Monroe

Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety-four. In the meantime....

"I could be reading too much into this, but it seems like they aren't going to be automatically put back into stasis when we leave," Amanda mused. "Otherwise, why would they have the ability to go into stasis on their own?"

"Also, why would they have a whole set of abilities that would let them feed themselves, but only if all of them were awake," Dave agreed.

Bob nodded.

'Trebor,' Bob mentally projected, 'I don't suppose there is any chance you can confirm this?'

He didn't harbor any real hope, as Trebor had been rather neutered by the update, and he hadn't yet been able to push the skill that powered him past the third threshold.

'I can,' Trebor replied happily. 'As soon as the first Urlinad advanced, the information became available. The path was built by the System to allow the Urlinad to use the Dungeon you created to advance themselves in preparation for your having completed the quest. Additionally, the Dungeon you created is linked to the ambient mana inside this Dungeon, which means that they can effectively delve the Dungeon to reduce the overflow status.'

"Damn," Bob muttered.

"What are we damning?" Jessica asked, leaning to nudge him with her shoulder.

"Well, it turns out that the Dungeon I built is pulling mana from this one, so as the Urlinad delve it, they'll clear the overflow condition," Bob replied.

"Stars above and stones below, that's great news," Harv said fervently.

"By the time we complete all the Dungeons, they won't be overflowing, and the Urlinad can just pop out," Eli grinned, exchanging a high five with Eddi.

"All we have to do is hit each Dungeon, work with these guys to get a thousand more of them pathed up, and move on to the next," Bob agreed.

"Two, maybe three weeks for each of them," Dave pulled Amanda into a hug. "Yeah, it's still probably a year and a half, but it was looking a whole lot worse."

"I feel like I'm missing something," Jack grumbled. "I remember doing that math, and we could do the whole thing a lot more quickly if we just cleared the Dungeons to complete the quest, then looped around, clearing the overflow conditions, saving one Dungeon for last."

"That would fuck the Urlinad," Jessica reminded him. "This planet is a rough one, with the weather and all. Imagine what would happen to them if they came out of the Dungeons and discovered that their cities are completely ruined, their fields overgrown, and oh yeah, they have to delve a Dungeon to keep monsters from pouring out."

"Yeah, yeah," Jack waved his hand. "I know, it's not right to leave them like that. I'm just not looking forward to another year and a half of celibacy," he sighed.

Kellan Garvades, Emperor of Thayland, stared at the woman in front of him.

"Why?" He asked flatly. "We have portals, as well as dimensionally expanded crates."

"Efficiency," the woman explained. "A portal is going to cost between seventy and a hundred crystals, depending on the level and path of the Dimensionalist. That's assuming they are only going to the next town over, or that they can even reach it in one jump."

Kellan looked down at the tablet on his desk. "If I'm reading this correctly, Ms. Gorland, this project would cost half a billion mana crystals to build."

"That's probably low," Ms. Gorland sighed. "Nothing ever comes in on budget, there are always overages. Figure half again, or double at the worst, so maybe a full billion."

Kellan snorted. "Those are real crystals."

"Yes, your majesty, but the important thing to consider is that it removes the reliance on caster availability," she began. "Once the lines are built, it's just a matter of plugging in the mana crystals to keep the enchantments going. I'll grant that it doesn't look like the numbers will work out at the moment, but that's almost entirely down to people being either unable to justify the cost of a hundred crystals to get a portal or not being able to find someone to open one. If you provide regular service, you'll see exponentially more traffic as people will travel regularly, as well as freight."

Kellan frowned. The people from Earth, at least the ones in the more developed countries, had tended to exhibit a greater desire to travel.

Ms. Gorland took his silence as an indication to continue. "I know that trains seem almost anachronistic, but they're the most efficient way to move large amounts of goods, and people, from one place to another. This will trigger vast economic growth," she promised. "People will travel to the next town over, or the one after that, to delve a different Dungeon, just to ease the tedium of delving the same Dungeon over and over again. Hell, the most interesting or scenic Dungeons will give rise to the tourism industry. You'll have towns that basically exist to service all the people who visit the Dungeon there."

Kellan raised a hand as he read through the proposal again.

He'd read many of the books on Earth's history, and one of the things he'd realized was that despite their effectively identical appearance, humans from Earth were different from humans from Thayland.

His people didn't tend to think outside of their towns. They met their partners there, raised their children there, and died there.

"Do you think this might help prevent the issue of stagnation?" Kellan asked.

In this, the humans from both worlds were identical. They reached a level of power where they were comfortable and settled in. For most of them, this seemed to be either at the peak of tier five or, for the slightly more motivated, tier six.

That was, by and large, an acceptable level of power for defending against wave and tide, especially when affinities were taken into consideration. Unfortunately, it meant they were no longer delving for crystals in order to advance, which meant a massive reduction in his tax revenue, which was allocated in its entirety toward the construction and improvement of the new towns around the Dungeons.

He'd been quite pleased with the response to his offer to the people of Earth to come to Thayland and delve as much as they'd like. He had wound up with just over six hundred million delvers, many of whom had dependants, bringing the total number of people to just over a billion.

Oh, how the crystals had rolled in.

Sadly, things had begun to slow down a bit. There were, of course, exceptional individuals who were driven to continue their growth, but they were few and far between, and while they did act as an assurance for the safety of the area where they delved, they didn't even come close to making up for the lack of production by the rest.

"To a degree, yes, I think it will," Ms. Gorland replied. "If it costs ten crystals to take the train to the next city, and ten back, that's twenty more crystals they'll need to gather. Given the relative safety with which that can be accomplished, they'll delve for them, if only to ensure that they have access to different amenities. It will also give us more of an outlet for the creativity that Mr. Whitman inflicted us with," she smiled tightly. "At the moment, it's difficult to build an industry because the population isn't concentrated enough to provide workers or a market. Yes, there are some small luxuries being brought with the resupply portals, but space is at a premium, even with dimensionally expanded crates. Regular access to markets at a fraction of the cost will encourage entrepreneurs of all types."

Kellan nodded. He tapped the screen of his tablet. "I've approved your proposal," he told her. "Ericka will direct you to the bursar, who will provide the crystals you need to get started. I'll expect the first link to be completed within thirty days, at which point I'll inspect it."

"Thank you, your majesty," Ms. Gorland said, bowing from the waist as she backed up, then exited through the door at the rear of the chamber.

Kellan sighed as he stood up from behind his desk, stretching. He needed a nap. Strike that, he needed a nap.

He couldn't allow himself to sleep, though. Not yet. Too many things were changing, too quickly, for him to sleep. He was walking a delicate line, denying his nature and needs, balancing them against the needs of his world. He hoped that he would be able to stabilize things before Bob returned. He knew that it wouldn't take him long to regain the power necessary to sit on his throne again, but the question was how well would the government he created settle into the yoke.

He suspected that Bob would prove an adequate custodian, but he would need to have everything in place before he turned the reins over to him, and at the moment, everything remained in flux.

Kellan had high hopes for the retention of his visitors from Earth. His decision to utilize all the crystals he gathered from his taxes toward public works had been very well received and contrasted quite well against most of the governments on Earth that they'd eschewed.

He sat back down, and took a sip of water, before glancing at the screen that told him who his next petitioner was. His eyes widened slightly, and he tapped the screen, which told his secretary that he was ready for his next victim.

Kellan smiled broadly as Ani entered the room, approaching his desk before falling to one knee. "Your Majesty," she murmured.

He stood again, walking around his desk before leaning back against it. "Rise, my young friend, and tell me how fares the Endless?"

When he had decided to give the Endless his official blessing, it had been motivated by his desire to tie Bob more firmly to Thayland. It didn't hurt that the Endless were an objective good for his Kingdom, dedicating themselves to the betterment and safety of his people, asking for nothing in return save for the chance to build their towers and elect their councils.

That decision had paid unexpected dividends as the Endless had embraced their idea of having a tower in every settlement. When the Karcerian Empire had abandoned Thayland in favor of Earth, allowing him to claim primacy over the entire planet, and thus the Dungeons, they had showcased a nearly zealous drive, spreading themselves incredibly thin as they constructed towers and staffed them. Some of the towers had only a single member, at first.

The reluctance of Earth's people to pursue the path of Divine magic was fertile ground for the Endless, who offered efficient paths with a Summoning Affinity Crystal. That the Endless only requirement was to serve their communities and repay the Affinity Crystal when they found one was terribly enticing.

"We stand ready for the wave and tide, your Majesty," Ani replied, rising to her feet. "Our recruitment efforts have slowed, but our ranks have swelled enough to ensure that each tower is staffed, if not as well as we might like. Does Your Majesty intend to offer sanctuary to more people from Earth?"

Kellan nodded. The arrangement he'd made with the United Nations stipulated that every six months, inspectors from the home countries of the transplants from Earth would meet, ensuring that they all parties were meeting their obligations. One of Kellan's requirements was that these interviews be made available for anyone on Earth to view, stating that he wanted to be completely transparent. Unspoken was that it would also serve as an advertising tool.

"I suspect that now that people have had an opportunity to review the overwhelming preponderance of positive testimonials from our guests, we will see a significant number of people from Earth contracting to come over," Kellan assured her.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," she smiled. "I came to bring you word of He Who Walks Before," she intoned the name with reverence. "We have noted that not only is he still alive, but he is continuing his good works."

She presented a System screen.

Ancestral Blessings Available.

Robert Whitman, He Who Walks Before, The Reef, The Redeemer, Light Bringer, [Lord of Blight]

Venerating this being allows you to allocate skill points to share in some of his skills.

Mana Sight

Mana Manipulation

Enduring Sphere - Arcane

Summon Mana-Infused Object

Kellan blinked. "Lord of Blight?" He shook his head. "That doesn't really sound like Bob."

"We suspect that it references the utter destruction he brings to wave and tide when they threaten the innocent," Ani murmured.

Kellan knew that that particular title hadn't originated on Thayland. They had enough names for the man. He was fairly certain that it hadn't originated on Earth, as he kept in regular contact with Elania, and she kept him appraised of any Bob-related matters. Apparently, 'The Redeemer,' and 'The Lightbringer,' were titles that had been given to Bob by some of the religious groups that were grappling with their faith after the integration.

That meant that Bob had found another inhabited world, and had likely thrown himself into some project or another to help them, although he wasn't sure that Ani's assessment was likely to be accurate. It was hard to cast 'Blight' in a positive manner.

He sighed. The man couldn't help himself, and while Kellan had used that to his peoples' advantage in the past, and planned to do so again in the future, it was inconvenient when he had a schedule to keep.

Ten years should have been more than enough time for even a moderately dedicated person to advance to tier ten from tier eight, considering they possessed a triple affinity. That did not take into account Bob's tendency to get distracted, or his savior complex, which stemmed from his low self-esteem and self-worth. He hadn't been surprised when Elania had told him about Bob abandoning his vacation in favor of spending what had to be the majority of his group's collective wealth to provide clean water to an impoverished area of one of Earth's larger cities.

"However the title was gained, I'm certain that it was generated from his selflessness," Kellan said. Having dealt with zealots for centuries, he was adept at handling them. "I think it might be best to await his return before adding it to the archives, in order to provide the proper context."

Ani appeared to consider that for a moment, before nodding. "Of course, Your Majesty, we wouldn't want to fail to exalt his works properly."

Kellan smiled. "I appreciate your diligence in keeping me appraised of Bob's blessings," he said as he pulled a bag from his inventory. "Your visit is especially fortuitous, as only yesterday I collected all of the Summoning Affinity Crystals that have been turned in," he placed the bag in her hands. "I'm afraid that with people reaching the peak of their tiers and delving less, the number of crystals they are producing has lessened as well, but there are fourteen hundred and sixty-one Summoning Affinity Crystals in that bag. I know the Endless will put them to good use."

Ani bowed deeply. "We will, Your Majesty," she breathed. "Thank you for your confidence in us. We won't disappoint you, nor He Who Walks Before."

"Walk in his light," Kellan intoned, ending the conversation with what had become a tradition amongst the more fanatical members of the Endless.