By the third hour of discussing the topic they lost Jake, the man falling asleep while listening to the conversation Ben and his three teachers were having. As much as he tried to learn, it was all just too dull for him.

Yuzu on the other hand gave up on the seventh, not because she was bored, but because she had reached beyond what she understood. She was becoming competent in soul magic, but what they were discussing pulled from all branches, it had gone well beyond the limits of her knowledge so she joined Thera and Amy who’d been talking amongst themselves, eventually leaving with them to show Thera the building she spent so much time learning in, as well as get everyone some snacks.

By the twelfth hour, the three great mages Ben was talking to had come to accept two very important things. He fully intended on using the entire span of a day with them as he was promised, and that the boy was brilliant. With everything they suggested, they saw him immediately apply it to different aspects of his theory, some they hadn’t immediately considered when they voiced it themselves as he thought aloud and jotted down notes, building up his idea as they went. After understanding what he’d originally had, all of them had suspected that if he built the enchantment on a rainbow mana crystal like he’d originally intended then there was a chance it would already do its job, but it was only growing more complex as they spoke until that chance became a certainty, and then from there moved beyond that, but with each suggestion came another question, another area he could improve upon without end as he refined both his idea and his understanding of magic as a whole.

The hours continued to tick by until they’d made it through the night and to the next day, and with only an hour left, Ben pulled two items from his bag. A rainbow mana crystal, and the knife he’d made what felt like so long ago to contain it, and he began applying the enchantments to both as the other mages watched on.

All of them had a high level of mana sense as both tier two and three magic skill holders so each of them could clearly see just what Ben was doing. Mana was blended and shaped and blended again as the spells that would have made it went beyond what he’d ever done before. It was only his second time enchanting since he’d leveled the skill and he was already pushing it to its new higher limits, but for all the mana and technique going into it, he knew the materials he was using wouldn’t break. Not just the rainbow mana crystal, which had a high capacity for enchantments like any magic material did, but also the knife he’d made specifically for this purpose. He’d made it early thinking it wouldn’t matter, and while that might have been too optimistic at the time, his skill had grown to such a degree that he knew at the very least in this case it would be fine, and as the enchantment went down, finally complete he looked at it and smiled, even as he felt near the bottom of his mana pool.

So the knife made it to lower ultra rare, and the battery to middle. Oh man, I am so freaking good!

He didn’t have any illusions about his abilities. He knew from being in the trial that he still couldn’t make ultra rare items consistently and the fact that he’d made it to middle at that was due to the months of study and planning that went into the design of it, along with not only help from the three in front of him as well as his teacher, but of his god too.

Nonetheless, it was a massive accomplishment for him. The sort of thing that he would be able to look to as one of his best works for years to come, what mattered was how repeatable it was. He had a number of rainbow mana batteries after all, just in case he ever needed them, so once he felt his mana restored to its full quantity he made two more, each of them turning out perfectly.

Now I just need to go and find some demons to actually test these on, He thought happily, only for his god to speak up when he did.

Ben wanted to argue with that immediately but decided that as much as he wanted to test it out that instant, there were plenty of other things he needed to do first, the top of the list being getting back to Stonewall to let Falk and Sonya know he was alive.

At the very least I guess I’ll wait a month so I can be sure I see everyone I need to and sort out some stuff, but after that, all bets are off.

“Well, looks like we’re all done here. Thanks for your help, all of you. With this, I’m a few steps closer to achieving my goals.”

He thought that would be the end of it as Jake perked up, thinking they could finally go. But all three mages had something to say in the end. In the hours they spent listening to the boy, beyond being brilliant there was one fact they were struck by. How tragic it was that he’d come to the world without any awakened magic skills like the others. The fact that he’d gained two non-affinitied ones was a benefit, but none could help but imagine just what he would have been able to do in the invasion if he had.

Even more than that though, seeing the way he thought up close, they couldn’t help but want to maintain a connection of sorts, even if it meant trying to keep him in their debt.

It was Elvat who spoke first, beckoning Ben as he prepared to leave. “Before you go, well let’s just say you impressed me Ben, let me give you a parting gift, free of charge.”

“Hell, if you’re offering I won’t decline,” He said, not expecting the offer. “What did you have in mind?”

“As you know, soul magic can increase the ease of a person's growth. Usually, I’d have to be around to apply it again and again in most areas, but just once, I can give you a blessing.”

“...What?” he asked, shock plain in his voice. As far as he knew, giving a blessing was a feature of gods, the fact that a mortal could do it wasn’t even mentioned in any of the books that he’d read up on the topic, but as everyone in the room looked equally surprised by the offer, Elvat just laughed.

“As a rule, it’s kept secret so don’t mention it to anyone. It could cause more chaos than any future soul mage would want to deal with, but your friends, as well as Uliel and Vasta have all already received one from me. It won’t be as powerful as something from a god which would help you grow in all areas, but if you tell me either the skill or attribute you want to permanently have an easier time raising then I can do it.”

Holy shit, I guess the guy’s destined for godhood when he dies anyway but I never would have guessed something like this would be on the table. An offer like this doesn’t exactly come often, does it? He thought to himself as he mentally went over the totality of his status. The idea of getting more help for one of his awakened skills was tempting, as was getting it for connect so that he might have an easier time awakening it in the future, and then there were his attributes. Getting it for his mana or mana regeneration could help him with all of his magic skills, letting him train them longer overall.

It was only as he kept mentally scrolling down his status that he realised something and came to a conclusion the soul mage didn’t expect.

“Rather than me, could I get you to give it to someone else?” He asked, turning to look at Thera as he did, stunning her in the process.

“Absolutely not,” She told him firmly. “Ben, I can’t take a blessing you were offered, are you out of your mind?”

“I actually think this is the most reasonable choice,” He said with a shrug. “I have four as is and you do the ever-important job of keeping me from dying. I’d much rather you have it than me.”

With the exception of Thera and the soul mages present, everyone was shocked to learn he already had four blessings from various gods. While there were people in the world who would take numerous trials, not to mention the tower trials as well, that was still more than anyone would expect from the average person.

Elvat though took the time to look closer at Thera as she argued with Ben, actually looking at her soul to get a sense of her and immediately seeing the worth in the act. One of his main tasks as a soul mage was to help people of enough potential and note grow after all, and seeing not only what she was, but how much power she had access to, it made her just as valuable to try and help raise up as any mage or warrior he’d blessed in the past.

“I’ll do you both,” He said simply, getting a quick response from Uliel.

“But Elvat, what about-”

“I’ll just need a few days to rest after, it will be fine. I can already see the worth in helping them both grow. Thera was it? Come closer and tell me what area you want to improve the most.”

She still looked uncertain but wasn’t going to turn such an offer down as she did what he asked, thinking for just a moment before she spoke her choice. “If you’d bless my life magic I’d be forever grateful.”

It was the magic she had the lowest affinity for so in principle it was the hardest to raise outside of her telekinesis, with the only reason her dark magics were lower leveled being that she didn’t do too much to train them, except of course for when she’d been coping with Ben’s loss. Not only that, but it was the magic she found herself needing all too frequently when Ben got injured.

With her choice made she watched as the soul mage closed his eyes in concentration, and only a few moments later heard the notification ring out in her head.

“Alright Ben, your turn,” He said as he beckoned to him, Ben taking his hand as Thera stepped away and stating his choice.

“In that case, if you’d bless my mana regeneration I’d appreciate it.”

Even if it only took him fifteen minutes to get back to his maximum, those were fifteen minutes he couldn’t practice to his full potential, and as handy as it would have been to raise his mana pool instead, he couldn’t help but think of how annoyed he’d be if he felt a gap in how long it took to regenerate everything he had grow. If anything, he wanted it to be as small as possible, letting him constantly work on his magic, as well as improving his enchantments as he went.

It took twice as long as it did for Thera, but soon enough he got the system confirming its success.

“Thank you,” Ben said sincerely. “This means a lot.”

“Use it well and don’t be afraid to stop by again in the future,” Elvat told him with cheer. “I’ll let the guards know you’re a recognised guest. Oh, and Yuzu, this is by no means an order, but if you get to the point where you can grant your blessing as well I’d recommend offering it to them.”

“If I do then I will happily,” She said through her magic tool, still feeling pleased to receive it. “Though it might be a while off.”

“Ha, but it’s never too late in the end,” Her teacher said as he waved them off. “Anyway, after all that I need to rest, it’s been a pleasure.”

With that he sunk into the ocean depths while Jake opened a portal back home, leaving both Uliel and Vasta to quickly decide what to do as they stepped through. Neither had expected the soul mage to do something so rash or impactful and it made coming up with anything that could compete no easy task, but a quiet look between them was all they needed as a singular idea formed.

“Well, it’s been great seeing you all and I’ll stop by again in the future, but as I’m sure you can imagine, plenty of people to tell I’m still alive so-”

“Just hold on for one more minute,” Vasta said, stopping him in his tracks as she quickly ran off, grabbing a fancy-looking letter and a pen to go with it, with both mages quickly scribbling in and handing it over to him.

“Um thanks?” He said, confused before asking the obvious question. “So what is it?”

“A letter of recommendation,” Uliel told him. “What do you know of the magic towers?”

“Um, something about eleven magic-themed trials as well as being home to the mages guild headquarters. Wait, don’t tell me this is permission to do the trials ‘cause thanks but no thanks, I never want to see a magic trial again.”

“You wouldn’t need a recommendation letter when you already have the qualification to take the trials,” Vasta explained. “This is for the great library you can find there, housing all of the world's published magical research. Ordinarily only the first floor is open for the public, this should get you and Thera access to up to the third.”

“Unfortunately it wouldn’t grant you access to the fourth or fifth, let alone the basement, but if you keep up your research this should be plenty helpful for you,” Uliel went on. “Think of this as a way of saying that we were impressed by your work. With everything we have to deal with we’re going to be busy for a while, but stop by again in the future and if we have time we’ll talk.”

Damn, if she’s being so friendly all of the sudden I really must have done something right.

He took the letter, doing his best to keep from looking too excited as he tucked it away. “Thank you, both of you. I don’t know what I could learn in there, but I’ll look forward to finding out.”