The treehouse had become a nature god. A goddess to be precise since Rose had acted as the circuit but the original body was a tree so yeah. The being we created had a god gem where its divine power was stored so it was a legit world god but due to the way we created it, there were more similarities to a dryad.
This being wouldn't act like a normal god and try to gather faith by gaining believers but instead absorbed natural faith from the trust of safety within this oasis. This would slow its growth considerably but relieve it of the pressure from meeting peoples' expectations.
As Rose and I pulled back the newly born mind reached out to us like a baby that felt left alone.
'Who am I? Don't leave me! Who am I? Tell me.'
A desperate mental message reached both of us. Commonly gods received some name throughout their lives before becoming sentient. The need for a name seemed to be rooted deeply in this being. However, this worried me. Rose and I weren't the greatest when it came to naming things.
"Your name shall be home. For that is your purpose, to provide a safe home for all those in need of it."
And there she had gone and done it again. Rose had blurted out the first thing that came to mind. Her sense of naming might sound adorable but above it was a really unsuitable word to use as a name. But it was all too late now.
'Home? I am Home!'
See the problem.
Moving on, with Home being here the defenses of the oasis had already been markedly improved. Next, I would try to get some of the bunny people to get stronger and set up some preliminary defenses for this place.
Rose wasn't interested in such things and stayed behind to keep talking to Home. They could both be considered experts on botanical matters and while their knowledge was the same they would agree on nearly everything.
Red had asked me to offer Kesh a trial of mind therefore I went to look for the muscular bunny-kin. I found him carrying sandstone blocks towards a half-finished house. Other humans and bunny people were also there setting the blocks into place to complete the house.
"Why are you building new houses? I was told that the population hadn't increased lately."
Kesh halted his steps and turned to me. He carried a look of reverence on his face as he saw me.
"Lord Abel! Puri asked us to build some new houses since the food-sustainability problem can be solved through trade with lady Aurelia. Our oasis having enough food to sustain ourselves will surely attract more people and we should prepare for that."
"Thinking ahead, huh. That's good but I need to talk to you about something. Could you free a moment?"
"Of course! I'll bring these blocks over and tell the others to continue without me."
Kesh walked off and delivered his sandstone blocks, exchanged a few words with the others, and hurried back.
"Now, what was it you needed from me, Lord Abel?"
"Red told me that you have been stuck on the precipice of becoming an archmage for a while now without being able to take that last step. Is that correct?"
"Yes, as lord Rem said I believe that I am one step away from reaching the next level. However, I believe that this last step will take me a few years to complete."
"That is a common barrier that many face on the journey of magic. However, as you know this oasis is dealing with some troubles and they won't wait for you to break through. I am here to tell you that there is a faster way to succeed. But that way is accompanied by some risks."
Before I could further elaborate he interrupted me.
"If such a way truly exists I wish to take it. Please show me how it's done, the risk doesn't scare me!"
"The risk may not scare you but I insist that you at least hear it. What I'm offering you is called a trial of the mind. I will directly invade your mind with mine and exude a pressure that your mind can't take in its current state. Under that pressure you will either break through or be broken. Worst case scenario you will end up a mindless husk of your former self."
"Regardless I wish to proceed. If I can help the oasis prosper by taking this risk I will."
"Thought you would say that. Let's have the trial in the desert outside. The breakthrough phenomenon can be a little violent sometimes."
We left the oasis and found an empty spot in the desert. Kesh sat cross-legged and signed his readiness for me to begin his trial of the mind. Without further warning, I entered his mind.
I restrained the power of my mind to the point where he wouldn't be killed immediately and just stayed in his mind moving around occasionally.
Kesh's face contorted in pain almost instantly after I had entered his mind. The reason why this method could provoke a breakthrough was precisely because it put such ridiculous amounts of stress onto the mind.
The pain Kesh was going through had no physical root. Even someone with a damaged nervous system would still feel it as it was directly produced within the mind.
Kesh was doing quite well for now. His mind was bending and trembling under the pressure but I could feel no signs of it reaching its limits or being about to shatter or break.
Deep within his mind, I could feel something building. A power that was foreign to the realm of high mages. If that power could build up enough to gain the power to push me out Kesh would have successfully broken through to a rank one archmage. However, as that power was building up so was the strain on his mind.
If his mind failed to ward off the pressure even one second before the power to push me out had fully accumulated it would all be in vain. I hoped it wouldn't come to that but if it did I would try my best to minimize the damage caused and pull back.