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    The returning contestants took longer than expected to get back, so they ended up pushing the feast back until the night after. I spent that whole evening with my wife, and then the next day, after stockpiling my wishes, I went to see Benny. I hadn’t checked in with my friend beyond our greeting, mostly because…I didn’t know what to say. While he was happy to see me, I knew him well enough to notice the hesitation in his mannerisms when we reunited, and I knew exactly what had caused it.


    Benny had come on this trip to explore with me, to have my back, and I was slowly leaving him behind. It was inevitable really. Callie had a whole bunch of very lucky encounters (for some value of that word) and was getting a massive income in stats from all the renown, not to mention possibly being able to gain some inspiration from the scythe (I didn’t expect her to be swinging that thing around anytime soon, but using it as a roadmap might be helpful, and if anyone could help with that it would be my grandma), and Jessie had her new racial trait.


    My best friend probably felt totally useless, and I hadn’t known how to help besides just focusing my wishes on him.Of course, I could still do that if I handed over all my scrolls, but unless he could borrow some cash from Celine he wouldn’t be able to pay for it all anyway, because I didn’t need stored attacks as much, and if he paid with points he’d just be course correcting and not gaining anything.


    But now I’d come up with a new plan. Or rather, one had fallen into my lap. “Catch,” I called to my friend as I tossed him the fruit I’d been carrying. He did, his hand reaching up casually to snatch the item from the air without getting up from where he was lounging in front of a small pond.


    “You brought me a snack?” he said wryly. “You didn’t even peel it. Some effort would be nice.” Despite the flippant words, I saw his eyes brighten. He could feel the C-rank power in the fruit, even if he didn’t know what it meant.


    I laughed and flopped down next to him, putting my arms behind my head and staring out at the pond. “Reincarnation fruit. It’ll cleanse the soul. There’s actually two ways to do that. There’s the normal condensation, which increases clarity and improves your odds of forming a Chronicle, and there’s a secondary method that cleanses deeper impurities from things like pills and…honestly I don’t even know yet. But I’ve gone through both, once in the Falls of Lamentation and once in a rebirth ceremony performed by the Lady.”


    Pointing at the fruit, I grinned. “That is supposed to do the same thing as the falls. It should pave the way for you to get into B-rank more easily, and having a purified soul will make Path stuff easier. Your progress forming your Solid Path should be easy as pie, and it’ll help you exert way more power with your Path, which will make gaining renown easier. Even I didn’t have something like that going into D-rank. I’m a little jealous.”


    Benny had been training and working the whole time we’d been apart, probably even harder than Jessie had. I knew some of the wishes had gone to him, but beyond that he’d been busting his ass to get stronger, working on his inventions and integrating new tech I hadn’t even seen yet, not to mention his Path advancement.


    Without Celine around, he’d been desperately pushing to improve, I’d heard as much from Callie. I didn’t feel bad for him or anything, we all trained our asses off, but I thought that kind of determination should be rewarded. Not to mention he was my best friend, and I wanted him to have all the advantages he could get. From a selfish perspective, I didn’t want to leave him behind, and this might help with that.


    I’d considered giving the fruit to Callie, but after thinking it over, she had plenty of advantages already. Benny had been with me since we were kids, and I owed him my support.


    He stared at it with a complicated expression. “I want to say no,” he said in frustration. “To give this to Jessie or something. But she already got that new racial trait. I considered wishing for one, but I don’t have anything I’m suited for like that. Nothing that feels right. I’m just…mediocre. But this will help me in ways you can’t imagine. Invention is heavily dependent on the soul. I think that the way it works is reminiscent of randomly generated Paths. With this, I might be able to more easily control what I make.”


    “Wait, really?” I asked with interest. “How are the Paths generated?”


    “It’s like…bringing out the inner nature,” he said after a slight pause. “The more I work with my Path the more obvious it becomes. Like calling out the renown inside and letting it twist into whatever form it''s most suited for. Basically just letting recursion go nuts on a bunch of materials.”


    I nodded thoughtfully. “I always wondered about that. Invention is…weird. And the high percentage of mad scientists seemed strange when we were starting out. You never really had that issue, so I thought it wasn’t that serious and the others were just hamming it up for renown. I guess your soul has always been a bit further ahead, at least since you really got deeper into Inventing.”


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    “Pretty much,” he admitted. “I didn’t even realize what it was until I formed my Path, and then it started to seem…familiar. I’ve been experimenting with infusing my Path into my Inventions to change their nature, and I’ve had some success. It’s kind of like a technique. But this will take my control to a whole new level. And going into D-rank…” his eyes burned with an almost manic intensity. “Shane if I can create enough powerful tech and integrate it all, I think I can upgrade my ability that way. Not exactly a racial trait, but close. And one I make myself.”


    That sounded amazing. “If you need some help I’ve made my own temporary racial trait and helped with Jessie’s. I mean, you could even wish for the catalyst, but it doesn’t sound like you want that.”


    “No,” he said firmly. “Stats are fine, but if you help me with this I feel like I won’t ever be able to take the next step on my own. I need to do this myself. It’s the only way I’ll be sure I can keep going. But this…yeah, this’ll help. Thanks, man.”


    It was funny, I knew Benny well enough to know how his mind worked, and I was aware of how he’d been feeling just from that, but I hadn’t seen many signs of it. Benny wasn’t the type to show his unhappiness on the surface, at least not most of the time. Now that it was gone though, his previous dissatisfaction was obvious for its absence.


    The energy and life that filled his face were the kind that had nothing to do with green fire or stat points, and everything to do with a renewal of purpose. Abel’s advice all those months ago about drive and determination flashed through my mind. Maybe this would be even bigger for Benny than I imagined. The idea of my friend being able to catch up to or even surpass me in the short term made me beam with pride, and I hoped this would be as effective as I thought.


    “I don’t know what this will be like,” I warned him. “My experience with this process happened during the course of trials for a goddess of torture. So you can imagine that the sensation might not be what you''d describe as pleasant. I don’t know if the fruit will be the same…but I also don’t know it won’t.”


    Of course, I had no clue how much of the Falls of Lamentation had been Falls and how much had been Lamentation, so to speak. It was highly possible the actual reliving of my experiences was the only necessary part and all the suffering was just Order of Mercy seasoning. For Benny’s sake I hoped so. My best friend was tough, but I wasn’t sure it was possible to get through some of the stuff I had without gradually working up to it.


    Before I could warn him again though, a message shot through the bond and I cursed. He raised an eyebrow at me and I climbed to my feet, brushing off my armor. “The last Dryad just got back. We’re being summoned for the banquet. I have to go schmooze tree people to try and recruit some B and C-rankers.”


    “Sucks for you,” he gloated. “I’m going to go eat this fruit and get way stronger. Bet you wish you could skip like I am.”


    I snorted. “Dude, I remember going through what you’re about to. I’d rather deal with politics all day than go through that again. Have fun spending your next two hours curled up in a ball on your bathroom floor crying and throwing up.”


    “You cried?” he snickered as we walked away from the pond. “Wuss. I bet I won’t make a sound. I’ve always been tougher than you.”


    “More delusional at least,” I retorted. “Remember when we were fifteen and you broke your toe? You acted like you got eviscerated. You would stare dramatically off into the middle distance whenever you talked about it. I’ve met literal crying infants with a higher pain tolerance than you.”


    He bristled. “That was a COMPOUND fracture! Those are extra painful. And I don’t want to hear that from the guy who sprained his ankle and told everyone he broke it in three places. I-”


    “If you idiots don’t hurry up, I’ll show BOTH of you what suffering feels like,” came my wife’s voice from a nearby shadow. “The banquet already started and they’re hassling me to know where the big hero is. Daysia won’t shut up about how amazing you are and I’m getting mobbed.”


    I winced. “Sorry honey,” I called sheepishly. “I’m on my way.” I turned to Benny. “You got lucky this time.”


    “Please, your wife totally saved your ass,” he sniffed scornfully.  “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go eat this fruit and then casually relax and watch a movie. Then make fun of you for being such a baby.” He flipped me off and we separated, me heading toward the banquet and him back toward his tree lodgings. Before he got too far though, he stopped. “Shane?” he asked quietly. I made a sound of inquisition and he sighed. “Thanks. For real. It means a lot. I won’t let you down man.”


    I laughed. “I know that, idiot. Be careful with that fruit. Seriously.”


    “I will,” he promised. “And you kick some ass at that banquet. Snag us some tree people for the trip.”


    Smiling, I watched him go. I followed the sensation of distress to the banquet hall, and Chelsea met me at the door with a smirk. “You’re in so much trouble,” she told me with a grin. “Callie has been fielding questions from admiring Dryads, including Daysia who I think has a crush. She is NOT pleased.”


    I shrugged. “She’ll get over it, I can’t help being awesome. Someone was bound to notice.” I did a fake flex, making sure to exaggerate so it was clear I wasn’t actually that conceited. My sister remained unamused. Everyone was a critic.


    Sulking because no one appreciated my humor, I made my way over to Callie, slipping in to sling an arm over her shoulder. “Sorry ladies, need to borrow my wife for a minute. I’m lost without her you know.”


    Callie’s shoulders straightened smugly as we walked away, and I triggered Bael as soon as we broke line of sight. “Well,” I said with a laugh. “That seemed like fun. Now, who am I supposed to talk to around here to get some backup?” I saw her consider being annoyed, but eventually she just laughed along with me and turned me toward one of the Dryad elders. Hopefully this party wasn’t going to go on all day. Maybe Benny WAS the lucky one.