Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 167 - [Ice Empress]

While Vahn had been testing his new gauntlets, Evangeline had been using her ability to sense mana to try and determine the internal structure that made Vahn's gauntlets function. She had noticed previously, when she used the giant weapon, that the magical circuits and the logic behind the pathways were fundamentally different than anything from her world. If not for the fact Vahn had created the weapon to be easy to use, she would have had a much more difficult time charging her magic previously.

As Vahn continued to jump about and punching the air, Evangeline continued observing his actions and trying to make sense of the differences between their two worlds. Even though she had read the one-thousand-seven-hundred-eighteen books that Vahn had left behind, almost half of them had been regarding questionable subjects, while the others primarily focused on general knowledge, history, and some mythos. She hadn't learned anything about the actual magic structure of his world and didn't know how she would teach him since there were no guarantees the laws behind her magic would be of any use in his world.

Putting down her pen, Evangeline stood up from the comfortable chair before vanishing from her spot. Vahn, who had just thrown out another full-powered punch opened his eyes wide as Evangeline appeared right in front of him. Though he wanted to divert his punch, he didn't have time since Evangeline grabbed his wrist before using his own momentum to flip his body over her shoulder in a manner similar to Tsubaki.

Though it was an incredibly swift motion, it was also something that Vahn had experienced countless times, so he was able to twist his wait and right his feet before she was able to slam him into the ground. Evangelin, who had expected Vahn to crash into the floor, opened her eyes a bit as she said in a complementary fashion, "Oh, not bad." Vahn, who had been thrown by her, immediately frowned as he asked, "Why did you suddenly attack me?"

Evangeline tilted her head and looked at Vahn like he had said something ridiculous as she responded, "You were the one who attacked me though? All I did was teleport in front of you so I could ask you a question. Don't blame other people just because you dropped your guard and lack control over your own abilities." Each of Evangeline's words were biting, and she spoke as if she was trying to lecture Vahn.

Vahn just shook his head and dispelled his transformation as he asked, "What did you want to ask me?" Hearing the way Vahn was speaking, Evangeline furrowed her brows a bit as she said, "Every time you fail to call me Master is only increasing the punishment you'll receive in the future. You should do yourself a favor and fix your attitude, or is it that you're trying to test my patience?"

In response to her words, Vahn just released a sad sigh and walked toward his workshop. Even if he could see she wasn't serious, it didn't make her words much easier to deal with. Vahn never expected that being able to see someone's aura would actually be a disadvantage. If he couldn't see it, he could easily be angry with her and might even concede to her demands just to make his life easier. However, since he could see she wasn't seriously upset with him, it made her behavior more tiring than intimidating.

Watching Vahn walk away, Evangeline couldn't resist gritting her teeth as she wanted to lash out at the boy that constantly got on her nerves. She kept telling herself over and over that she would make him pay the moment they started their actual training. For now, however, she swallowed her anger and called out to him, "Wait, Vahn, I need to ask you a question." Vahn stopped his feet and turned toward her and asked plainly, "What would you like to ask, Evangeline?"

Hearing Vahn once again calling her 'Evangeline', instead of 'Master', Evangeline couldn't help but taking several deep breaths to calm herself down. After she regained her composure, she asked, "Are you unable to obtain any magic books or grimoires from your world that I can study?" Hearing that she had an actual question and wasn't just playing around, Vahn turned his body fully and faced toward her as he responded, "It's not that I can't obtain them, but it is very difficult to do so. There aren't a lot of books regarding magic in circulation because they are kept as a secret of their respective cultures. In my world, most magic possessed by people are skills they have awakened and developed without study."

Evangeline nodded her head in an 'as expected' manner as she looked toward Vahn and asked, "I want you to forge me an item and leave it behind so I can study it? You seem to have some knowledge in runes, inscriptions, and mana circuitry. Until you obtain an actual book for me to study, I'll have to make due with an item." Evangeline held her chin between her thumb and index finger as she considered for a few moments before saying, "I'll take a staff."

Vahn realized that the way she worded her request wasn't so much a question as it was a direct command. He could tell that she expected him to immediately concede to her demands and forge her a weapon. Though he wouldn't mind making something for her, especially since it would benefit him in the future, Vahn couldn't just give in so easily. Shaking his head, Vahn looked into her eyes and said, "I refuse; I might have forged something for you if you asked politely, but I'm not going to make you something just because you tell me to."

Without waiting for her response, Vahn once again turned around and walked toward his workshop. Evangeline stared at his back with a frown and a bit of frustration in her eyes. She hated how easily he was able to dismiss her; it was almost like he could see through her actions and it made her feel incredibly frustrated because she couldn't set aside her own pride for someone that is supposed to be her disciple. Even though she was doing things to help him, he was still more focused on his own matters and didn't seem to be paying attention to her efforts.

Evangeline continued to stare at his back all the way up till the point when he began creating a new item. The moment she heard the hammer strike the metal, she couldn't help but feel a sour feeling in her nose as she teleported back to the desk. After sitting down, Evangeline picked up the pen and began to continue her research as she tried to ignore her 'inconsiderate' disciple. The moment she leaned forward to write, a tear fell from her face and marred the page she was about to write in. As soon as she saw the tear stain, she disappeared from the chair and hid in the void to avoid wandering eyes.

Vahn continued to forge without paying attention to what Evangeline had decided to busy herself with. Now that he had a pair of gauntlets, Vahn wanted to forge a pair of leg guards as well. Though he didn't rely on kicks too much, it wasn't as if he never used his legs to receive attacks, so he wanted to make sure they were well protected. Since he often relied on his agility to deal with foes, protecting his legs was of paramount importance.

Since the process was very similar to how he had forged his gauntlets, Vahn was able to finish his work in almost the exact same amount of time. Considering that the leg guards were much larger, finishing within seven hours showed that he had made a marked improvement even though it was only the difference between forging a single set of items. Now that he has the pair of black, scaled, leg guards, Vahn wanted to try something that he had intended to do previously. He speculated that, like his twin-swords, Vahn would be able to create other items as part of a larger set. As he named the leg guards, he made sure to keep in mind that they were supposed to have a synergistic effect with his gauntlets.

[Xuánwǔ Greave](s)

Rank: A (Magic)

Slots: 0

P.Def: 598+120

M.Def: 680+136

Ability: Durandal(A), Shock Absorption(B), Energy Compression(B), Xuánwǔ Set Effect(20%)

Greave(s) inspired by one of the Four Sacred Beasts of a foreign land, Xuánwǔ. It possesses a marginal amount of Xuánwǔ's capabilities and allows the user to emulate the might of the Sacred Beast. Enhances the defensive capabilities of items within the Xuánwǔ series of items.

Vahn received 1,519 and 1,517 OP respectively, and he was very happy when he saw the new ability 'Xuánwǔ Set Effect'. As he had expected, as long as he forged the items in a similar manner and imbued his intent into the name, he was able to create synergistic effects between the equipment that had never existed before. Though he was still a ways off from being able to forge an item to impress Hephaestus, Vahn now had a greater hope for the future.

After equipping the items through his equipment menu, Vahn was about to test them out before he looked toward the desk where Evangeline always sat. He noticed that she was missing so he looked toward the bed to see if she had decided to rest. Seeing that she was also missing from the bed, Vahn couldn't help but turn his head and inspect the surroundings for the figure of the small vampire girl. After noticing that she was nowhere to be found, Vahn couldn't help but feel confused as he made his way toward the desk.

Arriving at the side of the desk, Vahn overlooked the notes and manuscripts Evangeline had been working with before his eyes were drawn to a peculiarity. The book sitting directly in front of the chair had been left open and the pen Evangeline often used had been left on the side and had long left a pool of black ink on the beautiful wooden desk. Vahn grabbed the quill and set it into the inkwell before looking at the book Evangeline had been reading. As he scanned the contents of the page, Vahn caught sight of an area on the book that had crimpled slightly and caused some of the ink to blur, something that would only be caused by spilling liquid onto the page.

Vahn frowned and looked around the area for a bit before releasing a long sigh and heading back to his workshop. Though the way she acted annoyed him, Vahn wasn't the type of person that could make a girl cry and feel nothing. He already knew she didn't harbor any ill-will toward him and was just putting on an act, so now that his words had upset her to such an extent he couldn't help but try to appease her a bit. Thought it might be troublesome, Vahn had long realized he would rather inconvenience himself than allow others to be sad because of his actions.

Though he wanted to take a break after testing his new greaves, Vahn picked up his hammer and started creating a new piece of equipment. The metal he used was a composite of mithril and orichalc.u.m and would guarantee the piece of equipment had the highest magical conductivity of anything he had ever forged. Because he liked the contrast between the black and gold of the metal, Vahn decided to twine the two around each other while creating a solid core of adamantine to ensure that the final result would also have incredible durability.

Because of the complexity of the project, Vahn spent nearly thirteen hours refining all the details and shaping the head of the item into a helical shape that coiled like a dragon around a large blue crystalline core. The final result of his efforts was a staff that was nearly two meters tall that looked like a black and gold dragon coiling around each other before converging at the head of the staff. Vahn had even painstakingly carved the details into the heads of the dragons to make them look more realistic. The core he had used in the center was a material known as 'Ice Dragon's Eye', even though it wasn't from a real dragon. It was a rare ore that could only be found in furthest reaches of the Iron Hills, to the far north of Orario.

Vahn was incredibly tired, but he was still satisfied with the final product. He even considered it his new greatest masterpiece, as it's construction had been more intricate than the [Dance of the Amazon] he had forged previously. After focusing his mind for a bit, Vahn imagined the image of the small vampire whose colors matched the staff in his hands. She also had golden hair and always wore black attire, so the staff wouldn't conflict with her normal appearance. Picturing her standing in the sky surrounded by pillars of ice, Vahn couldn't help but imagine she was like an Empress that stood above all others. With that thought in mind, he smiled as he uttered in a low voice, "You shall be called [Ice Empress]."

Since he had over exhausted himself previously, Vahn felt what little energy remained in his body drain as he used the last bit of his consciousness to inspect the item.

[Ice Empress]

Rank: A (Magic)

Slots: 2

P.Atk: 411

M.Atk: 1337

A staff forged with incredible attention to detail using Mithril and Orichalc.u.m to create the visage of two dragons coiling around an Adamantine pillar. The core of this staff greatly enhances ice magic and allows the user to freeze everything under the heavens if they are worthy. If the standing of the user is low, the staff will cause the blood in their bodies to freeze as a just reward for their hubris.

After reading the description, Vahn fell onto his butt and leaned against the table of his workshop. He held the staff in his hands as he whispered to the void, "This is for you, Evangeline. Don't be sad anymore." With his words spoken, Vahn allowed himself to fall asleep as the figure of a young girl appeared from the void before him.

Evangeline had been paying attention to Vahn from the moment he approached the desk, and she had nearly tried to recover the book out from under his nose before he saw the evidence of her earlier tears. Unfortunately, as she had been hesitating, Vahn found the book and noticed the stain after giving the page a cursory glance. Seeing him sigh, Evangeline felt incredibly embarrassed and almost forcefully ejected Vahn from the space. However, contrary to her expectations, instead of trying to address her or making any remarks, Vahn immediately returned to his workshop and started creating an item.

Since she understood that he was previously going to test his new equipment, Evangeline was interested in the item he had decided to forge instead of following his earlier plan. Though she didn't recognize the item at first, it wasn't too long before she realized that Vahn had begun forging a staff. Evangeline felt her heart ache a bit in her chest as the urge to begin crying again began to well up inside her. Watching Vahn work so hard and pushing himself beyond his limits as he refined the staff to greater and greater detail made Evangeline feel sorry about the way she always treated him.

By the time he had finished completing the staff and named it, Evangeline had already decided to be kinder to her 'stupid disciple' in the future. The moment he sat on the ground and called out to her, she wasn't far from tears for the third time as she exited the void and stared down at his unconscious body. Using her telekinesis, she lifted his body and floated it over to the bed before putting him to sleep. Though he was sweaty and covered in soot, she didn't particularly care after all the effort he had put into making her a staff.

Staring into the face of the young boy, Evangeline couldn't help but feel that he was quickly becoming more manly. Wiping away some of his sweat with her hand, she whispered quietly, "Even though you're an idiot, you do have your good points...If only had met the real me, I think you could have saved her." Releasing a sad and melancholic sigh, Evangeline leaned over Vahn's face and gave him a soft kiss on the lips before climbing into the bed and resting beside him.

(A/N: 'Idiot Vahn','Tsundere Vampire Baba','Don't tell me you'll help anyone, just because they're a girl!? Vahn looks toward the crying girl before him before nodding with a confident expression and saying, "Of course. No matter what it takes, I'll do my best to make everyone smile."') <--I imagine the image of when Lili is crying to Bell in the anime xD

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