Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

After returning to his senses, Vahn grabbed Da Vinci's wrists before gently pulling her hands away from his face as he said, "I must admit...I wasn't expecting the 'Mona Lisa' to appear before me. Did you create this body to house your soul...?" Since creating Artificial Humans had been a practice for well over a thousand years, Vahn wasn't surprised that Da Vinci had created a new body for himself. Once the original shock wore off, he was more interested in the process used to create a body that was obviously capable of transplanting the soul as, with the number of Da Vincis recorded on the Throne of Heroes, it was obvious that this wasn't his first creation. At least, this was Vahn's belief until Da Vinci smiled and explained, "I certainly designed this body, but I did not choose it for myself. Don't let it bother you, though, as age and gender have no effect on a true genius. Now, tell me, why have you summoned me...?"

Since Vahn momentarily showed no interest in trying to sleep with her, Da Vinci was more interested in the reason why he had called upon her. Other things could wait until later as the presence of the large dragon and the man peculiar sights she had never seen before were making her body heat up just thinking about studying them. If not for the 'link' she could feel between herself and Vahn, Da Vinci would have already started analyzing each of these unknown things, breaking them down until she had a complete grasp of their most fundamental concepts. Then, to prove she understood them, she would create an invention that utilized these concepts and pushed them to their fullest extent. The last time, she had made a flying machine modeled after a bird but, seeing the large wings of the red dragon, Da Vinci was curious about the mechanism that allowed such a large creature to fly...

With Da Vinci not 'insisting' on taking things in the direction she had obviously intended, Vahn was able to relax a bit as he explained, "When you next sleep, most of the questions you have would be answered by the memory link we will both experience. I'll be able to see the important moments in your life while you will be able to experience my long history for yourself. To give you a general idea of the situation...I essentially summoned you following the advice of my Magus of the Court, Merlin. My identity is that of the Sage Emperor of the Aldrnari Empire, currently occupying the Ivory Castle of Camelot, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. As for the reason why I have summoned you, there is a threat known as Angra Mainyu that has the potential of wiping out all of humanity. Though I do not expect you to fight on the front lines, my Empire needs a capable mind to help develop technologies that will allow, not just our residents, but people the whole world over to prosper..."

While listening to Vahn speak, Da Vinci had pursed her lips while holding her index finger to her mouth, a contemplative look on her face. When he finished speaking, she immediately followed up by saying, "So you are essentially an Emperor that has been displaced, either from your own timeline or a different world altogether. For reasons you haven't revealed, it has fallen on your shoulders to save the world from the coming threat and, after seeking counsel from your Magus of the Court, he threw my name into the mix as a potential 'solution', not to overcome the threat, but guaranteeing your Empire would prosper. That means you already have several powerful cards in hand and simply need my Genius intellect to ensure you are able to stay relevant in the current era...interesting, I'm in~!"

At the very end of her 'analysis', Da Vinci happily clapped her hands together before interrupting Vahn's response by adding, "I look forward to the memory link. I wonder if you will actually be able to see any of my memories? I don't think I have many memories of importance so you may be disappointed...hmm...well, we can always make some important memories together from now on. You still haven't told me how I should address you. I'm not really familiar with things like Court Eitquette but I should be able to master it if you give me a day or two~." Though it felt like Da Vinci was being sincere when she spoke, Vahn could only smile wryly as he watched her being to inspect her own body without any semblance of decency at all. He could tell she was going to be 'trouble' but, at the same time, Vahn also felt he could quickly become friends with her. She had the type of personality that meant she would get along with pretty much everyone within the castle, even if she would also annoy them at the same time...

Since Da Vinci was able to stand on her own two feet, Vahn gestured so she would stop investigating her own body, saying, "I'm intending to summon another person before we head to the surface. If possible, I'd like you to observe things from your end and see if you can't come up with a solution to the heavy mana requirement of the summoning system. One of the biggest issues currently plaguing me is coming up with enough mana to complete a summon. It would take three years under normal circ.u.mstances so I've been using something called a [Divine Energy Cube] to supplement the lacking reserves." As he spoke, Vahn pulled out the [Divine Energy Cube], something Da Vinci immediately snatched out of his hands before turning it over a few times with a curious glimmer in her eyes.

So long as Da Vinci didn't try to chip a piece off of the cube, Vahn didn't mind if she analyzed it for a short while. He could see what appeared to be small golden runes flowing from the [Divine Energy Cube] and into her eyes so it was clear she had some kind of Innate related to analyzing things. It was somewhat unfortunate that she lost the [Item Construction] and [Territory Creation] class skills when gaining the [Transmigrator] perk but, as her other skills were rather eye-opening, Vahn knew that Da Vinci would probably become one of the pillars of his Empire in the future. His only regret was not paying attention to one of her more unique skills as, if he had noticed it earlier, there was a good chance he would have gotten the male version of Da Vinci instead of this 'perfect' version of the Mona Lisa...

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[Status]

Name: [Leonardo Da Vinci]

Age: 198 days (Ageless)

Race: Human

Strength: 3E

Endurance: 8E

Agility: 21C

Magical Power: 50A+

Good Luck: 39B

Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul)

Circuit Quality: EX

Noble Phantasm: [Uomo Universale:EX]

Origin: Golden Rule, Innovation

Skills: [Natural Born Genius:Innate:EX], [Pioneer of the Stars:Innate:EX], [False Eye of God:Innate:A], [Mind Workshop:S], [Eidetic Memory:S], [Parallel Thinking:B], [Golden Rule:B]

Magic: [Soul Anchor:EX]

Magecraft: [Grand Unified Thaumaturgical Theory:S]

[Mind Workshop]

Rank: S

Use: Allows the user to form clear mental images with precision matching reality.

[Eidetic Memory]

Rank: S

Use: Allows the user to memorize and compartmentalize everything they see.

[Parallel Thinking]

Rank: B

Use: Allows the user to hold up to sixteen thought processes simultaneously.

[Golden Rule]

Rank: B (Body)

Use: Denotes the possession of a natural and perfect goddess-like body. Immune to the effects of aging.

[Soul Anchor]

Rank: EX

Use: Allows the user to create a spiritual imprint on any self-created body. Upon death, the user's soul will be transferred to the nearest available body with a spiritual imprint.

[Grand Unified Thaumaturgical Theory]

Rank: S

Use: The belief that all Thaumaturgical Principles stem from a single school of thought that can be used to understand all mysteries within the world. Allows the user to use all forms of Magecraft up to the skill's rank.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Though all of Da Vinci's skills and abilities were rather shocking, Vahn didn't know how he had missed the unique quality of her [Golden Rule]. Unlike the normal skill, which he had assumed it to be, Da Vinci's simply made her an unrivaled beauty that infringed upon the realm of the Gods. The normal [Golden Rule] allowed for a user to acc.u.mulate wealth, greatly increasing their fortunes to the point that they would never want for material goods. At high enough ranks, even a complete incompetent with the [Golden Rule] skill would be able to become one of the wealthiest people in the world. Even if your personal finances were lacking, 'fate' would allow you to easily acc.u.mulate more without little to no effort on your part. Vahn had expected Da Vinci to have this same version of [Golden Rule] and was actually a little curious to see it at play. Now, however, Vahn was once again reminded that people could have the 'same' skill, yet with a completely different effect. He would need to pay more attention in the future, lest even people like the 'Son of the Sun God' might end up somehow being female...

Apparently having completed her analysis, Da Vinci handed the [Divine Energy Cube] back to Vahn, smiling as she explained, "This cube of your's is certainly comprised of the so-called 'Divine Energy'. It has a unit value of 500,000,000, translating into around 575,000,000,000 units of Magical Energy. I will need to perform a land survey but based on your claim that it would normally take three years to recharge the summoning system, I am confident in my assertion that we can reduce the time to between ninety and one-hundred-twenty-seven days. I do not imagine you wish to cause permanant damage to the environment so I will need to periodically measure the mana in both the atmosphere and within the soil at various points around the castle."

Since Da Vinci had come up with all of this in less than three minutes, Vahn's brain was buzzing as a result, something she seemed to take great pleasure in as she giggled, hand covering her mouth. It was beginning to seem that summoning Da Vinci would have immediate benefits as she was able to seemingly come up with a solution to his biggest problem without any effort at all. Just by analyzing the structure of the [Divine Energy Cube] and using the context he had provided, she had formed a plan to reduce the time between summoning rituals by more than ten times. If he gave her more time, providing access to his wealth of information, Vahn felt that Da Vinci might even be able to reduce the time to just a few days real-time...

Though he still intended to give Merlin a 'gentle' thrashing, any regrets Vahn had about summoning Da Vinci had quickly fallen to the side in awe of her genius. Now, he was even more interested in the information provided by the memory link as it would undoubtedly be very insightful. Before he could bother with that, however, Vahn needed to perform one last summon. It sounded a bit pathetic to say aloud but, if he couldn't get at least one male companion, Vahn felt like a repeat of the Hearth Manor might happen. He needed more couples outside of his own pairings and, as much as he liked to spend time with girls like Nobunaga, Vahn wanted to just 'chill' with another guy, cutting loose in a way he simply couldn't with the women he was involved with...

With that in mind, Vahn used the [Divine Energy Cube] as a catalyst while Da Vinci closely observed the entire process with her mesmerizing eyes. These were the last two things he saw before finding himself back in the bluish-black space for the third time in a single day. Then, after trading his heart for another [Divine Energy Cube], Vahn made his way over to the stone platforms and began to flip through the names, parameters, and skills for Karna, Siegfried, Galahad, Gawain, and Bedivere. He had tried to find the 'First Hassan' but, even after filtering the names to his own world, the only one that stood out wasn't named Hassan-i-Sabbah, but 'The Old Man of the Mountain'. Though Vahn was able to intuit this was the person he was looking for, the synthetic voice of the Throne immediately stated, *You lack the qualifications to summon this Heroic Spirit.*

Since he could even summon gods, so long as he prepared a vessel for them, Vahn was surprised that the Throne outright stated he lacked the qualifications to summon the First Hassan. When he tried asking about it, the Throne didn't even glorify him with a response until he tried to select the name a second time. This prompted it to repeat that he lacked the qualifications, causing Vahn to sigh since this indicated that the First Hassan was likely even more powerful than speculated. The next time he bargained with Akasha, Vahn intended to directly inquire about the method to summon the First Hassan as, even if he didn't intend to call upon him any time soon, it was better to know the method just in case the situation necessitated relying on the powerful Assassin.

After sorting through all of their information, Vahn determined that the two 'best' candidates for his purposes were Karna and Siegfried. The Knight of the Round Table would likely have a few issues with becoming truly loyal to him, especially with Artoria around. He also didn't imagine they would be too fond of Mordred, the person who had killed their King, so Vahn intended to wait until she had grown up a bit more before summoning any of them. Thus, after careful deliberation, Vahn decided to summon Siegfried as, while Karna seemed far more powerful, his existence as a Demi-God with A-Rank [Divinity] meant his sensibilities might not adapt to the present too easily. Vahn could also imagine Karna trying to fight against Scáthach or Kenshin to test his own capabilities which, when looking at his status, actually made him a challenge for both women. Though Scáthach would almost certainly emerge victoriously, the fact Karna had Anti-Country and Anti-Divine Noble Phantasms made him into a veritable weapon of mass destruction that could push things to the extreme if not reined in properly...

With his mind made up, Vahn confirmed Siegfried's name and, like those before him, gave him the [Transmigrator] perk to pull him from the past and into the present. After confirming his selection, Vahn's awareness returned to the real world as the same bluish-white light began to form the figure of a rather tall and muscular man. The moment Vahn saw the silhouette form, he breathed a sigh of relief that caused Da Vinci to raise her brow with a curious expression on her face. This only lasted for a brief moment, however, as she was more interested in watching the process of energy being converted into physical flesh and blood. When Siegfried's body formed completely only a few seconds later, Da Vinci made a small pout by pursuing out her lips and making a mental note to have Vahn allow her to watch all future summons as well.

Unlike Da Vinci, Siegfried had undoubtedly been summoned at the instant just before his death so his body was in a tensed state as he collapsed forward. Since Vahn wouldn't allow a woman to fall on her face, he also caught Siegfried's body before he hit the ground. He noticed the man's body was as firm as hardened steel while, on his chest, a massive glowing green scar created a strange cross pattern that extended up his neck and part of his admittedly handsome and heroic-looking visage. He had an angular jawline and chiseled features while, even though he was unconscious, Vahn could see striking blue eyes that had emanated an aura of intimidation and dignity. Then, after inspecting Siegfried's internal structure, Vahn could tell that he actually had a similar 'Dragon's Heart' to Artoria, just a lower grade than the Welsh Dragon's. At the same time, however, his energy seemed chaotic as it spread through his body, greatly strengthening every cell but also linking them all together to a massive weak spot on the very center of his back...

From the way the energy in his body was linked together, Vahn understood that Siegfried's body functioned in much the same was as Fafnir. Though he was wearing a thin black tunic that was open at the front, revealing Siegfried's massive scar and incredibly developed physique, it was obvious that even a light wound to his weak spot would be fatal. The moment he was hit in that area, the rest of his cells would practically 'explode', causing him intense pain and ultimately leading to his death. Beyond that, however, Siegfried's body seemed as durable as Adamantine while the powerful heart beating in his chest would provide him with nigh-limitless stamina. All of this, combined with his silvery-gray 'mane' of hair and his tall and muscular body gave Siegrief a truly heroic appearance that Vahn considered adopting for himself in the future. Though his physique certainly wasn't lacking, Vahn was on the thinner and athletic side, much like Gilgamesh and Ozymandius, while Siegfried looked like someone you would never want to cross...

Since Siegfried was holding a massive claymore in his right hand, Vahn imagined his final moments might have been in combat. He knew how Siegfried had died according to the legends but, seeing his parameters, Vahn felt it was rather difficult to believe he could be assassinated. A human with the senses of a True Dragon would obviously never get caught off guard so easily and, with this powerful physique and high physical parameters, it was easy to intuit there was more to the story. He would hopefully be able to learn the truth from the memory link but, considering how even Nobunga's had been 'incomplete', Vahn's intuition told him that summoning three people at once would interfere with the process.

Sis had informed him that Irisviel was still undergoing the memory link while Siegfried, even though he was also unconscious, had yet to start his. This indicated that only one link could be established at a time but, even if that was the case, Vahn felt it wasn't all that bad getting to know them the good old fashioned way. He could also ask for Merlin's assistance in sharing his memories with them so it wasn't all that big an issue if he had overtaxed the system a bit. With that in mind, Vahn lifted up Siegfrieds rather robust body, standing at 190cm tall and weighing 80kg, before looking toward Da Vinci and saying, "We'll head up and get you situated in a room. After that, I'll take you with me to meet Merlin and he can help you pick a suitable location for your workshop. I'm certain you'll have a lot of questions but I would advise you to get some rest to activate the memory link before wandering around too much..."

Tilting her head to the side in response to Vahn's words, Da Vinci caused his mind to blank as she seemed genuinely confused while asking, "Will I not be sharing a room with you? You seem to be very interested in this body and I am more than a little interested in yours as well. I can tell by the time frame you had previously mentioned that it will likely be several decades before the threat you mentioned appears. Before then, I would like to test the capabilities of this body and study yours to the best of my ability. I have never encountered someone who I was unable to analyze so I will never be able to sleep peacefully unless I can see you with my own eyes. Since you will already be keeping me up at night, surely it would be beneficial for both our purposes to simply share the same room?"

Since Da Vinci seemed like the type to use the available information to the fullest extent, Vahn kept his calm as he plainly explained, "My relationsh.i.p.s are already complicated as they are. For now, it would be best if you just experienced the memory link before making such assertions. We'll likely be working together a lot in the future so there is plenty of time for things like that once you get settled in." Though Vahn was somewhat resistant to the idea right now, he knew that it was only a matter of time before he and Da Vinci ended up 'experimenting'. Her nature, combined with her goddess-like appearance were a lethal combination he wouldn't be able to resist for very long. It didn't matter all that much if she had originally been a man as the soul and ego were both genderless things that could inhabit both male and female bodies between incarnations. Even the Unit Management function listed her as a female so, unless she insisted otherwise and assumed the form of a man, Vahn had no real reason to avoid his own intrigue in Da Vinci's enigmatic body.

Though there was much Da Vinci wanted to inquire about, she ultimately decided to follow Vahn's instructions to undergo the memory link before pestering him too much. She could tell that he had his mind focused on other things right now and, hating to be interrupted during her own work, she decided it was only proper to respect his own thought process. Thus, while looking around at every little thing that caught her attention, Da Vinci followed behind Vahn as he carried Siegfried as if the latter weighed absolutely nothing. He also had quite the interesting body but, after observing him for a few minutes, Da Vinci quickly lost her interest as she created the blueprint of a Dragon's Heart within her mind. By analyzing its structure and output, she was confident it would only take her around forty days to create an artificial one for her next body...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Don't try to be roundabout with a Genius...!','Holy EX (O___O)...','Finally, a man...! <---Vahn sounding like a desperate housewife over here (>,...,<)~!')

bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link)

paypal.me/Einlion

Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE