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“Oh, okay.”

“Ben, this demands slightly more of a reaction than just an okay!” Helori yelled at him, getting a small shrug in return.

“I mean, I started giving off divinity when I became the demigod of growth and gain, didn’t I? Speaking of, now that I’m at the ninth level of that, how much am I giving off there?”

“When did you reach the ninth?” Nare cut in, Ben’s growth in that particular skill just as much of a cause for curiosity.

“Both authorities came with a level to it; it’s not important. Now, Helori?”

“Currently? Significantly more than a naturally born demigod, but that’s not the point. You couldn’t use that divinity, Ben. At least, not with intent. The bit you got from replacing your heart has basically just gone to strengthening yourself. What you currently have though? You’re using it.”

“But how is that possible?” Nare asked. “Ben is… mortal?”

The three gods turned to him as it was said, none appearing entirely convinced by the statement before turning back to each other, leaving Ben mildly offended as they did.

“Regardless of whatever Ben might be right now, it doesn’t matter. If I had to guess, I’d say it likely comes down to the nature of those skills. When he dies, he’s going to be a proper god of evil and destruction.”

“I see,” Nare muttered, Myriad instantly in agreement.

“When you put it that way, it might make sense.”

“Then maybe explain it to your still entirely mortal apostle here, who doesn’t instantly have the context for this?”

“Ben, I told you before when discussing Oaun and the soul mages, there is technically a difference between a god of souls and a god of soul magic,” Myriad explained. “Although in this case, we can now use you as an example. If you were to awaken your material manipulation to the third tier and then die, you could argue that you’d be a god of destruction magic since that skill merged into it. At the same time, what Helori is getting at is that you’d also become a god of destruction that would rule over that domain in a far more conceptual way. Technically, any destructive skills or acts would fall under that umbrella, same for your evil skills.”

“It’s a level of broadness that mortals simply don’t reach,” Helori explained. “And to be fair, many gods don’t hold such broad domains either. While not necessarily better than other divinities, you trade the broadness for a weaker overall power compared to a more narrow field, it’s the fact that a mortal managed it that makes the difference. You said you think inclinations as a skill class are uninclined to awaken? Well, seeing this, I agree because, while any awakening would change the nature of your soul, it looks like the nature of those ones might have changed it to the extent that you now have a minor bit of access to such things.”

“Okay, interesting. A few questions then. One, how comparable is it to the amount of divinity from my demigod nature?”

“The same, which would imply gaining that connected the two, perhaps making these awakenings easier than it would have been or even just possible at all or maybe it’s just linked your demigod qualities to your authorities to allow you to grow the bit of divinity you have without having to level those two skills, which I will admit is worrying to think about. If your divinity is already usable and above a normal demigod’s, how might it grow if you were to awaken your divine body or level those authorities? An uncomfortable possibility considering that you’re going to continue to do the very things that awakened them in the first place.”

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