Limitless Path

The Ravager fell as Beth ruminated, carefully controlling the battle, even when it emitted its frost blast attacks. Blood wound up gaining a level of Ice Resistance after the fight, but they gained nothing else of note. It seemed the dungeon was consistent in that as well, for they were getting nothing as they progressed other than experience and the coins that a kill rewarded. Since everything was now firmly in the forties in level, they were getting double digit copper coins for every kill, ranging from a dozen to as many as forty or so. An elite like the Ravager gave nearly a silver, and with how many beasts overall they would kill to clear the dungeon, it meant a tidy little payday before whatever their end reward turned out to be.

Beth did a quick check over their stats when they stopped for their second rest, having been in the dungeon for close to twelve hours now. Since it had been a very long and arduous push since their first break, they decided to do as the last time and fully make camp and sleep for a little. They found a dead-end room that was relatively safe, had a good few ration bars and plenty of fresh water, then took turns sleeping. Beth only needed about four hours or just under to be refreshed and Blood took even less, sleeping only a little over two. They had now been in the dungeon for a little over eighteen hours, but the second long push of around eight hours had gotten them to and past the halfway mark, in Beth's estimation.

It was a little hard to tell exactly where they were, as with increased mana available, not only did the dungeon increase the level of the beasts within, but the size and complexity of the layout gradually increased. This was something they had seen in action in the two dungeons near their parents' home, and Beth suspected the kobold labyrinth had increased in size by at least a handful of percent since their last delve. It wouldn't really do too much to add to the time, but Beth was dreading an increase in the complexity, as adding more branching paths, more puzzles, or even more floors could make the place into a real nightmare to navigate.

Luckily, they didn't have to worry about much of that this time, only encountering a single puzzle, though it was different from the last they had experienced in the maze. This one was more annoying, though only because Beth had to do a bunch of grunt work to solve it. There was a single room with several blocks that needed to be pushed through channels in a specific sequence to form a line at the far end of the room. Not only was Blood not particularly good at pushing the blocks with her lack of arms, but many of the channels were frozen, requiring Beth to hack away at them with her flaming sword.

At least her companion contributed by actually solving the puzzle while Beth chopped and grumbled, grumbled and chopped. Once the paths were clear, she pushed the blocks in the order Blood told her and solved the room in only two or three minutes. After the blocks were all in their proper places, the locked door in the center of the far wall, with four blocks to each side in a neat order, unlocked with a loud *click*. Beth pushed the door open with a grumbled curse, walking toward the last part of the labyrinth while rolling her shoulders and muttering invectives.

Clearing the last section of the dungeon took about two hours, the two companions pausing to rest before confronting the boss. It was just as Beth had predicted, the same tree-trunk wielding beast as they had faced last time, now at level forty-seven instead of forty-five. The hours of grinding through the dungeon had been rather profitable for the two in terms of experience, however, as they had just gained their second level right before the boss room. This brought them up to level forty-six, just one below the boss, giving Beth quite a bit of confidence in the fight.

They engaged the boss from a position of greater strength and greater safety this time, Blood's armor from the last run giving her the ability to withstand a lot more punishment while staying in the fight. Beth was able to maneuver much better around the boss, redirecting the heavy swings of its massive weapon with both less effort and smaller motions. The ability to redirect with a small movement of her blade gave her plenty more opportunities to attack, as the fight against the Ravager had proven quite handily.

The boss was still larger and stronger than the Ravager, and a quick flick to the neck wasn't going to be as easy, or as detrimental against the beast's hardened flesh. Still, she had a clear advantage over the boss kobold, even with its almost ludicrous STR stat. That meant a fight that didn't pose quite as much challenge, and Beth and Blood steadily wore the boss down, building up damage while avoiding any heavy injuries.

Twenty minutes of calm and meticulous battle on their part, and ice-filled shrieks of rage on the boss's part, and the huge kobold fell with a satisfying slam. They didn't receive a level for that kill, of course, but it was a nice little shot of experience for them at level forty-six. Beth set to ripping apart the boss's armor to retrieve the large frost iron plates within it, only really finding value in doing so for the elites and bosses. The 'normal' enemies didn't have enough armoring in their hauberks to make it worth her time, despite how much she wanted to build up her wealth. As she finished stashing the plates in her pack, she was finally ready to accept the results of their dungeon run.

Kobold Labyrinth completed. Calculating rewards.

Labyrinth cleared in under ten natural days. Bonus points awarded.

Labyrinth cleared in under one natural day. Bonus points awarded.

Labyrinth cleared solo (Bonded companions are not counted in instance clear numbers). Bonus points awarded.

Labyrinth boss defeated as a lower level while solo. Bonus points awarded.

One elite variant enemy defeated. Bonus points awarded.

Less than seventy-five percent of dungeon traversed to reach completion. Bonus points awarded.

Calculating final score based on a matrix of variables and appending bonuses.

Calculating…

Final score calculated at a A-. Disbursing awards.

This time, a single pillar appeared in the center of the room with just one item on it. Beth raised her eyebrows as she approached, using the power of her new eyes to inspect the item as she picked it up and held it in front of her. Blood came over and sniffed the new acquisition as Beth peered at it, determining it was uninteresting after a moment. Beth glanced at the description that popped up in her view:

Token of Celestial Awakening

{Use this token to gain access to the Trial of Celestial Awakening. This Trial is intended to bring out the true strength of a novice Wayfarer, and must be undertaken before level one hundred. Inject mana into the token to begin.}

Beth gave the token a frown before shrugging and shoving it in her belt pouch. She looked over at Blood and shrugged again before leading the way out of the exit portal, stretching as they arrived back in the slightly rectangular room that the dungeon portal hovered within. Blood appeared alongside her as she stretched and shook herself out before the two moved back into the hexagonal room.

Beth, tired of being underground after twenty-four straight hours, or close to it, was ready to go, and put plan to action by walking swiftly to the main tunnel. Blood trotted along behind as they moved back to the shaft descending from the farmer's field, jogging up the ramp towards the golden-grey light of early morning. The whole expedition had taken them a little under twenty-four hours total, so it was a little earlier in the morning of the next day than when they had come down the day before. Beth did a scan of the area as they slowed at the top of the ramp, cautiously approaching ground level and surveying the surrounding area.

Having not been greeted by a new threat, nor anything else out of place, the two turned north and headed back towards the Hall. It only took a minute or two of using Swift to find the southern end of the gash Baelvyr had carved through the landscape with his immensely powerful skill of…moving at a slight jog. They used the area of flattened terrain to make an even quicker beeline back to the Hall, arriving at what would still be considered early morning.

Beth frowned as they approached the front, Blood giving a snuffling snort beside her as they slowed. There were several trucks and a jeep all parked in the parking area in front of the CRA Hall, all in camouflaged coloring, while a number of what could only be soldiers stood around them. They didn't appear to be actively hostile or on high alert, but they weren't fully relaxed, either, as they stood in several groups talking and facing the building. Beth had very little idea about military ranks, only knowing a little from video games, and that likely not being one hundred percent accurate, but she didn't see anybody with the markings or medals that would indicate a senior officer. It seemed if there were any here, they were likely inside the CRA Hall itself.

Beth wasn't really worried about the soldiers, certainly not in them posing a danger to the Enforcers in the CRA Hall, nor really to herself. She didn't know how her armor, and more importantly, her body would hold up against a pre-integration gun, but she fancied her chances a lot more than whatever soldier would try to shoot her. She did a quick check with her new eyes to get an idea of the levels she was looking at before continuing towards the front door.

Jason Smith, Level 9 Human Soldier

William Mcdough, Level 11 Human Warrior

James Longdale, Level 11 Human Soldier

Timothy Jones, Level 12 Human Warrior

Tiffany Martinez, Level 14 Human Sergeant

Beth smirked a little as she approached, seeing the only female the highest level of them all. Well, she didn't scan everyone present, but of the soldiers close to her, the female was the highest level with what was, presumably, the best class. As she drew closer, several of the soldiers moved to face her instead of the building, having already seen her and Blood approaching. One of the military personnel moved forward, clearly intent on intercepting her as he approached, putting himself in the path she and Blood were walking to the front doors.

"Ma'am, this area is off limits. You need to take your…dog and return home," said the soldier, faltering more than a little as he scrabbled to describe Blood. He also paused with his mouth open as she drew up to him, clearly thrown off by her eyes. "Oh, you're one of those aliens, huh?"

"I'm not, in fact, 'one of those aliens,'" Beth replied with an eyeroll, crossing her arms just under her breasts. While in normal clothes that might have emphasized her rather well-developed assets, in her armor it was rather less obvious, and bringing her heavy gauntlets into clear sight also made a certain impression.

"We're going to need to detain you for questioning. Apologies about the trouble," the soldier said, maintaining a calm but forced politeness as he made to step forward.

"I don't think that's gonna happen," Beth replied, holding her hand up to stop him.

"Please don't resist, ma'am. I'd prefer not to use force, particularly on a young woman."

"Before we 'use force,' how about you try using Identify, first? Unless you don't know what that is?" Beth replied with another eyeroll.

The man paused for a moment, frowning heavily but clearly taking her suggestion. She could see both the moment he read the information that the skill returned, as well as the moment that information actually fully sunk in. It wasn't just the widening of his eyes, but the bringing of his rifle around into a still loose but ready position that really clued her in.

"Um, s-sergeant, got a minute, ma’am?" he asked nervously, quickly glancing over his shoulder at the only woman present before returning his gaze to Beth and Blood. The rest of the soldiers had already started to pay her more attention when the first man had partially readied his weapon, and the sergeant walked the handful of steps over to join the conversation after the lower-ranked soldier's nervous query.

"Jones, what's the problem?" the woman, Tiffany, said in a way that made it clear it was more her giving an order than asking a simple question.

"This, uh, young woman wants to enter the building and didn't want to stop. When I noticed her eyes, I moved to detain her, but she asked my to use Identify on her first. When I did, I noticed she was in the forties in level. Even checking multiple times, I get the same result, for both her and the wolf, ma'am. I'd prefer not to escalate, at first to not hurt her, but now I'm a little more worried about me," the soldier made his report while still eyeing Beth warily.

The sergeant listened with an impassive face before turning and scrutinizing Beth with an intense gaze. After finishing examining her like a chef staring at a freshly delivered prime cut of meat, she asked, "And what, exactly are you doing here?"

"Uh, I sort of live and work here?" Beth replied, starting to tap her chin with a gauntleted left index finger, the claw tip not bothering her skin. "I was hoping to get inside without making a scene so I can take a shower. We've been underground for almost twenty-four straight hours," she said, gesturing at herself and Blood with her thumb before miming taking a whiff of herself and scrunching her nose.

"So you are one of these extraterrestrials?" the sergeant continued, giving her a frown.

"Nope, born and raised right here on Earth. Just a few miles up the road in fact."

"And how can you prove that," the soldier cut back in, also frowning at Beth.

"I don't know, I don’t have my driver's license with me. And my birth certificate is, uh, somewhere," Beth replied, frowning right back while she resumed tapping her chin.

"Well, let's see this birth certificate," the soldier persisted.

The sergeant than slapped the soldier in the back of the head, saying, "Who do you know of that carries their birth certificate around in their pocket, Jones? Why don't you let me do the talking?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jones replied, rubbing the back of his head with his left hand while still holding the grip of his rifle with his right.