Ben completed the second gate he was to enchant far faster than the first to let Delair see everything he was capable of and gave her a sense of what was possible as one’s skill improved, enjoying as he watched just how excited it made her before it was finally time to drop the two off back home, leading to the inevitable goodbye as Ben started to both pull things out of his ring as well as materialize what he could for her, stealing Thera’s mana to make more.

“Okay, books, tools, materials and a few hundred pounds of different stones to try working with if you’re ever feeling up to it, I think you have everything you could need to stay busy for a couple years,” Ben told her, patting her head as she hugged him goodbye. “Anything else you think you’ll need?”

“Mmh, no,” She pouted, not ready to be done but understanding he had work to do. “This is plenty.”

“Okay, then work hard and be good for your mom, alright kiddo? Give it two more years and as long as you haven’t gotten sick of it you can train under me full-time.”

Assuming we’re all still here. God, the negativity really does just slip in so easily, doesn’t it?

He didn’t let it touch his face though as he got a smile and a nod for the promise, with Delair saying she’d do her best with her practice while her mother thanked him for all of his time before the four went off from there to finish the rest of the gates, with plenty still to go.

It was obvious from what he was seeing that a lot of them weren’t constructed as well as many of the older gates had been, with his skill in enchanting being trusted to compensate for a slightly lower quality of craftsmanship, but there had still been over a hundred new ones made on the surface, plus a few more he’d need to do as well, all of it slowly linking up the world and creating more spaces for others to evacuate to, all while allowing for even more resources to move around.

And combining his increase in skill and enchanting speed with the ability to keep forcing mana into Steph to help them travel about, they’d finished the new ones in a matter of hours, with the real limiting factor being both how long it took to get to each location, as well as how busy any place ended up being. There were more than a few areas that had crowds out and waiting, each curious to see the birth of a new gate, with reactions being either surprise over how fast it ended up being or disappointment that that was all there was to it, no matter how ridiculous the latter was. Even if the creation of a gate was a rare thing and even if the world changed with each one, it was never going to be particularly visual, with the only real point of interest being when it opened for everyone to see.

Once all of that was done though, the four of them went for a meal together in their final town, catching up as they did before they parted, with Will and Steph having their own work and preparations to get back to while Ben and Thera’s last task didn’t require them going somewhere lacking a gate as they instead passed through the network to a coastal city, walking to the water to see what waited for them.

During Ben’s first round of enchanting, he’d gone to every gate he could reasonably be expected to, but there were some that stood beyond his reach, even with the help of the space mages.

The aquatic gates, on a slightly separate network from the one he was used to in order to keep from flooding the world, had all been out of his reach, at least at the time, but given the severity of their situation it seemed the gods had decided to change that, having each of them removed from where they had sat, some of which had been there for centuries, all to be carried out for him to work on along with what more they could make in the time they had as well, giving him a new mountain of work to get to, with the one who had handled most of their transportation flying over to greet them.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Or perhaps floated would have been a better descriptor as what looked like a frozen eel moved under its own power towards them, with Thera waving happily.

“Uncle Salinoth, it’s been a while,” She told him with a smile, happy to be in the presence of one of the great spirits whose company she enjoyed.

“Only on your timescale, Thera. Or do you prefer princess now seeing as that’s what all of the little ones seem to go for?”

“Ugh, Thera please. I can’t convince them to stop.”

That got a laugh from him as he looked her over. “Well, I suppose I can see why. The nature of the mana you radiate has changed since I’ve last seen you.”

“A little trick I’ve learned but it helps the spirits grow so I typically just keep it up when I’m not doing anything else.”

“Ah, no wonder they’ve grown to love you so much. And this is your lover? Your father talks about him frequently during his visits.”

“Good things I hope,” Ben joined in. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Ben.”

“Nothing but good things,” The spirit agreed. “He seems to be as happy that Thera found you as he is to have his wife. So curious how much a person can change in a few short millennia.”

“I’ll say,” Thera sighed. “Have you heard the news about Incedis yet?”

“Hmm, news? Has someone finally found what’s been keeping that fool so occupied these last few years?”

“...Okay, this is going to be quite the conversation. Ben, come here and I’ll let you get to work while I catch up with my uncle for a couple minutes.”

She reached out and poured his mana into him, overfilling his soul before she started explaining how her uncle had disappeared for a few years to have a child, letting Ben walk over to the water's edge where the gates laid beneath the waves, taking off his shoes to walk in as he placed his hands along the surface of the first to start placing the enchantments.

In every way that mattered, they were the same as the ones he was used to doing, with only a minor difference in the section that acted as a marker for where they would link, creating a portal to that different network before he moved on to the next and so on, making as many as he could until he needed to go back to refill his mana, finding the great water spirit no longer frozen.

“That absolute fool,” Salinoth spat, his anger altering the form he’d constructed for himself. “At least it sounds like this has forced some maturity on him. If there were any among us who could have used that, I suppose this is a positive, but…”

“Well, despite him, you should make some time to visit. Insia is a sweetheart despite the asshole raising her and her mother helps keep him in line which I’d call a positive. And if he ever does anything to hurt her I know my father along with Lux and Funa would be happy to murder him with me so the more hands the better.”

“Okay,” Ben broke in. “Ignoring the scary conversation I’ve walked into, I need just a bit more mana pretty please.”

She transferred over her mana while keeping up the conversation on just how she’d dispose of her uncle if he ever ended up mistreating her cousin while at the same time convincing the great water spirit to meet the girl, letting Ben get back to completing his work, with the same reward for the land ones waiting for him when he was done as heads and limbs started coming up from the aquatic gates, letting him connect to claim what skills they had for even more rings and watching as his library grew, even if the same problem persisted. On land or sea, people either could or would only grow so much.

But it’s a couple more for my collection at least, even if I’m hitting my limits. And with that done, time to head home.

Across the span of the world there were no more gates for him to enchant and once Thera was done with her uncle the two went off, happy to get some rest after the long day.