Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Completely unaware of the plight that Rin and Gray had experienced, Vahn continued to pass his days in relative peace, each day having various breakthroughs and small events that made life very fulfilling. Currently, his main focus was on the silvery-gold greatsword that was being suspended in an isolation field atop a crystallized platform. There were several lines of magical energy rising from the platform, passing over the suspended blade as it scanned the external and internal structure of Siegfried's Noble Phantasm, Balmung.

Below the platform, a four-dimensional display was present that showed a three-dimensional view of the scanned sword while also displaying the small 'world' present within the massive blue gemstone embedded into its hilt. Though Siegfried's power was almost comparable to Artoria's, to the point the latter could only edge out a victory with her [Mana Burst], his internal reserves were not quite the same as Artoria's. His Dragon Heart was significantly weaker than the one Artoria had been given by the Welsh Dragon. This was the result of Artoria's heart being given to her at the time of birth while Siegfried only gained his after slaying Fafnir, bathing and consuming its blood in the process. As a result, Siegfried's Dragon Heart was proactively trying to corrupt his body while Artoria's had become an integral part of her person, greatly strengthening her beyond the limitations of her recorded parameters.

Since Siegfried would gain an almost ridiculous boost to his Magical Energy output whenever he used Balmung, Vahn had asked if he could analyze and try to reverse engineer the masterfully crafted greatsword that had been produced by the Nibelungen family, a family of Dwarves that had existed in a Texture of the world during Siegfried's time. Much like how Avalon was isolated from the rest of the world, there were other areas in between the two primary Textures, the colloquial way in which the Surface and Reverse Sides of the World were referred to. Even the Mage's Association had one of their most powerful branches, the Wandering Sea, within such an isolated Texture.

The reason for this was, compared to the Surface world, it was much easier to use Magecraft that was similar in structure and quality to those observed during the Age of the Gods. It was even possible to use one of these spaces to connect directly with the Reverse Side of the World, just like Vahn would be able to use the Holy Spear to create an anchor between the physical Avalon and the True Avalon. As for why this was important, it was due to the fact that the blue gemstone embedded within Siegfried's Balmung also served as a similar anchor. Whenever he activated it, Siegfried was able to draw from a pool of mana from the Reverse Side of the World, allowing him to create a large energy blade that glowed with the light of Twilight, containing both Holy and Demonic properties...

Though Vahn could see through many things with his [Eyes of Truth], it was very difficult to analyze the structure of items that could be considered at, or near, the peak of Tier 4. Since he wasn't able to place Balmung into his Inventory, Vahn was unable to determine it's exact Grade. What he did know, however, was that the A+ rank of Siegfried's Noble Phantasm was based on the power scaling of the Nasuverse itself. With that being the case, Vahn guessed its actual Grade was around the peak of SS, making it a masterpiece the current him was unable to forge. This didn't deter Vahn, however, as he was determined to improve his forging skills as, regardless of the number of Records he entered, the knowledge he had acc.u.mulated regarding forging would never fade.

Fortunately, as was often the case these days, Da Vinci was able to fill in the gaps in Vahn's current capabilities. She had created the crystal platform in order to have the Nexus, whom she had named Ark, analyze the objects Vahn provided in her stead. Since she had a lot of projects she was working on, Da Vinci couldn't personally take the time to analyze everything he purchased from the system shop. The only downside to the system was that Ark could only analyze things according to its own knowledge banks and, though Da Vinci had 'cheated' the system by creating a memory fragment of herself to try and fill in the blanks, it still needed to 'learn'. This was where Vahn came in as, with the system shop, he was able to let Ark analyze things according to its current capabilities which, with the passage of time, slowly increased to the point that it could analyze more complex items.

Ark had now been analyzing Balmung for the better part of three days and, whenever Vahn visited the workshop, he would monitor the progress while working to improve his Petting Laws. Da Vinci had, fortunately, put a little bit more thought into the idea of essentially making him a Conceptual Vessel that he would just manhandle at his convenience. Though it didn't really matter to her if he sat at the side playing with one of her bodies, Da Vinci felt this was very 'inefficient' since she had no intention of implanting her conscience into it. Since the thought of an ego other than her own taking control of the body annoyed her a great deal, she instead invented something that would allow Vahn to practice his Petting Laws easily and conveniently.

As a result of her efforts, Vahn now had a peculiar 'creature' in his hands that looked vaguely like a Vanargandr that had been almost cartoonishly modified. Though it was almost entirely mechanical beneath its epidermal layers, it was very soft and smooth to the touch. It also had a big head that was covered in pink hair that formed several large 'clumps' that gave it an appearance vaguely similar to Fenrir. Seated atop this mat of silky-smooth hair were two large and malleable ears that were almost addicting to play with as the tiny figure sat atop Vahn's lap with a blank expression on its face. Since it only had the most rudimentary programming, while also possessing extremely high resistance to his Petting Laws, Vahn had never managed to cause its tiny face and large eyes to fluctuate even in the slightest...

Since it had been designed for 'convenience', the small Vanargandr that had been named Skoll was only around 48cm tall, the average length of a large house cat. If counting its oversized ears and tail, it could reach around 70cm in length while also having a set of tiny paws on its hands and feet that had adorable little paw pads on their undersides. Fortunately, Da Vinci had enough wherewithal to not waste her efforts on trying to engineer any s.e.x.u.a.l organs and, as it was entirely mechanical at its core, the androgynous little robot was both adorable and ideal for trying to push his Petting Laws to the next level. Since it had a vague awareness, which was focuse on 'resisting' his Petting Laws, Vahn would be able to ascertain his progress based on the color of its eyes and the reaction on its face, at least when he managed to reach a high enough proficiency to change its expression...

The best thing about Skoll was that it was a universally loved addition to the castle as, with its adorable appearance and extreme 'petability', it wasn't all that uncommon to see it being snuggled by one of the girls or being hand-fed by Siegfried as he lightly stroked its head. This had almost prompted Da Vinci to mass-produce them to increase the data she was collecting but, as they were also equipped with monitoring devices in the form of eyes, but Vahn felt it would be weird to see a bunch of tiny Vanargandr running around. With Fenrir still present in the castle, it almost made it seem as if she had a bunch of cubs running around as they were all vaguely child-like. Though it was easy to see at a glance that they weren't 'real'. as their large eyes and disproportionate bodies made this very apparent, it was still a little uncanny just imagining a whole group of the small mechanical Vanargandr.

Fortunately, instead of upsetting her, Fenrir was rather fond of Skoll and seemed to be using it to practice her own caretaking abilities. Vahn had even found her carrying around Skoll in a koala-hold while walking around the castle on her breaks. Since she was extremely sensitive to his presence, Vahn knew that Fenrir had 'allowed' him to see her like that so, with the matter of children on the table for some of the other girls, Fenrir's name was added to the bunch. Though she still possessed an Ageless body, nothing was impossible if both parties were determined enough. If Fenrir genuinely wanted a child of her own, Vahn didn't mind making her wish come true as, more than anyone else, she had always supported him to the best of her ability...

---

While squishing Skoll's pliant cheeks with his hands, Vahn heard a small 'ding' from the panel displaying Balmung's structure. Turning his attention to the screen, Vahn saw a series of runes that read 'inconclusive' before releasing a small sigh. This caught Da Vinci's attention, causing her to look up from her current project, an upgrade to her mechanical arms. Seeing the display, she issued a small giggle before remarking, "If it were so easy to analyze the Noble Phantasms of famous Heroes, that would be a little anti-climactic. You could try forging your own version and using that 'naming' ability of yours to try and fill in the blanks." As Vahn had explained many of his Innates to her, Da Vinci had quite a few ideas about how he could 'best' use them. He had even named her current staff for her, naming it [Avalon's Key] and promoting it from A-Rank to S-Rank in a single go. This had been extremely interesting to Da Vinci as, even compared to her ability to form Conceptual Vessels, giving an 'True Name' to an object was easily within the realm of True Magic.

Hearing Da Vinci's words, Vahn gave an understanding nod before placing Skoll on the ground and letting her wander over to her rest area, a plush cushion that looked like a pet. This caused Da Vinci to remove her goggles and smile, a reaction that Vahn knew meant she was 'slightly' troubled. Even when he walked over to look at what she was working on, however, Da Vinci didn't say anything to deter him and instead explained, "I'm incorporating an auto-repair function by having each of the components that make up the arm have a binary state between energy and matter. When the arm is damaged, the affected parts will dematerialize before returning to the gemstone core within the joints. So long as the core is not damaged, the arm will be able to reconstitute itself so long as there is a constant supply of Magical Energy."

Since Da Vinci had already made several innovations with her 'Requip' system, the name she had assigned to the variable gemstones she had handed out to everyone within the castle, Vahn wasn't surprised she had pushed it even further. The only downside that he could see was that the structure of the arms would be relatively frail, as it was comprised of several smaller pieces, but Da Vinci had already remedied this by making 'bones' to stabilize everything. This made it even more durable than it otherwise would have been as the interlinked pieces would be able to compress and disperse force far better than a solid piece of metal. With the ability to instantaneously repair itself, Vahn could imagine this tech being adapted to Da Vinci's golems with terrifying results...

Seeing the look in Vahn's eyes, Da Vinci immediately asked, "What did you think of?" in a curious tone. She had learned that Vahn had a very unique perspective on things and, though many of his ideas proved fruitless, he had given her a number of ideas that led to a few breakthroughs, saving her a surprising amount of time on innovating incrementally. Thus, whenever she saw Vahn suddenly have a thoughtful look in his eyes, Da Vinci was very curious about what he was thinking about.

After listening to Vahn explain his idea of creating a 'central core' for the micro-golems and having them networked together to automatically repair themselves when damaged, Da Vinci's eyes began glittering as she immediately thought of creating a 'Queen' to regulate the other micro-golems. This would invalidate the need for the current Majors but, so long as she upgraded them a bit, there were other ways in which they could be made useful. The first thought that came to mind was making them into relay points to strengthen the signal between the Queen and the standard drone-type micro-golems...

In a much better mood than the one she had been in when Vahn walked over, Da Vinci performed her habit of stroking an invisible beard, something that looked rather comical since she currently had the appearance of a young girl. Then, after hopping up from her seat, she gestured to Vahn, saying, "Here, let me express my gratitude. I prepared something special and now seems like a good time to collect some data~." With that said, Da Vinci skipped ahead of Vahn, using her surprisingly high Agility to quickly alight to the secret workshop where Ark's central Nexus was located. By the time Vahn reached the rather cold chamber, kept below freezing to prevent Ark from overheating, Da Vinci had already propped her body up on a support platform before closing her eyes.

Vahn already had some expectations when Da Vinci mentioned a reward so, at least at first, he wasn't all that surprised when her child-like body went limp. What did surprise him was one of the curtains that obstructed the view of Da Vinci's Conceptual Vessels suddenly lowering as the sound of pressure being released echoed through the chamber. Then, even though she was still suspended in a subtle-blue liquid, Vahn was able to clearly see an unbelievably beautiful woman smiling back at him with a mischevious glint in her painting-like eyes. By pure instinct, Vahn swallowed hard as, a stark contrast to the youthful figure she was fond of using these days, the woman within the stasis liquid had a shapely and mature figure that caused Vahn to breathe a little faster as his vision was completely captivated by her 'perfect' form...

Though he hadn't placed his Familia Crest on this version of Da Vinci's body, Vahn could tell at a glance that she had to have the [Golden Rule: EX] skill. She had a standing height of 170cm and, rather than being slim and athletic, this version of Da Vinci had the figure of a femme fatale with a 90cm b.r.e.a.s.ts, a 64cm waist, and a plump 92cm hip size. Her thighs seemed pliant just by looking at them while her calves and feet were well-structured to give her body an ideal balance. Vahn felt that even Helen wouldn't be able to rival the current Da Vinci though, considering the former had an Innate that made her the 'most beautiful', it would be difficult to determine this if they were side-by-side.

When the crystallized liquid keeping her body in stasis melted and drained away, Da Vinci took a breath of fresh air before smiling radiantly as she mused, "I can already tell from your reaction that my efforts were not in vain. However, I will have you provide a detailed accounting once we are finished..." As she spoke, Da Vinci sn.a.k.e.d her h.i.p.s while slowly walking over and, without stopping, wrapped her arms around Vahn's neck before pressing her body against his. This caused him to have a surprisingly 'innocent' reaction, holding out both his hands without touching her directly as he swallowed audibly before asking, "What did you have in mind...?"

Turning her eyes up at him in response, Da Vinci complained, "Vahn...will you only be happy if I say it directly? I made this body specifically for you so it would be a shame if you didn't use it properly..." This time, being even more direct, Da Vinci reached between Vahn's thighs with her right hand, her eyes fixed on his without waving in the slightest. In response to this, Vahn breathed in through his nose while looking down into Da Vinci's eyes, his own blazing with an appreciative light. There was a very powerful aroma wafting up from her body that caused his brain to buzz but, as he had grown borderline immune to such things as a result of Alaya's presence, Vahn didn't lose himself to baser instincts.

Though it had only been a few seconds since she teased him, Da Vinci squinted her eyes just as Vahn was about to place his hands on her body. This caused him to turn statuesque, almost as if he was afraid to break something extremely valuable, allowing Da Vinci to lick her lips in a seductive manner before whispering into his ear, "Take me, Vahn. I want to feel you inside me. I don't care what you do, even if my body breaks. Don't worry, I can always make an even stronger one in the future~." With this said, Da Vinci tried to kiss Vahn's neck but, as Alaya had still been present, she found herself receiving something akin to an electrical shock that startled her into releasing Vahn's body.

With Da Vinci releasing him, Vahn was able to release a pent-up sigh as he picked up Alaya by her fringe and said, "Give us a bit of privacy..." This caused Alaya to immediately vanish into thin air and, even though she couldn't see the small blue 'creature', Da Vinci asked, "Did I just try to nibble on one of the Counter Forces? How interesting...ufufu..." As Alaya was her 'second-highest priority', Da Vinci was interested in analyzing and researching her. This was, unfortunately, something that would have to be done indirectly as, despite several upgrades to her goggles, she was unable to detect even the smallest sign of Alaya's existence without Vahn having her manifest directly.

While issuing a light chuckle in response to the n.a.k.e.d Da Vinci suddenly entering into 'thinking mode', Vahn stepped toward her and attempted to wrap his hands around her waist. This was enough to bring at least her main process back to its senses, resulting in Da Vinci placing her hands on his chest and saying, "Let's move this to the bedroom. It is a bit cold here and I don't feel like cleaning up after the fact..." As there were 'a lot' of things she intended to try, Da Vinci didn't want to accidentally damage any of the delicate tools and mechanisms she kept stowed away in her private workshop. Though Ark would be able to collect more data if they made love next to the Nexus, this was something Da Vinci intended to do later, only after she developed a few countermeasures in response to Vahn's 'intensity'...

Though it was surprisingly hard to resist pushing her down right in the middle of the workshop, Vahn managed to retain his sensibilities as he swept Da Vinci's impossibly light body off the ground. Her appearance should have put her around 58kg but, after picking her up, Vahn could tell she was only 42kg, once again making her much lighter than she 'should' be. Since now was a good opportunity to learn more about her, Vahn wanted to see if he could discover the secret behind her reduced weight but, before any of that, he placed Da Vinci in her bed. Following this, though she complained about making a mess of her bed, Da Vinci allowed Vahn to take the lead, watching with an extreme amount of interest visible in her eyes as he began teaching her everything he knew about the nightly relations between men and women...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The Universal Petting Idol, Skoll-chama','Vahn is a bad influence on Da Vinci-chan xD...','Practical lessons are the most effective kind ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)...')

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