Bob sent his Effect Over Time UtahRaptor, which would last all of twenty seconds, through the portal. At level fifteen it was able to do a lot of damage in those few seconds, and he waited two seconds before following, releasing the portal spell and summoning out his raptor pack, sending the three of them after the support, catching the Gwarli unaware as they worked to bring down the Effect Over Time Jake that had quite literally appeared from out of nowhere to assault them.

The fight was over quickly, the level thirteen Gwarli unable to withstand the ferocity of his UtahRaptors. That hadn't been the case before he'd remembered his tactics from back in Holmstead, fighting the wolf packs and the roaming bears. He hadn't needed to portal in a disposable summons in a very long time, but facing off against level thirteen monsters when he was level seven was a difficult proposition.

This was the last delve he'd need to complete in order to max out his portal skill. It was tempting to pick up the rest of his schools and skills, Abjuration and Eldritch Shield, Conjuration and Eldritch Blast, Chronomancy and Stasis. Thanks to his Pedagogue and Academic achievements, he could grab them and cap them before taking his path, but if he did, he ran the risk of the system offering him a less than ideal path. He'd absolutely be taking them as soon as he had his path, but for the moment, he didn't need them.

He knew that his friends had probably hit seven and taken their paths already. Mathematically, it was a certainty, but he hadn't actually confirmed it yet. He'd wanted to have his own path, so that they could all compare notes.

Ultimately, Bob was confident that it didn't really matter what path the System offered him. He'd worked without a path for nearly an entire tier, then made do with a very poorly thought out build for another one after that. Even his Dimensional Saviour path had been built to ensure he could get away from the threat of Parceus and the Church of the Light, with his summoning skills an afterthought.

He was sitting pretty, as far as he was concerned. He had the double affinity for his summons and his portals, with three attribute affinities to back it all up.

His mana recovered, he summoned out Jake with an Effect Over Time, then dropped a portal and sent him through.

"Just another two thousand Gwarli," Bob muttered as he stepped through the portal two seconds later.

Bob sat down on his favorite boulder, browsed through his interface, and selected the option to increase his level, bringing him to level eight.

He immediately found himself in the mental construct of the ritual room underneath the Adventurer's Guild in Holmstead, sitting in a chair across from Trebor while Monroe lounged on the table between them, accepting Trebor's pets as his rightful due as a Feline Overlord.

A System window appeared.

Congratulations! You have reached the first threshold of your personal advancement! You have been granted 64 attribute points to allocate. The System will now provide you with a path specifically designed for you! To accept the path, simply state or mentally project 'I accept.' If you wish to see the other, less well suited paths you qualify for, you may state or mentally project 'List Paths.' Warning! If you do not accept this path, it will not be listed or available.

Before he looked at the path, Bob used his interface to assign his attribute points. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that the requirement to apply to them all to one attribute was gone, and he happily split them between Intelligence and Wisdom. His smile widened as he confirmed that, as expected, his Attribute Affinities had doubled their value. He now had a massive one hundred and twenty-eight in both attributes, which gave him a mana pool to match.

His mana troubles weren't over, not by a long shot, but the pressure had certainly eased.

His attribute points assigned, he inspected the class the System had supposedly designed specifically for him.

Path of the Consummate Summoner.

Path created for user Robert Whitman.

User has, since integrated into the System, devoted himself entirely to the Arcane School of Summoning. Preferring to disperse manifestations by means of the Summon Mana-Infused Creature spell, the user has proven himself dedicated to ensuring energy circulation. User has demonstrated extensive use of the Summon Mana-Infused Object spell. User has utilized the Effect Over Time, Barrage, Persistent Effect, and Ritual magic skills consistently and creatively.

This Path has been enhanced, due to the user's achievements.

The Path of the Consummate Summoner provides the following benefits.

Each Threshold reached in the Summoning School, or a Spell within it, increases the damage dealt by a summoned Mana-Infused Creature by 1%.

Each Threshold reached in the Summoning School, or a Spell within it, decreases the damage received by a summoned Mana-Infused Creature by 1%.

Each Threshold reached in the Summoning School, or a Spell within it, increases the damage dealt by a summoned Mana-Infused Object by 1%.

Each Threshold reached in the Summoning School, or a Spell within it, decreases the damage received by a summoned Mana-Infused Object by 1%.

Each Threshold reached in the Summoning School, or a Spell within it, reduces the total resources needed to cast any spell from the Summoning School by 1%.

Each Threshold reached in the Summoning School, or a Spell within it, reduces the penalty from Effect Over Time, Barrage, Persistent Effect, and Ritual magic, when applied to any spell from the Summoning School by 1%.

Special skill 'Eternal Servant' granted. This skill allows the user to expend a number of energy crystals equal to the maximum number of thresholds the spell has reached while casting Summon Mana-Infused Creature. The spell will reserve mana equal to the user's level plus the maximum number of thresholds the spell has reached. The resulting summon(s) will persist, requiring no upkeep. Should the summon(s) be dispersed, they will reappear next to the user in a number of seconds equal to the users tier. This skill may only be used once, requiring the user to dismiss the effect before utilizing it again.

Special skill 'Timeless Object' granted. This skill allows the user to expend a number of energy crystals equal to the maximum number of thresholds the spell has reached while casting Summon Mana-Infused Object. The spell will reserve mana equal to the user's level plus the maximum number of thresholds the spell has reached. Any object(s) summoned will persist requiring no upkeep. Should an object be destroyed it will reappear after a number of seconds equal to the users tier. This skill may be used once for each Threshold reached in the Summoning School, and any Spells within it.

Additional Bonuses, granted by achievements.

Special Skill 'Summoning Switch' granted. This skill allows the user to expend an amount of mana equal to maximum number of Thresholds reached in the Summoning School, and the spells withing it, to switch places with a summoned object or creature. This skill will fail if there is not sufficient space available for either the user or the object at their destination.

Special Skill 'Summoners Redoubt' granted. This skill allows the user to summon a fully furnished building, consisting of a number of rooms equal to the users tier multiplied by two. This building will be consistent with the environment it occupies.

Enduring Skill - Summon Mana-Infused Object granted. Users who venerate you may allocate a skill point to gain access to your Enduring Skill - Summon Mana-Infused Object. The skill functions at your value of the skill before crossing the first threshold. Users may allocate an additional skill point for each threshold, up to the maximum thresholds available to you.

"Fuck," Bob muttered.

'As I have said, the System is not your enemy,' Trebor sounded a trifle smug.

"That's sort of amazing, but at the same time, how?" Bob asked. "The math for building a path doesn't really add up."

'I suspect that the System has altered that process,' Trebor replied. 'However, until you have access to it, I won't be able to say for sure.'

"The bonuses coming from the School and the spells is kinda nuts," Bob muttered, looking over the path. "Assuming a bare minimum of summoning a level eighty monster, I'm looking at ten thresholds there, eight for my Summon Mana-Infused Object, and two for the Summoning School. That's twenty percent."

'It is,' Trebor agreed.

"Hell, right now it's three percent," Bob shook his head. "Three percent more damage dealt, three percent less damage taken, three percent less mana needed to cast the spells, and the penalties for the spell modifiers are reduced by three percent. And I'm just getting started on the path."

'It is a very narrowly focused path, with commensurate bonuses, further modified by your own history, and then your rather notable achievements,' Trebor said.

"It doesn't do shit for my portals, but then again I'll have a double affinity and some decent bonuses from my achievements," Bob mused. "Same thing applies to my Shadowmancy."

He shook his head. "If I'm reading this correctly, the Eternal Servant skill can be combined with a barrage to basically give me an Endless Swarm, right?"

'Yes,' Trebor replied, 'you would, of course, be limited to a number of creatures equal to three plus your tier, so eleven total.'

"This is it," Bob grinned. He'd wanted to take the Endless Swarm path, and then the Path of the Ever Victorious Legion of the Light, but it had never been the right time. "With the cost reductions, I'll be able to persistent effect eight barraged, effect over time, summon mana-infused creature spells and still have the UtahRaptors make an impact during a tide."

He shook his head. "I'd ask to see the other paths, but I can't see myself risking access to this one."

'I wholeheartedly agree,' Trebor replied. 'This is everything you could have asked for in a path.'

"Except for that bit about people getting Summon Mana-Infused Object when they venerate me," Bob grumbled. "I mean, I'm surprised that I'm getting an Enduring Skill off of a path. I thought that was an achievement thing, but I'm not going to complain. I've always said it's the single most useful spell in the entire System."

"I accept," Bob said firmly.

Bob slid off the boulder and was promptly ambushed by Monroe, who knocked his human-servant over and applied a tongue that could have done double duty as a belt sander to his cheek.

"Hey, buddy," Bob greeted the big cat, reaching up to scratch his ruff. "You know it's your turn, don't you?" Bob asked. "You're not just the most handsome kitty in the universe, you're the smartest too."

He navigated his menu again, and selected the option to increase Monroe's level to seven, pushing him back into his mental construct.

Congratulations! Your familiar has reached the first threshold of their personal advancement! He has been granted 49 attribute points to allocate. The System will now provide you with a path specifically designed for him! To accept the path, simply state or mentally project 'I accept.' If you wish to see the other, less well suited paths he qualifies for, you may state or mentally project 'List Paths.' Warning! If you do not accept this path, it will not be listed or available.

Bob dutifully applied the points to the appropriate fields, following the rule of three in Coordination, two in Strength, and two in Endurance each level, or in this case, twenty-one in Coordination, fourteen in Strength, and fourteen in Endurance.

Path of the Divine Feline Hunter.

Path created for Robert Whitman's familiar, Monroe.

Monroe, as the first Paragon, Pinnacle, and finally the first Evolved member of his species, has continually exemplified and even defined the ideal of what a Hunter should be. He has endeavored, with benevolent patience and kindness, to teach his human-servant the ways of the Hunt.

This Path has been enhanced, due to both Robert Whitman and Monroe's achievements.

The Path of the Divine Feline Hunter provides the following benefits.

Each Threshold reached in the Natural Attack School, or a Skill within it, increases the damage dealt by the Divine Feline Hunter by 1%.

Each Threshold reached in the Natural Armor School, or a Skill, decreases the damage received by the Divine Feline Hunter by 1%.

Each Threshold reached in the Dodge Skill increases the effect of the skill by 2%.

Each Threshold reached in the Stealth Skill increases the effect of the skill by 2%.

Special Skill 'Destroyer of Worlds' granted. Each Threshold reached in the Stealth Skill, the Natural Attack School, and any Skills within it, increases the damage dealt when attacking a target unaware of your presence by a 1%.

Special Skill 'Nine Lives' granted. Each Threshold reached in the Dodge Skill, the Natural Armor School, and any Skills within it, decreases the damage received when attacked by 1%.

Special Skill 'Naptime' granted. When the Divine Feline Hunter needs to rest, their Divine Form rapidly recovers health, mana, and stamina. Each Threshold reached in the Dodge Skill, the Stealth Skill, the Natural Armor and Natural Attack Schools, and any skills within them cause the Divine Feline Hunter to gain that value in health, mana, and stamina each minute. Spending a number of minutes equal to the Devine Feline Hunter's tier resting will apply the effects of a ritually cast regeneration spell.

Additional Bonuses, granted by achievements.

Special Skill 'Mysterious Paw' granted. This skill allows the Divine Feline Hunter to expend an amount of mana equal to maximum number of Thresholds reached in the Stealth Skill, to teleport an object into his grasp. The maximum distance is equal to the maximum number of Thresholds reached in the Stealth skill in feet.

Special Skill 'How did you get there?' granted. This skill allows the Divine Feline Hunter to expend an amount of mana equal to maximum number of Thresholds reached in the Stealth Skill, to teleport to a location either within his line of sight, or known to him. The maximum distance is equal to the maximum number of Thresholds reached in the Stealth skill in feet.

Enduring Skill - 'Naptime' Granted. Users who venerate you may allocate a skill point to gain access to your Enduring Skill - Naptime. The skill functions at your value of the skill.

"As if I needed System backed evidence as to the fate of the ham that has been mysteriously missing from my sandwiches," Bob sighed.

"I accept," he stated firmly.