Mike swallowed a sigh while also trying his best to keep a grimace off his face.

"Mike!" Annisa smiled as she hurried across the tavern to claim the seat next to him.

Not for the first time, Mike had the thought that normal people who wanted to talk to you would sit across from you.

"Good evening, Annisa," Mike acknowledged the priestess, closing his eyes as he once again lost the battle to avoid staring into the azure pools of her eyes.

She was running on what Mike had mentally labeled as 'debuffed mode,' but even without the divine blessing calling out to him, there was something about her that cut straight through his mind and beckoned coquettishly to his hormones. He'd thought that after forty and his divorce, that he'd be immune to the charms of the fairer sex, but Annisa was proving the exception.

"You are a very stubborn man," Annisa must have leaned closer, as she was whispering in his ear, and he could suddenly smell the faintest hints of lavender and vanilla.

Mike ground his teeth and opened his eyes, turning his head to face her. "Annisa, you know the effect you have on me," he shook his head minutely, "which makes your insistence on seeking me out just a little bit cruel."

Annisa shook her head as she laughed softly. "Mike, I'm as drawn to you as you are to me," she smirked slightly. "Well," she admitted, "if we were to take the difference in tiers out of the equation."

"I just don't understand what you could possibly see in a washed-up old marine like me," Mike closed his eyes again.

"Mike, I'm a hundred and eight years old," Annisa laid a hand on his arm. "As for what I could possibly see in you..." She trailed off.

"I have quite a few divine blessings," Annisa began, "amongst them, those from Fidelis and Aequitas, which in conjunction with my blessings from Eros have the effect of drawing me to people who are steadfast, just, and kind. You possess those qualities in abundance."

"Those of us who have tiered up, reincarnated, then tiered up again have a rather jaded view of the Beauty attribute," she explained, "after all, who wouldn't find their spouse just as attractive despite having just reincarnated. Although couples often choose to reincarnate together."

"It's not your body that calls to me, Mike," Annisa's voice was low, "it's your soul."

Mike opened his eyes as she delicately ran a hand down his cheek. "Although I think you're cute, especially the way you blush," her smile seemed entirely too sinful to belong to a priestess of the seven gods of light.

"Are you flirting with me or trying to convert me?" Mike growled.

"I heard Bob say 'A little of column A, a little of column B,' which I think means both, right?"

"I have to return to Harbordeep for a few days," Annisa said, "and I'll likely be gone for a week or two. I didn't want to leave without making sure you understood my attraction to you. You've been avoiding me," she pouted.

"It's difficult to think clearly when you're around," Mike muttered.

Annisa's pout flowed into a smirk as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you in a few weeks," she murmured before standing and gliding out of the tavern.

Mike lowered his head into his hands, focusing on taking long slow breaths. She'd been ambushing him for weeks now, making small talk and sharing stories with him.

He hadn't been the best conversationalist, as she tended to drive thought right out of his mind.

"So you really started things off big," Amanda said to Jessica as they all watched Bob work his magic.

It really was magic, even without mana sight up, the pattern he made with the copper wire was illuminated in shifting colors. Shades of red, blue, white, tan, and purple swirled around each other as they slowly followed the path of the copper. At the center, Bob sat peacefully, the sweat on his brow and the tension in his jaw the only signs that he was doing anything at all.

"That's what happens when you chuck a barbie," Jessica replied, not taking her eyes off the display in front of her.

Most of the Australians had pulled up a chair to watch the show.

"Can Derrick cast the reincarnation ritual?" Dave asked.

"Yep, he picked it up at this last level," Jessica confirmed, "so the good news is we can reincarnate the old-timers at cost."

"Bad news is you're starting behind the eight ball, just like Bob did when he started up Glacier Valley," Amanda noted. "Still, look how many crystals that place is generating now."

"We'll get there," Jessica agreed.

"The trick is to keep this Dungeon for civilians," Dave added. "Nothing against Bob, he's been doing the best he could with what he had, but I think he should have kept his Dungeon at Glacier Valley under his control rather than let the military take it over." He grinned broadly, "I may have a slightly biased opinion about that, though."

"Yeah, this is going to be for mates and families," Jessica agreed, "we'll get some folks on the curator path, it's bloody brilliant for anyone who wants to farm anyway, and the government can pay them to get their own folks started."

"I can't help but wonder if they're going to try and drag Bob into it," Amanda mused. "I know they bullied him into meeting up with your PM and some others back on Earth. They might be planning to try and strongarm him into training a few curators from each government."

"Judging from how quick Bob pawned them onto Mike, I don't see him putting up with that," Dave snorted.

"I'm thinking he's going to take a vacation and hide away from everyone for a bit of relaxation," Amanda predicted.

"I wouldn't mind helping that bloke relax," Jessica's smile was wicked, "tall, handsome, loves animals, and oh yeah, saves the bloody world because it's the right thing to do."

"If only he wasn't completely uninterested," she sighed dramatically.

"So we're all in agreement?" Juan Alverez looked around the barracks.

"Fuck it, they've got plenty of active duty guys to handle this shit. We need to maintain our focus on what Hanson and Bob started, getting everyone we can whole," Eric Waters said fiercely. "We started off strong, but we shouldn't have slowed down," he shook his head. "I know Bob will help, we just need to get a crystal farm of our own going."

"Damn right he will," Steve Freeman agreed, "most of us watched him hammer out regenerates for our brothers for eighteen hours straight. He's absolutely with us."

"I was one of the first ones in that line," Edgar Ruiz said quietly, his deep voice drawing all the attention he needed. "I saw his face as he regenerated us. He's an odd guy, but his walls came down a bit, and I got a look at his heart. He's a good man."

"So we need to sneak in a few more brothers to take the Curator path and find a good place to drop our own Dungeon," Eric grinned, "luckily, the phone tree is still mostly up to date. I'll get a couple of dozen guys here, it shouldn't take more than three days."

"I've got the location covered," Steve offered, "I've been flying around, exploring, seeing the world," he grinned, "I found a nice little plateau about fifty miles to the south. It's not as pretty as GV, but it's about as big, so we shouldn't have any capacity issues for a while."

"Do you think it's time to read Hanson in?" Juan asked. "He hasn't re-upped either. It might mean that he's already leaning our way."

"It would make getting ahold of Bob a lot easier," Eric sighed, "I get why he's a bit cagey, I heard that POTUS and SecDef leaned on him pretty hard at that summit."

"You're talking like he doesn't already know," Steve scoffed. "He wound up being a detective, and from what I heard, a pretty damn good one. We're at almost ninety percent of the old guard being on board with making a move, even if we're just now deciding what." He shook his head, "There's no way he doesn't already know we're planning something."

Eric paused for a moment, then shrugged. "You're right, fuck it, I'll read him in and let him know we need to get ahold of Bob. Next topic; Mana Crystals. Where are we?"

"Just shy of five hundred thousand," Juan reported, "two more days, and we'll push past that number."

"Damn," Eric grinned, "I'm glad they left us on rotation in the Guild Dungeon. It might be worth keeping the schedule going while we carve out our own place, just to keep the crystals flowing. Five hundred thousand sounds like a lot, but from what I understand, Bob blew close to five million crystals dropping that Dungeon down to the twenty-sixth floor."

"Also," Juan added, "that's only five thousand regenerates, and we've got a lot more than that to bring back, notwithstanding the other branches."

"We're clearing the VA logs of Marines first," Eric scowled. "Once we've got that sorted, we'll start with the Army and roll through each branch, focusing on the oldest guys, assuming we have someone who can reincarnate?"

"Riggins can," Steve volunteered, "he sort of lost his faith about the same time he lost the ability to feel anything below the neck. Once he got healed, he started spending time at the Church next to the Guild, and he wound up going down a priest path."

"Damn, he went full-on native," Eric shook his head.

"He still sleeps with his rifle within arms reach," Steve countered, "once a Marine."

"Well, that handles that," Eric nodded.

"Why are we getting Bob involved anyway?" Juan asked. "Don't get me wrong," he hastened to add, "I'll always be grateful for what he did for all of us, but we've got a bunch of guys who can cast regenerate."

"Yeah, but they can't bang them out," Eric replied. Seeing Juan's blank expression, he continued. "I've never cast it myself, but apparently ritual magic takes it out of you. The guys building the Dungeons under the towers kept blowing things up because they got fatigued." He shook his head. "Sometimes those things were themselves," he chuckled, "although it was normally the target of the ritual. The one person who has never, to anyone's knowledge, blown up a ritual is Bob."

"Bob's special," Steve agreed. "he's got an edge. I don't know what it is, but you wanna tell me he figured out those Affinity Crystals that no one else knew about, and found those awesome paths that required them in like, what, a year? No way, he's got something going for him, and the ritual thing is probably part of it."

"You aren't wrong," Eric agreed, "but he hasn't volunteered anything, and he's proven that he won't hold back if it matters, so we're just going to keep on letting that slide, right?"

"Your Majesty," Jason bowed low. He'd been surprised to find a PC waiting for him when he'd portaled back to his flat. Meeting the PM at ten downing had been a further shock, and now he found himself in Buckingham Palace, being introduced to Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

"We are given to understand that you have spent significant time on Thayland, where you've developed a rather astonishing array of gifts," The Queen stated, and if her hands trembled a bit, her eyes were clear and sharp.

"Yes, Ma'am, I have," Jason replied.

"Do you count the reincarnation ritual amongst them?" The Queen asked, her tone level as if asking if he'd seen the sugar bowl.

"I do not, Ma'am," Jason shook his head, "however, I do know the regeneration ritual?"

The Queen turned her gaze to the Prime Minister. "Jonothan?" She asked.

"Your Majesty, the Regeneration ritual will repair any damage a person has suffered. From cancer to missing limbs, it is a panacea," the Prime Minister responded.

"Do you have the resources to complete this ritual?" The Queen asked Jason.

"I do, Ma'am," Jason replied.

"Would you be willing to use your gift to aid us?" The Queen smiled at Jason's expression. "While you are our subject, our health is no reason to compel you."

"Of course, Ma'am, I'd be honored to help in any way I can, my only regret is that I don't possess the ritual needed to bring you back to the flower of your youth," Jason bowed again, then paused. "If I may be so bold, your Majesty, it would be a simple matter to return to Thayland and bring back someone capable of doing so."

The Queen exchanged a long look with the Prime Minister before he spoke. "We can ill afford any delay, Ma'am. Your people will need you at your best."

"Who would you bring to us?" The Queen asked Jason.

"Huron," Jason replied instantly, "Head of the Church of the Light, High Priest of Vi'Radia, beloved of the Seven Gods of Light, Ma'am."

The Queen nodded thoughtfully. "We've been briefed on the Church of the Light. They apparently responded to our plight by immediately offering any and all aid they could muster, which speaks well to their character."

"We will need to send a few of our agents with you," The Queen made a motion, and four men in dark suits quite literally appeared out of nowhere.

"Gentlemen, please accompany young Jason; he's going to retrieve a healer to attend us, the Queen gestured. "Jason, if you'd be so kind, time waits for no one, not even a Queen," she smiled.

"Your Majesty," Jason bowed, then opened his satchel and pulled out a pouch containing one hundred mana crystals.

This was not how he'd envisioned his return to Earth. He hadn't even gotten a chance to call his mum yet.