<h4>Chapter 988 - Tremor</h4>


    Now that he was an Emperor, there were several things Vahn needed to consider before he took any action, including venturing into the Dungeon. Though he could manage most affairs with one of his bodies, Vahn still spent the final days leading up to his expedition in several long meetings with the Divine Council. He was in the process of selected capable Ministers to help manage the affairs of the Empire as, instead of relying on the various goddesses around him, Vahn needed his own personnel to avoid ovep between his Court and the Divine Council. Fortunately, as they had long foreseen this moment, Loki and Fortuna hade forth with a list of potential candidates that could fill in the positions, both temporarily and long-term.


    Each candidate presented was either a sessful merchant, personally groomed by Fortuna herself, or an acting member of the Civilian Legitive Branch. Now that he was the Emperor, there was a need to shuffle around the organizational structure of the CLB so it was helpful to have core members of the organization be, even temporarily, his Imperial Ministers. Though there were a few rumors circting, especially since all but one of his Ministers ended up being a female, Vahn believed the candidates proferred forth by the two goddesses were excellent choices for the responsibilities required of them. Besides, though he wouldn’t openly admit it to any naysayers, it was far more pleasant to spend his mornings in counsel with a group of rather attractive females than a bunch of old men...


    This was the thought going through Vahn’s mind as he sat at the head of an ornate metallic table and listened to the preliminary financial report of his new Minister, a woman so capable she held both the titles of ’Minster of Finance’ and ’Minister of the Treasury’. Her name was Arethusa, a young Demigoddess that, simr to Asfi, was forced away from her homnd before finding sanctuary within Orario. She had an impably sharp mind and, before receiving her current position, her fate had her walking down the path of bing the Fortuna Familia’s next Captain. With her light blue hair, neatly arranged in a braided bun,bined with her icy blue eyes, Vahn felt as if the air in the chamber had be rather frigid. Regardless of this, he still found her presence rather refreshing when ounted for alongside the other exotic and unique women that had now be members of his Court.


    Having finished her report, Arethusa gave a polite bow before returning to her seat at Vahn’s behest. Each of the seven members that had been elected as his Ministers were polite to an extreme and, other than a few small noises from minor movements, there was absolutely no sound within the chamber after the report waspleted. Even as Vahn sorted information through his mind, primarily with the assistance of Sis, nobody uttered so much as a single word of cross-talk until he lightly tapped the table with his fingers and said, "It may not be much in the grand scheme of things, but I will use my personal finances as the foundation for the Empire’s Treasury. As for taxes, I will dy implementing anything for a period of three years...hmmm..."


    Vahn was trying to be considerate of the people and, as there was no great need to begin collecting taxes immediately, he didn’t want to cause any unnecessary strain on people just as his reign had begun. This didn’t mean he had the intention of bankrupting the Empire, however, as he immediately followed his words by adding, "Fortunately, we haven’t begun selling the higher-grade items that were intended to be passed through the Alliance. From now on, those items will be proprietary goods that are regted by the Empire. We will still allow the Alliance to auction off the goods, but the Empire will now be the sole source for items such as the [Interspatial Ring] and [Sage Aldrnari’s Tears]..."


    Hearing Vahn’s words, the expressionless face of Arethusa turned into one of mild surprise as she had never expected Vahn to make such a decision, at least this early on. She had alreadye up with a transition n with Fortuna so that many of the Alliances finances would begin to ovep with the Empire, but that would have taken ce behind the scenes. Vahn’s method was almost like a power grab, at least from the perspective of the public. Though there were some small detriments involved, Arethusa knew that the positives would far outweigh the negatives as, in the future, this one precedent would give Vahn much greater power to act. After all, the Alliance was already considered the strongest power on the Continent and, though it was always nned to be the foundation for the Empire, the transition was, originally, going to be much slower...


    Believing that Arethusa’s small ’slip’ was the result of her finding his words eptable, Vahn gave a small nod before waving his hand to store away therge stack of doc.u.ments that had been set out for his perusal. This was noted by all seven Ministers who, without dy, rose to their feet and gave steep bows before Vahn was able to rise himself. With another wave of his hand, Vahn lightly uttered, "You are dismissed until our next meeting. If there are any other matters to attend, please send a notice through one of the Valkyries and I will schedule an audience at my earliest convenience. My focus will be on the Dungeon for the next few days, at the very least, so I would prefer that you deal with your own responsibilities without my guidance, so long as there are no issues..."


    Though he now held absolute power within his newly established Empire, Vahn had no intentions of being an overbearing Ruler that micromanaged everything. Many of the doc.u.ments he had read regarding how to properly rule over an Empire showed that the most sessful Empires were always helmed by an Emperor but were kept afloat by the capable Ministers beneath them. He needed to be able to trust them with their duties without them having to worry about him constantly breathing down his neck. This would give them the confidence to take future actions on their own and, though it also opened the route forward for corruption, such things could be prevented rather easily if he didn’t becent...


    In response to his words, the seven Ministers gave a rather sonorous response, another benefit of having a predominately female Court, before quickly excusing themselves from the room. The only one to remain standing in their position was the only male with the chamber, excluding Vahn, which indicated there were matters he wished to discuss in private. Vahn waited until everyone else had exited the chamber before turning his attention to the silver-haired old man, smiling as he asked, "Is there something you wanted to bring to my attention, Sebas...?"


    Hearing Vahn address him, Sebas gave a respectful bow as he responded, "Your Majesty, no words can ever truly express how grateful I am for having been given this position and responsibility. However, I..." Without being able to finish his words, Sebas, the very same ’Bartender’ that had been managing the affairs of his Clubhouse, came to a solemn silence. Vahn had raised his hand slightly, indicating for silence, so there was nothing he could do but swallow the words he already found rather difficult to say aloud. Fortunately, things didn’t progress in a negative manner as Vahn quickly rified things, saying, "I have already received a report about the situation of your vige. Though now is not the most ideal time, I will allow you a temporary leave so that you may manage your personal affairs. I’m sure these recent changes have been difficult for you and, as I have my own matters to attend, I will not fault you for doing the same."


    Vahn had long developed an appreciation for Sebas’ talents and, though there were certainly better people suited to the position, none held the same wisdom and experience as the elderly gentlemen before him. As a result, Vahn had nominated Sebas as his Minister of the Interior, cing him in charge of managing all of the personnel that would work within his ’pce’ in the future. The only groups he would have no authority over were the Imperial Guards who, as one would expect, only took orders directly from the Emperor, Vahn himself. Even so, Sebas had found himself in a rather unexpected position where, instead of simply earning money to send back to his vige, he was now one of the most powerful people within Vahn’s Empire.


    Since Vahn had promised a ’stimulus’ of 100,000,000V,bined with a protection agreement that would allow his vige to prosper, Sebas had agreed to take up the responsibility after only a few days of consideration. Unfortunately, as ’Fate’ was ought to do, the moment things appeared to be irrefutably positive, Sebas received a missive from his vige that mentioned that his Granddaughter had be severely ill. The disease was supposedly incurable but, with one of the coveted [Sage Aldrnari’s Tears] at his disposal, Sebas was confident his Granddaughter would make a full recovery. After all, the peculiar green potion could supposedly cure almost any ailment, regardless of severity, making it a highly sought after item after the Alliance had revealed its existence during the attack by Enyo’s forces...


    Bowing even lower than before, Sebas felt an extreme amount of gratitude toward Vahn as he quickly excused himself after thetter gave a small nod in response. As for Vahn, he had a small smile on his face as he wondered what Sebas’ reaction would be when he found out that his Granddaughter had already been treated. When Vahn had received the report, it only took a few minutes of his time to teleport over to the rather demure vige before personally healing the adorable little girl that Vahn knew Sebas was incredibly fond of. Since it would take several days, at the earliest, for the information to reach Sebas’ ears, Vahn felt pleased by the minor ’prank’ he had pulled on his most senior Minister. As for why he allowed Sebas to return, it was to ay the old man’s worries and allow him to spend time with his family, something that Vahn believed would greatly benefit Sebas’ mental and physical wellness.


    With his duties tended to, Vahn stretched his body for a few moments before turning his gaze to the floor below. In an instant, Vahn’s intent began to probe through the Tower of Babel, almostpletely ignoring the various barriers that generally prevented such actions, before sinking into the Dungeon proper. Though it took incredible focus, Vahn was able to move his ’intent’ around freely and, after assuming his Qinglong form, teleport to any location in an instant. Even the Dungeon could do little to stop him from probing into its depths, though this was only true up until he reached the 73rd Floor. The same mechanism that prevented new Adventurers from immediately essing the 18th Floor also prevented Vahn’s ’intent’ from probing deeper than he had explored. It was a peculiar experience, crashing into an unseen barrier with something as abstract as his ’intent’, but Vahn didn’t really mind it too much since it would have been a little too easy if he could simply teleport to the lowest Floor in an instant...


    After entering the 73rd Floor with his intent, Vahn immediately sensed that he had been locked onto by a secondary force but, as this was not the first time he had taken a peek into the Dungeon like this, he wasn’t too surprised when a spatial tear appeared near him. From within this tear, the One-Eyed ck Dragon emerged and, after looking around for a short while, she snorted a wisp of blue mes before loudly eximing, "Are you going toe out or not!?" Vahn couldn’t help but lightly chuckle in response to this, something the One-Eyed Dragon seemed to take note of as her face furrowed into a deep frown momentster. Since she had gone ’out of her way’ toe to where he was located, the One-Eyed ck Dragon was very annoyed by the fact that Vahn hadn’t actually appeared as, though she was able to sense his intent, she was actually unable to sense his exact location as it was impossible to trace Vahn’s origin through the spatial fluctuations caused by his Source Energy.


    Since he didn’t want to transform into his Qinglong form right now, as he was nning to return home shortly, Vahn focused his mind before asking, "Can you hear me...?" Though he couldn’t easily transfer matter through spatial tears, without turning into his Qinglong form, Vahn had been working on methods to send messages through the void. These messages couldpletely bypass most barriers and, as they were untraceable, Vahn had been able to y a few small pranks on the girls back at the Manor. The only people it didn’t work against were the goddesses he had ’melded’ with and, as was often the case, Fenrir...


    With Vahn’s voice literally sounding out next to her ear, the One-Eyed ck Dragon showed a slightly startled expression as her scale-covered ear flickered in response. She nearly attacked the area out of habit but managed to restrain herself as her ’instincts’ told her it would be very troublesome if she were to identally injure Vahn. Since she had made a promise not to attack him during theirst meeting, the One-Eyed ck Dragon wouldn’t easily go back on her word as it was simply ’beneath’ her to do so. However, in an attempt to hide the fact that she had been startled, the One-Eyed ck Dragon sent a small ripple through the void with her own power, attempting to ’punish’ Vahn as she replied, "I can hear you. Where are you...?"


    Vahn could sense the One-Eyed ck Dragon’s on intent try to pass along his own but, other than a strange tingling sensation in the back of his mind, there were no other significant effects. Even so, as it would be even more troublesome if he riled her up, Vahn decided not to tease the One-Eyed ck Dragon too much as he inly stated, "I am currently back on the Surface. I’m just sending this message to inform you that I’ll be bringing some of my allies along with me during my next visit into the Dungeon. I can’t force you to behave yourself so I’m letting you know in advance that, if you try to harm them..." Since he was able to imagine how he would react in such a situation with almost crystal rity, the spatial fluctuations caused by Vahn began to ripple violently in response to his own rising emotions. The One-Eyed ck Dragon made a show of not being intimidated in the slightest but, much like Terra, Vahn could see her wings twitch slightly in response to the pressure he had instinctually sent through the void.


    Before she could front, Vahn calmed his mind in an instant before adding, "I’ll be bringing along another True Dragon with me. Though she is a fair bit younger than you are...well, I’ll let you experience first hand that time is forever flowing forward." Though Terra wasn’t nearly as ’powerful’ as the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Vahn was confident she would be able to emerge victoriously in seven-out-of-ten instances. Her Innates were much weaker than the One-Eyed ck Dragon’s but, unlike thetter, Terra has full mastery over her magical energy and, with the hundreds of years she had trained with Eva, there were very few existences in the record that could even hope to contend against her. After all, the magic system from a Tier 5 world was simply beyond anything that had previously existed in this world, Innates included...


    Sensing the ’challenge’ in Vahn’s words, the One-Eyed ck Dragon puffed out her rather modest chest while ring her wings outward in a domineering manner. Vahn made a mental note to ’train’ her to wear proper clothing in the future before severing the connection, leaving the One-Eyed ck Dragon making a promation to thin air. He knew this would make her very angry but, for reasons he didn’t quite understand, Vahn feltpelled to annoy the One-Eyed ck Dragon at every instance. There was something about her that grated on his nerves and, considering how she behaved towards Ais and Shizune, Vahn knew her existence would be increasingly problematic unless she was reigned in rtively soon...


    As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn felt small vibrations passing through his feet that caused his brows to rise slightly in response. He was currently on the 50th Floor of Babel Tower and, as there were no faultlines remotely close to Orario, it shouldn’t be possible for him to feel any tremors when he was nearly 300km in the sky. To his surprise, the tremors actually continued to build until, momentster, Vahn felt a ’ripple’ of magical energy pass through the surrounding barriers before dissipating into the air above. This ripple caused his blood to boil while, at the same time, Vahn felt a chill run up his spine since he could sense the intent contained within the pulse. He turned his attention back to the floor below, this time without sending his intent into the Dungeon, while asking himself, "Did I push her too hard...?"


    ---


    Unlike the small tremors that Vahn was feeling, the people of Orario weren’t nearly as fortunate as, instead of small vibrations, it was as if the entire city was experiencing a high-magnitude earthquake. Though the buildings were incredibly durable, enough to resist random monster attacks and the asional brawl between High-Level Adventurers, they were not designed to resist sudden and intense earthquakes. As a result, several buildings that were under construction hadpletely capsized, primarily around Daedelus Street. The once quiet streets of Orario had immediately be chaotic as everyone trembled in fear and confusion, not as a result of the earthquake, but in response to the loud ’roar’ that had passed over the entire City. Even without seeing it directly, even children knew that the ripple that had caused several hundred thousand people to copse had originated from the living nightmare, the one and only One-Eyed ck Dragon...


    (A/N: Just a small update to let everyone know what is going on. I clocked in a whopping 93 hoursst week and am feeling incredibly burnt out as a result. The fact that I released less chaptersst week than when my own Mother died is something that kept me awake for quite a while after realizing the truth of the matter. Fortunately, now that my coworker is back in working order, I was able to ’negotiate’ having a bit of extra time off over the next two weeks until I am finally free from my responsibilities. Though I still have to work full days, I’ll have most of my evenings free so there shouldn’t be any issues in the release schedule in the days leading up to the 16th. After that, I’ll probably transition to releasing three chapters a day once I’m able to fly home and rx for a bit. Let’s just say I am eagerly counting down each and every day before I’m finally able to write full-time once again xD...)


    (A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Vahn, Emperor of the Flower Garden’,’Sebas getting pranked in the most wholesome way...this is how to breed loyalty amongst your Retainers xD...’,’You would think that Vahn would understand not to slight the pride of a True Dragon...’)


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