Monroe

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Eight. Tier Six.

Bob knelt in the center of the ritual circle, his thoughts racing.

He'd known this moment was coming, eventually. He'd argued back and forth with himself about even advancing to the next tier.

Trebor's explanation that he'd eventually come to view tier five people in much the same way that one viewed a pet didn't serve to alleviate his concerns.

Bob had always prided himself on treating people fairly, even if they hadn't returned to the favor. Be respectful.

Shaking his head, he refocused his thoughts. The timer had started, and the end of the countdown effectively spelled the end of life on Earth.

Bob was still shakey on how exactly he was going to help mitigate that disaster, but he was certain that having more personal power wouldn't hurt.

Bob focused on the pile of mana crystals in front of him.

He guided a tendril of mana through them.

You have reached the maximum level for your species tier. Sufficient mana crystals detected to advance to the next tier. Would you like to advance to the next tier?

Bob mentally projected 'Yes.'

Mentally project or verbally state your desired species.

'Paragon,' Bob mentally projected.

Paragon accepted. Human, Subspecies: Earth, Paragon template not present. System initialization in process.

Bob's world exploded into light.

"Bob, I need you to focus," Trebor's voice was louder than usual.

Bob shook his head and looked towards his left, where he found Trebor standing outside of the ritual circle.

Bob squinted, then asked, "What went wrong?"

"Nothing went wrong," Trebor replied, "however we are faced with a fantastic opportunity."

Bob frowned. "Isn't opportunity another way of saying 'we have a problem'?"

"No," Trebor shook his head, "in this particular moment, an opportunity is just that. As the first person to choose to tier up as a paragon of your particular human subspecies, the template is created. As you have enjoyed an Advanced System Integration, you have the rare opportunity to guide this process."

"How so?" Bob asked.

"You are able to determine which aspects of your subspecies of humanity you wish to see accentuated most," Trebor responded pleasantly.

"So, if I didn't want to become huge," Bob began before Trebor raised a hand to cut him off.

"There will always be an increase in size," Trebor stated, "however, you could focus your subspecies growth on something else, for example, a more intuitive feel for your matrix."

"I like anything that doesn't result in me being too big to fit through conventional doors," Bob muttered, "what would a more intuitive feel for my matrix do for me?"

"You'd have an easier time manipulating your mana," Trebor replied, "which would lend itself towards paragons of your subspecies tending towards paths that utilized the schools of magic."

"Is there anything else I could do?" Bob asked.

"Quite a few things, in fact," Trebor answered, as Bob began to smile, "Humans tend to be wonderfully versatile."

Bob staggered to his feet, nearly falling over.

Stumbling, he lurched forward and caught himself on the door frame as he lost his balance completely.

"Fuck," Bob groaned.

"Am I going to need to relearn how to walk?" Bob demanded.

'No,' Trebor's voice responded, 'however it will take your mind a few minutes to acclimate to the enlarged and enhanced capabilities of your physical form.'

"How big am I anyways?" Bob asked as he pulled himself upright.

'Seven feet, nine inches in height,' Trebor said in an apologetic tone, 'as you were in the tenth percentile for your subspecies of humanity, you're also now in the tenth percentile for values of your subspecies as a paragon.'

'Further,' Trebor continued, 'you are now 38" across your shoulders, and you weigh three hundred and twenty-six pounds.'

"So I'm a giant after all," Bob grumbled, swaying as he removed one hand from the doorframe.

"Had you not taken the opportunity to guide the process, you'd be well over eight feet,' Trebor replied.

Bob didn't respond, instead removing his other hand from the doorframe and very carefully, standing still.

Bob had, using Trebor as an interface, guided the templating of an Earth Human Paragon to focus on matrix manipulation, as well as increasing the human drive towards knowledge and creativity.

The first was blatant self-interest, with an eye towards Earth Humans trending towards spellcasting. The second and third were the traits that Bob viewed as humanity's greatest strengths.

There had been a tiny part of him that had asked if he really had the right to make these sort of choices for everyone back on Earth.

Bob had stuffed that little voice into a corner and done his best to ignore it.

He was the one here, at this moment, making the choices.

Bob pulled up his status, having already dumped his extra one attribute per level into Endurance.

Name Bob Level 26 Tier 6 Size 6 Armor Hardness 60 Weapon hardness 50 Str 78 Armor Style 1.04 Weapon type 2 Cord 78 Dodge 150 Spell casting 2 End 116 Int 153 Wis 153 Beauty 32 Health 3098 Mana 199 Armor 249 Mana Regen 30.6 Spell casting w/Familiar 566.08 Damage 568 Spell Casting 488 Arcane Familiar Bonus 1.16

His health had increased by nearly fifty percent.

Closing his status, he inspected his new body and grimaced.

It just looked... off.

And also, blindingly pale.

Bob flowed mana into a pattern, wrapping a persistent effect around it, watching as slacks and a shirt appeared on his new body.

He took a moment to consider that casting the spell had felt smoother if only a little bit.

He turned around and took a halting step forward, then another.

"Looks like I'll need a minute or two," Bob said to himself as he practiced walking around the ritual room.

Half an hour later, Bob exited the ritual room, finally feeling confident that he had control of his new body.

"Congratulations," Thidwell rumbled as he stood from the bench that lined the hall.

"Thank you," Bob replied hesitantly, "uh, I needed to talk to you at some point. Do you have some time free, or..."

Thidwell nodded as he ushered two women and a man into the ritual room, "Tomorrow morning," he said, "at eight."

Bob nodded in reply and started making his way towards the tavern.

He was feeling quite hungry.

'You'll find an increase in appetite to match your new form,' Trebor commented.

"Fantastic," Bob muttered as he entered the tavern, heading towards Harv and Elli, who had already claimed a table.

"Good Morning," Bob said as he settled down at the table, noting that the chair was barely adequate to contain his new frame, and the table seemed a little low.

"Well," Harv grinned as he looked Bob up and then down, "I guess you tiered up, eh?"

Elli raised his head blurrily to inspect Bob for a moment, then laid his back on the table. Red Fang the Mighty, who was sprawled across his owner's shoulder, never so much as twitched a whisker.

"I did," Bob acknowledged before waving a hand to Theo, then holding up two fingers.

Theo looked at Bob in surprise for a moment, then nodded and turned to the kitchen.

"Going to delve right back into the Dungeon?" Harv asked.

"Not today," Bob grimaced, "I need to have my armor resized first, and then I'll need to take care of a few other issues relating to my new size," he sighed, "such as the fact that my bed is now four inches too short."

Elli let out a snort while Harv chuckled.

"It's the little you things you don't think about when you're worried about the tide," Harv noted with a tone of sage-like wisdom.

Bob nodded as Theo arrived with four steaming platters of eggs, sausage, and ham steaks.

"No Monroe this morning?" Theo asked as he expertly deposited a plate in front of Harv and Elli and two in front of Bob.

"I fed him earlier and dropped him off with Bailli," Bob replied, "I didn't want to tier up on an empty stomach, and I wasn't sure how if it would bother Monroe."

"Congratulations on tiering up," Theo smiled as he turned and headed off to another table.

"Is that a thing?" Bob asked Harv and Elli, "Congratulations for tiering up, that is."

Harv shrugged as he started cutting up his ham steak, "If it isn't, it should be," he replied, "pretty big accomplishment," he snorted, "pun intended."

Bob shook his head and started working his way through his meal.

The table was quiet for a few minutes, save for cutlery and chewing, when a tiny, plaintive 'meow' sounded from across the table.

Bob watched as Red Fang the Mighty carefully climbed down Elli's now still arm and carefully nosed a sausage link that rested on the edge of the plate.

Elli pulled the sausage back onto the plate before carefully slicing it into tiny chunks and then moving them back over to the eager delight of the kitten.

"You spoil that cat," Harv muttered as he took a bite of his scrambled eggs.

Elli gave Harv a mock glare as he retorted, "Red Fang deserves sausage, and don't think I didn't see you sneak a link to Carson."

Bob shook his head as he listened to his friends bicker, smiling as he ate his breakfast.

His thoughts turned inward.

He had a few things to accomplish today, first and foremost going to Nikki's and delivering his armor for resizing. Assuming that was possible.

The results of that interaction would dictate his schedule, as he needed to start delving for crystals again.

Shaking his head, he realized that Harv had asked him a question.

"Sorry," Bob grumbled, "I was lost in my head a bit; what was that?"

"I asked if you were planning on reincarnating back down," Harv grinned at him.

"Not right away," Bob replied, "there are some time-sensitive things I need to attend to, which segues nicely into another topic," he continued, "I may be bringing some more people here from home," he emphasized the word, quietly, "and assuming Thidwell agrees to let them delve the Dungeon, I was hoping you could help me shepherd them."

Harv glanced at Elli as they both shook their heads slowly, "Bob, we'd help you in a heartbeat," Elli began, "but we've got another thousand people camped outside of Holmstead, most of them either freshers or folks looking to reincarnate and take one of the new paths."

"We've already been tasked by Thidwell," Harv grimaced and continued, "we'll likely be shepherding people for the next six months."

Bob blinked.

"There a thousand people camped outside of Holmstead?" he asked incredulously.

"There are," Elli confirmed, "they all showed up yesterday, maybe one pamphlet for every ten people, hoping to be able to take the new paths."

Harv chuckled, "Stars and stones, we were hoping that we could ask you to help us shepherd them," he added.

"Shit," Bob muttered.

He had planned to have the people he brought back from Earth utilize the Dungeon in Holmstead. Clearly, that wasn't likely to be an option.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Looking down, he realized he'd cleared both of his plates.

"Well," Bob sighed, "I'm off to see about my armor; I'll need to give my plan a bit more thought," he reached over with one abnormally large finger and delivered a gentle pet to Red Fang the Mighty.

"We'll see you for dinner?" Harv asked as he held his plate down by the floor, allowing an ecstatic Carson to lick it clean.

"Absolutely," Bob promised as he headed for the tavern door.

As he walked into the chill early spring air, he considered his dilemma. He needed a Dungeon where the people he retrieved from Earth could level up.

Holmstead wasn't going to be available, and Harbordeep was out of the question.

That circled back another idea he'd had. That massive valley up by the glacier.

He could drop a huge but shallow Dungeon there.

It would just take some time and a lot of mana crystals. He would need to keep it simple. Control Earth to shape it, keep it shaped, control air to keep it breathable, control water to keep the water out, and control fire to keep the temperature reasonable. His adventurers could provide their own lights.

He'd need to build at least ten floors down, at which point he would hopefully have a host of Curator pathed volunteers to assist in dropping it deeper.

Bob walked into Nikki's on autopilot and was surprised when he felt a hand clasp his shoulder.

"Stars and stones, you went and tiered up, didn't you?" Gary's voice boomed with good cheer.

Bob looked over and down at Gary, noting that the light really did reflect off his shaved head.

"Yeah, I tiered up this morning, and I thought this ought to be my first stop to get my armor resized," Bob smiled as Gary immediately pulled out his measuring tape.

"You're lucky you were a tall one already," Gary said as he took a dozen more measurements, "otherwise, I don't know if we would be able to resize it for you."

Moving back to the counter in the center of the shop, Gary motioned for Bob to deposit his armor.

"Nikki and I can have it ready for you tomorrow morning," Gary said as he bundled up the armor, "it'll likely cost about two hundred crystals, but we'll enjoy the break from churning out sets of fresher leathers," he motioned to a rack behind Bob which held a dozen sets of black leather armor.

"Fresher black, eh?" Bob replied with a grin.

Gary shook his head in mock disgust, "Always fresher black," he grumbled, "you still hold the title as the last fresher to show good sense."