Chapter 314

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his knife he’d used when killing the forbidden gods, stripping it of its enchantments before going through his packed rings. He had so many by that point that soon enough he would have to rethink how he organized them, though that would be a later issue. For the time being he grabbed the main two he’d need. The beast form one he’d copied from Ralia, as well as the one new one he’d made while in the village, minor soul magic.While his knowledge on it was more geared to how it acted as a third-tier skill since he’d had no clue it could exist in the first before they’d come to the woods, he had a good enough idea from that as well as talking with the villagers who had it on what sorts of spells could be used with it, and since it was available to him he was going to happily use it, incorporating the magic into the design he’d been planning for so long to make use of the beast form skill.

Taking those two rings, as well as the life and death ones that constantly had a place on his fingers, he blended the enchantments for all of them, altering the ratios of what went into it each time he did as he made his rings of it, laying them down to interlock and braid around each other, putting his unique system of enchantments to work until he had the item exactly as he wanted it. He’d still need to test it to see if there needed any adjustments, but that was coming as he pulled out his used-up soul crystals.

He was almost certain he had, his sacrilege was telling him as much when he looked at it, with the soul crystals he’d used on them seeming starkly different from the others, but it never hurt to confirm.

His god told him bluntly, sounding exceptionally tired as he did.

He’d spent so long on the topic for his few goals, until then he hadn’t even noticed how narrow his focus had been, but now with souls in hand he wanted to know just what applications they could be put towards. Applications his god had no interest in sharing.

Myriad was quick to point out in an effort to distract Ben as he started thinking about just how exactly a ritual like that would be pulled off.

He thought, trying to get across as much sincerity as he could.

His conversation done, he put aside the crystals that were almost certain to contain god souls, instead grabbing one he was sure only possessed that of a single demon, placing it into the slot in his knife.

“Are you sure about this?” Thera asked him, looking exceptionally unconfident as he held it.

“I’m sure it will be fine. If I prove this is viable then maybe I can talk the gods into letting me make more with some more useful creatures without wanting to toss me into hell for it. Imagine getting a beast form skill with something like a leviathan attached. Just gotta prove it could actually be useful first.”

With that he ran his mana through it, activating the enchantment and slowly feeling its effects. Considering both his resistances and his skill that would be fighting against it since the magic of the enchantment was activating on him directly he didn’t have the immediate effect he’d expected, but after a few moments they could both see the change.

Starting at his fingers that grasped the handle, his flesh morphed to the red scales of a demon, creating a painful itching sensation as it continued on up to his elbow as he broke into a grin.

“I’d call that a success,” He said happily, feeling thrilled to have gotten the enchantment right on the first try. “Now just to see what it’s good for. Actually, I didn’t stop to consider what it might be good for, did I? Put all my focus on just figuring out how to make it work. Um-”

“On second thought, let’s quit now and… hmm, also not good. Thera, I might need some help!”

He couldn’t cancel the enchantment. The hand that held the knife was grasping it tightly, forcing mana into it against his will and wouldn’t drop it to break him off from the effect. He’d completely lost control of the limb and with no other choice, tried to pry his fingers from it with his other hand, only for it to react badly.

Showing a level of strength greater than he normally possessed that could only have come from the effects of the beast form skill being applied to him, the arm wielding the knife ripped away from the one going at it and either by accident as it flailed about randomly, or as an intentional attack, it stabbed into his stomach, his grip on it only ending as Thera reacted with a spell, a large rock flying from the earth, smashing his fingers and making the item fall to the ground as the effect of it faded, the scales that sprouted returning to regular flesh in the process.

The moment it fell Thera rushed to him, kicking the knife away as she placed a hand on the wound to his gut, focusing her life magic there as she made him lie down before moving to his mangled hand while he tried to laugh it off through the pain, not thinking about the two levels he’d gained far too quickly.

“Alright, let’s mark down ‘using the soul of a creature with soul magic’ as not one of my best ideas.”