Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With the overexertion he felt, Vahn had to take a break for nearly two hours to recover his mental energy. By the time he had finished experimenting with [Eyes of Truth], it was near time for lunch and Vahn was a bit confused why everyone was still away. Since he was told not to do any work on the weekends, Vahn decided he would go out into the City before heading toward the Hostess of Fertility for a late lunch. Considering the time he spent in the dungeon, the nine days he was in a coma, and the six days he had been awake, it had been a long time since Vahn visited. A lot had changed in the time, and Vahn was looking forward to meeting Chloe again.After securing the formations on his house, Vahn made his way along the sidepath of Tsubaki's manor before stopping outside the entrance and heading inside. He hadn't seen Naaza and Lili for nearly a week, and now that he had time, Vahn wanted to talk to the two girls a bit and invite them to eat lunch. Strangely, the perpetually open front door of Tsubaki's manor was closed and Vahn realized the door was locked. Curious, Vahn expanded his domain and tried to sense if anyone was present. No matter how long he searched, Vahn was unable the presence of the three girls.Vahn frowned, unsure of what was going on for both residences to be empty. The only time Tsubaki would ever be away is if she was leading the Hephaestus Familia into the dungeon on an expedition. But, even if that was the case, Vahn was certain she would have informed him, and it didn't explain why Lili and Naaza were also missing. He began to suspect that there was something going on behind the scenes that he wasn't told about, but couldn't understand what would involve the members of both residences.After waiting inside Tsubaki's courtyard for nearly twenty minutes, Vahn heard a sound emitting from his stomach to indicate he was still hungry. Releasing a sigh, Vahn shook his head and decided there wasn't anything that could happen, especially if they were all together. Pulling out a piece of seasoned jerky, Vahn began making his way leisurely toward the Hostess of Fertility. Vahn also figured he could stop by Hephaestus's workshop and obtain answers directly from her.As he wasn't in a hurry, Vahn spent his time watching the people and taking in the sights of the City. Though it wasn't his first time walking the route, everything seemed new with his enhanced perception and eyesight. The auras of everyone were a lot more clear than they were in the past, and Vahn could now identify the approximate strength of people at a glance. He was even able to see some relatively normal people that had large auras, and Vahn knew they were likely gods and goddesses of low ranked Familia. Vahn had never realized how many strong auras were in the City, and it made him feel a bit more humbled regarding his own strength.Along the way, there were several girls that tried calling out to him, but Vahn just gave them polite smiles and a curt nod before continuing forward without slowing. Compared to the looks girls gave him in the past, Vahn could see a bit of a fervor in their expressions now and he was far more susceptible to their auras and spontaneous affections toward him. Though he knew none of them actually had feelings for him, Vahn was somewhat proud of the attention he was receiving. Even he had noticed how rapidly his looks had changed over the last week or so, and felt like he had hit a growth spurt and was maturing rapidly.After nearly two hours, Vahn arrived outside the Hostess of Fertility and paused outside the doors like he had done so many times in the past. The aroma coming from the slightly ajar doors made him feel nostalgic, and he somewhat missed coming here every day for dinner. It had been even longer since he came on his own, so Vahn was looking forward to seeing and interacting with Chloe if she was working today.Entering into the familiar pub, Vahn couldn't help but smile as he took in the sights that he had grown attached to in the past. However, his smile changed a bit as a curious expression appeared on his face when he saw the two new girls that were attending customers. Though he couldn't see Chloe around, Vahn did see two new, yet familiar faces attending to customers that he had been curious about in the past.One of them, a beautiful young woman with light-grey hair and light-grey eyes, noticed his appearance and gave him a curious look before she smiled widely and approached Vahn. He recognized the girl as Syr Flova, one of the main characters that had been present within the manga. Vahn had been curious where she was all the other times he visited, but could never breach the subject since it didn't make sense for him to know about her.Once Syr got near Vahn, she said in a cheerful tone, "Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility. Will you be dining in with us?" As she asked the question, Syr was giving Vahn an appraising look with a gentle smile on her face. Vahn was somewhat influenced by the atmosphere and returned her smile, but instead of answering her question, he asked, "Is Chloe not working today?"Syr tilted her head sideways with her index finger on her chin as she made a pleasant 'Hnnnnn?' sound before asking, "You know Chloe? Don't tell me, are you Vahn Mason?" When she asked the question, Vahn felt like she had a glimmer in her eye and he even noticed her aura expanded by a slight margin. The reaction had stunned Vahn a bit, because he had never seen such a large aura on a mortal girl before.Noticing the strange look he was giving her, Syr thought he was confused about why she knew who he was, so she explained, "Ah, don't misunderstand. I heard about you from the other girls when I came back. I had been visiting Melen to assist in setting up a different pub for the last few months. When I came back, I heard all kinds of rumors, not just from the girls, but from the customers as well. You're quite famous, Vahn."Hearing her words, Vahn felt his pride well up a bit as he asked, "It seems you know me, but may I ask who you are?" Vahn tried to be both polite while asking the question with a smile on his face. Syr was one of the people he had intended to meet when he came to the City, and now that he finally got to see her unique beauty, he was very satisfied. Every time he saw one of the characters from the manga in the flesh, Vahn always felt like he had reunited with someone he hadn't seen in a long time.Syr was a bit surprised with how 'familiar' and 'casual' Vahn was acting on their first meeting. Compared to most girls, she had an incredibly discerning eye, and for some reason, she felt like Vahn was strangely very familiar with her. Curious, she asked with a gentle expression and a warm smile on her face, "Have you never heard of me before?" As she asked the question, Vahn saw the same glimmer in her eyes that he had seen earlier.Vahn shook his head as if to deny her question, but he also said, "I had known there was a beautiful ashen-haired beauty that worked at the Hostess of Fertility, but I never had the opportunity to meet her." Vahn turned his eyes to the other woman he had seen earlier and continued, "The one I have truly never heard of is that elven girl." Though Syr had detected there was a bit of misinformation in Vahn's voice, she could also tell he was somehow being 'sincere', which was very confusing to her.Syr turned her head to see where he was looking at and saw the elf, Ryuu Lion, the girl that had accompanied her to Melen. With a smile on her face, she turned to Vahn and explained, "Hnn, that girl is named Ryuu Lion, and my name is Syr Flova, just to answer your question from earlier." When she introduced her name, she saw the 'familiarity' in Vahn's eyes increase as his smile widened and he responded, "It is nice to meet you, Ms. Flova."Hearing the way Vahn addressed her, and the strange emphasis he put on the words, Syr couldn't help but laugh a bit as she squinted her eyes at Vahn. Because of his apparent familiarity with her, it actually sounded strange when he addressed her with her last name. After she laughed, she showed a cheerful smile and said, "Please, Vahn, just call me Syr. I've already heard so much about you, that it already feels like we're close friends. Please treat me well in the future."Vahn nodded his head and, with a smile on his face, said, "Of course, Syr." Hearing the way he said her name, Syr almost laughed for a second time as she showed Vahn to a booth. Unlike the emphasis he placed on her last name, he spoke her first name with the same familiarity she had sensed from him previously. She had no doubts that Vahn had known about her, but she was somewhat curious about the source and reason why he would do so. No matter how she looked at him, there didn't seem to be a single malicious bone in his body; it was almost like he was a kid that had just recently found his way into the world.After taking his order, Syr tended to other customers and made polite conversation with everyone. Vahn had followed her periodically with his eyes, and he noticed she was incredibly popular amongst the regulars in the pub. She seemed to remember everyone's name and livened up the atmosphere of the pub on her own. There were a few times when he had been staring at her, that she would look back and make eye contact with him before showing her characteristic cheerful smile.Vahn had ordered the spaghetti that he had the very first time he visited the Hostess of Fertility, and it was a strangely nostalgic feeling as he enjoyed the savory meat sauce and delicious noodles. Meeting the remaining members of the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn began to think more about the original story and the plot that should take place in the future. He knew that he had irrevocably changed how events would play out, but he still had a bit of anticipation for what was to come.Though he had every intention of marrying Hephaestus and Eina and even planned to continue his relationships with other pivotal characters like Ais and Tiona, Vahn still had a few desires that he had possessed since the moment he arrived in this record. He still wanted to join the Hestia Familia, and he also wanted to meet Bell and adventure together. Though he was currently much stronger than Bell and had likely changed the events that would transpire, Vahn still wanted to associate with the protagonist of the original story. Vahn had always admired his character and thought they could be good friends in the future.Vahn had a happy smile on his face as he enjoyed the delicious food while imagining what would take place in the future. So much had changed for him recently, and there were now many things he wanted to see and experience in this world. While he was lost in thought, he could sense two auras approaching him and turned to see Syr escorting Ryuu who had a plain look on her face. Vahn could see that her aura was somewhat mellow, and there was a surprising lack of emotions in both her aura and on her face.Syr had been slightly pushing Ryuu forward as she began introducing the two, "Ryuu, this is Vahn Mason, the boy concerning all of the recent rumors. Vahn, this is Ryuu Lion, she has been working here for a few years and is quite a popular girl." As the two had approached, Vahn wanted to make a good impression so he stood to receive them.Since he had read several books on customs and traditions, Vahn actually gave a proper elven greeting as he bowed slightly toward Ryuu and held her left hand in his right palm and said, "It is good to meet you, Ms. Lion." Syr's eyes had widened when Vahn grabbed Ryu's hand, while Ryu herself stared at the touching palms before turning her face away slightly and saying, "It is nice to meet you as well, Vahn Mason."After she finished her words, she pulled her hand away from him and quickly returned to her duties. Vahn followed her back with his eyes and couldn't help but smile a bit after hearing the notification from his system. Generally speaking, whenever Vahn first met someone, they would have an affection value of 50(neutral), but after he had taken Ryuu's hand for the greeting, her affection had jumped 21 points in a single go. He didn't know how he was able to make such an impact on her in their first meeting but was glad he was able to do so. Though it never went over it in the manga, at least till the volumes he had read, Vahn knew Ryuu had a tragic past of her own. If he could, he wanted to help her overcome it in the future.Syr looked at Vahn with an incredibly curious expression on her face as she watched him stare at the back of Ryuu. She could see that he treated Ryuu with the same type of familiarity as he showed her, and it was an incredibly interesting and peculiar matter to consider. She even suspected that he knew about Ryuu's aversion to letting people touch her and that she had placed a certain significance regarding men that grabbed her hands. If it weren't for the clear eyes and naive face of the handsome young boy, Syr would have considered Vahn the scheming type. But, no matter how she looked at him, she didn't get that sense at all, and it made her interest in Vahn grow exponentially.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Poster Girls Appear','Where is Everyone?','Touching hands...LEWD!')If you'd like to support me on ******* so I can become a full-time writer, please follow this link~!https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at 237/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if I'm able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D

While Vahn was wandering around and drawing even more attention to himself, a group of women had gathered for the express purpose of preventing that very thing from happening. Had they known he wouldn't stay at home probably, they would have left someone to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, none of the children would be able to oppose him, and every other person was required to attend the meeting. Even Welf, the designated 'buddy' of Vahn, had been busy with his research and refused to participate.The organizers of the meeting were Hephaestus and Eina, and they had booked an entire cafe operated by the Hephaestus Familia for the first of many meetings regarding Vahn. Currently, the two women sat at the center of a large square table as they waited for all the invitees to arrive. Hephaestus had a cool look on her face as she gave an appraising look to each girl and woman that arrived, while Eina had on a professional smile as she directed each person to the proper seat.The first three to arrive were Tsubaki, Naaza, and Lili, who had gotten the message early the previous day. Though they were unaware of what would be discussed, they had a general idea that it was related to Vahn, so they all showed up long before the meeting officially began. Tsubaki noticed that the atmosphere was a bit tense even before anything had happened, and she suspected that the topic might be more serious than she expected. Though she tried to make discussion, she was informed by the half-elf girl, who she learned was called Eina, that they would be answering questions once all the other attendees arrived.Lili and Naaza had concerned looks on their faces as they sat next to Tsubaki on the right of Hephaestus. They kept quiet as they waiting for the others to show up, and Lili immediately began to understand part of the reason why they had gathered. Not long after they arrived, Anubis, the woman that had been denying her and Naaza all week, showed up with her cool facade. Accompanying the goddess were three other chienthrope girls who Lili had only met in passing when they attended lessons with Tsubaki.Anubis and Hephaestus made some polite conversation before the former realized the atmosphere was a bit odd and took her seat without continuing the topic. Even though she had seen the cute side of Hephaestus, she had no illusions that she could take any advantages against the fiery goddess. Following the direction of the half-elf Eina, she sat on the left side with the three girls, Nanu, Maat, and Chione.The third group to arrive was a pair of women with cat ears, and both Naaza and Lili became decidedly more cautious when they recognized the pair. The first with a lithe and playful looking cat girl with black hair and green eyes, while the second one was a ditzy looking cat girl with brown hair and eyes. As they had often accompanied Vahn to the Hostess of Fertility, they immediately recognized the girls as Chloe and Arnya.Chloe seemed to realize something shortly after entering the room as her eyes passed over all the people present. Without saying anything, she made her way to the side of Naaza and Lili as Arnya followed her with a clueless expression on her face. The moment they had entered, Arnya felt the tense atmosphere and the eyes of everyone in the room evaluating her for a reason she didn't understand. Though she wanted to immediately run away, she didn't want to abandon her friend, so she followed behind and found a seat next to the two girls she recognized.At this point, most of the people in the room understood the common factor between them, and they gave questioning looks to the fiery red-haired goddess and the gentle looking half-elf at the center of the table. Eina had noticed their gazes and explained in a polite tone, "There are still a few members that are imperative to the discussion. Please be patient, as we have also catered this event and will be serving refreshments and snacks shortly."Eina already had a professional demeanor from her work with the Guild, and now that she was preparing to take the official role of one of Vahn's first-wives, she spoke clearly and with confidence in her tone. After a few minutes, the atmosphere started to loosen up a bit as people began having hushed conversations with each other. As Eina had mentioned, the staff of the cafe came around and started serving everyone as they waited for the remainder of the expected members.Eventually, another group showed up, this one larger than all the previous as it consisted of five girls. Leading the group was a petite and mischevious looking woman with red hair and squinted eyes as she was followed by a lively looking amazon, a fair-skinned golden-haired beauty, a mature and stoic green-haired elf, and a young elven girl with long golden-yellow hair tied into a ponytail. The group represented one of the 'factions' attending the meeting and consisted of the goddess of the Loki Familia, Loki, and her entourage of Tiona, Ais, Riveria, and Lefiya.As they entered the room, Loki wouldn't help but have a devious smile as she looked toward Hephaestus and asked, "Kekeke, isn't this an interesting gathering you've staged? Am I allowed to guess the purpose~?" Hephaestus, who had been keeping silent the entire time, raised her head and looked at Loki with a serious expression as she said, "We'll begin soon. Everyone else has been patient, and you're one of the last to arrive. You can wait for a few more minutes, surely?"In response, Loki laughed in a mischevious manner as she said, "Sure, sure, no problem~! I'm really looking forward to what such a gathering of people could discuss~" Though everyone in the room already had an idea, hearing Loki's words only cemented the image of a boy in the minds of everyone present. Even Tiona, who wasn't particularly known for her intellect, seemed to understand why they had all gathered. She inspected every woman present with shining eyes and a large smile on her face as she whispered to Ais who was standing next to her, "Look, Ais, these are all women who have some kind of relationship with our Vahn~. Aren't you glad we got to him first?"Ais had also been inspecting everyone in the room and hearing Tiona's question, she gave a curt nod and said, "Nn, we did well...lots of competition." Similar to the glowing eyes of Tiona, Ais also had a bit of fighting spirit in her eyes as she spent a few seconds evaluating each girl at the table. Since the rumors regarding Tiona and Ais were well known to everyone present, they had all been looking seriously at the two girls. Naaza and Lili especially felt very pressured by the two confident looking women that were known to be Vahn's first 'sexual conquest' by everyone in the City.Chloe had a glow in her eyes as she slightly squinted while looking at the two Level 5 adventurers that had slept with Vahn. Remembering the lonely and tragic boy, she slightly blamed the two girls for likely forcing him into the situation. She knew Vahn wasn't the type to proactively approach others, which meant they had to be the ones to plant the idea in his mind. Though Chloe didn't possess any intention to be with Vahn on her own volition, she wouldn't turn him down when he finally approached her in the future. She felt like things had taken a strange turn, and she wanted to use this meeting as an opportunity to clarify things. Though she was unaware of it, she had already sided with Hephaestus and Eina before the meeting even began.The Loki group occupied the opposite side of the table of everyone that was already seated, and the atmosphere immediately turned somewhat chaotic. Though she hadn't continued talking about the reason for their meeting, Loki still made conversation with everyone else at the table while 'hinting' at the reason indirectly. She was casually asking the girls about their personal lives and if they had any boys they liked...After another twenty minutes, the last group showed up and drew the attention of everyone in the room. It was a pair of cat people that looked very similar to each other, and everyone guessed that the two were likely a mother and daughter. They each had chestnut-brown hair and both looked slightly nervous when the eyes of everyone present gathered on them. The small cat girl with pigtails, his behind her mother for a bit until she recognized one of the faces and immediately jumped out and pointed directly at Lili as she shouted, "You~nya! Where have you been hiding Vahnya!?"Lili had a surprised look on her face as she looked into the face of the small girl whom she recognized as Tina Yuel. The woman behind her with a 'devilish' smile was her mother Milan, and they were both the final arrivals that had been invited to attend. Though there were a few others on the initial roster, Hephaestus and Eina had narrowed it down to the sixteen girls, women, and goddesses present, excluding themselves which brought the total count to eighteen. The sheer number of women gave Hephaestus a bit of a headache, and she couldn't help but shake her head as she imagined the naive and smiling face of the boy she had fallen in love with.Before Lili couldn't answer the question of Tina, Eina spoke out and addressed the entire room, "Welcome, Milan, Tina, and everyone else that is already present. If you two would like to take your seats, we'll begin discussing why everyone has been asked to gather on such short notice." Tina seemed to still want to accost Lili, but Milan grabbed her hand and led her to an area sitting across from Naaza and Lili. Though they were sitting to the left of the Loki Familia, it didn't represent their stance in the group.After everyone had sat down, Eina turned to Hephaestus who began to speak in a very business-like manner, "I'm sure you all have an idea of why you've been asked to attend this gathering." After speaking, Hephaestus passed her eyes over everyone present before continuing, "The matter for discussion relates to the past, present, and future of Vahn Mason. If you choose to remain at this meeting, you will be asked to take a vow to conceal anything that is discussed. If you can't agree to this prohibition, you may leave, but know that it will restrict your ability to interact with Vahn in the future."Everyone seemed to have no intention of leaving, though there were a few confused and distraught expressions on some. Arnya didn't know why she was invited to attend such a meeting, while Milan had a bit of a concerned expression as she held the clammy hand of her daughter. Tina seemed to realize that all the girls present were associated with the boy she liked, and she felt fear an inhibitions about staying around. The only thing that prevented her from leaving was the opportunity to know about the boy she had made her goal in the future. She had already started to train with her mother, and 'most' of the rumors regarding Vahn served as her motivation.Hephaestus waited for a full minute before continuing, "Very well then, before we begin and take the vow, I would like everyone to clarify their current and desired relationship with Vahn. Since things may not be clear for some people, I would like to put this matter on the table for consideration." This was one of the ideas that Eina had given Hephaestus when they were planning the meeting. The two had stayed awake late into the night preparing their strategy.Though Loki was sitting in the center of the table across from Hephaestus, it was Tiona to her left who spoke out first, "Hello everyone, my name is Tiona Hiryute~! My current relationship with Vahn is lovers who intend to have children~! In the future, I plan to have lots and lots of babies with Vahn!" Tiona said each word uninhibited and with a smile on her face which brought a hush over the entire table.Ais, sitting to the right of Loki, spoke out next, "Ais Wallenstein. I am also lovers with Vahn...same as Tiona." Ais looked around and had a competitive glint in her eye as she said, "I am the first...to fully accept Vahn. I want to get stronger with him." Everyone at the table was confused when Ais mentioned 'fully accepting' Vahn, but Tiona began laughing at the bold proclamation.Loki, who was flanked by the two girls, said with a mischevious look, "I'm Loki, and I guess I'm like the mother-in-law of that kid~? For the future, I'm not sure, it depends on how things play out. Maybe I'll become his lover as well~?" When Loki spoke, she gave a sly look at Hephaestus and put extra emphasis on her last question. Unexpectedly, Hephaestus didn't seem surprised by her claim as the fiery goddess looked toward the next person. One of the topics that came up in the previous nights discussion was how to deal with Loki, so she wasn't caught off guard by the trickster goddesses' games.Her actions made Loki realize there was a bit more to the situation than she expected as she gave a curious glance toward Eina. The next person to speak, since her Familia had set the precedent, was Riveria who replied in a cool tone, "My name is Riveria Ljos Alf and current relationship with Vahn is companions who have fought together. In the future, I intend to conduct research with Vahn, but have no current romantic interest in him."After Riveria, Lefiya, the last person from the Loki Familia, had a mild blush on her face as she spoke, "I-I'm Lefiya Viridis, and I guess I'm also a companion that has fought alongside Vahn..." The blush on Lefiya's face grew a bit as she recalled her interactions with Vahn in the past. She had felt like they were growing closer, but after he slept with Tiona and Ais, she felt very awkward. She had made the mistake of asking Ais about the event, and Ais gave her far more detail than she expected. Taking a deep breath, Lefiya continued, "I don't know what kind of f-future I want with Vahn..."Though she said she 'didn't know', everyone in the room could tell she had some kind of thoughts regarding Vahn, even if she wasn't making things clear. Her flustered and bashful expression looked like a maiden in love to some of the more mature women, while those that understood Lefiya had somewhat exasperated looks. Lefiya had been somewhat prideful in the past, and it wasn't until Ais saved her that she began to open up to others and developed her cute and clumsy personality. However, even though she opened up to others, the person Lefiya paid the most attention to was Ais herself. Now that Ais wanted to be with Vahn, they imagined the small elf would follow-suit sooner-or-later.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Avahngers Assemble','Gathering of the Vahnguard','More women than the Author Expected to Appear!?')If you'd like to support me on ******* so I can become a full-time writer, please follow this link~!https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at 238/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if I'm able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D

After reading the description of the skill, Vahn looked around and began inspecting everything around him. He could see a wavy particle in the air, and whenever he waved his hand through it, he realized it was the air itself that he could see. It was very similar to when Vahn saw a hot surface radiating heat, but now the entire airflow was visible to his eyes. When he turned his eyes to Evangeline and focused, he was surprised by what he saw. Her body turned into a 'negative' with all the colors reversed as he was able to briefly penetrate through the layers of clothes and skin on her body before looking into the interior and seeing a massive amount of compressed mana flowing through every cell of her body.Evangeline felt a chill run down her back as she turned to look at Vahn. She could see a subtle blue glow in his eyes that made her feel uncomfortable, almost like Vahn could see through her everything. She knew he had awakened something in his eyes, and now she suspected the use of the skill had something to do with 'seeing-through' things. If it weren't for the fact that Vahn's expression was of curiosity and contemplation, she might have slapped him silly for staring at her in such a manner.When Evangeline turned toward him, he wasn't able to see her expression easily because she was currently just a mass of shining blue mana in his eyes. Vahn stopped focusing his eyes and looked at the perturbed expression on her face as she asked, "Your eyes, what do they do?" Vahn could hear a mix of intrigue and a mild amount of inhibitions in her voice. After forming his thoughts in a cohesive manner, he responded, "As far as I can tell, it lets me see the magical elements in things like the air and people. I saw the massive amount of mana contained within your body and got a bit distracted. I'm sorry if I offended you."Though it was very subtle, Vahn was able to hear Evangeline sigh in relief before she turned back to her books. As she picked up her pen and started writing, she said, "For a moment, I thought you were able to see through my clothes. Do me a favor, and don't use those eyes when you're looking at me." Evangeline said the words plainly, but Vahn could hear the 'warning' contained within. He wasn't sure if she had seen through his explanation and hit upon the truth, but he decided it was best not to ask.After stretching for a bit, Vahn decided to continue processing materials to practice controlling his 'eternal flame' before he ran out of time. Though he had enough time to forge some standard equipment, he was more inclined to producing things like the [Dance of the Amazon] which he had created earlier. Since he didn't have enough time to dedicate towards the production of a high-quality item, he spent the remaining few hours preparing things for his next visit. It wouldn't be that long before his return, and then he'd have an additional three days to create more items.When there was less than an hour left, Evangeline put down her pen and spoke toward Vahn. In a somewhat emotionless voice, she said, "You'll be leaving soon, and I've used up a fair amount of mana maintaining this space. I also used quite a bit in my earlier display when I tested your weapon. Since you've obtained plenty of benefits in your time here, I'll be expecting more sweets and books in the future."Vahn had been listening to her speak and started organizing his tools as she stared at him with her icy blue eyes. The moment he placed down the last tool, he could feel his body become slightly weightless and he said, "I can move on my own, you don't have to force me." Evangeline ignored his words before dragging his body toward the bed and setting him down on top of it. She then crawled onto the bed before sitting in his lap and facing him with a blank expression on her face.Vahn stared into her eyes for a moment before closing his and relaxing with his arms loosely wrapped around her back. Evangeline placed her palms on his shoulders before bitting into his neck so that she could suck his blood. As it was the third time she had drained his blood, Vahn had made the proper mental preparations and wasn't affected by the initial bite or the warmth that started spreading in his body.Since she had learned her lesson from the previous incident, Evangeline didn't overexert herself by trying to drain Vahn's blood faster than he could replenish it. Instead, she drained his blood in a much slower fashion and drew out the time until just before Vahn was to be ejected from the orb.Vahn had been feeling pleasant for the entire process, so he didn't utter a single word or complaint till the moment his body began to dissolve. Since the process always started from his legs, Evangeline eventually fell slightly onto her butt when his legs disappeared. She looked at his vanishing figure with a blank expression and said, "Make sure you bring more stuff when you return. These books won't last for four years. I also want wine and other baked goods, not just cake."Vahn released a humorous sigh as he smiled toward Evangeline and said, "Don't worry, I won't forget, Evangeline." At this point, he had disappeared up to his torso, but right before Vahn completely vanished, he reached out his hand and pat the small girl on the head. She immediately frowned before knocking away his hand and saying in a sharp voice, "Don't treat me like a child, and call me Master! M-A-S-T-E-R!"In response to her outrage, Vahn just laughed as the last remnants of his body disappeared. He wanted to retort that, after his dream, he couldn't help but see her as anything more than a child that just wanted to be spoiled. Of course, though he kept this thought in his mind, he would never say it out loud. Vahn knew that her trauma had been caused by her long life and immature figure, and it would be the same as treating her tragic life as a joke. Since she was treating him better, he intended to find a few sweets that the other girls liked before bringing them back for Evangeline to try.Vahn opened his eyes back in the real world and looked around in a manner similar to how he had within the orb. The same as then, he could see everything around in an incredible amount of detail. Not only the air, but Vahn could see rainbow colored particles floating around if he focused his eyes. He understood that they were the elemental energies naturally present in the world, and he could even influence them a bit if he expanded his domain. Presently, he could easily manipulate the fire elements, but he only had a marginal amount of control over all the others.After focusing for a few minutes, Vahn felt like his eyes were 'swelling', like there was a pressure coming from the inside, so he decided to stop focusing his sight. He noticed that, the harder he focused, the more energy it took to maintain the vision. Vahn was a little confused about why, since it seemed to be the passive effects of the ability, it used energy and focus to maintain the effect. He attributed it to his inability to use the ability properly. With that thought in mind, Vahn decided to head toward the training area since it was still pretty early.Strangely, when Vahn left his room, Anubis wasn't present for the first time. Scanning his eyes toward her room, Vahn noticed that he couldn't perceive her aura like he had been able to in the past. Vahn felt a little worried, so he expanded his domain to cover more than 300m, which was large enough to encompass the entirety of the house. Closing his eyes to focus, Vahn realized there were no presences other than himself within his mind. Turning his attention to his minimap, the blue signals that would typically represent allies were also missing, which confirmed his suspicions. Presently, even though it was only around 7 AM, there was nobody in the house other than himself.Vahn looked around the property a bit and even investigated the two rooms where the children stayed. Seeing that there was no damage or signs of a fight, Vahn assumed nothing had happened, and they were likely taken out by Anubis early in the morning. Since it was the weekend and they had time off, Vahn didn't think it was beyond the realm of possibilities. He had just grown so accustomed to Anubis in the past few days that it was a bit unnatural for her not to be around.While he was walking toward the training area, Vahn realized he would have been able to detect if there was a problem due to the fact that he slept with his domain spread. Nothing had triggered throughout the night, and the time he had spent in the orb was actually only a few seconds in reality. He still had difficulty wrapping his head around the time dilation when moving to and from the space within the orb.After allaying his own concerns, Vahn focused his mind after arriving at the training area so he could recover the energy he had expended earlier. Once he had recovered to his optimal state, Vahn opened his eyes and wanted to try the active ability of his [Eyes of Truth]. The description was a bit vague, but recalling the birth and destruction of the cosmos from his dream, Vahn felt like there was a lot of potential hidden in the skill 'Oblivion'.Vahn spread out his domain to encompass the entire training field and focused his eyes on a large stone roller that had been set up for weight training. The colors of the stone inverted, and Vahn was able to see its internal structure which comprised of inert and earth elemental energy. It looked a lot like static, and it was difficult to keep his focus on the object because of the variation in its composition and depth. It was almost like his vision was able to sift through the object like he was visually pushing through particles of sand.Taking several deep breaths, Vahn tried to focus on an individual point within the rock as he activated 'Oblivion'. The moment he activated his skill, he was able to see a small light appear within the stone roller, but the moment he stared at it, it blinked out of existence and Vahn felt a painful headache as a large amount of energy was drained from his body. It took a few minutes, but Vahn was finally able to recover and stabilize his breathing.Vahn was confused about how to use the skill, so he kept reading the description while trying to make sense of some hidden principle he didn't understand. The light he had seen inside the rock was eerily reminiscent of the small light that had led to the birth of an entire universe, and Vahn actually hoped that wasn't the case. If he 'accidentally' created a cosmos within the rock, there was a chance he would destroy the entire record, himself included.Considering his current soul tier and the strength of his other Innate skills, Vahn assumed this wasn't the case, but he was still a bit unnerved by the tiny light that consumed nearly half of his energy in an instant. After recovering his energy, Vahn began analyzing the rock with his sight again to see if he could find any changes. No matter how long he looked, he couldn't find any changes to the structure and composition of the rock.Taking a deep breath to prepare himself for the large energy expenditure, Vahn tried to focus on a specific point of the rock as he recalled the description of 'Oblivion', which said, 'All things in creation are born from and return to oblivion.' Vahn felt like the keywords were 'born' and 'return', so he tried focusing on the aspect of 'return' as he directed his intent inside the stone roller. He had assumed that the light he saw earlier was 'birth', so now he wanted to apply the opposite principle.The moment the skill activated, Vahn could see a black, translucent sphere expand from the point where his vision was focused. Vahn could feel his energy begin to deplete rapidly the larger the sphere grew, so he stopped channeling the skill and noticed that the sphere immediately vanished. Releasing a long sigh, Vahn fell onto his butt and drew long breaths as he tried to recover his energy. Once his breathing stabilized, he crossed his legs and tried to meditate while focusing on the [Mantra of Eternity]. Though he had yet to understand a single part of it, Vahn had learned that focusing on the sound made his mental energy replenish faster.After recovering his energy, Vahn focused his eyes on the stone roller once again to see if there had been any changes. The moment his vision penetrated to the core of the roller, Vahn noticed that there was now a void within the interior of the structure. Curious, Vahn approached the roller and split it in two with a quick chop of his hand. With the [Fist Strike] skill he had learned from Tiona, Vahn was able to insert his energy into his hands and shape it during strikes. This time, he used his energy like a blade and bisected the stone roller with ease.As expected, Vahn was able to confirm that what his vision had seen was accurate. The entire inside of the stone roller now had a spherically shaped void which was previously solid stone. Vahn was able to confirm the second use of the 'Oblivion' skill, which seemed to give him the ability to 'return', or 'destroy', matter. There wasn't even any dust on the inside and the spherically shaped hollow was almost flawless as if it had been polished for hours.Now that he had confirmed the second ability, Vahn wanted to try using the first ability to 'birth' or 'create'. After a bit of consideration, Vahn decided to focus his vision on the air instead of the inside of an object. Since there was nothing for his vision to be drawn to, it was actually far more difficult to pinpoint his vision on a specific spot. After failing several times, Vahn finally managed to keep his vision focused long enough to trigger the creation ability of 'Oblivion'. Since he still had a bit of inhibition about accidentally creating an entire cosmos, Vahn tried to focus his intent on a specific material.In the middle of the air, where Vahn's vision was focused, a bluish dot appeared and slowly began to increase in size. Unlike the black sphere, the energy drain of the blue sphere was incredibly exhaustive. By the time the sphere had grown to the size of a marble, Vahn had nearly collapsed into a state of 'Mind Down'. After he cut off the ability, the blue light disappeared and a small metal ball fell from the air. Though he was still struggling for air, Vahn moved forward and picked up the flawless, silver, bearing that he had created from nothing. The material he had tried to create was Iron, and he had managed to make around a tenth of a gram at the expense of almost all of his energy.A/N: Pure Iron looks like silver, but is less reflective. Google is your friend.)(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-','Aggressively stares at nothing','Missing Puppers, please call the owner if found')

Chapter 160: Returning to the Hostess of Fertility