Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 576 - Breakthrough

Determined to make some headway on his research, Vahn had cooped himself up inside his workshop with only Fenrir to keep him company. As he had suggested to her in the past, Fenrir often spent her days 'lazing' around and watching him do his research. Right now, she was laying down on a sofa upside down, allowing her head to dangle from the cushions as she watched him work. Vahn imagined she would get bored after a while, but Fenrir was very persistent and surprisingly well-behaved. She didn't utter a single sound when he was working, even if the other girls came into the workshop out of curiosity.

Thus far, Vahn hadn't been able to come up with a practical storage solution for his blood because even high-quality metals would slowly let the energies contained within the blood dissipate over time. The 'batteries' he had made for Haruhime were still functional, but it was very obvious they couldn't contain as much mana as in the past. It had been around three months since he created them, meaning that Orichalc.u.m could only store the crystalized version of his blood for around 6-8 months before it would need to be replaced. As for things like gemstones, even if he made a formation to contain the energy, they would only last few a few short days before the crystallized blood would become inert.

Riveria had received a missive the previous day from one of her contacts in the Elven Kingdom. It was nearly impossible to send information over incredibly long distances, but Riveria had a very beautiful falcon called a Silvercrown Falcon. Its feathers were a beautiful shade of grey with subtle browns and, as the name would suggest, it had several silvery feathers around its head that made it appear to be wearing a crown. It was easily capable of flying upwards of 900km/h with its affinity with the wind so Riveria had received a letter from her contact, who had been taking care of the falcon for her in preparation for when Loki's parchment would arrive.

Vahn hadn't been able to read the parchment himself, but he knew some of the information contained within since Loki had informed him about it afterward. The first part of the parchment was an official greeting from the gods of the Alliance to the Elven Kingdom, essentially 'reciprocating' the Elves' greeting to the Alliance by contacting Vahn. Immediately after that, however, the subject immediately changed to a string of threats and warnings directed at the Elven Kingdom regarding their egotistical nature, backward cultural ideologies, and their 'audacity' for attempting to 'scam' him.

To wrap things up, Loki had left a few personal notes to the Elven King himself, who Vahn learned was Riveria's father, Larfel. Though it was certainly an embellishment of the truth, at least for the time being, Loki had essentially 'informed' Larfel that Riveria and Vahn were already in a relationship and that she had taken the initiative to break the previous engagement as Riveria's goddess. She called into question his credibility as both a King and a Father by having the gall to attempt marrying off his daughter to such an unsuitable man such as Alosrin. Since Riveria was also her 'child', Loki took the initiative to 'undo' his mistake to 'save him some face'.

So as not to mislead Larfel in misconstruing her words, Loki's final statement was a warning to the Elven Kingdom regarding their status within the world. As they were very reliant on the imports from other countries, Loki threatened to that the Alliance would not hesitate to go to war in order to protect Vahn, as he was far more important to the goddesses of the world than he was to the Elves. Though Larfel hated Gods, at least those that came down to the mortal world, it was a fact that many High Elves had a great deal of respect for most gods, as they were the ones to create the spirits that became the ancestors of all Elves. She threatened 'Divine Intervention' in the affair if it got out of hand, signing the doc.u.ment with the names of more than twenty gods that were either currently part of the Alliance, or its backers.

Even if he had ten times the pride and arrogance he was known for, Larfel knew the state of his country better than anyone. They currently had to allocate a large number of their forces on the western border to prevent the burning of their forests and the invasion of the Rakia Kingdom. They were already unable to even issue a real counterattack against their hated enemy, so there was no way they could divert forces to fight against a single powerful Familia, much less the entire Alliance. Diplomacy was the only option left to him, as there was no way he would be able to retain his position as King if he made an enemy out of the boy that had discovered the reason behind their infertility and had been researching solutions alongside his daughter.

Though he couldn't easily accept their 'relationship', there was simply nothing he could do about it, especially with Vahn's purported capabilities and mastery over space magic. This wasn't even taking into consideration the existence of the several True Dragon around Vahn, essentially turning him into a powerhouse threat all his own. Within the missive Riveria had received, it also included a private note from Larfel himself, as he was very aware of his own daughter's network of contacts. He had urged her to rethink her actions and avoid embarrassing their people by being involved in such a fiasco that would shame their ancestors. Even if he could appreciate Vahn's power, Larfel couldn't simply allow his daughter to marry a human boy, even if he was a demigod. It also asked her to open dialogue between the Alliance and the Elven Kingdom by acting as a mediator, simultaneously encouraging her to return home in the near future.

She hadn't needed to share this information with Vahn, but Riveria was aware of Loki's 'scheme' and had already resolved herself to the future path she had chosen for herself. Though he wasn't allowed to read the letter itself, Riveria summarized things for him and 'encouraged' him to complete his research soon before the matter was exposed. According to the original timeline of the Divination, it should have been around this time when Riveria originally got pregnant so Vahn was feeling a bit of pressure to make a breakthrough, pouring over several doc.u.ments and testing a variety of different materials...

Vahn was currently holding a blood red gemstone in his hands that had been made of a cored out diamond-like gem called an Alexandrite Star, which he had obtained from the system shop for 10,000OP. It had originally looked like a rainbow with the internal light refracting within the complex internal structure of the sublimely clear gemstone. Vahn had stumbled across it after purchasing several books about magic catalysts from the system shop. In its original state, it was purportedly even capable of storing part of the soul so Vahn had hoped it would be able to contain his blood for an extended period of time.

There were a total of fourteen formations that had been created out of pure Orichalc.u.m suspended by the crystallized blood that Vahn had inserted into the gemstone. Four of the magic circles were for controlling the input and output of energy within the gem itself while the other ten existed solely to 'contain' the energy within the gemstone itself. Not satisfied with relying on internal formations, Vahn was currently carving specialized runes into the faceted surface and then filling in the gaps with Terra's blood, as it was one of the best and most practical catalysts he had been able to obtain thus far. This resulted in a blood-red gemstone that had a transparent surface covered with golden runes that shined vibrantly as a result of the source energy resonating between Terra's blood and Vahn's.

As he wasn't yet that proficient at cutting gemstones, Vahn wasn't entirely satisfied with the final appearance but was still hopeful things would work out. It was currently late in the evening and he had skipped both lunch and dinner as a result of the focus he had placed on the gemstone. He was supposed to be staying with Tsubaki tonight, so Vahn believed she would be understanding of the situation as a fellow [Master Smith]. She was also in the period where she was somewhat uncomfortable with having s.e.x, out of concern for their unborn daughter, so they would have simply ended up cuddling together and talking anyway.

After thinking for several minutes, Vahn saw Fenrir dangling her paws off the edge of the sofa and her ears immediately perked up under his gaze as she turned her scarlet eyes toward him. Vahn smiled and fiddled around with the gemstone in his hand, deciding to name it Scarlet Star, since its blood red coloration was actually quite beautiful and was somewhat reminiscent of Fenrir's eyes with how it glowed with a magical light. As for the 'Star', that was in appreciation of the original materials and he thought it was very suitable with how the golden runes glimmered vibrantly.

//Obtained 8,713 OP For Creating [Scarlet Star]//

//[Lapidary] Development Ability Created. Current Rank: D//

(A/N: I can change [Lapidary] to [Gemcutter] if people don't like it.)

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[Scarlet Star]

Rank: B

Capacity: 2512/2512

Decay Rate: 10 max capacity every 30 days.

Use: Allows for the storage, transmission, and absorption of various energies. Base recovery rate dependant on the availability of energy in the surroundings. When used as a catalyst, enhances the efficacy of original skill, ability, magic, formation by a factor of 119%. Decay rate increases if used over-capacity.

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Vahn was pleasantly surprised by the system notifications because he was able to recoup a bit of his OP expenditure as a result of naming the gemstone. This meant he would potentially be able to make more [Scarlet Star]s in the future, consuming only around 1,300OP during the production process. However, the existence of a new Development Ability and the actual description of the [Scarlet Star] itself made Vahn excited. Previously, he had no way of discovering the secrets behind complex gems because they wouldn't have a descriptor. Now, The Path seemed to have rewarded his hard work and created a skill that would allow him to glean more information from his creations.

Though he was interested in doing a bit of research to test the [Scarlet Star], Vahn stowed it away in his Inventory for now. He was in a great mood, but it was already getting late and he didn't want to get another lecture so soon after the last one. Instead, he used [Thria*Mimos] and, with a large grin on his face, gestured to Fenrir. She had been in an awkward position at first, but Fenrir quickly righted herself and 'leaped' toward him happily nuzzling against his chest as Vahn gave her a bit of heavy petting. Though she hadn't really contributed to the completion of the [Scarlet Star], Vahn still felt like he owed the petite Vanargandr girl a bit of gratitude for the inspiration she had provided to him...

After spending around twenty minutes with Fenrir, Vahn sent her off to bed since he was going to be staying with Tsubaki and, though she probably wouldn't mind Fenrir coming along, Vahn wanted to pamper the beautiful brown-skinned beauty a bit. Fenrir had improved a lot, but she couldn't hide the envy and jealousy in her eyes as they would 'literally glow' whenever she was feeling complex emotions and stress. In the low light of a bedroom, it was especially obvious and Vahn didn't want to stress her out while he was in such a great mood. Splitting his affection was never an easy thing to do, which is why he spent the twenty minutes with her as both a 'reward' and an 'apology'.

Tsubaki was already in his bedroom and laying in the bed when Vahn opened his door and entered inside. She was wearing a loose black yukata and Vahn got a glimpse of her glossy cleavage when she lifted her body to match his gaze. After releasing a loud yawn, Tsubaki smiled and asked, "Did you manage to have a breakthrough? You seem to be in a very good mood now, Vahn~." Vahn nodded his head and changed into his sleepwear before entering in the bed alongside Tsubaki, pulling her into his embrace soon after. He ran his fingers through her silky black hair and pulled her face closer to his, answering her question with his actions instead of wasting time trying to explain. Tsubaki often commented that he 'talked too much', so Vahn tried to be a little more proactive whenever he was with her.

When they separated, Tsubaki released a husky laugh and said, "Congratulations..." before hugging him tightly and stroking the back of his head. She had a tendency to 'bury' his face into her chest, even before they were in a relationship, so Vahn had grown accustomed to the comfortable softness and the warmth coming from her body. Vahn allowed her to hold him for several minutes, enjoying her gentle caress and the pleasant aroma wafting from her body until she finally released him. With a beautiful smile on her face, Tsubaki pinched his cheek softly and said, "Tell me all about it tomorrow..." before turning over on her side so Vahn could hug her from behind. He often slept on the right side of the pregnant women so that they could comfortably lay on their left. Hugging them from behind always made Vahn's 'protective' instincts trigger and he felt like he was shielding Tsubaki's body from harm with his own...

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After separating from her Master, Fenrir made her way through the dark corridors of the Manor as she approached her destination in a pleased mood. She didn't know why, but Fenrir could tell that her Master was very happy, thus making her feel very happy at the same time. It was already late, so Fenrir couldn't go play with the others right now and instead went to Preasia's room before opening up the door and making her way inside. Though she had her own room, Fenrir had never slept in it because she didn't feel comfortable sleeping on her own. She didn't actually require sleep but had grown accustomed to it since it was very boring to be awake when everyone else was sleeping.

Preasia lifted her body to see who was entering her room so late, unsurprised to find that the 'perpetrator' was Fenrir. She showed a small smile after seeing how 'happy' Fenrir looked, asking, "Did something good happen with Vahn?" Unlike when she was around Vahn, Preasia had managed to recover her ability to speak properly around others. Vahn was 'aware' of this, as he had heard from the others, but Preasia simply couldn't stay relaxed around him. It wasn't that she was afraid, but she felt very bashful every time she was in the same room with Vahn thus causing her to consider each word seriously before she said anything.

Fenrir bobbed her head happily and said, "Master gave Fenrir lots of petting. Nice and heavy, just as Fenrir likes it~." Preasia showed a complicated expression on her face and released a sigh, saying, "I'm a bit envious that Fenrir is able to spend so much time with Vahn lately. Maybe I should start camping out in his workshop more..." Fenrir shook her head and climbed into the bed with Preasia, explaining, "Preasia will bother Master because of her aura...be a good girl, okay?" It was well-known that Vahn could passively detect auras, which allowed him to understand a person's mood and, to a lesser extent, understand their thoughts and intentions. Preasia knew what Fenrir was trying to say, so she began to blush deeply...

Sniffing the air, Fenrir squinted her eyes and said, "Preasia is a naughty girl...Fenrir can smell it, the heavy smell coming from Preasia's body..." As if to emphasize her words, Fenrir had poked her nose forward toward Preasia and caused the Sheep Girl to back up against the headboard of her bed in a panic. Fenrir's eye glimmered slightly when she saw Preasia's legs and said, "Preasia is becoming more like Fenrir every day...are you trying to take Fenrir's place~?" Preasia quickly shook her head and hid her legs with the blankets, covering her lower body completely to 'protect' it from Fenrir's eyes. Ever since the day she received Vahn's 'care', short hairs had been growing over her entire body, almost completely covering her arms and legs with a dense platinum blond 'fur'.

Fenrir c.o.c.ked her head to the side with a playful look on her face as she said, "Fenrir knows that Preasia is a good girl, kukuku~." From her perspective, Preasia growing fur was just a way of 'copying' her but, as she often copied other people, Fenrir couldn't fault her for it. As long as she didn't try to 'usurp' her position, Fenrir didn't mind even if Preasia's entire body became covered in fur. She had just wanted to play a 'trick' on Preasia since it made her feel a strange urge to 'tease' people that thought they could take her place by copying her features. After all, even if Preasia became one of her Master's 'women', that still wouldn't put at the same level as an 'eternal companion'. Preasia would one day die of natural causes while Fenrir would continue to live forever, always at her Master's side...

Preasia relaxed a bit when she heard Fenrir's words, releasing a heavy sigh of relief before putting on a pouting expression and saying, "Fenrir shouldn't tease me so much...didn't your Master ask you to protect and take care of me...?" Fenrir's expression became somewhat serious as she nodded her head and said, "Yes, Fenrir will protect Preasia because she is very weak and fragile. Preasia is also Fenrir's best friend, so she will protect you even if you stay weak forever, okay~?" Hearing Fenrir's words, Preasia gave an awkward smile because Fenrir's 'friendship' was a bit of a heavy burden at times. She was actually very fond of Fenrir since she had been with her during the time when she most needed companionship. However, as Fenrir 'matured', it became somewhat difficult to deal with her because she sometimes said biting words without any intent of causing offense.

As if she had just remembered something, Fenrir's expression became playful once again as she asked, "Preasia is going to be with Master soon, right, right~?" Preasia's face became beet red in an instant since the reason she was still awake right now was that she hadn't been able to sleep at all. Her mind was completely filled with thoughts of her impending night with Vahn, now only a few days away. Fenrir began laughing at Preasia reaction and smelled the air once again, causing the beet red blush on Preasia's face to become crimson. She knew what Fenrir was smelling and it made Preasia squeeze her thighs together tightly in a vain attempt to hide the aroma.

As her nose was also somewhat sensitive, she could smell her own arousal as well, causing the atmosphere in the room to become tense and exceptionally awkward. Fenrir began to 'snicker' playfully and said, "Fenrir won't bully you, Preasia..." before snuggling up next to her and squeezing her body tightly. Preasia calmed down and released another sigh, happy things didn't develop in the way she had been expecting. As Fenrir's curiosity increased, Preasia had eventually broken down after her constant insistence and had started 'teaching' Fenrir many things. Since she had an insatiable curiosity, much like Vahn himself, Fenrir liked to try and get a rise out of Preasia, sometimes even leading to very embarrassing situations...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Diplomacy...?','Vahn Creates A Soulgem','Fenrir is a good girl (UwU)~!')

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