Chapter 16 - After Tournament Feast & Discoveries
…
Confidence in Yamcha winning, despair at finding out the best assassin in the world was participating, and then jubilation at Yamcha coming out victorious. Today was a rollercoaster of emotions for Carrot.
"Here is your money, sir," the cashier handed him sacks of money, and Carrot's hands shook as he put it all in a capsule. His money had to be flown in; that's how much he had won.
He saw Nam, the guy almost crippled by Tao, ride off in a small commercial plane. Thankfully Carrot would never have to experience the hour-long lines and waiting time again.
He was strangely anxious about that as he walked to a restaurant nearby, where the rest of the crew was. He kept touching his pocket to ensure the capsule was there the whole way to the restaurant.
He went and sat down in one of the chairs.
Carrot was a rich man. Everyone almost got blown up, but you must look at the positive things in life, like how rich he is.
Money doesn't buy happiness; that's what rich people say. Yeah, money doesn't buy you happiness, but just let me keep all the money. After all, it doesn't buy you happiness. What in the world would you need money for?
As a newly made rich man, Carrot felt a sense of superiority as they sat at the table, he was the only self-made man there.
The multiple-personality girl, pervy old man, monkey kid, bald kid, Bulma, Tights, talking pig, talking cat, and Yamcha. Carrot looked at the latter, his lucky star, the new champion of fighting, the strongest under the heavens.
What would Yamcha say if he knew he had all this money? Probably something along the lines of 'Oh, seems like that's weighing you down. Let me help carry it for you.'
Or maybe just: 'Give my money bitch, where's my motherfucking money?' Then that will be accompanied by a backhanded slap. Yamcha did have that violent pimp temper.
"Where were you?" Asked Bulma, the ever-jealous girlfriend? What even is their relationship? Carrot never bothered finding out.
"I just went and took care of my friend, Nam. He sadly couldn't stay for the feast as he wanted to bring the water to his people as fast as possible," Yamcha said without missing a beat.
'Didn't I see that guy getting on a small plane when I went to take the money? How did Yamcha get here so fast, then? That was before he… Oh well, I'm not going to read into this too much. I'm just the dumb rabbit from the sidelines, no reason to overthink things.'
Though he decided not to think about it anymore, Carrot was sure someone would report Tao's corpse tomorrow. Yamcha seemed like the competent guy to make it seem like an accident or someone took revenge in a way that doesn't connect to him.
Carrot got chills just at the thought of it, and suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He flinched and turned to look at who it was. He felt like shitting himself after seeing who it was.
Yamcha had a smile on his face. "Glad to see you're hanging in there. You alright?"
"Y -Yeah… What about you?"
"I'm doing well. Thanks for looking after the others," Yamcha waved and he went to take a breather out on the balcony.
It seemed like Bulma had gotten a little too drunk and was more clingy than usual. She was slumped over the table with a flushed face and an empty beer glass in her hand while mumbling. "Yamcha, not there~"
Okay, Carrot decided to ignore that too.
He was curious why Yamcha wasn't with Bulma yet? She was rich, clearly in love, and a pretty cute girl.
Just as he thought, Carrot noticed Tights go after Yamcha, and both were alone on the balcony.
Oh, so that's what was happening. It was a switch situation, where Tights and Yamcha had a relationship. Bulma was just there and had a crush on her sister's secret lover.
Everything connected so well, and the reason why Yamcha rejected Bulma was deeper than just some surface-level reasoning. Carrot nodded and decided never to even think about this any longer.
He was a dumb rich rabbit, much better than a smart dead rabbit, probably killed by Yamcha's hands if he spilled this secret. Though Carrot had to admit, this was a very interesting drama, he wanted to follow where it would lead. But between entertainment and life, he would choose the latter.
'Well, better play along with my role as the dumb rich friend. Gotta create a cover and bring attention away from Yamcha and Tights, who are probably snogging each other by now.'
"Everyone! Eat however much you want! It's all on me!" Carrot announced.
"Yeah!" The kid with the monkey tail… or without the tail now, jumped up joyfully and started eating food like a vacuum.
"Goku, slow down, or you're going to choke," the kid's younger bald friend warned him.
Carrot made a note in his mind never to take the kid named Goku out for dinner. Because if he did this every night, he would be broke and penniless within less than a year.
"What made the mobster so generous?" the talking pig whispered to the little monk kid.
'Shut the fuck up you talking animal! Don't read too much into things!' Though he wanted to go and punch the pig, Carrot held it in. Usually, he had a hard time calming down, but just thinking about all that money…
He never needed to worry about housing, bills, food, or gas. Yeah, that was very soothing.
Yamcha stood on the restaurant's balcony and looked at the buildings around the sparsely populated island. Despite being where the World Martial Arts are held to decide the strongest, there were barely any big buildings around.
Though if things went well as they did in the original timeline, there was no doubt in Yamcha's mind that the World Martial Arts tournament would become a hit.
Opening his inventory, Yamcha stared at a specific slot. There were no other things in the slots surrounding this one. It was the place where Tao's corpse lay.
He had made sure not to pierce through Tao's chest, so there were no blood or scorch marks on the sheets. To others, the world's best assassin just disappeared.
'You miserable bastard. Should have known that being needlessly cruel will lead to death.'
Though the assassin was his enemy, Yamcha had learned much from the man. It was a bit of an awakening for Yamcha, like a bucket of ice-cold water was poured over his head.
Opening his status page, Yamcha checked the rewards he had gotten from the Quest to win the tournament. He had earned some experience and a new title.
[Champion]
[Increases strength stat growth. This title is lost if you don't participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament every three years and win.]
Yamcha guessed that the strength growth must be substantial if the requirements to keep the title were troublesome. He was going to test it later.
With the Quest completed and killing Tao, his level had gone up eight times, and he was now level 46. Though for some reason, the Hero Quest wasn't completed.
'What do I have to do to complete it?' Yamcha wondered, after saving those people from the explosion the quest should have been completed. Or maybe the interface read it as Yamcha being the cause of that bomb threat? That was a little disheartening.
Looking at the dark sky with the full moon, Yamcha smiled and glanced inside. Bulma was still napping on the table. Did she think drinking so much would impress him or make her more likable? What a silly girl. But he couldn't help smiling fondly when looking at her.
Before Bulma's laser had shot down, Yamcha had contemplated taking Senzu Beans. But taking them out of his inventory, and the inventory screen appearing in front of his face was very dangerous against an opponent like Tao, he could have killed him.
'I wonder how much of the fight the contestants saw? We were moving quite fast.'
Yamcha shook his head and dismissed such thoughts as it was useless to think about what could have been. Instead, he looked toward his blue-haired savior.
He knew soon he would have to fix things with Bulma. Otherwise, this tugging war will end badly for one, or maybe even both. Yamcha's beliefs on romance in his previous life were to find an average-looking wife, have some kids, and then die. That was where he predicted things would have ended. A boring life but hopefully happy life.
In this world, he wasn't too concerned with romance. He didn't want to waste time on it. He wasn't going to chase women or try to woo them. There were many better things to do during that time than that. Bulma also fell in that same category; they would talk, and if she accepted, that was it. If not, then he won't bother with her anymore.
Yamcha was quite sure she liked him, but at that age, she might be more excited about the chase than anything else. Well, it didn't matter what her answer was. If he had been younger, such thoughts would have haunted him. Was it worth ruining their friendship? The answer came to him easily.
He looked at the sky and smiled. Even though the life of his friends was threatened just some hours ago, this was still a beautiful world. Of those countless stars out there, he could go and explore each of them. Yamcha took a glass of wine from his inventory and toasted to the sky.
'I will need some method not to age if I want even a chance at exploring this vast world—a technique to breathe in space. Wait, Gamer's Body, my body is like a game character. Do I even need to breathe?'
Yamcha took a sip of the wine, and his eyes twitched. 'What kind of wine is this? It has an oaky vanilla flavor, and it's rich in alcohol. I don't like it.'
He was never much of a drinker, even in his last life. Someone approached him from behind, and by the sound of her steps, Yamcha could guess who it was.
"Aren't you going to take advantage of my sweet sister now that she is drunk?" Tights asked suddenly. There were some thorns in her tone, and Yamcha was pretty sure she wanted him to get annoyed and cause a scene.
He turned around, sneakily putting his glass of wine in his inventory. "Do I look like that kind of guy?"
"Are you?" She answered his question with a question. "You might be able to trick most with your non-answers, but I am different."
"I can see that."
"Wow, your skills at dodging questions are amazing," Tights' eyes widened in mock surprise.
He chuckled and shook his head. "I always was a talented liar."
Tights smiled a little, took out a packet of cigarettes, put one in her mouth, and offered another to Yamcha.
He shook his head. "Not a smoker."
They spent a dozen seconds in silence looking at the party as Tights lit her cigarette.
"I thought you would yell and scream at me," Yamcha stated honestly.
"Why would I do that?" Tights seemed genuinely confused at the accusation.
"You know, having the assassin threaten to blow up everyone, you and your sister included," he clarified. It was his fault Tao went that far. There was very little he could have done about it, but a mistake was still a mistake. At least, that's the way he saw it.
Her eyes softened a little when she heard that, but she breathed out a puff of cigarette smoke.
"So I should start blaming you for every fucked up asshole out there?" She huffed and took another puff from her cigarette. "Step down from your high horse. The world doesn't revolve around you."
He stared at her owlishly. For the first time in a while, Yamcha chuckled. He tried to cover it with his hand, but it slipped through.
'Right, what's the use of feeling guilty about something like this? Tao was the one threatening to blow people up, not me.' Yamcha reasoned. He then took Tights' half-finished cigarette right out of her mouth. "These are killers and bad for you. Get a better stress reliever, like reading, for example. You're a writer, right? Try reading other people's work sometimes."
Tights frowned in frustration and just looked at him with a face that said: You're now telling me how to live my own life?
She went to take out her cigarette package, but it wasn't there. Tights frowned and looked at Yamcha, walking away. On his other hand were her cigarettes and lighter. "As I said, smoking is bad for your health."
"You dick, at least leave my lighter behind," she muttered, frustrated. Yamcha still heard her before going back to the feast.
He opened his Status Page and took a look at his saved-up stats.
'I should run some tests and use them soon. Because they won't be useful in increasing my strength in battle when power levels start climbing to the thousands.'
Chapter 29 - Discoveries
…
The next day, bomb squads came and disarmed the explosives Tao had placed. Yamcha was no longer involved with the whole mess.
As Yamcha was in a hotel room, still on the island, he checked his stats while listening to the news.
There were books and word puzzles around him, some completed and some half-completed. He was running a memorization test.
"Witnesses are saying that the last fighter, Yamcha, could summon laser beams from the sky," explained one of the newsmen.
"His power is mysterious. Some say the ability is as strong as the mythical Kamehameha Wave. Maybe even stronger," added the female newscaster.
'Wait, what?'
Yamcha's attention to the news. On the screen was a photo of the sky from miles away, showing the laser shooting down and piercing the clouds.
The picture was badass. But what do they even mean by him having the power to summon lasers? They didn't do their research.
He turned off the TV and decided to concentrate on the task at hand. Yamcha opened up his status page again.
[Name: Yamcha
Age: 17
Title: Champion
Level 46 [EXP: 87%]]
[HP: 1000/1000
MP: (locked)
KI: 332/332]
[Strength: 193
Agility: 177
Endurance: 200
(Power Level: 190)]
[Intelligence: 10
Perception: 10
Willpower: 87
(Magic Power: 33)]
[Status Points: 218]
He had used three points in perception and four points in intelligence, raising them to ten.
Yamcha knew from the original show that raising physical stats was useless, as a couple of hundred stat points wouldn't even put a dent in things when power levels became in the millions. Hell, even in the thousands, would make hundreds of points mean nothing.
The logical conclusion was to increase the other stats, like intelligence and perception. After some tests, he had a rough idea of what both stats did.
Intelligence increases memorization and puzzle-solving. It didn't make memories clearer because Yamcha didn't remember Dragon Ball any better despite putting points on it.
Perception increases the five senses. It also helped with another unknown sixth sense, like knowing there was a presence behind you, maybe instinct?
Suddenly, Yamcha stopped and came to a realization.
"Ultra Instinct…" he frowned, nervousness and excitement mixing in him. Was perception stat the key to Ultra Instinct? If it were, there wouldn't be any hesitation in his choice. But he didn't know for sure.
'It's during times like this where I wish the Gamer Interface had an Artificial Intelligence. But then again, I wouldn't want any sentient thing inside me.'
Intelligence was also a good Stat, but intelligence didn't equate to wisdom. Also, he didn't want to become a scientist in this world, and he already had Bulma for that.
'That's right! Bulma!' Yamcha immediately came to a decision.
Realizing he had been looking at things from a skewed perspective and didn't have to do everything himself. Yamcha doesn't need to become a scientist and raise his intelligence too high. Even if he put all his points into intelligence, he doubted he would match Bulma's genius.
That was the woman who built a time machine in an apocalyptic world. So if he ever needed something fixed or made, he could just ask Bulma.
With his decision made, he started using his stat points.
[Perception 10 - 100]
[Status Points: 218 - 128]
Suddenly the world twisted.
Yamcha tried standing up. But reality turned sideways and fell to the ground. He landed on the magazines and word puzzles. Bile rose up his throat, and Yamcha threw up all over the floor.
'Putting so many points in one stat suddenly, bad idea!'
He continued throwing up until his stomach was going to turn.
The world settled down again and returned to normal… somewhat.
His eyes wandered around the room, and he spotted a bug on the corner. A ladybug, a normal-looking ladybug, that's how it appeared to the average eye if they could see it, to begin with. But the creature's eyes were robotic; Yamcha spotted that clear as day.
'Someone was spying on me?!' He didn't stare at the ladybug too long. Whoever was spying on him, Yamcha didn't want them to notice he knew.
He cleaned everything and himself and put on new clothes. He was still feeling a little nauseous from the disorientation of suddenly having better senses.
There were two options he could immediately think of who might be spying on him:
The first option was Dr Gero but from what Yamcha remembered, the man wouldn't start his experiments until much later, after Goku defeats the Red Ribbon army. Yamcha would have done something about that but he had no idea where Dr Gero lived. Goku didn't meet the man during Dragon Ball.
The other option was…
Yamcha used Observe on the bug to confirm his suspicions.
[Robotic Ladybug]
[A small robot created by a young scientific genius, Bulma Briefs to spy on a certain someone.]
'Wait, how long has she been spying on me?'
Yamcha grew concerned. What if Bulma had seen anything unusual about him? Was one of her bugs following him when he killed Tao?
He was uncertain about the changes he had made. Tao appeared in the tournament, and that was due to him as in the original timeline nothing like that happened. What if the small changes eventually become gradual to change Bulma too?
The first thought that came to his mind about Bulma changing, was the most dangerous. Her becoming a villain. Despite how he liked acting like a clueless harem protagonist from a cliche anime, Yamcha wasn't one. As a villain Bulma was a hundred times more dangerous than Dr Gero, the old scientist built strong androids, but nothing close to the level of Bulma's time machine.
There was no doubt in Yamcha's mind that if she wanted, and put her mind to it, Bulma could become one of the most dangerous forces in the world. The best tool to turn a hero into a villain was love.
His heart beat faster in alarm at the thought alone. What should he do or say to Bulma in that situation? He had to smother the flames before they became a forest fire.
As he was thinking of what to do next, a ray of sunlight hit his eyes, and he saw colors he had never seen before. He got a killer migraine from it, as though there was a tiny construction crew in his head trying to drill out of his skull through.
Yamcha sat down, clutching his head, having decided to rest for a bit - or at least until he adjusted. This proved more difficult than he expected. Even small sounds normally too quiet to hear were louder than he had ever heard before. He never knew what a bug rubbing its legs together sounded like. It was as though his skin had suddenly been peeled back, leaving nothing but muscle and bone - or perhaps like his entire body was suddenly an exposed nerve ending.
The thing was, it wasn't just a wall of noise and sensation. He could have dealt with that more easily, just trying to tune it out. He felt everything far more keenly than before - the slight pools and eddies of heat equalizing throughout the room, the brush of air against his skin. There were layers to it, gradients of sound, touch, sight, smell, and a million other senses he never knew before. He was hyper aware of every pore of skin, every cord of muscle.
In an attempt to bring his mind off of his disorienting new senses, he cast his mind adrift, latching onto the first topic he could think of. Bulma. What would he do with Bulma? He probably owed her a date - she saved his life with that laser. That would help deal with the whole possible supervillain route.
He also contemplated going on a date with Bulma to learn what she had seen. Using Observe on her was a good idea too. Despite the skill not being at a level where he could yet read minds or deep thoughts and emotions.
With the 500,000 Zenni he had earned from the tournament, he will take her on a good date. Whether she knew about him killing Tao or not, he owed her a perfect date, at least. She did save his life. Yamcha had some cards left to use in the fight against Tao, but he wasn't sure how effective they would have been.
Yamcha didn't bother thinking about dates or romance for too long. Instead, he went back to testing out his new high Perception Stat.
He closed his eyes and tried looking deep within himself. He saw flame-like energy within almost instantly. Suddenly his senses expanded again, and he sensed every person within this building and their strengths.
'Ki Sensing? Is it supposed to be this easy to learn? Or is this another effect of the Perception Stat?' Yamcha mused, and once his eyes opened, there was a notification screen in front of him.
[You have learned Skill: Ki Sensing]
…
By midday, Yamcha had tested everything he could with his Perception. Also, he grew used to his new broader sense of the world.
He went to the airport where Goku, Krillin, Roshi, and the mild-mannered Launch were waiting for their plane.
"Yamcha! Next time we meet, I will be even stronger! So make sure to train hard!" Goku said before running off on his nimbus to find the four-star Dragon Ball. The wish-granting artifacts had become visible on the radar again.
[Goku - PL: 133]
There was no doubt in Yamcha's mind Goku would be much stronger than originally by the time they met again.
The rest said their goodbyes.
Yamcha noticed Puar sending looks his way every now and then. He pulled his cat friend aside while everyone waved at the leaving party and asked. "Something bothering you, buddy?"
"No, it's nothing," Puar denied, but his ears were flopped, and he kept looking at the ground with a depressed aura around him. Puar was horrible at keeping secrets.
"C'mon, you can tell me anything that's bothering you," Yamcha reassured him. "We have known each other for how many years now?"
He had no idea when the original Yamcha had met Puar, but he acted confident while putting the little guy on his shoulder.
"Over three years," Puar muttered.
"Well, c'mon now, tell me what's bothering you," Yamcha remarked.
"I want to become a writer," the talking cat-like transformer blurted. He looked at Yamcha as if expecting him to laugh.
But Yamcha instead smiled and nodded approvingly. "Then what are you waiting for?"
"..." Puar only kept staring at him.
Yamcha realized the problem. 'We have been together for so long. He thought I might get the wrong idea if he told me that he wanted to go and do his own thing.'
"Go and become the best writer this world has ever seen," Yamcha gave a thumbs up, and Puar nodded with tears in his eyes. "I would love to read some of your books during my downtime!"
"I am not leaving you alone with him," her sister stated suddenly.
Bulma frowned. If Tights weren't her sister, she would have lasered her. Wait, where did that thought come from? Bulma shrugged. She was planning to watch about 2GB of video she had on Yamcha's morning routine.
Why couldn't her sister see that Yamcha and her worked together perfectly?
"But Tights~" she whined.
"You're like oil and water. You stalk him. He is a playboy. You built an orbital laser. He fights against assassins. Since you have met, you just bring out the worst in each other," Tights clarified and put it in simple words for her. "This is like some twisted version of the Beauty and the Beast concept. Except the beauty is also a witch."
Bulma laid down on her bed and pouted. "You're just jealous you don't have a boyfriend like Yamcha."
Tights sighed. "Listen here you-"
Suddenly a knock on their door stopped their argument. Tights went to open the door, and Yamcha greeted them with a wave.
Bulma stood by the sidelines as Yamcha talked about Tights contacting some publishing agencies and recommending Puar to them.
To Bulma's surprise, her sister went along with it. From how bad she spoke of Yamcha and how 'bad' he was for her. Tights sure went along with his whims. Bulma narrowed her eyes on her sister.
She shook her head. No, Tights wouldn't do something like that. Bulma loved Yamcha, but Tights was her sister, and no boy would get between them.
Yamcha's gaze turned toward Bulma. Despite her beliefs, that confident gaze who didn't care how things turned out, without even a sliver of lust or imperfection, made her legs feel like jelly.
"Bulma, wanna go on a date?"
Was she dreaming?
She blinked and pinched her cheek… It hurt. Was she in some kind of hysterical delusion?