Endless Path : Infinite Cosmoa

by Srtyi

Vahn was an atypical youth. Due to a rare mutation, his blood had the potential to target and attack ailments within the human body. Touted as a universal cure, people had elevated his status above the norm and given him the classification "Panacea". In the media, he was hailed as a great hero who would usher in a new era or human wellness. However, behind the scenes things weren't

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Chapter 30 - Conviction

Vahn made his way through the first floor of the dungeon and followed the stairs down to the entrance of the fifth floor. Since he was able to outperform the efforts of a party of level 1 adventurers, he decided the first four floors were no longer capable of tempering his skills.

Entering the fifth floor, the first thing he noticed was the change in the layout of the dungeon. The walls had become a light green color, and there was a murky patchwork of browns along the ground. The phosphorescence coming from the walls had changed from the gentle blue of the previous floors to a luminous green.

Progressing further along the path, Vahn came across his first group of monsters of the fifth floor. Hopping around about 13m away was a total of three 'Frog Shooters'. They were each about 120cm tall and possessed a singular large eye. Their name came from how they attacked their enemies by 'firing' their tongue with enough force to shatter stone. For those unfortunate enough to take a direct hit, broken bones were often considered light injuries.

Vahn took a deep breath before activating [Will of the Emperor] and drawing his sword. He increased his pace with each step as he began to close the distance to the three monsters.

Shuddering after being encompassed by Vahn's domain, the three 'frog shooters' tried opening a gap with the approaching human. The closest one to Vahn's position tried to launch its tongue to halt his advance. Vahn rewarded its efforts by severing its tongue before using the momentum of his charge to press forward and bisect the now wailing frog.

The remaining two attempted to aid their ally by attacking from Vahn's flanks, but he was able to dodge both surprise attacks by swiftly side-stepping between their trajectories. In less time than it took for them to retract the tongues, they saw the human approach with a deadly arc trailing behind his imposing figure.

Vahn exhaled. He had managed to slay all three 'frog shooters' without taking a second breath. In total, less than six seconds had passed between the moment he drew his sword and the monsters had turned to dust.

Vahn began to understand the principles behind [Will of the Emperor] somewhat. Though it didn't seem to offer an increase to his numerical stats, it most certainly enhanced his speed, strength, and perception to monstrous levels while active. There was a distinct difference between his capabilities with and without the skill, even though it didn't reflect within the parameters of the system.

It was also important to note that, though his stats hadn't increased since his last venture into the dungeon the radius of his domain had grown from around 21 meters to 37 meters. It seemed to directly correlate to the strength of his conviction and desire to grow stronger.

After slaying more than 40 'frog shooters', Vahn found his way to the next floor and immediately pressed onwards. He had been using [Will of the Emperor] intermittently instead of keeping it active at all times. Though he knew it likely affected his growth, Vahn wanted to increase his pace until he was able to reach a floor where he could put his current skills to the test. He used the time between activations to recover any mana that had been consumed during the skills use.

Entering the sixth floor Vahn continued slaying every 'frog shooter' he came across. Though he was able to improve his footwork by dodging the tongues, he ended up swapping out his sword for his bow to increase the efficiency of clearing the floor. The large eyes of the frogs were the perfect target for honing his archery skills, and he was able to gain some experience predicting the trajectory of movements brought about by the synergy between [Bow Mastery] and [Will of the Emperor].

An hour into the floor Vahn began to slow his pace. He had not come across a single 'frog shooter' for the last ten minutes and the phosphorescence of the surrounding area had progressively darkened over time. Giving in to his instincts, Vahn activated his domain to its maximum potential.

He was able to detect movement coming from the darkness in his blind spot. He turned towards the source and readied his bow to intercept the approaching creature. Out of the darkness came two lumbering ' war shadows' that possessed two pairs of three razor-sharp claws. They looked similar to an effigy of a man, possessing all the basic features of a human without any defining characteristics.

They moved awkwardly like marionettes before pausing just outside the effective range of Vahn's domain. As one of the creatures raised its hand to investigate the difference in pressure, Vahn fired an arrow directly into the white 'eye' on its face.

BOOOOM!!!*

An explosion disintegrated the unsuspecting shadow and knocked it's companion into the wall causing its form to turn semi-transparent and flicker violently. Before it was able to recover, Vahn used his sword to impale its head into the wall causing it to turn to dust. He snorted as he picked up the two cores before noticing a sheen within the darkness nearby.

Vahn walked over to investigate the object and found what appeared to be the claw of one of the 'war shadows' embedded into the ground. Recognizing it was probably a drop item, he picked it up and tested the sharpness before tossing it into his inventory.

("War shadows should be the strongest individual monster between the fifth and seventh floors. Given how slow their reactions speed were, they probably aren't my match in groups small than five.")

Continuing onwards, Vahn ended up slaying another 22 frog shooters and 5 war shadows, bring his total counts to 99 and 7 respectively. (A/N: He killed frogs on the sixth floor before encountering the first two shadows. The 22 mentioned were killed after the engagement~)

Eventually finding his way to the staircase, Vahn decided to take a rest. At this point the system was showing the time was 10:40 PM and he needed to determine if he was going to sleep inside the dungeon or make his way to the entrance. After mulling it over for a few minutes, he decided to see if he was able to sleep while maintaining his domain. He told Sis to wake him if the domain de-activated or if an enemy showed up as she was able to perceive the world through his senses even when he was unconscious.

Though he found it relatively easy to fall asleep, he would be woken up by Sis every two hours or so as the domain would become inactive. He determined that two hours was likely his current limit for maintaining the skill without focus and resolved to try to increase the duration in the future.

After going through the process of sleeping and waking up four times, Vahn continued his descent into the dungeon. This would be the last full-day he could spend inside before having to leave.

The gate pass he had received upon entering the City was about the expire, and he needed to pay Milan at the Inn so he could continue using the room he had leased. He had already begun to miss the taste of the dishes at the Hostess of Fertility, even though it had been less than two days since he had last eaten there.

Before arriving at the 7th floor, Vahn decided to purchase a set of light-armor from the shop. He knew there would be a large variety of monsters on the seventh floor which typically required a group of adventurers to tackle. If he went in overconfident in his abilities, he would likely pay the price.

Checking the monster compendium he had purchased before entering, he noted the unique traits and characteristic of the upcoming monsters. 'Killer Ants' had durable exoskeletons that could withstand blades, and they were prone to call for help when injured. 'Purple Moths' were relatively weak, but emitted a poisonous powder from their wings which could cause paralysis and internal bleeding if ingested. Lastly, he had to deal with the hyper agility and high-penetrative power of 'Needle Rabbits'. According to the book, they liked to swarm opponents and turn them into a pincushion before devouring the bloody remains.

To counter each of the monsters, Vahn purchased a [Plague Mask: E] 40OP, [Nullifying Mantle: C] 280OP, [Mithril Poniard: B]500OP, and a pair of [Damascus-Steel Gauntlets: C]380OP.

The mask would prevent him from inhaling the poisonous powder while the mantle would allow him to resist the effects if he happened to get poisoned anyways. The gauntlets and poniard were purchased specifically to counter the ants' exoskeleton and rabbits agility. Since he wasn't confident in being able to hit such small targets with a 130cm sword, he opted for a smaller weapon with high penetrative power.

Satisfied with his preparations, Vahn decided to do one last thing before continuing onwards. He purchased a [Standing Mirror: I] 3OP, from the shop and used it to check his appearance. He almost looked like a villain with the beaked nose and hooded appearance, but also thought it looked a bit cool when he let the mask hang loosely around his neck. With a small smile on his face, he stored the mirror before moving into the adjoining corridor heading towards the seventh floor.

The layout of the seventh floor was similar to the sixth and fifth except that the height of the ceiling had begun to noticeably increase. The dungeon also seemed to spawn larger groups of monsters, but Vahn was able to smoothly progress against everything except the needle rabbits. He had trouble stabbing their small bodies, and had even swapped to his sword for a moment to see if he could use the increased range to his advantage.

After failing the attempt, he recalled the oppressive function of his domain and managed to temporarily stun individual rabbits before they were able to rebound off the wall and continue lunging at him. It lead to the hilarious sight of rabbits smashing head-first into walls, even getting their horns stuck on occasion leaving them easy pickings for Vahn's poniard.

After fighting on the seventh floor four five hours he finally managed to reach the stairs. Though he had grown accustomed to their attack patterns, he still struggled quite a bit when larger groups of monsters tried to hoard him. He even had to ingest a 'senzu bean' after failing to evade an attack and being impaled through the ribcage by a needle rabbit. The impact had not only broken several ribs, but also collapsed one of his lungs. He barely managed to remove his mask before greedily devouring the life-saving bean.

In response to his narrow escape, Vahn felt a marked increase in the strength of his domain and went on a rampage until he had slaughtered more than 50 rabbits before exhausting his strength and having to take a break. During this time, he was finally able to put his stealth capabilities to use as he blended into the shadows of a nearby rock that was strutting out of the cavern walls.

Inside the stairwell, Vahn checked the time and noticed it was already after 2 PM, so he decided it was time to exit the dungeon to prevent future troubles. He moved up the stairs at a steady pace which would allow him to arrive at the entrance within half an hour.

After passing by the sixth and fifth floor entrances, Vahn was quickly approaching the fourth floor. Ahead on the path he could see a small party of adventurers resting within the connecting area. Vahn didn't pay them any notice at first and continued upwards since they didn't seem to react much to his presence, but after a familiar figure caught his attention he began to slow to a stop.

Vahn could see between the figure of the three men a small girl curled up on the ground. Her face was battered and bruised, and she had curled up into the fetal position to protect her body from the assault of the largest man in the group. As if sensing his gaze, she slightly opened the only eye which hadn't swolen shut and looked directly at him with her chestnut brown iris. Though she didn't say anything, he could see the desperation within her look as she implored him with her gaze.

He recognized the girl as the companion that loyally followed Bell into the dungeon. It was Liliruca Arde, a girl with a past not too disimilar to his own. After the loss of her parents she was exploited by the people around her until the point she began to distrust everyone, even the people that actually cared about her.

Without his prompting, [Will of the Emperor] activated as Vahn stepped towards the men. A cold sensation began to spread through his head and all thoughts vanished from his mind. The men shuddered as they were enveloped in the domain. As they looked towards Vahn, the smallest of their group began moving to intercept.

"Move along, this is private Familia business. Don't meddle in the things that don't concern you kid." The man used an aggressive tone, but there was a hint of fear hidden in his words.

Ignoring the words of the man, Vahn drew his sword...

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Chapter 31 - Rage : Sacrifice(?)

With the pressure they were experiencing and seeing the boy draw his sword, all three men immediately reacted. The short, stout man closest to Lili lifted her body and put a knife to her throat as the other two began maneuvering to flank Vahn's sides.

Seeing the man use Lili's body as a shield, any remaining restraint in his body completely vanished. A state of mind similar to when he had awakened on the second floor set in as he dashed towards the smallest man to his left.

Vahn approached with a terrifying momentum, causing the man to panic as he shouted towards his companions. He took up his sword and tried to thrust it towards Vahn to break the charge.

From Vahn's perspective, the shout was muted in his ears and the movement of the sword seemed to trace its path in a slow motion due to the vast difference in their stats. Using his gauntleted left hand, he altered the vector of the blade and directed it into the ground.

Having his blow suddenly change direction, the small man was knocked off balance as he stared in absolute shock at the shadow of the approaching blade. Instead of a thought, the last thing that passed through his mind before embracing death was the blade of Vahn's sword.

The other two men looked on in horror as the hooded assailant turned their companions head into meat paste with the sheer force of the wind generated by the deadly thrust. They felt their legs begin to tremble at the ruthlessness of the figure before them. The stout man tightened his grip on Lili's neck before shouting out.

"You [email protected]! You killed Todd!" He saw the figure turn towards him and he subconsciously tried using the small body in his grip to create a wall between him and the monster.

"M-move another step and the b!tch is dead! Dead, you hear me you [email protected]!?" As if to solidify his threat, he squeezed until the girl began to gurgle and twitch.

Vahn couldn't seem to hear anything the man was saying, but as soon as the first syllable issued from Lili's throat he sprung into action and bisected the man that had been maneuvering into his blind spot.

The man was completely unprepared for the blow and stared at the 30cm gap that had separated his torso from his legs. Even though Vahn had cut cleanly through him, in a manner similar to what he had seen happen to his friends head, the trailing winds tore through the severed area like a meat grinder. He couldn't even scream as he stared at the legs that had yet to fall to the ground. Almost as if echoing the sounds of the young girl held hostage, he began to gurgle before finally choking on his own blood and organs.

Screaming at the sight of his second companions death, the man squeezed Lili's neck like a vice causing her windpipe to collapse. He attempted to use the dagger and jam it into her ribs with the intent of robbing her life.

THOOOM* *SHHNK*

A muffled sound tore through the air. The stout man who had backed up against the wall while holding Lili hostage stared in horror at the left arm which previously held the dagger. In its place, there was the sheen of an evil black blade embedded into the wall beneath where his shoulder previously connected to his arm. Before he was able to regain his senses, an irresistable force surrounded his neck.

Vahn lifted the 155cm raccoon-eared man using his right hand as he shattered the man's remaining wrist with his left, freeing Lili in the process. Seeing the small girl fall to the ground unmoving, Vahn put more pressure into his grip until he could feel the outline of the man's spine in his palm. At this point, the man's face had bloated beyond recognition as the pressure caused his eyes to free themselves from their sockets.

SNAP*

Even though the man had long-since died, Vahn completed snapping his neck. When he released the bloated creature, the head dangled loosely like a sack as the body collapse to the ground twitching.

The moment the body hit the ground, Vahn felt a powerful migraine overcome him as his clarity returned. He grits his teeth before turning towards the young girl who lay helplessly on the ground gurgling for air. She had already begun to froth at the mouth as light pink bubbles were endlessly generated in her attempts to draw air.

As he cradles her body, she stared at him with her single tear-filled eye. Vahn's heart wrenches in pain as his brain starts churning rapidly to come up with methods to save her. As her throat had collapsed, he couldn't feed her a [Senzu Bean] and none of the potions he possessed would be able to remedy the injury quick enough to prevent her from asphyxiating. There was no time to look through the system and find a solution.

Vahn did the only thing he could think of. He took a [Senzu Bean] and placed it into his mouth, chewing it into a paste. He gently caressed Lili's face as if to reassure her...and activated his [Wound Transfer: B] for the first time as he swallowed the bean paste.

Steam began to emit from all the wounds on Lili's body as she was rapidly healed. The resultant steam entered through the pores of Vahn's skin and the wounds that had previously been on her body began to appear on his.

He grits his teeth until his gums start bleeding as the pain begins to wrack his body. The now fully recovered Lili stares in shock as the boy that just saved her begins to writhe on the ground in a state worse than she was in previously. She didn't know what had happened but understood the boy had somehow transferred all of her wounds to his body and was now on the verge of death.

She screamed and tried to help, but no matter what she did the wounds only seemed to get worse.

Vahn felt his body tearing apart. Though he had consumed a [Senzu Bean] to counteract the damage absorbed by the transfer, the two mystical forces seemed to battle within his body. One was trying to heal his wounds while the other continued with unrestrained vigor trying to generate them. As a result, the two forces were wreaking havoc in his body and causing his flesh and bones to shatter in their wake.

He could feel warm tears dripping onto his face, and stared through bloodied eyes at the young girl crying over his body. Due to his [Pain Tolerance: S] Vahn was able to maintain his clarity through the pain. He lifted his hand to try and console the girl but stopped after seeing it's bloodied state.

Seeing his attempt and hesitation on his face, the girl grabbed the outstretched hand and placed it to her face as she tried to stifle her tears. The blood from his hand marred her otherwise flawless face, and Vahn couldn't help feeling a little guilty as he smiled at her.

Suppressing her tears, Lili tried speaking to the boy that had sacrificed himself to save her. "I don't even know your name. *sniff* Please don't die, please, please..." She kept repeating the word over and over, mixed between her sobs and snot.

Vahn shook his head before withdrawing his identity slip from the inventory. Seeing the name of her would-be hero, she managed to speak out a few more words. "Thank you Vahn..."

Hearing her words brought a smile to his face as he laid back and felt the strength leaving his body. He couldn't help but recall part of the words Chloe had spoken before they parted ways. "For now, focus on discovering where you want to go in your life. When you figure that out and become strong enough to share the burden of others...if your feelings remain unchanged, you can try asking me out again... Though I can't promise I'll accept when the time comes~nya"

The smile on his face increased as he began to lose consciousness.

[Effigy of the Hero: S] Activated/

Vahn felt a powerful energy fill his body and he opened his eyes to meet the gobsmacked expression of Lili. One woundless boy covered in blood, and one disheveled young girl both stared incredulously at each other.

For the first time in both of his lives, Vahn began laughing without inhibition. Lili stared at him like he had lost his mind, unsure of what happened to bring about the current situation.

After a while, she tried asking the boy named Vahn what was going on, only to see him collapse powerlessly onto the ground and fall unconscious. She fl.u.s.teredly checked to make sure he was still breathing before releasing a relieved sigh.

"What kind of crazy person did I get involved with..." She shook her head before resting to boys head on her lap, waiting for him to wake up.

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Chapter 32 - Growth : Disciple

As Lili stared at the unconscious Vahn, she couldn't help but clean the blood from around his face.

"Eeeeeh!? Isn't he way too handsome?" She was shocked when she finally saw his face. Her heart, which had just recently calmed down, began to beat loudly in her chest.

With a fl.u.s.tered expression and a mild blush, she stared closely into the face of the sleeping boy...

After a while, she looked around to confirm there was nobody in the area before mocking herself for her caution. Trying to calm herself, she began to focus on the boy once again. She reached out her hand ...and started poking him in the cheek. "Ehehehe~ Such a cute sleeping face."

While this was happening, the seemingly unconscious Vahn couldn't help but sweat internally. Although his body had been put into a 'dormant' state by the effigy, he was still aware of everything going on around him. He could feel the softness of the thighs on the back of his head and the muttering of the girl as she gently poked his cheek while laughing.

Vahn remembered how Bell had saved her in the original plot, and how she began to follow him around after the event. He began to worry she would become attached to him in the same way, but tried putting the issue to the back of his mind temporarily.

There was no way he could have ignored her suffering as it had happened right in front of him. He didn't regret saving her, nor how he had almost died due to the intermixing of the two opposing energies within his body. His only regret was the fact she had to suffer for so long in the first place. While he was running around training, interacting with people, and enjoying good food...she was still under the oppressive influence of her supposed comrades from the same Familia...

Though, this situation wasn't all bad. This incident proved that his strength was growing rapidly, and he was beginning to possess the strength that would allow him to alter the fate of those around him. If they had met sooner, he would still have tried to save her, but the outcome may have been vastly different. It was fortunate that the sc.u.mbags were all only level 1, and weren't very proficient in combat due to their lifestyle choices. Vahn knew his future opponents would be far more powerful, proficient, and experienced in combat, planning, and tactics.

At this time Lili had begun to stroke his head while mumbling under her breath. Vahn's instincts told him it would be very dangerous to listen to what she was saying since he was supposed to be unconscious right now. To distract himself, he began reviewing the changes in his status as a result of the fight and his previous exploration of the dungeon.Name: [Vahn Mason]

Age: 14

Race: Human, *sealed*

Parameters: [Danmachi: 1-4]

-Level:1](0)

-Power: S909 - SS1001

-Endurance: B740 - SS1108

-Dexterity: A833 - A887

-Agility: A889 - S940

-Magic: SSS1493 - SSS1611

-Total: 4864 - 5547

Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul)

Karma: 721 - 749He now had raw stats nearing the peak strength of a Level 2 while his Magic and Endurance had grown to monstrous values. It turns out the collision of the forces within his body had helped to temper his endurance. Most surprising of all though was that his [Pain Tolerance: S] had evolved into a new innate skill called [Rakshasa Body].

[Rakshasa Body]

Rank: Innate, (H) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a backlash.*

[Passive: Provides a moderate increase to pain resistance. Allows the body to disperse internal forces. Promotes natural recovery rate.

[Active: Increases power and endurance based on damage received. Heavy stamina consumption.

This became Vahn's second innate skill, and would probably become one of his trump cards in the future. He looked forward to being able to test its effects, but the active component of the skill worried him a bit...

Vahn continued going through his status and had begun to grow bored, so he made casual conversation with Sis. She was sulking a bit since Vahn had gone into a 'rage' state where he once again became unresponsive, but she forgave him since it was brought about by his resolve to save someone.

(*So what are you going to do with her?*) She asked, more mechanically than usual.

Vahn thought before 'shaking' his head. ("I'm not sure Sis. The only thing I thought about was saving her. What she does from now on is up to her.")

(*Oh? Is that really the case?*)

Vahn was confused by the questioning tone. 'Was she still angry with him for earlier?'

(*Now that you've saved her, you have to take responsibility for your actions. If you don't take care of her she'll just end up in a similar situation in the future. That is unless you plan to wipe out the Soma Familia and every other disreputable adventurer in the entire City?*)

That was one of the things Vahn was worried about as well. Lili was still young, probably between 12-13 years old. She had no parents to care for her, and the Soma Familia was full of sc.u.mbags and scoundrels that only cared about making money to satiate their addiction. The biggest factor...was that she was weak. Even if she wanted to become independent, she was unable to do so because of her lack of talent. That's why she was so easily exploited by mere level 1 adventurers.

The only options seemed to require that he either: take care of her and protect her or, help her become strong enough to protect herself. He knew she wanted to become stronger, but lacked both the confidence and the aptitude to do so.

("Sis, can I purchase items from the shop to help increase her strength?") Vahn was curious, as the thought of using his system to empower others hadn't really crossed his mind before.

(*It is impossible Vahn. Unless you were able to alter the structure of their body, they wouldn't be able to use the items within the System. The only reason you're able to do so is that The Path' had integrated with your soul and took part in the construction of your current body. The energy contained within your body is 'source' energy, while the inhabitants of this world use 'mana'. There is a fundamental difference between the structure of your body and the body of those born within the 'records'.*)

("Wait, does that mean [Senzu Beans] don't work on people in this world? And what about equipment?") After finding out about the differences in his body, he asked about the pressing matters in his mind. Was it possible that if he had given the [Senzu Bean] to Lili she would have experienced the same thing he had gone through!? The thought brought a chill to his mind.

(*That is correct, but it's not as bad as you're imagining. Since the essence contained within the bean is fundamentally different from this worlds 'mana', their body would simply filter it out and disperse it into the atmosphere. The same 'Laws' that keep the mana contained within their body would expel any foreign energy. As for equipment, any clothes or armor you purchase is automatically sized to fit your body. If you wanted to give equipment to others, you would have to unlock the 'Gift' function after triggering its quest.*)

Vahn relaxed as he listened to the first part of her words, before growing increasingly interested in the second half. He was relieved that his potential slip-up wouldn't have endangered Lili's life, and was curious about how to trigger the 'Gift' function Sis had mentioned.

After asking, Sis informed him that she couldn't disclose any information about triggering the system's functions. He would have to rely on his own efforts to discover their requirements.After the three-hour imposed dormancy, Vahn finally 'awakened'. Lili, who was currently smiling as she enjoyed playing with his [Plague Mask] noticed his gaze and began to blush fiercely.

Vahn tried to lift his head from her lap, but she panicked and held his head down before speaking in a fl.u.s.tered tone. "Y-y-you shouldn't be moving so-so-suddenly. You just woke up after all!" She had been caught up in playing around with his 'unconscious' body and hadn't yet prepared herself to interact with him normally.

"I'm fine. I was just knocked unconscious as a side-effect of the item that had healed my wounds. My body is in perfect health." Though he found her actions amusing, it was very uncomfortable being held down by his head and neck. He could easily free himself if he wanted, but he didn't want to startle the girl before they had a proper conversation.

Lili reluctantly released his head before hiding her face. As Vahn checked his body, she would give him curious glances from time to time.

He looked around at the blood and gore surrounding them, and then gazed towards the shy girl who seemed to be completely oblivious to the corpses and stench surrounding them. Vahn himself was overcome by the foul smelling odor and ended up vomiting due to the induced nausea.

Lili gave an incredulous glance at the still retching Vahn, ("He is acting as if he has never seen a dead body before. Why was he able to kill them in such a ruthless manner if he can't even keep calm seeing the result? Could it be...")

"Excuse me Vahn...sama. Could it be you've never killed anyone before?" (A/N: Let me know if using honorifics is odd. I can remove them if people don't like it.)

Vahn wiped the drool from his mouth and gave her an awkward smile before shaking his head.

Seeing his response, Lili was overcome with powerful emotions. ("It's his first time killing someone, and he did it to save me!?")

She began to panic, thinking her weakness had caused the handsome and innocent boy to turn into a murderer. She even began to regret that he had saved her in the first place after seeing how much pain and trouble he had to go through...

Suddenly, a thought hit her. Though she knew his name, she hadn't even told him hers' yet. She was still being influenced by her fear and hate for adventurers, and even though the boy had saved her life she hadn't even told him her name even as he was 'dying'. The second wave of guilt hit her at the realization, and she began to cry, unable to look into the face of the boy she had wronged so irrevocably.

As she sits, crying at her own realization, a warm hand is placed on her head. She holds back her tears and looks upwards at the boy who stares at her with a gentle smile. Feeling his kindness, the guilt in her heart becomes palpable, threatening to devour her from the inside. She tries to speak out, but can't seem to form the words. She wants to apologize but doesn't know how...

Vahn smiles gently while patting the small girls head. She really is much smaller than he remembered from the manga. When standing, she is probably only around 105-110cm, so when she is sitting on the ground like this she looks like a crying child. He can see loss and guilt in her eyes and knows that she probably blames herself for everything that happened.

As he tries to comfort her, he begins to recall all the experiences he had on his date with Chloe. Every word and action seemed to be trying to help him break down the walls he had built around his heart. She didn't try to bear his burden or take advantage of his weakness. Instead, she allowed him to expose himself before her without judging him for his cowardice. Finally, she helped guide him on a path that would allow him to overcome his past and even gave him a goal to work towards...

Remembering all this, he looked down at the crying Lili and saw an image of himself, weak and afraid. It had been such a short period of time, but he was already able to become much stronger...and Vahn decided he would give her the same opportunity. He couldn't live to protect her, but he could help guide her along a path that would enable her to break free of her fears and inhibitions.

"Do you wish to become stronger?" He gently whispered the words causing Lili's body to startle.

She looked towards him with her tear stained face...and nodded. She didn't want to be weak. She didn't want others to suffer like the old couple that had helped her. She wanted to become strong enough to stand on her own two feet without having people sacrifice themselves to save her. She wanted to be like the boy in front of her...

Vahn stood up from his kneeling position and extended his hand towards the crying Lili. (A/N: Lili is quite smol so Vahn had to kneel to pat her~)

"I am Vahn Mason. If you can trust me, I can help you find your way to the path you seek."

Staring at the face of the boy, she couldn't help but imagine that the radiance of the cave had increased by several folds. After a brief hesitation...she grasped the outstretched hand.

"I'm Liliruca Arde. Please show me the way...Master Vahn."[View Affection: Liliruca Arde] [Affection: 88[Trust, Intrigue:61[Curious]

(A/N: She uses Master at the end instead of Sama, because it's more personal. She sees Vahn as someone that can help her get stronger, instead of just as the boy who saved her.)

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Chapter 33 - Liliruca Arde / Past : Future

Vahn ran towards the entrance of the dungeon as fast as he could. Behind him, Lili continued desperately chasing as she became short of breath...

A few hours before...

After agreeing to train Lili, they began getting to know each other better. She told him about her past, how her parents mistreated her and forced her to work as soon as she was capable of performing manual labor. She detailed the suffering she experienced after they both died in the dungeon.

Though she tried becoming an adventurer herself, she was unable to make any progress into the dungeon since she was just a child. Whenever she tried to team up with others in the familia, they would force her to perform all the menial chores like looting magic cores and carrying the luggage. Eventually, it escalated to full-on exploitation, as they started taking away her earnings for their own use. Fearing for her life, she ended up fleeing the familia and became a street orphan.

Eventually, a kind elderly couple picked her up, and for a time she was happy. They bought her nice clothes and treated her well for the first time in her life, and she did her best to help out in the shop and earn their praise.

Unfortunately, the group that had been taking her money ended up tracking her down. As punishment for her escape, they trashed the shop of the elderly couple before leaving a devastated Lili behind. The old couple that had been so kind to her before now looked at her with eyes of blame and scorn.

That night, she cried in an alleyway as she hid from the rain. Several days later, the same men that had forced her to a corner offered her a job. She would have to act as their supporter when they entered the dungeon, and in exchange, they would give her 1% of the earnings. If she refused, they would make sure that anyone who showed her kindness would meet the same fate as the couple.

Swallowing her tears, she accepted their offer...and that is when her true hell began. The men would often keep what little she earned while giving various reasons, often citing her incompetence as an excuse. The leader of the group even came up with the idea of forcing her to pay a 'protection fee' for keeping her from harm in the dungeon. Because of this, there were times when she would go days without eating until she collapsed from hunger. They would then give her rotten vegetables and stale bread while she tried to recover her strength.

After that things got even worse. Whenever the men got bored, they would force her to perform embarrassing acts like walking on all fours and barking like a dog while begging for food. As she continued to age, some of them even tried forcing her to engage in s.e.x.u.a.l acts, and when she resisted they beat her until she was unable to move. When they were done, they poured defective recovery potions onto her wounds and dropped her body into an alleyway to survive the night.

Following that event, she stopped talking, and even when they tried forcing her to act like an animal she just stood there until they got frustrated and beat her. She learned not to resist, as it only brought them a sadistic glee and extended the duration of the beating. All she could think about was preserving her dignity and saving enough money to buy her freedom and escape the familia for good...

Other than working for her tormentors, she started working as a 'Support-for-Hire' for newbie adventurers. She would find targets that had yet to become accustomed to the dungeon and lure them into a situation of false-security before stealing their valuables. Though she did her best to ensure they would be able to escape, things didn't always go as planned.

One of the young adventurers she had tricked ended up believing she hadn't abandoned him and continued fighting instead of running away. Lili watched in horror as he inevitably succ.u.mbed to the assault, and for the first time, she saw someone die. She was unable to sleep for more than a week after that, as flashbacks of watching the boy be ripped limb-from-limb replayed itself endlessly in her mind.

Seeing the state she was in, the people that had been exploiting her increased their efforts in tormenting her. They refused to let her stay inside if she was unwilling to work, and even emptied waste bins onto her while forcing her to stay in the trash pile with her 'real family'...Vahn listened in silence as Lili continued her story. It was far worse than anything shown in the manga, and he genuinely wondered how she was able to survive for so long. At least he had a mother who loved him, even though he wasn't able to meet her until his death...but Lili, her parents treated her as a tool to make their lives easier. While he got to experience the kindness of Klyscha and obtain 'The Path', Lili had to continue living in a world surrounded by people that tormented and exploited her. When he heard the part where she was almost r.a.p.ed, he nearly shattered the bones in his hand after hitting the dungeon wall.

He had experienced a tragic fate far beyond the comprehension of others, but no matter how bad the experiments got the researchers always took care of his body and tended to his basic needs. Vahn had never truly experienced the darkness and depravity that exists within 'civilized' society.

After she was finished telling her story, Lili looked towards Vahn to gauge his expression. It was the first time in her life she had spoken so much about herself, and she felt like if she saw disgust or disbelief on his face..she would fall to a place she would never be able to return from.

She wasn't looking for pity or understanding, she just wanted to expose everything to the boy who had gone so far to help her. And what she saw brought the first real smile she had shown since her happy days back in the flower shop. She didn't see any pity in his eyes, nor things like contempt or disgust. Instead, there was a righteous flame burning within. She could see that he was imagining all the things in her past and that if he could, he would change it and save her from that fate.

The darkness that had been building in the back of her mind began to dissipate, so she did the only thing she could think of to convey her feelings. She smiled.

Vahn, noticing the change, reached out his hand...wiping away the tears that had begun to mar her smiling face.After that, they continued to talk, this time about the future. Vahn told her his intention of becoming she strongest adventurer, which brought a smile to her face.

Lili began to ask him various questions about his life, likes, and dislikes. She wanted to know where he came from, what kinds of foods he enjoyed, things that he hated...and even asked about his preference in women.

Vahn answered each question to the best of his ability while trying to skim over areas that would reveal the existence of the system. He told her that he lived in the Western Forests with his grandpa before coming to Orario after he passed away. For food, he said he liked pretty much anything he has eaten after arriving in the City. As for dislikes...he hated people that exploited others for their own benefit.

When she heard him mention that, Lili smiled and nuzzled against him. Feeling her touch, Vahn smiled and gently patted her head.

When he got to the part about his preference in women, Lili began listening closely with a fierce glint in her eyes. "I'm not too sure. I haven't really met anyone I don't like so far..."

Hearing him, she couldn't help but respond, "Eeehh? That isn't a real answer Vahn-sama!" She began to pout, thinking he was just beating around the bush.

Vahn really didn't know what to say to make her understand. He felt it would be awkward to say he liked girls like Chloe, because it wasn't really anything about her appearance that drew him to her. After he got over his apprehension with how she used to look at him, he just began to enjoy her company...

Lili changed the topic after seeing the serious expression on his face, "By the way Vahn-sama. What familia are you in?" Given his strength, she assumed he was probably a core member in a B rank familia.

"Ah, I'm not in a familia yet. I just arrived in the City six..days...ago." Vahn trailed off the last part of his sentence and began to release a cold sweat. Lili noticed his expression and wanted to ask, but Vahn grabbed her hand and started running up the stairs at a fast pace.

"Vahn-saaaaamaaa- What's going ooooon!?" Unable to keep pace, she half ran, half allowed-herself-to-be-dragged up the stairs.

Vahn noticed she was struggling and released her arm while slowing his pace a bit. "I just remembered that my temporary identification slip expires today! I also need to renew my room at the Inn I'm staying at before the day ends!" Vahn checked the time within the system as he ran. It was already 6:29 PM and the gate closed at 9:00 PM. Though he wouldn't get in any trouble unless he was caught, he didn't want to walk around the City illegally and cause unnecessary trouble.

"Wait, Vahn-sama! I can't leave behind my pack!" Though it didn't have much, it still contained all of her possessions. Lili didn't want to leave it behind to be lost in the dungeon.

Vahn stopped before returning to the rest area and picking up the pack. Lili tried to take it from him, but he just stored the entire thing into his inventory. She stared at him with a slack-jawed expression while he 'revealed' the existence of his storage magic. Without further explaining he started running upstairs, leaving a dumbfounded Lili behind.

"Then what use do I have..." Knowing Vahn had such a convenient magic, she wouldn't be able to use the excuse of following him as Supporter easily in the future. She began trying to think of ways to spend more time with him, before hearing a shout from further up the path.

"Lili, are you coming!?" Vahn was confused since Lili hadn't been following him. He ended up stopping and shouting to get her attention.

She startled before shouting back, "A-ah, yes Vahn-sama! I'm coming, don't leave me behind!"

(A/N: Don't ask me why I had to add "don't leave me behind" to the end of that sentence.)Return to the present...

The two continued to run before stopping at the corridor to the first floor. Vahn removed the backpack from his inventory before returning it to Lili's possession. Seeing her gasping for air, he let her catch her breath and handed over his [Decanter of Replenishment].

Lili stared at the mouth of the canteen for a few moments before taking a few large gulps of water. She attempted to drain it dry but was surprised after finding the amount never seemed to decrease. Her excuse to continue the 'indirect kiss' flew out the window as she dejectedly returned the canteen.

Vahn also took a drink since he was rather thirsty and noticed a crimson blush appear on Lili's face. He looked at her curiously before putting away the canteen. "What's wrong Lili?"

She simply turned her head away before picking up her backpack and headed towards the entrance. Vahn followed after her until they finally arrived on the first floor of Babel. At the entrance Lili made Vahn promise to meet her the following morning before saying she had to take care of a few things.

Vahn stared at the retreating figure of the small girl bearing a burden far greater than her size. He hoped he would be able to allow her to walk freely along her own path in the future...

(*Vahn, are you forgetting something?*) Sis interrupted his momentary reverie with an exasperated tone.

Vahn looked at the nearby clock and saw it was nearly 7:00 PM and began running towards the direction of the Guild.

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Chapter 34 - Hephaestus Familia (1/2)

Vahn continued running in the direction of the Guild while checking the time within the system. At his current pace, he would still need around 20 minutes to reach the Guild, which would leave him less than an hour and a half to make his way to the City gates and back to the Inn.

He began to sweat after realizing he would most likely be unable to finish everything in time. It would take several minutes to wait in line at the Guild, and even if he was seen immediately upon his arrival it would take time to process the exchange. As his worries began to compound, Vahn felt energy begin to slowly release from his abdomen as his speed began to slowly increase.

("I can use [Will of the Emperor] to increase my speed!?") Because he hadn't been switching between the two recently, he was unaccustomed to the differences between his normal state and empowered state. He knew the skill seemed to increase his speed, but thought it was just a result of the increased perception and mobility within the domain.

While fully activating the skill, Vahn resolved to perform more experiments over the next few days as he trains Lili. After completely activating [Will of the Emperor] he noticed his speed more than doubled and began to have hope that there was enough time to complete everything.

In his gleeful state of mind, he hadn't been paying attention to the looks of the surrounding pedestrians. The moment he activated [Will of the Emperor] they felt a suppressive wave pass through them. They stared in horror as the boy ran with a terrifying speed through the City streets with a demonic grin on his face. Weaker civilians even had hallucinations that the boy was the grim reaper himself come to collect their souls, which resulted in some of them passing out on the spot.

Vahn continued forward blissfully unaware of the rumors he would cause to circulate in the following days. His only focus was arriving at the Guild as fast as possible, so he began using some of the alleyways he had previously mapped to circ.u.mvent the populated roads. With his minimap and the mobility he had polished within the forest and dungeon, he was able to easily navigate through the various corridors without losing speed.

When he was close to his destination, Vahn began to further increase his speed due to his excitement. Unfortunately, even with the increased perception brought about by the skill, he was unable to prevent himself from colliding with the body of a person that had just walked by the entrance of the alleyway. At the last moment, he tried to shift his weight to avoid a direct collision and ended up losing his balance after bumping into the unsuspecting passerby and slamming into the ground. Hard.

He sat on the ground in a daze, unable to recover from the near head-on-collision. From an area behind him, he could hear the sound of a woman addressing him.

"Hey kid, are you okay?"

After shaking his head a bit, Vahn looked towards the source of the voice. He fell into a daze after seeing who had been speaking to him. Looking towards him with an expression of intrigue stood a character he was familiar with from the manga.

Probably due to her identity as a Goddess, she looked nearly identical to her manga counterpart. She stood at 165cm with matching red hair and eye. She was garbed in casual attire, wearing a loose linen blouse and black pants which seemed to hug her figure. On her arms and legs were a pair of brown knee-high boots and black gloves that went past her elbows. Her most striking features were her large b.r.e.a.s.ts that peaked through the open collar of her blouse, and the large black eye-patch covering the right half of her face.

It was Hephaestus, Master Smith and Goddess of the 3rd ranked Hephaestus Familia. Vahn knew that she would be the one to receive Hestia in the future and that she would one day forge the living dagger for Bell which would aid his monstrous growth.

While he was staring at her, Hephaestus was also evaluating the boy that had nearly crashed into her. He seemed rather young but had a handsome face with a bit of a naive and detached look. What caught her eye, and the reason she hadn't simply walked away, was the aura being emitted by the boy and the sword that was on his back.

His aura was remarkably similar to that of a god releasing their divinity, albeit on a much smaller scale. It seemed to have a repressive force that even made her soul tremble slightly. She suspected that he was likely the descendant of a god, but she couldn't identify which. Her main interest was the sword at his back...

As a goddess of forging, she had seen and practiced almost every technique between the heavens and earth. This was the first time she saw such a uniquely forged blade, and the most surprising thing was the materials used in its construction. Given her eye's unique ability, she could easily discern between the grade and constituent materials used to forge a blade. Though it seemed similar to a magical composite of iron and heavier elements, she couldn't see through the make-up of the blade or its grade!

"Hey kid, if you're not in a hurry I'd like to take a look at that sword on your back. You can treat it as my accepting your apology for nearly tackling me. What do you say?" She really wanted to get a better look at the sword, so tried to come up with an easy compromise that wouldn't harm either party.

Hearing her speak yet again, Vahn quickly got to his feet before bowing. "I am very sorry for nearly running into you, but I'm in a hurry right now so I can't stick around." He began to turn away to make his way towards the Guild which was just a few blocks from his current location. From behind, a hand grasped at the collar of his hood and prevented him from moving forward. Vahn was surprised at the amount of power in the grip.

"Come on kid, I'm sure whatever it is can wait for a few minutes. What's the rush?" Hephaestus didn't know when she would get a chance to inspect the blade in the future and seeing how the boy trying to leave without introducing himself or explaining the situation left a sour expression on her face.

Vahn noticed the look she was giving him so he quickly explained his current predicament. He was hoping she would be understanding and allow him to leave, but her reaction surprised him.

"Hahahahaha, is that it? Then it's no problem at all. Let me introduce myself, kid. My name is Hephaestus, and I'm the Goddess of the Hephaestus Familia. You should have heard of me, right?" She gave a cheeky grin which irked Vahn a little, though he wasn't sure why.

"My name is Vahn Mason, and yes, I've heard of you and your Familia." He could see her expression light up a bit at his words, and she nodded as if to say, 'of course, of course~'.

"Then how about a trade, Vahn? My Familia has something called a 'guest pass' that can be issued to the merchants that transport materials for us from outside the City. As long as you hold the pass you'll be treated as a guest of the Hephaestus Familia, and none of the City guards would dare harass you. In exchange, I'd like you to accompany to my workshop nearby so I can inspect that sword on your back. Deal?"

Vahn weighed her words for a moment before finally nodding. If he could get around having to run back-and-forth between the guild, gate, and Inn, that would be helpful. It would also give him the opportunity to build some rapport with Hephaestus which would make it easier to approach Hestia in the future.

Hephaestus nodded, expecting his agreement before leading the way to a building nearby. Vahn was surprised when he realized the workshop was in the same commercial district as the Hearth's Embrace. He began to realize why so many businesses in the area seemed to be named after fireplaces and forges...It turns out the main workshop of Hephaestus was within the same district.

She continued to lead him through the lower floors of the shop that showed a variety of uniquely designed weapons and equipment. Vahn noticed that none of the items on display had a price listed, and the security of the store was incredibly tight. Even with his use of [Will of the Emperor, he could feel a sense of danger coming from each of the shops' guards as they gave him a cold glare in response to his curiosity.

"Hey kid, when are you going to stop emitting that aura of yours? Don't tell me you can't control it?" Hephaestus had been growing a bit annoyed at how much attention Vahn had been drawing to them. She began to suspect the kid behind her was missing a few parts inside his head.

"Ah, sorry, I had forgotten about it..." Vahn laughed awkwardly while Hephaestus just released a big sigh while placing her hand on her forehead.

"Anyways, we're here. Make sure not to touch anything without permission." She had led him into a room within the most secure area of the workshop. When he entered he could see weapons and armor that almost seemed to possess life. Though they weren't presently being used, he could feel an aura of danger emitting from the blades while the armor seemed to possess the unassailable qualities of a mountain. He could see a large disparity between his own equipment and the masterpieces in front of him.

While he was staring in awe at the items, Hephaestus gave an appreciative nod seeing his expression. She sat behind a large desk where several blueprints and designs could be seen spread out along its width. After cleaning the designs and storing them away, she tapped the table to get Vahn's attention.

"Go ahead and place the sword here. And if you don't mind answering my questions, that would be helpful." Vahn nodded, but before placing the sword on the table he asked about the guest pass. Though she seemed a bit annoyed, she removed a metal emblem from her desk that depicted two hammers crossed over a volcano. She tossed the emblem towards him, and Vahn stared at it briefly before putting his sword on the table.

Hephaestus inspected the make of the metal closely and even used various tools to knock along the length of the blade. She would lightly tap while listening for something Vahn wasn't able to hear, and she would nod her head on occasion as if realizing something from her actions. Vahn was very curious what she was able to discern from the blade and began to get nervous...

Seemingly satisfied with her investigation, Hephaestus turned towards Vahn with a curious expression on her face. "Where did you obtain this sword?" This was the most important question in her mind, as she was genuinely curious about its origins.

Since he had agreed to answer her questions, Vahn told her the lie he had prepared while she was inspecting the sword. "It was an heirloom of my deceased Grandfather. I'm not sure where he got it." Using his 'grandfather' as an excuse again, Vahn began to feel indebted to the man he had never met.

"Hmm, and when did he die? What was his profession?" Hephaestus could sense a feeling of incongruity in his words so decided to pry more deeply. It was very difficult to hide anything from her eyes, and she was determined to see through the boy in front of her.

Vahn became nervous seeing the look in her eyes and began to regret agreeing to come here...

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Chapter 35 - Hephaestus Familia (2/2)

Vahn had begun to regret his decision. His thoughts began racing a mile a minute through his mind as he tried coming up with a believable story.

"He died several months ago. He was a hunter in the Western Forests where he raised me. When I was younger he would tell me stories of his youth and his travels as an Adventurer. I came to the City after his death to follow a similar path."

Before he could continue further, Hephaestus began questioning him again. "Oh? And where did these adventures of his take place? How long ago was this? And have you used this sword at all after he left it to you?" She continued pressuring him to find holes in his story.

Vahn began to get visibly fl.u.s.tered, and his [Will of the Emperor] began to activate subconsciously. Hephaestus noticed this and began to smile like she had obtained victory. "These should all be relatively easy questions to answer Vahn. Unless of course, you're planning to lie and can't come up with a viable story?"

Hearing her words, Vahn looked directly into her eye. "Miss Haphaestus, everyone has things they want to protect. I thought you were just going to ask about the sword, not my family and background. I don't think that was part of our original agreement at all." He decided to take a firm stand to prevent himself from divulging too much information. [Will of the Emperor] seemed to affirm his stance as it began to emit a subtle pressure on Hephaestus's body and mind.

She squinted her eye and looked seriously at the boy in front of her. Perhaps she did overextend her boundaries by asking so many personal questions. She couldn't really fault him for his anger and her trying to divulge his secrets. Sighing, she eased her expression a bit before continuing. "My bad. I won't ask about your past, but I'm still curious if you've used the sword since obtaining it. That should be an easy enough question to answer."

Vahn calmed down and began to repress his [Will of the Emperor] a bit. He thought about the question a bit before deciding it wasn't too far outside their original agreement. "Yes. I've been using the sword in the dungeon for a few days now."

Hearing his words, Hephaestus felt her curiosity grow exponentially. She had determined the blade was a composite iron that had been reforged more than one-hundred times using a variety of unique techniques. Though the blade was carved with a powerful enchantment, she could infer it only increased the sharpness of the blade and not its durability. Given the low quality of the materials, there would be no way to prevent the blade from acc.u.mulating the signs of use. However, the blade before her was in a pristine condition...almost as if it had been forged and polished hours ago.

"And how far into the dungeon have you ventured? What level are you? Since you have a temporary pass, I'm assuming you are a freelancer, right?"

Vahn noticed she had begun to deviate from the topic again, but since the questions didn't ask about his past he decided to respond. He didn't want to offend her by avoiding questions that most people would be willing to answer. "I've gone down to the 7th floor alone, and I'm still level 1 since I've never joined a Familia before."

Hephaestus's eyebrow shot up hearing his response. He was still lv 1 but had gone into the 7th floor of the dungeon alone? This confirmed her suspicion that the boy was keeping a secret, and she began to wonder how to get him to divulge it before a plan began to form in her mind.

"Vahn, I've understood the composition of this sword and know that it isn't made of a very durable material. How are you able to keep the blade in such pristine shape if what you've said is true? The blade should wear down after cutting through so many monsters, and their body fluids should dull the blade after continued use. I can tell there is an enchantment to enhance the sharpness, but it still wouldn't explain the current state." Instead of looking directly at him, she began to closely inspect the runes on the blade, pretending she was only mildly interested in the answer.

Vahn didn't think the question was abnormal, so he told her that he maintained the blade using whetstones.

Hephaestus couldn't help thinking, 'he maintains the blade himself using whetstones?'. As a master blacksmith, she had used hundreds-of-thousands of whetstones during her time, and nothing would be able to emulate the result of the blade in her hands. "Can I see one of the whetstones you use? I'm quite curious what material can bring out so much l.u.s.ter in a sword."

Without thinking too much, Vahn decided to hand over one of the whetstones. As far as he knew, there wasn't a difference between the ones he used and normal stones. When he passed the flat piece of rock to Hephaestus, both of their eyes lit up when the stone launched itself out of her hand of its own volition.

They both stared at the stone that had fallen to the floor with blank expressions. Hephaestus looked incredulously towards Vahn for an explanation as Sis began speaking in his mind. (*Vahn, you can't give items to people that were obtained through the system without activating the 'Gift' function. That is especially the case for items obtained from other records.*)

Vahn remembered that this was indeed the case, and moved to pick up the stone. He returned an awkward smile at Hephaestus who continued to stare at his movements. "Sorry Miss Hephaestus, it doesn't seem like others can use the stone."

Hephaestus was very curious about the implications behind his words and asked that she be allowed to examine the stone while he held it. Nodding, Vahn moved forwards and extended his hand holding the stone. Hephaestus used her eye to look as closely as possible but was unable to see anything unique about the whetstone in his hand. It seemed to be made of Novaculite and other dense minerals, and she was unable to sense any enchantments or curses that would prevent others from holding it.

As a test, she tried using her tools to interact with the stone without making physical contact, but there seemed to be a small rebounding force repelling the tools on contact. She was more confused that she had ever been and began to develop a powerful curiosity about the origin of the stone. "Vahn, where did you obtain this whetstone? It seems like a common stone, but has a mysterious force even my 'god's eye' can't detect."

Vahn began to realize he had made a mistake. What he thought was a simple whetstone ended up drawing unnecessary interest from the Goddess before him, and he was unable to think of an explanation. While he was thinking, Hephaestus reached towards one of the weapons that had been displayed near her desk. She used a strange cloth to mar the surface of the blade and reduce the l.u.s.ter it emitted.

Turning to Vahn, she handed him the blade. "I want to see your skills. Show me how you use that whetstone. Since I can't handle it myself, I want to see how it affects a high-quality item."

Since Vahn didn't know how to dig himself out of his current predicament, he decided it would be best to just move forward without stepping back. If he retreated now he would feel pathetic, and he didn't want to create friction between himself and the third most powerful Goddess within the City. He grabbed the blade and began using the whetstone as he had done many times before.

Hephaestus stared closely, and the first thing she noticed was that he had no idea how to properly handle a whetstone. She began to suspect he had been lying to her the entire time, but as the stone came into contact with the blade her concerns vanished. The moment the whetstone touched the marred blade, it began to glow with a subtle white luminance that only a god would be able to see. Each successive stroke of the whetstone increased the luminance until the third stroke, where the blade flashed a bright light before being restored to its pinnacle state. Even the nick in the blade she had left had completely vanished.

She grabbed the sword as he handed it to her, and began to inspect it from every conceivable angle. The blade was in perfect condition! It was even polished to a state unattained by the previous sword, as it had yet to be sharpened properly since it was just a display piece. Now the blade had a cold gleam that seemed to be able to cut anyone that stared at it too intensely. As a test, she used another one of the display pieces and crossed the two blades and inspected the result. The first sword had easily cut into the blade of the second, even though their materials and construction were of similar qualities...

She looked towards the stone in Vahn's hand with intrigue but noticed that it had turned into dust. "What happened to the whetstone?" She couldn't understand how the stone turned to dust when it was previously in a whole, unused, state.

Vahn shrugged at the question and gave what he thought was an obvious response, "They always break after one use."

She could tell he was speaking the truth and lamented at the loss of the godly tool. Even if the whetstone was a single-use item, it could be a powerful asset to any familia adventuring into the dungeon. If it could restore the state of damaged weapons to their optimal form, it would be an incredibly useful tool for long expeditions. "Can you tell me how you found that stone Vahn? It could save a lot of lives in the dungeon if people didn't have to worry about their weapons breaking down from overuse."

Vahn shook his head and decided to speak the truth. "I can't really tell you where I got them since it is an important secret I can't divulge to anyone..."

/Optional Quest Triggered/

[Quest: Convince Hephaestus to Reveal her Eye]

Rank:(G)

Rewards: Development Ability: [Blacksmith, 1x Hephaestus' Favor

Failure Conditions: Death, 30 seconds pass [0:19S]

Penalty: 100 Karma

Vahn was surprised at the notification that appeared mid-sentence and became shocked after seeing the failure conditions. He had less than 20 seconds remaining!? Since he was unable to come up with a viable excuse, he decided to repeat his last sentence. "I can't really tell you where I got them since it's a secret, but I can use them to assist the Hephaestus Familia if..."

Though she was disappointed he was unwilling to divulge the information about the whetstones, she became curious seeing the hesitation in his body as he slowly trailed his words. "If what Vahn?"

"I will use the whetstones to aid your familia if you let me see what is under your eyepatch. Since its something deeply related to my secret, it would only be fair to reveal something of your own..."

Hearing the continuation of his words, all the curiosity she had previously faded away. Now there was a melancholic and sad expression on her face, and Vahn almost blurted out an apology by reflex. He kept trying to think of how to convince her to reveal her eye and began to panic as the timer counted down.

Hephaestus sighed but noticed that Vahn had begun to panic when her mood changed. She thought he was just curious and hadn't meant to offend her. He was right; she had tried time-and-again to pry out his secrets without exchanging anything even after offending him earlier. If he wanted to see her eye in exchange for those magical whetstones, it was a fair trade considering the benefits she could gain for her Familia.

"Very well Vahn...but know that what lays under my eyepatch isn't something interesting or mysterious. In fact, it might even disgust you...do you still want to see whats underneath?" She looked into his eyes as he began to calm down. She could see his eyes were clear as he returned her gaze before giving a gentle smile.

"Please. I really want to see." Vahn knew she was often looked down on by the gods in heaven, and that was the reason she had become friends with Hestia. Hestia was the only Goddess that had seen her eye without showing fear or disgust. Though he hadn't thought to ask before the quest triggered, he was genuinely curious what made so many gods ostracize one of their own, especially when she was such an accomplished blacksmith.

Hephaestus saw he didn't waver, so she removed her eyepatch. After a brief hesitation, she slowly looked at the boy to gauge his reaction. Though she tried to pretend she wasn't worried, her eye had been a trauma to her for so long that she subconsciously lost confidence whenever anyone gazed upon it. She looked towards him, expecting to see the familiar disgust or contempt that everyone except her best friend Hestia showed...but it wasn't there. He still had the gentle smile on his face as he gazed directly into her disfigured eye. There wasn't any disgust or feigned calmness, only an undisguised intrigue, relief, and even...concern?

As various thought began circulating through her head, Vahn continued to observe the eye. The white sclera had turned completely black, surrounding the glowing crimson eye at its core. The eye looked almost demonic, a thought that would only be emphasized when seeing the malformed skin around the socket. It seemed like the skin had dried into a wrinkled red mess like a bloodstain surrounding her eye.

Vahn was actually relieved seeing the eye since it wasn't nearly as bad as he expected given the mentions in the story. If anything, he even thought it looked kind of cool...but he could see by the expression on Hephaestus's face that it brought her a lot of pain. He began thinking of ways to cure it and started inquiring with Sis for a solution.

Hephaestus continued to stare into the face of the boy and noticed that he was able to easily look directly at her for such a long period of time without changing. Her interest in the boy began to grow, as he was only the second person in her several-million-year lifespan to react this way. She almost felt the urge to cry as she continued to enjoy the kindness in his gaze.

"You aren't afraid of my eye Kid? Isn't it disgusting like a monster?" She saw his expression change for the first time since removing her eyepatch. He seemed confused at her question.

"That's a dumb question. Though your eye might be different, it doesn't change who you are. Why would I be afraid of you after all our interactions so far?" This was genuinely what Vahn thought since he always respected the actions Hephaestus took in the anime. She was always kind to the people she cared about and even forged Bell a 200,000,000V dagger just for her friend Hestia. She didn't deserve to be looked at like a monster by those around her since she was actually a kind and gentle girl.

Hephaestus was shocked. She couldn't see any falsity in his words and could tell that he was actually offended not by her eye, but the fact she thought he would be afraid of it. She decided she had to re-evaluate this kid and began to examine his features a bit and noticed that he was actually quite handsome, albeit a bit young...Given a few years, he would likely grow to be a capable Adventurer, and he was currently without a Familia. There was also the unique aura he possessed which likely meant his "Grandfather" wasn't a simple adventurer turned hunter...

A lightbulb went off inside her head as she looked towards Vahn with both her eyes gleaming. "Vahn, would you like to join my Familia?"

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Chapter 36 - Decision; Hephaestus' Surprise

Hearing Hephaestus ask him to join her Familia, Vahn began seriously considering the idea. He knew if he wanted to grow stronger without drawing too much attention he would need a strong backer, and the Hephaestus Familia was one of the best. There was also a chance that he can convince Hephaestus herself to forge him a weapon since many of the ones within the shop were higher quality than his current sword. If he could get a weapon that can grow, he would have a much easier time in the future when he delves further into the dungeon.

He began to consider his other options, such as the Loki Familia. He was really interested in joining that Familia, as it was home to many memorable characters like Finn, Riveria, the Amazoness twins Tione and Tiona, as well as the infamous airhead Ais, who Bell had fallen for in the manga. His main reason for not joining was because he wanted to join the Hestia Familia later, and there was an ongoing discourse between Loki and Hestia.

Seeing him in deep contemplation, Hephaestus didn't know why, but she began to get a little nervous. She wanted him to join her Familia, but didn't want to pressure him too hard since he may end up being pushed away if she was too firm. Thinking it was due to how she expressed interest in the whetstones that was causing his indecisiveness, she tried explaining things in a manner that would help alleviate his concerns.

"If you're worried I just want to use you for your access to the whetstones, then don't be. My reasons for asking you to join the Familia have nothing to do with any of that. I'm just...curious about your potential. I won't force you to reveal your secrets without your consent, I just want to see how far you can go with my support." Towards the latter half of her words, she began to feel her face heat up. This wasn't like her usual self.

Hearing the reason she had come up with, Vahn couldn't help but let out a smile. Maybe he was overthinking things too much, as there weren't really any downsides to being in a Familia in the first place. He also knew Hephaestus wasn't the type to divulge secrets about the people she cared about. This would also allow him to get close to people within the Loki Familia, since the two different Familia often teamed up together when going on expeditions into the dungeon.

"Thank you, Hephaestus...sama. I would very much like the opportunity to join your Familia." He gave the most polite bow he could manage and waited for her response.

Staring at the boy bowing before her, Hephaestus felt an uncomfortable feeling in her chest. Though she didn't mind him calling her 'Miss' earlier, now that he was agreeing to join the Familia at her request it felt awkward having him address her with 'Sama'. It was almost like a wall was built between them, and she wanted to smash it down to prevent future complications.

"Call me Hephaestus." She stated firmly, causing Vahn to look towards her in confusion. Seeing his expression, she turned her head as a warmth crept onto her cheeks. "I said, you can call me Hephaestus. There is no need for sama or anything like that..."

Vahn nodded in agreement but found her actions to be very peculiar. It was almost like she was...shy? He knew she had a soft spot for people due to her trauma, but he didn't imagine it had such an immediate effect on their relationship. He actually felt a bit guilty but shook the thought away since he genuinely didn't find her eye to be disgusting. In fact, he wanted to help her heal it, but the only solution Sis came up with was to learn alchemy.

Noticing she had started looking at him as if waiting for his response, Vahn smiled while gently calling, "Hephaestus."

Hearing the intimate way in which he spoke, it felt like electricity went up the back of her spine. She could feel her heartbeat accelerate, and tried to cover her embarrassment with a cough. "Hmmf, anyways. Let's go ahead an perform the crest ceremony. I want to see how strong you are and if you have any potential in becoming a blacksmith. Don't worry though, even if you can't become one, I'll still allow you to be my assistant...or you can venture into the dungeon and collect materials. Though most of the members in my Familia are craftsman, we aren't completely without capable explorers, else we'd be at the mercy of other Familia to procuring materials."

As she spoke she pulled out a chair and positioned it in the center of the room. She was trying to remain calm but still noticed that her heartbeat had yet to normalize. Gesturing for Vahn to sit, the next words actually got caught in her mouth.

After waiting for a few seconds without anything happening, Vahn looked curiously towards Hephaestus who seemed to be in a daze. "Hephaestus?" When he spoke he saw her flinch before giving him a weird look.

"It's nothing...You just need to remove...your shirt." She didn't know why she had such a hard time saying such simple words. Though she appreciated the fact he didn't shy away after revealing her eye, she didn't think she had fallen for him. He wasn't even a fully grown man yet!

As she watched him remove his clothes, she could help but have her eyes drawn to his body. He had a very athletic figure and wasn't overly muscular. His physique was likely the result of intense training, and she could see the lines of his muscle drawn into his lean frame. She began to feel like she was developing a devious tendency as she struggled to pull her eyes from his body.

After removing his shirt and cloak, Vahn sat with his flesh exposed to the air while leaning against the backrest of the chair. Waiting a few moments, he began to turn around as a voice interrupted him.

"Stay facing forward, I'm going to begin. Try to relax, since the ceremony can sometimes cause discomfort." Hephaestus couldn't understand what her own expression might be, and she didn't want Vahn to see the look on her.

Staring at the well-developed back muscles, she slowly placed her finger to his back after pricking it with a needle. She began to mutter an incantation as she draws the crest of her Familia onto his back. Though she is a bit distracted by the physical contact she manages to complete the ceremony without incident. Throughout the entire duration, she noticed Vahn was able to maintain his posture without flinching in the slightest. 'He must have good tolerance', she thought as she began to inspect his new status board.

What she saw just about sent her soul back to Heaven.Name: [Vahn Mason]

-Level:1

-Power: SS1001

-Endurance: SS1108

-Dexterity: A887

-Agility: S940

-Magic: SSS1611

Skills: [Bow Mastery:C, [Stealth:D, [Chainbreaker:S, [Yggdrasil's Favor:S, [Veil of the Traveler: S]

Magic: Empty

Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:B, [Spirit Healing:B, [Blacksmith:F]His lowest parameter was A, and even possessed three stats over the limit!? And how did he have so many skills related to stealth and concealment!? She remembered he claimed to come from the Western Forests, so it wasn't too much of a stretch to have a way to survive, but his current skills seemed a bit obsessive. He even had three skills she had never seen before, and each of them had incredible effects that would incite jealousy from other gods.

However, what she didn't expect was that Vahn still had skills she couldn't even detect through reading the status board. Had she known, she may have passed out on the spot due to the sheer ridiculous of the situation.

Though she desperately wanted to ask what kind of circ.u.mstances he had, Hephaestus decided it could wait till a later date. He had already joined her Familia, and there would be plenty of time to question him when he opened up on his own.

"Vahn, your stats are incredible for a Level 1. They're some of the highest I've ever seen, and your magic stat is probably some kind of record...When I infuse my Falna into you to complete the ceremony, it'll consume all the exilia you've obtained from slaying monsters and increase your level. Are you okay with that?"

Vahn thought for a moment before nodding. Ever since he rescued Lili earlier, there had been an ache within his body even after the full recovery from the effigy. After asking about it, Sis told him it was due to overtaxing his body as a result of his rampant growth. Without leveling up it would become increasingly difficult to increase his parameters, and even if he could it may result in his body exploding due to the stress.

Hephaestus dripped another drop of blood and updated Vahn's Status board. She looked for any changes that may have appeared as a result of the increase and was surprised to see he had gained an additional two skills, bringing the total to seven normal and three development.

Vahn could feel the change in his body as his pressure in his abdomen broke through some kind of floodgate that had been preventing the energy of his body from properly dispersing. It felt very refreshing, and he could see the two new skills that had been obtained through the system.[Swordsman:D]

Increases comprehension of sword skills and techniques. Provides a slight increase to the kinetic vision and spatial awareness of the user.

[Featherfoot:E]

Increases comprehension of movement abilities and footwork. Provides a moderate increase to stealth related abilities.As he was reading the newly acquired skills, Hephaestus had used some kind of parchment to transfer his information. When she was finished she handed the paper to Vahn with a tired look.

"I knew there was something special about you, but you're really something else. I don't even know what to say when you've managed to acquire so many skills while still being level 2. Even with my eye, I can't see the limit of your potential. Fortunately, you have the [Blacksmith] development ability, so I can at least guide you with that. I can also introduce you to a swordsmanship instructor later if you want."

Vahn dressed while listening to the Hephaestus speak. He looked over the paper she had given him and saw that all his parameters had reset to I10, which was also reflected in the system. Fortunately, he had the advantage of seeing his hidden stats, so it wasn't too sorry a sight.

He turned towards Hephaestus while giving a slight bow. "Thanks, Hephaestus. I look forward to your guidance." Vahn could see her look away, and couldn't help but smile.

Seeing how Vahn was seemingly taking advantage of her, she got a little annoyed but decided to ignore it. She grabbed a hammer from the wall next to her desk before triggering a mechanism which revealed a secret workshop. Gesturing for Vahn to follow, he began to trail in her direction before they both stopped next to a forge that burned with an eternal flame.

"You might have a monstrous level of talent for combat, but let's see how much potential you have as a blacksmith." She turned towards Vahn with a unrivaled confidence on her face. Unlike all the emotions she had shown to him previously, this was what Vahn felt to be her most suitable expression.

Vahn nodded, taking a seat next to the forge to observe her actions. It wasn't every day a person had the chance to watch an actual 'Goddess of Smithing' display her skills. He began to focus on her every word and movement as she began to process of teaching him how to forge.

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Chapter 37 - Forging, Praise, Flame...

Hephaestus started the process by taking a rough piece of metal that had been soaking in solution to remove the impurities contained within the ore. She then inserted it into a heat-resistant container that could withstand the heat of the 'eternal flame' within the forge. She would periodically remove the super-heated metal before inspecting before hammering away any slag buildup.

Vahn watched the process and marveled at how methodically she performed each step. She seemed to be extremely relaxed, but there was an intense focus in her eyes which created the illusion they could see through anything. Every small change in the metal was easily noticed by her gaze, and she used the magical hammer within her hands to beat out the imperfections within the ore. After what seemed like several hours, which was in fact only a few minutes, she finally withdrew the purified metal and began shaping it into the shape of a bar.

"This is the process for refining an ingot. The metal you saw me use is the magisteel alloy used in some of our higher end products. We use mana to force out any impurities within the raw iron ore and then enhance the structure of the resultant material using pressure. During this phase, you can use your hammer to reinforce the structure of the metal and give it a magically charged nature. This allows it to conduct mana for use in skills, and with enough practice, you'll even be able to incorporate special qualities into the metal."

Seeing the befuddled look on his face during her explanation, she began to laugh before setting the metal on a nearby platform to cool. "You don't have to worry about it too much, Vahn. What you just saw was the process of countless hours of effort and experimentation. As long as you understand the basic principles, you'll get the hang of it as you acc.u.mulate more experience. Here, give it a try. I'll walk you through it step-by-step."

She offered the hammer she had used to refine the magisteel, and Vahn took it into his hands. His first impression was that it was much heavier than he expected. If not for his increase in strength the past week, he may not even be able to lift it. He was half tempted to put it into his inventory for analysis but decided to focus on the task at hand.

Removing a piece of raw iron from the solution, he began trying to replicate the process of creating the ingot. He noticed it was very difficult to position the ore within the flame, and even small miscalculations would result in the loss of iron to the fire. Understanding this was probably the reason why Hephaestus would often remove the ore from the flame, he began trying to look for any change in the metal to indicate it needed to be removed.

Hephaestus watched and gave an appreciative nod seeing his progress. Though it was very obvious he was a beginner, his attention to detail when making mistakes showed he possessed the observational prowess to become a blacksmith. She continued to watch as he processed the ore and offered him words of advice when necessary.

Vahn's focus began to increase to it's maximum allowance, and he began to struggle while trying to handle the raw iron. Whenever he removed it from the flame to beat out the impurities, he noticed it was actually very difficult to shape the material. The hammer's weight aided in the effort, but he was unable to shape the metal as he desired.

"Remember Vahn, you need to focus and channel your mana through the hammer strikes. It will make it easier to shape the metal." Hephaestus understood why he was having difficulties. Because of his monstrous stats, she had decided to pressure him by allowing him to use a hammer from her personal collection. Without proper control, he wouldn't be able to shape the metal, but she believed that his SSS magic stat would allow him to adapt to the situation with practice.

Hearing her advice, Vahn took a deep breath and tried to relax. If it was an issue of control and focus, he just had to use his trump card. He activated his [Will of the Emperor] and his domain spread throughout the entire forge.

Hephaestus frowned a bit at the act, but once she saw him continue working the metal she gave an appreciative nod. The moment he activated his pseudo-divine state, she noticed his control over his mana increased exponentially and he was able to easily infuse it into the hammer. She was surprised since the internal mana conduits of the hammer are typically impossible to use without an understanding of their internal structure. She believed his aura allowed him to perceive the flow of mana within the field he generated, and she wasn't that far off from the truth.

Vahn used his enhanced perception and control to finish removing the impurities. It took nearly five times the duration required by Hephaestus, but he still managed to keep more than 70% of the initial amount. He immediately started shaping the raw metal into the shape of an ingot, but only managed to form it into a lumpy oblong shape.

Hephaestus saw the final product and laughed a bit on the inside. Even though he seemed to have an incredible talent for refining the metal, it would still take a lot of experience before he was able to control shaping the metal. She could see the reason he failed at the end was due to how he let the metal cool while observing it. If he had begun immediately shaping the raw metal after removing it from the forge he would have been able to generate better results.

Seeing the dissatisfaction on his face, she decided to cheer him up. "Don't worry Vahn, you did very well for your first time. Remember that this is the material we use in our higher-end products, as well as your first time forging. If you had succeeded in your first try, that would have been abnormal."

She grabbed the malformed ingot before reheating it using the 'eternal flame'. "Watch closely, I'll demonstrate again. You have to begin shaping the metal the moment it reaches its critical state. Due to the conductive nature of the material, it will quickly cool down by absorbing the elements from the air. You only have a brief window to shape the metal before reheating and repeating the process."

This time, instead of immediately forming the shape of the ingot, Hephaestus showed him the normal process a blacksmith had to go through. She repeated the process of shaping and reheating the magisteel a total of seven times before it had taken the same shape as her previous ingot, albeit smaller in size.

When she was done, she set it on the shelf before turning towards the observant Vahn. "That'll be it for today. I can tell you have a lot of latent ability when it comes to forging. I'll have someone teach you the basics in the future, and when I have free time I'll give you some personal lessons. Make sure you pay attention when the time comes because my time isn't cheap."

She gave him a playful grin while speaking the words, but ended up losing her smile after seeing his reaction. Though he was obviously listening, and even nodded when she spoke, he seemed more focused on the metal within the solution than her words.

('Does he want to try again?') She appreciated his motivation but understood it was dangerous to overexert yourself, especially when first starting out. The build-up of physical and mental exhaustion would just make the process more difficult. As she was about to try and convince him, she stopped after seeing his current state.

Vahn had picked up the hammer and grabbed a piece of raw iron. The aura that had spread throughout the entire forge had converged to an area of three meters around him. Perhaps it was due to his embarrassment at his previous failure, or maybe the emergence of his competitive nature, but Vahn decided to purchase manuals on blacksmithing within his mind to absorb the teachings within.

He spent a total of 17,000 OP to purchase all the manuals he could use at this current soul tier. As his brain processed the veritable tidal wave of information, Vahn almost lost consciousness but managed to hold on by pushing his [Will of the Emperor] to the limit.

From the outside, Hephaestus could see an actual fluidlike energy forming a bubble around Vahn. Though she could sense it originally and make out its area using her eye, this was the first time she had seen a physical representation of his mana. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it took a god-like level of control to reach such a state. She worried that anything she said or did would break the mysterious state Vahn entered, so she remained silent and continued to observe.

After his brain had finished sorting all the information, Vahn suddenly felt as if he had been a blacksmith for decades. He knew his practical skills were a bit lacking, but with enough effort, he would be able to quickly improve in the future. Since the information he obtained included a variety of 'records' outside of Danmachi, he very likely had more theoretical knowledge in the basics than even Hephaestus. He might not be able to match her in actual skill or experience, but he would be able to innovate and master his 'otherworldly' techniques given enough time.

Vahn entered a state of absolute focus and began refining the metal. Though there was still a bit of loss, he managed to retain around 83% of the total raw material. After he removed the newly created magisteel he quickly began forming its shape, this time using his mana to forcibly mold the basic structure of the ingot as he hammered away.

He repeated the process of reheating the metal and shaping it until an idea popped into his mind. ('If I can use my mana to hold the shape of the ingot, can't I do the same while heating it up?') He immediately attempted to verify his conjecture, but quickly understood the difficulty involved. While the influence of the flame was negligible when he was just refining the metal normally; when he exposed his energy to the flame in a concentrated amount he was able to feel an actual burning sensation within his body, almost as if the energy of his body was on fire.

Hephaestus had been closely observing as he worked the metal, and immediately noticed the change. Through her eye, she could see that he was using his mana to 'cast' the ingot within the forge. As the 'eternal flame' was a mystical fire that could burn anything, it was very dangerous to concentrate mana directly into it. If he were unlucky, it could lead to a rebound within Vahn's spirit and cause harm to his foundation.

Though she wanted to stop him, she feared that interrupting at this moment would hasten the arrival of the worst case scenario. Hephaestus began to feel helpless as she watched him struggle. Had she known he was such a hothead, she would have prevented him from taking action earlier.

A tense atmosphere began to permeate throughout the room. On one side there was a boy, Vahn, focusing his mental energies beyond what he thought to be his previous limits. But no matter how much he pushed himself, it seemed as if failure was close at hand. On the other side of the room was the veteran Goddess, Hephaestus, who began to blame herself for the current situation. She held her breath and began to feel a strange emotion tugging at her heart.

As the pressure continued to increase, Vahn began feeling as if he was teetering on the edge between consciousness and unconsciousness. He had long noticed something had gone wrong but refused to give up after seeing how close the ingot was to taking shape.

Finally, after several painstaking seconds which seemed to stretch for an eternity, the ingot had been formed. Its surface had a flawless metallic l.u.s.ter and each edge was well defined. Unfortunately, Vahn didn't have time to celebrate as he found himself unable to remove his energy and awareness from the flame. It seemed intent on consuming his energy to the brink, almost as if it possessed a spirituality of its own. And on a very rudimentary level, it did...

The so-called 'eternal flame' had been a unique possession of Hephaestus since she obtained her divinity. It had even accompanied her to the mortal world to continue aiding in the production of thousands of peerless items. But during that time it had begun to grow bored of the tedium of the mortal world. It longed for the days when it could process celestial metals and create artifacts fit for use only by the gods themselves.

When Hephaestus allowed this novice to work metal using its flame, the 'eternal flame' began to focus all its resentment on the foolish human in front of it. He made almost imperceptible adjustments to the balance in the flame, which resulted in a greater loss of the materials. It even mocked the boy for his inability to adapt to the changes, completely ignoring any blame owed to itself.

After the boy had completed his shoddy product, the 'eternal flame' watched as he failed to convert it into an ingot. At that moment, if it could laugh, it would have done so uproariously. After Hephaestus had reheated the ingot in its flames, it allowed her to demonstrate what true mastery was so as to discourage any hopes he may have about being a blacksmith in the future. But what did Hephaestus do? She slowly worked the metal and demonstrated the process of forging used by novices. It had to reheat the same piece of bland metal over and over until the ingot had finally taken shape.

The 'eternal flame' had begun to resent the human child even more, for dragging its master down to his miserable level. When he saw the boy try to work another piece of metal, he tried to get revenge but was unable to because of the control the boy showed. The 'eternal flame' began to burn with a vengeful fury seeing that the boy had managed to retain so much of the metal even with its interference.

As the boy began shaping the ingot, its rage had begun to peak...until the boy made a foolish error! The idiotic child had the audacity to try and infuse his mana directly into the flames internal energy structure. The moment the 'eternal flame' realized this, it attempted to create a spiritual lock around the invading energy but was surprised at the result. The energy possessed by this human seemed to suppress its pure elemental nature, causing an instinctual fear within the flame.

The fear it had felt caused its rage to reach the absolute pinnacle of its meager intelligence. It began trying to consume the energy of the boy and convert it into its own, and was surprised by the absolute purity of the energy. It seemed to be able to nourish its 'core' and make the flames even stronger. All the hate it had built up for the boy turned into jubilation as it greedily tried to consume the energy.

Vahn could feel the suppression of the flames grow increasingly stronger, and began to grit his teeth till his gums bled. He tried forcibly removing his energy, causing his 'soul' to scream out in protest. Every failure brought him closer and closer to collapse, but he adamantly refused to yield to the flame. His desire to escape the flames imprisonment grew, and he could feel his spiritual strength compound.

Within Vahns eyes, the image of a warrior appeared. If the unfortunate kobolds that had experienced this previously were around, they would note that the illusion had grown far more tangible than before. The figure raised an awe-inspiring sword towards the heavens before cutting down with an unstoppable might.

Vahn could hear the resonating sound of chains being shattered as he finally wrested control of the ingot from the flame.

He held the flawless ingot and gazed at it in a fervent manner before presenting it to the befuddled Goddess who had observed the series of events. "I did it..." As the words left his lips, Vahn entered a state of 'Mind Zero' as he continued holding out the result of his efforts.

Hephaestus stared at the unconscious boy who stood proudly displaying his achievements. She slowly relieved him of the ingot before carrying his body to a couch within her office workshop. After laying him down, she continued to stare with both of her eyes for several minutes.

"What kind of kid did I accept into my Familia...to be able to contest against the will of the 'eternal flame' and pull away as the victor..." As she continued to stare into his sleeping face, an anticipation for the future began to build within Hephaestus.

"His sleeping expression is very cute~. He looks like he worked so hard~"

The cool Goddess began to smile and laugh like a fool, completely contrary to Vahn's impression of her. Sadly, it would be a long time before he was able to see this adorable side of her for himself.

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Chapter 38 - What was Lost : What was Found

Vahn was floating in the void. He couldn't determine which direction was up as his body slowly rotated through space. There was a warmth permeating through his body, reminding him of a feeling he had lost long ago. As time passed a chill began to set in his body; he could feel the warmth begin to fade and a panic began to spread throughout his consciousness. He began a desperate search for the feeling, but no matter how much he struggled; no matter how much time passed, he could not find it again.Eventually, he gave up searching and began seeking solace in the stillness brought about by the chill which had permeated every fiber of his being. But, even though he gave up searching, he wanted to protect the memory of the warmth deep within. He curled his body into the smallest form he could manage and imagined the warmth still existed, a distant echo of a memory which he should have never allowed to be lost.The concept of time had long been lost as his body drifted aimlessly through the endless void. The stillness had been a part of him for so long he even lost the concepts that had defined him in the first place. His curled body had turned into an ambiguous shape and taken on a spherical nature. Thoughts, emotions, even dreams had long faded...remnants of a time long forgotten. Only the memory of the warmth kept his body from dispersing in the endless, eternal, darkness of the void.One day the thoughtless sphere came across a small light within the darkness, stirring something within the remnant spirit contained within. From the tiny, almost inconsequential light, it could feel the now ancient warmth it had so desperately sought in the past. It quickly sought solace within the comfort of the light, but in its haste nearly extinguished the light entirely. It became conflicted, both wanting to take the light for itself, but unwilling to seize it for fear of losing it once again.

It began to gently surround the light, allowing it's gentle touch to slowly warm its now cold and desolate frame. Every now and then it would split a small part of itself to nurture the light, hoping that it would one day grow and help it reclaim what it had lost. When it split these fragments, the light would emit fragmentary images of times and places the entity had never experienced. Within the images, it could see a figure, the source of the lights warmth. It leads smaller, but powerful lights, to confront the darkness and create a path through the abyss. The being hoped that one day the light and its companions would be able to-Vahn woke up in a cold sweat. His head was throbbing with a powerful migraine similar to the times he had overused [Will of the Emperor]. He desperately tried to remember what he had been dreaming about, but the more he focused on the thoughts the faster they would vanish. The only thing still remaining by the time he had calmed down was a deep, all-encompassing loneliness...

"You're awake. I was worried you would end up sleeping all day." A gentle voice broke the empty feelings that had began to take root in his heart. Vahn turned to see the source and saw Hephaestus giving him a worried look.

"Sorry...I was having a dream, no, a nightmare..." Vahn shook his head to dispel the remaining negative feelings before leaving the couch. Hephaestus, who was currently sitting at her desk working on diagrams, gave him a gentle smile while setting her pen aside. "What are your plans for today? Since you've officially joined my Familia, you can have your own workshop, but I think it would be better for you to apprentice under someone else for the time being. If you're not busy I'll introduce you to a veteran blacksmith. She is quite capable, and someone I can trust to teach you everything you need to know for the future."

Vahn shook his head with an apologetic look. "I've already made plans to meet up with someone this morning, and I still need to report my level up to the guild and renew my booking at the Inn. Hopefully, they haven't let someone else take the room yet."

Hephaestus nodded in understanding, remembering his haste from the previous night. Even though she had already accepted him into the Familia, it wasn't appropriate to force him to change his current plans and living conditions until he was able to sort everything out. "Very well then. I'll give you a week to get everything sorted, but you'll have to report to me if anything changes. Though there aren't many requirements for being in the Familia, you'll still be acting as a representative of our brand. You'll have to put more thought into your future actions. I don't want you running around causing a bunch of problems for me to clean up."

After informing him of everything he needed to keep in mind, Hephaestus began escorting him from the workshop. She was back to her usual attitude and had begun to wear her eyepatch again while Vahn was asleep. Once they had reached the entrance, Vahn gave a polite bow before waving goodbye. Seeing this, Hephaestus stopped him with a small hint of a blush on her face. "Make sure you let me know if you run into any problems. You're a child of my Familia now, and I won't let anyone bully my children."

Hearing her words, Vahn gave her his best smile before saying, "Thanks Hephaestus. I believe in you..." As he began to turn away, he continued his words. "And one day, I hope you'll be able to believe in me." He then ran towards the direction of the guild, leaving a smiling Hephaestus leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed.

She watched his retreating figure until it had disappeared, then sighed as she returned to her workshop. After entering, she looked towards the now empty couch where Vahn had slept the night before. After securely locking the door, she made her way over before falling face first into the cushions. For some reason, the room that was full of peerless equipment now felt empty. From the couch, she could smell a peculiar fragrance that hadn't been there previously, and she began to blush after identifying the source...

Remembering his back as he left, Hephaestus had seen hints of the loneliness contained in the small silhouette. But beneath that, she also saw a powerful desire to grow stronger, as well as an intrigue in the world around him. His last words stirred her heart a bit, and her attempts to maintain her calm demeanor had worn away at her energy as she returned to her workshop. Once she was in the security of the room, she felt an exhaustion build up in her and decided to use the couch to take a small nap.

After a while, she fell asleep. While Vahn had slept the night before, she spent much of the time watching his various expressions. When he had started having his nightmare, she began gently rubbing his head to soothe his unease. This continued well into the morning, until he began to show signs of awakening which prompted her to return to her desk and pretend to be working. Once he had awoken, she wanted to ask what he was dreaming about, but seeing the pained expression on his face made Hephaestus swallow her words and try to act casually. All these factors had acc.u.mulated in the fatigue of the red-haired goddess as she fell into the land of dreams herself.Vahn made his way to the Guild, and was sad seeing that none of his acquaintances were available. He saw Fauna dealing with customers at the mission counter, while Eina, probably due to her adorable looks, had a long line of customers in front of her desk. He ended up being seen by a gentlemanly looking elf with green hair that gave him looks of contempt before changing to shock after seeing the number of cores Vahn had submitted. After finding out Vahn had been entering the tower for less than a week and had become level 2, he almost thought the boy before him was a monster in the guise of a human. However, once he found out Vahn had been accepted by the Hephaestus Familia and officially registered as an Adventurer, he gave a curt and respectful bow before processing the exchange.

On his way out, Vahn caught the sight of Eina and the two waved at each other. He was happy to see that when the young half-elf made eye contact with him, there was a slight blush on her cheeks. Vahn felt a tickling sensation in his heart and resolved to try and tease her more in the future. Seeing the combination of her cute looks and serious nature trying to hide shyness brought a smile to his face for reasons he couldn't explain.

He made his way to the Hearths Embrace before booking his room for an additional week. The proprietress, Milan, had tried to keep him for a few minutes. She wanted to know what he had been up to the previous week and advised that, if he were in trouble, he could come to her. "I may not look like it, but I used to be a Level 3 back in my active days. If some hoodlums are bothering you I'll give 'em a good beating~".

Vahn smiled and thanked her for her kindness, assuring her that nothing serious had happened and promised to tell her about the details later. After having him promise, she finally let him go before giving him a small lunchbox. "My daughter made it especially for you~. Make sure you eat it all or you'll break her heart~nya."

Vahn looked around and noticed the little girl was missing, and Milan laughed seeing his questioning expression. "She stayed up late because you hadn't shown up to renew the room. You know she lost her father to the dungeon, so she was very worried. Make sure you make it up to her later, okay?"

Accepting the lunchbox, Vahn promised he would buy Tina a present before returning this evening. Milan patted his back while pushing him towards the exit and telling him to take care of himself. "Remember, a man always keeps his promises~nya!"

After leaving the Inn, Vahn began running towards the Babel Plaza. It was already nearing 9 AM, and he was worried Lili had been waiting for a very long time. Adventurers typically entered the dungeon at even earlier times, and since they had agreed to meet in the morning she had likely been in the area for several hours by now.

He continued running for nearly half an hour before finally reaching his destination. Looking around, he couldn't see Lili anywhere, and he began to worry she had left after he failed to show up on time. Finding a nearby bench, he sat down and began waiting. Even if she didn't show up, he would continue waiting for the rest of the day as a means of atoning for his actions.

Three hours later, as Vahn continued to stare aimlessly at the sky in contemplation, he felt a sudden weight added to the bench near him. He looked over and saw Lili staring into his face with annoyance and displeasure written on her face. She had adopted the look of an elven child with blond hair and light-hazelnut colored eyes.

"You're late." She said with a pout.

"Sorry Lili, I got caught up trying to take care of a few things." All Vahn could do was awkwardly apologize why trying to appease the young Pallum.

She stared at him before closing the distance and smelling his clothing. "It was a woman, wasn't it?"

Vahn was shocked, "Eh? Yes?" He didn't understand why she now had an angry expression after sniffing his body.

"Grrrr, I want to meet her later. Promise me." A glint had appeared in her eyes as she began pressuring Vahn for his word.

Vahn could feel a chill run down his back as he nodded his head like a clucking chicken. "Yes, sure. I'll introduce you to them later."

"THEM!? There is more than one!?" The young girl acted like she was undergoing an intense struggle and began acting out a tragic play on the bench. After a few seconds had past, she gave Vahn a fierce look before nodding after coming to some kind of understanding.

"I want to meet them all." She got very close to his body before staring into his face with a determined expression.

Vahn just continued to nod, before giving in to the urge to pat her head. He understood she was a bit jealous but didn't understand the reasons. She probably just wanted to keep him to herself, since he had just recently saved her life. He thought petting her on the head would help ease some of the insecurities she was feeling.

When Vahn had started patting her head, Lili tensed up for a moment before entrusting her body to Vahn. All her frustrations seemed to fade away in the face of the emergent pleasant sensation coming from her head. She wanted to snuggle and leave her mark on his body to warn any females that got too close...

"Well, let's get to training." Vahn stopped petting the girl that had begun to lose herself to her delusions. He stood from the bench and waited for her to react before heading towards the dungeon.

"Wait, Vahn-sama! Don't leave me behind!" Seeing his departure, Lili began to chase after his back. She wouldn't allow herself to fall behind anymore...

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Chapter 39 - Anyone Can Become Strong

Vahn and Lili made their way into the 'Beginner's Road' on the first floor of the dungeon. Vahn looked around and found the entrance to the path he had taken when he first entered the dungeon. He continued leading the way as Lili trailed behind him as the two made small talk.

"Lili, what is your goal in entering the dungeon?" Vahn decided to be direct, so he asked her why she wanted to become stronger.

Lili looked into his eyes and saw his seriousness. She began to seriously contemplate the question before speaking. "I want to become strong enough to survive...and to protect the things I care about." During the last half of the sentence, she stared at his face, only to see him nod while thinking about her words.

"That's enough for now, but I want you to have a bigger dream. Everyone wants to protect something, be it their way of life or the people close to them. I learned that it's important to also have a goal to work towards since you won't be able to become stronger just by wanting strength."

Lili nodded while hanging her head. She didn't disagree with him, but couldn't think of any goal besides just earning her freedom. Even now she was just escaping instead of directly facing her problems. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind and she looked curiously towards Vahn.

"Vahn-sama, why aren't you surprised by my appearance? It slipped my mind, but you were able to instantly recognize me even though my magic changed my appearance."

Vahn laughed at her question, which caused her to frown slightly. "That's easy. I was waiting in the area we agreed to meet, and you were the one that mentioned I was 'late'. Besides, even if you change your appearance a little, I can easily tell you apart from others."

"Eh, how come?" Not many people had been able to see through her disguise before, so she wanted to know why he was able to do so.

Vahn thought for a brief moment, but couldn't tell her it was because he had seen her change form in the manga. He decided to tell a half-truth that should make her overlook any misgivings she might have. Looking towards the top of her head, he could see her pinkish-blue aura and decided that would suffice. "It's because you're cute and have a very unique aura. No matter what form you take I'd be able to easily recognize you." He decided to compliment her since girls seemed to be happy whenever he was polite to them.

Hearing his reasons, Lili began to blush fiercely and hugged Vahn from behind. "Uuuuuu, it's not fair to say things like that Vahn-sama..." She began putting strength into her arms as she rubbed her head against his back.

Vahn was surprised at the effectiveness of his simple compliment. He began to think he should try complimenting people more often if it's able to make them this happy. Seeing the way people reacted to his words also made him feel a variety of emotions, and it was very interesting since he had so few noteworthy interactions before coming to this world.

Eventually, Lili separated herself from his back before assuming her original form. As long as they were in the dungeon and weren't around other people she should be fine. Besides, she wanted Vahn to get used to the real her as much as possible. To hide her previous embarrassment, she tried continuing the conversation from earlier.

"Vahn-sama, why do you want to become stronger?" She was very curious about his reasons since he had gone out of his way to protect someone he had never met before. As far as she could tell, he had a very heroic disposition, but she could still see a painful and solemn expression on his face from time to time.

Vahn stopped walking and looked directly into her chestnut colored eyes. "I want to become strong enough to change the fates of those bound by the whims of others. I don't want to see people suffer just because it makes someone else's life convenient. And..." He looked towards the ceiling as if he could see through to something far off into the distance. "There is someone I must become stronger for..."

Though she felt a warm feeling while he was stating his convictions, Lili felt her heart tense up when he spoke about becoming stronger for a specific person. 'Is it his lover?'. She became saddened at the thought she had already lost the race before she even had a chance to compete. Through her dejection, she decided to ask, even though the answer might disappoint her.

"Who is it you need to become so strong for...your lover?" She couldn't look him in the eyes, afraid he might see through her false bravado.

"Ah, no, I don't have anything like a lover. It's my Mother. I want to become strong enough to reunite with her, but I don't know how strong I'll have to become before I'm able to do so." Though he couldn't understand why she was acting so strangely, Vahn decided to be honest with her.

Hearing that the person in question was his mother, Lili released a heavy sigh. She also noted he specifically said he didn't have a lover, so if she tried her best she should still have a chance. Now she just had to meet the women he mentioned earlier to get a better understanding of the situation. A fierce competitiveness began burning in her eyes as she pumped her tiny fists in front of her chest.

She seemed to be a lot more excitable than Vahn remembered, but he wanted to think it was a healthy change. Maybe it was because he had met her so much sooner than Bell, so she hadn't yet devolved to the state of mind she had in the canon storyline?

"Well Lili, for now, I want you to start thinking of a goal for yourself. While we train your foundation you can think of why you want to grow stronger, while I'll think of how to make you stronger." This was the best solution he could think of for now. As long as he was able to give her time, she should be able to find a reason for herself even without his interference.

Lili nodded before shaking her head moments later. "I'm not sure I can become stronger Vahn-sama. I already learned early on that I don't have the talent to be an Adventurer. Since I'm a Pallum, my body is weak and my small stature makes it difficult to directly engage stronger monsters. Its probably better that I just focus on being a Supporter while you continue to work towards your own goals. I'm happy just being at your side."

She tried to give him a smile, but Vahn could see the melancholic undertones and believed that she was forcing herself. He also noticed the aura around her body began to flicker slightly, so he understood her emotions were becoming unstable.

"Are you an idiot?" He decided he needed to be a bit harsh, or else she might not be willing to listen to his words. "What made you decided you couldn't be an Adventurer just because you were a Pallum? One of the strongest Adventurers in the entire City is a Pallum, and he has even reached Level 6. You think just because you failed once or twice when you were just a kid you have no talent? That is completely ridiculous."

Lili became absolutely shocked after hearing her kind and gentle Vahn-sama calling her an idiot before berating her. 'Eh? Did I say something wrong?'. She couldn't process the sudden change and just absentmindedly listened as the continued.

"You might not believe it after seeing me now, but there was a long period of time when I couldn't do anything. I lived at the convenience of others, and couldn't even make a single decision to change that reality. There was even a time when I tried to take my own life, only to be prevented from doing so and facing severe repercussions for my failure..." The entire time he was speaking, he continued locking eyes with the now terrified girl.

"My life continued in that fashion until a series of events changed the conditions I had grown accustomed to. I had completely given up, but by the grace of external forces, I was guided back towards a path where I could live as I please. So as not to fail to meet their expectations, I continued to train tirelessly while constantly seeking to improve my own capabilities. It wasn't until facing death on numerous occasions and experiencing the kindness of several people that I reached my current strength." At this point Vahn had begun showing a smile on his face as he remembered all the past events and interactions that have defined his life in this world.

Lili had begun to tremble as he spoke. When he first began she could see the pain he had experienced through his expressions and how he conveyed his words. She knew he wasn't lying to her and had likely experienced a terrible suffering in the past. When he continued and started talking about his efforts to become stronger, she could see an impassioned expression on his face filled with desire and a hint of confidence. Lastly, she could see the appreciation on his face as he reflected upon everything that had happened...

She began to wonder, 'Can I really become stronger?'. Everything she has experienced seemed to scream at the impossibility, but the boy before her inspired something inside of her. She wanted to believe. She wanted to see if the boy could really change the frail image she had of herself. Most importantly, she wanted to become strong enough to meet his expectations...she didn't want to fail.

Lili looked towards Vahn who had returned her gaze. She had tears in her eyes as she questioned, 'Vahn-sama...can I really become stronger? Can I be like you?"

Vahn smiled before reaching out and placing his hand on her head. As he gently patted the tearful girl who had experienced so much tragedy in her life, he put on the most confident airs he could manage.

"As long as they are willing to put in the effort, Lili...Anyone can become strong."

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Chapter 40 - Capabilities : Desire Within the Dungeon

After Lili had calmed down, the two began discussing her current strengths and weaknesses. At this point, they were both standing outside the entrance to the second floor, and Vahn needed a better understanding of her current abilities.

"That skill you use to disguise yourself, does it give you any other benefits? And what other skills do you possess?" This is what Vahn was most interested in. From his perspective, the ability to transform was quite powerful, and he even envied it a bit.

"My transformation comes from my magic [Cinder*Ella]. It lets me change into anything of similar size and weight, though I can push the ability to change my size for a short period of time...As for other abilities, I possess a skill called [Artel Assist] which increases my parameters based on the amount of weight I'm carrying, though the buff isn't that great and the weight itself restricts my movement..."

Vahn nodded with his hand to his chin. He was thinking about a way to use the two abilities to their greatest potential in the future...but for now, he should help her strengthen her foundation. Though he couldn't give her the manuals from the system, that didn't prevent him from using the information within his head to offer advice to aid in her growth. For now, he'd teach her the basic CQC (Close Quarters Combat) skills he developed in the forest. Even if they weren't that useful for killing monsters, it would give her the ability to protect herself in the future.

"For now we'll start strengthening your foundation. I know a series of exercises to help increase your familiarity with combat that will also help improve the mobility of your body while increasing your reaction time. We might be able to use your [Artel Assist] to help aid your stamina training, and we'll also practice actual combat. For now, we'll restrict it to the monsters on the upper levels, and then move on to sparring later in the afternoon. What weapons do you prefer?"

Seeing how seriously Vahn was treating the training, Lili began amping herself up for the coming trials. "Yes, Master Vahn! Since I'm a Pallum, I have enhanced vision which allows me to see in the dark so I use a bow to attack monsters from the backline. Though I can use my [Cinder*Ella] to adopt the traits of other races, I haven't used them in combat!"

"Ah, it just so happens that I also use a bow, but it won't be a very practical method to increase your parameters. Even if you can gain the exilia from monsters, it would mainly influence your dex. We'll have to train a method that allows you to increase all of your parameters until you find a combat style that suits you." Vahn was considering purchasing a weapon for Lili, but couldn't think of a good option...

"Master Vahn also uses a bow?" Lili gave him a questioning look since she had only ever seen him use a sword till now.

Hearing her question, Vahn swapped to the bow in his secondary slot. Lili startled seeing the sword disappear while an emerald green bow took its place. "Is that your storage magic? It seems to be very useful if you're able to swap out weapons so quickly."

Vahn nodded while leading the way into the second floor. Since he didn't have a way to explain his storage magic in detail, he wanted to avoid talking about it whenever possible. After a few minutes they came across a group of kobolds, and Vahn quickly loosed three arrows, precisely hitting the core of each monster.

"Ah, that's amazing Master Vahn! You have impeccable aim~" Lili was jumping behind him while cheering loudly.

Vahn shook his head and turned towards her. "Lili, unless we're in the corridors between floors you have to retain your focus. A small lapse in concentration is all it takes to lead to a pitiful end. And you can stop calling me Master. Just call me Vahn. Hearing you praise me while calling me Master worries me for some reason..."

"U-understood...Vahn...sama" Hearing her still address him with 'sama' Vahn let out a sigh. At least it was better than being called 'Master' over and over. Hopefully, she would be able to break the habit on her own in the future.

"For the next group, I want you to engage them using your crossbow. If things get dicey I'll make sure to intercept, but you should try your best to eliminate them on your own." He continued to progress further into the second floor until the encountered a group of three kobolds and two goblins.

Lili drew her crossbow and began to fire rapidly. Most of her bolts found their target, but she was a little off from hitting the cores so the monsters began charging towards her. She stood still and kept firing bolts as quickly as she could, but was only able to kill the two goblins before the kobolds had approached her. Just as they were about to lunge, three arrows accurately pierced the bodies of the kobolds mid-leap turning them to dust in the process.

Lili had a ghastly expression on her face and lost feeling in her legs. She collapsed on the spot while stuttering towards Vahn, "T-t-thanks Vahn-s-sama. I'm s-s-sorry I failed."

Vahn could see fear written all over her face, and he tried comforting her by kneeling down and petting the top of her head. "It's okay Lili. You didn't fail...I just wanted to see how you fought monsters without support. From now on I'll show you how to properly fight using ranged weapons."

While she was still powerless to move, more kobolds had begun spawning from the walls of the dungeon. This time it was a group of five, and Vahn immediately moved to close the gap between them. Lili, from her seated position, stared at his charge in a confused manner. 'Why is he getting close if he is using a bow?'

The answer to her question came in the following few seconds, as she watched Vahn nimbly dodge the kobolds and use the blind spots created by their movements to easily target their cores. In the span of just a few breaths, he was able to easily deal with the entire group without having to reposition or open a distance between the monsters. She began to understand what he meant by 'proper'...

Vahn approached the still seated Lili before smiling and saying, "Did you see? Though using ranged weapons does provide an advantage in eliminating monsters from a distance, if you have to sacrifice your mobility in exchange it isn't worth it. You struggled to hit the monsters at a distance, but if you had used their movements to target their weaknesses at a close range you would have been able to slay them all without using so many bolts. Do you understand?"

Lili nodded before accepting the hand he had offered to her. "But Vahn-sama...I'm not nearly as agile as you are. I can't evade the attacks of kobolds at such a close range, and it would be very dangerous if I got surrounded..." Though she agreed with Vahn's statement, she didn't believe she could replicate the methods he used. There was too large a gap between their stats...

"Yes, that is true, at least for now. Though you seem to think being a Pallum is a disadvantage, it should allow you to have more nimble movements when you polish your skills. Since you have a lower center of gravity and an easier to manipulate pivot, your agility growth should be much higher than most races. I think it's because you're too used to attacking from the backline and carrying a lot of weight that you've neglected the benefits of your own bloodline. And if you're that concerned, can't you just use [Cinder*Ella] to use the traits of a Cat Person or Elf? They both have very high agility and dexterity after all."

Lili was surprised hearing his explanation. She often used her magic to disguise and fool people, but whenever she entered the dungeon it was always as a Pallum Supporter. She hadn't practiced combat as other races or tried to adapt their racial traits for training...Remembering Vahn's words from earlier, she began to believe she really had neglected to make an effort in becoming stronger. It seemed she was content with just surviving and trying to escape all this time...

Vahn noticed she had become dejected while mulling over his words, and he let out a sigh while patting her head again. ("She is such high maintenance...I really wish she could develop some confidence. Well, I guess that's my job from now on.").

The two continued advancing into the dungeon and engaging each group of monsters they came across. Lili began trying to develop her agility and footwork by fighting the monsters up close, but she was only able to make small improvements. Much of the time was spent with Vahn trying to console her and dispatching the majority of the mobs, while she would later collect the cores. This continued later into the afternoon before they both made their way to the 1st-floor corridor.

"Okay, now we'll move on to actual sparring. For now, we'll avoid the use of weapons. I want you to try to attack me using your arms and legs. I'll only be on the defensive, but don't think I won't counter attack if you show an opening. There are never any absolutes, and you should always be prepared for the unexpected." Vahn got into the fighting stance he had honed during his time in the forest. Though he didn't possess any specific style, he had become quite capable using mixed martial arts.

Lili nodded seriously before trying to launch a barrage of weak punches in his direction. Vahn became a bit fl.u.s.tered at the adorable action, and almost allowed himself to be hit due to his urge to laugh. Luckily, he managed to save some face by quickly side-stepping the flurry of attacks before patting her on the back.

"You should only attack with intent. If you flail about you'll lose your balance and expose yourself to the opponent. Come, attack me again! Don't think about it, just act!"

This time Lili tried kicking his legs, and he easily managed to stay outside her range. She tried several more times before suddenly launching a punch towards his abdomen. After the repeated kicks, Vahn had begun to anticipate a change in the attack pattern so he easily diverted the momentum of the punch. As a result, Lili began to fall face-first towards the ground, but Vahn caught her before she made contact.

"Remember, never overcommit to the attack. Though its good to change your attack pattern, you need to target the opponent where they are exposed. Look for the gaps in the movements, and try to attack when they are shifting their weight since it's difficult to change direction when you've yet to complete a movement."

He continued to explain while holding Lili in his arms. The young Pallum's face had turned crimson and she was barely able to hear his voice through the pounding in her ears as a result of her heart rate increasing. When he finally returned her to her feet, she just stood there blankly for a few moments.

Seeing her lack of focus, Vahn closed the distance before issuing a punch directly towards her face. His fist stopped just centimeters before making contact, causing Lili to fall onto her butt with a startled expression.

"A momentary loss of focus leaves you open to devastating counter-attacks. If I was an enemy or a monster you would have been severely injured or killed by that attack." Vahn extended his hands to help her up, but she just stared at the outstretched hand without accepting it.

Lili continued sitting silently, unable to process the series of events. Though she knew he was serious in making her stronger, she didn't expect that he would be so intense during the training. Her mind was a roller-coaster of ups and downs, and she wasn't able to easily stabilize her emotions. In some moments she was happy, like when he prevented her from falling, while others she became terrified seeing the ferocious nature of his attacks. Though she believed he wouldn't harm her, the strike to her face had drained all the strength from her body. She didn't want to continue anymore and feared to grab the hand before her...

(*Shit. I scared her. It's only the first day of training and I immediately moved on to real life combat and sparring...I'm such an idiot.*) Vahn withdrew his hand with a sad expression. Though Lili flinched when he pulled away, she didn't make an attempt to stop him.

She watched as he moved towards the wall of the dungeon...and began punching it. She was terrified by his actions and began to believe he may have gone crazy, but as she saw his hands begin to bleed a painful feeling spread in her heart. She shouted, "Vahn-sama, stop! What are you doing!? Your hands, they-"

Vahn sighed, hearing her call out to him. He stopped hitting the wall and rested with his back against it. "I'm sorry Lili. I shouldn't be pushing you so hard on the first day. I...I didn't want to scare you...I just don't want to see you harmed in the future. I'm afraid that, when I'm not around, something terrible may happen to you. By helping you grow stronger, I believed I could prevent that from happening...but I don't want to grow stronger at the expense of you growing afraid of me."

Lili began to feel a mixture of sadness and anger in her heart. She was sad seeing how quickly he punished himself on her behalf, but angry seeing the extent he pushes himself when left to his own thoughts. "Are you an idiot!?" She began to cry, unable to express her emotions with words.

She walked towards Vahn and took his hands into her own. Seeing the torn flesh around his knuckles, she began to regret being afraid earlier. He was just doing his best to help he grow strong, but she began to act like she was terrified...terrified of the person that had just the day before sacrificed himself to save her life.

Vahn continued to watch as she began bandaging his hands. He wanted to save her the effort and use a healing potion but felt like it wasn't the best time to speak up...

After she had tended to his wounds, she stepped back and did a full servile bow with her face to the ground. "Please help me get stronger Vahn-sama. I won't complain anymore, and I won't be afraid no matter how harshly you treat me. Just please don't punish yourself for someone like me. It pains my heart to see you do that to yourself."

From his position, Vahn could only see the top of her head. But even though she was hiding it, he was able to see the tears dropping onto the floor. He didn't know what to say, and began feeling like his self-inflicted punishment had gone too far. Vahn hadn't even considered how she would feel seeing his actions, he just wanted to take out his conflicting emotions on the hardest surface in the area.

Seeing the determination in her actions, Vahn couldn't bring himself to try to explain the situation. He just sighed within his own mind before standing up and approaching the still bowing Lili. Noticing his approach, she looked towards him with her tear stain faced. She began to speak but was prevented from doing so when Vahn hugged her to his chest. She just stood there accepting his embrace as he stroked the back of her hair while her tears and snot stained his mantle.

"Lili, you're already far stronger than you know. I swear I will do my best to make you realize it for yourself..."

The two continued to hug until finally separated several minutes later. By now Lili's tears had begun to dry, but there was still the trace of their previous existence still on her face. Vahn was worried, but she simply gave him a beaming smile, dashing away any concerns he had in the process.

"I will do my best, Vahn-sama~!"

[Liliruca Arde] affection has reached Affection:90[Love, Intrigue:59[Curious/

/Quest Triggered: 'The Hearts Desire' [Repeatable/

[The Hearts Desire: Obtain 100 Affection/Intrigue with any person.]

Rank: (C-SS)

Rewards: 'Gift' function permanently unlocked on first completion, 10,000OP[Current: 0, 1x 'Hearts Desire'[Current: 0]

Failure Condition: Death

Penalty: None

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Chapter 41 - Affection : Love

Vahn blanked out as he stared at the system notification. He never expected that Lili would fall in 'love' with him after such a short period of time. Staring at the young girl that had gotten close to his body during his absentmindedness, he wasn't really sure what to feel. Though he understood what love was from reading manga and the memory of his mother, he didn't really know how to express it. He knew he liked Lili, since she was very adorable, but he also liked Chloe's playfulness and Hephaestus's bashful coolness.

Seeing the quest required him to get 100 affection, Vahn was at a loss. Even though they had spent a fair amount of time together, her affection had only increased twice throughout the entire duration. He had almost even forgotten about it since her aura had remained persistent since he saved her the previous day.

Since he couldn't think of the solution himself, he tried asking his reliable big Sis. ("Sis, how can I increase someones affection to 100? Do I...need to marry them or something?")

A deep, mechanical sigh sounded in his mind. (*I'm sure if you got someone to 100 Affection and they loved you as a member of the opposite s.e.x, they would probably marry you. But marriage doesn't mean someone has 100 affection. There are several types of love as well, such as the bonds between comrades that have fought together, or the familial love like what your mother had for you. How you get the affection to 100 will be entirely dependant on you, since my help would have more negative influence than positive gain.*)

Vahn sighed within his mind. ("Why is love such a complicated thing..."). He looked towards Lili who had been sticking to his body for some time now. It seemed like she was developing the tendencies of some kind of hug type monster. He even noticed she would periodically smell his body, which always caused a cold sweat to drip down his back.

As a test, he tried seeing if he could increase her affection by petting her...

When his hand came into contact with her head, she began to snuggle against him more intensely, almost as if the hand was a signal that allowed her behavior. Though Vahn was beginning to get uncomfortable, he also felt an 'awkward' feeling within his chest as his pulse began to markedly increase. Through his petting, he noticed that her aura seemed to become very lively as it danced about, but there was no change in the amount of affection displayed in the system.

He almost thought about giving her a kiss, but eventually dismissed the idea. They hadn't known each other for very long, and there was still a long while before he could complete her training. If he kissed her now before she had become more stable, he would feel like he was manipulating her. This thought brought back memories of his sunset rendezvous with Chloe, and he began to truly understand why she had prevented him from confessing at that moment. If she had accepted his feelings then and there, he would have become reliant on her. All of his efforts would have been spent trying to make her happy, and it would most likely cause him to make a mistake in the future.

Once again he could see the parallels between himself and Lili. Since she had been neglected so much as a child and also exploited by the people she should have been able to rely on, she was in desperate need of an anchor to ground her emotions. Though he could see she 'loved' him through the system, it was more of a 'puppy love' or 'dependency' instead of genuine infatuation...

He began to understand the dangers of the current situation, so after he gave her two more soft pats he stood up. "It's time we head out of the dungeon. Even if this is the corridor of the first floor, there is no guarantee that danger won't present itself. I also have several things to take care of this evening, so we shouldn't loiter around here for too long."

Lili was disappointed that he put an end to their little moment. She thought things were progressing in a good direction, but right as she was about to try and push things forward he ended up running away. She began thinking Vahn was either too dense to sense the atmosphere, or maybe he wasn't interested in her. Looking at his face, he seemed calm and collected, which caused her to feel a little down.

Vahn noticed her actions but knew if he gave her too much attention it would probably develop into an issue in the near future. He still gave her a gentle smile and softly called out to her. "Come, Lili. Let's get out of this dreary dungeon. We might even make it in time to see the sunset from the plaza."

Her ears twitched at his words, and she immediately bounded to her feet. "Yes, Vahn-sama~ Lets go go go~!" She began leading the way while Vahn just helplessly shook his head.

They made their way out of the dungeon, and Lili took the few cores they had earned to a guild managed window near the information desks outside the dungeon entrance. Vahn watched her curiously, and he wondered why she had taken the cores. After fifteen minutes, she rushed back holding a small bag of Valis and presented it to him.

"Here you go Vahn-sama. You managed to earn 14,830V today~!" She stuffed the bag into his hands and gave him a look like she wanted to be praised. Vahn decided to give in, and began rubbing her head which caused her to squirm about while making strange noises.

"This Valis, it came from the cores we earned today? Were you able to exchange them here at the tower?" He looked towards the direction she had left earlier. He noticed there were a few adventurers entering and exiting the small building he had previously neglected.

Lili gave him a confused look before asking, "Eh? Vahn-sama? Have you not been exchanging your cores outside the dungeon?"

Vahn shook his head and told her he had been trading them in at the main Guild branch. She looked at him like he was a weirdo, but then recalled that he was a newbie freelancer that had been in the City for little more than a week.

"Vahn-sama, it would be very time-consuming if people had to walk all the way to the Guild every time they wanted to exchange cores and drop items. That's why the Guild set up an exchange booth near the entrance of the dungeon. Though they offer a 1% markup from the normal tax, it's still much more convenient than spending nearly an hour just to take your spoils to the Guild. Most people only visit the main office to accept and report quests and level ups."

Vahn couldn't help but laugh after hearing her words. It definitely made sense, and he probably should have paid more attention to his surroundings. He began to consider mapping the entire City in the future and trying to obtain as much information as he could. Seeing the expectant expression on Lili's face, he decided to pat her again while teasing her a bit.

"Thanks, Liliruca-sama. This ignorant one has heard your guidance and taken it to heart."

After he had spoken, Lili visibly froze. She mechanically turned to him with an incredulous expression on her face. "Vahn-sama...please don't address me like that. I'm offering my advice because I want to, not because I think I'm in a higher position than you are..."

Vahn simply smiled in response. "It's the same for me Lili. I'm helping you because I want to, so you shouldn't address me as sama either. We'll be together for a long time, so it feels awkward being addressed in such a subservient way.

She began to grit her teeth while she struggled with the words. After a while, she looked into his eyes while nodding slightly. "Yes...Vahn. I will try to fix my bad habit."

They continued generating their unique atmosphere as the passing adventurers gave them strange looks. Some of the less sensitive ones even whistled and gave them playful calls to embarrass the two senseless children.

Hearing the surrounding voices, Lili hung her head and began to blush. She gave shy glances at Vahn, but seeing his composed expression she couldn't help but sigh. "Vahn-sa...Vahn, where are you going from here?"

Vahn smiled before looking towards the sky. The sun was going to set in about twenty minutes, so he decided to keep his word and view it together. "For now let's find a better vantage point to watch the sunset. I did say we would watch it if we made it in time. After that, I'll head back towards my Inn after stopping at the market to purchase a gift."

"Eh, gift? For who?" Hearing the words gift, Lili became excited and concerned at the same time. She hoped that the gift might be for her, but seeing as how he mentioned it casually it was likely for someone else...probably a woman.

"Ah, it's for the Proprietress' daughter. She was the one that made the lunchbox I ate during our break in the dungeon, remember?" Vahn casually mentioned Tina, as it wasn't really a secret.

"Umu...I want to meet her." There was a cautious glint in her eye, with a hint of competitiveness. If it was a cute girl, she had to make sure to protect Vahn from her devious clutches. There was also the matter of the Proprietress who allowed her daughter to make a lunchbox for a customer...

"Sure, I'll introduce you in the future."

They two eventually ended up on the same viewing platform where Vahn had watched the sunset with Chloe. Lili used the opportunity snuggle again Vahn, but wasn't as restless as she had been previously. She just continued staring towards the sunset in a daze, silent until it had disappeared beyond the horizon. Vahn observed the silence and allowed her to lean against his body. For some reason, as the light faded he felt a melancholy deep within his heart that he couldn't explain. It wasn't until the light had completely faded that he broke the silence.

"What will you do from here on Lili?" Though they had agreed to meet up again, much earlier this time, Vahn was still curious about what she had decided upon. He knew, given her current disguise, that she was still actively hiding from her Familia.

Lili silently contemplated her next words carefully. She looked towards Vahn and noticed the concern in his eyes, so she mustered up her courage. "I...I want to stay in the same Inn as you. I don't want to return to my Familia as they'll likely blame me for the deaths of the three members that died in the dungeon. Though there isn't a lot of camaraderie in that detestable place, they'll still punish me severely to appease their own unease. In the worst case, they may even kill me..."

Vahn grit his teeth in anger hearing her words. He understood what she said was true, and since it was due to his actions that caused the death of the three, he needed to take responsibility and protect her until she became strong enough. Seeing the fear that begun to show in Lili's eyes, he smiled before walking towards the stairs leading to the lower levels.

After he took a few steps, he turned towards the dejected looking Pallum. "Come on Lili, lets go home." As the words left his lips, he felt a powerful force nearly knock him to the ground.

"Vahn-saaaama~" Lili had lept into his body after his Vahn's words. She nuzzled against his abdomen and gripped his body like a vice.

[Liliruca Arde] Affection 1/

After several painstaking minutes, Vahn finally managed to separate the hugging demon from his body. He turned and continued his way outside of the tower, as the cheerful girl followed closely behind.

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Chapter 42 - Showdown Within the Hearths Embrace

Vahn and Lili made their way towards the 'Hearth's Embrace' and stopped at a small stall that sold trinkets and gifts. Since he didn't know what to buy as a gift for a young girl, he decided to ask Lili since she was around the same age as Tina.

"Eh? You want me to help you pick a gift for another girl...?" She began to pout while giving him a look of dissatisfaction.

Vahn nodded while picking up and examining some animal shaped charms. "Yeah, I've never bought a gift for anyone before, so I'm not really sure what to get."

Never bought a gift before? The words repeated themselves in Lili's mind over and over. ('I have to get him to buy me something as well. I can't let the first gift he ever purchases go to some random Inn employee!') She began forming a plan in her head...

"Vahn-sa...Vahn. How about in exchange for me helping you pick a gift, you buy me one as well? It doesn't have to be something expensive, but I would like something to remember our meeting and the first day of training by. Ah! I know, I can buy you a gift and we can exchange presents!" She began getting fired up at the thought of exchanging gifts. As far as she knew, if he had never given a gift, wasn't it almost as likely he had never received any!?

"Sure, Lili. I don't really see a reason not to reward you for your help. Though, you don't really need to get me anything." From manga, Vahn remembered that girls liked gifts and sweets, and he could see from her aura that she was happy at the idea of receiving a present.

Lili began dragging Vahn around the stalls until she came upon an area that sold ornamental brooches and accessories for women. After asking Vahn more than a fair amount of questions about Tina, she finally selected a small green brooch shaped like a fish.

Vahn inspected the small brooch and noticed it was a similar aquamarine color as his eyes, and thought it was a bit strange to purchase it. Seeing his hesitation, Lili insisted that it would be well-received so he eventually gave in. As a precaution, he also purchased some salted caramel wrapped in a decorative container. After having the two items packaged, Lili ended up dragging him to another section of the store.

When they were browsing around earlier, Lili had found an object that caught her eye and thought it would be the ideal exchange item. Within the display case were a pair of lockets shaped to represent hearts. The larger of the two was silver in color, while the slightly smaller locket was a vibrant bronze similar to brass. Though other items could be stored inside them, what drew Lili's attention was how the smaller bronze locket could be seated inside the silver locket, turning the two individual parts into a singular whole.

Vahn noticed the item on display and thought it was kind of cool how two different pieces of jewelry were made to be able to fit together. Without thinking too much about it, he ended up asking the shopkeep to ring up the item, but Lili interrupted...

"I want to pay for the silver locket myself. You can buy the bronze locket, and then we'll exchange them." Lili seemed adamant at the idea, and Vahn recalled that she had gotten excited at the idea of purchasing gifts for each other. He decided to give in to her whimsy, even though he noticed that the silver locket was the more expensive of the two. Vahn figured there always time to make up for the difference later.

After they had finished the purchase, Lili had the two of them stop a few meters away from the stall. She had Vahn kneel down so she could more easily reach around his neck. With a blush on her face, she connected the locket around his neck before staring into Vahn's face with an anticipatory look. Realizing what she wanted, he took the small bronze locket and placed it around her small, fragile, neck in return. (A/N: Flashbacks anyone?)

[Liliruca Arde] Affection 3/Once the exchange was completed, the two walked towards the direction of the Inn. Lili became very quiet for the duration of the trip and kept fiddling with the locket. She would mumble to herself while releasing a dream-like expression on her face.

Vahn, seeing how much she liked the locket, became certain that girls must really love receiving gifts. He hadn't expected to get a whopping three additional affection for a trinket that only cost 800 Valis. Looking at his own locket, he could feel a discomforting pressure from around his neck. However, this discomfort was offset by the sense of warmth he could feel emanating from the cold metal.They finally arrived outside the Inn, and Lili seemed to become more alert than she had appeared even when they were in the dungeon. There was a glint in her eye like she was about to face a dangerous enemy. Vahn was very surprised, ('Why doesn't she show this kind of motivation in the dungeon?') Thinking it would be a dangerous question, he decided to lead the way through the Inn's entrance.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeelcome~! Would you like to stay the nya-ight~?" In a manner almost identical to the first time he stepped into the Inn, a young cat girl excitedly greeted them when they stepped through the door.

"Ah, Mister-nya~!? You're finally back! I'm super angry-nya!" The small 120cm tall cat girl rushed forward before standing directly in front of Vahn. "Kneel." She stomped her tiny foot and gave him a fierce look with her arms across her non-existent chest.

Though he was confused, Vahn figured it was best to listen to her for the time being. It was his fault for worrying her in the first place, and there wasn't any harm in allowing her to release her pent-up emotions. Besides, he also found her attempts at acting mature to be rather adorable.

Just as Tina was about to begin lecturing, she paused after seeing the small cloaked girl standing behind Vahn. The two made eye contact, and Tina could feel her instincts screaming that the girl before her was an 'enemy'.

Turning her focus away from the kneeling Vahn, she began sizing up the slightly smaller girl in front of her. At first, she smiled after noticing that the girl was shorter than she was, but when her eyes came across the chest area she felt an impact to her mental state. Tina began to pat her flat chest with a sad expression which quickly turned to anger when she noticed the small girl proudly 'puff' out with a gloating look on her face. Between the two shapely mounds, Tina could even see the existence of a small brass locket that seemed very similar to the silver locket worn by the kneeling Vahn!

"Who are you-nya? What is your relationship with Mister-nya?" Tina refused to yield before the unknown girl before her. She looked directly into her eyes, trying to pry out any information she could obtain.

Lili smiled while continuing to flaunt her 'weapons'. She began to fiddle with the locket before giving the cat girl a cheeky look and responding, "I'm Vahn-sama's partner and Supporter. He is also training me from sunrise to sunset~What about you, 'little' girl~?"

From the side, Vahn could see an illusion of sparks colliding between the area where the twos line-of-sight crossed. He could also see that both of their auras were dancing around like flames and he began to feel a cold sweat streak down his back. Thinking he needed to step in to prevent a fight from starting, he tried standing and separating the two.

"Lili, Tina, why are you glaring at each other after just meeting? Lili, Tina is the daughter of the Proprietress I mentioned earlier. Both she and her mother have shown me kindness after I arrived in the City, so I don't want to see you making trouble with them for no reason." As he admonished Lili, she began showing an ashamed expression while Tina began beaming with a smile on her face.

"And Tina, Lili is an important companion and student of mine. I am training her to become stronger, while she helps supplement for my own lack of knowledge. There would be many things I couldn't do without her, including this..." Seeing the demeanor of the two invert, with Lili now showing a smile while Tina began to sulk, Vahn pulled out his trump card.

"Here you go Tina. A present to apologize for making you worry, and some salted caramel to thank you for the delicious lunch you prepared on my behalf. Thanks, I really appreciate it." As he spoke he passed the two items to the young cat girl and she received them with a gleeful expression. When she saw the fish-shaped brooch that matched Vahn's eyes, she was extremely happy.

Tina held the brooch in her hands as she glanced at the girl introduced as Lili. Since Vahn had said Lili helped pick out the present, she wanted to thank her, but seeing the locket around Lili's neck made her annoyed. With a sudden burst of inspiration, she handed the brooch back to Vahn before asking him to pin it to the collar of her blouse.

Vahn received the brooch and did as she asked, noticing a fierce blush spread on her cheeks in the process.

[Tina Yuel] Affection 8/

Hearing the notification, Vahn almost tripped and fumbled with the brooch in his right hand. He managed to catch himself but noticed a stillness spread through the atmosphere. Looking around he saw Lili with a shocked expression, while Tina was blushing so fiercely that the aura emitting from her body created the illusion of steam. From his left hand, Vahn could feel an incredibly subtle but soft sensation on his palm. Perhaps due to some base instinct, he slightly squeezed the hand which caused the blushing Tina to mewl and immediately dash towards the back room.

"Vaaaaahn-nya~ Yoooou perveeert~idiot~demon~nya!!!" She quickly dashed through the door, leaving a stunned Vahn still holding out his hand.

("Sis, what did I just grab?") Vahn was very confused at the turn of events and tried asking the only person that would be able to help him make sense of his predicament.

(*Pervert.*) Hearing Sis also call him a pervert, Vahn almost fell over for the second time. 'What on earth had he done to be labeled as a pervert by two girls in such a brief period of time!?' He looked towards his last hope of getting an answer, Lili, who was staring at him with a sad expression on her face.

"Vahn-sama...do you like smaller ones?" As she asked the question, she closed both hands over her chest and Vahn began to realize the seriousness of his offense. When he slipped he must have accidentally touched Tina's b.o.o.b.s...and then he even squeezed.

Even the dense Vahn understood he had done something inexcusable, but he didn't know what he had to do to remedy the situation. For now, he just looked towards Lili and gave an awkward smile. "I...I don't really have a preference...I think."

Lili released a sigh of relief while patting her own developing chest. "Thank goodness Vahn-sama~" As she spoke she began to close the gap between them.

A terrible premonition began to arise within Vahn's mind and he began to backstep to keep the distance from shortening. He could see an evil look in Lili's eyes as she approached him with a 'kind' smile on her face. Eventually, he backed up into a wall and lost all possibility of further retreat.

Lili continued to close the gap until she was standing just beneath him. While looking upwards with those same fearful eyes, she suddenly reached back her right hand...and smacked him across the face.

"VAHN-SAMA, YOU PERVERT!"

The pain from the slap and the fact he had been called a pervert three times in such a short period dealt critical damage to Vahn's mental state. As he used one hand to cover his burning face, Lili ended up seizing his free hand...and placed it directly onto her chest.

"I won't lose..." She mumbled almost inaudibly.

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Chapter 43 - Too Many Opponents

Vahn stood there in shock as Lili continued holding his hand on her chest. His mouth gaped open and closed like a fish out of water. He was trying to find a solution but struggled to find the words. Though he tried removing his hand, he was shocked to find Lili had been holding his wrist like a vice seemingly unwilling to let him extricate it from her grasp.

"Ara~. Even though the sun has gone down, it isn't appropriate to show such displays of affection in public."

The cold sweat that had settled on his back began to increase as Vahn heard the unamused words that seemed to be spoken by a demon from a dark icy abyss. Both he and Lili turned towards the sound of the voice in a mechanical manner and saw a mature woman staring at them with an icy gaze. The smile on her face, though it appeared friendly on the surface, seemed to possess a veiled threat as it coldly observed their actions.

The woman, Milan, continued to stare at the two children who were frozen by her sight. Though she was laughing in her mind, she felt a mischevious urge and wanted to tease the two of them. She moved her 'icy' gaze towards the hand that was still being held to the chest of the hooded girl and Vahn immediately snatched his hand away as a result. The hooded girl was broken from her stupor by the movement before crouching down into a ball and hiding her face from view.

After staring at the girl for a moment, she turned her gaze back towards Vahn and increased the depth of her smile. "Vahn, it seems you not only took advantage of my daughter but in the span of a few minutes you found a second victim~nya? Perhaps it's too dangerous to allow you to stay under this roof any longer so as to protect our female residents and employees~?

Every word seemed to increase the mental damage Vahn had received since entering the Inn. Had he known something like this was going to happen, he wouldn't have tried pinning on the brooch in the first place! At this point, he could only swallow his regrets and try to explain the situation while apologizing.

"Mrs. Yuel...please, I can explain...I didn't mean to offend your daughter. This whole situation is just a big misunderstanding caused by my slip and lack of focus." He raised both his hands and waved them in surrender.

Milan couldn't help but find his reaction hilarious, but she wasn't willing to let him get out of things so easily. "Ara~? So you're saying that after you 'accidentally' slipped and groped my daughter, you also 'accidentally' squeezed her chest~?"

Hearing the words, Vahn fell to his knees with his palms on the ground. Though he could explain away the first part, he didn't have a reasonable excuse for the second half of her words. After she had repeated the series of events, he was dealt a critical blow and couldn't remain standing any longer. He now began to understand why so many 'dense' protagonists suffered in anime and manga, and he resolved to try and remedy his bad habits in the future.

While staring at the boy who had black lines covering his face, Milan had to cover her mouth to prevent laughing aloud. She had no doubt everything was caused by a misunderstanding, but it didn't change the fact he took advantage of the situation to gain benefits. Seeing that it would likely take time for Vahn to recover, she decided to change her focus to the second 'victim'.

Milan was surprised at how small the girl was. If she wasn't wrong, the girl was even younger than her daughter if height was any indicator. "Little miss, what brings you here to my Inn? Were you accompanying this rogue willingly, or did he kidnap you from somewhere~?"

Lili twitched when the woman began addressing her. She turned towards the voice and took a good look at the woman who spoke. She could see the similarities between the woman and the young cat person, Tina, from before. This was probably the girl's mother and the proprietress of the Inn.

"Umu...I'm Lili, and I'm following Vahn-sama by my own will." As she began speaking, a small amount of courage started emerging from her heart. "And he isn't a rogue! He didn't touch your daughter on purpose, and it was my decision to let him feel my chest!"

"Nyahahahahaha~" Hearing Lili's words, Milan could no longer hold back her laugh. She began to laugh boisterously as the two children before her started at her with confused expressions. Lili began to blush and wanted to shout at her, but Milan interrupted the attempt. "It's fine Lili, I know Vahn isn't like that~. Even if he was curious, he is the type of boy to ask permission, isn't that right Vahn~nya?"

Vahn was unable to answer her words, he just continued to stare at her blankly. From his side, he could feel the atmosphere become stagnant as an oppressive aura started to emit from outside his line-of-sight. Turning his head, he could see Lili staring at him with an aggrieved expression.

Within Lili's mind, all she could think of was the last few words spoken by the proprietress. If she was telling the truth, that means Vahn 'asked permission' to touch her at some point!? She grits her teeth before glaring at her new 'opponent'.

"Where...?" Lili clenched her fists as she asked the question.

"Ara~nya? It was one of my most sensitive parts you know~? Even after he touched it, he wasn't satisfied and even tried touching again~nya" While speaking, Milan crossed her arms and seemed to emphasize her chest.

Lili stared at the woman's chest with fierce eyes and compared the size against her own. Though her's were smaller, it wasn't a very big difference. "If it's just that...then even I..."

"Nya~? Who said it was just that~? It was a place much more sensitive you know~?" Seeing the anger and competitiveness in the young girl made Milan feel fifteen years younger. It reminded her of the times when she would compare herself to her 'rivals' back in her Adventuring days. She wanted to tease the girl even more but decided it was enough seeing as how Vahn was on the verge of a mental collapse.

"Vahn seemed to be curious about a Cat People. When he first moved in, he asked if he could touch my ears, so I allowed him to~nya. Only once though~" She began to laugh while sending a wink towards Vahn who was still lamenting his misfortune on the ground.

"Ears...?" Lili gave a glance towards Vahn before muttering a chant under her breath. Once she was finished, she removed her hood and revealed...a pair of cat ears on her head. "If its ears...I have them too." She gave a confident look towards the shocked Proprietress.

"Ara~? It seems Vahn is more interested in cat people than I thought, to bring one home with him..." She looked towards Vahn who had been staring at Lili in confusion. She began thinking she may have to sit down with her daughter and have a long talk...

"So Lili, will you be staying with us at the Hearths Embrace, or are you just visiting?" Since the talks had gone on long enough, Milan decided to find out what had brought the two here at this time.

Vahn had begun to recover and tried to stand up and answer on Lili's behalf. He thought it was a good opportunity to clear up matters before they got any worse. Unfortunately, it seemed the floor hadn't had enough intimate contact with him as he ended up meeting it once again after hearing the words spoken by Lili.

"I will be staying with Vahn-sama, in the same room. I don't mind paying the costs separately." She immediately pulled out a bag of Valis with a serious expression.

From the floor, Vahn quickly raised his voice. "No, I object!" He knew it would be dangerous in various ways if he allowed Lili to stay in the same room as him. After all, there was only one bed, and he was still worried about the implications behind her 'love' status. He didn't want to break down the walls he was trying to build to protect them both.

"I have to agree with Vahn. Even if the two of you are close, it's not appropriate for a young boy and girl to share the same room. If you have the money, you should lease your own room and visit whenever you have matters to discuss. Though keep in mind the walls are rather thin and there are other residents within the Inn." As she spoke the last words she gave a warning look at Lili who still seemed intent on getting the same room.

"Fine, but I want the closest room to Vahn-sama. I'll even pay the current resident to change rooms if necessary." For Lili, this was as far as she was willing to compromise. Even if she couldn't share the same room, being in the next room over was better than nothing. Plus, she would be able to hear if Vahn brought any company into his room without her notice...After paying for the room, the three continued to talk for a while. From the back room, a small silhouette could be seen peaking through the area between the door and frame. Whenever anyone would look over, the silhouette would immediately vanish causing the mature woman to laugh.

After Vahn had refused to stay for dinner, Milan allowed the two to leave. As they went up the stairs she gave them one last parting remark reminding them to be mindful of the other residents. Hearing this, Vahn sighed while Lili seemed to blush with a look of conviction on her face.

They stowed away Lili's luggage and decided to grab dinner together. Before they left, Lili insisted on seeing Vahn's room so he allowed her access. When she saw the room lacked any decorations, Lili was reminded of Vahn's storage space.

"Vahn...Even if you have storage magic you should still personalize your living space a bit. It is kind of lonely seeing the place someone lives being so...empty." She began wandering around his room looking for any signs that he actually lived there. After failing to find anything, she sat down on his bed and used her empowered senses from turning into a Cat Person to smell the scent coming from the bed.

"Eh, it smells like fresh linens. That demon or her daughter must have changed the sheets recently. Guuu.."

Vahn was helpless seeing her actions. There wasn't anything he could think of that wouldn't hurt her feelings if he tried to stop her, so he just let her be and hoped she grew out of it. While she was lost in her own thoughts, he looked around at the barren room. It was the same as the first time he moved in, and other than the sheets nothing had changed since his arrival. For Vahn, he never had thought of decorating, but remembering how much stuff he had added to his cave he thought he should do so in the future. If he was treating this place as his home, he should show that he is 'living' in it.Eventually, Lili snapped out of her delusions, and the two made their way towards the Hostess of Fertility. Vahn had been talking about the amazing food, but Lili was only focused on one of the other well-known aspects of the pub...it's women.

After they arrived, Vahn took the time to enjoy the aroma as he had done so on all his previous visits. He leads Lili through the doors and was received...by Chloe.

The black-haired cat girl stared at the two new guests with a professional smile on her face. "Nya~ Would you like a table for two~? She looked between Vahn and the new face of the cat person at his side. The small girl was also staring directly at her with a defensive posture...but Chloe could also see something else behind the girl's bravado.

Lili stared at the girl that seemed to be familiar with Vahn based on their reaction to each other. After noticing the black-haired woman was also a Cat Person, Lili began to wonder if Vahn wasn't interested in her because of his preferences...

Feeling a gaze, Lili noticed that the woman was staring at her with a strange expression. It was almost like she was able to see through her, and Lili began to feel a fear emerge from the back of her mind. She could tell that this woman...would be a terrifying opponent.

As that thought crossed her mind, she couldn't help but scream internally, ('Aren't there way too many opponents!?')

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Chapter 44 - Selfishness : Resolve

Lili began to feel restless under the penetrating gaze of the girl before her. She couldn't understand why the look made her feel so much insecurity. It was something beyond just fearing she would lose Vahn to this woman...but she wasn't able to understand. All Lili knew was that the gaze seemed familiar, but she wasn't able to place why and from where she had seen it before.

"Nyahaha~ Isn't your friend very cute, Vahn~? You should introduce me~" As Chloe began guiding them towards a small table, she gave Vahn a questioning look, almost as if her eyes were urging him to explain in detail how he met the young girl.

Vahn noticed that Chloe was acting very similar to their first meeting. Just like his case, Chloe seemed to be very sensitive towards those that had experienced suffering in their past. He smiled at her concern and the willingness she showed to let him act as he thought best.

"Yes...This is Lili. I can't go into too many details, but I've decided to help her become stronger." As he introduced her, Lili bowed her head slightly but didn't relax since Chloe made her feel very uncomfortable. "And this is Chloe...she is someone that helped me realize...a lot of things." When he spoke the words, he couldn't help but show a thankful smile.

Both Lili and Chloe noticed his expression; Lili was somewhat dissatisfied since it felt like she was in a disadvantageous position from the outset. Chloe just gave a cheeky smile while closing in on Vahn...and giving him a brief kiss on his cheek.

Afterward, she took their orders, though it would be more appropriate to say 'order' since Vahn had to make the decision for both of them. After Lili saw Chloe give him a kiss, she had begun to pout with her head down while refusing to speak and make eye contact. Without saying anything further, Chloe went to the kitchen to inform the chefs before continuing her rounds with other customers.

Lili looked up as Chloe walked away. She traced her path through the pub with her eyes before turning to Vahn once Chloe had gotten far enough away. "Vahn, please tell me about your relationship with that woman. I can tell there is something going on between the two of you, but it seems to be different than lovers."

Vahn shook his head. Even he didn't know what their relationship was...he just knew he had a lot of gratitude towards Chloe, and that he even wanted to confess to her in the past. "I would say...she is like a mentor, or maybe a guide? It's hard to put it into words really...but she saved me from my isolation and helped me realize a lot about myself. I want to become stronger to meet her expectations...but I'm not sure if that is to become lovers."

"But you wouldn't just let any girl kiss you...I can see that when she kissed your cheek you were happy." She continued staring, almost as if to blame Vahn for all her present grievances.

Vahn nodded and decided to speak about his past with Chloe. He told her about their first meeting, about how was afraid at how Chloe looked at him. He went over how she seemed to be trying to break down the barriers he had built around his heart and mind. After that, he talked about how they had agreed to a date on only their second meeting. He went over everything from the early rendezvous...the experience at the clothing store...and even discussed their viewing of the sunset together. Lastly, he talked about how he had even tried to confess but was stopped in the end.

Throughout the whole story, Lili just continued to silently listen. She watched as his expression changed between each scene, and could sense the emotions behind the words. Her heart began to feel pain with how much passion Vahn seemed to have when speaking about his 'transformation'. Though she hadn't been there, she could imagine the entire series of events...and began to realize she hadn't been taking Vahn's current life and past into consideration...

Lili began to shrink into her seat, afraid to look at Vahn. She realized she was taking advantage of his kindness ever since he had saved her. Even though he was making so many efforts to help her change, the only thing on her mind was trying to get closer to him...she even had possessive thoughts and wanted to prevent others from doing the same.

While she was lost in her thoughts, Vahn couldn't help but sigh after seeing her current state. He wanted her to know the truth so that she was able to understand he wasn't the powerful hero she painted a false picture of in her mind. In many ways, he was very similar to her...just a little bit further along the same road.

The two sat in silence, one unsure of what to say while the other brooded over the past. After a few minutes, Chloe arrived with their meals.

"Nyahaha~ One order of chicken-curry rice for Vahn, and one children's special for the moody cat girl~nya!" Chloe placed the meals on the table, and Vahn noticed the order for Lili was different than what he had ordered.

"Umm, Chloe-"

"Go ahead and eat up~nya! It's full of nutrition and even has a little toy you can keep for yourself~ Don't be shy~nya!" Chloe ignored Vahn and continued to pester the still silent Lili. She even slowly nudged the plate towards her while leaning over the table somewhat.

Eventually, Lili looked at the plate before staring at the girl that wouldn't leave her alone. "This isn't what I want...I want what Vahn-sama ordered for me." She stared directly at Chloe with a look of dissatisfaction. She didn't understand why Chloe was bothering her when she obviously didn't want to deal with her.

"Nya~? How curious, a little girl that thinks she knows what she wants, but is just sitting around while other people make decisions for her~. Vahn or me, why does it matter who chooses what you eat? Aren't you just happy someone is treating you to a meal~nya?" Without losing her smile, Chloe gave Lili a look of 'contempt'. She nudged the plate directly in front of Lili. "Go ahead~ Don't be shy little girl~."

Vahn wanted to interject, but he could feel Chloe's tail tapping his leg every time he tried to open his mouth. He decided to trust in her and began to slowly eat his meal. It was delicious...

Seeing Vahn start eating without saying anything, Lili began to feel betrayed. She could see he clearly wanted to speak up but then decided to suddenly ignore the situation. Negative emotions began to stir within her heart, and she wanted to vent them but didn't know how.

"Vahn-sama, please ask your friend to leave me alone. I'd rather eat nothing that be toyed with by her." Ignoring Chloe who had raised her brow in contempt, Lili tried appealing to Vahn.

"Nya~? Whats this~? You even ask for help to resolve such minor things~? Is Vahn supposed to be your caretaker now~?" Chloe began to chuckle while continuing to stare into the glaring eyes of Lili.

She began to inch closer towards Vahn in spite of the increasing intensity of the glare...

"Vahn, nyaaaaaaahn~" She opened her mouth just as Vahn was about to take another bite of his curry. He seemed to struggle internally for a moment before letting her eat the bite he was about to take. As she chewed on the spicy dish, she almost dropped her act seeing the sad expression on Vahn's face. Luckily, the wrath coming from Lili made her able to keep her cool.

"You thieving cat! Get away from Vahn-sama!" Lili was genuinely pissed. She couldn't believe Chloe would go so far as showing a public display of affection while simultaneously pestering her! She rose from the table and shouted the words at the top of her lungs.

Mama Mia had been observing the incident from the bar but didn't intervene since Chloe had warned her earlier. She just gave Chloe a look implying she needed to control the situation better or she would have to step in.

"Thieving cat~? Didn't you see with your own eyes him feeding it to me~nya? Instead of focusing on what we're doing, shouldn't you be brooding or eating your children's menu~?" At this point, Chloe had begun to snuggle against the now sweating Vahn.

Lili was at a loss of words seeing how her outcry went largely ignored. The only people that seemed to be affected were the other patrons, while both Chloe and Vahn remained unmoved. She began feeling very aggrieved...she couldn't handle Vahn ignoring her, and she began to hate Chloe for doing this when she just wanted to enjoy a meal with Vahn...

She fell back into the seat and started crying. She had never expected that the person who saved her would wrong her in such a way. He just ignored her while another woman bullied her right in front of him. Even though she had run away from the Familia to stay with him...even though she had moved into the same Inn and displayed multiple signs that she liked him...

Her thoughts began to become jumbled and she couldn't form anything coherent. She was just terribly sad, more-so than she had been when the elderly couple looked at her in contempt. Even more than when she was mistreated by her own parents...Seeing the boy that had shown her so much kindness now ignoring her made her feel more sad and lonely than all of her previous experiences combined.

Through her sobs, she heard a gentle voice speaking. "You really are quite the selfish child, aren't you?" Lili looked towards the source and saw Chloe staring at her with sad eyes and a gentle smile.

"You don't know me, you have no idea what I've gone through. Even though I finally found something I wanted...you're taking it right in front of me." Lili couldn't help but blame Chloe for everything that was happening. If Chloe wasn't here, she and Vahn would have been able to enjoy a happy meal like a date.

Chloe continued to stare at her while speaking in the same gentle tone. "That's why you're selfish Lili...you think you know what you want, but have you ever considered for a moment if that is for the best? Have you once considered what the person you 'want' thinks?"

Lili felt a heavy impact on her mind. Even though the words were very hurtful, there was no way she could refute them. It's not that she didn't think about what Vahn wanted, she just wanted to be there with him when the time comes. Surely that wasn't too much to ask for? Wasn't she allowed to be happy?

"There you go jumping to conclusions in your own head. Tell me Lili, surely Vahn has told you all kinds of things about his past and desires...but have you ever once asked him what he wants? Why did he want to be strong? Or have you just listened when he spoke while forcing your own desires on him in the end?"

Hearing the heavy words, Lili couldn't help but look towards Vahn. She could see the concern on his face...he was probably worried about her even though he wasn't saying anything. But, behind that gentle gaze, she could see the shadows of the pain she had observed on his face in the dungeon. Whenever he lost focus and allowed his mind to wander, Lili always saw a deep melancholy and profound loneliness in the eyes of the young boy. That's right, though he was older than her, he was still very young...

During her reflection, Chloe continued speaking. "You see, you aren't the only one that has suffered Lili. Though none of us can understand what you had gone through, there are always others that had gone through similar, if not worse situations. You probably wondered to yourself why Vahn would save someone like you, and I can tell you the reason..."

When Chloe trailed her words, Lili looked towards her. She wanted to know the answer since it had been something bothering her for a while. Remembering that Vahn had been willing to sacrifice himself to take on her injuries...she couldn't help but think he had ulterior motives, but her heart wanted to believe in the hero that saved her...

"It is because...Vahn has also suffered a lot. I'm sure he has told you bits and pieces, but I can tell that what he had gone through...is probably something more horrible than anything we can imagine." Both girls looked towards Vahn and could see the hurt in his eyes as Chloe spoke her thoughts.

For the first time, both Lili and Chloe's minds were in sync and felt they wanted to help heal the boy silently eating curry.

"But you see, unlike you, Vahn has found solace in the present. Though he can't let go of the past, he has decided to move forward. His desire for strength stems from his convictions and willingness to seize control of his own fate..." As she spoke till here, Chloe began leaning against Vahn's shoulder while closing her eyes. "And he can do it too, you want to know why?" She slightly opened her eyes as she asked the question.

Lili swallowed hard before slowly nodding her head.

"It's because he wants others to be able to believe in him. He wants to become strong enough, not to just escape his own fate, but to change the fates of others around him." At this point, both girls could see a fiery look in the eyes of Vahn. Within the furrowed brows a powerful conviction was present which caused both of their heart rates to increase.

"Do you think he can bear the burden of your selfishness forever?" Chloe dropped her final bombshell on the unsuspecting Lili.

Lili began remembering all the events leading up to this moment. All the suffering from her past that had been brought to an abrupt halt by Vahn's actions in the dungeon...all of his words and actions as he tried to guide her towards a path where she could become stronger...strong enough to control her own fate. She even remembered all the times he pampered her when she was feeling insecure, and how he always kept a certain distance when she tried to push things too far...their entire relationship was just her receiving over and over again. Lili knew it couldn't continue forever...thats why she wanted to become his lover. At least then she could repay him, even if it was with her body...

Looking towards Vahn, she could still see the conviction in his eyes, but the concern shown on his face had never left. ('Ah, I know what it is that I want...it's such a simple thing.')

"I want to become stronger...strong enough, not to avoid being a burden, but to be able to walk on the same path...using my own power." Still maintaining eye contact with Vahn, she saw a smile expand on his face. She even noticed, out of the corner of her eye, Chloe was also smiling.

"I guess you aren't as much of a child as I thought~nya."

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Chapter 45 - Changes : Looking Forward

After things had settled down, Chloe left the two to finish their meal. Lili still seemed a bit down, but she looked a lot better than before. She ate away at the children's menu without complaint while making small talk with Vahn. Once they had finished and settled the bill, Vahn and Lili bid farewell to Chloe and headed home.

On the path back to the Inn, Lili remained quiet and just looked around at the various passersby. She saw people traveling in groups, families with their children, and even individuals simply enjoying the evening atmosphere. There were also a few couples that were walking around in the night markets, most likely enjoying the final hours of their dates. When Lili saw them, she would just stare for a few moments before continuing forward without saying anything.

Vahn could tell she was thinking about a lot of things, but the stability in her aura made him feel as though things were changing for the better. Though he often ran around the City to save time, Vahn just continued along the path while enjoying the same atmosphere. The cool night air was very calming, and the warmth generated by the flow of people made his heart feel at ease. When Lili would get distracted, he would just patiently wait for her, giving her as much time as she needed.

After more than an hour, they were finally nearing the Inn when Lili decided to stop so they could speak. Most of the pedestrians had already disappeared at this time, and only a few hard-working vendors and adventurers could be seen in the nightscape of the city. Lili leads the way towards the small plaza that served as a central point for the markets near the Inn.

For a few minutes, the two just stood there in silence. Vahn could see the aura around Lili fluctuate periodically before stabilizing again. Finally, she seemed to have made up her mind, turning towards Vahn with a serious expression. "Vahn...I want to apologize. For my selfishness...and insecurities...and so many other things. Even though you had saved me and put in so much effort to help me grow, I was just focused on my own thoughts..." She began to have trouble breathing as tears began to appear in her eyes.

"I just...I just wanted to do something to help secure my own happiness. I thought I could rely on your kindness to escape all my problems...and even if I wasn't able to become strong, I thought you would still help me. I even thought of using my own body as compensation to make you dedicate yourself to me...I really am a selfish woman...no, a selfish child, just like Chloe said." While she was speaking, she continued to hold eye contact with Vahn who maintained a calm expression on his face.

"I know you won't abandon me, even though I did so many foolish things...but, I don't want to just rely on your kindness anymore. I want to become stronger...I want to see what it is like to walk on a path where I'm not reliant on others to live. And...I want to be able to repay this debt of gratitude I owe you...using my own power." She was shaking while trying her best to hold back the tears that continued to stream down her face. Lili didn't want to lose anything anymore just because she couldn't hold onto it with her own strength.

Vahn could feel an indescribable pain coursing through his body as he watched the small girl state her convictions through tears and muffled-sobs. He didn't expect it would be so hard to just stand by and listen as someone poured their heart out to him. After her words ceased, he felt an overwhelming urge to just hug the girl and help drive away all the negative feelings she was keeping within her heart...but he couldn't, not now. Vahn balled his hands into fists, holding back his emotions as he waited for her to continue.

"From now on, please don't hold back in my training. I will do whatever it takes...I will prove that I'm worthy to walk at your side...not just a burden that weighs you down!" Lili mustered the remainder of her strength and shouted the final words. For her, it was both a confession and her heartfelt desire. Even if he never returned her feelings, she still wanted him to know.

Vahn heavily placed his palm on her head, causing Lili to flinch. It wasn't the gentle patting he often gave her; it was almost as though he was angry. She looked through her tear stained eyes and saw Vahn looking at her with a pained and dissatisfied expression on his face. Lili began to wonder if she had upset him, and her heart began to twist in her chest.

"You're an idiot Lili..." Vahn released an exasperated sigh as he spoke the words.

"Eh..? Vahn?" Lili was confused and heartbroken. She couldn't make sense of his derisive words, especially after everything that had happened.

Before she could process what was happening, Vahn pulled her into a powerful hug. She could feel his warmth begin to spread through her body. And on the side of her face, she could feel a wetness that didn't come from her eyes.

"You are such an idiot...don't say things like "worthy" or "burden". Everything I've done for you was by my own will. Even if I thought I had to protect you, I never once thought you were a burden that wasn't worth saving. It breaks my heart to heart to hear you say something so cruel..." Vahn continued hugging Lili as warms tears slowly streamed down his face. He couldn't bear the words she spoke any longer.

"Vahn..." Lili sunk her face into his chest, enjoying the sensation. She didn't try to take advantage of the situation, she just allowed herself to be held by Vahn. Through his chest, she could feel the powerful beating of Vahn's heart...it was slow and rhythmic...and seemed to contain a powerful vitality that helped comfort something deep within her soul.

Vahn continued to hug her tightly for a few minutes until they had both long stopped crying. When he pulled away, Lili didn't try latching onto him like previously. Instead, they just stared at each other before displaying awkward smiles seeing their unsightly appearance. The young boy and girl began laughing, driving away all of the negative emotions that had settled in the atmosphere.

Once they had collected themselves, they headed to the Inn. After exchanging pleasantries with Milan who had given them strange looks, they two headed to their respective rooms. Before they each entered, Vahn stopped Lili and gave her a gentle hug. Though she was shocked, Lili just accepted it without resisting.

"Good night Lili. Tomorrow will be difficult, and I won't go easy on you anymore so get plenty of rest. I cannot help replace what you had lost in the past, but I will do my best to guarantee you are able to find a path where you can seize your future." Vahn spoke the words gently, but firmly. Lili just nodded before eventually turning towards her room when the hug ended.

Before she closed the door, Lili looked into Vahn's eyes. "I will do it Vahn sama...no matter how long it takes, or how much I have to struggle. I swear." With those parting words, she closed the door, leaving a grinning Vahn in the hallway.Within his own room, Vahn laid down on his bed with a powerful feeling of exhaustion. He recalled the events of the day and could barely make sense of everything that happened. ("Sis, why are people so difficult? Why do they have to expend so much effort to break away from suffering and try to find happiness?") Vahn stared at the ceiling while remembering all the people he had interacted with, in both his present world and past life.

(*That isn't a question I know the answer to Vahn. You will have to find the answers for yourself through experience. All I can do is help guide you along 'The Path' until you become strong enough to possess the 'freedom' you desire.*)

Vahn nodded. With 'The Path' he had an advantage over almost everyone else within the stories he could recall in his mind. Most people had to go through life dealing with the lot they were given at birth...even Vahn himself was a victim of unfortunate circ.u.mstance. Now, he had to power to control his fate, and as long as he put in the effort there were very few things that could halt his momentum.

He began thinking about how best to use his power, and what worlds he should visit in the future. There were many things he wanted to experience, but after interacting with people like Chloe, Lili, and Hephaestus, Vahn began having doubts about the path he was taking. Though he originally just wanted power and the ability to travel through the worlds of his dreams, now it was becoming harder and harder to think of himself as a bystander. Now he was proactively beginning to drive events within the world, and depending on his decisions he could completely alter the events he knew from the canon...

Releasing a sigh, Vahn tried to stop worrying about things. If he let himself get caught up in self-doubt, he would just create unnecessary stress for himself. The best thing he could do now was to continue growing stronger so that he could deal with each situation as they arose. With that thought in mind, Vahn decided to take the time to review all of his current stats and items before going to sleep.[STATS]

Name: [Vahn Mason]

Age: 14

Race: Human, *sealed*

Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4]

-Level:2(2)

-Power:1001(I38)

-Endurance:1108(I51)

-Dexterity:887(I41)

-Agility:940(I40)

-Magic:1611(E244)

Total:5547(414)

Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul)

[Karma: 801

[OP: 27,490

[Valis: 49,700(A/N: I Actually feel like I forgot something here)

Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS, [Rakshasa Body:H[Bow Mastery:C, [Stealth:D, [Chainbreaker:S, [Call of the Reaper:B[Yggdrasil's Favor:S, [Veil of the Traveler: S, [Swordsman:D, [Featherfoot:E]

Magic: Empty

Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:B, [Spirit Healing:B, [Blacksmith:D]

[ITEMS]

Equipment: [Runic Tamahagane Blade:A, [Plague Mask:E, [Nullifying Mantle:C, [Mithril Poniard:B, [Damascus-Steel Gauntlets:C, [Scout's Guille Suit:F, [Handloomed Shadowsilk Tunic:D, [Runic Tempered Yew Shortbow:B, [Decanter of Replenishment:B, 1x Hephaestus' Favor, 1x Skill Enhancement Scroll, Etc...

[QUESTS]

[Birth of a Legend:SS, [The Hearts Desire:C-SS(repeatable)]His Magic was still increasing at an alarming rate, probably due to his contest of wills against the 'eternal flame'. The rest of his stats were trailing far behind, but Vahn thought it was due to the minimal effort he had used in hunting monsters with Lili. He would have to fight much stronger monsters if he wanted to experience the rapid growth he had in the previous week.

One thing that caught his eye was the '1x Hephaestus' Favor' that he had overlooked after completing the optional quest. He had been so focused at the time, and then immediately moved onto forging and other stuff that he never had the chance to determine its use.

[Hephaestus' Favor] x1

Rank: Unique

Use: After consumption exponentially increases the likelihood of a successful request from the 'Goddess of Forging, Hephaestus'. Success rate determined by Affection.

Vahn was surprised after reading the items description. It was his first unique item, and he wasn't sure if it was good or bad. After a bit of thought, he figured it could be used to ask her to forge a weapon for him in the future, though he would probably have to increase his affection with Hephaestus before then...

Thinking of Affection, Vahn decided to see the values of all the current people whose auras he had touched.

[Liliruca Arde: Affection:94(Love), Intrigue:66(Concerned)

[Chloe Lolo: Affection:78(Trust), Intrigue:89(Hope for the Future)

[Eina Tulle:59(Confused), Intrigue:72(Uncertain but Interested)

[Hephaestus: Affection: 82(Belief), Intrigue:100(Insatiable Curiosity)

[Milan Yuel: Affection: 55(Amicable), Intrigue:51(Neutral)

[Tina Yuel:Affection: 68(Crush), Intrigue:53(Confused)

[Nicholas Grimm:47(Disatisfied), Intrigue:60(Curious)

Seeing Tina on the list, Vahn could help but cringe remembering his earlier failure. He was also very curious when Nicholas had been added to the list. Vahn didn't remember ever touching him, but it was likely after he had lost consciousness outside of the dungeon. Since he didn't see any names he didn't recognize, he wasn't sure though. There were likely several doctors that had touched him when he was asleep, so maybe the system only included people he was familiar with beforehand?

The thing that concerned him the most was the fact Hephaestus's intrigue had hit 100, which Sis informed him was the max. The thought anyone possessed an 'insatiable curiosity' towards him actually terrified Vahn. He didn't know to what extent she would go to in order to satiate her curiosity in the future...Meanwhile, Hephaestus was experiencing shock after trying to forge metal in the 'eternal flame'. The temperature was not only significantly stronger, but the flame was much easier to manage. It seemed to proactively regulate the heat when the raw metal began to reach its peak, allowing her to almost completely ignore tending to the metal herself...

She looked towards a nearby wall and her gaze seemed to penetrate through the structure of the building. If anyone was to draw a line tracing her gaze, they would find out she was looking directly towards where Vahn was presently bathing in a cold sweat.

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Chapter 46 - Training Start

After enjoying a quiet night after the dramatic events of the previous day, both Vahn and Lili awoke before sunrise. Today marked the first day of Lili's physical training, so as Vahn suggested they woke up early to get a head start on the day.

The two made their way towards the north-west gate, their destination being the outskirts of the Western Forests. Vahn was disappointed that Gregory wasn't on duty, so he asked the guards to pass a message for him. After filling a small exit log, they were easily allowed passage through the gate. At this time Vahn still had the 'guest pass' obtained from Hephaestus, which he had loaned to Lili temporarily.

After arriving at the forest outskirts, Vahn was very tempted to make his way towards his previous home. Though it hadn't been that long since he left, it still stirred something in his heart at being separated from the place he had lived for so long.

Lili could see his melancholic expression, so she tried asking what was bothering him. "Vahn? What's wrong?"

Vahn just shook his head and smiled. "It's nothing Lili, I was just remembering the time I spent living in the forest. Even though a few days have passed, I can't easily get over my attachment to my former home."

"Mmm, we should go there one day. I want to see the place where you grew up." Lili stared in the direction Vahn had been looking. She was curious what kind of environment the boy had lived in before coming to Orario.

"Sure, one day. For now, we need to begin our training." Vahn leads the way towards a clearing and used his sword to cut down trees in the area. Lili watched as he stripped the logs before digging holes and burying them upright in the ground. Seeing that she was watching him work, Vahn demonstrated some basic exercises she could perform while he finished setting everything up.

His main goal was to help her improve her speed and adaptability. Pallums didn't have a lot of strength by nature, but Lili's [Artel*Assist] would provide her with plenty of strength once she obtained a proper weapon. He was using the logs to create an obstacle course which she would have to maneuver through while he would periodically fire practice arrows he had obtained from the shop. They were similar to normal arrows, but the arrowhead was replaced with a white lump that caused a numb sensation on contact.

Using this method he wanted to help increase her awareness of threats, her mobility in evading obstacles, and lastly...her tolerance against taking hits. With this method and the combined CQC training techniques, she would be able to build a solid foundation for the future. He also planned to continue their previous days' training in the dungeon later.

After they had discussed things previously, Vahn decided the schedule would be split between three active days separated by a single rest day. This would continue until she was able to fight freely within the first four floors of the dungeon without assistance. Though it was a tough regimen, it was still much better than her previous life so Lili didn't have any complaints.

It took nearly two hours, but Vahn finally finished setting up the course. Lili had been continually performing the exercises he demonstrated earlier, so he gave her a short break while explaining his plans. They took time to eat a light breakfast, which Lili wasn't too fond of.

"This jerky is very bland. It doesn't even taste like it has any seasoning. Give me a moment.."She started searching through her backpack until she had found some salt and some kind of spicy paste Vahn had never seen. Applying the salt and paste, he was very surprised with the difference in taste and texture.

"This is much better than the jerky I made." Vahn was enjoying the variety of flavors. He had eaten a lot of smoked and dried meat when he was in the forest, and it wasn't until he entered the City that he realized how bland his cooking actually was.

Hearing Vahn mention he had made the jerky, Lili became a little fl.u.s.tered. "I'm sorry Vahn, I didn't know you had made the jerky...I shouldn't have complained." She began nibbling on the jerky, not even using the seasonings she had pulled out.

Vahn shook his head and just chuckled. "Don't apologize Lili. Even I can tell how bad the meat is without your seasoning. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for preparing such tasteless food for our breakfast." While he was speaking, he was also browsing through the shop for cooking books. Vahn was surprised to see the manuals ranged everywhere between 1OP and 1,000,000,000OP. Thinking about how great the food he already ate was, he swore he would one day purchase that manual...After they finished eating, Vahn demonstrated several different methods to navigate the course. Lili began repeating his actions, and Vahn realized he had made some mistakes. The course he had designed was based off his own size and would require modification in the future. To make things more difficult, he positioned several of the cut branches to bar against easy passage.

Once everything was ready, the training began in earnest. Lili would begin navigating the course while Vahn would target her arms and legs using the practice arrows. Whenever she dropped in speed or stalled for too long, he would end up targetting her back or abdomen, further increasing the difficulty of completing the course as it would make it difficult to regulate her breathing. They repeated this over and over while taking short breaks in between each set.

Though she was beginning to build up a slight resentment against the training, Lili noticed that many of the injuries she had sustained would stop hurting after a while. When she inspected the area of impact, she noticed the small bruises that were previously visible had completely vanished. She looked towards the boy who would periodically fire arrows at her, and she could see several small bruises on his arms. Realizing he was using his [Wound Transfer] skill to aid her, Lili grit her teeth and put more effort into the training.

On Vahn's end, he was using the opportunity of training Lili to also polish his skills. He already had higher regenerative capabilities than most people, but his [Rakshasa Body, [Spirit Healing, and [Yggdrasil's Favor] were creating a synergy that allowed him to push his natural regeneration even further with the use of [Wound Transfer]. Though he was taking on a lot of Lili's wounds, they would recover after several minutes which allowed him to repeat the process almost endlessly.

After inspecting his stats, he could visibly see his parameters increasing, though the only ones of note were his endurance and magic. Vahn would be able to use the time he spent training Lili to familiarize himself with proactively using his abilities for the future. He even tried activating his [Will of the Emperor] which caused Lili to collapse to the ground when he had focused his intent on her.

He spent a bit of time coaxing her into forgiving him, which resulted in him having to pet her head for five minutes. Though he was reluctant at first, Vahn resigned himself to the agreement only to become enthralled in the act after seeing how Lili responded when he touched her cat ears. The combination of the soft and fluffy sensation as well as the mewling of the young girl made his heart rate increase.At 10 AM the two enjoyed a light lunch before heading back to the City. If they hurried, they would be able to enter the dungeon before noon, so they both started jogging with a quick pace towards the City gate. Using his status in the Hephaestus Familia and the 'guest pass' they were quickly let into the City without having to wait in a line. Since they had stored away Lili's backpack before entering, they didn't have any luggage that needed inspecting.

After entering the dungeon, the second phase of training began. Like the previous day, Vahn had Lili try fighting the monsters using her crossbow as well as her dagger. He made sure she was always practicing maneuvering around the monsters and trying to exploit the gaps in their movements.

For this training, Vahn had stored away her backpack which brought Lili's overall stats down. He was surprised to find out she was actually slower without it, though her ability to make fine movements had increased. Because of this, he brought up the idea of purchasing weighted clothing to enable her to make proper use of her skills without having to lug around a giant backpack. Though Lili was averse to the idea at first, she agreed after Vahn explained how it would allow her to increase the effect of the skill while improving her combat capabilities in the future.

As they progressed further into the floors, Vahn was happy seeing how Lili was progressing. Though she was still nowhere near the requirements of a typical Level 1 adventurer, it was much better than the previous day.

While all of this was going on, Vahn wasn't idling around either. He was constantly using his [Will of the Emperor] while Lili was fighting. As long as he didn't focus his intent on her, she was able to move about in the domain. This allowed him to interfere with the movements of monsters if Lili got caught off guard. There were several occasions after this where Lili failed to dodge, but because of Vahn's skill, she was able to counterattack the stunned monsters.

He also tried using the active component of his [Rakshasa Body, but other than a feeling of his muscles swelling a bit, there were no other changes to his body. Vahn guessed the skill would only be useful when he was on the losing end in a fight. For now, he just had to be satisfied that the skill provided an increase in the growth of his endurance.

By 5 PM they had cleared several rooms on the 3rd floor after progressing smoothly through the first two floors. Though she couldn't fight groups using her dagger, Lili had begun to tackle individual enemies without relying on her bow. Vahn was beginning to wonder about her status and if she was quickly becoming stronger. By now she had solo killed 11 goblins and 7 kobolds while assisting in the slaying of fifty-some-odd other monsters. Even if it wasn't as ridiculous as his own progress, she had to be experiencing some increase after gaining so much exilia.

Before they began sparring, Vahn decided to inquire about her progress. "Lili, how are your parameters increasing after today's training? I'd like to know so we can make alterations to the schedule if necessary."

Hearing his questions, Lili just stared at him blankly before a slight blush touched her cheeks. "Vahn...I can't really check my status without having my status board updated at the Soma Familia. Because the God Soma spends all of his time brewing alcohol, he very rarely ever updates anyone's status board. That is why most people in the Familia are lower than level 2, and even they joined from other Familia and weren't original members."

Vahn began to understand why everyone from the Soma Familia was so easily dealt with by Bell in the manga. If their God wasn't proactively updating their status and giving them the benefits of the Falna, there would be no way for anyone to grow quickly.

He also realized a larger problem. Even if the training was going well, there was no way to verify the progress without confronting the God Soma. Unless Lili was able to leave the Familia there would always be restrictions on her future potential...Vahn began training Lili in close-quarters-combat methods and sparred with her to practice each technique. As it was also his first time using the skills on another person, they both took their time understanding the practical applications of the techniques. Luckily, Vahn had the benefit of possessing all the requisite knowledge within his head so he avoided embarrassing himself.

They would take a break every twenty minutes, and during this time Vahn had been consulting Sis on methods to forcibly break the Familia contract. He learned that, unless he was able to obtain a Tier 4 (Sage) soul, it wouldn't be possible to break the contract as it was protected by the worlds 'laws'. There were items that would allow him to remove it, but the cheapest one cost as much as 2,500,000OP.

He had begun to give up on the idea and started planning how he could confront the Soma Familia, but Sis interrupted him. (*Vahn, due to the nature of your body and it's connection to 'source' energy, you are able to read and update the status of other Adventurers. Though you don't possess falna like the gods, you can use [Yggdrasil's Favor] to enhance the existing falna already present within the crest.*)

Hearing the words, Vahn began to get excited and turned towards Lili to try and explain his 'revelation'...

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Chapter 47 - Things Overlooked

Vahn looked towards Lili and tried thinking of how to explain the situation. As far as he knew there should be no methods for someone other than a god to update a Status Board. Even being able to view status is something exceptionally rare...

Lili noticed he was struggling with something so she decided to speak up. "What is it Vahn? Did you notice something?" She was watching his face to see if he was trying to conceal anything. To Lili, Vahn seemed to have a lot of secrets that she couldn't ask about, but she still wanted him to be truthful to her.

Vahn stared towards her with a serious expression. After hesitating briefly, he finally found his resolve. He had already decided to help her, and there was no reason he should hesitate after everything that has happened. "Lili...I have a skill that allows me to not only view status, but it should allow me to imbue my energy into the crest to revitalize the stagnant Falna within. I have never done it before, but I have reason to believe it will be successful."

Hearing his words, Lili couldn't believe them. She had never heard of a mortal being able to empower a falna or being able to update the status board of another person. But, seeing the seriousness in Vahn's eyes, she believed he was telling the truth.

She hung her head in thought before asking him a question. "Does it have anything to do with that strange aura you're able to emit? Just what exactly is that skill anyway? I've never even heard of anything like it before."

Vahn shook his head. "No, that is a different skill. Right now, I can't tell you the details since even I'm not strong enough to protect it's secret. Knowing about it would only lead to your death." This was the truth, since Innate skills existing outside the natural 'law' of the world. If a resident of the record obtained too much information about them, the laws would likely take action.

Lili could see a deadly seriousness in Vahn's expression, but it only made her want to know even more. She wanted to become strong enough that he could trust her with all of his secrets. For now, she just nodded without asking further.

"The skill I'm going to use is called [Yggdrasil's Favor]. It allows me to imbue the natural energy of the world into objects. Due to the nature of the skill, there is a very high possibility it would enable a stagnant falna to be revitalized since it should be similar in function to the energy used by gods in the mortal world. I can't go into too many details, because even I don't know exactly how it works." Vahn gave a helpless sigh since this was the limit of his current explanation. Anything more would be touching on the secrets he needed to protect.

After mulling over his words for several minutes, Lili gave a determined nod and smiled towards Vahn. "I trust you Vahn. At the very least, I believe you won't try to harm me."

With a warm feeling welling in his chest, Vahn said, "Thank you, Lili." He then reached out and patted her head for a brief moment.

"So, what do I need to do?" Lili had some expectations but decided to be roundabout and asked Vahn to explain.

Vahn could see Lili begin blushing, and he began to feel like something was off. Unable to determine the cause, he decided to explain. "I'll need to view your Status Board while directly channeling the energy of my skill into the crest. I'm not sure how long it will take, but it shouldn't take too much time."

Hearing Vahn confirm her suspicions, Lili began to blush fiercely while 'glaring' at Vahn. She began to wonder if he even understood what he was asking her to do. It didn't have to be said, but everyone knew the location of a Familia Crest was always on the back. Without directly exposing herself, he would be unable to perform the ritual!

Vahn was very confused about her actions. He thought she would be happy to have her status updated without having to rely on her Familia, but she seemed angry and bashful instead. While he was thinking about the cause, Lili began speaking.

"Vahn...you may not know this since you aren't in a Familia, but the Crest is always located on the back of an Adventurer. Without removing my blouse, there would be no way to view my Status Board, much less channel energy into the crest..." Lili continued to 'glare' at Vahn. She saw him display a confused expression before seeming to come to an understanding which caused his eyes to widen.

"Ah, you're right. I'm sorry, I didn't think it through that far. I was just focused on the theory, and didn't think about the process that much..but, the part about me not being in a Familia is incorrect? Didn't you notice at the gate that I put my information as being part of the Hephaestus Familia? I even gave you a 'guest pass' to allow you to enter and exit freely."

Lili became startled, realizing she had made a huge blunder. Even though she could identify the 'guest pass' as an item belonging to the Hephaestus Familia, she didn't think about how Vahn had obtained it. "But, Vahn? Didn't you say you were a freelancer when we first met? I thought you only recently entered the City...and you're even staying in an Inn instead of a dormitory or compound."

Vahn nodded in confirmation. "That's all true. At the time of our first meeting, I was still a freelancer. I only joined the Hephaestus Familia after we parted from the dungeon that same evening."

The words were like a bomb exploding within her mind. She could barely process the information. ('Exactly what happened in just a single night!?'). Lili released a long sigh. She felt like she severely underestimated how many events Vahn got wrapped up in within a short time period. In the course of a single evening, he saved her life, ran around the city, and even joined a Familia. And not just any Familia, but the rank 3 Familia within the entire City!

"Vahn, please tell me when things like that happen...I'm not sure my heart can handle the constant feeling of surprise." She gave him a fed-up expression with drooping, tired eyes.

Vahn just rubbed the back of his head, promising to inform her about things as long as they weren't a secret.The two were now exiting the dungeon. After Vahn realized what was necessary for the procedure, he couldn't just ask Lili to take off her top within the dungeon. Even though it was unlikely, there was still a chance other Adventurers could appear in the route they were resting in. If they stumbled upon him using the skill and spread rumors, it would become a nightmare that wouldn't be easy to resolve. To prevent that from happening, the only solution would be to 'silence' them, but Vahn wasn't fond of the idea of indiscriminately killing people.

After trading in their spoils for the day, Vahn split the earnings equally. Though Lili refused at first, Vahn ignored her and just started walking in the direction of the Inn. After a few moments of hesitation, Lili sighed before putting the daily earnings into her backpack and chasing after Vahn.Since it was already late in the evening and Vahn didn't know how long the procedure would take, they decided to get some food from a nearby stall. The place they selected seemed to specialize in producing various types of crepes. Vahn found it very interesting watching them pour the batter and forming it into shape before adding the toppings they had each selected. From the side, Lili just stared at his childish expression while giggling.

After they had finished several rounds of crepes (mainly due to the fact Vahn really loved the taste of fried fish after having it for the first time), they finally found their way to the Inn. Stepping inside, they came across Tina who, upon seeing Vahn, blushed before immediately running away without greeting them.

Seeing the 'frightened' girl, Vahn just stood there with the hand he had raised to wave stuck awkwardly in the air. Once again, he could hear the laughter of Lili coming from his side. He turned to look at her, and she tried desperately to hold back her laughter before sticking her tongue out and heading up the nearby stairs.

Vahn shook his head and began to follow her, but was stopped when the Proprietress, Milan, called out to him. "Ara~ Good evening Vahn. I was wondering why my daughter ran into the pantry looking like a tomato. Don't tell me you did something again~? I might have to really punish you at this rate~."

Through his cold sweat, Vahn began explaining the circ.u.mstances before being forced to sit and buy a drink. It turned out Milan wanted to ask about the situation when he had disappeared for a few days and the reasons why he ended up bringing Lili back shortly after his return.

Since Vahn had no negative feelings towards the kind, albeit mischievous, Proprietress he decided to explain things without revealing any sensitive information. She was surprised hearing that Vahn had saved Lili's life, and how after a series of events became responsible for training her to become stronger. When he got the part about how he had joined a Familia, and how he would most likely be moving away by the end of the week, a shadow dashed from behind the doorway dividing the dining room and kitchen.

"No! Please don't leave!" The young Tina had revealed her presence after hearing that Vahn would be leaving. When her mother had been discussing things with Vahn, she was eavesdropping on the conversation.

Vahn just shook his head at her pleading. Though he liked staying within the Inn, he wouldn't be able to stay here for the rest of his life. It was always guaranteed that, as he grew stronger, he would eventually move on from this place.

Seeing the apologetic expression on his face, combined with him shaking his head, Tina began to struggle with holding back her tears. "Is it because I ran away yesterday? Is it because I wouldn't let you touch my tail?" For Tina, she couldn't really rationalize the situation. Even though customers were always coming and going, she felt that Vahn would always be around. For Tina, he was a special existence and the first person that made her feel different from an ordinary girl.

Vahn was pained seeing her cry, but he nearly fell off of his stool when she mentioned the part about the tail. He began to worry that he left a strange impression in the mind of the girl...

He looked towards Milan, and she too seemed to be a bit sad about the revelation he would be leaving. However, unlike her daughter, she seemed to accept the reality for what it was. Life was always changing, always moving forward, even when you didn't want it to...

Seeing the sad far-away look that had appeared on Milan, Vahn wanted to ask what she was thinking about. He wanted to be able to comfort the Mother-Daughter pair but didn't know what to do.

While he was lost in thought, he felt a force wrap around his waist. Turning, he could see Tina hugging him from the side. He didn't expect that she had grown so attached to him even though they hadn't interacted that much. On the collar of the girl's blouse, he could see the brooch that he had bought for her the previous day.After spending twenty minutes trying to console Tina and talking to Milan, Vahn finally managed to extricate himself from the situation after promising to stop by whenever he could, even after he moved out. Tina even pressed him further and had him promise to give her his address after he moved. She told him that when she was old enough, she would become an Adventurer too and follow him into the dungeon just like her mother had done with her father.Vahn walked upstairs and knocked on the door to Lili's room. After various sounds of movement, the door opened a tiny margin and revealed the eye of Lili. She seemed very nervous, and Vahn noticed a peculiar odor coming from the crack in the door. It would seem that, while he was downstairs, Lili had taken the opportunity to bathe. Vahn assumed she must have been worried about her sweat, but after noticing the blush on Lili's face he began to become nervous as well.

"T-thanks for coming here Vahn. Please come inside..." Lili opened the door, revealing clothing Vahn had never seen before. It was an outfit very similar to pajamas, except she was wearing the top of the ensemble backward. The area that would typically be buttoned from the front now revealed her open back. Seeing the exposed skin, Vahn felt his mouth dry up causing him to instinctually swallow.

Vahn stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

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Chapter 48 - Status : Training Continues

After Vahn entered the room the atmosphere became very tense. Lili sat on the bed with her back towards Vahn, and he could see she was trying her best to hide her face which had turned scarlet. He could even see the blush had crept down her neck and started fading into her back.

Vahn tried to prevent the atmosphere from affecting him, so he moved to the edge of the bed and sat facing towards Lili. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the uncovered skin and his mind went blank.

All over Lili's back, he could see faded wounds and scars that had marred her uncovered skin.

Though Vahn knew she was treated poorly, he wasn't prepared to see the evidence of her suffering and the toll it had taken on her body. Since their first meeting, she had made many efforts to be cheerful and lively which caused Vahn to drop his guard without considering the long-term remnants that he would need to deal with in the future.

Lili seemed to sense his sadness hung her head. The blush began to fade from her cheeks as she issued a quiet voice. "You must think it's ugly...I did my best to treat most of the injuries when I could, but it's hard to apply medicines to the back."

Hearing Lili blame herself for things she had no control over, Vahn sighed. He reached out his hand and used his index finger to trace one of the larger scars near her shoulder blade. In response to his touch, Lili shuddered but didn't say anything further. She began to feel a searing heat trace along the scar of her back, but even though it felt so hot it wasn't an unpleasant sensation.

After seeing the scars on her back, Vahn had asked Sis to purchase a skill that would allow him to heal or remove the evidence of their existence. After spending 2000 OP he obtained the weakest form of a skill called [Hands of Nirvana] which allowed Vahn to stimulate dead and damaged tissues and revitalize the human body. With the support of [Yggdrasil's Favor, he was able to channel energy into his fingertip and slowly wipe away the scar. All that remained after he was finished was a slightly red mark that was warm to the touch.

Vahn continued tracing over each and every scar while Lili sat in silence. Though she couldn't see it with her own eyes, she knew he was doing something to heal the scars on her back. With each searing sensation that touched her skin, more tears would collect in her eyes, but not as a result of the heat.

Once he was done, Vahn moved on to reading Lili's Status. He could tell by her reaction that she realized what his actions might entail, and there would be time to talk about it later if she asked. Following the procedure laid out by Sis, Vahn made a small cut on his finger before placing it into the center of Lili's crest. When the blood came into contact with the somewhat faded goblet-crescent-moon motif, the entire crest began to issue a brilliant light. Though Vahn couldn't make sense of the symbols, he was able to interpret their meaning through the system interface.[STATUS]

Name: Liliruca Arde

Race: Pallum

LV. 1

POW: I63 -I91

END: I98 - H107

DEX: H170 - H183

AGI: G223 - G250

MAG: F351 - F353

Skill: [Artel*Assist:E, [Atlas: Innate(sealed)]

Magic: [Cinder*Ella:C]

Development Skill:While he was reading her Status Board, Vahn was also channeling his energy into the crest to awaken the dormant falna. Since Lili had the crest since birth and never updated it, the falna had long since entered a weakened state which further restricted her growth. Now Lili should be able to make progress like a normal adventurer in the future.

What caught his eye was a skill he had never seen present in the manga. Lili hand a skill called [Atlas] that was currently sealed away. The most surprising thing was the fact it was evaluated as an Innate ranked skill. After asking Sis why he was able to see the skill, she explained that 'The Path' was of a much higher tier than Innate abilities, so it was able to detect anything that was not intentionally hidden.

After updating the Status Board, Vahn listed out the changes to Lili. For now, he kept the existence of [Atlas] a secret as Sis had informed him it was very difficult to awaken innate skills if the wielder was aware of them. They could only awaken if the wielder made efforts to improve and faced various challenges on their own.

Lili was very excited after hearing the changes in her parameters. She still had trouble believing Vahn would be able to do as he said and seeing the results had made her incredibly happy. In her excitement, she ended up tackling Vahn which caused the two bodies to tumble off the bed and onto the hard wooden floor.

To protect her from the fall, Vahn had used his own body to cushion the blow. He struggled to breathe and just helplessly pat Lili who had been lost in her feelings of jubilation. After some time had passed, she seemed to calm down but hadn't separated from his body. Vahn began feeling worried, so he tried standing and bringing the affectionate act to an end.

Lili refused to release his body, and continued hugging his waist with her head rested against his abdomen. Neither person said anything for a while until Lili finally released his body and looked directly into his eyes. "Vahn, I will become stronger. Strong enough to repay everything you've done for me..." After saying those words, she turned towards her bed and submerged herself under the covers.

[Liliruca Arde] Affection 5/

Vahn continued to stand in silence for a while before deciding to leave the room. As he turned away he was unaware that the blankets had shifted slightly in response to his footsteps. A small cat-eared head poked out of the covers and stared at his back as he left the room...

[Liliruca Arde] Affection -3/

The moment Vahn stepped into the hallway he nearly fell face-first onto the floor. ("What did I do!?")

Using what remained of his strength he ambled towards his room and fell heavily into his bed. He couldn't fathom how he was able to earn such a large amount of affection and then lose some immediately after...The next morning the two woke up before the sunrise, same as the previous day. Vahn had slight bags under his eyes as he was lost in contemplation for a large portion of the night. When he met up with Lili she seemed to look at him with a mild resentment before leading the way towards the gate. Vahn just followed after her in silence while trying to have Sis explain what had happened. In response, she just commented on how he needed to put more effort into understanding women's hearts.At the gate, Vahn was finally able to reunite with Gregory. The two exchanged words and Gregory congratulated him on his success in joining such a highly regarded Familia. Vahn also tried to return the money Gregory had lent him, but he just laughed loudly in response while heavily patting Vahn's back. He told Vahn that if he wanted to repay him, then live a reputable life that he could brag to his friends about. If Vahn was able to become a highly esteemed Adventurer it would give him face when drinking with his fellow officers.After parting ways with Gregory, the two continued towards the previous day's training site. Vahn demonstrated more techniques and they both warmed up before performing the same set of exercises. Though it wasn't much, Lili had made some progress since the day before. She was more receptive to each new form of training and put in a commendable amount of effort in trying to execute everything properly.

They continued in this manner, only stopping to take short rests and eat breakfast. Once 10 AM came around, they began heading towards the dungeon to begin the next phase on the schedule. They were beginning to build familiarity with the gate guards, so after a cursory screening, they were able to easily enter the City. On the way towards Babel, they decided to purchase the seafood crepes Vahn had enjoyed the previous night. He even purchased a few extras and stored them away in his inventory when nobody was looking...

Once they entered the tower Lili began trying to solo monsters while Vahn covered for her using his [Will of the Emperor]. He noticed she was a lot more daring than the previous day and the increased confidence allowed her to perform to a much higher standard than her earlier attempts.

During one of the breaks, Vahn told her she was improving rapidly and at this rate, she would be able to accelerate her growth even faster. Lili was excited after hearing Vahn's praise and tried even harder after the break came to an end. Unfortunately, due to her unstable emotions and overzealous attitude, she ended up nearly losing her hand to a goblin wielding a rusty dagger.

The wound had cut to the bone of her wrists and it was bleeding profusely which caused her to become lightheaded and dazed. Just as she felt like throwing up due to nausea, the pain suddenly vanished and a shadow appeared in front of her intercepting the attacking goblin.

Vahn had seen Lili's mistake and quickly used [Wound Transfer] in conjunction with his [Rakshasa Body] to absorb and mitigate the damage. Though there was still blood dripping through the bands of his gauntlets, he could feel a tingling sensation that told him the wound was rapidly healing. Before the goblin was able to launch a second attack, he locked it down with his domain and intercepted to swung dagger.

In his hand, Vahn now held the mutilated wrist of the goblin. He twisted his body before slamming the struggling goblin into the dungeon wall. Seeing it turn to dust on contact, Vahn turned towards Lili to see if she had any other injuries. He could see shock and surprise on her face and thought she was still disoriented from the previous incident. He reached out with his hand to help her up and froze...

Lili stared at the outstretched hand that had now changed shape. Instead of the smooth tanned skin, she was used to patting her head, it was now a size larger and covered in fine densely packed hairs. The hair was very short but completely covered the top half of the hand. It was a dark grey in color with undertones of white drawing a strange pattern along its surface.

The two just continued staring at the strange hand that was connected to Vahn's body. After coming to his sense, Vahn lifted the hand and inspected the changes. From what he could see, it had morphed into the claw of an animal, though he still had all five fingers. While he was observing it, the hairs began to recede slowly into his flesh until, after seven minutes, they had completely disappeared returning his hand to its normal appearance.

He used his now normal hand to help Lili stand. She seemed to want to ask about it but held herself back from doing so. Vahn understood her concerns, as he too wanted to know what happened. From inside his mind, he could hear the voice of Sis explaining it was due to the activation of his [Rakshasa Body]. According to her, the more damage he took the more his body would change to empower his abilities to prevent further damage.

("Does that mean I would turn into a monster in a prolonged fight?") Vahn was very worried since he knew even humanoid monsters were treated very poorly by most people. Without being able to explain the transformation was a result of a skill, he would face serious consequences when using it in the future.

(*You won't turn into a monster, though you would possess some animalistic qualities. According to analysis, your [Rakshasa Body] seems to incorporate the features of a tiger, though the exact type is hard to determine. As you rank up the skill you should have more control over the transformation, but if you're worried about creating a misunderstanding you can acquire another skill that emulates the effects of the change.*)

After giving her permission, Sis ended up purchasing a magic called [Thria*Mimos:C] for 7,000 OP. The description stated he could use the skill to alter his body parts, and with mastery even completely transform into an animal. The downside was he would be unable to activate other skills without breaking the transformation.

Vahn used the newly acquired magic and demonstrated it to Lili. He credited its activation due to how angry he was after seeing her injured. Before then he had never been aware of the magic and it seemed he was able to use it without a chant.

Of course, the only thing Lili was focused on was how happy she was when Vahn acquired a similar magic as her own.

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Chapter 49 - 'Date' with Lili. Weapon and Clothes Shopping

For the next few days, Vahn continued helping Lili with her training. Though she had made noticeable progress, she was still having difficulties increasing her parameters to the point she could fight without assistance. She lacked the stamina for drawn-out fights, and her stats didn't give her much of an edge against monsters within the dungeon.

Even though she was still gaining exilia from fighting, there wasn't a large increase in her parameters since she lacked a skill that modified her growth. Vahn wanted to try and help her awaken her true potential, so he had used the Valis he had been saving to take Lili shopping on their next day off. He thought that introducing weighted clothing or armor would help improve her base parameters and increase the efficacy of her training.

Upon hearing that she would be able to go on a 'date' with Vahn, Lili seemed to double her efforts in training. She continued putting in these efforts until the day had finally arrived. When Vahn stepped out of his room early, she was already waiting for him in the hallway in her 'battle attire'.

Vahn was surprised to see Lili waiting outside his door, and even more so after seeing how she was dressed. She had done up her hair slightly and it had a healthy sheen. Around her neck, she wore the small bronze necklace which stood out against the pure white frock that Vahn had never seen before. It still had a bit of a childish quality which brought out the liveliness in Lili's appearance.

Seeing his dazed observation of her attire, Lili gave a victorious smile before hurrying him out of the Inn. She wanted to get a head start on the date so they would have more time together after shopping.

As Vahn trailed behind her, his eyes were drawn to the tail that was poking out of a ribbon in the frock. Since it was the same chestnut brown as Lili's hair it stood out against the plain white dress. Till now he had yet to see exactly how the tail was connected to the body so he was still rather curious. Of course, he knew better than to ask and there would always be opportunities in the future. He even considering trying to grow a tail of his own later.The two continued until they came upon the stall Vahn had frequented often in the last few days. After purchasing some crepes, the owner gave them a pleasant smile as he wished them well on their 'date'. Vahn had become a 'usual' customer at the stall, and the owner, a rather plump middle-aged dwarf named Ivaan had developed a friendly relationship with him. Vahn gave an awkward smile while Lili blushed with a pleased expression on her face after hearing the mans words.

They continued slowly making their way towards Babel where, after entering, Lili began dragging him around to various shops she was familiar with. Vahn was surprised with the familiarity she showed with the shops and became very interested after hearing her explain the function of a variety of useful items. After stopping at several stores and resupplying items for use in the dungeon, they finally made their way towards their original destination.

Entering the 8th Floor of Babel, the pair came across the shops owned and operated by the Hephaestus Familia. There was a plethora of weapons and armor on display as they made their way deeper into the interior of the floor.

Their goal was to purchase both armor and a new weapon for Lili to facilitate her continued growth. Though she had improved her accuracy and combat with the crossbow, she wasn't able to easily deal with monsters using a dagger. Since she was relatively small herself and the reach of the dagger was limited, it made it very dangerous to fight in such close proximity of monsters.

Since Vahn wasn't too familia with the function of armor, he decided to help Lili find a weapon first. Lili still had inhibitions about wearing restrictive equipment, so she was more than happy to put it off until later. Eventually, they found their way into one of the mid-tier quality stores which could be denoted by the "grade" posted on the outside of the store. This store, called 'Blacksteel Works' openly displayed the Hephaestus Familia emblem with a 'B' in large font beneath it.

After entering they browsed a bit before meeting with the owner of the establishment. He was a relatively young man between 17-20 years of age with blonde hair and an honest face. Seeing the two peculiarly dressed people approach, he greeted them in a loud tone. "Greet'ns! What can I do ye for strangers? Not seen ye around this store before. Lookin' fer anythin' specific?" (A/N: I feel like writing accents is outside my comfort zone~)

Vahn had a good impression of the man due to his honest expression and stable yellow aura. From his experience, such people were easy to deal with and good-natured. He gave the man, who had at this point identified himself as Arin, a list of all the items he was looking for.

"If possible we'd prefer to look at weapons that meet the requirements before armor. For now, we don't need anything made-to-order, but if the functionality is good we would likely be interested in the future." Lili had decided to explain matters since Vahn seemed more focused on making small talk. She didn't really want to spend too much time in the store since it would interfere with the time spent elsewhere.

Arin looked at the disgruntled Lili before giving Vahn a sideways grin, "Yer girls a feisty one ain't she?" Vahn gave a helpless smile at the remark and asked if they would be able to see the weapons. From the side, Lili was smiling and behaving more docilely.After a few minutes, Arin had lined up a variety of weapons. There were shortswords, rapiers, longswords, spears, and even an oversized katana which caught Vahn's interest. He often imagined wielding one for himself in his previous life so it tickled his inner desires a bit. When he changed weapons in the future, Vahn decided it would be a katana unless there were better options.

Lili tried out the weapons by lifting and feeling their weight. Since she had never used anything other than a dagger and crossbow everything was awkward for her. She kept picking up and seeing if any of them 'felt' right, but was unable to make a decision due to her lack of interest and experience.

Seeing her hesitation, Arin started detailing the usefulness of the various weapons. He discussed how some were good for fighting groups, while others were more suitable to individuals. He even went into details about their composition, durability, and the practicality of their range and maintenance requirements.

Vahn and Lili listened to the very informative information. Though she wasn't as interested as Vahn, Lili still made it a habit to remember anything that could be useful for the future. One of the skills she had relied on the survive so long was her ability to gather knowledge and information.

After listening to the explanation, Vahn was considering purchasing all the weapons just to try them out. Even if he didn't end up using them, it would be good to have a variety of weapons obtained outside the system shop for future use. While he was making up his mind, Lili began asking about weapons that were heavy and could be used for the purpose of increasing strength.

"Heavy weapons that can increase strength ye say? Hmmm, I think I may have what yer lookin' for if its just fer trainin' purposes." Arin went into the back room and came out carrying two items. One was a large poleaxe that was more than 160cm long and weighed nearly 30kg. It was made of 'blacksteel' like the shops' namesake. The other item was an almost comically oversized hammer. It was 125cm long with the head of the hammer being 70cms. It weighed a monstrous 90kg.

Out of curiosity, Vahn tried lifting the two weapons and found that, though they were lighter than he expected, they were very awkward to use. Lili also gave it a try and struggled quite a bit, but due to her [Artel*Assist] skill, she managed to carry both items, albeit with a strenuous amount difficulty.

After holding the two items, Lili decided she would take them both since they met the requirements of activating [Artel*Assist]. She agreed with Vahn that it would be important to develop the skill if she wanted to get stronger in the future. There was also the truth that it was easier to discard than armor so she could easily swap weapons depending on the situation.

Vahn ended up purchasing all the weapon and handed over 92,000V in payment. It was a large portion of his earning for the week, but once he started advancing further into the dungeon he would easily recoup the loss. After accepting the money, Arin ended up returning 12,000V with the reason being it was a discount for their first purchase and the fact they bought several items at once. He also mentioned he had been trying to get rid of the hammer for a while, so he was happy Vahn took it off his hands.

Since it would be awkward explaining storage magic, Vahn had to give Arin the address of the inn and was informed they would be delivered before the end of the day. After that, they made their way towards a different shop that specialized in armor.

Lili seemed very averse to purchasing "heavy" equipment since it didn't suit her small frame. In fact, other than some made-to-order stuff, there was nearly no armor that actually fit her so they had to give up after purchasing a small b.r.e.a.s.tplate along with a pair of arm and leg guards. They were convenient as they could be worn easily over her usual clothing.

Vahn, remembering the clothes Lili often wore was tattered and aged, decided to purchase her some newer clothing. After his experience with changing his own image, he thought it would be good for her to do something similar. After hearing they would next be shopping for clothes, Lilii's eyes began to glow in anticipation.

They entered a store that specialized in producing and tailoring adventurer's wear. There were several mannequins decked out in a variety of different outfits that fit the stereotypes of different styles of adventurers.

Lili spent more than three hours trying on various different outfits while Vahn sat numbingly having to give his opinion on each of them. She eventually settled on a pair of tan shorts with a black sleeveless shirt that displayed her navel. To accompany the outfit she also picked out a pair of dark stockings with tan leather boots that reached halfway up her calves. Lastly, she chose a stylish red vest to complete the outfit.

Vahn thought the outfit suited her, but was curious why she would pick clothing that showed her stomach. After asking, she gave him a bashful look before moving away to hand the items over to the seamstress for modification. After she returned she asked a question of her own with a blush on her face, "Vahn, do you like when a girl shows her midriff or do you prefer if they stay fully clothed?"

Vahn contemplated the question and realized he didn't have a preference. He enjoyed that everyone wore a variety of different outfits and didn't consider if he had a preference for any specific type of clothing. After thinking for a while, he decided on his answer. "I think people should wear whatever they want as long as it's comfortable. Though, if I had to say, when cute girls show more skin it makes me feel a bit dazed at times."

Though she was dissatisfied with the first part of his answer, as it was kind of roundabout, Lili began to beam after hearing the second part. Even though she often wore a cloak and hood over her clothing, she didn't like wearing restrictive clothes all that much. That was the main reason she didn't want to wear heavy armor if it could be avoided.The two continued to walk around until the evening came. Vahn told Lili after they had lunch that he had business with the Hephaestus Familia, so after he walked her back to the inn he made his way towards Hephaestus's workshop. Lili stayed behind to receive the shipment of items, but she didn't let Vahn leave without promising to take her out to dinner as compensation in the future.

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Chapter 50 - Hephaestus's Intrigue

As Hephaestus's workshop was close to the Inn, Vahn managed to arrive shortly after parting ways with Lili. When he entered the building, one of the security guards immediately approached which caused Vahn to assume an alert stance. When the large man got near him, he asked. "Are you Vahn Mason?"

Vahn nodded without breaking his stance. Seeing his affirmation, the man turned towards his companions and one of them ran into the back room. The others cleared out the few remaining customers from the workshop while ignoring their protests. Once everyone was gone, the large man who had previously asked Vahn about his identity spoke.

"Lady Hephaestus informed us to clear out the store and report to her immediately after your arrival. You don't have to be on guard, not that you would be able to resist if we wanted to harm you." The man was more than 190cm tall and had a build like a bear. Though Vahn didn't know it at this time, the man, named Zaff, was a former level 4 Adventurer from a disbanded Familia that had retired and become a security contractor.

Hearing they were acting on Hephaestus's order, Vahn decided to relax a bit, but didn't completely drop his guard. Seeing that Vahn was still alert, the man gave him an appreciative nod before directing his men outside of the workshop. They had been informed to secure the perimeter and prevent anyone from approaching for the time being. Before he left, he turned towards Vahn and offered him a bit of advice. "It's good that you know better than to fully believe in what people tell you. Make sure you keep your senses sharp, it'll save your life one day."

Vahn nodded and watched the man leave. He agreed with the guards' statement since he had almost died due to his negligence previously. The only reason he dropped his guard now was that he was able to see the man's aura showed no aggression towards him. It was a stable and calming blue with a tinge of green around the edges.

After a few minutes of standing in silence, Hephaestus came out from the back room. Vahn could see she was covered in soot and sweat. Before his arrival, she was probably forging an item in her personal workshop. Remembering his experience with the 'eternal flame', Vahn had some misgivings about entering there in the future.

Unfortunately, without asking him anything, Hephaestus grabbed his hand and pulled him into the place he would much rather avoid. When he arrived, he saw that the 'eternal flame' which used to be a mixture of fiery reds and oranges now glowed with a gentle golden color. He even noticed something completely different about the flame...the fact it had a slight aura coming from it.

Hephaestus saw him looking at the flame and spoke for the first time. "I see you've noticed the changes as well. I need you to explain EXACTLY what happened when you were forging with the 'eternal flame' last time. Don't leave out a single detail."

Vahn could see the seriousness in her eye and began recalling the events as he remembered. Without mentioning the existence of [Will of the Emperor, he spoke about how he was able to solidify his domain and use it to contain the shape of the ingot when he was heating it. During the process, the 'eternal flame' began interfering with his mental energy and started consuming it, but after finalizing the procedure of forming the ingot he was able to concentrate his mana and forcibly sever the connection.

As he narrated the events, Hephaestus listened while observing him in silence. She was considering every word Vahn spoke and matching it against her own memories of the event. When Vahn got to the part about how the flame started devouring his mental energy, an unprecedented seriousness emanated from her body. She allowed him to complete his recount before asking in a firm tone.

"Vahn, you said you grew up with your Grandfather in the forest. Though I feel as if that isn't the whole truth, I need to ask you, have you ever met your parents?"

After seeing how serious Hephaestus was, Vahn also adopted a similar atmosphere for himself. He considered his words before speaking the truth. "Though I have a memory of my mother, I've never met my father. I was taken from my mother when I was very young and raised by a group of terrible people until I reached the age of fourteen. After that, the place I was held was attacked and I managed to escape after the oversight of one of the attackers. After wandering for a while, I was helped by a kind woman named Klyscha before being dropped off in the Western Forests for training...that is the truth."

For the first time since they started associating with each other, Hephaestus couldn't sense any falsehood in Vahn's words. As she expected, he wasn't raised by his grandfather and probably used it as an excuse to avoid suspicion. The matters that concerned her now was his actual origins. If he was taken away from his parents and held captive for the majority of his life, he probably can't explain the situation to the extent she requires.

As she looked towards the boy who was waiting for her response, Hephaestus began to feel a pain in her heart. Since he was likely telling the truth, that meant he never had the experience of being raised and cared for by a real family. She even thought it was his lack of interactions and social awareness that made him unafraid of her eye...

She released a sigh before showing Vahn a caring smile. "I'm sorry for questioning you Vahn. It must have been very difficult for you getting this far. From now on I promise I won't let anything like that happen to you again." As they were both close to each other, she pulled Vahn into her embrace and began to gently rub his head.

Vahn was completely taken by surprise by the show of affection. Since he was still tense from the serious atmosphere, he never expected to be spontaneously hugged. At first, he wanted to struggle, but feeling the soft sensation pressing against his face and the soothing motion on the back of his head, Vahn began to relax. He felt all the tension slowly melt away from his body as Hephaestus gently continued her embrace.After a surprisingly long amount of time, Hephaestus finally released his head and allowed Vahn to regain his freedom. Vahn felt at a loss when she released her embrace, and his expression caused Hephaestus to turn her head with a blush. "I can hug you more later...*ahem*. Right now we need to talk about other important matters. I think I may have some clues about your origin, and it will be very important you pay attention or you could be in serious danger if your identity is exposed."

Though Vahn was already aware of his origins, he still listened to her words seriously. It was likely her advice would still be important for him, even if it wasn't because of the reason she speculated.

"First of all, it is very likely that one of your parents was a god or goddess. Without understanding your powers, I can't speculate which...but I can say that the other parent was most likely a demi-god or something equal in status. That means your bloodline is significantly purer than most children of gods since you possess three-quarters of a divine heritage. That domain you're able to use is very similar to the divinity possessed by us gods except on a much smaller scale." As she spoke till this point, Hephaestus began to release her own Divinity.

From Vahn's perspective, he could see the aura around Hephaestus's body grow until it permeated the air around them. He could feel a pressure weighing down on his body, and could actually 'feel' the emotions present in the aura she released. This caused Vahn to feel fl.u.s.tered as, even though the aura was pressuring him, the pink color seemed to infuse with his body and made him feel giddy.

Hephaestus was confused while watching Vahn succ.u.mb to her Divinity. Like most mortals, he was definitely affected by the pressure, but her aura seemed to have a different effect on his body at the same time. She quickly pulled it back to alleviate the pressure he was experiencing and began to physically inspect his body.

Vahn was breathing heavily and could feel his body heating up after Hephaestus released her aura. Even though she had pulled it back, he could still feel the same giddiness causing a fluttering sensation in his chest. When Hephaestus approached and started checking to see if he was hurt, the feeling increased in intensity and he began to panic. From her body, he could smell an aroma that was making it difficult to think and he separated from her touch.

Hephaestus was surprised seeing Vahn push her away and open up a distance between them. She could see a blush on his face and a feverish look in his eyes as he seemed to struggle with his rationality. It was at this moment that Hephaestus realized her Divinity must have influenced him strangely and sent him into a state...of arousal.

She began to panic as well. Her Divinity was derived from forging and not love or beauty; it shouldn't have the ability to charm people. Hephaestus deduced that it was likely that one of his parents had a synergistic relationship with forging. It made sense to her seeing the changes in her own 'eternal flame' after absorbing Vahn's energy...but that was beside the point. Right now she had no idea how to deal with the young boy before her.

Hephaestus was not inexperienced with men. Though she never had a long-term partner due to how the other gods treated her, there were several instances where she hooked up with a god after a banquet or ceremony. She kept her dignity during many of the encounters, there were a few very rare instances where she gave in to her passions and slept with them. Though she felt terrible after the fact, it also helped stabilize the trauma she had in her heart. She felt that since people were willing to sleep with her, she wasn't as terrible a monster as they made her feel. It wasn't until she met Hestia later that she underwent a purification ceremony to recover her own chastity.

Now, seeing the boy struggle because of her own error, she began to have an internal struggle of her own. He was still very young, and though she wanted to 'help' him, there was no easy way of doing so. In the worst case scenario, she may end up leaving a trauma in his heart after he only recently started interacting with people.

While she was trying to rationalize her decision and find her resolve, Vahn was listening to Sis advise him. Even though his mental state was in disorder, he still had enough wherewithal to activate [Will of the Emperor]. Though it was difficult at first, the energy began spreading through his body and suppressing the strange feelings. The familiar cooling sensation began to clear his mind and allowed him to push the skill further until is permeated his entire body and started spreading out in the form of his domain.

Hephaestus, who was biting her lip in frustration, noticed the change and saw Vahn regaining his clarity. She released a heavy sigh but felt that there was an empty feeling in her heart. It was like she had missed an opportunity, but she ignored the feeling and helped to calm Vahn.

"Sorry, Vahn. I didn't expect my Divinity would have that kind of effect on you. It's likely that one of your parents had some relation to the divinity of forging, and as a result, it causes...a peculiar reaction when absorbed by your body. Fortunately, you were able to counteract the effects with your own pseudo-divine state." She tried speaking rationally, but couldn't hold back a blush from appearing on her face.

Vahn listened and nodded mechanically at the explanation. Though it was likely the Divinity that enhanced the effect, Vahn realized that interacting with the auras of people made him able to experience their emotions. He would have to be careful in the future...or the consequences could be irreversible.

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Chapter 51 - A Strange Affection

The two stood in the awkward atmosphere for a while before Hephaestus moved to a corner of the room and grabbed a package wrapped in a green ribbon. She handed the package to the confused Vahn and explained the reason behind it.

"It's a gift to celebrate your joining of the Familia. Go ahead and open it..." Hephaestus felt awkward giving him the gift after everything that had happened.

Vahn opened the package and was surprised to find a strange looking hammer on the inside. He pulled it out and inspected it more closely. The body of the hammer was made of a cool metal wrapped with a fire-resistant cloth. Vahn gripped it and noticed it fit perfectly in his hand, almost like the hammer was an extension of his arm. The head of the hammer was a combination of magisteel and a dark red crystalline metal that Vahn had never seen before. The two different metals twisted around each other before converging near the striking area of the hammer.

"This is a hammer I personally forged using the magisteel ingot you had created and Hihi'irokane metal. The combination of metals makes the hammer incredibly durable, and since it was partially constructed with magisteel you had tempered yourself, it is extremely receptive to your mana." As Hephaestus began explaining the functions of the hammer, she started to become a bit restless. Giving a sidelong glance at Vahn, she continued. "I crafted this hammer to represent my desire for you to become a capable blacksmith in the future. It is the culmination of your first success and my hope that you will one day forge a weapon that can satisfy me..."

Vahn continued handling the 'familiar' feeling hammer as he listened. When Hephaestus mentioned him forging a weapon that could satisfy her in the future, he nodded with confidence, unaware of the hidden meaning in the words. After she saw his affirmation, Hephaestus revealed a pleased smile."Okay, Vahn. Now that you have a new hammer, I want you to try creating another ingot. As you've seen for yourself, there have been some changes to the 'eternal flame' since your last visit. I want to see if you're able to properly control the flame since the changes were a result of the 'eternal flame' assimilating your mana." Hephaestus dragged him towards the forge and had him sit down; she wanted to test her theory as soon as possible.

Vahn had some inhibitions about working metal using the 'eternal flame', but he believed that there wouldn't be any issues unless he tried infusing his perception into the area immediately surrounding the location of the flame. He quickly began to work after taking some magisteel from the solution next to the mouth of the forge.

Even though he had yet to activate [Will of the Emperor, Vahn had almost no difficulty refining the metal. Though he could tell the heat from the flame was much stronger than his previous visit, it seemed to be much calmer in comparison. The strangest thing was after the metal reached a critical state, the flames seemed to automatically redirect the heat away from the metal.

Due to the 'cooperation' of the flame, Vahn managed to refine the metal while retaining 85% of its total volume. This was even more than when he had used [Will of the Emperor] in his previous attempt. From the side, Hephaestus was watching this entire process with bated breath. Her belief that Vahn descended from a divine lineage based on forging was now firmly cemented in her mind.

Vahn continued the process of shaping the ingot but had minimal success since he hadn't been using his skill to forcibly shape the metal. He wanted to try using his own ability to form the ingot, but after 13 failures he ended up activating [Will of the Emperor] so that he complete the process. This time he avoided the situation of having a clash with the 'eternal flame' because he hadn't tried inserting his spiritual sense within the flames dominion.

After he was finished, Hephaestus inspected the ingot before giving him an approving nod. "This is very well done considering its only your third time creating an ingot. After you increase your knowledge and improve your techniques, you'll be able to begin converting the ingots into weapons and armor."

Vahn was happy hearing her praise. It almost made him want to use his OP to try and enhance his [Blacksmith] skill further, but after seeing his dwindling OP pool, he decided against it. He was nearly out after converting all of his recent spoils into Valis, and he was now even further away from completing his quest which required 1,000,000. (A/N: Vahn currently has 18,090 OP)

"Before we begin discussing your future arrangements, I want your help conducting an experiment Vahn." Vahn, hearing her statement, began paying close attention to Hephaestus's words. "I want you to try imbuing your spiritual energy into the eternal flame. Wait, don't give me that look. Let me explain..."

Vahn had begun to frown after hearing her request but allowed her to continue. "You see, if my speculation is correct you should now be able to interface directly with the 'eternal flame' without any difficulties. You should have noticed how cooperative it was when you were refining the ingot. Don't worry, since I'm prepared this time, I can guarantee you won't be in any danger."

Vahn considered her words and had a few misgivings, but seeing the confidence in Hephaestus's eyes, he sighed and sat back down in front of the forge. He stared into the golden flames while trying to calm his heart...After calming down he began activating [Will of the Emperor] and focused his intent into the dominion of the flame. Unlike last time, the flame didn't attempt to seize his energy, instead, the 'aura' around the flame began to dance excitedly.

/Eternal Flame: Affection 17/

Though he was surprised by the notification, Vahn managed to maintain his calm due to the dreamlike quality of the flame. Instead of attacking him as it had done previously, the flame began to entangle with his energy which caused Vahn to feel a warm and calming sensation within his mind and body. The 'eternal flame' seemed to be asking permission to assimilate some of his energy, and Vahn released small amounts which caused the flame to burn brighter.

/Eternal Flame: Affection 2/

From the side, Hephaestus stared at the interaction with a mixture of excitement and curiosity. This further confirmed her suspicions of Vahn's origin, but she was curious about which part of his bloodline allowed him to enhance a divine artifact like the 'eternal flame'. The 'eternal flame' was a product of her own Divinity and it had accompanied her ever since her time in Heaven. Though it was now much weaker than it's previous state, Vahn was very quickly bringing it to the pinnacle of its former glory. At this rate, she would even be able to forge quasi-divine tier equipment even without her Arcanum. (A/N: Arcanum is the actual godly power that is sealed before they descend from Heaven.)Vahn continued infusing his energy into the eternal flame while in a dazed state. It wasn't due to him having difficulties maintaining the connection, but because of the information that kept appearing in his mind.

/Eternal Flame: Affection 1/Eternal Flame: Affection 1/Eternal Flame: Affection 1/Eternal Flame: Aff...

At this point, the affection of the flame had reached 98 points and he was watching the number get ever closer to reaching 100. After an additional ten minutes, Vahn finally got his first 'person' to maximum affection. The moment the number hit 100 a series of alarms started sounding throughout his mind.

/Eternal Flame Has Reached Maximum Affection/

/Eternal Flame Wishes to become your subordinate: Y/N?/

/Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS/

Completion Grade: SS

Rewards: 'Gift' Function unlocked, 10,000OP, 1x [Hearts Desire:Eternal Flame]

Grade Rewards: [Prometheus:A] Skill unlocked, 1x [Skill Enhancement Scroll:A, 50,000OP

[Prometheus]

Rank: A

Allows the user to condense flame seeds that can be imbued into living creatures. Increases the potential of the recipient by a portion of the user's capabilities. Each use of this skill causes an intense backlash to the user. Each successive use decreases pain tolerance by 10%. (Current:0). At 100%, the use of this skill will result in death. Decays by a rate of 1% per month.

Vahn was completely shocked after seeing all of the notifications. Hephaestus noticed his change, and quickly channeled a strange energy into his back which forcibly severed Vahn's connection with the 'eternal flame'.

"Are you okay, Vahn? Can you tell me what happened? Everything seemed to be going well from what I could tell." Hephaestus was fl.u.s.tered as she promised nothing would happen to him. After seeing he had no visible signs of injury, she released a relieved sigh.

Vahn laughed awkwardly and explained what he had experienced. He told her that he felt a strange bond with the 'eternal flame' and a 'voice' in his head asking him to accept it as his subordinate. Hearing his explanation, it was Hephaestus's turn to be shocked. After all, the 'eternal flame' was the product of her Divinity. It was a part of her, and the idea that it would subordinate itself to another was previously outside the realm of possibility.

Hephaestus turned to look at the vibrant golden flame and almost felt as if it was lamenting at having to separate from Vahn. As an experiment, she grabbed his hand and pulled him further away from the flame and noticed the vibrancy fade...

"Your bloodline must be more powerful than I imagined...I've never even heard of someone being able to subordinate the divine artifact of a god." Hephaestus was now bringing Vahn closer to the flame, and it seemed to come alive with anticipation. She felt a little betrayed at seeing its reaction, but couldn't blame Vahn since it was her request that led to this predicament.

Within Vahn's mind, the same notification kept popping up over and over. The 'eternal flame' seemed intent on having his approval, but without Hephaestus's permission, he wasn't willing to accept. He could see she was struggling internally, so he decided to speak up to alleviate her concerns. "Don't worry Hephaestus. I wouldn't try to take away the items of the people I care about. I'm certain the flame will return to normal after a while."

Hearing Vahn mention 'people he cares about' in reference to her, Hephaestus made up her mind. "No, Vahn. I want to see what happens if you're able to subordinate my flame. Since this is an unprecedented situation, I am curious about the result. Besides, I trust that you wouldn't run away with the flame after it came into your possession. It needs to reside in a specialized hearth or it would lose its power, so it can't leave from this place to begin with."

Since he had her permission, Vahn decided to agree to have the 'eternal flame' as his subordinate. Like Hephaestus, he was very curious about the effects he would receive after the process completed. Using a mental command, he accepted the notification and felt a 'link' connecting him and the flame within the forge.

His mind was spontaneously filled with happy feelings, and he could feel a gentle warmth coming from the invisible connection he had established with the 'eternal flame'. Though he wasn't able to hear any words, he could understand the intent it was releasing. Following it's prompting, Vahn put his hand into the flame after making a small incision on his palm.

Hephaestus watched the process with fear, trepidation, and a moderate amount of anticipation. She too had a connection with the 'eternal flame', and after Vahn accepted it as a subordinate she was able to subtly feel his presence now connected with her soul using the flame as an intermediary.

After his hand was placed into the flame, his blood turned into particles of light which were absorbed into the aura of the 'eternal flame'. After they vanished, the flame wrapped around his hand and imbued part of itself into his body. It flowed through the energy channels of his body before settling itself within his heart.

[Heart of the Eternal Flame:SS] Obtained/

[Heart of the Eternal Flame]

Rank:SS

Passive: Gives the possessor perfect affinity with the element of fire. Enhances blood circulation and stamina recovery. Immune to all yang based fires below Soul Tier: 4

Active: Allows attacks to possess a burning effect.

Vahn had gained yet another skill, and he could feel a powerful energy like molten metal through his body. His heart felt like a furnace as it pumped the energy-rich blood through his body.

(A/N: Alternate Title: A Blazing Affection!!! Teaser: Cyclops of the Twin Peaks!?)

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Chapter 52 - Embrace

Hephaestus was surprised at seeing the 'eternal flame' imbue a fragment of its essence into Vahn's heart. She could now feel the rhythm of his heartbeat gently echo within the interior of her soul. It was almost imperceptible, but when she focused she was easily able to detect its presence. Since the 'eternal spirit' was a part of her and had now imbued itself into Vahn, they now had a permanent connection with each other that could never be severed. This thought caused her own heartbeat to accelerate as she looked at the young boy that had introduced so much mystery and intrigue into her life.

Vahn could feel something within him draw his gaze towards Hephaestus. He saw her aura was gently radiating like the warm glow of the sun. It had a mellow yellow color tinged with pink. When he made eye contact, she gave the most radiant smile he had ever seen on her face...

[Hephaestus: Affection 8/

[Hephaestus: Affection has reached Affection:90[Fated Bond?, Intrigue:100[Overprotective/

Within his mind, Vahn could see her affection update and the notification for the heart's desire quest now had two active notifications. Though he was confused about the sudden change in the situation, Vahn returned the smile since he was able to feel her care and concern and wanted to reciprocate the feelings.After Vahn had subordinated the 'eternal flame', Hephaestus was relieved seeing that the core of the flame still existed within the forge. She would still be able to continue her livelihood in the future and had one fewer concern to deal with. Now she could focus her attention on resolving the biggest problem before her, dealing with Vahn's unique circ.u.mstances.

"Vahn, as we discussed previously, you need to protect your identity until you are strong enough to defend yourself against outside threats. Once you are exposed as a demi-god that can activate a pseudo-divine state, many Familia will actively try to get their hands on you. In the worst case scenario, they may even try to have you assassinated to prevent future troubles. I will do my best to protect you and provide support, but for now, I will leave your protection and training to my most trusted child, Tsubaki."

Vahn nodded his head and listened in silence. At this point, they were both sitting on the couch in her office, and they were in close enough proximity that he could feel the body heat radiating from her. To prevent himself from being distracted, he pushed his focus to the limits while trying to maintain his facial expression. Ever since the event with her Divinity earlier, Vahn was overly conscious of her presence.

As she continued explaining, Hephaestus started to blush slightly because she was able to feel Vahn's heartbeat accelerating. Though he was showing a stoic and honest appearance, she was aware he was putting a lot of effort into maintaining his demeanor.

"Tomorrow morning, I will accompany you to her residence. Once we arrive, I want you to live there from now on. She will be able to train you in smithing while helping improve your combat abilities. Since she is both a Master Smith and Level 5 Adventurer, she is the most qualified person in the City to help increase your strength. I have already let her know of our visit, and she has closed her workshop to all but her contracted clientele until you are capable of defending yourself."

Hearing that he would be staying with a master blacksmith and level 5 adventurer, Vahn was pretty excited. However, once he heard she would be closing her workshop to help him, Vahn began to worry. "Wouldn't it hurt her livelihood if she drops everything just to help me train? I'm capable of increasing my strength on my own, I don't want people to have to sacrifice their wellbeing at my expense."

In response to his concerns, Hephaestus covered her mouth and simply laughed. Vahn wanted to ask why she was laughing, but Hephaestus took the initiative in explaining. "Tsubaki has acc.u.mulated quite an amount of wealth over the years. If she wanted to she could retire at any time and live the rest of her life in luxury without any concerns. As one of the few Master Blacksmiths in the City, she can make several tens of millions of Valis on a single contract. Right now she manages seven active contracts and earns more than 300,000,000 Valis a year without having to leave her workshop."

Vahn was stunned hearing the astronomical numbers. He remembered that the dagger Hestia obtained for Bell was worth 200,000,000 Valis, but he didn't think a mortal blacksmith would have such insane earning potential. He began to get excited at the opportunity of vastly increasing his own wealth in the future.After Vahn's mind was blown by Hephaestus's statement, the two continued talking about various topics until late into the night. At some point, the distance between them had shrunk even further, and Hephaestus used the opportunity to hug him as she had previously. She used the excuse that she had promised to hug him again earlier, and this was her making good on her word.

Vahn didn't resist and just allowed himself to rest in her embrace. Though he never realized it before, it was very calming to be held by another person. It felt like, deep in his heart, something that had been lost was slowly being regained. He was so comfortable in Hephaestus's arms that he even began to fall asleep..."Wake up Vahn. There isn't much time left in the day and you'll need to prepare everything before tomorrow morning." Hephaestus gently roused Vahn who had fallen asleep in her arms. Seeing his peacefully sleeping expression, she was almost unwilling to awaken him but knew it was necessary.

Vahn reluctantly removed himself from her embrace and released a long yawn while stretching. He shook the sleep out of his body before looking into Hephaestus's smiling face. Seeing her calm after he fell asleep in her arms, Vahn was somewhat embarrassed. He continued stretching out his body to hide this fact, but Hephaestus could easily see through his attempts due to their current bond.

(A/N: WTF, writing the first sentence made me yawn.)

After bidding farewell, Vahn finally left Hephaestus's workshop. On his way out he passed by the security guards who had continued holding their perimeter since he first arrived. Vahn was very impressed with their dedication and professionalism.

When the head guard, Zaff, saw the tired boy exit the building he approached with a somewhat callous expression on his face. "Hehe, you kept us waiting for quite a while kid. Had I known you were going to be inside for five hours I would have split my men into shifts."

Vahn gave a helpless shrug before politely bowing and apologizing for the inconvenience. Given the current time, he had been napping for nearly an hour and a half which caused the men to have to wait outside even longer. Though he didn't state the reason, he honestly issued his apology and promised to treat the men if the opportunity presented itself in the future.

Zaff laughed and informed his men who gave a loud, albeit tired sounding, hurrah. He then split the group and had some men send a message to their headquarters to arrange for a personnel transfer. Then, noticing Vahn was still in the area, he patted the young boy on the back and sent him on his way. "Make sure not to cause any trouble for the Lady, you hear?"

Vahn nodded before making his way through the darkness towards the inn.After making his way through the entrance, Vahn almost felt his soul leave his body when he saw the face of Lili who had apparently been waiting for him. From her expression and aura, he could tell she was very angry with a bit of concern mixed in. Without saying anything, she stood from the chair she was sitting in and came very close to his body...and began sniffing.

"You told me you had business with the Hephaestus Familia, but now you come home with a woman's scent on your body." Lili sighed after recognizing the presence of the foreign aroma. Judging by how prominent it was, he was likely in contact with a girl for several hours.

Vahn noticed she was disappointed, probably assuming he had lied as an excuse to have a rendezvous with a woman without her knowing. He sighed and shook his head before explaining the situation.

"I was with a woman, but it wasn't anything I need to keep secret. I was meeting with Hephaestus herself and we were talking about my future living arrangements. Various other things happened, but it wasn't like what you're expecting..." Vahn's words began to trail at the end after remembering the incident with Hephaestus's Divinity.

Lili saw the change of expression and almost flared up, but just gave an exasperated sigh instead. She remembered that she was making an effort to overcome her selfish tendencies, but found it hard to contain herself when it came to Vahn. After calming herself down, she asked about what had been arranged.

Vahn explained the details and that he would be staying with the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia to train his blacksmithing and combat capabilities. He also discussed the plans for Lili's future training and that she should continue her morning routine for tomorrow until he was able to discuss things with Tsubaki. As long as Tsubaki agreed, he wanted Lili to train there as well. As for their afternoon ventures into the dungeon, Vahn was determined to keep doing so. Even if Tsubaki refused to train Lili he would be able to impart what he had learned to her in the dungeon later in the day.

Lili recognized the name Tsubaki, as she was quite famous within the City. Though she had never seen her, there were plenty of rumors in regards to her skill as both a blacksmith and adventurer. She knew it was a good opportunity for Vahn, and it made her happy hearing that he had taken her into consideration when talking about the future. She decided to forgive him for arriving so late but resolved to find out his exact relationship with Hephaestus in the future. Lili didn't have a lot of confidence she could compete with a goddess...

After their discussion, Lili showed him where she had placed all of the weapons that had been delivered in the afternoon. Vahn stored away all but the hammer since Lili intended to use it for her training in the morning.

The two then made their way to their rooms and Vahn gave Lili a hug as he had been doing so ever since the first instance. At this point, it had become a routine that concluded the end of their day, but Vahn felt strange compared to all the previous times. Unlike when he was being hugged by Hephaestus, Vahn didn't feel much security in the embrace. It felt like he was holding onto something fragile and it stirred his feelings of wanting to protect the small girl in his arms.

After they parted ways, Vahn began pondering the difference between the two embraces within his mind. He wondered if Lili felt the same way he did when he was being embraced by Hephaestus. If so, he could empathize with her desire to be held. He had felt so comfortable being held by Hephaestus that he even fell asleep while enjoying her warmth.

Laying in his bed, Vahn roused the memories from that moment and replayed the scene within his mind. During his absentminded state he could feel the 'eternal flame' pulsing in his chest. It seemed to be comforting him in a very similar manner as Hephaestus. He quietly listened to the gentle rhythm and slowly embraced the coming sleep filled with a comforting warmth.

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Chapter 53 - Cyclops : Harsh Lesson

Vahn awoke early the next morning and accompanied Lili to the City gates. He still had time before his meetup with Hephaestus, so he decided to enjoy the sunrise with Lili before she started her training. Lili was very pleased with the decision and spent the entire breakfast period humming away while happily eating the crepe Vahn had taken from his storage. (A/N: Seriously guys, I had some amazing seafood crepes and I can't help but write about them!)

After reminding her to take her training seriously, Vahn parted ways after Lili exited through the gate. Though he still had plenty of time, Vahn headed towards Hephaestus's workshop. On his way, he could feel the 'eternal flame' in his chest pulsate in a slightly more powerful manner. He enjoyed the feeling as he slowly made his way through the early morning traffic toward his destination.Vahn arrived outside the workshop nearly two hours before the designated time. The shop was currently closed, so he loitered around the area and just watched as residents of the City went about their day. He often found himself surprised at the sheer number of people in this world, and the variety of shapes and sizes they came in.

As the people made their way without taking notice of his observations, Vahn found himself wondering what each of their stories were. Unlike the manga that only showed a limited number of characters, he now saw hundreds of unique people that all had their own stories. Each of them had a past that shaped their current life, desires that determined their current state of mind, and goals that helped pave the way towards their future.

Though it had only been around eight months since he entered this world, and barely three weeks since he entered the City, Vahn found his current life to be infinitely more enriching than the entire 14 years of his previous life. He wondered how his future actions would shape his experiences even further into the future, and even began to imagine if he would ever interact with some of the people who moved about completely unaware of his current thoughts.With more than an hour still remaining, Vahn's reverie was interrupted by the sound of the door opening from behind. He saw Hephaestus giving him a bemused look with an awkward smile on her face. Though he was still a little absentminded, Vahn instinctually spoke the words that came to his lips. "Good morning, Hephaestus."Hephaestus had been observing Vahn crowd-watching almost since his arrival. When he had been making his way towards her workshop, she was able to vaguely sense his approach. Over time the feeling grew more powerful until she felt he was very near.

From inside the workshop, Hephaestus had been waiting on the other side of the door for Vahn to knock, but after nothing had happened for several minutes she decided to peek through the window to see what he was up to. She saw that he was staring into the crowd in a daze while watching people pass by. In his expression, she could see feelings of melancholy, hope, and even expectation. Afraid of interrupting his thoughts, she just idly watched him for nearly an hour before breaking out of her own reverie and deciding to invite him inside.

When she heard him greet her, the awkward feelings she had been experiencing immediately faded away. She returned a gentle smile and reciprocated his greeting. "Good morning Vahn. Come inside, I'll pour you a drink before we head out." Vahn nodded in response and entered through the door at her invitation.

They sat at a table where Hephaestus would often negotiate with her customers. There was a kettle for tea and coffee nearby, and Hephaestus filled two cups before passing one to Vahn. Vahn accepted the cup and deeply inhaled the rich fragrance, still not fully free from his earlier state of mind. He felt at peace and wanted the experience to last for as long as the circ.u.mstances would allow.

Hephaestus was aware of his present state and allowed him to enjoy the coffee in silence. She just sat at his side with a relaxed expression of her own while periodically sipping at the contents of her cup. She very much enjoyed the current atmosphere, and the steady beating of Vahn's heart within her soul brought her a rare peace of mind. It had been longer than she could remember since she was able to simply enjoy the process of 'existing' without worry.Unfortunately, all things must come to an end, and time ceases for no man, woman, or god. The moment for their departure had arrived, and the two released simultaneous sighs and smiled after the realization they had similar reactions as each other.

Hephaestus cleaned away the cups before leading Vahn outside the workshop and locking the door behind her. He noticed that, once she had secured the lock, a formation had activated that prevented anyone from approaching the building. Seeing the curious look on his face, Hephaestus explained it was to prevent anyone from trying to steal her crafts while she was away. She also let him in on a secret and told him that the surrounding buildings were all a front for her security service. Even if there was nobody inside, there were always people watching the workshop.The two made their way through the City and Hephaestus pointed out landmarks and buildings she was familiar with. As she had been in Orario for several years, she had an extensive knowledge of the important landmarks and noteworthy features and sights. Vahn enjoyed the conversation and even contributed a bit of his own while updating the minimap according to her descriptions.

After two hours they arrived at their destination. They were now in the north-east section of the City, in a largely residential district belonging entirely to the Hephaestus Familia. Since Hephaestus had an agreement with the Guild, all members of the Familia were allocated their own workshop and living space. Though many opened shops within Babel, there were a number of veteran smiths that operated solely from within their homes.

The building they presently stood before was the only 'eastern' style house in the area. Vahn found the appearance pleasing as he had only seen such structures in anime and manga previously. He was excited to be able to explore its interior and even live within the premises starting from today onwards.

They made their way through the courtyard and entered the front of the building through a door that had been left ajar. After Vahn stepped inside, he came face-to-face for the first time with the woman that would torment him endlessly in the future, Tsubaki Collbrande. She was presently sitting on the floor while polishing a deadly looking katana. From what Vahn could see, the only clothing on her body was a red hakama hanging somewhat loosely around her waist, and a sarashi wrapped around the largest pair of b.r.e.a.s.ts he had ever set his eyes on. She also wore an eyepatch on her left eye, the inverse of Hephaestus's who covered her right.

Noticing the presence of the two intruders, Tsubaki glared towards them with a fearsome gaze until she recognized who had entered. Her expression immediately morphed into a more pleasant look, and she sheathed the katana before standing to greet them.

"Welcome to my humble workshop Hephaestus-sama. My apologies that you have to come all the way here. And you...must be Vahn?" As she asked the question, she quickly approached the unsuspecting Vahn.

In his surprise, Vahn subconsciously took a step back but it was futile. Tsubaki had managed to approach him within an instant and stopped just inches away from his face. As she was much taller than Vahn at 170cm, she had to bend over to make eye contact. In doing so, Vahn could see her b.r.e.a.s.ts beneath her body sway.

Vahn tried relieving some of the awkward tension. "Good morning Ms. Collbrande. Hephaestus told me you would be teaching me about blacksmithing and combat techniques." As he spoke, Tsubaki continued to stare at him as a smile grew increasingly larger on her face.

"Ehhh, I can see why Hephaestus-sama rambles on about you, you're quite the adorable little kid. Do you mind if I hug you?" Vahn was stunned and tried to respond, but before he could answer she hugged him regardless of his intent. The last thing he saw before he lost sight was the looming approach of the monstrous peaks crashing down on his face.

Hephaestus watched with an irked expression as Tsubaki buried Vahn within her chest. She wanted to lash out but had to restrain herself so she didn't lose any face in front of Vahn. "Tsubaki, I think that is more than enough. If you continue any longer he might suffocate to death." She spoke each word in an exasperated manner. Even though Tsubaki was trustworthy and respectful, she also had a wild and untamed nature that even Hephaestus found difficult at times.Tsubaki released Vahn and he began gasping for air. The combination of her raw strength hugging his head into her chest had completely prevented him from breathing. Even though he struggled for a bit at first, there was such a large difference in their strength that Vahn was powerless to resist. The only thing he could do was resign himself to his fate until Hephaestus had thrown him a lifeline.

Afterward, she showed him to his room before moving into a side room and having a discussion with Hephaestus. Vahn assumed it likely had to do with his circ.u.mstances, but he wasn't worried as he had a lot of trust in Hephaestus. Tsubaki herself also had an aura that showed she was trustworthy when Vahn included the fact that she had values of 66 and 73 for affection and intrigue after their brief meeting.

Vahn sat in the room and patiently waited for the conversation to end. After about half an hour, both Hephaestus and Tsubaki exited before the latter dragged him to a large open area in the courtyard. At a glance, Vahn was able to easily recognize this was an area for training. There were mannequins and bamboo pillars lined up throughout the area and even some strange contraptions that likely assisted in the development of martial arts. On the side, Vahn could see various different weapons that seemed to get increasingly heavier when viewed from left to right.

Tsubaki opened a distance between Vahn who was looking around. Though he wasn't fearful, he immediately became alert since Hephaestus was standing off to the side. This left him in a position away from the two women, and he began to feel his muscles slowly begin to tense in response to his instincts.

"Oh? You have pretty good instincts. I was going to try and attack you while you were goofing around, but this makes things more interesting." The moment her words ended, Tsubaki literally vanished from Vahn's vision. He instinctively activated his [Will of the Emperor] but, in the several milliseconds it took for the skill to reach its full effect, Vahn was already tumbling through the sky.

His vision changed multiple times between the sky and earth before he finally crashed hard into the dirt clearing. As Tsubaki often used this grounds for training, the grounds had become compacted over time. This made what would have usually been a soft fall incredibly painful for Vahn who had just crashed into it.

"Haha, aren't you way too weak? Hephaestus-sama said you had the blood of gods inside you, but even with that skill that makes even me feel pressured, you weren't able to respond to my movements. What's the point of having a skill if you can't make use of it when you're in danger?"

Vahn slowly raised his body from the ground. His [Will of the Emperor] was fully active, and he got into a combat stance he learned from the CQC manual. He knew the moment he stood up she would probably attack, and he wanted to at least be able to react this time.

"Oh, good resolve. Very good! I like that expression on your face right now! But-" Tsubaki who had been nodding in approval vanished once again. Even though she had been in the range of his domain, Vahn was still unable to sense her at all.

After less time than it takes to blink, Vahn felt a presence from his right and tried to react, only to experience a powerful blow sweep his legs out from under him from the direction he just turned away from. For the second time in less than a minute, Vahn ended up experiencing the life of a coin that had been flipped effortlessly through the air.

When he landed, Vahn felt the wind escape his lungs as a shockwave of pain spread through his body. He struggled for air while Tsubaki stood at the same spot where she initiated her two previous attacks.

"Don't rest for too long Vahn, we still have a lot to cover before concluding our warmup."

Vahn, who had finally begun to recover his breathing, once again started struggling for air after hearing the ruthless but happy sounding words. For the first time since he arrived in this world, he began to regret the path he walked...

(A/N: Alternate Title: Cyclops of the Twin Peaks)

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Chapter 54 - Self-Awareness

No matter how many times Vahn recovered, he was never able to track Tsubaki's movements. As the spar progressed his [Will of the Emperor] was constantly being pushed to new heights, but even with the increased parameters and perception each of her movements was instantaneous and a blur. Even when he thought he could react, the direction of the attack would suddenly change before he was able to adapt. This continued for nearly half an hour, and during that time Vahn had grown intimately familiar with the ground.

"Even though you're so small and cute, you're actually quite tough aren't you? I'm surprised you're able to get up after being knocked down a few dozen times. Nice guts!" Tsubaki was laughing loudly with both arms akimbo.

Vahn slowly stood up from the ground yet again. "57..." He spoke the words silently, but Tsubaki was able to hear him. "Eh, what was that kid? Speak up, go ahead and shout if you want!" Vahn grits his teeth and assumed his stance. "You have thrown me 57 times..."

Hearing his words clearly, Tsubaki nodded her head and laughed out loud. "Hahaha, that's right! I was trying to be nice and make the number sound smaller. Who would have thought you were keeping count. Come, Vahn! How about you try to attack me and have your revenge?"

Vahn stared at her and weighed his options. He was trying to find the best way to attack, but everywhere he looked his instincts seemed to scream against taking action. The laid-back appearance of Tsubaki standing before him looked as if it was full of flaws, but every gap, every avenue of approach was entirely invalidated by the status and skill difference.

"Why stand if you're going to hesitate? It's good to be cautious of your opponent, but you'll never make progress if you don't move. If you can't find an opening, MAKE ONE! Now come at me, Vahn!"

She stepped forward and motioned Vahn to attack while gesturing with her hand.

Vahn used the moment when she took the step to charge at her. He tried keeping his body low to the ground and aim for her abdomen with a palm strike. From above, he could sense the presence of a shadow which pressed into the back of his head and caused him to faceplant into the ground. Tsubaki used the momentum of his charge to knock him off balance before sitting on his back and laughing.

"Nice momentum! But overcommitting to an attack leaves you open to your opponent's counterattack. You'll have to do better than that if you want to put your hands on me~" Her words weighed heavily in Vahn's mind, as he had previously said something very similar in his spars with Lili. He began to realize he had been grossly overestimating his own capabilities since he made the same mistakes against stronger opponents.

He laid on the ground in contemplation until Tsubaki pinched the side of his waist. Vahn flinched up and tried to buck her off of his back and escape the pressing of her ass against his body. "Haha, what are you spacing out for Vahn? See, aren't you still quite lively? Come on, you can knock me off! Fight, Vahn, Fight~!"

From the side, Hephaestus was presently facepalming. She knew Tsubaki had a habit of teasing people, but she seemed to be uncommonly interested in Vahn. After their conversation about Vahn's lineage, she noticed that Tsubaki became very interested in the prospect of helping him polish his skills. Unfortunately, Vahn would have to suffer quite a bit before he was able to make any real progress.

"Tsubaki, make sure you're not too harsh on him. I have other matters to attend. Make sure to let me know if anything happens that you're unable to deal with on your own." Hephaestus had already made a lot of time to accompany Vahn, but being one of the most prolific and sought-after blacksmiths in the City kept her busy most of the time.

Tsubaki heard her remark and just waved goodbye as she continued pinning the still struggling Vahn.Several minutes later, Vahn had ceased his struggles. No matter how much he tried, it was almost like Tsubaki was able to anticipate his movements and maintain her balance. As soon as he thought he might regain his freedom, he would be firmly planted back into the ground. Now, he just lay on the ground as Tsubaki's weight pressed against his back. In the stillness, he noted that the sensation of her body was both firm and soft, which created a contradiction in his mind that confused him.

While he lay there, Tsubaki once again pinched his waist, but Vahn just flinched and bore the pain. Seeing that he had ceased playing along, Tsubaki finally got up from his body. "You lasted a lot longer than I expected. I can see you trained yourself seriously and you even possess a fair amount of theoretical knowledge and skill. The biggest problem is the fact your foundation is severely lacking. Tell me, have you ever fought a human opponent before?"

Vahn recalled that he had never really used his skill to fight against opponents that were his equal or stronger. Though he had 'fought' humans before, they were much weaker than him and it was a one-sided slaughter due to his enraged state. "I have, but they weren't skilled. I also spar with another person daily, but it's mostly me teaching her some basics."

Tsubaki nodded after hearing his explanation. It seemed she expected something similar since Vahn seemed to overestimate himself and possessed a bit of confidence common in young boys. "Well, from now on I'll be helping you improve. Knowledge is a powerful tool, but when it comes to real battle you can only rely on experience to protect yourself and guarantee victory. Come, stand, it's time for our real lessons to begin."

Tsubaki helped Vahn rise from the ground and burst out laughing after seeing his disheveled state. "Brown doesn't suit you Vahn. You need to get stronger quickly or you'll get teased by women." Vahn looked at his mostly dirt covered body and gave a helpless sigh.For the next few hours, Tsubaki had Vahn demonstrate all of his combat related skills and abilities. She also tested the efficacy of his domain to get a better understanding of its functionality. Seeing the enhancements it provided, Tsubaki was actually very surprised at the power of the domain. At present, she expected Vahn would be a match for anyone under the peak of Level 2. Of course, she also knew that the skill wouldn't provide him many benefits against specialized or significantly stronger enemies.

"That pseudo-divine state of your's is pretty terrifying. It allows you to fight nearly an entire class above your current Level. However, it has some pretty big flaws that will end up costing you your life if you don't correct them." Vahn was currently using his [Will of the Emperor] and the area of influence had expanded to nearly 60m. Though Tsubaki couldn't 'see' it, she was able to sense it's presence.

Tsubaki approached and stopped a short distance away from Vahn. "The biggest problem is actually the size of the area. Though it enhances your perception and allows you to track things within the sphere of influence-" While she spoke Tsubaki suddenly sent a palm towards Vahn's face. The moment she got close to him, Vahn was already on alert so he moved to block the strike. Tsubaki altered the trajectory of her palm and gently placed it against his chest without any power.

"You are too reliant on the perception afforded by the skill. Though you're able to respond in time to attacks, you trust your initial senses too much and are unable to respond to feints. For opponents that are much faster or stronger than you, they can use your preliminary response to create gaps in your defense. You need to hone your own senses without relying on the skill or else you won't even know how you died in the future."

She opened up the distance a bit and allowed Vahn to process her words. Once he appeared to be ready, she continued. "I know you can alter the size and focus of your domain, so I want you to decrease it to a size where you can immediately respond. It shouldn't be much larger than the range of your instantaneous striking distance."

Vahn followed her instructions and reduced the size of the domain while compressing it slightly. The smallest size he could get it to was 3m, similar to when he was forging with the 'eternal flame'. Tsubaki seemed to be very impressed with the domains current state. Though it was still somewhat abstract, she was able to vaguely see the outline of the domain around his body.

"Three meters is a pretty decent size, but you shouldn't give up on trying to improve it further. You'll also need to work on reducing the visibility of the aura or people will be able to easily adapt to your range." The moment her words finished, Tsubaki vanished from his vision and Vahn drew in a cold breath. This was the same phenomenon that had led him to eat dirt 57 times previously.

From the left, just outside his periphery, Vahn sensed an incoming blow and moved to intercept. Unlike all his previous attempts, he was actually able to, very briefly, brush against the incoming strike. However, before he had time to be happy his vision began to flip and he was reunited with the ground for the 58th, no, the 59th time...

Tsubaki dusted off her hands since they had gotten a bit of dirt on them while throwing Vahn. "As expected, with the reduced size of the domain you're able to work around your shortcomings a bit. Since you don't respond as quickly to the incoming strikes, it makes your defense more solid since your opponent has less time to change the trajectory of their blows. This should be the most practical use of your ability until you improve your techniques and senses."

Vahn just lay on the ground recovering, but he was still a bit happy to make a little bit of progress. "Stand up, Vahn, I want to see if it was just a fluke. Come on, at this rate, we might even be able to get to one-hundred tosses before lunch!" Tsubaki was in high spirits, but Vahn was lamenting his misfortune once again. Though he was thankful she was helping him improve, he still wanted to get revenge of some kind during one of the exchanges.Vahn continued getting tossed around like a ragdoll by the cheerfully laughing busty blacksmith. At this point, she was loudly shouting each successive throw and the number had reached 98. She seemed determined to reach 100 before concluding the training, a fact Vahn felt very disheartening. For the last few throws, he hardly resisted and just allowed her to freely toss his body. His focus was on trying to rebound from the impact, since no matter how hard he struggled he was unable to deflect the incoming strike.

After the 99th throw, Tsubaki was literally cheering with excitement. "Hahaha, only one more throw remaining. Come on Vahn, you can do it! Don't give up right at the end!" She was enthusiastically encouraging him to stand. From her uncovered eye, Vahn could see a happy and expectant gleam within its depths.

He grits his teeth and literally made his last stand. The reason he had been compliant for the last few throws was to make her drop her guard and conserve his strength. Though Vahn didn't believe he would be able to get the better of Tsubaki, he was determined to make one last-ditch effort. Seeing him stand, Tsubaki loudly shouted, "Haha, well done Vahn! I knew you had the backbone! Here~I~Come!

Vahn brought his focus to the absolute limits as Tsubaki's form disappeared from his sight. He could sense her approach from behind, and he directed all of his intent in the most concentrated burst he could manage directly towards the approaching figure. He then twisted around as quickly as he was able and tried intercepting the blow with a palm strike only for his brain to register an incredibly soft and pliant resistance instead of an impact.

The two stood there and blankly stared at the hand Vahn had used to 'counterattack'. Firmly planted within the palm of his right hand existed Tsubaki's left b.r.e.a.s.t. Due to the size, his hand had visibly sunk into the pliable flesh leaving an indentation against the sarashi. Vahn began to feel a cold sweat drip down his back as he looked into the gleaming eye of the woman before him.

After a brief pause, Tsubaki began beaming at Vahn who was accidentally taking liberties with her body. In response, Vahn removed his hand and tried to apologize, but Tsubaki prevented him from doing so by hugging his head into her chest similar to their first meeting. She began to loudly laugh while smothering him. "Hahaha, you cheeky little kid. Is this your idea of revenge?"

Laughter echoed in his ears as Vahn slowly lost consciousness due to asphyxiation.

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Chapter 55 - 2 - 99

Vahn awoke due to a peculiar aroma wafting into the room where Tsubaki had laid him to rest. (A/N: Unintentional pun?). Though it didn't smell bad, there was a strange burning smell accompanying the smell of food. He made his way out of his room and headed towards the source of the aroma.

He entered a kitchen-like area where Tsubaki was currently using a wok to fry rice. She noticed his presence and gave him a cheeky grin while continuing to add seasoning to the dish. "Oh, you're awake so soon kiddo? Dreamt about me?"

Vahn shuddered and almost retorted that, instead of a dream, it would have been a nightmare given how much she had tormented him earlier. "I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to touch your chest..." Tsubaki lowered the flame and added a bit of soy sauce before turning towards Vahn.

"Boo, boo, what kind of attitude is that for a man? You should be more assertive even if you make a mistake or women will take advantage of you. What would you do if I was unwilling to forgive you, huh?" As she spoke she walked towards Vahn and hugged her b.r.e.a.s.ts with her arms, lifting them up to make them stand out more.

Vahn turned his head away, unsure of how to answer the question. If she didn't forgive him, what could he do besides continue apologizing? Could he leave the Familia or run away and avoid making the situation worse? His thoughts were interrupted when Tsubaki chopped the top of his head.

"Such a kid. You'll break a girls heart acting like that someday. You think I care if someone stares at my chest when I walk around wearing a sarashi? Look all you want, hell, you can even try touching them if you're brave enough. Of course, I might have to punish you if you do! Tsubaki laughed at Vahn who was rubbing his head with damp eyes. The chop of a Level 5 Adventurer isn't light.

Tsubaki returned to preparing lunch after harumphing towards the unassertive Vahn. Though she liked cute and adorable things, she preferred men to have a more stable and forward mentality. Even if he apologized, he should still be happy or proud of his ability to not only catch her off guard but even take advantage of the situation to gain some minor benefits. Instead, all she saw was a genuine apologetic expression like he didn't even consider the act as something significant.

As someone who always lived openly and took pride in herself, Tsubaki was mildly annoyed by Vahn's actions. She decided to make sure he became more manly during their training, or else Hephaestus would end up being at her wits end in the future. Seeing how Hephaestus had lost herself during their conversation earlier, Tsubaki was certain she had more than a simple appreciation for Vahn and his origins.The two sat around a short table and Tsubaki served him a large portion of fried rice. Though it had a 'peculiar' smell, Vahn found it kind of enticing. Within the bowl, he could see eggs and small vegetables throughout the crispy grains. After tasting it, he began to quickly eat before asking for another serving.

"Well done, at least you know how to eat!" Tsubaki gave him another healthy serving. "Make sure you eat a lot so you can grow big and strong in the future. Eating is a sign of good health and a strong body after all." Finishing her words, Tsubaki started eating her own 'healthy' portion of rice. Similar to Vahn, she was completely unrestrained during the act which should have been off-putting, but Vahn found it very refreshing.

He found her eating methods very 'like' her, and couldn't even imagine her seated in a restrained manner like all the other women he had seen eating. Vahn smiled and continued his own meal in a similarly unrestrained manner, which Tsubaki saw as a sign of a challenge. The two continued eating in a competitive manner until the family sized portion of rice had vanished.The two laid on their backs from their seats around the table. Since they had both gotten really into the 'competition' they ended up eating much more than either of them would normally eat. Tsubaki suddenly started laughing from the opposite side of the table.

"Though you got a bit of a head start, looks like this one was your victory. I guess that makes us 2 - 99! Keep it up and you might be able to close the gap sooner or later." She continued laughing and Vahn just closed his eyes while enjoying the afterglow of the delicious meal. He began thinking that living here wouldn't be so bad.After the meal, Vahn was preparing to leave for the dungeon. He had already informed Tsubaki about his training and partnership with Lili. He explained a bit about her circ.u.mstances and that he was helping improve her strength so she could control her own destiny. Tsubaki, after hearing Vahn ask if he could bring her to train with him in the future, willingly allowed him to do so.

"Sure. I want to see the girl that Little Vahn took it upon himself to protect. I wonder what kind of child she is to make you spend so much effort for her? Hehehe, I'm sure Hephaestus would like to know as well." Tsubaki heavily patted his back repeatedly while laughing at the thought. Vahn, on the receiving end of the heavy blows, began to feel like his spine was cracking under the pressure.

"Oh, speaking of which, I wonder how she'll react when she finds out you touched my b.r.e.a.s.ts! Hehe, I wonder if she will be jealous?" Hearing her words, Vahn began to feel an impending doom creep up on him. His heartbeat began to accelerate and he could feel a strange sensation present in its depths.On the other side of the City, Hephaestus was heavily slamming her hammer into a piece of metal. Each strike would send sparks flying from the superheated metal, and she was a bit annoyed at seeing her relative lack of control. She wasn't sure why, but ever since earlier she began to feel an itchy sensation in her chest that caused her moderate discomfort. She decided to take a break and wiped her brow clean of sweat.

After enjoying a cool drink of water, Hephaestus noticed that her heart rate was increasing. In confusion, she started paying attention only to realize it was not her heart but the connection she shared with Vahn. The gentle rhythm that brought her comfort previously was now chaotic and she could feel subtle feelings of unease and guilt disrupting the steady pulse. She looked towards the direction of Tsubaki's workshop and displayed a frown.

"Why do I feel like I need to punish them both..."After leaving Tsubaki's workshop, Vahn made his way to Babel Plaza where he met up with Lili who was already waiting for him. Though he still had her backpack in his storage, she was really easy to find as her small frame stood out in contrast to the giant hammer resting against her shoulder.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Lili. I got held back after training and lunch." Vahn smiled and approached her, but started slowing his pace after seeing her expression. Like she had done so previously, Lili got near him and began smelling his body.

"Vahn, why is it that every time we're apart you come back smelling like a different woman. Even if you were sparring with someone, you wouldn't absorb so much of their fragrance!" She was moving around his body and smelling various different locations. Her frown became especially deep when she smelled the subtle scent coming from the small of his back. Instead of the typical body odor, it smelled like a real 'womanly' scent.

She couldn't help but ask the question that came to her mind. "Vahn, did you let someone ride you?" The look on her face was very serious, and she stared directly into his eyes almost daring him to lie.

Hearing the awkward question, Vahn released a long sigh after recalling his period of suffering. He knew her nose was very sensitive in her cat person form, and she seemed especially sensitive to his smell making it hard to hide the truth. He nodded before saying, "Yeah, Tsubaki had pinned me to the ground after I tried to attack her. She prevented me from escaping for nearly half an hour before I ran out of strength."

Lili listened to Vahn's explanation, and even though she knew he wasn't speaking in a s.e.x.u.a.l context, she almost wanted to smack him for using such misleading words! She lamented at how dense he could be at times and decided she needed to put in more effort so he doesn't cause any troubles in the future.

After his 'slip', Vahn continued explaining everything that had happened that morning as the two made their way into the dungeon. Lili, who had still been angry since earlier, instantly became excited after hearing Vahn mention she would be able to stay at Tsubaki's workshop in the future. This not only allowed her to improve the quality of her training, but she would also be able to keep tabs on Vahn so he doesn't end up getting played to death by that Cyclops.Vahn was very mentally exhausted from the events of the day, so they leisurely made their way through the dungeon at a slower pace than normal. This didn't mean he dropped his focus, as he was still using [Will of the Emperor, but he found fighting the monsters dissatisfying. After experiencing the might of a peak Level 5 Adventurer, every movement of the monsters seemed basic in comparison. There was no sense of pressure like the helplessness he had experienced earlier.

Instead of their daily sparring, Vahn decided it was best if they left the dungeon early to make arrangements for Lili to move in with Tsubaki. He also needed to coax the young Tina who would probably throw a fit after finding out he was leaving. So far he had been able to avoid directly telling her, but he felt obligated to do so lest she blame him for disappearing in the future.

After leaving the dungeon, they made their way towards the inn when Vahn suddenly stopped. He could feel a penetrating gaze, almost like someone was looking directly through him. Turning towards the direction of the gaze, he looked towards Babel Tower that loomed in the distance. The gaze seemed to intensify and it caused Vahn's internal energy to shudder before he felt the penetrative force disappear entirely.

Lili had noticed his change and looked towards the tower as well. "What's wrong, Vahn? Did you see something?" She was concerned and her voice was quiet. Even though she had seen him struggle, she had never seen Vahn act afraid.

Vahn continued to stare towards the direction of the gaze for a few seconds before shaking his head. "It's fine Lili. I just thought I felt someone looking at me and tried finding the source. It might have even been my imagination, so don't let it bother you." He lightly patted her head but noticed that his hand was shaking slightly while doing so.

Lili placed both of her hands above the one he was using to pat her. It was damp and cold, unlike the warmth she had grown accustomed too. She knew he was lying, but knew that she wouldn't be able to help even if it was something that terrified even him. Gritting her teeth, Lili slowly nodded her head. "Okay Vahn, if you say so then it must be true."

Vahn was thankful for her consideration and believed it was a sign that she was slowly growing. He kept patting her head for a few more moments before leading the way towards the inn. But, the entire time they were walking he kept his focus on the tower at his back. He knew, sometime in the near future, trouble would come looking for him.

(A/N: Alternate Title: Premonition)

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Chapter 56 - *Spoiler: Title at End*

Vahn and Lili continued towards the inn with low spirits. Lili was very concerned for Vahn, while he was still focusing his attention towards the dangerous feeling that had penetrated through him. He needed to get stronger, and it seemed as if he was running out of time.

On the route, Vahn also diverted some of his attention towards his stats and resources. Luckily, he had managed to obtain a decent amount of OP for completing the heart's desire quest with the 'eternal flame'. His pool of OP had been running low as of late due to his interactions with Lili and other expenses.

He needed to do his best to earn points to prepare for the worst-case scenario where he and the people he wants to protect are endangered. He started to compile a list of potential life-saving items and resources he could use in conjunction with his skills to protect himself and others. One of the items he desperately wanted to purchase was another [Effigy of the Hero, but they were priced at 100,000 OP each.

After another twenty minutes, they arrived at the inn. Yesterday was Vahn's final day, and as he expected Tina was waiting in the dining area for their arrival. Seeing the two enter with in low spirits, she took a deep breath like she wanted to cry, but managed to swallow her emotions and approach them. She thought they were both feeling down because they were leaving the inn today.

"Are you leaving?" The young girl gave a cursory glance at Lili before staring into Vahn's face. She saw the boy nod his head, and even though she was trying her best to hold back her emotions, she couldn't help but feel her eyes water.

Vahn, perhaps out of habit due to his interactions with Lili, reached out his hand and started gently patting her head. He continued to console the girl until she was able to calm herself. She then moved away from his hand with a blush and gave him a 'mean' look. "My mom says that if a guy ever touches my ears, he has to take responsibility or he isn't a man...so you can't forget~nya!"

Though he felt helpless about the situation, he just nodded away and said he'd do his best. Hearing his response, she gave a happy nod before scampering away. From the side, Lili whispered into his ear, "How many times have you touched my ears Vahn? Does that mean you're going to take responsibility, hmmm~?" Vahn began to sweat while thinking it may be best to interact with fewer women in the future.After they collected all of Lili's belongings, they made their way downstairs and were intercepted by both Milan and Tina. Milan was holding a long wooden container loosely wrapped with a ribbon, while Tina held a large embroidered cloth which held various baked goods. Milan had a gentle smile on her face, but Vahn could see a hint of melancholy in her eyes as she cradled the container in her arms.

"I wanted you to have this Vahn..." She handed him the container somewhat reluctantly, and Vahn received it in a reverential manner. He understood it was likely very important to her, and just holding it began to make him feel nervous. Looking towards Milan, he saw her give a gentle nod so he opened the container. Inside he saw a stylish bluish-blake straightsword with the motiff of a golden lion creating a flame-like pattern along the blade.

"It's made of mithril, and is a memento of my late husband. I hope that it is able to protect you from harm so you don't leave painful memories for those you leave behind. Always remember to return to them, and if things get difficult you'll never be turned away from our doors." Each word she spoke directly impacted Vahn's heart. He took the blade from the container and noticed that it was much heavier than he expected...

Tina, who had been standing with her head down hugging the cloth in her arms, walked forward after her mothers urging. Vahn looked towards the girl and saw that her ears were folded down on her head as she refused to look direclty at him. He felt very bad for the girl and slowly reached out his hand...and paused after remembering her earlier words.

Tina looked up slightly after feeling the presence and saw the outstretched hand a few inches away from her head. Without waiting for Vahn to make up his mind, she nuzzled against the hand on her own. Vahn was surprised at her sudden action, but chose not to pull his hand away. He made eye contact with Milan who was behind her daughter and she gave him a mischevious grin that made his heart tickle.After exchanging a few more words and leaving his contact info with the mother-daughter duo, Vahn lead the way out of the inn. He noticed that the cold night air created a chill that caused his body to feel slightly numb. From behind, the yet to close door of the inn seemed to contain an infinite warmth that he was reluctant to part with.

He looked back and saw Milan lightly comforting Tina who was hugging her waist and stiffling tears.

As if noticing his gaze, Milan looked towards him and gave an awkward smile before shooing him away with her free hand. Vahn nodded slowly, and turned away with his hand raised. Lili, who had been watching the situation from start to finish continued to stay behind for a few moments before speaking to the crying Tina.

"If you want to be able to follow him, you'll need to become a lot stronger. I'll do my best as well, so make sure you don't fall too far behind..." She said the words in a low voice, but Tina who was still hugging her mother nodded her head in response.

As she turned ot leave, she heard the young girl respond with a sobbing voice,"You have a head start, but I will become stronger than you one day." Turning her head, Lili saw the resolution in Tina's eyes. She nodded and then turned to leave, following the path Vahn had set out through the night.It was nearly 8 PM by the time they arrived outside Tsubaki's courtyard, and the two stepped through the threshold of the door and heard laughter coming from the inside. Hearing the shrill noise, Vahn flinched slightly before hestitating. Lili, who was at his side had a confused expression on her face after seeing him hesitate just outside the door.

After a few seconds, Vahn released a pent-up sigh and slowly opened the door. Inside he could see Tsubaki holding a red-haired boy in a headlock while he struggled to break free of her grasp. The boy seemed to be around his age and had a somewhat lanky build with unkempt wirey hair. He was trying his best to remove Tsubaki's arm from around his neck and seemed to be a few second short of collapsing if his purple face was any indicator.

Tsubaki noticed Vahn and a small girl enter, and she ceased her wild laughter and released the boy she had been tormenting. She plopped up from the ground, leaving her victim struggling for air on the floor. "You're a bit earlier than I expected Vahn! Tell me, is this the little girl that you were talking about earlier?" As she spoke Tsubaki rapidly approached Lili who, in response, tried to hide behind Vahn.

"Good evening Tsubaki...And yes, this is Lili, the girl I told you about earlier." Vahn was beginning to sweat at the fact Lili was hiding behind him. He had a terrible premonition that things weren't going to be as smooth as he expected.

Tsubaki grinned as she continued staring at the hiding Lili. She looked towards Vahn before speaking, "Hahaha, she seems to think you'll be able to protect her Vahn~" Before either of the two could respond, Tsubaki quickly managed to subdue Vahn and planted him squarely on the ground. The panicked Lili tried to react, but before she could utter a word she had been seized by the overbearing Tsubaki.

Tsubaki, for the second time that day, was now sitting on the collapsed Vahn while holding Lili in her arms and rubbing their cheeks together. "Aren't you super cute!? You're like a tiny animal~ It's no wonder Vahn wants to protect you so badly! Hahaha!"

The red-haired boy who had been released earlier looked towards the trio with a sceptical look. He had never seen the two strange children before, and it was strange seeing Tsubaki act so closely with others. Yes, she hade a very forward and open personality, but she wasn't the type that would force herself on people she wasn't familiar with.

Seeing that their play wasn't going to end any time soon, he lost his patience before speaking up. "Hey, Tsubaki, who are these kids? Isn't your place supposed to be closed right now?" Tsubaki seemed to remember his existence as she looked toward him with her uncovered eye. She gave a big grin which caused the boy to sweat buckets.

"This is Vahn Mason and his friend Lili. They're going to be living here from now on and receive training. Vahn, Lili, that red-headed brat over there is Welf Crozzo. Make sure to get along, as the two of you may be rivals in the future!" Tsubaki released Vahn and Lili while introducing everyone. Vahn was annoyed how easily she was able to get the better of him, while Lili was very startled at everything that happened. As they were collecting themselves they heard a loud shout.

"What do you mean they're going to be living here!? Since when do you train people? What makes you think these brats can be my rivals!?" Welf seemed to be annoyed at the idea that Tsubaki, one of the people he swore to overcome, had taken in two brats at disciples. Even though he had known Tsubaki for four years, she never taught him anything personally.

After hearing Tsubaki mention his name, Vahn was able to tell that the aggressive young boy was the same Welf he knew from the manga. He was much shorter than expected, around 163cm, and he seemed a lot less laid back the Welf from his memories. Hearing him call both he and Lili brats when they were around the same age irked him a bit. Before he could say anything, Tsbubaki spoke to Welf.

"Silly brat, what makes you think you're better than other people? Vahn was entrusted to me directly by Hephaestus-sama herself. Why not try complaining to her if you're disatisfied!" Hearing that Vahn was brought here by Hephaestus, Welf was shocked at first, but his shock quickly turned to anger as he glared direclty at Vahn.

He could see that the boy was handsome with tanned skin. Though he looked small, Welf could see he actually had well defined muscles and a strange aura that made the hair on the back of his neck stand. "You, Vahn was it? Whats your relationship with Hephaestus-sama!?" Because of the help she had provided for him, Welf had made Hephaestus his goal. He, like many others, also dreamt of one day crafting a piece of equipment that could impress the aloof goddess and steal her heart.

Vahn didn't like how Welf was treating him in such a hostile manner. He pulled out the hammer Hephaestus had formed for him and pointed it towards the glaring boy. "My relationship with Hephaestus doesn't matter. The only thing you need to know is, you'll never be a rival to me. You aren't even qualified!"

Though he heard Vahn's abrasive words, the only thing Welf was focused on at this moment was the hammer in front of him. He could see that it wasn't something that had been forged by an ordinary blacksmith. The untarnished head and the stylish body were things that could only be made by someone with the abilities of a Master Smith.

The most important thing that caught his eyere were the two marks engraved on the neck of the hammer. The first was a subtly glowing seal used to denote an item had been personally forged by Hephaestus herself. And next to it, against all reasoning, there was a second mark in the shape of two winged snakes coiling around a scale. Items typically only possessed a single maker's mark, that of their creator itself. The fact this hammer had two marks indicated it had not only been forged by Hephaestus, but in conjunction with another blacksmith!

Title: Welf Crozzo

(A/N: Alternate Titles: Raging hot habanero!, Burn, flames of youth!, etc)

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Chapter 57 - Cowardice : Reconciliation

Welf stared at the hammer in Vahn's hand with an incredulous expression on his face. "Where did you get that hammer?" Though he expected the answer, he couldn't help but ask the question to confirm his suspicions.

Vahn could see Welf's aura, which had been a mixture of reds and blues, suddenly turn a mild yellow tinged with green along the edge. With how Welf looked at the hammer gifted to him by Hephaestus, Vahn began to feel annoyance and anger. He felt a possessiveness in Welf's expression like he would try to steal the hammer if he could.

Vahn grimaced before saying, "I see no reason to tell you. Worry about your own equipment before you start eyeing that of other's." His words seemed to awaken Welf, who quickly made his way towards Vahn.

The two glared at each other, separated by only a few feet. Welf looked down at Vahn and, with an ordering tone, asked, "You're saying that hammer belongs to you? Then explain the maker's marks. Why do you possess an item forged by Hephaestus, and who does the other symbol belong to!?"

Vahn was confused by the question as he had never paid much attention to the markings on the hammer. He knew blacksmiths often marked the items they made for recognition, but he hadn't realized Hephaestus had left the same mark as his sword on his hammer. He noticed the neck of the hammer had both marks side-by-side, and he somewhat understood why Welf was angry. But, he still didn't like how Welf, who was weaker than him, was trying to intimidate him.

Vahn squinted his eyes and simply stated, "That's my business. Who are you to ask?" Welf grit his teeth and balled his hands into fists. He stepped forward to grab Vahn by the collar as Vahn prepared to break his wrists for the attempt. Moments before Vahn grasped the soon to be broken wrist, they were both knocked to the ground by a fist from above.

"Nice passion, but no violence in my workshop! If you want to fight, do it in a more productive manner." Tsubaki was standing over Vahn and Welf who were both twitching on the ground with giant lumps on their heads. For the first time since their meeting, they both had the same thought going through their mind: (You're the violent one!)Four people now sat around a low table drinking tea. They were Tsubaki, Vahn, Welf, and Lili, and the atmosphere was tense due to the earlier conflict. On Vahn and Welf's head, there was still the evidence of a lump which made the tense atmosphere seem almost comical. Tsubaki, noticing this, began laughing out loud while they each gave her a sidewards glance.

After some time had passed, Tsubaki was finally able to stop laughing. She smiled after seeing how the tense atmosphere had subsided quite a bit. "Okay, I'm going to explain a few things since the two of you don't seem to be able to talk without pissing each other off." She gave them both a look using her eye, and they each nodded as a result of the pressure.

"Heh, you two are cute when you're obedient." They both flinched after hearing her words. "Anyways, let's get some things out of the way. Welf, Vahn is a lot stronger than you. If I didn't step in earlier you'd be nursing a broken wrist for the next few months. You'll have a hard time doing any blacksmithing if that happens, so pull back on the aggressive behavior."

Hearing Tsubaki mentioning that he was weaker than Vahn, Welf was dissatisfied. He looked towards the 'small' kid and couldn't see how he could be considered strong. While he was thinking, Tsubaki continued. "It's true. Unlike you who likes to sit around boasting about becoming a great blacksmith, Vahn here ventures into the dungeon to improve his skill. Even though you're the same age, he is already Level 2 and capable of fighting weaker Level 3's."

Welf was surprised to hear Vahn was already Level 2. Though it wasn't unheard of, it was very rare for people in a production Familia to increase in level quickly. However, his surprise turned into utter disbelief when she continued.

"Vahn also possesses the [Blacksmith] development ability and, even though he is a novice at forging, he has managed to earn the approval of Hephaestus. That hammer is probably something she gave him to represent her trust and encourage him to improve, isn't that right Vahn?"

Vahn nodded his head but was mildly distracted seeing the gloomy aura around Welf. He had an incredulous expression and seemed to be repressing a lot of pent-up frustration. Vahn remembered that Welf, even though he was an excellent blacksmith, was severely restricted by his own stigma. Due to his 'bloodline', he was adamant in not forging magic swords and this mentality prevented him from growing.

In some ways, they were similar. They were both victims of their 'bloodline', though Vahn's was in a far more literal sense. While Welf was able to run away, Vahn was forced to suffer for fourteen years. However, unlike Welf who continues to run away even now, Vahn has accepted his 'heritage' and works towards becoming strong enough to not be exploited by others. He didn't know why, but Vahn was very annoyed seeing Welf's actions.

"You're a coward," Vahn spoke directly, interrupting the conversation that Tsubaki was going to continue. At first, she was going to reprimand Vahn but decided to see how things played out. She knew well of Welf's past and wondered if Vahn had noticed something with his unnaturally high perception.

Welf, who had still been struggling internally all this time, turned towards Vahn before slamming his fists onto the table. Tea spilled as cups were knocked over and Welf shouted at Vahn, "What did you say!? Who is a coward!?" Hearing this boy he had never met call him a 'coward', Welf was understandably pissed off.

"If you're not a coward, then why are you struggling so much with your own thoughts? When you heard Tsubaki say I was stronger than you, you didn't believe her. And after you heard I had the [Blacksmith] development skill, you started acting like it was impossible. Your actions are like saying you can't believe I'm better than you, but whatever made you think you were comparable to me in the first place!? What are you doing to set yourself apart from others!? What gives you the right to look down on their determination and efforts!?"

Vahn shouted out, each sentence louder and more fierce than the last. For some reason, he just hated how Welf acted like he was a victim when he is able to live a free and happy life surrounded by kind and gentle people.

Welf, who was on the receiving end of the shouting was in a cold sweat. Though Vahn hadn't realized it himself, his out of control emotions had activated his [Will of the Emperor] and were suppressing the Level 1 Welf. Every word Vahn spoke made him feel an increased pressure, and each one struck deeply at Welf's self-consciousness and anxieties.

"Calm down Vahn! You need to control your power!" Tsubaki was thinking she let the situation get out of hand. Though she agreed with Vahn's statement, she couldn't allow him to press any further or it might shatter Welf's pride. Though he was unwilling to create magic sword due to his past, he was still a very capable and talented blacksmith. It would be a big loss for the Familia if he gave up trying to improve.

Hearing Tsubaki shout, Vahn realized he had been using his skill to pressure Welf, so he quickly calmed his breathing and sat down. "I'm sorry...I just can't stand to see someone act so arrogant when they have no idea how hard others work."

Welf, who was still in a cold sweat, wanted to retort after the pressure eased. However, no matter how much thought he put into it, he wasn't able to refute Vahn's words. In his heart, he knew Vahn was right...he really was a coward. Once he awakened his bloodline and was pressured by his family, he ran away from home to avoid becoming something he hated.

He fled all the way to a City where his family had no influence and then joined a powerful Familia using the reputation of 'Crozzo' in conjunction with his own talent. Even though he worked hard to become a blacksmith recognized by Hephaestus, he was entirely reliant on the Familia for his livelihood and wellbeing. Without their help, he never would have been able to establish himself when he was just 10 years old...(A/N: Welf ran away from home at age 10 and joined the Hephaestus Familia shortly after.)

He looked at Vahn, a boy similar in age to him. Even though he was jealous that Vahn was Level 2 and possessed the [Blacksmith] skill, it wasn't like he didn't earn it. Vahn must have put in a lot of efforts, and since he was still young it meant he was pressured into doing so by circ.u.mstance. Otherwise, there would be no reason for such a person to join a production Familia specializing in blacksmithing while also making a living in the dungeon. If he only recently joined, that means he previously spent all his time hunting monsters to get by...

It was at this point that Welf took note of the girl who had been sitting quietly all this time. He remembered she was called Lili, and she seemed very concerned with Vahn. Welf saw in her eyes a deep reliance on the boy, unlike how she looked at Welf in disgust. He could infer that she was in a similar situation as Vahn; someone that had to work hard to earn a living by putting their life on the line. The fact she was doing such a dangerous job when she was so small made Welf feel guilty at how leisurely he spent his time.

Welf had calmed down by now, and he made eye contact with Vahn who was still grimacing. Welf sighed, "You're right Vahn. I shouldn't be envious of someone because they possess something I lack. I will work hard, and one day, I'll surpass you using my own efforts." Seeing how far Vahn was able to get at the same age, Welf solidified his convictions and intended to double his own efforts in the future.

Vahn noticed that Welf's aura had stabilized and was showing a mellow orange with blues around the edges. Even though he was still angry, he knew Welf wasn't a bad guy from seeing his interactions with Bell in the manga. Vahn decided to reconcile as well saying, "If you want to surpass me, you can't hold anything back. Don't expect me to slow down my own progress while you're stuck trying to overcome yourself."

The two stared into the other's eyes, each with their own convictions. Lili, who was spectating at the side, was completely confounded by the sudden change. The two boys, who were previously moments away from fighting, were now gazing passionately into each other's eyes! She had no idea how to interpret the situation and decided she needed to protect Vahn from Welf in the future.

Tsubaki suddenly started laughing, causing the other three at the table to look at her with confusion. "Good! So manly! The best way to settle things is to both become stronger and more capable. Let your actions and accomplishments speak for themselves!" She smiled, nodding at the change in atmosphere. Feeling thirsty, she reached for her cup but found it had been overturned since earlier.

Tsubaki felt a vein bulge in her head and she threw the emptied cup at Welf's face. The cup bounced directly off Welf's forehead and continued its path towards Vahn who managed to catch it out of the air. "Don't go into other people's houses and make a mess! Next time you knock over my drink you'll be replenishing the entire Familia's quench tanks for a whole week!

(A/N: Alternate Title: Hot-blooded Men Within The Cyclops' Den!)

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Chapter 58 - With Great Power...

The atmosphere within the room had improved considerably. Tsubaki scooped up Lili and left Vahn and Welf sitting at the table as she went to prepare dinner. Though Lili tried to struggle at first, Tsubaki was easily able to carry her light body without being affected. Vahn gave a glance at Lili but didn't say anything as she was tearfully pulled into the kitchen.

Welf laughed awkwardly before trying to restart the conversation with Vahn. He knew he made a bad first impression, so he wanted to try and patch things up between them. The two talked a bit about each other's past. Vahn gave his standard story about growing up the forest, while Welf mentioned he came from the neighboring country Rakia.

When they were discussing why each came to the City and how they had been living, Welf was surprised to find that Vahn had only recently arrived in Orario. He found the fact that Vahn had been able to reach Level 2 within a month terrifying and began to suspect there was more to the story that he wasn't made aware of. Welf suspected the reason Vahn had been entrusted to Tsubaki, who was the current captain of the Familia, was likely due to some kind of secret.

Though Vahn knew about Welf from the story, he still tried probing the reason why Welf came to Orario. Welf hesitated for a moment before saying it was to escape having to create weapons that indiscriminately take innocent lives. He told Vahn about his unique skill [Crozzo Blood] which his family had used to create weapons of mass destruction for Ares's army. He swore that he would never take part it such a cruel process and even took a vow to never forge magic weapons.

Vahn nodded, showing that he understood Welf's plight with the seriousness of his expression. Welf was able to see that Vahn didn't simply acknowledge his words but genuinely empathized with his situation. He began to respect Vahn even more and began acting more casually while they talked. That is until Vahn said something that completely caught him off guard.

"The longer you deny your own capabilities, the less progress you'll make in the future. You'll never be able to move forward unless you overcome your past. Your fear of magic items and the damage they can cause is baseless because the only fear you have is in regards to damage others have caused, not yourself. Even if you refuse to make magic weapons, it won't prevent the people that use them to indiscriminately kill from doing so anyway. The only difference is they'll use an even crueler method to achieve the same result." Vahn slowly spoke the words, even though he could see Welf begin to get upset. Towards the end of his statement, Welf was even gritting his teeth while trying to keep down his emotions.

"Welf, I understand better than you think, I'm not simply empathizing with you. I know how blood can be used as a powerful tool at the convenience of evil and cruel men. But, you aren't proving anything by restricting your own power while they continue performing their deeds. If you truly understood the burden of your blood, you would use it to deny those that would exploit others."

Welf looked towards Vahn with hate-filled eyes, though the hate wasn't directed at him. Welf continued taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself. Once he recovered enough rationality, he spoke, "So you're saying I should make weapons and use them to kill the people that wanted to use them? How does that make me better than they are; because I'm the one choosing the targets!?"

Vahn shook his head and responded in a serious manner. "I'm not saying you need to use the weapons or even let others use them. I'm saying you should research and study their power...so that you can create countermeasures against it in the future. Who else better than the creator knows how to prevent the damage caused by their use? Lastly, as long as there is a desire for your weapons, the people that would use them to cause harm would stop at nothing to get their hands on them. As you are now, there is any number of things that could force your hand and lead to the very event you're trying to avoid."

Welf grits his teeth even harder and was visibly shaken by Vahn's words. He knew best what kind of people his family worked with. If they found out his location, even with the protection of the Hephaestus Familia, they would try to force him to concede. When that happened, he would be taken back to Rakia and be forced to make magic weapons until he either killed himself or lost his usefulness and they did the job for him.

Vahn continued, "There are more than just offensive spells. If your blood allows you to infuse magic into an item, why does it have to be for attack? Why not create a shield that can generate barriers or a staff that can cast recovery magic? Don't tell me you think the only use for magic is to cause harm? Look-"

Vahn used a dagger and drew a line of blood across his forearm. Welf started in shock at the self-inflicted wound, but his eyes became completely round when he saw Vahn close the wound simply by tracing his finger across it. After the wound was completely healed, Vahn looked into Welf's eyes and spoke. "Magic has many applications, why are you so obsessed with killing?"

Hearing the words, Welf's mind was completely blank. He just stared at where the wound previously existed, unable to form any thought for several seconds. After some clarity was restored, he began to ponder the question Vahn asked. Once again, the words Vahn spoke hit to the core of the matter that he had avoided for so long. There was, in fact, no reason for him to create magic swords to bring harm. As long as he had a proper understanding of the magical circuit, he could infuse any type of spell into the equipment...

While he was lost in thought, Vahn was browsing through his system shop. He wanted to find an item that would help demonstrate his point even better than his previous action. Vahn found that looking for equipment that could heal was actually rather difficult due to the cost of such items. The cheapest one he could find was something literally called [Heal:C] that cost 2,000OP. He decided to purchase it and then pulled it out using his 'storage magic'.

Welf was surprised seeing a staff appear in Vahn's hand. He recalled that Vahn had previously pulled his hammer out of nowhere, and assumed it was likely a rare skill like storage magic. The staff in Vahn's hand was made of wood which spiraled until coming to a red crystalline gem at the head of the staff. Welf was curious why Vahn would have a staff, as he didn't seem like the type to use magic based on his build and demeanor.

Vahn was reading the description and use of the new item and realized he had hit the jackpot. He once again cut his arm, which caused Welf to grimace. He then channeled his energy into the staff and activated its ability. The red orb glowed with a gentle luminance and a white light emitted from Vahn's body. After the light had faded, any evidence of the wound had completely vanished.

Welf was in awe of the demonstration because he could tell that Vahn hadn't used any actual magic due to the lack of a chant. It was nothing like his small demonstration from earlier. From his perspective, he was able to see the staff create a magical circle around Vahn which covered him in white light and healed the wound. It was the first time Welf had ever seen a magical staff with the inherent ability to heal.

Welf swallowed heavily before asking, "That staff...did you make it?" Seeing Vahn shake his head, he released a sigh of relief. If Vahn had the skill to make such an item there would be no end to the people lining up to purchase his equipment. "Can I ask where you obtained it? How does it function?"

Vahn shook his head. He couldn't tell Welf about the system, but he didn't want to lie. "Sorry, it's a very important secret that I can't tell others. It's dangerous even exposing items like this, but I wanted you to know that your blood didn't always lead to a bloody end. If you put in the effort you could save countless lives. You don't have to create items that cause harm."

Welf nodded but continued staring at the staff. He never even considered Vahn's approach, but now that he thought about it, Vahn was completely right. There had been so much pain and death caused by his family's [Crozzo Blood] that he completely avoided trying to find a solution on his own. Instead, he just focused on trying to become a great blacksmith without creating magic weapons. He realized that he had been terribly wrong this entire time...

Welf released a long sigh while giving Vahn a gratified look. If he hadn't met Vahn today, he may never have overcome the fear within his mind. He would have kept trying to forge a path that denied an integral part of himself until the very thing he was trying to escape caught up to him.

"Thank you Vahn. You've taught me something very important today. I'll prove that your words aren't wasted, count on it." Welf looked into Vahn's eyes while making his claim with a renewed passion. He now owed a great debt to this boy he had just met and wanted to prove that he wasn't the coward that fled from his home long ago. Welf decided he would find a better path...one where when people spoke of the name 'Crozzo', it would be in adulation and not contempt.

Vahn could see the aura of Welf blazing like the sun. He was literally radiating confidence and determination, so Vahn gave him an appreciative nod. "You can do it Welf. As long as you continue to believe, there is nothing that can stop you."

The two smiled at each other before nearly having a heart attack when a loud clap sounded from the doorway. Tsubaki, who had been watching the two in their own world for some time, started laughing loudly. Her decision to leave Welf to Vahn paid off, and she was happy to see a renewed flame burning within Welf.

"Foods ready you two. Come and get it before it gets cold. We made a buttload, so prepare to stuff yourself or face the consequences~!" As she spoke, she grabbed both of them by the back of their collars and dragged them towards the dining room.

As they were both aware of Tsubaki's behavior, they didn't put up much resistance as it would only make matters worse. Instead, they just gave each other awkward smiles and laughed along with the Cyclopian woman treating them like luggage.Lili, who had been forced to cook with Tsubaki, was beside herself after seeing the violent woman drag in the two boys. She really wanted to shout at her for treating Vahn so poorly but knew nothing would be able to protect her if she opened her mouth. She resolved herself to become stronger as soon as possible so they could both escape the grasp of their one-eyed demoness.

Tsubaki dropped the two off near the table and everyone sat down to enjoy the meal. Vahn noticed that, though there was a slight variation, the meal was once again fried rice. Just like lunch, it was delicious and he enjoyed several bowls while making conversation. He had been focusing primarily on Welf for a while, so he made sure to ask Lili about her training earlier in the day, a topic he would regret bringing up.

Hearing Vahn mention training, Tsubaki started regaling everyone with the tale of Vahn's valiant attempts to spar against her. She spoke about how he was able to improve at a fast pace, but no matter how hard he struggled he still ended up eating dirt ninety-nine times in a row. When she got to here, Tsubaki paused and gave a massive grin while looking at Vahn. She could see him sweating to the point he was unable to even chew his food.

She looked towards Lili who had been frowning during the recounting of events. "Nee~, Lili, what do you think happened after the ninety-ninth time?" Lili looked towards her with confusion, unable to understand why she would ask the question. "Did he block the attack?" She uttered the only words that came to her mind, missing the fact Vahn nearly planted his face into the table as she asked.

Tsubaki hefted up her large b.r.e.a.s.ts before loudly proclaiming, "Hahaha, he managed to react in time, but the thing he blocked wasn't my hand...it was my b.r.e.a.s.ts!" She continued laughing while Vahn shrunk in his seat, Lili became fl.u.s.tered, and Welf just stared towards Vahn with a horrified expression.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Bromance', 'Why you attak wen u can protec?', 'Magic swords aren't even unique to [Crozzo Blood]', 'Cyclops with surprisingly high EQ', 'Liliruca Arde, Benchwarmer')

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Chapter 59 - What was needed

After dinner, Welf parted ways and returned to his own dwelling. He wanted to get started on researching magic circuits and see if he could incorporate defensive and support spells into equipment. He now had a clear path towards the future and was far less abrasive than when they first met. Vahn and Welf bumped fists and wished each other good fortune in their training and development.

As it was already pretty late, Tsubaki snatched up Lili who had been hanging around Vahn and disappeared further into the Minka-like structure of the house. Lili flailed and tried to escape, but Tsubaki just laughed while telling Vahn, "There is a bath further down the hall towards your left. There isn't a lock, so make sure you put up a sign or something unless you want company. Make sure you get plenty of rest tonight because tomorrow is when the real fun begins. Maybe we can get the count to two-hundred if we try hard enough!"

Tsubaki's voiced echoed in Vahn's mind and he couldn't prevent a shudder from passing through his body. Though he knew it was necessary to increase his strength, Vahn wasn't sure his mind would be able to last as long as his body. He needed to come up with a plan but wasn't sure of what to do. For now, he headed to the bath as it had been a long day and he was still covered in dirt from this morning.

Entering the bathroom, Vahn fell into a stupor before excitement began to build inside of him. The bath wasn't a simple basin or shower, instead, it was an open-air onsen. The room was split into two, with one side being a wooden patio for changing and washing oneself while the other was a build-up of ornamental stones surrounding an oblong pool of steaming water. Decorating the onsen itself were several statuettes and pillars that had been meticulously designed to represent various animals. Surrounding the open area of the bath were high bamboo walls with live bamboo grown to prevent external viewing.

Though he had bathed outside during his stay in the forest, this was Vahn's first time experiencing an actual onsen. He had only ever seen them in anime/manga in his previous life, and this had always been one of the things he wanted to experience if he had the opportunity. After quickly cleaning himself, he slowly eased his body into the steamy opaque water.

It wasn't as hot as he expected, but it still warmed up his body. He relaxed against the stone and notice they were somewhat cool compared to the water temperature, and after closer inspection, he found small indentations that drew power from a bevy of nearby magic cores. They seemed to serve the purpose of heating the water while keeping the stones cool to the touch.

The formation of the magic stones themselves was quite interesting, as they had been set into the location of the eyes on the various animal statuettes. It made the entire bath more scenic seeing the glowing red and blue lights against the black-l.u.s.tered designs. As an experiment, Vahn tried replacing some of the dimmer magic cores and the water began to heat up slightly with the insertion of the newer core.

While he was immersed with the core formation, he heard a sound from behind. His body froze, and he turned towards the door which had just been opened. Tsubaki and Lili had just entered, and the two girls were staring directly at him. As Vahn was inspecting the cores located outside of the onsen, he was standing there blankly while completely nude.

Lili, who seemed to be very fl.u.s.tered, looked down at Vahn's lower half before blushing a deep shade of red, but unlike in manga she didn't avert her eyes or try to hide her face. Tsubaki, on the other hand, smiled widely before giving him a thumbs up. "And here I thought you were still just a kid. Turns out you're growing properly!" She started laughing and moved towards the wall where baskets had been set for clothing.

Vahn looked towards her in confusion before realizing he needed to leave immediately. Tsubaki had completely ignored his presence in the Onsen and started unwrapping her sarashi on the side. Seeing her action, Vahn decided to grab his clothes before heading towards the door that Lili currently occupied.

Lili had been in a daze and hadn't moved from her spot, continuing to follow Vahn with her eyes. Seeing him approach towards her, she became even more fl.u.s.tered before backstepping out of the door. The moment she entered the corridor she took off running down the hallway screaming, "Vahn, cover yourself you, idiot!"

Vahn was confused, as he never really cared if others saw his body. Ever since his previous life, there had been hundreds of people that had seen him n.a.k.e.d. Even his barely covered anything and consisted of a modified hospital gown and slippers. Shaking his head, he grabbed his clothes and made his way towards the door. Before he was able to step out, an arm grabbed around his neck and a soft sensation pressed against his cheek.

"Where are you going this late in the game? I told you to put a sign up if you didn't want company. Come on, I can see you haven't finished cleaning yourself. I'll wash your back!" Tsubaki continued dragging Vahn towards the onsen against his protests. Since she was completely nude, he didn't know where to put his hands as each spot seemed more dangerous than the last.

At the edge of the water, Tsubaki twisted her h.i.p.s and executed a perfect shoulder throw while tossing Vahn's flailing body into the steaming water. Seeing that he had entered, she tested the water with her foot before frowning slightly. "Isn't this water a bit hot? You must have messed with the magic stones a bit, huh?" She looked towards where Vahn stood previously and noticed he had replaced some of the cores.

As she was a Level 5 and liked the heat as well, Tsubaki left things as they were and dipped her body into the water. At this point, Vahn had managed to recover a bit and was lazily leaning against the rocks on the opposite end of the bath. Since he couldn't really oppose Tsubaki, he just decided to enjoy the warm water against his skin. It was, after all, his first time in an onsen; it would be a waste not to enjoy it.

"You're pretty composed aren't you? That's kind of boring. I expected you to act fl.u.s.tered and shy, but here you are completely relaxed while n.a.k.e.d in the presence of a woman. You aren't even trying to sneak glances at me, what, do you find my body lacking charm?" As she was pretty confident in her body, Tsubaki wasn't trying to conceal anything. She was relaxed against the wall with her arms spread out along the rock surface while looking directly towards Vahn.

Vahn released a sigh, not due to her question but because of how relaxed he was becoming. He replied in a lazy voice, "I don't really care if people see me n.a.k.e.d, and it would be rude be rude to stare at a woman's body. Even if you're not hiding anything, I'm not going to invite trouble for myself by trying to catch a glance."

Tsubaki started to laugh loudly after hearing his response. She didn't expect him to say something so 'gentlemanly' and honest. Even she was feeling at least a little nervous sharing a bath with a boy, but here he was almost completely indifferent to the situation.

She began to recall the conversation she had with Hephaestus. According to her speculation, Vahn very likely grew up in a captive environment after being stolen from his mother at a young age. He likely grew up surrounded by people that tried to exploit his heritage, and it was even possible he had experienced many traumatic things which shaped his current mentality. Hephaestus noted that Vahn had an aversion to most people and put a lot of effort into watching them before making decisions.

Assuming Hephaestus's speculation was correct, Tsubaki began to pity the young boy. Because of the evil and greed of others, he missed out on a normal childhood and didn't know what it was like to have familial bonds with other people. Even his disinterest and lack of social etiquette in the current situation was likely a result of the trauma that is still deeply rooted in his body.

One of the requests Hephaestus had made to Tsubaki before leaving Vahn in her care was to help him open up to people. Hephaestus believed that Tsubaki's straightforward personality would allow her to get close to Vahn quickly, and over time it would influence him in a positive way. This was one of the reasons Tsubaki teased Vahn, and even why she had entered the bath together in the first place. Seeing how indifferent Vahn was pained her a bit. At this rate, he'd never have a normal relationship.

"Move over here Vahn. I said I would wash your back for you. After I'm done, you can wash mine." Tsubaki moved towards the center of the onsen before grabbing a nearby sponge. The water had been infused with a power comprised of various minerals and crushed magic cores. It's what allowed the magic cores to rapidly heat and cool the water, and also what caused the opaque appearance. Even if she got soap or dirt in the water, it would be diffused by the properties of the water.

Vahn slowly shifted towards her and turned his back. The water made him feel incredibly lazy, and he even began nursing the idea of trying to sleep in it if given the chance. Tsubaki began using the sponge to cleanse his back after applying a cool liquid to his skin. It didn't bubble as much as normal soap but seemed to stick to the skin more persistently. It was one of the things this 'record' lacked, and Vahn thought about trying to purchase some for people as a 'gift' in the future. He was certain the girls would like it.

Tsubaki continued scrubbing away at Vahn's back and was worried seeing how little he reacted even after being in such close proximity to her. As a final resort, after she had finished scrubbing him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against his back. Vahn, feeling the soft-yet-firm sensation flinched after realizing what was happening.

"Um...Ms. Collbrande, what are you doing?" Even though he didn't mind when they were simply near each other, Vahn's heartbeat began to accelerate after being in direct contact with a woman's body. Tsubaki didn't answer him, shut just put a small amount of strength in her arms and gently hugged Vahn's body.

After a bit of time passed, Vahn began to relax and started enjoying the embrace. Though it was different from when Hephaestus hugged him, it was still very comfortable. The warmth of Tsubaki's body and the heat of the onsen began to overlap, and Vahn slowly closed his eyes while enjoying the variation in temperatures.

Seeing him relax, Tsubaki had a small revelation. Vahn wasn't immune to women, nor was he unaware of the significance of being n.a.k.e.d, he simply had high mental resistance against things he found 'troublesome'. The more he was pressured, as long as he wasted directly affected in a physical sense, the more he blocked out stimuli. It must be some kind of defense mechanism he developed in his childhood.

During one of the moments Hephaestus was rambling on about Vahn, she mentioned how he had fallen asleep in her arms after she embraced him gently. Hephaestus wanted him to experience being held by someone that cared for him and noticed Vahn was very receptive to her embrace after his initial panic. Now Tsubaki was experiencing the same thing, and she began to understand one of the reasons why Hephaestus was so concerned with Vahn...he lacked security.

Vahn had nobody in his life that provided him a safe-haven from harm. There was no place he could retreat to find security and emotional support. He was so focused on simply becoming stronger and experiencing new things that he kept neglecting the most important factors for his emotional and social development.

Tsubaki, like Hephaestus, realized the most important thing Vahn had been lacking all this time...a Mother. Now, he lay in her arms, completely at ease while entrusting himself to her embrace. It made Tsubaki want to protect him even more...

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING!?"

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Calm Within the Forbidden Valley', 'Shameless Cyclops', 'A Glimpse of the Future', 'Hot, Steamy, Onsen')

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Chapter 60 - Hell : Desire

The shout awakened Vahn, who had fallen asleep within Tsubaki's embrace. His mind was still in a haze and his body felt incredibly relaxed and lethargic. From his perspective, he could see Lili wide-eyed at the door looking towards him. He yawned and stood to exit the onsen while Tsubaki, who had previously released his body, began moving towards Lili who was pointing a shaking finger in her direction.

Vahn slowly dressed amidst the chaos that followed. Tsubaki had grabbed Lili who was stuttering curses and flailing about and began undressing her. Lili, with a bright red face, kept stealing glances towards Vahn in the process. Seeing that he was just dazedly putting on his clothes, she felt perplexed and gave Tsubaki an opportunity to strip the last bastion of her dignity. Lili yelped and tried to protect her sensitive areas as Tsubaki took her towards the onsen while laughing boisterously.

After he was dressed, Vahn headed towards his room to prepare to sleep. He lay down in his bed tightly embracing the large pillow that had been given to him with a futon earlier in the day. Hugging the pillow tightly, he quickly began falling asleep once again. As he drifted further into unconsciousness, his grasp of the pillow tightened as if by increasing his grip he could obtain more warmth from the inanimate object. With the feeling of something 'missing', Vahn fell asleep.Vahn awoke very early the next day, nearly two hours before he had to be up. He absentmindedly stared around at the 'foreign' room and remember that he had started staying with Tsubaki the previous day. After his thoughts turned to Tsubaki, visions of the dream he had begun to surface in his mind...

After Vahn had fallen asleep, he imagined a 3m tall Tsubaki toying with him and he made futile efforts at escaping. No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to free himself from her monstrous strength and began to lose hope. Just as he was on the verge of giving up, the giant figure gently embraced his body between her bosom and he feared he may suffocate to death instead of being crushed. However, the suffocating feeling never came. Instead, he was wrapped in an endless warmth that seemed to soak through his entire body. The warmth was so comfortable that Vahn actually fell asleep within his own dream...

Due to the strange dream, Vahn was still in a somewhat dazed state as he exited the room to wash his face. Lili had found out he was neglecting his dental hygiene, and she had helped him create a habit of brushing his teeth before beginning each day. Though Vahn was annoyed at first, he quickly got used to the small ceremony and now performed it without being forced.

As he was leaving the bathroom, he could hear the sound of wind being torn from the nearby courtyard. He followed the sound and saw Tsubaki wielding a fierce-looking katana with a crimson red grip. Each movement seemed to cut through the void and generate devastatingly powerful winds that continued circulating around her body as her blade danced in the moonlight.

Seeing the peerless skill and technique of Tsubaki, Vahn's stagnant mind immediately awakened. He watched her every move, each with purpose and intent that carried seamlessly into the next series of movements. Vahn nearly compared the 'dance' to his own techniques but felt doing so would be an insult to the bewitchingly elegant display of skill. Instead, he continued watching in abject silence, afraid that a single movement or sound of his would tarnish the inviolable atmosphere.

About ten minutes before their training was set to begin, Tsubaki brought her 'dance' to an end. She slowly sheathed the katana before kneeling in silence. After her breathing settled, she smiled and spoke. "I'm not too fond of performing for an audience. Did you enjoy the show?"

Vahn nodded his head without thinking and then spoke the words that came to his mind. "It was beautiful...unlike anything I've ever seen before." He was still replaying the moves in his mind, trying to keep the memories from fading.

As he continued to absentmindedly stare, his vision suddenly reversed and he saw the ground approaching from above. Without being able to react, he landed heavily on the ground and felt the wind escape his lungs. He looked towards Tsubaki who was standing, arms akimbo and loudly roaring in laughter.

"Training starts on time every day. Why are you still standing around like an idiot when your enemy is right in front of you? That brings our score to 3 to 101!" While she was proudly speaking, she turned towards a wall lining the courtyard. From Vahn's perspective, Tsubaki disappeared from her spot before walking out from behind the wall carrying Lili under her arm.After the initial throw, training began in earnest. Tsubaki was ruthless with Vahn and constantly threw him about while subjecting his body to endless torment. But, when she was training Lili, she showed a much gentler and patient side. When Vahn initially saw her carefully explaining different stances and techniques to Lili, he nearly thought he was still dreaming before the pain in his back flared up and caused him to sharply inhale.

Tsubaki had taken very different approaches to their individual training. Since Lili was a Pallum and small in stature, Tsubaki wanted to help develop actual techniques and agility. After learning about Lili's skills, Tsubaki started explaining the importance of geographical positioning and exploiting enemy weak points. She wanted Lili to become a technical specialist that could make use of a variety of weapons in conjunction with the environment to gain an advantage.

For Vahn, Tsubaki noticed he had incredible natural talent. Due to his high perception and adaptability, she was grooming him to develop his own fighting style. By constantly sparing with Vahn, he was slowly beginning to adapt to her speed and refining his defensive capabilities. Tsubaki wanted him to have the instincts to naturally protect himself from harm, as she believed it was one of the things he currently lacked the most.After two hours of hard training, Vahn had now been thrown a total of 187 times. He tried to counterattack on many occasions, and was having a marginal amount of success, but never landed a blow on Tsubaki. She seemed especially aware of 'mishaps' and didn't drop her guard as she had the previous day. Vahn was very frustrated because, when Tsubaki would use the minimum distance to evade his counter, she would laugh and taunt him for his efforts.

As the sun had already risen, they all took a break to eat breakfast. Vahn was forced to wait at the table while Tsubaki dragged Lili towards the kitchen to prepare the meal. While he sat in silence, Vahn began to wonder why Tsubaki always seemed to be dragging Lili around with her, but he wasn't able to come up with any reason. It was probably a quirk of Tsubaki's personality that liked cute things, as Lili was very small and adorable.

Vahn decided to pass the time by inspecting his stats and items. His parameters hadn't been growing very quickly since he wasn't delving any deeper into the dungeon, but he felt like his foundation was rapidly expanding.[Stats]

Name: [Vahn Mason]

Age: 14

Race: Human, *sealed*

Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4]

-Level:2(2)

-Power:1001(I38)-(H119)

-Endurance:1108(I51)-(G240)

-Dexterity:887(I41)-(H101)

-Agility:940(I40)-(H192)

-Magic:1611(G244)-(E444)

Total:5547(414)-(1096)

Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul)

[Karma: 931

[OP: 78,090

[Valis: 149,300Like always, his magic was growing much faster than all of his other parameters due to the constant use of [Will of the Emperor]. His endurance was also increasing somewhat faster than the rest of his stats, and Vahn accredited this to [Rakshasa Body] as well as the constant torment of Tsubaki. He wondered if by the time he finished his training if he would develop an indestructible body just because of his endurance...

The items that he was most concerned with were his two [Skill Enhancement Scroll: A, and the [Hearts Desire: Eternal Flame] he had obtained when increasing the affection of the 'eternal flame' to 100. Since there was a lot going on at the time, it had completely slipped his mind until now. Opening the description, Vahn was both confused and terrified.

[Hearts Desire: Eternal Flame]

Rank: Unique

Use: Allows the user to see the inner desires of the target (Eternal Flame). Fulfilling the revealed desire unlocks hidden parameters of the target. /System Warning: Use with extreme caution/

Vahn didn't understand how a flame could have hidden desires but remembered how expressive it was when they made contact. Though it wasn't very intelligent, it obviously had enough sentience to interact with its surroundings and understand people. After careful deliberation, Vahn decided to ignore the system warning and 'use' the item.

The air seemed to freeze around him, and time seemed to come to a crawl. Vahn was unable to move as a series of images began playing inside his head. He was in the bed of a forge, looking up into the darkness with only his light to illuminate the spacious room. Suddenly, through the darkness, Vahn was able to see his own face appearing like a giant from his low perspective. The 'big' version of himself slowly reached out his arm as a flame began to dance in his palm. Within the interior of the flame, Vahn could vaguely see the appearance of what looked like...an embryo?

The time around his body seemed to return to normal as the 'frozen' air thawed. Vahn regained his movement and began to ponder over the images. He must have been viewing things from the perspective of the 'eternal flame', but he had no idea what it's desire was. The flame held by the 'big' version of himself was obviously the piece split off from the main body, but when he inspected it within his heart he was unable to see anything like an embryo. He had no idea how to fulfill the flames desire as its emotions had been very vague during the vision. All he felt was anticipation...and happiness?

Unsure what to make of the images, he decided to put it to the back of his mind until he was able to discuss the matter with Hephaestus. Vahn was certain she would be willing to assist him once he completed his training. For now, he decided to focus on how he should use his Skill Enhancement Scrolls as they served no purpose just sitting in his inventory.

Vahn was comparing the usefulness of his current skills while also browsing through the shop for things that could be useful in the future. If not for his current quest and the restrictions it placed on his OP usage, there were many things Vahn wanted to buy. That terrifying feeling he felt the previous day was still fresh in his mind, and every moment seemed to draw him closer and closer to the unknown danger.

While he was lost in his own worries, the door opened revealing Lili and Tsubaki carrying in a large pot. After taking their seats, Tsubaki opened the container and a fragrant aroma that Vahn had become familiar with began to spread throughout the room. For the third time in a row, Tsubaki had cooked fried-rice for their meal...

"Tsubaki, why is it that you only cook fried rice?" Vahn, though he didn't mind the food at all, decided to ask the question that appeared in his mind. After doing so, he started eating the delicious food before noticing a dark atmosphere spreading throughout the room. He paused mid-bite and looked towards Tsubaki with his eyes.

Tsubaki had a dark expression on her face, concealing the area beneath her bangs in shadows. The smile, which she was always wearing, had distorted into a creepy grin as she laughed hollowly. A strange, grating laughter began to echo in the room, a far cry from the cheerful laugh Vahn had grown accustomed to.

Lili, noticing the tense atmosphere, tried to clear things up by whispering towards Vahn using her smallest voice. "Vahn...Tsubaki-sama doesn't know how to cook anything other than rice. Everything else ends up burnt or inedible..."

Though she was doing her best to be quiet, the shadow on Tsubaki's face grew darker as her ears twitched. Because of her enhanced senses as a warrior and master smith, she was easily able to hear the muttering of Lili. Her laughter stopped, and she looked towards the duo who stared at her with horrified expressions.

"Make sure to eat a lot. We still have a lot of fun and exciting training left to do..." She began to laugh evilly as the two dropped their utensils. Vahn looked at the food as if it would be his last while Lili began trembling in fear due to her mistake.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Doki Doki Flame Spirit', 'Shokugeki no Cyclops', 'Don't underestimate at Level 5')

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Chapter 61 - Affinity

The three continue to eat breakfast in silence. Vahn was eating much slower than usual, while Lili had hardly touched her food. She just kept fidgeting in her seat while periodically eyeing the door as if trying to come to a decision. Tsubaki, who was the closest to the exit just gave her a 'gentle' smile while enjoying the meal.

After the meal concluded, Tsubaki collected all the dishes and told Vahn and Lili to wait in the training area. Vahn nodded mechanically in response. Once Tsubaki had left the room, Lili got close to Vahn and urged him, "Vahn, we have to run! We can flee into the dungeon until the storm passes. It's safer than staying here!" Lili seemed to be very fearful of Tsubaki, and Vahn wondered what had happened between them.The previous night...

Two voices echo loudly, breaking the silence brought by the nights' stillness.

One voice sounds like the laughter of an evil creature as it revels in the suffering of its 'victim'.

The second voice cries into the night, hoping to find release from its torment

Passersby stare in horror towards the tall bamboo walls, urgently fleeing the horrifying sound

A boy sleeps contentedly in a nearby room...

(A/N: The Author is confused.)Vahn ends up moving to the training area with Lili following behind while dragging her feet. So as not to get caught off guard, Vahn find an area where he can easily see the connecting corridors and begins performing light stretching exercises. After watching for a moment, Lili sighs and begins following the routine. She determines that escape is impossible, and believes Vahn's precaution is the best course of action for the time being.

After ten minutes, Tsubaki shows up and nods after seeing the two seriously preparing. The dark aura from earlier has faded, and her carefree smile has returned. Vahn and Lili are elated to see she has 'calmed' down, but after hearing Tsubaki describes their next training, even Vahn wants to run away...

Tsubaki has Lili assume a horse stance atop small bamboo platforms with both arms spread to her side. In each hand and on top of her head, she has to balance small metal disks that hold several small cups of water. Her assignment is to transfer each cup from one disc to the other without spilling anything in the process. To make the process even more difficult, Tsubaki is asking her questions about various monsters and their ecology. If Lili fails to answer or takes too long, Tsubaki uses a brush to tickle the underside of her arms.

For Vahn's training, Tsubaki has him stand in a strange formation of bamboo and ropes. Each bamboo is weighted on the inside and attached to a rope. The ropes are attached to a mechanism that slowly pulls the weighted bamboo to a specific height before releasing them towards the person inside. To increase the difficulty, Tsubaki has Vahn wear a blindfold while restraining both of his arms. She tells him to restrain his domain to the smallest possible size and places various rocks along the ground around his feet. He not only has to focus on evading the random attacks from the bamboo but has to avoid stepping on the jagged rocks with his bare feet...

For Vahn, the training was slightly 'easier' than expected, though he still suffered minor setbacks on occasion. He was quickly adapting to sensing the unseen attacks and had been able to evade more than 10 in a row. It was at this point his ears picked up on a subtle 'clink'. After the strange sound, the bamboo seemed to increase in number and frequency causing Vahn to begin to sweat while desperately evading around the small area...

Tsubaki, who had just finished tormenting Lili, saw that Vahn was adapting much faster than she expected. She moved to an area connected to the training device and added a weight to the mechanical components driving the swinging mechanism. This made the gears that only increased tension periodically begin to spin faster. Of the total 10 stages, she had just increased the degree of difficulty to 2.After what felt like an excruciatingly long hour, Vahn and Lili were finally allowed to cease their training. Lili ended up running towards the bathroom in a panic, while Vahn simply collapsed onto the floor. His body was covered in bruises, even with the healing component of his combined skills. Halfway through his training, just as he was beginning to adapt to the new speed, a second 'clink' was heard and he began to get hit much more often.

Tsubaki walked over to the collapsed Vahn and offered him a container of water. "You did well. At that level, you should be able to evade attacks from someone that just reached Level 2 without having to see the attack coming." Vahn took the container and drank while she gave him the compliment. After finding out the mechanism had 10 stages, he wondered how strong he would be if he was able to master dodging them all.

After a short break, Tsubaki showed Vahn and Lili, who had returned somewhat pale from the bathroom, to her actual workshop. It was dim, like most forges, and had a variety of tools and materials neatly arranged on shelves. On the side of the workshop nearest to the door, there were several bookshelves that contained a host of different topics including herbology, monster ecology, material, blacksmithing, and even some lore related books regarding gods and legends.

"Every day, from now until 2 pm, you'll both be within this workshop developing your knowledge and skills. Vahn will primarily focus on learning the fundamentals of blacksmithing, while I'll have Lili act as an assistant when she isn't researching the subjects I assign her. After 2 PM, you'll be free for the remainder of the day. I may have closed my workshop to new customers, but there are still various contracts I have to uphold. Just make sure if you go to the dungeon you are able to return before 10 PM. From now on that will be the curfew for both of you." Tsubaki had been carefully explaining things to them while arranging a stack of books on the table. When she got to her final words, she looked towards both of them and shouted. "Understood!?"

"Yes!" "Yes, Tsubaki-sama!" Vahn and Lili both responded loudly due to the tension. Tsubaki nodded and began teaching Vahn how to process materials while Lili was required to read the books that had been laid out.

As she had yet to see Vahn forge anything, Tsubaki had him refine a piece of normal iron. Vahn nodded before reaching towards the dark greyish-brown lump of metal. He sat down next to the forge and began trying to refine it, but quickly noticed it was much different compared to working with magisteel like his previous three attempts.

The biggest difference was the quality of the 'flame' he was using. Since he had only ever forged anything using the 'eternal flame' which could easily melt ores, Vahn had never experienced working with a normal fire. The temperature seemed inconsistent within the furnace and he struggled to evenly heat the iron even after using his [Will of the Emperor].

Tsubaki, from the side, nodded while speaking in a low voice. "It seems you really are a novice. Even though iron is much easier to process, because it is somewhat inert compared to magisteel, it is far more difficult to refine using your current techniques. You need to learn the properties of different metals from the very beginning and how to shape them using normal forging methods."

Vahn slowly nodded as he continued refining the iron. He had a lot of theoretical knowledge from the manuals he had obtained but was severely lacking in experience. Since the 'eternal flame' was much stronger than normal fires, even when it had resisted him it still had much higher efficacy than a normal flame.

Remembering the 'eternal flame', Vahns heart began to throb as if to respond to his thoughts. Noticing the phenomenon, Vahn began to listen to his heartbeat and felt the blood in his body begin to heat up considerably. His mind calmed and all the heat of the forge seemed to vanish in an instant.

As Vahn opened his eyes, he could feel a powerful energy radiating from his arm holding the hammer. He lifted the hammer and noticed that the magical circuit had become fully active and the crystalline sections of the hammer glowed with a warm, slightly golden, luminance. He smiled, basking in the calming glow and enjoying the feeling present in his blood

Tsubaki was shocked seeing the sight, and even with her high tolerance to the heat, she began to sweat slightly. The temperature from the hammer Vahn was holding was incredible. It was much hotter than the flame within the forge, and she remembered Hephaestus saying he had somehow subordinated the 'eternal flame'. She removed the eyepatch from her left eye, and a scarlet glow began to emit from the red iris.

Vahn began to focus and started using his hammer to refine the iron. Each strike traced a red path through the air and imbued fire elemental energies into the iron. The metal began to heat up rapidly, and Vahn was able to have much greater control over the process. He continued until the ore had been refined to 80% and then quickly shaped the ingot. Due to the 'burning' properties in the hammer, he didn't even have to put it back into the forge and was able to quickly mold it into the shape of an ingot.

After he was finished, he waited for Tsubaki's input before doing anything else. Vahn turned towards her and saw that she was staring at him with both eyes instead of just one. Noticing he had finished the process, Tsubaki gave him a cheerful smile and reset her eyepatch. "Excellent Vahn! Really, you have an incredible talent for forging! Was that glowing in the hammer an effect of the 'eternal flame' that merged with your body?"

Vahn nodded, returning a smile due to the praise he had received. He began explaining the functions of the 'eternal flame' and how it allowed him to imbue fire elemental properties into all of his 'attacks'. Since the hammer was also capable of channeling mana, it enhanced the effects even further and made it so that he could almost forge without even relying on a furnace. (A/N: This only applies to VERY low-grade items. The purpose of a furnace is to keep heat uniform and prevent it from escaping and dispersing throughout the room. If Vahn tried to forge an item from start to finish without using the proper tools it would waste the metal! Consistent temperatures lead to much higher quality products~! I'm not the best, but done machining/blacksmithing/metalworking before~)

After his success, Tsubaki started demonstrating how to work with different materials other than metal. There were various types of monster drops like bones, fangs, and talons. Each required their own unique process, and Vahn was able to quickly learn. Some of the manuals he had acquired from the shop related to forging within Danmachi, so he was able to match the practical methods to the theoretical ones within his mind. Tsubaki was surprised seeing how quickly he 'learned' and how well he 'retained' the information.

She continued mentoring him and watching him process each item with varying degrees of success. The most amazing thing was, even if he didn't refine an item well, he didn't make any mistakes that resulted in failure. At this rate, the only thing Vahn would need is time and he would become a great blacksmith. Tsubaki couldn't wait to debut his items and brag about being the master of such a talented student.

From the side, Lili sat reading books and writing down as much information as she could about important factors to consider in the dungeon. Even though she had no experience with forging, she could understand after observing Tsubaki's excitement that Vahn had incredible talent. If she wanted to keep up and stand at his side, she needed to do her best using her own strengths. For now, she would memorize all of these books and learn as much as she could to be of use in the future.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'You call that a flame?', 'Two-eyed Cyclops', 'Eternal-Flame is Bae', 'Be still my right hand!')

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