*Note: sorry for kept you waiting, it was my fault for not advise you, sorry.
One more thing: I was thinking of translating a fic I am currently reading. The fic has almost 1,000 chapters and is still being published even today, so it is neither paused nor abandoned.
The fic in question is from Douluo Dalu, and yes, I know there are many, but this one is a bit different. In this story, the protagonist travels through Douluo Dalu 1, 2, 3, and 4. Afterward, he also travels to other higher-level worlds which I won't mention because I don't want to give any spoilers.
The protagonist is, however, OP (Overpowered) and his main goal is to create a massive harem, which he succeeds in doing. So, don't expect a super elaborate story; even so, it's quite good, and this is coming from someone who doesn't like protagonists to be OP from the beginning, but this is the exception, and that's why I thought about translating it to share it with everyone.
Please leave me your opinion in the comments so I can see what you think.
...
Kari achieved her goal, quickly packed her suitcase, and left, afraid that her father might have second thoughts and change his mind. After all, if she gave him enough time to think about it thoroughly, he might think the trip was pointless and not let her go. So, using all her speed, she threw several changes of clothes into her suitcase and quickly left the house.
"There truly is a time when birds have to fly from the nest, but I didn't think it would be so soon…" said Yuuko as she watched Kari rush away through the window.
"It's just a field trip; don't overthink it, dear," said her father.
If Tai had been there, he surely would have opposed this "excursion," but he was training and not at home, so he would only find out that same night when he returned from practice.
As for Yuuko, she simply sighed.
"That's because you don't know what I know; otherwise, you wouldn't say that," Yuuko thought.
If Susumu knew that Kari had a boyfriend and that the "excursion" she spoke of was probably just an excuse to spend several days alone with her boyfriend… he would probably go mad with anger, so Yuuko could only keep quiet. After all, missing two days of class wasn't too much for someone like Kari.
…
At Akira's house.
The girls were already prepared, and in a way that I couldn't comprehend, Kari invented a lie that allowed her parents to let her come with us. According to her, she was going on an excursion with Mikan, and Mikan herself helped with the lie to make it even more credible, completely deceiving her parents and obtaining permission to come with us.
Mikan had it easier: a simple note saying she wouldn't be back until Monday and that he (referring to Rito) would have to manage alone for the next five days.
By the way, I thought about inviting Haruna and Mikado, but Haruna was with her parents, and Mikado… well, we already know about her, but even so, I had to call her and explain the whole situation. Mikado understood the situation and postponed our date until next Saturday at the same hour, but she said she wouldn't leave the planet for obvious reasons.
I also thought about calling Yui, but I figured it might be too much for her. After all, Yui had never even left the country, and I didn't know how she might react if I told her we were leaving the planet, so I didn't invite her this time.
In short, the following people were going: Me, Lala, Momo, Nana, Yami, Mikan, Kari, and our latest and newest addition, Dita. As for our transportation, it was, as was more than obvious, Zastin.
According to Zastin, Gid had already informed him about everything and given him the relevant instructions, so when Lala called him to ask if he could take us to the Neutral Zone, the place where the duel would take place, he told us he was already waiting for us where his ship was parked.
With all the luggage packed and stored in pocket dimensions, we headed to Zastin's ship, where Zastin was waiting for us.
"Welcome, make yourselves comfortable," said Zastin.
But upon seeing the number of people who were coming, Zastin was surprised. He was expecting the princesses and Yami, but… Who are these girls?
"Excuse me, Mr. Akira, but… Who are these girls?" asked Zastin.
"Oh, they are Mikan and Kari, my girlfriends and fiancées, and she is Dita, a friend," I said, introducing the girls.
The girls politely greeted Zastin.
Zastin was surprised. Of course, he already knew about Mikan and Kari's existence because he occasionally monitored Lala and saw her enter Mikan's house almost daily at the same time, but he never imagined that his future king had already conquered them. Although they looked like children, surely his king had already anticipated that they would be first-class beauties in the future, which is why he acted ahead of time, as expected of his future king.
As for Dita… he knew her. She was the girl His Majesty had warned him to keep an eye on, but not because she was a danger or anything—no, but because the king believed that Dita was a lesbian and liked Yami, which is why he gave her permission to live on Earth and even Akira's address to convince him to let her live in his house, a task that succeeded.
Zastin thought Akira would kick her out or at least be annoyed by her presence, but he saw no resentment or hatred in Akira's eyes when he mentioned and looked at Dita, nor was there any hostility in Dita's eyes. In fact, while showing them the ship, he noticed that the two of them were suspiciously close. Is it possible that his king was into those kinds of things? Anyway, he did not have the authority to meddle in his private life, and besides, everyone had different tastes.
Akira didn't know what Zastin was thinking; otherwise, he would have transformed into Humungousaur and punched him with all his strength. He doesn't have those kinds of strange and absurd fetishes!
That said, Zastin's ship was more spacious than I remembered. It had three bedrooms, but since he had plenty of sub-spatial rooms, each girl had her own temporary room. The room included all kinds of luxurious furniture and even a television, but Zastin said this television only tuned into programs from outside this solar system for obvious reasons. Furthermore, it also transmitted through waves that humans had not yet managed to discover, all so that civilizations without advanced technology would not accidentally detect them.
The downside to all this was that there were only 7 available rooms in total because there was no space for more, so Zastin and I were left without one… well, only Zastin, since I would sleep with the girls. The only one left without a room was Zastin, who had no choice but to swallow his complaints and sleep on the sofa. Why is he the one sleeping on the couch when it's his spaceship? However, due to his position and that of Akira and the princesses, he only dared to think those words, but not say them out loud.
With everything explained, and for the first time, we left Earth and headed to the Neutral Zone.
The Neutral Zone… The Neutral Zone is a small planet orbiting its sun in a lifeless solar system. The planet is in the habitable zone and was only inhabited by very primitive creatures; this is where the duel would take place. The Neutral Zone is located in a solar system at the edge of the Andromeda galaxy, right next to the Milky Way. Why was the duel held there? Terraforming a planet is certainly possible, but they only use that technology on sterile planets and only when a race has grown enough that their home planet can no longer house or sustain them. That is why they chose a small, developing planet and created the Neutral Zone there. However, to avoid disturbing the development of species, they built the stadium in an arid, lifeless area.
The Neutral Zone was in Andromeda and not in the Milky Way for a reason: Gid had no fear of them, and even if they tried anything, it would only lead to their doom. In the past, Gid could have invaded Andromeda, not only because their technology was slightly inferior to his, but also because that galaxy lacked anyone who could face him. Their armies were also on par in strength, but the captain of Andromeda's Royal Guard could not defeat Zastin, though he wasn't exactly weak. Due to all these factors, Gid had no fear of holding the duel there. Besides, it was called the Neutral Zone for a reason. Any unauthorized conflict is prohibited there, and if that rule is broken, the person will be punished according to the laws of both galaxies and then sentenced to death in the galaxy from which they originate. Therefore, noble or not, no one dared to cause a disturbance there. Furthermore, that solar system did not have very valuable resources, so it was not a target for criminals.
That said, Gid was not foolish and did not fully trust the queen, so he had also devised countermeasures for possible attacks.
With all that explained, we will focus again on our protagonists, who were currently enjoying a pleasant snack on Zastin's ship while he piloted the ship, watching them enviously.
The food and water reserves on Zastin's ship were more than enough to last half a month, even with all 8 people eating every meal daily. And in case that wasn't enough, we also brought some water and food from home, just in case, so there was no need to worry about water or food.
The trip would last a day and a half. The good thing is that we had already left our solar system, and thus, the television began to work, showing all kinds of strange channels and programs. The truth is, the number of races in the galaxy is surprising—some very similar to humans, while others didn't resemble them at all, except for being humanoid.
{Note: Imagine the programs for yourselves; I'm too lazy to invent some}
We also took advantage of the day to inform ourselves about where we were going and what exactly the Neutral Zone was. After the explanation, I spent some time reflecting on the matter. What impressed me the most was not that Gid had enough strength to subdue the entire Andromeda galaxy, but his technology capable of terraforming uninhabitable planets. According to Momo, terraforming a planet is quite costly for any species and is only done in case the population of that race grows so much that their planet can no longer sustain them. Only in that case would they terraform a planet. In fact, the Deviluke race itself has already terraformed 3 planets, making them one of the largest races in the galaxy.
But getting back to the topic, it is fascinating how much technology they have managed to develop over thousands of years, yet they still haven't managed to create anything like the Omnitrix—a piece of Level 20 technology, according to the series itself, the highest piece of technology in the entire Ben 10 universe. This excludes extra-dimensional beings, but even so, if the Omnitrix could take a DNA sample from them, Ben could have accessed their form. I wonder if my Omnitrix can.
[You have met the necessary requirements for the next Omnitrix update]
Luckily, the girls had fallen asleep, or otherwise, they would have heard it and caused a scandal. The question is: Why now?
[Congratulations to the bearer, the Omnitrix has been updated and has obtained new capabilities listed below:
The cooldown time has been eliminated, making infinite transformation possible.
The Omnitrix can now fix flaws in the DNA of certain races that have suffered malignant mutations (Limited to 2 per day).
The Omnitrix AI has been improved and can now answer simple questions.
You have received a package with ten new randomly chosen aliens (you can consult their names and details just by thinking about it)]