The first thing I heard as I woke was Goku's shout about balls, which in my sleep-idled mind I had taken for Dragon Balls, and rushed into Bulma's room only to find nothing wrong.
My confusion only lasted for a couple seconds before I snickered, "Hey Bulma, Goku barely knows anything about girls. You might want to check your…" I trailed off, awkwardness ending the sentence for me.
Bulma stared blankly at me and I could almost hear the cogs turning in her just waking mind before her face turned crimson and she shoved both Goku and myself out of the room.
Visibly confused, Goku turned his head up to me as if trying to ask what was wrong, but I shook my head at him. It wasn't his time to find out about the birds and the bees, that was Chi Chi's job.
Sighing, I walked into the kitchen and started brewing myself some coffee. This magical black liquid was something I don't remember much of, but I do know that I always had some in the morning as a habit rather than for its taste. Habits die hard and it seems like they refuse to die harder than my own memories.
After pouring myself a mug, I heard a yawn behind me and mindlessly poured coffee into the mug that had entered my vision. Putting the coffee pot back into the maker, both Bulma and I took a deep drink of the coffee before sighing in contentment. I eyed Bulma off to my right and noticed that instead of her pajamas from the original chapter, due to my insinuation, Bulma put in time to be presentable and is wearing… just a shirt again like yesterday. I also had the right opprotunity to look Bulma over and realize that we're actually the same height.
It was a bit odd to think about, but I never really had time to ponder over my height until an actual normal sized person entered my life again. I stood head to head with Bulma and we both towered over Goku, who I'm about 99% sure is harrassing a turtle right no-
"So that's what today is…" I mutter into my mug and then take another drink of the glorious gift to mankind.
"Hn?" Bulma sounded while drinking the last of her own mug before rinsing it out in the sink and placing it there, "What do you mean?"
I blinked before pointing at the calendar nearby, "September 2nd, I didn't know what date it was because Goku misplaced the calendar back at his hut." Sort of a lie, he had misplaced it but I had already known the date. I just needed an excuse to cover up my slip up. It was interesting to note that Gohan had calendars for the next 30 years saved up, like he had truly prepared to never enter society again, but they were in a random box under the bed.
Downing the rest of my coffee and performing the same cleaning as Bulma I mentioned towards the door, "We should probably check on Goku, see if he's harassing any wildlife for food."
She, of course, grimaced at the thought, and we both went outside to see Goku talking to Turtle.
Staring directly at the turtle, I couldn't help but notice that he looked severely dried out, "You look like you've been a long way from the sea, do you want some help?" Bulma looked aghast at the suggestion while Goku continued his oblivious stare. Turtle, however, looked at me with a great amount of… awe? Thankfulness? It's hard to read the emotions of a turtle's face when they aren't being overly happy, sad, or terrified to be honest.
After a bit of exposition, yay, we ended up giving the sea turtle a bucket of water that we dumped half a pound of salt into and mixed around. According to how fast Turtle drank it, it was like coffee to him. I nodded solemly as Turtle seemingly re-energized, Bulma looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Ahhh, thank you very much!" Turtle exclaimed as he downed the entire fucking bucket in literal seconds. Turtle looked down slightly before looking back up at us with a surprisingly serious expression on his face, "The truth is I… am a turtle."
I could feel the deadpanned look on my face before I even intended to make it, almost as if the muscles were preparing for the random bullshit spewed by someone around me.
"...It's been a year since I left the ocean," Oh hey they're still talking, "I've been traveling around all this time trying to find a way back you see."
After Bulma pulled out her map to see where we were in comparison to the ocean, Goku, without hesitation, starts doing his thing and immediately offers to take Turtle back and after a short scuffle, the Saiyan runs off with turtle on his back.
Seconds pass in silence as Bulma and I look as Goku runs off into the distance.
"You know he has his Dragon Ball, right?"
"...oh."
Without another word, Bulma runs inside and comes running back out with a capsule before popping it open to reveal… a normal motorcycle surprisingly.
She jumps on and revs the engine before looking back at me, "You getting on or what Takato?"
Unsurprisingly, her motorcycle feels faster than her yugioh bike from yesterday, probably from not needing to carry around a sidecar, and we catch up to Goku and Turtle moderately quickly.
Just as we pulled up beside Goku and Turtle, the legendary Bear Thief shows his face. This character is so horrifyingly strong that he is… forgotten in about ten minutes. Seeing Goku tense to fight, I decide it's time to test myself.
"Oi Goku, I'll try and handle this one so you don't need to put Turtle down," I say with a slightly shaky smile as I get off of Bulma's bike and stand before the bear man.
The bear huffs at me, "Alright brave guy, are you absolutely sure you won't just pass over the turtle for me to eat?"
My answer is to slide into Grandpa Gohan's fighting stance and to still my breathing.
"Wrong answer."
The bear rushes forwards and tries to make a downward slice with his large cutlass, but due to his large size it's actually kind of easy to dodge such a broad attack. I leap to the right from where I stood, completely dodging the slash and roll back into my stance before rushing the bear man.
Getting up in his guard due to his sword being stuck in the ground for a brief moment, I leap upwards and slam a fist into his chin and watch as spittle flies with a slight grin on my face. This was once again a wrong answer, as the bear whips his free arm at me and shoves me off to the side of the road, wheezing.
"That is going to definitely sting in the morning," I mutter before standing up once more, watching the bear approach. At this point, Goku and Turtle have backed off several feet while Bulma drove further down the road to be in a safer distance to watch.
Bear Thief shakes his head slightly and moves once more to slice me to ribbons and I duck under the blade, running towards the beefy humanoid once more with a new plan in mind. I breathe deeply and pull on the energy I can feel deep within my body, surging it to my right hand, as I jump up once more…
And lob a ki blast right into the Bear Thief's face!
The thief cries out in pain, dropping his sword, and holding onto his face as the smell of blood and singed fur reaches me. I grimace before walking over and landing my hardest blow possible to his head, knocking him out.
I wildly shake my head and breathe out, unexpectedly as a pant rather than just an exhale, and look back to Goku and Bulma. I give a shaky smile and a thumbs up to them.
As I got onto the back of Bulma's motorcycle, ignoring the conversation of Turtle and Goku, I let myself zone out as we went towards the ocean.
Despite that fight ending relatively quickly, it was surprisingly intense for me. Granted, Goku had been training for far longer when he downed the thief in the manga, but it really put into perspective how powerful people were compared to a normal man.
Feeling a grin stretch on my face, I stared at the rolling countryside as my thoughts ran rampant. In the heat of the moment, the midst of combat, I finally felt what others had only mentioned off handedly. The thrill of combat, the rush! I can easily see how Saiyans as a race have gotten addicted to such a dopamine high. The thought of fighting powerful people and proving my metle against them was alluring.
But before I can think further, the bike stops and Bulma nudges me off. Blinking suddenly, I find us on a beach as Turtle slowly moves towards the ocean.
As Turtle swims out, he turns around to call out to us. "Please wait here for a moment, will you? By all means, I want to return the favor to you with a gift!"
This is the moment of truth… I get to meet Master Roshi. Excitement pumps back into my veins as I stand to full alert, I want to train under this man desperately.
Sadly, this excitement doesn't get to stretch its limbs for a while because for the next half hour the three of us are sitting in the sand, Bulma drawing while I try and help Goku make a halfway acceptable sand castle.
I sigh dejectedly as I poke out a little window in our sand fort before I hear Turtle's cry on the wind. Obviously, Goku and Bulma also heard it as our heads all face to the sea and see Turtle carrying someone on his back.
"It's the turtle but now something's riding on its back…" Thank you, Captain Obvious of the SS 4 Star.
I deadpan, "Goku I think that's a person, I can see a beard."
Bulma blinks and squints her eyes, "Yeah that's definitely an old man…"
Soon enough Turtle and Master Roshi beach themselves and the old man jumps off Turtle.
"Hello!" Master Roshi exclaims as he lands on the sand. "Thanks for waiting!" Turtle bobs his head kinda cutely.
Roshi looks over each of us slowly. Goku, then Bulma, then me. I feel a slight… pinching sensation in my head as Roshi stares me down for a second. And then my excitement crawls in a hole and dies for a brief moment.
Ġ̸͚̘͛̇̆̓a̵̡͕͎̋͆ṁ̴̗̩̤̟̍̑ę̶̭̆r̵̡̘̖͓̯͌̊'̸̡͙̻̦͎̚s̴̨̖̰̆̏̀ ̵̡̱̭̾͝ͅM̸͖̯͋͛̇͗ï̷̥͕͓̉͑n̴̛͚̹̾́̈͑d̵͉͒͒̍͝ ̸̛̬̼͕̜̮̕h̴͍̰̹̀̈̑a̸͕͔͓͔̰͊̕͠s̵͇̣͎͎̽̓͘͠ ̵͕̝̥͜͝n̴̘̥̰̓u̴͕̦̦̪̐́̊̌͜l̴̫̍͊͗̅͐l̶̮͕̈́̏i̶̗̙̯̱͗̋̏̅ḟ̸͎̄ḯ̶̢̤͗̌̉͠ę̵̦̭͚̋̿͌̍͜d̵̤́ ̸̢̘̇̾M̵̘̳̗̖͖͋͌i̵̧̤͉̋̍ǹ̴̢̦̪̞͚͊̎͠d̵͕̀͘ ̶̣̤̏͛͑R̷̬͕̔͂ȩ̷̑̽̑̌͠a̸̲͚͈̟͐̄͠ͅd̵̦̝̩͖̙̒̇ĩ̷̦̲̰͌̒̍͘n̷͈̮̪͌͜g̷̹̰̬͕̅̽͋̔̕͜.̴̨̨͕͖̓
For only a brief moment, the blue screen appears infront of me before vanishing and I feel myself clenching my hands tightly as Roshi's eyebrows reach higher while looking at where the box had appeared, having either seen it himself or felt it.
It seems no one else had as Goku, Bulma, and Turtle are none the wiser.
"...Anyways, good afternoon!" Roshi greets somewhat animatedly after he turned away from me, "Seems like you folk helped out my turtle here!"
Goku tilts his head, "Who are you grandpa?"
Roshi's expression becomes slightly more serious, "I am Master Roshi."
He then turns to Turtle, "Which one helped you out?"
Turtle waves his head in both mine and Goku's directions, "These two boys did."
The old man nods, "I see! Allow me to commend you two for your hard work! I have a wonderful present to give to you both as thanks!"
I blink in surprise at that as Master Roshi turns around and yells out, "Come to me, Immortal Pheonix!"
The silence that deafens around us is only broken up by the slow crashing of the waves.
"...Nothing's coming," Bulma states, unsure if the old man is serious or not.
Turtle shifts to Roshi, "Umm, the Immortal Pheonix died of food poisoning."
"Really?! Oh yeah now that you mention it…"
Roshi then mumbles to himself before looking at the two of us, "Sadly, it seems only one of you may get what I plan to give you. So instead, one of you may ask a favor of me."
This. This is the time.
I bow down as hard as I can, a straight 90 degree angle, face pointed down towards the sand, "Then please, Master Roshi, could you train me after this journey of ours?!"
My shout echoes around us and as a couple moments pass, an embarrassing silence reigns.
I couldn't tell at the time, but Goku was openly gaping at me and Bulma had a suitably impressed look on her face, but Master Roshi…
Roshi looked upon the bowing boy with a questioning glance, studying his features. Brown hair, red eyes, and an average height all accompanied by relatively soft features befitting a young teen. His arms showed slight musculature and Roshi could feel the presence of both Ki and Magic within the lad.
While he couldn't read the boy's mind due to whatever that blue box was, Roshi was still able to gleam at his surface thoughts and emotions. The frustration, exasperation, and desperation was seemingly seeping out of the boy, the former two being mostly directed towards that odd box. Underneath those three more prominent emotions, was a deep and visceral one that Roshi had only seen in a few before, two of which had been seen within himself and Shen while they trained under Mutaito to fight Piccolo.
Determination to prove oneself. Pure, raw, unadulterated determination.
Roshi nodded to himself, he would take on this young man alongside Son Gohan's boy, for he immediately recognized the Power Pole and the monkey tail Gohan had mentioned before. He would have done so even without this favor, but that's one less favor he had to worry about and he had a lot of owed favors.
Now for his student's grandson's gift…
I stood up straight and watched as Roshi nodded to himself before loudly yelling ou-
"COME TO ME, FLYING NIMBUS!"
Soon, a whistling sound was heard and we all turned to see the classic yellow cloud practically burst from the sky and land before us.
"This is the Flying Nimbus," Roshi stated before turning to Goku, "I'm giving it to you."
Before Goku could ask how to eat it, thankfully, Roshi continued explaining it, "If you can ride on the Flying Nimbus, you will be able to fly anywhere you like! Amazing, right?"
Bulma looked over the cloud curiously, "But why do you have this cloud? It has nothing to do with turtles…"
The old man simply shook his head at this. "It's unbecoming of children to pay attention to such details."
Now that I think about it… what was Toriyama thinking giving the turtle master a flying cloud? Like I can understand Baby Gamera as that's a turtle, but this?
"But there's a catch," Roshi started once more, "Only those with a pure heart can ride on the nimbus! Let me show you how it's done!"
The Master of the Turtle School leapt up and gracefully landed upon the Flying Nimbus proudly… In another dimension that is, because he sure as hell fell on his ass right here.
"M-My back!" Roshi groaned in pain, as Turtle went to go help. I grimaced in sympathy, I can attest that being knocked onto your ass hurts like hell. At the very least, it was on sand so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Sadly, landing on sand causes other problems due to how coarse and rough it is, it just gets everywhere.
I blink in self surprise as Goku successfully lands on the nimbus, did I just accidentally make a reference to something I've only seen 10 minutes of? Damn.
Roshi recovers and stands up as Goku goes on his test flight, turning to me. "What is your name, my boy?"
I gulp in anticipation, "Takato. My name is Takato."
He nods, his beard flowing in the light breeze that Goku's flying caused, "I see. Once you complete the journey you are going on, come back with that young man. I will train you both."
The childlike wonder and excitement I had been holding back for so long finally burst forwards, "T-Thank you Master Roshi! I'll do my best not to let you down!"
At this, Bulma leans over to Master Roshi, "Hey Grampa, can I get a gift too?"
The old man looks down at Turtle, "Did she help you at all?"
"Not at all."
"She/I gave you salt water!" I deadpan while Bulma yells before I continue, "If it wasn't for her you wouldn't have been immediately helped by the salt water."
Turtle nodded in slight embarrassment as Roshi looks over at Bulma, "Unfortunately there is only one Flying Nimbus. But I can give you something else in its place as long as... You show me your panties!" He finishes off with a slight shout and a large blush on his face.
I'll be completely honest, with how mystical this entire encounter has been, I completely forgot that Master Roshi was going to perv on Bulma. After a moment of deliberating and Roshi talking to Turtle, Bulma gains some mad determined look on her face and is looking towards Roshi's che-ohhh she sees the Dragon Ball already. Smart girl.
I have mentally prepared myself for this moment, this momentus occasion. The glorious whites of heaven…
As I turn around out of personal embarrassment while I hear Roshi and Turtle freaking the hell out. I cringe slightly as I feel an irony smelling liquid drop out of my nose before wiping it up and sucking it off my finger. Relax. It's ok. Nothing happened. Nothing happened at all.
Bulma lowers her shirt back down, "Now gramps, give me that necklace of yours!"
Roshi, still in some sort of delirious high as I turn back around, looks down at the Dragon Ball, "This necklace I found at the bottom of the sea? Sure, why not." He surprisingly hands over the Dragon Ball willingly.
After Goku comes back down and we converse amoung ourselves, Bulma almost flashing herself once more when Roshi learns that the Dragon Balls lead to a wish, we head back to the temporary house to settle for the night before moving onwards.
I… Have a lot to think about.
Several hours later…
I walk outside the house silently, the night sky illuminated by the moon above, my feet falling with an impending sense of doom.
After about fifty paces from the house, I mutter silently, "Status."
P̷̘͚̒̌l̵̬̈a̷͈͕̋͘y̴͔̎̿ë̸̥̍͜r̷͍̿:̵̞̾ ̶̫̂Ț̶̈́a̵̹͂̍ǩ̷͕̲a̸̗̼͂͘ṯ̶͑͝ȍ̴̮͉
̷͇̜̓͂H̸̤͖̔̚Ṕ̶̦͕̄:̷̗͎̄͘ ̶̨̘̓5̴͓͕̍͠0̷̞̀͠0̵͉̣̿
̷̺́̚K̷̗̦̓I̷̜͆͆:̷̠̈ ̴͓̹͆1̸̰̯̓0̷̺̏0̷̡̳̑0̸̻̓̐/̷͇̐͝1̴̭̗͋̓0̸̬̉0̴̻̀̔0̵̛͇̀
̶͉̫͌M̵̠͝P̶͎͓̋̾:̷̩̲̆ ̶͈̚[̴͍͕͑̾L̵̞̞̄̀ơ̷͍͊c̶̹̓͐k̸̘͋͌e̸̤͊̍d̸̡͂̋]̷̱̩͂
̶̞́S̵̬̔T̴͈̬́R̵̠̩̋̆:̸̧̡̂̽ ̶̗͂1̵̡̺̿5̴͔̹̊͆
̵̣͈̓D̶̮̼̔E̴̘̅̽Ẍ̵̖̱́̋:̸̮̍̒ ̴̤̭̓͌1̶̹̑̀5̵̮͋͝
̷̼̼͊I̶̬͂̈N̷̦̆T̷̗͇́:̷̡̲̋̓ ̵̰̈́1̸̱̑0̸̩͕̂͠
̴͙̘̒̕W̶̾ͅI̶̤̾S̸̳̈́:̵̢̑ ̸̧̛̲͆1̵̫͕̾͒5̵̲͂
̵̧̰͆C̵͍̟͗H̸͕͖͘A̵̝͔̕:̵͚̉̐ ̷͈̫̈́̏1̵̻̣̀̆3̶̙̂̈́
God. Fucking. Dammit.
Ỹ̴̢͂ô̵͈̦ú̵͖̟͋ ̷̛̝ḳ̶̔n̷̋̋ͅö̴͙̩́w̶̮͛,̶̰̇̏ ̴̩̀͠y̴̧̭̌o̸̢̾û̶͓̕ ̵̯͒ś̴̪͜h̷̻̮̃o̴̮͗̊ŭ̵͓͙͠l̴̡̒d̶̙͊́ ̴͖̟̓b̴̭͝ë̶̠̦́ ̷̪͗g̸̨̮͐͑r̵̔̆͜a̷̢̓͠t̸̼̓̓e̷̼͑̽f̵̪̮̄u̷̡̥̓̀l̶͔̫̎͝.̸͇̽
What do you mean?
U̴̩̔̇S̷̩̽U̶͖̍̾A̴̬̓L̸̝͊͘Ļ̶͚̇͋Y̸̘͐͑.̴̞̪̐͗ ̵͈͒P̸̜̙̆̚ę̴̣̔̈́o̸͇͗͠p̷͓͕̿ḷ̷̈͜e̸͎̍ ̶̺͎̈͝c̸̳̯͑̂h̶̗͕̿o̸̥̜͛o̵͚͑š̷̭͌ę̵͍͒ ̸̰̻͌t̷̥̟̒̍ȍ̶̜̖ ̴̈́̈͜b̷̙͚̈́é̴̻c̵͉͍̃o̶͈̹̾m̶̡̐̔ë̷̹́ ̷̬́̍G̷̢̱͒ả̴͇̻m̵͓̖̓̐ȩ̵̤̋̋r̸̢̚s̸̟̻̈́̉ ̸̲͔̔a̴͕͝n̴̲͒d̶̠͑̌ ̵̤̾ŵ̷̨̯͛e̷͈̗̓͆ ̷̘̝̒̀n̷̤̥͑̚e̵̮͐v̵̘͆̉͜ē̶͖ͅr̷̪̅̕ ̵̟̩̓h̸̻̺͐̂å̷̻̠v̸̲̒e̸͙͂͠ ̷̖̣̓͘t̸͓̪̓ọ̷̍ ̶̪̀͆ť̷͔͍ḧ̵͇̬ī̵̩̯̈́n̸̡͍̽́k̸͙̿́͜ ̶̨̇̕ǎ̷̟̳̈́b̸͔͗͆o̸̞̊͝u̶͔̒̈́t̶̡͈̆ ̵͔͐a̸̟̕c̴̢̏t̵̬͋i̴̪̔̅v̵̖̽͝e̴͚̥̓ľ̷̺y̷̘̘̏ ̸͕̫̀̍c̶̛͇o̵̱̓v̵̭̤́e̴͌̕ͅr̸̢͇͊̉i̸̖̺͗ń̵̮͇͌ḡ̴̼ͅ ̷̫̩̚u̵̦̳̔p̵͚̒̒ ̴̥̹̉t̷͍̓h̷͋͜e̶̠̖̒i̶̹͛̚r̸̼͘ ̷̰̑̎v̶̭̏u̶̦͖͛l̸̦͈̅͝n̵͓͝e̸̢̪̿͐r̷͋̕ͅạ̸̾b̶̖̻̆̽î̵̻l̵͍̝̃í̸̱̊ẗ̷͓͙́ÿ̴͕̬ ̴̡̟͘t̶̻͘o̵̖͋ ̷̼̝̐t̷̤͎̉͝h̷͎́î̷̛̻͇ņ̵͎͑g̷̛̺̟̾š̷̝ ̶̩̏ľ̴̙̃i̷͔̬̎̇k̸̡̟̈͒ḛ̷̛̆ ̴̨̗́̚g̷͈͒͂e̵̥̗̾ṯ̵̈́̂t̶͓̜̄͊ḯ̵̭n̴̮̩̎̄g̵̝͋̂ ̸̨̮̈t̸͕̓̾͜h̵̜̍͌e̵̩͇̕i̵̛̭ͅr̸͕̩̋͒ ̶̺̫̈́̐m̴̯̀̐i̶̢̮̾͌n̷̖̼̉̐d̵̯̩̄s̸͎̀ ̴̼̾̇r̷̯̋̍e̴͙͖͂͑a̶͕̓͑d̵̩͊͝.̷͙͛̚
I can almost smell the "but" coming up.
B̴̢̟̑͝U̷͕͌̈́ͅŤ̵̡̍.̸̗̾̊
B̸͉̆e̷̢̒c̴̱̙̋̈́å̸͓̻ų̴̂̈́s̶̟̋̕ȩ̸͗ ̷̝̇Y̵̬͘O̶̪͓͗̚Ú̶͚̃ͅ ̶͙̞̎d̸͓͘i̴͇͒d̵̫̾́n̷͉̰͗'̴̼̯̿̓t̷͕̎̄ ̸̪̋͂w̸̺͝â̸̲n̸͚͍̄t̵̫̯̋ ̷͔͛t̶̛̼́ḫ̷͆̈́î̸̠̹s̷̮͌,̶̦̚ ̶̙̣̑̾w̶̤̬̄̇e̴̛̻ ̶͔̍n̶̰̑̋o̵͙̜͋͗w̴͖͑͝ ̸͎̃ȟ̶̪̓ä̶̟́̎v̶͎͔̂̿e̴̺͆ ̵̻́̃t̴͔̤͊ö̷̖͔̎ ̴̪̟̕c̴͙͑̑o̸̡̱͋v̶͓̿ë̸̪̈́r̶̥̈̕ ̷͇̏̈ỳ̴͚̆o̵̯͙̅ü̵͔̔r̶̠̬̒́ ̷̟͓̈́͝ȃ̸̛͙s̷̟͆s̸̼̎̿ ̸̺̝̏ü̴̧͈̽ņ̷͕͐̌t̵͓̘͘ḭ̷̍l̸̛̠͐ͅ ̷͈̕w̵͎͔̿̐e̶̲̗͝ ̶̞͎͊̃c̵͇͘ă̸̟n̴̟̈́̈ ̶̹̬̿͠m̷̧̼̈́̌a̷̞̎͌k̴͖̋ę̶̿̌ ̷̱̽a̷͕̭̅ ̶͖̓"̷̫̮̽̕p̵̱̍á̶̫̀t̶̮̂̕ĉ̶̦h̷̜̤̉"̷̬̀͆ ̸̭̪̋̓t̴̟͐͝h̶͈̚ǎ̵̧̹̚ť̴̥̾ͅ ̸̢̖͑̈p̸͇̙̿͝r̸̖͛e̵͔̓̾͜v̶͎́̍e̸͓̱͠n̶͚͆t̴̥̅ṣ̶͋ ̴͙̳̂t̶̝́͋h̷͊͂ͅi̶̬͙͝ń̷̻͑g̷̢̒͠s̴͈̍̕ ̷̳̲̈́l̴̥̃͂i̸͓̩̒k̷̩̃e̴̳̺̽́ ̶̜̦̚y̴̪̆o̸̲͙͆u̸̟̤͋͛ŕ̶̠̦ ̵̭̈́̈́k̵̝͓͠n̶͈͈͂͒o̵̲̦͐w̴̞̝̍͝l̸̨̍̓è̵͇̲̍d̶͎̳́̒g̴̥̲̍͋e̸̳̒͘ ̴̺̋̓ͅb̴̨̿ẹ̸̈̊í̵̡̞n̸̳͊͜g̴͇͊͜ ̶̻͆̈́e̸̳͒̚a̴̰̘͋͂s̸͍̉i̶̝̐̃ḹ̷y̵̹̼̐̽ ̴̳̝͂̌ḍ̷̓i̸͇̞̇̚s̸͎͖̒́c̶̯̎͊o̵̰̽ṿ̶̥̈́̾ę̵̱͛r̶̃̇͜e̷̮͘ḍ̴̃̽ ̶̢̜̀̆b̶̫̈́y̷̳͐̒ ̵̢̠͐̿ṁ̸̡̳ì̷̯̦́ṋ̵͂̐d̴̗̒͊ ̷̺̇̋r̷̼̠̒̃e̴̙̓̿ḁ̵͊̿d̷͖̤̚e̷̖͇̔̔r̸͕̦͝ș̵̀.̸̢̟̚
So what does this mean for me, am I going to be forced to live with this borderline cheat code to the universe that I never wanted?
S̷͈͙͌a̸͎͊͜d̵̳̝͒l̵͙̀̿y̴̮͑̾ ̵̹̰̈́n̸̦͝ő̸͇̚.̸̨͌
H̶̖̩̋i̷̪̋g̵̠͉̉h̶̝̓̕è̷̮͕ř̵̯ ̷̤͂u̴̩̒p̷̧͖͗͠s̸̛̬͐ ̴̞͚̇ḋ̵͍͑ȩ̸͐c̷̝̍̂į̵͌̈́ḓ̶̩́̕e̶̝̮͒d̵̡̕͝ ̶̛͔̍t̶͍̟͝ơ̷͓̊ ̸̥̳̇m̷̝͋a̷̖̐̎k̵̤͔̾̀ė̸͍̯ ̴̰̈̿a̸̲̮̿ ̵̙͋͛͜"̷̝̼̿p̵̡̰̀͠a̵͈̔̐ŝ̴̘̻͒s̵͇̋i̵͂͜v̴͈̩̓̿ë̴̱́"̸̣̒ ̵͚͓̓͝f̵̡̀̓o̴̓͊ͅr̴̘̺͋ ̴͚͕̚a̷̧͗ľ̷̞̞ḷ̵̀ ̵̝̠́͠p̶̟͋͘e̵͂̈ͅȍ̴̖̲̆p̶̫͔̂l̵̪̋e̵̖̣̿ ̶̘̐̏ẘ̴̢̥͑h̵̩͍̔̓o̴̳̼͌͗ ̶́̀ͅh̶̳̞͘a̶̩͒v̸͙͗ẻ̴͎̓ ̴̡̜͗o̷͉̅̋r̷͎̀ ̵̲͕́ẇ̸͍ị̸̈́ĺ̷̻̿l̷̼͑ͅ ̷̧̯̏r̵̭̂e̸͎͆ḟ̷̡͜ű̵͙ś̸̞͑e̷̠̥̔̄ ̸̥̦͂͊T̴͔̞͗h̶̺̮̉e̴͋̅ͅ ̵̨͠G̶̳̏̂ă̴̠̒m̸̢̑̿e̶̖͐̀r̸͍̎,̶͔̏̎ ̶̩̆̓ǎ̵̡̧̅k̴̬͝a̶͇͠ ̴͙̝̌ÿ̵̝́o̵̹̍̄u̸̯̹͐̑,̵̻͍́ ̶̘̭̎s̸̩̃o̶̹͝ ̸̺͆́ṫ̴͍h̸̤̦̊ȩ̴̈́̈ý̷̪̈ ̷͙͑d̵̳͍̄ơ̶̬n̸͓̈́̎'̷̛͎t̷̫̼͘ ̸͕̟̀́h̸̢͠a̷̘͘ṽ̷̗̘̾ę̴̓̚ ̴͎̫̈́ẗ̸̨́o̶̞̐ ̵̥̑̚Ḿ̵̢̔e̸̝̦͐͋n̵̥̲̊ ̴͈̿ì̶͎n̴̛͓͓ ̸͔̼̅B̴̪́l̶̢͇͆͐â̸͍c̷̺̼͐k̴̼͇̄ ̴̲̾r̵̪͎̍̑a̴̜͕̐n̷̗̏ḑ̷̈́̅o̶̜͈̎m̴͍̋̈ ̵̱̓͝m̸̼͆̆í̵͕̗̀n̸͉̝̔ḓ̴͎́̈́ ̸̻͉̾r̸̛̂͜e̵͖̊̋ā̷̝͈d̵̠̋̃e̷͔͒r̶̻͊s̸̮͜͠.̶͕̯̂̓ ̴̺̳̂͝I̸̲̠͝t̷̙̆̍'̶̰̄s̵̪͕̋ ̶̪̔m̴̦̊ͅő̷̗͌r̵͙̋e̷̹͆ ̸̝̌͗o̶͔͉̅f̸̭̱̊ ̸͇̮̑a̴̧͌́ ̴̭͚͆̀p̷̢̎͠a̶̬͒ï̵͔͚̽n̶̺̄̏͜ ̶̹̀̾t̷̤͠h̸̪͆̕ą̷̱͊͗n̷̰̣͒ ̶̣͋y̸̮̒̀o̸̧͍̊u̵͛̾ͅ'̶̠̈̓d̸̳͇͑̆ ̶͉̈̾ṫ̸̩͔h̶̳͉̍̆i̵̱̋͆͜n̶͔͕̊̄k̴̺̎͑.̵͈̄̑
B̵͖̺̃ù̸̳͓t̴͎̞̽̀ ̴̳̌t̴̜̗̾h̶̛̼̭̃i̴̺̓̈s̷̹̙͆̍ ̵́͜͠w̵̭̦̄͠i̸̤͒͜ļ̶̈l̸̨̟̓̍ ̸̝̕t̷̛̜̟̚a̷̖͋̀ǩ̵̰͔ę̶͂ͅ ̴͓̋̒t̷̢͝i̷̺̇͒ͅm̷̘̒̈é̴̹̯.̸̢͍̄̇
So you're saying that-
F̴̢̆o̷̰̬̎͆r̶̫͖͛ ̷̞̏͠t̶̤̍̅h̶̗̖͒ĕ̷̤̿ ̷͇̓͠ñ̷̝̤͌ḙ̴͓͘x̴̠͝͠ţ̶̞̉̀ ̴͕̾̆ĉ̸͐ͅȍ̵̭͋ͅu̴̗͒̿p̸̡̼̎̍ĺ̸̯͊e̵̡̜̾̃ ̵͈̓d̴̨̍ā̶̧y̷͎̾͝š̶̼̏,̵̮͊̅ ̷̬̾̃y̵̦̋ȏ̴̳͉̿ú̵̡͘ ̸̲͝ẁ̸̢͉i̸̞̙͂ĺ̴̠̖̎l̶̢̪̏ ̶͍͛̌ͅb̶̡͇̿e̵͘͜ ̸̘͛̒f̶̞̠̽̌ő̵̠͎r̵̹̃ĉ̶͓e̶̹̥̍d̷̼͖͋̕ ̸͍͕͆t̶̛̝̃õ̴͚̯ ̵͕͎̈l̶̤̗͒̿i̵̱̱̾v̸͚̒ę̷̰̇ ̵͍̙̿͘w̶͈̞̑ỉ̷̡͙t̷̜͈̍̅ḧ̸̪́ ̸͎̚T̷͙͎̈́̽h̷̿̕͜ë̷̱́̌ ̵̪̪̄G̵̬̅̓a̵̫͉͛m̸̝̥̚e̷̫̟̐͠r̸̘̀,̵̮̊͘ ̵͚͐̅ṯ̶̊o̵͕̽͐ ̶̠̲́y̷̻̚͜õ̷̪̬ŭ̵̮͋r̸̗͛ ̵͖͠d̴̡͇̋̒i̷̻̽́s̸̲̳͆p̶̞̝̀͠l̵̫̈̈è̷̮̬͛a̴͚̾s̷̥̱̀u̵̻̰̎r̷̪̮̍̀e̷̺̋,̷̞̼͂̓ ̸͍͋͌ụ̴̈́́ǹ̶̼̮̆ẗ̸̙́͝ì̸͚l̷̹̎̑ ̵͉͂ẅ̴̻́e̸̥͐ ̸̳͐c̷̠̓͝a̷̼͕̒̉n̷̪̑ ̶͉͊̽g̴̫̯̋͆ĕ̷̱̝t̸̖͍̚͠ ̴̡̤̈́̄t̷̮̉h̸̢͈̋̏e̴͉̤̓ ̵̖͊͠f̷̦̱̃͝ȉ̶̘͖̕x̴͓͂ ̶̠͓͠r̶̟̮̃͗ë̶̥́̾ą̴̓d̵͇́̈́y̴̦̰̔̏.̴̠̺̒
Ḯ̷͉̈f̴̟̈ ̴̻̅̓I̷͙̙̊ ̸̟̦̄̉ẃ̸̢̏e̴̤͛r̸̫͗͒e̶̤͠ ̷̳͒ÿ̶̟̫́̿ő̴̙̿ụ̸̹̓,̴̠̀ ̵̩̜̒́I̵̧͖̐̈́ ̴͇̏̓ẅ̵͎̥́o̶͉͔͆u̸̲̣͋̽l̷̯̃͝ḍ̸̊́ ̵̛̼̓b̴͖͖͐é̶̲̱ ̸̢̲͆̏ú̴͕̀s̴͖̳͆i̷͚͂ṉ̷̯͑͋ğ̷͈ ̴̾̒ͅt̶̗̻̆̈h̴͙͍́͝i̵̤͆s̴̘̍̈́ ̷̝̃w̴̨͒͜h̴̙̬͊i̴̡̱͝l̴̛̩̀e̸̹͠ ̵̨̰͝I̷̥̼̒͝ ̸̝̒h̵̰̻͛a̴͔͠d̶͇͈͝ ̷̼̒̏ĩ̶̺t̴̘͌͝.̷͇́͠
Hmm… how is it pronounced again? Oh yeah.
I physically cough before tilting my head slightly to the side and forwards, "Daga kotowaru."
I̶͎̲̋́ ̶̟͛h̷̫͐ǎ̴̫̼t̶͎̽ē̶̹̲d̴͍͖̓ ̸̠̙̂̐d̵̜̈ͅe̴̹͊a̷̪̐l̸̀̎ͅi̴̼͌̂n̵̛̪͘g̵̯͍͂̂ ̸͕̑w̶̨̥̆i̶̖͇̎̓ṱ̷͂̇͜h̸̦̋ ̴̲͋R̴̼͒o̴̫̾h̸̫̩̒å̸͔̤n̵̤̻̆͠.̶͓̩̃ ̶̦̥́I̴̻͌ ̵̭̄ḣ̴̘͔a̵͔̘͠t̴̬̠͑̆e̵̡̛̜̐d̷͎̼͛͂ ̸̺̦̓i̶̡̤̿̅t̸͖͗͝ ̴̡̙̏s̶͖̫͆ô̴̥̭ ̶̜͝m̵̧̙̀̔ů̵̟ç̶͘h̷̛̘̖ ̷̯̾w̶̼͒͝h̴͉͐̚ė̵͍̮͠n̵̢̲͑̌ ̶̪̮̄h̸̖̐͠e̵̥͔͗ ̴͈͂ǵ̴͙͘ǫ̴͆t̷̢̫̀ ̴̲̏s̵͖͒ȇ̵͕̕n̷̤̊͜t̶̹͗̈́ ̵̡̚ẗ̶̠́h̶̢̭̿ṙ̷̡̊ö̸̪́̇u̴̝͑g̵͕͒̎h̵̪̃ ̴̨̹̚͘t̴̙̓ḧ̷̝̮́ẹ̶̫̽ ̶͍̚͝s̴̭̘͝ý̴͉s̵͍̻̾t̸͉͝e̵̩͋m̸͎̈.̸̗͋
Ä̴̜́ͅn̶̻̣̿ÿ̴̥́͒ẁ̸̺a̸̟̦̋̀y̷̡̱̽̽s̴̟͚̄̈,̸̟̯̊̈́ ̶͚̼̎ū̵̹̫͘n̸͚̜̈́t̶̉͛ͅi̷̡̻͊̑ĺ̵̖͕ ̸̧̾t̸̰͆͜h̵̠̿ể̵̗͚ǹ̴̘͍ ̸̺̳̉̍Ì̷̼̟̕ ̶̣̩̃m̵̭̻͐ǐ̶̧̺g̶̭̋ḥ̵̺̌t̵͇̋̂ ̶̞͝à̶͓̓s̵̛̻̹̆ ̶̣̈́̓w̶͖̑̂e̴̲̞͂͐l̵̻̋ḷ̷͝ clear up the text so it isn't completely illegible to people. And yes, I mean people as in plural. People who either break the fourth wall or have access to magic can see these boxes. Master Roshi was your first encounter with someone who even has a slight bit of magic in him.
That is interesting to note. Either way, thanks for clearing up that this won't be permanent.
We wish it was…
This will let me sleep a bit easier, thank you!
...You know I'm kind of a fan of the whole customer service/review thing this has turned out to be, you mind if we check in every once in a while on your "playthrough" and get thoughts? Things will be changing from the original story and our writers love the feedback but they never get it. Most Gamers are too absorbed in seeing their stats individually get higher or their skills leveling up.
As long as I don't have this crutch I'm perfectly fine with it, I think to myself. Silence reigns over the night as no more boxes show up and I feel a small smile on my face. This had been bothering me to be completely honest, the system felt overly annoyed at how I decided to ignore it so this would give me some closure.
With my steps lighter than they were before, I walk back into the house with my smile staying strong and lay down on the guest bed Bulma had ready for me...
Yeah, I think my time here will be nice. And exciting, can't forget the exciting.