Monroe

Three Hundred and Sixty-Eight. One project done.

"Such bullshit," Mike grumbled. "It took us how many months to find a planet that wasn't covered by a tentacle monster or a frozen wasteland?"

"To be fair, I'm pretty sure there is more than just one person jumping from universe to universe," Dave offered.

"Well, we definitely don't have enough crystals to compete in his auction," Amanda sighed.

"Anyone who does is taking a real risk," Bob added. "He snapped some photographs from a distance. He doesn't know what tier the world is, or if it's even compatible with human life. Plus or minus a percentage point or two and the air we breathe will kill us." He shook his head. "Without doing an actual survey of the planet, it could be worthless."

"We'll find our own, eventually," Dave said. "In the meantime, today is the big day."

"Clean water for Dharavi," Amanda agreed. "Maybe not much in the grand scheme of things, but it'll change a lot of lives for the better."

Bob nodded. The Indian government had come through, sourcing the pipes needed, as well as the pillars. It had still taken three weeks to get everything in place and connected, as well as building a containment pond for all the junk that the ritual effect would be cleaning out of the river, but everything was in place now, and ready for him to cast the rituals.

"We'll still have two days left, should we go back to Hawaii?" Bob asked.

"I have to go to Sydney," Jessica said. "My Mum and Dad haven't seen me for ages, and it's looking like it'll be another bit until we come back to visit again, yeah?"

"You should start working on getting us into the country then," Dave suggested.

"I've got the PM's number," Jessica shrugged. "I'll just call ahead, make a reservation, right?"

Kiara Julwry answered her cell phone carefully. The number had shown up as an unknown from the United States.

She didn't recall giving her personal number to anyone in that country, ever, but the people who did have that number were either very important, or very close to her.

"Hello?" She answered.

"G'day," a cheerful voice replied. "It's Jessica Wright. I'm swinging by to see my folks, catch up, introduce them to my mates, and I didn't want a repeat of Mumbai, so I'm calling to let you know."

Kiara frowned as she struggled to remember who exactly Jessica Wright was, then her frown deepened. She was that veterinary student who'd gotten involved with the yanks and kicked off the disappearance of the ranchers.

"Ms. Wright, from your tone, I take it you don't intend to enter the country through conventional travel?" Kiara asked.

"Not so much," Jessica agreed. "We've got a spaceship that we'll park up top, and we can either fly down or portal down."

"You're an Australian Citizen, and as long as you're not violating any laws, which you probably would be if you flew, as I don't believe you're a licensed pilot, you have every right to enter the country," Kiara began. "You mentioned bringing other people with you. I don't suppose they are also Australians?"

"Mostly yanks, but a few people from Thayland," Jessica replied happily. "Bob, Dave, Amanda, Jack, and Mike are all yanks, while Erick, Bailli, Eddi, Wayna, Harv and Eli are from Thayland." She paused. "Huh, I guess we're a pretty split, as far as Earth and Thayland."

"You'll need to bring them through customs," Kiara said firmly. "We have a system in place for registering visitors from Thayland."

"I suppose laws are laws, yeah? Should we just come into the airport?" Jessica asked.

"Yes, that would be ideal," Kiara replied. "I'll have someone notify them of your impending arrival."

"Brilliant, tell them to look for the flock of pterodactyls with people riding them," Jessica offered. "Should help avoid any confusion."

"Pterodactyls, right," Kiara said with a grimace.

"Thank's for taking my call, Prime Minister, have a great day, yeah?" Jessica said.

"And you, Ms. Wright," Kiara replied, ending the call.

She sat her phone down on the desk and leaned back in her chair, rolling her neck. She knew some of those names. Bob was obviously Robert Whitman, while Harv was most likely Harveste Eilodon. The rest she couldn't immediately place, but those two alone were noteworthy.

Kiara straightened and began typing. She had dossiers on any number of people, and she quickly pulled up Robert Whitman's.

He'd been back on Earth for a few weeks now, identifying the United States' failure to see to the wellbeing of the elderly. She shook her head. The United States had taken some steps, but still remained a bit of a joke in the international community when it came to its social programs. He'd taken unilateral steps to fix that problem, before buggering off to Hawaii. He'd only been there for a few days before he'd inexplicably bunked off to Mumbai of all places, where he'd begun an effort to bring clean water to one of their poorer districts, this time with the full aid and knowledge of the Indian government.

"Now he's coming here," she muttered, as she scrolled down. The latest information regarding tier, level, and known or suspected skills was always kept up to date at the bottom of the file.

"Tier eight?" She whispered, shocked.

To the best of her knowledge, the most powerful people on Earth were tier seven. The Queen had beaten everyone else to the punch, and she had only evolved two months ago.

Kiara was well aware of the power difference between tiers. Each evolution offered the chance to convert one of her skills to an affinity. She'd begun with a Conjuration Affinity Crystal, and when she'd evolved, she'd kept that as a natural Affinity. She'd done the same again upon ascending to tier seven, doubling down. With a triple Affinity, two natural and one from an Affinity Crystal, she knew that level for level, she was roughly five times as powerful as she'd been at tier five.

How powerful must Bob be at tier eight? He'd reached tier seven before the integration, so he probably hadn't been able to enjoy the extra natural affinities, but she suspected he had at least a double, and likely a triple.

Of course, when he came through customs, he'd be required to show his System Status, which would serve to fill out the blank spaces in his file.

"Hopefully, he's only here to visit, and not to interfere," Kiara muttered. If he was, he'd quickly learn that Australia was not the United States, and he wouldn't be receiving any preferential treatment.

Bob grimaced as he completed the last ritual. He'd been standing, or to be accurate, floating, on top of the river for almost eighteen hours. He wasn't sure if his nose had become more sensitive upon reaching tier eight, or if the river really did smell that bad, but either way, he was grateful to be done.

Stretching, he floated over to the group of government officials who had either been involved in helping with the project, or had shown up for the photo op so they could say they had been a part of it.

"We've been testing throughout the day, and the water coming out of the rituals is absolutely pure," Raj, one of the civil engineers who had overseen the construction of the massive pools for the water treatment plant, grinned and offered a handshake.

"Happy to help," Bob replied, shaking the man's hand carefully.

Raj took a step closer and whispered up to Bob, "Between you and me, the success of this project will likely trigger a slew of others. Some of us have been pushing for the use of magical alternatives to repairing broken infrastructure. You've done a great thing here, beyond even providing us with clean water."

"Adventurer's Guild, here to help," Bob said uncomfortably.

"Yes, I have read about this Adventurer's Guild," Raj continued to smile as he stepped back. "Also, the Endless. It wouldn't be such a bad thing, I think, if those ideas were embraced here. Perhaps I will be the one to start a guild."

"I've heard worse ideas," Bob replied as his attention was caught by the approach of Prime Minister Rajiv Singh. "Prime Minister," Bob said with a nod.

"Please, I've asked you to call me Rajiv," the Prime Minister said with a smile. "While we don't know each other well, you've proven yourself a friend to all of India. Raj, might I steal our guest for a moment? I'll need to discuss recreating this project with you, tomorrow morning perhaps?"

Raj bowed and stepped back, leaving Bob alone with the Prime Minister.

"We should have known to do this," Rajiv sighed as he gestured at the flood of crystal clear water rushing up the pipes. "Raj is a fine man and a brilliant engineer, but his suggestions weren't given the weight they ought to have been. Despite the introduction of the System, we still think the old way." He smiled ruefully. "Maybe I should reincarnate, a younger mind would be more flexible and adaptive."

"Why haven't you?" Bob asked.

"India is a country with a long and deep history," Rajiv explained, not seeming to mind Bob's ignorance. "While the United States has a mere two centuries to draw upon. Our traditions are engraved on the very soul of our nation. To put it simply, it's expected that the Prime Minister be an old man, one that is hopefully wise and learned, although we haven't always risen to those standards."

Bob nodded.

"To that goal of being learned and wise, I would like to ask you to convey an offer to His Majesty Kellan Garvades," Rajiv continued. "I know that the people of Thayland have embraced the technological advancements that Earth has to offer, but it's been very much a piecemeal arrangement. Our worlds have so much to learn from one another, and the situation you helped remedy is an example of our failing to do so. I would like to establish a pair of universities, sister campuses, one on Thayland, and one here on Earth, where the best and brightest from both our worlds can learn from one another. India will be happy to provide the campus, the faculty, and the funding here on Earth. We can easily accommodate ten thousand students."

Bob closed his eyes for a moment as he gathered his thoughts.

The Prime Minister wasn't at all what he'd expected. From his first conversation on the phone, the man had been friendly and genuinely concerned for his citizens. He was sort of a less angry version of the United States President.

Having people from Thayland study at a university was a brilliant idea. There were doubtless a lot of professors who would love to teach again, and he could think of quite a few people who would not only enjoy taking courses, but could also put them to good use.

On the other side of the coin, if Kellan could gather up experts on the various schools of magic, Bob would find time to audit some of those classes. Trebor was a huge advantage, but Bob didn't harbor any illusions about being some sort of great wizard.

"While I can't speak for his Majesty, I can promise to relay your offer with my endorsement, however little weight might carry," Bob replied.

Rajiv chuckled. "You give yourself too little credit, my friend. I've heard the King of Greenwold speak of you, and I believe he holds you in high regard."

The Prime Minister offered him a thumb drive. "The details of our offer," he explained. "I know you're busy, and that you undertook this project during what was supposed to have been your vacation, so I won't delay you any further. When you plan your next vacation, feel free to call. India has some truly amazing things to offer, and I'd be happy to have the arrangements made for you."

"Thank you, Rajiv," Bob replied, nodding his head as the Prime Minister moved back over to his officials.

"So, we need to hire someone," Amanda said, finishing her pitch.

Upon returning to the Freedom and taking a much needed rest, Amanda had discovered that Bob's facebook page had exploded. There were requests from hundreds of groups and individuals. Miraculously, only a few of them were bullshit. They were, for the most part, issues that their respective governments weren't addressing. Clean water and sanitation were a big part of the requests, but there were some unique ones as well. There was a species of fungus in Paraguay that apparently really liked mana, and was causing real issues with the crops grown in the area.

Amanda and Dave had spent the entire day following up on the requests, mostly by notifying the governments responsible.

"I really don't want to encourage the perception that I'm able to fix people's problems," Bob shook his head. "There are some instances where I can help, and when I can, I will, but I'm just one person."

"You're a little bit late when it comes to dodging the 'Hero' bit, yeah?" Jessica winked at him.

"There is that," Dave agreed. "You saved the whole planet. That's not the kind of thing people just forget."

"I agree that you shouldn't be responsible for everyone," Amanda agreed. "What I'm suggesting is that we pin a notice at the top of your page, letting everyone know that you're willing to listen, and to make sure the information reaches their governments."

"And if they won't help, you can refer it to the Endless," Eddi said proudly.

"The Endless aren't in every country yet," Amanda said with a smile.

"Just have whoever you hire reach out to the Antarctica tower," Eddi replied.

"The Antarctica Tower?" Bob asked.

"Yeah," Eddi grinned. "There was a Dungeon smack dab in the middle that no one was using, so we built a tower on top of it." His smile faded to a frown. "Didn't I tell you about that?"

"No," Bob shook his head. "No, you did not. I'm pretty sure I would have remembered if you had told me that the Endless had effectively claimed a chunk of Earth for themselves.

"Oh," Eddi shrugged. "Sorry, we've been so busy I must have forgotten." His face brightened. "But you know now, so no big deal. We've got a full tower there, so there are enough people that we should be able to address almost anything that comes up, as long as we don't get slammed with a hundred things at once."

"Does anyone else know about this tower?" Bob asked.

"I don't think so," Eddi replied.

Bob rubbed his temples for a moment. "Ok, let's hire someone. Their first job is to let the President know about the Endless occupying Antarctica. We'll the President handle it from there."