“Just here, Miss Hentath?” Toltho asked, helping the dryad elder with her garden while children of both their races ran around, Hentath waving him off while she harvested her crops.

“Enough of the miss; you won’t find a dryad here who isn’t a miss. Hentath is fine.”

“Of course, then, Hentath,” he laughed, putting down the basket of vegetables. “In that case, is there anything else I can give you a hand with?”

“Sure, you can help me eat this while we make sure none of the little ones break their legs,” she told him, throwing a fruit his way before pulling over a few lawn chairs to watch the children at play. “You sure you don’t have anything more important to do right now, though? I can mind yours; you don’t need to worry.”

“Ha, no. Thank you, but this is a small joy of mine, and with their parents busy with their work, it gives me something to do. Not much need for me to lead my people in a town like this, but I can at least watch them enjoy the life we’ve found here after everything else.” 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“Mmh.”

As the dryads slowly settled, the demis had been making themselves present to help and even if that had been at the request of their god, they’d been more than welcoming neighbours, and talkative enough for Hentath to know that they had moved there under similar circumstances.

“And yourself?” Toltho asked further. “Has the move changed your position at all?”

“Pfff, my position was being old enough that the young ones would come to me for advice and trust me to organize whatever nonsense needed to get done. I’d be lucky if that changed some more,” she told him. “But the kids are happy, and at least for them, maybe moving here’s been a good experience. That’s enough.”

Seeing them running around, so full of life and energy after what they’d been through could only ease her heart, and it helped that the demis had young of their own to ease their integration as her people slowly built up relationships in the town around them, and she couldn’t deny that there were conveniences with it that she and everyone else was growing to appreciate. Even if they could all be a bit shy at first, having so many things to buy without needing to wait on a traveling merchant coming through was a benefit, and through that, they were building relationships of their own that were beginning to go beyond just the demis as well.

“Well, if you need-”

“Bah, enough of what I need. Just sit down and relax for a while, would you? Always needing to do work, you’re as bad as your apostle.”

“Ha, perhaps you’re right, but relaxing isn’t in my nature. You’re going to be working a stall at the market soon, aren’t you? I know the dryads’ crops and preserves have been a hit with the town; let me give you a hand manning it.”

“... Suit yourself,” Hentath told him, shaking her head while Toltho just laughed some more. For as grouchy as she wanted to come off, he wasn’t offering to help out of a request from his god any longer but because he found himself enjoying her company, with her brusque attitude no deterrent when he’d also see how caring she’d be with the children, no matter what species they were a part of.

With her agreement to let him help, though, he let a comfortable silence fall between them to watch the children play, just as happy about the bonds that were forming as she was. While the demis were integrating with the town, slowly meeting people and making friends thanks to the jobs they’d taken, to meet and bond with more was a blessing that he was even happier that the children got to experience. Even if, in their youth, they had to fumble through some things as they learned about the differences of their two species, he was sure enough that such differences had to be explored the world over by all of the groups who made it up.

Still, the more he became a part of it, the more it was clear that such differences made for a richer world, and it filled him with joy to know that those he’d gotten to see since the day they’d been born would grow up knowing it, and he only hoped that such joy would last.

“Well, since you’re here, would you mind keeping an eye on them all while I start making lunch for everyone?” Hentath asked him, breaking the silence. “It should be about that time.”

“Of course, I’d be happy to-”

Cut off, he and the demis were long used to giving the voice, what they’d come to know the rest of the world referred to as system notifications, their full attention as one surprising one came through his head, with just enough of his focus split to see the rest of the demi children freezing in their games, seemingly listening just the same.

“Gods above, there’s really nothing out here today,” Skoe complained, their party’s hunt looking like it had turned to a gathering day instead, with the beasts they’d gone out intending to find showing no signs of being there.

“The pack might have just been passing through,” Sachel told him, spotting another growth of wild medicinal herbs and used her magic to grow even more of them before harvesting, continuing to fill her party’s arms with more and more plants. “No tracks, no droppings, no blood. Nothing killed them, and it's not like we’re dealing with demons, so they aren’t hiding either. It happens. We’ll just make a report on the way back and turn these in. The pay will always be good for gathering so much, even if we won’t see anything for hunting.”

Really, having an awakened plant mage in the party ensured that any gathering quest would be exceptionally profitable, with every outing they had ending with at least a few herbs brought back, no matter the original intent they had for going out. Sachel’s power was simply too useful, and alchemists were more than pleased to have such things shipped out from the guild, even if they had to be frozen or dried before they were sent, but for the other three focused on their combat, a chance to work on their skills could feel like it was being missed.

Still, that was just how some days went, and considering that Sachel was doing all of the work yet they’d still be splitting the pay, none of them were really looking to complain, leaving their walk through the woods as more of a casual stroll than anything else.

“So, you guys doing anything tomorrow then?” Aso asked, with the party planning a day off. “Please tell me someone’s doing something fun, because I just have clinic work.”

Even with all of the demis now around to help with such things, Aso’s father still insisted that she needed to keep her skills sharp, even if she had far more free time for adventuring, and as much as she wasn’t thrilled, she didn’t entirely disagree either, meaning that most of her days off were accounted for.

“Well, after what happened, the three of us are going to do some basic combat lessons for the dryads,” Ralia told the other girl, their own free days likely to be filled for a while. “Maybe even look at getting them registered with the guild to take them out on some hunting quests. With what happened, well, as bad as it was, they should have been able to handle it better, so we need to work on that.”

Not that she blamed them. They were just civilians, with the most they’d had to deal with until that point being to fight off a couple demons who’d gotten too close. Fighting what had felt like an endless horde was more than most people could have been prepared for at the time, and yet, that didn’t change that with the powers they held, they should have been able to do more. Their souls, like so many other peoples, had been modified in a way that had left them overflowing with strength and power, it had been panic that had kept them from using it to the degree they should have, but now that they were aware that was an issue, it needed to be changed. It wasn’t as if the two of them could have helped every one of the dryads get weapons skills in that time, but at the very least, they could do some sparring in the hopes that they’d be a bit more prepared for any future fight.

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“Wait, does that mean I’m coming too?” Skoe asked, seeing Ralia’s snake-like eyes form slits.

“You’re free to argue if you want, but it’ll leave you tied up, gagged, and volunteered for whatever testing that maniac wants done.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, hold it. I’m not against helping,” Skoe rushed to say. “Just would have been nice to be asked first, is all.”

“We would appreciate it if you’d help us, Skoe,” Sachel told him more politely. “My family is still getting used to dealing with other races in general, so having you to fight would be a good experience; but unrelated, you can’t still be scared of Ben. He literally gave you a you-know-what.”

None of them were going to outright say they’d been blessed, having been sworn to secrecy in exchange for receiving such a thing, along with the promise that they’d be willing to help with some future testing if it came up, but despite that, Skoe just shook his head.

“No, even if I appreciate it, it’s even scarier that he can do that. Plus, considering whatever freaky future experiment we might have to deal with, it feels like I’m on the bad side of an evil god.”

“Evil or not, you are on the bad side of a god,” Aso grinned at the man, delighting in the way it made him squirm. “That’s what you get for being a dickhead.”

Even if she was fine working with him, she was friends with Thera and was happy enough to see the man continue to pay for how he’d mistreated her before, with him having nothing to say to it. What happened, happened, and now he was stuck dealing with the consequences.

Although, if he was less of an idiot, he could try apologizing, Sachel thought with a sigh, with her and Ralia showing their own heartfelt regret at the poor treatment they’d taken part in allowing them to develop a proper friendship with the other girl. Maybe one day he’ll manage to think of that on his own.

Until he did though, the rest of them didn’t have too much issue with letting him live in fear of Ben, even if it was largely misplaced by that point.

Of course, Ralia can still be a bit scared of him too. Hmm, maybe I should see if Thera would want to do a double date one day, just to try and smooth things over and-

Her thoughts cut off, her face twisting as they did. Sachel paused what she was doing to look at her card, seeing the unexpected notification had been right, even if she couldn’t understand why.

“Something wrong?” Aso asked, catching on to their leader’s look of confusion.

“No, it’s nothing bad. I just-”

Sitting in her church on her day off, trying to fulfill her role of high priestess since the number of people still in need of a brace was finally starting to shrink, Valaria sat down with a few different items to enchant, practicing the system her apostle had taught her and feeling it threaten to give her a headache the further she delved into it. With no other believers coming by, she didn’t need to try to attempt to lend whatever guidance she could, so she had the time, even if practicing was leaving her wishing for a distraction.

The depth behind the enchanting system was simply too much. While there were ways to do it simply, it felt like it had endless potential behind it, and the further she plunged, the further it became clear that it didn’t suit mortal minds. Even with the awakenings she’d gotten, how was anyone supposed to manage so many arrangements of mana at once and still create something cohesive at the end? Even if she was succeeding, it felt likely to become a lost art in a generation or two. No matter the extreme level of potential there’d be to get out of it, unless enchanters the world over began investing in mind skills, the average one would likely continue to work with a simpler system.

Even if it’s beautiful, she sighed to herself, with her original job as an enchanter making the task feel fulfilling despite the way she grumbled to herself, wanting to contradict every thought she had about it. So what if it was too hard for anyone to get the full potential out of? Even partial potential should have been more than enough to beat any other system, and so what if other enchanters would need to start training in and developing mind skills too? Wasn’t that a small price to pay if it meant reaching that level of perfection in their craft?

Well, maybe if anyone ever finds an easier way to gain thought-enhancing type skills, then this will see more use, she told herself, unable to deny her desire to see the magical craft grow. And besides-

<MAX LEVEL OF THE MIND MASTER JOB ACHIEVED>

Hmm? What? Valaria wondered as she pulled out her card, seeing that the notification that had just run through her head hadn’t been her hearing things. She really had finished her job, and far earlier than she’d been expecting too.

Of course, it wasn’t like she constantly kept up with it, she wasn’t one to look at her status details daily, but the last time she checked was a few days prior and she could have sworn she’d only been halfway through it.

I must have misread it, she reasoned. And either working on these enchantments is giving me even more experience than I thought, or the changes to my attributes must be giving me a lot more help than I’d expected.

If it was the latter, that meant the same thing was surely happening the world over, with so many people having gotten their souls modified and experienced the explosive growth that had come with it. Even in the next few days after, she’d been getting levels to her magics and other skills thanks to just how much more she could do with them when she was practicing, but with that done she wasn’t going to waste any time.

Her church, like so many others, had a job crystal available for public use, and yet despite that, she still had one closer. Around her neck, a more portable crystal waited, a gift from her apostle that she touched and gave her answer to without a second thought; the decision made the moment she confirmed the new option.

<ACQUIRED JOB- CONNECT MASTER LV0>

<MASSIVE BONUSES GRANTED TO IMPROVING INTELLIGENCE>

<ALL CONNECT SKILLS WILL RECEIVE A MAJOR GROWTH BONUS>

<ENCHANTING LEVEL INCREASED>

<ACQUIRED SKILL CONNECT INCLINATION LEVEL 0>

Something she’d already been warned about, it seemed that the system treated connect as a mind job enough that one didn’t even unlock connect master until they finished mind master first, but with that done she let herself smile at the levels and skills that had come with it, along with just how much more power there was to get from such things.

With her smile lasting for all of a second, taking a far stranger turn as a new notification filled her head only a moment later, even more unexpected than the last.

<MAX LEVEL OF THE CONNECT MASTER JOB ACHIEVED>

What?

Once again she checked her card and once more revealed the truth of the notification, with the added question of if she’d heard wrong again before taking her job crystal and making another choice, the new option filling her head again.

<ACQUIRED JOB- ARCANE MIND USER LV0>

<MAJOR BONUSES GRANTED TO IMPROVING MANA, MANA RECOVERY RATE, AND INTELLIGENCE>

<ALL MIND AND MAGIC SKILLS WILL RECEIVE A MAJOR GROWTH BONUS>

<DARK MAGIC LEVEL INCREASED>

<WATER MAGIC LEVEL INCREASED>

<MAX LEVEL OF THE ARCANE MIND USER JOB ACHIEVED>

That sealed it. She didn’t understand what was going on but with all the bonuses such a thing gave, she wasn’t going to let it pass and at once she chose another, the crystal still in her hand from the last time as she made her pick, two more second tier options finished before whatever blessing she was under finally ended.

Even then, her card shaking in her hand, showed her that she was more than halfway through her final choice of the day, leaving her knees feeling weak as she supported herself on the desk in front of her. Something incredible had happened, something unlike she’d ever experienced before, as so many significant bonuses came all at once.

Torn between praying and just trying to collect herself, the second won for the moment as she let herself sit down, still staring at all of the changes that came with it, barely even able to acknowledge the sound of the door opening.

“Oh, hey Val,” one of the other believers of Myriad in that city greeted her, a twinge of excitement in their voice that Valaria was too distracted to notice. “We’ve got a job crystal here, right?”

“Um, yeah, just in the back,” she answered absentmindedly, too distracted to even notice which believer it was and only perked up at what they said by the time they were already back there. “Wait, job-”

The sound of the door opening again, another believer came through, smiling as they saw her. “Hi, Valaria, I was hoping the job crystal’s free?”

“Um, someone’s using it now, but I’m sure it will be in a second so go on ahead,” she said, feeling in a daze as she walked to the church door and poked her head outside, seeing two more faces she recognized immediately making their way there and leading to the expectation that even more would eventually join them, along with a single question on her thoughts.

What just happened here?