Ben’s eyes shot open as he woke up, not from the notifications or any other stimulus, but more the lack thereof as he gently rubbed his temples, exploring the feelings and experiences of each of his many minds as a grin broke out across his face.
“Headache’s finally gone.”
It had been his constant companion for an unreasonable number of months, but in the last week he’d realized it had been wearing on him less and less, with the time of his torment finally coming to a close, bringing an all-but-forgotten level of relief with it.
“Quiet you, I just became a ninth-level meditation holder, there’s no way I’m gaining a level of either before my soul finishes whatever it’s doing, and I’m sure that if leveling either skill does happen I won’t be stuck with it for nearly a freaking year again. Honestly, how did I not get pain resistance after all of that? I’ve been through so much on top of the feeling of my brain trying to explode, the universe owes me it.”
“Bleh, I guess you’re right enough about that. If there was, I wouldn't be getting my second chance at life on a doomed world after being crushed to death on my first.”
After all, only sixty days left.
The end of the world was basically at their doorstep and it was showing any time he went outside. When he’d first returned to Stonewall after the ordeal with Galwax’s trial it had been clear enough in the people around, the anxiety and fear for the future, but it hadn’t been long for at least a lot of it to fade. No matter the horror there was to it, there was enough space where the pressures of daily life managed to be the bigger concern, at least for a time. Now though, as the day kept drawing closer, that same fear had come back in full force to infect the hearts of the people of the world, each of them showing it in their own ways.
“What do you want from me, man?” He sighed before getting dressed, off to start breakfast and the day as a whole. “I didn’t grow up hearing bedtime stories of otherworldly monsters trying to take my land and I have different nightmares taking up my dreams. I’m sure I’ll be good and traumatized if I survive the first wave so you can consider that something to look forward to if you want.”
“Ha, I’d say I have plenty of that, you just need to look a little closer at my thoughts to see it.”
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“Morning,” Thera said as she wrapped her arms around him while he cooked, seeming bright and cheerful in a way that Ben could tell was her way of pushing against the mood of the town, same with Sonya. Neither women were morning people, needing just that bit of extra time to get up usually, but they were putting on a show that he wasn’t going to call them out on, especially since he wasn’t sure either of them even realized they were doing it.
Like aunt, like niece.
“And a good morning to you too,” He told her, greeting her enthusiasm with his own as he turned to pick her up, spinning her around as he did with the sounds of Sonya’s laughter coming from behind them in the hall.
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“Well, don’t you seem chipper Ben?” She asked as she admired Thera’s golden face, her niece still preferring those little displays of affection not making it to her family's eyes, not even the ones she had made aware of their relationship.
“I can’t help but be in a good mood,” He said with a laugh. “After months of misery, I can finally know peace. My greatest trial has come to a close. My headache’s gone.”
“Really? That’s great!” Thera told him, sounding as revealed as he felt while she grabbed his face, checking his brain with her mana examination. “From the look of it, it does seem like a lot of the strain on your brain is gone. Did your god say anything about your soul?”
“No, he hasn’t checked but I doubt that’s done whatever it’s doing either. I was told probably two more months for that compared to the headache though so it should be soon.”
“And you won’t be raising your last two mind skills?” She asked through narrowed eyes as he held his hands up in his defense.
“Hey, you know I didn’t want that last level of complex mind either. I’ll be doing my bestest to make sure it doesn’t happen, I even just reached my ninth level of meditation too so just watch as I figure out how to awaken that.”
Hearing that, Sonya couldn’t help but look at him funny as he moved to put out breakfast. “And how many is that now?”
“Five at level nine with another four at eight.”
An outrageous number of high-level skills for anyone to have, she could only shake her head as she started to eat. “You’re lucky all of the nations that were hounding you in the past didn’t know about that, I can’t imagine how much more they would want you if they did.”
“Well then, here’s hoping nobody squeals on me.”
Dealing with the crowd of representatives from all walks of life had been a big enough of a pain that first time, he wasn’t looking for a repeat when they seemed content enough to leave him alone after being kicked out of town.
With his good news out of the way they moved on to talking about their coming days, Sonya working at the clinic as always while Thera took a different approach to her life magic that she’d begun after taking her last job. Since Sonya was able to do so much more for the clinic after drinking the god potions she could be left to it as Thera instead took the cart, flying around to many of the surrounding communities to offer her assistance in healing, each town and village having similar issues with keeping life and light mages to help when armies and nations were offering them top dollar.
To say it was for the good of helping wasn’t entirely true. Of course she was going to do what she could, but what had inspired the choice to do it had more to do with necessity than anything else. Thera’s mana pool was so large that she basically didn’t need to stop casting her magic unless it was to sleep, and for as much as the people of Stonewall got injured, it wasn’t to an extent where she could pull in as much job experience as she was able to by spending a few days of each week flying around, letting her get through her current one at a rapid pace.
“So do you think you’re getting close with it?” He asked, wondering just how far along she was.
“A month, maybe two left from the looks of it,” She said with a shrug. “But what about you? I think this is the longest I’ve ever seen you go without changing yours.”
“Ugh, it sure feels like it.”
He didn’t have much right to complain, he completed his often enough that it would raise eyebrows with anyone, even if he was constantly working himself to the bone to do it, but connected enchanter had been a struggle, even for him. Despite the fact that even as they spoke he was busy making and breaking enchantments across the three mythril bands he would wear on his wrists, and despite just how many ultra-rare items he had created since taking it, he was on a job beyond the master branch of enchanting, and he had one other drawback to go with it. Despite being a job so far along the enchanting path, it was one that was also meant to gain experience from connect, a skill that refused to awaken.
To call it aggravating would be an understatement. He’d understood it would be a challenge when he’d first taken it, but he thought he’d at least have gotten the payoff of seeing how the skill would grow by now. Even if those bonuses would continue to exist, and by all accounts still be excellent once he finished it, to have to feel like his progress was slowed without getting the result he so dearly wanted could only be annoying.
“The good news is I’m almost done it,” He told them, broaching a topic he knew he’d need to anyway to get his last few job levels done as fast as he could as he focused on his girlfriend. “So hey Thera, you know how you deeply love me? How I’m the light of your life? How being with me makes each of your days just that much better?”
“If by that you mean do I know how you’re my greatest point of stress? That each day I wake up asking if you’re going to get yourself hurt or attacked because that’s just how your luck goes? That I’m constantly expecting you to face some divine retribution for your far too casual way of treating the gods?”
She was mostly teasing, but it was easy enough to tell that she wasn’t going to like wherever this was going, a fact Ben himself was quick to confirm.
“No, I’m pretty sure we’re going with the things I said. Anyway, I have a bit of a favour to ask you, and you’re not going to enjoy at least half of it.”
“...Ugh, just tell me already.”