“...So anyway, helping with the rest of the setup wasn’t too bad, but then we were left trying to get back to a gate all by ourselves!” Sachel complained. “Couldn’t you have arranged anything like the trip out there?”

“Your trip out there and mine back meant making an ultra-rare item,” He shot back. “Besides, Myriad found a different space mage to help you eventually, didn’t he?”

“I mean, yes and I appreciate it, but getting back still ended up taking almost a month altogether. Are you sure we shouldn’t have moved their community closer?”

“Do you want to be the one that makes sure nobody makes any rash moves against them with the invasion kicking off in a few weeks?”

“Er, no, I get what you’re saying,” She sighed. Even if the demidemons were just people in the end and only their limbs and eyes shared the hallmark traits of an invader, that still left it far too possible that someone might see them and attack. By staying where they were already set up they were in an area they were used to, and it meant that neither they nor the rest of the world's people needed to get used to each other during an already delicate time.

“Well, I do appreciate you taking over for me, hence all of this,” Ben told her as he worked at a rapid pace to create a light chainmail for her, using a blend of materials and enchantments to give it all the strength it could have as he handed it over. “Here, try it on and let me know how it feels.”

“Surprisingly good,” She was quick to say, not having expected it just from comparing it against some other armour she’d tried in the past. “But it’s pretty light, are you sure it will give enough defense?”

“It’s light because I did a fantastic job making it,” He told her, almost offended she even had to ask. “And you’re wearing a lower ultra-rare item, of course it will have enough defense.”

Hearing that, she couldn’t help but jump as she looked down at herself and what she was wearing. If he was telling the truth then that had just become the most expensive thing she owned by a large margin, not to mention the highest-ranked thing she could be certain she’d ever handled. Hell, she doubted she’d ever used anything that was even rare before, the idea of bypassing that ranking entirely left her stomach in knots.

“I, uh, I don’t actually think I can take this,” She told him weakly, the idea of using something so valuable filling her with a deep level of fear. “I’m pretty sure I could sell this for a house.”

“Not quite at the current rank, and also just take it. It would be more inconvenient for me personally if you died not having it than the bit I’m losing out on the material cost and time. Also, if you haven’t noticed the shop, my stuff isn’t exactly being sold at market rates either but don’t go spreading that fact around, I don’t want to have to deal with scalpers.”

“Um, sure then, got it,” She told him, giving a deep bow. “In that case, thank you very much, I’ll put it to good use.”

With that she started to leave, her head swirling with the absolute scale of the cost of what she had on, only stopping as Ben grabbed her sleeve.

“Don’t be in such a rush, I have two more things to give.”

“This is already way too much!”

She appreciated what she had been given, but it was already the equivalent of being gifted a small fortune. To accept any more would be too much when what she’d been given was already so far beyond the realm of what any normal person might gift another.

Ben, seeing just how conflicted the idea left her, did his best to make the point clear.

“Sachel, you’re the oracle of Myriad,” He told her firmly. “The one I get to dump my work on, the one responsible for helping to grow the faith and spread his good name. This is not too much.”

“What was that about dumping work on me?”

“It’s important to both me and our god that you be safe,” He continued, completely ignoring the question. “So in the spirit of that, don’t try and push away the help we give you just because you feel like you’re not worthy of it. It’s no more than we think you deserve.”

Despite how casually he let it slip that he was leaving most of the actual work to her, she couldn’t help but be touched to hear how valued she was to both her god and the apostle who brought her to her faith, so doing her best, she pushed aside the feelings that came with gaining more than she thought she should get and gave a nod, ready to accept whatever it was.

“Alright, if you’re so sure then I won’t decline.”

“Good. So first take this,” He told her, handing over a necklace. “It’s for you, but your entire party can take advantage of it, just no spreading this around either, okay?”

“Sure, so what is it?” She asked, looking at the pendant. It had a beautiful tiny jewel being held in place at the center of a small metallic square, obviously made to represent their god, with whatever purpose it held being far from clear.

“Personal job crystal,” He told her, watching as the shock almost made it drop from her hands as she fumbled to keep it from hitting the ground. “It’s important to be able to change your jobs quickly so you don’t miss out on any experience for them so having something like this is a must. If there’s ever a time that you have to reveal you have it to anyone outside of your party, just tell them that it’s a benefit of being the oracle of Myriad since that’s technically the truth.”

“I, um, I didn’t realize they could be so small,” She muttered as she stared at it, all but transfixed. The ones she’d used in the past had all been around the size of her head, having one more similar to a finger joint was unbelievable. Even as she let herself touch it, briefly feeling as different options flooded her mind, it was still hard to accept as real.

“Ah, well, as good as I am I could only scale it down that low because I used a bit of rainbow mana crystal for it instead of something like quartz,” He said with a shrug, watching as she fumbled with it all over again.

“...Just how much would something like this even be worth?”

To her knowledge, nobody in the world got personal job crystals, the very idea of such a thing was ridiculous, but again Ben could only shrug.

“Technically nothing. You can’t legally sell job crystals so it’s actually worth more without the enchantment. A shame too, if I could sell these I’d become even more outrageously rich.”

She heard basically none of what he’d said, too focused on the extreme degree to which her gear had just changed with two simple items, and having the knowledge that there was still one more to go.

“Um, whatever you have left isn’t going to be quite so over the top, is it? I feel like I’m going to be robbed on the street with all of this already.”

“The next is just potions, don’t worry,” Ben told her as he pulled them out, seeing her relax right up until he described their effects. “I’m giving you six for now so that’s two for each of your party. Have one tonight and the second in a month and both times you should get a permanent extra three points to all of your attributes. I don’t think I need to tell you not to talk about this either, right?”

As things stood he had more than enough, the tree in his greenhouse producing a constant supply of the fruit thanks to the various enchantments around to stimulate it, but at the current time there were only five people having them. Considering it was in his best interest to keep Sachel alive and that he was making more potions than he could use, sharing his extras with her party was a good way to keep being the shining example of an apostle in her mind no matter what tasks he might dump on her in the future.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I think I heard wrong. What did you say they do?”

“You didn’t. I’m sure you heard the rumours about them since distribution has started worldwide now.”

And is making me even richer. Really should spend some of this money before I’m too dead to use it.

“I have, but I thought they were just rumours! How did you even get this? There’s no way I can accept anything so precious!”

“Nah, I have a pretty constant supply as the guy who figured out how to make them.”

“...”

“Sachel?”

“I think I need to lay down,” She muttered, nursing her head as she did. “I feel like I’ve just learned way too many things to keep secret. Is this why Myriad says you’re insane?”

“Hey, rude. I’m creative and driven.”

“You’re using what?”

“Don’t worry about it and moving on. Sachel, while I have you, if I was going to visit your village to try and buy more of the wood from your forests, do you think your grandmother could be convinced?”

That was the one limiting factor when making his potions, and while he knew there were other materials that could work, he was almost certain that any alternatives were being monopolized for the large-scale potion production happening in Anailia.

At the question though, Sachel could only shake her head as she still struggled to suppress the shock of all she’d just received. “You’ve seen how she can be and she’s as devoted to protecting our woods as you would expect. Heck, I was honestly shocked she gave you the three branches she did before. Maybe if you pay a fortune or just do something huge she could be talked into it, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

“How huge?” He asked as he eyed her, curious on if she had any ideas that wouldn’t leave him parting with all his well-earned cash.

“I don’t know, maybe if you were a powerful plant mage and could help the trees grow she’d be willing to trade some wood if you put in the work, but other than that I’m not sure there’s anything else she cares enough about to help you out.”

“Help the trees grow huh? There’s an idea. Alright, thanks.”

He waved her off, keeping her from thanking him too much for everything she’d been given as he took a seat at a desk, not having any other pressing work and instead talking to his god.

Happy?

I have more than I need so no harm sharing them a bit. More important than that, I think I can design a few things to stimulate tree growth more than I already have so I’ll need to look into that to see if that can get me into Hentath’s good books. Could you do me a favour and ask Jagal if she thinks using the byproducts of my possessed tree would hurt the plants from her world at all? That’s always an option too.

He’d been gathering the fallen leaves and fruit skins that hadn’t been going into his potions and using them as mulch for Fredrick and seeing it end with his dear plant gaining explosive levels of growth as a result, but there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t leave any byproducts in the ground that might harm the dryad’s grove, something he wanted to avoid at all costs if he was not only going to try and ask for a bigger supply of wood, but to stay in the dryad’s good books so they’d let him test out another idea altogether.

It will probably maybe be fine. Besides, if I want any chance of being able to use all of the awakened skills the world has to offer then this is the only real option I can think of.

He wasn’t going to waste his time on craftsman’s tower when he didn’t think he’d be making it to the top, meaning if he wanted a chance after all of his other failures to push his connect skill over the edge then he needed to be creative, but if he succeeded then a whole new world of creation would open up to him.

The defensive enchantments I can already do are already fantastic for anything anyone could reasonably expect to encounter, but I keep ending up finding things nobody would reasonably expect because reality itself hates me.

And the sorts of weapons and tools I might be able to manage too! You saw how good my space bombs were, imagine if I made them with awakened magics. Plus the gates. I would be able to help make more of them and I have a few ideas on how to modify the standard enchantment with ritual magic that I really want to test out.

Admittedly that too.