Ben felt himself slowly waking up for the first time in what felt like ages, but he didn’t open his eyes. His memory seemed blurry but his body felt good, like a massive weight had been lifted from him while at the same time he was freed from a terrible pain he couldn’t quite remember. He wanted to enjoy it while he could.

The bed he was in was comfortable enough, though it didn’t feel like the one he had at Sonya’s, and he was content to just lay there, letting his mind’s wander as he did until a thought interrupted him.

Wait, why do I have three now?

With the revelation he’d leveled up complex mind came the memories of everything that happened and he bolted upright and opened his eyes, shocking the person by his side, a fully cloaked figure who had been sitting down reading a book but threw themselves at him as soon as he was up, wrapping him in a hug.

“Oh thank the gods,” Thera said, squeezing him as if he would try to escape otherwise. “You’re finally up.”

He hugged her back just as hard. The last thing he remembered was that the invader had been killed and he was sure he was going to die, but she had been safe. To see her sitting there was the greatest relief he could ask for.

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” He told her, feeling the tension leave his body. “And the others?”

The last he’d seen, Steph and Wedrow seemed to be safely by her side, but Will had been thrown away when the invader attacked.

Thankfully she quickly pushed his concerns away. “All fine. They’re safely home now, they wanted to stay but their nations wanted a report of events and once all of the healers showed up they couldn’t delay any longer.”

“Wait, healers?”

She nodded, not taking her head away from his chest. “Apparently the gods that were watching contacted their nations to send healers to Stonewall as fast as they could. The last two weeks they’d been working around the clock to keep you alive.”

Two weeks! Damn, this really was a bad one. Looks like I finally have a reason to be grateful to at least a couple other gods in this world though. He would have to remember to ask Myriad to pass on his thanks when he got the chance but put the thought to the side as another question came up.

“But how am I even alive? I didn’t think Steph and Wedrow would be able to do anything after having their mana sucked out like that, I was sure I was a goner.”

“Ah, well, that’s a little complicated.” She told him, dreading the conversation she knew she was going to have to have and afraid of how he would react, but it wasn’t something that could be put off. She carefully explained what happened after she killed the demon and how they came to the conclusion they’d have to make use of its organs to save his life. He’d just silently listened as she spoke, raising her anxiety as the story went on. What if he was angry? What if he hated her? She was ready to accept it if he did, but she stood by the choice, she didn’t want him to die.

“So,” He began as she braced for the worst. “You got two magic levels! You’re halfway through your quest, that’s incredible!”

“Um, are you not mad at all?”

“What are you talking about?”

“We incorporated parts of the most hated and heinous monsters in the galaxy into your body, plenty of people would rather be dead.”

“Sure but I’m not one of them,” He told her with certainty and hugged her tighter. “As far as I’m concerned those were just materials to be used, and you saved my life. I don’t care what bits you shove into me in the future if it means I get to live another day.”

He was aware that some people on his homeworld might object to xenotransplants on ethical or religious grounds, but he couldn’t care less. The biggest concern he had was that someone might get experience if they killed him now, but even that was regulated to a passing curiosity about how much he would provide.

“Oh good, I was a little worried,” A little was probably an understatement. He felt her body relax through her cloak as he told her it was fine and knew the thought must have been weighing on her mind.

“I told you the boy wouldn’t have a problem,” A familiar yeti said as he made his way into the room.

“Good to see you Falk, your favourite apprentice is back in the land of the living,” Ben told his teacher as a smile stretched across his face.

“Bah, and I was so close to being free of your nonsense,” His teacher told him, grinning back despite himself.

“Hey now, you can’t say that, I’m a patient.”

“If I can’t talk like that when you're hurt I’ll never be able to. You’re always a patient for some reason or other.”

“It’s part of my charm.”

“Nothing charmin’ about scaring everyone half to death each time you’re pulled in here looking worse than the last, and no matter how excited you are to see your wife, maybe you should leave that sort of thing for when you’ve got some privacy.”

Thera was horrified to realise she hadn’t let go of him since he’d woken up and he was still hugging her so she slipped from his arms and awkwardly went back to her chair, making a halfhearted comment about not being his wife as she did.

His teacher gave a little chuckle at his niece's embarrassment before he went on. “How’s your body feeling, anything off?”

“No, I feel incredible actually, like I was never even injured,” He felt around his stomach and chest, expecting to find a scar but coming up blank. “I’ll have to thank the healers who worked on me, seems like they did a great job.”

The mood of the room darkened a little, but the way Falk went on made him think it was all in his head. “Most of them went to head home this morning since your treatment was completed but you’ll get your chance to talk to the main one later. If you’re feeling up to it you can come to the shop once Sonya gives you a look over if you want. A lot of things have happened that I think you’ll be excited for.”

“Hmm, sure sounds good, but what time is it? Even if I just woke up I don’t want to be out too late.”

“You’re fine, it’s just before lunch so you have plenty of daylight to burn.”

“Wait, why aren't you watching the shop if it’s this early?”

“Cause I needed to check on my accident-prone apprentice, obviously. Now get that grin off your face and let’s get you checked out.”

“Sounds good, you going to come along Thera?”

She shook her head. “I would, but now that you’re up I have some work to do.”

“Oh, okay,” He said, more disappointment leaking from his voice than intended.

“Sorry but it’s important, unfortunately. I’ll ask aunty to pick something tasty up for us later at dinner so don’t be out too late, okay?”

“And don’t be so greedy for her time boy,” His teacher told him. “She’s been stuck here every day waiting for you to get yourself together.”

“Uncle, he didn’t need to know that!”