I still can’t believe that when you first recommended that I get Falk as my teacher, it was because you asked a crafting god to tell you about the best smith in the area. Ben couldn’t help but complain to his god again after throwing some ground-up food and medicine around in the early hours of the morning before making his way back to Falk and Thera once he was done.
Huuh, I mean, yes but I sure do want to know more now. Are you sure you can’t just tell me a little about his status? When he’d questioned his teacher about exactly what he saw he was basically brushed off, being told that he’d already figured out that he had awakened skills so what more was there to know? That was ignoring the fact that not only was it obvious the yeti could consistently make ultra-rare items, something that supposedly only happened once or twice every few hundred years, but it was possible he could consistently make legendary ones too if he truly put himself into it, a level of skill that was seen every millennium. It was always possible he’d gotten lucky with that one success, but Ben doubted that.
Asking about it a bit after, based on what his teacher told him it was almost impossible to break into ultra-rare with an item that wasn’t enchanted to help add to its quality, that being the sort of thing only third-tier skill holders might be capable of. That did put a cap of sorts on how high a level his teacher could be, but that wasn’t saying much.
Ugh, don’t remind me. I guess I’m not so curious that I want my teacher being eaten.
I actually can’t say for sure, the moment your body opened up my brain sort of just shut down. Maybe you coughed me back up after?
I don’t know, you seem pretty content to slander me to your other believers based on what I saw when I met them; but relax, you know I won’t.
I know, I know, you’re absolutely right, the curiosity is just killing me is all. What’s he doing in Stonewall if he’s so good? For that matter, what sorts of clients does he have that could afford to drag him out of town for months at a time? No wonder he can afford to have the shop closed for so long, it must basically just be a hobby for him. I bet he’s loaded!
He kept complaining to his god for the entire walk back through the seaside town, longing to know more than his teacher wanted to tell, until he made it back to Thera and that very yeti as they waited for him, his statue loaded in the cart with the ladder he’d be needing as well for placing it.
“Finished up whatever you needed to do?” Thera asked, curious about why he’d gone off alone instead of just placing his statue and being done with it. Her experience there left her no love for the town so she was looking forward to getting home again, planning to put far more speed into that goal than either Ben or her uncle would like.
“Basically. Let’s just wait an hour and then I’ll set it up and we can go.”
“Ugh, why though? Any time I asked uncle he’d just laugh. Come on, what’s going on?”
“Ha, let’s just say the church of Eneth messed up extremely bad with how they decided to treat me. You’ll see when I put it up, it will be worth it.”
----------------------------------------
They got to the church soon after that, the priests were only beginning to move as he had Thera park her carriage directly in front of the statue of Eneth, making it clear just what a mess had been made of it.
“Oh gods Ben, was this what you were doing?” She asked, sounding one part shocked and the other part amused. It seemed that someone had almost deliberately attacked the statue, having flung a ground-up feed that would bring a local species of bird to it in droves, while at the same time lacing it with a laxative, leading to predictably explosive results. It looked almost painted, and the smell would be lingering until it was thoroughly cleaned. “I don’t think you should be going out of your way to get any more levels of sacrilege.”
“Relax, there’s no way I get another one from this,” Mostly because I just got one the other day. “Anyway, we just need to get to the main reason I’m here and then we can leave, so without further ado…”
He quickly stood up the ladder he made before going for the statue. Normally its weight would have been impossible for him. An almost cubic meter of metal and other materials piled together, the idea that he could move something like that under his own strength was outrageous. Even with how much stronger he’d grown in the last couple years working at the forge, there was a limit to what could be done. At least, so long as tools weren’t involved.
Calling them tools was probably too generous even, at least from his point of view. All he’d done was set his remaining rainbow and white mana crystal into some moribusial and placed it on top of the statue, aiming it so that the mana would flow directly into the sindian that made up all but the statues base to provoke its magical effect.
Even then it still wasn’t exactly light, but by exerting himself he was able to walk it up the ladder on shaking legs, constructing the enchantment that would replace the dummy one he set up as soon as it was in position.
It was as he reached the top and held it out above the statue of Eneth that the church doors flew open as Felth all but flew out screaming. “What in the infinite hells do you think you’re doing!”
If he wanted to stop him though, it was too late, not that Ben would have stopped anyway thanks to what they’d agreed upon. As the words left the other apostle’s mouth, Ben’s barrier enchantment was complete. As clear magic walls fell down from the base of the cube, suspending it in the air, it also trapped the statue of Eneth within, leaving it in its current state for all to see.
“Really?” He asked as he looked to the sky. “This is what made me your enemy, placing a statue? I almost killed your son.”
He got no answer, not that he was expecting one, but a small part of him couldn’t help but pity the demigod given the sudden turn of events. Despite that though, he didn’t need to guess too much at what a title that named him the enemy of a god would grant bonuses to, he was just surprised that the system awarded it to him first.
Really, isn’t sacrilege a little too easy to level up?
Ah shucks Myriad, you’re going to make me blush.
Ha, it’s fine. It’s a little surprising to get another so soon, but it’s not like we didn’t know it was a possibility. Honestly surprised I didn’t get it as soon as I made it really, given I turned a statue of you into a weapon after all.
From the get-go, the statue had been made with revenge in mind. He had built it to be as expensive as possible for when it was time to replace it, something he had no doubt in his mind would come to pass, as well as to deal as much damage as it could to the surrounding area, the barrier enchantment on the interior was designed to release if a certain trigger occurred and dump all of the mana from the crystal into the pondus, raising its weight to tremendous levels and wreaking unspeakable destruction. He couldn't help but admire his work, even as he let most of his minds focus on the yelling apostle and priests behind him at the foot of his ladder.
“In all that’s good. What is this? The agreement was a statue, not hanging a brick over the head of my god!”
Ben couldn’t help but smile again as he walked down the ladder after removing the two crystals he used to reduce the statue's weight. It was as he stood toe to toe with the enraged man that he let himself act out in the face of his seething, slapping Felth across the face.
“What-”
“Shut up,” Ben told him, still wearing a grin and seeming to scare the other apostle as he remembered seeing that very expression when he got himself into this mess. “I knew you were shameless, but I’d never have imagined you’d break your agreement as soon as I got here. An agreement you swore to in the name of your god for that matter.”
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“What are you talking about?”
“Calling the divine form of Myriad a brick? You swore that you would treat it with the level of dignity and respect as if it was your own god, and to only talk about it in a positive light, but that’s the first thing you say? Or is that just how little respect you have for your own god in that case? Honestly, if this is how you’re acting immediately then isn’t our agreement not to push the issue of punishment for you and Eneth already void?”
It was important for him to show a strong front, he needed not only Felth, but his entire church to know that they were at fault and that such things would not be tolerated. Now that their god had gone so far as to decide he was their enemy, he’d be sure to treat them as such.
May I remind you he tried to kill me? Considering how often that seems to happen and the fact that this is the first time I’ve actually gotten to do anything about it, let me work out a little stress.
“Wait,” Felth began to beg, immediately understanding his mistake.”Nobody would think that’s a statue of a god, I didn’t know-”
“Very funny,” Ben said dryly as he cut him off. “I believe you said the same thing as an excuse during our last encounter. It looks like your ignorance gets you in trouble a lot, seems like something to work on. The real question is how we’re going to solve this.”
“...What do you want?”
“Let’s just make things simple,” He said as he held out his card, and after a second the other apostle took out his own, seeing where this was going.
“How much.”
“How much do you think is appropriate?”
Felth could see in Ben’s eyes that he didn’t plan on making things easy, so he selected an amount from his funds before transferring it over. Ben looked at it for only a moment before staring back at the other man.
“Is that all the church of Eneth amounts to?”
The other apostle cringed. He’d transferred from his personal funds, but as the head of the faith he had access to church funds as well, and what had happened was an issue not between people, but between religions. With another tap of his card, Ben looked at what he received, feeling more satisfied as he put it away.
Again, this guy tried to murder me. Besides, I’m pretty sure they’ll keep the statue up for at least a couple months before it falls down and I don’t want to feel short on funds in that time.
And I just really don’t like the guy okay? Attempted murder tends to create a negative impression, not to mention what Thera dealt with.
As Felth saw Ben put his card away he breathed a sigh of relief before taking on a much meaker attitude. He knew his acts left him in the other apostle’s hand, it would do him no good to mess up again.
“Now that I’ve expressed my sincerest apologies, may I ask about the statue of your magnificent god?”
“Of course, what do you want to know?”
“Why do you have it floating above Eneth? You must see how that could create some… troubling implications, can’t you?”
“Ah, I’m glad you asked,” Ben told him cheerfully as he beamed at the man. “There's a few very good reasons. Obviously, it has to float because my god floats. To make the statue the most accurate representation of my dear Myriad, it had to have the same property to properly convey his grace and majesty. Of course, since part of the agreement was taking care of its upkeep your church will be responsible for supplying it with mana. I’d get a few different priests to begin pouring theirs in right away actually, remember you’re on the hook for paying five times its cost if it’s damaged after all.”
“...Alright, I’ll send some to get ladders right away, but-”
“No ladders,” Ben said sternly, cutting him off again. “This is to be treated like your god, remember? Not a figure of your god, the flesh and blood thing. Would you have construction equipment laying around such a being? No, obviously you need to build some proper walkways your priests can climb up to get to it, but don’t worry, I actually placed it there for a reason,” He said as he placed a friendly arm around Felth’s shoulders, leading him to look at the church right behind the statue and pointing to a window in front of it. “As long as a few of you lean out of it and supply your mana it will be fine.”
Fine was an optimistic way of looking at it and Felth knew it. The distance a person would have to reach would have most of their body hanging out of it, every priest that gave their mana would have to have another hold onto them to ensure they didn’t fall out. Even worse though would be the fact that Ather would have to give up his room for the time being.
The sobek tried to push back the migraine he felt forming, doing his best to keep calm as he began to understand just how bad the other apostle was intending to make things for him but pushing through the best he could. “I understand, we will construct something to the best of our abilities-”
“Well not so fast. Clearly whatever you make needs to be to my god’s taste, right? Send any plans you draw up for it to the Stonewall guild and I’ll let you know if they’re approved or rejected. I wouldn’t bother building anything until you hear from me, no point wasting your time and money like that, right?” And that means you guys won’t be able to pretend you didn’t get my reply to give yourselves some time to use whatever you build.
Of course Myriad, do you take me for a monster? I’ll read any letter the guild hands me from them. He thought to his god innocently, while making a mental note to ask Ceselee to throw out any mail for him from the church of Eneth so he didn’t have to go to the trouble of rejecting every one.
“Of course,” Felth agreed, doing his best to keep his patience from wearing too thin despite the feeling of blood rushing to his head, lest he create more trouble for his god. “But if that’s everything, may I ask just one single request? Please, just one.”
“Well, I’ll hear it at least.”
“Thank you. Could you please, please take down the barrier you have set up so that we might clean the statue of Eneth? I understand it’s needed to show yours in all its glory, but to leave ours in such a state, it would be shameful.”
While everything he’d said had been true, the request carried another goal. It would be hard, but as they cleaned it he could get some of the earth mages in the church to separate it from its base and push it out of the barrier. Given what Ben said he couldn’t just move the position his own statue was in, and they needed to keep it from looking like Eneth was beneath another god at his head church. Felth expected to have to beg more to get the situation he desired, willing to lower himself however much for his god’s honour, but shockingly, he got almost immediate agreement, albeit with a heavy catch.
“Oh of course,” Ben told him, nodding in sympathy. “Honestly, I really should have given you the chance to clean it first, I was just in such a hurry to get in and out because of all the bad memories here, you know? What with the treatment me and my companions received and all. But of course I can take it down; there’s just one small issue. Because of an unfortunate and completely unpredictable quirk of building it, there’s no way to keep the statue from hitting the ground when I do, and as per the agreement, that means paying five times the statue's cost, but if you’re willing then it’s all good with me.”
Felth couldn’t help but weigh the options. He had tried looking into the church of Myriad after Ben had left, but given he could learn almost nothing in those few short days told him it was likely a small and insignificant church that worshiped an almost powerless god. The more Ben spoke the more it was clear that he’d set things up as he had so that the statues would break as a way to earn money from Eneth. He was sure it could put a strain on the church’s finances if it happened too frequently, but the occasional accident would just have to be something they dealt with, and for this time at least they’d have to accept the cost in order to ensure their god saved face. That was the intent at least, until Ben continued talking, taking out a sheet of paper as he did.
“Now, in fairness of you making an informed decision about this, I have a receipt of all the material costs, as well as the price adjusted for the fact that it’s a lower rare item.”
“Lower rare!” The apostle almost screamed as he took the page to look over. He’d expected something expensive, but that level of quality already had it far above his highest expectations, his stomach sinking more and more as he read each item on the receipt, the quantity that made it into the statue, and the cost of each, all of it accurately calculated, and the grand total being enough that the churches finances would be ruined if it fell a single time, let alone more than once. “There’s no way. If your church could afford such things then I’d have heard something about it, there’s no way you were able to put these sorts of resources into a statue! I’ve put up with everything else you said, but I will not let you scam us out of resources you couldn’t possibly have used!”
“Well, aside from the fact that my god can verify that everything I put is correct, let me give you a hint,” Ben laughed. “Do you even know what race makes up most of our faith?”
“How could that possibly matter?”
“It’s the succubi. In fact, my church has quite a good relationship with the current leader of Anailia.”
“What does that have to…” He trailed off and fell silent as he read through the list again, realizing exactly what Ben was implying. The greatest cost by far was the magic materials that made it up, which also happened to be the main export of Anailia, the world's biggest supplier of such things thanks to the great earth spirit who made his home there.
“Looks like you got it figured out,” Even if that has barely anything to do with how I got those materials. “So what will it be, see if I’m bluffing and let it come crashing down, or accept the truth? It’s up to you.”
As Felth switched his gaze between Ben and the statue, he didn’t think the other man was bluffing and it made him want to be sick, all the more so when he realized that the window was still closed. The enchantments keeping it suspended in the air were running off whatever mana was in the statue still, nothing else, making him scream at the priests behind him.
“Why has nobody started supplying it with mana yet? All mages, get up there now!”
The panic in the apostle’s voice drove the priests beneath him to action as half of them ran off, knowing that when they got there they would have to deal with the still injured Ather trying to force them away.
None of that mattered to Ben though, he knew he’d won and as a final act handed over a small booklet of talking points about Myriad before he walked away, leaving the other man in a panic while he got back in the cart where Thera and Falk waited, both staring at him in shock as he did.
“Feel like we just got front-row seats to a very scary side of you boy,” His teacher commented while Thera gave her own take as she started to drive off.
“Just what did his church do to your god that brought out that?”
“Oh you know, this and that,” He told her, trying to brush it off. “Gotta say though, that was exhausting. Don’t mind me taking a little nap.”
She shook her head as he closed his eyes and he almost thought he’d managed to delay things enough for him to figure out just how to explain everything, only for him to feel the cart immediately pick up a dangerous level of speed, his eyes snapping open to his friend staring far harder at him than the road in front of her.
“Um, Thera?”
“Ben,” She began in her sweetest voice, the sort that would make his heart flutter if he didn’t think he might die. “There’s one other thing I wanted to ask, it’s kind of a similar topic. Just what did you mean when you spoke to the sky about almost killing someone's son? Oh, and I’m not slowing down till you give me an answer since it’s obvious you’ve been trying to hide something.”
Feeling the danger to his life more than any time he’d stood before Ather or Felth, he quickly gave in, letting her know everything that happened.