Monroe-Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety-Two. Growing pains.

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"Food is becoming an issue," Tyolad said bluntly.

Bob blinked. "Everyone has gardens behind their homes, don't they?" He asked.

"They do. However, we were expecting our harvest shortly before the integration. We're running dangerously low on grains, which we would have expected to have replenished," Tyolad explained.

"Well, we can turn mana crystals into food easily enough," Bob shrugged. "None of us are specialized in plant magic, so it'll be amateur hour, but that just means more crystals to fuel more rituals."

They'd been working with the Urlinad for four weeks, although the initial groups had capped their spells a week earlier. The freshers had been amazed at how much more powerful their spells were, as well as disappointed by the need to level up and allocate their skill points to increasing the level threshold.

The good news was that they'd been cleared to go into the Dungeon alone, which meant they were finally earning crystals.

Tyolad nodded. "Could you perform the ritual after the delving is done for the day? I think we would all like to see the possibility of growing food so easily."

"Sure," Bob agreed. "I can cast the ritual, and Jessica can as well. I know Wayna is working on it, but she's not quite there yet."

"It is something we must learn before you leave," Tyolad said with a huff that was the Urlinad equivalent of a sigh.

"You have eighty-two people with the Plant school," Bob shook his head. "You're not staring down the barrel of a triple affinity, so they will have more than enough skill points to pick up the Plant Growth spell as well as ritual magic."

It was Tyolad's turn to shake his head. "The number of monsters you have to kill to gain a single level in your chosen spell is almost obscene," he said.

"Well, keep in mind that we aren't limited to a single experience point for each monster," Bob smiled. "I'm not saying that you need to rush that quest, but if you'll take the advice from someone who has made that mistake, do not tier up without having completed it. Once we complete the quest and your people are settled down into the new reality, focus on it. Delving a tier above your own is where you start to find Affinity Crystals, and you've seen how powerful those are."

Tyolad nodded. "We would like for you to be there when we take our sixth levels," he began. "All of you, that is." He smiled. "Some of the younger clergy remain or have become convinced that you truly are the Avatars of our gods, and it would mean a great deal to them if you were there when they received their paths."

Bob frowned but nodded. "I might not approve, but I understand the need."

"Tonight, at the darkest hour," Tyolad said.

"So, I have an idea," Jessica smiled up at him.

"What might that be?" Bob asked suspiciously.

Jessica had a habit of suggesting things that were not only outside his comfort zone but outside the comfort zone of the rest of the group as well.

He wasn't a prude, but the topless beach day had been vetoed by everyone but Jack, who was a shameless exhibitionist anyway.

"So, I've watched you create a fair few Dungeons, but it was all before I started casting System-less magic, yeah? When I watched you cast that ritual to create the Dungeon here, I suddenly wondered to myself, if you can cast a ritual that constantly draws in ambient mana to fuel the Dungeon, why can't you cast a ritual that constantly draws in ambient mana to power a plant growth ritual? I mean, it would likely be more gradual and less instant, but I'd be super keen to see how much more quickly a garden would grow if it had that sort of ritual going, yeah?"

Bob stopped walking and cocked his head to the side. "That couldn't work, right?" He mumbled. "Someone would have been doing that already."

"Would they?" Jessica asked. "People are people, and people are lazy. We saw it in Thayland, and we saw it happening on Earth too. Give someone proper magic, and they'll use it to bludgeon every problem they see. Knowing that you can just crystal dump on a problem sort of makes it, not a problem, yeah? I was thinking about how we built the water treatment facility in Dharavi. If we could do that with water, couldn't we do the same thing with food? And then I saw the ritual for the Dungeon, and I was like, oh, that would be brilliant if we could have that power a food thing like the water thing Dharavi."

Bob listened to her explanation, nodding his head. She was absolutely right.

"Sometimes I forget just how smart you are," Bob smiled.

Jessica faked a gasp of indignation, clutching her hands to her chest. "How could you overlook my brilliance?"

"Most of the time, I'm blinded by your beauty," Bob replied as he started walking again. Leaving her behind, open-mouthed.

She quickly caught up to him. "That was very smooth. Where did that come from?" She asked with a bright smile.

"After almost four years, I'd like to think I've learned a few things from watching Dave and Amanda," Bob replied dryly.

"They're quite lovely together," Jessica said.

"They are," Bob agreed wistfully. "I'm not sure I'll ever be able to be the kind of person who can have a relationship like that, but I'd like to think I'm getting better at casual social interactions."

"You are," Jessica nodded. "And I think that eventually, you will be, or at least I hope so."

Bob shrugged uncomfortably. "We should probably just use the regular plant growth rituals for now. We can experiment on some poor soul's garden afterward."

"What's the worst that can happen?" Jessica asked. "We wind up with way more garden way more quickly than we'd planned?"

"Explosions," Bob replied, deadpan. "You have no idea how many times I've blown things, namely myself, up in the pursuit of casting System-less magic. You have a natural gift for it, and everyone else benefited from my already having learned from my mistakes, but believe me, I've cast a lot of regeneration rituals."

"We'll make sure to have them sign a waiver, yeah?" Jessica suggested. 𝘧𝑟𝓮𝓮𝓌𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝓵.𝒸ℴ𝑚

They entered the temple square that had been designated as the area where they would be growing crops, finding it changed from the day before. The stone pavers had been pulled up, and the soil beneath tilled.

"My Lord, My Lady," Tyolad bowed.

Bob suppressed the instinct to deny that title, knowing that Tyolad was only using it because they were surrounded by Urlinad, who needed to believe that the Avatars of their gods had come to their aid. He also knew that this little ritual was only going to reinforce those ideas, no matter how mistaken.

"I'm guessing you've got the field sown with seed?" Bob asked.

"We have," Tyolad replied.

"You clearly have enough people to help with the harvest," Bob muttered. "We'll rotate," Bob told Jessica. "I'll cast the first ritual, you take the second."

"Sure," she nodded, and Bob saw a silver sheen flash across her eyes as she activated her Mana Sight.

Bob walked around the edge of the field. It was one hundred feet on each side. He'd be able to complete the ritual thanks to his achievement, The Old Ways, but it would be close.

He sat down cross-legged and began the process of weaving the ritual.

Tyolad watched as Bob worked his magic.

When the human had created the Dungeon, it had been a spectacular light show, but he'd lacked the true context to understand what was happening.

To be fair, he knew that he still did, but he knew more than he had before.

He'd felt his mana filling a complex pattern as he cast his lightning blast spell, but that was nothing in comparison. It was like lines drawn in the dirt to represent a temple, and the actual temple itself.

This would solidify the divinity of the humans. They would need to cast this ritual hundreds of times to provide the food that the city of Kulaod required, and each time they did so, his people would see a palpable example of their power. That the Lord of Blight and the Lady of Light would be taking turns was too perfect.

Of course, true perfection would be having The Keeper involved, but Bob hadn't mentioned if Harv was capable of casting the ritual.

He'd seen Bob demonstrate casting magic without the aid of the System, as well as listened to him describe the utility of acquiring that proficiency.

While he had taken the Blessing of the Storm Princess, gaining access to her skill 'The Storm Builds' in an effort to ensure he had the power to defeat the monsters, he planned to take a blessing from the Lord of Blight as well. Mana sight, Bob had said, was the key to truly understanding how magic worked.

He hadn't mentioned that Mana Sight was one of the many benefits offered by venerating him, but that was to be expected. How the man had risen to be as powerful as he was while remaining so self-effacing was a mystery.

He watched as the minutes dragged on.

Tyolad knew that this ritual when worked through the System, would take a mere one hundred seconds. He was rather pleased that Bob had to cast it without the System, as it gave an air of gravitas as the energies shimmered in the air, twisting and turning as they flowed, weaving a complex tapestry of glowing power.

It took just over ten minutes for Bob to complete the ritual. When he did, the intricate pattern he'd layered over the field flashed suddenly, searing the image into the eyes of anyone watching. As he blinked, he watched as the seeds they'd planted sprouted, then grew. Quicker and quicker, the stalks reached for the sky above, then began to droop as the grains grew atop, weighing them down. In mere seconds, the field had gone from tilled and seeded soil to a field ready for harvest.

It took another few seconds before the first person roared in approval, quickly joined by the rest of the crowd. Designated harvesters rushed in and began to scythe through the grain.

Bob had said that normally, it took longer to harvest the produce than it did to finish the ritual, but Tyolad was willing to accept that he was referring to a ritual cast in one hundred seconds.

It took less than five minutes for his people to harvest the field.

Jessica circled the field, then knelt down beside it, a small pile of mana crystals held in her hands as the cables of power began to appear over the field once again, holding the promise of another harvest.

Tyolad glanced around the crowd and smiled. The nature of the pantheon was clear, as only a few had been heard whispering a prayer to the Lord of Blight, as drawing his attention was considered a mixed blessing. The Lady of Light, however, was receiving far more support as quiet prayers layered across one another.