Limitless Path

There was a feeling like everything was frozen, and then the pain disappeared. Panting, Beth opened her eyes, only to see the jut of rock in the little woodlot.

Inheritance of the Silver Flame Empress Acquired

Title Silver Flame Empress Inheritor Acquired

Pain Tolerance Copper[0] Acquired

Pain Tolerance Copper[1] Acquired

Pain Tolerance Copper[2] Acquired

Pain Tolerance Copper[3] Acquired

Pain Tolerance Copper[4] Acquired

Beth stared in shock at a sea of notifications floating in front of her. She was still lightly panting, feeling the sweat coating her forehead, but it was more from the memory of the pain than from anything still being wrong with her mind or body.

As Beth was still reeling, she suddenly heard a *snik* sound. Looking to her right, she saw an ant the size of a house cat standing about twenty feet away staring at her. It was a deep brownish black in color, with a set of wicked looking 2-inch mandibles jutting from its mouth.

She looked at it intently and thought, what is that?!

Common Ant. Level 1.

Identify Copper[0] Acquired

Not now! Beth thought frantically, and all the messages seemed to disappear from her vision.

Beth turned toward the beast and took a step back. As she did so, the ant stepped forward, mandibles quivering as it stared straight at her. She knew that this could be really bad, especially after her talks with Liveria, but the last of the memories of pain seemed to fade as she suddenly became much calmer. She didn't know what was going on, but she felt like she had to fight. After all, she had just been told that the only way to really live how you want in this new world was to be strong.

Beth took a deep breath and thought back to what she could remember of the lessons she had taken when she started attending the local boxing gym. Most of what they did more closely resembled exercise courses to work on cardio and help people burn fat, but she had taken a few lessons from one of the trainers much more focused on the proper techniques of fighting. Staring hard at the ant, she slowly shifted her feet to be shoulder width apart, the left foot sliding forward and the right foot sliding slightly back and lifting the heel.

As Beth brought her hands up, two things happened. First, she realized she might not be able to actually hurt a huge ant with just her bare hands. Aren't they supposed to have shells that are hard to break when they're still tiny? She thought with some concern. Secondly, the ant seemed to have decided for some reason that fighting a human while not quite reaching that person's mid-shin would be a good tactical decision. The ant skittered forward towards Beth surprisingly quickly, its dull, waxy mandibles now making a persistent *snik snik* sound.

Beth waited, her knees bending slightly, preparing to fight. As the ant closed with her, it made a sudden jerking lunge toward her left leg. She pulled the leg, slightly pivoting on the balls of her right foot, and struck down with a straight right punch toward the top of the ant's head. The impact of the punch juddered up her arm and she felt her knuckles bruising, but she heard a slight crunch noise. This was followed by a slight hiss from the ant as it thrashed toward her. She had already withdrawn her fist, but the ant's right mandible caught the front of her right shin, tearing through her jeans and cutting through her skin.

"Ow! Damn that hurt!" Beth hissed as she hopped back, staggering slightly from the pain in her leg.

The ant skittered toward her again, but this time she was much more prepared. As it made the short lunge toward her lead leg again, she stepped to the left with her left leg and sliced her right leg forward, slamming the top of her foot into the ant's side. She immediately felt the top of her foot start to hurt and realized her right leg was really starting to suffer some damage. The ant hadn't gone flying through the air, as Beth had imagined, but it was lifted off the ground and spun almost all the way around, landing on its left side, its back facing her.

Beth quickly lunged forward, ignoring how much her leg stung, and smashed her right fist into the back of the ant's head again. There was another slight noise from the ant and it flailed weakly. Beth pulled her arm back further and as she punched down this time twisted her hips and shoulders with all the muscle her tall, slightly thin frame had to offer. As her hand impacted the back of the monster's head for the third time there was a gross *crunch* noise before the ant flopped a smidgen to the side and lay still.

Your first kill has been recorded. Leveling up to level 1.

Unarmed Apprentice[0] Acquired.

Remaining mana converted to one copper coin.

Class selection menu available.

Well, I guess I'm a…waiter? Wanderer? Or something like that now. Beth thought, but a stinging pain from the lower part of her right leg brought her out of her reverie.

She looked around and briefly at the sky, and it seemed to still be morning. Looked like the crystal really didn't take up any time, unless she had been in the trance so long it was a different day. The crystal had been gone when she woke up, and she looked around for it. She noticed after a moment what looked like glitter on the ground where she had been standing in the trance. It seemed the crystal had dissolved after she used it. At least, that's what Beth guessed had happened.

It seemed the woodlot wasn't a safe place to go for a stroll anymore, and she also wanted to see what all the messages she received were about. The class selection notification particularly piqued her interest. If this were like some kind of game now in real life, maybe she could get some awesome class like Archmage or something.

She decided it was time to head home and see if her family were all OK. She lived in the last house at the very end of the cul-de-sac that abutted the small woods, along with her parents and two younger sisters. She immediately started walking quickly through the little wood towards the back of the house. Nothing seemed broken or sprained, but she still grimaced as she headed home, the light pain from the two injuries in her leg and the throbbing of her knuckles assuring her that this was all very real.

She finally made it into her backyard and walked onto the patio, treading across the worn red stones that made up her favorite spot to eat during the warmer months. She walked up to the back door and opened it, entering a small mudroom, and started to take off her sneakers.

"Beth! Is that you?!" she heard a husky, alto voice call out.

"Yeah mom, it's me," she replied.

Her mother, Rachel, appeared in the door between the mudroom and the house the next moment. She was a tall, lithe woman with a round, pretty face containing piercing, bright green eyes, all framed by her long, silky black hair.

"Are you alright? Do you know what's happening?" her mother asked, brow slightly furrowed.

"Sorry mom, I don't know. Did you see some weird message?" Beth replied.

"Yes, we all saw it. Your father is concerned that some kind of weird technology or something is going crazy. I'm just glad you're alright. Wait, what happened to your leg?!" her mother exclaimed, looking down at Beth's ripped and bloody pant leg.

"I, uh, I fell. When the message showed up. I was looking for rocks in the wood lot and I fell and scrapped my leg. Do we have any bandages?" she responded.

"We have more than that. Come into the kitchen and sit on one of the stools. I'll get what we need."

Her mother bustled off and Beth walked out into the hall and rightward into the kitchen, a large rectangular room with cabinets and appliances all along the back and far walls. There was an island in the middle of the room with a sink in it and plenty of space on the open top. She sat down on one of the half dozen bar stools that surrounded the island and started to pull her pants leg up.

The cut from the ant was revealed, as well as the blood that had run down her leg and into her sock. Beth frowned at the wound, thinking about just how sharp that ant's mandibles had been.

"I've got some rubbing alcohol here and bandages. Sit still while I work on this," Rachel returned, bringing a few medical supplies into the kitchen. "That's a pretty large gash, you say you fell?" she asked as she applied rubbing alcohol to a cotton swab.

"Yeah, it was a rock. I tripped when-ah, that stings-when I saw the weird message," Beth answered.

"Well, you should be careful sweetie. Let me just finish this up," her mother was already done cleaning the wound and now pressed bandages over it. She sighed. "Go ahead and throw that pair of socks in the laundry room, we'll see if the wash will get that bit of blood out. I think the jeans might be a loss."

"It's just one tear mom, it's fine. I'll just change and throw them in too," Beth said, hopping up from the stool and heading towards the stairs to the second floor and her room.

"Get a cloth in your bathroom and wipe off the blood on your leg before you put new pants on!" her mother called after her.

"Blood, what blood?" A deep voice called out from the living room as she headed towards the stairs.

"It's fine dad, I just got a small cut earlier. Mom already took care of it," Beth called back before mounting the stairs.

She could imagine her father, Thomas, a middle-aged man of slightly above average height with a stocky physique, sitting in the room. He had a strong face with a square jaw and deep blue eyes topped with short cut deep brown hair. She heard him call something mild out to her in admonishment, but it wasn't loud enough to reach her as she started up the steps.

She climbed the stairs and turned left in the hallway at the top to head to her room, which sat over top of the garage. She passed the large room her parents used as an office on the way. Her sisters' rooms were directly behind her, reached by going straight from the landing at the top of the stairs to the front of the house and turning right down the hall. They shared a bathroom between them that opened into each room, and all three rooms had windows looking out into the backyard.

As she passed the door to her parents' office, she glanced inside, and saw Wiggles, the family's tabby housecat, sitting in a patch of sunlight on the floor from the front windows. She continued into her room, shutting and locking the door behind her. As soon as the door was locked, she stripped out of her bloody pants and socks, careful of the bandage, and headed left into the small bathroom that opened solely to her room.

She took out a washcloth from a small stack in the cabinet across from the door and stepped over to her right to the shower stall. She turned on the shower, the large shower head in the ceiling of the big square stall starting to pour out water, and soaked the cloth in the water. She then stuck her right leg in the shower area and proceeded to wipe off the blood below the bandage. Afterwards, she dried her leg off and headed out into her room, where she grabbed fresh socks and jeans from the closet across from the bathroom and dressed. Afterwards, she walked to the far back corner of the room where her bed was placed and sat down on it.

Now, time to see what all these messages and things mean. She thought, pulling up the message about the Silver Empress.

Inheritance of the Silver Flame Empress

{You have become the Inheritor of Liveria Sophia Amara Yenllewen, the Silver Flame Empress. You inherit her legacy, much of the knowledge and skill she possessed now residing in your mind.}

OK, so she downloaded stuff into my brain. Great, I've got a ghost's memories now or something. Next. Thought Beth with a tinge of exasperation.

Pain Tolerance Copper[4]

{The ability to tolerate pain. Higher ranks lessen the effect of pain on the body and mind.}

Well, good. I guess getting hurt doesn't hurt as much? Beth thought. Next.

Identify Copper[0]

{Allows for identification of basic information of a target. Higher tiers will yield more information.}

OK, an ID skill. Not bad, but looks like a common one everyone gets. Maybe I can get something better or upgrade it later. Next. Beth thought.

Your first kill has been recorded. Leveling up to level 1.

OK, got a kill and leveled up. What's my Status Screen look like now. Beth wondered. Status Screen.

Name

Elizabeth Anne Bell

Class

Pending

Level

1

Strength

5

Dexterity

6

Endurance

4

Intelligence

8

Wisdom

7

Free Points

2

Titles

Silver Flame Empress Inheritor

Skills

Ancient World Gate[0]

Identify Copper[0]

Pain Tolerance Copper[4]

Unarmed Apprentice[0]

Wealth

1c

Wow, I'm super rich. A whole copper coin. She thought with a small giggle. Looks like it really is like a game, I got some stat points I can spend for leveling up. Wonder if I can see what the stats are. Beth focused on the stats in the screen and new windows popped up.

Strength

{Determines your physical strength, including how much you can lift, how hard you can strike, and has a slight effect on the toughness of your body.}

Dexterity

{Determines your physical speed, flexibility, and fine motor control.}

Endurance

{Determines the toughness and resilience of your body. Also has a major correlation to bodily energy and how long one may perform certain activities, go without rest, and offers slight resistance to draining effects.}

Intelligence

{Determines one's ability to retain information and perform calculations. Also affects one's magical reserves and strength of cast spells.}

Wisdom

{Determines one's understanding of various concepts and ability to make difficult decisions. Also affects the rate of regeneration of mana in one's magical reserve and the resistance of one to mental influence and negative affectations.}

Well, I live in a video game now. These stats are pretty much what I thought. STR for, well, strength. DEX for speed and control of the body. END for toughness and stamina. INT for smarts and magic casting. WIS for…I guess problem solving. And also resisting bad magic...mind magic maybe? Beth thought as she analyzed the basic stats.