LimitlessPath

A New Star Chapter 15

I did wait another day, as the estate had a certain rhythm to it. While there was only an idea of a single weekend day or day off at the very end of the week, which not even everyone got to enjoy, there were certain times the estate was busier and certain times it was calmer. Coming up on that weekend day the estate slowed down a little, though I still had quite a few reservations about how 'fast' the guards ever were, but that was something to worry about later.

The day I decided to mo...

Limitless Path Chapter Four Hundred

Val stayed with them an extra night before she, with quite a load of grumbling, left the following day. She had another half a day before she had to meet back up with the Young Scions, but she was going to have to take care of a whole bunch of admin work before that happened. Beth and Sera made sure she knew she was welcome any time before she left, even if she was fleeing the Young Scions (said only half-jokingly). After she was gone, Beth figured it was time to give their youngest member a ...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Ninety-Nine

"Guess Veren bailed," Andrea said when they all gathered together.

"Likely he wasn't feeling challenged or some such," Val said. "He does whatever he wants and, while it's really arrogant, he has the skills already to back up that annoying arrogance."

"So, what's our plan?" Sera asked, redirecting the conversation.

"Go to floor two hundred, then regroup," Beth said. "Does anyone think they want to climb the next floors as a group?"

"I think we should do it as groups," ...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Ninety-Eight

"Halt, travelers," the one on the left ground out, his voice like a box of rocks in a spin cycle.

"You must pay the fee to enter," the one on the right rumbled.

"What's the fee? And what is this place?" Andrea asked.

"This is the Tower of Rebirth. The Path has deemed fit to move it from our home world, where it has sat idle for centuries now, to this new world. We are the Endra, the architects of the tower. To enter the tower and challenge the floors, you must pay a diamond ...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Ninety-Seven

"Well, that was good fun," Andrea said as they were walking back up to the suite. 

"Time for a nice break," Beth agreed, leading the way into the common room. 

"Shower first, though," Andrea replied, now leading the way as they walked into the bathroom. 

"How many stats, or whatever you got, did that device give you?" Beth chatted as they stripped down. 

"I got a hundred points in END from it," Andrea replied as Beth started the shower and tested th...

A New Star Chapter 14

My parents, it turned out, wanted confirmation on my affinities as they were embroiled in the hunt for a tutor for me. I reaffirmed my affinities, including demonstrating that I had acquired flame, which greatly pleased my mother. After going over the basic types of my affinities with them, still withholding that I had ice, as I was not going to reveal all my cards to anyone, I returned to my rooms. It was time for dinner, and I ate in my rooms by myself before turning in for the night.  ...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Ninety-Six

"So, okay, loot done," Beth said. "Now, Bjorn, can you tell us what the fuck that was all about?" 

"Hmm," he replied. "It's, well, a bit complicated." 

"Complicated how?" Andrea asked. 

"Two things," Bjorn said. "First, I can't tell you everything. Second, the more you know about this, the more dangerous it is. Do you still want in?" 

Everyone in the room looked around at each other, other than Veren, who just shrugged casually. When nobody objected...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Ninety-Five

Bjorn took the lead in entering the room, making sure there wasn't some mechanical monstrosity waiting for them. His concern was good as it was always great to maintain a state of caution and awareness, but he needn't have bothered. The room was empty of beasts, empty of traps, empty of any threat to their safety and well-being. Even if there wasn't much of anything in this final room, Beth would already be quite happy with their gains. Bringing the whole team along had shown massive benefits...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Ninety-Four

"Okay, but, how?" asked Andrea. 

"Like this," Bjorn said, walking forward.  

He strode up to one of the pillars, but that was not his destination. The others hadn't noticed, but there was a small platform by that pillar, more like a step, as it was about a foot high and three feet wide. It was also about four feet deep, making it a small rectangle of metal that protruded from the floor. On closer inspection, Beth was able to see the platform was absolutely covered, ...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Ninety-Three

After cleaning up the floor and taking a long rest, they were ready for floor ten, which consisted of tons of rooms that were laid out like offices. It was clear the offices weren't for the mechanical titans, as they weren't very big on paperwork, but it was a leftover from when the facility was actually in use. That would have been thousands of years ago, at a minimum, as the titans and giants hadn't been around for many, many years.  

Beth stopped Bjorn from just smashing ev...

A New Star Chapter 13

The next day I was up rather early, even if my maids were a touch late. I assumed they had stayed up a bit in the servants' quarters after the banquet, likely enjoying themselves with a bit of good food and alcohol. I wasn't particularly upset, as they were simply tending to my minor needs; it would be a different story if they had an important duty to carry out this morning. But that was neither here nor there, and I allowed them to quickly help me clean up before dressing me in my training ...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Ninety-Two

Taking a little break after floor two, they huddled around by the massive stairway that led to floor three. The stairs up and down were not located in the same place, though Bjorn had said that one of the doors they couldn't get open next to each staircase was for an elevator. They could have spent some time and effort to bash through the doors and get access to the shaft, but Bjorn said he was certain the elevators were key-locked and password protected. They could still use the shaft to ski...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Ninety-One

Blood took over again, taking point as they moved back up the tunnel to the shaft and then turned for the area that used to lead to the kobold city but now led to the kobold maze. It was what was at the center of that maze that was of interest to them right now, and why Beth had invited Bjorn specifically. Blood was the only other one who knew what was down there and she was staying quiet, letting the others experience it for themselves. 

"Anything in these side areas?" Sera asked ...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Ninety

"How much did you lose?" Beth asked Sera casually as they were sitting on the couch. 

Sera winced. "Oof, don't want to talk about it." 

"Why'd you bet a lot against that," Beth asked, jerking her thumb at Bjorn, who was drinking like it was the first time he'd ever encountered liquid. 

"I am not a that," he said crossly. 

"Well, you're certainly something," Beth said, eliciting a couple chuckles. 

They made small talk fo...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Eighty-Nine

She also noted that Kris was sitting next to Sera now, with no Andrea in between, with Neph on Kris's other side, though the bee girl had stopped interrogating the phoenix about alchemy. Beth saw that Bjorn was drinking from a tankard just as big if not bigger than Baelvyr's usual mug, and Sera was sipping from a large, cut crystal glass. She was still often surprised by the things that Sera sometimes pulled out of her storage power, considering the glass looked like it was meant for a royal ...

A New Star Chapter 12

My first task was to create one of the most basic and easiest of potions; a simple healing potion. I was not yet an alchemist, but one couldn't become a profession in this world without doing it. For every profession, the requirement to acquire them, and to level them, was to create an object using that profession. For me, this would mean I would need to brew a potion, or elixir, or pill, or so on. There were different requirements on those different methods, as well, but the most basic form ...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Eighty-Eight

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Sera asked once they were in the suite and all distractions had been dispensed with. 

"Level," Beth replied with a shrug. "There's some exploring I want to do, but I don't want us to be two hundred to do it. We'll try to get Neph through one or even two rebirths while we're going as well." 

"Where at?" Blood asked, referencing the exploration. 

"Let me keep my secrets for now," Beth replied with a grin. "Let's just focus on leveling...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Eighty-Seven

"Well, that's, ah, a lot to process," Malcolm said, seeming a bit shell-shocked. 

"I'm in," Zack said with a nod. "Especially if I can take a break at some point to come back." 

"We're not gonna kidnap you, Zack. You can stop and check on the town whenever you want," Beth said, rolling her eyes quite heavily. 

"Then I'm in. Those pathetic privates can muddle through for a few days on their own. I don't think they'll burn the whole damn town down ...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Eighty-Six

Beth opened up the data packet that Mortaine had sent her before he pulled his soda pop (quite literally) act of disappearing. He had sent her quite a bit this time, which surprised her, as the old Exalted normally gave her about three sentences to go on, if that. This time, he gave her more than twenty pages of material, which was even more impressive considering one of the pages was a list of references and materials they should study for the next job. That took the provided materials from ...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Eighty-Five

"That should do," Beth said. 

"No point in doing more," Blood agreed, starting to walk across the field towards the town.  

"Well, it wasn't fun, but at least we helped," Sera said, stepping behind Beth and wrapping her arms around Beth's torso. 

"Yeah, they need more people that can deal with this," Beth said with a sigh. "Maybe we should level my parents and Zack a little. If we got them a rebirth and then leveled them again, they'd have a way easier ti...

A New Star Chapter 11

My mother abducted me…well, that would be a bit of a harsh way to put it. She took me to eat with her and father in a small dining room the two used in their suite. Their suite itself, by the way, could pass for a rather good house or even small mansion anywhere else, but here it was just my parents' living quarters. The table, even for an informal evening meal, had seating for a dozen, though the servants only laid out places for the three of us. My mother had set me down on entering the r...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Eighty-Four

"Are you going to stay here tonight?" Rachel asked, looking between the girls. 

"Well, I don't know that we have room," Beth said. 

"There's plenty of space," Rachel insisted. 

"I wouldn't mind at least seeing where you grew up," Sera said, lightly scratching Beth's stomach. 

"I don't think my bed will even fit you and I, but sure, let's see what it is," Beth said, standing ...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Eighty-Three

"And?" Beth asked. 

"Well, your sisters formed a group with, uhm, your ex and several others and left for the stars…" Thomas explained a bit abashedly. 

"Well, I can't really be angry at them for doing what I also did," Beth said with a shrug. 

"I thought you might take it harder than that…" said Rachel. 

"I'm not their parents," Beth said to their parents with a grin.&n...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Eighty-Two

Next, it was time to meet the parents, so to speak. Beth was in the lead this time, and took them down the central street to the community center, which had been rebuilt since she was last there into a somewhat larger, three-story construction. There was one of Zack's people guarding the front door, looking rather bored, until they walked up. Then they jumped up and came halfway to attention before thinking better of it and questioning the group. 

"Sorry, but not...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Eighty-One

"Eloquent as always," Jaq said with a sarcastic bite to his tone. 

"Well, I can always figure out if it's real or not by just punching them in the face," Beth replied to his snark with a shrug. 

"There's no helping you," Jaq said with an exaggerated sigh. "Was there anything you actually needed?" 

"To bother you," Beth replied immediately, getting a poke in the ribs from Sera. 

"I...

A New Star Chapter 10

I was surprised on entering my living room to find my sister within, sitting on a chair next to the fireplace. She stood with some haste on my entry, but I waved for her to resume her seat before moving into the bath, leaving the door open. 

"To what do I owe the pleasure, sister?" I asked into the room as I got ready for my bath. 

"It can wait until you're done," she replied, resuming her seat.  

I wash...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Eighty

It was that night that Selene learned about Sera's love of laying on top of other beautiful women as if they were her hoard. Beth had embraced Selene, tangling their limbs together, and the dragon had flopped on top of them both, pressing her huge breasts against them and wrapping both her long arms and very long tail around them. It might have seemed a little weird from an outside perspective, but Selene found it immensely comfortable. Beth was the last asleep and the first awake, as was usu...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Seventy-Nine

What did interest Beth was the finale, the last handful of items of the day quite exceptional for this auction. It was even more delightful for her that the first of those items was the thing she wanted the most, though it wasn't a truly exceptional piece. Nor was it what the massive crowds had been drawn there for, giving Beth quite a bit of hope of securing it. The starting price was also rather reasonable at one mithril coin, with increments only needing to be ten diamond coins. Beth waite...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Seventy-Eight

"Where now?" asked Sera as they left. 

"I think we should try to get the next most difficult thing next," Beth said with a slight frown. "Let's see if we can find some way to get her an eye power. Whether we can do that or not, we can then see about grabbing her some equipment, which will be a lot easier. Then we can get some clothes and other stuff." 

"We should get her a necklace or storage power," said Sera. 

 &nbs...

Limitless Path Chapter Three Hundred Seventy-Seven

The next few days were much of the same, with them helping Neph, though not directly. If they scouted for her and identified targets for her to hunt and kill, it wouldn't really count against her experience very much. If they did anything more to help, however, it would be a big detriment to her experience gain. It was a little frustrating to watch and not be able to do anything, but Beth simply had a book, or two, up in the edges of her vision while they let Neph level. The bee was even stro...