Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With time continuing to pass, Vahn split his own between spending time with his family, trying to comprehend the Law of Identity, meditating to the Mantra of Eternity, and relaxing in the Emerald Grove. This last part was actually very important as the 'key' to helping his Templates develop a True Ego seemed to be convincing them that they were themselves, not simply an extension of him.Though Madara and Roger had demonstrated that it was possible to obtain a True Ego by force of will, the trio who followed shortly after them, Kyrie, Latias, and Latios, couldn't be said to possess 'strong wills'. Rather, they were three of the more childish and innocent among Vahn's Templates, the type that simply didn't worry about such things as identity. This allowed them to easily embrace the idea they were themselves, and, shortly thereafter, the Law of Identity was able to perceive their existence.Using the quintet as an example, Vahn came to the conclusion that the easiest way to encourage the development of a True Ego was simply to live alongside his Templates while periodically asking them about things like their hopes, dreams, and desires for the future. This was surprisingly difficult for people like Mira, as she was fairly content with her current lifestyle and had no desire to change. Kushina and Morgiana, however, were much easier to convince as the former had a fiery yet caring temperament while the latter had taken a personal interest in several members of Team Wolf Pack; Endorsi and Anak being chief amongst them.Though they had yet to develop True Egos of their own, Vahn got the impression that Kushina and Morgiana were just one significant event away from actualizing their identities. This was something he could help them with, but, considering the only sincere desire of the former was to give birth to Naruto, Vahn was in a bit of a pickle.Vahn couldn't deny that had actually thought about becoming a surrogate father to Naruto if he ever visited the titular main character's Record. This was considerably different than becoming the boy's 'actual' father, however, so he wasn't quite sure how to address the situation. It wasn't that he was unwilling, quite the opposite, but, knowing Naruto would invariably learn about his counterpart in the Records, he couldn't help feeling at least a little apprehensive.Fortunately, Morgiana's burgeoning dreams were a lot easier to deal with as she simply wanted to help Endorsi and Anak obtain their revenge. She got along surprisingly well with the two Princesses, eventually learning bits and pieces about the duo's pasts. This, combined with the fact Morgiana had a very strong sense of justice, stirred within her a firm resolve to oppose the Jahad Empire and abolish the Princess of Jahad Selection Trials.Since Morgiana actually got along with most of the members of Team Wolf Pack, Vahn had already made the decision to allow her to travel with them up the Tower. This would help to alleviate some of the burden placed upon Gandr so there really weren't any downsides to the arrangement. If any, it was the fact that she would have to contract with Nare and play the part of a rare Shinheuh with the ability to transform into a human. Even this wasn't a real problem, however, as it would actually be best for her to stick around and protect the weaker members of the party...---While thinking about what the future held in store for them all, Vahn absentmindedly massaged the bottom of the naked woman sleeping against his chest. The Law of Identity had actually helped him gain a few key insights into the Law of Petting, largely for her own benefit, so it had become a habit for him to always be petting, stroking, or caressing something. It was far beyond muscle memory at this point, and, though he could turn it off by focusing on something, Vahn was unable to resist the almost instinctual urge to pet something whenever he was loafing around.Feeling an extremely pleasant, vibration-like, sensation run through her bottom, Kushina exhaled a hot sigh before slowly opening her eyes and simply staring off into space for several seconds. She was quite fond of the sensation, but, having just fallen asleep a few minutes ago, she couldn't help feeling slightly vengeful. As a result, she eyed Vahn's nipple with a mischievous glimmer in her blue eyes before promptly biting down on it with a surprising amount of force.As he hadn't really been paying attention to Kushina's behavior, Vahn was startled into awareness by the spontaneous pinching sensation. This caused the beautiful redhead to giggle, but, rather than let him go, she took things a step further by gently tracing her tongue around the sensitive region. At the same time, seemingly having her switch flipped in an instant, her left hand reached down to begin stroking his sleeping member with a vigorous aft hand motion. (A/N: Aft-hand is like pulling away at something.)Having already bitten the bullet several days prior, both with Kushina and Hinata, Vahn no longer had any reason to resist the beautiful redhead's natural charms. Instead, he shifted his hand from her butt to the slightly pulsating cavern hidden between her soft and pliant folds. It took very little effort for his fingers to slip into the moistened antechamber, but, immediately thereafter, his fingers were nearly crushed by the contraction of Kushina's muscles as a sonorous moan escaped from her throat.With the Law of Petting allowing him to shape things through his intent, Vahn needed only wriggle around his fingers with the intention to bring her extreme pleasure for Kushina to release his nipple and focus exclusively on the sensation coming from her lower body. It was a borderline excruciating amount of pleasure, but, almost as if it had been an illusion, a sigh of relief soon parted Kushina's lips as a very relaxing and mellow sensation began radiating throughout her entire body.Unlike before, where he would need to use [Hands or Nirvana] to try and forcibly calm someone down, Vahn's mastery over the Law of Petting allowed him to instantaneously change the sensation a person was feeling. He could even sculpt metal as if it was soft clay, and, if he pushed the Law of Petting to its limits, even sculpting a person's body was a simple feat. The only real requirement was that he had no malicious intentions, and, though it wasn't completely necessary, the cooperation of the other party helped out quite a bit.Before Kushina could doze off due to the serene bliss that had settled into her body, Vahn adopted a roguish smile as he gave her butt a light smack. This caused a visible ripple to spread through her body, almost like she was a human-shaped water balloon. At the same time, Kushina started awake, cheeks clenched tightly as she released a startled yelp. This was more than enough to flip her switch into the 'on' position, and, though she wasn't actually angry with him, that didn't stop Kushina from going on the 'attack' in order to get her revenge...---With Ryun's guidance, Team Wolf Pack managed to reach the 7th Floor's Boss Room by the eve of the eleventh day. Their remarkably high morale had allowed them to set a pace that surpassed even the experienced Guide's expectations, but, as was often the case whenever Children of Destiny were involved, things could never be 'that' easy.Borrowing the capabilities of Phae's invisible Lighthouse, Khun had an annoyed expression on his face as he observed the strange group of Regulars who had made camp within the Boss' chamber. They seemed to be 'farming' the Boss that would regularly manifest within the chamber, but, based on the number of corpses littering the area, it was pretty obvious this wasn't their sole intention.Observing the situation alongside Khun, Shibisu couldn't help but disdainful snort as he remarked, "These bastards are like highwaymen...I bet they are charging people a toll to pass through the boss chamber..."Having come to a similar conclusion, Khun nodded his head before shifting his attention to Ryun and asking, "What do you make of this situation? Something about it seems off to me...my instincts are telling me to be careful..."Before Ryun could answer, Rak issued a disdainful snort of his own, crossing his arms as he said, "If you are afraid, you can stay here with the rest of the turtles. It is my turn to hunt the enemy. I'm not going to miss another opportunity."With that said, Rak removed the massive shield from his back that, ironically, gave him an uncanny resemblance to a turtle. His training alongside Aleksai had led to them both embracing the Special Position of Defender, so, even if others on his team might be afraid, he would not hesitate to rush forward to draw the enemy's focus. Thus, with his custom dory spear in hand, Rak ignored Khun's attempts to stop him as he charged forward down the corridor connecting to the Boss Room.Though Khun attempted to create a Lighthouse Barrier to block Rak's passage, the crocodilian was able to shatter it with a single, momentous, shield bash. This caused the former to curse out, "You damned Alligator...!", but, much like the rest of the team, he ultimately chose to follow after Rak in order to provide support...---Using the stacked corpses of three Regulars as a make-shift recliner, a girl wearing what appeared to be a fur-covered bodysuit absentmindedly played with the decapitated head of a once-beautiful girl. The former had shaggy black hair, matching the color of her coat, black limbs that seemed to be veiled in shadow, and, most notably, an ashen face set with two blazing red eyes.Without minding the blood that was dripping into her lap and thighs, the woman continued to play around with the decapitated head as she remarked, "I hope someone strong shows up. I'm starting to get bored just waiting around here all day. Haven't we already harvested enough Points?"Responding to the shaggy-haired woman's complaint, a decidedly less terrifying woman with casual clothes, messy brown hair, leafy-green irises, and a scar running down her left eye replied, "I already told you to stop whining. If you're that bored, go and scout the area for enemies. We might be a lot stronger than most Regulars but you can't underestimate the brats born into the Ten Great Families. That kind of attitude is the same thing that got Karen killed so suck it the fuck up and stay focused."Though she bared her fangs in response to the scarred woman's words, the shaggy-haired woman quickly changed tune the moment the former, having spontaneously transformed into a werewolf, growled back at her. This caused her to instinctually avert her eyes, recoiling away from the much stronger woman before clenching her jaw in response to her other companions' snickering.Since she was the weakest of the four women who made up the party, the fiery-eyed demoness looked towards the only male in their group, a young boy with several fresh cuts and bruises all over his face and body. They had originally 'recruited' him since he had a pretty face, and, for the last two months, he had effectively served as their punching and blood bag whenever they were bored.Noticing the fiery-eyed woman's gaze, the pale-skinned youth looked towards her with a dead look in his eyes. He knew she was the most likely of the four to kill him, so, with the hope of bringing an end to his suffering, a taunting smile spread across his face in spite of the pain it caused him. This caused the fiery-eyed woman's eyes to glow with a fierce light, but, the moment she alighted from the pile of corpses to walk over toward him, a beam of red light passed through the area where her head used to be...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn: "I really shouldn't...". Also Vahn: *lewd smacking sounds*','Rak takes charge, quite literally xD...','Tortured boy be like, "Heh..."')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Though she might have been the weakest member of their group, seeing one of their allies get their head blown off caused the remaining three girls to shudder. Despite this, they still managed to react almost instantaneously, the scarred woman transforming to the point that everything but her elastic pants were ripped to shreds. As for her other party members, one grabbed the cackling boy before tossing him to the side while the other, a muscular woman with red skin and curved horns, pulled out a large glaive from her Pipe.Despite being severely outnumbered, the wolfish woman charged towards Rak with a murderous snarl on her canine face. She was more than three meters in length at this point, and, though she still had vaguely humanoid features, she had resorted to running on all fours to drastically increase her speed.Snorting in disdain at the woman's charge, Rak spread his legs a bit further apart to receive the impact with his shield. At the same time, his dory spear reappeared within his right hand, the tip glowing with an intense red glow as he attempted to skewer his slightly stunned foe. Before he could, however, a thunderous sound resonated throughout the vast chamber as he was forced back several meters by the glaive that had impacted his shield.Feeling a numb sensation spread through his left arm, Rak managed the closest thing to a smile he could manage before remarked, "You are pretty strong for a turtle..." while looking toward the red-skinned woman. This caused the woman to scowl with an incredulous look on her face as she loudly retorted, "I'm gonna make a purse out of you...!"Since the wolf-woman had run around him to engage the other members of his party, Rak decided that the Red Turtle across from him would be his prey. In response to her remark about turning him into a purse, he just issued a loud bellow before beating his spear against his shield and exclaiming, "Come at me, Red Turtle...!"Though she wanted nothing more than to do just that, the red-skinned woman didn't immediately charge at Rak. She might not be afraid of him but the large group behind him wasn't something her party would be able to handle. To make matters even worse, their Lightbearer had promptly fled the moment the fighting began so they were already outnumbered more than seven to one.Cursing the cowardice of her teammate, the red-skinned Spear Bearer vowed that she would hunt down the Light Bearer if she got out of this alive. Then, without further hesitation, she released a loud war cry as she lunged toward Rak with her glaive raised like the blade of an executioner. The edge of her weapon began to hum as a swirling vortex of Shinsu formed, and, though it wasn't an ignition weapon, she was determined to bisect both the shield and its bearer in a single blow...---Unbeknownst to the red-skinned Spear Bearer, her chance for vengeance would never come since, even if she did emerge victoriously, her prey was already dead. She hadn't even made it fully up the stairs before coming to a stop, fearful of the wispy darkness obscuring her path. Her Lighthouse did nothing to penetrate its depths, and, shortly after encountering the obstruction, the effective range of her Lighthouse seemed to gradually diminish no matter how much Shinsu she pumped into it...Terrified by the encroaching darkness, the Light Bearer, resembling an Elf with delicate features and pure white hair, released an ear-piercing scream as she formed a single Baang of Shinsu and fired it. To her horror, the bluish-white beam formed from her attack actually impacted the darkness as if it had physical mass, disturbing it ever-so-slightly before disappearing completely. This revealed that the darkness was actually some kind of Shinsu-infused attack, compelling her to form a barrier with all three of her Lighthouses before they, and her body, were soundlessly consumed...---As one of the people initially selected to fight the boss of the 7th Floor, Hatsu was the one to step out and face the wolfish woman. He was a little annoyed that she wasn't a swordswoman, but, after exchanging a few blows with his surprisingly agile foe, his mind was fully focused on the fight.Dodging a sweeping blow from the woman's claws, Hatsu attempted to side-step her follow-up kick only to receive a smack to his face with her tail. In the same motion, she spun around on her heel, ducking beneath his blind swing before rising with the attempt to bite out his throat.Fortunately, some of the earliest training Hatsu had done alongside Gandr involved honing each of his senses instead of just relying on his eyes. He had also been training with Roger for the past few weeks, so, while he had been somewhat caught off guard by the tail swipe, he managed to smash the butt of his katana into the woman's lower jaw after swaying his head just outside of her maw's range.Though Hatsu's attack hadn't hurt, it was enough to demonstrate that he wasn't an opponent she could take lightly. It also helped to knock a bit of sense into her, so, after deftly rolling to the side to evade Hatsu's combo attack, she leaped back nearly a hundred meters to get a better grasp of the situation. To her surprise, she found Rak standing with his foot atop her downed ally, spear raised high as he released a loud war cry. She also noticed that the Light Bearer of her party was nowhere to be seen, her eyes glistening with a murderous light at the implication...Deciding it would probably be for the best to negotiate or try to flee, the woman shifted her focus back to Hatsu, eyes widening as she realized he was right in front of her. She didn't think there was another Regular who could keep up with her speed so she was completely caught off guard, barely evading a fatal blow thanks to her animalistic instincts and inhuman reflexes.Rather than pursue further, Hatsu allowed the woman to take her distance as he calmly advised, "It is unwise to shift your focus in the middle of a battle..."Pawing the large cut that now ran from her right shoulder to just below her left ribs, the woman looked towards Hatsu with a feral look in her eyes as she growled, "I don't need your advice you damn human...!"Frowning at the unexpectedly xenophobic remark, Hatsu lost all desire to fight the woman with his sword, sheathing it as he coldly replied, "I thought you were a worthy opponent...I was wrong..."Shaking his head, Hatsu turned his back on the woman without actually dropping his guard. She didn't seem to realize this, however, as she immediately charged toward him, shouting, "You son of a bitch...!" as the razor-sharp claws of her right hand aimed toward his neck.Exhaling the breath he had been holding, Hatsu's eyes opened wide as his pupils contracted into points. At the same time, he spun around with incredible speed, catching the woman's wrist with his right hand before using her own momentum to slam her into the ground. This was a lot harder than he expected due to her size, but, after swinging around a two-ton metal bat for training, controlling the momentum of 220kg werewolf wasn't that difficult.Though it wouldn't have even have winded her in a normal situation, the wolfish-woman coughed up a mouthful of blood upon contact with the ground. The impact also caused the wound on her chest to open up further, the beige fur on the underside of her body become a crimson red as she quickly reverted to her original form. This actually caused a not-so-subtle blush to develop across Hatsu's face, unaccustomed to seeing a half-naked woman up close. As a result, he quickly peeled off the outer layer of his robe, tossing it over the woman before staring at her face and realizing she was actually quite beautiful...---With things going a lot smoother than he anticipated, Khun exhaled a sigh of relief before looking toward Phae and asking, "How should we deal with this situation? Should we revive them and mete out justice? If not, I would at least like to gather the bodies of the victims and cremate them..."Though they had heard about Vahn's ability to revive the dead, Khun's words caught the attention of nearly every member of Team Wolf Pack. Even Yun-Yun and Laure, who usually rode around in slings attached to Baam's and Aleksai's backs, briefly opened their eyes to pay attention. (A/N: The thought of Baam piggybacking Yun-Yun around makes me smile xD...)Since she was still an extension of Vahn, Phae could tell that there were actually a number of 'spirits' still present within the area. The Ego didn't immediately fade after death, so, while he might not be able to save them all, Vahn would still be able to resurrect the vast majority of those who had died.Possessing the same bleeding heart as her Lord, Phae adopted a smile in response to Khun's words, softly musing, "I suppose this is as good a stage as any to allow my Lord to show off..." while pulling out the Little Garden. This caused everyone's tensions to grow exponentially as Endorsi, Anak, and even Jung adopted uncharacteristically serious expressions...Fortunately, Vahn just so happened to be lounging about in the outer rings with Fenrir so he had plenty of time to clean himself up before emerging from the Little Garden with a dignified smile on his face. He was a little surprised by the number of corpses present, but, after quickly linking with Phae to get a better grasp of the situation, his demeanor relaxed as he ordered, "Those who have an aversion to death will help to establish a base camp. Resurrection isn't easy on the body or the mind so we'll need a place for everyone to rest. As for everyone else, please help me organize and separate the bodies. It is much easier to resurrect the recently deceased and whole so do your best to ensure 'parts' don't get mixed up..."Understanding what Vahn meant when he said 'parts', Nare almost immediately turned away from the party to empty the contents of her stomach. She had been putting up a strong front until that point but the smell of blood, combined with the casual mention of dismembered parts, was a little too much for the relatively innocent young woman.Feeling a little guilty about Nare's condition, Vahn realized he could have the support team wait in the Little Garden. This actually made a lot more sense since he could have all his Templates help in the preparation of food and other accommodations. The calming atmosphere would also help the traumatized victims remain calm, and, though it would likely take several months for some of them to recover, even this could be resolved using the outer rings.Having made his decision, Vahn explained the situation to Khun before making the stipulation that only those who helped recover the bodies could stay around to watch the resurrection process. This was to compel those like Laure and Yun-Yun, both capable of moving bodies using their Telekinesis, from simply idling about as everyone else worked. This also had the effect of steeling the resolve of several people who were thinking about just waiting in the realm, drastically decreasing the amount of time it took to gather and organize all the bodies. After that, Vahn began the arduous process of healing and 'resurrecting' a total of fifty-nine people, a relaxed smile on his face as the Loyalty and Belief of everyone observing the process increased by leaps and bounds...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I am Rak Wraithraiser...!','Hatsu got a glimpse of his first nips...','*System Notifications Intensify*')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

In the days following Team Wolf Pack's ascension to the 6th Floor, Vahn focused most of his efforts on attempting to understand the Law of Identity. Fortunately, she was very cooperative so long as he didn't upset her, so, after several weeks in the restructured Ninth Layer, he was able to, at the very least, scratch the surface of her powers.Though her default appearance was the redheaded beauty who was paradoxically named nothing at all, the Law of Identity was able to emulate the very existence of other people, gods, and even concepts. Even Fenrir wasn't an exception to this, and, though she was unable to influence anything other than himself, Vahn was able to confirm that she inherited everything from a person's Innates to their memories due to the appearance of a second Fenrir within his Unit Management.So long as she cooperated, the Law of Identity was essentially a repository of all knowledge and experience that existed within the Record. The only person that existed outside the scope of her power was Vahn himself. As for the reason, it was explained by the Law of Identity that she and he were already one and the same, a concerning revelation that made Vahn realize that he might be able to manifest all the Laws through himself by simply creating Templates.The Law of Identity might not be the 'original', but it was transparently clear that she was directly linked to the concept. If this applied to every Template he created, it was theoretically possible to manifest every Law, and, though they would not simply replace the Laws that already existed within the Record, the example set by the Law of Identity suggested they would be linked. Of course, there was an equal chance that the Law of Identity was an exception due to the nature of the concept she embodied.With that in mind, Vahn decided to hold off on creating any Templates related to higher Laws and Concepts he didn't already have a decent understanding of. The Law of Identity had allowed him to confirm the existence of beings that governed each of the Laws by being able to freely assume the identities and appearances of several god-like beings. This was more than enough reason to justify his decision as the last thing he needed was something like a T6 being representing the Law of Fire getting upset because he created a Template that directly encroached upon their domain...Fortunately, even without creating such a Template, Vahn was able to learn more about the Laws by asking the Law of Identity in her 'transformed' state. She was unbelievably bad at explaining things, as everything simply 'worked' for her, but, by asking her to assume the identity of the Goddess of Wisdom, a beautiful and voluptuous goddess known as Nuana, he had access to the best possible teacher. The only problem was that the Law of Identity's personality superseded that of the person she was emulating; something that caused quite a number of problems due to the fact she was very easily bored and exceptionally mischievous...---Since even artifacts, armaments, and objects could possess an Ego, Vahn was attempting to scribe a few passages from an ancient grimoire known as the 'Sacred Tome'. According to Nuana, it was the grimoire in which all knowledge of the past, present, and future were recorded. Vahn had very little interest in these actual events, but, as it also recorded all information pertaining to everything from the Laws to the True Names of Gods, it was still exceptionally useful.Unfortunately, the Law of Identity was not particularly fond of being a book, so, after a few minutes had passed, the grimoire spontaneously disappeared. At the exact same moment, without any time passing whatsoever, a naked woman was suddenly sprawled out across his desk, belly up like a dog wanting to have its tummy rubbed.Having largely gotten used to the Law of Identity's antics, Vahn simply chuckled in response before setting aside his quill and remarking, "You're incorrigible..." in an amused tone. In response, the Law of Identity held her hands up as if to emulate paws, tilting her head to the side as she replied with a cutesy, "Wan~?"With her default appearance largely dependent on Vahn's perception of her, a pair of dog ears and a fluffy tail spontaneously sprouted from the Law of Identity's head and lower back. Then, following a mischievous giggle, she was suddenly straddling his lap, tail wagging madly as she wrapped her arms around his neck as she leaned in to whisper, "Play with me~."Though he knew it probably wasn't the best idea to indulge her, Vahn had come to learn that it was a lot easier to control the Law of Identity if he periodically pampered her. She had also helped him make several major breakthroughs, and, though it had been hard to convince her that his unnamed Templates actually existed, doing so had allowed those with stronger wills, specifically Madara and Roger, to develop True Egos even without [Keeper of the Akashic Tome].Deciding to just go with the flow, Vahn placed his hands on the Law of Identity's back, rainbow-hued energy flowing from his palms as he began to massage and caress her body. This caused her to hug his neck a little tighter, but, unlike before, her 'power' didn't snap him like a withered twig.Vahn had learned that the secret to avoiding a catastrophe during his interactions with the Law of Identity was to either take charge or simply disregard any and all expectations. The more the tried to comprehend and dictate the nature of her existence, the more violent the reaction was when she did something in defiance of his expectations. The only time this wasn't the case was when the Law of Identity had expectations of her own, culminating in a situation that allowed him to basically do whatever he wanted without any resistance. Fortunately, at least for the time being, she was content with just heavy petting and ample headpats...---Though weeks had passed from Vahn's perspective, only a few days had passed for the members of Team Wolf Pack. Despite this, they were already standing outside the 6th Floors 'boss room', a large chamber that was several kilometers across and approximately 100m in height. At the center of this chamber, a large automaton, appearing much like a heavily armored knight, could be seen pacing about with a five-meter long key-shaped blade.Since the group couldn't just rely on Gandr all the time, Khun was coming up with a strategy that would allow the weaker members of the party to defeat the automaton. The six selected for the task were Aleksai, Chunhwa, Shibisu, Nare, and, though they were actually two of the stronger members of the group, Baam and Khun would be participating for safety. As for everyone else, they would be watching the battle using Phae's Lighthouse; ample food and drink provided.Starting off the battle, Chunhwa took off with a burst of Shinsu-enhanced speed that caused a few cracks to appear on the stone floor. At the same time, Shibisu and Nare bolted towards the flanks, not to attack, but to make sure there were no traps lying in wait. They had Observers that had been hand-crafted by Phae so they could efficiently scout the area while providing ranged support using firearms that fired laser-like beams of Shinsu.Serving as the main firepower of the group, Aleksai channeled Shinsu into the armored greaves he wore beneath his trousers. These allowed him to not only jump higher than normal, but, thanks to Khun providing a few exceptionally pure pieces of Suspendium, apparently stolen from his father's treasury, Aleksai could freely jump around and even stand on the air.After reaching an ideal vantage point, Aleksai pulled out a lance-like spear from his Pipe, malicious red lightning dancing across its surface as he infused his Shinsu into it. He was waiting for the ideal time to strike, his red eyes glistening with a focused light as he watched Chunhwa, despite the size difference, deflect the automaton's sweeping blow upward.Taking advantage of the automaton being knocked off balance, Shibisu attempted to aim for its elbow joint using his rifle-like armament. He managed to accurately hit the target, but, thanks to the bulbous armor around the joints, his attack was ultimately futile.Clicking his tongue, Shibisu manifested his Arms Inventory in order to swap out the rifle for what appeared to be an oversized shotgun. Before he could charge up enough Shinsu to fire it, however, a beam of red lightning descended from the sky as soon as Chunhwa jumped back to evade the automaton's counterattack. This was enough to force the knight-like entity to its knee, slouching as red lightning danced across its body, courtesy of the lance stuck in its shoulder.Exploiting the moment when the automaton's head was lowered, a confident smile spread across Chunhwa's face as he brandished his sword to the side and exclaimed, "Ignite! Narumada!"With vibrant bluish-white lightning dancing across the length of his blade, Chunhwa powered as much Shinsu as he could manage into his legs, bruises immediately manifesting on his calves as he leaped towards the automaton with fierce momentum. The metallic entity was still stunned by the lightning coursing through its body so the only resistance it could manage was glaring at its would-be killer through the visored helmet protecting its glowing blue eye.Showing no hesitation whatsoever, Chunhwa stabbed Narumada through a gap in the visor before releasing a tremendous volume of Shinsu from his ignited weapon. This caused the automaton's head to instantaneously explode, shards of metal flying in every direction due to the sudden and intense explosion. Fortunately, none of these pieces connected with any of the Regulars present, but, even if they had, everyone was protected by a thin membrane of Shinsu formed from Khun's Lighthouse.With the automaton falling over immediately after its head had been destroyed, Chunhwa raised his Narumada toward the ceiling with a triumphant expression on his face. This caused Shibisu to shake his head in mock exasperation before returning his oversized armament to his Arms Inventory and remarking, "I didn't think Knights were the boastful type~." in a teasing tone.Hearing his companion's remark, Chunhwa adopted a somewhat embarrassed expression as he sheathed his Narumada and replied, "Sorry about that...it just feels refreshing to defeat a strong opponent after all this time. Sparring against Gandr and Hatsu makes me feel a lot weaker than I actually am..."Empathizing with Chunhwa's statement, Shibisu threw his hand around the man's shoulder as he said, "We might not be able to compare to those monsters, but we'll have plenty of opportunities to show off during the Position Tournament. For now, let's just keep focusing on becoming stronger..."Though he shrugged off Shibisu's arm, Chunhwa still adopted a smile as he stepped off to the side to receive Nare. At the same time, Khun and Baam approached the downed automaton as Aleksai dropped down like a meteor crashing to the earth. This was soon followed by the rest of Team Wolf Pack, who, after a few congratulatory remarks, allowed Anak to lift up the several-ton key-shaped blade that unlocked the massive gate leading to the 7th Floor.---Learning of the Children's successful conquest, Vahn afforded them two days to celebrate and relax within the Little Garden. He lived by Tsubaki's principle that you should work hard and play hard in equal measure; so, while the automaton might not have been particularly powerful, defeating it had allowed them to advance to the 7th Floor. This was more than enough reason to celebrate, so, after inviting everyone from the Emerald Grove to participate, he hosted a grand banquet with Chunhwa and Aleksai as the Guests of Honor...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Hax (O - O)...','This is certainly not the Darkest Dungeon...','Work hard, play hard')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 1798: Ego