"So, you are the preparatory force?" the woman asked with an arched brow.

"I guess that's us," Beth said, glancing at the armored soldiers and then up at the ship. "Though, I'm not really sure why."

"Ships are expensive and always overbooked; we can't dispatch one everywhere all the time. And mana interferes with scanning and other technologies and techniques. Having a preparatory force scout and start the initial settlement on a new world is a very standard practice," the woman explained. "Let's examine what you have for us."

After saying so, Beth led the woman and the front set of guards around the area, showing the improved walls, small smithy, and then the storage room full of supplies and valuable items. After that, Blood joined them to go over the scouting report, the woman spreading out a basic map with only the barest hint of features in the surroundings on the dining table. Blood filled in a huge amount of detail over the next hour, answering many questions that the woman posed, with occasional help from Beth.

With the scouting review done, there wasn't anything else left for them to go over. The woman spent a small amount of time doing some tallies before thanking the two for their efforts, asking if they needed a ride back from the area. As soon as Beth declined and the woman turned to leave, the scenario ended and they were returned to the array room. Beth noted with some slight dismay that they weren't granted any additional experience, though nothing had said they failed, either.

They made their way back to the room before going through their evening routine and heading to bed. They had a bit of free time before they had to start stage twenty-three, and they decided that they could use a bit of rest, though stage twenty-two hadn't been especially taxing. They were awake again in a handful of hours and back at it, getting ready for the day before heading to one of the restaurants to enjoy their fine cuisine. Afterwards, they made their way into the array room, requesting the start of the next stage and that it be kept private, being directed to a Warder, where they had to wait for some time. It was apparently not getting any less busy, and Beth did notice a number of people at the 'public' screens in the back, watching stages and chatting. When the Warder signaled, the two girls jumped in the light red portal before experiencing a passing moment of disorientation, their vision clearing a second later to take in the start of stage twenty-three.

The very first thing they noticed was the rocking; it seemed as if they were on some kind of ship and that it was moving. It didn't appear to be something hyper-modern, as they were standing on a stone-paved square with buildings behind and to each side of them, though the area a few dozen feet in front of them was clear. Why that was so was made apparent when they walked over to the edge, finding themselves looking at a very large drop down a sheer face. It took them a handful of moments for the enormity of what they were witnessing to sink in, but Beth eventually got it, followed a second later by Blood.

They were on the back of some enormous beast, swaying slightly as it walked forward through a massive forest. It was only in realizing that what had looked to be slightly spread out blades of grass were, in fact, enormous trees towering hundreds of feet into the air that the two girls really got a good feeling for the scale they were operating at. Whatever they were riding on the back of, it made the 'giant' beast they had killed in stage six look like an ant, or even a speck of dust. The beast they were currently riding likely exceeded a thousand feet in height, if not even more, and was so massive they literally couldn't see the front or back of it from their position, even with Beth leaning over the railing at the edge of the square to take a look.

As soon as she straightened up, a voice behind her spoke, causing her and Blood to spin promptly on their heels as it said, "Enjoying the view, I see."

The man who had spoken was short and round, though not a way that made him look overly fat, as he was barrel-chested and stocky. He wore a shirt of fine chain, the rings reddish-gold and glittering in the noon light, while he had armored sabatons and greaves covering his legs and feet. His head was unadorned save for a piece that partially covered his right ear, made of metal and glowing with inscription work, even in the noon light. He had a heavy-handled axe looped into the belt around his waist and, upon further inspection, Beth could see he was wearing a shield on his broad back.

"I've never seen anything like this before," Beth replied with a quick shake of her head.

"Is it alive?" asked Blood right on her heels.

The man laughed, a deep and resonant sound, before saying, "Oh, she's most certainly alive, and don't let her hear you calling her an 'it.' Name's Jorn, by-the-way; pleasure to meet you." He pronounced his name with a 'Y,' sounding like yorn, before extending a hand for the girls to shake.

"Good to meet you Jorn," they replied almost in unison before shaking his offered hand.

"So, what are we doing here, exactly?" Beth asked, clarifying a second later by saying, "We've been bounced around to so many assignments in the last couple months that I've started to lose track."

"Oh, believe me, I understand the feeling," Jorn replied. "Well, as you may, or may not, have been briefed before you were sent over, we're doing a great big lap of the continent thanks to Zao, here." He stomped his foot down on the paving stones when he said 'here.'

"We're all set to have your help over the next month, and we expect we'll encounter quite a lot to keep you entertained," he continued before breaking out in another hearty laugh. "Though, I expect the biggest excitement will be if the rumors prove true and we encounter another Legendary Beast like Zao, which is supposed to both be in the area we're patrolling first and to be moving at the direction of a group of bandits."

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"So, wait," Beth interjected. "You mean to tell me we're not just going on patrol on the back of this massive beast, but we're looking for another one? And, not only that, but we're going to fight said other insanely giant beast when we do find it?"

"Hey, you're quick, kid," Jorn replied. "That's about it."

"What do you mean, 'That's about it?'" Beth replied, doing some angry air quotes at the end. "Can we have, I don't know, a little more detail?"

"We ride big beast, find other big beast, jump on and kill bad guys," he answered with a stoic expression, though the twinkle in his eye belied his mirth over the situation.

"Alright, that's more my language," Beth replied, flexing her arms as she grinned.

"How big are the enemy forces? What are their levels like? How many rebirths? Do we have to worry about the other beast directly attacking us?" Blood asked as she stepped up beside the flexing girl and punched her lightly in the short ribs. Beth feigned serious injury, crumpling over in the direction of the impact, but gave it up after a second upon seeing both of the others were ignoring her.

"And how do we navigate this place?" she then threw in just as Jorn opened his mouth.

"Blood Stars, one at a time!" he grumbled back. "Let's see; enemy forces are probably around what we're fielding at two thousand, though we don't have exact numbers. Levels? Let's see, about one-ten to one-forty range, from what we know. Rebirths? Psh, I doubt it, but if so, it'd be one. Other Legendary Beast attacking you directly? Nah, that's what Zao's for. And navigating? Follow me and I'll show you."

He then led them back across the square and into the 'rear' building that had been at their back when they appeared in the stage. They entered to find a single spacious room, with two other people bustling about, busy with work. Jorn ignored the two and led them to the back of the room, where there was a large map pinned to the wall. There were actually two maps, but the one he brought them to on the right was a map of Zao's back, showing all the paths and buildings.

"You got to be careful walking around," he said as he pointed to spots on the map. "When Zao's walking around normally, that's all fine and dandy, but if she's gotta run or do anything apart from just walk, the footing can get mighty unstable. Judging by what I can see of your current strength, you'd be pretty unlikely to survive a thousand-plus foot fall, so make sure to be careful when you're moving about."

"Are there any, uh, restricted areas?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, the command section is somewhere you need permission to enter," Jorn replied, pointing at an area at the base of Zao's neck. "You'll see the area is clearly marked if you walk near there. The handful of areas where you need permission are all marked in Universal Standard, so just actually read the signs, yeah?"

"Got it," Beth replied alongside a nod from Blood.

"Mess is behind command. Sleeping area's behind that," he continued, pointing out the living facilities. "We've got workshops further back along 'er spine, and we've got a training and rec' area behind the sleeping quarters. You're free to use all that whenever, just try to be mindful of making noise, particularly in or near the sleeping areas, especially at night."

"Alright, I think we've got it," Beth said, sharing a glance with Blood who again just nodded.

"Alright, let me give my communicator details here. Call me if you need anything," he said before giving them each another handshake, this time passing his contact details to them on physical contact. He gave them a quick nod afterwards before walking off, clearly having other business to take care of.

The girls took some time over the next hour to wander around, moving across pathways and wooden bridges with little more than rope handrails to prevent a plummet of a thousand feet. There were a surprising number of wooden bridges and jointed platforms, but then it sort of made sense when Beth thought about it. With how much Zao moved and shifted, you wouldn't really want long stretches of unbroken stone or metal spread across her back, as they would just break constantly as she maneuvered.

The day wasn't even half over yet, and the girls decided they needed to see about some food. Well, Beth really wanted to eat, and Blood never protested when it came to getting food. They wandered a little more before finding the mess, as Jorn had labeled it, a large space constructed at a place on Zao's back where there would be very little movement, even were she to lay down, allowing the hall to be built with hardly any seams or expansion cracks. They were able to get in a very short line and get food, both grabbing trays that they could pile high with multiple plates.

Finding an out-of-the-way table in the back corner of the room, they set about their meal, tearing through the food in quick order. When they were still only halfway done, a woman approached and signaled with a jerk of her tray to ask if she could join them. Beth just nodded her head, her mouth too full to properly speak, the woman needing no other indication to join them. They ate in silence for a moment, but eventually, the woman decided to speak.

"New recruits?" she asked between bites.

"Something like that," Beth replied, taking a massive swig of water to clear her throat. "We're more like temporary help."

"Little unusual," the woman replied before the whole place shifted slightly, causing both the girls to start. The woman laughed, saying, "First time on a Legendary Beast?"

"Yeah, still not used to it," Beth replied with a nod before settling back down and digging into the last of her food.

"They're pretty amazing," the woman said, gesturing with her fork. "Oh, the names Ell, by the way. Always forget to introduce myself like that."

"Beth," Beth said.

"Blood," Blood said with a nod.

"So, what are Legendary Beasts?" Beth asked, trying to direct the flow from the talkative woman.

"Well, they're a special type of beast, obviously," Ell answered. "They're born big and powerful, and they're also smart, if nobody's told you that yet. They often spend time wandering Mana Tier Five and up worlds, as well as the depths of space when they got stronger."

"Hold on," Beth said, holding up a hand. "What are Mana Tier Five worlds?"

"Ah, you're kinda new to all this?" Ell asked with an arched brow, a clear implication that they were from somewhere where they hadn't been educated on the basics. "A lot of people who don’t really get around much or never get far along their Path just talk about low and high density mana on different worlds, but that's not a very precise system. People who actually get out and about, like us, use one of two different systems, though some people attempt to use their own custom ones just to try to be special.

"The first system is less common and uses an old grading system of between one to one hundred for mana density rating. It's more precise than the other common model but is more finicky and leads to a lot of debates about what is what. The second model is simpler and also the one used by the CRA, so you find it everywhere. That ranks worlds between tier one and tier ten for mana density. There are ranks above that, though they're usually only used for special zones like pocket dimensions and things. Legendary Beasts don't need to be in high mana, but they don't like low mana areas."

"How do they get around?" Beth asked before grinning. "I can't imagine them flying through space or getting on a ship."

"They can transform into a human form, though all of them hate it," Ell answered. "And while not true giants, they're still huge, thirty or forty feet tall."

"What happens to all the stuff on them when they transform?" Beth asked with a slight smirk.

"Pocket dimension," Ell replied with a shrug.

"Weird," Beth said as she finished eating, leaning back with a huge belch. "Oh, 'scuse me."

"Not a problem," Ell replied with a laugh, finishing her own food. "Just let me know if you ever want to talk any more."

The woman got up and walked off with a spring in her step, Beth watching her go. Blood said from her side, "Are you going to mate with her?"

"It's called fucking, Blood," Beth replied with a snort, "And no, I'm not. I'm not going to cross Sabs."

"Well, that woman was seriously into you," Blood said with a shrug, getting up to take her tray to the hand-in.