Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Vahn was very stressed out, even if he did his best not to show it. On the way up to Rivira, he had constantly been devoting his full focus to his surroundings as the group steadily made their way up through the floors. Because the monsters became progressively weaker, it got easier and easier the higher they went and, by the time they had reached the 20th floor, even Haruhime and Fenrir had joined in on the fighting. Vahn had let them take part since Fenrir needed to relieve the stress she had been 'receiving' from Vahn. When Fenrir was frustrated, it was very obvious to everyone around her and, because many of the girls were very perceptive, they knew Vahn wasn't in the best state of mind either.It wasn't that he was struggling with the difficulty of the situation, as there was apparently no danger to them at all, but Vahn was stressed out because he felt like something 'supposed' to happen. The more time that passed without his expectations bearing fruit, the more unnerved Vahn felt and he wanted to discover how they were able to track his position in the Dungeon. It was almost inconceivable that they had full control over the Dungeon itself, or they wouldn't have to go to such lengths to target him using such an indirect method. If they could spawn Monster Parties, track his position in the Dungeon, or even freely move between floors, Vahn didn't see how they would have any trouble killing or capturing anyone. The one thing he knew was that they seemed to be able to find him, but that was most likely related to an ability like [Diviniation].Vahn had been curious about how Freya was able to peer at anyone she wanted, generally without them being aware of it at all, while even being able to ignore the restrictions imposed by the Dungeon. He knew she was able to see what was going on inside, though he didn't know the extent of her ability, and learned that it was related to one of her Divinities, Divination. There was even a [Divination] Development Ability, so Vahn knew it was possible that, if someone was talented enough with the skill, they should be able to track his position, even if he was in the Dungeon.He also knew, however, that it was possible to block such things by setting up formations, seals, and certain types of physical barriers. If they were able to track him, even after he incorporated such matters in the future, it would mean they had a way of tracking people through the Dungeon itself. Just as Riveria had suggested, Vahn was now focused on understanding his enemy and discovering their capabilities. He would develop countermeasures against their ability to spy, not only on himself, but his allies that would be entering the Dungeon in the future.Vahn was already very tempted to stop the others from entering the Dungeon in the future so that they couldn't be captured and leveraged against him, but Vahn knew this would be counterintuitive and cause more problems in the future than it would solve presently. The enemy obviously didn't have the means to maneuver that easily in the Dungeon, and there shouldn't be any practical way for them to target any of the girls through practical methods. He also couldn't avoid the Dungeon himself either, so Vahn would have to find a solution in the near future if he wanted to avoid trouble.---With their increased pace, the group managed to clear through the middle floors very quickly and had arrived at Rivira, the settlement on the 18th floor, with more than enough time to return to the surface before dark. It was barely 5 PM at present so, if they continued to hurry, they could be back at the Hearth Manor within an hour or two. Before they continued onwards, Vahn took Riveria's advice and they all stopped at the small residence managed by the Loki Familia for their expeditions into the lower floors. They used it as a staging area for supplies, which they would build up over several weeks, before consolidating everything together for their long expeditions into the Lower Floors of the Dungeon. Presently, the Loki Familia made quarterly trips to the 51st floor of the Dungeon to harvest items from the large dragon, Cadmus, and also harvest the spring water it guarded.Within the residence, there was a very rare communication magic tool that was permanently affixed to the ground of a secret room in the basement of the building. The Loki Familia had invested a lot of resources into installing a permanent line of communication that ran all the way from the 18th floor and continued upwards through the stairs using the route often taken by the Loki Familia. The reason they were able to do this was, unlike the deeper floors which changed their structure very often, the staircases on the first seventeen floors were always located in the same areas. It was possible to run a relay from the 17th floor, all the way up to the surface, without interference. Though they had to periodically inspect the link to ensure it wasn't damaged, it was still better than not having any method to contact the surface for logistical purpose and to report emergencies.After resting for around an hour, Vahn made the decision to return to the surface so they could find sanctuary within the Hearth Manor. Until he got out of the Dungeon, Vahn wouldn't be able to completely calm down and he wanted to be able to enjoy a nice long rest. Other than the 'minor' hiccups they had along the way, especially in their return trip, everything else had gone very smoothly. Vahn now had 1,263,117OP sitting in his reserves, had increased his strength by a marginal amount, had helped Haruhime and Fenrir grow much stronger, and had even gotten a new subordinate, the Green Dragon, and the Treasure Tree it guarded. The 17 Treasure Magic Stones that had decorated its branches were worth, at the very least, one-hundred-seventy-million Valis.All things considered, their week-long excursion into the Dungeon had been highly successful and, if not for the 'machinations' of enemies he knew nothing about, Vahn would have been ecstatic. He had never realized how frustrating it was to face an 'unknown' enemy, even though he knew there were evil forces at work in the background. Now that he had been able to put a face to the forces at work, their presence had seeded themselves into his heart and mind and now Vahn was determined to undermine their plans. As long as they targeted him, Vahn would do everything in his power to oppose them, especially if they tried to target the people he cared about. Even though he knew it would probably irreversibly change his perspective of the world, and perhaps all worlds to follow, Vahn would destroy the entire Dungeon if necessary...even if it took him years, and his entire life's efforts to accomplish...---As expected, from the very moment they reached the stairs leading to the 17th floor, the group's progress became incomparably smooth and they were able to reach the surface after an additional forty minutes of travel. The moment he stepped out into the first floor of Babel, Vahn felt like a heavy weight had been removed from his shoulders and he couldn't help but release a relieved sigh. The fresh air of the surface had an instantaneous calming effect on his mind and it felt like the looming threat in the shadows had lost its power to influence him. Though he couldn't confirm it yet, just based on his instincts, Vahn felt like his enemies weren't able to influence the surface, at least for the time being.Just as he had released his sigh, Riveria handed him back his own communication scroll and said, "For the time being, we'll have to show a bit of caution whenever we're entering the Dungeon. I don't know the extent of our enemies' capabilities, but I can deduce they don't have too many strong members comprising their group. You only ever saw the one woman, and it may very well be the case she is acting alone...though it is unlikely, considering the situation..." Riveria looked around the area and squinted her eyes before saying, "We should leave this place, there are too many eyes and ears about."Hearing Riveria's words, Tiona released a long sigh that was a mix between relief and exasperation as she said, "Maaaaan, it's so much better to be on the surface after being cooped up in that dreary place for so long. Vahn, we should go and have some fun tomorrow~!" Vahn furrowed his brows for a very brief moment before showing a loose smile and saying, "Sure, I think that would be for the best. I feel like all my nerves have been pulled taught; it would be good to loosen them up a bit..." As if taking his words as an invitation, Tiona stuck her body to him and dangled from his neck as she playfully rubbed her face against his cheek. Though her actions drew the attention of the surroundings, Vahn felt like things had returned to 'normal' all of a sudden so he couldn't help but smile.---By the time they had reached the Manor, Vahn felt a lot more refreshed, likely as a result of the cold winter air and the warmth of the surrounding girls. Things escalated when, before the even made their way through the courtyard, several people exited through the front door of the Manor and came to greet the group. Vahn spread warmth through his domain as he caught the goddess-shaped bullet that launched herself at him. Hestia tightly hugged his body and said, "Vahn, welcome home~! I missed you so much~." Vahn laughed as he embraced Hestia's waist and, without worrying about the surroundings, kissed her on the lips for several long seconds. When he finally 'released' her, Hestia had a fiercely blushing face and a vibrant pink aura as she stammered, "T-t-there is a time and a p-place for everything...gnnnnuuuu, let's go inside and talk!"Vahn gave an 'apologetic' smile to the 'expectant' looking girls that also seemed to want a kiss of their own as he followed Hestia into the interior of the pleasantly warm Hearth Manor. He had noticed this several times in the past, but this was the first time Vahn had truly appreciated what this place represented. No matter how stressful things got, nor how his enemies schemed against him, Vahn would always have a place to return to in order to find a momentary reprieve from his struggles. It wasn't the Hearth Manor itself, but the people contained within that brought him the solace his heart and mind desired.Though it was somewhat uncharacteristic of him, Vahn was a bit 'overly' affectionate during their following discussion and had cuddled up with several girls until. Even Tsubaki, who had moved in at this time, didn't go out of her way to tease him and had even taken the task of washing his back during the bath as her own. She was easily the most 'mature' looking woman in the group, even though she had a youthful appearance after experiencing Vahn's 'Nirvana'. Syr also seemed to get along with her very well and was even somewhat deferential to her, likely due to Tsubaki's past, present, and future roles in Vahn's life. She had been his 'surrogate mother', 'mentor', 'forging master', 'caretaker', and now she was also his 'lover' and 'mistress'. Syr understood that making an 'enemy' out of Tsubaki would be very detrimental to the group's synergy, so she had quickly given grounds to the somewhat frank, and borderline tyrannical, woman.Tsubaki's presence in the Manor was very impactful and, other than Syr, she had even reigned in a large number of the other girls as well. She was Lili's 'mentor', since Vahn was her 'master', and also treated Naaza as her protege. Because of her straightforward personality, she got along will all the girls at the Hostess of Fertility and also developed a strong bond with Milan, as they had very similar circumstances, and was even helping look after Tina and Shizune. She had already started helping Mikoto train her swordsmanship, had been looking after the twins, and was also getting progressively closer to Preasia. Since he knew she had only moved in three days ago, Vahn was somewhat awestruck by how quickly Tsubaki had found her way into the very core of the group.After the relatively long bath, it was coming time for bed and Vahn had to make an 'important' decision. Though he wanted to sleep peacefully, Vahn also felt a strong urge to release his tensions and spend time with the girls that had been waiting for their return on the surface. He ultimately decided that, since he was going to be spending a lot of time lounging about the Manor in the near future, he would spend his evenings in a more 'proactive' manner. As one of the girls most affected by his absence, Vahn ended up inviting Hestia to stay with him, alongside Tsubaki, Syr, and Aki.Tsubaki had never been involved with girls before, but she was very proactive and had quickly 'subjugated' the mischevious Aki after being goaded on by Syr. Vahn had noticed this when he was with Tsubaki in the past, but she was a bit of a 'bully' when it came to displaying affection. Since she couldn't 'vent' on him, as he was dealing with multiple women at the time, she picked on the only girl in the group that was strong enough to 'deal' with her teasing. Vahn felt a little apologetic to Aki, as he hadn't intended for her to be his 'shield' against Tsubaki, but she seemed to be enjoying herself, so Vahn assumed she wouldn't blame him...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'TFW Karma 'isn't' a b!itch...','Burdens removed?','Tsubaki's 'Tyranny'')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;3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!)https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

After getting about six hours of rest, Vahn woke up because he had detected a presence within his domain. From what he could tell, it seemed to be similar to the red-haired 'monster' woman he had seen in the past. She was skulking around in a passageway that ran adjacent to the corridor that connected to the stairs and appeared to be coming towards their position. Though he was tempted to investigate on his own, Vahn knew he probably wasn't a match for the woman and his awakening had already stirred Fenrir, and subsequently Ais and Tiona awake.Vahn sat up and explained for the benefit of everyone else, who was now also waking up, "That woman that I had seen on the 24th floor is heading in this direction. If she turns out to be hostile, let's do our best to try and capture her. However, if she proves to be a dangerous opponent, don't hesitate to kill her. From what I can tell, she seems to be around Level 5, but I can't see through her aura that easily and can't be certain that is the extent of her power." Following Vahn's words, everyone began to prepare while Vahn cleaned up the futon and the additional supplies.However, even after waiting for several minutes, the woman stopped her advance and had been waiting around 300m away, separated from their position by a wall that was more than 80m thick. Vahn had been training his eyes on her and, though he wasn't sure how she was able to do so, she was returning his gaze with her glowing green eyes that were affixed with verticle slits like a reptile. Since she was just standing there, Vahn took the opportunity to investigate the interior of her body and confirmed she was definitely not human, or anything remotely close. Though she had the appearance of a woman, the internal structure of her body was far more complicated, almost compact in its structure, and there was a resplendently glowing magic core right next to her heart.After staring at each other for a while, the woman began walking backward while maintaining eye contact until she stepped just outside of the range of his domain. Vahn squinted his eyes because, the moment she was beyond his perception, even his [Eyes of Truth] could no longer see her. A few seconds later, Vahn could see a hand emerging from the 'darkness' outside of his vision before a lazily smiling face appeared soon after. Vahn frowned as the woman waved her hand and moved beyond his perception once again, this time without reappearing even after waiting for several minutes.Vahn realized what she had done, so he said, "That woman has to be an enemy...it seems she was scouting out the limits of my perception. Damn..." Since he hadn't confirmed if she was an enemy before, Vahn was unwilling to use his [Enkidu] to try and capture her when he had the chance. Though it was very unlikely he would have been successful, it was still frustrating to know the 'enemy' had discerned information from him when he didn't even know who they were, nor the purpose behind their actions. They not only had his name, but now knew the current range of his domain and would likely use it against him in the future.Riveria saw the frustration on Vahn's face and said, "Can you describe, in detail, what she looks like? We can spread her information through the network later and try to find out where she comes from. Don't let the enemy's schemes get to you, as it will create gaps they would be able to exploit later. For now, we make our way to the surface and try to get a better understanding of the situation. The enemy obviously can't confront us directly, so there isn't any need to worry about a danger that has yet to arrive. Focus on building your strength and collecting information. You can even use their 'knowledge' against them by increasing your capabilities in the future."Vahn nodded his head and cleared his mind of the negativity that had begun to take root as he said in a firm tone, "We move, as fast as we can manage without tiring ourselves out. I want to be out of the Dungeon, or at least near Rivira before night falls again. The rest of the formation stays the same, but we'll have Fenrir in the vanguard to gain experience and to try and detect any abnormalities." Fenrir thumped her chest with her paw and said in a confident voice, "Leave it to me, Vahn! Fenrir will find the enemy and kill them!" Vahn ruffled her bristly hair before doing as Riveria requested and drawing up a quick sketch of the woman while they were ascending the stairs.Though his skills weren't to the extent of someone like Eva, Vahn's ability to focus his mind, his high dexterity, and his ability to perfectly visualize an image, allowed for him to create a near-perfect sketch of the woman. As he had drawn it inside of his personal communication scroll, her sketch, and the details Vahn had picked up from observing her, would be passed through the network. He also gave the scroll to Riveria so she could fill out several lines of information that would be read by the 'leaders' of the network when they reached the surface. After they were done, Vahn had the party progress into the tree-like Dungeon of the 24th floor and they began their rapid ascent towards the surface.---After leaving behind Vahn and his party, the red-haired woman made her way through several secret passages that connected to various parts of the actual Dungeon. She had been given the simple assignment of trying to establish contact with Vahn but, after sensing the alert state of the party, she decided against approaching them directly and had given up her assignment since it was too troublesome. Instead of doing as she was 'ordered', the woman made her way through several passageways before exiting through a hole hidden behind a giant boulder that was covered in invisible runes.Yawning, the woman walked towards the large crystalline structure that looked like red quartz and began to tear off huge chunks of it as she started chowing down on the hard crystal as if it were candy. Several monsters had shown up, as she was currently located at the 'Pantry' of the 24th floor, but she quickly dispatched them before adding their magic cores to her menu. She could tell that there were many people in the group around Vahn that would be very 'troublesome' to deal with and she needed to increase her own power since her 'boss' would probably make her fight against them in the future.While she was eating, an annoying presence showed up nearby and she released a frustrated sigh before continuing to bore a hole directly into the large red quartz that was the typical 'food' of monsters in the Dungeon. Though she only weighed around 43kg, she had already eaten more than 200kg of the red quartz and didn't show any signs of having consumed a greater volume of the crystals than comprised her entire body. Her body was able to almost instantly metabolize the energy contained within the red quartz and convert it into energy that revitalized the cells that constituted her body. Unfortunately, a large portion of it escaped out of her faulty mana circuits and the pores of her skin, so she had to eat a ridiculous amount of the material, supplemented by magic cores, to experience any real growth in her strength.A few minutes after she had detected it, the masked figure showed up and released a discontented sigh before saying, "I gave you an assignment...why have you disobeyed my orders once again, Revis?" The red-haired woman, Revis, chewed on another piece of red quartz for several seconds before saying in a cold tone, "That boy, Vahn Mason, he had the ability to detect my presence before I arrive. He is very cautious and the people around him are too troublesome for me to deal with on my own. My instincts were telling me that, if I actually tried to approach him as you suggested, I would either die or be captured. If you want to play around with him so much, feel free to do it yourself..."The masked figured smashed it's black, gauntleted, hand against the wall of the Dungeon and said in a shrill tone, "Our Master will be displeased to hear that you are neglecting your duties! What was the point of confronting those foolish Xenos if we can't even make use of them!?" Revis rolled her eyes before throwing the quartz in her hand like a bullet that flew by the masked figures head and penetrated clear through the Dark Fungus, a mushroom-like creature, that had been trying to sneak up behind it.Seeing the monster turn to dust behind it, the figure released a sigh and said, "Enyo-sama wants to capture that boy, regardless of the cost. Even if you have to sacrifice your life, you should be honored to do so for our Master. My purpose far exceeds your own, I cannot expose myself to such a dangerous situation..." Hearing the words of the figure, Revis glared at it and said, "Ein...I don't care at all what you think. I may listen to you, but it is only when you are carrying the words of that troublesome woman. If she wants me to do something, I'll do it, but I'm not going to put myself in a disadvantage just because of a scheme you cooked up on your own. Tell me, did you ask Enyo-sama if you were allowed to involve the Xenos in your plot?"The masked figure, Ein, turned away from Revis as its body shook in rage before saying in a cold tone, "Enyo-sama trusts me to carry out her orders without having to defer to her on every matter...if you are faithful to our Master, you would do as you are told and listen to my commands!" In response to its harsh wards, Revis just turned away and tore another huge chunk of red quarts from the massive pillar and ignored it completely. Ein saw her action and reached into its cloak before another bullet of quarts ripped off part of the cloak protecting its head. Revis looked back with her glowing green eyes and said in an icy tone, "Leave here, before I decide to add you to my menu...Ein."Ein placed its hand to prevent the wispy black mist from escaping its slightly cracked mask before retreating into the corridor it had arrived from. Though it was incredibly angry at Revis's behavior, it knew she too was pivotal to its Master's plan and couldn't simply be sacrificed at this time. For a brief moment, Ein had considered killing Revis but had decided against it after her 'display' of strength. She was one of the more useful pawns at its disposal, especially for dealing with Adventurers. Unlike that zealous fool, Olivias Act, Revis was able to infiltrate into places like Rivira and exploit the male Adventurers that patronized the settlement. There was nobody else that could fulfill her 'purpose', so Ein decided to spare her for the time being.After passing through several hidden passages, Ein came across a structure that would make almost any Adventurer, if they knew of its existence, drool. It was an elevator that connected the 24th floor and the surface above. Instead of using the elevator, however, Ein continued through another series of passages that lead back into the actual Dungeon and allowed him to bypass several floors without having to worry about monsters at all. Though it was generally believed that there were only shortcuts for the first seventeen floors, this was actually a misconception. The Dungeon simply kept the shortcuts hidden and, if you knew where they were located, it was very easy to descend deep into the lower floors without having to worry about facing any danger at all.More than an hour later, Ein arrived at the natural village that had been created by the Dungeon which it 'affectionately' referred to as 'Ein's Observatory'. Over the course of a thousand years, their combined efforts had resulted in establishing a network all throughout the Dungeon and, using the magic mirrors installed on the 'Observation Room', it was able to peek into thousands of rooms. It used the mirrors to collect information and observe events taking place in the Dungeon and passed on its findings to its Master, Enyo-sama. The unfortunate downside was that it couldn't pick up sounds through the mirrors and had to pass messages from its Master to the rest of her subordinates manually...Once it arrived back at its personal domain, Ein made its way into a side room where there were two figures that could be seen imprisoned within cages. The first was the warrior Xenos, Silverspear, now bereft of its namesake and the powerful arm it used to wield the weapon. Fortunately, as a Xenos, he would eventually recover to his normal appearance with time and, even though he appeared to be on the verge of death, it wasn't the end of his path as a warrior. As for the second figure, it was the small Goblin Xenos, Ecks, that had been given the ultimatum by Revis. She had chosen to hold on to her life, not because she was afraid of death, but because she wanted to have a chance to avenge her friends in the future.Ein stared at the two figures for several minutes in silence before stating in a cold tone, "I will release you...if you live, or die, it will be up to your efforts. This situation is a huge farce, a massive blunder...if you would like to blame anyone for what has happened to you, your friends, and your people, blame the so-called 'Sage' Aldrnari, Vahn Mason. If not for his existence, none of this would have befallen you at all...what a pity..." After it finished speaking, Ein brought out an ancient looking book that seemed to be made entirely of rusty metal and had several gears slowly spinning around on its cover.Opening the book, Ein uttered a short chan and passed its gauntlet over the runes contained within as cracks began to appear beneath the two Xenos. Just like how the Dungeon spawned monsters, but this time in reverse, the two Xenos passed into a rainbow-colored abyss before disappearing from the cages they had been kept in. Ein didn't really care where they ended up at all and snapped the book shut before walking over to its chair and sitting down. After several minutes passed, it reached out and sunk its hand into the void before pulling out a massive black crystal ball. Reaching up, it unfastened the clasp holding its mask in place and a large amount of wispy smoke escaped through its hood as it looked into the crystal ball and said, "Enyo-sama...I have a report."(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Master yourself, master your enemy','Carnivorous woman','This Ein is not the same as me, I swear~!')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;3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!)https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 412: Refreshing