibility she kicks us out of town so if I don’t look now I might not get the chance. It’s fine, it will be an hour, tops.”

He ignored both the look Thera gave him and the small smirk on her lips. Delair had been working hard, all he was doing was making sure to encourage such an enthusiastic student with just a bit of the time they had. If that meant setting themselves back by an hour then no matter how bad things may have been, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

“-And then most recently I carved this!” Delair showed him as they finished up looking at all of the things she’d made in the last little while by ending on a small statue of her mother, wonderfully carved as Ben looked it over.

“It’s excellent, you got all of the key details and proportions right. And if my eyes don’t deceive me, I do believe you did some of the shaping by using the destructive aspects of enchanting?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Yep!”

“Good kid, keep this up and you’re going to go far. I’ll make you a few new things before I leave too.”

“You’re the best!”

“Ha, of course I am.”

“Please don’t spoil her too much,” Fontesh called from the side where the rest of them talked, with Thera laughing before he could respond.

“He can’t resist. Look at him, he’s having as much fun as she is.”

“I am having fun and I’m not spoiling, don’t worry. All this is me supporting an enthusiastic student. Trust me, compared to having one that intentionally makes your life hell and leaves you to bleed out even when they have a healing magic, this is a whole heck of a lot better.”

“That felt oddly specific,” Skoe muttered while Ralia shushed him, not wanting to open whatever can of worms was buried there, with all of them being interrupted by one more guest arriving in the form of exactly who he’d been looking for, Hentath coming into the yard after seeing them.