Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Since it had been a long time since he had spoiled her, Vahn used Fenrir’s brush and combed through all of her fur while she behaved far more docilely than he expected. Though she didn’t seem to have changed that much, it was obvious she had actually mellowed out a fair amount. The fact that she had been able to cope with her hunger towards the end of her training showed her self-control had greatly increased. She just sat still with a pleasant expression on her face as she enjoyed being pampered, casually holding up her paws when Vahn was brushing the fur around her forearms. When he moved onto her legs, she laid down in the bed and held up her legs, one at a time, doing much the same.

When he was brushing through the fur around her legs, Vahn decided to ask about something that had been on his mind for a while. He already had some expectation, but Vahn still asked, "Fenrir, where did you get these clothes from?" Before he exited the orb the last time, Vahn left a few dresses behind for Fenrir but none of them matched her current outfit at all. She was wearing a similar gothic outfit to Eva except, instead of looking like a doll’s clothing, it was more styled to match a maid outfit. Fenrir lazily opened her eyes before sitting up with a start and shouting, "Ah, Fenrir learned from Eva how to make clothes with magic power~!"

Though she had been lazing about while he was pampering her, Fenrir suddenly got very excited when she was talking about magic. Standing up on the bed, Fenrir stepped back and spun around playfully as her black maid outfit turned into a white sundress that had blue ribbons at the sides. Vahn opened his eyes wider at this, smiling from ear to ear as he said, "Fenrir is amazing...I’m glad you were able to learn that kind of magic." Fenrir nodded her head, happy to receive praise but still held up one of her claws, similar to how Tina used to lecture him in the past, saying, "Yes, but Master still needs to make Fenrir clothes! The stuff Master makes is way better since these clothes are very fragile..." As if to demonstrate, Fenrir pulled at her dress and it ’ripped’ apart like paper machete before turning into blue particles of mana.

Fortunately, Fenrir had been wearing a pure white bra under her dress, even though she didn’t really have much to conceal. Vahn also noticed she was still wearing her [Aegis Shorts Mk 1], even though they seemed to be a bit worn down at this point. He would have to perform a bit of maintenance on them, even though it was obvious at a glance that someone had actually repaired them previously. As if to answer his question, Fenrir followed his eyes and said, "Eva and Terra had been practicing many things, including sewing...?" Fenrir seemed to become confused at her own words before saying, "Master should ask Terra and Eva later...Fenrir can’t remember what they were working on. Fenrir tried helping a long time ago, but..." Fenrir held up both of her paws, displaying her somewhat small ’fingers’ and the unstoppably sharp claws on the ends.

Vahn smiled at Fenrir’s adorable display before patting his lap, causing Fenrir to immediately disappear before popping back up in his lap in a smooth motion. For a brief moment, Vahn’s instincts had triggered but he didn’t move and simply began brushing Fenrir’s hair as he asked, "I see you learned how to use [Shundo]. You should let me take a look at your Status Board later to see how far you’ve grown..." Fenrir nodded her head slightly before saying, "Okay, Master, but I’m not sure the skills and magic will show up properly. Eva said the ’magic system’ of the gods is flawed and conflicts with the development of individual magic power..." Fenrir trailed off at the end of her words, temporarily forgetting her ’act’ because she had been too accustomed to talking with Eva and Terra.

Though he was a little surprised by Fenrir’s words, Vahn misconstrued it as her having worked hard to memorize things from her training. It was very obvious that Fenrir had become much stronger and, unless she had taken her training seriously and listened to Eva, her increase wouldn’t have been so drastic. Even after replenishing his own reserves twice, Vahn hadn’t been able to completely replenish Fenrir’s internal energy, which was a little terrifying to consider. The flow of mana in her body didn’t seem to have changed at a glance but, when inspecting it with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see that it had greatly increased in density. It wasn’t as drastic as someone like Eva, but Fenrir’s mana seemed to have a ’depth’ to it and, though it was still source energy, there was now an icy blue hue to it.

For around half an hour, Vahn just spent time grooming Fenrir and talking about her training, curious about what kinds of things she had learned. Fenrir surprised him a bit by explaining that the majority of their ’training’ was actually just studying and meditating, only fighting when they were putting the things they learned to the test. Afterward, Vahn was very curious so he had Fenrir expose her back so he could check her Status Board, updating it at the same time. He expected she had become much stronger, even without having been able to kill any monsters. Just as Fafnir had increased several levels in the past, Vahn expected that Fenrir would have gotten much stronger after spending four years inside the orb...

[[STATUS]]

Name: [Fenrir]

Level:4(+)

POW: 2154+(I0)->D549

END: 2114+(I0)->A803

DEX: 2808+(I0)->SSS1712

AGI: 2865+(I0)->SSS1247

MAG: 1107+(I0)->SSS2984

Skills: [Insatiable Hunger:Innate(-)], [Lunar Cry:A->S], [Freezing Roar:A->S], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS], [Huntress:SS], [Endeavor:B->S], [Severing Claws:B->S], [Chant Shortening:H](new), [Activation Key:D](new)

Magic: [Cantus Bellax:A](new) [Shundo:A](new), [Koku Shundo:B](new), [Facies Pallium:G](new), [Sagitta Magica:C](new), [Crystallitatio Tell.u.s.tris:B](new), [Reflexio:C](new), [Hroovitnir:D](new),

Development Abilities: [Chain Attack:C->A], [Mimickry:I->B], [Mage:A](new), [Spirit Healing:B], [Fist Fighter:(sealed)], [Acrobatics:(sealed)]

[Chant Shortening](A/N: This is the advanced version of Concurrent Chanting. RIP Riveria and Ryuu.)

Rank: H

Use: Allows the user to create magical phenomenon even without completing a chant. Mana loss dependant on the length of the chant skipped.

[Activation Key]

Rank: D

Use: Enhances the power of Magic by using a ritualized magic chant.

Active Trigger: Master, give me strength!

[Cantus Bellax]

Rank: A

Use: Chantless magic that enhances all physical parameters, senses, and reflexes based on the amount of mana consumed. Provides an anti-physical shield based on elemental affinity.

Chant: (-)

[Koku Shundo]

Rank: B

Use: Advanced version of Shundo that uses the void to create a foothold for further movement.

[Facies Pallium]

Rank: G

Use: Chantless magic that allows the user to generate clothing from mana.

Chant: (-)

[Sagitta Magica]

Rank: C

Use: Creates elemental magic arrows that can home in on targets.

Chant: Gather, (-) spirits of (-), (-) my enemy. Magic Arrows, Series of (-).

[Crystallitatio Tell.u.s.tris]

Rank: B

Use: Converts moisture in the atmosphere into jagged pillars of ice, freezing opponents caught in the area of effect.

Chant: Come spirits of ice! Tundra and Glacier, Spread Forth into the Air, in the Realm of White Night! Frozen Earth!

[Reflexio]

Rank: B

Use: Creates a shield of ice that can potentially reflect magic.

Chant: Reflexio~!

[Hroovitnir]

Rank: D

Use: Converge water and ice elements onto a target, dealing explosive damage and freezing the area. Casting this spell causes all parameters to decrease for a short period of time.

Chant: Come to me, spirits, heed Fenrir’s call! Drown, Freeze, I don’t care! Go go go~!

Vahn was awed by the change in Fenrir’s status because he knew that, though her Magic parameter had actually ’exploded’, it didn’t actually reflect her magic power completely. The fact she was able to increase her parameters so much, even without having any monsters to fight, was the result of her being a monster that had been named by the Akashic Tome. It was almost pointless to even look at her parameters now because, even though her Power and Endurance seemed to have fallen off a bit, Vahn knew Fenrir could now enhance her body with mana directly. She would probably even be able to defeat Ais at this point, assuming the latter didn’t use her [Avenger] and [Ariel] in an attempt to genuinely try and kill Fenrir...

Fenrir’s tail was tapping against the bed, seemingly unfazed even though she was actually giddy inside because she could sense how impressed her Master was. She had an urge to brag but bottled it up inside her heart, happy that her Master was happy and not really caring about anything else. When she heard him take a deep breath and say, "Fenrir, you’re incredible...", Fenrir had to flex her claws just to cope with the excitement in her body. Her Master’s praise was the thing she loved the most in the entire world, other than his pampering, petting, smell, presence, and other miscellaneous things. Unable to bottle up everything, Fenrir laughed in a cheeky manner and said, "Fenrir worked hard~."

After spending a bit more time with Fenrir, Vahn let her ride on his shoulders as they went to look for Eva and Terra. Vahn was now very interested in Terra’s growth, unable to even comprehend how strong she might become if she truly stayed within the orb for nearly five-hundred years. Because they were ’reborn’ through his Innate, Terra, Fenrir, and Fafnir all had nearly limitless potential, even without the blessing of a Falna. Fenrir could become stronger by consuming things whereas Terra’s and Fafnir’s strength was dependent, primarily, on their age and internal energy. Fafnir had reached Level 5 after staying in the orb for a relatively short period of time, simply ’aging’ to reach such a degree of power. Now, Fenrir had also reached Level 5, so Vahn was curious to what extent Terra would reach after her training was completed...

It didn’t take long for Vahn to track down Eva and Terra since he was able to sense the mana in the atmosphere converging towards one point of the forest, approximately where his workshop had been located. When he reached the area, Vahn saw a very aesthetically pleasing arrangement of plants and also noticed that his workshop had been entirely reconstructed out of natural materials. Terra and Eva were currently sitting at a circular wooden table, seemingly focused on playing a game of chess, even though Vahn knew they both detected his arrival long before he reached the clearing. With a smile on his face, Vahn made his way over while Fenrir did a ’roll’ off of his shoulders before landing on her feet, simultaneously changing into a cute black dress.

Neither Terra nor Eva turned to look at Vahn and Fenrir, continuing their game as Eva moved her bishop to take one of Terra’s pawns. Terra furrowed her brows and looked around at the board before releasing a sigh, saying, "I wish you wouldn’t try to show off at my expense, Eva..." Eva showed a very slight blush before turning to Vahn and asking, "Why does it always feel like I’m waiting for you...?" In response to this, Terra began laughing as she also turned her eyes toward Vahn, showing a very soft and strangely reminiscent look as she said, "Master..." in a gentle tone. She and Eva had been passing the time by playing chess, something she had only been able to win around 15% of the time, generally when Eva went easy on her...

Vahn pulled two chairs out of his Inventory but Eva hopped up out of her own and said, "Sit." while looking directly at him with a ’pouting’ expression on her face. Scratching his cheek, Vahn sat down as instructed so that Eva could hop up into his lap. He was very used to his ’seat’ being taken by the more petite girls so he wasn’t really that bothered by the fact, especially since Eva was incredibly light and very soft. Terra, however, let her wings droop a bit before she leaned forward on the table, emphasizing her cleavage as she said, "Master, please help me groom my wings later...I’ve also been working quite hard these last few years..." As she spoke, a very flowery aroma emerged from Terra that smelled like an entire field of flowers blooming simultaneously.

Eva waved her hand and completely dispersed the aroma as she said, "You two will have plenty of time with Vahn when the orb breaks down in the future. Who knows how long I’ll be sealed away while you get to take as many liberties as you want? If you want to spend time with him, get out of ’my’ orb and save me the pain of having you waste my time!" Though her words were somewhat harsh, Terra didn’t seem offended and just smiled in response with her eyes squinting, as if she found Eva’s words very amusing. Eva furrowed her brows at this and just turned her head to the side in a ’hmph’ as she leaned against Vahn’s chest.

Terra’s tail tapped against the ground while Fenrir sat down in the chair to her right, sending a ’warning’ look towards Terra that made her brows raise slightly. Several thoughts raced through her mind before she recalled Eva’s behavior when she first teleported nearby. With a glimmering light in her sky-blue eyes, Terra smiled and said, "It’s good to see you, Fenrir. I’m happy Master was able to help you get out of bed, ufufufu~." Fenrir tilted her head to the side, allowing both of her large fluffy ears to flop as she said, "Fenrir was waiting for Master, not sleeping...?" Terra had an ’aha’ moment inside her head and she immediately realized the ’play’ that was going on, laughing at how ’earnest’ Fenrir was to continue her role.

Fenrir was a little annoyed with Terra’s behavior but couldn’t do anything about it since fighting against Terra was ’troublesome’ and very frustrating. If it was a fight to the death, Fenrir was confident she could win but, since they were both Master’s important people, Fenrir couldn’t kill Terra. Deciding not to make a scene, Fenrir just turned to her Master and asked, "Master, chew toy?" with an expectant look on her face. Vahn raised his hand in response and produced a link of [Enkidu], which Fenrir happily grabbed and tried to bite through with all her might. Seeing her behavior, Vahn smiled and said, "One day, I’m sure you’ll be able to even eat my [Enkidu], though that may take a while, hahahaha~."

Eva watched Fenrir chewing on the chains that could even put her in a sticky situation, feeling strangely unnerved that such a terrifying object had been reduced to a chew toy. Averting her eyes from the rather peculiar sight, Eva grabbed Vahn’s hands, which were loosely hugging her stomach, and muttered, "You need to start training pretty soon, Vahn. Though I like having the opportunity to spend time with you, the orb was never meant to be active for such long periods of time. As it stands, I can probably only keep this orb active for another two weeks in the real world...thats assuming the stability of the orb isn’t compromised. Fortunately, I’ve been able to teach Terra most of the basics and you can take all the books and magic formulas I created back to the real world if things go awry..."

Vahn trembled a little when he heard Eva’s words, feeling that their parting was going to be much sooner than he expected. However, he was able to rationalize that Eva’s words were the truth since he also couldn’t imagine the space within the orb having been made to last for more than two thousand years. It was originally a consumable item that was meant to be used by Eva’s memory fragment to test people before teaching them Magia Erebea. Vahn had, for lack of a better term, ’perverted’ the intended use of the orb because of the existence of The Path. His blood also helped Eva sustain the space within the orb for a much longer period of time than should have been possible, though not enough to extend it indefinitely. Since the strain on his spirit wouldn’t allow him to stay for more than three days in the orb, Vahn couldn’t help Eva upkeep the space and he expected the two-weeks estimation was based on Terra helping her...

Hugging Eva’s waist firmly, Vahn rested his chin against the top of her head and said, "I’ll do my best to get stronger, Eva...then, one day in the future, we’ll all fight together to teach that bastard not to mess with the lives of others..." Eva’s face bloomed into a smile when she heard Vahn’s words, finding comfort in his embrace while making eye contact with Fenrir and Terra. Originally, she didn’t think Vahn would actually be able to pose a threat to the Mage of the Beginning. Now, after training the two ’monsters’ he had named, Eva believed they would be able to create a miracle and do what should have been ’impossible’. At the very least, Eva trusted that Vahn would be able to save her original self and they would be able to fight against the terrifying foe together...

For the next three hours, Vahn just sat in the clearing that Terra had made as they all enjoyed a long picnic while talking about Terra’s and Fenrir’s training. According to Eva, Fenrir was currently the stronger of the two but Terra had a much greater amount of magic power. As for why Terra was weaker, it was related to her being a pacifist and having elemental affinities that ’suffered’ when matched up against Fenrir’s. Terra was an entity that represented the earth and the culmination of all the positive natural energies, such as wind, water, light, vitality, life, earth, wood, etc. Her primary affinities, at least when using magic, were Earth, Light, and Wood magic, meaning she was incredibly good at defensive spells, support spells, and healing. Since Fenrir’s Ice magic was a powerful counter to natural magics, while also being almost solely focused on offense, they had more draws than anything else.

The biggest difference between them was also how much each girl had learned, with Terra often being the one to mentor Fenrir while Eva was ’sleeping’. Terra was now proficient in seventeen languages, though they all sounded the same when she spoke to Vahn, and had helped transcribe dozens of texts on Eva’s teachings. Since she managed to do most of this from memory, Terra had been able to learn an incredible amount of ’pure magic theory’ from Eva, all so that she would be able to assist Vahn in the future. Because of this, she had awakened a truly shocking number of Skills, Magic, and Development Abilities compared to her past self. However, the most shocking thing was the small number next to the hieroglyphs that displayed her Level...

[[STATUS]]

Name: Terra Evergreen

Race: True Dragon

LV. 4->7(+)

POW: D511

END: A908

DEX: SSS1311

AGI: E445

MAG: SSS3090

Skill: [Avatar of the Earth:B], [Guardian of Nature:C], [Healing Sap:C->B], [Aroma Therapy:B->S], [Chant Shortening:C](new), [Activation Key:A](new), [True Dragon’s Roar:C](new)

Magic: [Cantus Bellax:B](new), [Reflexio:S](new), [Evocatio:A], [Shundo:D](new), [Koku Shundo:H](new), [Void Transference:B](new), [Sagitta Magica:S](new), [Pnoē Petrās:S](new), [Kakon Omma Petrōseōs:C](new), [Circulus Pilorum Nigrorum:F](new), [Ho Monolithos Kiōn Tou Haidou:H](new)

Development Skill: [Pacifism:C->B], [Arch Mage:H](new), [Spirit Healing:A](new), [Summoner:D](new)

[Chant Shortening]

Rank: C

Use: Allows the user to create magical phenomenon even without completing a chant. Mana loss dependant on the length of the chant skipped.

[Activation Key]

Rank: A

Use: Enhances the power of Magic by using a ritualized magic chant.

Active Trigger: Ara, Ara, Ara~?

[True Dragon’s Roar]

Rank: C

Use: Release a thundering roar that can stun weaker enemies. Active Trigger

[Evocatio]

Rank: A

Use: Summon Spirits to aid the caster in battle. Parameters of the Spirits are dependant on the amount of mana infused into the spell.

Chant: I summon the Spirits of (-).

[Void Transference]

Rank: B

Use: Chantless magic that creates an anchor between two points and transfers between them without requiring movement. Distance and weight affect the mana cost greatly.

Chant: (-)

[Pnoē Petrās]

Rank: S

Use: Magic that creates an explosive cloud that petrifies anything that comes into contact with it.

Chant: Basilisk, Lizard with Eight Legs and Evil Eyes! Breathe out the time-stealing poison! Breath of Stone!

[Kakon Omma Petrōseōs]

Rank: C

Use: Magic that creates a penetrative beam of light that can petrify anything that comes into contact with it.

Chant: Basilisk, Lizard with Eight Legs and Evil Eyes! Light Placed into My Hand, Shoot Forth the Evil Look! Evil Eye of Petrification!

[Circulus Pilorum Nigrorum]

Rank: E

Use: Summons a swarm of petrification stakes and launches them outwards.

Chant: Ring of Black Stakes Piercing All Creation, Impale Those That Tread Upon the Earth!

[Ho Monolithos Kiōn Tou Haidou]

Rank: H

Use: Summons stone pillars and rains them down on a targetted location.

Chant: Oh, Temple of the sleeping dead beneath the earth, Appear from below us! Pillars of Hades!

[Arch Mage]

Rank: H

Use: Greatly improves the power, effect, and range of all magic. Forms magic circles beneath the caster that can protect from magic.

[Summoner]

Rank: D

Use: Allows the user to commune with the spirits and enhances the efficacy of summoning magic.

(A/N: Vahn was never able to see Terra’s parameters change, so he has no idea what her ’hidden board’ looks like at all. This means he can’t see her parameter total at all (UwU)~! Also, though some interesting things happened in this chapter, know that I hate it a great deal <3. Infodump chapters are always very painful and this one took me over five hours to complete, more than twice the length of a normal chapter of similar word count.)

(A/N: I wrote the first Author’s Note when I hit the 5th playlist so this second one came much later. I just got a phone call from my dad telling me that my mother has passed away. I will try to get out some chapters later, but I need to clear my head for a bit. Don’t worry, I’m not dropping the novel at all and you should still expect at least one chapter a day...really, I’m not even sure what to think right now. Sorry...)

(A/N: No alternate titles, I don’t really remember what is in the chapter this time around.)