Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Seeing the notification, Vahn was somewhat excited. Unlike the kobold, which was too weak to make use of, a Wyvern was much stronger than most monsters on the same floor. It was almost like a mini-boss of sorts and was often found on its own within a territory it had established. Vahn never expected such a creature to submit, especially given its nature as a ferocious and somewhat prideful creature.

As he had never subordinated anything other than the ’eternal flame’, Vahn was very curious what benefits it may provide. Without any further hesitation, he decided to accept within his mind as a series of notifications sounded in his head.

//(Nameless) has become your subordinate. ’Unit Management’ function unlocked.//

[Current Units] [Active: 2][Dormant: 1]

[Active Units]: (Eternal Flame),(Nameless)

[Dormant Units]:(Nameless)

After seeing the notifications, Vahn was surprised to see that he had a total of three units. As far as he was aware, the only things he had subordinated were the Wyvern and the Eternal Flame. The fact that there were two (Nameless) within the system confused Vahn, so he decided to expand their information.

(Nameless)

Age: 4 days

Race: Wyvern (Juvenile Stage: 4m)

Level: 2

Loyalty:72

Soul Strength: Tier 0 (Mana Construct)

Karma: -

State: [Active]

(Nameless)

Age: 2 months 2 weeks 3 days

Race: Kobold

Level: 1

Loyalty:84

Soul Strength: Tier 0 (Mana Construct)

Karma: -

State: [Dormant]

(A/N: I also added this since people would probably ask. Note that I don’t know how old the gods actually are, just that it is supposed to be several millions years.)

(Eternal Flame)

Age: Ancient

Race: Spirit of Divinity

Level: -

Loyalty:100

Soul Strength: Tier 4 (Divine)

Karma: -

State: [Active]

Vahn was even more confused after he read the descriptions of each of his subordinates. According to the system, he had subordinated the Kobold he had met when he was first experimenting with his [Will of the Emperor]. From what Vahn could remember, it had died, so he wasn’t certain why it was being displayed. A thought passed through his mind, and he searched his inventory for an item he had long since had concerns for.

Within his hand, Vahn now held the magic core he had obtained from the kobold. Unlike a normal core, which just showed a grade and what it came from, the one in Vahn’s hand now matched the display within his system under units. Vahn wondered what it meant for it to be dormant, but as he pondered the question, the core in his hand began to glow slightly. Curious, Vahn tried channeling his energy into the core and it began to heat up rapidly in his hand.

The core slowly expanded with a strange rainbow miasma forming around it until it had assumed the shape of a kneeling Kobold. Within his map, Vahn saw three indicators for everyone in the area, including himself and two (Nameless) icons. Staring back and forth between the two, Vahn was beginning to get excited. If his assumption was correct...

Vahn held out his hand towards the Wyvern that was staring at him and willed it to become [Dormant]. The moment the command was issued in his mind, the Wyvern collapsed to the ground and dispersed into dust with a blackish-rainbow hue. In its place was a medium sized magic core which, when Vahn picked it up, was identified as (Nameless)[Dormant].

Unable to contain his excitement, Vahn started laughing while holding the crystal in his hand. The kobold stared at him with a patient expression as if it was waiting for his orders. Had Vahn known at the time, that the kobold had willingly subordinated itself to alleviate his concerns of dragging it around, he would have accepted it long ago. He actually felt a little bad, but still believed the kobold was currently too weak to be of use. After patting its dog-like head for a few seconds, Vahn returned it to its [Dormant] state and re-activated the Wyvern.

After the Wyvern was formed, Vahn felt slightly light-headed at the loss of mental energy. He reasoned that, while it was easy to put something into a dormant state, it consumed a lot of energy to reform their bodies. He didn’t realize anything with the small kobold, but for a massive creature like the Wyvern, it was a very noticeable amount.

Vahn sat on the floor to recover his energy while looking into the clear eyes of the Wyvern. Unlike the fierce eyes of normal monsters, the Wyvern now had a gentle blue color in its eyes and seemed very calm. It was actually kind of strange seeing a monster so close that is just standing patiently while looking at him. While he was recovering, Vahn decided to try and order the Wyvern to see if it would obey his commands.

Issuing a command in his mind, Vahn watched as the Wyvern seemed to contemplate his ’order’ before it started spinning around in a circle. Seeing its ’silly’ act, Vahn couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He had ordered it to chase its tail like a dog, and after sending a mental image, it immediately began trying to perform the act. Watching a 4m long pink dragon spin around in circles was incredibly entertaining, especially since it was such a huge contrast to the usual behavior.

As Vahn was considering the extent of how obedient the Wyvern was, a hesitant look appeared on his face as he sent his new ’order’. Once again, the Wyvern seemed to pause in contemplation as it tried to understand the order. Moments later, it opened its mouth and fiercely bit into its own forearm. It began to tug away at the flesh as Vahn panicked and ordered it to stop.

Vahn noticed that the loyalty of the Wyvern had gone down somewhat, and he felt a pang of guilt in his chest. It seems that, as long as the value is high enough, his subordinates would perform his every command, even if it brought harm to themselves.

While it stood there bleeding, Vahn suddenly realized something. Unlike other monsters he had seen in the dungeon, the Wyvern didn’t seem to be regenerating. After asking Sis the reason, she speculated that they were now isolated entities from the dungeon. Without being able to access the energy, they wouldn’t be able to regenerate anymore.

Hearing her explanation, Vahn felt even more guilty as he began healing the wound of the Wyvern. In the process, Vahn noticed that its loyalty had improved somewhat, but not to the same value it had been previously. When he had it self-mutilate, its loyalty had dropped from 72 down to 60, but it had now risen back to 63. Vahn understood that the way he treated them was important, and since they were willing to follow him, he decided to take care of them.

Vahn thought for a while before asking, ("Sis, do they need to eat or anything? I know monsters eat adventurers and the crystals at the pantry, but what about these two? I’ve had the kobold for months, so I guess they are fine in crystal form...")

(*You should be able to provide them energy just like the dungeon. As long as they are within your domain, you should be able to channel energy directly to them, or, you can also just imbue energy into their cores when you re-form their bodies. As long as they aren’t killed, you can reform their body as many times as you want.*)

Vahn nodded in understanding. It made sense that, if he was the one that separated them from the dungeon, he would now be the one to provide them with energy. After realizing that, Vahn had a new thought present itself. Even though they were magic constructs, they were still considered living creatures according to standard principles. They ate, digested food, even excreted, just like normal animals. Vahn figured he could use his skill [Prometheus] and increase the strength of the Wyvern, but first, he needed to confirm something.

As he had rested for a few minutes, Vahn had completely recovered his energy. Rising to his feet, he had the Wyvern follow him until he came across a room with enemies. There was a group of five Minotaurs, and the moment Vahn entered the room with his Wyvern they immediately attacked. Vahn was surprised at first because he still had stealth active and didn’t expect them to react so quickly.

(*[Stealth], even when you apply it to your domain, is always focused on you as the user. It won’t influence other creatures or those that enter your domain. Otherwise, everything would also be under the properties of ’stealth’, including passersby.*)

Hearing Sis’s words, Vahn lamented that he wouldn’t be able to move around sneakily in the dungeon as long as he had the Wyvern at his side. While he was thinking, his Wyvern had already started to take action. Along with the command to follow him, Vahn had given it the order to attack any monsters that appeared.

Even though the Wyvern was not fully grown, it was still far more powerful than the Minotaurs. The moment they got in range, the Wyvern began using its breath attack to burn their flesh. Though they were somewhat resistant to the fire, it slowed their movements by a great deal. Once they managed to get within range, the Wyvern ceased its breath attack and then smashed the closest Minotaur with its tail. The moment the Minotaur turned to dust, Vahn smiled, as a notification had appeared in his mind.

//(Nameless) Has killed Minotaur: Level 2, Gained 9OP//

Vahn was super excited because, not only did he gain OP when the Wyvern killed the Minotaur, he was also able to determine he had received exilia from the kill as his magic stat had increased by 1 point. He now understood why his [Will of the Emperor] also included ’followers’ when mentioning his growth. It seemed that he could also increase his stats by having his subordinates fight for him.

The best part of the current situation though was the fact Vahn could still exchange the magic cores of the Minotaur and earn the original amount. This meant that, if he increased the strength of the Wyvern even further, it would be able to increase his total earnings by a fair amount.

In his jubilation, Vahn joined the fight alongside the Wyvern and injured the remaining Minotaurs. Once they were disabled, he let the Wyvern finish them off and noticed the amount of OP he gained was slightly reduced when it killed the severely injured ones. He was able to infer that, the amount of bonus OP depending on how much effort the Wyvern had to expend for the fight.

After trading in the four cores, Vahn smiled towards his new companion and decided to give it a name. Since it had pink scales and blue eyes, Vahn wanted to name it ’Blinky’, but Sis released an exasperated sigh when he had the thought. With a mild flush on his face, Vahn coughed slightly and asked. ("It’s not that bad, is it? I think it cute...")

Another sigh could be heard in Vahn’s mind as Sis said, (*Its a Wyvern Vahn, not a pet. If people hear you named it Blinky they will laugh at you and look down on it.*) Hearing the words, Vahn was very concerned. Though he didn’t particularly care about how other people saw him, he didn’t want people to look down on his companions. After a few minutes of deliberation, Vahn decided he was bad at naming things, so he asked Sis to do it for him.

Sis didn’t respond directly, but a list of names began to pass through Vahn’s mind. They were all very powerful names, and Vahn could recognize a few from the books he had read since arriving in this world. Vahn saw a name that was attached to one of the most powerful ’dragons’ in this world, and seeing it was also a winged creature like his Wyvern, decided it wasn’t a bad fit. They both breathed fire and had reddish scales as well.

Vahn looked towards the Wyvern and placed his palm on it, much like he had done in his dream when he named Báihǔ. Looking into its azure blue eyes, Vahn spoke the name, "Fafnir." The moment the word left his lips, Vahn could feel energy drain from his body as the system gave a notice that the name had changed. The Wyvern, Fafnir, seemed to be very pleased with its new name as it roared powerfully toward the ceiling. Its body began to increase in size as a brilliant rainbow radiance covered its surface.

Curious about the sudden loss of energy, Vahn inspected the display and noticed there had been a huge change that he hadn’t expected.

(Fafnir)

Age: 4 days

Race: Dragon (Nascent: 6m)

Level: 3

Loyalty:90

Soul Strength: Tier 1 (Named Familiar)

Karma: -

State: [Active]

After naming the Wyvern, its race had changed to ’Dragon’ and its level had increased from 2 to 3. While Vahn continued watching the evolution progress, he noticed that the changes hadn’t just been in Fafnir. Though he had overlooked it due to the drastic change happening before him, within the skill section of Vahn’s status, he saw a new addition. As he read the description, Vahn’s mind began to become numb with shock before excitement began to boil within his stomach.

[Keeper of the Akashic Tome]

Rank: [Innate: B] *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a backlash.*

[Passive]: Allows the user to understand the origin of all things. Limited by the knowledge of the user. Promotes the development of mental energies.

[Active]: Allows the user to confer a name to an unnamed entity. The record of the name within the Akashic Tome alters the fate of the recipient. No second entity can share the same name, and the backlash of attempting would result in the death of the former. Cooldown(Determined by the Power of the Name): 59D23H58M

[Current Names]

[Fafnir] A powerful black dragon who possesses incredible wisdom and an immunity to magical attacks. Incredibly weakened against those who possess ’heroic’ spirits and righteous hearts. Those that bear this name are tied to a tragic fate unless they abstain from the path of evil.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’But what about the Flame Seed!?’, ’Name: Fafnir’, ’The third [Innate] appears’, ’I want to be the very best’)