“So, did you find anything good in the library?” He asked as they ate, enjoying what a nearby cafe had to offer just outside the gigantic library.

“An interesting book on combining my dark magic with my earth. A lot of the suggestions involved using it the same way I would my earth healing spell, making it so a given area will keep debuffing anyone in it or doing something like filling an area with a fear effect to keep animals and people away so either of those could be handy. Other than that, I read up a bit on non-affinity magic since I’m trying to get it but I think I might just talk to Vasta a bit more about it next time we see her. How about you?”

“Ah, well I got through a bunch-”

“How many thousands is a bunch?”

“Thirteen thousands, and there were plenty of interesting things, but nothing shockingly so, you know? Like, I learned things, but nothing as useful as some of the stuff I already knew. Also, people kept coming up to test me and it got annoying after a bit.”

After the first librarian gave up, a second had come, followed by a few patrons reading around him not long after. It wasn’t like he particularly minded or anything, but none of them had even bothered discussing any of the books he’d read so much as they were just making sure he’d actually read them. He gained nothing from the exchange, other than his girlfriend’s laughter as he told her about it.

“I knew something like this was going to happen,” She giggled, feeling clearly validated. “I absolutely knew it. Nobody would look at the way you read and take it seriously Ben, you must realize that, right?”

“I don’t realize anything,” He insisted stubbornly. “It’s not my fault the world is prejudiced against efficiency.”

“It’s not, it’s insanity it has a problem with.”

“Boo, one day this whole planet will come to realize the superiority of being many-minded, and when that day comes my circlets are going to be flying off the shelves. Flying I tell you!”

“Ha, it’s nice to have hopes and dreams, it makes you cute,” She teased.

“I’m always cute. Hell, I’m downright adorable. And changing the topic a bit, this cute little guy has an itty bitty favour to ask you.”

“And I’m immediately suspicious.”

“That hurts me deeply.”

“It was yesterday I watched you ask someone a favour that ended with them becoming the high priestess of your god.”

“Valaria is in Sachel’s excellent hands now, she’ll be fine. Anyway, I was hoping I could talk you into doing something for me.”

“My suspicion is only growing, Ben, just tell me already.”

“I was hoping you could make me a few homunculi to use.”

It was an idea heavily inspired by the fourth floor of the life tower when he’d been forced to make use of the ones it provided, along with getting to see all of the benefits there was to get from it. His immediate goal for getting such a thing was to use it to read even more. If he could see out the eyes of two or three homunculi, he would be able to multiply the amount of books he could read by that much as well, but there was another benefit to be had too. He’d already seen in the tower that if he was connected to a homunculus then he could gain skills through the act, and while he didn’t have any in mind he wanted to get from them, it did imply that the training he did while using them would help raise his job and skill levels as well. Because of the change to his mind, he could do so much, but that left his limiting factor being his single body. A limit he was looking to change.

He explained all of this to Thera, watching as she listened attentively, all while the look on her face became more and more concerned.

“You really are trying to become something entirely not mortal at this point, aren’t you?”

“I’m trying to use and grow my skills to their full potential, that’s all. What’s so weird about that?”

“I mean, I guess compared to the way you think, not much. Alright, I’m not sure if I’ll succeed but I’ll give it a try.”

With lunch done, they did a quick shopping trip, Thera running around to grab the simple supplies they’d need as Ben carried them all, filling bags upon bags with one thing in particular. Meat.

His high strength left the task being easy enough for him and he couldn’t help but feel excited. Even if the homunculi she made would have to be close by for him to use, he was already envisioning how handy they’d be when he got back to Stonewall, basically having a small team he could use when making things, letting him do more, and faster too. He was on the first step of a breakthrough, he could feel it.

Once everything was gathered, they found an area at the edge of the city that was open to the public for the express purpose of training magics, finding examples of all sorts being fired off as the residents of the magic towers practiced, each person trying to fiddle with their spells to refine what they could do, many in big, flash ways, all while Thera prepared to attempt something that at first glance would look far more humble while in reality being significantly more complex.

The sack of meat was placed on the ground, sitting at a bit over half of Ben’s mass as she stared at it in deep concentration, muttering to herself as she did.

“Okay, I’ll just need to start the base here and then get more to continue it after, but this will be fine. Um, let’s see, Ben, can you give me your knife?”

“Sure, take it,” He told her, handing it over without any fuss.

“Great, now give me your hand.”

“...I immediately have concerns.”

“Don’t be a baby, I just need some of your flesh and blood.”

“And my concerns are raised. Why?”

“Homunculi are typically made from a more standard living base,” She explained. “The more complex ones my aunt makes combine different ones to get the result she wants, but I can just make you one that will match your body which will be a lot easier anyway. Now come on, I literally watched you stab yourself twice in the tower, this is nothing.”

He wanted to comment that any extent of getting stabbed was never nothing but held it back. He’d made this request of her, he would see it through to its end and held out his hand, feeling the sharp sting of the blade take two deep cuts across his arm, carving out a chunk of flesh as blood poured out into Thera’s empty hand before she healed him and focused on what she had.

“Okay, so if I remember right, I’m just altering the base and making it grow,” She muttered to herself before she started, the area around them filling with her excess life magic as nearby mages were quick to notice, feeling sensitive to the change in the area and looking around to try and figure out exactly what was going on as she worked, only to come to a sudden stop, looking sheepish as she did.

“It, ahem, it looks like I’ll need to take more.”

She was already reaching out again with the knife and Ben forced himself to keep from jumping back.

I asked for this. He told himself, not sure he liked the determined look coming to her eyes as she cut into him again. At least I keep it nice and sharp.

“So what exactly went wrong with the first bit?”

“I used too much life mana and destroyed the cells, now quiet for a second. This is a delicate spell so I need to concentrate.”

And I suddenly feel like I’ll be bleeding out today. Well, as long as she keeps healing me after it should be fine.

Paying no mind to the thoughts going through his head, Thera directed her focus to her hand, cupping flesh along with warm, red blood. She didn’t have much particular interest in such an aspect of life magic, finding the process distasteful, but she didn’t want to admit defeat so she honed her mana, making it invade Ben’s severed cells as they clung to their last bit of life and worked to alter them, feeling the flesh shiver and warp in her hand, taking up the loose blood as it grew into a small, pulsing sphere.

It was only once she felt confident that it wouldn’t die that she dropped it into the ground meat and they both watched as it began taking it in, basically eating and growing, all directed under Thera’s power as features began to take shape.

As mass left the pile and went to it, the look changed from that of a strange, fleshy blob to something almost like a head. Thin hairs were beginning to sprout out of it, but more distinct than that was the split that formed in its center, a jaw coming into being and teeth sprouting, all to help it eat more.

The visual of it was disgusting, even if he wasn’t going to say it, but it looked like it was working and he felt the thrill running through him to see it, the future he was envisioning becoming so close, only to fall flat at the end as the jaw locked open and flesh began convulsing before the raw meat was ejected and it fell flat, lifeless at the end.

The two of them just stared at it, neither having enjoyed what they’d seen, even if one of them was filled with a renewed determination by the failure.

“Well, at least we’ll be able to use what already grew as a source of food for the next attempt so nothing’s going to waste,” She spoke positively, already pointing the knife at him for another go. “So try not to wiggle too much, I’m sure it won’t be too long till I get it.”