Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Seeing their companion run into an invisible wall, the duo chasing after the young girl promptly halted in their tracks. The burliest among them then whirled around, eyes bloodshot as he shouted, "Whose the asshole gettin' in our way!?""Yo."Much to the duo's surprise, Vahn had already appeared right behind them. Thus, the moment they turned around, he grabbed both of their faces before promptly planting them into the ground. An invisible force attempted to protect their bodies from harm, but, thanks to his Source Energy, both ended up being knocked out with their heads buried in the cobbled street.After taking a moment to confirm the men weren't dead, Vahn dusted off his hands before looking towards the stunned Sarina and asking, "Shall we catch up to our little friend...?"Startling back to awareness, Sarina quickly ran over to Vahn's side, grabbing his hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do.Smiling wryly in response to the young girl's brazenness, Vahn attempted to teleport only to sense that the surrounding space solidified the moment he tried. This caused his brows to furrow slightly, but, rather than trying to force his way through the void, he just used an advanced form of Shundo to instantaneously cover the distance the girl had run.With her thoughts revolving around escape, the auburn-haired girl had yet to take notice of the fact that her would-be assailants had already been dealt with. Instead, she continued to push through the crowd, each step leaving behind a bloody footprint that caused intense, biting pain to shoot up her legs.Unable to hold them back any longer, a tremendous volume of tears and sweat marred the girl's face as an irresistible urge to just stop and rest began to consume her. The only thing that kept her moving forward was fear. Fear that should she stop, her life would no longer be her own. She would either have to spend the rest of her days as someone else's slave or they would forcibly appropriate her Gift. Either way, her life would be over."I just need...to find some sand..."As the pained utterance had merely been intended to compel herself forward, the auburn-haired girl never expected someone to suddenly appear in front of her, gently arresting her momentum as a deep yet velvety smooth voice answered, "You need to calm down..."Since it was usually painful to run headlong into another person, the auburn-haired girl was more than a little confused by how soft the collision had been. Even more confusing was the comfortable energy that had suffused through her body, instantaneously erasing her fatigue. At the same time, an itchy feeling transmitted from the soles of her feet, scabs quickly forming across several wounds before flaking away to reveal tender yet undamaged skin."You're safe now..."Without stepping away from the owner of the voice, the auburn-haired girl tentatively looked up, her heart skipping a beat as she found a tall and handsome man looking down at her with a smile. The sun was also shining high in the sky, so, from her perspective, a literal halo had formed around his head as his glowing green eyes cut through the shadows cast over his face...Noticing the girl's eyes roll back, Vahn smoothly scooped her into a Princess Carry before she could faint and collapse to the ground. This caused Sarina to puff out her cheeks slightly, but, by the time he had looked back, she had regained her smile, suggesting, "We should find a bench in the shade."Nodding in affirmation, Vahn surprised Sarina quite a bit by extending an invisible 'hand' to caress the top of her head. Then, before she could make sense of what had happened, he used the same hand to grasp hers, gently pulling her along with a wry yet amused smile on his face.........Since it would have been a little too troublesome to allow the girl to use his lap as a pillow, Vahn produced a memory foam pillow from thin air before further surprising Sarina as he pulled a cold compress and several other items from his Inventory. He even earned a few curious glances from various passersby, as, even in the Divine Realm, Gifts related to Spatial or Interdimensional Storage were remarkably rare.Unable to contain her curiosity, Sarina, sitting immediately to Vahn's left, decided to ask, "Just what is your Gift? Could it be...you have more than one...?"Though it wasn't unheard of, quite the contrary, it was uncommon for people who had just arrived in the Divine Realm to possess numerous Gifts. Summoning someone with just a single Gift took an unreasonable amount of resources. Thus, unless Vahn had 'strayed' into the Divine Realm, the only way he could possess numerous Gifts was if someone unreasonably powerful had both summoned and abandoned him...After folding the cold compress and placing it on the sleeping girl's forehead, Vahn elected to tease Sarina a bit by musing, "You would have a harder time ascertaining what I can't do than discovering what I can..."Punctuating his words, Vahn created a spherical pill in his left hand, its surface covered in a peculiar rainbow hue that obscured countless runic symbols. Had this been a lower realm, its presence alone would have been enough to cause the flow of time in their surroundings to stagnate. Instead, it just shimmered with a hazy light that caused it to appear as though it was moving in slow motion as he extended it towards Sarina and said, "Eat this. It will unlock the potential hidden within your body. I don't mind helping you grow stronger, but it will be your own efforts that allow you to stand at the peak..."Since she had already decided to follow someone who was basically a stranger, Sarina saw no harm in accepting 'candy' from them. Thus, without any real hesitation, she picked up the rainbow-hued pill and scrutinizing it like a piece of vibrant opal before tossing it to the back of her throat. To her surprise, she didn't actually have to swallow anything, as, the moment the pill entered her mouth, it 'melted' into a liquid form of light that instantaneously spread through her mouth before suffusing throughout the rest of her body.Alleviating some of the girl's confusion, Vahn explained, "It's my own version of a Heaven-Grade Pill known as the Innate Awakening Pill. Innates are essentially the framework of the abilities referred to as Gifts in the Divine Realm. Contrary to what others would have you believe, these can't actually be taken away. In the absolute worst-case scenario, they can be sealed away or weakened. To that end, the Gifts in this world are basically just pale imitations of a person's Innate, not the ability itself..."As he was saying these things, Vahn was also looking over Sarina's Status to confirm whether or not the pill had worked. It only had a 10% chance of success, but, even if it failed, it would still awaken a unique ability related to the Innate's awakening. This would drastically increase Sarina's power, and, so long as he guided her properly, it was only a matter of time before her Innates awakened...-----------------------------------------------[Status]Name: SarinaAge: 10Race: High HumanParameters: [Transcendental Path to Heaven]Strength: 3FAgility: 8FDexterity: 4FIntelligence: 15FLuck: 20FSpirit: 2FWisdom: 5FCharisma: 11FDivinity: N/AAuthority: N/AInnate(s): [Descendant of Hermes: F], [Talaria: (sealed)]Gift(s): [Don't Shoot the Messenger: D]Talent(s): [Language Comprehesion: F], [Reading: F], [Writing: F], [Cooking: F], [Cleaning: F], [Farming: F], [Sewing: F], [Arithmetic: F]...[Don't Shoot the Messenger]Rank: DFunction: Causes non-homing projectile attacks to curve around the user.-----------------------------------------------Though Vahn wasn't entirely sure how each of the parameters broke down into quantifiable values, it was easy to understand from Sarina's Status that she was, basically, just a normal girl. Sure, being a descendant of Hermes was rather impressive in the lower realms, but, here in the Little Garden, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that the majority of citizens were the descendent of some wayward Hero, God, Divine Spirit, or something similar...-----------------------------------------------[Status]Name: Vahn Aldrnari MasonAge: 0, AgelessRace: True Dragon, (sealed)Parameters: [Transcendental Path to Heaven]Strength: 1,492,734,993SAgility: 911,366SDexterity: 1,619,510SIntelligence: 1,450,007SLuck: 903DSpirit: 3,492,212SWisdom: 18,778,983,418,004SSSCharisma: 188,854BDivinity: Creation(B), Destruction(C), Space(C), Time(C), Forging(B), Sword(B), Spear(D), Archery(E), Life(B), Death(D), Nature(A), Wisdom(S), Sun(D), Moon(D), Sky(C), Sex(A)Authority: Self-Enforced(???)Soul Tier: 5Karma: 118Innate(s): [Will of the Emperor: SSS], [Rakshasa Body: SS-&gt;A], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome: B-&gt;C], [Eyes of Truth: A-&gt;C], [Universal Mind: B], [Actualization: (-)]Gift(s): [Authority: ???], [Hands of Nirvana: S], [Breath of Life: B], [Touch of Death: D], [Enkidu: C], [Lævateinn: S], [Alpha: A], [Beta: B], [Gamma: B], [Delta: B]...(A/N: This list would literally be longer than several chapters combined...)Talent(s): (A/N: There is very little that Vahn is unable to do and nothing he can't do...so...yeah...)-----------------------------------------------Despite feeling suffocatingly weak right now, Vahn's Status showed that he was anything but. His Wisdom, in particular, was a phenomenal value that seemed to defy common sense. Then again, he was technically an amalgamation of the knowledge and experiences of various Templates, several of which were derived from Sis. He had also 'downloaded' hundreds of thousands of grimoires to his mind, and, thanks to the Law of Identity, he had even memorized some of the contents contained within the Sacred Tome...("I never even considered myself a God of Wisdom, yet it is apparently my most comprehensive Divinity...you learn something new every day...")(*Quite literally...*)Smiling in response to Sis's witty retort, Vahn was about to issue his own when Sarina suddenly pulled out a pale green tarot card, smiling as she exclaimed, "It actually worked...!"Noticing the curious and greedy gazes of several pedestrians the moment Sarina pulled out the card, Vahn created an illusory barrier with a wave of his hand, effectively erasing their presence in the eyes of others as he said, "You shouldn't take that out in public. They might not be able to take it from you, but that won't stop people from challenging you to a Gift Game..."Though Vahn didn't actually know what the card was, it didn't take long for the Loi-chan, appearing as Shiroyasha, to explain things. It was apparently known as a Fragment of Laplace, and, as could be expected, it was basically the manifestation of a person's Gift.Having learned this, Vahn imagined his own Gifts manifesting, and, as a result, he ended up with a veritable mountain of cards erupting from his chest like a broken faucet. This caused the previously excited Sarina to adopt a flawless deadpan, as, even after a full minute had passed, cards continued to fly out of him without end.With his enhanced senses, Vahn was able to see that the vast majority of these Gift Cards were the manifestation of knowledge, skills, and abilities possessed by his Templates. This included hundreds of thousands of individual grimoires, Zanpakuto, legendary weapons, powerful armors, and a whole host of other abilities. If he hadn't turned it off, the entire plaza might have been filled with cards by the time the flow began to reduce. As for when it would end, well, even he didn't know the answer to that question...Seeing the veritable mountain of cards that had 'leaked' from Vahn's body, Sarina vaguely recalled his previous remark about it being harder to ascertain what he couldn't do. She had thought he was bragging at the time, but, now that she saw this absolutely ludicrous sight, the realization that she might have fallen in love with someone completely ridiculous had cemented itself within her mind.........(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Happy birthday to the ground...!','Bruh...that Luck parameter...','I imagined Shiroyasha performing a spit take when she saw this taking place xD...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Understanding Sarina's confusion, Vahn attempted to give her a very brief summary of his past and abilities. In the midst of this, the girl sleeping at his side gradually stirred, her eyelids flickering for a moment before grabbing the cold compress on her head."Well now, look who decided to join us..."Though she had already noticed someone sitting next to her, the auburn-haired girl startled when she heard Vahn's deep yet gentle voice. The only thing that prevented her from immediately trying to run away was the strange feeling of comfort that had spread through her body, suppressing the fear, pain, and hunger she had become accustomed to since her arrival in the Divine Realm...Seeing the girl bolt to a seated position, a sad smile developed across Vahn's face as muttered, "It would seem you have suffered quite a bit. Don't worry-"Rather than wait for Vahn to continue speaking, the auburn-haired girl interrupted, asking, "W-Who are you? What do you want with me...?" in a wary tone.As cheesy as it might sound to the average listener, Vahn softly replied, "You can call me Vahn. Vahn Aldrnari Mason. As for what I want...well, it would make me happy if you were happy."Borrowing a worn yet refreshing page out of Tiona's book, Vahn pushed up the sides of his mouth with his fingers, playfully contorting his face into an intentionally silly smile.Though a concerned frown appeared on her face, the auburn-haired girl seemed to understand he wasn't a threat as she quickly relaxed, shoulders and head slumped as she meekly replied, "There is no happiness left for me in this world...""Hmmm..."Noticing the girl's aura diminish quite a bit as she was speaking, Vahn quickly sorted his thoughts before extending his hand and manifesting a golden apple out of thin air, saying, "Eat. It's hard to be optimistic on an empty stomach. You'll feel better once you fill your belly."Though it wasn't actually necessary to eat in the Divine Realm, going long periods of time without food or water affected the mind and body. This was especially true for those who had only been in the Divine Realm for a short period of time. Thus, having confirmed the girl hadn't eaten anything in quite some time, Vahn figured he might as well address her empty stomach before moving on to anything more complicated.Staring at her reflection in the remarkably shiny apple, the auburn-haired girl was surprised to find that she was actually salivating. This was an inherent property of the apple, and, while it was a little underhanded of him, Vahn didn't mind making use of his 'Gifts' if it was to help people...-----------------------------------------------[Golden Apple]Rank: BFunction: An irresistible golden apple that captivates anyone who sets their sights upon it. Just a single bite is said to fill one's belly and bring happiness. Eating the entire thing, core included, is said to replenish stamina, removes abnormal status effects, and cleanse curses.-----------------------------------------------Before she even realized what she was doing, the auburn-haired girl had already taken several bites out of the apple. This caused a warm and fluffy feeling to spread from her stomach as memories of her past, specifically happy memories related to her mother and father, caused tears to swell at the corners of her eyes."There, there...it's okay...if you want to cry, go ahead and cry. Just remember. No matter how sad or painful things get, there is still happiness to be found in the world. If you're unable to find it in the present, you need only look to the past. It is memories like those that give us the strength to create happiness in the future..."Though it earned him another pouty glower from Sarina, Vahn gently caressed the auburn-haired girl's head as she continued to eat the golden apple. Instead of engorging herself upon it, however, she was now taking progressively smaller bites. She seemed to equate eating the apple with being happy, so, fearing the moment would escape her once the apple was completed, she attempted to draw it out for as long as possible........."Feeling better...?"Staring up at the man who, even now, continued to caress her head, the auburn-haired girl slowly nodded before replying, "Thank you..." in a meek tone of voice."Don't mention it." replied Vahn. Then, with the best smile he could manage, he retracted his hand from the girl's head before asking, "So? Feel like introducing yourself? As I mentioned previously, my name is Vahn. As for this little one here-""Sarina. My name is Sarina."Though it was a little awkward since they were seated on opposite sides of each other, Sarina made a show of grabbing Vahn's arm as she introduced herself in an audibly hostile tone. This caused the auburn-haired girl to appear afraid, so, before things could get further out of hand, Vahn adopted a stern tone, stating, "Sarina. That's enough. You followed me with the intention of helping people. Is this how you behave towards someone who just experienced a trauma...?"Surprised by Vahn's tone, Sarina quickly released his arm, a nervous and apologetic look on her face as she exclaimed, "S-Sorry! Please forgive my rudeness...!" before promptly bowing her head.With his arm freed, Vahn was able to caress both girls' heads, chuckling lightly as he said, "That's a good girl. Now, how about you introduce yourself, little missy? It would also help if you explain why those men were chasing you but I won't force you to disclose anything you're not comfortable with discussing."Though she was still more than a little nervous, the auburn-haired girl sheepishly replied, "My name is Nono...Nono Nalnanananu..."Blinking in mild surprise, Vahn's smile became somewhat wry as he asked, "Nalnanananu...?" just to confirm she hadn't added a few extra syllables. In response, the auburn-haired girl simply nodded, mild confusion visible in her eyes as she asked, "Is it...strange...?"Laughing in the most good-natured way he could manage, Vahn retracted his hands from the two girls' heads before rising to his feet and answering, "Of course not!" in a spirited tone. Then, before either could make sense of his actions, he turned back, a luminous smile on his face as he extended his hands to the two girls and added, "It's a wonderful name."......Since they had been garnering too much attention at their previous location, Vahn escorted Sarina and Nono to another small Cafe, this one attached to a rather pleasant-looking Hostel. There, he let the two order whatever they wanted before handing arranging two rooms, one for himself and one for the girls.Having secured a place to stay, Vahn returned to the table to find Sarina and Nono trapped in an awkward silence. The former was still feeling guilty about her earlier behavior. As for the latter, well, she was just confused by everything that was happening.Pulling up a chair to the side, rather than sitting beside either girl, Vahn picked up a small cheese pastry, biting into it before explaining, "I went ahead and booked two rooms. The two of you can share one. Unless, of course, you someplace else to be...?"Though he had already checked Nono's situation with the Law of Identity, Vahn wanted to give her the chance to explain things. It would also make things a lot easier if she directly asked for his help, as, after his most recent awakening, he was trying to avoid resolving everyone's problems. He was a little tired of trying to fix everything himself, so, unless she asked for help and showed a willingness to take control of her own life, there wasn't much he could do for her...Turning melancholic in response to Vahn's words, Nono hung her head for several moments before finally mustering up the courage to mutter, "I don't want to go back...but...but I'm afraid something terrible might happen if I don't...""Is it your Community...?"Despite knowing the answer, Vahn still tried to lead Nono along so that she wouldn't fall silent. In response, she nodded her head, explaining, "I was summoned seven months ago...in the beginning, everyone was very kind to me...they told me I had a powerful Gift and wanted me to become one of their fighters...but...but I don't like fighting..."Tearing up, Nono began to sniffle as memories of the last seven months resurfaced in her mind. She could still remember how well her Community had treated her when she was first summoned. A few of the senior members had even taken to referring to her as their Little Princess. They showered her with all kinds of praise, and, even when she made mistakes, they were always quick to console and encourage her...all the way up until they weren't...In the end, the only thing her Community had really cared about was her Gifts. Her future self was apparently an influential priestess back in her homeworld, one with the potential to even seal away the Gods. Unfortunately, they lacked the means to summon her more heroic iteration, so, with the intention of grooming her into a powerful weapon, they ended up calling upon her much younger self. What they failed to account for was the fact that she had only grown that powerful due to the hardships she had experienced and the other heroic figures at her side. Without going through all of those things, she was just a normal little girl. Someone who disliked fighting and only accepted their invitation out of naive curiosity...Once her Community realized she was just a 'useless brat', their treatment became progressively worse. The only exception to this was her Leader, but, after everything that had happened, Nono didn't trust him. These feelings only grew when he attempted to convince her to give up her Gift and simply become a Maid. He promised she would always have a place within their Community, but, when she tried to get him to agree to a Geass, a contract that bound people to their word, he immediately got angry and accused her of being a selfish brat who didn't know what was good for her.After that incident, Nono found herself isolated within the group of people who had promised to become her family. This ultimately led to the previous event, an incident that involved members of her own Community conspiring with a group of 'Gift Hunters' to try and steal her Gift. They wanted to force her into a Gift Game with extremely unfair conditions, warning that if she didn't play along they were going to lock her away until she either gave up or committed suicide.Instead of abiding by these terms, Nono did the only thing she could think of at the time. She ran. It didn't matter how tired she was or how painful each successive step became. She kept running as if her life depended on it, because, in no uncertain terms, it did.........After listening to Nono's story and assuring her that everything was okay, Vahn allowed her to rest, 'forcing' Sarina to watch over her as he stepped out into the busy city streets.In the end, Nono didn't actually ask for his help. Instead, she wanted him and Sarina to leave so that members of her Community wouldn't target them. She didn't want anything to happen to them, so, in turn, Vahn had decided he wouldn't let anything happen to her. Thus, after placing her into a very deep and peaceful slumber, he set out with the intention of settling her debts.Fortunately, he didn't have to travel very far. Members of the same Community were able to track their other members using various artifacts. Such items were originally intended for Gift Games that involved searching large areas or entering Labyrinths, but, at times like this, they could also be used by malicious individuals to track those who wanted to escape. Thus, without even needing to travel more than two blocks, Vahn found himself promptly surrounded by a group of individuals lead by a man with silvery-white hair and golden eyes..."Well, this is convenient..."......(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Atalanta would like to know your location...','Kidnapping and grooming are evil...','Vahn could probably drown these asshats just by releasing his Gift Cards xD...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

"Thank you for your kind intentions, but please leave..."After registering at the Gate and following the children back to a partially destroyed monastery, the interior of which had been converted to a small farm, these were among the first words Vahn heard from the Community's Leader, a young woman wearing a Nun's Habit."Pardon...?"Though he could already guess the woman's reasons, Vahn couldn't help raising his brows as the inordinately busty, pink-haired, and lavender-eyed Nun went on to explain, "Even if you do possess the power to improve our quality of life, doing so would only cause the neighboring Communities to begin eyeing us. We're able to live a relatively peaceful life because we possess nothing the other Communities covet. The moment that changes, it is the children who will suffer first and foremost..."Understanding where the woman was coming from, Vahn slowly nodded his head before looking towards Sarina, the person who had guided him here. She was currently gripping the hem of her frilly red skirt with a vexed look on her face, as, despite understanding the Sister's words, she felt it was wrong to not even try.Plopping his hand atop the girl's head, Vahn gently ruffled Sarina's hair, an equally gentle smile on his face as he said, "It's okay. This is only a minor setback. All I need to do is establish a Community of my own. Once I take over the surrounding Gates, I'll be able to improve the lives of everyone, not just the members of this Community..."Though Sarina looked like she was about to cry her little heart out, a smile developed across the fatigued-looking Nun's face as she muttered, "It would be wonderful if you're able to achieve that. Now, please leave. Your visit today would have already drawn a lot of attention. If people believe we are affiliated in any way, they will target us the moment you gain even a minute amount of fame or infamy..."Smiling wryly in response to the Nun's words, Vahn resisted the almost instinctual urge to just invite them all to stay within the Second Layer of his Little Garden. They would be significantly safer there, but, if he extended a similar offer to every downtrodden resident of the Divine Realm, it wouldn't be long before the refugee population of the Second Layer numbered in the trillions.As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn retracted his hand from Sarina's head with the intention of departing the way he came. Before he could take more than a few steps, however, the Nun's weary voice rung out again, saying, "We all walk our own paths in life, Sarina. If you wish to follow him, do not hesitate. Life is too short. Don't waste it on regrets."Turning his head, Vahn was about to mention how counterintuitive it would be to send one of their own to follow him after making such a strong case for disassociation. These words got caught in his throat, however, as Sarina enthusiastically latched onto his arm, a beaming smile on her face as she said, "I'll be in your care from now on."Though there was a fair amount of sorrow contained within her aura, likely related to the fact she would be leaving her friends and family behind, Vahn could tell that Sarina's jubilation wasn't false. She seemed absolutely determined to follow him, a sentiment that caused him to feel more than a little awkward due to the threads of pink contained in her aura as she clung to his arm...("Here we go again...")......Though there were a number of stringent requirements for advancing to the lower-digits, virtually anyone could establish a 7-Digit Community. The only real requirement was that you needed three people, primarily a Leader, a Sub-Leader, and an Adjutant. It was also recommended that you have a name, a flag, and a territory, but these were only truly necessary when you were trying to advance from a higher-digit Community to a lower one.After traveling a considerable distance, enough that most people wouldn't be able to recognize Sarina even if he did cause a ruckus, Vahn found a rather charming Cafe called Inumimi Paradise. Each of their waitresses was an adorable girl with dogs ears and a tail, and, if you paid a premium, you were allowed to caress their heads and ears at your leisure.Fortunately, while the most common currency on the East Side were the metal coins printed by the Thousand Eyes Community, smaller shops generally accepted all forms of verifiable currency. A few even allowed customers to pay using their Gifts, specifically allowing them to provide services such as cooking, cleaning, or good old-fashioned manual labor. In other words, so long as you had the means, you could barter for various goods and services without having to exchange actual currency.Though it earned him an adorable pout from Sarina, Vahn managed to convince the owner of the Cafe to allow him to pay with headpats. Others had to pay for the opportunity to fluff the girls in the Cafe, but, after proving that he could treat underlying medical conditions while simultaneously improving the health and wellness of the people he pet, Vahn earned the envy of nearly every other customer by systematically petting every girl in the Cafe for free. Even the owner stopped by a total of three times, her Doberman-like tail wagging happily as she and several others invited him to join their predominately female Community no less than ten times...As tempting as the offer was, Vahn managed to escape the Inumimi Paradise before the girls could contemplate forcibly dragging him back. He also felt sorry for Sarina, who, during their three-hour stay, became progressively more downtrodden every time the girls offered her free food and drinks just to keep her occupied."Do you like kemonomimi girls more than normal girls...?"Hearing Sarina's whisper-like inquiry, Vahn adopted a wry yet gentle smile as he tousled the girl's hair and answered, "You're overthinking things. It would be more accurate to say that I like girls as a general rule of thumb rather than having any particular preference. Besides, it's a little too soon for you to be concerning yourself with matters such as this. Based on what I can tell, you can't be more than ten years old. I don't mind if you harbor intentions towards me. Just don't expect me to lay my hands on a little girl. I have children who are older than you..."Though she was happy to have her head pat, Sarina became downcast when she heard what Vahn had to say. A part of her even regretted leaving the monastery as one of her main reasons for doing so was the expectation that romance would blossom between them if she tried her best...Understanding the little girl's thoughts, even without the Law of Identity, a slightly amused chuckle escaped Vahn's throat as he retracted his hand and said, "For now, focus on maturing both mentally and physically. If you still feel this way when you discover more about me...well, let's just say I don't have a reputation for disappointing the women in my life. You're just not one of them. At least, not right now."With that said, Vahn extended his hand towards Sarina, and, though she hesitated for a very brief moment, it didn't take long for her to reach out her own and grasp his. She had already made up her mind, so, while this was certainly a setback, she still had hope for the future.........Though the Divine Realm made use of the Geocentric Model, meaning the Sun and Moon orbited around it, each of the individual Gates was able to implement their own day and night cycle. As a result, there were some Gates where the Sun never set, others where it was a perpetually full moon, and even more where the day-night cycle was completely random. It all depended on the whims of the Community in charge.Noticing the Sun was still high in the sky even after they had been wandering around for several hours, Vahn turned to the fatigued-looking Sarina and asked, "What do you want to do? Unless you would rather become the Adjutant or remain a simple member, you're going to be the Sub-Leader of the Community we form. We can move to the Outermost Gates and try to recruit new arrivals or we can search for someone that is being oppressed by one of the more dastardly Communities. I'll let you decide."After taking a few moments to catch her breath, Sarina's mood seemed to improve quite a bit as she performed an adorable guts pose and answered, "We should try to help people! There are too many bullies in the Little Garden. If we have the power to do something about it, we should try...!"Though she lacked any real power of her own, Sarina was baselessly confident in Vahn's ability to do something about the injustices faced by the weaker residents of the Little Garden. She didn't know why, but she felt like he could just 'fix' things whenever he wanted. There had even been a few unruly-looking individuals who steered clear from him the moment he looked towards them, something that typically only occurred when famous or infamous Communities were performing their rounds and patrolling their territory.Offering a smile, Vahn resisted the urge to call Sarina a 'good girl' since it would become a problem once she was invariably introduced to people like Fenrir. Instead, he just pat her head as he looked around the area for any passersby in need of assistance. More specifically, he was looking for young boys around her age, someone he could accept as a protege while training them both to become a lot stronger than they currently were.Noticing a downtrodden youth hobbling along the periphery of the crowd with his head lowered, tightly clinging to a few tattered books, Vahn manifested to the Law of Identity to inquire about his background. Unfortunately, it seemed that he already belonged to a Community. The reason for his limp was also relatively innocent, so, other than sending a thread of healing energy into the young man's body, surprising him quite a bit, Vahn left the youth to his own devices."Hmmm..."Just as he was thinking about asking some of the locals for information, a familiar tingling spread through Vahn's mind as a young girl with auburn hair emerged from an alleyway, expression pale and tears building in the corners of her eyes she implored people to make way. This caused Vahn's expression to morph into a flawless deadpan, as, moments later, a group of bandit-like individuals burst from the same alleyway, the most muscular among them shouting, "Get back here, you brat! You're the one who agreed to participate in a Gift Game! You can't just run away because you don't like the conditions...!"Despite the soles of her feet bleeding rather profusely, the little girl continued running barefoot as the trio gradually caught up to her. As for the pedestrians in the surroundings, most simply got out of the way. After all, while the Little Garden was known to house countless Heroes, most had their Gifts stolen shortly after their arrival or quickly advanced to become members of four or five-digit Communities. The who settled in the Seven-Digit Gates were among the dregs of society within the Divine Realm, so, more often than not, they did their best to stay out of other people's business.Just as the skinniest man among the three, an individual with a mouse-like face, was about to catch up to the girl from behind, an invisible wall seemed to impede his progress. From the perspective of others, it was like he had tried to break through the barrier protecting a Gate using his face, and, as a result, blood began to pool from his nostrils as he slid, unconscious, to the ground.Borrowing a one-liner from an anime that his son, Naruto, had taken an interest in, Vahn combed his fingers through his hair, magically changing the direction in which it flowed as he mused, "Good grief..." in a defeated tone.......(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Nun don't play','Vahn about to become a VIP member at every kemonomimi Cafe xD...','Yare yare daze...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 2047: Enter the Infinite