Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though they might be as powerful as some of his other Templates, Vahn had succeeded in all three of his experiments. This included creating a Template with functionally infinite adaptability, another with a truly game-like Class system, and, last but not least, a truly unique entity that made use of a system fabricated entirely within Vahn's mind.Representing the being with infinite adaptability, Vahn decided to use Rimuru Tempest, the same Slime that Sis had alluded to previously. He had always been rather fond of the Record ever since his time in the Xenos Village, so, while there were a few subtle changes to their character, Rimuru was the same kind and caring person they were presented as in their original Record. The only real difference was that their base human transformation resembled an individual that held considerable status and authority within the Divine Realm.Since the only way to gain access to the Divine Realm was to be 'invited' there, Vahn was hoping he could catch the interest of one of the many omniscient beings that resided there. He might not be able to succeed with just a single Template, but, once someone realized he was borrowing the form of various beings within the Divine Realm, it was only a matter of time before they investigated and discovered his anomalous properties. The only problem was, while they would normally be able to observe the past, present, and future to determine who was qualified to enter the Divine Realm, the only way they would be able to observe him is by tracking him to the 'present'.With a functionally unlimited amount of time on their hands, Vahn believed that, even if it wasn't himself, one of his Templates would inevitably reach the Divine Realm. He would become aware of this the moment it happened, so, even if they were unable to invite him themselves, Vahn would be able to forge a path of his own through various means.Luckily, one of the Floor Masters was a woman with an insatiably curious nature, and, though Vahn would unquestionably be 'forced' to explain himself, she would be more amused than upset by the fact Rimuru had borrowed her form. After that, he just needed to keep her entertained, and, much like Loki, she would be pretty easy to manage. As for the name of this curious being, she was a truly breathtaking beauty by the name of Shiroyasha, the White Night Demon Goddess.Even if Rimuru only ever came to possess a fraction of Shiroyasha's ability as a result of sharing her likeness, they would quickly become one of the most powerful beings below the Divine Realm. After all, she was a Demon Goddess who casually collected Sun Authorities in spite of the fact she was a being closely associated with Yin and Darkness. She also had complete dominion over the direction and flow of all forms of energy, including the mysterious forces that spurred causality and fate.Fortunately, alongside their [Predator], [Great Sage], and [Gluttony], Rimuru had gained an Innate known as [Intrigue of the Sun Goddess]. This implied that Shiroyasha was made aware of them the moment they were created, and, unsurprisingly, the Law of Identity had confirmed this. There was even a chance that she had already invited Rimuru to the Divine Realm, but, due to the peculiarities of Space-Time, Vahn would only know after the former vanished from the present time axis.Since he wasn't in a particular hurry to reach the Divine Realm, as he was still weak compared to beings in a much lower Realm, Vahn didn't mind if Shiroyasha took her time reaching out to him. He still had a long journey ahead of him, and, though it ultimately had very little to do with him, he had already decided to effect change in the Tower before departing. Rimuru would undoubtedly convey this to Shiroyasha herself, so, for the next could of decades, Vahn knew he would have to live with the knowledge that a mischievous Demon Goddess was keeping a close eye on him.When he first realized this, Vahn supposed he might as well make things as interesting as possible for the voyeuristic Goddess in order to curry a bit of favor prior to his ascent to the Divine Realm. He was no stranger to having his actions spied upon by others, so, rather than let it bother him, he decided to just go with the flow. This gave him a peculiar feeling of confidence, and, though it was impossible to know if it had any influence whatsoever, he liked to think that it had guaranteed the success of his second experimental Template.Though Rimuru might represent infinite adaptability, Vahn's second Template, inspired by the main character of a game known as Granblue Fantasy, had unmatched versatility. They were given a non-standard Innate in the form of a system that not only allowed them to freely change their name, it also allowed them to alternate between a male and female avatar, preload up to ten weapons into something known as a 'grid', and, most notably, swap between one of ten starting Classes.By default, Djeeta, the name chosen by the female avatar, had the option of choosing between the Fighter, Knight, Priest, Wizard, Thief, Enhancer, Grappler, Ranger, Harpist, and Lancer Classes. What made this most exciting was the fact that her Innates, as Vahn had hoped, changed in accordance with the Class she had equipped. The only constant among her Innates was the one that provided access to her System, the [Endless Granblue Fantasy System].Though she would need to train each of the Classes individually, what made the [Endless Granblue Fantasy System] remarkable was the fact that she could actually 'equip' the Skills of other Classes so long as she wasn't in active combat. She also had a Party system that allowed up to five people to benefit from the various buffs provided by her Grids, greatly enhancing their power based on the effects of the weapons and items that had been assigned to the ten available slots.The only real downside to Djeeta's system seemed to be that she could only equip items that had been obtained through the [Endless Granblue Fantasy System]. Fortunately, there were many ways in which she could obtain items, the three most notable being her in-built Gacha System, her own version of a System Shop, and the compulsory drops she got whenever she or her Party defeated an enemy.Though the Gacha and System Shop were both interesting, Vahn was far more interested in the last function. So long as Djeeta and her Party participated in the subjugation of a foe, the corpse of any enemies defeated would immediately produce a treasure chest. These could contain anything from golden coins to fully functional weapons, unique consumables, and even the Spirits of the monsters she had slain. These Spirits could then be slotted into her 'Summoning Grid', further enhancing the capabilities of her Party members and allowing her to summon them in battle.This was easily one of the most broken aspects of Djeeta's system, but, as it was ultimately derived from a game, there were plenty of downsides. Chief among them was the fact that she needed to do almost everything on her own, including enhancing weapons, summons, and even 'characters' through functions known as Uncapping and Upgrading. This was guaranteed to be an extremely time-consuming process, but, as there was a very real chance that she could 'summon' additional characters through her Gacha System, there was a lot to be excited about.Vahn had never played it himself, but he became aware of the existence of Granblue Fantasy during his attempts to locate the Record Fenrir's name was derived from. He had been a little surprised to learn that her name originated from the Record of a Video Game, but, after researching it quite a bit, Vahn had developed quite an interest in the peculiar skyfaring world. As a result, he knew that it was essentially a game that revolved around a Gacha System that allowed you to summon virtually every character, weapon, or summon that existed within the verse. There were literally thousands of each, so, while she was bound to struggle in the beginning, it was only a matter of time before the roster of Djeeta's 'Crew' expanded to include literal Gods.Unfortunately, even after completing a few basic missions, Djeeta was only able to get a single SSR weapon from her first 10-Consecutive Gacha Pull. This made it difficult to ascertain whether or not she could actually summon the 'characters' from her Record of origin, but, considering everything else functioned similarly to the game, Vahn had high hopes for her future. In fact, he almost wished he was in her shoes, as, despite disliking how game-like his own life could be at times, Vahn found the [Endless Granblue Fantasy System] rather novel.Fortunately, The Path had absolutely no limits, so, if he really wanted to, Vahn could develop his own System in a similar direction. For now, however, he was actually pretty content with the way things were. He had a clear path of progression for his own growth, and, though he found Djeeta's system very interesting, his own System Functions were inarguably more versatile. Despite this, he didn't really use them all that much, as, even without them, his power grew at a monstrous rate due to his own efforts.Vahn was already benefitting greatly just from the creation of new Templates, so, while he resolved himself to develop his own System Functions in the future, it was a secondary concern. For now, he would benefit the most from developing his Innates, his two primary focuses being the [Universal Mind] and his [Eyes of Truth]. These would invariably allow him to reach Tier 5, and, if he used them properly, Vahn knew he could even kill someone on the level of Ureko with a timely activation of his 'Oblivion' skill. He had confirmed long ago that injuries afflicted by his Oblivion could not be healed through conventional means, so, if he created a hole in someone's brain, heart, or even their Ego, it would never recover.With the goal of reaching the pinnacle of Tier 6 and stepping into the incomprehensible realm of Tier 7, Vahn knew the development of his Innates should be his highest priority. Thus, with the goal of pushing his [Universal Mind] to the next level, his last Template made use of a system that didn't exist within his memory. It was something he had come up with alongside Sis, and, though he used an existing 'character' as a point of reference for both appearance and personality, their system was something completely unique.It was no secret that Vahn had always enjoyed cooking, so much so that he still held the desire to one day obtain the most expensive cooking manual from the System Shop. For now, however, he was content with creating a System aptly titled the [Ultimate Culinary God System]. It was a unique System that allowed the user to analyze and process virtually any ingredient, and, by creating new dishes, they could qualitatively increase their parameters while simultaneously empowering their allies.Though there were diminishing returns from consuming the same dish over and over again, the fact the [Ultimate Culinary God System] allowed its user to create food capable of providing permanent buffs to their allies was truly monstrous. The only downside, if it could even be considered that, was that they needed to analyze and process every single ingredient in order to manually create recipes from scratch. As a result, they needed to be someone with an extreme passion for cooking, eating, and experimentation.When he was first considering characters to serve as inspiration for his Template, Vahn, very briefly, considered a woman named Mana Nakiri and her daughter, Erina Nakiri. They were in possession of a unique ability known as [God's Tongue], an Innate that drastically enhanced their sense of taste. It was considered the 'ultimate' ability in a Record purely focused on cooking, but, in the end, the two inheritors of the ability weren't particularly interesting characters. Fortunately, Vahn could easily just give it to someone else, so, without any hesitation, he bestowed both the [God's Tongue] and the [Ultimate Culinary God System] to a mischievous redhead named Rindo Kobayashi...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn planting flags years in advance...','Summer Zooey when?','Wow...never would have expected Vahn to choose a mischievous redhead over a troublesome blonde (OwO)...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

In preparation for the Guardian's Test, which involved traveling to a distant region in the Middle Tower to provide aid to a small village, Vahn was enjoying a rather hearty breakfast alongside the growing population of the Emerald Grove. He had Fenrir seated at his right, a palpable excitement radiating from her body, Ryun to his left, a thoughtful glimmer in her eyes, and, as was often the case, Yoruichi, and several others, were either curled up in his lap or using his body as their personal lounging post.Vahn always enjoyed eating in a large group as it was during moments like this that he felt the most like family. Now, said family had grown exponentially in a very short period of time, and, though it made things a little difficult when he had mischief-makers like Latias picking food directly from his plate, Vahn didn't particularly mind it. Rather, he found such actions adorable, a lighthearted laugh escaping his throat whenever Fenrir lightly chided them for their antics.No matter how troublesome things might get in the outside world, all of Vahn's worries seemed to melt away when everyone had gathered together like this. This was a notion shared by many of his Templates, so, while it wasn't uncommon for people to wander in and enjoy a meal at their leisure, there were always multiple occasions throughout the day where everyone gathered to enjoy a meal together.Of course, that didn't mean things were 'peaceful' during meal times. Rather, it was often quite the opposite. The presence of personages like Goku and Roger had always helped to ensure that things were always lively. This had been the case even before the newest additions to their community, so, now that there were people like Whitebeard, Vegeta, Makarov, and Mavis around, things were even more lively.Fortunately, while their constitutions allowed them to filter out the effects rather quickly, everyone that had developed a True Ego of their own was able to enjoy both the taste and effects of powerful alcohol. This led to some rather heated competitions, the vast majority of which were won by either Whitebeard and, somewhat surprisingly, Mavis. The petite, fairy-like, woman was able to consume a seemingly endless amount of alcohol, and, though she would become red in the face, she could still drink people like Roger under the table with an impish smile.Vahn always found it rather amusing to see such scenes play out as it made him genuinely feel like he was a part of the worlds he had always dreamed of as a child. Even now, he would look back on his time back in the cave, a reminiscent smile on his face as he remembered how excited he was to visit various worlds. That excitement had mellowed a bit with time, but, like a fine wine that was left in a secure cellar, it had been steadily maturing alongside him.One day, even if it was in the impossibly distant future, Vahn was determined to pop open the cork and experience each of the fascinations that had once captivated his naive and innocent mind. For now, however, he was perfectly content with just watching Rindo's backside as Mira lightly scolded Index for talking with food in her mouth...---Prior to the Age of Genesis, when the Jahad Empire was first being established, the only method to ascend the Tower involved completing various tasks assigned by the Guardians. They would assign you various Tests, the difficulty of which was entirely dependent upon your reason for climbing the Tower.More often than not, the Tests assigned by the Guardians involved helping out the natives of the Tower. This was the reason Jahad and the Great Warriors had managed to build such a large group of followers during their own ascent. They had saved countless people, conquered various empires, and even defeated a number of 'evil gods' that had tormented people since time immemorial. This allowed them to build literal armies, and, much like a tsunami sweeping over the previous era, they were able to wash it away and build their own atop the ruins.Though the 20th Floor was ruled by the Po Bidau Family, the Laws of the Tower prevented even the Jahad Empire from expanding beyond the Middle Tower. They could still take action against forces in the Outer Tower, but there were a number of restrictions in place depending on the power of the individual and their contract with the Guardian. As a result, there were a number of Kingdoms and even entire Empires that existed outside the immediate influence of the Jahad Empire. It was these territories that served as the proving grounds for those seeking to move higher in the Rankings, as, more often than not, such Kingdoms were directly supported by specific groups or individual High Rankers.On the 20th Floor alone, there were a total of 139 different nations split between the Middle and Outer Towers. The most powerful of these, as could be expected, were backed by Rankers affiliated with the Po Bidau Family. As for the rest, they were generally backed by Rankers affiliated with the other Great Families, organizations on the level of FUG, or individuals that had originated from that region prior to their ascent up the Tower. This meant there was a lot of cultural diversity, but, more than anything else, it ensured there were constant conflicts taking place all throughout the Tower.As part of his Guardian's Test, Vahn had been tasked with traveling to a remote mountain village with a meager population of only 83 people. What made this village unique was that many of the villagers were descendants of the Native Ones, the original inhabitants of the Tower that had been cursed by Jahad after the Age of Genesis. This led to them becoming known as the Cursed People by the common residents of the Tower, and, as could be expected, they were 'heavily' persecuted as a result.Though the Curse varied between individuals of the same race, it always manifested in one of three different ways. The first curse caused those affected to be born hermaphroditic, losing their ability to reproduce as a result. As for the second and third curse, the former sealed off the original power inherent to the species and made it very difficult for them to grow stronger while the latter, most tragically, increased the chances of a stillbirth occurring to more than 90%. This resulted in a drastic decrease in the number of Native Ones that existed within the Tower, most giving in to despair the moment the effects of their curse manifested.Fortunately, despite the hatred imposed upon them due to the Jahad Empire, the Native Ones were still blessed by the Tower. The Guardians also harbored no enmity towards them, and, even though they were contractually bound to inflict the curse upon each successive generation of Native Ones, they also helped to conceal them from both the Jahad Empire and the Ten Great Families.As an Irregular, Vahn had the power to completely ignore the rules and restrictions that had been imposed upon the Tower's residents by his predecessors, so, as part of his Guardian's Test, he had been tasked with removing the curse from the villagers. This was a task that would have originally belonged to Baam, so, in exchange for keeping Team Wolf Pack safe, Vahn had agreed to act as the instrument of change that the Tower had been eagerly anticipating for the last ten-thousand years...---With the help of Fenrir, Ryun, Latias, and Latios, Vahn was eventually able to discover the location of the hidden village after a little more than three days. This required descending an intricate network of vertical shafts, many of which connected to the breeding grounds of various Shinheuh or other, far more dangerous, hazards.Fortunately, while she would normally be blind to the location of the Native Ones' village, Ryun was allowed to see the path thanks to her association with an Irregular. As a result, Vahn was finally able to enter the subterranean chamber housing the hidden village, a region dominated by vibrant five-pointed stars floating gracefully through the air. It was actually quite mesmerizing, but, as could be expected, Vahn soon found himself under attack by said stars as an inordinately handsome middle-aged man bellowed, "Sound the alarm! There are intruders within the village...!"Adopting a wry smile in response to the man's words, Vahn allowed Fenrir to erect a massive lotus-shaped barrier of ice, completely fending off the assault of stars as he said, "I am not your enemy. I have come here to remove the curse from your people."Unsurprisingly, the man wasn't really listening to his words at this point. Instead, he formed a seal with his hands as a massive star-shaped Baang of Shinsu formed behind him. At the same time, a number of other middle-aged villages, the majority of which possessed the same inordinate beauty as the man, joined the assault. This left Vahn feeling rather helpless, a sigh escaping his lips before he raised his hand and plainly stated, "You will listen when I speak."Immediately after Vahn's words had fallen, it was as if Time within the cavern had stagnated to the point of stopping. This was a very advanced form of Reverse Flow Control that used his domain as a medium to stop, not just the flow of Shinsu in an individual's body, but the environment. His words also carried a compulsory force due to his breakthroughs in the Law of Authority, so, while he had spoken relatively softly, his words resonated throughout the entire village.Without any Rankers present, there wasn't a single villager who could resist Vahn's unique form of Reverse Flow Control. As a result, he was able to walk up to the oldest-looking individual present, the same man who had originally attacked him. This caused the man to tremble, not from fear, but a vain attempt to break free.Shaking his head, Vahn placed his hand on the man's shoulder, liberating him from his control as he reiterated, "I am not your enemy. I have come here to help." before releasing everyone else from his control.Realizing they could do nothing against the man standing before them, the presumed leader of the group gestured for everyone else to stand down as he answered in a solemn tone, "Very well...I will hear what you have to say..."Nodding in response to the man's words, Vahn adopted a disarming smile as he retracted his hand from the man's shoulder and explained, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason. I am an Irregular known as the Sage Dragon Emperor. In accordance with my agreement with the Guardians, I have come to remove the curse Jahad has placed upon you and your people."Though he wanted to believe Vahn's words, the man couldn't help but frown as he replied, "I am known as Gaute Aarnes, son of Halvard and proud warrior of the Asteria tribe. If you are who you claim to be, we will welcome you into our home as the hero of our people. If your intentions are impure, however...know that we will fight to the last man, woman, and child if it means defeating our foes..."Understanding the reason for the man's skepticism, Vahn resisted the compulsion to roll his eyes as he pulled out a crystalline potion bottle filled with a glittering red liquid and said, "This is a special Elixir known as a [Panacea]. Mixing it with any type of alcohol will transform it into a holy remedy that has the ability to remove virtually any curse. You can also consume the [Panacea] directly, but they aren't exactly easy to make. If diluted into strong alcohol, you can easily treat upwards of 200 people from that single Elixir."Though he still didn't fully trust Vahn's words, Gaute ordered the other villagers to fetch a barrel of alcohol and the oldest member of their community. This left the former with a frown on his face, but, fortunately, Gaute didn't try and force the elderly woman to consume the potion. Instead, he calmly explained the situation before leaving the final decision to her. It turned out that she was actually the former matriarch of the Asteria tribe, so, without any hesitation, she downed an entire pint of the diluted [Panacea] without leaving behind a single drop...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'A very enviable existence...','Jahad's cuckery knows no bounds','Baba ain't scared of nothin...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

With everyone's input, Vahn was able to come up with a number of interesting Templates, both to populate the Emerald Grove and to prepare for future events. This included at least one Template from each person's Record of origin, and, most notably, a number of 'unique' Templates that came about as a result of Sis' suggestion.Breaking down each Template by the Record they drew inspiration from, Vahn had created Vegeta as a rival for Goku and Android 21 as both a research assistant and reserve combatant. The former was known as the 'Prince of all Saiyans' back in his original Record, and, though he normally lagged behind Goku, he was currently much stronger due to the fact he was created later. As for Android 21, she was more of an amalgamation of various different races than an actual android, but, most notably, she possessed a constitution that allowed her to absorb the power and adapt the traits of others.Vahn had originally wanted to create a Template for Bulma, as she was inarguably the most brilliant scientist in her verse, but, much like Goku, Vegeta wasn't fond of the idea of having his 'canon' wife appear before he had the chance to fight. This was one of the downsides to Templates inheriting knowledge and information pertaining to their original Record.Though they were not their actual selves, both Bulma and Vegeta would have knowledge of their original counterparts' relationship. This awareness virtually guaranteed they would become involved with each other as some relationships were simply too 'iconic'. Bulma and Vegeta were an excellent example of this, as, with very few exceptions, they ended up being paired together in virtually every Record that Vahn was aware of.As a testament to how influential their subconscious biases could be, the Template Vahn created for Orihime ended up blushing madly the moment she met Ichigo. This caused the latter to feel more than a little embarrassed, and, by the end of the day, the two surprised a grand total of zero people when they announced the start of their relationship at dinner. Ichigo had apparently even tried to 'accept responsibility' by proposing, but, being the more sensible of two, Orihime politely refused before suggesting they start with dating and getting to know each other before making important life decisions...Wrapping up the Templates inspired by the Record of Bleach, Vahn decided upon Kisuke Urahara to serve as his 'Chief Researcher' within the Tower. He was a remarkably intelligent individual, so much so that he could easily be classified as the most intelligent person within his Record. He was more than capable of substituting for Bulma, and, though his counterpart was often paired with Yoruichi, Vahn wasn't worried about the feline beauty betraying him. This wasn't even accounting for the fact that she was templated from his adolescent fantasies, a truth she took great pleasure in leveraging against him...Fortunately, not that they were made for that specific purpose, Urahara didn't have to worry about lacking female companionship as each of his fellow researchers were female. This included Android 21 and two of Vahn's 'experiments', Pokemon hybrids with characteristics derived from completely unrelated Records.The first was a Pikachu Templated from a rather infamous tsundere known as Misaka Mikoto, one of the Main Heroines from a Record known as To Aru Majutsu no Index. Not only was she remarkably intelligent, but, thanks to the unique power structure of the Toaruverse, her abilities would serve as a perfect point of reference for understanding AIM Diffusion Fields and Personal Realities.Though there were some peculiar concepts at play, the Toaruverse was an example of a Record where Science and Magic had been developed to the extremes. There were even beings on both sides of the spectrum that could alter the very structure of the multiverse so it was an interesting Record to pull inspiration from. As for why he didn't just create one of these beings as a Template, Vahn had learned his lesson after creating the Law of Identity, Arceus, Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina.Despite possessing appearances and abilities similar to their original counterparts, many of the more powerful beings created by Vahn were a far cry from the entities they were Templated from. There was a 'very' good chance they would eventually grow to rival or even exceed their original selves, but, at least for the time being, their power was limited by his own comprehension.Before trying to create a Template that could literally alter the structure of Complex Multiverses with a thought, Vahn wanted to increase his understanding of Esper Abilities and Magic from the ground up. Mikoto was an ideal candidate for this, as, despite her tsundere nature, she was a very kind, caring, and astute young lady. As for her counterpart on the Magic side of things...well, the only thing Vahn could really say about her was that she was cute...Possessing Innates such as [Perfect Memory], [Information Transfer], [St. George's Sanctuary], and [Index Librorum Prohibitorum], Urahara's final assistant, intended to help him understand the very nature of Magic, was a silver-haired girl named after her own Innate, Index Librorum Prohibitorum. What made her unique, other than the fact her 'true form' was that of a Jirachi, was that her Innate defied conventional reasoning by coming 'pre-loaded' with 103,000 Magical Grimoires.Though he had no way of knowing if it would work, Vahn's main reasoning for creating Index, other than the fact he found her original self rather pitiable, was specifically due to her status as the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. She was 'known' to possess virtually all knowledge pertaining to the unique Magic of her Record, including the method to turn someone into a 'Magic God', so Vahn decided to take a gamble by entrusting his own expectations to The Path. As for why he Templated her from a Jirachi, known as the 'Wishmaker', Vahn hoped that it would increase the chances of her possessing the knowledge she was best known for...Fortuitously, his gamble had paid off, but, in exchange, Index was effectively a carbon-copy of her original self. This included a lazy, somewhat bratty, and extremely gluttonous personality that left her prone to emotional outbursts. Fortunately, these weren't really issues so long as she stayed in the Emerald Grove as everyone, even Madara and her brother Izuna, were all very understanding. She was even 'adopted' by another of the other Templates Vahn had created, specifically Edward 'Whitebeard' Newgate, the monstrously powerful rival that had been created at the insistence of Roger.Though he didn't have access to anything like Devil Fruits, Vahn's [Universal Mind] allowed him to effectively ignore such things. As a result, Whitebeard had full access to his abilities in the form of a Non-Standard Innate known as [Tremor Human]. This, combined with the fact that he appeared as a much younger version of himself, made Whitebeard into a remarkably powerful individual. He also benefited from being created significantly later than Roger, so, while the King of the Pirates didn't go down easily, he was ultimately crushed under the might of Whitebeard's fists.As a monster of a man, standing 666cm tall, Whitebeard was easily the most physically intimidating Template Vahn had ever created. His strength was also unbelievable thanks to his Innate, [World's Strongest Man], a horrifying ability that let him 'ignore' physical limitations based on his anger and willpower. His attacks also completely bypassed conventional durability, so, even though the Ninth Layer had been reinforced to compensate for Yuri's ridiculous strength, Whitebeard was still able to devastate the landscape with his punches.Fortunately, Whitebeard had inherited perhaps his greatest attributes, his caring, compassionate, and understanding nature. He also placed a heavy emphasis on the importance of family, so much so that he had even tried to make Vahn into one of his children.In the end, Vahn was able to escape his fate of calling the man Pops by defeating him in battle on the Ninth Floor. This, in turn, spared everyone else from a similar fate, as, according to Whitebeard, the 'strongest' had the responsibility of being a parent to and guiding the weak. There were many people who had been forced onto a dark path by circumstance; so, unless their character had been twisted beyond reform, Whitebeard firmly believed in the notion that people could be guided back onto the correct path with proper 'parental guidance'.Though it wasn't exactly his way of doing things, Vahn didn't necessarily disagree with Whitebeard's beliefs. Rather, he found them rather admirable and was looking forward to what the man would be able to accomplish after being let loose in the Tower. He was bound to cause tremendous waves in the Middle and Outer Towers, and, thanks to an agreement he had made with Roger, it was only a matter of time before the battles between their respective crews resonated throughout the entire Tower. This was something Vahn was greatly looking forward to, as one of his principal reasons for creating Templates was to see what they would accomplish without his oversight.In that same vein, Vahn was also beginning to make preparations for the formation of Fairy Tail by creating Templates derived from Mavis Vermillion, a young Makarov Dreyar, and the final two of the Strauss Siblings: Lisanna and Elfman. The latter two were primarily created for the sake of Mira, even though she stated there was no need. As for the former, they were similar to Mikoto and Index with Mavis' true form being that of a Celebi while Makarov's was Templated from a Regigigas. As for why Lisanna and Elfman were spared the Pokemon conversion, it was primarily due to the fact that they, like Mira, already possessed the ability to transform thanks to the Innates that served as the source for their Take Over Magic.Though it wasn't nearly as intimidating as Mira's [Satan Soul], which allowed her to transform into a number of extremely attractive Demonesses, Lisanna's [Animal Soul] and Elfman's [Beast Soul] were nothing to scoff at. Lisanna's was easily the most versatile, allowing her to adopt the characteristics of various animals, and, though many of her transformations were clearly designed with 'fanservice', in mind, that didn't make them any less useful. As for Elfman, he possessed the ability to transform into various powerful beasts, including one known as the 'King of Monsters'.As its name suggested, the 'King of Monsters' was an inordinately powerful creature, and, though it was a little difficult to control, it's adaptability was monstrous. It not only provided him a substantial increase in all physical attributes but, most prominently, it gave him an ability reminiscent of Tiona's Pactio, the ability to regenerate from virtually any wound and develop resistances to whatever had damaged him. So long as he had the reserves to power the transformation, Elfman would gradually become stronger until he had either defeated his opponent or become completely immune to all of their attacks.Vahn still had a 'personal preference' for Mira's transformations, but he couldn't deny the charm of Lisanna's and the monstrous potential of Elfman's. They might not have stood out all that much in their original Record, but, now that they had inherited his Soul Tier, it wouldn't be long before they had completely transcended their original capabilities. Of course, even if they chose to never fight, Vahn wouldn't particularly mind since he would never force anyone to fight on his behalf. They had the right to choose how they lived, and, even if they wanted to help, he would endeavor to resolve most things on his own or with support from Fenrir.Now that he had reached the 20th Floor, Vahn was intending to have Fenrir accompany him during his journey up the Tower. Ho and Grey had already been released into the Middle Tower, so, while Ryun would likely accompany them, Fenrir would be his primary traveling companion until he had reached the absolute pinnacle of the Record. This would expose her to great danger, but, with her unique Innates, it was only a matter of time before she became one of the strongest beings in the entire Tower. The only entities that could reasonably hope to compete with her, especially with his constant support, were the three Templates he had created in an effort to test the limits of his [Universal Mind]...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Mikotochu~!','Gurararararara~!','The promise of a brighter future...!')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 1829: Aspirations and Experimentation