Chapter 2177: Stop-Gap
With the meeting coming to an end after a short discussion regarding potential allies, Vahn left the conference room to find Sarina sitting out in the hallway.
Plopping down next to her, Vahn gently nudged her shoulder with his own, asking, "What's up? Did you get in an argument with someone...?"
Exhaling a sigh, Sarina shook her head before resting it against Vahn's shoulder and answering, "I tried sparring with Mash and Lotte..."
"Ah..."
Understanding what the issue was, Vahn grasped Sarina's left hand with his right before planting a kiss atop her head and saying, "You're not weak, Sarina. You just need time. Mash might appear to be around the same age as you but she has been training ever since she was a very young girl. As for Lotte, she is several thousand years older..."
Though she nodded her head in understanding, Sarina's mood hadn't improved as much as Vahn would have liked. The core issue wasn't that she was weak, it was the fact she was weak in spite of being the Vice Leader of the Sage Dragon's Hearth.
"Hmm..."
Sensing the internal conflict in Sarina's mind, Vahn's immediately kicked into overdrive. There were actually a number of solutions to the problems currently plaguing her. One was a prize that others competed for, so, after a moment of deliberation, he asked, "Would you like to try spending some time in an Actualized World? We can go together and I can support you while you assist others in saving the world..."
Perking up the moment she heard Vahn's words, a radiant smile developed across Sarina's face as she exclaimed, "I want to go to Dragon Ball! If I learn how to control and manipulate Ki, I can easily become stronger...!"
Resisting the urge to point out more than half the members of his harem could teach her how to control and manipulate Ki, Vahn just nodded his head, saying, "Sure thing. Is there a specific point in the timeline you wanted to start from?"
Understanding this was her opportunity to spend a lot of alone time with Vahn, a mischievous smile developed across Sarina's face as she answered, "I want to start from the very beginning. Back when Bulma and Goku had first met."
Though he didn't actually mind, Vahn couldn't help furrowing his brows, asking, "Are you sure? At your current level, you could easily defeat most opponents prior to the Z timeline. If we arrive near the beginning of the series timeline, it'll take upwards of thirty years to reach the events in Super..."
With an even bigger grin on her face, Sarina replied, "I know. To close the gap between me and the others, I need at least that much time. Besides, I'd rather start early so that we can change a few of the things I didn't like about the original series. Like, how did Bulma end up with Vegeta? He wasn't that bad by Super but the guy was a complete nutjob throughout the Android, Cell, and Majin Buu Sagas...!"
Resisting the urge to point out there was a Vegeta among his Templates, Vahn just issued a light chuckle before squeezing Sarina's hand and saying, "Well, if that's what you want..."
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Following Vahn's and Sarina's disappearance from the hallway, a period of thirty-seven years transpired in an instant. In that time, Sarina's power had increased by leaps and bounds. She was far from the most powerful woman in Vahn's harem, but, compared to her previous self, she may as well be a different person.
Though her face maintained a youthful glow, Sarina was no longer the same sixteen-year-old girl that had descended into the Actualized World of Dragon Ball. An aura of confidence now exuded from her curvaceous body and, while her proportions remained relatively unchanged, she now possessed lithe yet powerful muscles capable of leveling mountains.
Near the beginning of her training, Sarina had been worried that muscles, even small ones, would completely ruin her appearance. Now, similar to the spiky-haired woman at her side, she elected to wear clothes that showed off her back, shoulder, and abdominal muscles. They were her pride and joy, as, rather than appearing even remotely ugly or repulsive, they enhanced her beauty and made her appear more powerful.
"Is this really the Divine Realm? The air feels a bit different but I don't see what makes it so special."
Punctuating her words, the woman who had spoken, a petite beauty with spikey golden hair, lithe yet well-defined muscles, and a monkey-like tail began to flare up her aura. This earned a number of exasperated sighs from her surroundings, as, despite entering the Actualized World with Sarina alone, Vahn had returned with an additional twenty-three people in tow.
Appearing next to the perennially blonde beauty, Vahn ruffled the woman's mass of hair as he said, "Caulifla...it hasn't even been fifteen minutes since you promised to be on your best behavior. Don't make me put you on probation..."
At 155cm tall, Caulifla was the perfect height for Vahn to caress at his leisure. The thing that would have surprised most people was the fact that she actually let him get away with it. As for the reason, well, Caulifla was prideful to a fault. She had challenged Vahn a total of 1,538 times, each wagering that the defeated party would have to do what the victor said. Vahn had come out ahead in 1,533 of these challenges, so, while she would still glare at him, Caulifla no longer complained about having her head pat. Rather, based on the movements of her tail, she enjoyed it quite a bit.
"Relax, old man. I'm not gonna run off and cause trouble. Just make sure you keep your promise to Kale and me. We've been waiting for nearly six years. If you don't hurry and put buns in our ovens, we might start searching elsewhere..."
Though she would never run off before settling their score, Caulifla really had grown impatient with Vahn. Her mother and grandmother had been pressing her to produce a successor even before the Tournament of Power. Vahn's resolution not to have children during his stay in the Actualized World had inconvenienced quite a number of people. If he kept making excuses, they were going to have to take matters into their own hands...
Feeling the gazes of several women lock onto him the moment Caulifla mentioned placing buns in ovens, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face as he explained, "Don't worry. Now that we're in the Divine Realm, we just need to get everyone settled and up to speed. After that, I'm more than willing to keep my promises..."
With what could best be described as a triumphant smile, Caulifla crossed her arms beneath her modest yet well-shaped breasts before retorting, "Good. I can't speak for the others but Kale and I didn't leave our Universe to follow some insincere pansy. Now, let's hurry and get all the mundane bullshit out of the way. I've got an itch in my belly-"
"Now wait just a minute you golden-haired bimbo! Don't even think about cutting the line...!"
Realizing what Caulifla was trying to pull, a mature blunette immediately spoke out. This was none other than Bulma, who, despite being well over fifty, resembled a perfectly ripened woman in her mid-to-late twenties.
"Chi-Chi and I have known Vahn for the better part of thirty-seven years! If you think you're the first in line to receive a baby, you really are a monkey-brained fool...!"
Clicking her tongue in response to Bulma's words, Caulifla didn't even try to argue with the enraged blunette. There was once a time when she would have readily butt heads with Bulma, but, ever since the latter afflicted her with an enchantment that made her butt itch in accordance with the amount of Ki she was using, Caulifla had done her best to avoid offending her. Bulma may be lacking in raw power, but, as an Archmage recognized by the Gods, she was a terrifying foe with countermeasures against everyone and everything.
Emulating Caulifla's triumphant expression from before, Bulma stood with her arms akimbo as she stated, "The simplest method is to go in order of familiarity. Sarina would obviously be the first as she descended into the Actualized World alongside Vahn. After her would be me, Chi-Chi, my sister, Chronoa, Vados, and Kusu. It's only after the six of us have been given a chance that you, Kale, and Marcarita will have a turn."
Though Chi-Chi blushed fiercely in response to Bulma's words, her hands cupping her cheeks, each of the other girls mentioned had relatively relaxed smiled on their faces. This was especially true for Chronoa, Vados, Kusu, and Marcarita. They were each over a hundred million years old, and, despite developing a fondness for Vahn, the latter three had departed the Actualized World at the behest of their father, the Grand Priest. He was extremely interested in the worlds beyond, so, once it became clear that Vahn was an existence above even the Omni-King, he instructed his daughters to pursue but not pressure him.
Glowering in response to Bulma's words, Caulifla was about to protest when Vahn startled everyone by separating into ten separate versions of himself and saying, "Now that we're in the Divine Realm, the restrictions I forced upon my power's have been removed. Things like 'turns' no longer have any meaning..."
As even a single Vahn was an incomprehensibly powerful existence, the presence of numerous was enough to leave the large group stunned. Chi-Chi even fainted, her face glowing bright crimson as she collapsed into an eleventh Vahn's embrace...
Having nipped the squabble between Caulifla and Bulma in the bud, Vahn took advantage of the fact that everyone was focused on him to say, "Though many of you will be departing to create or join one of the Communities affiliated with the Sage Dragon's Hearth, this estate serves as a central nexus of sorts. The rooms here have the potential to function as independent realms. You just need to let Will, the Guardian God of the Sage Dragon's Hearth, know what you want. After that, we'll all reconvene in the dining room. A lot of introductions need to be made, and, despite no time passing while we were away, I imagine Sarina is eager to reunite with her friends and family. I know I am..."
Though it wasn't his longest experience in an Actualized World, most of the memories Vahn had of their interior came from his Templates. Even so, thirty-seven years was still a long time to be away from his family, so, while he wasn't nearly as anxious as Sarina, he was yearning to spend time with his family, friends, and loved ones...
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(A/N: Since I'm sure everyone wants to know, the people who have come back from the Actualized World with Vahn are as follows: Sarina, Bulma, Chi-Chi, Tights, Broly, Cheelai, their three kids, Goku, Launch, Gohan, Krillin, Lazuli, Marron, Lapis, his wife and child, Chronoa, Vados, Kusu, Caulifla, Kale, and Marcarita. Though it's a bit spoilery, it should be pretty obvious that Vahn ended up with most of the aforementioned females. The only exceptions are Cheelai, who ended up with Broly, Launch, who ended up with Goku, and Lazuli, who ended up with Krillin. As for why Goku and several others wanted to follow along with Vahn, well, that should be pretty obvious. Vahn was a parental figure to both Goku and Broly. The others have their own reasons, but, for the sake of keeping at least a few secrets about the spin-off series, I won't reveal them at the present moment. Anyways, this isn't a part of the chapters I promised. I just figured I should have a 'filler' chapter since there are quite a number of changes introduced as a result of Vahn's time in the Actualized World. Also, when I said there were going to be 2-3 chapters of EPIC and 1 chapter of NOICE, I was specifically referring to today's block, not yesterday's. In other words, this is kind of a replacement for the Update chapter I posted previously. There should be 3-4 more chapters before the 10 AM reset tomorrow morning. Sorry if I wasn't as clear as I could have been.)
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Deja Vu...','That's one malicious curse...','I wonder how many more years are going to pass before the next dawn xD...?')
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