Makoto implemented changes to the Illusory City to prevent any potential disasters. They also set the Alke to act as adventurers to make it appear alive. Walls were added as well.
Learning to adjust his abilities was a lot easier once he had someone to physically copy. He had the Orcs, Lizardfolk, Dwarves, and Alke show him their strength on various materials. Stone, wood, and different sorts of metal. Lifting, pushing, pulling, breaking, throwing, and minute manipulations. They humored him for quite a while. From there he would reproduce their results. Matching each of their abilities helped him put things in perspective. The super strength, speed, and all that were overpowered compared to the local setting. He did wonder how they would stack up against the Makoto, Mio, and Tomoe. Instead, he worked from the bottom up adjusting his power level to his 'baseline' when he just got the body.
He had benchmarks that he could easily swap between to match each partner after a couple of days. His sparring partners were on the higher end of physical abilities. He worked to combine them in a way that would embrace the synergy to avoid accidentally bottlenecking himself.
"You seem happy today," Ben said as he watched an Orc lumberjack.
The Orc smiled, "There's a feast tomorrow to celebrate the Young Master opening his first store."
"Is it that time already?" Ben asked.
The Orc cocked his head to the side.
"Ignore me," Ben waved the unasked question away. "You were showing me how you chop the trees?"
He worked with them through the day to make adjustment to his current physical benchmarks. Fighting was great but he wanted to make sure he wouldn't accidentally shatter a tree if he needed to cut firewood. He could use his divine power or magic, but he wanted to be prepared.
The celebration feast was an important part of the story. It had some good fluff with Makoto interacting with his people. The part that interested Ben was later on in the episode. Makoto would sneak off to practice archery only to find that he had accidentally been 'killing' himself every time he drew an arrow. The process inadvertently increased his mana to the point where he was on par with the local goddess.
"If you'll excuse me," Ben bowed his head to the Orc before hurrying to the village.
Makoto was easy to find. He had slipped away to his private archery range. There were a few quivers of arrows around him at arms-reach as well as a couple different styles of bows.
"Perfect timing," Ben waved at the young man.
Makoto's shoulders slumped as he realized he had been discovered, "Hello, Ben."
"Don't worry," Ben laughed. "I was just hoping I could watch."
Makoto raised his eyebrows, "Watch? Are you sure? I'm just going to be shooting at targets. It's how I clear my head."
"I'm not asking for instruction or anything," Ben said quickly. "It's relaxing. The sound repetition. I don't need to sleep anymore. I can, it just doesn't do much. Zoning out to a sound or motion is the closest I can get these days. You'd be my white noise."
Makoto chuckled, "Fine, I guess."
It was half-truth, but it seemed to work. Ben sat cross-legged on the grass nearby. He relaxed his posture with his hands resting in his lay and his eyes closed. The real reason he wanted to watch was so he could examine the process Makoto used to increase his mana.
Ben relaxed his hold on his physical body, allowing himself to touch a sliver of his divinity. He kept it at the lowest possible flow he could to avoid attracting the goddess' attention. There was also the chance that he could inadvertently alter the demi-plane. He focused his awareness on Makoto and the archery range to keep the power contained.
It was just as Makoto had explained. Take a deep breath, clear the mind, and imagine everything between him and the target morphing and melding together as one. His consciousness would extend the distance to the target then reconstitute his focus. Ben could 'watch' the process through his divine awareness. Every time Makoto reassembled his consciousness his mana would notably increase. The power would spread through the demi-plane further expanding and reinforcing every aspect.
Ben wasn't sure how long he sat that observing before he understood the process enough to comfortable reproduce it. He wasn't going to do it here to avoid interfering with the demi-plane.
"Ben?" Makoto finally spoke.
Ben opened his eyes. The world had a gold tint to it.
"What happened to your eyes?" Makoto hopped back.
He shook his head to banish the divine filter. Recreating the Kai technique Makoto used might be a good idea as well. The awareness alone would be worth it.
"Sorry about that," Ben sighed. "I'm still adjusting to this 'being a god' thing." He got to his feet. "What did you need?"
"I was letting you know that I'm finished for now," Makoto replied. "Were you going to come to the feast?"
Ben smiled, "Thank you, I would enjoy that."
They walked together in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. The demi-plane was a lot bigger that it appeared on the show. They didn't waste time showing the process to get from Point A to Point B in the anime. Walking for ten to fifteen minutes wouldn't make for a fun viewing experience.
"You know," Ben said after a moment. "There are other people in similar situations to you. Isekai, I mean. And not just on this world."
Makoto nodded, "That makes sense. It's a popular genre."
"That it is," Ben chuckled. "I was just thinking that there are other people that you'd probably get along well with." He gave a small blush. "And others I'm just curious to see what would happen."
"That's reassuring," Makoto grumbled.
Ben smiled, "You and Rimuru would get along well together. He inadvertently became a regional ruler too. His village quickly became a town then a city with mostly non-humans. Hell, if you wanted I might be able to migrate you and your people over there to get away from your favorite goddess."
"I'll doubt it," Makoto said. "It would be a waste to abandon everything we've built here."
"True," Ben nodded. "Then there is Mitsuha from 80,000 Gold."
"Eighty-thousand gold?" Makoto asked.
"She can travel between her home dimension and another," Ben explained. "She figured out that she needed about eighty-thousand gold to comfortably retire so she opened a store. Kind of like yours, but she stocks hers with items from a discount store from her world. The quality and selection make her a big profit. She also teaches them how to cook certain dishes from her world. Her story wouldn't change all that much if I brought her here instead of that world. It might give her the option to travel between the three realms." His voice dropped into muttering. "The guy from Jobless Reincarnation is a freaking creep so there is no way I'd go there or bring him here. Goliath and his clan might find living here better than New York. I'll have to talk to Makoto before that."
"You're mumbling," Makoto said.
Ben shrugged, "I was just thinking about things. There are people that would do great in a different world. A group of time-displaced gargoyles and a girl that can hop between two dimensions. I wouldn't invite anyone here without speaking with you first. Some trade-lines between worlds would benefit all parties. At least it would be a fun diversion."
"All that and you can't take me home?" Makoto asked with a tired sigh.
Ben shook his head, "I can't for some reason. I think it's because it's a dimension within a dimension. More complicated or beyond my skills. I'm learned as I'm going."
"I can relate to that," Makoto said.
Ben let him walk ahead as they reached the staging area. Tomoe and Mio had the villagers arranged in front of a stage. Makoto looked at Ben for help.
"Go on, Young Master," Ben teased.
"You're lucky I'm desperate to talk to humans," Makoto grumbled as he took the only seat on the stage.
Ben watched as the people celebrated. They got up to talk to Makoto one at a time. It was nice to see him connect with everyone so easily. His mind went into overdrive when he saw Tomoe's fragment run up onto the stage. She could split herself into multiple pieces that were still connected to her somehow. He wondered if he could learn how to do that too.
He approached Tomoe and Mio as they split off to let Makoto talk with everyone.
"Excuse me, Lady Tomoe," Ben called as he caught up with them.
The dragon in woman form turned to look at him, "Ah, Traveler, you're still around?'
"I like it here," Ben shrugged. "There was a favor I wanted to ask you."
She raised her eyebrows, "Oh?"
"Your fragment," Ben said. "How do you do that? Can you make more than one?"
Tomoe studied him for a long moment, "I try not to make more than one at a time. We're all connected so it can get confusion with all of the sensations. At least at first. They sort of become their own person the long they are alive. I can still absorb and connect to them but it's not as rough."
"Can you show me how you do it?" Ben asked.
Tomoe shrugged, "Sure. Now?"
"If it's not trouble," Ben replied.
She motioned her arms in a wide circle before holding them out parallel to the ground in front of her. Her magic gathered, forming in front of her in an egg shape. Cracks appeared along it until it shattered. Another dropped to the ground, standing proud with her hands on her hips. Magic had thankfully provided clothes during the process.
"I am here!" The fragment announced. "Woah."
Both of them staggered to keep their balance.
"Can you absorb her?" Ben asked.
"Yeah," The fragment replied. "This is giving me a headache."
Tomoe reached out a hand toward her fragment who did so as well. A flash of light sparked as they touched. The fragment had vanished.
"Having two at the same time that are so fresh isn't fun," Tomoe rubbed her temples. "It gets easier after a couple months. I try not to make more than one a year. The headaches are constant if I have more than four at a time. I experience everything they do for the first couple of days."
"That's pretty cool," Ben chuckled.
The woman in the black kimono covered the lower portion of her face with a fan, "Is there anything you would like me to show you?"
"Thank you, Lady Mio," Ben bowed. "I can't think of anything right now."
Ben wanted to attempt to create his own right then. He was able to hold off due to the chance it would destabilize the demi-plane.
"I am going to leave for a while," Ben announced. "I want to see if I can make my own."
"Good luck," Tomoe said.
Ben smiled at her before he vanished.
CUBE
Ben did not have a bow and arrow. He wasn't sure how that had happened. Ben thought for sure he had grabbed one during his time on Asgard. Well, it made sense. They had spear-launchers and other space Viking tech instead of the classics. He didn't necessarily need a bow and arrow to copy the method Makoto had for expanding his mana. It just would have been easier to recreate. The process was the important part not the tools. He did a quick scan of his growing collection to find something suitable.
He needed something he could concentrate on that wasn't something he would do on a regular basis. A piece of gold would be a decent place to start. He plucked one from the stack and balanced it on his palm to get a feel for it. The coin was heavier than he had expected. It was about the size of a fifty-cent piece.
Ben concentrated on the coin, slowly running it along his knuckles. He focused on the movement weight. A dexterous flick of his thumb sent it into the air. It flipped as it fell back into his hand. His world shrunk to where the coin was going to land, and any adjustments he needed to make. He fell into a pattern, flip, catch, flip, catch. The height of each one increased until it hit the perfect speed that kept the coin in constant motion. It didn't feel right.
It felt silly to hop to another dimension simply to buy a bow. There was also the chance that it wouldn't work even with it. He recreated the scene from memory. How it felt and the steps Makoto did with each shot to analyze everything.
He pictured himself with a bow and a target in the distance. Ben took a deep breath as he drew the arrow. He cleared his mind lining up the shot. The hardest part was visualizing everything between him and the target morphing and melding together as one. His consciousness bridged the distance to the target then he would let the shot loose.
Ben could feel the air in the Cube reverberate as he let the imaginary loose. He repeated the process to the same result. His power definitely felt his power increase. It wasn't as drastic as he expected, but it was still progress. He didn't know how long he continued gathering his power, focusing on it, and releasing. His goal was to reach the walls, which was a lot harder than he had expected.
As he told Makoto, he didn't need to sleep anymore. This process of meditation got him to a state that was close. At some point he stopped the power cycling and let his mind wander. He wanted to spend more time with Makoto and the others. Interacting with them didn't disappoint. Visiting Rimuru to learn more about shapeshifting was just an excuse to visit. He didn't have the same interest as he did with Moonlit Fantasy.
He knew himself well enough to realize his interest had moved from superpowers to sword and sorcery. Dimensions outside of that genre wouldn't get the proper attention until he had moved onto whatever shiny thing caught his eye. My Hero Academia, the various other DC and Marvel dimensions, Invincible would have to wait for a while. He wanted to wait a while longer before he went back to Star Wars. Killing the Chancelor would make it hard to stay under the radar. Fallout would have to wait as well.
Ben got his thoughts in order for his further adventures. He could visit Gargoyles before the curse to move them to the demi-plane along with their eggs. Xanatos would have no reason to move the castle which would save New York a bunch of trouble. Speaking of trouble in New York, Ben had to admit that he wanted to visit some version of the Ninja Turtles. There were a few of them to choose from. Or he could visit all of them. The 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles deserved better than their horrible movies. Maybe they would want to visit a couple of dimensions to find somewhere to live.
Fantasy destinations. He should check in on Mitsuha from 80,000 Gold to offer her some options. It would be nice to check out how her ability differed from his. Dan Machi didn't have anyone that needed to be rescued or relocated off the top of his head. His power benchmarks would make the visit there entertaining. Skyrim had shifted to a maybe on the list. It was just a generic fantasy setting if he wasn't the Dragonborn. Plus, he had already spent years there.
Kumo Desu (So, I'm a Spider, So What) still held his interest enough for a visit. There were a couple of characters he wanted to meet as well as one or two that needed to die. One thing he hated about anime was that the heroes believed in the Power of Friendship even if they were constantly betrayed or mistreated. He's abusive, hates me, mistreats everyone, and is an entitled asshole but he's still my friend.
Looking at you Izuku.
There were a couple of things that he needed to pick up before he went back to the Demi-Plane.
Tsukimichi Moonlit FantasyThe Demi-PlaneSeason 1, Episode 11
Ben appeared on the patio where Tomoe and Mio were currently eating breakfast. He looked around to find Makoto wasn't with them.
"Traveler Ben," Tomoe greeted him. "It's nice to see you again."
Ben bowed to Tomoe, "Lady Tomoe. Where is Makoto?"
"He's on the road with Shiki to the Rotsgard Academy," Tomoe answered.
It made sense that Makoto would have left already without the delay with the funeral and rebuilding the Illusory City. He did wonder how that would effect being hijacked by the goddess. His knowledge of the timeline was lacking.
"Wait," Ben asked. "Why is he on the road? Couldn't he teleport there?"
Tomoe shook her head, "No, they have an appointment In Tsige tomorrow to use their teleportation circle. We have to go to a location before we can open a mist gate there. It cuts down on travel time on any return trips."
"Tomorrow," Ben muttered.
It looked like the timeline would remain intact. He didn't think he should get involved in this portion of the story. Makoto could take care of himself.
"I brought something," Ben said before they could ask what he was thinking about.
The two perked up.
"These are a couple of books on plumbing," Ben put a stack on the table. "These cover technological advancements from Earth's Middle Ages to the Industrial Age. Be careful with those, pollution can get nasty once you hit steam engines. That reminds me, how are the solar panels and TVs working?"
"Great!" Mio replied. "The dwarves took one set to disassemble. They are rather excited to have something so strange to examine. I'm sure they will love this too."
"Indoor plumbing, huh," Tomoe said as she flipped through the book. "It did look amazing in Young Masters memories."
"Great," Ben smiled. "I'll take off again. There are some places I want to visit before Makoto gets back."
"We'll send out greetings," Tomoe said.
Ben bowed then disappeared.