Bob was tired.

Five days of killing cockroaches had taken their toll.

He'd come back to the tavern after the first day, and found Elli and Harv educating their freshers on the new path 'The Reef' had cooked up for them.

Bob had just gone to bed at that point, pausing only to drop off his armor for repair, and ask Theo to drop off a meat bowl to his room for Monroe.

Still, despite the multiple brushes with death, he'd succeeded.

Seventy-one thousand four hundred and eighty-six cockroaches later, he'd managed to gather two-thousand three hundred and fifty-nine mana crystals.

Jake had capped out again at level twenty-six quite early, and Bob had managed to level his Summoning School to level eight.

He was glad that the grind was over.

Even with his endurance reducing the anxiety induced by the mana density, nothing was reducing the anxiety and fear that naturally came from facing off against massive cockroaches that could nearly kill you in one bite.

Bob had spent the last five days in a dull state of terror.

He was laying in bed, going over his plans.

He would talk to his... friends... tomorrow morning, and then talk to Austan.

He would then increase his level to nineteen. Bob was still considering his skill selection.

He had taken barrage at level eight, Elemental Fire with an Affinity Crystal giving it a five level boost at nine, Elemental Air with an Affinity Crystal giving it a five level boost at ten, Elemental Water with an Affinity Crystal giving it a five level boost at eleven.

He would take Elemental Earth at twelve, Plant at thirteen, Animal at fourteen, and then...

Bob was torn. He could take Conjuration at fifteen, and hold off on the crystal until sixteen, then take a blast spell with the ten level bonus.

The only other skill he needed at that point was Summon: X (Amber Crestwell), which he could take at seventeen which left him with two last levels for skills.

Bob wasn't sure what to take.

He could always grab the two Dimension skills, Spatial Enlargement and Spatial Reinforcement.

Creating extra-dimensional spaces was just cool.

Bob grimaced. He'd soon be drowning in skills. Assuming they were retroactive, he'd end up at level twenty-five with a total of sixty-five skills. Well, sixty-six given that he had picked up the dimension school with an Affinity Crystal.

Leveling up those skills was going to be time-consuming.

And letting any of them languish would be lazy.

Bob was not lazy.

No, Bob thought, he would put in the work. It might take a long time, but he'd just shown that he could gain one hundred thousand plus experience in five days. It was doable. Although hopefully, he wouldn't be doing it in such a deadly and stressful environment.

Bob sighed and reached down to scratch Monroe's ears.

Morning would come soon enough.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bob woke up the next morning, and after a shower and a shave immediately headed to the Tavern to catch his friends.

"Harv, Elli, Bailli," Bob nodded to each one in turn as he sat down before sliding Monroe off the Makres and onto the table, where the humans could worship him more easily.

"Morning Bob," Harv said, accompanied by a grunt from Elli, who wasn't awake yet, and a thumbs up from Bailli, who was drinking some sort of tea.

Bob had tried the tea and didn't really enjoy it.

"So, Harv," Bob said quietly, "I've been meaning to talk to you, but I've been delving a lot to prepare for fixing my matrix," he continued, "I'm guessing you haven't reincarnated yet?"

Harv shook his head and replied, "Not yet, we both want to have a healthy cushion of crystals to make sure we have enough to live comfortably on while we work our way back up."

Elli let out another grunt and mumbled, "Also, Thidwell doesn't want us to reincarnate until after we finish shepherding the freshers, so really, we're a couple of months out."

Harv smiled and said, "That as well, why?"

"Well," Bob said carefully, "I was wondering if you could transmute a couple of pieces of wood for me? Ritually I mean? I have the crystals."

"Transmute them into what?" Harv asked.

Bob pulled out his paper detailing how to acquire Affinity Crystals, and how to use them. "What I'm looking for you to do," Bob said, "is to have this text mirrored and raised, like a stamp, so that if you pressed it, when inked, onto a piece of paper, you would be able to make near perfect copies of it."

Harv looked at the paper and then at Bob for a few long seconds, and then smiled, "Sure, I can do that, being as I'm guessing you're going to give them away, let's just call it a hundred mana crystals."

Bob smiled and said, "Great, I'll end up needing three pieces done total, one for this page, and then two others, detailing the Elemental Conjurer, the Endless Swarm, and an Abjuration and Dimension path that I haven't figured out yet."

"You know," Harv said, "you could go to Harbordeep, and find a scrivener to duplicate it. You'd only have to pay two hundred crystals, and they'd be able to give you a hundred copies of your three pages."

Bob shook his head and replied, "I can't, for a couple of reasons. First, I don't want anyone in Harbordeep to see this just yet, and second, a hundred copies aren't nearly enough."

"How many copies do you think you'll need?" Harv asked in surprise.

"How many towns are there with an Adventurers Guild?" Bob countered.

"Sixty-seven," Harv said, "or at least I think it's Sixty-seven."

Bob nodded and said, "Then I'll need sixty-seven thousand copies."

Bailli snorted tea out of her nose.

"Sixty-Seven thousand copies?" she asked.

Bob nodded grimly and said, "I've got a feeling that some important people aren't going to be too happy about this information getting out, and they're likely to try and bury it."

His smile was cruel, something that his friends had rarely seen as he went on, "It'll be hard for them to accomplish that if every other person in Holmstead and sixty other towns and cities have a copy of the information."

"And when they try," Bob's smile was closer to a snarl, "and believe me those motherfuckers are certain to try, they'll be in for quite a surprise."

"They might be able to make me disappear," Bob finished savagely, "but even those assholes can't wipe out the population of an entire continent."

"That's not going to happen," Bailli said softly, "right?"

Bob snorted and replied, "Oh, I'm going to do my damndest to make sure they don't get me, but mark my words, when those arrogant cockgobblers find out that they are going to have some real competition in regards to actual power and strength, they are going to make a lot of noise."

"So," Harv said slowly, "you're going to ink and stamp sixty-seven thousand copies of your three-page booklet?"

"Yep," Bob said with a sigh, his anger ebbing and his smile turning into something more genuine, "I figure I'll do that while I recover from the process of having my Matrix repaired."

"That's a lot of stamping," Elli muttered as he reached across the table to pet Monroe.

"True," Bob agreed and then grinned widely, "but those three pages are going to save so many lives."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After breakfast, Bob had descended to the ritual room. He'd be in there for a while today.

He knew what he was going to do, but first, he wanted to do a little something for Monroe.

Bob didn't want Monroe to get hurt. Ever.

Delving wasn't safe though, so leveling Monroe up a bit was a good idea.

After several fruitless inquiries, Bob and Trebor had found a solution.

System Help, Path of the Arcanist's Familiar The Path of the Arcanist's Familiar is obtained by the user being bound to a being of a higher tier as a familiar and having an Affinity for, and the Magical Schools of, any four of the following: The Magical School of Summoning, The Magical School of Conjuration, The Magical School of Abjuration, The Magical School of Transmutation, The Magical School of Dimension, The Magical School of Illusion, The Magical School of Charm, or The Magical School of Chronomancy.

The Path of the Arcanist's Familiar grants the user a one percent bonus each level to each of the four Magical Schools the user had obtained to qualify for the path. Schools purchased afterward are not affected. That same bonus is provided to the owner of the familiar. At each level the user may learn one additional skill known by the owner. At level four, and every four levels thereafter, the user may select one of the Four Magical Schools the user had obtained to qualify for the path, increasing the level of all spells from that Magical School by four. That same bonus is provided to the owner of the familiar. Upon reaching level sixteen, the user may cooperate with the owner in casting a spell known to both parties, adding the user's values and bonuses to the owners.

He'd worried that Thidwell wouldn't have had anymore Summoning Affinity Crystals, but it turned out he'd been keeping a few of them, just in case.

After showing Thidwell the Path of the Patient Warden, he hadn't had to make a single argument to obtain the additional three Affinity Crystals for Monroe.

So before he leveled himself up, Bob sat down on the floor with forty mana crystals, a Dimension Affinity Crystal, and a big sleepy kitty.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Monroe was chasing a mouse through a field. He knew what a field was now that his human servant had carried him around the area so that he could survey his new domain.

Just as he was about to catch the mouse, a blueish light started to obscure his vision.

He yowled angrily.

This had gotten in his way before!

Monroe was just about to bat at the screen when it flickered and disappeared, only to be replaced by another series of blue lights.

He could sense his human-servant's emotions, and knew that he was doing something good.

His whiskers twitched. Just like before, now that the blue was gone he felt stronger, faster.

He started to dash off on the trail of the mouse, then paused as another blue light appeared.

Monroe huffed and settled himself down into a crouch.

Once those blue lights were gone, he knew he'd be even stronger and faster, and he'd catch that mouse!

His human-servant had always performed well, and this was just another example of his attempts to meet Monroe's needs.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bob had rapidly increased Monroe's level to four, and then taken the Arcanist's Familiar path for him.

His feline overlord apparently didn't care for the leveling process, judging by the less than pleased noises he'd made.

Still, Bob was done, and now Monroe was a level four Maine-coon.

He'd visibly grown a few inches and his lap-scales indicated that Monroe had put on a couple of pounds as well.

Bob stroked Monroe softly as he adjusted the kitty side of the Makres to keep it from being too tight, before sliding Monroe into place on the Bob side of the Makres.

"Well worth the one hundred and twenty-crystals," Bob said quietly as he pulled out his Elemental Earth Affinity Crystal, and two hundred mana crystals.

"Now it's my turn."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bob staggered up the stairs an hour later and headed towards the mausoleum to talk to Austan.

The slight tearing sensation of his matrix damage increasing that occurred when he leveled up had grown massively uncomfortable.

Bob could practically feel his matrix leaking mana.

It wasn't pleasant.

Entering the mausoleum, he waved to Austan and walked over to him.

"Any chance you can be free tomorrow?" Bob asked quietly.

Austan smiled up at him and nodded calmly before saying, "I take it you weren't able to find another solution?"

"I was not," Bob grimaced and went on, "and I can assure you, at this point, I can actually feel the matrix damage, and it isn't pleasant."

Austan nodded sympathetically and said, "So tomorrow then."

"Please," Bob said, "in the morning if you would, first thing."

Austan nodded and reached up to pat Bob's shoulder, "I'll be there at dawn, why don't you try to get some sleep, I can tell you're hurting."

Bob nodded gratefully and said, "First thing in the morning then," and headed back out to the tavern. Despite it being only noon, he really wanted to lay down and try to sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Thidwell caught Bob as he entered the tavern, and motioned him over to a table where they both sat down.

"You look awful," Thidwell grunted.

"Ninety-eight percent matrix damage," Bob muttered quietly, "it hurts like hell."

Thidwell nodded and said, "So, you're nineteen then?"

Bob nodded.

"Good," Thidwell rumbled, "You're planning the summoning soon?"

"Tomorrow morning at dawn," Bob said, "I've already talked to Austan and he'll be there to try and keep me in one piece."

Thidwell gave Bob a rough grin and said, "Austan is a good man, but if you don't mind, I'd like to be there as well, just in case."

Bob could only nod. It was Thidwell's guild after all. And the man probably had a few tricks of his own that might help Bob get through it.

"Any chance Kelli might be around as well?" Bob asked hesitantly.

"I can drag him down, but why would we need him?" Thidwell asked in his gravelly voice.

"Well," Bob said quietly as he leaned forward, "I'm going to be summoning someone from my world, and if summoning Monroe was any guide, I'm not going to be any sort of condition to explain to her what just happened," he finished and reached up to scratch Monroe's ruff.

Thidwell nodded and replied, "I can see to it that he's there. I take it you have the crystals necessary for him to transfer Thaylan to her?"

Bob nodded and slid two hundred mana crystals over to Thidwell.

"Seems a waste," Thidwell muttered as he took the crystals, "you could easily teach her the language."

Bob shook his head and replied, "I really don't have the time, not if I want to get leveled up enough to go get you the crystals you need from Harbordeep, and then monitor the Dungeon while you reincarnate."

"All before the Royals and Nobles descend on us for spreading their dirty little secret," Bob finished in a near whisper.

Thidwell grunted in acknowledgment and drummed his fingers on the table as he said, "True enough, and you'll likely find crystals aplenty while you're hunting down those elemental crystals for me."

The huge man stood and looked down at Bob with what Thidwell considered a friendly smile.

"I'll see you at dawn then," Thidwell rumbled, and left Bob to his own devices.

Bob stood up and headed out of the tavern.

He would take a walk and let Monroe soak up the sunshine, then retire early before the big day.

~ ~ ~ ~

Bob was sitting in the ritual chamber with Monroe sleeping on his shoulders. Thidwell, Kelli and Austan were standing near him, just outside the ritual circle, he'd inscribed on the floor in chalk and, at Thidwell's suggestion, blood.

"Everyone ready?" Bob asked nervously.

"I'm not really doing anything," said Kelli.

Thidwell grunted.

Austan smiled reassuringly and replied, "I'll keep you alive," with a certainty that was a soothing balm on Bob's nerves.

Bob flexed his fingers. He knew what was coming.

Bob mentally projected his 'Summon: Amber Crestwell' spell, and wrapped it in the ritual magic skill, using the same mental pattern he'd used to Summon Monroe. Plunging his hand into the satchel of mana crystals on his lap, Bob started to flow mana into the pattern.

He gasped.

He thought he'd been prepared.

He thought he'd known what to expect.

It was so much worse.

His muscles spasmed, locking place as his veins and arteries began to burn. Bob would have screamed if he'd been able to, but nearly every muscle in his body was completely contracted.

He was nearly doubled over, and blood was leaking from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. As his mind raced he idly thought that if his nerve endings weren't on fire, he would probably be able to tell if he was dripping blood out of his ass and dick as well.

Bob focused his mind, and mentally forced mana into the pattern, letting the energy flow out of the mana crystals, through his torn and wrecked matrix, and into the spell.

He couldn't see anything as his eyes had clamped shut. He couldn't breathe as his diaphragm had clenched forcing all the air out of his lungs. He wanted to scream as pain ripped through his body, but he couldn't.

Bob kept pouring mana into the pattern for one hundred long, agonizing seconds.

He could feel his flesh tearing and his bones snapping under the torque of his ligaments and tendons, only for a flash of light through his eyelids to signal that Austan was healing him and for the pain to start again.

He couldn't hear Monroe's yowls of agitation as the big cat felt his human-servant's pain, but he could feel Monroe's emotions, concern-wet-danger.

Bob mentally pushed reassuring feelings towards Monroe as the spell neared its completion, then as the last second passed, the ritual activated.

Bob mentally pushed his knowledge of Amber through the spell and felt the spell engage, a tunnel of sorts opening from Bob to wherever on Earth Amber was.

Unable to speak, he mentally projected instead.

"Amber Crestwell, it's Robert Whitman. Step into the Portal."