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'll need to see me in between Kelli and your delve," a deep voice rumbled from behind him.

Bob stood and sketched a half-bow towards Thidwell as he considered that despite his huge size, the man was remarkably light-footed when he wanted to be.

"Good Morning," Bob replied before taking a step back and turning to face both Thidwell and the freshers.

"This is Thidwell Orstang, the man in charge of the Guild here in Holmstead and also the curator of the Dungeon," Bob introduced Thidwell to the crowd.

Thidwell smiled. With the hard planes of his face, his brilliant emerald eyes, massive size, and slicked back black mohawk, he looked terrifying.

The kids didn't appear to be reassured by Thidwell's smile.

Seeing that none of them were likely to introduce themselves or indeed speak at all, Thidwell headed towards his office.

Bob walked into Thidwell's office ten minutes later, having formed the kids into a line and pointing them at Kelli for registration.

He placed the four affinity crystals on Thidwell's desk.

Thidwell picked them up and rolled them across his fingers before taking out the storage box he'd kept the crystals he'd given to Bob and placing them inside.

"I'm glad you didn't take long to gather these," Thidwell rumbled, "as things are starting to move quickly."

The big man stood and paced for a moment before turning to address Bob.

"The last wave opened a lot of people's eyes," he said, "and there have been over twenty people who have undergone reincarnation in order to take advantage of the clear power that the use of an affinity crystal in conjunction with a powerful path offers."

Bob nodded.

He'd expected that.

People who had a few decades as a laborer were likely to see the power offered as a reason to accelerate their plans.

"And," Thidwell grunted as he rummaged through a desk drawer and pulled out a folded piece of paper, giving it a quick glance before continuing, "Calder has reported that the same thing is happening there, although on a slightly smaller scale."

"How are we doing in terms of collecting affinity crystals?" Bob asked.

Thidwell smiled darkly and replied, "Oh, we're doing very well," he said, "Eddi is nearly halfway towards satisfying his bargain of fifty summoning affinity crystals, and Bailli isn't much further behind."

He chuckled, an action his gravelly voice was ill-suited for, and went on, "The other freshers who have followed your path are coming along nicely as well, although those two seem to be the most motivated."

Bob smiled and let out a sigh, "That's good news at least."

Thidwell nodded and leaned on his desk as he peered down at Bob.

"That being said," he growled, "I can't help but notice that you're wearing a Shepherd's pin and that you brought fourteen freshers from Harbordeep back with you."

"Not exactly maintaining a low profile," Thidwell finished.

Bob took a deep breath and began to explain.

"Harbordeep..." Bob paused for a moment, "It's like a shiny red apple. It looks sweet and delicious and perfect," he said slowly, "but when you bite into it, it's rotten inside."

He shook his head, "The average person there is just so fucked," Bob said, "everything is two to five times more expensive there, and that's without taking into account the King's Tax."

"This kid needed some help, so I offered to help, and..." Bob trailed off.

"Everyone there is so desperate to break out of the cycle of shit that they are in, as soon as I said I'd shepherd the kid, I had three more," Bob sighed, "and then another six, and then another four, and then I was getting the hell out of there."

"If I had stuck around," Bob said grimly, "I'd probably be shepherding for years."

Thidwell shook his head, "Harbordeep isn't a good place to be if you aren't at least tier six," he said, "but the perception is that all the outlying towns are mud huts that routinely lose half their population to monster waves."

"I don't know," Bob confessed, "I didn't really talk to anyone about Holmstead, except for a Vi'Radian priestess who was delighted that I tipped whoever was watching over the Dungeon during my delves."

"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.