Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

From within the cockpit of his personalized mech suit, Vahn reclined lazily with his feet propped up against the console. Though there were analog controls present, there were secondary and tertiary systems that used the pilot's brainwaves and an onboard AI to allow for greater ease of movement and proper restraint. After all, even the most advanced mechanical systems could not properly replicate organic movements once the machine exceeded a certain size.

Due to the square-cube law, as the surface area of an object doubled, its volume cubed. As the size of an object increased, the material used in its construction would quickly exceed its tensile and shear strength, leading to catastrophic breakage and collapse. This could be gotten around when it came to architectural marvels, but, when you were designing something meant to move around at high speeds, rather than stay in one spot, size was one of the greatest limiting factors.

Fortunately, there were a number of methods to work around physical laws, especially when you had magic at your disposal. Not only was it possible to produce a myriad of unique materials using Alchemy, but, with the use of Artificial Magic Circuits, Reinforcement Magic, and various other Enchantments, producing a mech that defied common sense was a simple matter. Though it required an incredible amount of magical power and control just to operate it, this wasn't much of a restriction to those on the level of Heroic Spirits.

Though some people were quite fervent about learning how to pilot mechs, very few people had been able to incorporate magic into the design process. Most people were still relatively new with magic, and, despite having a world where they could master it much faster than normal, the vast majority spent their time just having fun. This was the charm of the Virtual World, as, compared to the stress you faced in reality, living a free and uninhibited life without fear of 'true' death allowed people to do things they would, otherwise, never try.

At this point, the Virtual World had nearly six-million active users, not including Companions and other forms of Artificial Intelligence. As for the number of worlds present within, there were seven thematic universes where, depending on your choices, you could basically live a second life. You could accept Quests, complete Objectives, and, depending on your efforts, greatly increase your social status. There was even a global leaderboard that kept track of thousands of different values ranging from mastery in specific Skills to overall 'achievement' score.

What made the Virtual World truly captivating, however, was the fact that your efforts within the 'game' were rewarded outside of it. Due to how realistic the simulation was, technical Skills and the comprehension of certain concepts directly translated back to reality. Better yet, you could exchange achievement points for a number of benefits, including actual equipment, elixirs, and even rare treasures. As a result, success within the Virtual World was, slowly but surely, becoming synonymous with success in the real world...

Unfortunately, due to the highly competitive nature of the 'game', combined with the relatively greedy nature of humanity, there were a number of people that willfully took advantage of others. The top ranks were almost exclusively dominated by opportunists and descendants from various Magus families. They had a significant advantage against the average player, and, as a result of feeling suppressed in the real world, they used the Virtual World to release stress.

Fortunately, due to the restrictions active within the Virtual World, there was no danger of anyone experiencing something truly traumatic. You could even turn off things like pain, and, due to how the Virtual World interfaced with your mind and spirit, it could actively block any kind of stimulus you didn't want to see. This meant, unless you wanted to see it, things like blood and gore would simply be filtered out by your mind. As for more traumatic events, such as sexual assault and ****, this was completely impossible unless you entered a restricted private world. Even then, if you did anything the other party didn't consent to, you would receive a warning. Further action could lead to punitive measures being taken against you in reality, so, while there was an unsurprisingly large community of 'role-players', there had only been a few instances of people pushing their luck and tempting fate...

Still, Vahn couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed by the number of people that treated everyone else like stepping stones. Thus, whenever he visited Tamamo or felt like releasing some stress, he would enter the Virtual World, partnering up with a few of the girls in order to 'punish' the players that treated others like sacrificial pawns. This had made them a popular topic of discussion in the community, even if there were also a considerable number of 'influencers' who accused them of cheating and 'ruining' the game.

It was amazing what people thought they could get away with when they were hidden behind a username and didn't know the true identity of the people they were insulting. The fact that Vahn largely ignored them served to fuel the flames of the more 'passionate' players, but, after getting a temporary ban and a warning from the Mother System, they generally quieted down. After all, slander and rabble-rousing were both outlined within the Common Law, so, if you took things too far and tried to incite an incident, you would face the consequences.

Though it was impossible to completely eliminate toxicity, the Virtual World was a relatively stable environment, one enjoyed by nearly every user. This wasn't just limited to humans, either, as, with advancements in the subversion technology, Heroic Spirits, Yokai, and even Fae had been able to enter within. They could experience creating an avatar, exploring the various thematic worlds or simply mingling with the ever-growing community of 'players'.

Of the seven thematic worlds, the one Vahn enjoyed the most as the Tamer Universe, a place that sealed off other abilities and forced people to compete using captured monsters that required a considerable amount of time and effort to train. This world could be entered by Companions, so, when people were first exploring the Virtual World, they often gravitated towards it. Because of this, it was the 'safest' of the seven thematic worlds, having restrictions that even prevented the use of foul language.

Unfortunately, he didn't get to spend too much time in the Tamer Universe, as, due to how busy he was in the real world, Vahn mainly entered the Virtual World alongside others. Once inside, he was able to teleport to the location of people that had been flagged by Mother, and, after closely observing their behavior, he would determine what measure of punishment they deserved. If he found them irredeemable, at least within the current setting, he would destroy their avatar, forcing them to create a new one from scratch...

As if it had nothing to do with him, Vahn continued to laze about within his cockpit, even as his mind piloted his mech to tear apart the Yggdrasillia, destroying it from the inside. He was more interested in what was happening on his shared monitors, as, while he dealt with the Flagship, Tamamo and Tamoe had teamed up to destroy the infamous Freedom Armada. As for Altria and X, the former was cloaked against the backdrop of space, periodically sniping enemies using a pitch-black rail gun. The latter, much like Tamamo and Tomoe, was causing rampant destruction, but, instead of teaming up with others, X took advantage of the fact she had been a mech pilot for years, tearing through enemies with impunity.

This wasn't the first time he had seen the girls enjoying themselves a little too much. Rather, they had become somewhat addicted to accessing the Virtual World, often complaining about the fact they were only allowed to spend four hours inside each day. They enjoyed teaming up in most of the thematic worlds, and, as a result, were some of the top-ranked, if not 'the' top-ranked, players in each. Tomoe, in particular, was rather famous, as, not only was she Rank 1 on four of the seven thematic universes, she was also the Rank 1 overall...

While thinking about the rankings, Vahn looked at his own profile, seeing his rank had dropped to 517th place. He didn't spend that much time in the Virtual World, and, if not for the fact he had a 100% completion rate in both PvP and PvE content, evening winning a few small tournaments, he would have dropped much further...

After briefly considering whether or not he should improve his rank, Vahn dismissed the idea. He had far more important things to attend, and, as interesting as the Virtual World was, it lacked the same charm as reality. Besides, while the gap was slowly closing, the Moon Cell made the current Virtual World pale in comparison.

Thinking about the Moon Cell, Vahn began considering whether or not he should make contact with Velber 02. He had already confirmed that she was sealed away in an abyssal prison that was similar in structure to Imaginary Number Space. It was virtually impossible for her to escape, and, at least for the time being, she wasn't even trying. She had even created several barriers around herself, seemingly still in recovery after her battle against Mars nearly fourteen-thousand years prior.

Until the Umbral Star returned to the Sol System, Velber 02 would remain completely inactive. If everything went as planned, he would have departed the Nasuverse long before the emergence of Angra Mainyu, much less the return of the Umbral Star. Thus, with Altera gradually beginning to open up to others, Vahn didn't really see the need to approach the alien entity. She was extremely hostile, and, even after peering into thousands of different currents, things always ended with her attacking anyone entering her 'ship'. Since she was a Tier 5 entity, this didn't end well for anyone, including Artoria and Arcueid...

With thoughts of the terrifying White Titan on his mind, Vahn was moderately surprised by the sound of a proximity alarm. Though he still had plenty of time to dodge, the attack had come from an 'enemy' Mech wielding a massive slab of metal that only vaguely resembled a sword. It had a white-hot edge that caused the surrounding space to distort slightly, and, due to a strange grey mist surrounding the mech itself, his sensors hadn't detected the curious craft until it was attacking.

After a very brief moment of confusion, Vahn craned his head to the side, musing, "This person has [Presence Concealment]...?"

Though he hadn't expected an answer, a gentle voice resonated within his cockpit, stating, "It is the effect of a unique artifact that can only be obtained by being the first player to successfully defeat one-hundred opponents without being detected. Your opponent is the Rank 7 player, Shadow, one of the leaders of the Freedom Armada."

Hearing Mother's explanation, Vahn lightly hummed to himself before timing the activation of his thrusters with the lunge of his opponent. He managed to evade the blade with mere centimeters to spare, and, with his arm extended, decapitated the enemy mech with a lariat. Though it was an impressive feat, obtaining a unique artifact, establishing a faction that treated other players and NPCs as resources was 'unpleasant'. Even if they weren't real, grossly mistreating NPCs for your own amusement was largely frowned upon. In fact, if you took things too far and enjoyed it a little too much, you could even be flagged for counseling after a full psychological evaluation...

If people wanted to 'experiment' and do cruel things, they had their own private worlds to make use of. The thematic universes, however, were places where players were meant to gather and work together to achieve impossible feats. It ruined the experience for a lot of people when they came across factions that acted without even a small amount of consideration for others. While this wasn't expressly prohibited, as it added to the 'realism' of the simulation, taking things too far was never a good thing...

With most visual sensors located within the head of a mech, Vahn's opponent was left blinded by the unavoidable lariat. As a result, they activated their thrusters to full, seemingly intent on trying to run away. Unfortunately, as abilities in the outside world could directly translate into the Virtual World, Vahn was able to freely teleport, cutting off the path of the escaping mech and skewering it with his bident.

As there was always a short lag before a player's awareness was completely cut off from their avatar, Vahn used the opportunity to activate his comms, saying, "Try living a less despicable life in the future. You have a lot of skill. Don't squander it being a petty villain."

With his words finish, Vahn swept his bident to the side, tearing apart the grim-reaper-like mech and causing it to explode. He didn't even bother to recover the coffin-shaped artifact that was left behind, allowing it to float within the vast expanse of space. It would probably end up in someone else's hands later on, and, while it was pretty cool, he could easily create an artifact that provided even better concealment. In fact, Altria's mech was the best example of this, as, unless you traced the trajectory of her shots, spotting her with scanners and sensors was completely impossible...

As if she could sense his thoughts, Altria appeared shortly after Vahn had finished dealing with Shadow. Her mech was a custom model that appeared feminine in structure, albeit without any unnecessary components. What stood out the most, however, were the sensors on her head, which vaguely resembled cat ears, and the long tail that protruded from the back of her mech. It was mainly for cosmetic purposes, but, when her rifle was low on ammunition, she could plug her tail into its side, powering it with her Altereactor Core.

Opening her comms, Altria's characteristically cold voice could be heard, asking, "Are we almost done? This is kind of boring. I'm getting hungry."

Altria was the type that enjoyed analog games in the real world rather than spending her time in the Virtual World. It was a lot easier to use a controller than it was to move around, straining your body for very little gain. She enjoyed 'idle' games more than those that required an actual effort, so, despite being ranked within the top twenty in almost every thematic universe, Altria cared very little about climbing higher.

Nodding his head, Vahn answered, "I'll call back the others. When we return, I'll let you taste the apple pie baked by the Dryads. They gave me nearly a hundred to share with others."

Though mechs didn't have 'faces', Vahn imagined the ocular sensors on Altria's widening slightly as she 'pounced' toward him. This caused their two mechs to collide rather violently, but, as if that didn't matter in the slightest, Altria began to 'scrape' her head against his chest plating, emitting a dull, 'Nyaa~' through her comms.

As she only acted cutely whenever food was involved, Vahn could only sigh in exasperation to Altria's behavior. Though he was largely to blame for indulging her, he couldn't help but wonder where she had learned to emulate a spoiled cat. Now, whenever he visited Tamamo, they would sometimes end up in a light spat to determine who got pampered by him. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but, when Tomoe and X got involved, things could quickly spiral out of control.

Regardless of how 'troublesome' things got, Vahn didn't particularly mind, as, in more ways than one, it was actually kind of refreshing. He enjoyed playing games with the group of shut-ins, and, though she could be somewhat petty at time, Tamamo was still one of his wives. Spending time with her was always worthwhile, and, while not pertinent to his future plans, her cooperation was necessary to eliminate a few troublesome variables...

With the integrity of his hull slowly being compromised by Altria's actions, Vahn roughly pat the back of her mech, saying, "The others are already on the way back. Get ready to return. Also...try not to fight with X tonight. I have other things going on, so I won't be able to mediate properly if anything happens."

Rather than immediately respond to his words, Altria seemed to enter a thoughtful state before holding up three fingers before quickly changing to two and saying, "Two apple pies..."

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I can control is with my mind powers~!','RIP tryhard players...','Altria is a master when it comes to negotiating')

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