CHAPTER 389: SELF RELIANCE

Despite hours of effort, Percedal and Yugo were unable to break through Vahn’s defense. They were equipped with a Gobbowl gauntlet and shoes that drastically increased their strength and speed for a short period, but Vahn was stronger, faster, and more resilient without having to trigger his shield’s defensive magic.

"Aaaagh! This is impossievable...!" exclaimed Percedal, lying on his back with his arms and legs splayed and a clearly frustrated look adorning his face.

"Well, what did you expect, Iop-brain? If mortals could compete with Gods, there wouldn’t be a need for them~" hummed Amalia, modeling a short-skirted cheerleading outfit alongside Eva. The moment the training was finished, she rushed over to Vahn with a bottle of water, presenting it with a broad, starry-eyed smile.

"And the word is either impossible or inconceivable..." added Eva, posing cross-armed as she asserted, "You can’t just combine the two to make a new world."

"Oh, give me a break, woman!" groaned Percedal, causing Eva’s left brow to twitch as he argued, "At least Yugo and I are out here busting our butts off. Meanwhile, you and Amalia stand off to the side, talk about girl things, or cheer for Vahn when he doesn’t even need it!"

"Now, now. Let’s not say or do anything we’ll end up regretting. You know women aren’t suited to Gobbowl. And if you want them to cheer for you, you should first get around Vahn’s defense," argued Ruel, approaching with his three aged companions, the diaper-wearing Ecaflip, Posho, the pint-sized Enutrof, Calben, and a second Enutrof, a pineapple-haired man with a long, pointed beard, and a short but spry build, Tolot.

"I’d like to see you get around him! The man’s practically immovable...!" protested Percedal, removing and throwing his glove to the ground after bouncing to his feet.

"Maybe you can drown him with your tears, you big crybaby Guardian...!" shouted Percedal’s cursed sword, the Shushu blade, Rubilax—stuck in a wooden bench along the training field’s perimeter.

"Grrrrr! Not you, too, Rubi...!" exclaimed Percedal, the veins in his temples bulging, his bronzed skin gaining a darker hue, and the energy in his body, his Wakfu, surging like a fiery tempest.

"Hey," said Vahn, his body briefly disappearing before reappearing in front of Percedal, his head shaking as he stated, "I understand how frustrating it can be to feel as though you’re not making progress. But the truth of the matter is that both you and Yugo are growing stronger by the day. It’s just not realistic to presume you can overwhelm my guard with just a few days of practice."

"Vahn’s right, Dally. I’m having a lot of fun. And after this training, I feel like we’ll be even better equipped to face whatever challenges await us across the sea," expressed Yugo, gently smacking Percedal’s lower back with his right hand and smiling up at him supportively.

"Yugo..." muttered Percedal, his expression relaxing and the tension in his body abating slightly.

"Speaking of crossing the sea—were you able to acquire us the ship you promised previously?" asked Ruel, directing the question and Kama-filled eyes at Vahn.

"Do you want to see it...?" asked Vahn, making a casual gesture to his left that caused a portal similar to those produced by Yugo to materialize with a faint fwoom

. One noteworthy difference was that his was luminous gold instead of greenish-blue. Another was that, instead of a twisting mass of obfuscating energy, his were crystal clear, allowing what was on the other side to be viewed like an open doorway.

Noticing, or, more accurately, sensing the similarities between the golden portal before him and his own, Yugo’s eyes widened, his brows rising to their limits before he turned his head, looked up at Vahn, and questioned, "I knew you could teleport, but I didn’t know you could create portals. Do you think you could teach me how to use mine better?"

Shaking his head, Vahn surprised Yugo by attesting, "I’m willing to serve as your training partner, but you’re already better at using these kinds of portals than I am. The technique I employ to teleport is known as Spatial Transference. It’s faster than creating portals, but there are requirements and caveats that make it inferior in other ways."

"Is that really the case...?" asked Yugo, glancing at Vahn’s portal as he argued, "Because yours looks a lot more complete than mine..."

"I have no reason to lie to you—" stated Vahn, his words trailing as he allowed himself to be pulled along by Amalia, who, upon seeing what lay opposite the portal, exclaimed, "It’s the beach! I can finally try one of the swimsuits I purchased~!" in an excited tone.

"Hey! Don’t forget about me, you Iop-brained Guardian...!" exclaimed Rubilax, his singular eye widening to its limits as he saw Percedal moving with the rest of the group toward the portal.

"Aaaaaagh! You’ll be lucky if I don’t hurl you into the sea...!" complained Percedal, running over to and picking up the talking sword. Fortunately, Vahn could keep the portal open indefinitely, so there was no chance of him being left behind. Percedal, of course, wasn’t aware of this. As such, he ran as fast as he could to draw Rubilax from his wooden perch before darting back and leaping through the portal as if it might snap shut at any moment...

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While another version of himself applied tanning lotion to the exposed backs of Amalia and Eva in their exceedingly skimpy bikinis, Vahn gave Yugo, Ruel, Percedal, and the trio of Posho, Calben, and Tolot a tour of the cartoonish, brigantine-class ship he had prepared for them. He had asked Lilith to construct it for him, so it had the aesthetic of a pirate ship from the world of One Piece. And since he had requested that it be able to traverse kraken and whirlpool-infested waters, it was close to two hundred meters long, had three masts stretching more than a hundred meters, and a state-of-the-art paddle system that could allow it to scale the waterfalls of Wano with ease.

"This ship is beyond incredible! Why, you could travel the whole world over and not find a finer ship...!" exclaimed Ruel, his eyes glistening like a kid visiting his first candy store after running around the ship to inspect its every corner.

"That’s because it’s not of this world," responded Vahn, sporting a relaxed smile as he waved his hand and produced a feast. Everyone had gathered in the ship’s galley after the tour, and though there were self-service food dispensers present, he provided a meal that was sure to keep the group from wandering up to the deck and potentially glimpsing what he, Amalia, and Eva were doing on the shore.

"But isn’t it a little too big for just five people...?" asked Yugo, shrinking back slightly when Vahn directed him a warning look for speaking whilst chewing.

"In the long-term, definitely," affirmed Vahn, nodding. "But since most of this ship’s systems are automated, including its sails, you really just need a helmsman and a navigator. In the worst-case scenario, you can just call me if it breaks down or you run aground."

"Just to clarify—you’re giving this ship to us, not just lending it, right...?" questioned Ruel, his expression and tone serious. Those who developed into Enutrofs were fundamentally greedy and opportunistic at their core, so he needed

to know if he, personally, would be able to keep the ship. If not, he would rather scuttle than return it.

"Greedy Ruel, never ceasing to take advantage of a situation..." remarked Tolot, earning himself a withering glare from the markedly taller and more physically capable Enutrof.

"To be specific, I’m entrusting this ship to your party—not any particular member," stated Vahn, manifesting a high-backed, throne-like chair and taking a seat at the head of the table before clarifying, "As long as you’re using it toward a common goal, it’s yours for as long as you require. Once you’ve reached the end of your journey or your party has dispersed, it will naturally be returned to its builder."

"Oh, well..." sighed Ruel, closing his eyes and exhaling in a manner that made him appear ten years older.

"It’s for the best," contended Vahn, relaxing in his chair and producing a goblet of bottomless wine from his Inventory as he explained, "This ship, as you’ve seen, is far more advanced than the average vessel gracing the waters of this world. It might not be the most advanced, but many of the technologies contained within are things the inventors of your world need to pioneer for themselves. That process of discovery is paramount to the long-term survival of an independent, autonomous civilization..."

"Hey, Vahn, do you not like other Gods...?" asked Yugo, leaving Vahn a little taken aback until he clarified, "Because I noticed you talk a lot about how we need the power to solve our own problems. Now you’re saying we need to figure things out for ourselves. Does that mean it’s bad for people to rely on Gods...?"

"It’s obviously better for us to be able to rely on ourselves," interjected Percedal, drawing everyone’s gazes as he scoffed and asserted, "Even I know that much."

"You wouldn’t know the inside of your shirt from the outside if it wasn’t marked," quipped Rubilax, his gruff, laughing voice causing Percedal’s left eye to twitch. However, as the turkey leg in his hand was too delicious to waste or put down, he didn’t throw it. Instead, he shoved the entire leg into his surprisingly elastic cheek, cleaned off the remaining meat with his teeth, and then maliciously smeared the grease on his fingers all over the protesting Rubilax’s blade and handle.

Ignoring Percedal’s and Rubilax’s usual quarrel, Vahn shifted his gaze to Yugo, smiled, and stated, "There’s nothing inherently wrong with placing your trust in a God. But, just as with people, you should never put yourself in a position where you’re reliant on them to survive. That’s the pitfall a lot of civilizations fall into—placing their trust in powers and authorities they believe to be above them. That’s fine when those in charge are good, but no system of control is impervious to corruption and rot. And the moment someone comes into power who regards themselves as above those they are mandated to serve, things spiral downward quickly, and you suddenly have people who genuinely believe they’re better than others by virtue of the wealth and positions they’re born into..."

"Aren’t you describing Amalia...?" asked Percedal, hitting the nail on the head as he remarked, "That girl is spoiled to the core, and she thinks that being a Princess allows her to say or do whatever she wants. You need to stop encouraging her, or she’ll only get worse."

"Is that really how you see Amalia, Dally...?" asked Yugo, tilting his head and directing a confused glance at Percedal as he argued, "Because she seems like a really nice person to me. Sure, she complains a lot and rarely helps with things like chores. But she cares about other people, and when we need her, she never hesitates to fight alongside us."

"Well said, Yugo, my boy!" exclaimed Ruel, nodding approvingly. Percedal was markedly less convinced, but since he was used to not understanding the stances and viewpoints of others, he ultimately decided not to press the matter further. Instead, he returned to his meal with a disgruntled, pouty glower...

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While his counterpart was keeping everyone else occupied in the galley, another Vahn was lying down on the beach atop a thick and comfortable beach towel. Positioned atop him with flushed, sweat-stained cheeks was Amalia, her brown eyes staring intently into his with a mix of passion and growing obsession as he supported her by her sides. Meanwhile, Eva was behind her, enthusiastically using one of his proliferated penises to do her in the butt, causing her hot, vice-like pussy to clamp around and draw him further in each time the spirited Cra’s hips smacked loudly against her ass...

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