endless path, infinite cosmos

chapter 184

Though it wasn't the original purpose for why he had begun training within the orb, Vahn spent the remainder of the three day period training with Fafnir to discover its capabilities. Other than 'Destruction Ray', it had learned two other magics. The first was called 'Sagitta Magica', and Fafnir could use it for fire up to 28 bolt of darkness elemental magic that had corrosive properties. To round out its skillset, it also had an amazing technique called 'Shadow Walk' which allowed it to hide within the shadows of objects almost like it was entering into an alternate dimension.

Vahn also learned that Fafnir had a gross incompatibility with barrier and defensive magic. It was an almost pure offensive juggernaut and, other than its incredibly durable scales and near perfect immunity to magic, it had no way of defending itself. The large blue cross symbol on its chest actually acted as a significant weak spot that would result in its death if a severe enough blow was dealt to it. Since Fafnir was currently 12m long, the cross had grown to a size larger than Vahn's entire body. This meant that, if even a stray arrow or spear impacted the cross, Fafnir would die.

The last thing of note was Fafnir's apparent weakness to 'righteous' people, light magic, and holy property spells. Since Vahn had next to no negative karma, even when he had Fafnir duel against him, he noticed that Fafnir's capabilities had decreased by more than 40% and his magic would actually misfire and land far off from the intended target. It was almost like, if Fafnir fought against a 'good' person, it would suddenly have incredibly bad luck and severely reduced performance.

Because of this, even though Fafnir was currently much stronger than he was, Vahn was actually able to keep up with him a bit due to his parameters reaching near Level 4. Infusing his [Enkidu] into his domain almost prevent Fafnir from being able to fight back at all. The moment it became wrapped up in [Enkidu], the only thing it could do was wait for Vahn to release it as it would lose all of its power. If not for its ability to fly, Fafnir had almost no way to fight against Vahn in an extended engagement.

Since they were fighting, Eva had been spectating and giving advice to both of them while correcting some of the mistakes they would make. She even tried demonstrating how to use 'Shundo' to give Vahn increased mobility, but he wasn't able to comprehend it well. Though he could easily channel magic into his arms and legs, Vahn couldn't link it between two points easily and would often be sent tripping for several meters when he tried.

Even so, no matter how many times he fell over, Vahn was determined to try and learn the incredible movement technique after seeing Eva use it to easy target his blindspots without him being able to react in the slightest. With the use of his domain, he was able to have some marginal success, but it would still take several weeks to get the hang of it. Fortunately, even though it was a 'physical' skill, it primarily used mana to execute, so Vahn was able to develop the skill even as a spiritual body.

Soon enough, the three day period had ended and Vahn parted ways with Eva from within the room that had become their personal sanctuary. Vahn always felt a little sad every time he left Eva behind but was less affected now that she had the company of Fafnir. Vahn had also wanted to leave behind (Nameless), the kobold that was often kept within his inventory, but Eva said it had no capacity to learn magic and she also considered it quite ugly. Hearing her words, Vahn felt a bit guilty about the somewhat pathetic creature and decided to give it a strong name in the future when his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] was off cooldown.

After awakening in the real world, Vahn quickly left the bed before wandering into the connecting corridor towards the kitchen area. Since he wasn't a normal 'guest' anymore, he had full access to the living spaces used by Milan and Tina in the past. He quickly came across Tina who gave him a strange and inquisitive look as she asked, "Done already~?" Since it had only been a few seconds since she left Vahn in the room, she was wondering if something unexpected had occurred.