章節 1905: Structure
With everyone gradually coming together, Vahn was at a loss but unsurprised to learn that a total of seventeen Sworn Enemy versions of himself would be populating the Hidden Floor. Fortunately, if they were anything like him, he didn't have to worry about them endangering anyone. Rather, if they were a reflection of the way the girls saw him, he didn't have to worry about them trying to kill anyone.
Far more dangerous were the Sworn Enemies based on a specific individual's actual trauma and mental burdens. Mordred and Gray were prime examples of this, but, more so than any other Sworn Enemy, Vahn was most worried about those produced by Fenrir, Ryun, Ai, and, despite her having virtually no memories, Roen.
Fenrir's Sworn Enemy, as could be expected, was a version of herself that had seemingly given in to her more animalistic urges. It was a reflection of the parts of herself that she did her best to keep in check, and, should it possess her ability to devour and process all forms of energy, there was a very real chance that her Sworn Enemy was the most dangerous among the bunch. As for Ryun and Ai, they had initially been against entering the Hidden Floor directly as their Sworn Enemy was virtually guaranteed to be Jahad himself. This meant, should the black part of their Good and Evil Monitors fill more than halfway, there would be two additional versions of Jahad running around.
Truth be told, Vahn was actually looking forward to facing the Jahad clones as one of his reasons for entering the Hidden Floor was to confront the original's Data. Now, he had the option of letting the others face off against Jahad's Data, and, depending on how things played out, there was a chance that everyone would have an opportunity to challenge the tyrannical King due to the Hidden Floor respawning Sworn Enemies indefinitely.
Unfortunately, as fun as it was to imagine the real Jahad's reaction upon learning that his Data was being used as a training dummy, that would have to wait until later. There were a number of more important objectives to deal with, first and foremost being the elimination of the Big Breeders that moderated the Hidden Floor.
With his power, Vahn was able to move about freely even within a virtual environment such as the Hidden Floor. In fact, he was actually more powerful in a virtual world as Sis could interact with the data within his domain and use it as an access point to directly interfere with the system. This would eventually let her take over the entire system, but, until then, it gave Vahn the ability to interact with and even modify existing data. The simplest expression of this ability allowed him to alter variables related to the time of day and the weather, but, if he really wanted to, he could even alter the data of the Hidden Floor's residents.
It was through the use of this power that Vahn came to learn more about the Big Breeders and their depravity. In particular, the Big Breeder in charge of the Town of the Wandering Minstrels was a true monster as he got off on tormenting the residents while modifying their data so they sing praises of him in the process. There were even instances of him modifying the data of residents to make them unable to perceive his actions as anything out of the ordinary. This allowed him to perform all kinds of violent and profane acts, as, with the use of a single command, he could simply 'reset' everything to how it was before he went on a rampage.
Though it wasn't the best example, the Big Breeder's behavior was comparable to someone Saving in a video game before using cheats to brutally murder everyone in a city. Then, by reloading their previous save data, they were effectively able to 'undo' everything before proceeding as if nothing had happened. This was a method used by some players to 'harmlessly' vent their frustrations, but, in a world virtually indistinguishable from reality, the consequences of committing such travesties had a lasting impact on a person's nature and personality.
Unfortunately for Chung, the Big Breeder charged with watching over the Town of the Wandering Minstrel, his actions hadn't been forgotten by the system. He could erase and modify the memories of individual residents, but, without the authority to modify the records of the system itself, each of his actions over the last several thousand years had been documented in detail. Some of these acts had been so heinous that it inspired an 'awakening' in the data he tormented, irreversibly affecting their source code in a way that even he couldn't undo. He would eventually place these anomalies into Quarantine, but, before then, his sadistic nature compelled him to torment them in the most extreme manners imaginable.
Needless to say, Vahn intended to make Chung pay dearly for the innumerable atrocities he had committed over the years. It was one thing to torment emotionless and unfeeling Data that didn't care or even understand it was being tormented. Giving Data the ability to feel pain and emotions just so you could enjoy their suffering was completely reprehensible. When you took things even further by specifically targeting those with a greater sense of self-awareness, you crossed a line that placed you squarely in the category of 'monster'.
If there were any positive takeaways from the situation, it was Vahn's understanding that the Virtual World needed reform, or, at the very least, failsafes against this exact situation. He couldn't imagine anything more terrifying than being born as a Data Construct that fundamentally lacked the ability to resist its creator. It was even worse when you considered that the person in control could change everything from their memories to their appearance without much difficulty. This opened the door to a degree of suffering that real people simply couldn't imagine, as, at the very least, people in the real world generally had control over their own life and death. Anyone who denied them that right was a monster beyond redemption...
---
Understanding that eliminating Chung's Avatar served little purpose, Vahn decided to ignore the man until Sis could fully hack the Hidden Floor's system. There was actually a 'Hidden' Hidden Floor within the primary Hidden Floor, so, until he could gain access to it, there was little sense in fighting the Big Breeders directly. Instead, he used the same functionality that Chung often took advantage of, effectively concealing his presence and location data to perform reconnaissance.
With the ability to move at relativistic speeds without adversely affecting the environment around him, Vahn was able to map a large portion of what he initially believed to be the first floor. Instead, it turned out that many of the so-called 'Stages' denoted by the Quest system were regions on the same floor. This made things exponentially easier, as, rather than having to complete Quests that were, by design, intended to lead them circles, they could simply head to their destination directly.
The only caveat was that the Hidden Floor, much like a Planar Realm, was massive beyond compare. It took several minutes, even traveling at the speed of light, for Vahn to move from one edge of the floor to another. This meant, accounting for the fact the floor was shaped similar to a disc, it had a surface area of more than four-quintillion square-kilometers. This meant it was nearly eight-million times larger than Gaia, and, even with his speed, it would take more than a hundred years to map the entire region.
Fortunately, much like the Virtual World, the Hidden Floor cut corners to ensure the stability of the system. As a result, much of the floor seemed to exist in stasis, and, by monitoring the flow of data, it was possible to track and locate specific individuals and places of interest without much difficulty. Thus, rather than wasting a hundred years, it only took Vahn a few hours to reach a vast wasteland whose only notable features were a colossal ice cream cone, a river of mercury, and a blooming red poppy hat was nearly five-kilometers in height.
Though he had grown used to the eccentricities found within various Records, Vahn couldn't help but pause to consider the rationale behind choosing to live in a 10km tall ice cream cone. It was the kind of thing he would have expected to see in the Actualized World of One Piece, not something he expected to encounter during his search for the strongest entity within the Hidden Floor.
Shaking his head, Vahn moved to what he presumed to be the entrance to the massive construct, a giant straw sticking out of the top. Even this was beyond comprehension, as, despite appearing as a normal straw from a distance, the thickness of the plastic rim was more than 10m. As for the interior of the straw, it was easily a hundred kilometers in diameter and more than two-kilometers deep...
Before heading inside, Vahn bent down to scoop out a handful of the straw's material, confirming that it was, indeed, a form of plastic. Had they been in the 'real' world, such a structure would have collapsed under its own weight, but, thanks to the properties of Hidden Floor, it was able to exist as a static object uninfluenced by conventional gravitational forces. Rather, based on the flow of data, it was actually just a simple ice cream cone that had been scaled up to a ridiculous size, seemingly for no better reason than to pander to the person living within.
Rather than wonder what kind of person he was dealing with, Vahn simply leaped into the mouth of the straw, sliding along the sloped interior for just under a minute before reaching an icy chamber seemingly formed from a hollowed-out scoop of pink and blue ice cream. There, a handsome youth with dark-blue hair, sharp eyebrows, and delicate blue eyes stared back at him with what could best be described as a look of incredulity mixed with excitement.
Though he lacked the pale blue of most members, the youth was easily identifiable as a member of the Khun Family due to the hoop-like earrings in his ears, the peculiar tattoo on the right side of his face, and the electrical sparks that appeared within his pupils the moment their gazes met. He also had a peculiar blue staff in his hands, that, from the looks of it, could be broken down to function as a chain-staff or a pair of nunchaku.
Just as Vahn was about to say something to break the silence, he found himself at a complete loss as the 'youth' began to suddenly blow a bubble. He had apparently been chewing bubblegum, and, though the atmosphere had become progressively tense, it didn't prevent the youth from blowing a rather impressive pink bubble while maintaining eye contact. Then, as if to parallel the situation, the bubble eventually exceeded its material threshold. As a result, a small pop sounded throughout the chamber as the lower half of the youth's face became covered in sticky pink residue...
With his smile becoming increasingly wry, Vahn took advantage of the moment when the youth was licking up the remnants of his bubblegum to ask, "Where is your father?"
Demonstrating his surprise for the second time, the youth raised his diamond-shaped brows quite a bit, but, rather than answer, he elected to blow a second bubble. This gave Vahn a powerful urge to roll his eyes, as, even without the Law of Identity providing insight into the youth's thoughts, it was obvious they were attempting to rile him up. The growing intensity of sparks within their eyes was a dead giveaway; so, rather than waste his time with idle conversation, he used his Unit Management to summon Scathach, saying, "Teach this brat how to handle a spear properly."
Before the youth could feign surprise a third time, Scathach forced him to get serious by cutting his cheek with a ruby-red spear before he could react. Then, before he could open his eyes to express genuine shock, she sent him crashing into the far wall with a kick, her voice a cold monotone as she said, "That makes two. If you reach one-hundred before my Master decrees the battle finished, I will reward you a fate worse than death..."
Shortly following Scathach's words, a torrent of vibrant blue Shinsu erupted from the debris caused by the youth's intimate encounter with the wall. This revealed the injured youth, an expectant smile on his face as he wiped away the blood from his lips and attempted a retort. Unfortunately, he had severely underestimated how serious Scathach could be when following orders. Thus, the moment he opened his mouth to speak, her fist slammed into the exact center of his face, reintroducing him to the partially destroyed wall without mercy...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Imagine if Vahn had started in SAO or Log Horizon...','Big Mom would like to know your location...','This boy about to learn a hard lesson xD...')
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章節 1906: Violent
Though the blue-haired youth gave off the impression of someone who was exceptionally skilled, the difference between him and Scathach was like heaven and earth. After all, while the latter had lost the knowledge attributed to the [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground], she was a Grandmaster in virtually all forms of martial arts. Even this, however, was nothing compared to her mastery over the spear, and, thanks to her 'Slaughter Goddess' Divine Core' providing her functionally infinite energy, it wasn't an overstatement to say she was one of, if not the greatest Spear Bearers in the Tower.
Unfortunately for the youth, Scathach behaved similarly to her original self whenever she dealt with outsiders. She only truly opened up to a small handful of people, and, though her power sometimes lagged behind some of the higher-tiered individuals, her potential was comparable to Asuna's. With the latter being Tier 5, this demonstrated just how monstrous Scathach could be, a prowess derived almost entirely from her steadfast determination to become strong...
Having only ever experienced this kind of suppression when sparring against his father, the blue-haired youth's fair complexion became noticeably pale as he attempted to parry Scathach's attack with a flourish of his staff. This proved to be a successful maneuver, but, as if she had seen through his intentions completely, a second spear, almost like a phantom image of the first, stabbed into his shoulder.
Feeling intense pain radiate through his entire body for the umpteenth time, the youth did his best to retreat backward, his nerves crying out in protest as he forced himself to inquire, "Are you really just a Regular? What Family are you from...?"
Ignoring the youth's question entirely, Scatchah's body seemed to split into a multitude of phantom images, each indistinguishable from the rest. This caused the smile on the youth's face to fade away in its entirety, his expression demonstrating nervous conviction as the ends of his staff fragmented into tiny pieces. From within, two kite-like spear tips emerged, each appearing inordinately sharp as a core of lightning-infused Shinsu pulsated at their center.
Demonstrating a degree of skill that greatly eclipsed most Regulars, the youth proceeded to take evasive maneuvers as he flourished his shattered staff in a series of complex motions. At the same time, the kite-like speartips began to move at extreme speeds, their motion resembling a tempest that seemingly produced countless other speartips.
Completely ignoring the multiplying speartips, the phantom images of Scathach made no attempts to dodge as they charged towards the tempestuous youth. This caused the prodigious member of the Khun Family to mistakenly believe they were illusions, as, even when a speartip passed through their bodies, they didn't so much as flinch. Unfortunately for him, the technique Scathach was using was functionally similar to the State of Nothingness, so, while they appeared somewhat illusory due to the use of several other techniques, each was, unmistakably, real.
Realizing this far too late, the blue-haired youth soon lost the ability to stand as Scathach began an omnidirectional assault that resulted in dozens of precise cuts all across his body. The accuracy of these incisions was so precise that none penetrated more than a single millimeter, yet, in spite of this, each delivered such an extreme degree of pain that most victims would have readily accepted actual torture in its place.
Though his mind wasn't able to process her words, that didn't stop Scathach from stabbed the tip of her spear next to the youth's head as she softly muttered, "One-hundred..." in a cold monotone.
With the blade of Scathach's spear coming dangerously close to the youth's cheek, Vahn used his Telekinesis to alter its trajectory. Fortunately, Scathach recognized his interference and allowed him to modify her otherwise machine-precise attack without so much as a subtle change in expression. Instead, she shifted her attention to a different location, her ruby-red eyes locking with the electric-blues of a young girl with a petite frame and pale-blue hair.
Smiling in response to Scathach's acknowledgment, the dainty-looking girl, garbed in a dark blue blouse and a light-blue skirt that closely resembled a Japanese school uniform, alighted from her perch before pulling out a lance-like sword and remarking, "You're strong. Tell me, are you one of this generation's Princesses of Jahad?"
Rather than answering the girl's questions, Scathach remained silent for several tense moments before ultimately turning her back and walking away. This caused the expectant smile on the girl's face to immediately vanish, her left brow twitching ever-so-slightly as vibrant sparks of radiant blue electricity began to dance around her. Despite this, Scathach didn't even bother to look back as she casually walked to stand beside the spectating Vahn.
Surprised by Vahn's 'sudden' appearance, the pale-haired youth adopted a look of caution as she held up her peculiar sword and said, "You must have come here for a reason. This isn't a place just anyone can reach. Tell me, what is your aim?"
Rather than answering the girl's question, Vahn gave Scathach's head a gentle caress before using his Unit Management to recall her to the Town of the Wandering Minstrel. This caused the look on the young woman's face to darken considerably, not because she was being ignored, but because she believed she was being looked down upon.
Deciding she would get her answers after the fight had ended, a tremendous amount of lightning began to flow from the youthful-looking girl's body as she charged forward with speed comparable to a Ranker. Her intention was to skewer Vahn's insides so that she could paralyze and electrify him over an extended period of time, her method of choice whenever she had to deal with people who annoyed her.
Recognizing the sadistic glimmer in the girl's eyes, Vahn fought against the urge to roll his eyes as he allowed her spear to impale his gut. This caused a hint of excitement to appear within the girl's expression, but, almost immediately thereafter, her eyes rounded as she attempted to retract her weapon and flee backward.
Preventing this from happening, Vahn's left hand tightened around the one she used to hold her sword as his right hand impacted the crown of her head in a chopping motion. This caused all the electricity emanating from her body to short out in an instant as her legs buckled, forcing her to fall flat on her bottom. Then, with moisture building in her eyes, she began rubbing the top of her head while looking up at him with a hateful expression on her face.
Realizing why Maschenny would want to destroy her younger counterpart, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face as he released the teary-eyed girl's hand and said, "I'll fight you as much as you want later. For now, take me to your-"
Before he could finish speaking, the young girl, unquestionably the Data of Maschenny Jahad in her youth, adopted an even more hateful pout as she said, "Fuck you. If you're that eager to die, go find him yourself. You think I'm going to obey you just because you struck my head? If you're not going to take this seriously, you can just fuck off...!"
Punctuating her words, Maschenny released a violent explosion of lightning-infused Shinsu as she threw a vicious haymaker towards his crotch. This caused the wry smile on Vahn's face to become even more prominent, and, though she wasn't his child to discipline, he was suddenly seized by an urge to follow Ureko's example and give the violent youth a spanking. Instead, he sidestepped the attack, lightly smacking Maschenny's outstretched hand in the process.
Annoyed by the fact she was still being looked down upon, Maschenny's hair began to float upward as she threw a series of surprisingly sharp blows aimed at various vital points. It was almost like her hands had become spears, and, though she had formed them into fists, Vahn could still feel the tell-tale influence of Spear Laws contained within each strike. Were it not for his nigh-invulnerability, her strikes might have even left small puncture wounds in his palms.
Undeterred by the ease in which Vahn received and deflected her strikes, the speed of Maschenny's punches continued to increase as an instinctual war cry emanated from her throat. This caused the lightning emitting from her body to become even more violent, the bands increasing in strength to the point that they began to carve deep trenches through the solidified ice-cream structure. This, in turn, caused the interior to begin melting, as, on the low end, the temperature of each vibrant band was close to 5,000 degrees Celsius.
To prevent the lightning from going out of control, Vahn quickly purchased a few copper rods from the system shop before littering them around the battlefield. These acted as improvised lightning rods, and, though they did little to prevent the temperature from increasing, they drastically helped to reduce the amount of collateral damage.
Noticing the strange rods appearing in her periphery, Maschenny promptly ceased her assault in an attempt to get a better grasp of the situation. The moment she attempted to leap back, however, a second chop impacted the crown of her head, once again dispersing her accumulated electricity. To make matters even worse, it impacted the exact same spot as the first time, and, due to her attempt to jump backward, she ended up sliding across the partially melted ice cream on her rump.
Though he knew the Data was more than eleven-hundred-years-old, Vahn couldn't help feeling a little awkward when the younger version of Maschenny liberated her ice cream covered figure from the channel carved by her butt. It was fortunate she wore dark-blue tights and a similarly blue cape, as, if she was anything like her older counterpart, a t-back wouldn't have provided much protection against the chilled and exceptionally sticky substance...
With much of her body covered in sticky goop, Maschenny's anger had increased inversely to her desire to continue fighting within the ice cream cone. She hadn't thought about it in the beginning, but, now that things had developed to this point, she realized fighting on this particular battlefield wasn't the smartest decision she had ever made. Her opponent was far more powerful than she had anticipated, and, thanks to the unique structure of the battlefield, her own was limited considerably.
Resisting the urge to massage the swelling bump on her head, Maschenny glared at Vahn, her blue eyes crackling with electricity as she said, "I will never forget this shame...even if it costs me my life, I swear to do everything within my power to end you..."
Since he had actually been intending to recruit her in order to spite the real Maschenny, the corner of Vahn's smile began to twitch as he extended his hand and said, "Come now...there is no need to say things like that. I mean, I haven't actually done anything other than defending myself and giving you two light chops to the head. Is that any reason to hold a life and death grudge...?"
Though she was initially going to retort, Maschenny momentarily paused as a warm and slightly ticklish sensation enveloped her body. Almost immediately thereafter, the sticky residue coating much of her body began to dissolve away, replaced by a clean and remarkably refreshing feeling. Unfortunately, the same sensation also affected the more sensitive regions of her body, so, rather than expressing even a hint of gratitude, Maschenny's brows began to twitch violently as a not-so-subtle blush colored her otherwise fair complexion.
Restraining herself until the sticky feeling had completely disappeared, a fresh layer of moisture developed across Maschenny's eyes as she charged toward's Vahn with a hate-filled expression, shouting, "You damned pervert...!" as a circular mirror appeared behind his back. This caused the smile on Vahn's face to completely freeze, and, though he could have easily evaded her charge, he allowed Maschenny to effectively drop kick him since he could sense the presence of someone far more powerful on the other side...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Shishou don't play around...','Vahn be like, "Be still, my right hand..."','Some lessons just don't stick...')
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