Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-601

After talking to Preasia about potential ways to develop her ’rare’ skill, Vahn gave her a ’sleep journal’ and asked that she record what she learns and begins doc.u.menting her dreams. Since Klyscha, the Goddess that had completed changed his destiny, had a power that stemmed from Dreams, Vahn believed Preasia’s Innate was actually much stronger than normal. He couldn’t really stay with her every night just because he wanted to study it, however, as he was already researching many different things while working on armor and weapon sets for the upcoming Expedition.

Preasia understood this as well but asked, somewhat embarrassingly, if she was ’allowed’ to dream about him if the ability activated again. Since she didn’t want to keep anything from him, as it might be very important information depending on the developments, Preasia simply asked permission outright. As he couldn’t see any reason to restrict her dreams in such a way, Vahn easily gave her permission but asked that she always check with the ’people’ inside her dreams to find out if she accidentally pulled in someone else before doing anything ’intense’. Without his [Will of the Emperor], Vahn felt like he might have lost himself, at least temporarily.

Their discussion had gone on for a bit longer than expected, as matters regarding a person’s Innate typically needed to be addressed early on, so Vahn ended up later than usual for the morning training. He took a short bath in one of the private rooms, confirming that Preasia’s fur was just as soft wet as it was when dry, before sending her back to bed since she was obviously very fatigued. When he showed up for the actual training, Vahn just watched from the side since Tiona was actually having a spar with Ais while Haruhime, Tione, and Lefiya observed. Vahn was impressed by the fact that, even without [Ariel], Ais was able to outpace the battle maniac Tiona until eventually getting the upper hand...

Once the training had come to an end, Vahn ate breakfast with Milan and Tina, taking note that the young cat girl actually stuck to him even more now. Since other girls often sat in his lap, including Hestia, Loki, Tiona, Lili, Fenrir, and even Preasia, Vahn didn’t have much to say when Tina claimed his lap as her spot. To prevent her tail from twitching about, she had tucked it under her but Vahn could see it flickering about between her legs and felt it would have been better if she just acted normally. As for Milan, she didn’t seem to mind it that much and Vahn would later find out that she had a long heart-to-heart discussion with Tina about the future, though that wouldn’t be until much later.

When they went into the Dungeon, Tina’s growth seemed to have been ’ignited’ after the awakening of her [Luck] Development Ability, even though it shouldn’t have anything to do with combat. Vahn felt like she was becoming similar to a shonen protagonist with how her personality had undergone subtle changes, making her a bit excitable and incredibly hard-working. Though she did silly things, Vahn attributed this to the same thing as he had seen in the Manga he read in his previous life, where all the main characters seemed to have inordinately high luck but were often very dense as a result. Tina had previously been a very sensible girl, but now she was sometimes ’silly’ and, even though she was a Cat Person, acted clumsily at times.

This changed entirely when she was in actual combat, however, as she would often have a very serious expression on her resolute little face. She always seemed to be trying to outperform her past self and, even though her parameters hadn’t changed much since their last stint into the Dungeon, she managed to kill a ’wave’ of thirty-four Killer Ants in a row, nearly double her previous eighteen. Afterward, she was all smiles before turning extremely ’docile’ when being treated by Vahn to help her recover. Vahn was a little worried at times since, now that he could see her secret parameter, Infatuation, he was more aware of how her feelings were developing. Currently, though it had started at 192, her Infatuation had increased to 403 and it had only been around 4 days since she obtained it.

Like most secret parameters, Vahn was aware of various thresholds related to the growth and there were usually big changes in how people behaved around 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000, etc. It always went up in incremental factors of five and two, though he wasn’t really sure why this was the case. With Tina approaching one of the first minor thresholds, Vahn was hoping she wouldn’t undergo a drastic change since she was already in both her physical and mental development stages. There were more than two years before she was considered an ’a.d.u.l.t’, so Vahn wanted her to slow down and find other things to focus on since people really only had one chance at childhood, regardless of their physical age such as in Shizune’s case. Regardless, it was good that she was very motivated and was making rapid growth compared to the past so Vahn couldn’t really reprimand her on it and simply gave her advice, hoping she would take it to heart...

[[STATUS]]

Name: Tina Yuel

Race: Cat Person

LV. 1

POW: F335->E411

END: F383->E486

DEX: F324->F378

AGI: F341->E429

MAG: I72->H133

Skill: [Eclipse: Innate(sealed)], [Shield Bash:G], [Counter:I->H]

Magic: -

Development Skill: [Luck:B], [Abnormal Resistance:(sealed)]

Vahn spent a bit of time with the girls after they returned, since Tina was in very high tensions after her explosive growth, before heading off to his workshop and preparing his materials. He already collected numerous scales from Fafnir and was currently filling in the artificial mana circuits while waiting for Tiona, Tione, Lefiya and, though she hadn’t been one of the girls he asked, Ais to show up. They were almost an inseparable group, so Vahn expected she would accompany them just to watch and potentially try to help out, even though she didn’t really have the correct kind of ’focus’ to be a good assistant.

Though she had incredible perception, very high combat awareness, and strong intuition, Ais was a bit airheaded the rest of the time and often struggled to comprehend basic things unless it was explained very carefully to her. Since she was intrinsically curious by nature, Vahn didn’t know how she had developed such a peculiar personality and blamed her upbringing and single-minded pursuit of strength since, much like he had seen in Tina recently, Ais had been one of the ’protagonists’ of the series.

A little later than he expected, nearing 2:40 PM, the girls came into the workshop in high spirits and Vahn turned to them with a smile, saying, "Thanks for coming by...did anything interesting happen in the Dungeon today?" As expected, Tiona, Ais, Lefiya, and Tione all showed up but they were also accompanied by Haruhime and Shirohime. Since Haruhime almost always went into the Dungeon with Ais, it made sense for them to be together so Vahn wasn’t really caught off guard by her presence. Extending his arm so Shirohime could climb up his body, Vahn listened the girls talk about their day while measuring and sizing up Tiona, Tione, and, though she was a little embarrassed about it, Lefiya. Lefiya was the only one that had to remove her clothing for the process, but Tiona and Tione removed all their clothing until they were just wearing their small bottoms and thin tops so she wouldn’t be ’alone’.

Vahn noticed that Lefiya’s body hadn’t changed much at all except for a very small increase in her bust size, which was rare since many Elves had somewhat modest b.r.e.a.s.ts. She was actually on track to have large b.r.e.a.s.ts in the future and Vahn could see her settling around a low C-Cup once she had grown up. Right now, she was only 13 years old and, even though she would be recognized as an a.d.u.l.t in a few months, would continue growing well into her twenties before reaching full maturity. Even Ryuu was still in her growth phase, and she was currently nineteen, so Vahn knew Lefiya still had a lot of potential. As for Tione, Vahn found it strange to consider but it seemed that her b.r.e.a.s.ts had actually stopped growing almost entirely even though she was a very small B-Cup...

Amazons were somewhat unique compared to other races, excluding the fact they were considered ’a.d.u.l.ts’ just by reaching Level 2, irrespective of age. Their physical features often changed depending on their self-perception and the environment they grew up in, which was strange considering some of the information Vahn had read regarding DNA. She and Tiona were actually ’identical’ twins, even though they had actually diverged as a result of their different masters and the training they underwent. Tiona had been trained by Argana, who also had somewhat ’modest’ b.r.e.a.s.ts, and didn’t seem to develop much at all, even though she ’really’ wanted to. As for Tione, she had been taught by Bache, who had very large b.r.e.a.s.ts, and her perception of what was ’normal’ actually changed the shape of her body when she fell in ’love’ with Finn.

The reason behind this was that Tione believed Finn liked more mature girls, as he often talked about her still being a child regardless of how strong she was, so Tione’s body had started to develop to match. As for Tiona, she never really fell in ’love’ until she met Vahn and, even though she ’lamented’ having small b.r.e.a.s.ts, didn’t actually care about them that much. She knew they got in the way when fighting and always had a very free-spirited and simple personality, even when she was struggling during their childhood. Unlike her ’elder sister’, she simply went with the flow of things and did her best with the hand fate dealt her, constantly seeking to improve her strength without ’forcing’ herself to change...

Now that Tione had fallen in love with him, her hormones had balanced out a bit and she actually seemed to be ’stabilizing’ in a strange direction. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts hadn’t shrunk, but they seemed to stop growing entirely since she no longer cared about them becoming bigger just to appeal to others. Vahn wasn’t the type of boy that paid attention to such things, so she just focused on her other unique traits, such as being a twin, having very beautiful legs, and a toned and fleshy butt that accented her thin and lean waist. Vahn was very aware that the suppleness of both girls’ legs, thighs, and butts, had increased greatly since he first interacted with them, something they enjoyed ’teasing’ him about.

As there hadn’t been that much time before they needed to prepare for dinner, Vahn only took the girls’ measurements and cut the Cadmus Skin while making small talk with the girls. Tiona and Tione wanted much ’smaller’ outfits than would typically constitute good underarmor, but Vahn hadn’t really been surprised by this since most Amazons traditionally wore little clothing. One of the things he was genuinely worried about was visiting their country in the future and just seeing a bunch of scantily clad women running around in ’clothing’ that would put underwear to shame with how revealing it was. Fortunately, Lefiya was far more sensible and actually wanted something similar to Ais, though Vahn showed her some of the modifications he had in mind.

Since she was a Mage, and would likely continue down that line indefinitely, Vahn wanted her armor the be able to enhance her physical traits using mana, at least until he was able to learn how to do it from Eva and teach it to her. He also had a robe design in mind, though it was currently somewhat spartan as it was in the ’prototype’ phase and would need some alterations before becoming truly suitable for her. Lefiya seemingly didn’t mind any of the ideas he had, often complimenting him on the basic aesthetic and only asking for simple things like making it ’cute’ and ’stylish’ since she wanted to wear it around as casual wear.

After confirming Lefiya’s final design, Vahn spent the remaining time just chatting and drawing sketches since he really didn’t need to get input for Tiona and Tione about their final outfits. They would literally just be wearing the very small tops and bottoms they wanted him to design, without any actual armor overtop it. Since it didn’t really match his intent that much, Vahn decided to modify their designs a bit and was going to include bracelets, anklets, and even a thick pareo for both girls since they already wore them. Tione always had on a pair of red stockings with a double clasp garter belt so Vahn figured he could actually make armor that served the same purpose. His main goal was to create items that simply enhanced their basic parameters or promoted their natural regeneration, as both girls actually ’relied’ on taking damage during serious fights...

While all of this discussion was happening, Vahn hadn’t forgotten about Haruhime but he had something completely different in mind for her that they had already discussed previously. She liked wearing ’elegant’ clothing, even opting to continue wearing a kimono and very neatly arranged equipment that accented her beauty greatly. Wearing things under a kimono, other than for basic decency, actually felt very ’awkward’ for the girls that hailed from the Far East, as even Mikoto wore a very ’risque’ set of undergarments. She had a malleable fabric that hugged her groin and covered on a small part of her butt, held to her body by nothing by adhesive tape that made Vahn very ’nervous’ the first time he saw it. Instead of a bra, she wore a sarashi to prevent her b.r.e.a.s.ts from moving around in combat and actually wore somewhat thin clothing, though it wasn’t obvious at a glance.

For Haruhime’s future outfit, Vahn wanted to make her a very elegant kimono similar to the one she had been wearing within the Divination. He remembered that one was almost like a palatial kimono but he could tell it was easy to move in and wouldn’t be a detriment to Haruhime since her combat style was very unique. While other people might move around a lot, even jumping off walls and performing acrobatic feats, Haruhime’s movements were very refined and were closer to a dance than anything else. Her footwork was incredible and she could even read the tempo of multiple monsters simultaneously, allowing her to easily avoid most dangers before defeating them with smooth and fluid swordplay. Though she had originally started wearing a short kimono to match Mikoto’s guidance, Haruhime didn’t actually need it and Vahn wanted to help ’complete’ the image she wanted to show him...

Her final outfit would be an elegant red kimono that would go all the way down to her ankles, though Vahn planned to make it from elastic fabric so she could still move around with ’big’ movements if necessary. This would also include giving it long sleeves, which would allow him to sew all kinds of unique formations into the fabric and further enhance its capabilities. Haruhime used a great deal of mana in her fighting style, so Vahn wanted to make something that allowed her to more efficiently channel it, or enhances its effects. Since she would be one of his primary disciples in the future, Vahn believed this alone would be enough to make her a powerhouse since anything that replenished her mana would aid her when using ’real’ magic. Vahn could see Haruhime one day ’dancing’ through the battlefield, completely untouchable as waves of sakura petals followed her movements and devastated her enemies...if she worked hard, she could even use his [Shundo], turning her into an unstoppable force when used in conjunction with her Innate.

With all of his basic designs ’confirmed’, Vahn accompanied the girls when they all moved to the dining room and enjoyed a lively meal with everyone that resided in the Manor. Eina was present so Vahn had her sit next to him while his ’seat’ was taken by Lili this evening as Hestia sat on his right, followed by Hephaestus. Vahn was very accustomed to being one of the designated seats at the table, so he just fed Lili a few bits of food and allowed her to act a little spoiled as a result of her small size. She had been very well behaved recently, training hard and helping Naaza with her research, so Vahn didn’t mind pampering her a bit before dinner came to a late end and he retired to his room, another happy day brought to a conclusion...

Preasia was very excited for the coming night because, during her previous nap, she confirmed that her rare skill did allow her to have some ’freedom’ within her dreams. It had been much shorter than the previous excitement she experienced with Vahn, but Preasia found that she had been able to do all kinds of interesting things like flying around, shifting ’stars’ around in the night sky, and even walking under the sea without needing the breath. Most importantly, however, was the fact that she could be accompanied by a dream version of Vahn at all times, even having him dress up in some of the outfits she thought were cute.

Unfortunately, the Vahn she created for herself was somewhat ’boring’ compared to the real thing and Preasia realized it was almost ’lonely’ to interact with him since there he lacked the warmth and comfort provided by the real Vahn. She hadn’t been so bold as the previous night, at least for the time being, but Preasia had the ’dream Vahn’ pet and pamper her a bit, noticing it felt strangely empty even though it was still a little exciting since his chest was exposed. After noticing that something was ’missing’, Preasia just had him accompany her since she was actually fond of watching him even if they couldn’t interact with each other in more ’interesting’ ways.

While thinking about what she wanted to dream about, something Preasia found very interesting on its own, Fenrir ended up entering the room with a happy smile on her face. Preasia was somewhat confused at first until Fenrir crawled into the bed and began sniffing around with an almost ’drunken’ expression on her face. Realizing what she was doing, Preasia’s face turned a deep crimson because she recalled doing the exact same thing when she first returned to her room. Vahn sweat had soaked into the bed from their union the previous night and, even though the blankets were a little messy, Preasia hadn’t changed them and simply scrubbed up the parts that bothered her.

Fenrir’s tail plopped up and down a few times as she exhaled and said, "Smells like Master..." in a husky tone with glittering scarlet eyes. Preasia had made Fenrir her ’accomplice’ in the past, so she quickly calmed down after her initial embarrassment and nodded her head, saying, "Yes, I thought keeping the current sheets would be more comfortable for both of us..." Fenrir had a happy smile on her face as she laughed in a cheeky manner and said, "Preasia is a good girl, very smart~!" Since she enjoyed her Master’s smell more than almost anything else, other than being with her Master, Fenrir was very pleased by the result. It wasn’t even .000000000001% as good as being with her actual Master, but it was infinitely better than not having his scent to bring her comfort.

Preasia was happy to see that Fenrir was in such high spirits and the two quickly snuggled up, with Fenrir hugging her body as usual, before falling asleep. Unlike the past, however, Fenrir didn’t wake up when Preasia fell into unconsciousness and continued to release an adorable snoring sound that would have caused Vahn to resist a nosebleed. If he knew what was actually going on, he would have had a very different reaction, however, as both Preasia and Fenrir began to release a thick aroma of pheromones shortly after they fell asleep. Though it was very subtle, Preasia’s platinum blond fur had started to glow with a golden light and Fenrir’s thighs began to rub together in frustration as her breathing began to accelerate...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Tina wants to be the Pirate King~!’,’Fashion Designer Vahn~!’,’Oh f.u.c.k...’)