Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Vahn was very satisfied with the growth of Maemi and Emiru, as it was a great amount of progress for their first trip into the dungeon. The only thing he found unsatisfactory was the fact he was unable to read any of the information related to their Innate ability at all. Since he could barely interpret his own Innates, Vahn understood the reasoning behind why he was unable to see the details, but it was still somewhat inconvenient. This meant the twins were the only ones who were able to figure out how to use their Innate ability, but at least he could inform them about his speculation and the fact the skill exists in the first place.After waiting for a few minutes, Maemi was the first to recover as she raised up her body and stared blankly at Vahn for a few seconds before a mild blush appeared on her relatively fair skin. Even if he hadn't touched her body directly, Maemi had enjoyed the pleasant feelings of Vahn's massage and had dazed about for a few minutes after he raised the back of her blouse. Though she was very embarrassed, Maemi felt an excitement bubbling up in her belly that made her feel a little giddy. Vahn gave her a curt nod when they made eye contact and handed her the piece of paper that recorded their updated Status.Maemi received the paper and a smile bloomed on her face after seeing that, other than her magic parameter, every other parameter was increasing rapidly. She suddenly felt like Vahn's words about her becoming stronger were true and the only thing she needed to do was make the effort to improve alongside Emiru. As she scanned down the paper, Maemi noticed something peculiar and cocked her head to the side as she asked, "What is [Gemini]? I've never heard of such a skill before...could it be a rare skill!?" Maemi suddenly started to get very excited and Vahn explained with a smile, "Yes, it wouldn't be incorrect to say it is an incredibly rare skill that is unique to you and Emiru. Even with my powerful identification ability, I can't see through the secrets of your skill though, so you'll have to rely on each other to understand its uses. At the very least, it seems to allow your growth to continue in pace with each other while also linking your senses and experiences, both positively and negatively."Hearing Vahn's words, Maemi started to get fired up even more, since she understood that Vahn's identification ability was even stronger than most gods. If he couldn't see through it, it meant the skill had to be very powerful and unique, even though it was currently only Rank-E. Since they had been lectured several times about how skills grow, Maemi knew that the skill being at Rank-E, even though she was Level 1, showed that it had a lot of potential for development in the future. While she was thinking about its potential uses, Emiru lazily raised her body as well before turning to stare at Vahn and Maemi. They had noticed her movements and looked over with moderately shocked expressions when they noticed that the color of her eyes had changed from lilac to a snowy blue color.Maemi immediately pointed with her index finger and said, "Emiru, your eyes, they are blue!" Emiru tilted her head with an, 'Eh~?' sound before Vahn pulled out a mirror for her to check her reflection. The moment she verified her sister's words, Emiru frowned a bit and said, "But, I don't want to be different from Maemi..." Her eyes began to mist up a bit and Vahn noticed that the snowy-blue color faded until the original lilac color returned. Emiru had been the first to notice the change and released a relieved sigh as her shoulders drooped. After a short duration, she walked over and shared a hug with Maemi while Vahn was ruminating about what he had just seen.Since it wasn't a simple matter to change the color of the iris, that meant it had to be the result of a magical ability, or a skill that changed the basic function of the eye. The only skill the twins had was their [Gemini], so Vahn was positive it had something to do with their Innate ability. After thinking for a while, Vahn asked, "Wehn your eyes had changed, did you notice anything else strange?" Emiru and Maemi gave him a confused look so Vahn explained his speculation about how the change in her eye color likely had something to do with their 'rare' skill. Because it was a very serious matter, Emiru tried to think about if there had been any other changes since the time she woke up.After a few seconds passed, Emiru's face showed a bit of confusion as she said, "I don't think there was anything after I woke up...but I remember hearing Vahn-sama talk about the skill and explaining things earlier. It was like I was Maemi for a short while...?" Vahn squinted his eyes and could feel his own interest in the subject expanding rapidly as he asked inquisitively, "Do you think you can focus on that feeling even more? Now that the two of you know about [Gemini], I think you'll be able to make better use of the connection you share from now on."Hearing Vahn's request, Emiru nodded before making eye contact with Maemi and the two seemed to be having another private conversation that excluded Vahn. He didn't know if they had telepathy, or if there was something more unique going on, but he understood they were somehow able to understand each other without even speaking. More than a minute later, they both held out one of their hands and placed them together so that they looked to be mirroring each other. Vahn immediately activated his [Eyes of Truth] to see if there was something going on and he saw the mana in their bodies had started to intertwine until, nearly ten minutes later, it became a smooth flow. The moment the flow stabilized, a snowy-blue light flashed and Emiru vanished completely.Vahn panicked for a brief moment until he noticed that Maemi was very calm as she looked toward him with a small smile on her face. Her smile wasn't the only thing Vahn noticed, as she now had heterochromatic eyes with one being lilac whilst the other was a snowy-blue. On her left hand, instead of a half-faced image of himself, it had now become a whole as if the two girls' bodies had completely fused together. Vahn was about to ask what was happening until a gentle lilac colored magical light shined and Emiru reappeared after splitting from Maemi's body. The moment they separated, both of the twins passed out on the spot and Vahn could tell they were in a 'Mind Down' status and had completely used up their mana.Before they fell to the ground, Vahn caught the two girls in his arms and stared at their unconscious forms with the light of interest burning vibrantly within his pupils. He had never seen two people fusing together in the manner that they showed, and it represented countless possibilities for the future if they were to master the skill. Though he couldn't be sure, since he had been somewhat shocked when Emiru disappeared, he still had his [Eyes of Truth] active at the time and felt like Maemi had become a lot stronger when they fused together. As that thought passed through his mind, Vahn angled his head a bit and mused, "Maybe that wasn't Maemi anymore...but both of them together?" There were so many questions that Vahn wanted to know the answer to, including if Emiru was the only one that would 'vanish' and be absorbed by Maemi. If it worked both ways, the girls might even be able to avoid damage by absorbing the other into their body and randomly splitting to evade other attacks...Vahn grew excited at the prospects that their shared Innate showed and wanted to help the girls find out the best way to make use of their abilities in the future. For now, however, he just let the two lay down as he watched over them while they slept. Though it might have been misunderstood by a random passerby, Vahn placed his palms against the navels of the two girls and began to channel his energy into their body while using [Yggdrasil's Favor] and [Hands of Nirvana] to replenish their mana with his source energy. Since the 'core' of a person's mana came from around their navel, it was the best place to insert the energy, even though simply holding hands would have allowed for a somewhat inefficient transfer.Though he had pretended to care at first, Vahn felt like the stomachs of the sleeping girls were somewhat springy, even though they still had the softness he associated with women. Since they had very lithe figures, there wasn't much, if any, fat on their stomachs and Vahn was tempted to press his hand more firmly against their bellies but resisted the urge. After a few minutes passed, the girls finally awoke at the same time and stared at Vahn's hands where the two strange energies were entering their body. Vahn smiled at them and pulled his hands away and explained, "The two of you went into a 'Mind Down' state and I replenished your mana reserves with my own. I didn't imagine you'd like to spend the night sleeping on the dungeon floor so I decided to wake you up, sorry about that."Without responding to his words, the twins looked at each other as if they were having another private conversation before turning back to him several seconds later and saying, "With Vahn-sama protecting us, we don't feel like sleeping in the dungeon is that scary at all~." Vahn gave the two a wry smile before ruffling their silver hair and standing up. He extended his hands to help the girls stand as he said, "We've done enough for tonight, let's head home and get some proper rest. You two did very well, and thanks for listening to my selfishness whenever I asked you to try something new."The girls shook their heads and said, "No, Vahn-sama has allowed us to understand something very important about ourselves. Without your help, we may have grown apart at some point and never developed our own rare skill. Now, we feel like we can become a lot stronger..." The twins bowed their heads low and continued, "Thank you, Vahn-sama~!" Vahn felt very satisfied by the twins response and couldn't prevent a genuine smile from appearing on his face as he said, "You two have endless potential...I look forward to seeing how far you'll be able to go in the future. Now, let's get out of this stuffy place before it gets too late..." The twins responded with happy smiles as they followed along behind him obediently.On their way out of the dungeon, Vahn let the twins fight together to improve their coordination further and they were able to slay most small groups of monsters without difficulty. This was the benefit of being able to update a status within the dungeon, because the twins parameters had been able to increase without having to return to the surface. They were already much stronger than when they had entered and it was very obvious to both themselves and Vahn. Seeing how rapid their own improvement was made the twins especially fired up and they managed to kill an additional 31 total monsters before they finally returned to the surface.It was slightly after 11 PM when they exited the dungeon, but there were still stalls within Babel that were open 24/7, so Vahn purchased a late-night snack for the twins before they headed back to the Manor. It was nearing midnight by the time they arrived, but Vahn was able to see that Hestia was still awake because she had just left his room and was heading down the corridor towards the stairs. Vahn had a wry smile on his face, because he briefly imagined Hestia laying on his bed like a certain Pallum and Chienthrope girl while enjoying his scent. Though they tried to get him to join them, Vahn sent the twins off to the bath alone as he moved to intercept Hestia. Though they seemed 'dejected' at first, Vahn teased them by asking them if they had learned to read from Fenrir yet. The moment he mentioned the 'terrifying' wolf girl the twins immediately gave up on their attempts and trotted off to the bathroom to change out of their somewhat grimy clothing and enjoy a nice, hot, bath.Hestia finally made her way down and Vahn caught her out of the air when she leaped into his arms. They exchanged a brief kiss before Vahn asked, "Did something happen that you needed to tell me before going to bed?" Hestia released a short sigh before staring up with her crystalline blue eyes and said, "I just wanted to welcome you back when you finally arrived. There is some information though, from Hephaestus and Loki. They said that, as long as you avoid approaching Freya yourself, she shouldn't be a problem for the time being. Here, let's go take a bath and I'll explain all the details." Hestia dropped down from Vahn's body and started leading the way towards the men's changing room. Vahn saw her 'casual' actions and the glaringly pink aura rising like a column of flames from her body as he followed behind her with a small smile on his face.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn's Experimental Nature','Fuuuuuuuu-sion! Ha~!','Endless Possibilities')If you'd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful &lt;3https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149

Vahn learned through Hestia about the meeting between Hephaestus, Loki, and Freya within the top floor of Babel. Though he wasn't aware of the details, Vahn knew that Freya had likely been scheming against him and that she had come to an agreement to not interfere with his life and had even allied herself with Hephaestus and Loki, though she didn't actually join the Alliance. Vahn knew that he would probably have to compromise with her a bit in the future, but at least he didn't have to worry about the troublesome goddess targeting the people close to him for the time being.Now that the looming threat of Freya had been temporarily dealt with, Vahn had a lot of freedom to take actions and start increasing the strength of the Familia. Even though he was Level 3, with two Level 4's assisting him, the Familia itself was still only I rank. Since they had never completed any actual missions through the guild and obtained any achievements, their Familia's standing was still low and Vahn wanted to improve it now that there was time. He wanted to help the girls get to Level 2 while also trying to improve his [Mentor] Development Ability in the hopes that it will allow him to mentor more than one person at a time.During the next day's training, Vahn noticed that Haruhime, Emiru, and Maemi were in much higher spirits than normal and were putting in more effort. It could have just been the result of their parameters increasing, but Vahn was able to see their auras burning brightly and knew they were very motivated. Once they were finished, Vahn gathered everyone together and explained what had been happening behind the scenes for the last two days. He also explained that now was the best time to try and improve their abilities while progressing into the dungeon and completing quests for the Guild. Since they were going to be much more active, Vahn consulted with Ryuu and Aki to draw up a schedule for everyone's duties, which even included a points system to obtain rewards.Aki had explained that it was 'bad practice' to always give equipment and items to the members of the Familia, because it would inhibit them from developing a self-reliance on their own capabilities. Their members should be encouraged to push themselves a bit in order to obtain benefits since it would also promote their mentality and give them the motivation to grow stronger. Vahn agreed to their terms, even though they had only shown him one of the lists for the rewards, which included custom items and other things that the girls would have to exchange Valis, points, and materials to obtain. Vahn was aware there was a second list, but it was kept a 'secret' from him which pretty much told him it was related to 'services' he provided, amongst other things.For Vahn's own schedule, he would be alternating between escorting Haruhime into the dungeon, and teaming up with the twins so they could progress at a relatively even pace. Vahn's main focus was on developing their skills and abilities, while Ryuu and Aki would alternate taking the other girls into the dungeon to develop teamwork and increase the Rank of the Familia. Fenrir was left on 'guard duty' since Vahn wasn't the only one worried about how the other girls would react when they saw her devouring monsters. Though they knew she was Vahn's 'tamed monster', it was hard to see Fenrir as anything more than a cute wolf girl that liked to be spoiled. Until their mentalities improved, and they were less sensitive to that type of thing, Fenrir wouldn't be partying with the other girls.Other than the time he had scheduled for entering the dungeon, Vahn also gave Hestia the green light to accept bookings for massages in the future as well as scheduling time to take the measurements of the various girls he would be making equipment for. Though he wasn't aware of it at the time, there was also a second list going around about who would get to spend time with Vahn when he took the weekends off. There was also a 'Vahnatus' scheduled since Hephaestus and Loki wanted to gather everyone together and discuss the upcoming Denatus and what would change in the future. The number of attendees had grown by a fair amount, and they also wanted to make sure everyone was up to speed on the 'need to know' information concerning Vahn.Though it might seem like the girls were trying to organize Vahn's life for him, he actually had a lot of sway in what he wanted to do and could easily move about as he pleased. He might not be able to visit the 'headquarters' of the members of the Alliance, but it didn't stop Vahn from meeting up with their members. The Guild had taken a 'wait and see' approach when it came to enforcing his probation anyways since Ouranos suspected there was a major event playing out that would likely come to a head at the Denatus. Using this newfound 'freedom', Vahn visited Hephaestus with Haruhime and they enjoyed a long tea time where they cuddled together after Vahn gave her the [Maternity Band] and explained its uses. Haruhime also tried to make a good impression on Hephaestus and the two seemed to mesh together well when Vahn showed Hephaestus the equipment and accessories he was developing for the young Renard.When Hephaestus saw the accessories and learned about their function, she gave Vahn a fervent gaze like she was about to eat him up on the spot. Though it wasn't the first item she had seen that could contain mana, it was the first time she had seen it in such a compact form like a bracelet. The capacity of its storage was actually very high as well, as it could store an average of 720 mana within each accessory. This meant that, with proper preparation, a mage would have an emergency store of 3600 mana while also improving the actual efficacy of their spells. Vahn's accessories were another 'revolutionary' concept that would fundamentally change the world in the future.Vahn explained how the items were produced and, after having Haruhime wait outside, gave her a specialized container that stored 500ml of his own blood within. Though the container he initially used couldn't keep the blood from decaying, Vahn had discovered that he could use the crystalline containers used for preserving the medicinal properties of potions to keep his blood for an indefinite period of time. Hephaestus took the container and had a serious expression on her face as she said, "I'll protect this process with absolute secrecy..." Hephaestus knew that it would cause a stir if people discovered that the blood of demigods, or gods for that matter, could be used as a container to store mana. Vahn nodded his head before lovingly stroking Hephaestus's face as he kissed her deeply for a time.Before they eventually parted and Vahn left for the dungeon, he kneeled down and caressed her relatively firm, muscular, stomach for a short while before kissing below her belly button. Hephaestus lovingly stroked his hair and Vahn could hear an endless number of notifications sounding in the back of his mind about how her Love parameter was increasing. She was currently the person with the absolute highest parameter for him, with her Love reaching 21,483 points. The next closest was Fenrir, who had a Loyalty value of 11,992 followed by Tiona who had a Love value of 1,165.After leaving Hephaestus's workshop, Vahn casually made his way toward the Dungeon while escorting Haruhime who was currently wearing a new kimono with a few other pieces of equipment to compliment her outfit. Her previous kimono had been torn on the sleeves, and she now wore one that was slightly more durable while also wearing a pair of thin, black, bracers on her forearms. Underneath her kimono, since it only extended to the upper half of her thigh, she wore a pair of black spats that ran to around the middle-point of her thigh with a pair of thin shin guards that merged into her black boots that had a slight heel to them. She originally wore a pair of sandals, but quickly learned that they interfered with her mobility and exchanged them for something more practical. Vahn felt like she was turning more into a kunoichi than a 'priestess', but he planned to fix the 'image' a bit when he finished her equipment in the future. She also wore a black obi around her waist with the white-gold accessories on her wrists and ankles.Because her stats were still quite low, Vahn had decided to trade in the [001] he had given Haruhime before purchasing a magical weapon for her to use. He wasn't sure what item would suit her the best, but Vahn had noticed that Haruhime had been trying to replicate his movements with the katana in the past so he used the gacha function that he typically avoided and spent 30,000OP for three of the basic gacha roles. Since it allowed him to narrow down a few search terms, Vahn had input 'Katana', 'Magical', 'Beautiful' since he thought they were the most suitable terms for Haruhime. Within his mind, there was a giant wheel that appeared and spun around before spitting out two white lights and a single blue light. Vahn quickly inspected the basic drops and compared the items to their original OP cost and realized he had lost around 13,000OP as their combined total was only 7,000OP. Fortunately, the blue item was actually worth 91,000OP so he had obtained a net positive.Vahn pulled out the katana named [Sakura Blossom] out of his inventory and raised his brows slightly due to the actual 'beauty' of the design. Its scabbard was predominantly black and it had vibrant pink sakura petals decorating its length as if a branch were extending from the guard. The handle of the katana was also black, with white undertones, and the cord wrapped around the scabbard was a mesh of black and pink interwoven in an intricate pattern. The guard itself was black, but it had a beautiful design that also showed sakura petals inlaid into it as if the blade bloomed from the handle. When Vahn unsheathed the katana, he noticed the blade was flawless and had an impeccable wavy pattern along the actual blade. Vahn could read the characters on the blade and understood they meant, 'Infinite', 'Sakura', and 'Blossom'. Along the spine of the katana, there was an almost unnoticeable red line that, when Vahn channeled his energy into the blade, glowed with a vibrant pink.[Sakura Blossom]Rank: A (Magic)P.Atk: 440+40M.Atk: 880Abilities: Blossom(B), Magical Amplification(B), Piercing(A)An intricately designed Katana that had been forged at the request of a proud Lord in a distant land. He had gifted the weapon to his daughter, whose favorite past time had been polishing her swordsmanship under the perpetually blooming cherry trees within the mountains.Use: Blossom(B): Creates a storm of cherry blossoms that dance around the user and cuts through foes.Chant: Dance, fading effervescence. Blossom, petals of spring. ~Blossom!After reading the chant within his mind, Vahn cocked his head a bit since he was able to imbue his energy into the blade without saying a single word. He swung the katana and a gentle wind sprung up around his body as beautiful pink flower petals danced lazily through the air. They seemed to defy gravity, and whenever Vahn moved around, they petals would move with him and follow the path of the blade. From the side, Haruhime had been watching his movements and muttered in a quiet tone, "Beautiful..." In her eyes, Vahn was moving around fluidly while surrounded by vibrant pink flow petals, almost like he was dancing in the wind, untouched by the murky darkness around them.Once he was satisfied, Vahn sheathed the katana and the petals dissolved out of the air before he handed to Haruhime and said, "This is for you, it'll help you develop your Magic parameter while also improving your other capabilities in the future." Haruhime's eyes widened as she quickly snatched away the katana and held it like a priceless treasure. Vahn saw her reaction and smiled since he found her to be quite adorable at the moment. She had noticed his look and blushed slightly as her ears twitched about. After calming down, she fixed the [Sakura Blossom] through her black obi and Vahn quickly realized the black design perfectly matched the aesthetic of Haruhime's outfit.After explaining the use of the weapon, Vahn led Haruhime into the dungeon without any hesitation as they made their way towards the deeper floors. Since he was worried about her ability to take on monsters with higher endurance, Vahn wanted Haruhime to fight some Dungeon Lizards while also learning how to control the [Sakura Blossom] to deal with groups of enemies. He noticed that the energy consumption of the katana wasn't that high, so Vahn hoped Haruhime would be able to make proper use of it since her Magic parameter was already over 600 points. She also had the accessories fully charged and Vahn was curious to see how far she could go without his support.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Calm...','Hephaestus's Overwhelming Love','Scatter...I mean Blossom!'If you'd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful &lt;3https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149

After the mark had fully formed, the twins opened their eyes and saw their two halves of Vahn's face on their hands before laughing together. Vahn saw how happy they were and explained, "I'm not sure if it will have the same effect as the original since there is still a lot I've yet to discover about the [Mentor] Development Ability. We'll see how well the two of you fight together before heading back to the surface. It's starting to get a bit late, and it's not necessary for us to stay here for too much longer." In response to his words, the twins faced toward Vahn and bowed politely and said, "Yes, Vahn-sama~!" Vahn's smile widened because it was always interesting to see identical girls acting in concert with each other. Even their outfits were exactly the same, and the only difference between them was that Emiru had a slight hole in her blouse and there was a different half of his face on their left hands.Before they set out to hunt more monsters, Ryuu looked toward Vahn and asked, "Should I return to the surface then?" Vahn blanked for a moment before turning his gaze and stared into Ryuu's sky-blue eyes and stalling his words a bit. Before he answered, she showed a small smile and said, "Make sure you watch over them properly. I know you should be fine, even if I'm not here to take care of you." Ryuu handed Vahn the [Rallying Whistle] and a pouch full of potions that he stowed away in his inventory. Since her presence would actually stall the progress of the twins, it wouldn't be possible for her to accompany them without experiencing some diminishing returns.Vahn felt a little awkward having Ryuu leave so quickly, so he reached his hands loosely around her waist and they shared a short hug that made Ryuu lower her head a bit. Since she didn't like to show affection in front of others, she was a little embarrassed being seen by the twins but didn't make any attempts to pull away either. After a few long seconds had passed, Vahn released Ryuu and said, "I'll see you tomorrow, unless you intend to stay at the Manor tonight..." Though there wasn't any 'intent' behind his words, all three girls misunderstood what he said as Ryuu's ears wiggled a bit before she turned away and started running out of the dungeon without responding.After watching her back for a short while, Vahn turned to see the twins giving him a strange look that caused his brows to furrow slightly. They noticed his expression before small smiles appeared on their faces as if nothing had happened at all. After shaking his head, Vahn led the two girls deeper into the dungeon until they found a room with three Goblins, and a single Kobold skulking about. Vahn whispered quietly to the twins, "From now on, you don't have to focus so much on attacking yet...I want you two to work together and evade the monsters and create openings for the other to exploit. Focus on the connect between you and see if you can coordinate your actions..."Emiru and Maemi nodded their heads at the same time before marching out into the room. After they took a few steps, the monsters were alerted to their presence and the twins leaned low and began charging forward. They followed Vahn's orders, so they didn't immediately attack and tried to 'shepherd' the monsters within the room for nearly ten minutes until the monsters' movements were interfering with each other. Vahn had been watching from the side and nodded his head approvingly at their tactics, but also knew it would be detrimental if the monsters were much stronger, and faster, than the two girls.Even though Maemi had never used stones, or throwing weapons in general, she copied Emiru's actions from earlier and they began to pelt the monsters while running around them in a counter-clockwise manner. Though the monsters didn't have strong self-preservation instincts, they still began to shy away from the combined attacks of Emiru and Maemi as they tried to shield their faces. Vahn began to realize that the girls might have a talent for taming monsters, since he had read up on it a bit in the past. The only requirement was to eventually force a monster to submit without killing it, and it started to look like the four monsters within their encirclement were about to abandon the fight and try to run away.Not long after Vahn had the thought, the Kobold tried to sprint away from the group and break the encirclement only to be greeted by Emiru's dagger as she lopped off its head. Since it had foregone defensive actions, it had left its body and head exposed to attacks. The most important thing to note, however, was that Maemi was able to exploit the opening when the goblins tried to move toward Emiru's flank to attack them from behind. She stabbed her dagger into the back of the Goblins shoulder blades and pierced its magic core before moving to attack the second one. The Goblins were confused about who to attack as Emiru turned around and both twins dispatched the Goblins before they were able to decide which direction to attack. After they had all vanished, both of the twins fell to their butts simultaneously which caused Vahn's brows to raise slightly.Since he had been watching the fight through his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn was able to tell that they were, in fact, very tired. However, he could also tell they hadn't used up enough stamina to collapse as Maemi had done previously. The fact that they both fell at the same time told him that they either experienced a mental load from focusing on the connection, or they had come to an agreement to try and get him to pamper them both. Judging by how their tails flickered about when Emiru gave him a sidelong glance, Vahn assumed it was the latter of the two possibilities. Vahn thought their actions were rather adorable and had a small smile on his face because they had acted synchronously to put on the act together.After a brief moment of thought, Vahn felt like teasing them while also testing something out at the same time. He walked over to where the two girls were sitting and asked, "Do you need me to help you recover, or would you like a stamina potion?" At the same time, both girls raised their right hands and chimed, "Help us, Vahn-sama~!" Vahn nodded his head and kneeled down next to Emiru as he said, "I want to test something out to see how the connection between the two of you works. Since I was able to help heal your wound earlier, I want to see if recovering your stamina affects Maemi. Focus your mind and relax your body..." Emiru's ears twitched up and she had a pleased expression on her face as Maemi's ears flattened and she adopted a dejected appearance.Vahn saw their reactions and wanted to laugh, but he instead said in a firm tone, "Emiru, Maemi, this is very important to discover the best method to help the two of you grow stronger in the future. Please, focus your minds and relax...if it works as intended, you should be able to feel the same sensations Maemi." Though she had been preparing to comply with his words at first, Maemi's ears shot back up after she heard the second half of Vahn's statement. She locked eyes with Emiru and they both nodded before closing their eyes. Vahn waited for a little while before he noticed the twins' breathing began to synchronize. Out of curiosity, he used [Eyes of Truth] to investigate and noticed that, though their hearts weren't in concert yet, they were beginning to match each others rhythm.After waiting for around two minutes, Vahn noticed the twins had started to overlap their actions perfectly and he was even able to tell that their auras had started to turn the same. Confident in his next actions, Vahn placed his palm against Emiru's back and used [Hands of Nirvana] to help recover any stress injuries in her body while replenishing her stamina a bit. He immediately noticed that there was a strange incongruity in his usage of the skill since it seemed to be operating at half efficacy, even though he was performing the routine normally. Though this might have confused him at first, Vahn smiled after realizing this and turned his attention to Maemi and noticed that his own energy had spread to her body even though he wasn't in contact with her at all. There was a bit of 'loss' during the transfer, but this allowed Vahn to verify that he was, in fact, able to benefit both twins at the same time while focusing his efforts on a single girl.Once Emiru was fully restored, Vahn continued to replenish her energy to top off Maemi as he reached up with his free hand and gingerly poked the back of her ear. It was an almost negligible touch, but Vahn saw that both Emiru's and Maemi's ears twitched at the same time and he felt an urge to laugh with how interesting their reactions were. He was very tempted to conduct a few other experiments, but there were more pressing matters at the moment so he removed his hand from Emiru's back and said, "This is actually one of the most incredible things I've ever seen...you two share a powerful bond between each other and can actually influence one-another without touching. However, as it was seen earlier, this can also be a double edged sword since you both share the same injuries when you are synched up and experiencing powerful emotions."Hearing Vahn's words, both girls nodded their heads and had their attention focused entirely on everything he was saying. Though they already knew they had a special connection, as they'd spent their entire lives together, it was only today that they realized how truly unique it was. The most important thing to them, however, was the fact they were able to share their senses and experienced the same pleasant feelings while also growing stronger at the same time. Unlike the other girls, who could only use the Mentor Mark individually, they were able to work together and benefit from each other's progress.After going over his hypothesis for a bit, Vahn took the twins to another room where there were only two Kobolds. He nodded his head and said, "Okay, I want to try something new this time..." Vahn stroked his chin for a bit before he continued, "I'll keep Maemi here and use [Hands of Nirvana] to help keep her body in an optimal condition while Emiru fights the Kobolds. You don't have to focus on defeating them quickly, just try to move around as much as you can and I want to see if you're able to benefit from the energy transmitted through Maemi and continue the fight for a longer period of time."The twins nodded their heads before locking eyes with each other as if they were having a conversation that Vahn couldn't hear. He squinted his eyes slightly until they nodded at each other and Emiru charged into the room with her weapon drawn. Maemi moved over and muttered, "Vahn-sama, if you please..." Vahn complied with her request and placed his palm against her back before using [Hands of Nirvana] to replenish her already full energy reserves. Since she was focused on the connection with Emiru, Vahn was able to see her muscles twitch about as if they were simulating combat even though she was standing idly at the side.Vahn watched as Emiru stretched her limits and continued going without stopping for even a moment until nearly twenty minutes had passed and both Kobolds eventually died from blood loss. She had left several small cuts on their bodies and they were unable to keep up with how quickly she was able to change direction. Though they were actually faster than her, Emiru was incredibly nimble and was able to sidestep and rapidly change direction because she had been developing her footwork in the morning with Ryuu and Aki.After the Kobolds had fallen, Vahn could see that Emiru was having small muscle spasms like she had over-drafted her body by a large amount. Though not nearly as much as her twin, Maemi was experiencing something similar and this caused Vahn to have a very serious expression on his face. Emiru had been able to continue the fight because her stamina continued to replenish, but the mental strain had taxed her greatly and it started to whittle away at how well she was able to control her body. This was both a good and bad, at the same time, since it showed they would be able to push their limits beyond normal levels with his assistance. There was even a high chance they would develop skills over time or even awaken rare abilities in the future. The major downside, however, was the fact that it could leave a trauma in their minds and bodies if they pushed themselves too far. There was a lot of adrenaline pumping through Emiru's body currently and she was very on edge because of the extended engagement.Though he could do it through Maemi as a proxy, Vahn walked over before placing a futon on the ground and saying, "Relax your body for a bit, I'll help calm your nerves. If you'd like, you can lay down as well for the time being, Maemi." Emiru released a long sigh after hearing Vahn's words before she dropped to her knees and collapsed face-first onto the futon with a tired expression even though her body had plenty of energy. Maemi had also been affected by her state, so she laid down next to Emiru and they very naturally held each others' hands and tried to relax even though they were in the dungeon.Before he kneeled down to the left of Emiru, Vahn realized he was probably teaching them bad practices, since they should never really drop their guards. However, he had spent time with the Loki Familia and noticed that they were often relaxed around each other without being overly tense as he had learned to be when adventuring solo. He expected it was good for both the body, and the mind, to not stay in such a tense state all the time and you should be able to rely on your party members more to share the awareness of your surroundings. Vahn also had his domain, so the twins weren't wrong to trust that he would alert them if things got dangerous.Vahn began to casually massage Emiru's body and realized that he had never performed his techniques on any of the girls that he had saved recently. He actually really liked to perform his massages, and had even intended to work it into his schedule in the future. The fact he had 'held back' for so long against the former slave girls caused a wry smile to appear on his face. Though he knew there could be a 'stimulating' factor to the massage, Vahn didn't consider it to be sexual in nature and there was no real harm in performing it on the girls around him. It might cause their affections for him to rise, but that didn't mean he had to let it develop into feelings, nor did he have to reciprocate their advances. Since they were also being 'suppressed' by Fenrir, Vahn figured it would be good for their bodies if he tended to them after the more intense fights in the dungeons.Less than ten minutes after he began, Emiru had already turned to putty under his hands because she had almost no resistance against his S-Ranked technique as a mere Level 1. Maemi had also been affected and Vahn got to experience the somewhat peculiar scenario where he was able to massage two girls at once, without ever having to lay a finger on the second girl. Though his instincts didn't tell him he was being watched, Vahn compressed his domain to within 10m and applied [Stealth] to blur the surrounding environment. Just like when he used his [Heart of the Eternal Flame], Vahn was able to elevate the heat within his domain to an incredible extent by compressing his domain. Though he could still perceive everything perfectly, Vahn knew it was almost impossible to probe his domain with any type of detection spells without being present within the vicinity. Even Mikoto's ability, that could track anyone within the same Familia, was useless when Vahn seriously concealed his presence.Though he wasn't absolutely certain things were safe, Vahn felt a little impatient and explained to the somewhat catatonic girls that he was going to check their Status Boards. Since she was the lesser affected of the two, Maemi nodded her head and murmured, "Yesss, Vahn-sama...mauuuu~" Vahn raised his brows a bit at the new response before shaking his head and focusing on the matter at hand. Though he had the intention of checking their Statuses, Vahn realized that the girls wore blouses that covered their entire torso. He had grown so accustomed to being around nude girls, that the matter had completely slipped his mind for a moment.After a brief moment of hesitation, Vahn shook his head before rolling up the backs of the girls' blouses and revealing their bare backs. Since they had been taught by Ryuu and Aki, both girls wore 'tape' over their breasts instead of bras, so their backs were completely exposed by his actions. Vahn proceeded to prick the tip of his index finger before tracing it down Emiru's spine and drawing a line of blood. Her Status Board, which had been concealed previously, appeared on her back as the familiar Hestia Familia crest and Vahn thought it was very suitable for her. After the blue light faded, Vahn was able to interpret the glyphs on her back and record her status within the system before performing the same ceremony on Maemi. When he was done, Vahn fixed their clothing and waited for them to recover as he stared with a massive grin on his face after seeing their updated Status.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------[[STATUS]]Name: Maemi RainLV. 1POW: I28-&gt;I44END: I34-&gt;I45DEX: I16-&gt;I31AGI: 152-&gt;I76MAG: I18-&gt;I19Skill: [Gemini: Innate(E)]Magic: -Development Skill: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------[[STATUS]]Name: Emiru RainLV. 1POW: I28-&gt;I44END: I34-&gt;I45DEX: I16-&gt;I31AGI: 152-&gt;I76MAG: I18-&gt;I19Skill: [Gemini: Innate(E)]Magic: -Development Skill: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Title: [Gemini](A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Ryuu's Waggling','INTRIGUING','Godhand now spans the void')(A/N: Woooo~! Even though I was sick this week, I managed to pump out the promised 100k words with a bit of time to spare &lt;3. Hope you enjoyed another exciting week following Vahn along on his journey to find happiness (UwU)If you'd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful &lt;3https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149

Chapter 311: Odd Eyes