章節 1852: A Moment to Reflect
Seeing one of the most famous Ticket Hunters eliminated without even being able to put up a fight, most of the knowledgeable Regulars immediately set out for the 36th Floor. Their teams were a lot weaker than Aka's, so, if they were to have any hope of boarding the Hell Express, they would need to do so from a higher floor.
The only teams that chose to stick around were those who had no clue how famous Aka was and those who had yet to earn the qualifications to advance to a higher floor. They believed it was only a matter of time until Vahn was either eliminated or, out of necessity, had to move away from the Elevator. After all, he would eventually need to move to the hidden Platform where the Hell Express was located. They could use that as an opportunity to advance themselves, and, depending on the situation, they might be able to team up with other groups in order to seize Vahn's tickets.
Vahn was well aware of the intentions of the groups that had remained, but, rather than pay them any mind, he just leaned against the wall adjacent to the Elevator with a casual smile on his face. He could enter a pseudo-meditative state even while standing with his eyes open, so, while others were bored out of their mind, he just continued to emanate an intimidating aura as he effectively shut his mind off. The only time he snapped out of it was when a new train arrived, as, despite the warnings of several camping Regulars, those who held Tickets were very self-assured. This led to them trying to push past him, and, as a result, Vahn's collection of Tickets gradually grew to 27 by the eve of the sixth day.
With less than fourteen hours remaining before the Hell Express's departure, Vahn garnered quite a bit of attention to himself by yawning rather loudly. This caused resolute gleams to flash across the eyes of several Regulars, but, without someone to rally behind, they were unwilling to stick out their necks. Fortunately, Aka wasn't the only noteworthy Regular who had persistently boarded the Hell Express every year for the last six-hundred-years. They knew it was only a matter of time until Sachi Faker, the most prominent of the Ticket Hunters and the third-strongest D-Rank Regular, made his appearance...
Noticing the predatory looks he was receiving, Vahn's smile became slightly more prominent as he waved towards the groups plotting against him. This caused many of them to pale, but, as several others had only arrived after his defeat of Aka, they reacted with contemptuous sneers and hateful glowers. There was even a punkish-looking woman with a bright-pink mohawk who went out of her way to raise her middle finger towards him. This caused an amused chuckle to escape Vahn's throat, but, at the same time, he was committing to memory all the tactless fools who were anticipating his 'inevitable defeat'.
Fortunately, he wasn't left waiting for too long as, shortly thereafter, a rather antiquated locomotive pulled into the station. From the interior, a rather handsome man with neatly styled dark-red hair combed over his left eye emerged. There was a curse mark resembling thorny vines covering the left side of his face, and, despite the relatively 'modern' dress of most Regulars, he wore reddish-brown robes that were better suited for a mage in a fantasy setting. Considering he also wielded a lantern-like staff in his right hand, it was pretty safe to assume he was either a Wave Controller or one of the few people in the Tower capable of casting Spells.
Though Vahn briefly made eye contact with the moody-looking man, it was the giant figure behind him that drew the majority of his focus. He had apparently underestimated the recovery ability and obstinancy of Aka, as, despite suffering considerable injuries a mere three days prior, the burly giant had evidently failed to learn from the experience. Instead, they had teamed up with the red-haired man, Sachi Faker, and another of their former comrades, Boro. The latter was actually someone that Vahn was interested in, as, despite having experienced the same tragedy as his former companions, he had spent the last six-hundred-years helping weaker Regulars survive the Hell Train.
Shifting his eyes away from the man with combed-back silver hair and eyes, Vahn met Sachi's gaze once again, smiling as he remarked, "Reuniting with former allies in order to overcome a powerful foe...not the worst decision you've made over the last six-hundred-years. Still, rallying behind Aka's defeat isn't something you should be proud of. They have wandered too far from the path the five of you once walked. I am willing to allow you and Boro to board the Hell Express, but they have lost that right."
Frowning in response to Vahn's words, Sachi tightened his grip on his staff as he said, "That isn't for you to decide...I won't defend Aka's past actions, but there is a good reason we continue to board the Hell Train. If you intend to stand in our way, we will have no choice but to move you..."
In response to Sachi's words, all of the Regulars who had been biding their time over the last week began to pull out their weapons. This was immediately noticed by the trio of famous Ticket Hunters, and, though they hadn't planned to rally everyone together, they hadn't lived for nearly a thousand years without learning how to adapt to a situation. As a result, Sachi immediately commanded, "Use your Lighthouses to keep him in place! Everyone with ranged attacks will aim for the moment when he is unable to move...!"
Abiding by Sachi's orders, dozens of Lighthouses attempted to encircle Vahn, each exerting a dense field of Shinsu that was capable of slowing or outright stopping a target's movements. At nearly the exact same time, numerous Spear Bearers began lobbing their spears towards him, many aiming for vitals despite the fact Vahn hadn't killed anyone during his blocking of the Elevator. This caused the smile on his face to diminish considerably as everything in the room, including the volley of spears, simply ceased moving.
Taking a moment to calm himself, Vahn combed his hair back before opening his eyes to reveal blazing golden pupils. Then, in a resonant tone that caused the surrounding Shinsu to tremble, he stated, "I have been lenient thus far. You have been prevented from boarding the Hell Train because your convictions or character have been found wanting. Thinking you can just murder someone in order to get your way...you lot are really trying my patience..."
Shaking his head in disappointment, Vahn used his Telekinesis to liberate the Express Tickets held by Sachi, Aka, and Boro. They had the foresight to leave their excess tickets in a safe area, but, now that things had come to this, he was intending to teach everyone present a hard lesson. Thus, after liberating each of their tickets, he took a seat next to the Elevator, back resting against the wall as he continued to hold everyone in place using his unique form of Reverse Flow Control.
Though it placed a slight burden on his mental and spiritual energies, Vahn forced the more than three-hundred Regulars to remain like statues for the better part of nine hours. This was enough to deter any new arrivals from trying anything, as, for a number of reasons, it was terrifying to witness both people and weapons frozen in place. Some even reboarded the trains they had just departed from, smartly choosing to get as far from the suspicious scene as possible.
Hearing an announcement informing Ticket Holders to move to the platform containing the Hell Express, Vahn awoke from his meditation to say, "If you continue acting like this, you will only have yourselves to blame when someone beyond your level harvests your lives. There are people in this Tower who are infinitely more powerful than my current self. I'm not telling you to give up, but you should seriously reflect on the path you're currently walking..."
Finished with his words, Vahn slowly climbed to his feet, dusting himself off before pressing the call button for the elevator. It was only after the doors had closed behind him, followed by the tell-tale hum of an elevator in motion, that the effects of his Reverse Flow Control ceased. This allowed the numerous spears that had been aimed toward him to impale the wall where he had been standing. At the same time, the Regulars who had been under the influence of his Reverse Flow Control fell to the ground, sweat covering much of their paralyzed bodies as they gasped for air...
---
After a pleasant elevator ride, accompanied by some rather cheerful tunes, Vahn found himself atop a massive train platform. Suspended in the air to his left, a train comprised of angular box cars that were more than 100m tall and 500m in length released a peculiar and intimidating aura. He got the impression that each individual car was an entire world, and, though there was a dimension barrier inhibiting his senses, he could still feel a tremendous amount of negative energy exuding from their interior.
Resisting the urge to shake his head in exasperation, Vahn shifted his attention to the small crowd of Regulars who had gathered on the Platform. This included the group of five he had given tickets to, and, as could be expected, a 'mysterious group' of cloaked Regulars that were clearly planted by FUG. They had been able to bypass his blockade by using the private elevator that was supposed to be reserved for Train City personnel, but, rather than being sent to interfere with him, it seemed like they had been given an entirely unrelated mission. In fact, from what the Law of Identity had been able to ascertain, they hadn't even aware of who he was, only that they should avoid him as much as possible.
By having the Law of Identity transform into the Conductor of the Hell Express, a Ranker loyal to one of FUG's seven Slayers, Vahn was unsurprised to learn that they were currently testing him. His actions on the 30th Floor had garnered a considerable amount of attention in the organization, not because he had destroyed one of their fortresses, but because he had survived a confrontation with one of Gustang's Puppets. Now that he had reappeared, seemingly without injury, their priority was, first and foremost, ascertaining whether or not he actually stood in opposition to their organization.
Realizing FUG's intentions, Vahn couldn't help but issue a light chuckle as he walked over to the two groups to greet the team he had previously provided tickets. They didn't appear to be particularly interesting, but, as was often the case in the Tower, appearances could be very deceiving. After all, their leader, a brown-haired man whose only noteworthy trait was how 'average' he seemed, had actually been scouted by Wolhaiksong.
Returning a smile in response to Vahn's greeting, the brown-haired man, curiously called John Doe, extended his hand as he asked, "Will there be no other Regulars joining us...?"
Accepting the man's handshake, a light chuckle escaped Vahn's throat as he answered, "I had been intending to lend a hand to some misguided Regulars, but they ended up disappointing me toward the very end. I'm hoping they'll fix their attitudes before we reach the next station, but, considering they spent the last six-hundred-years idling between the 35th and 44th Floors, it's hard to imagine them changing in a single month."
Offering a wry smile in response, John extricated his hand from Vahn's as he said, "The burdens of the past are often the most difficult to overcome. Most people spend their entire lives lamenting decisions they made in the distant past. What can you do?"
Though he shrugged his shoulders in response to John's casual remark, quite a number of solutions flashed across Vahn's mind. The Hell Express functioned remarkably similar to a Sub-Realm, so, even after death, the Spirits of those who had died would continue to linger within. This meant their Egos could be preserved for an inordinate period of time, and, so long as they hadn't become irreversibly corrupted by negative energy, it was a relatively simple matter to resurrect them. Rather, if he didn't care about the specifics, Vahn could, just as easily, revive people who had been tainted by negative energy. They would just come back with a Yin or Darkness affinity and an extremely unstable mind...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'This is Vahn trying not to show off 'too much'...','An enemy that learns? Is such a thing even possible...?','Ah, yes, Vahn, the Necromancer...')
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章節 1853: Overwatch
Thirty minutes before the Hell Express was scheduled to depart, stairs, seemingly materializing out of thin air, began to appear from one of the many doors lining the monstrous locomotive. It was a rather magical sight, but, as he could see the flow of Shinsu around the Hell Express shifting, Vahn was able to understand the mechanism at a glance. The stairs were actually stored inside the train, and, like removing objects from interdimensional storage, they could manifest anywhere within the locomotives 'domain' of Shinsu.
With his own domain and inventory functioning in a very similar way, Vahn couldn't help but crack a smile. He always found it strangely refreshing whenever he encountered phenomena that emulated the functions of The Path. It made him feel like he was getting steadily closer to his destination, and, the more commonplace such things became, the easier it was to infer that he was in a higher plane of existence.
As there were multiple sets of stairs leading up to the Hell Train, effectively allowing different teams to enter separate 'paths', Vahn left FUG to their own devices as he ascended alongside 'Team John'. He wasn't actually intending to explore alongside them, as they had their own path to walk, but he could at least look after them during the first leg of their journey. He was also a little curious to see what allowed John to become a prospective member of Wolhaiksong, so, after boarding, he turned to the man and asked, "So, what are you planning to do from here onward?"
Having half-expected Vahn to just 'disappear' the moment they boarded the Hell Express, John was at a momentary loss for words in response to his question. His allies were in a similar boat, as, from the time they had met, up until the present moment, Vahn hadn't actually explained his identity to them. They just thought he was an 'unreasonably' powerful Regular, one who had seemingly taken interest in them out of nowhere.
Laughing in response to the group of five's reactions, Vahn gave John's shoulder a friendly pat as he said, "Relax. I won't bore you with the details, but I'm basically an ally of Wolhaiksong. I also owe Ureko a favor so I thought I'd keep an eye on you until you passed the first trial. Don't worry, even if it's hard to believe, I'm not plotting to use your team for some nefarious purposes. I just feel a small amount of responsibility towards you after supplying your tickets. If it turns out you lack the ability to advance on your own, I'm afraid you'll have to disembark once we reach the 36th Floor."
Though he doubted the veracity of Vahn's words, John's expression paled considerably when the former produced a Fourteen-Wing Badge, something that only Baek Ryun and Ureko Mazino, the two leaders of Wolhaiksong, should possess. His own was a mere One-Wing Sapling, a badge that appeared like a miniature wing with roots. It was meant to represent his status as a potentiate, and, the moment Vahn produced his own, John could feel his badge resonating with the former.
Understanding the youth's thoughts, Vahn adopted a slightly teasing look as he mused, "Not just anyone can owe Ureko a favor. Don't worry, even if you ultimately have to disembark at the next station, your status as a potentiate won't be affected. Just do your best without putting your allies in danger. More than anything else, members of Wolhaiksong take care of their friends."
Punctuating his words by ruffling the youth's hair, Vahn turned to John's team, consisting of three men and one woman, with a smile on his face. They were all looking at him like he was some kind of monster, and, considering what they had learned about Wolhaiksong from John, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him one. As a result, even the tallest of their group, a 225cm tall man with a build similar to an Adonis, forced a smile as he nervously gripped his vermillion-red spear...
---
Though information pertaining to the Hell Express was very limited, most Regulars were aware of the fact that it emulated a day-night cycle. The most basic challenge for those aboard the Express was to survive for a period of ten days as they wandered the labyrinthian paths present within the train's interior. This was relatively easy during the day, as there were very few enemies littering the complex halls and perpetually-shifting corridors. During the evening, however, a seemingly endless tide of monstrous Shinheuh and powerful automatons would appear.
So long as you persisted for ten days, clearing a requisite number of sections each day, you would invariably find yourself at a chamber filled with teleportation devices. These rooms were generally known as the 'crossroads of fate', as, depending on your luck, you could experience tremendous fortune or encounter a seemingly insurmountable foe.
Fortunately, even after teleporting and seeing what was on the other side, you still had the option of turning away and choosing a different route. It was for this reason that people boarded the Hell Express numerous times, and, by accumulating both information and experience, it was possible to determine which rooms were 'safe' before you even passed through their antechambers.
The only real restriction on exploration was that you needed to complete at least one trial during the thirty-day interval between each station. This was a requirement for advancing to higher floors, so, if you were unable to find a clearable route in the allocated time, you would have no choice but to disembark the moment the train reached the next station. If you attempted to stay, both you and your team would be forcibly, and violently, ejected from the train. Since it often moored itself 'very' high in the sky, this was a potential death sentence to weaker Regulars so it was highly advised that anyone failing to qualify be ready and waiting near one of the exists prior to reaching the station...
---
Though he could have called out Ryun to act as their Guide, Vahn found it rather amusing watching Team John fumble through the corridors of the Hell Express. The interior of each car was like a small world, and, due to its ever-changing structure, there were a seemingly infinite number of obstacles, and, every now and again, 'unsurpassable' terrain. This included a literal cliff that descended more than three-hundred meters into a channel of magma-like acid. The only way to cross was to either have the physical strength to leap the 80m gap or the intestinal fortitude to try and walk the three-centimeter wide 'bridge' linking the two sides.
Eighty meters might not seem like a lot, but it was a lot further than most Regulars could leap in a single bound. The strange acid also interfered with the surrounding Shinsu, so, unless your control was exceptional, Lighthouses would wobble uncontrollably and even body reinforcement became difficult. This made it nearly impossible to transport people across using a Lighthouse, and, while it might be possible for some members to easily leap across, few teams were comprised of Regulars who could 'all' cover such distances.
Fortunately for Team John, their leader hadn't been chosen as a potential member of Wolhaiksong for nothing. Not only was he exceptionally brave, walking across the abnormally thin bridge without even a moment of hesitation, he was also resourceful. It hadn't even taken him more than a minute to come up with a plan for crossing the gap, a plan that involved tying a safety line around his waist before carrying across two ropes to fasten as guidelines. This allowed his team to cross with relative ease, and, after the fact, he even went back to unfasten the rope in order to make use of it later.
While the feat wasn't particularly impressive, John's bravery, combined with the fact that his team didn't even hesitate to place their trust in him, was worthy of praise. It was rare to see a group of Regulars with such strong bonds, and, though they were individually weak, he could envision them overcoming far more powerful teams thanks to their excellent teamwork and even more remarkable bonds. The only thing they really lacked was power, but, so long as they continued to push forward, it was only a matter of time before they became truly strong.
In the hopes of seeing the group succeed, Vahn began teaching the group numerous survival skills whenever they had time to rest. He also taught their Spear Bearer, a man who introduced himself as Jameson, son of James, how to prepare a number of different dishes that could revitalize his team's spirits during meals. Food was one of the foundational pillars for mental health, so, if you wanted to stave off the onset of things like depression while simultaneously improving morale, it was best to prepare delicious meals that were properly balanced for each individual's needs.
Though he had originally thought to teach the female member of the team how to cook, the faces of the other four revealed that this might not be the best idea. The woman in question, Rose, was also against the idea, so, in the end, he ended up teaching Jameson some of Rindo's easier recipes. He had already been the group's defacto chef for more than a decade so his skills, while not up to Vahn's standard, weren't bad. Rather, he showed a considerable amount of passion for cooking, so, alongside the other items he was preparing as the group's parting gift, he also included a book of recipes, a set of C-Rank Chef's knives, and a virtually indestructible cutting board...
---
After ten days and nights of clearing relatively weak yet persistent Shinheuh, Team John finally reached their destination, a room with three pylons, each decorated with a blue, green, and red crystal. The actual teleportation mechanism was the invisible ward inscribed on the ground, but, so long as you placed your hand on one of the crystals, it would teleport you to the antechamber on the other side.
Seeing the varying crystals, John's expression turned reflective for a brief moment before he turned toward his team and said, "I'll scout ahead and see what each route holds. Jameson, I'll leave meal prep to you and Thomas. Rose, Chris, I want the two of you to prepare camp. Though we might be able to push through and enjoy a much-deserved rest in the residences prepared on the other side, I want us all properly rested before we attempt the challenge. At the very least, we'll recuperate for around five hours or so before pushing forward."
Without bothering to argue, Jameson, Thomas, and Chris quickly set out to perform their tasks as Rose, causing Vahn to feel a strange feeling of dread, said, "Be safe out there...if something happens to you, I'll...I'll beat up your ghost...!"
If it was just Rose's comment, Vahn wouldn't have thought much of it, but, immediately thereafter, John adopted an affectionate smile, his voice gaining a gentle overtone as he said, "You're always worrying for nothing...didn't we all promise that we'll climb the Tower together? I would never break a promise I made to my friends. Besides, even a group like Wolhaiksong has taken an interest in me. Do you really think I'll die in a place like the Hell Train?"
As if to affirm that the flag was properly affixed, John lightly ruffled Rose's auburn hair, the edges of his smile curling up for a brief moment as he retracted his hand and added, "See you soon..." in an overly casual tone. Before he could take more than a few steps, however, Vahn appeared at his side, hand on the young man's shoulder as he said, "I'll come with you...I'm actually pretty curious about what's on the other side..."
Though he was a little surprised by the 'grim' look on Vahn's face, John still managed an awkward smile as he said, "I can send images back using my-"
Shaking his head, Vahn tightened his grip on John's shoulder, his expression becoming a 'smile-that-was-not-a-smile' as he insisted, "No. I'm coming with you..." in a tone that left no room for argument.
Though they had become somewhat 'chummy' over the last ten days, John was still utterly terrified of Vahn. Thus, with the latter 'insisting' he comes along, there was little the man could do but smile even more wryly as he answered, "Okay...let's get going..." in an awkward tone.
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I feel bad for any actual members of Wolhaiksong who see Vahn whip out his badge xD...','Even 'average' can be 'exceptional' when you combine bravery with teamwork~!','Vahn be like, "Not today..."')
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