Limitless Path

Val took them to a building at the edge of the city center, but one that was likely the most luxuriously appointed in the city. It was also much shorter than the other buildings, though it took up quite a sizeable footprint. It was apparently a branch of a very well-known luxury hotel business, something that Val proudly explained when they entered the lobby, though Beth had never heard of it. The hotel spoke for itself, however, as the interior was something out of a movie or a real rich person's ideal dream. The floors were polished marble, the lights extremely expensive mana lamps, the wood all dark oak and beautifully carved, while everything had a tasteful and understated gilt of mana gold.

"This way," said Val as the other two marveled at the lobby, leading them to a private elevator that took them up to the penthouse level.

There were only four units on the top floor, despite the building taking up more than a city block, meaning each of those units was likely close to or more than a quarter of a city block in size. Beth found her guess had been a little off as they walked into Val's suite, seeing that the space inside appeared bigger than what it was outside. Just the entryway was incredible, with so much wealth on display that it made Beth's orichalcum coin of earnings look like peanuts. That entry led into a massive sitting room with huge glass windows and a set of glass doors that let out onto a massive section of the roof with a temperature-controlled pool and hot tub, both of the infinity variety, with a surreal view looking out over the outskirts of the city towards the mountains. Beth didn't even notice at first that they weren't alone in the room, only snapping out of it when a sound like a rifle shot made her flinch slightly and turn to see Tera in one of the armchairs.

"Ms. Tera," Beth says before the cane smacked the floor again.

"Don't you start," Tera said.

"Honored Ancestor-" Val said before the cane slammed again.

"Don't you start, either," Tera snapped.

"Yes, grandmother," Val replied quietly.

"Now come and sit," Tera said, waving at the chairs in the living room.

"Yes," Val replied simply and the three sat.

"Good. Now, tell me; how did this auction of yours go?" Tera asked.

"It wasn't our auction, grandmother," Val responded with a bit of a bite, already recovering from the earlier reprimand.

"Either way," Tera waved a hand dismissively.

"I'm happy," Beth said simply with a huge grin.

"Of course, you would be," Val huffed.

"Oh? Did well for yourself?" Tera asked, sipping some drink from a teacup. Beth would assume it was tea, but she had already learned that normal rules didn't necessarily apply.

"Made more than an orichalcum and got an airship," Beth said with a shrug, though she couldn't hide her grin.

"Impressive," Tera said non-committally, glancing at the other two.

"I didn't get anything," Blood said with a shrug from where she slouched on a couch.

"There was a manifestation gem, but I didn't bid," Val said.

"Good. Trouble you don't need right now," Tera said firmly.

"How so?" Beth asked.

"Not only would it make you a massive target if anyone found out, but it would also be worthless," Tera said calmly. Seeing the confused looks, she continued, "Manifestation artifacts can't just be used. They'll improve or alter your Presence, sure, but they'll damage your foundation. You need a very skilled alchemist, enchanter, or both working together to transform it into a one-time use item that will improve your Presence without damaging either your Presence or body long-term."

"Is this another of those hidden secrets of the powerful, Grandmother?" Val asked with a somewhat skeptical tone.

"Something like that," Tera said after another sip. "You would need at least a Divine-level crafter to handle something like that unless you had multiple Sages working together."

"I don't even know what Divine is," Beth said with a frown.

"The level after Sage. In skill terms, Sage is Mithril while Divine is Orichalcum," Tera explained crisply.

"I guess it really does pay to get anything you find examined by someone knowledgeable," Beth said with a bit of a thoughtful look.

"That's correct," Tera said mildly after a sip of tea. "Unless you study extensively to understand appraisal, or are quite skilled in the relevant profession, you should take anything valuable to someone knowledgeable. What was the level of the gem at the auction?"

"Artifact, Grandmother," Val replied.

"Even more reason to stay out of it," Tera said with another dismissive wave.

"So, what are your plans next?" Val asked, turning to Beth as she slightly awkwardly shifted the conversation.

"We have to check with Rell," Beth started. "But I think we'll try to get our second rebirths done, and then explore. We have some time before we have to do anything else, and it's a good opportunity to level and make some money."

"You wouldn't be interested in joining the Young Scions for an expedition?" Val asked a slight bit tentatively.

"And have to deal with all the press? And the muscleheads?" Beth asked with a frown.

"It's really not as bad as all that," Val replied defensively. "I can also easily shield you from the press. You'd just have to deal with those so-called muscleheads, but I think you can handle them."

"Thanks, but I think we'll pass," Beth replied, leaning back in her chair. "We've got other stuff to do and then we have to meet back up with the Lord of Traversal."

"Oh, psh," Tera said. "Mortaine barely knows which dimension, or millennium, he's in half the time. You could take an extra year or two and he'd barely notice."

"Eh, still," Beth shrugged. "I think we'll take care of the business we've got going on right now before looking for any other kind of trouble."

"Suit yourself," Val said.

"Granddaughter," Tera warned, the cane thumping on the marble floor.

"Apologies," Val said quietly.

"We will be on this planet for at least a few days yet," Tera then commented. "Give me your contact details, kiddo."

"Sure," Beth replied, getting up and exchanging details with Tera.

"Now, I need some time to go over the rest of the fallout from this governor debacle still. Why don't you kiddos go do something fun?" Tera said, making it clear it wasn't a suggestion but much more of a command.

"I'll take them out, Grandmother," Val said, standing and giving her grandmother a bow, earning another sharp report from the cane, before leading Beth and Blood out.

She led the two out of the hotel and down the street, taking them along several back roads before they wound up at a three-story building with several people moving in and out. Val ignored the front door, instead leading them into the alley to the side of the building where they found an old wooden sign hanging over a set of stairs leading down to the basement level. The sign was weathered but the letters carved into it were still clearly legible, naming the place The Blue Rose.

"This is a bar owned by a friend of Honored Ancestor's," Val said before they descended the stairs. "She's known as the Blue Queen, and she owns quite a large number of businesses and buildings throughout the galaxy. The series of bars known as the Blue Rose are exclusive, high-end establishments that cater to a certain…highbrow clientele. You can get in on my pass tonight, but you'll either need to purchase a membership or present them some other high-level qualification to enter."

They entered the bar after that, Beth finding it incredibly amusing that a live band was playing something that very much could be called Jazz on the corner stage. It was also an establishment where privacy was respected, likely due to the fact that it was an exclusive club that only boasted very wealthy and powerful members. Unlike everywhere else where Val was essentially swarmed by people, she barely received a handful of glances, all of those people quickly returning to their conversations and drinks. The three found a corner booth, though it was composed of a single long bench with amazing upholstery that was recessed into the walls and had a built-in privacy screen, and after getting settled, they proceeded to order some drinks.

Beth was not a particularly heavy drinker, but she put away quite a bit that night, though she was still lucid enough to confidently stagger back to the CRA Hall with a minimum of tripping and swaying. She made it into the room fine but then made everything she was wearing disappear and just collapsed into bed before passing out. She wasn't even aware that Blood was with her and had not partaken of quite as much and so was better able to watch over them. Blood even had the awareness to get cleaned up for the evening before joining Beth in bed and passing out.

The next morning Beth woke a bit groggy, noticing Blood next to her after sitting up and stretching. She ran her hands through her hair as she hopped out of bed and padded to the bathroom, taking care of her morning routine before getting herself some breakfast. That breakfast included a huge mug of Hunting Spice, which she enhanced with her own favorite additive. Blood joined her a bit later and ate her own breakfast before the two were fully ready for the day.

Their first stop was the Seven Lights firm, where they needed to pick up all their materials for their next rebirth. They made their way across the city in the midmorning light, Beth once again noting the amount of traffic on the streets, much of it people with barely any levels who gave off almost no impression of power. Regular citizens who didn't bother with leveling and pursing power still made up a bulk of the people even in a capital city like this on a high-mana density world. Though, Beth was aware that very powerful people could disguise everything, from their aura to their level to their abilities, so it was never a great idea to assume that someone was just a nobody just based on an initial look.

They arrived at the Seven Lights to find the lobby empty other than the employees behind the counter. Beth walked up to the person at the center of the counter and immediately presented her token, the person scrambling to assure her she would contact a high-level associate. Beth asked for Alex, which did surprise the person slightly, but she assured Beth that she would get the angel down to the lobby right away. It only took two minutes for Alex to appear, with the attendant sweating the whole time, but Beth ignored them and quickly spoke with Blood for a minute.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Alex said, gesturing for the two to head back down the hallway with her.

"It's nothing," Beth shrugged, following her down to the elevators.

They moved up to the room they had used before, though there was nothing laid out on the table today. Alex sat across from them and said, "I have someone running down and getting the items from the warehouse. It should only take a minute."

"No problem. We really don't have anything else going on right now," Beth said laconically.

They waited for about fifteen minutes while making small talk before one of the ubiquitous attendants rounded up their lot that had been set aside before the auction. Beth was now glad Alex had brought them to this room with the large central table because the items took up a big chunk of that table. Everything they needed was laid out before them other than the beast cores, of which they had plenty sitting in their storages, and the life essence.

"Everything here is twenty-one diamond coins," Alex said. Beth made the coins appear in the air in front of her and flicked them to Alex, the angel catching them without even looking. "Plus, we have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Beth asked, noting that even Blood perked up a bit.

Selene walked in, the attendant having left a moment before, and walked over to Blood, presenting her with a glowing green item in a case. Blood took it and examined it, Beth using her eye power on it to find it was a Life Essence, exactly what Blood needed. With that item, Blood now had everything she needed for her second rebirth, meaning they could now proceed with theirs without either of them getting left behind.

"So, real question; how much?" Beth asked, glancing between Alex and Selene.

"Fifteen diamonds. Non-negotiable," Selene said with a small, slightly apologetic smile. Beth made the coins appear and they disappeared before she could even flick them at either of the women, which she thought was a neat trick.

"Forgive me if I don't stick around, but I did want to give that to you personally whenever you showed up today," Selene said before giving them a small bow and sweeping out of the room.

"Is there anything else you two need?" Alex asked with a smile.

"Not right this moment," Beth replied. "We'll be in the area for a while, so we'll stop in if we do need anything."

"Let me escort you out," Alex said then, doing just that and guiding them back to the lobby.

"See ya," Beth said, drawing a few goggling looks from the desk staff at her casualness with the senior angel.

"Please, stop by any time," Alex said with a warm smile before returning to the depths of the building.

"So, what now?" asked Blood lazily.

"Not here," Beth said coolly, leading the wolf back to their room at the CRA Hall.

"Now, what's next is we rebirth," Beth said once they were safely ensconced in their private suite.

"You wanna do it now?" Blood asked with a raised brow.

"We don't have anything pressing," Beth replied with a shrug. "I'll call Rell first, just to check if they need our help with anything. If not, we rebirth and then power-level up to over one hundred and see where we're at. It should only take us a few weeks to hit a hundred in compressed time, if even that."

"Won't it be pretty obvious when our levels are really different?" Blood asked, though she didn't actually seem worried.

"We'll have even further improved stats. Besides, the only people who would really ask questions are Mortaine's people or the Young Scions. If Rell and Itharion don't need help with anything, we'll rebirth, train a bit, then head out and explore. If we pop back up in a month or two objective time at level one-fifty or so, there won't really be too many, if any, questions. If we disappear into our room one day at level one hundred and come out two days later at level two hundred, then there'd be some big questions," Beth said.

"If you think it won't be suspicious, then I don't have a problem with it," Blood said with a nod.

"Right, but not here," Beth said. "Let's book a training room for an hour. They're sturdier than the living areas, or it seems so, at least. Don't want to blow our bedroom up."

"Not like that, anyway," Blood replied with a slightly wicked grin.

"Gonna invite Val over?" Beth asked with a grin of her own as they left the suite.

"Not yet. Gotta play it slow," Blood said with a deeper grin.

"If you say so," Beth shrugged, leading them to an empty training room and setting the room to private with her key.