CH944

Not exactly satisfied, the gods had come to hear him out on his new powers and he’d given them his honest thoughts, bringing things to some sort of resolution with them before the ones Phixth came with left, letting the stone god’s shoulders fall in that moment of privacy.

“You could have stood to be a little friendlier about all of that.”

“Wasn’t I? I thought I’d done an excellent job of minding my manners while discussing my grievances and exactly what put me in a position that would drive me to desiring power. Really, I’m not sure what more you could have wanted from me.”

“A heartfelt promise not to misuse the powers you hold?”

“I think I kind of did that by saying I won’t harm anyone who won’t harm me. I don’t care what the gods of this world think, demanding fair pay and equal treatment isn’t antagonistic treatment.”

“… Fine, well if you’ll excuse me, I must be off to gauge overall reactions and try to manage them the best I can, so please, keep me somewhat informed of the next disaster you’ll cause.”

“Sure, can do,” Ben told him, knowing in his heart it would depend on the specifics of the disaster as Phixth left, leaving only the two he’d started with still there with him. “So, how do you guys think that went?”

“I feel like you could have shared your heartfelt desire to grow in strength to kill the demons’ god instead of pointing a finger at the gods here.”

“Maybe, but let’s be real, that sounds like a convenient excuse more than anything, and not a very good one. Oh, I have nothing but good intentions as I keep making myself better at hurting and killing gods, it’s for the world, honest! No, nobody up there is buying that, at least not enough to matter. My personal, selfish, and honestly still pretty true reason though? They may not like it, but even the ones with their heads firmly up their asses should be able to believe it. When you’re threatened, it makes sense to try and defend yourself, even if that defense is just grabbing a stick to swat them off with.”

“Ugh, I suppose that’s good enough. At the very least, you weren’t overly antagonistic, which is generally about as much as I can hope for whenever you talk to others.”

“Probably also doesn’t hurt that I’m about to improve the world’s odds in a big way when morning comes. I’m assuming everything is set up?”

“Mmh, it’s going to be a busy few days for you, but you can handle it. You’ve got a variety of help at your disposal, which we can discuss later. For now, it’s time we join whatever discussions are taking place, so just remember to do your best and show off what a valuable mortal you are.”

“I show that off every single day I’m trapped here,” Ben told them, getting no reaction beyond them leaving, off to join whatever chaos there was to be had in whatever meetings would still be going on and leaving him to his lonesome, to practice his skills in the lower realm and to actualize in his personal one, all until the day would start.

Okay, I’m ready. I can do this, he told himself, trying to hype himself up for what was sure to be a painful experience. My soul is in the best shape it can be, and I have all of these other soul skills to help it along; it’s going to be fine.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

It’s what he insisted on telling himself at least, even if he was already dreading the bout of soul pain he was about to inflict on himself, with one last thing he’d need to do before he began modifying the souls of the broader world. What everyone would get would depend on his own, that holding true even if he modified his first.

And an extra ten percent for my own attributes is going to be huge when you consider that everyone will be getting five from me after so I’ve just got to grit my teeth, do it, and hope that if my soul is still sore by the time I’m done, Mora will be willing to help me out.

Knowing he couldn’t put it off much longer, Ben did the only thing he could. Looking down at himself, he selected the configuration of essence he wanted and materialized it through his soul.

Related chapter tags