Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Before leaving the Twilight Manor, Loki tried to convince Vahn to give her something as well since he had given gifts to everyone else. Vahn considered her words for a few seconds before purchasing a bottle of wine from the shop called [Nectar] that had a price ranging from 100OP-1,000,000OP depending on its potency. The one he gifted her cost 1000OP and had an age of 100 years.When Loki received the unknown wine, she removed the cork and smelled the contents before a satisfied and happy expression appeared on her face. She then tried and failed to convince Vahn to stay as he had already made a promise to stay at the Hearths Embrace. Since it had been something the girls agreed on during the previous meeting, Loki didn't have an easy way to convince him so she saw him out while causing a commotion among her children when she tried to get Vahn to give her a kiss.Vahn responded to her puckered lips by giving her a flick on the forehead which caused her to hold the impact site with both of her hands. Since Vahn was a Level 3 with stats that could rival a Level 4, his flick was quite painful for the non-combatant Loki. As he walked away, she demanded that he bring more wine as a consolation for the grievances she suffered due to his mistreatment. Vahn just waved his hand in a dismissive manner without promising anything as he walked away from the Twilight Manor at a slow and casual pace.By the time Vahn neared the Hearths Embrace it was almost time for him to enter the orb. He still had a few minutes and was deciding if he should enter the Inn or find a secret area to enter the orb. There was a high probability that once he entered, he would be distracted by Tina and Milan and potentially miss the optimal time to use the orb. Of course, if he used it outside, there was a non-zero chance that something could happen within the orb which would cause him to lose consciousness in the real world.Deciding it would be best to be surrounded by people he could trust, Vahn entered into the Hearths Embrace and was almost immediately greeted by Tina in a manner he hadn't heard in a long time, ""Weeeeeeeeeeeeeelcome~! Would you like to stay the nya-ight~?" The moment she gave the shout, Tina noticed it was Vahn who entered and turned toward the back of the dining area and shouted, "Mooooom, Vahnya's back~!"After shouting for Milan, Tina then closed the distance to Vahn and gave him a huge and cheerful smile while she hugged the circular tray she was carrying to her chest. Vahn smiled at her adorable act and reached out his hand as he began gently patting her head. She laughed in a silly manner until Milan exited through the kitchen doors and smiled at the two blocking the door. Seeing how well Vahn and Tina got along, she displayed a gentle smile before saying, "Welcome back, Vahn."Vahn returned her smile before ruffling Tina's hair a bit and approaching the counter and sitting down. Tina followed behind him after fixing her hair and gave him a reproachful gaze as she said, "You shouldn't mess up a girl's hair~nya!" The tone she had used was the same as when she was lecturing people back home, so Vahn couldn't help but laugh and offer her a short apology.After settling down, Vahn explained what had happened while he was away, including the matters regarding Loki. He had decided previously that he wouldn't conceal anything regarding women from any of the other girls he associated with. Tina seemed to be a bit annoyed by the actions of Loki, especially since she didn't have a good impression of her from the meeting. Vahn noticed her expression and began explaining what he had learned in regards to Divinity and how it influenced and sometimes even dictated the actions of gods and goddesses. After learning the new information, Tina said she was willing to forgive her for the time being but couldn't guarantee she would get along with Loki in the future. Milan, belonging to a Familia for several years previously, understood a bit in regards to Divinity and she expressed her understanding as well. As a mother herself, she could empathize with another woman's desire to have children.Since it might cause a stir if anything happened, Vahn explained that he needed to have a bit of privacy to use one of his secret techniques at 5 AM and 5 PM every day. Milan was a bit curious, but since Vahn hadn't explained on his own she didn't ask. Tina was also quite perceptive for her age, so she just showed Vahn to the room at the back of the Inn where she and her mother stayed. Though they had a guest room, Tina insisted that he use their bed since he would apparently be sleeping there tonight anyway.Vahn laid down on the relatively small bed and pulled out the orb shortly after Tina left the room. There was still nearly a full minute before he had to use the orb, so Vahn just lay there in silence as he passively smelled the fragrance that permeated throughout the room. Just like when he had first entered his room where Hephaestus previously resided, Vahn noticed there was a distinct aroma in the room where Milan and Tina both slept. He was somewhat tempted to turn around and smell the scent more deeply, but he managed to restrain himself with a bit of effort.Fortunately, the time to enter the orb came quickly and Vahn immediately inserted his consciousness before waking up in the bed where Eva was waiting to pin him. After nearly two hours, Vahn finally managed to escape her clutches and set out to get some work done at the forge. Before he was able to do so, however, he noticed a strange sight that caused the small vampire to laugh mischievously from behind him.As Vahn looked at the sight of the 12m long Fafnir laying on the ground in front of him in an almost 'cutesy', yet tired, manner, Eva explained, "He grew up a lot in the last four years, and I even managed to teach him a bit of magic. Though the systems of our worlds seem different, I noticed that he had a powerful affinity for darkness and destruction based magic."While Eva was explaining the changes in Fafnir, Vahn had put his hand on its snout and begun channeling his energy into its body to replenish its diminishing reserves. According to Eva, he had been perfectly fine for the first three-or-so years before entering a pseudo-dormant state a couple of months ago. The mana capacity within its body had increased by a massive amount and Vahn had to take a break to replenish his energy before he was finally able to fully restore Fafnir's reserves.During the time he was helping it recover, Vahn had noticed a few changes within the system that made him both pleased and shocked.--------------------------------------------------------------------------[Fafnir]Age: 4 yearsRace: Dragon (Juvenile: 12m)Level: 5Loyalty: 283Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Guardian Familiar)Karma: -State: [Active]--------------------------------------------------------------------------Even though there were no monsters to fight, Fafnir's level had increased from 3 to 5 as its body naturally matured closer to adulthood. Not only his level, but even his Soul Strength had increased from Tier 1 to Tier 2, and Vahn was very happy to see its growth. However, his satisfaction turned to absolute shock in the next moment when he heard a low, yet childish sounding, voice in his head.(*Welcome back Master.*)Seeing Vahn's shocked expression, Eva laughed as she jumped on top of Fafnir's back and explained, "Around a year after you left, this little one learned how to speak. It uses something similar to telepathy and can directly communicate with the minds of those in the area. It can even use it as a mental attack to rattle enemies~!"After Eva had landed on its back, Fafnir immediately spread its wings to around 18m and ascended to the sky at a rapid pace. Vahn was left alone on the ground as he continued to stare in awe at the sheer majesty of Fafnir's ascent. The fact it was Eva on its back right now instead of him made Vahn feel somewhat regretful. As he considered giving Fafnir the order to pick him up, Vahn noticed the pitch black sky in the background began to 'darken' slightly and he could see with his enhanced perception that the mana in the atmosphere quickly converged on Fafnir.Once Fafnir has ascended to around 500m, Eva used her own telepathy to issue it an order and it began using the attack she taught it in the past. Now that its Master had saturated its cells with his energy, it was able to quickly absorb the mana from the atmosphere and channel it along the pathways of its body before consolidating them in the magic circle in its mouth. A green gleam flashed through its eyes as it spread out its wings to the limit and opened its mouth wide while aiming far into the distance.Vahn actually felt his instincts firing as he observed the sight of Fafnir charging what he expected was a powerful magic attack. His intuition proved correct as, after around eight seconds, Fafnir spread its wings wide before shooting a massive pitch-black beam of energy that looked like a laser far off into the distance. Vahn felt his anticipation increased as he jumped to the top of the wall to get a better view. Strangely though, even though the beam of black light had disappeared there had yet to be an indicator of it colliding with anything.The moment Vahn felt confusion, he suddenly felt the ground shake as an invisible energy waved slammed into the wall and ruffled his hair and clothing. Immediately following the shockwave, Vahn saw something like a dark mushroom cloud rising from the far distance. The sight of the cloud made Vahn's heart shake as several more shockwaves continued to batter the firm walls that had been reinforced by Eva's magic in preparation for the demonstration.After nearly a minute, the cloud had grown to a terrifying height as Eva teleported next to him and explained with a bit of humor in her tone, "It was a lot bigger this time than when I had taught it the spell initially. I'd say it qualifies as a tactical class magic and probably has the destructive yield of around 130 megatons. Make sure you never use it in a crowded area unless you want to kill everything within a five-kilometer radius.Hearing her words, Vahn couldn't help but feel a cold sweat run down his back as he stared at Fafnir who was flying around in circles above his head while shouting in his head with its cheerful and childish voice, ("Praise me~, Praise me~"). Vahn nodded his head and sent his thoughts to praise Fafnir for the truly awesome display of power. Eva then explained all the other changes in Fafnir before saying matter-of-factly that she would still be able to block the attack as long as she wasn't caught off guard.Vahn realized that his decision to leave Fafnir behind to train with Eva had been the best decision he had made since arriving in this world. Now he had a mount that could reach nearly 4000 km/h in the air that could also hit a target from more than 100km away with tactical precision. If there were ever a major threat on the surface world, there would be few things that Fafnir wouldn't be able to deal with. Even though it was only Level 5 and would likely lose an extended engagement against veteran adventurers, from a distance it was almost unrivaled. The attack, called 'Destructive Ray', had a very large energy requirement and build-up, but it approached the pinnacle of a Tier 3 existence and was on the verge of breaking into Tier 4. Considering that Fafnir was only Tier 2, Vahn couldn't help but feel that it was outscaling common sense.He later learned that the attack couldn't be rapid fired and actually required nearly a month of time for the energy channels within the body to recover before it could be used again. That meant that, if Fafnir wasn't in its optimal condition, it likely wouldn't be able to use the attack without seriously damaging its body. Of course, that restriction would only apply if Fafnir stayed in the real world, as Vahn assumed converting it back into an orb before re-summoning it would reduce the fatigue of its body entirely.During the second day, after his 'rest and relaxation' with Eva, Vahn confirmed his suspicions when Fafnir was able to fire the beam a second time after he re-summoned it. Seeing the display, Eva gave Vahn a strange look and remarked that it wasn't just Fafnir that defied common sense. As the person who had converted it from a normal Wyvern into an incredibly powerful black dragon, Vahn was the source of everything. Now that he could even completely circumvent the cooldown for using 'Destructive Ray', he had very quickly obtained an almost ridiculous amount of power at his fingertips.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Black Tyrant Dragon Emperor, Fafnir','Childish voice','Vahn the Ophactafillia')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 $615/640 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

Though it wasn't the original purpose for why he had begun training within the orb, Vahn spent the remainder of the three day period training with Fafnir to discover its capabilities. Other than 'Destruction Ray', it had learned two other magics. The first was called 'Sagitta Magica', and Fafnir could use it for fire up to 28 bolt of darkness elemental magic that had corrosive properties. To round out its skillset, it also had an amazing technique called 'Shadow Walk' which allowed it to hide within the shadows of objects almost like it was entering into an alternate dimension.Vahn also learned that Fafnir had a gross incompatibility with barrier and defensive magic. It was an almost pure offensive juggernaut and, other than its incredibly durable scales and near perfect immunity to magic, it had no way of defending itself. The large blue cross symbol on its chest actually acted as a significant weak spot that would result in its death if a severe enough blow was dealt to it. Since Fafnir was currently 12m long, the cross had grown to a size larger than Vahn's entire body. This meant that, if even a stray arrow or spear impacted the cross, Fafnir would die.The last thing of note was Fafnir's apparent weakness to 'righteous' people, light magic, and holy property spells. Since Vahn had next to no negative karma, even when he had Fafnir duel against him, he noticed that Fafnir's capabilities had decreased by more than 40% and his magic would actually misfire and land far off from the intended target. It was almost like, if Fafnir fought against a 'good' person, it would suddenly have incredibly bad luck and severely reduced performance.Because of this, even though Fafnir was currently much stronger than he was, Vahn was actually able to keep up with him a bit due to his parameters reaching near Level 4. Infusing his [Enkidu] into his domain almost prevent Fafnir from being able to fight back at all. The moment it became wrapped up in [Enkidu], the only thing it could do was wait for Vahn to release it as it would lose all of its power. If not for its ability to fly, Fafnir had almost no way to fight against Vahn in an extended engagement.Since they were fighting, Eva had been spectating and giving advice to both of them while correcting some of the mistakes they would make. She even tried demonstrating how to use 'Shundo' to give Vahn increased mobility, but he wasn't able to comprehend it well. Though he could easily channel magic into his arms and legs, Vahn couldn't link it between two points easily and would often be sent tripping for several meters when he tried.Even so, no matter how many times he fell over, Vahn was determined to try and learn the incredible movement technique after seeing Eva use it to easy target his blindspots without him being able to react in the slightest. With the use of his domain, he was able to have some marginal success, but it would still take several weeks to get the hang of it. Fortunately, even though it was a 'physical' skill, it primarily used mana to execute, so Vahn was able to develop the skill even as a spiritual body.Soon enough, the three day period had ended and Vahn parted ways with Eva from within the room that had become their personal sanctuary. Vahn always felt a little sad every time he left Eva behind but was less affected now that she had the company of Fafnir. Vahn had also wanted to leave behind (Nameless), the kobold that was often kept within his inventory, but Eva said it had no capacity to learn magic and she also considered it quite ugly. Hearing her words, Vahn felt a bit guilty about the somewhat pathetic creature and decided to give it a strong name in the future when his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] was off cooldown.After awakening in the real world, Vahn quickly left the bed before wandering into the connecting corridor towards the kitchen area. Since he wasn't a normal 'guest' anymore, he had full access to the living spaces used by Milan and Tina in the past. He quickly came across Tina who gave him a strange and inquisitive look as she asked, "Done already~?" Since it had only been a few seconds since she left Vahn in the room, she was wondering if something unexpected had occurred.Vahn assured her everything went well before helping out with some of the chores that needed to be performed within the Inn. Milan spent a lot of her time cooking and preparing ingredients for the meals while Tina washed all the linens used by the guests while acting as a waitress during the posted meal hours. Since Vahn wasn't the most sociable person when it came to dealing with strangers, he ended up helping Milan cook within the kitchen.Perhaps due to the earlier events, Milan spent a lot of the time when they were in the kitchen teasing Vahn. He had already known long ago when he first moved into the Hearths Embrace that she had that type of personality, and it made Vahn happy to know she hadn't changed much since he first arrived. The biggest difference was the way he responded to her actions since he was actually able to return her teasing a bit instead of acting passively like in the past.Vahn quickly discovered that, while she was good at teasing others, Milan was actually very weak to being teased herself. He also quickly learned that, if you pushed her too far, her cheerful demeanor would immediately become ice cold and she would give him an almost threatening look that made a chill run up his back. There was even an incident where she was cutting a large radish with a knife while maintaining eye contact with him. Every time the knife cut through the radish and collided with the cutting board, Vahn could feel a cold sweat on his body.Eventually, the day came to an end and the night-time staff had taken their places to tend to any customers that would wander in during the late evening. They were both a man and a woman, named Davi and Sasha respectively. Vahn learned that they were both engaged to each other and worked at the Inn during the evening to save up enough money to start their own business. Though he didn't say anything to them personally, Vahn decided that he would give them a sizeable donation to support their dream when Milan closed down the Inn in the future.After they took over, Vahn, Milan, and Tina sat around a small table in the kitchen and enjoyed a lively meal. Tina was in very high-tensions since they were all eating together and had spent the majority of the meal telling Milan about everything that had happened at Vahn's house with the Anubis Familia. Milan was happy to see her daughter acting in such a cheerful manner since she hadn't had many friends near her own age once she started helping out at the Inn.Once dinner had come to an end, Vahn helped the two girls wash the dishes and prepare some of the tasks for the following day. After everything was taken care of, the trio made their way to the main bedroom and Vahn could see that Milan had grown somewhat nervous. She had already discussed it with her daughter previously, and it was decided that Vahn would share their bed tonight. It had been more than six years since she shared a bed with another man, even if it was more appropriate to call Vahn a boy.Though Vahn could see her fluctuating aura, he decided not to pay it any mind as he made his way into the bedroom alongside Tina as if it were perfectly normal. Since he had spent the entire week staying in the same room as the small cat girl, Vahn had already developed a familiarity with her presence and didn't act awkwardly at all. Milan stared at the two as they dressed for bed with a mixture of emotions in her eyes as she stood in the doorway without making her own preparations. It wasn't until Vahn had already laid in the bed and Tina climbed in and gave her a strange look that she finally made her own preparations.The moment Milan began undressing to prepare for bed, Vahn averted his eyes to allow her some privacy. Tina noticed this and tried whispering in his ear to encourage him, but Vahn just gave the 'mischevious' girl a pinch on her nose and continued to avoid watching Milan change. After a few minutes, Milan approached the opposite side of the bed from Vahn and he could see she was wearing a similar style night-gown to Tina, albeit a bit more seductive compared to the childish design of her daughter.Milan hesitated for a moment and made eye contact with Vahn who just gave her an encouraging smile in return. She could see that there was no 'sexual desire' in his eyes and that he was acting like the same gentle boy she knew from the past. After releasing a short sigh, she lifted the blankets and crawled into the bed next to her daughter. Since the bed wasn't that large, there wasn't a lot of room for three people to line up comfortably, so they ended up having to squeeze together slightly.Unable to lay on his back, Vahn had turned to his side and could see Milan staring back at him with a slight blush while Tina was cradled comfortably between the two of them. Vahn saw the 'fear' and 'apprehension' on her face, but he just responded with a light smile before brushing away Tina's bangs and giving the smiling girl a kiss on the forehead. She laughed at his display of affection and ended up cuddling into Vahn's chest a bit while Milan stared at the scene with a mixture of confusion and warm feelings building in her chest.Vahn ruffled Tina's hair with his chin a bit before winking at Milan and resting his head against the pillow. Milan had seen his wink and furrowed her brows slightly as she stared at the back of her own daughter who was presently cuddled up next to Vahn. Once Vahn had laid down on the pillow and closed his eyes, she released a muted sigh before cuddling up at her daughters back with her face right in front of Vahn's. They were in such close proximity to each other that Milan could feel the airflow from his nose tickling her face.For a few minutes after they finally relaxed, Milan would periodically look between Vahn's young and handsome face before looking at her daughter that seemed to be completely at ease within his loose embrace. Eventually, she decided to stop hesitating and just combined her embrace with Vahn's in a loose manner as they both hugged Tina to sleep. Milan noticed that, moments after she came into contact with Vahn's arm, he smiled slightly and cracked his eyes before leaning forward a bit and giving her a kiss on the forehead as well.Milan blushed at his affectionate display and tucked her chin to prevent Vahn from being able to see her face. For the first time in more than six years, Milan felt like she had met someone that treated her kindly like her former husband. Vahn also treated her daughter well and this entire experience made her feel like the three were part of the same family. She hugged her daughter a bit closer and cried silent tears into the night as some of the pain and loneliness of the last six years had slowly been replaced by the warmth coming from the two bodies sharing the bed with her.It wasn't long until Milan had cried herself to sleep while hugging her sleeping daughter. Vahn had been awake for the entire event and he felt sad to see such a reaction from Milan after just a brief period of intimacy. His intuition about how lonely she had been earlier in the week had proved correct, and Vahn was happy he had made the decision to try and approach her earlier. Vahn wanted to help take care of the Mother-Daughter pair, even if the relationships between them never bore fruit other than a familial relationship. He didn't want to split them apart because of his own selfishness, and he even agreed with Milan's apprehensions about sharing the same man as her daughter. Since Tina was still only ten years old, Vahn could spend the next four years or more just acting as the role of a proxy for them both.A few minutes after the two girls had fallen asleep, Vahn once again closed his eyes and drifted off into unconsciousness himself. He hoped that these happy and peaceful days would continue far into the future. There were many things he wanted to do now, such as becoming a [Master Smith], marrying Hephaestus and Eina, having children with various girls, raising his children, as well as becoming strong enough to protect everyone he cared about. Vahn realized that to do all of this, he would need power and influence enough to prevent anyone from trying to maneuver against him. He would need people that deferred to him and followed his orders earnestly and without hesitation...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Never Enough Power','Nearly Indestructible Glass Cannon','Family, Bonds, Future')(A/N: A fair amount of people reneged on their pledges or they weren't cleared, so even though I got very near the $640 goal, I actually only received around $490 xD. I'll try to do a bit of bonus content starting Monday, but I still can't afford to do this full-time yet.)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 $536/640 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

Leaving Loki on the couch, Vahn moved to the opposite couch where he was flanked by Tiona and Ais as Lefiya stood at the side and Tione took the place where Vahn had left an occupancy next to Loki. After everyone had found a spot where they were comfortable, Tiona asked, "So, what happened to cause you to turn Loki-sama into putty?" She still had an amused grin on her face since she had never seen her goddess in such a compromised state.Vahn explained everything that happened during his private meeting with Loki, including the parts concerning Divinity, [Enkidu], and pregnancy. As for the reason why Loki was currently a goddess-shaped blob, Vahn explained that she was acting brazenly after getting drunk and he decided to help her relax so she wouldn't be so restless.Loki, who heard his explanation uttered in a distressed and tired voice, "Don't listen to him...He didn't help me relax at all..." However, though she was speaking the truth, none of the girls present seemed to care about her current state. Lefiya looked as though she was enjoying Loki's suffering while Ais just muttered in a plain tone, "Sneaky..." She then grabbed Vahn's right hand with hers and gave him a somewhat inquisitive look.Vahn understood what she was trying to ask, so he began to channel his [Hands of Nirvana] with the intent of 'relaxing'. Ais felt the warm energy enter into her hands so she smiled and said, "Pleasant feeling..." Tiona seemed to be incited by her actions and took Vahn's other hand and asked if he could do the same for her, so he did.Tione stared at the three with a bit of annoyance and asked, "Does it really feel that good?" In response to her question, Ais nodded her head while Tiona just started laughing with a cheerful expression on her face. Ever since she had lost her virginity to Vahn, Tione had been bugging her for details a lot. There was even an incident where she tried to sneak into Finn's quarters in the middle of the night before being promptly booted out.For the next hour or so, the entire group continued to talk about the events that had taken place since the meeting between the other girls. Though Lefiya blushed after knowing Vahn was aware of her presence at the meeting, she still contributed to the conversation a bit. Both Tiona and Ais ended up apologizing to Vahn for pressuring him into having sex with them. In response, Vahn frowned and shook his head as he denied them any blame. He admitted that he was just as curious as Ais, and the entire reason he had shown up that day was that he genuinely cared about Tiona's desire for children.Even though Vahn agreed that things had developed too fast, he explained to both girls that he cared about them deeply. He told Tiona how he liked her active and cheerful demeanor and how she was always outgoing. For Ais, he explained how, though she might seem to lack expression, he greatly appreciated her kindness and admired her strength. When they had dueled after their first meeting, she constantly tried to take his state-of-mind into consideration and tried to encourage him to grow stronger.Ultimately, Vahn managed to convince both girls to not blame themselves for what had happened, and Vahn even expressed his intention to continue their relationships in the future. From now on, they would constantly be together on expeditions, and Vahn wanted to protect them both while trying to increase his own strength. When the conversation got to this point, Tiona was in high tensions and had glued herself to Vahn's body while Ais leaned against his shoulder while still holding onto his hand.Lefiya had a somewhat sad expression as she watched the three acting so affectionately toward each other while she stood off to the side on her own. She had known Vahn just as long as Tiona and Ais, and they have even shared a few intimate moments in the past. Vahn had always been kind to her and tried to cheer her up when she was scared with the same warm hands that were held by Tiona and Ais. Remembering his hand against her back in the fight against the Juggernaut and his subsequent collapse from the mental attack, Lefiya felt a bit saddened to be left out.She wasn't the only one having strange thoughts, as even Tione and Loki looked at the trio with a bit of frustration on their faces. In the hour they had been talking, Loki finally managed to recover and had begun slowly drinking her wine as she made weak attempts to jump in on the conversation. Tione herself had actually been resenting both Vahn and her sister ever since their tryst because she felt jealous due to her on unrequited love. She imagined her and Finn enjoying the company of each other and being affectionate on the couch, and couldn't help but join Loki as the two continued to drink their troubles away.After a while, Vahn managed to free his hand from Ais and laid out a variety of weapons on the table starting with the massive [Dance of the Amazon]. Fortunately, the table was of a rather high quality, so it was able to support the weight of the weapon without too many issues. Everyone in the room was somewhat confused at the sudden appearance of the weapon, so Vahn explained, "I've been trying to improve my forging so I can create an item for Hephaestus before the Denatus. Though my products may not be the best, I wanted to try and create items that would be beneficial to those I cared about."Hearing his explanation, Tiona's face immediately brightened since she realized the similarities between the current weapon and her own Urga. Before Vahn even explained anything about the weapon, she grabbed his head with her hands and began to kiss him passionately with a somewhat fervent expression on her face. Fortunately, Tione and Ais managed to separate the two before Tiona got even further out of hand. Since Vahn triggered her instincts as an Amazon, even if she tried to control herself it was very difficult when he did things that pleased her to such an extent.Vahn made a mental note to be more cautious around Tiona as he explained the specifications of the [Dance of the Amazon] to everyone present. Hearing each different feature of the weapon made Tiona's expression turn more flushed and she had to be placed in between Ais and Tione as Vahn sat next to Loki who was eying the weapon with clear intrigue on her face. Eventually, she turned to Vahn and asked with a mischevious smile on her face, "Given the design of this weapon, I can't imagine it costs less than ten-million Valis. Are you really going to give it away for free?"Vahn returned her gaze for a few seconds before turning he head and matching the 'fierce' gaze of Tiona. The moment he looked at Tiona, both Ais and Tione tightened their grip on the girl as Vahn said in a serious and sincere manner, "For the people I care about, there is no price I'm not willing to pay. Ten-million Valis is nothing if it's able to keep them safe for even a minute longer."Not only Tiona's, but everyone in the room had their eyes widen to various degrees before they showed different expressions. Loki began to laugh at the bold proclamation while Ais gave him a happy smile. Tione seemed to be frustrated while Lefiya had hung her head low and had a somewhat sad expression on her face. Tiona herself looked like she was about ready to eat Vahn alive and if not for the two Level 5 girls holding her at bay, Vahn may very well have had to beat a hasty retreat.Eventually, things developed to the point where Vahn had to use [Hands of Nirvana] to help Tiona calm down before she left the room holding [Dance of the Amazons] like a precious treasure. When she left, Vahn felt a bit sad at her departure but could also feel a heavy pressure relieved from his shoulders. After settling back down, Vahn took out the next weapon which was [Gram].As if she had taken a note out of Tiona's book, Ais gave Vahn a short but deep kiss for nearly a minute before she lifted up the sword and inspected it with a slightly enamored expression on her face. Vahn was still a bit dazed from her affectionate display and it took him a few seconds before he began explaining the features. Hearing that it provided her a benefit against dragons, Ais looked at Vahn with the closest thing to a 'loving' gaze he had ever seen from her.After placing the sword back on the table, she tried to embrace Vahn's face and kiss him again before Loki shouted out to stop her actions. Watching Vahn constantly being kissed and acting passively had triggered her a bit and she couldn't help but try to put a stop to things before they got out of hand. She couldn't help but wonder where the 'dominant' Vahn that had tormented her for nearly half an hour had disappeared to.Though everyone had assumed he was finished with the weapons, Vahn had noticed that both Tione and Lefiya had strange reactions to everything that happened. After a brief period of thought, Vahn decided to give both girls gifts as well, albeit much less impressive than the ones he had given Ais and Tiona. Placing his hands over the table, Vahn removed [Gale] and [Tempest], the twin swords he had forged when he first entered the orb.Ais didn't seem to have much of a reaction, but Loki, Tione, and Lefiya stared at the two intricately designed swords with confusion and intrigue. Vahn looked at Tione and she seemed to understand his intentions as she pointed to her own face and asked, "For me?" Vahn nodded his head with a smile and began explaining the functions of the two swords. Since he had seen that Tione used shortswords in the past, he thought they suited her well.As she listened to his explanation, Tione took the two swords into her hand and admired their structure. Since Vahn had put a lot of effort into every minor detail of the sword, they both looked almost ceremonial in their make. Even a novice could understand the effort put into their creation, much less a skilled veteran like Tione. She looked at the boy who was supposed to be her sister's lover and asked with mixed emotions and a frown, "Don't tell me you're trying to get to me after getting your hands on my sister?"Since Tione had intended to try and pressure Tiona into being with Finn when she finally managed to break down his resistance, she thought that Tiona and Vahn had developed similar fantasies to her own. Though she thought highly of Vahn as well, she still had far more affection for her Captain, even though he never reciprocated. After hearing Vahn's words about protecting the people he cared about, she couldn't help but think he was trying to win her over.Vahn shook his head and explained without losing his smile, "If something were to happen to you, Tiona would be heartbroken. If these swords can protect your and her smiles, I think that would be the best situation for everyone." Hearing Vahn's words, Tione frowned and accepted the two swords without complaint. Knowing that Vahn was just giving her the swords to make her sister happy, Tione felt several conflicting emotions in her heart and mind.After Tione accepted the swords, Loki and Lefiya stared at Vahn with a slight anticipation on their faces. Even though Lefiya had a lot of difficulty dealing with her emotions regarding Vahn, seeing him give out weapons to even Tione made her slightly expectant. Remembering how Vahn had said he wanted to protect her back in the dungeon, Lefiya believed that she might fall into the category of people that he had forged an item for.Unfortunately, Vahn had only originally forged items for Tiona and Ais, so he didn't have a staff on hand to give the bashful young elf. The [Gale] and [Tempest] had been made on a whim and now he was in a mild predicament as he noticed the hopeful look in her eyes. Since he had decided to give them both gifts previously, Vahn ended up having to purchase a staff from the system and 'gift' it to her. Fortunately, Lefiya's affection for him had reached 84 points since he had fallen unconscious in the dungeon.The staff he gave her was the same [Heal] that he had purchased long ago. Since it cost 2,000OP, it was actually slightly higher quality than the items he had forged for Tiona and Ais. Of course, Vahn didn't think that was the case since the OP reward he got for naming an item probably had no correlation with its rarity considering that [Heal] was C.Vahn gave the staff to the fiercely blushing Lefiya who received it with shaky hands. After explaining its functions, everyone in the room had somewhat shocked expressions when they found out that it was actually capable of healing any non-lethal wounds as long as the user had enough mana. The only downside was that using the healing effect of the staff would affect its efficacy until finally breaking after a certain number of uses.Lefiya hugged the staff to her chest as she looked at Vahn with slightly teary eyes and bowed. With a quiet and shaky voice, she said, "Thank you...Vahn. Thank you..." Vahn didn't know why she was so affected by a simple gift so, since he had been standing when he handed it to her, he reached out his hand and began channeling [Hands of Nirvana] as he had done for her several times in the past.Feeling the somewhat familiar and warm sensation coming from the marginally larger hand of Vahn, Lefiya felt like she wanted to cry but managed to keep her tears contained within her blurry eyes. Vahn was always so nice to her, and he had even given her an item that not only increased her combat capabilities but also allowed her to save the lives of her allies in a pinch. Healing magic, especially healing magic that could be used from a distance, was incredibly rare. Lefiya, along with everyone else in the room, had never even heard of a staff like the one Vahn had presented to her.After Lefiya had calmed down a bit, she ended up excusing herself from the room since she was in an unstable state. Vahn had asked Ais to take care of her which made the elf blush and hang her head as the two left the room in silence. Loki gave Vahn an inspecting gaze as she asked, "That staff, did you make it?"Vahn turned to make eye contact with her and noticed that even Tione was giving him an appraising look. After a brief consideration, Vahn realized it wasn't incorrect to say that the items he purchased from the system were created by him. Since 'The Path' had bonded with his soul, that meant that everything it produced was a product of his soul, which was the same as being a product of Vahn himself.He affirmed Loki's words with confidence and it seemed to work since she actually seemed to be impressed and said in an appreciative manner, "Thanks, Vahn, that kind of staff couldn't have been easy to make. I'm sure it'll be very helpful in the dungeon if anything happens. If possible, I'd like for you to create even more and I don't mind paying for each of them."Vahn shook his head and explained, "That staff is forged with a very special method. Other than Lefiya, nobody else would be able to use it." Since it was technically true, Loki couldn't see through his words and just showed a bit of disappointment for a brief moment before her expression turned into a teasing one as she asked, "So you made that staff especially for Lefiya~? At this rate you might end up conquering all the girls in my Familia, myself included~!"Tione seemed to latch onto the words as she also tried to tease Vahn a bit, "Really, if Captain doesn't change the way he treats me soon, I might have to compete with my sister for your affection. Since she was able to take on that little monster of yours, I should be able to handle it just as well." Her words caused Loki to ask, "Little monster?" Though she somewhat understood what Tione was implying, she wanted to confirm her suspicions.Tione laughed and gave Vahn a playful look as she leaned over and whispered into the grinning Loki's ear. After a few seconds, Loki's eyes widened and she looked at Vahn with an incredulous expression. If what Tione said was true, she nearly made a grave error earlier when she tried to goad Vahn into having sex with her. She might need to prepare herself both mentally and physically before she tried approaching him in the future.(A/N: Alternate Title: 'The Legend Lives On','Vahn casually gifting out 100MV of items','The Danger that is Tiona')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 $599/640 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

Chapter 185: Tyrannical Might