I’m still going the right way?

<You are.>

After getting as close as he could through the world’s gate network, Ben had to resort to flying to the rest of his destination, at least trying to make the trip comfy by sitting on a chair and carrying that with his magic, rather than acting on his body and clothing directly, even if it made quite a sight to the people he passed on the way.

Grassland gave way to forest, but eventually, forest fell to desert, leaving an endless stretch of sand beneath him while he kicked his legs, having to hold a barrier in front of him to cut the wind and sand as well, his god talking to him as they went.

<And you’re really sure that giving an outsider a body isn’t going to end horrifically poorly for the planet?> 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t be doing it. You really shouldn’t let your racism slip through like this.

<It’s not racism, it’s prejudice! Nothing about outsiders that have made their way into the universe makes them sound like things we should be willing to be so casual with!>

Yeah, well, maybe the issue is that none of the void gods who’ve ever seen one before were willing to get to know them and talk things through. I’d say the one I’ve got has been nothing but friendly. At least, after understanding that other people exist. It’s great, you’re gonna love it.

<Ugh, I don’t think I’ll be introducing myself.>

That would be a little messed up of you, considering that I’ve convinced it to be your believer.

<WHY?>

Well, for one, I am your apostle; it’s in the job-

<You literally never do that job!>

I throw your name on products that get spread across the entire world and have personally advertised you a few times when it’s come up.

<Fine, you never actively do that job! Why is this the time that you’ve decided to work at getting me a believer?>

That’s because, two, this should make things easier on it if word gets out, which realistically, it will eventually. If it’s staying with me, both Thera and Mora are going to see it, Falk too if he ever gets the free time to visit; they’ll all be able to figure out that something’s up. By giving faith to you, other gods will have to go to you before trying to do anything to one of your believers and hopefully, in that time, we can prove that it’s just a sweet little fella.

<... You’re using me as a shield.>

Hmm? Yeah, obviously. It works in your favour though, now you have two third tiers worshiping you. You’ve basically hit the god jackpot, so make sure you properly introduce yourself and give it your blessing. Ah, no skill though. Or at least, if you can manage it, a skill that’s not connect. I already explained things to it and I’ve even modified its soul crystal so nothing weaker than me would be able to connect to it either. Don’t want it touching anyone and melting their brain, you know?

<... Fine, whatever.> Myriad gave in. <In that case, have you at least given it a name so we can have something more than ‘it’ to call it?>

I’m working on it. Trying to give it some proper thought. Considering that it’s been kicking my ass at board games, I suggested Yahtzee but it wasn’t a fan.

<How can you possibly be losing to it at any game when you have to be simulating them in your head?>

We’ve mainly been playing ones where info doesn’t have to be hidden away from the other player, and I very politely don’t read its mind while it’s strategizing because I’m not a poor sport. It really likes playing backgammon, but that just doesn’t roll off the tongue as far as names go, you know?

<I feel like I don’t know anything when we talk.>

Awe, don’t worry too much about that, buddy. You’ll make for a great conversation partner during the eternity we’ll have to hang out.

<Ugh…>

Ben laughed, enjoying himself right until his destination came into sight, a far more brutal scene taking the place of that bit of amusement as he came upon the ruins of a large town, an army surrounding it but clearly having finished what they’d been sent out there for, with dead demons littering the streets.

With them were other bodies though, both those who had to have lived there and those who’d been sent to fight, the look of it all bringing the dryads back to the front of his thoughts. If the demons had been just a few days earlier in that particular attack, the village would have been taken over while he was off in some distant city. Even if he would have rushed to get there, odds were good that he would have arrived to a sight similar to the one he was looking at there as he set himself down to walk through the rubble.

Through that, he tried to move though, having a destination among the army in their search, only stopped from the touch of connect reaching out around him, not linking to a soldier but instead a mind, barely conscious under what had once been a building.

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“Over here!” he yelled, getting attention his way at the same time that he began moving every bit of wood, stone, and metal away for safety, revealing the young man buried beneath for stretchers to pick up and carry to their healers. One more sight to live forever in his thoughts.

…

<Ben?>

It’s nothing, it’s just… I really do need more power.

<If the way you’re thinking of doing it is somehow worse than connecting to an outsider, then you really don’t. This is all just a fact of life by this point, Ben. It’s not something to kill yourself over because you want to solve it.>

The idea I’ve got shouldn’t kill me; it’s a completely different issue.

<What sort then?>

…I don’t know.

Feeling a conflict in him that he still couldn’t put his finger on, with the reveal of one person still living amongst the chaos that had befallen them, Ben let himself be delayed in reaching his destination, instead sweeping over the settlement to look for more survivors and finding two others hidden away, broke but breathing under all of the rubble.

Only two others, he told himself, with that and the dryads both leaving the thought that he should be doing more. He was powerful. Even if he still needed to be even more powerful, he couldn’t just not use his abilities to help people, but how could he do more good than he currently was? Sure, he could join an army, fight on the front lines with them to try and clear the demons from that world before the next wave, but would that be more valuable than the tools he could design and distribute, or the way he could uplift people with the knowledge and authorities he held? Thinking he might be able to achieve the strength to kill the demons’ god was already ridiculous on the verge of narcissism; thinking he could do even more to try to save the world than he already was on top of that was basically vanity.

<You’re already playing your part more than admirably. I see those mana and buff bracelets on the people around you and I see a few with your authority bracelets too. The amount of lives you’ve saved with those alone would go far beyond what you could manage by joining in on different battles each day.>

You’re not wrong, I’m just going to eventually need to devote some time to thinking about what more I could be doing as a craftsman then.

There was sure to be more after all, both discoveries to be made, as well as applications of knowledge he had yet to touch on, but he pushed both to the back of his thoughts. The person he was looking for was finally before his eyes, with Steph working with other healers to treat the injured.

Still, he didn’t go to interrupt, letting them work, even if he quietly helped a bit from afar, applying his authorities and hearing a few levels go off in some of their heads, even if neither life nor light magic grew in any of them.

But then, even if there are ways to use those both evilly or destructively, doesn’t seem like they’re doing so, he noted, not having much of a sense of how close any of those skills were to leveling in any of them. At times like this, I wonder if it would help if I were able to awaken to soul authority too. Would life magic fall under it since it eventually awakens to soul magic? Hell, for that matter, could I technically apply it to any skill since all of them are bound to the holder’s soul?

It was a useless line of thought, even if curious. As it was, it seemed he had no way of cheating himself to that authority, though it did raise questions in him about another. Since both evil and destructive seemed to play with three different perspectives when dictating what would fall under their effects; being his perspective, the target’s perspective, and the world’s perspective, it did make him wonder how multiversal inclination would act as an authority. Would it be completely useless on other people, or, as someone hailing from a different universe himself, would any skill not native to Earth fall under it, even for the people he would apply it to?

A curious thought, but one he didn’t feel optimistic about seeing out to the end. Multiversal authority was growing slowly compared to so many other skills he had, the fact that he had only just awakened it instead of already being a contender for it was proof enough of that. Even if that were something that he might manage in the future, it was going to be an issue of years, not something to be finished in months, and without the guarantee of years still ahead of him, it was a curiosity that would be left to rot.

He didn’t let any of those feelings about what he should be doing or what the future would hold touch his face though. He was there to see a friend, and with her work done, he lost all qualms about waving her down.

“Well, don’t you look busy,” he grinned as their eyes met, Steph looking brighter for seeing him than she had been moments before when she’d been closing wounds on both the survivors and soldiers who’d fought.

“Ben, what are you doing here!”

“Came to see you. I had a teeny, tiny favour to ask for. I was hoping you could help.”

“Ha, yeah, I guess you would be busy. What do you need?”

“A very particular homunculus. I was hoping you’d be willing to make one for me.”

“Hmm? I mean, I can try, I guess, but why? Thera should be way better at this than me.”

“Er, well, it’s kind of a bit of a surprise,” he evaded, still having no clue how he was going to explain to his girlfriend his decision to give a body to the outsider they’d worked so hard to kill in the past. “She’ll see it when I bring it home, but I was hoping you’d be able to give me a hand?”

“Well, alright, I guess. In that case, what am I making? Not another Ben clone, right?”

“No, this is going to be a fair bit more difficult than just a clone, to be honest,” he told her as he pulled three pictures from his rings, detailing skeletal, muscular, and physical features, seeing Steph raise her eyes in surprise as she looked them over.

“You being serious?”

“It’s what I need.”

“I mean… you know what, sure, I guess it would be pretty cute to see something like this. I’m going to need a lot of different samples to make it work though, and as much as I hate to say it, I’m probably going to need you in my head to help.”

“Way ahead of you. I got a few hundred biological samples from the people of Stonewall who seemed to have the traits I needed to have something like this built.”

“... Ethically, right?”

“Discreetly is a type of ethically, right?” he shrugged, pulling out samples of hair, flesh, and blood that he’d been able to steal by materializing and controlling tiny constructs shaped like biting insects to harvest what he’d needed. “I’ve got pictures of each. If we just grow their cell volume a bit to give us more to work with, then we can move on to make a few practice attempts for the proper homunculus.”

“Ben, part of my job here is getting everyone home when we’re done.”

“Then I’ll tag along if you need more time. It would be a good chance to see Will for a bit too.”