Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Feeling the resistance of the surrounding energy, Vahn couldn't help but frown as his domain barely extended more than three-hundred meters from his position. This was smaller than it had been in a very long time. To further exacerbate matters, he felt like he was being crushed by the energy within his domain, greatly slowing his movements and even influencing his reaction time.

Out of curiosity, Vahn raised his hand and began to slowly move about, his fingers creating small ripples and currents, similar to moving them through a liquid volume. This was the same impression given off by his domain as well, but, rather than physical resistance, it was more accurate to say the volume placed a burden upon the spirit.

Under normal circumstances, Vahn wouldn't have that much trouble manipulating the energy in his surroundings. The only time it became even slightly difficult was when the energy was controlled or regulated by something else, so, while he had yet to ascertain its origin, this was the conclusion his mind had come to. It was like the entirety of the surrounding energy was already under the control of an exceptionally powerful entity, one that greatly eclipsed his current level of power.

Noticing his nose beginning to bleed slightly, Vahn gradually retracted his domain before habitually falling into a meditative state. The fact there was a giant humanoid with red skin, multiple eyes, and a muscular figure attempting to smash his barrier didn't particularly concern him. He wasn't the type to kill at the behest or order of other people, so, while he could sense both murderous intent and mild desperation from everyone who wandered across his barrier, he completely shut them out in order to focus on far more important thing...

---

A stark contrast to his Emperor self, Gandr was standing at the edge of the barrier, pale golden eyes glimmering as he stared up at the contestant attempting to smash their way in. The sealed form of Laev-tan was resting across his shoulder, and, though he didn't 'truly' feel the urge to kill the giant humanoid creature trying to break the barrier, he felt a growing desire to, at the very least, teach it and many others a lesson.

Sensing his thoughts, for obvious reasons, Phae looked over to where Gandr was standing, a gentle smile on her face as she mused, "Now, now, there will be plenty of time for such things later on. For now, we should continue to observe. After all, even if this was called a Deathmatch, the rules didn't expressly state we needed to eliminate anyone."

Completing the illusion that he was three separate entities, Gandr's large fluffy ears twitched slightly before he craned his head back and said, "I was just going to beat them up a little. Don't worry, I'm not a bully...most of the time..."

Though there was a barrier separating them, it seemed like the red-skinned giant was still able to understand what Gandr had said. His six eyes all squinted in rage as he raised his trunk-like arms up high and attempted to, once again, shatter the barrier. Unfortunately, other than nearly breaking his own wrist, the man didn't so much as scratch the barrier with his full-power attack.

Shaking his head, Gandr also began ignoring the man as he attempted to detect enemies using his enhanced olfactory senses and hearing. He was already very adept at relying on his senses in order to sense enemies, as, over the last three years, Fenrir, his 'big sister', had been resolute in teaching him everything he needed to know in order to be a proper Vanargandr. He had even received more than his fair share of headpats, often serving as something akin to a body pillow whenever they had completed their hunts.

Unfortunately, due to the presence of the golden barrier, Gandr wasn't able to expand his senses beyond its confines. Considering it had been made to be soundproof, however, this wasn't really that surprising.

Feeling a little bored, Gandr was preparing to sit down on the ground and simply relax until the end of the Deathmatch. There were still seventeen minutes left so he could easily fit in a quick nap if he really wanted to.

Noticing Gandr's thoughts and actions, Phae couldn't help but lightly chuckle as she called out to him, saying, "Don't drop your guard. Even if the vast majority of people within this region are weak, that doesn't mean all of them are. Remember, you are our vanguard. When our Lord is resting, you must remain alert."

Though he took Phae's words to heart, Gandr still ended up laying on his side, supporting his head with his left hand and elbow as he watched the red-skinned giant flee. He obviously wasn't ignoring his own advice, but, in order to put on a convincing performance, he needed to act his age. He could sense a presence observing them at all points in time, so, at least for the time being, they needed to keep up appearances.

After releasing a loud yawn, Gandr began lightly tapping the ground behind him with a bored look on his face. Seeing this, Phae released the textbook definition of a motherly sigh before shaking her head and pouring a cup of tea for herself. Then, with half-lidded eyes, a content smile spread across her face as she savored the taste of fresh-brewed black tea with sugar and cream...

---

For several minutes, it appeared as though nothing significant was going to happen before the time displayed on the golden cubes reached the zeroth mark. Fortunately, this was not the case, as, with three minutes to spare, a trio comprised of two cloaked figures, one small and one large, appeared alongside a rather fashionably dressed young woman.

Noticing the trio's arrival, Gandr immediately hopped up from the ground, Laev-tan resting on his shoulder as he quickly analyzed each of his potential opponents. The shortest of the trio appeared to be a relatively normal woman with blonde hair. As for her companions, the six-meter tall fellow with demonic features gave a rather dangerous feeling while the young woman, possessing strange eyelashes that glittered like ghost flames, actually caused the hair on Gandr's neck to stand on end.

Distinguishing herself from the other two members of the group, the fashionable woman returned a confident smile when she noticed Gandr's gaze, her eyes shining with amusement as she said, "Hi there, little fella. My, you're a little cutie, aren't you?"

Tilting his head to the side as if he didn't understand the woman's words, Gandr briefly tried to get a feel for her power by expanding his domain from the meditating Vahn. To his surprise, the woman had a tremendous amount of energy contained within her body, or, more specifically, her blood. He could even sense something like a second presence contained within, a fragment of someone else's intent...

Though he had inspected the woman from top to bottom, Gandr didn't appear to hesitate in the slightest as he directly answered, "You're not so bad yourself, Princess."

Despite the barrier preventing any sound from escaping, the woman was able to read Gandr's lips without any issue. His addressing her as a Princess came as a mild surprise, her brows rising ever so slightly as the corners of her smile curled up. At the same time, her amber-like eyes began to glow with a ghostly light as she combed through her bangs and said, "Though I'm not too surprised, it is a little unexpected that someone was able to recognize me so soon. Tell me, are you affiliated with the Jahad family?"

Having only heard the name mentioned a few times, Gandr didn't hesitate to shake his head, his eyes shifting to the demonic man towering behind the woman as he answered, "No, you just have the same aura as another Princess I met. Until recently, I had never heard of the Jahad family, much less the Empire it seems to govern. Now, what are your intentions, Princess? We already have three members on our teams so there is no real need to fight, is there?"

Though she squinted her eyes slightly upon hearing Gandr's remark, the woman didn't reveal too much of her thoughts. In response to his question, however, she adopted a confident smile as she looked between her teammates and the trio hiding within the golden barrier. Truth be told, she was a little creeped out by her current team, and, though she was confident in being able to defeat both of them, the cloaked woman gave her a dangerous and 'foreign' feeling.

After staring at the cloaked duo for several seconds, the woman turned her attention back to the rather adorable young boy and said, "Since there are only the six of us remaining, I guess we can avoid fighting amongst each other. I had kind of wanted to eliminate all the other teams, but you three give off a pretty dangerous vibe. How about we form a temporary alliance? It is common for most parties to have six people starting out and I wouldn't mind having someone as adorable as you in my group."

Pretending to be confused by the woman's words, Gandr tilted his head to the side even further, his ears flopping in a way he knew most people would find adorable. The woman in question even had a possessive shimmer flash across her eyes, but, before she could say anything to try and convince him, Gandr interrupted her, plainly stating, "No thanks. Unless there was no other choice, I don't see a reason to team up with a group of people who would kill others just because a voice told them to. I get that you wanted to eliminate the competition, but only cowards, swindlers, and ruffians rely on such tactics to make things easier for themselves. How can I trust my back to someone who doesn't even show a hint of remorse after killing so many people?"

Never expecting anyone would be foolish enough to refuse her offer, much less over such a stupid reason, the woman couldn't help but frown. Everyone knew that the Tower effectively pitted everyone inside against each other so it was fairly odd to hear someone harp over something as insignificant as killing. Rather, if you lacked the conviction to kill, you would only invite disaster upon yourself as there were countless people perfectly willing to take advantage of such a weakness...

Shifting her attention away from the boy's glowing golden eyes, the woman looked at a tiny black sphere that manifested into existence next to her. This caused both Vahn and Phae to squint slightly from where they were seated, as, prior to the spherical object revealing itself, neither been able to sense even a trace of its existence...

Seeing there was less than a minute left, the woman decided against trying to argue with the boy and his companions. Instead, she placed one hand on her hip, shifting her weight to one foot as she said, "My name is Endorsi Jahad, a bonafied Princess of the Jahad Empire. If you're clever, you'll set aside those ideals of yours and focus on what truly matters. You won't find a better companion than a Princess of Jahad amongst the other Regulars. If you're actually serious about reaching the top of the Tower, you'll need to take advantage of every opportunity you get. Keep that in mind, okay~?"

Timing the completion of her statement with the countdown visible on the cube, Endorsi left no room for argumentation as a loud voice echoed over the grasslands. It was even able to penetrate the barrier Vahn had created, further alerting him to the peculiarities of the Record he now found himself in. It seemed he had a lot to learn about this new world, but, despite being present for little more than half-an-hour, there was one thing he was already certain of...this Record was one where the strong reigned supreme...a world where the weak were killed in order to pave the way for those with the ambition to aim for greater heights...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn, Improv Master...?','Fenrir's favorite version of Master (OwO)...','A world filled with treachery and ruthlessness...a breeding ground for the strong')

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