Limitless Path

They headed down to the kobold mines the next day, taking the lefthand branch again to look for beasts to kill. They found that most of the kobolds had respawned and spent the rest of the day raising the lower-leveled girls overall levels. They managed to get them up to level twenty-two before they stopped for the day and headed back to the CRA Hall.

The next three days repeated the pattern, as the girls handled the dungeons by the development and Beth spent time training and smithing before they all went to the kobold mines again. Beth was getting a little antsy, but knowing she had centuries of life before her, and that her training was really increasing her strength, helped keep her from rash decisions. That said, she was planning her next expedition into the labyrinth with Blood, ready to check and see if her assumptions about even that dungeon increasing in level were correct.

The next day, when the others went to do their dungeon sweeps, Beth made sure her and Blood were all stocked up for another run of the labyrinth. Depending on how much the level had changed, the two of them might be able to get through the whole thing in less than a day. She had informed Sabs of her plan and also stopped by the lounge to let Baelvyr know where she was at before heading out, Blood trailing behind. She had to say, in the grey pre-dawn light, the wolf looked exceptionally good with her new armor-plated harness, the dark blue of the frost iron actually blending well with her bloody fur to give her a more menacing air.

The two made their way down to the kobold area before heading down the righthand tunnel. Beth decided on a quick stop along their path, heading back to the armory where they had encountered the kobold hulk previously. They took the same hallway that Beth remembered from what was now weeks ago, heading towards the armory with a quick step. They found the larger hallway that she remembered, with the offices off to the sides, and the great, blackened steel doors looming in the distance.

She approached cautiously, having learned her lesson from this encounter. Even if it was ten or more levels lower than her, if a beast hit her in the head or neck, it would be bad. Her new helmet meant it certainly wouldn't be fatal, but having her brain-cage rattled by a powerful strike from a large weapon or limb was not how she wanted her day to start.

The caution was well warranted, as there was a shriek just as Blood approached the doors. The wolf darted back with a lithe grace, distancing herself from the opening just before a truly massive kobold stomped out of the double-doors. The thing was almost as tall as the labyrinth boss and maybe a third again as wide, taking up a considerable portion of the doorway as it passed through. In its right hand was firmly grasped a massive maul with a huge, blocky head made of what looked like ice-veined stone. The weapon had to weigh two hundred pounds if it was an ounce, and the beast proved its strength by swinging it with just the one arm so fast it made a whistling noise as it split the air.

Beth drew her sword in a single fluid motion, assuming a ready stance as Blood moved back and to the right, getting ready to circle the enemy. The kobold had glanced at the wolf when she was front and center but, as soon as she removed herself from directly in front of it, the beast immediately locked on Beth and approached her. It didn't sprint, but its long legs combined with its high STR let it devour the remaining distance between them in just a second. It swung the maul again as it closed, the hammerhead hurtling towards Beth's torso with impressive force. She calmly stepped back as she used her upgraded eyes to analyze the beast, noting it was a concentrated source of cold as she glanced at its level.

Level 33 Kobold Frozen Crusher

Well, Beth wasn't entirely sure what a Frozen Crusher was, but the beast's appearance, temperature, and weapon choice weren't exactly hiding anything. She stepped back and to the side again, using her blade to counter the second swing of the massive beast, slightly surprised at just how easily she was able to apply her experience from previous fights and Baelvyr's new teachings. It also helped that, even though the beast was clearly focused primarily on STR and second on END, she and Blood were just too high level. Beth was pretty sure even Blood's STR stat was a match for the beast, let alone her slightly inflated number.

There was no such thing as level suppression in the Limitless Path, something that some video games she had played used. It was a way to keep players from going to certain places before the developers thought they were ready, making high level enemies have either dodging or defensive capabilities that were extra powerful against low level players. While Beth's eleven level advantage wasn't suppressing the kobold, what mattered on the path were stats and skill levels. Beth's stats were higher and, though it used a massive weapon with some impressive alacrity, the kobold was nowhere near Journeyman in a single weaponskill, let alone two. Of course, Beth had started to suspect that many things changed at level one hundred from all the hints she was getting, let alone whatever a Mana Physique added to the equation by the time she got to ten rebirths, but those were worries for later.

For now, she shook herself out of the reverie, smirking a little at the fact she could daydream while facing such a powerful beast without having to sweat. It showed her that she was making a good deal of progress, even if it sometimes felt like she was treading water. She moved from a more passive defense to actively acting as she thought about her progress, redirecting a blow from the maul as she twisted her blade at the same time to easily slide it along the length of the haft. This massive kobold was wearing the typical armored hauberk a lot of the elites and higher level members of its species were given as beasts, but it still wore no leg, arm, or head protection. The hauberk also didn't really cover the neck, allowing Beth's strike to slip up off the maul's long handle and dart to the beast's throat, viper-like in the movement despite her weapon of choice being a greatsword.

The kobold attempted to shift as it realized what was happening, but its intelligence and skill were both clearly lacking. Such attacks and counters already happen in partial seconds when fighting at a standard human level, but with stats now breaking into the triple digits, such series of movements were measured in just one- or two-tenths of a second. The kobold did manage to keep its throat from getting chopped apart, but it was still left with a nasty wound on the right side of its neck that poured blood.

Just as its mouth was opening to let loose a terrible shriek, Blood slammed into the beast's back with a massive tackle while at the same time, Beth let go of her sword with her left hand and punched the opponent straight in the face. She burst Crush through her fist right before it made contact, dealing even more damage to the staggered beast and disorientating it further. She pressed the attack as it staggered, seemingly haven bitten its own tongue at the sudden series of powerful forces applied as it opened its mouth. Beth's sword clipped its neck again as she swung one-handed while the beast staggered, opening a further wound that seeped bluish blood.

The beast recovered for a moment and took its maul in both hands, swinging it horizontally in a powerful blow that screamed through the air towards Beth's head. She almost scoffed at the attempt, simply ducking the swipe and allowing the maul to tear through empty air above her head. As the maul passed, she started a step forward with her right foot, moving in response so quickly that her shoulder came within an inch of the haft as she straightened and moved toward the kobold. At the same moment, Blood moved in and grabbed the beast's right leg, clamping it in her jaw and pulling back with all her strength. The kobold fell forward, right onto the point of Beth's sword as she executed a textbook lunge, slamming her blade into the creature's neck and up through its skull.

Her blade was large enough she nearly severed the beast's neck with the thrust, and she knew it was dead as she received the notification from the Path. She pulled her blade back with a sharp tug, freeing it from the creature's neck with a gory squelch, before shaking the blood off. She didn't put the blade away just yet, grumbling that she should have thought to get a dagger as she set it to the hauberk, beginning to sloppily dismantle it. She was after the frost iron plates within the armor, stacking them up before placing them in her expanded backpack. While the kobold hadn't really been much of a challenge, nor rewarded any noticeable experience, it had still provided the first bounty of day in the form of well over a hundred of the valuable metal.

Once Beth had dismantled the armor and stashed the plates, she followed Blood into the armory, knowing it was safe as the wolf had sent her a message saying it was empty of beasts. The two of them swept the shelves in the center area, Beth quickly glancing at the weapon racks and armor stands around the walls to see them all empty. They found very little today, Beth unsure if that was because there hadn't been enough time, or if their bountiful finds the first time through had been because they were first.

They did net a few handfuls of silver coins and a couple bottles that looked like cheap health potions, though Beth would have the ever surly Jaq look at them. Otherwise, they found a single ingot of mana steel, Beth estimating it was about the quality of those in the chest in her room. They stashed the little bit of loot in Beth's pack other than the coins, which went into her status screen, and moved back out to the main tunnel before turning down towards the large cavern at the end and the labyrinth beyond.

Just as before, the large hexagonal room at the bottom of this tunnel didn't have any beasts within and was also pitch black. Considering it took less than a trickle of mana to light the lamps, Beth proceeded with doing that first, lighting the cavern quite nicely. Considering she expected them to be out of the dungeon in less than two days, maybe even quicker than that, she thought it nice to give them some added light for when they returned. She was a little tempted to check the side areas, but she didn't want to spend a couple hours running around looking for any small amount of loot that might be present.

They moved to the doorway opposite the main tunnel, heading down the short tunnel to finally arrive in the room containing the labyrinth portal. Beth took a minute to inspect the room and the portal itself before they stepped inside. The description of the dungeon hadn't changed since the last time she checked, and it didn't give an indication of the level of the beasts within. She would have to ask someone about that; maybe getting an Identify-type skill to silver or some such would provide more information.

Giving her head a quick shake to clear her thoughts, she checked to make sure Blood was ready to go before stepping into the portal alongside the wolf. The two found themselves in the same room as a few weeks ago, a slightly large stone cube with rough floor and walls. There was again only one tunnel leading out of the room directly ahead of them, and they didn't wait around to see if anything would come to them. Moving down the tunnel at a quick but steady clip, it took very little time for them to come to the first room. The layout of the room was different only in that the two openings leading into further tunnels were in different positions, Beth suspecting that the whole layout had changed, but otherwise everything was the same.

Everything, that is, except for the levels of the beasts. There were still three kobolds in the room, even being of the same classes and types as last time, but all three now started at level forty, two levels higher than the initial group had been last time. Beth wasn't sure if the ranges were set, something they would have to discover, but last time the boss was seven levels higher than the first enemies. If this pattern was the same, they could expect the boss to be around level forty-seven, something they could probably handle as-is, but Beth expected to likely get two more levels while they navigated the maze to reach the end.

After confirming the number and strength of enemies, the two cleared the room rather adroitly. The biggest difference overall, other than their increased levels compared to last time, were Beth's weaponskills. They allowed her to overwhelm the rather poorly skilled opponents they were pitted against even more easily, making the fights something of a joke to her. She still took it seriously and used the battles as an opportunity to train, considering how Baelvyr had lectured her extensively on everything being a chance to learn while she fought.

They cleared room after room with ease, even finding their old friend the Ravager after their first rest, about four hours into their delve. They took their time as they fought, Beth more worried about stupid mistakes leading to heavy injuries over clearing the dungeon quickly. Having a number of health potions combined with their regeneration skills meant that something not immediately lethal would almost guaranteed be survivable, but it would hurt, slow them down, and might leave some lasting damage they would need further treatment for. Beth didn't really care about acquiring a few new scars, but if either of them developed scarring anywhere other than the skin, they would need to use potions, a healer, or advanced medical technologies to clear it up.