Ben's hands were wrenched away from her, secured with metal shackles behind his back, and an earthen spike pressing against his jugular.

"Oh my." Her mother giggled. "Aren't you a bold boy?"

"Honey for our daughter's safety, I think it would be best to dispose of him quickly. We'll apologize to Falk and send him a replacement apprentice." Said her father, the one currently binding his hands and threatening his life.

Thera had her face hidden in her hands to hide her blush from Ben's statement before talking to her parents. "Both of you calm down, I'm sure Ben meant something else than what it sounded like."

Ben for his part was a little distracted by the spike pressed against his throat but still spoke to defend himself. "Absolutely, sorry I meant I want to use her body for crafting materials."

Four more spikes pressed into his throat.

"Alright honey enough of that." Her mom said, trying to quell her husband's sudden anger. "Ben, as a reasonably new resident in this world I'm not sure if you're aware, but making materials out of sapient races is an extreme criminal offense pretty much everywhere. In the past there were a few races that were almost wiped out in order to use their parts. Now bearing that in mind, what do you want to do with my daughter?"

The spikes were moved about a foot away, but they didn't disappear. Still it was enough for him to breathe. "I didn't know, sorry. I probably could have explained better, I'm just feeling pretty damn inspired at the moment. I was just thinking that despite being made of gold, the properties of it have changed to more resemble hair since it was part of her body, but it's still metal. Her mana moves around inside her naturally all the time without causing harm, so I was thinking we could use however much hair she cuts off to make the core of a staff. If her mana can move through it the same way it can for the rest of her body then maybe a staff made with it wouldn't explode if she ran her mana through it. Still I didn't know what you just told me so I can see it's probably not a good idea. Sorry."

He tried to sound heartfelt but after his explanation Thera had made up her mind as well. "Let's do it."

“Are you sure? It’s not something I think I could pull off immediately, I’m hoping to get my crafting level up maybe two more first. The main thing is if you’d be willing to grow your hair out longer so we’d have more to work with when the time comes.”

“Alright, I’ll put getting a haircut on hold then.” She said without hesitation. “If it could get me a better staff then it will be worth the wait.”

“Great, now that that’s done do you mind releasing me?” He asked Abrus, who still had him chained and bound.

With a wave of his hand the great spirit freed him, the chains and spikes remerging with the floor they were originally a part of.

“Sorry about that.” Abrus told him. “In my time I’ve seen plenty of species and mixed-breeds hunted for their parts, I’ve always been worried someone may see Thera as some particularly rare magical ingredients.”

“Fair enough, sorry I wasn’t more clear to begin with.” He could certainly understand why that would be a worry. “Has that sort of thing happened to any other half spirits before?”

“You didn’t tell him then?” Penelia asked Thera with a raised eyebrow, but Thera only shrugged.

“There was never any real reason to bring it up.” She said in a tone making it clear it wasn’t really a topic she wanted to spend too much time on, before turning to Ben. “I’m the first half spirit, so nothing like that has happened before, but growing up there was some worry that someone may try something since spirits are so potently magical.”

“Oh neat.” From her general demeanor as she spoke he decided to leave well enough alone and wasn’t really sure where to bring the conversation, but thankfully her mother seemed to be feeling merciful, calling for desert and then brought an end to the night.

He awoke early the next day and immediately ran off to the guild. Thera was still asleep when he left but she would doubtlessly know where to find him when she woke up, and if she wanted to join him she would. There was just a small problem. It was still closed when he got there.

Without much to do until he was let in he wandered around, looking at the few shops that were open, hoping something would catch his eye. He had money to spare now and it wouldn’t hurt to pick up a couple things while he was out, and in a world filled with magical tools, there were a lot of tempting options.

Myriad said while Ben worked.

What? The spatial bag? Sure it’s not the largest one I could have gotten for that price, but my mana is too low to keep it charged so springing a bit more for one that uses some mythril was a good investment, even if it was pricey.

As Ben had wandered around, looking for anything that caught his eye, he managed to find a reasonably priced spatial bag and knew that he had to have it. It screamed fantasy to him more than anything else he’d seen, plus they were convenient. It was the size of a regular backpack but could fit about a cubic meter of space. They wouldn’t have any issue taking their luggage home with it and they would be able to carry far more staves to test in the future. Myriad could see the logic in it, even if he found it a bit extravagant. The issue was more why Ben was sitting outside the guild sewing as he waited for it to open.

Making the braces involves weaving mana, and it looked like the boundary to Anailias trial had some seriously complexly woven enchantments. I figured if I am going to be doing more of that in the future I could practice with an actual needle and thread. I have a little experience with it anyway, but it never hurts to get more.

While he was out he found a lovely little shop selling cloth, needles and thread, as well as some beginner and intermediate books on sewing. With all that available of course he was going to give it a try.

I do a lot of cooking anyway, it will come in handy. He had just finished putting together a big, floppy chef's hat, as well as making a nice apron.

I’ll have you know that ‘Kiss the Cook’ aprons are a proud part of my culture. Besides, only humans will be able to read it, if I’m ever able to meet up with Steph or Will again I’m sure they’ll get a kick out of it. Ben's father would always wake up early on weekends to make breakfast for his family, and the apron was part of his signature look. He had fond memories of that sort of thing and it reminded him of home in a nice little way.

Myriad was at least able to pick up on this, even if he wasn’t in agreement with his apostles' fashion choices.