Capítulo 111: Change of Pace

'I was hoping this would show up...' thought Vahn, adopting a smile as he activated the Seed Shop Lv. 1 Skill.

[Seed Shop Lv.1 is activated]

[We will check your transaction history at the Seed Shop.]

[There is no transaction history.]

[A special offer for new members will be provided.]

[Congratulations on becoming a new member! You've received 1 Tower Coin to make purchases within the Seed Shop!]

[1 Tower Coin has been deposited into your Seed Bank account.]

[The Seed Shop is now open.]

[Three types of seeds are randomly displayed for newcomers.]

[Three types of seeds for sale today will be displayed randomly.]

[At your current level, you can only purchase seeds once.]

100 Watermelon seeds - 0.1 Tower Coin

1000 Wheat seeds - 0.1Tower Coin

500 Strawberry seeds - 0.1 Tower Coin

'Wheat might be useful for dealing with the Minotaurs...' thought Vahn, making the purchase. Thanks to The Path, he wasn't limited to only the seeds made available through the Seed Shop. However, as there were many seeds unique to the Tower that would be much cheaper to purchase with Tower Coins than OP, there was merit in raising his customer rank.

[Thank you for your purchase.]

Following the notification, a small red bag fastened with a brown cord appeared out of thin air, falling into Vah's awaiting hand. After that, he took a moment to check his other newly acquired Skills. Seed Harvesting increased the rate at which he acquired seeds, Farmer's Touch increased the growth rate of crops he personally attended, and Soil Enrichment, as the name implied, allowed him to infuse his Mana into the soil to improve its quality.

"Very nice..." muttered Vahn, raising his gaze, adopting a broad smile, and stating, "Thank you for the rewards, Aileen. They will come in very handy."

[You're welcome...] responded Aileen, demonstrating that, while she had temporarily cut communications with him, she hadn't stopped monitoring him through her crystal ball...

...

[March 14th, 750DBT]

Following another busy morning tending his fields, Vahn was in the cave, offering tiny artificial flowers filled with nectar to his recurring guest, the Poisonous Honey Bee, to taste test. She hadn't brought any of her sisters by, but Vahn was confident he would have a colony of his own as the tiny honey bee was very quickly putting on weight.

fwish

"Welcome back..." said Vahn, turning and smiling to Grayfia, who had just appeared in a flash of silvery light. In response, the silver-haired beauty approached him with narrowed eyes, allowing him to cup and squeeze her remarkably toned left butt cheek with his right hand as they shared a long kiss.

"How many offers did you receive this time...?" asked Vahn, sporting an amused smile as he licked his lips and gestured to his and Grayfia's cabin. The Poisonous Honey Bee gazed at them curiously as they departed, but as she was far more concerned with eating her fill, she promptly left them to their own devices to focus on engorging herself.

"Only six," responded Grayfia, modeling a relaxed smile as she revealed, "But I didn't spend too much time in each hub since you mentioned there was no need for us to become too deeply involved with the people of this world."

Nodding approvingly, Vahn opened the door to his and Grayfia's cabin for her, offering a slight bow and allowing her to step past him before trailing behind her. For the past couple of days, she had been playing the part of a new and incredibly talented Mage-type Awakened ascending the Tower, so a growing number of people had been paying attention to and trying to recruit her to their Guilds, Clans, or organizations.

Stopping just short of the entrance, Grayfia hiked up the back of her skirt, offering Vahn an unobstructed view of her fair and voluminous butt, scant black panties, stockings, and garter belt. Her Maid outfit was her de facto combat attire, so despite only a week passing since she started her climb, she had already garnered herself a reputation and fanbase referring to her as the Mysterious, Impregnable Battle Maidge.

"I'm home..." sighed Grayfia, closing her eyes and relishing the sensation of Vahn pulling aside her panties and kissing her depths with the tip of his dick.

"That's my line~" hummed Vahn, holding Grayfia's waist and establishing a steady, flesh-smacking rhythm. He and Grayfia had been busy during the day, but since they didn't suffer from mental or physical exhaustion without pushing themselves far beyond their limits, they made good use of their remaining time...

...

Following a hearty dinner with the bunny couple and their kids, Vahn and Grayfia were relaxing in their room, affectionately spooning atop their bed as the latter recounted her experience ascending the Tower.

"Mmm...it's a shame that Sejun was lacking in ambition..." remarked Vahn, kissing Grayfia's left shoulder as he added, "If he had become the Tower Farmer in my stead, we could explore and ascend together..."

"Have you grown weary of the peaceful but mundane life of a farmer...?" asked Grayfia.

"I wouldn't say I've grown weary of it..." responded Vahn. "But it isn't the most exciting lifestyle. I enjoy seeing my labor bear fruit, but I miss the days when we could simply indulge in one another and the exhilaration of combating monsters in the Corridor..."

"Then...shall we holiday in another world...?" asked Grayfia, appending, "I will support whatever decision you make..."

"That's one of the many reasons I love and adore you..." hummed Vahn, snuggling closer to Grayfia and planting several more kisses on her neck and shoulder. He personally felt it would become increasingly difficult to remain invested in any one thing if he kept splitting his focus and traveling between worlds whenever he got bored, but that was the downside to full immersion. Significant events tended to occur one after another in anime, manga, novels, and video games, but in reality, there were gaps of several months to years between them.

'There are still fifty-three days until the World Martial Arts Tournament...' noted Vahn, cupping and caressing Grayfia's right breast as he reasoned, 'I should be well ahead of the curve, but that won't stay the case for long. I need a method for us both to get much stronger...'

Though several possibilities immediately came to mind, Vahn couldn't help but feel somewhat...stifled. He wanted to become stronger, but he wanted to earn his strength. His power would theoretically allow him to keep pace with characters like Goku if he trained right alongside them, but even if he busted his butt training ten or more hours a day, Vahn felt he wouldn't be growing so much as he would be acclimating and gaining power by proxy...

Imagining himself becoming powerful enough to shake the fabric of the universe by simply training alongside Goku for a decade or two, basically just punching and kicking one another until they were arbitrarily powerful enough to destroy stars, Vahn's brows creased. Dragon Ball was definitely one of his favorite anime settings, but the power scaling really had gotten out of hand, particularly by Super...

'I'm probably fretting over nothing...' thought Vahn, eyes closed as he placed a hickey on the tantalizing transition between Grayfia's neck and shoulder. Strangely, he didn't worry about such things while he was busy with work, but the moment things slowed down, he couldn't help feeling that he could or should be doing more...

(Why not incorporate Rias's idea in a slightly different manner?) asked Sis, catching Vahn's attention as she explained (We can create a linked space where people from different universes gather to train and compete for glory or to become stronger. If there are ranks, rewards, and no risk of permanent injury or death, I believe many protagonist-type entities would participate to see how they compare to others.)

'Mmm...it would be pretty interesting to see how everyone compares to one another over time...' thought Vahn, picturing characters like Luffy and Goku going toe to toe in a format similar to the Holy Grail War of the Fate Series or Dragon Ball's Tournament of Power. Balancing things would be a nightmare, but since they existed in a digitalized/virtual world, it wasn't an impossibility...

(How about we create a Tower or Dungeon similar to this?) proposed Sis, adding (We can populate each floor with successively more difficult creatures or challenges to overcome.)

'That could work..." conceded Vahn, his introspection compelling Grayfia to turn and face him with slightly raised brows. Thus, rather than letting his thoughts wander, Vahn gave the silver-haired beauty a deep kiss and shelved the matter for later consideration...

...

[March 22nd, 750DBT]

After a week of hammering out the specifics with Sis, Grayfia, and even Bulma, Vahn found himself kneeling in the middle of a clearing encircled by a vast plain. In the distance was a mountain so immense that its peak appeared to vanish and blend into the sky due to atmospheric refraction, but as breathtaking as the scenery was, Vahn's gaze was naturally drawn to the person who had appeared near him.

'Who is this supposed to be...?' wondered Vahn, his brows rising at the sight of a handsome, nearly 180cm-tall man with pale blue hair, angular but soft blue eyes, and a tiny mole under his left eye. Based on the man's attire, consisting of a beige cloak over a fitted blue tunic, white pants, and black boots, he was most likely from an RPG or medieval fantasy setting, but Vahn didn't recognize him.

"Well, hello there," greeted the man, his expression and tone soft as he extended his right hand to Vahn, smiling as he asked, "I take it you also received that strange invitation? My name is Himmel. May I be so bold as to request yours?"

Though he was briefly taken aback by Himmel's affability, Vahn adopted a smile of his own, accepted the blue-haired man's handshake, and replied, "Vahn Mason. It's nice to meet you, Himmel."

"Likewise," responded Himmel, his smile friendly but eyes probing as he retracted his hand following the handshake and noted, "I've never seen clothes like yours. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions, such as the name of your world and how you ended up here? My own world is known as Aurenwelt, and I was brought here after meeting a particular figure in my dreams."

"You're referring to the Administrator, right?" asked Vahn, appending, "As for my world, I hail from a planet called Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy. My reason for coming here is to increase my strength, but I'm not like the rest of you."

"Oh? What do you mean...?" asked Himmel, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he believed Vahn was about to say something rude or, at the very least, audacious.

"I'm one of the creators of this place," revealed Vahn, causing Himmel's expression and body to freeze, becoming statuesque as the former went on to explain, "I'm not familiar with its layout by design, but I worked with the person you and others know as the Administrator to create this space to allow heroic and protagonistic types the opportunity to grow stronger, exchange knowledge, and network with one another. So, if you have any suggestions regarding how we can improve the experience, we're open to feedback."

Recovering from his brief astonishment, Himmel, sporting a relaxed smile, asked, "Do you have any proof of your claim...?"

"Sure," responded Vahn, smiling as he revealed, "I don't know what the format of future floors is like, but I know that once one hundred people have been gathered, the first trial is a battle royale to determine our initial placements. But don't worry. Even if you sustain a severe injury or suffer a fatal blow, you won't be killed. Eliminated parties will be transported to a lounge area where they can feast, drink, and socialize while watching the remaining matches."

As if waiting for Vahn to finish speaking, a pair of notification windows appeared before him and Himmel, reiterating nearly everything he said, sans the part about being transported to safety upon elimination. There was also a time limit of two hours provided, after which the participant with the fewest number of eliminations would be eliminated, a cycle that would repeat every ten minutes until only ten participants remained...

...