Chapter 1662: Progress : Growth
With Xuanwu and Qinglong feeding him information, Vahn was aware of most major events taking place within the Confederation and the Empire. As a result, he didn't really have to leave the island at all, so, while waiting for the arrival of Ala Rubra and the return of Eva, he spent his days helping Asuna train, meditating, relaxing, and testing the capabilities of the Little Garden.
Vahn had been aware of the Law of Progression ever since his time in the Nasuverse, but, seeing it in action was, simply put, awe-inspiring. He had caught various types of fish outside, placing them in the waters surrounding the central island to observe their growth. This wasn't an exaggeration, as, due to the abundance of vital energy and the presence of Progression Laws, it was possible to see the growth of some specimens with the naked eye.
Though the time dilation was one of the major perks of the Little Garden, that was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to its true power. It greatly increased the rate at which flora and fauna developed, and, though it wasn't really something he could arbitrarily test, Vahn assumed it had a similar effect on people.
With the outer edges of the Little Garden having a time dilation of 700x, Vahn tested his theory by creating a small habitat for Cicadas. They were a metamorphic species that, depending on various environmental conditions, developed into adults between fifteen and twenty years. Since this time was spent a nymph, generally requiring between four and five molts to reach maturity, they were a suitable species to conduct experiments with, as, during their nymph period, they generally spent all their time burrowed in the ground.
Since animals within the Little Garden didn't need to eat and couldn't die from old age, Vahn spent a fair amount of time simply documenting the growth of various species. To his surprise, the cicada nymphs emerged from the ground after only seventeen months. This implied they developed at a rate ten times faster than normal, which, on top of the effect of 700x time dilation, approximated a 7000x increase in the rate of growth.
After observing the adult cicadas in great detail, Vahn determined that they were far more resilient than other members of the same species. Not only that, but, after mating and laying eggs, they did not die as their evolutionary path dictated. Instead, they spent several days idling about, seemingly without a purpose. As for the new eggs, they were between ten and twenty percent larger than the first batch, and, among them, there were several with odd colorations.
Surprising Vahn even further, the next generation of Cicadas only took fifteen months to reach their adult state. Among these, there were a number of 'giant' Cicada, but, far more notably, Vahn found more than a dozen derivative species. There was even a kind that had evolved to possess no wings, and, despite having no need to eat, it waited until the other Cicadas began laying their eggs before digging them up and using a stinger of sorts to implant its own eggs within the developing larvae...
Unsurprisingly, the third generation of Cicadas was completely dominated by the terrestrial version, as, prior to their adult phase, the other types were also restricted to the ground. This allowed them to quickly eliminate the competition before resorting to cannibalism and territorial disputes. It was a rather disheartening development, but, perhaps as a result of Da Vinci's influence, Vahn continued to observe their progress into the fourth generation before burning them all when the larvae began to develop jaws in order to cannibalize each other.
Fortunately, despite the experiments taking around fifty-nine months, the actual passage of time, at least outside, was less than three days. The only time Vahn had to check on them was when one of the World Trees sent him what amounted to a telepathic message, as, even without a name, each of the majestic trees had a nascent Ego. They had formed a network with all of their roots intertwining, so, whenever something 'peculiar' happened within the Little Garden, they would not hesitate to let him know.
Though he would periodically venture into the outer rings, most of Vahn's time within the Little Garden was spent beneath the canopy of the largest World Tree, the one located on the central island. It was 'technically' the youngest of the World Trees, but, due to the others feeding it their vitality, it easily towered over those furthest from the center.
Despite being the centermost region of the Little Garden, the energy concentration on the central island was many times greater than normal. This made it an exceptionally comfortable place to be, and, whenever he wasn't busy doing other things, Vahn generally kept a version of himself meditating on the inside of the Little Garden. This greatly increased the replenishment of his internal energy, and, so long as he didn't go overboard, it even offset the consumption of his mental and spiritual energies.
Accompanying Vahn in his meditation, Fenrir had started to spend a considerable amount of time in the Little Garden. It wasn't as productive for her cultivation of Yin, Ice, and Darkness Elemental Laws, but, after taking a single deep breath of the energy inside the Little Garden, Fenrir firmly stated she would be training inside from now on. She stated that she could feel herself growing strong just by being inside, so, whenever she wasn't busy doing something 'outside', Fenrir spent most of her time just meditating or napping alongside the version of himself Vahn kept within the Little Garden.
With Fenrir setting a precedent, it wasn't long before Medusa insisted that she also move inside the Little Garden. It was even safer than the Garden of Avalon, and, though Vahn was worried about the growth of Stheno and Euryale, she managed to convince him such concerns were pointless. Stheno was maturing extremely quickly, steadily closing the distance with her own mother, so, rather than worry about their physical development, she told him to be more concerned about their education and mental development.
Since the energy within the Little Garden was extremely pure and refreshing, it had a calming effect on the mind. The fact it was governed by the Laws of Progression also meant it a significantly easier to comprehend new subjects, and, so long as you put in a concerted effort, it even had an effect on the time taken to master a skill. These things made it the 'ideal' place to train and learn new things, so, after a bit of convincing, Vahn built a cozy cabin within the Little Garden to house Medusa and his daughters.
Of course, with even Euryale residing in the Little Garden, Vahn inevitably had to allow Asuna inside. She was even better at arguing than Medusa, so, on the grounds that it was the best place to both keep her safe and advance her training, Vahn ended up expanding the residence to include both a bathhouse and a training dojo. From then onwards, it became the place where he conducted all of his training with Asuna, and, even though she only spent a few hours inside each day, it was 'very' easy to see the gardens influence on her development...
Asuna had already been in the midst of puberty, so, while not unexpected, her growth had been accelerated exponentially. It was like she had hit a growth spurt, and, by the time three weeks had passed in the outside world, she went from looking like a girl in her first year of middle school to a young lady in the midst of adolescence. Most people would approximate her age to be around 14 or 15 years old, and, though she still gave off the distinct impression of someone very young, her physique had already developed to the point that she could rival Irisviel.
Though she appeared very lean and athletic, Asuna's bust, waist, and hips had developed to 83cm, 57cm, and 84cm respectively. When Vahn had first created Iris' new body, her dimensions, starting with height, bust, waist, and hips were 158cm, 85cm, 56cm, and 84cm. Since Asuna had also grown to a height of 158cm, the only thing she had lost out in was the size of her bust, but, with less than a one-centimeter difference, it was easy to imagine her growing up to rival Eva's adult form at her current pace...
Fortunately, though he could tell she was definitely up to something, Asuna seemed to shift her focus, dedicating herself wholly to her training within the Little Garden. When she was outside, she spent a fair amount of time learning to cook, clean, and perform various household chores without the use of magic. Most of these things were taught to her by the Chacha sisters, but, whenever she was learning how to cook, Asuna always dragged him into the kitchen to teach her. She seemed to really enjoy cooking, and, though there were a few moments when she would lightly bump into him with her shoulder, that was the limit of her antics within the kitchen.
The only time Vahn had any trouble with Asuna over the three weeks was whenever she wanted to take a bath, watch his memories together, or sleep. She pretended to be unaware of the changes in her body, but, whenever they slept together, Asuna tended to nestle up as close as possible to him, her breasts pressing into his arm and side. During their baths, her breasts would 'accidentally' come into contact with his back whenever she was helping to wash his hair, and, most notably, whenever they relaxed together, her butt was almost always perfectly positioned in a dangerous area.
Vahn was aware that Asuna was emulating the behaviors she had observed from Arika, Theo, and even Eva, except, rather than make the same mistakes, she skillfully measured how she behaved at every moment. This actually reminded him a lot of his past self in Danmachi, back when he relied on his View Affection to determine how he should behave, but, rather than rely on observing the color of his aura and the rise and fall of his Affection, Asuna closely observed everything from his facial twitches to the rhythm of his heart.
The fact such a young girl had 'figured him out' filled Vahn with various concerns, but, considering how prodigious Asuna was in everything she did, it wasn't that unbelievable. She was moving closer to the level of a Grandmaster with each passing day, and, though she had footed around the issue when they discussed it, Vahn was pretty sure she had already awakened her Bankai. In fact, he even suspected she had awakened her Bankai the moment she first called the name of her Zanpakuto, as, from that moment onward, it had always been in an unsealed state.
Asuna had even been able to 'see' a draconic version of Laev-tan that Vahn himself wasn't aware of until after she mentioned it. All of his communication with the rambunctious Zanpakuto Spirit was in his head or within the Realm so it was quite a surprise to learn that Asuna could 'literally' see her using some special sense. She had even assisted Arika, Theo, Eva, and even Fenrir in the awakening of their Spirits by describing the features of their Zanpakuto, so, even if she was surprisingly evasive about the matter, it wasn't difficult to imagine that Asuna had already awakened her Bankai.
At her current rate of growth, Vahn suspected that Asuna might even eclipse his own strength after a few more years. Though this would only really apply in the Akamatsuverse, the fact she could ever rival him demonstrated just how ridiculous Asuna's potential as a natural-born Tier 5 was. She likely at the greatest potential in the entire Record, and, so long as her perception continued to influence the Fate around her, even the Gods wouldn't be able to prevent her meteoric rise to the pinnacle.
All Vahn could really do at this point was continue guiding Asuna along the path she had decided for herself. Though this path invariably led directly to him, pretty much everyone around, including Eva, had been aware of the inevitability from the start. In fact, the moment he first met Asuna, it was like her Fate had latched onto him, and, unless he forcibly severed it, Vahn knew the world itself was supporting her pursuit. The most he could do was delay the inevitable, but, even without having to put his foot down, Asuna was very aware of her limits. She always retreated just when it seemed like his patience was wearing thin, and, over time, she was gradually chipping away at his defenses until there was absolutely nothing left...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The legendary Chimera Cicadas...','(O w O)...','Thanos could learn a lot from Asuna')
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