Chương 117: Limitless Path Chapter One Hundred Forty-Two

"And what's the average stage that people fail at, if you don't mind?"

"Oh, not at all," the angel replied warmly.

"We see a majority of Trial Takers fail out somewhere between stage fourteen and eighteen. Anything less than stage fourteen is considered a little too poor a performance to take note of, while anything over stage eighteen is considered quite good. Anything beyond stage twenty-three is considered exceptional, and anything beyond stage twenty-seven is considered a legendary achievement."

"And finally, for the best part; can you give us an idea of what rewards are up for grabs here?" Beth asked.

"Of course," Aytasha replied, still smiling broadly. She somehow made the gesture seem warm and natural no matter how much she did it, not looking like it was in any way false.

"While I mentioned the trials are simulated, in a manner, the rewards you get from things like beast and monster kills are very real. Given that you are currently just under level fifty, you should expect to hit level one hundred for the first time with even a fairly mediocre performance. If you perform well, you could progress a significant amount of the way to level two hundred, which is obviously quite a boon.

"On top of that, what you were likely really interested in are the possible rewards depending on your stages cleared. The least of these are weapons, armor, and other equipment worth several platinum. The better you perform, the greater the worth of these items, all the way up to the point of unique skills or abilities that are, essentially, priceless.

Skills of tier five or higher that include a full guide on how to successfully overcome every barrier between ranks, even the wall that separate diamond from mithril rank."

"This sounds crazy," Beth replied, eyes a little wide as she sat back in her chair.

"How can your faction, or whoever's faction, pay for this? I don't have to pay anything, for any of it?"

"There are a couple ways that we make up the money," Aytasha replied as her face adopted a more serious expression, brows drawn together and a slight frown on her lovely lips.

"The first should be rather obvious; we make offers of recruitment to promising talents that are able to get to rather high stages. We've been able to scout a huge number of exceptional talents over the many millennia we've run the trial, some of whom are even now senior elders in our faction.

"The second method is that we accept donations for the specific purpose of Trial rewards. Many who have taken the Trial over the ages who did not join our faction still contributed greatly to the rewards and maintenance of the Trial. Such donations are always a big help, especially when you run one of the premier Trials in the known universe.

"Lastly, and I can say this in no other way than it sounding like a brag; our faction is one of the preeminent factions of this universe. Few others can boast our power and wealth, and this Trial is a way to utilize that wealth not only to recruit top talents, but to give future powerhouses an early boost that can sometimes be the difference between eventual greatness and an early grave.

We must always remember that the true enemies of the sapient peoples, at the end of the day, are the endless hordes of beasts and monsters that constantly threaten to overwhelm civilization. Many galaxies are a handful of bad days away from complete catastrophe; empowering even a couple of their future champions can tip the scales back in our favor at a critical moment."

"That was both well explained and refreshingly honest," Beth said.

"Not that I've dealt with much dishonesty so far, considering I spend most of my time with senior CRA Enforcers."

"Ah, a future Enforcer yourself, I take it?" Aytasha asked.

"That's the plan, currently," Beth nodded in response.

"I plan on getting my Silver Emblem as soon as I can after this trial, and then spending a few years pushing on to Gold."

"We will likely make you a very lucrative offer at the end of the Trial, depending on your performance, but do not feel pressured to take it. The CRA can always use more members with the power and skill to reach the ranks of the senior emblems."

"Thanks for the information and the understanding," Beth replied with another nod.

"If you need anything else, please contact me immediately. I'll give you my communicator link," Aytasha said as she made to stand.

"Ah, like, that might be a problem," Beth replied, shuffling her feet as she looked down briefly, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Ah, my apologies, is your communicator private?" Aytasha asked.

"Uh, no," Beth said, taking a deep breath.

"You see, I'm from a, uh, 'new' world, and I don't have a communicator. At least not in the way you're talking about."

"Oh my, I see," Aytasha replied, putting her hand to her mouth briefly before giving Beth a small bow.

"Give me one moment." The angel strode over to the door and left quickly, disappearing down the hallway. It wasn't more than a single minute later, Beth sitting back with Blood in the living room in the meantime, that there was a knock at the door, Beth getting up to see Aytasha waiting. The angel simply handed a small cube to Beth with a gentle smile, laughing slightly as Beth turned the cube over in her hands with a frown.

"What, ah, exactly is this?" Beth asked, looking at the angel with a furrowed brow.

"It's a communicator, my dear," the angel answered with a laugh.

"Push mana into it." Stolen novel; please report. Beth did as instructed and felt a connection form with the object immediately, allowing her to pull up something that resembled a holographic interface in her vision. She somehow instinctively understood the operations of the device and, with a thought, the cube disappeared, sinking into her mana pool with some mind-boggling method.

"That's super trippy," Beth said, looking at her empty hand before glancing down at herself, looking around as if she would see the little red and gold cube attached to her body somewhere.

"Here," Aytasha said, holding her hand out. Beth reached her own hand out and Aytasha gently clasped it, a tiny warmth darting between them. Beth was able to pull up a small list in her vision that now had one name in it; Aytasha Seytaal.

"Thank you so much," Beth said, wondering if Jaq would have an apoplexy when he learned he lost out on scamming her out of dozens or more golds for one of the little devices.

"Of course; a small thing," Aytasha replied with a smile.

"Sorry, but can I try calling you?" Beth asked suddenly, wanting to test the device.

"Go ahead." Beth simply had to think about the list and it appeared, selecting Aytasha's name and thinking of calling her. The 'phone' rang for a moment before Aytasha answered, a small holographic image of her shoulders and head appearing in the corner of Beth's vision. The image of Aytasha said "hello" while the actual Aytasha said nothing. Beth asked, "So you don't have to speak?"

"Not at all," the Aytasha image replied.

"You can sub-vocalize or even just think what you want to say into the call and it will be said. I'm not sure what exact level of technology your world was at, but there are numerous other features such as multi-way calling where you can add large numbers of people to the same call."

"I got it," Beth said, pulling her phone out of her belt pouch to show Aytasha.

"We did have decent communicators before the change, devices with touchscreens and tons of functions, so this shouldn't be too much different."

"Of course," said Aytasha with her normal voice, disconnecting the call.

"If you need anything else, please let me know."

"Ah, sorry to ask this, but what about a communicator for my companion?" Beth asked, indicating Blood.

"Best to wait until you both hit level one hundred."

"Everyone keeps telling me that; not really sure why though," Beth said, tapping her chin.

"Ah, they've been holding it a surprise. Well, I won't ruin it, but you should easily be able to get to one hundred during your time here, at which point I would be happy to provide her a communicator."

"Again, thanks so much," Beth said, smiling at the angelic woman.

"Is there anything else?" Aytasha asked again with a warm smile.

"Ah, two other things, real quick. How long do we have until we have to start the first stage? And, can you give us any idea of what the stages are like?"

"As to the first question, you can take up to two full days before starting your run of the trial," Aytasha answered.

"As to the second question, the initial few stages are always very similar, though they will often vary after stage five depending on the participant and a number of related factors. Stage one is likely the easiest and simplest: defeat one hundred enemies."

"Oh, we did a trial like that before," Beth said, frowning slightly and giving a light sigh.

"Ah, you must have found an Endless Trial, one of the easier versions. Unlike that trial, the enemies in our first stage are not limited to small group combat. If you're not careful, you could antagonize all one hundred enemies at once, which would prove rather challenging."

"Oh, I see," Beth replied, perking up a little.

"I can explain some of the other early stages, if you would like, or if there's anything else you need…" Aytasha trailed off.

"No, thank you," Beth replied calmly.

"I think we'll wander around a little and get familiar with the area before we do stage one."

"Very well," Aytasha replied with a genuine smile.

"Do not hesitate to call me if you require anything." With that, the angelic woman bowed deeply before turning and exiting the room. Beth and Blood waited a moment before stepping out the door themselves. They found themselves in a massive hallway with a wide, heavy carpet runner down the entire length. The walls and ceiling were pure white while the smooth, polished floor was a deep brown with seems of silver and gold.

The carpet was black with red and golden accents and Beth could tell, by the way her boots sank in slightly with every step, that it was very soft. They walked down the opulent hallway, noting doors similar to their own spread out along both sides of the hall, each numbered with a small plaque. They were in room 125, not that Beth really needed to take particular attention with how good her memory was now. She could remember where the room was down to the precise distances, but the numbering was a nice assurance.

The hallway eventually opened up into a massive atrium that was over a hundred feet wide and two hundred long, the floor, walls, and ceiling all made of the same materials as the hallways. There were several counters around the edge of the room, and a huge number of seating areas in several different configurations scattered all about. Beth and Blood paused to take everything in, Beth noting half-a-dozen other hallways leading off to various other parts of the apparently massive structure they were in.

There were several people behind the counters in a similar dress to Aytasha, Beth assuming they were workers of the place, while the rest of the area was empty. She led Blood over to the nearest counter where a tall woman with a single pair of angel wings was standing with her hands folded in front of her navel.

"Hello, how can I assist you?" the woman asked.

"Yes, sorry, just a couple questions. Uh, I was told there were places to eat here?" Beth asked.

"Indeed. Let me briefly explain. If you see the far doors at the end of the atrium, the three large sets of golden white double doors? That will lead you to the entrance area for the stages of the Trial. You will need to actually physically go there and enter the next stage; you would be surprised at how many people do not understand that.

"The doorway to the left of that from how we are facing leads down a hall that has several different eateries. Any food or drink you desire, within certain reasonable limits, can be acquired down that hall. You may also order food delivered to your suite from any of the establishments in that hall.

"The hall to the right of the doors leading to the staging area leads to establishments set up for the recreation and refreshment of the guests. Training rooms, game centers, massage parlors, baths, houses of pleasure, and more can be found down that hallway. You are free to use any and all facilities at your leisure. Do remember you have the difference between your clear time and forty-eight hours after each stage to relax, as well as the seven free days of bonus time you may use.

"All the other hallways are similar to the one you just exited from, containing suites for our current trial takers to rest within. The end of each hallway also has a lounge area with a full bar where you may relax and pass time. We ask that outside of the baths, massage parlors, and pleasure house you maintain a minimum level of propriety within the halls.

"The counter along the 'back' wall, opposite the staging area, is where you will go once your trial run is fully completed to 'cash out,' as it were. Please do not hesitate to ask any of the staff wearing this gold and white uniform for any assistance at any time."

"Wow, that, uh, covers just about everything. Uh, I take it the other trial takers that aren't in a stage or their rooms are down one of the two other halls?" Beth asked.

"That is correct. Most spend their free time outside a stage sleeping or in the recreational zone. People that get the opportunity to undergo this trial tend not to spend much time in the restaurants apart from the minimum necessary time to eat. The recreational zone is also a much more comfortable place to relax than the general lobby, and offers much more privacy than the common areas."

"So…if we claim our prizes from the back, and food and fun are down the other hallways…what is your counter for?" Beth raised an eyebrow at the woman.

"Two reasons," the woman replied promptly.

"Firstly, myself and my partners and the opposite counter are here to answer questions and provide assistance as best we can. Secondly, we have access to a wide range of items and products that you may either purchase with coins or trade for, assuming you have materials that would be eligible for barter."