Monroe
Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Three. Preparing for the wave.

Eddi looked out over the full might of the Endless and smiled. Sure, other paths were flashier, and the truth was they really did need to alternate into Curators, but the Path of The Endless Swarm offered a degree of safety while still making a huge impact that no other path could match.

They'd shown their worth during the last wave, but tonight they'd show the entire kingdom what was possible.

"This is the night of the spring wave," Eddi boomed out, noting with pleasure as the whispers amongst the crowd instantly quieted. "We've been diligent in our preparations, spending long hours perfecting our skills, PUTTING IN THE WORK!"

The crowd cheered at the last, and Eddi let them carry on for a moment.

"We've spent our time well locating our assigned towns and villages, and tonight we prove to the world that wherever the citizens of Greenwold dwell, an Endless Tower should be found! No matter how small the settlement, on this night, this wave, the Endless will stand surety that no lives will be lost!" Eddi roared.

Pointing his staff at the doors of the chamber, he finished, "Now let's move!"

The cheering crowd emptied out of the chamber in a rush, three hundred people heading out to defend sixty-seven cities.

Well, not all of them were cities. There were eight villages with Dungeons barely ten floors deep and populations of less than fifty. In those places, people retreated to the Adventurers Guild and let the Guild Leader and the rest of the founders handle the wave. In those places, a single member of the Endless at the tier cap would make all the difference in the world.

Eddi leaned back as Wayna wrapped her arms around him. "Tonight's going to go perfectly," she reassured him.

Eddi closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath as her arms eased the tension away. "I hope so," he murmured, "I'm a little worried about the people who are only level fifteen."

Wayna gave him a squeeze. "They'll be fine, they know how to work together, and honestly, it's a wave, not a tide - they all have their mana-infused creature spell as high as they can get it, which is what, level thirty-one?"

"True," Eddi admitted.

"Come on," she turned him around and kissed him gently, "let's go make sure Jack's theater is walled up," she grinned mischievously, "wouldn't want you to miss your movies because the place got wrecked."

Mike reassembled his rifle methodically. Bob had indicated that the wave would arrive sometime tonight, and he would be on the wall. Bob had suggested that everyone working on the fifteenth floor advance to level fifteen so that another shift could do the same. The Path of the Archer granted the Persistent Effect skill at level fifteen, and he'd just finished throwing a few thousand rounds of summoned ammunition downrange. It turned out that Summon Mana-Infused Object when combined with Barrage, did allow them to summon full magazines, although that appeared to be as far as the skill was willing to go. Apparently, it considered a magazine similar to a quiver.

Sadly, he could only keep four persistent effects active at a time, but they would provide a safety net of sorts, as the rest of the time he'd be using an Effect Over Time, Barraged, Summon Mana-Infused Weapon spell to bring out a magazine every time he emptied one. Bob hadn't minded handing over a Summoning Affinity Crystal to each Marine, indicating that the Endless kids had provided him with a thousand of them, and Mike was grateful. When he'd first started using his summoned ammunition, it had sucked. It barely made it out of the barrel, and they hit more like bean bag rounds. The ten level bonus to the cap of the spell had kicked in, though, and when combined with the additional twenty-five percent bonus he'd gained from reaching level five in the Summoning school, his spell was capped at thirty-one. The ammunition summoned with an Effect Over Time Barrage was entirely satisfactory.

The persistent effect ammunition was still a little light, but it was better than resorting to bayonets. More than anything else, it was the ranged weapon skill that impressed him the most. He'd never been an exceptional rifleman, but now he'd easily make expert. When he fired his rifle, he could feel his energy flowing into the weapon, enhancing the power of each shot. He'd had the barrel inspected by an armorer back on Earth, but it wasn't suffering from the experience. That was to say nothing of the other skills he'd picked up. Summon Mana-Infused Object had been a no-brainer, having heard Bob sing its praises. The man had yet to be wrong, which was a little bit irritating. That one skill replaced ninety percent of his loadout.

Mike sighed and stood up, stretching. Bob had told him to liaise with Annisa in regards to healing stations. Without any Corpsman, they'd be relying on the Church of Vi'Radia to handle the casualties. The truth was that magical healing beat the hell out of a tourniquet and a compress, but it still meant dealing with her.

It wouldn't be so bad if she didn't make him feel like a horny fourteen-year-old at a strip club.

"We don't turn down anyone who wants to help," Thidwell rumbled as he looked over the men and women gathered in his office, "but we probably have it handled."

The leaders, Dave and Amanda, if he recalled correctly, exchanged glances. "Even if you just have us staffing the healing tents or running messages, we'd still like to help," Dave said.

"The Marines in Glacier Valley have trained together for years, and we'd only be in their way," Amanda added, "but we don't want to sit around when the monsters come, we want to fight, and if there isn't room on the wall for us to do that, we'll take whatever task you have for us."

Thidwell leaned back in his chair, looking the group over. They looked the part of Adventurers, wearing armor from Nikki's and carrying staves from Joseph's. Dave had opened the conversation by stating that they were all level fifteen, following the path of the Endless Swarm.

Eddi had confirmed that the Endless would have a tier capped member at each of the eight points tonight, but having another half a dozen Endless on the wall wouldn't hurt.

"I normally wouldn't trust people I don't know with the lives of my citizens," Thidwell began scowling at them before softening his gaze, "however, Bob has become more than a citizen of Holmstead; he's one of our Heroes." He paused to judge their reactions. These were the people at the crest of the wave, racing forward to advance their levels. They represented an unknown and unaligned force. Linking their acceptance to Bob's heroics would lead them to continue to accept Bob's view of Thayland, including Bob's view of Thidwell.

"I'll accept your assistance, as you come recommended by him," Thidwell stated. "You'll stay here in Holmstead; when you hear the warning bell, you'll need to be in the plaza within five minutes for your assignments."

Dave and Amanda both nodded, ushering their group out, although not before Jack tossed him a saucy wink.

Thidwell snorted after the door closed. He was better prepared for this wave than he'd ever been before. Between the Endless on the walls and the Elemental Conjurers in the Dungeon, he had more power deployed than he'd had for the last tide.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to check the walls one more time, although that bastard Wallenstair had delivered a short, concise report earlier in the day detailing the state of them. He was still waiting for the man to start acting like Noble asshole Thidwell knew he was.

"Are you sure?" Jessica asked, looking around at her mates to see how they felt about the idea.

"It's an opportunity you might not see again, at least not for a while," Bob replied. "All of the Marines have stood down for the day, save for those pushing through the fifteenth floor for a few more hours, as they're just looking to take that level and gain the persistent effect skill." S~ᴇaʀᴄh the NʘvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"While you shouldn't make a habit of delving too deeply for too long, today and tonight are a rare opportunity for you to rush a few levels before nine thousand Marines arrive tomorrow," Bob sighed heavily. "Mike warned me that while they'd appreciate my continuing efforts to drive the Dungeon deeper, the Marines will be taking over the day-to-day operations of assigning shifts and collecting crystals."

"I've asked Nora to watch over you; she'll make sure you don't get in over your heads," Bob nodded to the young woman beside him.

Jessica couldn't miss the way Nora's face lit up when Bob expressed his confidence in her, nor did she fail to notice the way the girl tracked Bob's every move. She would have suspected Bob of playing with the girl's affections were he not so blatantly oblivious to the entire thing.

She'd tried to catch his eye earlier that day after breakfast, but he was the most unassuming bloke she'd ever encountered. It was like he didn't even know how handsome he was.

"I'm all for it," Blue was the first to speak. "it sounds like the yanks are going to get a bit crook, so we should get in while we still can."

One by one, the rest of her mates nodded. Jessica sighed. "I have to agree, but this was supposed to be a vacation, yeah?"

"Fuck, we'll be spending the next couple of days getting pissed and playing D&D, won't be able to delve," Danny replied with a grin.

Jessica knew from experience that the diminutive brunette could drink everyone but Shiela under the table.

"That's sorted then," she said, looking at Bob, then Nora, "any reason not to start now?"

Lt. Colonel Leonard Smith looked over the sand table with an approving nod. He had more than enough men to ensure that an assault from any angle would encounter withering fire. If the intelligence provided by the locals was accurate, they'd be looking at an assault lasting between half an hour and an hour, with an unending stream of hostiles.

He would have been more concerned if he hadn't spent several days in the Dungeon, killing monsters to level up. Leonard shook his head. If someone had told him two weeks ago that he'd be in command of two thousand Marines on an alien world, defending a beachhead against monsters, he'd have thought them insane. He still hadn't managed to track down Whitman and apologize.

It was clear the man had taken the conversation that evening seriously, even personally, and was making an active effort to avoid him. While Leonard would normally approve of that sort of conflict avoidance when men were forced by circumstances beyond their control to exist within each other's spheres of awareness, it was damned inconvenient when he wanted to talk to him. Hanson had served as a go-between, exhibiting a deft touch that was further showcased by his attendance to the Secretary of Defense. If Leonard had any say in the matter, Hanson would be re-enlisted, preferably as a Gunnery Seargent.

He allowed himself a chuckle as he recalled witnessing the poor man being waylaid by that priestess, Annisa. Hanson might not see it, but having been the object of a determined pursuit by his wife, Leonard recognized a woman on a mission. He wasn't sure if she was recruiting for her church or looking for a man, but either way, Hanson's attempts to avoid her attention offered numerous opportunities for humor.

He looked over the table one more time, allowing a frown to cross his features as he noted the small green flags that represented The Endless. He wasn't a fan of child soldiers, and it was hard to classify those kids as anything else. Most of them weren't old enough to enlist, which to him meant they weren't old enough to fight. His gaze shifted to the small green stones that littered the area outside the walls. Each of them apparently commanded several fireteams worth of monsters of their own, and they'd listened attentively enough when he'd explained lanes of fire and how it would be best if they kept their summoned monsters out of them. He wasn't sure how much hope he held for that outcome, but the kids could just resummon them if they were taken out by friendly fire.

He turned from the table and walked out into the sunlight, marveling again at how easily every movement came to him. It had taken a few days to adjust, and he still wasn't happy about how they'd used that magic on him without explaining it first, but he'd come to realize that a lot of his acceptance of his rapidly approaching death had come from a place of loneliness and pain. He still missed his wife every day, but being surrounded by Marines, working towards ensuring his country's survival alleviated that quite a bit. She'd still be waiting for him when his time came, and in the meantime these men had desperately needed an officer to lead them. And, the pain was gone. He hadn't even realized how accustomed he'd become to spending every day with constant aching pain, punctuated with occasional sharp jabs of agony.

Getting old really was hell. He shook his head and strode over toward the temple. Bob had suggested that he request some 'light orbs' to illuminate the battlefield.

Kellan winged over Twin Oaks, invisible to his subjects as he inspected their defenses prior to the upcoming wave.

A village with a traditional dig and drop Dungeon that was barely ten floors deep, it boasted a population of sixty. Without a wall, the people took shelter in the Adventurers Guild while the founders fought from the top of it.

This type of arrangement normally worked well enough, unless two particularly large monsters appeared at once, at which point losses were inevitable. They just didn't have the combat strength to handle it.

Today, like all the other towns and villages he'd visited unseen, a new element had appeared. Young men and women, all at the peak of tier five, had arrived, taking up position atop the Adventurers Guild and ringing it in their summoned monsters. Each one of them wore a black cloak emblazoned with a silver tower on the back. He'd immediately recognized the path of the Endless Swarm as detailed in Bob's pamphlets being used in conjunction with a Summoning Affinity Crystal. A bit of eavesdropping informed him that 'The Endless' as they styled themselves, were moving beyond Holmstead, offering to protect the smaller towns and villages, all in the name of their guild and their savior/mascot, Bob 'The Reef' Whitman.

They seemed to be full of idealistic vigor and zeal, intent on protecting the people of Greenwold and proving themselves.

As Kellan winged away, his face was split in a draconic grin. They already revered Bob, and Bob would need underlings to conduct the business he'd been assigned. The Endless would slot nicely into that role.

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