Nora woke up as the light streamed through the window of the small room she'd rented for the night.

She was momentarily confused at her unfamiliar surroundings before the memory of the day before came crashing back into her mind.

She'd expected to have taken a path yesterday. Her mother, father, and grandfather had called her into the ritual chamber that morning.

Nora grimaced. She had been so excited. Everyone in her family followed a path handed down from generation to generation, and while everyone in the family knew that, nothing was ever spoken of it.

She had entered the ritual chamber, ready to advance to level five and take her family's path.

Then her mother had told her that their path was a family secret protected by a Geas.

Nora had bridled at that. A Geas was a ritual spell that bound the target to complete a task, even unto death. Her mother had hastened to assure her that the Geas was simply to keep every detail of the family path secret from any who didn't already know. The magic of the ritual spell would prevent her from speaking of it in the presence of any who weren't already Geas'd themselves. It would even prevent speaking of the secret should someone be eavesdropping.

Her father had then struggled to explain that the path was stronger than any other she could take, much stronger. He had difficulty working around the constraints of the Geas.

Nora's grandfather had then added that such strength must be kept out of the hands of the masses, "Lest they become emboldened, and rise up against their betters, wielding power carelessly as the common wretch lacks the wisdom and foresight to act for the greater good."

The realization that her family held the knowledge of a path that could see everyone freed from the threat of monster waves infuriated her.

She'd been raised on the stories of how awful it was outside of Harbordeep, of entire towns and villages destroyed, every man, woman, and child dead, not due to a tide, but to a common wave.

Nora had heard, time and again, that Harbordeep was safe because the Royal Family and the Nobles were responsible for holding back the tide and that such a thing was made possible because of their dedication and honor to uplifting society.

Discovering that the basis for their strength wasn't dedication, honor, or even hard work, but rather a bit of secret knowledge, protected by a Geas, had both horrified and infuriated her.

She had refused to accept the Geas.

Now that some time had passed and the fires of her indignation had been banked by the passing hours, she was ashamed of some of the things she had said.

They had all been Geas'd, in turn, likely succumbing to familial pressure; in her mother's case, it had most probably been a condition for her marriage.

Her family wasn't the true target of her vitriol; they simply suffered from the area of effect of her anger.

She'd stormed off in a towering rage, taking only her cloak and a pouch of mana crystals.

Nora stretched carefully and sat up.

She could go back, accept the Geas, and reap the benefits of a powerful path.

She shook her head.

That would make her part of the problem, and while she wasn't sure of the solution, she was certain that she didn't want to be a part of a legacy of deception.

Slipping into her dress and tying the stays that drew it snug, she slung her cloak over her shoulders, and left the tiny room, determined to visit the Church and exchange her crystals before meeting Bob at the tavern.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Monroe's tail swished as he crouched behind a small dune, ears perked forward, his eyes locked on his prey.

He crouched lower, his tail stilling, as his prey slowly moved into his ambush.

His hind paws dug into the shifting terrain, his back end wiggling ever so slightly as he prepared to attack.

Monroe exploded into motion, leaping forward to pounce, bringing all four claws to bear against his prey.

He kicked twice, rapidly seeking to disembowel his foe before flowing backward and lashing out with his front claws, just in case it retaliated.

His eyes darted back and forth, and his tail swished.

He'd attacked nothing!

His prey had somehow escaped.

Monroe slunk back onto his ledge where he hid, waiting.

His prey would reappear, of that he was sure.

His tail swished, and his ears lay back as he scanned the ground beneath him, looking for any sign.

~ ~ ~ ~

Bob grinned as he dropped the spells, his makeshift laser point disappearing from his hand.

A combination of all four elemental schools, a bright flame encased at the end of a stone tube, fed by created air to brilliance, the light focused by a single drop of water at the tip.

It had taken a few hours to get right, but he'd managed, and so when Monroe had woken up, Bob had enjoyed a little playtime.

Now he just needed to wait for half an hour or so for the big cat to calm down.

Monroe took playtime very seriously.

Bob headed to the shower, leaving Monroe to lurk beneath the covers, only his nose peeking out.

He'd shepherd the kid today, and if it turned out she didn't have the crystals to pay him back, she could work towards earning them.

She was in a pretty shitty situation, and despite her near admission that she came from a noble family, Bob felt like helping her would be the sort of thing that Elli and Harv would do.

Bob rebuilt his terrarium before stepping into the shower. He decided to spend a few minutes enjoying the hot water while he queried Trebor.

"So," Bob said as the hot water cascaded down the back of his neck, "how many tier six species are there that could pass as completely human while having four natural affinities?"

'Hundreds,' Trebor replied promptly, 'humans are the most prolific species in all the known universes, which has lead to an incredible number of subspecies, many of which are indistinguishable from their progenitors.'

Bob paused his scrubbing and replied, "The species you offered to me were barely passable as human."

'You requested species that possessed a natural affinity for Endurance,' Trebor said, 'and any natural affinity for a physical attribute, be it Strength, Coordination or Endurance, is going to have an impact on the species physical appearance.'

"Huh," Bob grunted eloquently as he continued to scrub.

"So," Bob said, "if I wanted to see species with no natural affinities for physical attributes, but with a natural affinity for, say, summoning, what would the list look like."

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'Am I to assume that you would prefer only those who appear to be human?' Trebor asked.

"Yes," Bob mumbled as he rinsed his hair.

Kandall

  - Completely Humanoid. Natural Affinity for Summoning, Transmutation, Intelligence, Wisdom. Trends towards ashen skin, nearly translucent.

Gha'hern

  - Completely Humanoid. Natural Affinity for Summoning, Dimension, Abjuration, Transmutation. Short (rarely topping five and a half feet) and slender (rarely more than a hundred pounds).

Narcea

  - Completely Humanoid. Natural Affinity for Summoning, Summoning, Intelligence, Wisdom. Scalera and retina are entirely a vivid shade of blue.

"Double summoning affinity?" Bob asked.

'Yes,' Trebor replied, 'The Narcea were a group of Arcanists that fled their homeworld when a worldwide Theocracy rose to power and outlawed any magic save for divine. Given the choice of reincarnation and being forced to take new paths, they chose instead to flee. They didn't make it far, landing on an ice moon behind the largest of three gas giants in their star system.'

"That sounds fairly awful," Bob muttered as he reached down and turned off the water.

'Quite so,' Trebor confirmed, 'landing on a planet made almost entirely of ice forced them to innovate. Summoning rose to primacy as they lacked the materials to build structures or craft items. By utilizing the cost reduction aspects of their Affinities, they were able to use far fewer mana crystals to obtain much greater results.'

"Aside from the eyes, they'd be a solid fit," Bob mused as he toweled off.

Equipping his armor, Bob slouched down into a chair.

"What," Bob said slowly, "in your opinion, would be the best species for me to tier up to, given what you know of me and my path?"

Yheldaar

  - Completely Humanoid. Natural Affinity for Shadowmancy (Mana Manipulation), Dimension, Mana, Shadowmancy (Mana Tracing). Scalera has a slight silver tint.

Bob looked at the box for a moment.

"Why Shadowmancy, What are Mana Manipulation and Mana Tracing, and how can you have an affinity for mana?" Bob asked.

'You've chosen the Path of the Arcane Depths,' Trebor responded, 'and nearly every plan you've concocted to limit the casualties on your world involves massive, complicated spell casting.'

'A natural affinity for Shadowmancy, in conjunction with Mana Shaping, Mana Sight, and Matrix Manipulation are the keys that allow you to unlock Mana Manipulation,' Trebor continued, 'which is a skill that allows you to more delicately control the flows of mana.'

Trebor paused and resumed, 'Consider this analogy. Mana Shaping allows you to direct mana in the same way you might direct electricity through your local power grid by using heavy gauge cables. Mana Manipulation allows you to design circuit boards.'

'It is not a perfect analogy, of course; however, it will serve,' Trebor said, 'having an affinity for Mana not only grants you an additional unit of mana each level, but it serves to allow Mana to flow more easily through your matrix. If we were to continue to use the electricity analogy, it reduces the resistance of your matrix.'

'A double affinity for Shadowmancy, when combined with a natural affinity for Mana, and having unlocked the skill Mana Manipulation, allows for even finer control of Mana, unlocking the skill Mana Tracing. To finish our analogy, you may now design a microprocessor.'

'The Yheldaar developed these Affinities in a very particular order as they evolved and thrived on their world,' Trebor explained, 'as they had been seeded there by another species, and stories of their flight between the stars were retold to each generation.'

'As a people, they were singularly obsessed with developing the capacity for interstellar flight,' Trebor continued, 'which caused them to delve deeply into the nature and use of mana.'

"So right now," Bob said, "when I cast a spell, using our electricity analogy, what is happening."

'You are lifting a lightning rod into the very belly of a thunderstorm,' Trebor responded wryly.

'As I said, the analogy does break down,' he went on, 'but suffice to say that at the moment, you have the barest control over how your skills interact with Mana.'

"Give me an example of what I could do with these skills?" Bob asked.

'You could create multifunction permanent magical effects,' Trebor said, 'as an example, you could have tied all of the ritual magical effects within your home together and bound by certain parameters, such as your presence.'

'As of this moment, those enchantments are happily whirring along, maintaining temperature, producing water, etc., entirely unnecessarily. With these new skills, you could have them shut down when you aren't present, saving you quite a few mana crystals,' Trebor finished.

"Automated systems," Bob muttered.

'Indeed,' Trebor agreed, 'their interstellar ships were effectively giant processors running crude programs that maintained steerage, avoided or repaired any damage, and removed crew members from temporal stasis if another crew member failed to do so.'

"So in a Dungeon," Bob said slowly as his mind raced, "I could, theoretically, have in place a monster suppression system, as it were, where should the mana density exceed a certain threshold, the level could be wiped clean with Spatial Disruption."

'Yes,' Trebor responded.

"Trebor," Bob began, "with all these amazing species in the universe, why do I only see scaley dragon people and elemental wannabe's wandering around the streets?"

'Because no one knows about them,' Trebor replied, 'Please remember that your Advanced System Integration grants you a degree of access beyond that enjoyed by those who take on the role of divine beings.'

'They have user access as defined by their roles,' Trebor continued, 'whereas you have full administrative access to read the entire system.'

'So when someone here on Thayland wishes to advance to a higher tier, they are restricted to both the species they are aware of or the limited knowledge granted to the divine being they revere, which is defined by the role of that divine being.'

'From a purely technical standpoint,' Trebor said, 'you revere the System itself via your interactions with me, and thus, have no limits on your access.'

Bob shook his head and said, "Not so much revere as fear."

~ ~ ~ ~

Bob walked into the tavern carefully, his arms full of Monroe, who had decided that he didn't want to ride on his shoulders but rather that his human-servant should carry him.

Bob was incredibly grateful for his enhanced strength.

Spotting Jakob sitting at a table with Zoey, Bob headed over and claimed a free seat.

Monroe twisted and turned in his lap, ending up with his upper body draped across the table and his hindquarters on Bob's lap.

"Good morning," Bob said as he adjusted Monroe's tail, so it wasn't twitching in front of his face.

"Good morning," Zoey said cheerfully as she reached out to rub Monroe's head.

Jakob raised his mug in salute.

"Anyone seen the kid?" Bob asked as a server hurried up to the table.

"Not yet," Zoey said.

"Still a bit more than an hour until your delve," Jakob replied.

"We've either Eggs or Steak, served with fried potatoes," the server said as he accepted Bob's token.

"I'll have eggs," Bob said, "and a serving bowl of meat for Monroe here," he finished tilting his head towards Monroe, who was sprawled bonelessly as Zoey rubbed his ears, a low purr rumbling from his chest.

The server pressed Bob's token to the slate he was carrying before handing it back and hurrying to the kitchen.

"So," Jakob said, "I might have a slot for you this evening."

Bob looked up at that, his hands automatically continuing his anointed task of scratching Monroe's ruff.

"If it works out, it will be from one am until three am," Jakob warned.

"I can handle that," Bob said with a smile.

"Alright," Jakob replied, "I'll confirm it with you when you get back from Shepherding at noon."

Zoey shook her head as she scratched under Monroe's chin.

"I'm surprised that anyone would volunteer to be a Shepherd," she said, "You could have just handed her that hundred crystals you paid to register; she'd likely have had enough for to take a path then, at which point you could have just guided her through a few floors."

"I wouldn't be getting priority scheduling if I'd done that," Bob said with a smile, "and then there is the fact that I don't think that kid has any idea what delving is like," his face turned serious, "her taking a path and trying to delve with no practice using her skills is a recipe for disaster."

"In Holmstead," Bob said quietly, "we have a pair who Shepherd freshers from the first floor to the sixth."

"It gives them a chance to practice their skills so they have a handle on what they can do before they are turned loose in the Dungeon," Bob finished.

"How many deaths do you have on the fifth and sixth floors?" Jakob asked.

"None?" Bob replied, "We had someone lose an arm, and someone lost a toe, but that whole group was assigned back to the Shepherds for remedial delving."

"That's impressive," Zoey acknowledged, "we lose one in twenty on the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors of the Dungeon."

"Never the Nobles kids, though," Jakob grunted.

"No," Zoey hissed, "never them. They have retainers watching over them to make sure they don't suffer so much as a scratch until their skills are leveled, and then the retainers come right back in on the more difficult floors."

Jakob let out a sigh and waved a hand to draw Zoey's attention.

"Best to keep that tone to yourself," Jakob said quietly to Zoey before turning to Bob, "she's not wrong, though. We lose the kids whose families scraped up the crystals to get them a path but aren't Adventurers or part of a community that has Adventurers, so their kids delve blind."

"No offense to your Holmstead," Zoey said, "but we'd need twenty Shepherds to help those who need it."

Bob shrugged.

"It shouldn't be that difficult," he said confidently, "Shepherd a few the kids and charge them the minimum with the understanding that they'll push a few levels higher than they might have planned, high enough to pick up Animancy and Anima Blast."

The server arrived with Bob's meal, and conversation halted as Zoey, Jakob, and the server watched in amusement as Bob wrestled a liquid Monroe into the seat across from him, granting Bob a reprieve from lap duty and freeing the space on the table in front of him from the tyranny of his feline overlord.

The server placed Bob's plate and Monroe's bowl in front of the respective diners and paused to watch as Monroe started to delicately devour his fresh fish.

"As I was saying," Bob said, "if those kids that I Shepherd make good on their promise, and they Shepherd some more kids for an hour a day under the same agreement, before long, you've more Shepherds than you need."

He took a bite of his eggs, chewed, and swallowed before finishing, "And a whole lot fewer dead kids."