CH711

Back in the shop, laying the finishing touches on the two new materializers he’d made after discussing the topic with the gods, it was finally time to test them as Ben activated both enchantments, with each of them producing a cubic foot of material, one based off of a lost fruit of the dryad homeworld and the other modeled off the meat of a domesticated creature that had made its way to the planet with their original species, both needing to be tasted and tested as Ben prepared to do exactly that.

Starting with the fruit, he simply cut it up to be eaten between him and all of his clones, each one chewing and examining it as he tasted it with many mouths, coming to a simple conclusion.

“Not great.”

It wasn’t bad, it was something he could eat and stomach and, after an extensive talk with the gods, was sure to be largely nutritious to the majority of people on the planet, but it wasn’t good either. It was a single cell, again and again and again, lacking all of the complexity of true tissue and then degraded further as it was simplified. It was, without a doubt, a food that would be worthwhile in times of scarcity but nothing else, with that fact reinforced as he materialized it again with his own power instead of the machines, using all of the details of it he hadn’t been able to include and finding that even if it still wasn’t great, it had a bigger depth of flavour to make it worthwhile in the end.

Which means if I’m ever in an emergency at least, I’ll have something adequate to eat, meaning I just have to try the next one.

With the cube of meat being cooked over a flame before he tried it, giving him no choice but to admit that it was even worse. Without any fat to it the texture was tough and the taste was beyond lacking, a fact repeated when he materialized it himself, but in the end it was healthy and it would do.

<BITE ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>

“Let’s see, even if it’s not great, slice it thin and cover it in a sauce and it will be good enough to keep someone alive. Hmm, actually, it should be fine to eat raw too. Not much risk of bacteria from something being materialized.”

The thought made him give it a try, finding it to actually be fairly better that way. Still not good of course, but any improvement was worth taking and he immediately began his work of creating more, talking up to his god as he did.

“So Myriad, how many of these things do you think I should make? With how many souls I want to put in them and my current power level, they should be able to materialize every minute without running out of mana and hopefully if my soul expands again soon we can speed that up even more.”

<I’d say as many as you can. You could make these things forever and people would always be happy to take more, you’ll never run out of buyers. Speaking off, the selling price?>

“Can you ask Nare to think of something appropriate for me? And I really mean appropriate. These things should go for a lot but I am willing to accept a payment plan that stretches out across after the war ends if that’s what needs to happen.”

<Caring about becoming even more fabulously wealthy again then?>

Ben just shrugged. “In the event I do die and the world goes on, it would be nice to at least know the people I care about would be able to divide up my wealth, including you. You know what? Give me a second.”

While he was on the topic he materialized a letter in a box, leaving it tucked away in the corner of the shop where he didn’t think Falk would fiddle with it if he came through.

“And now I officially have a will. Hope you feel loved Myriad, a third of my wealth is going to your church so you better use it well. If I die just tell Nare to tell Falk what that is, okay?”

<…I really don’t like this depressing train of thought.>

“Hey, better to have it and not need it, right? I’m still going to do everything in my power to live so don’t worry too much about it and just appreciate the fortune your church is going to be getting. You’re the biggest recipient by a mile.”

<I do appreciate it Ben, I just feel like I’ve already watched you die more than once. I don’t want to see it again.>

“Everyone has to go eventually man, though I’m sorry to say that I don’t plan on merging into you when the time comes, I’ll see whatever’s next for myself.”

<Ha, that’s probably for the best for both of us. I can already imagine a nightmare scenario where all of your ridiculous mind skills work together to overtake me and become the dominant personality.>

“Ha, maybe I should then,” He teased. “That’s me cheating my way to godhood if my current attempts don’t work out.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

<Well, here’s hoping you’ll have plenty of time before you have to decide then.>

Myriad went quiet from there, letting Ben carry on his work as he went, making all of the materializers he could and making sure to include an engraving saying they were brought about by the church of Myriad on every single one. No reason not to include that bit of advertising on an item that was going to be feeding the world after all and scoring his god some more faith never actually hurt either of them, especially not for something as simple as that.

And while he worked he continued to think, his newest creation bringing a simple question to his mind.