It couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes after he’d gotten back to work that he’d heard a knock on the door and went to check it out, finding Thera behind it looking far more exhausted than she had been when they’d parted, while Aso seemed a strong mix of curious and excited.

“Miss me already?”

“I need you to beat someone up for me,” She sighed, looking mentally drained as she asked.

“Uh, I think you’re probably better equipped for that than I am.”

“Yeah, but this pain in the ass is demanding you and honestly I think seeing it will feel pretty cathartic so if you don’t mind?”

“...Okay, yeah, sure. Explain on the way I guess.”

He locked the door behind him as he followed her out, hearing the details as he followed them.

“So you remember the guy who told everyone in town I’m a saintess and princess?”

“I didn’t meet him but yeah. I take it he’s back?”

“Yeah, he was at the guild and when he saw me started saying he’d keep coming back to prove himself or something unless he got to take you on in a duel.”

“What? Dueling isn’t legal here. That’s one of the better parts of this town. Let’s just complain to the guards.”

While it was a custom of lands that largely worshiped warrior gods, Stonewall was a mixed community. The laws were much more comfortable for all people compared to anything that leaned too heavily towards a single doctrine or philosophy and as far as he could hear, it sounded like they had an easy answer for not having to deal with it and getting him out of their hair, but Thera’s face was saying it wouldn’t be that simple.

“Ceselee came out when he was saying it and basically said she’d approve of it as a spar, not a duel so she’s going to supervise.”

“...That reminds me, I really should quit the guild. I can still go with you sometimes while you take your quests, I don’t need to be an adventurer to do it. Plus I’ve already gotten all of the available guild books and have taken the master job. There’s literally nothing else that place can offer me.”

“Well, you can talk to her about that when we see her.”

They continued on their way, not going to the guild itself, but the public training ground outside of town where a surprisingly large crowd had gathered, dozens of people seeming like they were waiting as one in particular came over.

“Well Ben, can’t say I’m not looking forward to seeing what you can do,” The guild master said cheerfully.

“I feel like allowing a duel under the guise of sparing is an abuse of authority. Where can I find the mayor? I want to make a complaint.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. This will be better in the long run for you. If you beat him up a bit then he might back down.”

“Okay, but I’m not a fighter! Why do you think I’m going to win?”

“Will you not?”

“...No, I’ll probably be fine.”

If the man had an awakened combat skill then he might be in trouble, but Ben’s attributes were high and combining the potential of both his mind skills and magic, he doubted he’d be in much trouble. Still, that didn’t mean he wanted to fight when it could just be avoided.

Ceselee though seemed to have no intention of letting him off the hook. “Great, this should ease things up with the other adventurers too so let's get started-”

“Wait,” Ben spoke firmly, pulling her back as she tried to walk back to the crowd. “What are you talking about?”

“Ahem, a few just seem a bit unsatisfied that you’re a rank one,” She admitted after looking away. “I guess they think you don’t deserve it since your awakened skills aren’t combat oriented and a few are saying you’re just being dragged along thanks to Thera’s strength.”

“Okay, well they aren’t wrong. That reminds me. I want to quit.”

“No can do. Now come on, let’s get this started.”

As they spoke the crowd had only grown as more people came after hearing word about what was happening. Given that Ben was one of two people in town at the first rank, it couldn’t help but draw in curious eyes, as well as a few that thought it might be funny to see him lose. He had no intention of denying any dissatisfaction about his rank though. In their place, he was sure he’d feel the same.

<Now Ben, I’m going to ask you really nicely to not kill this man.> His god requested politely, not having much hope that his plea would work.

What? Myriad, what kind of monster do you take me for? I’m not going to just murder a person.

<Tell that to Ather.>

I absolutely could because that ass is still alive.

He could see that not only was Thera in the crowd, but Sonya too, meaning that no matter what happened they should both be walking away from things and he finally made his way to the center where a man seemed to be showboating.

Holding a sword in hand, he was swinging it around for all to see, using forms and stances Ben wasn’t trained to recognize while generally giving off a cocky atmosphere. Standing a little taller than Ben with blue marks across his body that probably weren’t tattoos along with piercing silver eyes, he certainly looked like a fighter, but Ben wasn’t impressed. The guy had already been thoroughly rejected but not only was he not accepting it, he was dragging other people into it. It was a pain.

Okay, maybe I want to beat him up a little bit. But I’m not killing him.

“Ah, so you’re the craftsman!” He called out, sizing Ben up as he did and making his confidence grow with what he was seeing. “I hope you won’t take what’s about to happen personally but if this is the only way to show the lovely saintess that there are better options available then so be it.”

…And now I want to beat him up a lot.

<Ben…>

I’m still not going to kill him, don’t worry.

“Listen guy, I don’t particularly want to fight you when I have better things to do and even if you win, Thera’s not going to suddenly swoon and fall into your arms. She’s a lot more likely to just beat you up instead.”

Wait, that could be funny. Maybe I should take a hit or two?

“Ha, listen here craftsman, I’ve heard enough about you. An awakened skill is impressive, I give you all due respect, but the world doesn’t need artisans right now, nor does a woman as fine as that. She needs someone who can keep her safe, do you really think you could fill that role?”

“I don’t need to. Thera can more than look after herself, she doesn’t need some random to come play prince,” The comment got under his skin though and made an idea pop into his head, one he couldn’t resist now that he had the determination to win. “Anyway, you dragged me out here away from my work specifically to beat me up. If you’re such a great man, shouldn’t you be willing to put something on the line if you lose?”

“I’ll leave and you’ll never see me again, don’t you worry about that.”

“Yeah, of course you will but I’m looking for something more. You’re threatening me and wasting my valuable time, make up for it by paying out the amount I’d typically earn in a day.”

He was thinking it over, weighing out the pros and cons from what he knew of Ben, but it wasn’t nearly enough for what he needed to know. He was considering how much an awakened craftsman could sell in a town like that, and while it was sure to be a lot, it wasn’t an unbearable amount. What he wasn’t considering was how much was currently coming in from the hundreds of items he was shipping out, the amount he was earning from all of his patents, and the amount he was pulling from the constant production of strengthening potions being distributed around the world. He didn’t just earn enough to be considered rich, he earned enough that calling him filthy rich was an understatement.

<...I suppose financially ruining someone is better than straight-up killing them.>

Of course it is. Is anyone else watching by the way?

<I am.> Helori answered, with Nare chiming in too.

<As am I, along with more than a few of the other crafting gods.>

Seriously? Why so many?

<We gain the worship of those who regularly have to deal with problematic customers, this might as well be sport.> He laughed.

Alright, works for me.

“I’ll do it,” The man spoke firmly, refusing to come off as anything less than confident as he turned to shoot Thera a brilliant smile that she didn’t even notice.

“If you’ve looked into me then you should know I’m an apostle,” Ben warned, just to be fair. “You’re making this promise before the gods Myriad, Nare, Helori, and more from what I’ve been told. You best not try to back out.”

“A warrior is only as good as his word.”

“Good, in that case, let’s get started.”

Ceselee stepped forward while the man swelled his chest, yelling for the crowd.

“In the name of Vatu, I am-”

“Don’t care!” Ben yelled back, cutting him off. “Ceselee, if I have to put up with this then just call the match to a start already.”

She looked like she was trying not to laugh, not knowing exactly how much Ben would make but having a far better idea than the one looking for a fight as she raised a hand in the air.

“Both of you, there are healers on hand but no going for a kill. Now get ready and begin!”

The moment she said it, Ben brought all of his minds up to their fastest speed and watched the other man before him. They were far enough apart that they’d have to meet in the middle if they wanted to come to blows and it looked like the instant things were called he started to move, rushing forward to go against an opponent that as far as he could see had decided to come unarmed.

That didn’t matter to Ben though. In less than a second he’d materialized his mana, creating a gun and applied all of the more powerful enchantments he could before pulling the trigger, sending a bullet through his opponent’s gut and out into the field beyond as its target crashed into the ground. Leaving the fight finished.