Chaotic Craftsman Worships The Cube

“So this is fucking impossible.”

It hurt to admit but even after working through that day and night and on into the next from there, he still couldn’t figure out how to build an enchantment that would be able to materialize mana once power was poured into it, the blow being all the greater since he knew a god he hated had pulled that very thing off.

There was no real way for Ben to know how Galwax had achieved it, both thanks to that god’s death along with his trial being trapped in some higher layer of reality but the fact he couldn’t do the same did nothing but eat at him with the question only digging at his mind.

It all came down to doing something more than just constructing the proper shape of enchantment by utilizing any magics and skills he could, what he was failing at was something he didn’t know how to do to begin with, encoding raw knowledge into his designs.

When he or anyone materialized, what they were doing was applying their understanding of the material itself and forcing that understanding onto the universe, something he didn’t know how to replicate through raw magic alone. He couldn’t attach one of his minds to a machine permanently to make it happen, leaving him with no other paths to follow.

And I’m not even really sure if what Galwax did was actually encoding knowledge. He sighed. This was a god of magic, maybe he was able to view the act of materialization in a way I simply can’t. I can imagine there probably is a way to move mana to get what I want that doesn’t require any understanding of the element itself but without being able to view materialization on the atomic scale I have no way to do it myself. Ugh, this sucks so freaking much!

Having to admit that he couldn’t replicate something that god had pulled off couldn’t help but irk him but if he had to be honest with himself, that wasn’t the only thing worsening his mood. Really it was a combination, all working in tandem to annoy him.

Even though it had only been a couple of days, Ben still hadn’t gotten another level to his job. Thinking he would so soon was beyond unreasonable too, he knew that, but his impatience was not so easily shaken when he wanted to see results.

Results he also wasn’t getting in his crafting. He’d been making things as usual, even through his experimentation, but he was once more struggling to pass a limit. He may have raised his jacket to the high end of legendary but he hadn’t been able to pull it off again since.

It was another thing he knew was unreasonable to hope for. He’d done it once but hoping to do it consistently at that point just wasn’t realistic. It was rare enough for anyone to be able to consistently make legendary items even at the low end but neither his crafting or enchanting had reached their ninth levels either, he still had room to grow there too.

“And by all accounts, I’m a once-in-a-millennia genius for being able to make any legendary items in the first place,” He reminded himself, trying to force some positivity. “Everything is coming down to my own impatience, I still have months to grow. If finishing all of my jobs doesn’t end up being enough then I’ll come up with other options to improve too, it’s not like I can’t think of any so it would just be a matter of putting them into practice along with how potentially insane some of them might be. This is fine, I have time.”

“What’s got you muttering to yourself this time?” Falk asked as he stepped through the mini gate, hearing only the tail end of it which immediately ceased to matter the second he properly looked at Ben. “And what in all the hells are you doin’!”

“Hmm? Trying to figure out how to make an enchantment that can materialize, why?”

“No, not that you blasted maniac, I’m talking about the things all around you!”

“Huh? Oh, right, I guess I kind of skimmed past it when I saw you before but I can materialize souls now, it’s a whole thing.”

“Well un-skim it. I didn’t take a good look at you the last time I saw you but… All of those new skills on ya, along with new awakened ones. You’ve been busy. Soul source I take it? The system sayin’ you’ve become a source of souls in the universe?”

“Great minds think alike, that was my exact interpretation too. It also gives incredible experience when paired with any soul-related job. Growing it isn’t exactly a priority but it’s getting to see a lot of use.”

“Alright, that's nice and all but given my niece ain’t here yet, tell me what happened to get you to this state. Empty skies, being able to see your growth first hand instead of just hearing it really is a whole other experience.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll make it quick though.”

He was constantly needing to catch people up with what he’d gone through during the second wave, what was once more? He told Falk about what he’d been through, the skills he’d gained and grown, the jobs he’d unlocked and how he was trying to break out of the one he was currently on, even if he kept a few details of world killer to himself. While he was sure the gods knew the name of the job he was under by now, it was likely they viewed it as him having found a particularly hard third-tier one since the information available through the eyes of the soul mages didn’t say the types of bonuses that were applied. He didn’t want the larger group of divinities to know that he was enjoying fourth-tier bonuses.

By the end of it all, his teacher only shook his head.

“The way you use the status and job systems just ain’t normal, you know that?”

“You’re going to focus on that instead of my horrific kidnapping?”

“It’s not the first time someone’s kidnapped you and it won’t be the last.”

“It damn well better be the last! I am genuinely powerful right now, I don’t want to imagine the sort of being capable of kidnapping me!”

“Ha, the tragedy of poor luck. Either way, what matters is that you’re safe. Now, what were you mumbling about before?”

“Hmm?”

“When I came in, it sounded like you were stressed about something.”

“Ah, that. I… I’m feeling the limitations of the time we have left.”

There was almost as much between the first and second as there was the second and third but it felt like so much less. Even if he did all he could, it was never going to feel like enough, with his teacher having no answers for him. Even if Falk didn’t feel the same weight to personally handle things, he felt the need to do what he could with the time he had, creating a crushing amount of responsibility to deal with.

In the end, the yeti placed a comforting hand on his apprentice’s shoulder, not able to say anything that could make it better but at least being there.

“It doesn’t matter what you can or can’t do boy, so long as you do your best. Anything else is asking too much.”

“Don’t worry, my best really is all I ever do.”

“Hmm, maybe you should aim for a little less than that actually,” Falk laughed. “Be a shame to work yourself to death early.”

“If we survive this then I’m going to start searching for some way to achieve immortality. With everything I’ve done, I think I deserve to live forever.”

“Ha, good to have goals.”

The conversation only broke with the sounds of the door opening, Thera poking her head in.

“Am I interrupting?”

“‘Course not,” Falk told her. “Come in already. Now that you’re here we can head out.”

“And where exactly are we going? Not leaving it in your note, are you trying to act as mysterious as your apprentice?”

“Ah, I was in a rush. It’s just going to be for a couple days but the long and short of it is that I want the two of you joining me for a bit of an important meeting.”

“What sort?” Ben asked, his curiosity piqued.

“The stressful sort. I’m dragging you with me to see the other third-tier skill holders.”