[STT] Chapter 100: Controlled Damage (Patreon)

AN: 100 chapters, damn, noice. Gimme pet pics NOW ૮₍ •̀ ᴖ •́ ₎ა

Ben POV

Ben went for the tempering pill early the next day, and he was looking forward to testing out [Adaptive Regeneration]. With the tempering pill into play, he wondered what kind of effect that would have on his body.

Of course, the tempering pill would make his body vulnerable to the mana, and then that would temper his body in turn.

But what happens when you put [Adaptive Regeneration] to the mix? Would he adapt to the tempering pill? What would that look like? Or would he adapt to the mana? But then, if he adapted to the mana, what would that look like?

I'm really curious.

So when he took the pill under Vanessa's watchful eyes, he expected the rawness and pain like yesterday, what he didn't expect was what happened about a minute in.

The pain started backing off as [Adaptive Regeneration] kicked in, and he didn't feel the rawness any longer.

It was weird.

And he didn't know what to make of it.

Stranger was his mana, because it felt like it had stopped doing whatever it was doing to his body, and just sat there, as though it was confused. As though it was hesitant to do anything, before the process restarted tearing through his body far more aggressively than previously. Ben gasped, and Vanessa looked startled, and started doing something to him.

He felt life mana invade his body, prodding and pushing and doing something to his core, but after the sensory overload reached a certain point, it stopped, and then, Ben could tell that while it was continuously increasing in intensity, he was adapting at the same pace.

So he was in an equilibrium of sorts, with the mana tempering his body at the same rate his body adapted to the tempering, prompting the mana to "attack" in different ways.

It was a weird feeling, and it lasted longer than before, a lot longer.

He felt Vanessa's questioning eyes on him, but he ignored her, focusing on himself.

By the time he was done, Vanessa had an odd look on her face.

"Hm," she said, her hand still on his back, observing any changes to his body.

She had been on watch throughout the process so she probably understood what was happening more than he did.

"What?" He asked.

"Your body was adapting to the tempering process as it was happening. It is a strange thing. As the one responsible for your health during these procedures, I must request you to divulge whatever skill that is. It is, after all, my responsibility to understand what is happening in your body, and make sure nothing goes wrong. Worry not, however, as we are under oath not to divulge such information to anyone else without your consent. You should know this as a disciple of our House."

Ben didn't, actually, and he suspected the reason for that was that he hadn't really entered the House the normal way...

Still...

[Adaptive Regeneration Lvl 1 > Lvl 2]

[Warforged Lvl 15 > Lvl 16]

He got two levels out of that, which was insane. Sure, this was the first time he'd exposed [Adaptive Regeneration] to mana tempering, so it was probably because of that he gained levels that fast or easily. So he expected this to slow down the more he did it.

But still, quite amazing.

[Warforged] leveling up was a nice surprise. But did he want to reveal [Adaptive Regeneration] to her?

Well...

Might as well.

"It's called [Adaptive Regeneration]."

Bobby looked up from his log, and Vanessa didn't say anything for a moment, staring at him with a weird look on her face.

"Ben, be honest with me."

"Okay."

"Do you understand what a tempering pill actually does?"

"No, honestly. I just know it does something to my body to make it vulnerable to mana, and that somehow makes the body more used to that mana or something?"

"It's damage. Controlled damage, which is the whole point of the procedure. It is, however, damage all the same. The body breaks a little, and heals better than it was, adapted to what broke it. That's how our—ascenders—bodies work."

"That's... good, right? With [Adaptive Regeneration], I can heal faster, and better yet, adapt more? Isn't that a good thing."

Vanessa sighed, and Ben wondered why.

"What you're doing is essentially artificially increasing the dosage. It's the same as eating more pills. I'm surprised you survived today. Please never hide any skill you even remotely think would have any similar effects on this procedure."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh," she scoffed.

Is she related to Alice or something. He almost chuckled. "I won't hide anything."

"Good. Now, for the time being, I want you to reduce the pills to a fourth of what you were taking. Uh-uh, stop, I won't let you take the risk. Once I'm assured this will be okay for you—I need to observe for a few days—I will allow you to increase dosage back to a single pill. Got it?"

Ben didn't like that. But, well, he understood why she was telling him this.

"...Yes, ma'am."

###

The bird had returned to his bed when he got back to his room, surprisingly. He'd thought it'd gone for good. It had been going away and coming back periodically since he got it for some reason.

Knowing what the bird was like, it was probably out eating mana or something.

Where do you go exactly?

Shaking his head, Ben poured mana into a sphere the size of a watermelon on his hand, and then compressed it to the size of a grape, tossing it into the air a few times, watching as the bird bobbed its head following the movement.

"I really don't get you. You're a weird bird, you know that?"

It chirped.

"Yeah, yeah, you're a good bird, I get it. Why don't you tell me where you go when you go missing?"

It chirped again, lunging for the mana. Ben moved it away.

"Ah, uh-uh, this is mine." He said, tossing it into the air and catching it.

The bird flew onto his shoulder, and bit his ear, which felt like a toothless bite. Felt soft more than anything.

He laughed, pushing the bird away with the hand that was holding the mana, and the bird lunged, gobbling up the dense mana ball in one bite, before making a satisfied trill.

"Hey!"

The bird flew away, spinning and dancing in the air, leaving a trail of speckles of mana in its wake, before disappearing in a poof.

The little bastard could teleport, and it typically did out of nowhere. Going who knows where. Then it'd return when hungry for some mana.

Greedy little thing.

Regardless, he had a skill to level up now that he had all the time in the world to himself.

###

Vanessa POV

When she sat down with Gerald, he didn't so much as open his eyes, feet dipped into water near the pond, eyes closed, enjoying the moment.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked, a lazy smile on his face. "You're out of the infirmary early."

"Bobby's keeping things running for me. It's quite enough these days that I can leave it to him for a few hours these days."

"Hm."

The garden was warm, and rather beautiful, with water trickling down from the rocks. There were a few fish in the pond, swimming about, and there were even some birds.

What a peaceful scene.

"The commoner lit the third mark," she said eventually.

"So I've heard."

"And his body adapted to the tempering pill after only two doses."

"Ah, so that's what you're here about."

"Gerald, I had my hands on him when it happened. I saw what happened. You knew, did you not? Don't tell me you didn't, you are not so senile so as to not recognize the signs."

"Oh, I'm not. I just didn't think he'd get to that so fast."

"You let me temper his body knowing that."

He opened one eye and stared at her, shutting it a moment after. "I'm retired, Vanessa."

"Uh-huh. Yet you pointed him to tempering pills all the same."

"I told him I don't take students. I haven't taken one in a very long time, and I won't take one now. Eris wanted him in the House, I just granted her wish."

"But that's not all she asked for, is it?"

He opened his eyes, and glanced at her, his Trait shining through those eyes of his for a split second, and she felt laid bare for a moment. "Eris... has always asked for a lot of things, but she is not a child any more. She is capable, she can teach him himself if she wants to."

Vanessa waited for more, wondering if he'd say anything more, but he just left it there. He closed his eyes again, and went back to his relaxation. She didn't like that.

"You need to let go. It's been more than long enough."

"You should go back to the infirmary, Vanessa."

Her jaw tensed. She stood up and walked away. Gerald had gone back to ignoring her. She was angry, but there was nothing she could do. As always.

It was a shame.

The boy had potential.

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