The whole change to natural Dungeons had its ups and downs, but if Bob had to point to one single aspect of that change that annoyed him, it was that the Dungeon didn't change as you leveled. Sure, the monsters would become more powerful, adding new abilities as you leveled up that you'd have to account for, but that was it. The scenery never changed.

The scenery in the Hidden Dungeon was actually quite pleasant, and ideal for their current underground existence, but from his experience on the Eire seedworld, Bob knew he'd get sick of it sooner rather than later.

He'd met the system qualifications to set his delve for monsters at four levels over his own, but he was another six delves from being able to increase that again. Jake was happily tearing through the Gwarli, while Monroe was demonstrating his hit-and-run tactics, darting in when the monsters were distracted, delivering a devastating blow, and then dashing away. Bob was letting Jake tank the monsters, the UtahRaptor's superior level, allowing him to soak the damage, although Bob did have to drop and recast the summoning spell at the end of each fight.

At tier eight, the cap for gaining experience when fighting monsters over your level was eight, allowing him to eventually maximise his experience gain at seven experience per monster. At the moment it was three, which meant that this delve would generate over nine thousand experience towards leveling his Summon Mana-Infused Creature spell, which would push it well over the cap, requiring him to advance to level two and use the skill point to advance the spell past the first threshold. That would mean choosing a threshold bonus for the spell, which at this point was somewhat limited as he simply didn't have many skills, let alone ones that would synergize well.

Still, assuming he waited long enough, he would have a mind boggling twenty-four thresholds for the spell.

Not that he was going to level the spell up to one hundred and ninety-two. Therein lay the path to madness.

He would probably be offered a cost reduction, which he would happily take. He'd been able to leverage barraging his UtahRaptors to great effect, and he fully expected to do so again. The cost of the spell increased with each additional monster, so the more he could discount the cost, the more raptors he could have out.

Bob had a few years of adventuring under his belt, and if there was one thing he'd learned, it was that the more overwhelming violence you could bring to bear, the more quickly and safely you could complete a delve.

He was shaken from his thoughts as the fight in front of him ended, and he received the notification he'd been waiting for.

Congratulations! You have advanced your spell, Summon Mana-Infused Creature to the peak of the first threshold. Thresholds occur at each multiple of your tier, which for you is eight. You must allocate a skill point to advance past this Threshold. Doing so will allow your spell to advance to the peak of the second threshold, while also providing a Threshold Bonus. You have no available skill points to allocate.

The next thousand or so monsters wouldn't do anything to advance the spell, although it would feed into the School, which was nearing its first level. He knew he'd apply the first threshold bonus from the School to the Summon Mana-Infused Creature spell, boosting it by sixty-four percent. He wasn't one hundred percent sold on using the second threshold bonus the same way, as the boost stopped at one hundred percent leaving with a loss of twenty-eight percent disappearing into the void. Realistically, he didn't think he'd push his spell that far, and level one hundred and fifty-seven seemed like further than he'd go anyway.

He idly dismissed Jake as he walked towards the next patrol, summoning him back out a second later, uninjured and ready for battle.

As frustrating as it could be at times, the System provided him with endless possibilities, and Bob had become comfortable with the fact that he was a bit of a power gamer.

"Why is that every time I either interact with Yorrick personally, or hear about his interactions with others, I'm feel dirty?" Elania asked.

"Well, his assistance will mean that we'll be able to repair our infrastructure more quickly," Taylor offered.

"I know," Elania waved her hand. "Objectively, it's a good thing. Taiwan gets back on their feet more quickly, which means they can start shipping components more quickly, which means we can rebuild more quickly, which is all great. But I have to wonder who in the Republic of China's government signed this thing," she pointed to the document on her desk. "It's like they didn't take into consideration that not only is Yorrick's 'Terran Confederation' likely to continue growing, but there is an entire other universe."

Taylor opened a folder for a moment and flipped through a few pages before replying. "Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Namibia have either made overtures or entertained embassies from the Terran Confederation," she reported.

"Granted, none of those nations would have been significant buyers, but the world is in flux. We've already seen countries split apart, and smaller nations band together to form new, significant powers. Who knows just how large the Terran Confederation might become?"

"Exactly," Elania sighed. "At least our ambassador is keeping us informed."

Taylor laughed lightly and shook her head. "According to Roger's report, it's the easiest posting he's ever had. Yorrick briefs him once a week on what the Confederation is doing, and if something important happens, like the agreement with Taiwan, he brings him in right away. Apparently Yorrick has repeatedly stated that he'd like to see the Confederation enjoy the same special arrangement that the United States has with the United Kingdom."

Elania winced. She was well aware of how much Yorrick liked her country. He'd waxed rather eloquently on the subject of just how closely her population's values aligned with those of the dark pantheon.

"He's going to end up taking over half of Africa," she muttered.

"More," Taylor agreed.

"And again, I can't find any fault in what he's doing," she complained.

"It's just that he says the quiet part out loud," Taylor agreed.

"Yeah, that," Elania agreed. "We're supposed to be ashamed of our darker urges, not celebrating them."

"That's St. Mary's talking," Taylor replied.

Elania nodded. She'd been raised Catholic, attending parochial schools until she'd gone to highschool, where she'd been able to express more freedom and self determination, but she still had the guilt that had been ingrained into her during her formative years. It had helped her, politically, keeping her on an even keel when members of her own party went over the edge, while also attracting common sense conservatives who might not have agreed with her on everything, but couldn't stomach the candidates from their own party who'd gone too far.

"It's hard to see the Empire and not think 'Those are clearly the bad guys,'" Elania groused. "They dress in all black, and worship the Seven Deadly Sins, at least those who don't worship the Goddess of actual Darkness."

"To make things worse, we're absolutely going to have as close a relationship with the Terran Confederation as we can, because they're going to become one of the major powers in the world, and admittedly, one of the most fair."

"I'm sorry, but those crystals do not appear to exist," Huron said gently.

"What do you mean, they don't exist?" Bailli demanded.

Huron considered the group in front of him. The Church had always known about House Eilodon, or at least the High Priest had. It was a secret passed down from one High Priest to another, recorded only in the Eternium, which in turn was only accessible to the High Priest. He suspected that His Majesty was aware, but the terms of his oath forbid him from speaking on the matter with any save for his predecessor and his successor. For centuries, they'd lived quietly, spreading throughout the nation, dedicating themselves to the betterment of the people of Greenwold. The few instances in which their curse had presented, the Church had helped conceal.

Harv seeking a Necromancy Affinity Crystal wasn't unexpected.

He wasn't overly familiar with the other two, although Erick had spent his novitiate in the Cathedral. His service to Slyph had been, if not derided, devalued, resulting in his accomplishments being overlooked. Jessica was one of the many from Earth who had given lip service to Vi'Radia, seeing any worship as the means to an end in obtaining Divine Magic. They had both taken up the role of healers.

Bailli was Erick's fiance, and anyone who valued beauty would consider her a prize. She had chosen to walk an Arcane path, and her presence was entirely to support her fiance, and her friends.

"Animancy, Necromancy, and Shadowmancy are the three schools for which an Affinity Crystal has never been found," he raised a hand to forestall Bailli's reply. "I have spoken the High Priestess of Mor'Noctum on this, as well as the High Priest of Logos." He paused for a moment to consider. Bob had demonstrated an understanding of the world that all but screamed of divine knowledge. The Church had gone out of its way to injure and insult that young man, to its detriment, and while he had very little to do with those actions directly, it was a burden he shouldered. It wasn't as if the knowledge was exactly forbidden.

"Vi'Radia, Mor'Noctum, and Logos aren't the same as the rest of the gods," Huron began carefully. "This isn't something openly discussed, but as a High Priest, I can assure you that they aren't. As a worshipper of Slyph, Erick can commune with his deity and receive a response. He had to seek out a High Priest to receive a Divine Blessing beyond his first." He shook his head. "Gaining Divine Blessings of Vi'Radia is as simple as praying for them and paying the associated skill point cost. Becoming a High Priest only required my having enough Divine Blessings to qualify for the title, which in turn simply gave me the ability to bestow any blessings I had to others by simply paying a cost myself."

The group was paying close attention to his words, and Bailli appeared to be willing to wait for him to explain.

"In the oldest texts, they are referred to as The Primordials, or The Custodians. Both the High Priest of Logos and I have visited Earth, and we were able to confirm that even before the System integrated Earth, they were present. Dormant, or perhaps slumbering through the eons, but they were there." Huron saw Harv from thoughtfully. "I'd prefer you not relay this information freely," he warned, "but I won't ask for your word on it. The gods, save the three Primordials, were once mortal men and women, who advanced to a high enough tier that they were able to ascend, embodying the ideals they'd demonstrated throughout their lives. Earth's integration is, I presume, a rare opportunity for high-ranking members of a church to become the gods of that universe."

He shook his head. "I've gotten rather away from the point," he smiled, "I'm too used to giving sermons, I suppose. Vi'Radia, who holds primacy and domain over Animancy, Mor'Noctum, who claims to Necromancy, and Logos, to whom Shadowmancy belongs, are likely the reason that there are no Affinity Crystals for those Divine Schools. They predate the System. I rather strongly suspect that the System may have been created to harness the incredible power of the Primordials."

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you what you were looking for," he finished. "Please know that the Church of Vi'Radia here in Greenwold will always offer whatever shelter and guidance we can."

"Thank you," Harv murmured as the group filed out.

Mike stared in disbelief.

He'd woken up that morning in a great mood, one that had quite a bit to do with Annisa having been curled up into his side. Their parting had been rather vigorous, delaying him from meeting up with Waters at the Redoubt, but he'd just skipped breakfast.

"Games Workshop is going to reach across realities and sue," he muttered.

"I made sure that we called everything by different names," Waters said proudly.

Mike sighed. "Those are Space Marines," Mike pointed to the group of massive armor clad men assaulting a defensive position.

"No, they're not, their armor is green, not blue," Waters argued.

"With a golden Aquila on the front!"

"That's not copyrighted," Waters offered.

"Fuck," Mike sighed. "There's a big part of me that doesn't want to know, but I still have to ask, why?"

Waters rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, becoming a paragon and pinnacle is more than a little bit like becoming an-"

Mike stopped him with a glare. "Don't you fucking say it," he warned.

"Transhuman?" Waters offered.

"As does everyone under the System," Mike replied. "That doesn't make you special."

"No, but unlike everyone else, we have a purpose beyond just tiering up and getting more powerful," Waters argued. "We stood against the waves, and we'll stand against the tide."

Mike opened his mouth to respond but stopped as a column of men, and possibly women, it was impossible to tell under the massive bulky armor, thundered by.

"Kill the unending Tide, Burn the ceaseless Wave, Purge the Dungeons!"

He glared at Waters.

"It's a work in progress?"

"How. Many." Mike ground out.

"About five thousand?" Waters replied. "They only get to train together twice a month like this, so they're always excited when it rolls around."

Mike let out a breath. While five thousand sounded like a lot, there were over four million members of the Old Guard. "Well, that's not that bad, I suppose," he grumbled.

"They are recruiting. though," Waters said cheerfully. "Apparently there are a bunch of kids on Earth who are very excited about becoming paragons, and they let them record some promotional material of them handling the last wave for a couple of villages."

"I don't know what's more disturbing," Mike muttered. "This, or the kids trying to turn Bob into some sort of god."

"Come on LT, everyone loves Bob," Waters said happily. "No one is going to forget what he did for us. When the Endless kids wanted to put up that statue everyone agreed it was too small, so we setup a donation box to make sure it was the right size."

"Not one of those 'He who walks before' statues?" Mike asked with trepidation.

"Yep," Waters replied. "It's actually just inside," he gestured towards the front doors of the Redoubt.

The city had been carved out of a plateau, with an eye towards durability. He'd been part of the planning process and had to google the term 'megalithic construction.' The end result had been structures that could withstand the mightiest wave, and repel even a minor tide, not that the Old Guard would ever let those events go unanswered.

The doors leading into the Redoubt were huge, fifty feet tall and double that across, opening into what was effectively a marshalling yard that stretched another five hundred feet back. It was a massive room, and at the very back, looming imperiously, was the iconic image of Bob, with Jake at his side and Monroe on his shoulders. This one just happened to be seventy-five feet tall.

Mike ignored waters as he walked up the massive edifice. There was a plinth in front of the statue, where a tablet sat, proudly listing Bob's accomplishments, then switching to one of the video's, then showing the divine blessings offered by 'He Who Walks Before,' then going back to his accomplishments.

"You know, a lot of the guys feel like he's kind of one of us, you know?" Waters said quietly. "The world abandoned him, too. Despite all the shit the world piled on him, he saved us all, I mean the entire fucking planet, when most people would have just let it burn."

Mike nodded. When he'd first met Bob after reading his file, he'd expected a bitter, angry young man. He'd found instead a man confident in himself, who'd overcome challenges and struggles, learning his own worth. He hadn't expected what had followed, the revelation of magic and the impending apocalypse, but his first impression hadn't changed. Bob would have made a good Marine.

That said, Bob wasn't going to be happy if he ever saw this particular statue.