Chương 3: Limitless Path Chapter Three

"Beth, are you with us?" Rachel asked, pulling Beth out of her reverie.

"Uh, yeah, sorry. I got, uh, messages when I killed the damn ant," Beth said.

"As in, messages in your vision like the one from earlier?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just reviewing them," Beth said, waving a hand.

"Well? What do they say?" Kim asked, adjusting her seat on the couch.

"Uh, I got Pain Tolerance when I got hurt, which helps mute pain. And I got Identify when I tried to scan the ant that attacked me. It lets me see information on other living things," Beth explained.

"Huh, would you look at that," their father said.

"I just got it, too."

"Really?" asked Soph skeptically.

"I just got it, too," Kim said, always a bit quicker to try things versus talk about them.

"How do you look at someone like that?" asked their mother.

"Look at me and try to examine me with an intent to see more details. It's dumb, but all I can say is to think really hard, like, concentrate on it," Beth explained.

"Hmm, alright," their mother said, basically glaring at Beth.

"You don't have to glare," Beth said with a small laugh, turning into a huge laugh as Rachel also started frowning at her eldest daughter.

"Well, I got it," she said.

"Okay, then you can definitely stop glaring," Beth said, still laughing.

"Alright, alright," Thomas intervened.

"I'm curious about this ant you killed."

"Let me check one more thing real quick," Beth said, holding up a hand.

"I got a couple more messages that I haven't looked at."

"Okay, take your time," Thomas said. Unarmed Apprentice[0] {Skill in fighting using the most reliable weapon of all, one's body. Higher skill level increases damage done with the body as well as performance of unarmed skills and combos.} OK, this isn't Copper[0] but Apprentice[0]. I wonder why that is? Beth thought for a moment as her family looked on, but then a snippet of knowledge came to her, popping up from Liveria's memories that were now living within her mind.

It wasn't much, but enough for her to go on for now. So pretty much everything uses the copper to silver to gold etc. notation that my other skills use. The exceptions are weapons skills and crafting skills, which are still graded under the older Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, Master, and so on rankings. Well, guess those boxing lessons I took let me become an Apprentice puncher. Increased damage and force with my body is nice, maybe I can punch some more ants after I get my class.

Beth recalled a little about the basics of the grading of skills from the knowledge Liveria had locked in her mind. Wasn't there one more before the class. Ancient World Gate[0], I didn't get that from the fight or anything. Was it something Liveria did? Beth wondered with some excitement. Ancient World Gate[0] {A legacy of a Transcendent Ruler from before the Age of Dreaming. This skill allows the wielder to create a gate linked to a dimensional boundary. The higher the skill level, the more one has control over the dimensional bound and the gate itself. Current Gates: Ant. Current Modifier: 2x} Well, that's interesting, but maybe not the best time to make a magical gateway in the middle of the living room, she thought, glancing at her mother out of the corner of her eye before continuing. Last, but certainly not least... Class Selection Menu Available. When Beth focused on this message, a new window appeared. Class Selection. Select your Path. Begin your journey.

Young Princess {A young lady of a royal house. Grace and dignity mark your every action. +1 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, +1 Free Point per level.} Young Warrior {Yet to gain much experience, but eager to bring battle to their enemies. +2 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, +1 Free Point per level.} Young Mage {Mana is an integral part of everything, including your developing combat prowess. +2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, +1 Free Point per level.} Brawler {A powerful physical combatant that uses the raw strength of their body to smash their way forward. +2 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, +2 Free Points per level.} Fuck, that's not a lot of choices, and only really one good one, unless I can't do math anymore. I definitely don't want to be a fucking princess, and 'Young' anything sounds like garbage. Plus, Brawler gets six points a level. Easy choice, Beth thought with a growing grin, focusing on the final selection and activating it.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Class selection complete. Go forth, Brawler, and crush those who stand against you. Crush Copper[0] Acquired. Beth quickly checked her new skill. Crush Copper[0] {Add a crushing force to your attack. Particularly useful against armor.}"Whew, okay," she said aloud.

"That seemed like a lot," her father said, though there was a hint of a question in her tone.

"Yeah, couple skills and a class selection," Beth said.

"Class selection? Like in an RPG?" Soph asked.

"Yeah, guess all those video games we played, and the books I've read, are gonna come in handy," Beth answered with a casual nod.

"Well, now, what else can you tell us?" their father asked, taking notes on his laptop that he had on a side table by the armchair he always used in the living room.

"So, you see how there's a skill section in your stat screen? I have several skills in there, where you all probably just have Identify. Getting my class gave me another one, Crush, that lets me channel energy through my body and hit an opponent harder," she explained.

"Is there a description of this skill, or your other skills?" their father asked. Beth focused on her Unarmed skill for a moment and thought about sharing just that with her family. A box appeared in front of her and, from the surprised reactive head jerks of the rest of the family, she assumed everyone else as well.

"This is my Unarmed skill. As you can see, it's a skill that both shows I know how to fight unarmed as well as provides a very slight boost to fighting unarmed."

"OK, this is actually impressive, sweetie. What about the class, explain it thoroughly in a way us non-gamers might understand," their father requested.

"Um, like, to explain it so you can understand, a class is kinda like a job in games. It's kinda more simplistic, at least sometimes, but if you're a warrior, you fight enemies with weapons and wear heavy armor. If you're a mage, you cast spells.

So, I was presented with the option of several different classes for having just reached level one, and I picked one that focuses on unarmed fighting, which I might have got because of punching that ant out in the yard to death," Beth laid out most of what she knew about the basics of classes to her family. She then did the same thing as before and made her class section available for her family to see. After looking at her class screen, her father, who was now typing furiously, had further questions.

"Killing a single large ant got you this? How difficult was the ant to fight? How tough was its shell? How quickly was it able to move?"

"It was almost like hitting a punching bag barehanded. It took me multiple kicks to the same spot on the head, which might be a weak point, to kill it. I don't know if the body is still there, but we could go look at it if you want," Beth answered.

"I don't know that going outside right now is a particularly good idea. Perhaps we can take her word for it until we have some better information," their mother replied, giving their father a worried glance.

"I don't think I would have much trouble dealing with an ant, as long as it's not too big. It also seems like your daughter is something of an ant slayer," replied their father equitably.

"Well then, let's all stick together, but we must be quick about it, Thom," their mother answered their father with a sharp glance emphasizing the need for haste.

"Do we have to? It's hot, and dirty, and now there are monsters. Can't I stay in here?" Soph asked a bit petulantly. As Soph was protesting, Beth quickly dropped her two free stat points into Endurance, bringing it up to six. She needed stamina and wanted the toughness that the stat would bring. Besides, her new class was going to give her two points in Strength every level, which would start paying off very soon.

"It will just be a minute, and I think it will be good for us all to see firsthand what we're dealing with now," replied their father with a slightly stern look at his youngest daughter. Everyone got up from their seats and, with much under-the-breath grumbling from her youngest sister, Beth led the family back to the mudroom. As everyone put on shoes or boots, they stepped outside, and once the family was assembled, Beth again took the lead. As they headed out of the backyard, however, Beth stopped in her tracks.

"What is it?" asked their father, to which Beth just pointed. Beth had stopped just a few steps from the end of their backyard where the woodlot started, and she was pointing at an ant around thirty feet away.

"Somebody else want to hit it, or you want me to do it?" Beth asked, but the decision was seemingly made for her, as the ant turned towards her and started immediately scuttling forward.

"Beth!" Their mother exclaimed as Beth put her guard up and darted ahead to meet the ant. She ignored her mother's shout and did just as she had with the earlier ant, disorientating it with a punch and stepping to the side of the ant as it tried for her leg. Figuring there was no time like the present, she tried her new skill, empowering her fist with Crush before bringing it with the force of a sledgehammer swing.

There was a loud Crunch as the top of ant's head was smashed in, the force driving it down into the ground where one of the mandibles imbedded to the hilt from the shock of the blow. Common Ant level 1 slain.

"Wow!" Beth exclaimed, not having to fake her surprise from the result of the impact of Crush on the lower-level ant. The rest of the family seemed shocked by the display until Soph exclaimed "Gross!" while backing up a few steps.

"What was that?" asked her parents essentially in unison.

"That was what just having the Unarmed skill does, combined with adding some energy to my fist. And it is kinda gross," Beth replied, shaking some ant goo off her fist with a frown.

"Well, that was something. And this is also something, both good news and bad news," their father said as he walked up to the ant.

"What do you mean by that?" their mother responded while walking over to Beth and taking Beth's hand in both of hers.

"Well, good news is Beth is already a little powerhouse," he replied, kneeling to examine the ant's corpse.

"The bad news is there seems to be more than one of these ant monsters, and they're also getting close to the backyard."

"That is so gross. Can we go back inside?" Soph complained to their mother.

"Alright, you girls can head back inside. Best that everyone stays in the house for now," their mother waved the girls to head back into the house. Soph immediately returned to the house, but Kim stayed, walking up to Beth and standing next to her.

"How did you learn to do that?" she asked, looking to her side at Beth.

"Honestly, I don't really know. I just used what I learned at the boxing gym. It's, uh, not easy, but I actually kinda like it," Beth responded.

"Maybe I should look into some lessons," Kim said, lips pursed in a slight frown with a somewhat distant look in her eyes.

"I can help you, if you want," Beth glanced at Kim quickly before returning her gaze to watching their parent's examination of the ant corpse.

"Uh, okay, sure. If you're alright with that," Kim nodded, still staring out toward the woodlot. Meanwhile, their parents had inspected the ant from just about every angle and side, as well as taking pictures of all of it with their cellphone cameras. They were discussing the ant and the surrounding area of the north end of the neighborhood in quick, terse exchanges. They were clearly in business mode, so the girls continued watching for a few minutes without interrupting.

It wouldn't all be peaceful, however, as Beth suddenly turned a little to look into the woodlot, having noticed a slight movement towards the eastern end of the lot. Another ant was trundling toward them at an oblique angle and would pass into their next-door neighbor to the east's yard unless it stopped at the edge of the wood, as the ant their parents were examining had.

While their parents still had their heads together over the first ant, Beth motioned to Kim to stay quiet and follow with two quick hand gestures. She then walked ahead of her towards the new ant. Kim's eyes widened a little as she briefly hesitated, but in the end, she followed her older sister. The two girls approached the ant at a slight angle themselves, so as to pass to the ant's right.

As they got closer, the ant paused and seemed to try to sense the area, its head slowly beginning to turn as its antennae started waving about. Beth took notice of this but kept walking at a moderate pace ahead of her sister. When she got closer, she suddenly exploded forward, using her newly elevated stats to rapidly close the remaining distance before stomping down on one of the ant's legs. Beth ignored the slight hissing screech the ant made as its leg shattered, stomping down again to shatter a second leg.

"Quick, quick!" Beth waved over to Kim, who was standing a few steps away, watching agog as Beth was systemically destroying the large ant. Beth bent down and grabbed a fist-size rock with a jagged edge, and when Kim scurried over to her, handed Kim the rock.

"Smash it with that, Kim," Beth encouraged. Kim looked at the rock somewhat dubiously, then looked down at the flailing ant. Her face scrunched up a little, but she took a deep breath and lifted the rock up to head height. With a rather un-ladylike grunt, Kim slammed the rock down on the ant's head. There was a cracking sound, and the ant flailed about, but was unable to accomplish much with its two shattered legs. Kim lifted the rock again, but this time grabbed it with her other hand as well.

With a small snarl on her face and another deep grunt, she smashed the rock into the top of the ant's head again. Common Ant level 1 slain.

"Well done, Kim," Beth said, wrapping her arm around Kim's shoulders and giving her a side-hug.

"That…that was intense," Kim shuddered while panting a little and leaned against Beth's side.

"You start to get used to it. Or maybe not, but it sorta doesn't really bother me that much," Beth grinned while rubbing Kim's upper arm.

"Alright, alright," Kim said, making a frustrated noise and elbowing at Beth.

"It's nice to see you getting along, but what are you girls doing?!" their mother's voice snapped right behind them. Both girls jumped and turned, Kim looking to the side and blushing while Beth looked at their mother with a lopsided grin.