Chương 25: Limitless Path Chapter Twenty-Five

"So, I can train here? What about information? And what's an Enforcer?" she asked a series of questions rapid-fire, causing the man to blink.

"Yes, though training requires a fee. There is a library here with a standard stock of informational books and crystals, as well as limited Datanet access. You would need to improve your emblem rank to access further materials," he responded, ticking off the answers to her questions.

"As for Enforcers, we are higher ranked members of the association that work as law enforcement, working in conjunction with local police and justice officers. We also act as impartial arbiters in disputes, as well as legal consultants. Finally, we are sometimes called on to cull monsters and beasts or clear dangerous rials beyond the means of others. In this way we act to fill what you would think of as many separate traditional roles including police, legal consultants, judges, and special response units."

"We fight bad guys and stop arguments," the woman, Lyrissa, added, still grinning widely.

"How do I raise my rank? And I can buy some better gear here? What about selling stuff?" Beth continued, peppering them with more questions.

"Gaining a higher tier emblem is complicated. It requires a monetary payment, an assessment by a team of higher ranked members, and a test, written or oral. And that is just for the lower ranks; higher ranks past Gold have even stricter requirements," Tazeen dutifully explained.

"We have a commissar that will both sell you gear and materials as well as purchase anything spare from you. Unless you have found some great treasure as part of the initial integration, I doubt you would have much he would be interested in."

"Okay, I'll have to check that out. What about Identifying people? Is that considered rude or something?" she continued. Lyrissa cut in as Tazeen was still opening his mouth, "No sweetheart, run your eyes over me as much as you want."

"Behave," Tazeen reprimanded yet again, this time with a lash of suppressive power that made Lyrissa roll her eyes but felt as if the world collapsed to Beth.

"Apologies, I did not mean to startle you. She gets unruly often; you may ignore her at your leisure."

"No, it's fine. I, uh, just need a second," she replied, reaching over to ruffle Blood's fur, who was still staring at Tazeen with wide eyes. After a few moments Beth felt her pulse starting to stabilize and asked, "So, uh, training? How do I sign up? Actually, wait a minute, how much is it?"

"We have a few other members in the Hall at this time, and you would be trained by one of them. Many senior members will come to a newly integrating world while the galaxy they work in is relatively peaceful to rest, but they will also take the chance to look for a few promising prodigies to mentor. If someone decides to pick you for mentorship, payment would not be necessary for a certain length of time dependent on your trainer.

Come, Lyrissa will show you to the training areas," Tazeen answered before gesturing at Lyrissa.

"I would love to escort such a cute young lady," Lyrissa said, bobbing back up with much jiggling, to Beth's flushed embarrassment.

"Come along now." Before following Lyrissa, Beth Identified Tazeen. Tazeen M'Tun, Level 300 Elven Sword Ruler. Somewhat stunned by that information, Beth followed Lyrissa, not failing to notice as the woman gave her wide, well-sculpted hips extra sways as she walked. This drew her attention further down to a quite plump rear and thighs before Beth caught herself and looked away, flushing deeply. Lyrissa was in front of her, but Beth still heard a quiet, throaty giggle after she glanced away.

Looking to the back of Lyrissa's head to check there weren't eyes there, she quickly used Identify on her. Lyrissa Fera, Level 227 Vampyr Sunstrider. Despite looking like a human, it seemed Lyrissa was a Vampyr. Was that something like a vampire? This new world did nothing but give Beth ten more questions for every one she had answered.

"Just to add on so you're aware, little cutie, but stronger people have a number of ways of sensing when you scan them. It's not usually considered rude, but if you're trying to remain inconspicuous, remember that," Lyrissa turned and winked at Beth over her shoulder. The three continued down the corridor, Beth noting the same kind of lamps or lights were set into the wall near the ceiling at regular intervals.

The floor, walls, and ceiling were also all the same white marble with gold and ochre veins throughout, though there seemed to be some trick to the warm light of the lamps that it took on a comfortable slight glow, rather than the glittering shine of the exterior of the building. The center of the floor in the hallways was also covered by the same black rugs with gold embroidery, stretching out for hundreds of feet in some cases.

Lyrissa led her through several halls, pointing out areas for some offices, as well as a large central cafeteria on the first floor where food could be purchased. The food, she continued, was included if you had a high enough emblem level. She also explained that most of the second floor was a mix of various functions, while most of the third and all of the fourth floor were living spaces, including rooms members could rent short or long term.

"How much are the rooms?" Beth asked as they headed into the area around the domed section of the building.

"Depends on a lot of things. As little as ten coppers for a night, as much as fifty silvers," Lyrissa answered sedately.

"Fifty silvers?! For one night?!" Beth exclaimed, suddenly feeling all her wealth wasn't even chump change.

"Some of the lodgings on the fourth floor are large suites with several amenities not found in the other rooms. These include things like runes in the walls to gather and condense mana, making a more comfortable and refreshing environment," Lyrissa explained, Beth able to hear the slight grin even though she was still following behind the vampyr. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"And the emblem doesn't help?" Beth asked morosely.

"No, sweetheart, the emblem doesn't help. If you had a Platinum or Diamond emblem, we'd be having a different talk. Then again, if you were a Diamond Emblem holder, you'd be beyond my level; maybe you'd be leading me down this hallway," Lyrissa replied, winking at Beth over her shoulder again.

"I see. Thanks for explaining all this."

"It's no problem; it's part of why Tazeen and I are here. You have access to this information and more from having your Copper Emblem, not that it's really a secret. Remember, the library is in the front part of the second floor. You should stop by there for a while in the coming days," Lyrissa waved away Beth's thanks. They finally entered a somewhat large room on the first floor that seemed like a lounge or resting area of sorts.

There were chairs and couches covered in a dark, soft material where quite a few people could sit. Around the walls were the familiar warm lamps, and in between them were what looked like large, high-tech flat screen televisions. Several of them were on and broadcasting various fights or duels. There were four people in the room sitting around at various tables, watching the screens or looking at their devices or doing both.

The first person in the lounge and only female before Lyrissa, Blood, and Beth entered was what Beth could only assume was a dwarf. She was about four-and-a-half feet in height, but much broader and thicker than a human of said height would be. Her body was heavily muscled, her forearms looking bigger than Beth's thighs, and that's after Beth had upgraded her Strength quite a bit, adding muscle to her own body.

The woman had long black hair framing a heavy, solid face with thick lips, a large nose, broad jaw, and deeply set eyes. She had a sort of arresting attractiveness in her strong features, combining in a way that spoke of power and solidity. There were two men sitting at a table in the middle of the room, both with drinks in tall glasses. They didn't really seem to be discussing anything when Beth walked in, but the first turned to the second to make a comment that she didn't hear at all after she entered.

The man making the comment was of average height and build, wearing what looked like leather armor with several studs and buckles at various places. He had several daggers sheathed around his body, Beth sure there were more that she couldn't see hidden away. He had plain brown hair and an unmemorable face, apart from his eyes, which had the regular black pupil, but the rest of the eye, both iris and sclera, was a rotating dark blue and purple swirl.

The second man at the table that listened to the comment was another elf, again tall even while seated. He wore a similar looking set of armored clothes to what Tazeen had at the front desk and could have been a distant cousin. The eyes again set him apart, as they were concentric rings of gold expanding away from the pupil. He had no weapons visibly equipped, but at this point Beth was assuming these were quite high-level people, ones likely to be able to afford some kind of storage item or power.

The last occupant of the room was what Beth would have to describe as an ogre. Sitting in a large chair at a table in the far corner from where she entered, wearing no shirt, but a thick pair of pants covered in scales of a strange kind and overlapping his thick, heavy, calf-length boots. If Beth thought the dwarf's arms were impressive, the ogre's were straight up staggering, his forearms likely as thick as her torso.

He also had a massive gut, sure to give Santa Claus more than a run for his money, but Beth didn't doubt that it also contained layers and layers of muscle besides the fat. His skin was a dark brownish red, and he was entirely bald. His face was blocky and rough, a heavy square jaw and thick brow-ridge coupled with large, sunken eyes and a huge, scarred nose giving him a fierce appearance.

His eyes had normal pupils but no irises, instead containing some kind of complex spiral of red runes that radiated out from the pupil until disappearing below his eyelids. Whereas his skin was colored with a brownish influence, the runes in his eyes glowed a bright, pulsing red. Shit, does everyone in the universe have weird eyes? Beth thought, the one commonality of these aliens, and extraterrestrials they clearly were, being crazy eyes.

She felt a little lost, out of her depth in a world gone slightly mad, surrounded by elves and dwarves and ogres. Just as she was trying to stabilize her mind the elf spoke up.

"Well, I see someone managed to make their way here. Should we discuss?"

"Come on over here. Ya know I can't sit in those pathetic-ass chairs," rumbled the ogre, motioning for everyone to come over to his large corner table.

"Uh, what're we doing?" Beth asked Lyrissa, the confusion showing on her face.

"Tazeen mentioned it. If you've got some promise, one of the trainers might take you as a mentee. Come here," Lyrissa walked over to the table with Beth following after. The other senior CRA members had taken seats around the ogre, spread out from the corner around the large table. It was rather unnerving being the focus of so many powerful individuals, only made more so by the strangeness of the orbs locked on her. Blood sat on her haunches next to Beth, who set her right hand on Blood's head, gently stroking it.

"Well, Rissa, what have ya brought us?" the ogre asked, his voice like a landslide hitting a concrete wall.

"As you can see, a young human who has a Copper membership. Perhaps the first Copper Emblem from this world," Lyrissa, or Rissa, as the ogre called her, replied.

"She is looking for training, upgraded gear, and a lot of information."

"Well, kid, tell us your story," the man with the swirling eyes said, his voice carrying a bit of a sardonic tone.

"Well, uh, I don't really know what there is to say. I'm not a high level or anything, but I want to fight and get stronger. Uhm, I need better weapons, armor, knowledge…basically everything. What do you want to know?" Beth answered, her eyebrows scrunched a little as she shifted from foot to foot.

"Just so we have the information, why don't you explain your skills, as well as where and how you received such a powerful bonded lupine," the elf requested, the different seniors picking up where the others stopped easily.

"Well, let's see, uh, I've always kinda liked fighting. Our world used to be peaceful before all this, like, craziness happened. I practiced boxing and a little bit of martial arts, but it wasn't really a competitive thing. I enjoyed sparring, but I mainly used it to stay in shape. When the change happened, I fought a level one right away and managed to kill it. I got classed as a Brawler and got the Unarmed skill. I spent the last week or so fighting, as well as helping my sisters and friend level up.

Uh, I got the Copper Emblem for solo clearing a dungeon of ants behind my house. I got Blood for solo clearing a wolf, er, lupine dungeon a little south of my house."

"Fists, is it? You use anything else girl?" the dwarven lady finally spoke, her voice surprisingly light and sweet.

"Well, I'm kinda interested in swords. I got the Swords skills and leveled it once so far. Other than that, no? I mean, I like to punch things, and I want to get better with swords. I have a skill called Crush and I have a meditation-type skill," Beth answered, still stroking Blood and shuffling her feet a little.

"Well damn. First one's yours, Baelvyr, if you want," the dwarf grumbled.

"Definitely not an assassin," the swirling-eyed man commented definitively with a nod.

"A little too brutal and unrefined of a Path for me," the elf commented with a shake of his head.

"Well, well. Isn't it my lucky day," said the ogre with a chuckle that made Beth's bones rattle.

"Looks like yer trainin' with me, girlie. That blade on yer hip any good?"

"Uh, thanks, I think? And no, like, it's not really able to keep up already," Beth answered, unsheathing the sword and tossing it on the table in front of the group.

"Normal steel. You were fighting beasts with that?" Rissa asked, her eyes widening almost imperceptibly.

"Yeah, it wasn't too bad at first. But past level five it can't really do much, even with my Strength being increased a bunch," Beth replied. Baelvyr picked the blade up, looking more like a short sword in his enormous hands than a longsword, and looked it over. He tapped the side of the blade before running a massive thumb down its edge, the sword not even leaving a mar on his skin. He handed it to the elf next to him before turning to Beth, saying, "It's not a bad blade, girlie.

Made from mediocre materials, even pre-integration, but the smith or manufacturer that produced it knew their steel. Well folded and incorporated. I'd be interested in seein' what they could make with some high-quality materials." The elf, at the same time, had also inspected the blade, going so far as to summon a small magic circle on his palm before pressing it into the blade. The sword lit up, the whole blade glowing faintly with a very dull red light for a few seconds before it faded.

"A good technique, I agree. Do you know who made this sword, young one?" he asked Beth, passing the sword over to the dwarven lady.

"Uh, no, but I might be able to find out. My neighbor a few houses down is an older man that collects all kinds of stuff, including weapons and armor. That's where I got the sword and my gloves and boots. I could ask him later and see if he knows who made it or if he got it at a shop or something," Beth answered, no longer shuffling her feet. Something about Baelvyr's blunt and easy manner made her feel more at home, even standing in front of a group of what were clearly powerhouses.

The dwarf looked over the sword briefly, even giving it a sniff, before tossing it back to Beth's side of the table. Beth grabbed it and sheathed it again before looking at the group. The man turned to the elf and said something, Beth again not hearing a sound when he spoke. The elf simply nodded in response, the two standing and returning to their table. The dwarf followed suit, all of the others clearly having lost interest until someone or something else showed up.