Limitless Path

"What did you do to that second ant?" Beth asked, ignoring Kim's antics while she kept an eye on their surroundings.

"I used the skill I got with my class. I guess I needed a level in a weapon skill to use it. It's called Sweep, and lets me make a fast, controlled, sweeping cut with a weapon," Kim replied, trying to slap some of the ichor off her pants with the back of her hand.

"Nice. Make sure to monitor how much energy it uses. With how low our INT and WIS are still, we don't have much mana and it takes a long time to come back," Beth replied.

"I'll watch it, mom," Kim rolled her eyes in response.

"Back the other way," Beth commanded.

The two turned now to the east, heading back past their first group battle site. They continued on for a minute or two until they encountered their third group of two ants. Identify, handy as ever, gave the same information as per usual.

Common Ant level 1

Common Ant level 1

"Have at them then," Beth said, gesturing at the ants with the tip of her claymore.

Kim had the routine down by this point and executed a flawless approach and decapitation on the first ant. She again used her skill Sweep on ant number two, practically bisecting the creature. Another fountain of ichor gushed out to display the success of her skill use, and Kim again danced back muttering dark invectives. Beth simply motioned to her, and they again headed back to the first group kill spot.

This time, they continued their northward trajectory, heading through the woods towards the field in the distance. As they got close to the field, they noticed a solitary ant. It's slightly larger size clued Beth in and Identify gave a confirmation.

Common Ant level 2

"OK, new threat," Beth said, Kim stopping in front and turning to face her.

"Whaddya mean?" asked Kim.

"Identify," Beth commanded.

Kim turned around again and did so. "I see, level two, huh? Have you killed one?"

"Yeah, they're somewhat faster and a little bit tougher. Toughness shouldn't really be an issue, just beware of the increased speed. Oh, they also sense you a little bit farther away, five to ten feet further per level, I think," Beth explained.

"OK. Doesn't really sound too bad," Kim answered.

Kim again walked forward toward the ant, with Beth following along a few paces behind. The ant noticed her from a little further away, just as Beth had explained, but still proceeded with the exact same tactics. Kim wasn't really surprised by the speed, as it was only maybe a ten or so percent increase, still well within what she could handle. She performed the same step-in and slash as earlier; however, she had similar results as to when her footwork and body rotation were poorer. The bastard sword got stuck a little over halfway through the ant's neck; it was still enough for a fatal blow, but not quite enough for an easy decapitation.

"Not too much tougher, but it does make a difference," Kim commented, tugging her sword free. "Also, give me a second."

"What's up?" Beth asked.

"Got a level. Let me use my points," Kim responded.

"Take your time. Let me know if you need any help," Beth said, looking around to make sure nothing was approaching.

"I think I got it," Kim replied, and seemed to space out. After a minute she refocused, "Alright, I'm good."

"What'd you get?" Beth asked.

"Pumped 2 into INT. I'm super smart now," Kim replied with a big grin.

"Nice, now you and Soph can do all the thinking," Beth gave a thumbs-up.

"That girl," Kim said with a sigh. "Such a prideful little thing. I'm amazed she didn't get Pretty Princess or something for her class."

"Yeah, don't say that where she can hear. You'll get the ol' laser," Beth said, referring to their youngest sister's piercing gaze that with her light green eyes was like getting scorched by an intense laser beam.

"Yeah, yeah. Are we going to bring her training like this?" Kim asked.

"Sure, if she wants. I expect she's locked in her room, cooking up some new spell," Beth replied.

"Or just having a tea party with her plushies, talking about how much better she is than everyone," Kim retorted.

"OK, OK. She's a snob, but she's not that bad. I know the two of you are polar opposites, but you shouldn't snipe at her like that. She's more of an outcast than I am. Maybe you don't know, but without tons of friends and popularity, life can be tough. Cut her some slack," Beth scolded, her finger absent-mindedly tapping her chin.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess. She just annoys the hell outta me with that attitude," Kim grumbled.

"Part of it's her, but part of it is from her being lonely. She leans into the pride and mean comments as part of a defense mechanism. It just catches everybody around her, which is how she feels safe," Beth continued, still tapping.

"Fine. I get it. You sound like mom sometimes. I'm glad dad doesn't lecture me like this, two lectures about something are bad enough. Three would be, like, gross." Kim complained, shuddering at the end.

"Cute," Beth answered with a staid look on her face.

"What now?" Kim asked with a sigh.

"Lunch, I think," Beth responded, motioning back toward the house.

"Nice," Kim nodded, a relieved look stealing across her face.

The two turned back south and headed back to the house. When they entered the backyard, their father came out the back door and handed Beth two kits.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Weapon kits. If you're going to use those swords to fight the ants, you need to maintain them. You paid a copper for them; I doubt Mr. Jones will let them go at such a steal the next time. Better to keep the ones you have in working order for as long as possible," he responded.

Beth opened one of the kits and found cloths, two stones, several bottles of what looked like oil, and a piece of wood that looked like it could be used as a base to set the stones on. There was also a small booklet containing some basic instructions on how to use the kit to keep knives and other blades sharp.

"We'll probably need more clothes for cleaning and wiping the blades down than this," Beth said to her father, tossing the second kit to Kim.

"We have some old rags that would work, at least for the wiping clean portion," he replied, heading back inside the house.

Beth and Kim sat down at one of the two large tables they had in the backyard and got to work cleaning off the ichor and dirt from their blades. Beth's blade didn't really need much sharpening, particularly as a European style greatsword was more designed with the action of cleaving an enemy apart using weight and power. This was different from a sword like Kim's, which leaned at least somewhat more towards the actions of actually slicing apart the flesh it hit to wound or dismember the enemy.

Beth moved on fairly quickly to oiling her sword with one of the clothes and bottles of oil while Kim was looking through the instructions. Kim set up one of the whetstones as described on the base and began to run her blade over it. It made a rhythmic *Shink, Shink* sound as she did so, which was for some reason calming.

"This really seems like a lot of work," Kim grumbled as she continued to run the blade over the whetstone. "Isn't there a machine to do this?"

"Taking care of your gear is important," Beth responded. "Besides, any machine to do this would probably cost tens of thousands of dollars."

"What a pain," Kim continued grumbling as she worked the sword across the whetstone.

Their father reappeared briefly to drop a few old rags on the table they could use for the swords. He left again immediately, likely busy with trying to coordinate the wall project. Beth and Kim continued working for a few minutes until Beth finished oiling her sword and re-sheathed it. She got up and headed inside after a few minutes, luckily not having nearly as much ichor on her as Kim had. She headed into the kitchen, on the hunt for some serious food.

It was early in the afternoon, and Beth's mother was in the kitchen laying out a huge spread of food. There was a ton of chicken, huge salads, and a bunch of beans and rice. Beth started drooling, seeing the wonderful looking food while inhaling the rich scents.

"I made plenty, knowing that you would be quite hungry. They always say it's teen boys that eat without stopping, but I guess the nebulous ‘they’ didn't count on everyone fighting with swords all the time. Dig in while it's fresh," her mother commented lightly, filling a pitcher with water from the unit built into the fridge.

Beth practically leapt on the center island, piling a massive plate with chicken and beans and rice while also filling a huge bowl with salad. Filling a big glass with clean, clear water, she dug in like an excavator in a dirt pit.

"Good lord. Remember to breathe, sweetie," her mother reprimanded in an exasperated tone before going to fetch everyone else. Beth could faintly hear the entrance of the ichor-covered Kim causing some stir, but she was far too focused on inhaling good food to listen in.

At some point the rest of the family joined in at the kitchen island, which saw far more use than the table in the dining room for family meals. The dining room was a place used for holiday dinners and for gatherings of friends, not for lunch. Beth tuned it all out until her second massive plate and third bowl of salad were done. So looked up, licking her spoon clean, to see the rest of the family staring at her.

"How did you even do that?! That had to be, like, half your body weight!" cried out Sophia.

"What? I just ate lunch. I don't know what you mean," Beth replied, frowning.

"That was pretty impressive, honestly," Kim added, piling on.

"Good. That's what I was aiming for; shock and awe," Beth responded, nodding firmly.

"As marvelous as that feat was, let us move on," interjected their father. "What are you girls doing now?"

"I'm beat. I think I might lie down in the living room and sleep," answered Kim.

"Since I am not allowed to study within this household anymore, I will be in the backyard," replied Sophia haughtily.

"I'm gonna go kill ants. With a sword," Beth deadpanned.

"I'm not comfortable with you being out there alone," her mother replied.

"Relax mom. Beth can slaughter those things no problem," Kim responded to their mother with an airy wave as she left the kitchen for the living room.

"Brutes," muttered Sophia under her breath as she left through the mudroom.

"It's fine mom. I'll be back later," Beth said, following Sophia out through the mudroom.

Sophia was sitting at one of the two tables and narrowed her eyes at Beth as she exited the back door of the house. Beth slightly turned toward her and let out a huge belch.

"Barbarian," Sophia sniffed, some electricity dancing on her fingertips as she turned back to what she had been doing.

With a small chuckle, Beth moved out through the yard into the wood lot. Her goal was to roam an even greater distance to see what level the ants had further out. Beyond the wood lot was an open field that was also owned by Mr. Jones. Beyond the field were a few houses to the east off a road that was over in that direction, as well as more wooded areas scattered north and east. Beyond those areas was a large section of fields of a nearby farm. Beth didn't want to have to go all the way into the farmer's fields, but would if she had to in tracking down the ants.

Beth didn't encounter any level one ants heading north throughout the woods, but as she neared the border with the empty field, she did encounter an ant where they had killed the level two ant earlier. She used Identify on the ant.

Common Ant Level 1

It seemed that she might have been right when she theorized about some kind of dungeon or spawner producing the ants. Beth simply walked up to this ant and punched it in the head, infusing just her fist. The low-level ant's head shattered in a shower of ichor.

Common Ant Level 1 slain.

Beth dismissed the notification immediately and continued walking. She entered the field a moment later and looked around. She could see two ants in the distance, but not together. One was to her northwest, while the other stood to the northeast. They were both fairly far away, both from Beth and each other. She couldn't be totally sure from the distance she was still at, but they also looked like level two ants. She decided to cut a little east and take that ant out, as it was closer to the area that had a few houses.

She swung to the east and trotted up to the ant. A level two ant should be no problem now, so she charged up Crush in her right hand and wrist. She used Identify as she got close.

Common Ant Level 2

Just as she thought, it was a level two ant. The same dance steps she walked through with all other low-level ants played out, and in just a moment she was jogging on from another ant corpse. She continued to the north now, approaching the far edge of the field.

As she got close, she noticed two ants grouped together just outside a copse of pine trees at the edge of the field. She used Identify as soon as she was close enough.

Common Ant Level 2

Common Ant Level 2

Beth approached a little more cautiously, seeing the pattern was different than in the gate she could summon. The pattern was, in fact, inverted from the gate, with fewer, high-level ants the further on she went. That applied doubly so when she moved through copse of trees after killing the low-level ants and emerged into a farmer's field, spotting a giant ant's nest. She killed several more ants on the way to the nest before climbing a long ramp leading to the top of the nest. At the top was a level four ant which charged her, providing a bit more challenge than what she had experienced so far, but nothing that her sword wasn't able to deal with.

Common Ant Level 4 slain.

Swords Apprentice[0] acquired.

Nice! Thought Beth ecstatically. She now had two weapon skills, which had to be fairly rare and powerful this early on in a planet's integration. She was likely among the company of some martial artists as well as perhaps a few professional soldiers.