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Limitless Path Chapter One Hundred Forty
🕑 Added 2023-11-16 18:00:01 +0000 UTC"Fine then," Sabs said crossly as she glared at Beth. "If that's how you want to play; you turn into a fart machine at night!"
"I-I do?" Beth asked, tilting her head and raising her eyebrows.
"I don't always fall asleep first," Sabs replied grumpily, crossing her arms over her chest. "And when it's you first, you start farting like a machine; long, loud, and constant."
"Oh, uh, does it bother you?" Beth replied with a bit of frown as she scratched at the side of her head, Sabs's mother laughing quite hard in the background.
"Oh, uh, I mean, not really, actually," Sabs said, seeming to deflate a little as Beth instantly brightened. "I just thought it might actually be something that embarrassed you."
"Nope!" Beth exclaimed before leaning back and letting out a loud belch. "I know that when I'm awake I burp fucking constantly; didn't know about it transitioning the other way when I slept."
Sabs's mother was laughing even harder while Sabs just covered her face with her hands. Beth hopped up and brushed herself off quickly before asking if there was a mirror nearby. Sabs's mother pointed her to the hall bathroom, where she got a good look at the new, shorter cut. It brought her hair even with her jaw for the most part, though it was slightly longer than the short pixie it otherwise would have been in the back. Beth actually dug it immediately, thinking it made her look rather cool. She returned to the kitchen as Sabs's mother finished cleaning up, thanking her profusely for the well-done job.
The two girls didn't stay much longer to chat, circling back to the Bell house to pick up Blood before heading for the CRA Hall. They trekked in, finding Tazeen on desk duty and only a few of the senior members in their usual haunt. They passed through the upper areas and headed down to their room, where Beth promptly shucked her clothes on the floor to an annoyed huff from Sabs. She headed into the bathroom and took and a second, rather quick shower, just being thorough enough to make sure she had all the hair clippings cleaned off. She toweled herself off before hanging the towel on the rack and meandering into the living room, where she flopped next to Sabs on the couch, seeing Blood sprawled in her usual spot in the center of the floor.
"Not bothering with any underwear?" Sabs asked somewhat rhetorically as she paged through shows on the wallscreen.
"Nope," Beth replied lazily, wrapping her right arm around Sabs while scratching her stomach with her left.
Sabs finally decided on something before setting the remote aside and stretching out, leaning against Beth as she settled. The two watched an episode of the show Sabs had picked before Sabs got up to move into the bedroom for a moment, signaling Beth to stay seated. She returned a few moments later wearing much less, having shed her outer clothes, before flopping down directly on top of Beth.
The two spent the rest of the day relaxing together and watching some rather strange intergalactic television. Sabs seemed to be somewhat of a fan of reality TV shows, and did the screen in their room ever have access to some crazy shows. The first show they had watched was about a mixed group of people from a number of different species and backgrounds all having to try to build a single business together. Beth got some serious vibes of a few different Earth reality shows from it, but it also had its own unique aspects, including that they were trying to build a legitimate business even with the reality-show aspects of the program.
From there they trawled through a number of programs, Beth not really particularly interested in anything that Sabs brought up, but greatly enjoying her girlfriend snuggling on top of her. They had a quick dinner that Sabs heated up before wasting the entire evening away with more bad TV and sprawling out together on the couch. They eventually moved to the bedroom, where Beth gave Sabs quite a bit of attention before they eventually fell asleep.
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The next morning they woke up a little late, having spent quite a bit of time enjoying each other's company before they actually fell asleep the previous night. Sabs could tell right away, before the two even made their way to the bathroom, that Beth was getting antsy. It was only a few small things, something that most people even in much longer-term relationships might not notice as easily, but another advantage of increasing stats led to it being easier to pick up cues for somebody already fairly emotionally intelligent.
"You know you start flicking your fingernails when you get antsy, Beth," Sabs said as they entered the bathroom.
"Really?" Beth asked before frowning at her own hand as she flicked her nails.
"While I would love to spend another day laying around and doing nothing, I know your head's gonna explode if I keep you in here," Sabs replied.
Beth didn't respond but instead stepped behind Sabs and wrapped her arms tightly around the smaller woman, leaning down and nuzzling her neck. Sabs leaned back against Beth while leaning her head to the side, allowing the taller woman easier access to her neck. Beth's hands wandered for a minute before she eventually managed to contain herself, giving Sabs a firm kiss before stepping to the side to start taking care of her own morning ablutions.
"Sorry that I don't give you enough time," Beth said as she started brushing her teeth.
"Beth," Sabs said, gently grabbing her free arm, "it's OK. I'm really not upset; I just want to spend a little more time together other than when we're asleep."
Beth replied after clearing her mouth, "Yeah, sorry. I'll take at least part of one day a week where I'll chill. Hell, I'll take the whole day to chill."
"Beth, you don't have to," Sabs responded with a firm tone. "It was just nice to spend a bunch of time together."
"Which is what I should be doing for my girlfriend all the time," Beth said with a bit of an edge to her voice. "I shouldn't ignore you like I have been if we're supposed to be in a relationship. I'm a shitty girlfriend."
"Beth, you're fi-" Sabs started before Beth lifted her off the ground and planted a very firm kiss on her lips. Sabs didn’t try to stop her to continue her protest, just lingering on the warmth of the kiss for a minute without trying to stop it. When Beth finally put her back down, she had almost entirely forgotten what they were discussing before the kiss, dazedly finishing her morning routine.
The next month flew by in much the same way as the first few weeks after Beth's obtaining the token had gone. It was full of training for Beth and Blood, the two entirely stalling on their levels and in earning any money to dedicate themselves solely to improving their combat capabilities. Beth did still spend some time working on her blacksmithing, and she also made sure to spend more time with Sabs outside of when they curled up together to sleep.
Beth had dropped another fifty silvers on another thirty days of smithing tutelage from Elana, still having a little time left after the renewal and the month of training. She was struggling hard on her sword work as, while Baelvyr said she was improving at a reasonable pace, her unarmed combat was advancing by leaps and bounds. She had boosted her Unarmed all the way to Journeyman[4] while her Swords was lingering still at Journeyman[2], still on the cusp of improvement.
"So, you think I should just go for it?" Beth asked Baelvyr as she slumped on the bench in the training room, their training for that day over. The outside world was coated in snow and ice with a huge blizzard having just blown through, but Beth only knew of it second hand from Sabs, as she had not emerged from the CRA basement for several days.
"Nah, I think ya should go do a day of fightin' with those new skill levels in live combat first. Might be enough to push ya through to that next level for Swords."
"And then go for it?"
"Yeah, girlie, 'go for it,'" Baelvyr snorted as he finished the last bit of clean-up for the day. "Just let me know when yer gonna go for it so I know roughly when yer gonna be poppin' back up."
"Is there, like, a maximum time limit or something?" she asked.
"Ah, sorta," he replied. "There's really only so long ya can take to do the challenges yer gonna face in there. The two o' ya will be back out within so many weeks, hopefully a lot stronger than what yer goin' in as."
"Well, I guess we'll go do some fighting tomorrow?" Beth said with a bit of inflection as she glanced over at Blood, who just gave her a slow nod, slumping on the edge of the training room ring.
"OK, girlie, get back down to yer little sweetie," Baelvyr grumbled as he trod out of the room with his heavy, thumping stride.
Beth and Blood followed that advice, heading down to the room where Beth shucked her gear and clothes as soon as the door was shut. She glanced over as the door opened right when she was walking into the bathroom behind Blood, seeing Sabs entering the room. The smaller woman quickly mimicked what Beth had just done, shucking out of everything before joining the other two in the bathroom. They showered off in the huge shower stall, helping Blood get clean, before the wolf dried herself off and trotted out while Beth and Sabs spent some time easing their muscles in a near-boiling tub.
They all retired early that night, Sabs having been working very hard herself with a mixture of leveling, training, and assisting the neighborhood. They curled up together and passed out almost right away, Beth holding Sabs on top of herself as they slept.
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The three young women were up and moving early the next morning, with them taking care of getting cleaned up and eating rather quickly. They had all geared up and left the room to head up to the lounge. There were two more new faces that had joined the White Hall in the last month, but there certainly wasn't a crazy rush of new members piling in. Beth had very briefly spoken to the three members that had joined after James, but she was a little too focused to spend much time with them. Hell, she was too focused to do more than say hi or bye to her own sisters most days, let alone other members.
Sabs stopped to sit at a table with Beth's sisters and several new members while Beth and Blood moved right through the lounge and headed down the hallway to the lobby. They made their way out past Tazeen before turning southward, Beth wanting to check just what the kobold area was like. She didn't think they'd make their way into the labyrinth before using the token, but she could see checking in on her old friend guarding the armory for some practice.
It didn't take them very long, making liberal use of Swift, to reach the tunnel leading down to the kobold area. They trotted down the ramp with appreciably more confidence and steadier nerves than the first time they had ventured down here. They split to the right when they reached the bottom, Beth only belatedly remembering to pull her lightstone out as it truly became dark in moving further into the inky depths of the tunnel.
They trotted down to the first point they had ever fought a kobold, Beth not surprised when the beast lurched out of the crude room to attack them with a shriek. What was more surprising was the level of the beast, sitting at thirty-eight, which the first beasts in the dungeon had been at the first time they delved the labyrinth. Beth's slight surprise wasn't enough to throw her off her game, however, as she made short work of the kobold with minimal effort. Such an opponent was something that could let her hone her skill, even with her level of focus on precise movement and constant improvement.
They moved on, making their way to the armory area where the elite enemy was usually waiting. If the first beast they had encountered was now at such a high level, how far would the massive elite beast have grown? Beth's steps quickened as they entered the larger hallway leading to the blackened steel doors, the massive edifices still pushed inward into the frosted gloom of the old armory.
Beth heard the beast before she saw it, slowing her steps and bringing her sword to the ready as a massive kobold charged out from within the dark room. This one was as massive as any she'd yet seen, with a huge torso and gnarled, trunk-like arms that wielded a massive greathammer with ease. Beth checked its level with a simple glance of her improved eyes as it lumbered into a rolling charge at her.
Level 50 Frozen Kobold Destroyer
The level jump should have made her at least a little wary, but her improved skills combined with her lust for battle saw only excitement coursing through her veins. She met the beast’s charge with a lunge forward of her own, not backing down in the least. The elite clearly had higher stats than her, as well as better skills than anything they had faced so far, but it was still not at the level she'd already been trained up to. It would, at the least, provide a great touchstone to confirm her progress and help her reinforce her gains.
Blood coordinated with her in a near seamless way, their two or so months of training, which had included a good bit of working together to fight as a cohesive unit, allowing them to work around each other to do more than either could alone. Beth parried, deflected, countered, and riposted everything the kobold threw at her with a series of smooth and fluid movements, not allowing the elite's hammer to get anywhere near her. Even simple deflects turned into cutting counters, Beth slashing apart the kobold's unarmored limbs and finding slim gaps between the plates in the hauberk to score a cut on the beast's torso.
Beth did find both the strength and speed of this elite to be quite a bit above anything else, even the last boss she had faced down in their last labyrinth clear. This was not going to be a quick fight, especially with the physical toughness of the kobold on a whole different level, but she was pretty confident in her newfound skills and abilities. It was really good to have this first look at what the much bigger jump in power beasts got at level fifty looked like before she ran into it in one of the toughest trials it was possible to undertake. The jump was definitely greater than the jump that typically happened every ten levels, and Beth could certainly see how somebody, not having spent time on training their skills nor their overall fighting capabilities, could be caught out by this major jump in power.
Comments
Tyler Machado
Cool though the dude didn't remember that she could communicate being a member or was he just hoping she'd forget because she's new. Cool though I wish she had gotten the kill.
Knightfire
This was a fun chapter
