Monroe

Bob smiled at Clyde as he entered the mausoleum.

"Good Morning Clyde," Bob said as headed towards the Gateway.

"Morning Bob," Clyde said with a yawn as he stood up from his chair and stretched as he followed Bob to the Gateway, "Do you have a moment before you head down?"

Bob paused and turned towards Clyde as he said, "Sure."

Clyde pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him.

Bob recognized it immediately as one of the guides he'd written for the group of kids who were going to be using the Conjuration Affinity Crystals.

"A few of these have been going around," Clyde said quietly, "and the Church was, of course, interested."

Bob nodded stiffly.

"The increase in potential is clearly laid out, so the Vicar sent Austan to ask Thidwell if he knew of any Invocation, Animancy, or Protection Affinity Crystals," Clyde continued, "although sadly he doesn't."

"I've never seen them either," Bob said quickly.

Clyde nodded and raised a hand in a calming gesture as he went on, "Yes, and while Summoning, Dimension, and Conjuration aren't of interest to the Church, Abjuration could be."

Clyde used both thumbs to point to himself as he smiled and said, "I'm a Protection specialist, and you may not know this, but Abjuration is a condensed and truncated version of the Divine School of Protection."

"Yes, I can heal, although I'm not a true Healer like Austan, I prefer to shield the damage, rather than fix the aftermath," Clyde said, "which leads around to the point."

Clyde leaned forward and quietly said, "The Church would very appreciative if you had any knowledge regarding a path that both utilized an Abjuration Affinity Crystal, and didn't restrict the ability to purchase and use the Divine Schools of Animancy and Invocation."

"Austan was asked if he could have this conversation with you," Clyde admitted ruefully, "but he insisted that due to his personal relationship with you, it could be seen as him asking, rather than the Church, and being as you and I have only said 'Hello' to each other..."

Clyde shrugged.

Bob reached up and scratched Monroe's ruff.

The truth was, the path he'd come up with for an Abjuration specialist would fit what he was looking for pretty well.

System Help, Path of the Eldritch Guard The Path of the Eldritch Guard is obtained by having the following Skills: Magical School of Abjuration, Eldritch Force Field, Brilliant, Enlightened, Fountain, and Area of Effect. The user must also have an affinity for the Magical School of Abjuration. The user cannot have any other Arcane Schools of Magic. The Path of the Eldritch Guard reduces the total penalty and mana cost for the Area of Effect skill by five percent per level of the user when utilized with non-damaging effects. The Eldritch Force Field gains resistance to kinetic damage equal to one percent of the Field's value per level of the user. The user gains a bonus of one percent per level to the Magical School of Abjuration. The user may select one additional non-damaging spell each level. Upon obtaining level five, and every five levels thereafter, the user may increase the maximum level of all non-damaging spells in one School by five. Upon reaching level twenty-five, the user no longer suffers the initial fifty percent penalty when using the Area of Effect skill.

"I do have something," Bob said slowly, "and it wouldn't prevent you from taking any Divine Schools of magic, although it does block out any additional Arcane schools."

Clyde asked, "Do you have a document for it yet?"

Bob shook his head and replied, "No, not as of yet, although I could put one together for you by tomorrow morning," he paused for a moment and then continued carefully, "you do know that whatever I provide you won't be exclusively for the Church? I'll be providing it to everyone."

Clyde laughed and shook his head, "The Church has no qualms regarding your dissemination of a Path that will enable others to better protect their loved ones."

"Ok," Bob said as tried to mask a sigh of relief, "are you considering reincarnating?"

"I'm only level eight," Clyde answered, "so if the path fits me well, I will."

Bob nodded then awkwardly asked, "Was there anything else you needed?"

Clyde shook his head and said, "No, that was all, I'll mark you down as delving on the sixth floor of the Dungeon?"

Bob nodded, pressed his token against the Gateway, and then stepped through.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bob had pulled out his wooden chair and was relaxing as the screams of angry boars rang out all around him.

He had become so used to being crippled, that he hardly knew what to do now that he wasn't.

Effect over time was a beautiful thing.

Bob had a level six effective over time UtahRaptor guarding him as he sat and watched his concentration-based Jake slaughter boars at a fantastic rate.

Thanks to his now normal matrix, he was able to keep an effect overtime up for twelve seconds without going over his mana regeneration.

A few boars had tried to charge Bob and had been intercepted by his little raptors, and it was able to go toe to toe with a boar, so they could keep it off of Bob long enough for Jake to handle the adds.

His mental alarm clock made him aware that it was time for lunch so with a smile, Bob packed up his chair, dropped his persistent effects, waited for his mana to recover, and then portaled to the Gateway. Activating it, he walked through to the mausoleum and walked over towards Austan.

"Bob," Austan said pleasantly.

Bob smiled and held out a handful of crystals, which Austan dropped into a pouch.

"Go ahead and close out my Delve for now," Bob said, "I've got a few things to do this afternoon."

Austan nodded and opened the ledger, noting that Bob had finished his delve safe and sound.

"So Clyde talked to you," Austan said.

"Yep," Bob replied, "and I think the path I came up with for using Abjuration Affinity Crystals will suit him quite nicely."

Austan nodded, then quietly said, "I'm not sure how you're figuring out these new paths, but I'd be careful," he shook his head sadly, "there are powerful people who won't be best pleased that you've figured out a way that they could be usurped."

Bob let a cold, dark smile creep over his face as he said, "Oh, I know," his voice grated, "I know all about the power-hungry assholes who've done their best to make sure that people suffer and die because they wanted to be the biggest fish in their tiny pond."

"Don't worry," Bob said as he patted Austan's shoulder, "I've got a plan in place to absolutely ruin their day."

Austan looked a bit startled at the sudden anger in Bob's voice. He'd only heard it one other time, when he'd talked about the person who'd stolen his work and caused him to be thrown onto Thayland.

He shook his head and whispered, "They are powerful people, and no one in Holmstead is strong enough to protect you, not even Thidwell."

Bob's smile grew wider and he let out a malevolent chuckle, "Oh Austan," he said gleefully, "I'm sure they can disappear me, and no one will ever know what became of me."

"But," Bob continued savagely, "can they wipe out an entire town? Two Towns? A dozen? How about every single town with an Adventurer's guild on this continent? I'm betting they don't have the reach for that."

Austan opened his mouth, then closed it.

"How do you plan to spread the information that far?" Austan asked.

"Johannes Gutenburg showed us the way almost six centuries ago," Bob said gravely, "and while I'm going for a more primitive, earlier version of what he perfected, I think he'd be proud."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bob walked into the tavern with a spring in his step and a smile on his face.

Nine thousand seven hundred and twenty-one boars was a damn good start to the morning.

And Jake was now level sixteen.

He'd also pocketed three hundred and thirty mana crystals, and after tipping ten to Austan, Bob was sitting on nine-hundred and thirty, which was almost halfway to what he needed to launch his plan for his Affinity Theses.

He spotted Eddi sitting at a table with Lesli, the hawk girl, and he walked over and took a seat.

"Bob!" Eddi said excitedly, "Harv said you, uh," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "fixed your little problem."

Bob shook his head and drily replied, "Yes, I now have a fully functional matrix."

"That's great!" Eddi enthused, "but Elli said you somehow got moved back to level five?"

Bob nodded calmly and said, "Also true, but it didn't take me long to gain my levels the first time, and now I'm not crippled."

"Good morning Lesli," Bob turned to face the young woman, "I haven't seen you since the wave, I take it you're doing well?"

Lesli smiled and replied, "I'm doing alright, although I'm sort of hiding from Lorri right now," she nudged Eddi and continued, "as she's decided it's time for me to start looking for a husband, and since Eddi and I have been friends since we were little..." she trailed off as Eddi blushed.

"Ah, well," Bob said uncomfortably.

He'd avoided the drama of teenage relationships by the virtue of being 'Hobob'.

He'd suffered from the occasional crush, but with an entire school making sure he knew his place, every day, it had never become an issue.

With his mother as an example, the charms of the 'fairer' sex held no mystery or allure for him, and he'd never felt any attraction towards men.

"So what level is your 'Raptor?" Eddi asked, breaking what was turning into an awkward silence.

"Just pushed him to sixteen," Bob said happily glad to change the subject.

"Rexxy is almost fourteen," Eddi said proudly, "and she's killing those boars so fast!"

Lesli rolled her eyes and sighed as she said, "Go ahead and live it up, some of us don't have any new powerful path to follow."

"Is that whole hawk thing part of your path?" Bob asked, then hesitated, "If you don't mind my asking of course."

Lesli shrugged and replied, "I don't mind, my path isn't a secret or anything."

"I'm on the Path of the Bloodied Talon," she said proudly, "and I wanted to be able to fly, so I took a Hawk as my first shapeshifting spell."

"That sounds intimidating," Bob said.

"A little, I guess," Lesli said, "it focuses on the Animal School, and Natural Attack, but I can take any other schools I want, and I'll probably take plant and earth so I can farm as well as hunt."

"Makes sense," Bob said, "self-sufficiency is a laudable goal."

Theo arrived with three plates and a bowl, demonstrating confidence that where Bob was, Monroe was sure to be near and ready for his feast of delicious boar chunks.

Proving Theo to be quite astute in his assessment, Monroe popped out of Bob's inventory and settled down in front of his meal.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Amber was sitting in the tavern, waiting for Bob to come back from wherever he had gone.

The only people she knew were Kelli and Theo, and she hadn't seen Kelli today, and Theo didn't know where Bob was, although he suggested that he might be in the Dungeon.

Kelli had given her a very brief tour of the town, shown her how to operate the guest rooms at the Adventurers Guild, and then returned to whatever duties he normally attended to, advising her that he would be available to answer questions over breakfast the day after tomorrow.

People came in and out of the tavern, grabbing a meal or a drink, then heading off on their business.

She felt trapped. Sure, she could walk out the door and wander around, but she had no idea what to do with herself.

She'd asked for and received a mushroom heavy salad for lunch, having skipped breakfast.

Every single meal she saw served was laden with meat. There were vegetables mixed in, or at least there appeared to be.

How close were what appeared to be carrots, onions, and potatoes to their counterparts on Earth?

Amber didn't know.

Bob might, although he normally ate ramen or leftover spaghetti from his lunch bag.

She sighed. No, Bob likely didn't have much of a pallette.

Amber recalled Bob's apartment with a shudder.

Kitty issues aside, it had been shockingly neat, and if his furniture wasn't stylish, it was at least in good repair and clean.

His cupboard had consisted of packages of ramen and spaghetti, alongside cans of spaghetti sauce. For spices, he had salt and pepper.

His refrigerator had shown a carton of eggs, and a large container of ketchup.

For all that the apartment was in a dilapidated building, and the man clearly spent little to no money on his living arrangements or personal upkeep, things had been arranged with a sense of purpose.

Almost as if he was proud of how he lived.

Amber shook her head.

It was best not to dwell on Bob's situation back on earth. Or hers for that matter.

She was considering taking another walk before sunset when Bob strode into the tavern, a smile on his face, and his cat draped over his shoulders.

Amber swallowed hard, and stood up, waving to him as she called out, "Bob, can I speak with you for a moment?"

Several of the Adventurers looked at her askance, and she blushed as she realized she'd spoken in English rather than Thaylan.

Bob grimaced and reached up to scratch his cat as he altered his course and headed towards her table.

She sat back down and watched as he moved across the room. He was wearing leather armor done in dark greens, and a voluminous cloak that flared out behind him slightly as he moved.

Bob was a little intimidating, she admitted to herself, as she worked to keep calm.

She'd never liked having to apologize.

Bob pulled out the chair across from her and sat down before he slid his cat off his shoulders with a series of odd clicks, before pouring it into his lap.

He looked at her, but not quite in the same way she was used to from the Lab.

She'd realized, thanks to her therapist, that Bob had been wary of her, and had been watching her out of caution.

Now, Bob was watching her impatiently, with a touch of disdain.

"Let me get this out of the way," she said quietly, struggling to hold his gaze, "I'm truly and deeply sorry for what happened, I'd never intended for you to be hurt, but I recognize that you were," she rushed to finish as Bob's gaze darkened, "and for that, I can only offer my apologies."

Bob shook his head and replied in an even tone, "You know I was leaving right?" he asked.

She swallowed and nodded as she answered, "Yes, we saw you walking down the hallway on the security video."

"No," Bob said, his tone glacial, "I was leaving the Lab, resigning from my fellowship."

He slashed his hand through the air and continued, "I'd decided that if all of you wanted me gone that badly, I'd give up my goal of completing my masters, and go find gainful employment."

He reached down to pet his cat as he said more quietly, "It doesn't take much to keep Monroe and me happy."

Amber shook her head and said, "No, I didn't know you were leaving the Lab for good, I thought you were just leaving for the day."

Bob shrugged and said, "It's in the past now. Besides apologizing for stealing my work and blowing me into another dimension, was there anything else you needed?"

Amber struggled to contain a sigh. Bob didn't appear to be in a forgiving mood.

"Yes," she forged ahead boldly, "Kelli explained some things, but a lot of what he said didn't make much sense, maybe just because I lack the context," she hurried on, "can you give me a quick overview of what is going on?"

Bob hefted his cat onto the table and continued to pet him as he appeared to consider her request.

After a few long moments that had her fighting the urge to fidget, he let out a sigh and said, "Fine, I'll give you a rundown, but hold your questions until the end," he warned.

Amber nodded quickly.

"This universe, because we are in a parallel universe, has what I believe to be an Artificial Intelligence controlling a number of previously undiscovered subatomic particles," Bob began.

"The stated purpose of this System is to prevent the expansion and eventual heat death of the universe," Bob slashed a hand to cut off the question that was about to emerge from her mouth.

"All of that is relevant in only a general way," he continued, "what matters to you, or should, is that much like a video game, you have attributes, skills and levels," Bob paused.

"Did you ever play Dungeons and Dragons or any sort of Roleplaying video game?" he asked.

"When I was a kid," she answered hesitantly.

"Good, so the concepts shouldn't be totally foreign to you," Bob said, "which should save time. You have attributes, they level when you level, and you get a certain number of points to assign to the them as you level, which means you can become stronger, quicker, healthier, more intelligent."

Bob took a breath and continued, "Now, you can get to level five here without having to go kill monsters, if you have someone that is feeling charitable. You receive one skill per level, so those five skills are pretty damn important for figuring out what you want to do with your life."

"Kelli can explain how skills and attributes work," Bob grunted, "but here is the most important part of our conversation," he paused to make sure he had her attention before continuing, "you can't go home."

"Well," Amber said shortly, "being as I was a in jail cell when I went through the puddle that brought me here, I'm pretty sure if I go home there are going to be some very serious questions asked, that I won't be able to answer without sounding crazy."

"No," Bob said harshly, "I couldn't care less about what legal troubles you escaped from when you accepted the summoning spell," he pointed a finger at her as he went on, "the concern is that if someone one who has been integrated in the System, such as you or I, step back into our home universe, we will be bringing the System with us."

Amber leaned back as Bob leaned forward with a grim look on his face and said, "Consider, if you would, what would happen to the people of Earth if monsters, who had only the singular desire to kill humans, suddenly started appearing in everyone's basements?"

"Further consider that as the System initializes, Dungeons will spring up everywhere, and spill out a Tsunami of monsters that will wash over the globe," Bob finished.

"Everyone would die!" she gasped in horror.

"Well," Bob said coldly, "not everyone, I imagine some people would survive, but I believe the survival rate would be in the single digits, percentage-wise."

Amber opened her mouth and closed it, her mind reeling.

She hadn't seen any monsters yet, not outside of Kelli's memory, for which she was grateful, but if they were able to kill a person easily, then having them suddenly appear everywhere, all over the world...

"So," Bob said after a few moments, "put the idea of going home straight out of your head unless you're comfortable with the idea of billions of deaths on your shoulders."

Amber sat quietly for a moment as she tried to accept that statement.

"So," she said, "what am I supposed to do?"

Bob shrugged and stood up, hefting his cat up onto his shoulders as he responded, "Talk to Kelli, he can tell you what careers are available, the only one I know about is Adventuring."