บท 1797: Gradual Understanding : Progress
In the days following Team Wolf Pack's ascension to the 6th Floor, Vahn focused most of his efforts on attempting to understand the Law of Identity. Fortunately, she was very cooperative so long as he didn't upset her, so, after several weeks in the restructured Ninth Layer, he was able to, at the very least, scratch the surface of her powers.
Though her default appearance was the redheaded beauty who was paradoxically named nothing at all, the Law of Identity was able to emulate the very existence of other people, gods, and even concepts. Even Fenrir wasn't an exception to this, and, though she was unable to influence anything other than himself, Vahn was able to confirm that she inherited everything from a person's Innates to their memories due to the appearance of a second Fenrir within his Unit Management.
So long as she cooperated, the Law of Identity was essentially a repository of all knowledge and experience that existed within the Record. The only person that existed outside the scope of her power was Vahn himself. As for the reason, it was explained by the Law of Identity that she and he were already one and the same, a concerning revelation that made Vahn realize that he might be able to manifest all the Laws through himself by simply creating Templates.
The Law of Identity might not be the 'original', but it was transparently clear that she was directly linked to the concept. If this applied to every Template he created, it was theoretically possible to manifest every Law, and, though they would not simply replace the Laws that already existed within the Record, the example set by the Law of Identity suggested they would be linked. Of course, there was an equal chance that the Law of Identity was an exception due to the nature of the concept she embodied.
With that in mind, Vahn decided to hold off on creating any Templates related to higher Laws and Concepts he didn't already have a decent understanding of. The Law of Identity had allowed him to confirm the existence of beings that governed each of the Laws by being able to freely assume the identities and appearances of several god-like beings. This was more than enough reason to justify his decision as the last thing he needed was something like a T6 being representing the Law of Fire getting upset because he created a Template that directly encroached upon their domain...
Fortunately, even without creating such a Template, Vahn was able to learn more about the Laws by asking the Law of Identity in her 'transformed' state. She was unbelievably bad at explaining things, as everything simply 'worked' for her, but, by asking her to assume the identity of the Goddess of Wisdom, a beautiful and voluptuous goddess known as Nuana, he had access to the best possible teacher. The only problem was that the Law of Identity's personality superseded that of the person she was emulating; something that caused quite a number of problems due to the fact she was very easily bored and exceptionally mischievous...
---
Since even artifacts, armaments, and objects could possess an Ego, Vahn was attempting to scribe a few passages from an ancient grimoire known as the 'Sacred Tome'. According to Nuana, it was the grimoire in which all knowledge of the past, present, and future were recorded. Vahn had very little interest in these actual events, but, as it also recorded all information pertaining to everything from the Laws to the True Names of Gods, it was still exceptionally useful.
Unfortunately, the Law of Identity was not particularly fond of being a book, so, after a few minutes had passed, the grimoire spontaneously disappeared. At the exact same moment, without any time passing whatsoever, a naked woman was suddenly sprawled out across his desk, belly up like a dog wanting to have its tummy rubbed.
Having largely gotten used to the Law of Identity's antics, Vahn simply chuckled in response before setting aside his quill and remarking, "You're incorrigible..." in an amused tone. In response, the Law of Identity held her hands up as if to emulate paws, tilting her head to the side as she replied with a cutesy, "Wan~?"
With her default appearance largely dependent on Vahn's perception of her, a pair of dog ears and a fluffy tail spontaneously sprouted from the Law of Identity's head and lower back. Then, following a mischievous giggle, she was suddenly straddling his lap, tail wagging madly as she wrapped her arms around his neck as she leaned in to whisper, "Play with me~."
Though he knew it probably wasn't the best idea to indulge her, Vahn had come to learn that it was a lot easier to control the Law of Identity if he periodically pampered her. She had also helped him make several major breakthroughs, and, though it had been hard to convince her that his unnamed Templates actually existed, doing so had allowed those with stronger wills, specifically Madara and Roger, to develop True Egos even without [Keeper of the Akashic Tome].
Deciding to just go with the flow, Vahn placed his hands on the Law of Identity's back, rainbow-hued energy flowing from his palms as he began to massage and caress her body. This caused her to hug his neck a little tighter, but, unlike before, her 'power' didn't snap him like a withered twig.
Vahn had learned that the secret to avoiding a catastrophe during his interactions with the Law of Identity was to either take charge or simply disregard any and all expectations. The more the tried to comprehend and dictate the nature of her existence, the more violent the reaction was when she did something in defiance of his expectations. The only time this wasn't the case was when the Law of Identity had expectations of her own, culminating in a situation that allowed him to basically do whatever he wanted without any resistance. Fortunately, at least for the time being, she was content with just heavy petting and ample headpats...
---
Though weeks had passed from Vahn's perspective, only a few days had passed for the members of Team Wolf Pack. Despite this, they were already standing outside the 6th Floors 'boss room', a large chamber that was several kilometers across and approximately 100m in height. At the center of this chamber, a large automaton, appearing much like a heavily armored knight, could be seen pacing about with a five-meter long key-shaped blade.
Since the group couldn't just rely on Gandr all the time, Khun was coming up with a strategy that would allow the weaker members of the party to defeat the automaton. The six selected for the task were Aleksai, Chunhwa, Shibisu, Nare, and, though they were actually two of the stronger members of the group, Baam and Khun would be participating for safety. As for everyone else, they would be watching the battle using Phae's Lighthouse; ample food and drink provided.
Starting off the battle, Chunhwa took off with a burst of Shinsu-enhanced speed that caused a few cracks to appear on the stone floor. At the same time, Shibisu and Nare bolted towards the flanks, not to attack, but to make sure there were no traps lying in wait. They had Observers that had been hand-crafted by Phae so they could efficiently scout the area while providing ranged support using firearms that fired laser-like beams of Shinsu.
Serving as the main firepower of the group, Aleksai channeled Shinsu into the armored greaves he wore beneath his trousers. These allowed him to not only jump higher than normal, but, thanks to Khun providing a few exceptionally pure pieces of Suspendium, apparently stolen from his father's treasury, Aleksai could freely jump around and even stand on the air.
After reaching an ideal vantage point, Aleksai pulled out a lance-like spear from his Pipe, malicious red lightning dancing across its surface as he infused his Shinsu into it. He was waiting for the ideal time to strike, his red eyes glistening with a focused light as he watched Chunhwa, despite the size difference, deflect the automaton's sweeping blow upward.
Taking advantage of the automaton being knocked off balance, Shibisu attempted to aim for its elbow joint using his rifle-like armament. He managed to accurately hit the target, but, thanks to the bulbous armor around the joints, his attack was ultimately futile.
Clicking his tongue, Shibisu manifested his Arms Inventory in order to swap out the rifle for what appeared to be an oversized shotgun. Before he could charge up enough Shinsu to fire it, however, a beam of red lightning descended from the sky as soon as Chunhwa jumped back to evade the automaton's counterattack. This was enough to force the knight-like entity to its knee, slouching as red lightning danced across its body, courtesy of the lance stuck in its shoulder.
Exploiting the moment when the automaton's head was lowered, a confident smile spread across Chunhwa's face as he brandished his sword to the side and exclaimed, "Ignite! Narumada!"
With vibrant bluish-white lightning dancing across the length of his blade, Chunhwa powered as much Shinsu as he could manage into his legs, bruises immediately manifesting on his calves as he leaped towards the automaton with fierce momentum. The metallic entity was still stunned by the lightning coursing through its body so the only resistance it could manage was glaring at its would-be killer through the visored helmet protecting its glowing blue eye.
Showing no hesitation whatsoever, Chunhwa stabbed Narumada through a gap in the visor before releasing a tremendous volume of Shinsu from his ignited weapon. This caused the automaton's head to instantaneously explode, shards of metal flying in every direction due to the sudden and intense explosion. Fortunately, none of these pieces connected with any of the Regulars present, but, even if they had, everyone was protected by a thin membrane of Shinsu formed from Khun's Lighthouse.
With the automaton falling over immediately after its head had been destroyed, Chunhwa raised his Narumada toward the ceiling with a triumphant expression on his face. This caused Shibisu to shake his head in mock exasperation before returning his oversized armament to his Arms Inventory and remarking, "I didn't think Knights were the boastful type~." in a teasing tone.
Hearing his companion's remark, Chunhwa adopted a somewhat embarrassed expression as he sheathed his Narumada and replied, "Sorry about that...it just feels refreshing to defeat a strong opponent after all this time. Sparring against Gandr and Hatsu makes me feel a lot weaker than I actually am..."
Empathizing with Chunhwa's statement, Shibisu threw his hand around the man's shoulder as he said, "We might not be able to compare to those monsters, but we'll have plenty of opportunities to show off during the Position Tournament. For now, let's just keep focusing on becoming stronger..."
Though he shrugged off Shibisu's arm, Chunhwa still adopted a smile as he stepped off to the side to receive Nare. At the same time, Khun and Baam approached the downed automaton as Aleksai dropped down like a meteor crashing to the earth. This was soon followed by the rest of Team Wolf Pack, who, after a few congratulatory remarks, allowed Anak to lift up the several-ton key-shaped blade that unlocked the massive gate leading to the 7th Floor.
---
Learning of the Children's successful conquest, Vahn afforded them two days to celebrate and relax within the Little Garden. He lived by Tsubaki's principle that you should work hard and play hard in equal measure; so, while the automaton might not have been particularly powerful, defeating it had allowed them to advance to the 7th Floor. This was more than enough reason to celebrate, so, after inviting everyone from the Emerald Grove to participate, he hosted a grand banquet with Chunhwa and Aleksai as the Guests of Honor...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Hax (O - O)...','This is certainly not the Darkest Dungeon...','Work hard, play hard')
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