Bab 2049: Exception

Emboldened by the fact that Vahn was both alone and without a flag badge to represent the Community he belonged to, the group immediately surrounded him as their presumed Leader stepped forward to ask, "Where is Nono? Why are you-"

Raising his hand, Vahn earned a cold glower from the white-haired man as he said, "This ends one of two ways. You apologize, let Nono go, and never appear in front of me again. Do that and I'll at least pretend today's incident never happened. Refuse and, well, let's just say the Little Garden will have a bit less trash by the end of the day..."

Vahn didn't like labeling people as trash. He liked being surrounded even less, however, so, with his opponents radiating auras of pure arrogance, he punctuated his words by popping his knuckles and rolling his neck. This made it clear what his intentions were, but, rather than exhibiting any fear, the group radiated unadulterated hostility as their Leader loosened the tie of his rather stylish black suit and replied, "You must be confident in your strength to interfere in another Community's affairs like this. Tell me. Which Community do you belong to? Perhaps we should make things more...official?"

Understanding that the man was insinuating starting a war, Vahn just rolled his eyes and said, "Even if my time is unlimited, I'd rather not waste it on rabble such as yourselves. Let's get this over with."

Punctuating his words, Vahn appeared in front of the silver-haired man before he could so much as widen his eyes in response. The Laws of the Little Garden prevented people from sustaining serious injuries outside Gift Games, but there were a number of ways to get around this. The most common among these was to have the opponent injure themselves, so, timing his attack just as the man was about to say something, Vahn ended up forcing him to bite off the tip of his tongue as he sent the man soaring more than twenty meters with a simple uppercut.

Seeing their Leader get sent flying with an attack they hadn't even been able to perceive, the nine other individuals immediately tensed up in disbelief. This afforded Vahn the opportunity to flick his wrist, a violet-purple card appearing between his index and middle fingers as he playfully declared, "You activated my Trap Card. Karmic Inversion!"

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[Karmic Inversion]

Rank: B

Function: A unique ability that causes a target to experience all the pain and suffering they had inflicted onto others. Only works against those who have murderous intentions towards the user.

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With the exception of the only woman in the group, everyone else immediately dropped to their knees, kicking and screaming as indescribable pain wracked their bodies. As for the woman, she ended up being spared because she didn't possess murderous intent towards him. Rather, due to his physical appearance, she had actually been thinking about methods to try and recruit him into their Community.

"Sorry, but I'm not particularly fond of women who turn a blind eye to the exploitation of children. I'm afraid you'll have to suffer a bit..."

Though she had fallen onto her butt out of fear, the purple-haired woman immediately attempted to flee the moment she heard Vahn's words, screaming, "I'm sorry! Please forgive me...!" as she used a green-colored card to drastically increase her speed.

Shaking his head, a wry and slightly apologetic smile appeared on Vahn's face as he mused, "Sorry, but I don't issue threats idly..."

Performing a simple sleight of hand technique, Vahn caused the violet-purple card to appear as though it had transformed into a deep crimson as he muttered, "Penance Curse..."

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[Penance Curse]

Rank: C

Function: An ability that causes the target to experience pain based on how much they have relished in the suffering of others. Has no effect on light-based creatures.

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Despite her drastically increased speed, a purple pattern appeared on the woman's back as she attempted to leap over a building. At a glance, it appeared to be a purple heart surrounded by thorns. This indicated she had quite a violent and sadistic personality as the skill generally ranged from pale pink to dark purple. The darker the color, the more she enjoyed the suffering of others, so, while he still felt guilty about punishing someone who had already given up, Vahn got over it pretty quickly.

"Hey! You there! What do you think you're doing in the middle of the street...!?"

Shifting his attention to the person who had called out to him, Vahn found another purple-haired woman rushing over with a judgmental glare on her face. Her clothes, consisting of a fashionable white blouse, frilled black skirt, white stockings, and a peculiar half-apron made her appear to be an Alchemist or a Sorceror. There were potion vials around her waist, and, though it appeared to be a form of scepter at a glance, the object in her hand resembled an inordinately large syringe, albeit without a needle.

Noticing that the woman had a different flag badge than the group writhing about on the ground, Vahn adopted a relaxed smile as he explained, "These people surrounded me with the intention of seeking trouble. I just happened to be a little more than they anticipated..."

Since it was one against nine, the woman had no reason not to believe Vahn's words. Despite this, she maintained a stubborn expression on her face as she approached to within a few meters of him and said, "If you're strong enough to defeat them without injury, you could have just as easily run away. At the very least, you should have settled things with a Gift Game. Fighting in the middle of the street is not only against the Law, it inconveniences everyone trying to go about their business in peace. You also overwrote the protections of the system with the express intent of causing harm so I'm afraid I'll need to take you in. Please come quietly."

Raising his brows, Vahn said, "Sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline. There are people waiting for me and I have no reason to recognize Laws that punish vigilantes but ignore the exploitation and suffering of children. The Gift I used causes people to experience the pain and suffering they have forced onto others. It also only triggers when the other party has murderous intentions towards me, so are you telling me I was simply supposed to ignore them? Ridiculous."

Manifesting the Gift Card in question, Vahn flicked it towards the befuddled woman so that she could read its description for herself. Gift Cards couldn't actually be stolen, and, even if they were somehow misplaced, they could be brought back with a simple thought.

Confirming the description on the card, the woman's expression immediately became troubled as she looked around at the people writhing on the ground. They had clearly caused great suffering based on their current appearance, so, even though she was duty-bound to arrest all of them, she couldn't exactly refute Vahn's words.

Furrowing her brows into a surprisingly adorable pout, the purple-haired woman eyed up Vahn with a scrutinizing gaze before asking, "Which Community do you belong to? You don't appear to have a flag badge..."

Realizing that the woman was considering letting him go, Vahn's smile became more friendly as he crossed his hand over his heart and performed a slight bow, saying, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vahn, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. To answer your question, I do not currently belong to any Community. I am, however, intending to create one in the very near future. Perhaps even as soon as the end of today."

Blinking in surprise, the woman immediately replied, "That's impossible. Without the backing of a Community, you shouldn't be able to use your Gifts outside of a Gift Game. If people could freely use their abilities, the Little Garden would never have peace..."

Though the woman's words caught him by surprise, it didn't take long for Vahn to find a solution. This involved drawing an obsidian-black card tinged with ornate golden embossing as he said, "I'm a bit of an exception to the rules..."

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[Champion of Inanna]

Rank: A

Function: A Blessing bestowed upon those who have won the favor of Inanna, Goddess of Sex, Love, Justice, and Political Power. Allows the user to mete out justice against sinners. Twice as effective on women. Three times as effective against other Goddesses.

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While the color of most Gift Cards didn't matter, that concept flew out the window when the color was black. This signified that the card possessed a Fragment of Divinity, and, more often than not, indicated that the person in question had the favor of a Patron God or Goddess.

Seeing the name Inanna attached to the card, the purple-haired girl promptly tossed it like a hot potato. Inanna was a relatively famous Goddess from a 2-Digit Community. She was known to be 'very' antagonistic towards other women, so, the moment she saw Inanna's name on the card, the purple-haired woman began floundering nervously as she stammered, "P-P-P-Please forgive me. I had n-n-no idea you were affiliated with the Garden of Venus."

Not expecting such an overreaction, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face as he made a mental note not to borrow the names of Gods and Goddesses he hadn't met. The [Champion of Inanna] he possessed was something he had received due to his relationship with Ishtar and Ereshkigal. It had nothing to do with any Goddess in the Divine Realm, but, just as Shiroyasha had been able to sense Rimuru's Innate, Vahn suspected the Gods near the pinnacle would be able to sense it the moment he invoked their names or made use of Gifts related to their myths.

Returning the cards to his body, Vahn adopted a disarming smile as he stated, "Relax. You haven't done anything wrong. Rather, I should commend you for being open-minded enough to consider letting me go. By the way, I never got your name...?"

Though she was more than a little perturbed by the idea of giving her name to someone affiliated with the Goddess Inanna, the purple-haired woman didn't hesitate to cross her hands over her lap, bowing as she said, "My name is Dorothea. Dorothea Abysswalker. It's a p-p-pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Mason."

As it had been quite some time since someone referred to him as Mister, Vahn couldn't help issuing a light chuckle as he resisted the urge to close the distance and caress Dorothea's head. There was actually a rather sizeable ahoge atop her head, and, though it didn't draw nearly as much attention as the glistening golden ornament fastened to her bangs, it filled people with the urge to reach out and grasp it.

Feeling a strange shift in the atmosphere exuding from Vahn's body, Dorothea's instincts told her to get as far away from his as possible. To this end, she manifested an object similar to a Rubix Cube in her left hand, saying, "I-I-If you don't mind, can you please deactivate your Gift? I'm going to collect these people and escort them back to my Community. I'm the Rank 5 member of Twice Twilight, the Community in charge of this particular Gate. We do our best to maintain peace and order within the Gate so your cooperation would be greatly appreciated..."

Since he had no reason to interfere with Dorothea's duties, Vahn just nodded his head, saying, "No problem. I'm currently staying at that Cafe over there. The one called La Papillon. I'll go ahead and extend my stay to a few days so feel free to stop by if you have any questions. I might not be willing to follow you back to your Community but I have no problems cooperating with authorities. Unless, of course, they have a problem with me..."

With that said, Vahn waved his hand in a casual gesture of farewell before promptly turning around and placing his hands into his pockets. This left Dorothea standing stationary for several seconds, a concerned glimmer in her bluish-purple eyes as she seriously considered not even mentioning him in her report...

...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Just imagine Vahn walking around with a duel disc and only making use of the Gifts he draws...','Inanna be like, "OwO...?"','Dorothea has good instincts...')

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Bab 2050: Direction

After returning to the Cafe, Vahn decided against heading up to his room and instead purchased a coffee before retreating to the veranda to think.

Now that he was in the Divine Realm, he needed to decide on his next course of action. Dorothea's reaction had reminded him that the Little Garden was, quite literally, filled to capacity with the Gods and Goddesses of various metaversal structures. There were also Heroes and Villains tied to various myths present, and, even without confirming it, Vahn could already guess that Communities such as 'Avalon' must exist somewhere in the North or West Side.

Though it wasn't a perfect representation of the societal structure of the Little Garden, the East Side was essentially comprised of Pantheons, Heroes, and Demons related to Eastern Cosmologies. This was reflected in the way people carried themselves, dressed, and the way buildings were designed. Sure, there were countless exceptions, the Cafe he was currently in being one of them, but the vast majority of the East Side was populated with buildings evocative of Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, and other eastern cultures...

Seeing a petite fox girl with six tails walking hand-in-hand with a vulpine woman who was clearly her mother, Vahn couldn't help but smile as he mused, "Well, it's not like I'm unfamiliar with eastern culture. The only question at this point is whether or not I should start a revolution or use my Gifts to curry favor and influence with the people presently in power..."

While it was certainly possible to conquer the entire Divine Realm if given enough time, doing so risked placing a tremendous burden on those who served under or alongside him. He might also offend the Gods in charge of the Little Garden, and, while he was confident in his ability to be able to defeat them, that was a matter for the far future.

With Source Energy at his beck and call, Vahn could theoretically go wherever he pleased. The issue was that this wasn't the first Little Garden. Rather, whenever things got too out of hand, the Gods in charge had a habit of simply 'resetting' things by creating another Little Garden elsewhere. This was a countermeasure against conceptual beings and creatures with reality-altering power that allowed them to essentially ignore the rules.

In other words, unless he could somehow catch the omnipotent beings who governed all realities by surprise, the only practical means to reach the center of the Little Garden was to follow the rules.

Fortunately, so long as they followed the rules, the entities in charge of the Divine Realm didn't actually mind if someone possessing the intention to destroy everything managed to work their way up the ranks. This was considered a natural thing, and, even if the current order was destroyed, it was only a matter of time until a new one was created.

Nobody knew whether or not anyone had actually succeeded in destroying everything. Ever since the abandonment of the previous Little Garden, however, those with the potential of doing so had struggled with growing beyond a 3-Digit Community. The lowest gated one at present, meaning it was the strongest, was the 666 Beast Community. They ruled over the 666th Gate, and, every time they made even a small amount of headway, other Communities would quickly step in to suppress them. Thus, while it wasn't impossible for an organization to eventually reach the point where they possessed the Authority to destroy everything, the implication was that they would need to defeat every other Community first.

Though he didn't consider himself a paragon of truth and justice, Vahn would rather avoid being lumped together with Demon Kings, Lords, and Gods if he could avoid it. He also didn't really feel like waging war against the entire Little Garden just to secure his position in the 1-Digit Gates, so, while it was certainly possible, he was currently leaning towards the paths of forging, medicine, and trade.

While this might sound like a very roundabout manner of doing things, it was actually the fastest method when considering the requirements for advancing to lower-digit Communities. This was best exemplified by the requirements to advance to a 5-Digit Community. This required having at least three other 6-Digit Communities serving under you, a total of ten or more 'Players', the right to hang your flag on the Outer Gate, and, most importantly, the ability to host a Gift Game with at least 100 other Communities swearing an oath beneath your flag.

Simply put, without the support of countless other Communities, it was impossible to increase your rank. This was why even Shiroyasha, the previous Rank 10 and the literal Floor Master governing the entire East Side, had only been able to create a 4-Digit Community. She simply didn't have enough support since she had virtually zero interest in politics and often punished anyone even attempting to curry favor with her.

Thinking of the petite Demon Goddess, Vahn's thoughts shifted to Rimuru as he briefly toyed with the idea of releasing his Templates and creating hundreds of Communities. If he wasn't absolutely sure the people in charge would freak out if he began 'summoning' dozens, if not hundreds, of Tier 5 beings to the Divine Realm, this would, inarguably, be the fastest method to improve his rank.

"Hmmm...maybe I should just find out where Yggdrasil and Avalon are located? I've always been rather fond of Fae, Spirits, and Elves and I can't even imagine a World Tree turning me away..."

Though this was certainly a viable method, Vahn knew it would actually stall him in the long run if he became affiliated with any purely 'good' or 'evil' organization. They could be remarkably hostile and intolerant towards one another, so, if he affiliated himself with either side in the beginning, the other would doubtlessly distrust him. This would make maintaining his 'Chaotic Neutral' alignment exceptionally difficult. Thus, after seven cups of coffee, enough to make the barista slightly nervous, Vahn stood up, popped his back, and remarked, "Well, I have been referring to myself as the God of Infinite Possibilities for quite some time. It will be interesting to see how the other Communities and organizations react when I begin awakening and handing out all kinds of Gifts..."

Since Gifts were the most highly sought-after commodity in the entire Divine Realm, Vahn was in a rather unique position due to his ability to produce a functionally infinite amount. He could supply both sides of the karmic spectrum with Gifts, and, in exchange, guarantee their support. Sure, they would doubtlessly be at each others' throats the moment they obtained additional power, but how was that any different from the present? Rather, the very purpose of the Little Garden was to pit the residents against each other to determine who was the most powerful...

"I wonder what the Loki of this world is like...?"

...

Having made up his mind, Vahn made his way up the stairs before giving the girls' room a gentle knock. He already knew they were both awake, but the less they knew about his sensory abilities, the better. Sarina was giving him some serious Lili and Asuna vibes, so, the moment she knew he could sense everything she was doing, her boldness would progressively grow...

After checking the peephole to confirm it wasn't anyone strange knocking on their door, Sarina quickly unfastened the bolt lock maintaining the defensive wards on the door. Then, with a happy smile on her face, she flung to door open and chimed, "Welcome back, Vahn~!" in a cheerful tune.

Adopting his characteristic smile, Vahn casually ruffled Sarina's hair before making his way into the room and smiling even more radiantly when he noticed Nono staring at him. This caused the young auburn-haired girl to immediately avert her eyes, a subtle blush coloring her cheeks as she used the covers to conceal her body. It wasn't that she was naked or anything along those lines. She just felt self-conscious being 'alone' in a room with a man she had just recently met.

Understanding why she would be cautious, Vahn stayed relatively close to the door as he pulled out a wooden chair and sat with his arms crossed over the back. He wasn't going to invade her personal space if she was uncomfortable with it, so, with the door still open behind him, he revealed, "I met a group from your Community. If I'm not mistaken, the fellow with silvery-white hair and golden eyes was your Leader, correct...?"

Blinking in surprise, Nono looked back at Vahn before nervously nodding her head and answering, "Yes...his name is Justinian..."

Confirming the man's name with the help of Loi-chan, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation before explaining, "Well, let's just say he won't be bothering you any time soon. Don't worry. I made sure not to kill any of them. I just taught them a lesson in civility before entrusting them to a member of Twice Twilight, the Community that governs this Gate. That name ring a bell...?"

Nodding her head, Nono visibly relaxed when she heard Vahn mention he hadn't killed anyone. She no longer trusted them after everything they had done to her, but that didn't mean she wished they were dead. Even her Gift was focused on defense and sealing so even the notion of someone being harmed on her behalf filled her with guilt.

"Thank you for showing mercy...you are a very kind person..."

Smiling wryly in response to the bashful attestation, Vahn resisted the urge to scratch the back of his head and simply accepted the compliment. She would undoubtedly think differently if she knew what kind of punishment he had meted out against them. Fortunately, she wasn't wrong when she said he had shown mercy. If he really wanted to, even the protections of the Divine Realm wouldn't be able to prevent him from killing someone.

Deciding to shift the topic towards far more important matters, Vahn surprised both girls by asking, "So, what do you think about becoming a member of my Community? It doesn't actually exist yet, but I'm thinking about creating a neutral organization that specializes in helping people. I only just arrived in the Divine Realm a few hours ago, but I'm pretty confident in my ability to unify people and bring about change. I also have these, just in case you were worried that I might be targeting you for your Gift."

Waving his hand, Vahn created a stack of Gift Cards that were roughly 8x5x3m in length, width, and height. This was actually just a portion of the Gift Cards he had stacked in his Soul Realm, but, from the perspective of others, it was a truly horrifying amount.

"Are...are all of those...?"

Nodding his head, Vahn used his Telekinesis to pick up one of the Gift Cards, explaining, "Prior to my ascent to the Divine Realm, I was known as the Sage Dragon Emperor and The God of Infinite Possibilities. I'm also a Heaven-Grade Blacksmith and Artisan, so, while the current number of Gifts I possess is finite, it isn't an exaggeration to say I can create countless more. Your Gift is certainly very powerful, but it isn't the only one of its kind..."

Flipping the card over, Vahn allowed Nono to see its surface as an intermediate Spirit formed from sand manifested behind him. This caused the girl's eyes to widen, as, despite there being a number of differences, the guardian behind was functionally identical to her own. Unfortunately, she needed actual a tremendous amount of sand to manifest hers. In that regard, his was far superior...

Dissipating both the Gift Cards and the pseudo-spirit standing behind him, Vahn explained, "I'm not going to force you. Rather, as the God of Infinite Possibilities, I am a fervent believer in the ideology that people must be willing to walk their own path in life. I can support you and help you grow, but, in the end, the only person that can ensure your happiness is yourself. All I can do is give you a little push in the right direction..."

Lowering her head, Nono seemed to seriously consider Vahn's invitation. In many ways, it was the only sensible choice to make. She couldn't exactly return to her Community, and, even if she did try to venture out on her own, people coveting her Gift were bound to target her. She understood this better than most after what she had suffered through, so, in response to Vahn's words, she raised her head and meekly replied, "I..."

...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I wonder if the King Arthur of this world is also a chick...?','Loki would be proud...','Yes, come to the dark side. We have cookies and head pats...')

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