Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though not all of them had agreed to help out with Team Wolf Pack’s training, Vahn had most of his Templates, thirteen out of eighteen, gather for the sake of introductions. This included Ichigo, Roger, Goku, and Latios from the men’s side. As for the women, demonstrating Vahn’s bias, there were the original duo, Hinata and Yoruichi, alongside seven new faces: Mira, Kushina, Morgiana, Latias, Xerneas, Kyogre, and, perhaps to serve as a constant reminder of the lesson she had tried to teach him, Madara.

As could be expected, the members of Team Wolf Pack were quite surprised by the presence of so many people. The men, in particular, were awed by the almost overwhelming beauty possessed by the vast majority of women within the group. As for Endorsi, Anak, Nare, and Hwa Ryun, the latter of which had spent the entire month training alongside Fenrir, two of them couldn’t help but feel a little helpless. As for the other two, Anak and Hwa Ryun, they didn’t particularly seem to care about the presence of so many beauties. Rather, after noticing there were two redheads within the group, a fiery light of conviction could be seen burning within Ryun’s pupil.

While Team Wolf Pack had been participating in the Survival Test, Hwa Ryun had spent the entire month training under Fenrir. As a result, she now had a somewhat ’wild’ aura emanating from her body, and, though it wasn’t nearly as prominent as Fenrir’s, her hair flowed more freely than before. She seemed to have become a ’predator’ over the duration of a single month, and, though he wasn’t too concerned, Vahn knew she had probably learned a lot more than Shinsu control from his most trusted companion.

Ignoring the hungry look in Hwa Ryun’s eye, Vahn explained the changed structure of the Little Garden. He wanted to give them an idea of what their future held before freeing them to enjoy their three-day vacation. Mental preparation was often more important than physical preparation, so, with that in mind, he cut everyone loose to go take a bath and wash up while Hinata, Kushina, Mira, and Morgiana went to prepare a feast. As for himself, he decided to spend some time with Fenrir, sneaking away to the outer rings to enjoy her company and listen to her explain how the training of her three students had been going...

With the opportunity to take a proper bath for the first time in a month, Endorsi ignored washing her body using the shower, unequipping all of her clothes using the [REquip] system before, quite literally, jumping into the mineral-rich waters. She had rinsed herself off in a river a few times, but, more often than not, she simply relied on Gandr’s cleaning magic to remove the sweat and grime from her body. This had allowed her to remain relatively clean, but, compared to the comfort of a bath, there was no way she would ever prefer the former over the latter.

Not caring about the judgemental looks she was receiving in the slightest, Endorsi allowed herself to float at the surface of the water, a contented smile on her face as she was pulled along by the gentle current that ensured that the heat and mineral concentration remained uniform. She felt like she had died and gone to heaven, a state of supreme bliss washing over her body and mind until a face spontaneously appeared a few centimeters away from her own...

Jerking her body to a seated position, Endsorsi created a literal wall of water to protect herself as she shouted, "Who goes there!?" towards empty space. This earned her a pitying look from Anak, but, before the latter could think of an insult, she was just as surprised as Endorsi to see a red and white figure manifest out of thin air, answering, "I am Latias~!" in a happy tone.

Recognizing the name, Endorsi breathed a sigh of relief as she allowed the water wall to disperse. Then, with her hands on her hips, she adopted a stern expression and said, "You shouldn’t sneak up on people in the bath. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Hearing Endorsi’s exclamation, Latias showed an expression of concern as she unhesitantly invaded the girl’s personal space, paw extending to touch the former’s left breast as a tidal surge of healing energy invaded her body. This caused Endorsi to bite her lip, stifling a moan as she separated from the peculiar creature’s paw and gently chided, "You’re a naughty one..." before promptly asking, "Is that the same technique that Gandr uses?"

With the three claw/toes of her paw opening and closing in a groping gesture, Latias adopted the closest thing approximating a smile she could manage before answering, "Hands of Nirvana! It is a skill we inherit from the Creator~!"

Understanding Vahn to be the Creator that Latias was referencing, Endorsi nodded her head before taking a seat in the water and stating, "Well, I’m fine now. Thanks for your concern. Just remember not to sneak up on me in the bath, okay?"

Though she looked like she was seriously considering Endorsi’s words, Latias caused the former to deadpan as she happily chimed, "No! Sneaking up on people is fun!" before laughing mischievously and disappearing into thin air. This caused Endorsi to feel a sense of dread, but, fortunately, she was not the victim of Latias’ next prank. Instead, Anak, who had been cleaning herself diligently in the shower area, released a surprisingly girlish yelp, covering her breasts and privates as her body was spontaneously lifted from the stool she had been seated on.

After placing the startled girl on her feet, Latias revealed herself, snickering with both paws covering her mouth. She really enjoyed pranking people, and, though her Creator forbade her from doing so while others were cooking, he never said anything about the bath.

Seeing the strange creature snickering at her, Anak’s expression became a little gloomy, but, rather than complain, she adopted a stern tone before repeating the words Phae had once told Yoruichi, "The bath is not a place to play around. It is a place where people are intended to relax their minds and bodies. Your Creator...Vahn would not approve of this kind of behavior..."

Hearing Anak’s words, Latias scrunched up her snout with the intent to refute the former’s words, but, before she was able to, Hwa Ryun added, "She is correct. If you do not believe her, you can go and ask the Creator yourself. He might not be angry with you, but he is certain to tell you this was wrong. Pranking people is supposed to be a harmless act. If you are disturbing or inconveniencing others, you are effectively bullying and harassing them...do you think Vahn would approve of such actions?"

Showing an expression of panic that even Anak had to admit was adorable, Latias gasped a high-pitched, "Oh no!" while flailing her paws. Then, with a burst of speed that left everyone in the room stunned, she seemed to fly ’through’ the walls, beelining towards Vahn while screaming, "Latias isn’t a bad girl-!" in a voice that seemed to pierce through the void.

Surprised by Latias’ rather ’innocent’ response, Endorsi, Nare, and even Anak felt slightly guilty. Hwa Ryun, however, had learned the ’importance’ of being a ’good girl’ from Fenrir; so, while the others were still a little stunned by the swift departure, she rinsed off with a bucket of water before walking over and plopping down in the bath, a contented sigh escaping her lips...

Unaware of the happenings within the Little Garden, Gandr spent the better part of three hours gathering information on the Class System, methods to obtain Points, the Workshop, and, most importantly, the various districts of Paradise Bay.

As the Administrator had implied, things could get ’very’ dangerous if you were a Regular caught in an area where you weren’t supposed to be. The system was completely in favor of those with higher Class Citizenship, so much so that there were heavy penalties enforced upon lower-ranking Citizens for even perceived grievances against those two ranks higher. To make matters even worse, this was a one-way street, so, even if an A-Class Citizen outright murdered a C-Class Citizen, they would not be penalized in the slightest.

To prevent Regulars from exploiting the system too much, anyone above D-Class was only allowed to maneuver in areas one rank above or below their current standing. This might seem like a means to balance the system, but, due to F~E-Class Citizens being able to venture into most regions, they were often treated like Slaves or Gofers for Higher Class Citizens. In fact, one of the ways in which a Regular could earn Points was by accepting jobs from other Regulars.

The majority of businesses on the 5th Floor, a stark contrast to the 3rd, were operated by Regulars who had already obtained B-Class Citizenship. The Administration actually awarded bonus Points to people who operated successful businesses; so, rather than immediately move on to the next Floor, it was common for ambitious Regulars to momentarily delay their journey in order to accumulate as many Points as possible. The Workshop Auctions held at the end of each month regularly auctioned off D-Rank items, so, with the hope of making their future climb significantly smoother, competent teams of Regulars would often remain on the 5th Floor until the end of their eleventh month.

Though things appeared relatively calm on the surface, there was actually an extreme competition taking place within Paradise Bay. There were even numerous gang-like factions constantly at war with each other, many backed by direct descendants or branches of the Ten Great Families. These factions had a tremendous edge over the competition, and, unless they were abnormally powerful, there was simply no way for a normal Regular to compete. The Ten Great Families and their affiliates had established an absolute monopoly within the city; and, thanks to the system that had been put in place by the Administration, it was virtually impossible to advance without placing yourself under one of these factions.

Regulars could only obtain Points by selling materials to authorized business, the majority of which would only purchase from members of their own faction. This meant, unless you joined one of the existing factions, your only means of income would be earning a pittance from the Administration. The jobs they provided were barely enough to cover a day’s worth of expenses, so, unless you were somehow able to stockpile the 200,000 Points necessary for B-Class Citizenship, you were basically screwed over by a system clearly designed to pander to the Ten Great Families.

Fortunately, Team Wolf Pack actually had a number of ways to get around this system entirely, the simplest being the Guardian’s Test. The most likely method they would employ, however, involved combining their Points to purchase a few B-Class Citizenships. Vahn would never allow this type of system to simply go unpunished, so, even if he had to make enemies with all of the other factions, it was only natural that he establish a business to help Lower Class Citizens.

Gandr was well aware of Vahn’s nature, for obvious reasons, so more than half his time was spent scouting the best location for their business. He was absolutely certain that his ’Master’ would, at the very least, open up something like a Free Clinic to help struggling Regulars. Then, for however long they decided to stay on the 5th Floor, he would systematically pressure or outright eliminate the other factions. This was simply how Vahn did things, so, unless they were willing to compromise and ’fix’ the clearly broken system, the various factions of the 5th Floor were guaranteed to feel his wrath...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Fenrir, rearing ’good girls’ since 2019’,’Don’t bully Latias (>,...,<)...!’,’The wrath of the Sage Dragon Emperor is more terrifying than a natural disaster...’)