Working Out the Kinks

With twenty-three days remaining until the succession festival in the North, Vahn gave Shiroyasha permission to begin advertising the Sage Dragon's Hearth's Promotional Gift Game. This sent the general public into a frenzy, but, just as before, Vahn simply ignored their droning as he prepared an event guaranteed to go down in the history of the Little Garden.

As 4-Digit Promotional Gift Games were used to determine the rank and status of the participating Communities, the most popular way to settle things was through a Battle Royale. The people loved witnessing bloodshed, and, compared to every other form of competition, a Battle Royale was one of the best ways to demonstrate the overall power of a burgeoning Community as it mandated the participation of all Players.

Though he wasn't particularly fond of Battle Royales, Vahn decided to keep things relatively simple. The only change he made to the basic format was introducing the theme of planetary defense. Each of the participating Communities would be given a planet filled to the brim with precious resources and raw materials. Their headquarters would also be equipped with a modified version of the Room of Spirit and Time, so, as long as they had the capacity to make use of them, they could train or use the chamber to convert raw materials into all manner of offensive and defensive equipment.

Beyond the assigned planets, several moon-sized fortifications could be found. The majority of these were defensive structures containing additional resources, but, should you stumble across a satellite protected by autonomous Imperial Dragons, reaching the central core would allow you to invoke one of Da Vinci's most terrifying creations, the Sage Dragon Emperor's Visage, also known as the Model Omega.

Though it was significantly smaller than the Model Excalibur, Clarent, and Tiamat, the Model Omega was capable of using an attack known as Executioner's Judgment to annihilate even sapient planets. In other words, it was an artificial construct comparable to a Tier 5 being. Its only notable weakness was that the power it wielded could only be used in areas where Vahn's authority was present.

Simply put, the Model Omega was a weapon that could only be wielded by Vahn or with his express consent. In other words, while it was remarkably powerful, it was essentially useless. After all, Vahn's power had far exceeded the standards of a simple 'planet buster'. If not for his lack of Authority, he could conceivably envelop the entire Little Garden in his Domain before turning it, and everyone in it, into particles of energy. It would literally only take a single, decisive, intent-fueled thought.

Such was the power of Authority.

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"You're really going all out, aren't you? Setting the destruction of entire planets as the win condition is something only you would think of..."

Though she wasn't particularly surprised by Vahn's decision, Shiroyasha couldn't help shaking her head in exasperation. There were a number of Gifts described as being able to destroy planets and erase every star in the night sky, but, without the necessary authority, such displays of power were all but impossible.

Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn maintained a casual smile as he explained, "If they can't even destroy planets, what right do they have to proclaim themselves as Gods of entire cosmologies? Besides, so long as they have sufficient mastery over the Laws, defeating Imperial Dragons isn't too difficult. At the very least, the Musashi and Kenshin that arrived at the Sage Dragon's Hearth should be able to pull it off."

Snorting through her nose, Shiroyasha stared at Vahn with an accusatory look as she stated, "Yeah, I get that. The problem here is that very few people, even in 4-Digit Communities, possess the ability to fly or freely trespass the vacuum of space. What use is the ability to defeat an Imperial Dragon if they can't even leave the planet they spawn on?"

Shrugging a second time, Vahn remarked, "I don't see how that's my problem. If they fundamentally lack the ability to contend against Communities of a similar grade, they shouldn't be occupying a 4-Digit Gate. In the lower realms, there are innumerable examples of normal humans freely traversing space. If the Leader of a 4-Digit Community can't even transcend the terrestrial plane, what right do they have to stand above others?"

Shaking her head in mock exasperation, Shiroyasha manifested a scroll containing the names of more than a hundred different Communities. These were the people interested in participating, or, at the very least, negotiating with the Sage Dragon's Hearth. Most of these were affiliates of much higher ranking Communities. The Gates they occupied were generally used as leverage to draw in talent, so, with the exception of a few outliers, most of the Communities on the list wouldn't be able to compete in Vahn's modified Battle Royale...

Exhaling a sigh, Shiroyasha noted, "If this is your attempt to undermine the rumors propagated by Amaterasu and the members of Kotoamasukami, you might want to reconsider. At this rate, most of the Communities willing to participate would be unable to actively compete. Even if they wanted to, they would have no-"

Interrupting before Shiroyasha could finish, Vahn stated, "I'll make the planetoids mobile and add teleportation nexi across their surface. To make things easier, I'll add a self-destruct button in the control room of each planet. If they can't even battle their way to the control room of an enemy fortification, they really have no reason to be occupying a 4-Digit Gate."

Though she wasn't particularly fond of being interrupted, Shiroyasha ultimately nodded her head in response to Vahn's words, adding, "For the sake of 'fairness', you should make space off-limits. The same teleportation nexi used to transport people between planets should also link to the satellites. Space battles are notoriously difficult to broadcast due to poor lighting and the sheer scale of the events taking place so it's infinitely better to keep things 'grounded' for the sake of the spectating audience. Battles such as this are basically a popularity contest, so, even if you have multiple people capable of destroying planets with energy blats, it isn't nearly as impressive as watching two people tear apart the foundation of a planet with physical blows."

Having spent 37 years in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball, Vahn had to agree with Shiroyasha's assessment. It was a lot more interesting to see two people duke it out in an arena than it was to watch two motes of light dart around in otherwise empty, black space. If there was a backdrop of stars, it was even harder to make things out, as, unless they grew to the size of planets or fought within a designated area, they would simply bleed into the background.

"Fine. I'll make it so that space is off-limits until someone activates a Model Omega. The latter has an effective range of 600,000,000km so it wouldn't be fair to the competitors if they were stuck on the planet after its activation."

Nodding her head in affirmation, Shiroyasha updated the information she was planning to send out to the participating Communities before suggesting, "How about placing a cooldown on the Model Omega's Executioner's Judgment? You could also set it up so that each of the secondary satellites is capable of producing a planet-wide shield to protect the planet of whoever occupies them. As cool as the Model Omega is, watching one Community decimate every other just because they managed to obtain it first isn't very interesting."

"Right..."

Though he felt like Shiroyasha's suggestions were complicating things, Vahn didn't mind making a few adjustments in order to ensure things were interesting for the spectators. The original draft he had come up with didn't include the Model Omega or space at all. Instead, each of the planets was structured similarly to the Dungeon in Danmachi. Reaching the bottom would allow you access to the planet's controls, and, as a result, you would be able to fire off a beam capable of destroying up to two planets.

The problem with this initial draft was that there was a reasonable probability that the Gift Game would never end. Since space and teleportation had been off-limits, everyone would be required to stay on their planet. If Communities colluded and simply refused to complete their Dungeons, they could basically hold every other participating Community hostage. A similar situation could occur if the weaker Communities were simply incapable of clearing their Dungeon, so, in the end, Vahn had to run his ideas by several others before approaching Shiroyasha with his penultimate draft.

"I don't want things to become too drawn out so we'll set the Model Omega's cooldown to an hour and give each Community a total of seven unique keys. Defensive satellites will take a single key to activate while offensive satellites will require three. Each defensive satellite will be able to generate a shield capable of withstanding a total of three Executioner's Judgments. If we preclude keys from being exchanged, the longest anyone can hold out for after the activation of a Model Omega is 21 hours."

Nodding her head in approval, Shiroyasha quickly updated the information on the scroll before asking, "Anything else you want to add? If not, I'm going to go ahead and send this out. Twenty-three days isn't a long time to prepare for a Gift Game of this magnitude."

Though he had a number of hidden objectives in mind, there was an optional objective that Vahn wanted to make known from the start. Thus, in response to Shiroyasha's words, a smile developed across his face as he answered, "Yes, actually. Though it would have been necessary for anyone to take first place in the event, I want to include an optional objective related to defeating me. More specifically, anyone capable of removing me from my throne will be given the title of Sage Dragon Emperor and full control over the Sage Dragon's Hearth..."

Opening her mouth, Shiroyasha appeared as though she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words to do so. In the end, a low chuckle emanated from her throat before quickly turning into a cackle as she realized what Vahn was up to. By including such a condition and making it public knowledge from the get-go, he was basically telling everyone who agreed to participate that they were going to lose. At the same time, he was setting a trap for anyone who was willing to take him to task. After all, the only thing they would be risking was their rank and gate. In exchange, they had the opportunity to gain ownership over Vahn and all the assets of the Sage Dragon's Hearth.

The best part of the arrangement was that Vahn's words were a slap in the face to anyone accusing the Sage Dragon's Hearth of foul play. By publicizing the event and making it clear that those with a higher rank had priority in regards to participation, he was showing the entire Little Garden that he wasn't afraid of competing against the most powerful people in the 4-Digit Gates. It was hilariously brilliant, so much so that Shiroyasha couldn't believe that Vahn had come up with the idea himself.

"Did that perverted dragon mage come up with this plan? If so, she's even scarier than I thought..."

Understanding that Shiroyasha was referring to Da Vinci, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face as he asked, "Do you think so little of me...?"

Though she shook her head, a teasing smile developed across Shiroyasha's face as she replied, "Oh, I think the world of you, Vahn. I'm just not an idiot. You simply don't care enough to come up with a plan like this. If you didn't want to give your lovers a chance to show off, I imagine you could settle this entire event while sitting on that impeccably soft ass of yours. Don't think I haven't noticed how much your domain has expanded since your little vacation. At this point, the only thing preventing you from spreading your influence even further is your lack of Authority."

Unable to refute Shiroyasha's claims, Vahn's smile became even wrier as he remarked, "My ass isn't that soft..."

Amused by Vahn's attempt to deflect, a mischievous smile developed across Shiroyasha's face as she raised her hands, dexterously wiggling her fingers as she said, "Boy, I bet I could spread those cheeks more than a meter if you didn't resist. They're basically mochi. Hell, if I bit into them, I bet something similar to red bean paste would come out..."

Inspired by her own words, Shiroyasha found herself licking her lips. This elicited a dry laugh from Vahn, who, sensing the surrounding space solidifying, prepared himself for a climactic battle...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I'm not sure which is more imba, Da Vinci or Authority...','Space battles are only exciting in cinema...','Shiroyasha be like, "BRING ME THAT ASS...!"')

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