EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons

"So, what now? We done...?" asked Tanya, her vision filled with windows only she could see as she joined Vahn, Himmel, and Ruijerd at one of the circular tables prepared within the Dungeon Terminal's trade-in/resupply station.

"I'm personally planning to hang out in my room and respond to some of the messages people have been sending me..." responded Vahn, exhaling a faintly exasperated sigh.

"Mmm...that reminds me..." muttered Tanya, swiping her right index finger in the air, sending requests to be added to Vahn's, Himmel's, and Ruijerd's contacts. She wasn't particularly fond of Heroes or busybodies, but after witnessing how seriously they took exploring the Dungeons, she believed they could be useful.

Accepting Tanya's request to be added to his contacts, Himmel's smile broadened as he questioned, "Then, shall we part ways for tonight and regroup around noon tomorrow? That should provide everyone plenty of time to rest, recuperate, and prepare."

"I don't mind venturing into another Dungeon together, but it may be best to take some time to acquaint ourselves with the safe area's facilities and form Parties with other Ascendees," reasoned Vahn, revealing, "There are training facilities, combat simulators, communal and gender-specific hot springs, and even seclusion chambers for mental and spiritual cultivation. Everything requires TP, but it's important to balance effort with relaxation and recreation."

"Then let's arrange to meet three to five days hence," suggested Himmel, adding, "That should give us plenty of time to acquaint ourselves with the facilities and interact with our fellow Ascendees."

"Just contact me when the time comes..." stated Ruijerd, rising to his feet and offering everyone a slight but respectful bow before turning to leave, leaving everyone to stare at his retreating figure with varying expressions and thoughts.

"I suppose that's my cue," hummed Himmel, sporting a relaxed smile and offering Vahn and Tanya a slow nod before disappearing via the Return to Room function. Vahn planned to do the same, but when he turned to meet Tanya's gaze, she surprised him by revealing, "I still have many questions for you, but you might get the wrong idea if I asked to come to your room. Instead, I will outline everything in a single message and forward it to you later this evening or tomorrow morning. Please review and respond to it at your earliest convenience."

Following Himmel's example, Tanya promptly disappeared the moment she finished speaking, leaving Vahn staring at where she had been seated with an expression of incredulity.

Regaining his senses after a moment of awkward silence, Vahn closed his eyes and shook his head in mild exasperation. When he opened them, he was already back in his room, sitting on the edge of his bed. There, he sat pensively for several seconds, contemplating whether to summon Grayfia or respond to everyone's messages. He had previously resolved to spend the four months the Tower was open focusing on his personal growth and developing his transdimensional network, but after half a day of exploring the Warden's Glade and depleting his mental energy answering questions, he was in the mood for a good fuck...

'Should I try my luck...?' Vahn asked himself, kicking off his shoes, lying atop his oversized bed, and opening his contact list. His eyes immediately settled on Yoruichi's listing, and thanks to his perfect recall, the image of her exceptionally inviting posterior resurfaced within his mind's eye, along with the flirtatious look she gave him before they parted ways.

Checking the single message Yoruichi had sent him, a reminder to let her know when he was free, Vahn recalled what he knew of her character and tried to calculate his odds of success. He was reasonably certain she was in a committed relationship with Kisuke, but since she had openly flirted with and teased more than a few characters, including a sixteen-year-old Ichigo, he got the impression she would allow him to bed her in exchange for privileged information or favor...

'But even though she was one of my first fictional crushes, her character leaves a lot to be desired...' thought Vahn, placing his right hand atop his chest, a cold sweat breaking out across his body as he recalled Yoruichi mercilessly stabbing him through the heart. The pain was fleeting, but his perfect recall worked against him in such instances as he could remember every detail of his sudden and unceremonious murder as if he were being stabbed at that very moment...

Feeling that he shouldn't rush to forgive or befriend someone who had murdered him with a smile on her face, Vahn shelved the idea of inviting Yoruichi over and turned his attention to his contacts.

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[Family]

New Contact

[Friends]

Shihouin Yoruichi[0]

Namij[19]

Tanya von Degurechaff[0]

Himmel[1]

Ruijerd Superdia[0]

[General]

Natsu Dragneel[9]

Iwatani Naofumi[3]

Sora[1]

Tohsaka Rin[14]

Haruhiro[3]

Shiroe[7]

Emi Yusa[2]

Makoto Misumi[8]

Rem Galleu[11]

Yusuke Yotsuya[2]

Saito Hiraga[4]

Theo Cornaro[1]

Siluca Meletes[5]

Fran[0]

Lloyd Irving[0]

Kidd[7]

Ren Amamiya[2]

Misaka Mikoto[15]

Marle[2]

Sora[3]

Estelle Bright[8]

Adol Christin[1]

Joshua Bright[4]

Nina Wyndia[2]

Noyamano Ringo[6]

Namikaze Minato[1]

Sasakura Ryuu[0]

Haruhiro[1]

Tomohiro Saitama

Simon[4]

Riko[5]

Kurokami Medaka[148]

Shirou Emiya[1]

Roxanne[2]

Asuna Yuuki[4]

Kamijou Touma[5]

Fubuki[13]

Wendy Marvel[7]

Inoue Orihime[2]

Yoko Littner[0]

Felt[8]

Yume[2]

Ox Ford[1]

Maki Oze[5]

Luke fon Fabre[0]

Lest[1]

[Blocked]

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'Jeez, this Medaka girl is even more assertive than Rias...' thought Vahn, opening the aforementioned girl's messages to find a veritable wall of text from the blue-haired high schooler, evidently wishing for him to become a permanent member of her Party. However, as most of what she messaged him was self-praise, Vahn concluded it was best to give her a wide berth.

Closing his chat with Medaka, Vahn returned his attention to his contacts, realizing he didn't recognize even a third of the names. Among the girls he did recognize, three were children, and the others were either the heroine or fated partners of their worlds' protagonists. Hooking up with Nami was possible, but he would need at least a few days or weeks to butter her up and build rapport with her...

'Yoruichi may actually be the best choice for a short-term booty call...' Vahn realized, closing his eyes and thinking. Half the Ascendees were female, and, as could be expected from a bunch of protagonists or protagonist-adjacent entities, the majority were immensely beautiful or, at the very least, cute. One person who had stuck in his mind was the girl named Yoko Littner, mostly due to her bright red hair and fiery bikini top, but since she hadn't messaged him, he presumed she wasn't particularly interested in getting closer to him.

'Let's see...other than Nami, the girls who messaged me the most are Misaka Mikoto, Tohsaka Rin, and Fubuki...' noted Vahn, focusing on the latter as he recalled that Mikoto and Rin were rather famous tsunderes. Mikoto was also only fourteen years old, and while that was acceptable back in Japan, he wasn't particularly interested in middle schoolers.

Opening his chat with Fubuki, Vahn was unsurprised to learn she was interested in recruiting him to her Party. However, while she wasn't as bad as Medaka, he knew from One Punch Man and reading her messages that she was a very self-centered woman. She presumably wanted his support to establish and expand her Fubuki Group within the Tower, and since she was currently stronger than him, she would probably talk down to him like so many others.

(If I might make a suggestion, you would have the best chance with the woman named Roxanne from world SH-0952) stated Sis, prompting Vahn to stare at the 34th name in his General Contacts. The profile picture was that of a captivating woman with gentle, reddish-brown eyes, yellow-gold hair, and what appeared to be floppy dog ears tipped with cream-colored fur. And, though she had only sent him two messages, Vahn developed a favorable impression of her when he read them.

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Roxanne: I would be honored to speak with you when the opportunity allows.

Roxanne: And thank you for the opportunity to increase my strength. The Tower of Ascension is truly a wondrous place.

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'She seems like she would be easy to get along with...' thought Vahn, closing his eyes and focusing on his memory of being encircled in the Dungeon Terminal. Everything detected by his domain was saved like a snapshot within his mind, so even if he hadn't so much as cast a glance in Roxanne's direction at the time, he could navigate the memory like a free-floating camera.

'Oh, wow...I didn't realize she was a Maid...'

Getting his first proper glimpse of Roxanne through his memories, Vahn learned that she didn't just have a pretty face. Her voluptuous figure was on par with a Pureblooded Devil's, and while her hat was a little silly, she was dressed in a Victorian-esque Maid outfit with a long skirt and a frilly apron. A droopy, yellow-and-white tail protruded from her lower back, but Vahn's attention was quickly drawn to the rather conspicuous black collar around her neck, ostensibly forged from a type of iron with a large metal loop, clearly intended to accommodate a leash...

'Is she a slave...?' asked Vahn, directing the question to Sis.

(*Her world is based on an anime and manga that roughly translates to Slave Harem in the Labyrinth of the Other World) revealed Sis, affirming, (Roxanne is the first Slave the Protagonist acquires after great effort, but with the boons provided to him at the start of the series, losing his access to her shouldn't greatly affect his ability to survive and prosper.*)

'But I would feel like a monster if I took advantage of her or made her think her freedom was predicated on how well she served me...' thought Vahn, exhaling from his nose. His inhibitions had eased in the past half a year, but there were certain lines he wasn't willing to cross.

(Roxanne became a slave willingly and studied hard so that she would be able to serve the Master who purchased her dutifully) stated Sis. (Other than that, her greatest desire is to become stronger and hone her skills as a proud Wolfkin Warrior, so she likely already feels greatly indebted to you as one of the Tower's architects.)

'I see...' Vahn muttered internally, scanning Roxanne with his gaze. From Sis's explanation, he got the impression she would be extremely loyal, so after a moment of consideration, he responded to her by asking when and where she would like to speak.

Not expecting an immediate response, Vahn began perusing his remaining messages, beginning with Nami's. The orange-haired Navigator employed some flirtatious language that suggested she was more than interested in getting to know him much better. However, based on her character in the anime and manga, Vahn highly doubted that she would accept being part of a harem. Not to mention that, during the end-series credits, it's heavily insinuated that she and Luffy became a couple...

'Honesty is the best policy...' determined Vahn, responding to Nami's messages and revealing that he was involved with several women. He certainly wouldn't mind getting to know her better, but if she continued flirting with him, well, she only had herself to blame when he fucked her senseless. Of course, he left out the latter part...

'Mmm...if things don't work out with Roxanne, I could try being direct with Yoruichi...' thought Vahn, envisioning how the cat-like woman would react to him inviting her to have sex verbatim. He couldn't imagine them having a healthy or proper relationship, but he was reasonably certain they could be great friends with benefits...

'Attraction is dangerous...' mused Vahn, realizing that he was, once again, seriously entertaining the idea of reaching out to Yoruichi despite the fact she had killed him.

Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Vahn spent a few minutes skimming his remaining messages before having Sis open up a large, slightly curved display so he could watch the anime Tanya originated. Given that it was 11:38 PM, the majority of Ascendees were presumably fast asleep after an exhausting day. Thus, while there was a somewhat uncomfortable tension in his body, Vahn resolved to endure, feeling it would be too embarrassing to call upon Grayfia after less than a day of being apart...

...

..

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