CH872

“Ben, why are you a god now?” Mora asked in naked confusion when he arrived, perking up Delair, Fontesh, and Sachel who were all in the room with them in shock and surprise as he scooped the boy up.

“Because I managed to have a very, very productive day yesterday,” He laughed. “More importantly, did you have a good time? You behaved for Fontesh, didn’t you?”

“He did but I don’t think that’s more important,” The dryad told him, looking between him and the others. “Mora, what are you talking about?”

“I hit the third tier,” Ben explained. “It’s a long story-”

“It’s really not,” Thera cut in.

“Okay, it’s not but there’s some details to it that might not be great to bring up around the kiddos. Either way, I’m fine, and powerful, and I’m going to politely ask you all to not spread that fun fact around if you can avoid it.”

“And why are you wearing a different god?” Mora asked him while the rest of them were struggling to process what they’d already been told before that new tidbit was thrown into the mix, getting a wink for the question.

“Training. Again, don’t worry about it too much. You’ve seen me wear souls before, right? This is the same sort of thing.”

An answer that appeased the child at least but left the adults in the room only with more questions but it was Delair who managed to squeeze a word in next, her eyes positively gleaming.

“What skill, what skill?” She asked, overflowing with curiosity while Ben cleared his throat.

“My mind skills, so I’m a mind god now,” He said, trying to keep it simple and cast a small look to the soul spirit in his arms, Mora catching on and not adding anything from there while his student’s energy dropped.

“Oh, so not your crafting?” She asked, instantly sounding less interested and leaving him to chuckle. “I guess that’s still cool. Can you do anything new then?”

“Ha, a bunch but seeing as most of the changes are going to be in my head, one of the more interesting bits is going to be how my attributes have grown,” He said, materializing a handful of metal and squeezing it, letting the others in the room watch as it deformed in his grasp. “I am substantially more powerful.”

“And going to be a real, genuine god,” Sachel repeated as she blinked. “Wow. Just… wow. Wait, should I be offering you prayers now?”

She was slowly bringing her hands together as she asked, only being stopped as Ben materialized a plank of wood between them.

“Don’t you dare. I’m not dead yet, I haven’t ascended so I’m still mortal, I’m just a third tier and while that is exceptionally cool, everyone just treat me the same. This isn’t even the skill I was trying to get to this tier.”

“How do you accidentally become a third tier?” Fontesh asked him in naked disbelief, getting to see her question immediately bring him down.

“By not considering how my big attempt to reach it might technically apply better for another skill I’ve had at the ninth level for a while longer but it’s fine, what’s done is done and I’m going to keep trying to awaken that one too. Anyway, it’s getting a bit late so we should head home. Delair, I’ll see you tomorrow for lessons. Fontesh, thanks again for watching Mora, and Sachel, just remember that anything Myriad has to say about my awakening is probably just slander that should be ignored.”

He wasn’t tired but he still forced himself to sleep since he hadn’t the night before, dropping the connection to the god he was wearing as he forced his mind to a higher realm, finding three more staring him down when he arrived.

“Ben.”

“Myriad.”

“Should I even ask? Do I even want to know?”

“I mean, seeing how it looks like you were all waiting for me, I take it you at least kind of want to know.”

“What are you doing with Quox’s soul?” Helori asked him, her own curiosity trumping Myriad’s expected horror.

“Well, I have enough fruit in storage that I’ll be fine as far as potions go for the next couple years, so leaving him there was really kind of a waste,” Ben said innocently as the rest searched his face for whatever he was skating around. “And you know me, I just love my efficiency and all.”

“Which means what?”

“Which means, you’re looking at the evil god of sacrilege. Just this once, I’m putting a bit more emphasis on the evil.”

They all stared at him as he said it, waiting for him to be a bit less coy as he finally gave in, giving an exaggerated sigh.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.