The Saiyan Gamer
Chapter 24: The Competition
My body burst into action as I dived at Cauliflo at full speed, sword poised to spear him right through the stomach. His eyes widened in shock at my speed, but he was able to react well, bringing his sword up to parry mine out of the way. I growled as I used the momentum to spin myself around and try to slash him across the stomach.
Unfortunately for me, two others appeared at my side, fists glowing with Ki. I narrowed my eyes, forced to retreat before their attack could hit me. Not everyone is as prideful as the first people I encountered.
Behind me, Karo swung his metal pole down, but I was ready. My sword met his, and applying more pressure, I slid the blade across the surface of the weapon. To my delight, I overpowered him, slashing across his face and causing him to jump back.
It wasn't a second later that three more were onto me, and that was when I realized that this wasn't like my other fights. They had a strategy, and if I wasn't careful, it was going to work. Full restore only recovered my health, not my stamina, which was was already low after defeating Thorn.
Even still... I dodged a punch from one of my attackers, before shoving my sword deep into his chest and kicking him off and into the person behind him. The next person came from behind me, far too slow, and without even looking, I slashed behind my back and removed his hand from his body. I will not lose.
"Got you now!" Karo came from above, staff poised to slam down on my head. I prepared myself to counter when a blur slammed into him and sent him crashing into the ground.
At the same time, someone rushing at me from the front was caught in the neck by a glowing pink arrow. The arrow lodged itself deep, and within seconds he had collapsed. I wasted no time looking to see who had shot that arrow, knowing immediately.
"We saw you were tired so we thought we'd tag in on the fun!" Kakarot, who'd just saved me from Karo's attack, said. He now stood at my back, glaring at the enemies around us.
"I had it handled," I grumbled through panting breaths. "But thank you. You handle the six over there, and I'll fight these two."
"Aww, but they look stronger!" Kakarot groaned.
"But aren't more enemies a challenge?"
"Hmm..." He bounced on his heels before his eyes went wide. "Alright! Let's see who can beat them up the fastest!"
Now that that's settled. I turned to Cauliflo and Karo, the latter having just gotten up from being knocked down by Kakarot. "Shall we continue?"
"Listen, man, this doesn't have to be to the death!" Cauliflo shouted at me. "We were only trying to steal the egg back at the lake. It was that idiot Picklu who tried to drown you!"
"I distinctly remember you both laughing just above me," I countered, already flexing my muscle to move. "Besides, you're the one who told him to fight me. You think I'd fall for such a lame excuse?"
"Whatever the case, you don't have to kill us for it!" Karo replied, taking a step closer to me. Just above his right eyes, a wound from my blade completely replaced his eyebrow.
"What was it you said?" I asked, taking a step closer to match his. "'He's challenging you, Cauliflo. I think you should teach this third class his place'? Well, now's your opportunity. You won't get it again."
They both stared at me for a few seconds longer, before growling and charging. Cauliflo reached me first, going in for a slice across my torso. I blocked it with my sword, only for Karo to come from above again, swinging at my face. I bounced to my left, avoiding the attack and spinning so the blade would slice across the teenager's back.
Unfortunately, Cauliflo's blade blocked it, and once Karo hit the floor, he grounded himself and slammed the end of his pole into my stomach, driving me slightly back. I grabbed the end of it, however, and dragged him to my left, before roaring and launching a Ki blast directly at him. He chose to release his weapon rather than take the brunt of my attack.
The stronger of the two was on me again, but I retaliated by blocking him the pole and then slashing with my sword. I noticed the notification at the corner of my eye but ignored it in favor of the battle before me. He wasn't fast enough to dodge my attack completely, the blade cutting deep into his arm.
He retreated as Karo dived back in, but this time I had far too much advantage. Not only was he much weaker than me, he no longer had a weapon. I waited until he was close, before slipping underneath his punch, planting my foot behind his, and driving my sword at his stomach. Upon realizing he could no longer retreat, he threw both of his hands forward and caught the blade.
His skin burned and melted against the sword, nor did his attempt save him much at all. Pressing forward, I forced him onto his back and drove it the rest of the way in, piercing him to the floor down to the hilt.
Enemy Defeated!
8,000 EXP Awarded!
"You fucking psycho!" Cauliflo flew at me in anger, his power level rising with it to match him. Our weapons clashed in a massive spark, our fight continuing in earnest.
"I'm going to fucking kill you, you hear me!?" His attacks were ferocious, fast, yet predictable. We continued in our battle, equally matched for a while, but then my eyes began to get blurry.
The exhaustion is getting to me! I dodged several more of his attacks, before continuing my own string. He noticed, the same moment that I did when my attack veered a little too far to the right. His opportunity.
His sword found its target, stabbing deep into my shoulder. I yelled as he pushed me back, but I wasn't done yet. Retreating Karo's staff into my safe place, I ground my teeth together and lifted my arms, before throwing them down at the blade still in my shoulder. It shattered underneath my attack, leaving Cauliflo with no weapon.
Still, he kept on, but it was clear that he had no sort of skill in hand-to-hand combat. I dodged his pathetic attempts at punches, before dodging one, grabbing his outstretched arm, and twisting it behind his back. Before he could do much else, I pushed us both onto the ground with me on top of him and his face in the cement below.
"I'll admit, that was actually fun," I said as he squirmed beneath me. "It's a shame that I won't get to fight you again!"
"You can!" He said, his rage fading the moment he was vulnerable to me. "Spare me and we can work something out! What do you gain from killing me?!"
"My pride... And a level," I said simply, before snapping his arm like a twig. He yelped but was quickly silenced by my hand slamming down on the back of his head, shattering his skull and killing him instantly.
Enemy Defeated!
12,000 EXP Awarded!
Level Up!
If this keeps up, getting stronger is going to be a breeze. I smirked as I stood up and stretched out my limbs. Now, who's left?
I was disappointed to see that Kakarot and Leeku had gotten rid of the rest already. Leeku was collecting arrows from corpses while Kakarot was laughing as his victims flew off in defeat, their flags in his hand. I approached them both, wobbling on my feet.
"Thanks for the assist," I said. I would have slipped if Leeku didn't grab me by the arm and keep me standing.
"Let's get somewhere safe to rest," She said, an unreadable expression on her face. I looked back at her, and for the first time, that strange emotion I felt before just wasn't there anymore. I was able to completely articulate my thoughts, and I nodded my head in response.
"Let's go."
The rest of that day went by in a blur, courtesy of my exhaustion. The first trial would end once we arrived at the exit and gave in our flags. It took some convincing, but Kakarot and Leeku allowed me to take most of the flags from other fighters, seeing as they both had enough. That left me with 18 flags, which was almost enough to complete the second additional objective. So, as we made our way to the exit, I watched the map for anyone left over for me to hunt.
"I don't understand something," Leeku spoke to me, breaking my focus. "That time by the lake, how did you struggle with Picklu of all people if you could take out Cauliflo and Karo?"
"Oh? I was weaker then, that's all," I told her.
"That's all?" She raised an eyebrow, clearly not satisfied. "No. Something else is going on here. The day we met, I was too fast for you to even track. The scouter was wrong, but it couldn't have been this wrong."
I shrugged my shoulders. "It wasn't wrong. I've just gotten a lot stronger since then."
"That doesn't make any sense," She pressed on. "Am I supposed to believe that you're just some special Saiyan who gets stronger for no apparent reason?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure how it works myself," I sighed, before pausing. Two people were nearby. "I'll be right back!"
"Don't you ignore me!"
POV Change
"Stop following me."
"Nope."
"If you keep following me I'm going to blast you."
"Go ahead and try."
"HAH!"
Bll knew his brother well enough to know that, yes, he would try to kill him. Picklu's attack bounced off of Bll's waiting palm and sailed harmlessly into the sky where it exploded. His little brother's face burned a bright red, matching the blood splattered all across his clothing.
"All this time, you haven't asked me why I'm following you," Bll pointed out, smirking down at his frustrated sibling.
"It doesn't matter why, you just need to stop!" Picklu turned on his heel and started strutting forward. "I'm getting made fun of enough already, I don't need people seeing you babysit me!"
"Well you're a teenager, it's hardly babysitting," Bll chuckled as he easily caught up. "Besides, what would you do without me?"
"I just beat the first trial without you!"
"Actually," Bll chuckled. "Count your flags again."
Picklu was many things, but smart was not one of them. Bll watched patiently as he looked at his arm and counted.
"Five flags! I'm good to go!" Picklu said triumphantly.
"Picklu, do you remember how many points each color represents?" Bll resisted the urge to smack himself in the face, having expected this.
"Uhh…" He stared off into space. "No?"
"Well, to make it simple, you were fighting third classes for the last five days, which means that you're still two and a half points away from passing," Bll said. "Didn't you think it was weird that you haven't been seriously hurt yet?"
"Well now that you think about it," Picklu grumbled before his eyes widened sharply. "Wait! There are only a few hours left! I don't have enough time to gather any more flags!"
"And that's why I'm following you," He broke the news with a smile. "I'm not going to let my little brother fail his first trial."
"But…" His face contorted to match the mixed emotions he was feeling inside. "They're going to think I'm even weaker if I get help from you."
"They'll never know," Bll said, before grabbing his brother by the back of the shirt and dragging him into a dark alleyway. "And you'll be in the second round."
"I don't know…" He frowned as he looked at the ground.
"Listen," Bll put his hand on Picklu's shoulder while he untied the flag with his other hand. "Don't think about it. Mom and dad will be pissed if you don't make it to the second round."
Picklu's eyes widened at that. He knew from experience that his parents' wrath was far worse than some teasing from his friends. Reluctantly, he reached out and took the flag from his brother, a firm frown still on his face.
Truthfully, as the winner of last year's tournament, Bll didn't need to enter the first trial at all. His sole purpose for entering this year was to make sure his idiot brother didn't die, and although Picklu didn't know it, Bll had been watching him the entire trial. All the flags on Bll's arm were from people who'd planned on attacking Picklu, thinking he was defenseless.
"That's settled then," Bll rustled Picklu's hair before turning around. "Let's g-"
"Ah, the last one of the bunch."
The world stood still for both of them, as copious amounts of killer intent flooded the alleyway. Instinctively, Bll threw himself in front of his brother, shaking off the killer intent a second after it hit him. Behind him though, his brother wasn't so lucky.
"W-What the fuck is t-this?" Picklu stuttered, unable to see past Bll's back.
"It's…" Bll narrowed his eyes, trying to see past the intense glare at the end of the alleyway. Once he did, he was both confused and warry. "It's… Some white-haired dude."
"There's no way!" Picklu exclaimed. "There's no way that's him!"
Bll looked over his shoulder at his brother, confused. "Who?"
"Lightweight."
My body relaxed and I felt as light as a feather. With a swift kick-off of the ground, I went sailing the two standing in front of me, my eyes focused mainly on the one cowering at the back.
I was a little disappointed when he hadn't been with his two friends earlier, but apparently, today was my lucky day. While the other two were people that I'd disliked based on what they did before, Picklu was the direct cause of my humiliation. Just the memory of the day caused a fire to bloom inside of me.
Blade in hand, I stopped just in front of the two, my eyes locking with his as I swung my sword in an effort to cut them both in half.
Blood splashed against the wall and I bounced back.
"Get back, Picklu," The other Saiyan growled, now standing in front of Picklu. His eyes were locked onto me, staring with an intensity that almost made me reconsider.
Did he block it? No… Picklu doesn't have a weapon in his hand. I scanned the guy standing in front of him and noticed a dagger in his hand. At the same time, I noticed that my health had dropped slightly and I felt a slight throbbing feeling on my arms. But how could he? There's no way he could be fast enough to react to Lightweight!
Curious, I used Observe on him.
Level 19
Bll
Species - Saiyan
Gender - Male
Age - 18
HP - 44,764
Ki - 28,158
Reputation - Disliked
Power Level - 2,166
Bll is the son of two Saiyan veterans and the brother of Picklu. He is the reigning champion of the second-class warriors and the apprentice of Omato, The Butcher. While he enjoys fighting, he only kills who he deems evil.
He doesn't know who you are, but he doesn't like you because you tried to kill his brother.
He is currently annoyed.
"Your hand!" Picklu exclaimed, looking down at Bll's hand. I noticed at the same time that blood was dripping down it, and a long slash mark was on his arm.
"It's alright," The older boy said, his eyes not leaving mine.
I see. He was fast enough to push Picklu out of the way and counterattack at the same time… I tilted his head to the side, watching the two boys, who stared back. He's strong, but could that have been a fluke? Even at his power level, he couldn't be that fast, right?
Lightweight only had a few seconds left, so I decided to use it. I dashed at them again, but this time I flew up and fell back down behind them. As soon as I touched down, I span around, my sword slicing through the walls around me with ease, aiming where Picklu was standing.
Or rather, where he should have been.
Bll was standing in his spot, eyes locked with mine, and I could only wonder how he was so quick. His dagger hit my sword and I bounced back, landing on the wall and staying there.
Our staring match continued as Lightweight ran out and that was when I realized that Picklu was gone.
"You let my prey get away," I said to him, fist tightening on my sword.
"He's not your prey," Bll replied firmly. "He's my brother and you won't lay your hands on him."
I scowled at his nerve. "Your brother humiliated me not too long ago. He's only getting what he deserves."
"He deserves death just for humiliating you?" He retorted, frowning deeply. "Don't be an idiot. If you keep that up, you'll be killing people every day."
"Or maybe people will learn to respect me," I said. "I'm not some trash that can be kicked around."
Bll was silent for a few seconds, before saying. "You're right. No one is trash. But there are other ways to gain respect."
A smirk slowly spread on my face. "Well, you can list them on your brother's grave."
He scowled heavily and his aura burst out of his body in response. Mine was quick to follow, and I tensed in preparation for a battle. He was fast, extremely so. Now that my speed was cut back to normal, I wondered how exactly I was going to keep up. My skin tingled in excitement, but that was when I felt a numb pain flow through my veins.
"Good, the poison works just as planned…" Bll began speaking and I looked down at my hands, noticing my vision was blurry. "Spidasaur venom. Not a danger to a Saiyan unless it's exposed to Ki, in which case it releases a poison that numbs the entire body."
I can't move! My eyes flicked up to him as he looked down at me from a few feet away. He's going to kill me!
"I don't know who you are, but whatever my brother did, it ends right here," He said, his voice calm and to the point. "If I see you near him again, you'll regret it."
This isn't over. I thought to myself as he flew away.
Skill Created!
Poison Resistance Lvl 1 - Poisons are now 10% less effective!
I managed to regain free control of my body just before Leeku and Kakarot found me.
"What happened?" Leeku asked curiously. I didn't answer right away, looking off into the spot where Bll had flown off to.
"I ran into my competition."
Hello! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! For all those who asked, I wouldn't exactly call it a Marvel crossover? I honestly just used the Skrulls because they're a cool alien species. But, who knows what the future holds?
