Chương 107: Limitless Path Chapter One Hundred Seven

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 set her sword to the side and pulled the knife from her boot before dismantling the kobold's armor. 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 plates. 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. They even found their old friend, the Ravager, which fell as Beth focused on her sword work, 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. 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 Strength 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. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. 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 below level one hundred 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 an 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 as she 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 woman 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 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 me 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.