They spent the rest of the afternoon in training, Beth having the others use their Presences, though they weren't able to replicate her methods just yet. That had them end a bit early, at least compared to Beth's usual schedule, and this time Soph was alert enough to head back to their family home with Kim without feeling it was dangerous. Beth, Blood, and Sabs headed back to their room to clean up, eat, and hit the sack for the night, with Beth expressing to Sabs that they were going to go back to what they had been working on, leaving the other three with their trainers for the next few weeks.
The next morning, they were up early and ready quickly, Sabs splitting off from the two before they retreated to 'their' farming spot. Beth made sure they found a small alcove in the rocks, somwhere that she could set the gate up so that it wouldn’t be seen by anyone running through the area not taking the time to scan the area thoroughly. She was just a bit concerned that anyone like Bronson or his team might stumble upon them, though she knew those kinds of peoples and groups were still quite rare on Earth. She wasn't, in point of fact, totally sure how Bronson's team had managed to tear through the high one hundreds at the same kind of speed she and Blood did. Unless…they found somewhere that was time-dilated to take advantage of and get a decent number of very quick levels. She would have to ask Tazeen if they could maybe get a little info out of Bronson at some point before his fines were paid up.
They spent the next two weeks on their farm game, as they had been, a total of twenty weeks passing for them of subjective time. The biggest problem they had in these levels, the rather early ones, was the need for them to run far from the gate to find something challenging, Beth lamenting her lack of more precise control over the gate. They still made great progress, getting more than thirty levels in those twenty weeks of grinding, moving them to just under level one hundred fifty. They took two days off back at the Hall, checking in with the others to find them still working hard and training hard, though they didn't push themselves the same way Beth and Blood did.
Afterwards, it was out again for more grinding, repeating the pattern again as they fought for two weeks, or twenty weeks to them, trying to get as close to two hundred as possible. This was likely the last rotation before it really slowed down, Beth recalling what it was like to push through one-seventy through two hundred last time. Even so, they made great time, still aided by the extra stats they had carried over from their first rebirth. They were able to blow past the one-fifty mark, and even the one sixty mark, heading back to the Hall to rest at level one hundred sixty-five, Beth looking over their stats as they returned for another 'weekend.'
Name
Elizabeth Anne Bell
Class
Brawler
Level
165[1]
Strength
560
Dexterity
284
Endurance
266
Intelligence
60
Wisdom
60
Free Points
0
Titles
Silver Flame Empress' Inheritor
Skills
Acid Resistance Copper[9]
Ancient World Gate[2]
Beastly Body Silver[9]
Blacksmithing Journeyman[0]
Celestial Annihilation Silver[8]
Crush Silver[9]
Earth Resistance Copper[8]
Flame Resistance Copper[9]
Focused Meditation Silver[0]
FrostFlame Eye Silver[6]
Ice Resistance Copper[9]
Indomitable Heart Silver[5]
Lightning Resistance Copper[9]
Lordly Reconstruction Silver[9]
Monstrous Blow Silver[5]
Pain Tolerance Silver[9]
Spatial Step Copper[9]
Swift Silver[8]
Swords Journeyman[9]
Toxic Resistance Silver[3]
Unarmed Journeyman[9]
Wealth
1d 33p 77g 11s 5c
Emblems
CRA Silver Badge (150CP)
Bonds
Blood
Name
Blood
Race
Red Wolf Queen
Level
165[1]
Strength
300
Dexterity
580
Endurance
228
Intelligence
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
60
Wisdom
60
Free Points
0
Titles
-
Skills
Acid Resistance Copper[3]
Blood Queen's Claws Silver[9]
Earth Resistance Copper[6]
Eyes of Hallowed Truth Silver[3]
Flame Resistance Copper[8]
Ice Resistance Copper[8]
Leatherworking Apprentice[7]
Lightning Resistance Copper[8]
Meditation Copper[9]
Pain Tolerance Silver[7]
Regeneration Copper[9]
Rending Bite Copper[9]
Spatial Step Copper[9]
Swift Silver[9]
Toxic Resistance Silver[1]
Unarmed Journeyman[5]
Wealth
0d 89p 50g 4s 2c
Emblem
CRA Copper Badge (100CP)
Based on how fast they were still going, Beth was hoping it wouldn't be more than three more rotations until they were ready for the dungeon. She had decided, and Blood simply followed along, that they would try the dungeon as soon as they hit one-ninety, and if they weren't ready, they would do the same thing they had done so long ago for the kobolds, using Beth's gate to cheat and make sure they were ready. That could take quite a while, though, so they would have to make sure that at least Sabs knew they could be gone an extended time, and that they stocked up on plenty of supplies beforehand. Doing anything over level two hundred was the work of weeks, usually, a level that not a whole lot of Wayfarers saw, or saw routinely, at any rate.
Beth shook the thoughts off as they got back to the Hall, passing through the lobby on their way in. She stopped to check with Tazeen about a few things, giving him a gold coin to extend their room another hundred days. She also mentioned her suspicions about Bronson's team, but Tazeen informed her that there was no reasonable way they could compel them to reveal anything. Her best bet would be to discuss with one of his team members about their fast leveling and offer them some monetary compensation in return for the details.
Beth wasn't thrilled by the prospect and decided to drop it for now; they had a speed leveling strategy that only some of the Seniors knew about, they didn't need to learn someone else's trick. She thanked him and led the way down to their room, finding it empty in the early afternoon. The two of them cleaned up, Beth thinking about buying some kind of portable tub they could use while on the road, but she was sure they could get things like that later. She thought of Jaq's truck and his comments about them eventually needing something like that, thinking that they could get something with less storage space and that also included a small bathroom, like some of those modern truck campers with really nice interiors.
Her dreams of fancy vehicles were interrupted by Sabs's return, the girl strolling in to find the two sprawled over the furniture. She quickly went about getting herself out of her equipment before heading in to take a shower. Once she was much more presentable, she started something heating quick before joining Beth on the couch. She gave the taller girl a hug that was more like a tackle, starting from off the couch, with a big "Happy Birthday!" thrown in for good measure.
"Oh, yeah! I guess it was my birthday," Beth said, returning the hug and chuckling a bit sheepishly.
"Still a teenager technically, but for less than a year," Sabs said, noting that Beth could likely be considered to be in her twenties due to the time dilation she had experienced.
"We should throw a little party, just a few of us," Beth said, thinking about it for a moment.
"We could invite a couple others. Kim and I have been somewhat social," Sabs commented.
"What about Soph?" Beth asked, Sabs taking her meaning right away.
"You know she doesn't like people," the petite girl chuckled. "She spends all her time studying when she isn't fighting."
"Well, I don't want anything crazy, but we could get some people together," Beth said. "Get a few drinks and some food."
"Have to be careful who drinks," Sabs said.
"Eh, who cares," Beth shrugged. "I'm sure it matters even less now, with stats and everything. Having a couple drinks when you're seventeen would be crazy before, but now it doesn't matter."
"You know, it's only really crazy for Americans," Sabs chuckled, getting up and getting her food before resuming. "A lot of Europeans would drink at least a bit at, what, like fifteen or something?"
"Yeah, I talked with somebody from the UK a couple times when playing games, and they drank a lot in high school," Beth said with a slight chuckle. "Not sure whether it was fully legal, but they talked about drinking quite a bit and nobody thought it was that crazy, at least not over there."
"Well, anyway, we shouldn't go too crazy," Sabs said with a quick wiggle of her eyebrows.
"Certainly not if we have it in here," Beth said, looking around at the modest-sized living room.
"We can make use of one of the lounge rooms," Sabs suggested.
"You mean like where Baelvyr and them sit?" Beth asked.
"Yeah, but there's more rooms like that scattered around," Sabs explained. "These arenas are meant to host huge competitions, which include having VIP guests present. There're more lounges in the main building, and a bunch in the arena itself, including a couple in the underworks. Those are usually more used by highly respected fighters and their entourages; I'm sure we could reserve one of them for a day, or two, depending on how much time we think we'll need."
"I'll ask Tazeen about it," Beth said. "Oh, and I dropped him another gold piece for another hundred days; we were just about to run out."
"Oh, good, I was going to do that today but I got busy," Sabs said, leaning back with a sigh now that she had finished eating.
The two spent some time together, Blood dozing off to the side as always, before they got ready for bed. They cleaned the apartment a bit, at Sabs's insistence, before doing their nighttime routine, Sabs mentioning she'd gather people up tomorrow for a party the day after. Beth was totally fine with that, and thanked the older girl with more than words as they settled down in bed for the night.
The next day flew by as Beth spent the whole time working on her Blacksmithing. Having the skill in Journeyman was a very new experience, the amount of natural knowledge provided by a crafting skill being a good bit more than a weaponskill. It wasn't like it just did everything for her, but the depths to which crafting could be taken, particularly in the overall system enforced by the Limitless Path, were startling. Even with her newfound knowledge provided by the skill, her practice, and her continued study, Beth hadn't even touched the surface of what was really possible.
The day was gone almost as soon as she could blink, Beth working with mana steel the whole time, simply trying to increase her familiarity with shaping the metal. When it was evening, she packed everything up, returning the few tools she had to her necklace while making sure her area was tidy. She returned to the suite and washed up before making food. When Sabs returned, she informed Beth that she had made all the arrangements for the next day, and the two enjoyed a quiet night together.
The next day they were up and moving early, even though they really didn't need to be. The party wasn't until the afternoon, so they took care of some busy work, including laundry, in the morning while they waited. When it was time, Sabs led the way up and out, taking them to a section under the stands but on ground level, where a large room opened to a touch from her emblem. There wasn't anybody there when they entered and Sabs spent a minute getting the food and drinks ready, most of which she had ordered the day before to be present today. Beth still wasn't sure how the food delivery worked, since it all just showed up but she never saw anybody stocking any of the rooms. For all she knew, John snuck around invisible and put stuff in people's refrigerators while they weren't looking.
People trickled in after that, including Beth's sisters and Blood, and then a number of people she only vaguely recognized, other than James, the young man they had helped out what felt like ages ago. His growth wasn't anything shabby, either, having just hit level ninety and clearly bearing some more experience in the way he carried himself and acted. Sabs introduced Beth to the others, who all wished her a happy birthday and chatted with her for a bit, but the real star of the show wasn't her.
Ironically enough, it was Blood, who had taken a spot in a set of couches in the back, Soph sitting on one of her legs, and many of the rest of the guests gathered around her. They all seemed fascinated with the lupine woman, and having asked her about exactly what she was had started her on a long series of explanations that turned into a partial narration of their travels so far. Beth was rather surprised the normally taciturn wolf was so loquacious when it came to their adventures in front of a group of random strangers, but she shrugged it off as a more social side of Blood she wasn't used to seeing.
Beth ate quite a bit before joining the explanations with a big mug of Hunting Spice. The drink was much more of a stimulant versus the depressant, alcohol, that everyone else was chugging, but Beth liked it a lot better than the admittedly limited number of alcoholic drinks she had tried. She was pretty sure there was at least something out there that she would like, but she was going to save the booze experiments for her own time.
Not that everyone else was of the same mind, including Blood and Sabs, though Sabs was taking it easy with some kind of wine that was fairly low alcohol content. Blood was drinking some kind of beer and she seemed to be rather enjoying it, based on the speed at which she was guzzling it. Despite it being her party, Beth was content to let Blood steal the center of the show, not wanting to be put in the spotlight in front of even a handful of people. Though, she was a little less content when the lupine woman narrated some of their more…daring misadventures, earning her some glares from Sabs. They'd be talking about that later, she was sure.
Overall, it was a very pleasant afternoon and evening, which continued into the night after the party broke up, with Sabs giving Beth a very nice late-night present. A present that took a couple hours to fully deliver, though Beth certainly wasn't complaining bout the delivery time. They eventually fell asleep in the very early hours of the morning, fortunately not needing much sleep, though the early roll call wasn't really necessary as Beth and Blood were taking another day off before heading out again.
And it was a good thing they had decided on an extra day in Blood's case, as the lupine woman appeared to be suffering the effects of a mild hangover. Considering just how many gallons of beer the wolf had managed to chug during the party, Beth was rather surprised at just how mild it was. It did mean Blood didn't want to even lever herself off the couch, but she really didn't need to, though Beth did turn the wallscreen on despite the hungover woman's protests.