Limitless Path

Beth and Blood walked through the portal together, finding themselves in a forest very similar to what they had found in the Endless Trial. Beth noticed a few differences almost right away, the biggest of which is that there seemed to be a constant, even light throughout the place. The second detail that was different was just how uniform everything was. There were trees and bushes and some scattered undergrowth, but it all seemed to repeat. It wasn't so even as to be laid out precisely like an orchard, but it was definitely more uniform than felt entirely natural.

Beth did notice something that was certainly the same, that being the lack of visible enemies. She didn't remember this being a particularly fun floor, but then again, she sort of agreed with Blood that a challenge would be a better way to progress than a free farm. The key was finding something challenging enough to foster improvement through battle, but not to the point where the threat of death loomed in every moment.

Blood had already begun pacing around the initial area with her nose to the ground while Beth observed their surroundings. It seemed that it functioned very similarly to when she had made an ant gate, where there was a certain clear area around them before ever expanding rings of enemies.

Beth cautiously moved forward from their staring location, the gate made from twin trees looming behind her still. She had become somewhat used to the experience of fighting camouflaged enemies the last time they had taken on the Mantis-type beasts, and she had her guard fully up as she moved out. It took slightly less time than she expected for the first attack to arrive, and Beth responded just in time, sliding to her left a little and hammering the mantis with her right fist.

The beast went tumbling away, but not too far, righting itself with a quick motion a handful of steps away. The beast didn’t seem very damaged or, in fact, even stunned from the hard strike, causing Beth to frown slightly. She quickly used Identify on it before it leapt on her again to check what she was up against.

Level 20 Rending Mantis

Not that her level of the basic Identify skill really told her all that much. She dismissed the notification and the errant thoughts, refocusing on the beast in front of her. The mantis circled to her left, Beth turning to track it as it did so, before the beast suddenly leapt at her with a powerful burst of speed. Beth wasn't intimidated by an opponent of this level, relying on her constant training to step into the enemy's charge and counter.

She dealt with the first mantis with a handful of quick blows, able to overwhelm it with her speed, power, and skill. They continued on from there, fighting enemy after enemy for several hours, taking advantage of their heightened END to push themselves. They eventually had to rest for a little while, Beth counting up their gains and distributing their points when they did.