The Saiyan Gamer
Chapter 2: The Game
The night was short, or perhaps that was because my mind was actively working. It turned out that the strange words made of fire weren't from my imagination. The entire situation seemed a little unbelievable, and a part of me wondered if I'd died when I'd first landed. Or perhaps this was a part of adolescence that I wasn't taught by my ship.
Either way, strange words appearing out of nothing seemed to be quickly becoming normal. As I shuffled through the trees, which didn't look nearly as dangerous under direct sunlight, I looked at the newest type of tree around me, narrowing my eyes at it until more words formed in front of me.
Mountainous Bizel Tree
Age: 400
Description: The Bizel tree is only found on the mountains of Planet Plant. Due to the intense sunlight, the bark is bleached into an extremely pale color. The wood of the Bizel tree can be crafted into low-class [Weapons], [Furniture], or other objects that you desire.
The fruit of the Bizel tree is extremely sour, but a powerful healing tool that restores HP. [Observe Bizel Berry for more information]
Available Fruit: 4
Since last night, if I focused on an object for any amount of time other than a casual glance, words popped up and told me things about it.
All throughout the night, I'd been traveling and staring at things the entire way. Unfortunately for me, my broken leg made traveling much harder than I would have liked, especially considering that the ground sloped upwards in the direction that I was headed. There was also a very strange sluggishness that I felt on my body, almost as if I was moving in slow motion, but I'd decided to figure that out later.
Due to my low speed, there wasn't much variety in the surroundings, so the most I'd observed were different types of trees and grass.
I couldn't verify the information that was being presented to me, until the moment I stumbled upon the Bizel Berry. None of the trees beforehand had any fruit on them and seeing as I had no way of verifying the age of a tree, the only way to prove the information right or wrong would be to eat one of the fruits. According to the information, fruit from this white tree could give me something called HP. I wondered what that is anyway?
HP refers to your current health and the amount of damage you can take before you pass out and potentially die. HP can only be restored through food, sleep, and leveling up.
Well, that's helpful. I craned my head upwards to look for the fruit. This would be how I verified if this was all happening because I was losing my mind, or if it was somehow real. It took me longer than I would have liked, but eventually, I found a single red fruit that was barely hanging on.
I flew up and grabbed the fruit, before sitting myself down at the base of the tree and narrowing my eyes at it.
Bizel Berry
Status: Ripe
Description: Thick red skin and extremely sour.
Affect: Restores 250 points of your HP per fruit devoured.
I almost gagged from the first bite. The skin was extremely tough, and the flesh of the Bizel Berry was as sour as the description said that it would be. It was extremely hard to want to take another bite, but I forced myself to finish it to see if it would really improve my health. The moment that it was finished, I felt warmth fill my body. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something pop out of nowhere.
+ 250 HP
HP = 333/333
Broken Bones Ailment Fixed!
The warmth was especially in my left leg and arm; the difference almost instantaneous. It didn't hurt at all anymore, and when I stood on it, there was only a dull discomfort. I stared at my fully healed limbs for a few moments in pure shock. I've surely lost my mind.
Crazy or not, I flew up and picked the three remaining fruit, holding them tightly with my tail. I'd definitely need to find more of these trees; not that I planned on getting beaten up any time soon.
At least I know that the words aren't fake. I flexed my healed arm and jumped up and down a few times. But what's going on? How is that information getting in my head?
I sat down at the base of the tree and thought about it for a few minutes. No answers came to me, other than the possibility that this was a normal teenage thing. It wasn't in my ship's education, but my ship had stopped teaching me a long time ago. It was probably incomplete. It had to be.
I can find Bardock and ask him. I thought, before dispelling the idea a moment later. I didn't need anyone's help, and I didn't want to look like an idiot if it was something that I should have known all along.
I sat underneath the Bizel tree until the twin suns started to pierce through the trees above and cast light onto me. It was completely silent for a while, besides the occasional scuttering of what I assumed were small insects. Just relaxing underneath the tree was the most relaxing thing I think I'd ever experienced. On Planet X-32, the clouds were constant, which meant that the majority of times, rain poured down in great floods. When it wasn't raining, the raging ocean roared with a ferocity that would keep the deepest sleepers awake.
Planet X-32 was, in the majority, an ocean planet. Not much land existed on it at all, and the little land that did only popped up a few times a year. The civilization that was born from the planet died a millennium ago, to be replaced by people who couldn't live underwater, but whose interstellar equipment was mostly destroyed when they arrived, so they couldn't leave. Somehow, they managed to survive and thrive, building cities that floated on the surface of the planet.
I arrived long after they'd occupied the vast majority of the planet. Unfortunately for me, the planet wasn't at all small, and the gaps between each city were humongous. Just traveling from one to the other took days or weeks. That turned into months once they realized that I was trying to kill them all off. The problem with floating cities is that they can move and evade.
"You think that clearing out a planet in 14 years is a job well done? I was back from my first mission when I was four and I've cleared out at least a dozen since then."
Even with my eyes closed, I could still see the look on my sister, Brussel's face when she first laid eyes on me. I gritted my teeth fiercely against one another, her taunts burning even more upon remembering them. She thought he was so strong just because she cleared a planet when she was 4. So what?! I would have cleared my planet in that time if I'd known about my mission before I was 10 years old!
My peace now disturbed, I jumped to my feet and brushed myself off. I wanted to head right back down to the town and show her my strength, but I knew that risked me being embarrassed again and potentially losing my tail. My attacks did absolutely nothing to her; even my most powerful blast straight to her face. If I was going to face her again, I needed to get stronger. But how?
All of my life, I've been as strong as I am now. The people of that planet couldn't stand up to me in the slightest. My mouth beams melted their bodies and even their buildings with ease. To think that the rest of the Saiyans were even stronger than me hadn't even been a thought. How did they get so strong?
Am I just weak?
I clenched my fists and looked up through the trees and into the sky. No, I won't accept that.
The sound of something scraping across the ground broke the thick silence. My ears perked up and I turned in the direction with narrowed eyes. Off in the distance, I saw something moving slowly through a patch of tall grass. I couldn't see it clearly, but on top of the shuffling grass, words appeared.
Meta-Wolf Cub
Level - 5
Power Level - 75
I wasn't sure what a level was, but I recognized the term power level from yesterday. They said that my power level was 100, and referred to it in a way that made me assume that it was meant to measure my strength, or worth. That meant that whatever was in that grass patch was supposedly near as strong as I was. I've got to see this.
I gently placed the Bizel Berries down on the floor behind me, before approaching the giant sharp blades of grass. What I found wasn't what I expected, and I growled at the sight of it. The creature was about half my size and was covered completely with black hair that shimmered like metal. What caught my attention the most was the large piece of metal in its mouth.
Is that a part of my ship? I narrowed my eyes at the metal for a second.
Piece Of Your Ship
Well, that solves that. I shook my head in annoyance at the wolf, before reaching down and grabbing the metal. When I tried to yank it away, the cub looked up at me with furious beady eyes. Its teeth dug into my ship so hard that its mouth was practically closed against it.
"Let go!" I yelled after tugging at it with little success. The harder I pulled at it, the harder the little thing decided to latch on. "I said let GO!"
With my mouth wide open, I screamed as loud as I could muster, a powerful shockwave exploding out of me, followed by a stream of orange energy. I didn't use nearly as much energy as I could have, in an effort to keep the surroundings intact, but even still all of the grass around me shattered and scattered in every direction. Once the animal's grip vanished, I yanked it to my side and let the beam attack fade away. To my surprise, the wolf wasn't disintegrated.
The beast was knocked back into a tree with slightly singed fur; but otherwise, it was fine. When it turned to me, I put my fists up in response. With lips curled back to reveal metallic teeth and black gums, the monster snarled at me. Scarlet eyes stared back at me, and that was when I noticed that there were more words above its head now.
Meta-Wolf Cub
HP: 170/250
While I was reading, the creature decided to attack. I wasn't fast enough to dodge its claws, which dragged across my chest and drew 4 long lines of blood. It moved much faster than any creature I'd ever encountered, besides other Saiyans.
-27 HP
Minor Bleeding Ailment!
On reflex, I swung my fist down and punched the wolf as hard as I could in its face. Immediately I noticed that its hair was extremely durable and sharp. Despite my punch sending the wolf a few feet away, my hand stung at the point of impact.
-5 HP
The creature and I circled each other slowly. I wasn't going to back down from the creature, especially now. Stealing parts of my ship was bad enough, but attacking me was too far. The first beam took about 80 HP off, so if I hit it three times, I'd almost be down for the count.
Alright, time to g- Before I could continue my train of thought, the cub charged at me. This time I was prepared and dodged to the left of it. I made a swing at it, but it bounced off of the nearest tree and ricocheted back at me faster than I could have dodged. It curled tightly together and collided with the side of my body, sending me skidding a few feet.
-10 HP
Catching myself quickly, I looked for the bastard and found him rushing at me from my right side. Annoyance filled me at the same time a surge of energy billowed up into my throat. I let it out in a powerful roar but to my unfortunate surprise, the wolf dashed left and out of the way of my attack, making it totally useless. Unable to move, I was forced to take its next attack head-on.
CRITICAL HIT!
-100 HP
Moderate Blood Ailment!
An indescribable pain shot through my left eye as the wolf slashed me with its silver claws. Apparently, every day on Planet Plant was going to reveal a new worst-pain, because the pain of my eye being torn into pieces was considerably worst than my limbs being broken.
My attack fizzled into nothingness as I staggered back onto my ass. A scream made its way up my throat, but it was halted by a black fur ball appearing in my peripheral vision. I barely jumped to my feet in time to avoid claws skewering my other pair of eyes.
This thing is a monster! I covered my bloodied eye with my left hand while avoiding the meta-wolfs persistent attacks. And it's so fast! How am I going to hit it?! I need time to think!
I flew up above the trees to give myself some time to figure out a plan of action. That didn't give me as much time as I thought it would, though. A blur of black bounced around in the trees underneath me, before shooting off of a branch and up towards me.
I noticed very quickly that the creature couldn't fly. It had to use branches to reach my level, and it was quickly losing its speed as it approached me. An idea popped into my head and I smiled wickedly.
Dodging the animal in the air was much easier. I grabbed it by its tail and watched as it struggled to get out of my grip, with little success.
"Don't look so high and mighty now that you're caught, huh?" I snickered down at the little demon. "You can't fly, which means that if I drop you from high enough, you should die from falling. But just to be sureā¦"
I opened my mouth as wide as I could, trying to build up as much energy as the last two mouth beams, but I felt a great strain in my throat when I did.
KI = 90/300
Warning: Be Careful How much KI You Use!
KI? I thought to myself once I'd read the words.
Ki refers to your inner life form, also known as energy, or chakra, among other things. KI can be restored a little bit per minute but can be restored in full through sleep, leveling up, and certain foods.
Ki is my energy? I looked back down at the wolf who was still struggling to try to scratch me and decided that it needed to die, even if it drained my ki to nothing. I wasn't going to risk it surviving the fall and escaping.
Opening my mouth, I formed a ball of orange energy and shot it point-blank at the little monster, consuming it completely. I used less energy than before, but by the time the Ki washed away, tiredness washed over me like a gentle ocean wave.
Steam lifted off of the animal and it completely stopped moving, but I knew that it was alive based on the HP bar above its head. To finish it off, I flew even higher into the air, before spinning rapidly and throwing it as hard as I could muster down into the planet below me. The sound of its body colliding with the ground sounded like a satisfying chime going off.
Enemy Defeated!
2500 EXP!
I wasn't sure what EXP was, but I was extremely pleased with the result of the fight. I flew down quickly and landed next to where the creature collided. I noticed some words floating above its head, but my thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain racking my body.
HP Getting Dangerously Low! Heal or Die!
Finding the Bizel Berries I dropped wasn't very difficult, and I ate two of the remaining fruits once I did. My wounds healed up immediately, including my eye which I was more than pleased about. Once that was all finished, I put the last Bizel Berry on my tail and walked over to my prize.
The patch of grass where the fight began was absolutely destroyed, leaving only the mangled body of the beast in the middle. I approached it while licking my lips, my stomach growling while I did. However, the words above their head proposed some things other than the meal that I intended to have.
Options
Instantly Loot
Revive As Your Permanent Party Member
Revive As An Ally
Admittingly, I didn't know what a party was, nor an ally or loot. Curiosity filled me, but I had the feeling that I'd only be able to choose one of the three. Unable to choose, I clicked the one in the middle. To my immediate displeasure, the beast's body began to glow a bright white. When the light faded, the little monster that I'd killed was looking around with wide eyes and a wagging tail.
"How?" I was on my feet in a moment, jumping back far from the animal. "You were dead! What the fuck is up with the creatures here?!"
The beast noticed me when I screamed; its beady eyes staring at me intensely for a few seconds. It ran at me with renewed energy, although its attitude seemed slightly different. Different attitude or not though, I wasn't going to let it mess me up again.
When it reached a few feet ahead of me, it jumped straight at me. I pulled back, before, driving my fist at its face, yet somehow, my attack went completely through its body. I felt a snag on the back of my clothes, before being dragged into the dirt.
Friendly Fire Is Off!
The animal pounced onto my chest and glared into my eyes. I froze completely when the monster that had just almost killed inched closer to my face, before licking me across the cheek. My shock only increased when it continued to drag its soft tongue over my skin multiple times. It didn't stop until I threw it off of me and back into the middle of the clearing.
Partner Status Sheet
Name: [No Name]
Species: Meta-Wolf
Gender: Female
Reputation: Unbreakably Loyal
Age: 6 Months
Level: 5 (0/5000)
HP: 200
Ki: [Locked]
Strength: 7
Endurance: 8
Intelligence: 5 [Minimal]
Available Stat Points: 0
Power Level: 75
Description: [No Name] is a Meta-Wolf, a species that survive by devouring metal. Due to their diet, their fur is tough and shiny like armor, giving them extra protection. This also transforms their claws and teeth into metal.
When starved, they resort to killing and eating their own species.
[Unnamed] is part of a pack that was ordered by their Queen to drag the parts of your ship back to their cave.
It is currently happy that you brought it back to life.
Wow. I thought once I'd read the information dump in front of me. These bastards are trying to steal my ship!
I skipped over the part about levels, loyalty and reputation, not knowing what they meant. My second thoughts were concerning the fact that apparently, its strength and endurance were measured in numbers somehow. I didn't care too much about intelligence, my attention fully zooming in on the strength. Do I have one of these sheets? What's it called again? A Status Sheet?
Status Sheet
Name: Sprout
Species: Saiyan/?
Age: 14 (Saiyan Cycle)
Level: 5 (2500/5000)
HP: 333
Ki: 250
Strength: 10
Endurance: 10
Charisma: 2
Intelligence: 10 [Basic]
Available Stat Points: 0
Power Level: 100
Interesting. I read it over a few times, before stopping at one certain part. Why does it have question marks next to Saiyan?
I didn't have much more time to consider the question, because a chorus of growls erupted around me. When I looked around, several Meta-Wolfs stood at the edge of the clearing, eyes glaring directly at me with the same murderous intent that No Name had when she had attacked me earlier.
Shit.
