Limitless Path

"And after all that grumbling about staying up all night," Alex said, grinning at her partner with a clear look of adoration in her eyes.

"Yes, well, didn't you shoot that full of holes earlier?" Selene teased before giving Alex a peck on the cheek.

Beth grinned watching the two of them, able to genuinely feel how much they cared for each other. She then redirected the conversation, asking," I have a question about something I'm looking to buy. Well, actually more than one thing, but they're two separate categories."

"Shoot," Selene said, slouching back even deeper in the couch and casually wrapping an arm around Alex.

"Firstly, take a look at this," Beth said, flicking Selene and Alex their current rebirth lists.

Beth:

100 Tier 2 Beast Cores

50 Level 200 Rare Weapons

10 Diamond Hearts (6/10)

1 Star Essence

1 Void Wisp

1 Dark Monster Heart

Blood:

40 Tier 3 Beast Cores

20 Royal Beast Hearts

10 Ruby Hearts

10 Monster Blood Essence

1 Tier 4 Life Essence

"We have the beast cores, and we've got some of the diamond hearts. I don't think the rare weapons will be that much of an issue, either," Beth explained. "But all the other stuff, the hearts, the blood essence, etc., will be pretty hard to get our hands on. You wouldn't be able to help with that, would you?"

"We can get you all of this," Selene said calmly. "However, price and time are the two issues. We don't have all of this on hand, though we actually could fulfill most of your lists right now. The prices will be pretty steep, though compared to what's on this table, it will be a mild sting. The only issues are the dark monster heart and the tier four life essence. Those we would have to source from elsewhere, likely another branch, and having them shipped over already would be costly. If we have to go to external vendors or personnel, it will take even longer and cost even more."

"What would the price be?" Beth asked, fidgeting a bit at Selene's explanation.

"Hmm, let me tally what we have," the demon answered, doing some quick math. Alex had also scanned the list and seemed to be doing her own checks. After a minute, Selene said, "Fulfilling everything you need, leaving out the beast cores, weapons, and the dark monster heart and life essence, would run you five diamond coins."

"Oh fuck," Beth gasped, having expected it to be a lot, but not quite that much.

"The power of the weapons doesn't matter, not for a rebirth. Not unless it specifically states it does," Alex then explained. "If you wanted fifty of the cheapest level 200 rare or better weapons we have, that would be about ten diamond coins."

"So, fifteen diamond, and that doesn't count the two rarest, aka, most valuable pieces," Beth breathed a sigh. "In the end, it's worth it."

"I looked up the two missing pieces," Selene then said. "A nearby branch has, surprisingly enough, a dark monster heart. With delivery fees, it would be six diamond coins. Nobody nearby has a life essence, but I put out a request in our system. We should hear back quickly, no later than end-of-day at latest. Considering nobody nearby has it, it'll likely go for as much as ten diamond coins."

"Twenty-one diamond, plus another maybe ten or more," Beth said with another sigh. "Suddenly, our huge windfall isn't looking quite so impressive."

"You'd still scrape out some quite decent profit if you sold them directly," Alex said with a shrug. "Depending on what happens in the auction, you maybe make a small profit, or you could still be sitting quite pretty. It just depends on who's there and what they want."

"I'll still try my luck in the auction," Beth said with a shrug. "Can you two set aside everything, including the weapons, for us? We have the beast cores and six of the diamond hearts, so everything else but the life essence?"

"Done," Selene said with a nod. "I just told someone to gather them from the warehouse and put them in a restricted lot for a buyer. I also ordered the heart delivered; it should be here by tomorrow morning, not that there's any rush. There's still another three days before the auction, and I'm guessing you don't have enough on hand without the payday to cover everything?"

"We each only have a little over a diamond right now," Beth said with a shake of her head.

"Ouch," Selene winced. "Then yes, we'll set that all aside, including the heart, until after the auction. I'll let you know if we get a positive on the life essence and, who knows, it may appear in the auction in a few days. All kinds of random rare and valuable items pop up in those."

"You said you had something else?" Alex asked then.

"Yeah, that's right," Beth nodded. "The other thing I was thinking about was a mobile house, or camp that was stored in an item, or something like that. Blood and I only have tents right now, and while they're nice tents, I'm looking to upgrade to something a little…less shitty?"

"Hmm, well, we have plenty of things that fit that bill," Selene said. "However, the category you're talking about is quite pricey. When you upgrade from tent to house, especially if you want it to fit in an item or storage power, the price starts high and only goes higher. The cheapest options we have for something like that are around twenty or twenty-five diamond coins. After that, the sky's really the limit; we sell a model that's practically a portable mansion with everything you could dream of needing or wanting, all for a modest fifteen orichalcum coins."

Beth nearly choked on her saliva when she heard that price, representing a value over a thousand times what she had brought in with the gems and minerals. "I think that might be just a touch, just a wee little bit, outside our budget."

"I had thought so," Selene said with another huge, ravishing grin. "But we can certainly get you something nice for a handful of diamonds. Now, are you interested in a vehicle of some kind, or do you want something that fits in an item or storage power?"

"What's the difference, other than the vehicle, like, moving?" Beth asked with a frown.

"Well, that is the main difference," Selene said with a shrug. "Even the slowest vehicles usually are far faster than what most people can sustain over long distances, and even if you can move quite fast for a while, that will still tire you to some extent. Having a ground vehicle that can cover even rough terrain at a few hundred miles per hour, or having an airship that could go just over the speed of sound regardless of terrain, saves you both time and energy, and saving yourself mana and stamina is a time savings as well, so double efficiency."

"That's right," Alex chimed in. "The more powerful, aka more expensive, models will even have weapons and armaments on them, which can save you from a tight spot or just let you blast through a group of enemies that you don’t want to, or even can't, fight."

"None of that sounds cheap," Blood growled, glancing over at Beth before looking back to the two extremely powerful women.

"It's not," Selene said with a shrug. "But what's the old saying? 'You get what you pay for?'"

"And how much would we pay for even a small, basic airship? Let's say…we don't need the airship to pack up, either, just be able to land places," Beth asked.

"Hmm, let's see," Selene said, idly flicking her long, pretty fingers in the air as she paged through screens only she could see. "You won't get away spending anything less than about seventy diamond coins for something like that, but at that point you might as well splurge just a bit. For the price of a single mithril coin, you could get something with much nicer amenities and better speed. I would honestly recommend that to you, the one mithril model. I'll send you the details for the cheap model and the slightly more expensive one."

Beth looked over the data Selene sent her, finding the more expensive model to be well worth the thirty extra diamond coins. It was a bit larger, much nicer inside, maintained a higher internal mana density, and had a cruising speed over a hundred miles per hour faster than the cheapest model the company sold. She flicked a copy of the data sheets to Blood, just so the wolf was in the loop, before returning her attention to the angel and demon.

"I would also tell you to wait," Alex said. "Obviously, you're selling your items in the upcoming auction, so you don't even have the money yet, but auctions are great places to get such items. As always, it's a question of money, but sometimes you can get a real bargain. Mobile houses or mobile bases are large and expensive enough that the major factions either construct their own or hire specialized firms to do it. Also, while people will spend up to a few dozen diamond coins on a single item at an auction, most of the participants in our monthly auctions would be very hesitant on spending a mithril coin or more on a mobile base or airship. You could get something even better than those lower-class standard models for the same kind of price."

"I don't see that it says anywhere on here that these are space-faring?" Beth hinted with a raised brow.

That got a long, hard laugh from Selene. She calmed after a minute and said, "That's right, you don't see it there, and with good reason. Most airships like that can survive, for a time, in a vacuum, but they aren't built to traverse space, even flying up to a moon or artificial satellite. You'd need a spaceship or starship for those kinds of maneuvers, and when we talk about that, we're talking a whole different price range. The cheapest spaceships, something that can move in a solar system but doesn't have jump capabilities, would be fifteen or twenty mithril coins. The cheapest starship, something that can navigate the depths of space, would be two or three orichalcum coins, and it would not be an impressive ship. That's why most people rely on either distant teleportation formations or rent a cabin on somebody else's ship. Even a lot of big factions can't afford more than one or two starships, leaving only the really big players to have a decent number of ships."

"Okay, good to know," Beth said with a slight frown, making sure to store that information away. They were back to the cheapest price for the lowest level item in the bracket being fifteen times more than their big gem haul had made, with the cheapest in the actual good category being hundreds of times more than their largest payday to date.

"Was that everything?" Selene asked with a broad, enticing grin.

"Everything for now," Beth replied with a nod. "Should we just come to the lobby for the auction in three days?"

"Exactly," replied Alex. "Present your token in the lobby and let them know you're here for the monthly auction. They will get myself or one of my equivalents to lead you to the venue and your private box."

"Then that's everything from me," Beth said with a shrug. "We'll head out now."

"Good meeting you," Selene said, still languishing on the couch.

"I'll take you down to the lobby," Alex said, giving her wife a quick peck on the cheek before standing and leading the two downstairs.

After saying goodbye to Alex at the door, Beth and Blood returned to the CRA Hall. They had the rest of the day and all of the next free, and while Beth was feeling like a little combat to get the blood flowing, all the talk of the items and equipment they could and should get had her mind on her profession. It seemed Blood was thinking in the same track, as the two spent the rest of that day and all of the next working on their professions. Beth made little progress, but she was already a Journeyman, and progress with the crafting skills was very slow and steady. She didn't need to try to sprint through the levels, and besides, doing so would bring more harm than good. One could only get to the greatest heights with the solidest of foundations, and trying to push a skill too quickly would hamper later growth. Well, apart from her Beastly Tyrant; she was pretty sure she could take that skill extremely far. She was more thinking of crafting skills and weaponskills when she thought of not trying to rush through the early levels.

The day of their meeting dawned bright and clear, not that it mattered much, considering they would be in a stuffy conference room for the deal. What did matter, however, was the call Beth got on her communicator just after they finished breakfast. It was Vallenna, asking for details about their meeting. Beth explained they would meet with the others before heading over to the city hall, and Vallenna suggested meeting up early so they could strategize. She also explained that, as part of her help, she would be bringing two members of the press to observe everything, to which Beth tentatively agreed. She then had to call Rell and explain the situation to him and, after hearing just who would be joining them, he agreed almost too quickly, stumbling over himself to assure her it was fine. Beth wasn't sure what was up with him, but after getting his go-ahead, she sent the location to Vallenna and said they could head over immediately, getting an affirmative in response.

Beth and Blood then did just that, heading over to the hotel where Rell and Itharion were staying, finding the dwarf sitting on one of the benches outside, puffing on his pipe for all he was worth. He was some combination of very nervous and very excited, which Beth didn't really get, but she didn't really have time to ponder, as Vallenna arrived just a moment after they had. She wasn't alone, as she had said, but apart from the two reporters following behind her, there was also another member of her race striding alongside her. The woman appeared to be rather old, with some age lines on her face, and she used a cane while she walked, though Beth got the impression it was more for show than anything. She did a quick check of her level as they approached, getting the first real shock in some time.

Altera Sanguinia, Level 895 Kresnik Blood Ruler

Altera was taller than her…relative? With very long white hair, glowing red eyes, and a subtle air of authority that exerted influence over all those around her. Rell had practically choked on his pipe when he saw her, which wasn't helping the situation any, but it seemed to amuse the old woman more than anything. She spoke as soon as the four had walked up to them.