[STT] Chapter 90: Ready (Patreon)

"Don't stay up all night messing with it." Ethan warned him before they parted ways.

"I won't. I'll see you tomorrow."

Marcus was already asleep by the time Ben got to his tent, and crawled into his bed as the bird sat on the bedpost, watching him, and he examined it with [Mana Sonar].

[Mana Sonar] told him it was a construct, but it was unlike any construct he'd ever seen. It was quite frankly hard to describe or even observe properly, it was that much outside his grasp.

To think she made it on a whim and so fast on top of that...

It was a complex thing, and he was sure that it would take him a long time to figure it out. But he would, in time.

Regardless, he ignored the bird and pulled up [Healing Mark], having done this a thousand times before.

Two containers of life mana sitting in his chest, walls he'd strengthened and reinforced with [Warforged], ready to burst and dump healing into him when he got hurt badly enough.

He thought it was pretty good, but now that he had [Mana Shaping], he could do more.

It was the same construct, nothing had changed, but since [Mana Shaping] opened up new ways for him to tinker with it, he saw things differently now.

I could do it this way now...

The inherent limitations he had before had just disappeared, and he was free to experiment in ways he hadn't considered previously.

An hour passed, and he was still fiddling with the construct.

There were a few issues with the construct, for instance the place where the two containers met was lumpy as hell, given that he'd just jammed the second container into the first until it stuck. Brute force, so to say. He was good at that.

Still, hours passed as he messed around with the construct, and he could see it getting smoother and more refined. [Mana Manipulation] paired with [Mana Sonar] was good enough as is, but adding [Mana Shaping] to the mix was insane.

The construct just bent to his will, it was easier to direct, easier to work with, it was... so damn good, he could not believe he'd waited this long to evolve the skill.

But it was so slow to work with a construct like this that he lost track of time, once he was done with that, he moved over to [Learning Model] and found himself appreciating the craftsmanship all the more amazing.

It was... beautiful.

He was looking at a master's work, he was sure of it now more than he'd ever been. It was perfect, in his opinion.

And the longer he looked at it, the more he found to love. There were still parts of it he didn't understand, but his understanding grew simply from looking.

It was that good.

Eventually, his stomach rumbled, bringing him out of his trance, and he went out to stretch his legs a little, realizing it was nearly morning.

[Mana Shaping] and [Mana Manipulation] paired together turned out to be an insane combination, so he wanted to see how it would fare for his more normal usage—like fighting or external constructs to use as throwables.

Popping a nutrition pill, he blasted into the sky, [Ignition Step] taking him high above the camp. He looked down at the dark camp, the stars shining above, and felt at peace.

Then he made a [Mana Cannon], shaping it with his new skill and reimagining it as something far more destructive.

###

[Mana Sonar Lvl 16 > Lvl 17]

[Mana Manipulation Lvl 16 > Lvl 17]

[Mana Shaping Lvl 1 > Lvl 3]

[Mana Cannon Lvl 13 > Lvl 14]

The levels flew by, and he could see the difference [Mana Shaping] made. The cannon was much more... lethal.

It felt so much more dense and powerful, and it scared him a little to hold it. One wrong move and it would blow up in his hands.

Regardless, he went over to Alice to tell her the decision he'd made.

By the time he made it back to his tent, Marcus was up and cooking something that he gave Ben the moment he entered. "Eat."

"What's the special occasion?"

"Nothing much, I just wanted to try cooking. I've never cooked before, so I don't know how good it is though." Marcus gave him an expectant look as he pushed the plate over.

Ben looked at the atrocity Marcus called cooked food, and hesitatingly grabbed a piece of... something, that looked like meat. He put it in his mouth and chewed, staring at Marcus's expectant eyes.

He swallowed.

"Good." He said. "It's good."

"Really?"

"Really."

Marcus smiled, and Ben forced down another bite. "It's so good I don't ever want to eat again."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. So good I think it's a crime to share."

"Really?" His smile widened.

Ben deadpanned. "I will guard this food with my life." He said, and he meant it.

Nobody should have to go through eating that.

"Thanks, Ben! I'll cook more!"

Ben took a deep breath. "No, I mean, you should save it for a special occasion."

"Hm. I'll cook for Alice next time."

"She'll love it. Anyway, I'm going to House Vane today," he said between bites, not having it in him to not eat the food his friend made for him.

"You are?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. Well, good for you man, Vane's a good House."

"I guess."

"No, I mean it. They've been having some internal issues lately, but they're one of the major powers in the region. It's not the best option, maybe, but it's a good one. At least you won't be bullied like in some of the smaller Houses, you know? Just be careful in there though, it's a bit fragmented at the moment so you might end up in the middle of a turf war."

"Right. Thanks for the warning."

"Anytime. Shame, though, my family would've liked you."

"I'm not a healer, Marcus."

"Yeah, I know. It's unfortunate. Still, the offer is still open if you ever change your mind. My family's all healers, but they're good people. We're not the biggest House around, but we're not the worst either."

Ben appreciated that a lot.

"Anyway, eat some more! Eat some more! You're Tier 2 now, that hunger must be insane!" Marcus scooped over some more food, and Ben died a little inside.

###

"Why do you look dead," Ethan said, "I mean, deader than usual."

"Don't ask."

"...okay? Anyway, are you ready to head out?"

"Yeah."

"I see. Glad you chose Vane. Far better than being unaffiliated, you'll be safe there."

"Good to know."

"You're not very talkative today."

"My stomach hurts."

"Was it the food?"

"...yeah."

"Ah."

Alice joined them soon after, and Ethan let out a hum. "Well, I guess I will see you at Haven."

He left, leaving Ben behind with Alice, who took him over to her aunt's tent. Alice was, unexpectedly, quiet the whole way there. Though she did pull out things from her spatial ring before they entered. "The shards and pills substituting the shards he didn't have."

Ben took them into his holding bag and they walked into the tent together, where Eris greeted them with a bright smile.

"Little bird, I'm glad you took my advice."

Ben didn't meet her eyes, and Alice ignored her aunt and looked at Ben. "Are you sure about this?"

He thought about it.

His plan had been to get off this expedition at the first town they passed and stay as far away from noble politics as he could. But then he'd gotten stronger, and the world had opened up to him.

He saw the potential for what he could become, and realized that on that road, he was bound to meet the nobles and their politics eventually.

Maybe it was better to join a House and be protected, and maybe House Vane was the best option.

Enemies would be made, and they would come after him regardless of whether he was in a House or not. So, perhaps, being in one was better than not being in one. He didn't know.

He trusted Alice, though, and he trusted Ethan's judgment. So he nodded.

"Yeah, I think so."

He'd thought about it last night, and he'd come to the conclusion that there was no harm in trying it out.

Plus, the knowledge and potential tutelage under someone he assumed was amazing with mana was too tempting to pass up.

Alice let out a sigh. "Alright."

"Great!" Lady Eris said, clapping her hands. "Now, we need to get your name on the register, and I'll send it to the House. Then we wait for a response, and if they approve, you'll go through several tests to see if you're suitable, and then you'll be given a position and a mentor, and—"

"No, we won't," Alice cut her off.  "Cut off with the jokes, they're terrible."

Ah...

Thankfully, this was not going to be a bureaucratic nightmare Ben had assumed it was going to be, Eris was just joking around.

It seemed that, for some reason, Alice was in a bad mood whenever around her aunt, and Eris loved to poke at her, so it was no wonder they were clashing.

He was just glad they weren't actually going to do all that Eris had suggested.

Eris sighed. "Well, okay, you two are no fun, bullying poor old auntie like that. Anyway, little bird, be careful of what you observe when I slingshot you over to the House, the space in between is not a place to play around, understood?"

Ben nodded.

"Good. Then let's get this over with."

A cocoon of mana wrapped around him, and the world twisted.

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