Chapter One Hundred and Four. And so it begins.

Chapter One Hundred and Four. And so it begins.

Bob woke up suddenly as a massive paw batted at his nose.

A plaintive "Meerreeooowww," let Bob, and anyone else within a quarter of a mile, know that there was a kitty in distress.

Bob sat up and looked down at Monroe, who was sitting next to Bob's bed.

The small bundle of emotions in the back of his mind that represented his link with Monroe broadcast hungry-thirsty-warm-light.

"I'm sorry, buddy, I'll get your breakfast going," Bob said as he swung his legs over and stretched just a bit before standing up and heading into the kitchen.

There wasn't any water flowing through Monroe's fountain, nor was there any water in the sink.

Bob sighed and slid a panel on the splash guard of the sink open, revealing the intricate copper designs that were part of the enchantment.

He placed a mana crystal on the rune and concentrated on letting his mana flow through it. The process was similar to using crystals to level, and a moment later, the crystal dissolved into the aether, its mana flowing through the circuit and reactivating it. Monroe's fountain immediately began to flow again.

Bob put another five mana crystals into the enchantment before moving onto the stove and then the panel on the wall that linked to the air control enchantment.

"Down to about twenty crystals, buddy," Bob said to Monroe as he dismissed the persistent effect spell that had summoned out his sheets and blankets, recasting it to provide a fluffy towel and a loofa.

"We'll have to delve for crystals today," he told the big cat as he stepped into the shower.

Monroe hopped up onto the sink before flowing into it, his tail hanging over the edge and swishing slightly.

Breakfast was one of Monroe's favorite words.

"We'll shepherd some of the kids this morning," Bob muttered as he lathered up, "Then a group this afternoon, and then we'll spend an hour delving for crystals on the twenty-seventh floor."

Bob rinses then toweled off before dismissing the towel and the loofa and equipping his armor.

Picking up Monroe, Bob slid him into place on the Makres, cast an effect over time flight spell, and fell through a portal.

Appearing twenty feet over the plaza, Bob descended to the cobblestones and then strode into the tavern.

Spotting his freshers clustered in a corner, he quickly crossed the tavern, pausing only to nod to Theo.

"Good morning!" Bob boomed as the kids turned to look at him, some of them standing up.

"We have a busy day ahead of us," Bob warned them happily as he poured Monroe onto the table before taking a seat.

"So, everyone needs crystals, or at least I'm going to assume everyone does," Bob surmised, "we'll be doing a short delve for each group today, two hours each."

"Who wants to go first?" Bob asked, looking around the tables.

The freshers exchanged looks for a moment before Bob said, "I'll take you down in order then, group one," he pointed at the table where Nora, Orson, Wayna, and Charn sat.

"Group two," he pointed at the table with the six freshers who'd already delved under his guidance in Harbordeep.

"Then group three," Bob gestured to the four kids he hadn't shepherded at all yet, but had willingly followed him to Holmstead.

Monroe sat up, a pool of fluff transforming into a kitty, his ears perked forward, whiskers twitching and tail swishing.

His eyes were locked on the huge bowl of steaming meat and liver cubes.

Theo slid the offering in front of Monroe, who accepted the human-servants efforts as he began to daintily feast.

Offering his feline overlord a quick pet, Theo delivered Bob's scrambled eggs and sausage links before heading back into the kitchen.

The not-so-gentle rumble of Monroe's purr motor spread throughout the tavern as he enjoyed his meal.

Bob noted that nearly all of the kids were watching Monroe with various looks of awe, reverence, and longing.

"Once I'm done with breakfast, I'll have Kelli register you with the Guild, and then I'll get started with the first group," Bob said in between bites, watching in amusement as the crowd tore their attention from Monroe.

"You didn't tell anyone about the affinity crystals and path combinations you've found?"

"No," Bob shook his head definitively, "I would have liked to have pointed the freshers onto better paths, but I didn't want word to spread prematurely."

"Well," Thidwell rumbled with a sigh, "they've certainly found out now."

Bob blinked. "How?"

"One of them mentioned being shepherded by you to Eddi," Thidwell grumbled, his voice like boulders grinding against each other, "and of course, he regaled them with tales of your heroism and the path and crystal combination you showed him."

Bob reached up to rub his forehead. He knew he should have nipped that whole hero-worship shit in the bud.

"I'm having Kelli place an addendum to their entrance to the Guild, stipulating that they have to stay and help Holmstead stand against the next wave," Thidwell went on, "which should serve to keep them here, and hopefully quiet, until after the next wave, by which time the information should already have been disseminated and acted upon."

"Well," Bob said, "at least now I can direct them onto better paths, although," he paused, "how are we handling giving out affinity crystals?"

Thidwell's smile seemed to twist maliciously as he replied, "Well, as supply is limited, and demand is high, I'm having them agree to provide me with fifty affinity crystals, of any type, for the crystal they receive."

The big man then frowned and added, "Except for the dimensionalists, I'm giving them a conjuration crystal as well."

Bob frowned and started to say, "That is-" but Thidwell raised a hand to cut Bob off and coldly stated, "necessary, is what it is."

"Eventually, people will trade and sell crystals which, given their coalescence rate, I expect that the value will be around a hundred or so mana crystals per affinity crystal, although obviously if there is a particularly difficult Dungeon floor that is the only source for an affinity crystal, it'll go for more."

"But until the knowledge and paths are spread," Thidwell continued, "we need to have as many people as possible gathering them and turning them over."

Bob closed his mouth with a click. Thidwell was right. It might seem predatory, but Thayland, and the Kingdom of Greenwold in particular, desperately needed those affinity crystals and paths.

"So," Thidwell went on, "Now that I have the affinity crystals I need, it's time for you to practice clearing the thirty-fourth floor so that I can reincarnate."

"I don't have the crystals to tier up yet," Bob hedged.

It wasn't untrue. He had six crystals to his name, and he needed sixteen thousand to tier up. His reluctance to leave his humanity behind in what seemed to be a never-ending pursuit of power didn't figure into the equation. At least not until he had the crystals.

"The twenty-ninth floor has a good coalescence rate," Thidwell said dismissively, "although I never found any affinity crystals. The thirtieth floor has conjuration crystals, which, given the propensity young men and women have for blowing things to pieces, are in high demand, but the mana crystal coalescence rate is average at best."

Thidwell took a deep breath, sat down forcefully in his chair, and released it.

"Either way, you need to start stockpiling crystals quickly," he grunted, "It's going to take me three months to be able to take back over from you after I reincarnate, so you really only have a month; after that point, I can't be certain I'll be back up in fighting form in time for the next wave."

Bob stared at him.

"Sixteen thousand crystals in a month?" Bob said weakly.

Thidwell grimaced and leaned back in his chair a bit.

"I'd rather not step down as curator in the immediate aftermath of the revelation of how to use Affinity Crystals," he grumbled.

"Go, get to it," he waved towards his office door, "I know you well enough that I can trust you to put in the work," he finished with a half-smile.

Bob walked out the door on autopilot as his mind went over the basic math repeatedly.

His best delves yielded thirty or so crystals an hour.

To be safe, he could probably count it requiring five hundred and fifty hours of delving. Assuming he delved just one level over, to maximize the time he could spend in the Dungeon without suffering any negative effects of the difference in mana density, he'd need sixty-eight days.

Short of pulling sixteen-hour days in the Dungeon again, he didn't see how he could gather that many crystals.

Bob headed downstairs, noting that there were still six freshers waiting in line for Kelli.

He'd just have to increase his kills per minute, Bob decided.

Now that Jake had the actual melee skill, it might be doable.