Two weeks later Bethany's luck had not turned around. In fact, everything had continued to go downhill. She hadn't found anywhere to permanently work. Instead, she had had to resort to odd jobs that barely covered her living costs let alone putting money aside for her mother's debt. She similarly hadn't made any friends or useful contacts feeling too exhausted at the end of the day to socialise. In fact, the only real progress she had made was with her morning work outs. Even then, it wasn't very quantifiable progress it was more that she did it regularly without fail. She had gotten to the point where she was regularly allowed in and out of the city with ease. One time the guard had changed while she was out, and it meant that she had to wait in line once more. However, after that incident she was provided with a small bracelet that if shown to any guard would allow her to bypass the queue and get straight in and out. So that was a small win. Sometimes she saw it as a huge sign of progress but more often she saw it for what it was a trivial change that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

That night exactly two weeks after she had arrived at the capital and with nothing to show for it Bethany found herself at a different inn for dinner. She had needed a change of scenery more than anything else. As such she went for a wander across the city ending up deep to the east as she chastised herself and generally worked herself into a foul mood. Finally, after her stomach had made it extremely clear quicky how badly she needed to stop and eat she found somewhere to grab some affordable food. She was just starting to tuck into her bowl of pottage when she heard a shout of delight from behind her.

"Bethany it's you!" Shouted Pete and he ran over to join her at the table. Normally Bethany would have been delighted to see a familiar face, but she was tired and hungry. As such she just gave him a small nod and between mouthfuls mumbled a quick.

"Hi Pete, you can just call me Beth you know"

Pete sat down at her table and the two ate in silence. Bethany finished first and feeling less agitated now she had a full belly she greeted Pete again, this time with some actual excitement at seeing him.

"Hi Pete, it's been a while. How are you doing? Getting the answers, you are looking for?"

Pete took a moment to swallow a particularly large chunk of potato before responding.

"I'm alright Beth, I'm alright." He sighed a little, "The big city is tricky isn't it. There are so many people, but they are all going so fast. I've been feeling a little overwhelmed and lonely here if I’m fully honest."

It's odd how watching somebody struggle makes you feel much closer to them but in that moment, Bethany felt a companionship with Pete that had been missing on their walk. They might have had a different journey so far but for a moment she could see herself in his defeated look. They were in the same boat, and they both felt like it was sinking.

"We need to shake it up then don't we Pete and I think we possibly do that by working together" Bethany said, trying to come up with a plan as she talked. "What is it we both are after right now? Maybe together we can handle it."

Pete looked up at Bethany defeat in his eyes "Honestly? I'm less sure now. I want to learn about the system, but nobody here is willing to tell me anything and it's still two weeks before we have another Trial. Maybe I should just go home."

"No Pete," Bethany said sharply, getting some of the passion she had lost over the two weeks. "We aren't giving up. I need to get my mother out of prison, and you need to explore the system more. Together I’m sure we can work how to face them. First things first, if I can be so bold why don't we both stay at the same inn and work out together in the mornings. Personally, it's helped me stay grounded and seeing a familiar face can only help. Second what do you know about the system. We know it isn't irrelevant just because we aren't in a Trial."

Pete seemed to be being shaken out of his funk and pulled his chair in closer, pushing his bowl aside so he had space to gesture with his hands. "Well, obviously we know that there are monthly Trials which seem to be the only way to get Trial Credits or improve skill levels. Sponsored Trials also exist which can replace Trials seemingly at random, but they give the opportunity to explore new planets and cultures. They also have the potential to award bonuses though the criteria for such things remains unclear."

Bethany actually leapt up from the table at this, an ideal suddenly striking her, she quickly sat back down and leaned across the table "Bloody Sponsored Trials. If we work out how to host them, which logically we can do, then we will learn more about the system and I can get help breaking my mother out."

Pete seemed sceptical "Okay that's great and all but we don't know how to unlock them. Tem suggested there was a shop of some kind but implied that a stack of Trial Credits was required to unlock it. It's not like we have any way to make Trial Credits right now. I guess we could wait another two weeks. It would be easier to wait if there was something I was aiming forwards."

Bethany was not one for waiting though, and she knew of two methods to make Trial Credits. One wasn't actually profitable, nor was she willing to share it quite yet. However, Stilwart had suggested they could convince people to trade away their Credits at this early stage. She didn't know of any other way to spend them at the moment, at least any way to spend them that was open to everybody. She realised she had left Pete sitting in silence while she considered the concept and it’s ramifications.

"We can make Trial Credits outside of a Trial, you can trade for them, and most people won't have a current use for them. If we open a shop or trade work for them or something we could get a stack of them. I don't know when the shop would unlock but based on my convo with Tem something important happens at level 5 and 10 so maybe it's that many Credits. So, 50 or 100 respectively."

This concept excited Pete, after all it was completely new information to him and also offered a path forward. he spoke up, "Right, I'm so on board. Together tomorrow we start looking for ways to make Credits. I don't want this to be full extortion though we have to offer something they agree to."

Having made a plan, the two passed their evening in a much more relaxed manner. After all meeting an old friend in an unfamiliar environment, even if they were a very recent old friend is cause to celebrate. The familiar face making everything else easier. After chatting and drinking slightly more than was perhaps wise the pair headed to bed though not before Bethany got Pete to agree to join her on her workout the next morning.