Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

For the better part of two weeks, excluding the considerable amount of time he spent within the Realm, Vahn split his time between helping the members of Team Wolf Pack train, coordinating with Marble to complete numerous Special Tests, and, most notably, meditating within the privacy of his room.

Though his outlook might have changed, that didn't mean Vahn could spontaneously produce an infinite number of Templates. He quickly learned that he could only have nine active templates at a time. This meant, if he wanted to move forward with his plans, he would need to assign True Names to each of his existing Templates, effectively converting them into unique existences.

Unfortunately, the cooldown of [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] was based on the Principal Axis of Time within the Record. This made it impossible to 'cheat' by just idling about in the outer rings of the Little Garden. He would have to wait for time to pass naturally, so, with numerous temptations awaiting him beyond the confines of his room, Vahn decided to focus on something he believed to be pivotal to reaching Tier 7: the Mantra of Eternity.

Vahn knew very little about the Mantra of Eternity, but, based on his inability to comprehend it even after becoming a 'true' Tier 4, he knew it was, at the very least, Tier 5. His instincts, however, made him believe it was 'much' higher, likely near the absolute pinnacle of Tier 6. Thus, with his sights set on a goal that was simply unattainable by others, Vahn trusted his instincts, fully immersing himself in the Mantra even as Yoruichi spurred Hinata to sneakily perform various lewd acts on his body...

Since it was getting pretty close to dinner time, Vahn opened his eyes to find Yoruichi stuffing her face as Hinata observed 'very intently' between her fingers. Both of the girls were wearing nothing but their undergarments, and, though he had nearly hesitated in the beginning, Vahn was unable to refuse the youthful-looking Hyuga's insistence that she be allowed to remain the version of herself that he had a crush on. She fully intended to 'grow up' in the future, but, at least for the time being, she was content with being the idealized version of herself that his subconscious mind had created.

Though she noticed his gaze almost instantly, Yoruichi's only reaction to Vahn's accusatory look was to turn her eyes up at him, smiling with his penis still in her mouth. As for Hinata, she promptly hid behind the barrier of her hands, scrunching up her body in a vain effort to hide her rather adorable, cat-themed, undergarments. This was a theme she had become rather fond of, and, though she had remained virtually the same since the time of her creation, Hinata had a penchant for growing a pair of ears and a tail whenever she was in the mood to try lewd things.

Rather than reproach Yoruichi for her actions, as they actually helped to enhance his focus when he was meditating, Vahn placed his hand on top of her head, habitually petting her dark-purple hair as he toggled his Pocket's visibility. They still had about twenty minutes until the earlier people would start migrating over to his room, so, after a brief moment of consideration, he manifested the Little Garden and decided to have some fun with the feline duo in the outer rings. They were 'known' to spend all of their time within the Little Garden anyways, so, even if he went a little overboard, their presence wouldn't be missed during dinner...

---

Having hunted four King-Class, thirty-eight Elite-Class, and thousands of lesser Shinheuh, the only thing preventing Team Wolf Pack from moving on to the 4th Floor was their decision to wait until at least two weeks had passed. Now, however, they were seriously considering staying even longer, as, despite the relatively short period of time that had passed, even Endorsi, Anak, Khun, and Laure had felt a marked increase in their capabilities.

The Little Garden not only drastically reduced the amount of time it took to master new skills, it also had a remarkable effect on the physical and mental development of everything training within. This was best observed by the progress of both Shibisu and Nare, two relatively normal people who now had the ability to perform peak human feats. The former could now squat over 500kgs and, though her own feats were nowhere near that level, Nare had doubled her sprinting speed from 23km/h to a commendable 46km/h. This didn't sound that impressive on paper, but, considering she was able to do this in a compression suit without any Shinsu Enhancement, it was, inarguably, a very drastic improvement.

Unfortunately, though many people seemed to be in favor of the idea, Vahn threw a wrench into Khun's plans, stating, "There are still sixteen Floors remaining until we are supposed to separate. I have plans in the Middle and Outer Towers, so I'd rather not idle about too long. Besides, while it is certainly an extremely useful place for training, real growth comes from overcoming obstacles, not overpreparing until the point you can power through everything."

Since the Little Garden was Vahn's possession, nobody else really had a say in how it was used, so, with a slightly troubled smile on his face, Khun replied, "You make a valid point. I guess I just got carried away due to how amazing that place is. It feels like my brain absorbs everything whenever I'm inside. If I could, I would probably coop myself up inside of there all day...haaaa..."

Amused by Khun's 'honesty', a trait he had been showing more of as of late, Vahn lightly chuckled before surprising the boy as he said, "I'll tell you what. Reach the 100th Floor and I'll provide you a Little Garden of your own. For now, you're already making rapid progress so don't be too greedy. I don't want to see any of you become overconfident and egotistical just because you were provided benefits others could only hope to obtain. Power has a detrimental impact on a person's character, so, if you want to avoid becoming monsters by the time you reach the peak, you need to be ready and willing to experience setbacks."

As they had largely gotten used to Vahn's spontaneous speeches, most of the people present at the table just habitually nodded their heads. Only people like Baam, Shibisu, Khun, and Hwa Ryun ever paid full attention to his words. This made Vahn miss his time as a 'silent' Emperor, but, considering the many benefits he had received since his mental shift, he wasn't that remiss about his Children's lackadaisical behavior. It would most likely come back to bite them, and, even if it didn't, he would find a way to ensure they experienced at least one setback along their journey...

With that in mind, an amused smile spread across Vahn's face, sending shivers through the bodies of the more perceptive members of the group. Before they could ascertain his intentions, however, Vahn manifested his Pocket, displaying the time as he said, "I have already informed one of the Test Administrators of our intentions. We have been scheduled for a 6 AM departure so there will be no training tomorrow. Instead, we will gather here at 5 AM to eat breakfast before heading over to the central plaza as a group. I won't tell you to go to bed this instant, but make sure you get plenty of rest in preparation for our departure. I heard the 4th Floor is a Survival Test, so we might be staying outdoors for the better part of a month."

Though they would have normally been bothered by Vahn's words, as Survival Tests were always a pain, nobody showed any real concern. They mistakenly believed they would be able to freshen up and relax within the Little Garden, but, after their lackluster reactions, Vahn was intending to have them suffer through the Survival Test just like any other group of Regulars. After all, he wasn't here to baby them, even if they were his 'Children'...

---

With everyone promptly vacating his room following the announcement, Vahn promptly returned to the interior of the Little Garden. Immediately after that, he manifested as his Realm self before transferring to the third of nine sub-textures he had produced. The majority of these emulated different Shinsu densities, primarily intended for use in Team Wolf Pack's training. The lowest two, however, served as Vahn's 'love nest' and the place where he housed the many Templates he was intending to develop.

Though it was a little shameless of him, Vahn took advantage of the fact he had received his wives' blessing to create a template of another character he had been attached to in his youth, a woman named Mirajane Strauss from a Record known as Fairy Tail.

Fairy Tail had been a favorite series of Asuna, so, curious to learn whether her Take Over magic would work on creatures like Shinheuh, Vahn used it as an excuse to summon the inordinately beautiful woman with pure white hair, sapphire eyes, and a world-class figure. As for the other Templates, he went with four of the main characters that had helped to shape his childhood: Ichigo Kurosaki, from the same Record as Yoruichi, Son Goku, from a Record known as Dragon Ball, Gol D. Roger, from one of his all-time favorites, One Piece. As for the fourth, Vahn had initially wanted to go with Uzumaki Naruto, another one of his favorite characters, but, after performing a number of indecent acts with Hinata, he simply couldn't bring himself to create a Template of the titular main character. Instead, he settled on another character from the same series, a man who had left quite an impact, quite literally, on the entire verse: Madara Uchiha.

Vahn knew there were far more powerful Templates he could use, but, with his own Soul Tier and understanding of the characters being a limiter, he settled on people he was simply curious about. He was actually intending to create Templates of nearly every main character from the series he had enjoyed as a child, but, with his [Universal Mind] being stuck a E-Rank, that would have to wait until he had further developed the Innate...

Finding Madara staring down Goku, the former in his characteristic red armor while the latter wore an equally famous orange gi, Vahn couldn't help but release a tired sigh before looking around for the other battle junkie in the group, asking, "Where is Roger? I find it hard to believe he would miss out on the opportunity to participate in a fight."

Though he was normally a lot less serious, Goku maintained a focused look on his face, fearlessly staring into Madara's false Sharingan as he answered, "He and Ichigo were trying to figure out how to use Haki without purchasing the scrolls. The last I saw them, they were flying towards the North."

Understanding he was in the way of the duo's battle, Vahn nodded his head in response to Goku's words before relying on his omniscience to immediately locate Roger and Ichigo. He could have done this from the very beginning, but, trusting his instincts, he tried to interact with his Templates whenever possible. There was no way he would be able to develop his [Universal Mind] by relying on his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], so, while he intended to continue Naming his Templates, Vahn knew they would most likely be able to develop Egos without his interference.

As Goku had alleged, Vahn found Roger and Ichigo in the midst of what he intuited to be training to master Observation Haki. They were both wearing blindfolds, and, though they had only been at it for a few days, Vahn could already sense an 'intent' lingering within the area despite neither using his [Will of the Emperor]. Unfortunately, this intent wasn't nearly focused, so, rather than training, it looked like the duo were just beating each other with reinforced wooden swords...

Deciding he would also be in the way here, Vahn transferred himself to the eighth sub-texture before returning to his 'normal' self. Then, with an uncontainable grin on his face, he entered into a circular chamber filled with lace curtains, a massive circular bed, hundreds of pillows, and several scattered wardrobes. At the very center of this arrangement, two inordinately beautiful women could be seen flanking a much younger looking girl, each lying on their stomachs with their perky butts veiled by three very different styles of lingerie.

Though they all noticed his presence at the same time, it was the beautiful white-haired woman who first peeked back over her shoulder, smiling radiantly as she said, "Welcome back, Vahn. We just started a movie. Do you want to join us?"

Since there were many types of intimacy that had nothing to do with having sex, Vahn's smile became even more prominent as he unhesitantly agreed to Mira's suggestion. Then, with Mira to his left and Hinata snuggling against him on his right, Vahn enjoyed watching an animated movie called 'My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising' while Yoruichi, in her cat form, dangled from his head...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'FBI-san, he's over here...','Great suffering awaits~!','Watching anime between two waifus...I'm not crying...')

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