Looking around, Fone taking stock of how things had ended up as well as the damage the chimeric group had taken, their leader asked one question before making any firm choices.

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“Can any of you detect any other demons in the vicinity?”

He looked at the chimeras and all of them gave a negative before turning to the rest of the adventurers, getting the same and leaving their leader to nod.

“Alright, given how that turned out we’ll be taking a break for a couple hours so everyone make sure to eat and get a bit of rest. Thera, I’m sorry but if I could ask you to deal with the wounded?”

“Of course,” She nodded, looking at the rest and seeing results far worse than from the first encounter. While there were no broken bones or lost limbs, she was seeing cuts deep enough that they could become problems in the future if they weren’t treated along with what looked like swelling from some injuries that she wanted to properly appraise. “For now, anyone who’s actively bleeding, with me. I’ll look over the rest of you after.”

She spoke with the firmness of a healer far too used to unruly patients and without a word the group moved at her orders, the most obviously injured going her way while the rest of them got settled as Ben made a fire to begin cooking, pulling ingredients from his rings to pull together a simple meal and very quickly noticed eyes moving to him as they smelled the food he was putting together.

What others had packed was largely dried goods, something simple that could be stored and consumed for what was supposed to be a couple days out in the woods but largely lacking in terms of flavour. Then there was himself, the holder of an eighth-leveled awakened crafting cooking around them. The food he could make might as well have been hard drugs in comparison with not only the heightened senses of the chimeras making them extra aware of that fact but even the adventurers they’d come with.

Even Pato and his party, who had the advantage of an awakened space magic which meant he could carry larger volumes of ingredients without having to worry about space, were looking over, ignoring their meal that was much the same in terms of dried meat with only the benefit of some fresh fruit to go along with it, telling him that none of them were much in the way of cooks and leaving Ben to sigh as he turned to Fone who was at least trying to be slightly less obvious about his desires.

“Hey Fone, I don’t mind cooking for everyone so long as anyone who wants a bowl supplies some ingredients for me to work with if that’s cool with you?”

“You heard him,” The oni said, getting up and offering some of his own dried meat, just as attracted to the smell of what Ben had already been making as anyone else. “All of you just make sure you’re going to be polite about it if you take him up on that.”

With the offer out, people started to move, with the chimeras not in the middle of treatment coming to offer some of their dried goods while Pato came over to offer some of his group’s available fruits and vegetables, looking like he wanted to say more but holding back to let Ben cook.

Which first meant pulling some more raw metals from his rings, reshaping them to make a large enough pot for the amount of people he now needed to feed as he prepared what he’d consider a simple stew, using some of his own supplies to help fill it, even if he was making good use of what he’d already been given.

Materializing water and some of the compounds that existed within the meat cells he’d learned to materialize, he could now in essence create a broth on demand before using it with his material manipulation to force the dried meat he’d received to take in some of the liquid to rehydrate it while at the same time softening it with the destructive aspects of that same skill, creating something far more tender than it otherwise would have been before pulling out a knife to dice some of the vegetables, again using his magic to help break them down faster to speed up the cooking process.

Once done he materialized salt and pulled a few more seasonings to add before deciding to make it just a bit thicker by materializing the fruit cells he’d learned to create without connecting them into a greater whole, letting them easily break down to improve the texture of the broth.

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From there it became a matter of micro-adjustments, using his material sense in tandem with his magic to see which bits could be further softened for an optimal eating experience before he was comfortable calling it finished, leaving him to materialize bowls and spoons for the people around him to take advantage of and a ladle for himself to distribute.

“Alright, food’s ready so come and get it.”

“Hmm? Already?” Fone asked, walking up for a bowl as he looked it over with a hint of interest. There’d been times on overnight outings he’d made soups with some of his preserves just for the variety but that had always been a matter of hours instead of the minutes they’d just watched. If anything, it seemed like all Ben had done was only enough to warm the ingredients, not actually cook them, but Ben just smiled.

“The benefits of being around a master craftsman. Things come together a bit easier than they would for most people. It’s all ready to eat and even if it’s not going to be the best thing I’ve ever made, I’m willing to bet it's going to be one of the best you’ve ever eaten out in the woods.”

“Ah, my apologies, I did not mean to doubt you when you were so generous. Thank you for the food.”

The way his three eyes lit up after having his first taste told everyone all they needed to know and it wasn’t long before the rest came over for their own bowls, all of them giving high evaluations the moment they tasted it and leaving Ben to distribute bowls to the ones Thera was still working on healing before handing one to his girlfriend as well as she finished up with the main group in need of treatment, letting her take a break as they talked to the side.

“So, what do you think of them so far?”

“I don’t know,” She sighed as she ate, trying to keep somewhat quiet about it. “I don’t want to sound like I approve of what my aunt’s done but at the very least, she’s good at it. Each of them healed so easily compared to a normal person, I think the wounds probably would have been gone by tomorrow even without my intervention and taking a closer look at their bodies, well, they’re unreasonably well put together.”

“Gonna make me jealous hearing that.”

“You know what I mean. I’ve never given much thought to how a person’s physical structure is set up beyond trying to make sure it's put back to its regular state after they’ve been injured but what I’m seeing… She’s reinforced areas that I know get prone to injuries in most species and she must have made dozens to hundreds of minor alterations that I can’t begin to guess the reason behind beyond just minor boosts to efficiency and even then I’m not certain of exactly how it’s improving things beyond a few guesses here and there but from what we’ve seen so far it’s pretty obvious it’s worked. No matter how the last fight went, both have shown just how much power she was able to build into them and… I don’t know. How does all of this look to you?”

“It has its trade-offs,” He admitted. “They’re powerful, that’s for sure, and if they’re going to be fast to heal even without the intervention of a life mage that’s all the better, but they’re struggling a lot more under the surface than any of them are trying to let on. You can’t just take traumatized people and turn them into soldiers, even if they are just a proof of concept. Hell, you can’t be traumatizing them more either. For me, coming to this world was hard enough at first but I have no clue how I would have reacted if the gods had made me a body that didn’t look anything like me. If Vividus is going to so deeply alter their appearances in all future attempts then even if she finds volunteers in perfect mental health, that could easily have an effect and it’s looking pretty obvious that it’s making it easier for dark magic to take hold. Of course, that also means it’s going to be easier to use that magic on most people given that most of the world is probably some degree of traumatized from the invasion so looking at it that way is it even worth considering? I honestly don’t know.”

There was a lot to consider and plenty still to look at but if Ben was going to have to give an answer as to whether they’d be worth it as he was seeing things then and there, the answer he’d have to give was a hesitant yes. He still had his worries but all of the chimeras had already proven their strength compared to an average demon and as far as he could see, none of them had any proper training to let them really take advantage of that strength.

But what if that boost of power was given to a soldier who was already skilled in fighting or a mage who would then be able to fight right in the wave instead of keeping their distance when they’d cast their spell? Hell, what about altering some healers so they could more easily participate on the front lines or any runners that had the job of trying to pull any injured fighters into the safety of the fortresses instead of fighting head-on? There were a million places worth having people in various jobs getting a bit more strength and durability and with the positives currently outweighing any negatives and the great life spirit willing to provide, why shouldn’t the world take advantage of it?

No matter what issues would be going into his report he could already see a world where those changes would become more common, all he could do was ensure it would be as complete and detailed as possible to allow any potential person who’d undergo those changes to make the most informed choices they could, so with that in mind he left Thera to treating the more minor injuries after they finished eating while he went to a group of the chimeras sitting by themselves, wanting to see what other answers he could find.