Shift

After a few schedule adjustments, both for the sake of progress and his mental health, Vahn had designated a period during the evening where he would continue treating the remaining Homunculi. As was often the case when he was happy, Vahn's intuition had caused a lingering feeling of 'danger' in the back of his mind that he couldn't ignore. To that end, he felt the need to put more effort into his training and prepare a few countermeasures against future events.

Though he had been somewhat worried about how his renewed training with Scáthach would go, Vahn knew she was very 'reliable' when it came to helping him increase his strength. Thus, rather than focus entirely on the development of his combat potential, he instead decided to see if The Path couldn't provide him the means of making the most of his circumstances. Though his OP had been gradually decreasing, that was only one part of his system functions. Other than the Shop, he also had the Records, View Affection, Minimap, Inventory, Unit Management, Gacha, Upgrade, and Inventory functions.

Upon leaving the Record of Danmachi, the majority of his system functions had gotten a significant increase but, due to the situation that had presented itself, Vahn had never used them to their fullest potential. Even his Upgrade Function, which he knew was quite powerful, had been sitting idly within The Path, waiting for the day when he used the hundreds of upgrade resources he had been saving.

Since the upgrade materials were the same for F-Rank equipment and SSS-Rank equipment, Vahn had decided long ago that he would save all of his materials and resources until he reached Tier 6 or Tier 7. After all, while getting a temporary boost would certainly help increase his power in any of the Records he visited, even a weapon like [Enkidu] might not even be S-Rank in a Tier 7 Record. Thus, unless he intended to upgrade the same weapon an infinite number of times, carrying it with him between multiple Records, there had never been an opportune time to use this particular system function.

Outside of the Upgrade function, Vahn knew he hadn't been using his other functions to their fullest extent either. Even in Danmachi, he had used his Inventory as a means to transport and even attack enemies but, now that it had increased exponentially in size, he hadn't been using it to the fullest extent of its capabilities. At the same time, perhaps even more notably, was the fact that he had not been making proper use of his most important system upgrade, all because he didn't want to treat his life like a 'game'.

Vahn knew that the upgrade to his Quest function was ridiculously useful as there were even Quests listed related to his daily life. Not only that, but he could assign Quests to anyone that had been registered in his Unit Management, some of which had variable rewards that depended on who had been assigned. The only reason he hadn't exploited this was, just as he didn't want to treat his life like a game, where he based all of his decisions on quantifiable objectives, the idea of others taking on dangerous Quests just to grow stronger didn't sit well with him...

Moving forward, especially into higher Tiered Records, Vahn knew the Quest function would be one of the most important system functions he had available. Despite his inhibitions toward it, he knew it was necessary, especially for his companions who lacked something like The Path to rely on. He had a habit of telling them there were no such things as limitations but, despite their best efforts, Vahn knew it was exponentially more difficult for others to improve and keep pace with him. This was due to the fact that his body was comprised of Source Energy and, while others may have benefited from the bodies he had created, they couldn't actually use the energy contained within. He, however, was constantly being nourished by his Source Energy, constantly bringing him closer to the peak of the Record that he inhabited...

In the future, Vahn knew he would have a large Order of Imperial Knights and, though it would likely never reach the extremes of his ventures in Danmachi, he would still have thousands of followers, subordinates, and retainers. Just like the Haven Defense Force, which had posted quests that could be accepted by its members, Vahn knew such a system would greatly benefit the growth of his allies. Even the Clock Tower had a 'Mission Board', where both Faculty and Students were able to accept jobs both internally and abroad. This could include simple missions, such as collecting materials from the Spiritual Tomb or complex missions such as joining a political delegation to protect dignitaries in foreign countries.

Once his Order of Imperial Knights had grown, Vahn knew he would need to actually give them work to do as, while protecting the Castle was an important duty, there shouldn't be many enemies with enough gall to enter Avalon and try to attack them directly. This would be doubly so once they were aware of existences like Merlin, Scáthach, and Heracles who, despite having known legends, weren't known for their weaknesses. Since 'Camelot' was also quite legendary in its own rights, and would become known for its population of Fae in the future, Vahn suspected only a select few abnormal individuals would ever try to target them in a head-on collision. They were far more likely to use large-scale Ritual magic to bombard them from a distance with Tactical-Class Magecraft rivaling True Magic.

Knowing this, Vahn knew it would be necessary to have powerful defenses around the entire Island, something which Da Vinci had been seeing to since she first arrived in this world. As for his Quest function, much to his chagrin, Vahn knew it would be extremely useful for providing direction in his own life while also busying the current and future residents of the castle. After all, there were even assignable quests to produce a certain number of rune-engraved gemstones, something he could have given to Rin for some easy rewards. He also knew that, as time passed, people would want to leave the Projection and travel into the outside world as, despite the threat of Angra Mainyu, it was hard to treat the matter seriously when they already had several countermeasures against him...

Deciding it was time to get his priorities in order, especially with his first Court being held in less than a month, Vahn had Fenrir, Medusa, and Circe at his side as he conducted a few experiments. This had been rather easy to arrange as, after his latest session of treatments, they had all been together within the Menagerie. Thus, with the three girls standing behind him, Vahn was focused wholly on the expansive list of Quests, noticing for the first time that there were 'unique' Quests associated with specific individuals. He already knew Quests could be 'created' based on his intent and, now that he had decided to help the girls benefit from his system, it had already given him several methods to do so...

After perusing the Quests for a brief moment, Vahn selected one for Fenrir and tried assigning it to her directly. He noticed her ears twitch in mild surprise as her eyes began moving from side-to-side, obviously reading a screen only she could see. This provided him some valuable information, as it meant he could secretly issue out Quests to people. Even more important was the fact that, after reading, Fenrir asked, "How do I accept this...?" Though she could read it just fine, Fenrir had no experience 'navigating' a system interface using her mind. Fortunately, Sis chimed in at this point, having Vahn repeat her words, explaining, "You just need to focus your mind and the outline of the Quest should change from blue to green. After that, you can bring up the Quest just by focusing your thoughts on it in the future..."

With an understanding nod, Fenrir closed her eyes to better focus, finding that the screen was just as visible with her eyes closed. Then, as her Master had stated, the border of the Quest become green, causing her to feel motivated to the point of forming her paws into fists as she stated, "I will finish this Quest as soon as possible...!" As she could read the rewards, which had just updated in Vahn's Quest interface as well, Fenrir was quite excited to get started. Vahn couldn't exactly blame her as, after reading how the Quest had been updated to reflect Fenrir as the recipient, the rewards were considerably different from what he had expected...

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[Quest: Grace of the Moon]

Rank: B

Objective(s): Meditate beneath the light of the moon for 1,000 hours. Time is reduced based on the phases of the moon and the focus of the user. (0/1000)

Optional Objective(s): Increase comprehension of Water Elemental Laws through meditation(0/1000), Increase comprehension of Ice Elementa Laws through meditation(0/1000), Increase comprehension of Yin Elemental Laws through meditation(0/1000)

Rewards: 300,000 Variable Experience, 1x[Moon's Grace], 1x[Proof of Loyalty]

Failure Condition(s): Death, Failure to complete Quest within stipulated time: (364D23H58M14S)

Penalty: Afflicted with Curse: [Jad Ice Marrow] for the duration of one year

Current Variable Experience: 0

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Though the rewards were already quite nice for a B-Rank Quest, what had truly surprised Vahn was, much like Fenrir, he was able to read what Variable Experience was used for. Just as he could track his experience towards mastery, it seemed that his Subordinates had the same functionality, at least through him. According to the description for Variable Experience, it could be used to enhance any non-Innate skill or ability, albeit with even low ranked skills requiring quite the bit of experience to level up. Even Fenrir's [Ice Pulse], an ability she had learned from her training with Scáthach, took a total of 450,000 Variable Experience to go from E-Rank to D-Rank. As for her higher-ranked skills, such as [Shundo], it required a monstrous 40,000,000 Variable Experience to increase from B-Rank to A-Rank. Still, just having the option of stockpiling Variable Experience, much like how he saved up his Origin Points, was quite exciting for anyone who had yet to experience something similar.

If Fenrir chose to exploit her Quest to the fullest, she could easily finish the entire Quest in as little as fifteen days, assuming she exited the Projection during the day time and only cultivated during the long nights inside. However, knowing she wasn't the type to slack off, Vahn had Fenrir help him out with his second experiment while the tensions were still high. Though Medusa and Circe were both very confused at the moment, Vahn kept them pacified by promising they would understand shortly. He already had a few Quests picked out for their perusal but, before he handed them out, Vahn had something he wanted to try.

Currently, Vahn could maintain three bodies without any major setbacks but, as was often the case when it came to such things, three was not his limit. Since he kept his sub-processes in a deep state of meditation, something that had become almost second nature at this point, Vahn felt it should be possible to expand his mind even further. Instead of making another gemstone, however, Vahn was forming himself into a different kind of inanimate object, this time taking on the shape of a massive stone wall.

As even being a gemstone was quite a peculiar experience, Vahn felt extremely awkward to have a 'body' made from a slab of stone. Though he didn't even have any nerves to speak of, he could still feel his own dimensions and how 'cold' he felt, almost as if it was soaking into his Soul. To counter this, even without him willing it, Vahn felt the stone gradually heat up until it had reached a normal body temperature. Then, after collecting himself, Vahn began to focus on the [Mantra of Eternity], allowing his consciousness to sink into the comfortable abyss that had now become an intrinsic part of him.

With his fourth 'body' complete, Vahn released a sigh of relief while internally remarking, ("Give it a try..."). Though it hadn't been necessary to remind her, Sis answered in the affirmative before the wall in front of Vahn, Fenrir, Medusa, and Circe began to show lines of text. Sis wasn't able to control his body but, as the 'mediator' between himself and The Path, she was able to access its functions, even to the point of being able to purchase items on his behalf if necessary. In much the same way, she was able to make use of the Quest function and, though it would cause his mind to feel a strange 'pause', Vahn was able to transform his body in response to her manipulation of the system.

In this manner, Sis could post any Quests she thought were suitable while other Quests could be 'created' just by having a person place their palm against the stone. Since it was his 'body', Vahn was vaguely aware of his surroundings at all times, even in a deep state of meditation. When someone touched him, he would obviously become more aware of their presence and, after understanding their intentions, new Quests would form in his mind instantly. These would then be filtered by Sis before, much like how she guided him back from [Laplace's Key], she was able to cause his body to transform and display the Quest to the observer...

Vahn knew this would take some getting used to but, as he couldn't make himself available to assign Quests at all times, he needed a method that the others could use to pick their own. This was a way in which he could promote their independence further as, even though they would all have their own duties within the Court, Vahn wanted them to live free and unfettered lives. Even if someone wanted to travel into the outside world to complete a Quest, they should have that option, so long as it did not endanger the lives of others and expose Avalon to enemy attack. Not only would this provide him with more information about the world, but it would also prevent the residents of the castle from spending all their time in the Projection, something Vahn knew wasn't exactly healthy...

Now that the 'Quest Board' was complete, Vahn smiled toward Medusa and Circe, saying, "Just place your palm on this stone and it should show you a list of Quests. If there are any you think would be interesting, feel free to accept them. You should know that even low ranked Quests can give nice rewards so don't hold back..."

Though they were still confused by Vahn's words, Medusa was the first to jump forward and 'slap' her palm against the black stone surface. This caused Vahn to flinch slightly but he managed to keep his composure as a series of 'squares' appeared on the stone board, each displaying a Quest suitable for Medusa. Fortunately, while she was still learning Japanese, the Quest Board displayed the details in Koine, the language of Orario. This allowed her to read over each Quest before ultimately picking the one Vahn had expected. She had tried to select multiple Quests but, providing Vahn yet more useful information, Medusa's brows perked up as she stated, "It says I need to use Loyalty to accept more than one Quest~?"

As it had been 'triggered' by Medusa, The Path provided the necessary information to Sis, allowing her to explain, (*Other than a single 'primary' Quest, your Subordinates are able to accept secondary Quests, up to a total of five. Each Quest after the primary would take 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% of their total Loyalty respectively, though the value would not decrease below 0. Though this seems like a major detriment, completion of these Quests returns the Loyalty value with a bonus based on the difficulty. This would only be a few points for lower-ranked Quests but, for those that are B-Rank or higher, the total Loyalty could be increased by as much as 10~20% of the original value.*)

Hearing Sis's explanation, Vahn parroted her words to the others while also trying to rationalize how such a system worked. Considering that they were mainly completely Quests that had been dictated by him, it made sense that their Loyalty would increase based on the number they completed. Not only would they get rewarded for their efforts, which would already increase their Loyalty, but the stresses they experienced during the Quest would undoubtedly influence them considerably. This was especially true for S-Ranked Quests, and higher, as Fenrir even had one that required her to defeat Scáthach in battle.

Since the loss of Loyalty actually caused significant discomfort, especially towards his more Loyal Subordinates, Medusa ultimately only accepted a second Quest after her first. After all, she could just complete the current Quests before accepting new ones. There was no need to accept too many as, due to the quirks of the Quest function, they would all need to be completed before any could be turned in. As for why she chose the two she did, it was because they were loosely related to each other and, with the rewards promised, Medusa was looking forward to completing them quite a bit.

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[Quest: Gorgon's Heiress]

Rank: C

Objective(s): Befriend a total of 100 snakes: (49/100)

Optional Objective(s): Befriend 20 different species of snakes: (4/20)

Reward: 50,000 Variable Experience, 20x[Familiar Contract]

Failure Condition: Death

Penalty: N/A

[Chain Quest: Moulting I]

Rank: C~S

Objective(s): Bathe in water between 100~105°C for one hour: (0/10), Bathe in water between -5~0°C for one hour: (0/10), Bathe under direct sunlight for one hour: (0/100)

Optional Objective(s): Sleep surrounded by more than one-hundred different snakes for an hour: (0/100)

Reward: 70,000 Variable Experience, 1x[First-Layer Molting Pill]

Failure Condition: Death, Failure to complete Quest within stipulated time: (29D23H58M19S)

Penalty: Incomplete molting may occur

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Though it was hard to know the exact use of items like the [First-Layer Molting Pill], as it wasn't listed within the system shop as of yet, just reading the name was enough to have a basic understanding of its purpose. Medusa's race was listed as a Gorgon and, though she was technically Ageless, her body could still mature further based on how many times she molted. Currently, she would only molt around four times a year, each taking around two days to complete under ideal conditions. After the process was completed, Medusa would look marginally older than she had been in the past, though it wasn't an exaggeration to say she would take several decades to reach the 'mature' form she was determined to achieve.

As the Quest she had accepted was a Chain Quest, this implied that there were multiple steps, each providing progressively better rewards. The first part was only C-Rank, making it rather simple to complete, while the latter would be S-Rank, granting considerable rewards. As these were often relatively similar to the preceding rewards, it was easy to assume that Medusa would either be given multiple [First-Layer Molting Pill]s or higher-tiered rewards for her efforts. Since it was easy to intuit that a [First-Layer Molting Pill] would literally allow her to molt freely, it meant she could reduce the period it takes to 'mature' considerably, without much effort.

While Medusa was tempted to immediately head out to make more 'friends', she was more inclined to stay with her Master and keep him company, especially since he was the one to visit them. Thus, while thinking about the best methods to complete her Quest, Medusa made way for Circe to also place her palm against the stone, thankfully without slapping it. She hadn't been able to read the text of Medusa's Quests but, after seeing how happy both she and Fenrir were, Circe was more than a little excited to see what would be displayed for her. However, though her Loyalty wasn't exactly low, having reached 16,018 points, Circe's feelings towards Vahn were mostly those of Love. As a result, she had fewer Quests available but, while she was lacking in quantity, the quality of said Quests was quite high...

Due to being a Demi-Goddess and 'former' Heroic Spirit, most of Circe's Quests were B-Rank, or higher, with some even reaching SSS-Rank. Vahn had expected her to pick a few middling Quests from amongst those displayed but, much to his surprise, Circe immediately honed in on an S-Rank Quest before accepting it. As he had been watching her closely, Vahn knew exactly which Quest she had selected, causing his brain to buzz as she began to giggle, the light in her eyes flashing with a vibrant pink hue. Since this was her choice, however, Vahn accepted Circe's 'conviction' and, though it would likely complicate things in the future, she had already won a place for herself in his heart...

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[Quest: Apostate of Hecate]

Rank: S

Objective(s): Obtain Hecate's blessing by conducting the Red Moon Ritual: (0/1), Reach 100 Love with another person(33,993/100)

Optional Objective(s): Sacrifice 100 virgin lambs on the night of the full moon: (0/100)

Reward(s): 3,000,000 Variable Experience, 1x[Chastity Belt], 1x[Pendant of the Moon's Promise]

Failure Conditions: Death, Failure to obtain Hecate's blessing, Loss of virginity before Quest's completion

Penalty: Death

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn hasn't just been holding himself back...he has been holding everyone else back xD...')

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