Capítulo 809: Impatience
With battles raging around him, Vahn remained relatively unperturbed as he gently stroked Alexa's hair and contemplated how best to use his new ability. There were many unknowns about the function thus far and he would need to conduct several tests to discover the limitations, if any, that his 'Modify' function possessed. Vahn believed that, in the future, it would undoubtedly be without limit but, considering his experience with The Path thus far, Vahn didn't think it gave him nearly as much power as he assumed. If that were the case, he could slowly 'upgrade' his subordinates and retainers until he had acquired a group of allies that were simply beyond anything within the record...
Since he was able to access their information through the system interface, Vahn could see all of his current subordinates and retainers, testing a variety of different options without finalizing anything. The only exceptions to this were the 'eternal flame' and Anubis, whose parameters could be observed but couldn't be influenced. This, as explained by Sis, was the first proof that there were limitations to the function, this time being that his Soul Tier was simply too low. Though the functions of the system seemed incredibly powerful, they were still restricted by the level of existence he was currently at. Even so, by inputting various options under Lefiya, Vahn could see the costs of modifications, including things like turning her into a True Dragon for 390,000,000OP.
Though the prices were exorbitant, especially since he was currently trying to save up 10-100 billion OP, Vahn knew it wouldn't be that difficult to harvest a large amount of OP in higher Tier worlds. By the time he linked the records, he would have a veritable ocean of OP to make use of, something that would undoubtedly help him promote the strength of the girls for whatever dangers would present themselves. After all, they would only be Tier 3 Souls at best by the time he left, with some having the potential of reaching Tier 4. Since the record would be Tier 7 by then, Vahn knew he wouldn't be able to fight against the balancing component of karma entirely on his own, making the girls a major weakness of his that he was trying to lay the foundation to prevent being exploited...
After sorting through a variety of options for Lefiya, Vahn then looked through Fenrir's information and frowned slightly when he saw she was still only a Tier 1 Soul. Her Innate, [Insatiable Hunger], was also very unique in that she couldn't actually train it any further. It simply didn't have the capacity to be developed as, without any exceptions whatsoever, it was entirely associated with her hunger, stress, and emotions. If she decided to cut loose and make use of her Innate to its full potential, Fenrir would eventually become strong enough to even [Devour] the entire record, all while being a Tier 1 entity...
Thus far, Fenrir had been trying to walk the path of a Cultivator so that she could increase her Soul Tier but, without any Innate to promote her strength through mastery, it was exceedingly difficult for her to do so. Vahn speculated he would be able to [Rename] her through the system function and help promote her Soul Tier further, allowing her to overcome this limitation. If this was true, the power of his 'Modify' function would be truly immense as he could simply 'upgrade' his subordinates, even if it required a monstrous amount of OP. However, as he toyed around with modifying Fenrir's name, it surprisingly didn't cost nearly as much as he expected, prompting Sis to explain, (*Though the [Rename] ability works by allowing you to assign a name of power to an entity, it isn't on the same level as your [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]. Since Fenrir already has a fate assigned the first time you gave her a name, she is no longer an applicable target for your [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]...sorry, Vahn.*)
Though this was a minor setback, Vahn just took a slow breath through his nose and kept calm as he said, ("It isn't your fault, Sis. Thank you for clarifying that for me..."). This prompted her to give him a quiet, 'Nn', with an apologetic undertone, but Vahn had already started thinking of ways around the issue. He could still use the [Rename] ability to change Fenrir's name or, more specifically, give her a secondary name that would enhance her power. It might not be at the same level as a name derived from the [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] but Vahn knew there were plenty of skills or abilities associated with names that Fenrir would benefit from. At the same time, though it was a strange way to look at the situation, Vahn knew he could potentially modify Fenrir's physique so that she simply didn't have a hymen from the start...
As that thought crossed his mind, an equally strange thought appeared, along with an image of Lili within his mind. Vahn suddenly felt incredibly flustered but, after using the [Grimoire of Guidance] on Bell, he realized there had been a solution to Fenrir's 'problem' this entire time. Now, having Fenrir sitting next to him with a concerned look on her face, Vahn felt like the biggest fool in the whole record. He had been helping her try to overcome her 'problem' for so long but kept running down tangents that would require her to work hard and seemingly do the impossible. This was all while the 'solution' had been in front of him the entire time...
Sending a telepathic message to Lili, as she was currently standing on the back of a cart and watching the battles, Vahn then turned to Fenrir and explained, "Fenrir...your Master has been an idiot...haaaaa..." This caused Fenrir's eyes to widen as Alexa also stirred in his lap, curious about what her Papa had done wrong to call himself an idiot. At this time, Lili had already arrived at the cart and asked, "You called me, Vahn?" To this, Vahn nodded his head and pulled out the second [Grimoire of Guidance], saying, "Can you please imbue your [Cinder*Ella] into this book and give it to Fenrir...? I promise to help you de-" Before he even finished, Lili snatched over the book and stuck out her tongue, saying, "Don't worry about it. Even if we don't get along that well all the time, Fenrir is still my friend, you know~?"
When she heard Lili's words, Fenrir snorted but didn't refute the claim as her tail thumped against the reinforced wood of the cart with a loud thud. Vahn felt a bit of warmth in his heart at Lili's words while also feeling as though he hadn't 'truly' been an idiot. If this ended up working, he could always make it up to Fenrir plentily later on...
It didn't take long for the grimoire in Lili's hand to have the title '[Cinder*Ella] by Liliruca Arde' on the cover. She then handed it over to Fenrir who, at this point, seemed to understand what was going on as she somewhat shakily accepted the heavy book. Similar to the phenomenon he had seen with Bell, the book began to dissolve into magical energy that flowed into Fenrir's body, carrying with it the knowledge and comprehension that Lili had of her unique magic.
Since Fenrir already had a great deal of knowledge in transformation magic, she was quickly able to make sense of the new information. Even without being prompted to do so, Fenrir's body suddenly emitted a magical light as her fair white skin became a healthy brown while the fur on her paws, arms, and legs simply retreated, replaced by adorable fingers and toes. Her midnight blue hair became dark brown as the large floppy ears atop her head vanished, replaced by two human-looking ears at the sides of her head. Even the tail on her backside seemed to be 'sucked' into her body, with the only 'constant' carrying over from her previous form being her two scarlet red eyes...
From the moment she heard her Master mention Lili giving [Cinder*Ella] to her, Fenrir understood what he had in mind and it made her feel extremely anxious and excited. She had seen Lili transform into a variety of different species without any issues at all, including one that Fenrir had even wished she could be at times. As a result, the moment the information for [Cinder*Ella] entered her mind, Fenrir immediately transformed into an Amazoness and now sat, blankly staring at the backs of her brown hands before turning them over and seeing they were slightly pale on the inside. She could also tell that her senses had dulled greatly, but there was also an eagerness welling up inside of her as she turned to her Master with teary eyes, on the verge of crying wholeheartedly for the first time in her life.
Lili also understood the 'implications' behind Fenrir being able to use her magic and couldn't help smiling, feeling very happy for this troublesome companion of her's. At the same time, she felt like teasing Fenrir a little to prevent the mood from souring, commenting, "This is great, Fenrir. I'll teach you a lot of my more unique transformations later...or do you already have them inside your head? Either way, now we can team up against your Master and prevent him from straying away from the Manor, ehehehehehe~."
Vahn froze up a little when he heard Lili's words, thoughts of Lulune and Alicia running through his mind as a cold sweat beaded on his back. Fortunately, Fenrir produced a rare laugh at Lili's comment, wiping the budding tears from her eyes as she said, "Thank you, Lili...*sniff*...I'd like that..." Then, annoying Alexa a little, Fenrir tightly hugged Vahn's arm and began rubbing her cheek against him with a happy smile on her face, accompanied by an encroaching blush. Vahn knew that things would get dangerous if she didn't change back so, after stroking her somewhat shaggy brown hair, he gently said, "Once we reach the 50th Floor, I'll do my best to make up for lost time...for now, we have to stay on high alert to prevent the expedition from getting overwhelmed..."
As these words left his lips, Vahn knew the truth of the matter was actually slightly different, at least for Fenrir herself. He was really starting to feel like an idiot now, even going to far as to facepalm as he said, "Actually, I can call you to my other body, or even transfer you through my storage magic if you want to spend the night at the Manor...we can also go into the orb and have some privacy...or perhaps stay in your room...?" If he didn't know any better, Vahn felt like Fenrir was, quite literally, about to attack him after hearing his words. The mild blush on her face had deepened considerably as a hot voice escaped her lips as she said, "Master...I don't want to wait anymore..."
Back on the surface, Vahn had been drinking tea with Loki as she sent out dozens of messages through her information networks and compiled anything pertinent to the investigation in a logbook. With Fenrir showing her 'impatience', not that he could blame her after she had waited for such a long period of time, Vahn knew he needed to tend to her immediately. Startling Loki a little, he picked her up from his lap and said, "I need to enter into the sub-space orb and tend to Fenrir. Using the [Grimoire of Guidance], Lili was able to teach Fenrir her [Cinder*Ella] magic spell..."
Without any other explanation required, Loki's eyes opened to an almost normal degree as she began shooing him out of the room, saying, "Hurry up then~! Make sure you take care of her properly, you hear!?" Though Fenrir had never been that fond of her, that didn't mean Loki wasn't fond of the young Vanargandr. Just the thought of an existence that could become powerful enough to even devour Heaven made her feel giddy and excited. She had tried on several occasions to get Fenrir to open up to her, with the vast majority of them ending in failure. Even so, she knew how important such an event was for Fenrir and wanted the ravenous little wolf to be happy...
For the first time, Vahn found himself skulking through the Manor and evading any of his wandering children, knowing they would essentially be a landmine at this point. He swore in his heart to make it up to them later and quickly made his way to the room containing the sub-space orb. Since there could be complications if he tried to call her while in the orb, Vahn used the [Summon] function of Unit Management to bring a somewhat confused and almost 'pained' Fenrir next to him. She quickly trained her glowing red eyes on him and, noticing the nearby orb, placed her palm against it around the same time as Vahn himself.
When they entered into the orb, Fenrir practically tackled Vahn and began pulling at his durable clothing with enough force to tear the fibers apart in an instant. Since it might cause problems to do the deed in the middle of where other people entered into the orb, Vahn bearhugged the voracious little Amazoness and quickly carried her into one of the side rooms before kicking the door closed behind him. A powerful ward emerged on the door, preventing entry to anyone while blocking all sounds from traveling to the outside. Then, after a small battle to assert dominance and inhibit Fenrir's budding Amazonian instincts, Vahn pinned the sweaty girl to the bed and, after years of waiting, the two finally became one...
Fenrir had been more than ready to receive him and, though her body couldn't 'adapt' completely from the very beginning, her actions carried an almost scary carnal intensity. It was fortunate that her nails weren't that long or, after she buried them into his back, Vahn was certain he would have been ripped apart. Even so, blood continued to trickle down his back throughout the very long session of lovemaking before it would retract and heal moments later. Fenrir only seemed to get more riled up and violent the longer they continued, but Vahn eventually managed to get her to settle down by getting 'serious' with her...
After Vahn loosened his restraints, Fenrir became like putty in his hands and, with a deeply enamored blush, sought him out for the better part of three days before she was finally satisfied. This was a combination of the fact that, even though she was an Amazoness, Fenrir's body still reverted back to the 'default' state she was in during her transformation. Since she was filled with energy from his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Grooming], Fenrir had been a tireless machine that eagerly sought her Master's touch, and much, much more. By the time the climactic event had come to an end, the barriers protecting the room had even started to crack under the intense 'battle' that had taken place...
When all was said and done, Fenrir had returned to her Vanargandr state with Vahn assuming his own, hugging her sweating body from behind as a thin shroud of mist rose from their naked figures. Her tail was tucked between his legs, wrapped around his own while Vahn was nuzzling into her hair and enjoying the rich fragrance wafting from her body. For the first time since she had assumed this form of existence, Fenrir's scarlet eyes had a natural coloration to them, possessing of a deep darkness that seemed like it could swallow galaxies. Normally, there would always be a very subtle glow to them but now, against any expectations she had harbored, Fenrir felt incredibly contented as her Master's warmth still lingered in her lower body, even though they had long since separated...
Back in the real world, Vahn was hovering above the expedition encampment with his fingertips against each other as he held his hands in an inverted position while meditating. There was only half the normal number of tents and they had all been brought close together as nearly a hundred Adventurers were guarding near the perimeter of a massive barrier that covered the entire encampment.
Though his own ability to cast external magic was severely lacking, Vahn hadn't been slouching around for the last couple of years, especially with Terra constantly advancing her own magical power further. She had developed an artifact that had her barrier magic infused into it, comprised of eleven interrelated magic circles that had been shrunk down using Space magic. By channeling his energy into it, without having to manifest it into the real world, Vahn was able to use Terra's nigh-indestructible barrier without any great expenditure of his own internal reserves.
Since his avatar was also in the orb, Vahn experienced his energy recouping at six times the normal rate and this was more than enough to keep the barrier up indefinitely, all whilst thousands of monsters slammed against the outside. Even though this was the case, there was still a guard rotation to make sure none of those strange flowers popped up within the encampment and, to prepare themselves for another surprise attack, most people had gone to sleep still fully geared up for battle.
Sensing the change in her Papa, as he had just finished having sex with Fenrir a short while ago, Alexa lifted her head as if she wanted to ask something but ultimately remained silent. She then tightened her grip around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder once again; she had been clinging to him as if he had been giving her a piggyback ride. It looked a little strange to anyone observing from a distance, but most people knew that Alexa was Vahn's 'daughter' at this point and just figured she was a little clingy. Many had been so awed by the performance of the girls, and Vahn himself, that any 'negative' thoughts were buried deep within their hearts. Nobody wanted to earn his ire by saying something that might offend him and, after witnessing the almost unfathomable power of the girls keeping them safe, these feelings were compounded greatly...
(A/N: I am not afraid to admit that, until I used the [Grimoire of Guidance] on Bell, I hadn't even thought about Lili giving her [Cinder*Ella] to Fenrir. I feel like I have failed the Murder Floof...please forgive me (T^T)...Also, to all the people complaining about Bell getting [Pactio], you're ignoring the whole reason Vahn had given for helping Bell in the first place. He wants to observe Bell in a 'controlled' environment so he can have a better understanding of how fate can influence people in records he had no foreknowledge of. At the same time, he is helping to groom Bell into a capable ally that will ease his own burdens in the future. If Bell becomes strong enough to maintain the frontline with his own party, Vahn is freed up to deal with other issues on the surface, specifically those related to other countries and organizations. Vahn could have very easily just made the [Pactio] circles for Bell each and every time, but this current method guarantees that the girls around Bell have a higher chance of survival while also stimulating Bell's growth. Those that point out that Bell will just get used to having everything handed to him have a fundamental lack of understanding about Bell's character. The more you give him, the more effort Bell will put into his own training since he doesn't want to be the type of person that takes advantage of and relies on other people one-sidedly. If the girls were actually stronger than him, this would bolster his desire to grow stronger and, at the same time, increase their ability to protect themselves. I don't really like making huge walls of text trying to explain my reasoning, clarifying things that have already been mentioned in the context of the novel, so this will be one of the last times I do so. Just know that I read almost every comment and take into consideration what the readers want to see, so trust that I will always try to give you some form of vindication in the future. Remember, I even told you from the very beginning that most people would probably hate Bell...this is intentional xD...)
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Not as OP as expected...for now (UwU)...','Vahn is a big dumb dumb','Fenrir setting records from the start xD...')
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Capítulo 810: Intuition
After letting the expedition rest for a couple of hours, all the while monsters continued to besiege the barrier, it was time for them to progress into the 37th Floor, the beginning of the White Palace. Though Vahn had initially wanted to make it all the way to the 39th Floor and rest on Lil Geirr, the number of monsters inhibiting their advance was far beyond his expectations. At any one moment, the corridors and caverns would be filled with tens of thousands of monsters that were trying to halt their advance. Since he had been worried that Lil Geirr was also under attack, Vahn had even sent Ais, Tiona, Maemi, and Emiru to break through the blockade and go provide support.
Since there were only a few Floors separating them, Vahn was able to maintain contact with the girls and learned that, against expectations, Lil Geirr had only been assaulted a few times. This meant that Enyo's forces were specifically targetting the expedition and, quite possibly, there could be something carried by one of its members that was drawing them in. After all, he hadn't expected Enyo to put so much effort into stopping their progress since it made it very apparent that something 'unnatural' was occurring. In his original calculations, she should have already learned about the plans to build a settlement on the 50th Floor and would have been planning some kind of ambush for them, not proactively wasting forces just trying to stall...
Vahn had told the girls to continue defending Lil Geirr since there was no way of knowing if the situation would change and, though the defenses of the small fortress were rather high, the combat capabilities of their individual members left something to be desired. Other than people like Gareth, Bete, and a few other Elites, the only means by which they could turn away a wave of monsters was entirely dependent on the defensive wards and ballistae that had been installed. Other than that, the defenders would have to rely on ranged weaponry while anyone capable enough to fight up close would struggle to try and hold ground against the numbers that the expedition was currently facing.
Once the expedition had prepared to move out again, Vahn slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a sigh as Alexa quickly released his back and relied on her own wings to remain airborne. She looked down at the monsters that were futilely striking at the barrier, a cold glint in her aquamarine eyes as she asked, "Papa, can I kill them...?" Vahn stretched his body, as he had been stationary for nearly six hours, nodding his head as he said, "Yes, but don't overextend yourself. It would be best if you barrage them with a few big attacks and then return to my side."
Alexa smiled excitedly, saying, "I understand, Papa, leave it to me~!" as she flicked her wings and created a shockwave with her sudden acceleration. Vahn slowly began moving along with the expedition but kept his back towards the front as he observed Alexa wreak a bit of havoc on the enemies. She created green spheres of condensed magical power in her hands that had dark black cores that radiated with what looked like green electricity. Whenever she tossed them into a group of monsters, the spheres wouldn't simply explode, but instead expanded in an instant before persisting for several seconds. When they finally faded away, the only thing remaining was a perfect hemispherical hole where monsters had previously stood.
The attack spell that Alexa was using is something she had created for herself, an unnamed spell that was comprised of Space, Darkness, and a small amount of source energy to contain it. This was why the attack was nearly soundless as, even though the destructive energies inside were terrifying, they still couldn't overwhelm the thin membrane of source that had been used as a stabilizer. Anything unfortunate enough to be trapped inside was devoured by the Darkness as the space around them was completely isolated for external energies. Even if they had a teleportation ability, unless it was an Innate, there would be few means by which most enemies could even escape Alexa's attacks.
After lobbing eight of her terrifyingly destructive magic sphere, Alexa quickly created a few shockwaves as she zipped back to his side, breathing a little heavily but still smiling. Vahn extended his arm and let Alexa come forward to hug him while he helped to replenish her energy and keep pace with the expedition. This cycle repeated a few times and, though he knew she would probably be okay, Vahn didn't let his attention fall away from Alexa whenever she was fighting monsters. Even if she was a True Dragon, he couldn't help but worry about her, regardless of the fact that most enemies couldn't threaten her even if they landed a direct hit.
At the same time that Alexa was helping the Haruhime's Rearguard Unit thin out their pursuers, Lefiya was surrounded by a perpetual pink magic circle as dozens of smaller magic circles formed behind her back like wings. Whenever she would see a large group of enemies, she would send forth a beam of magical power that would cut through any enemies unfortunate enough to meet its path before exploding against the ground and creating an explosion nearly 20m in diameter. The fact that she could send out 79 such attacks at once made Lefiya's role within the group of Mages the most important. It also helped that, standing a short distance from her, Ryuu was using her bow to immediately pick off any variant monsters that might appear. They couldn't even hope to defend against her arrows, each compressed Star Elemental energy that naturally counteracted the very existence of mana constructs like monsters...
Though the girls were the most dominant forces on the battlefield, it wasn't as if they were doing all of the work. In fact, if not for Vahn's ability to replenish their energy reserves and the large number of consumable items they had available, it might not even be possible to progress as smoothly as they had been. Fortunately, the girls were able to conserve the majority of their strength to mislead Enyo's forces, instead, allowing the expedition itself to do handle most enemies. Having hundreds of Adventurers that were Level 3 and higher made short work of most monsters, as each of them was able to fight off dozens of enemies with ease while the 'normal' Mages were able to clear out large groups that exerted pressure on the convoy.
Even the construction crew and Supporters were helping out, using crossbows, miniature ballistae, and a few of the [Burst Oil] potions that Asfi had mass-produced within the sub-space orb. Each potion was enough to create a small inferno that could cover an area of around 8m, tearing through the defenses of most monsters with ease. With the help of Naaza, Chloe, Shizune, Lili, and Vahn himself, they had made more than three thousand of the highly useful explosive potions. If they ran low, Vahn could even purchase more from the system shop but, given the fact that they had the resources and it also saved him a great deal of OP, he preferred having them made from scratch.
Thus far, other than a few light injuries that had been easily dealt with, everything was proceeding relatively smoothly. This fact, however, caused Vahn to be on even higher alert, especially during the moments when Arnya, Mikoto, and Lili were clearing out the Coliseums. Since it was very difficult for those inside to get out, Vahn was worried that an unexpected attack would occur while their forces were split. Fortunately, the three girls were able to completely annihilate the monsters barring further passage while he had been waiting with Alexa, Haruhime, Ryuu, Lefiya, Chloe, Shizune, and Tina. The latter two hadn't had the opportunity to showcase their skills just yet, but Vahn knew they would have a chance in the near future.
Using this same strategy, the expedition continued forward in relatively high spirits as Finn directed everyone in a tight formation. The second Unit, comprised of a large number of members of the Ganesha Familia, was their weakest spot. However, as this was also where Vahn and Alexa were located, it was simultaneously the safest place to be for the weaker members of the expedition. Things were intentionally designed this way to draw attention to the 'center' of the formation, especially if there were someone intelligent guiding the monsters' actions. The majority of those making up the leadership of the Alliance was very aware of the existence of Enyo at this point, so morale had been high, even under the constant barrage of monsters.
After clearing through the White Palace, the expedition filtered into where the Udaeus would normally spawn but, after the girls passed through the previous day, it had been easily defeated. The room had been so damaged from the fight that, even though the Dungeon would heal over time, there were several indicators of the battle that had occurred. Vahn knew that Ais, Tiona, and Tione had let Maemi and Emiru take it on by themselves, so it wasn't too surprising to see how much damage remained in the area. After all, Maemiru was powerful enough to defeat the combined efforts of many of the other girls, assuming she wasn't already injured beforehand...
While the expedition made its way through the wide-open room, Vahn didn't drop his guard for a single moment, even though the waves of enemies had temporarily stopped. His intuition was telling him that something was 'wrong' but, even after they had clearly progressed into the next Floor, nothing had happened. As a result, the expedition continued forward until they were very near the entrance to the 39th Floor. The waves of monsters had started from the moment they entered into the 38th Floor, but the open space was actually to the advantage of the Alliance and made it relatively easy to continue forward since they were no longer 'funneled' inward.
Even as they entered into the 39th Floor, Vahn suspicion that something was 'wrong' kept nagging at his mind, almost affirming that it was something within the expedition itself that was setting off this feeling. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to sense any abnormalities, even after inspecting every single person within the expedition with his senses. Not only did he search their aura, but Vahn even went out of his way to inspect their clothing, view their bodies with his [Eyes of Truth], and even transform into his Baihu form to try and sense something. The only thing this accomplished was making the 'danger' feel even stronger, but Vahn couldn't identify the source at all...
Once the expedition managed to enter into Lil Geirr and begin setting up camp, the girls that had trailblazed regrouped with the main group and Vahn took the initiative to call together a council of all the Unit Commanders. He gathered Finn, Shakti, and Haruhime into the Command Tent while a little over twenty other executives filed in to listen to his orders. Without beating around the bush at all, Vahn explained, "I can't ascertain the source, but there is something within the expedition itself that is causing my instincts to trigger. Though that might not sound convincing, know that I'm absolutely certain there is something seriously 'wrong' about how things have been going..."
Following his words, Finn immediately nodded his head and added, "Vahn is right. My own instincts have been going off for a while now. My thumb is so itchy that I can hardly prevent myself from gnawing it off..." To emphasize this, Finn raised his hand and showed the teeth marks on his glove with a wry smile on his face. His 'thumb' was a very well known quirk so, even though they hadn't exactly discounted Vahn's words, most people were convinced by the fact that both people with the highest authority were in agreement. The only peculiarity, which Vahn was surprised he had overlooked, was that Rufina's aura began to shake a little while she sat at the side with a thoughtful expression on her face.
Seeing her behavior, Vahn wondered if his feeling was somehow related to her and, even though he was resolved to hold onto it, Vahn was tempted to use the [Fate Severing Knife] on her. For the time being, however, he just closed his eyes as if he were in deep thought and inspected Rufina in greater detail than he had before. It was his mistake to have overlooked giving a detailed inspection of the people he had already trusted, even though Rufina's fate was intertwined with the Dungeon itself. He was relieved to see that there wasn't anything particularly strange with her, even though she clearly understood he was looking based on her body language and aura...
Vahn smiled comfortingly to her and sent a telepathic message to Tiona and Chloe to try and look after her once the meeting was over. At the same time, he had started to discuss the best course of action to take in determining the cause of the abnormality. The simplest solution seemed to be separating everyone that had a 'negative' aura and spending a few extra days in Lil Geirr to determine the cause by investigating everything in detail. There were a couple of thousand people that currently resided in Lil Geirr itself, including laborers, artisans, and construction workers. It wouldn't be that difficult to rotate them out in exchange for greater benefits for those that would volunteer for the journey...
Finn listened to Vahn's plan of action before nodding his head in agreement, trusting Vahn's judgment as he said, "I believe this is one of our best options right now. However, we should also extend our investigation to everyone in the expedition while helping bolster the defenses of Lil Geirr. We've all seen how abnormal the monsters are acting and, even though we're in a 'safe area', there have already been several small attacks over the last twenty-four hours. Considering it would sometimes be weeks between similar attacks, it is clear to see that there is a greater scheme afoot here. We can't expose any weakness that could be exploited by our enemies so, until we get to the bottom of this, we should stay put and consolidate our forces."
Shakti and Haruhime immediately gave their approval and, even though that would have been all that was required, the matter was still put to a vote. The representatives of the merchant and construction Familia also acceded to the ruling very quickly, even though some of the merchant Familia members were obviously a little nervous. Many of them knew that some of their members were less than reputable individuals and would likely be weeded out by any thorough investigation. Even so, they wouldn't pass up the opportunity to set up shops within the 50th Floor this time around, even if the number of clients they had would likely be extremely few for the first few years. They were in this for the long-term investment of such an ambitious project and, missing the opportunity when they had the backing and protection of the Alliance would be one of the greatest chances they ever let slip.
Vahn understood what the merchants were thinking but didn't mind it that much as he had discussed their participation with Minerva and Fortuna before following their advice. Though he could easily establish a monopoly for various goods, the two goddesses explained that it was good to at least create the semblance of competition. This would give people the illusion that things weren't exclusively controlled by the Alliance and encourage more merchants and business owners to make the migration. At the same time, the Alliance would be establishing a Merchant's Guild in conjunction with the actual Guild representatives, this time comprising of a group of three people, one elderly Elven man, and two youthful looking Human women.
With the 'unanimous' approval to conduct an investigation, everyone was denied 'leave' to explore Lil Geirr until they had provided the proper documentation and had both their personal belongings and bodies thoroughly investigated. Though some of the female members had complained about this kind of treatment, they had quieted down after learning that Vahn would personally conduct the search. For better or worse, it was times like this where his reputation, the amicable aura he emitted from his body, and the influence of his [Charm] Development Skill were able to show off their usefulness. Fortunately, he was still back at the Manor and was able to vent some of his frustrations on the surprisingly docile Fenrir, having become more affectionate and submissive after their first few days together...
Given the fact there were more than 1300 people to go through, the investigation would obviously take a few days. To expedite things, Vahn had started off by identifying each of the members with dark and 'negative' auras, giving a list to Finn so he could call them forward first. It wasn't that surprising to Vahn that the majority inevitably confessed to various crimes they had committed, nor that nearly thirty people admitted to being plants by the Noble faction. As for how he was able to get them to admit to this, it was a combination of mental suppression, calming incense, and implanting suggestions in their mind using a few advanced hypnosis techniques. Though he would never use such things on the people he cared about, nor would he shamelessly exploit those under his influence, it was a very useful technique for prying information out of 'enemies'. At the very least, it was better than having to 'torture' it out of them, the method that Loki and Freya were a little 'too' fond of...
Other than the plants of the Nobles, and those that 'admitted' to the fact they intended to commit crimes in the new settlement, Vahn let the rest of the people go free. Many of these people, while having dark auras, were the victims of circumstance, pressured by criminal Familias on the surface, or simply wanted to 'migrate' into the Dungeon to escape from a difficult past. Vahn took pity on people like this and, after planting a ward inside of them that was designed to absorb negative energies, he let them go free.
As long as they didn't make any trouble in the future, he had no reason to put pressure on people that were trying to improve their lives. For those that had been victimized by other people, to the point that they were drawn into the darkness against their will, Vahn had them identify the people that pressured them. He would investigate them back on the surface and try to remove them so that they were unable to pressure other people into living similar lifestyles. In total, the number of people that were detained numbered 58 people, the majority being planted by the Nobles, those that had committed horrible crimes like rape and murder, and those that intended to try and illegally smuggle goods back to the surface.
After the first wave of people, everyone that followed came from the queue that had been situated outside. Vahn noticed that nearly every person to enter the tent after calling in the first person was a female. Some of them, taking the 'inspection' a little too seriously, even tried to strip down the moment the tent flap closed behind them. Since this type of behavior could be used to mislead him, Vahn remained unperturbed and closely inspected each person, even while explaining that he didn't require them to remove their clothes and just wanted to ask them a couple of questions.
The majority of such women pouted slightly but still answered his questions honestly. Some, however, took notice of the fact that he was 'eyeing' their bodies rather seriously and thought it was an opportunity to push their luck. By the end of the first evening, Vahn had lost count of the number of breasts he had seen while some of the more bold women had even entered the tent without panties from the start. The fact that the majority of such girls were Beast People and Amazonesses was something deeply ingrained into Vahn's mind...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn's just sitting in the air, casually maintaining a barrier around 1300+ people while tens of thousands of monsters smash against it...','Alexa is a clingy little powerhouse','Wealth, Fame, Power...all of these could be yours...you just need to claim the one Vahn~!')(A/N: Even I think the last one is some sharp cheddar...)
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