<UNNATURAL MORTAL REALM ACTUALIZATION ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>

From covering the city to skimming across the surface of the ocean, seeing the denizens of the depths sit just beneath the water for the touch of his skills until the space mages down below helped move them away, finishing that one area and letting them move onto the next as day changed to night and the group he was working with was switched out for a new one, the process repeating again and again and again through different cities until eventually a week passed, leaving even Ben feeling the strain. He may not have needed rest, but he did desire stimulation, with the entire process being nothing but pure boredom beyond the various new skills he was able to add to his enchanted rings as he was simply ferried around to do his work, no matter how it might have changed the world in the process.

Yet even then, he wasn’t done. It had reached a point that it felt like the gods were scamming him, with the only reason he allowed it being that he wanted it to soften the blow of both the changes within his status that had caused such a fuss as well as the fact that it was making decent training for deep connection. As the days flew by he touched and modified hundreds of millions of souls across the planet, affecting the nature of his mind as well from eldritch mind taking in whatever unique aspects and thought patterns existed between all of those races but once the crowded cities ran out the space mages stationed with him got to take on greater roles in all of that as well, transporting him from the gate network where the majority of the gathering points had been located to other, more isolated meeting points that weren’t so easy for people to travel from, adding a new dimension to his work while he was there.

Amongst everything else he’d done, he’d given instructions for everyone at the seventh level for the magics he could awaken at the eighth to find a church on the gate network and explain their situation to stay there to practice, along with anyone who’d already managed to reach the eighth beforehand, so that if they could get the last level they needed then he could awaken them again and it seemed like there’d be plenty to do when he was done. News that someone was able to help the holders of specific magics awaken had spread enough during his first awakening event that he knew anyone with a chance had been pushing themselves to the limits to take advantage of it but for the more isolated villages, he needed to get anyone done when he found them at the eighth level as well as marking down locations of anyone at the seventh to return to once the rest were over, painting a hectic picture of endless work to be done for himself and everyone he was with until finally, on the tenth day since he started, it mostly came to an end.

“Alright,” Ben said, relieved that they would be finishing that day. “Myriad, I’m nearly done with all of this bullshit, which you all severely underpaid me for. Out of curiosity, are we sure the other gods aren’t trying to make me explicitly evil with their constant penny-pinching?”

<I’ll admit, when I look at how busy it kept you, I can’t deny that you deserved a bit more.>

“It’s hard to express just how much more I deserved. Even if you didn’t pay me before my awakenings, with what I’ve just done, you all easily should have given me an extra ten thousand to everything without complaining. Do you know how many souls I modified by the end of this?”

<I don’t think that would be possible to know.>

“Loud incorrect buzzing noise to you then because I counted! Four hundred and thirty-seven million, five hundred and sixty-four thousand and twelve. Considering the global population is in the low billions, I’ve literally just empowered a hefty percentage of the population!”

<Okay, I see your point.>

“You actually don’t because I can feel you not doing that math that implies. Across the world, all added up, I’ve given roughly 380 billion points to vitality, 21 billion vitality recovery, one trillion mana, 120 billion mana recovery, 305 billion strength, 117 billion agility, 647 billion stamina, and ending with an altogether unbelievable 5.8 trillion intelligence. Genuinely, tell Phixth and any other god who likes me to throw those numbers out the next time someone questions if I’m a force for good on this world or not and then ask them if they’ve done anything near as much for the people of the planet. And if any one of them says yes, tell me so I can try to beat them up.”

<Is this going somewhere?>

“That if I’d been given even a single attribute point for every person whose soul I modified then with that raw power I would have been able to fill the world with, not only would we actually have been basically guaranteed to win the next wave, we could have stomped our way through every portal the demons are going to come through and slaughtered whatever planet we found on the other side. Genuinely, even for a pessimist like me and even with the demon’s god still in the equation, that feels like it would have been certain victory.”

<Alright, even if that’s true, we don’t have that much to give.>

“Fine, I guess I can believe that, but then tell me the truth. Looking at what I’ve done here, can you honestly say it wouldn’t have been better for the gods of the world to spend every drop of faith they hold on raising my attributes and passing that growth on to the rest of the planet, rather than however you’re all actually planning on spending your faith for the next wave?”

<…>

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Ben sighed. “So maybe float the idea around a bit when you guys all calculate what an impact my work down here is going to have for our odds as is and then consider the fact that in a couple of months, I can safely do this again once more. Just saying, I know plenty aren’t going to like the idea of making me even more powerful than I currently am but I’m really only openly antagonistic to a few gods, not enough that they shouldn’t be taking advantage of the resource I am. Just something that should probably be discussed while it’s still an option, you know, before people start dying en masse and the world is destroyed because this planet is ruled by stupid, short-sighted, immortal assholes.”

<I believe I’ll phrase things in a slightly more polite manner, but yes, I’ll bring it up and no doubt start a new endless wave of arguments. Now, did you just call to complain?>

“No, we’re going to start making our way back, so start sending everyone who reached the eighth level to Elvat’s residence in Allfaith. We’ve only got a couple more stops to make.”

One of which ended up being a gathering point that held a familiar village, the dryads keeping to themselves in the nearby town they ended up in, making no effort to socialize with the rest and keeping that way until they landed, seeing some waiting faces.

“Ben!” Delair yelled, pulling Mora behind her and jumping at him when she arrived, with both of them getting exhausted hugs from him in return before Thera stole Mora away to hug just as tight. “This is taking so long! When are you going to finish so we can get back to working?”

“Should be tomorrow, kiddo. Sorry, this was so much worse than I’d been expecting.”

“Okay, good. So, it’s our turn now?”

“Yep, all of the adults.”

“Boo, let me do it too!”

“Ha, maybe later. As things are, there’s really no denying that what I’m giving would be a frightening amount of power to hand off to any children.”

Something he and the gods were largely in agreement on, even if he wasn’t sure if they were right. Kids would be in just as much danger as anyone else once the third wave came, but on the other hand, a child throwing a temper tantrum while holding over two thousand points of mana or seven hundred points of strength was a frightening thought. It might have been able to protect them from danger, but it could just as easily turn them into a significant danger themselves until then.

Of course, it’s not like plenty of adults aren’t going to misbehave with this power too. Mmh, maybe I’ll reconsider doing it for Delair at least in the future, after discussing it with her mother first.

“Does that mean I can’t either?” Mora asked, surprising Ben with the question. In all of that, it seemed like spirits and elementals both had been specifically hiding from the event. He hadn’t seen one hanging around or going up to Thera in all of that time, and the reason was somewhat understandable. Mana-based life didn’t grow. It seemed to be a natural rule for them, leaving the question of what could happen if he tried, and he didn’t know if there was a safe way to experiment like that. It certainly wasn’t something he was going to attempt on the child he was raising with no prior practice.

Which means I should stop in to talk to some of the other great spirits first to see their thoughts on it.

“Sorry, Mora, it’s something we can look at in the future but not right now, okay?”

“Mmh, okay.”

His disappointment was clear, the soul spirit have his own curiosities on the matter and wanted to experience it for himself but he didn’t argue, instead changing to intensely observing those around them as Ben modified their souls, doing it slowly at least for the boy to take in and hearing the grumbles and groans as he did.

“And with that, since it looks like it’s only going to be the dryads who make the cut, I’m sure Hentath and the others have told you before, so eighth level plant magic users gather around me to be awakened. And Mora, well, you can see the spell Yuzu is placing on all of them. If you want to add anything then it’s up to you, but if not then that’s alright, you get me?”

“I like them,” he nodded. “I want them to get the most out of this.”

“Ha, glad to hear it, kiddo. In that case, let’s get started.”

With the enhancements of the soul mage and soul spirit both, Ben transferred both knowledge and power to help shape their act of materialization, creating the seeds that would push their magics over the edge and filled the area with the mana being pulled into their bodies, awakening another handful of dryads and getting them even more benefits that the last as their newly modified souls blossomed under the change, raising their power all of the higher and ending things there.

As much as he would have liked to stay, there really was only a few stops left and then whatever awakenings still to do so with that so close they didn’t linger, instead playing favourites by getting Steph to open a portal back to their village and saying a quick goodbye after, promising to be done by the next day to pick Mora up and to see the rest again.

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