Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Shortly after they finished with their shower, Vahn was going to let Arusha and Arryn rest when all three of their Pockets informed them to head to the location where teams would be chosen. Before they left, however, Vahn turned to the two girls and said, "There is a chance my enemies will target you if we end up on separate teams. If that happens, activate the pendants I gave you previously. It will alert me to the situation and allow me to teleport you to my side. You are free to try and fight if you really want to, but, at the very least, I want you to activate the tracking function of your Pocket before trying anything."

Without any argument whatsoever, Arusha and Arryn immediately nodded in response to Vahn's words. They understood their own weakness after seeing some of the climactic battles between him and the other residents of the Emerald Grove, so, while they wanted to help him, their desire not to become a burden to the person who had 'saved' them was even greater. This was especially true for Arryn, as, despite only knowing Vahn for little more than a week, she felt like her life had been given meaning after their meeting. She had come to learn how truly vast the world was, and, despite the fact he was a God who stood above countless others, he lowered himself to her level and allowed her to love him.

Noticing the tell-tale glimmer in Arryn's eyes, Vahn couldn't help but issue a light chuckle as he caressed both of their heads and said, "We'll have more fun later on. For now, let's go and see what our temporary allies are up to. I'm curious to discover which Gambler is daring enough to think they can purchase me and order me around..."

Though Arusha glowered at the thought of anyone telling her Master what to do, Arryn understood that Vahn was just joking around. She returned a chuckle of her own, and, after enjoying his caress for a while longer, the three of them made their way over to where the other passing Regulars were waiting. They were the last to arrive, but, considering how quickly they had qualified during the first round, nobody was brave enough to criticize them for being late. Instead, they occupied one of the tables that had been prepared by event organizers, casually conversing until it was their turn to step out onto the stage...

---

In order to introduce an element of strategy and ensure things were as competitive as possible, the organizers of the Workshop Battle had the six qualifying Gamblers participate in an auction. Though they would each end up with fifteen people on their team, this allowed them to drive up the prices of certain Regulars in order to pressure their opponents into wasting resources. As for why this was important, it was due to the fact that, with the exception of weapons obtained during the Workshop Battle, others could not be used in the tournament.

To prevent members of the Ten Great Families from effectively guaranteeing a win through the use of rare and powerful artifacts, all equipment used during the Workshop Battle was purchased with the Points the Gamblers had acquired during the previous rounds. This included Lighthouses and Observers, so, even if they managed to acquire powerful allies during the auction, there was still a chance they would lose if their equipment wasn't up to standard.

Fortunately, even if they squandered all of their resources prior to the start of the Final Round, they weren't completely without options. So long as they were able to complete certain objectives or defeat members of the enemy team, they could acquire a surplus of Points to spend. This allowed them to purchase items from various summoning altars located within the tournament grounds.

With the exception of some mass-produced goods, each of the articles available for summoning was hand-crafted by the Workshop. This meant, so long as they chose their allies well and worked together, each member of a team could walk away with substantial upgrades to their existing gear. The winning team would even be awarded 3,000,000 Points per member, and, for the duration of one month, they would be allowed VIP access to all publically accessible Workshop facilities. This effectively provided them a 30% discount to all items purchased, and, as a result, they garnered a considerable amount of interest from various sponsors seeking to benefit from their boon.

Simply put, the Gamblers had to decide between purchasing items or summoning allies during the final round. Since the price of summoned allies was determined by their value during the auction, it was important to spread their Points out over a number of reliable Regulars rather than invest all of their resources into individually powerful participants. Vahn and Varagarv, for example, had starting bids of 1,000,000 Points, respectively. Having them on your team virtually guaranteed victory if you could summon them, but, with each team only starting with 100,000 Points during the Final Round, earning enough to actually summon them was very difficult.

Among the six Gamblers, the person with the most Points was a blonde-haired woman with fair features and petite, angelic, wings. She had managed to accumulate more than 2.4 million Points, an ample sum considering the second-highest Gambler had only earned 1.9 million. Under most circumstances, this would have put her in a rather dominant position, but, due to being the handler of Varagarv, the so-called 'Strongest E-Rank Regular', the other Gamblers managed to force her to spend more than 1.4 million in order to obtain him. As for Vahn, he was more than a little annoyed when it was his turn to come out, yet, despite several calls from the auctioneer, nobody attempted to bid for him...

Though they recognized that Vahn was exceptionally powerful, none of the Gamblers believed they would be able to control him. The angelic woman was actually Varagarv's 'Handler', so, even though she didn't really have much of a choice in the matter, she could, at the very least, control him. As for Vahn, the only information people had on him came from rumors and the dominant display he had put on during the first round. To the Gamblers present, he was an 'extremely volatile' purchase, and, though his presence might guarantee their victory, there was a chance he could just refuse to obey their commands and outright throw the match if he really wanted to.

In the end, Vahn was asked to return to the waiting area and wait until the rest of the competitors had been bid on. This gave him a strong desire to just forfeit his participation then and there, but, understanding the reasons why nobody bid on him, he managed to calm himself down by inviting Mikoto to come out in her Pikachu form. She wasn't his first choice, but, with Fenrir and Ryun in the middle of some kind of special training, she was a good alternative. The fact she had 'begrudgingly' accepted his invitation brought a smile to his face, and, though she was incredibly embarrassed by the presence of others, she still allowed him to squish and massage her cheeks until his mood had improved.

Once everyone else had been bid on, Vahn was 'given' to the only team that had an empty slot left in their party. As for Arusha and Arryn, they had been purchased for 120,00 and 200,000 Points by two different Gamblers, both planted FUG. He conveyed this to the duo with a hand signal they had decided upon prior to the auction before walking over to his own team, a group also acting in the interests of FUG. What made them 'special' was the fact that this was also the team with Varagarv, effectively guaranteeing that he would not be summoned during the Final Round.

As if she hadn't participated in the orchestration of the auction, the leader of the team, the angelic blonde, offered a 'friendly' smile as she remarked, "It's a shame, really. Varagarv was greatly looking forward to battling against you. Who could have imagined that the two strongest E-Rank Regulars would end up on the same team~?"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn ignored the woman's remark as he stared directly at the tall and muscular Varagarv. Other than the unique hood covering his dog-like ears, the only garment he wore was a pair of bright red pants. This allowed his rather intimidating figure to be on full display, but, while others might be cowed by the murderous and untamed aura lingering around him, Vahn was completely unaffected as he stared into the man's glowing red eyes and said, "It looks like FUG decided not to sacrifice you. I guess the Elder supporting this farce is trying to curry favor with your Master. Lucky you."

Frowning in response to Vahn's words, Varagarv rose to his full height of 210cm, staring down at Vahn as he asserted, "You are powerful...but I am no coward. If you want to fight, I will fight you..." in a deep and resonant tone. This caused the angelic woman to pale slightly, but, while he was 'very' tempted to put the dog in his place, Vahn didn't actually care about the title of 'strongest' in E-Rank. It was also impossible for him to take the threats of someone that was thousands of times weaker than him seriously, so, in the end, he just teasingly remarked, "I'm not fond of bullying the weak..." while releasing part of his aura.

Though he didn't cower in the slightest, Varagarv was unable to prevent his pupils from contracting into small points when he sensed Vahn's aura. At the same time, goose pimples appeared along his forearms, and, though his instincts were telling him to retreat, his training as one of Yama's 'fighting dog' compelled him to issue a low growl. This earned him an amused smile from Vahn, not because he found the man's reaction particularly amusing, but because the Law of Identity was narrating the chaotic thoughts of the angelic woman behind him.

Deciding there was no value in teasing a bunch of Regulars, Vahn ultimately issued a light chuckle before shifting his attention towards the woman and asking, "I'm assuming you don't need me for anything, correct?"

Though she had already been warned that Vahn possessed an ability that allowed him to read a person's thoughts, the angelic woman, Ron Mei, hadn't expected him to see through their ploy so quickly. She couldn't shake the feeling that her entire being was exposed before him, and, though she was loyal to both Yama and FUG, she suddenly felt like it was a 'very' bad idea to oppose the man standing before her. It was no wonder FUG had them come up with a plan that involved 'not' fighting against him, something that was very rare for the rather violence-prone organization.

In response to Vahn's question, Ron Mei forced a smile as she instinctually placed herself behind Varagarv and answered, "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't make you work with us. The reason we had to come up with a plan like this is because you're someone that refuses to 'cooperate' with others. Now, please just behave until the end of the Workshop Battle...so long as you don't try anything, we have no intention of making any moves against you or your allies..."

With his brows furrowing ever-so-slightly, the pressure emanating from Vahn was enough to draw the attention of virtually every Regular present as he stated, "You shouldn't be so eager to speak on behalf of people who would willingly sacrifice you without a thought. If I were half the monster your Elders would have you believe, you would have been dead the moment your plot was uncovered. In the end, despite your loyalty, you are just a convenient tool that is being misled by people who only have their own interests at heart. Seriously, more than ten-thousand-years have passed yet they still need Regulars like you to act on their behalf? Other than asking countless people to make sacrifices for their personal interests, what have the Elders of FUG done to actualize any of your dreams? How many billions more need to die before you people realize you won't get anywhere while the leaders of your so-called resistance are sitting around on their asses!?"

Not expecting Vahn to suddenly shout, Ron Mei turned whiter than a sheet as Varagarv shielded her with his muscular forearm. As for the other Regulars present, they felt an oppressive chill penetrate their bodies despite the fact that Vahn had prevented his aura from applying any direct pressure to them. They suddenly felt as though they had been locked in a pen with an exceptionally dangerous creature, one that could decide their life or death at its whim. This caused all discussion in the room to cease, and, until he had departed alongside Arusha and Arryn, not a single person dared to utter so much as a whisper...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'An Emperor arrives when he pleases...','RIP Vahn xD...','It seems like FUG is in the process of digging itself a rather sizeable hole (OwO)...')

https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \<-(p.atreon link)

paypal.me/Einlion

Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh