Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Once all the scouting parties had returned, everyone from Team Wolf Pack, sans Vahn and Phae, gathered within the boys' room to discuss their future plans. This included dividing everyone into two groups, one to perform Quests outside the Town of Beginnings and another to investigate the interior.

Fortunately, though it caused Endorsi to pout and nag, the team already had an idea of what their short term goal should be: defeating the King Shinheuh known as the Fortress Turtle. This was the License that Gandr and Anak had received after completing Marble's Special Test, and, though it was known to be an exceptionally tough Shinheuh, it's slow speed made it a relatively safe target for their first King.

Since there were no penalties for shuffling Party members around, the core members of the away group would remain Gandr, Endorsi, and Anak. Their participation all but ensured things would go smoothly, so, even if the weaker members of the Party would still need to earn Points of their own, they could at least get credit for participating in the subjugation of a King.

To make things even more 'efficient', Gandr and Anak had acquired Licenses to hunt other Shinheuh in the same region as the Fortress Turtle. These Licenses could be registered up to six times within a Pocket, but, most importantly, they allowed everyone registered under the same License to receive credit for the subjugation. This still required them to be present, something that was going to be an issue for Vahn, Phae, and Gandr, but it was still a tremendous boon for the weaker members of the Party.

With the goal of earning Points for the entire Team, the first Hunting Party would consist of Gandr, Endorsi, Anak, Khun, Rak, and Baam. As for everyone else, they would move according to Shibisu's orders, gathering information on individual Administrators' Special Tests, market data, and any juicy rumors that were circulating through the Town. There were also plenty of Quests to complete within the Town of Beginnings, so, even if the majority provided scant rewards, they still had the option of accumulating Variable Experience.

Of course, not all the Quests within the Town were graded between F~D. There were actually a few A~S-Rank Quests available, one of which only required you to 'befriend' 3 Test Administrators after completing their Special Tests. There was another that required you to complete 'every' Special Test on the Floor, 137 Tests in total. The former provided you with gifts that seemingly had the power to persuade your new 'friends' to bequeath you one of their techniques. As for the latter, it provided you with the opportunity to receive a Sobriquet, drastically increasing your fame despite being just an F-Rank Regular.

Unfortunately, there was a restriction that prevented you from attempting more than one Special Test per day. Since Vahn had no intention of staying on the 3rd Floor for more than four months, it was impossible to complete every Special Test. Making three friends, however, was a simple feat so long as he played his cards right. After all, there were bound to be Rankers related to Wolhaiksong among the Administration, so, as long as he was willing to face the consequences, he could contact Soo-Yun to ask her to mediate.

Since their images couldn't be recorded, Vahn, Phae, and Gandr were bound to have a bit of trouble trying to receive credit for their subjugation. This was one of the reasons Vahn had Gandr rush over to take Marble's Special Test. She was bound to notice the incongruency the moment she reviewed the footage recorded by her Observer, so, by strengthening his friendship with the petite girl, Gandr should be able to circumvent the issue entirely. As for Phae, she could easily just record the footage using her registered Lighthouse, as, unless they had been hacked, the majority of Lighthouses could only be used by their owners.

Vahn could also use a Lighthouse to achieve a similar result, but, out of consideration for his future plans, it was best to begin strengthening his ties to various organizations, at least on the surface. In actuality, he was intending to earn the qualifications to climb higher by taking the Guardian Test on each Floor. Everything else was merely a cover, and, once he reached the 20th Floor, he intended to further his goals by having Phae join the Workshop while he climbed through the Middle Tower.

Though there were bound to be strong foes barring their passage, Vahn quickly realized his growth would be limited if he continued climbing within the Inner Tower. Regulars were simply too weak to offer a challenge, and, thanks to their contract with the Guardians, even High Rankers weren't a real threat so long as they remained in Inner Tower. This was extremely beneficial for the Regulars who were climbing the Tower, but, as someone who wanted to face legitimate threats, Vahn was unable to justify climbing through the Inner Tower.

Fortunately, while there were other restrictions in place, the power of Rankers wasn't particularly limited within the Middle and Outer Towers. They were still forbidden from directly interfering with the affairs of Regulars, but, as was often the case when the system was broken, there were countless people who ignored this rule. FUG was the principal violator of this rule, but, whenever a promising Regular appeared, the Ten Great Families and even Wolhaiksong were known to ignore the rules if it meant securing a talent.

By climbing through the Middle Tower and continually expanding his influence, Vahn could draw out a lot of the 'big fishes' backing each of the major organizations. This would provide him with ample opportunities to battle against powerful foes, and, though he might draw the attention of a few monsters, even that was beneficial for him in the long run. After all, even if they were capable of killing him, he could simply 'resurrect' elsewhere, confusing the hell out of his enemies and drawing even more attention to himself.

Vahn had no intention of keeping his status as an Irregular secret, so, once Team Wolf Pack reached the 20th Floor, their paths, while parallel to each other, would deviate. Gandr would still be climbing with them, but they would no longer have the 'safety net' that his and Phae's existence provided for them. This would allow them to spread their wings, strengthen their bonds, and, most importantly, develop the independence necessary to become future rulers of the Tower.

With this in mind, Vahn left Team Wolf Pack to their own devices, pulling out his Pocket to contact Soo-Yun while Phae prepared a meal off to the side.

Under normal circumstances, a Pocket belonging to a Regular was unable to contact another Pocket while inside the Inner Tower. Vahn, however, had three Pockets in his possession, two of which had been purchased through the system shop. These weren't restricted by the rules governing Regulars, so, after several minutes of silence, a very bubbly voice echoed throughout the room, asking, "Who is this? How did you get this number~?"

Without a moment's delay, Vahn adopted a firm tone, answering, "This is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. You personally handed me your number, Ms. Soo-Yun."

Though part of it was an act, Soo-Yun was legitimately surprised to hear the voice of Vahn on the other end of the call. As a result, her voice became even bubblier as she loudly exclaimed, "Wow! I didn't expect you to contact me so soon! Don't tell me you're already on the 20th Floor!? It's only been like-"

Before Soo-Yun could finish speaking, the sound of a small scuffle could be heard before a new voice, clearly belonging to Princess Yuri, asked, "How are my sister, niece, and Gandr doing? Did that coffee addict give you any trouble after our departure?"

Having already anticipated Yuri's interference, Vahn wasn't even remotely surprised by the violent Princess' hijacking of the call. As a result, his voice was calm and steady as he casually replied, "It is a pleasure to hear your voice, Princess. Still, I'm not fond of being one-sidedly interrogated. Before I answer your questions, there are matters I must discuss with Ms. Soo-Yun. Please return the Pocket to her."

Clearly annoyed by his response, the sound of Yuri clicking her tongue could be heard from Vahn's Pocket prior to Soo-Yun answering, "What can I help you with, Vahn? Were you curious about my three sizes~?"

Ignoring the second remark, Vahn maintained his casual tone as he explained the situation on the 3rd Floor. Fortunately, the members of Yuri's group were already aware of the incongruency after attempting to review and upload the data they had collected to their private network. Thus, after a quick explanation regarding his existence as a 'singularity that only existed in the present', Vahn was able to secure Soo-Yun's help.

As could be expected, Wolhaiksong did, indeed, have a presence on the 3rd Floor. Rather, excluding the 43rd, 100th, and 134th, they had a presence on virtually every Floor. This included a number of Test Administrators, so, after making a few promises, Vahn was able to learn the identities of seven Wolhaiksong affiliates. To his surprise, almost as if Fate simply couldn't help itself, one of the seven was none other than Marble, the Dwelfling that Gandr was in the process of befriending...

In actuality, rather than fate, it was the machinations of Yuri and her party that led to Mable being the first Administrator to come into contact with Team Wolf Pack. This was also the reason she had humored Gandr earlier in the day, answering his questions rather than simply abandoning him the moment she had explained the rules. She had even been planning to meet with them after noticing the incongruency in the recording, invalidating Vahn's need to contact Soo-Yun entirely.

Unfortunately, Vahn was completely unaware of this, so, other than gaining Princess Yuri's contact information, he didn't receive any substantial benefits from the call. Rather, now that she knew they had the ability to contact her within the Inner Tower, Yuri promptly decided she would match Team Wolf Pack's pace. She wanted to remain close by in the event something unexpected happened, so, to that effect, she demanded he allows her to speak with Gandr, Endorsi, and Anak so that she had a proper grasp of everything that was taking place within the Inner Tower...

Operating under the premise that it was best to strike while the iron was hot, Khun, accompanied by Gandr, Anak, Endorsi, Rak, and Baam, promptly departed the Town of Beginnings shortly after lunch. They wanted to get a better grasp of the situation outside of the Town, and, though their hunting of the Fortress Turtle wouldn't be until a later date, they wanted to investigate the region before attempting the subjugation.

Though it would have been a simple matter to entrust the slaying of the Fortress Turtle to Gandr alone, the latter had agreed to provide support unless it was absolutely necessary for him to step in. They knew he was stronger than the rest of the group combined, so, while it would certainly make things a lot easier for them, they couldn't just keep relying on his power if they wanted to become truly strong.

With this in mind, Gandr's primary responsibility was fulfilling his duties as the Party's Scout, chiefly mapping the terrain, denoting the positions of Shinheuh, and keeping tabs on other Regulars in the region. All of this information was then uploaded to Khun's Lighthouse, leaving the latter surprised by the sheer 'efficacy' of Gandr's ability to collect information. It was almost like the boy was a living Lighthouse, one that was able to move through physical barriers and document everything without a single oversight...

Fortunately, Gandr was on their side as Khun couldn't imagine a single method to deal with the boy should he become an enemy. He had confessed to being 'completely immune' to things like poison, and, based on how much he was able to drink, there was no reason to doubt this was the case. This, combined with the fact he could sneak up on a Ranker without revealing his presence, made Gandr the scariest of the Imperial Trio; at least on the surface...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn's master plan is slowly being revealed (OwO)...','Fate-chan is innocent this time...','Being hunted by Gandr would be pretty terrifying...')