Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

In order to prepare for the upcoming Monster Feria, though they may have to change the name in the future with how much it was going to change, the girls had separated themselves into two teams. Though Vahn would be doing his own thing, the girls’ exhibition of Volleyball and Soccer were going to be two of the big events meant to get the people excited about future exhibitions. After all, it was rather exciting watching sports matches played out, especially if the competitors were handsome men, or beautiful women. As for the sports themselves, they had been modified to make things more interesting as ’simply kicking a ball’ would have been a very boring event to observe.

For the two Volleyball teams, the girls had divided themselves as evenly as possible, with Ais, Lili, Lefiya, Chloe, and Lunoire on one team while Tiona, Tione, Arnya, Emiru, and Maemi were on the other. Unlike a normal game of Volleyball, the girls had somewhat unique roles that corresponded to the changes that had been made to make the game more suitable for this world. Because people were capable of superhuman feats, even moving in bursts of speed that far surpassed the speed of sound, the court would be the entire Coliseum arena.

In order to make things more difficult, and visually interesting, the only person allowed to spike the ball was the ’Aerial Ace’, which was a unique position that was filled by Ais and Tiona respectively. Since they were able to fly, they would be able to zip around above the other four players and receive the ball, trying to spike it down into the opposing team’s field. As for other unique rules, the forward members were allowed to ’catch’ the ball, only when it had been spiked, before passing it back to the rear guard to put it back into play. The reason for this was that it was almost impossible to receive a ball spiked at such speeds ’safely’ by just hitting it with your wrists and forearms. To avoid having limbs broken during the game, the rule had been modified to allow the players to catch the rather durable ball.

Soccer was even more hardcore that Volleyball, though the differences in the outfits might make it considerably less popular. After all, when the girls played Volleyball, they would be wearing something similar to halter tops and formfitting shorts, meant to protect their dignity with padding, but still very visually appealing. As for Soccer, they had armguards, shin protectors, and even thin b.r.e.a.s.tplates meant to protect them from injury. The speed and force behind the Soccerball was enough to make it pass through a wall like a cannonball, so it was necessary to include protective equipment.

The rules for Soccer were also very different from normal as, instead of a giant goal, each team had a series of three rings. The ring in the center was smaller than the other two and was worth three points if you managed to score. As for the outer rings, they were worth only one point each and were nearly twice the size of the center ring. The goalie was allowed to protect all three rings, but the most important ring would obviously be their primary focus. As for the four players, though future teams would have up to nine, they had been split into attackers and defenders.

Attackers were allowed to go onto the opposing team’s field while defenders were required to stay on their own side. This made it necessary to choose a proper balance for your strategy and, much like actual Soccer, players were required to use their legs to play the ball. However, you were allowed to receive it with your chest and deflect the ball with your forearms, though the latter was only if you were a defender. As for the unique right of attackers, they were the only ones allowed to try and score on the center goal, while anyone was ’technically’ allowed to score on the other two. There were no rules in place restricting where the goalie had to be on the field, meaning they could become an impromptu attacker or defender, but only enemy attackers were allowed into their box. This meant that the defenders that stayed back, should the goalie leave their post, would have to keep the ball from getting into that region...

Vahn was currently watching the two teams play against each other, contemplating if he needed to change their outfits since they even made him feel an itch in his heart. Seeing them run around and try to best each other in the sport, smiles on their faces with competitive glints in their eyes, made Vahn feel very excited. He actually had the urge to play the game himself, as it looked very enjoyable, and hoped that the people in the stands would feel the same. Unfortunately, there would undoubtedly be people that are more focused on the exposed skin of the girls instead of the sport itself. Vahn wanted to increase the forms of entertainment in this world, especially for the younger generations, not put on a show for perverts to enjoy at the expense of the players’ dignity...

Seeing Lili jump 20m up into the air in an instant, twisting her body while completely inverting her position just to kick the ball upside down, Vahn found himself marveling at the display and being distracted by it at the same time. After all, Lili looked like a very young girl and, wearing nothing by small red spats and what looked like a slightly thicker sports bra stood out a great deal. However, it was the girls like Tiona, who had just managed to ’catch’ the ball with her feet, that would cause a bigger stir.

The bottoms Tiona had opted to wear were even smaller than the green shorts that Ryuu usually wore into the Dungeon. She also had on a thin white band around her chest, as she didn’t like having a restrictive cloth around her shoulders. It looked like she was wearing white underwear and, if not for the extra padding, it probably would have become slightly transparent from her exertions. Yes, though he would never quite understand why, it was very common for capable Adventurers to wear rather revealing clothes, especially females, but Vahn still felt a little bothered knowing that a crowd of people would be gawking at their figures...especially...

Receiving the ball that Tiona had kicked across the entire field, Lefiya was actually pushed back nearly three meters by the force. Fortunately, Endurance allowed people to disperse shockwaves and Lefiya’s had experienced explosive growth compared to the past. The problem was, much like Lili, she was wearing red spats and a red top. If not for the b.r.e.a.s.tplate protecting her rather ’developed’ assets, it would have almost looked criminal to have her on the field. Ever since she became a Spirit, Lefiya’s beauty had transcended normal standards and, with her simultaneously youthful and sensuous appearance, Vahn was worried about even letting her compete...

Nudging him with her elbow, Tsubaki, who had been watching the match with him, had a cheeky smile on her face as she said, "Don’t be jealous so easily, Vahn. After all, aren’t all those girls out there already your’s? Have some confidence!" Vahn rubbed his ribs, even though the pain had already faded, commenting, "Aren’t you supposed to be mine as well...?" Somewhat surprisingly, Tsubaki nodded her head in affirmation before placing her arm around his shoulders and pulling him close, saying, "And you’re mine as well..." Though he was enjoying the feeling of her b.r.e.a.s.ts against the side, Vahn wasn’t able to do so for long as the ball had been deflected in their direction, moving around 1800km/h.

Tsubaki released her grip on Vahn’s head while stepping forward, reaching out her left hand in the process to completely stop the ball’s momentum. It spun in her hand for a few seconds, carrying a great deal of rotational force but it seemed like Tsubaki’s inertia had turned her into an immovable object. Even so, by the time the ball had stopped spinning, she clicked her tongue and shook out her hand before tossing it back into play. Turning back to Vahn, she had an amused expression on her face as she said, "These sports look fun, but they’re also pretty dangerous. You might have to come up with something that allows people to compete without directly pitting them against each other..."

Vahn nodded his head, understanding the truth behind Tsubaki’s words since there had already been a few injuries. During Volleyball, it wasn’t that uncommon for people to sprain, or even break, their wrists. Tione had even taken a hit to the face once, causing her to go absolutely berserk since it had chipped one of her teeth. If not for his ability to use [Wounds Transfer] to repair the damage, she might have still been attacking Ais to this day.

To prevent things like this, Vahn had introduced the idea of using protective equipment but it had been largely shut down since the girls themselves seemed to enjoy playing without using it. In fact, the outfits he had originally designed were much more ’tame’ compared to what they eventually decided upon. However, as he respected the girls’ decisions, especially when it came to their own bodies, Vahn had made the requested changes until they ended up with something that was between swimsuits and thick underwear. He was just glad they had decided to use proper protection during Soccer, as the speed and force behind the ball could be very dangerous if you took a bad hit.

If Vahn wanted to eliminate the potential for injury, while also removing the need for protective gear, he would have to implement sports that didn’t endanger the players. Since these were supposed to be played by children, it would probably be a good idea. The only reason he had chosen these, to begin with, was because the girls had enjoyed it and it seemed like a good way to foster friendly competition. With the potential for injury, however, the competition might not be so friendly after the first serious injuries...

The easiest type of ’sport’ to implement would be things like archery, racing, and other physical sports. However, these types of events typically weren’t that ’interesting’ to witness and, depending on the balance of a person’s skills, abilities, and parameters, there would be a very big distinction between those with ability modifiers, and those without. The only way to keep things relatively fair was to have people compete in team events, ones where the use of skills and abilities either had no effect, or a minimal effect. If it came down to pure parameters, that was just the difference in ’effort’ that had been put in by the players, meaning it could be overcome if people tried hard enough.

One of the ’potential’ solutions Vahn had thought about was having the students simply fight against monsters, instead of each other. This could be entertaining to watch, allowed them to compete against each other, and also helped to increase their strength and battle experience. However, making sure the matches were fair would be very difficult, as the difference in strength of similar monsters could be massive. Procuring a lot of monsters would also be very difficult, even if they coordinated with Familias like the Ganesha Familia. And, though it was possible to make things like simple golems, they weren’t actually that difficult to fight against, as having them perform complex functions was simply impossible...

Realizing how complicated things would be in the future, Vahn released a small sigh but, even though this was the case, he smiled immediately afterward. After all, even if it was hard to find a balanced method for people to compete, it was still worth looking into. If he could increase the forms of entertainment in the world, while simultaneously allowing the strengths of individuals to develop, the future would be a lot more interesting. His main goal was to increase the number of paths and professions available to people, instead of making the only practical means of becoming successful based on combat and mercantilism. There needed to be more ’fun’ things in the world, other than simply s.e.x, fighting, gambling, drinking, and drugs...

Eventually, the ongoing Soccer match had come to an end, with Tiona’s team emerging as the victors. Her coordination with Tione made them very capable attackers while the synchronization between Maemi and Emiru made them monstrous on both attack and defense. With Arnya as their goalie, it had been almost impossible for Ais’ team to score too many points, not that they really lost by much, either. Ais and Lili might not have had the coordination of Tiona and Tione, but Ais’ speed and control were almost unrivaled while Lili’s spatial awareness and kicking strength were almost as monstrous as Tiona’s. Their only real weakness was the fact that Lefiya lacked the coordination and athleticism to play her role as a defender properly, though Chloe and Lunoire covered for her well. Lunoire’s defense as a goalie made it difficult for anyone on the opposing team to score and, if not for the combined efforts of Tiona and Tione, they would have had a lot fewer points.

Vahn watched as the girls gathered together, sharing handshakes, high fives, and hugs, skin glistening with sweat. This only served to enhance their beauty even further, putting him in enough of a daze that he hadn’t reacted before Tsubaki heavily patted his back and said, "Don’t just gawk. I’m sure any of them would accept your offer if you wanted to go ’play’ with them, hahahahaha~."

After catching his balance, Vahn looked back at the smiling Tsubaki just as she vanished from the Sub-Space orb, likely returning to check on Sakuya. He had been contemplating ’playing’ with her but it seemed as though she had seen through his intention and ’escaped’. Snorting, with a smile on both of his faces, Vahn’s main body headed towards the maternity ward to tease Tsubaki while his Avatar, the one that had been watching the game, went to discuss the specifics of the upcoming ’sports festival’ with the girls. When that was finished, they all made their way over to the onsen to enjoy a hot bath together, relax, and, after a bit of further discussion, Vahn went into a private room with the ’winning’ team to celebrate their victory. Of course, he promised to ’compensate’ the losing team a little later on, much to the satisfaction of Ais, Lefiya, and Lili...

(A/N: Yeah, I’m not just feeling it today. This chapter took me twice as long to write as it normally would have and, as I’m sure you noticed, the content is a bit all over the place. I’m gonna write a couple of Fenrir’s Journey today and just revitalize my batteries a bit.)

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’I’d like to see these sports ill.u.s.trated (UwU)...’,’Counter violence and stagnation with entertainment and progress’,’Vahn is very fair (^_^);’)