Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1748

Though it was not uncommon to find multiple people with the [Child of Destiny] Innate, Vahn was a little surprised to learn that nearly every member of Team Wolf Pack had it. The only two who were exempt, at least among the people who had accepted his Blessing, were Chunhwa and Nare. As for the rest, even Ship Leesoo, better known as Shibisu, was in possession of the coveted Innate, albeit only with a Grade of C.

Unsurprisingly, Baam's [Child of Destiny: SSS] was the highest-graded within the group. His Shinsu Tension was also double that of anyone else present, rivaling Vahn's at a ratio of 100:1. Even Anak and Endorsi, both possessing the Innate [Jahad's Blood Curse], had a Tension of 50:1 while people like Khun and Laure, descendants of the Ten Great Families, possessed a ratio of 30:1.

While the name [Jahad's Blood Curse] was obviously a red flag, there wasn't much Vahn could do about it in the present moment, so, until it became a bigger issue, he would discuss the matter with the two Princesses using Phae as a proxy. The far more concerning revelations were, unsurprisingly, related to Baam.

Not only was Baam a monstrous 9,983-years-old, but his Race also purported him to be equal parts Human and 'Primordial Sin'. The Primordial Sins, better known as the Seven Sins, were an extremely common concept within various Records. These included Pride, Wrath, Greed, Lust, Sloth, Envy, and, of course, Gluttony. Baam seemed to be directly related to or was the Primordial Sin of Gluttony, as, not only did it reflect in his Race, it appeared within his Innates, quite literally, as the [Primordial Sin of Gluttony: (sealed)].

Though it was currently sealed, Baam obviously benefitted from possessing the [Primordial Sin of Gluttony] Innate, as, within his Skill category, he had the Skills [Adaptive Body: S], and [Absorption: B]. The former allowed him to consume and adopt the traits of anything he had directly absorbed into his body, seemingly without limit. This included everything from different forms of Shinsu to even 'techniques', the latter of which Gandr had experienced personally.

Prior to the revelation of Baam's unique origin, Vahn, Phae, and Gandr had merely assumed the boy was extremely talented. Instead, it seemed like he had the ability to, quite literally, absorb the talent of others, including their experience and techniques, by simply receiving their attacks. So long as he was directly affected by the ability, his body would 'instantly' memorize it, allowing him to make use of virtually any attack he had ever been hit with.

The only limitation of Baam's current ability was that his [Absorption] was only Grade-B, at least for the time being. This meant he couldn't absorb 'everything', his specific limitations revolving around skills and abilities that were derived from an inordinate amount of mastery or powered by types of energy not traditionally found within the Tower. In essence, though he could adapt martial skills, he could only 'master' them up to the grade of his [Absorption]. As for skills derived from other energy systems, he could probably manage with weaker forms of energy, but, as was often the case, he had no way of adapting skills derived from Source.

Fortunately, even if Baam was incompatible with sword techniques or magic, his ability to master all forms of martial arts just by experiencing them would be extremely beneficial. He could also master virtually any Shinsu technique that was used against him, irrespective of element, so, while he might not be a conventional prodigy, it wasn't an exaggeration to say Baam had monstrous potential. The only thing he needed was time and careful guidance, two things he would find plenty of within the Tower and under Vahn's tutelage...

Though Baam's status was the most interesting among the newest members of Vahn's Familia, that didn't mean there weren't other surprises in store. These included Endorsi's [Child of Destiny] being SS-Rank, heavily implying she was a Heroine, Anak's actual name being Anak Permata, and, though it wasn't really that relevant, the fact that Khun was only 17 came as quite a surprise. This made him the youngest person within the group, as, despite their appearances, Anak was 338 while Nare was 33.

Even more surprising was the fact that Endorsi seemed to have some relation to the Primordial Sin of Lust, even if it was only a distant relation. Her Innates were [Child of Destiny:SS], [Jahad's Blood Curse: (-)], [Starved Princess: A], and [Champion of Lust: (sealed)]. This heavily implied that she was originally intended to be one of Baam's love interests, and, to a lesser extent, it also explained why she was such a vain woman.

Fortunately, at least for the time being, Endorsi's [Champion of Lust] was still sealed. Had it already been awakened, there was no way of knowing what kind of personality she would have possessed, but, consider Baam was an exceptionally pure boy, despite being the Primordial Sin of Gluttony, it was safe to assume that the Seven Deadly Sins were a little different in this Record. Still, that didn't mean Vahn, or, more specifically, Gandr, could drop their guard around the woman.

Prior to her encounter with Yuri, it was pretty obvious that Endorsi only saw Gandr in the same vein as a younger brother. Now, the seeds for something 'more' had been planted, so, with less than 20 months before the inevitable reunion with Yuri, Endorsi would undoubtedly feel a little pressured to act. Gandr would either need to distance himself from the woman in some way or, better yet, invite her to participate in Baam's training. As for Anak...well, even after her encounter with Yuri, she didn't seem to change much at all.

If there were any women Vahn and Gandr needed to worry about, they would be Hwa Ryun and Ha Yuri Jahad. The former's Belief was steadily growing, and, though she was unlikely to take proactive measures, Vahn knew how scary 'devout' women could be. As for Yuri, she seemed to have a rather 'dangerous' preference, and, most troublingly, a decisive mentality. She was similar to Aoko in that regarding; the type of woman who, once she had made up her mind, would continue to pursue her objective without second-guessing herself.

Though all ten of the Great Families were bound to be a problem, the Ha Family, in particular, was like a minefield from Vahn's perspective. They were basically Amazons, and, though they were able to produce male offspring, the matriarchal household was overflowing with powerful, resolute, and beautiful warrior women. Yuri was bound to inform her Great Grandmother, known to be one of the top three beauties in the entire Tower, of her findings on the 2nd Floor. From that moment onward, it was only a matter of time before members of the Ha Family came seeking Team Wolf Pack, eager to find a mate or simply enjoy a good fight.

To make matters even worse, the youthful-looking woman traveling with Yuri was clearly a member of the Eurasia Family, another of the Ten Great Families. Her childish appearance, combined with her pink hair and eyes, characteristics commonly associated with Eurasia Family Descendents, were both dead giveaways that this was the case. As for why this was a problem, well, for reasons neither Vahn nor Da Vinci had been able to fully comprehend, women with perpetually youthful appearances and quirky natures seemed to be intrinsically drawn to him.

Vahn had thought that his older appearance might serve as a deterrent, and, while this was indeed the case in most situations, it seemed to work against him in others. He didn't even know the name of the woman who had accompanied Yuri, yet, with what could only be described as an impish grin on her face, she fearlessly passed over her contact information. This would allow him to contact her using his Pocket, and, so long as he wasn't inside the Inner Tower, which limited communications to other residents of the Inner Tower, they would be able to communicate between Floors.

Since it could be useful to have a High Ranker's contact information, especially one belonging to one of the most powerful organizations in the entire Tower, Vahn had little choice but to add the impish woman's contact information to his Pocket. There was a good chance she had been asked by Yuri to exchange contact information, so, even if accepting raised a number of dangerous flags, there were more benefits to be had than losses to be suffered. After all, even if the Eurasia and Ha Families became 'very' insistent in the future, they had no hope of 'forcing' him against his will.

With a Realm filled with innumerable beauties, many of which made the women in the Tower look rather plain, Vahn wasn't in a hurry to expand his harem. Rather, if he could reach Tier 7 without any additions at all, he wouldn't be particularly disappointed. His nature made this nigh-impossible, but, at the very least, he could limit the number of additions by proactively avoiding situations where his more troublesome habits came into play. Fortunately, in the very near future, he would have quite a bit of protection against such circumstances...

Following the application of everyone's Familia Crests, Vahn had Phae explain both the Quest Board and the Skill Tree while everyone sat around engorging themselves upon the food he had proffered forth from his Inventory. The combination of delicious food, high-quality alcohol, and the sense of unity everyone had from belonging to the same Familia caused the atmosphere to quickly become festive and lively. This was aided by the fact there were actual Quests related to things like drinking competitions, arm wrestling, and various forms of gambling. As a result, it quickly became clear that the Quests functioned as promised, allowing some to learn new skills on the spot while others were able to obtain items, seemingly out of thin air.

Needless to say, things became 'very' competitive once everyone realized they could literally grow stronger while playing games and simply having fun. Unfortunately, much to Khun's chagrin, it was impossible to 'cheat' the system by deciding who would win beforehand. Though it was possible to fool people, manipulating the outcome through subterfuge and strategy, you couldn't openly cheat the system by picking and choosing the victors. The rewards were also dependent on the individual difficulty of the Quest, so, if victory was almost assured, the Quest might only be E or F-Rank. If you had absolutely no chance at victory, the Quest could be as high as S-Rank.

Using the [Arm Wrestling Tournament] as an example, it was graded as an F-Rank Quest for Gandr. For Endorsi and Anak, it was C-Rank, and, as could be expected, it ramped up to S-Rank for people like Shibisu, Nare, and even Chunhwa. Their reward potential was also exponentially greater, but, as could be expected, it was impossible for them to win without Gandr, Anak, or Endorsi throwing their matches. The moment they gave up or went easy on someone, the Quest would either retroactively downgrade its difficulty level, or, in most cases, simply become invalid.

Fortunately, there were more than enough Quests to give everyone a chance at receiving suitable rewards for their effort. There were even Quests related to playing board and card games, the latter being far more popular due to the presence of alcohol and the relative simplicity of most forms of gambling. After all, the easier the rules were to learn, the easier they were to exploit by those who had mastered them.

Perhaps as a result of her [Greedy Nymph] Innate, Nare ended up being inordinately skilled when it came to card and dice games. She even seemed to get a substantial boost to her luck whenever the game involved the exchange of points. As a result, she ended up securing quite a number of points for herself, and, though the rewards for F-Rank Quests weren't that great, even tiny drops of rain, in high enough quantities, could fill a lake...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Other people have to train for years. Baam be like, "Hit me! I want you to hit me...!"','Vahn is underestimating his power as a DILF xD...','Imagine asking your enemy what they did to get so strong and they reply by answering, "I played Five-Card Draw and Blackjack every day for a year...!"')