The Saiyan Gamer
Chapter 40: The New War
The smell of sulfur filled the air. Around me, everything burned.
How did I get here? I looked around me, seeing nothing but flames and destruction. I wandered through the remains of a city, my shirt over my nose and mouth to allow me to breathe. Even still, I coughed as ashes filled my lungs.
Eventually, I tripped over something stiff. When I looked down, nausea filled me.
"No… You're dead…." My voice was so soft that I could barely hear it.
"S…Sprout…" Gine's voice was weak. She lay on her back, her pierced chest spilling blood like a geyser. I dropped to my knees and tried to press my hand down on the wound, but no matter what I did, the blood just kept coming.
"Sprout?" Turles voice came from beside me. I turned to see him glaring down at me. "Why did you let her die? Why couldn't you save her?"
I opened my mouth to respond, but I felt the body beneath me vanish as I did. When I looked back, I held the blue sword that had dealt the blow in my blood-soaked hands. I threw the blade to the ground as my heart pounded in my chest.
"Sprout, where's Gine?" Bardock appeared behind me. I ran past him, desperate to get out of whatever this was. Eventually, I tripped over another body, falling face-first into a puddle of blood.
When I turned, Zaria lay on her back with her stomach torn open. Her mouth was open in a permanent scream of pain, but her eyes were glossed over. She was already dead, and I wasn't there to save her.
"You can't save anyone," Brussel's voice mocked me. "You're too weak."
My body shook, my eyes unable to leave the broken body of Zaria in front of me. I could feel it as more bodies began surrounding me.
"You made all that effort to get stronger, and for what?" Brussel continued. "You can't even save your friends."
I lashed out at her, but her body was like smoke, and my hand slipped right through. She continued, her voice echoing all around me. "You're weak. Pathetic. Your loved ones will die around you, and you will be too weak to stop it!"
"STOP!" I yelled into the sky. That was when I saw them falling from the sky—the Tuffles we encountered in Mossgrove, with the glare of death in their eyes.
"NO!" I reached out to try to stop them, but dozens of arms latched onto me, dragging me to the ground.
They descended like monsters, slashing and killing everyone that was left. I was forced to watch as hands peeled my eyelids wide open. Slowly, the ground started filling up with blood, and soon I found myself drowning in it.
"ARGH!"
I shot out of bed in a panic. My body was drenched, but a quick swipe across my forehead revealed that it was only sweat. My heart pounded against my chest like a barrage of punches, and I turned to my left to make sure that Zaria was still there. She was; sleeping peacefully despite my violent waking.
I stared at her until I managed to calm down.
A nightmare. I finally recognized it for what it was. I haven't had one of those in forever.
I laid back in bed and tried to go back to sleep, but I was no longer tired. Eventually, I found myself in the training room in a haze. I needed to get stronger, and I needed to do it now.
I began my workout in earnest.
Time seemed to blur together after that day. News finally got to me, and I found out that once the Tuffles retreated, they returned with a vengeance. Across the Great Divide, The Tuffles took over all the border cities in what felt like a night, and they weren't done there. Like the wave of an ocean, they kept on slowly pushing and claiming the land for themselves.
Or at least, that's what I'd heard.
"Come on; I need to speak with Bardock!" I yelled in frustration at the woman sitting in front of me. "I've been waiting two weeks!"
After the day we arrived, I tried to get in contact with him with no success. It was as if when he shut the door to his house, he shut me out too. Currently, I was standing in what I believed was his temporary office. It wasn't unlike Omato's old office, except that apparently, he was never actually here.
"I don't know what you want with War Chief Bardock, but I think what you need is some sleep," The receptionist sighed, as she'd done countless times before. "The War Chief is a very busy guy. He doesn't have time to deal with kids. He's preparing to join the frontline."
Everyone in town knew that. When news of a New Great War spread, mixed reactions flooded the streets. Most were excited at the prospect of fighting and conquering. Some just wanted revenge for their family that died in the last war. The rest was a mix of uncertainty, fear, and anxiety.
No matter which group you fell into, all would fight. Those who didn't would be chastised and possibly killed for cowardice. It was just a matter of when, but many were willing. Behind me, lines of young men and women, young and old, were waiting to meet Bardock, hoping to join his squadron.
"He'll speak to me!" I countered. "Have you been telling him that I've been coming?"
"Of course I have," She said. I wasn't convinced.
"Listen, it's important-"
Suddenly, the door to the left of us opened, and there stood Bardock. Before waving me in, he made eye contact with me and the lady at the desk. As I walked past her desk, I glared at her right until I was in the room.
"Close the door behind you," Bardock told me, and I listened.
While Omato's office was neat, Bardock's was in complete chaos. Papers were sprawled all over the floor, walls, and ceilings. There was both writing and images on these pictures, and it didn't take long to realize that they were war tactics and strategies.
"You are going out there," I said in realization. "No mercy, then?"
"The Tuffles have once again made themselves our enemies," He said as he sat down on his chair and turned to face me. "Besides, killing your enemies isn't the only way to defeat them."
Not when it comes to Tuffles. Not after what they did. I took a deep breath before sitting down opposite him. "When do you leave?"
"Tonight," He revealed.
"Tonight?" I repeated. "How bad is it out there?"
"Let's just say what happened in Omato Village looks tame in comparison. We at least had some survivors," He revealed. "It's not just the villages, though. Most outposts we put up to try to halt their advances are getting wiped out."
"Most?"
"Most," He repeated, not elaborating further. "I don't want you to worry about that, though. You're safe here, for now."
"That's why I'm here. I'm not staying here," I said. He didn't seem surprised, so I continued. "I'm going to the frontline. The only reason I came out was because I wanted to make sure that everyone was comfortable. Now that they are, I need to return to the fight."
"Need?" He asked, leaning forward in his chair.
"Yes," I stressed. "I'm not going to let them keep doing what they're doing. Not after what they did. Omato, Gine, Raditz... I can't just sit here and do nothing."
I would have been lying if I said that the idea of fighting didn't send shivers of excitement through my body, but that was by far my main reason. No, I needed to stop this war before it claimed any more of my friends or family.
"I understand your anger. You know I do," Bardock took a deep breath before sighing. "But you're not allowed on the frontline. You're not allowed to participate in this war at all."
"What?" I asked in confusion. "Why not?!"
"Sprout, why are the Tuffles so interested in you?" He asked me, making my heart skip a beat. He noticed.
I considered lying to him, but eventually, I folded, "Before I killed the Tuffle General, he told me that I was a half-Saiyan... And half-Tuffle."
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and it was clear that I hadn't convinced him. Dismissively, he said, "Part Tuffle? How?"
I sighed as I went through my options. If I'm going to tell him, I might as well go all the way. "When we went to Mossgrove City, the blood detectors didn't identify me as a Saiyan. And then we had a run-in with Tuffle royalty, and they see-"
"You WHAT?!"
"-med to recognize me somehow," I continued, despite his shocked and angry outburst. "Or at least, they thought that I looked familiar. And then, when they invaded Omato village, they sent one of their top soldiers to escort me out."
"Hold on, let's rewind a little bit," Bardock put his hands up and chuckled in disbelief. "You ran into Tuffle royalty and didn't think to mention that to us?"
"We kinda all agreed not to tell any parents," I revealed. "Turles and Leeku didn't want to get in trouble."
Bardock's face slowly went from red back to his ordinary color. "You all could have died."
"But we didn't."
He rubbed his palm against his forehead and groaned. "Luckily. How did you even escape? Tuffle royalty isn't the type to spare a Saiyan."
"When they were distracted with me, Zaria teleported Leeku and Turles out of there. She came back for me just in time," I said.
"You are seriously suicidal, kid," He said. "Another reason why I can't let you out there."
I opened my mouth to argue, but he put his hand up, shutting me up. "It doesn't make sense. Why would they go through that effort even if you were part-Tuffle? They were willing to trade you for the safety of the rest of the people in Omato Village. There has to be something more."
"If there is, I don't know what," I shrugged my shoulders. "If I did, I'd tell you."
"Would you?" He challenged.
Well, that hurt a little. "You don't trust me?"
"Forgive me for being a little hesitant. You did keep a massive secret from me," He replied, and I frowned. "But that's beside the point. How could you possibly be part-Tuffle? I know both of your parents an-"
Bardock paused midsentence, but we both knew what he was thinking. I voiced it for him. "Either one of them is part-Tuffle, or one cheated."
"Yeah…" Bardock nodded his head. "Sorry that you had to find out like that."
"It's alright," I waved it off, despite the topic making my stomach turn into knots.
"The only problem is that Saiyans don't pick up after others. They won't take in a kid that isn't their own, and we saw Omato do that with you," Bardock noted. "So whatever is the truth, Omato believed that you were his son. And trust me, if Omato had cheated and brought home the result of the affair, your mom would have killed you on the spot."
"So, it's likely that my Mom cheated and passed me off as Omato's child," I concluded. It felt a bit weird, the idea that Omato wasn't my dad after all of the work I put in to be recognized by him. It also meant that I had a real dad, another subject I hadn't entertained much.
"Yeah… But cheating with a Tuffle?" Bardock said skeptically. "I couldn't see it."
"Can we move on? Back to me not being allowed on the front line?" I asked. "And I am going back to the front line."
"No, you're not," Bardock said firmly. "I'm a War Chief. When I speak, people listen. And do you want to guess what I've told every Saiyan who lines the walls of this city?"
"What?" I asked, my frustration rising.
"That you are not to leave at any cost."
I'd never been mad at Bardock, but that moment marked the first time. My blood boiled, and I clenched my fists so tightly my knuckles turned white. Somehow, I managed not to rage.
"Why?! That's total bullshit!"
"They're after you, and I won't allow you anywhere that they can get you," He said. "I refuse to lose anyone else."
Ah. So it was because he wanted to protect me. I would have appreciated it if I wasn't so angry, but I was beyond that point. "Bardock, this isn't fair! I can handle myself!"
"No, you can't. You're overconfident, and you rush into danger like there's some reward in it," He said harshly. "If you haven't noticed, you've only survived because of the people around you."
I paused, stunned by what he'd said. Unbothered, he continued.
"At Atross mountain, you survived only because of Leeku. If Turles didn't save you at the lake, those bullies would have killed you too. In Mossgrove, it was Zaria!" He stood up, and his voice rose with him.
"I-I killed one of the Tuffle admirals," I stumbled out, trying to defend my honor.
"With the help of Kakarot, Turles, and a mysterious power boost!" He slammed his open palm into the desk, shaking the room. "You've just been lucky until now! You're just a kid over his head, and I won't have your death in my hands!"
A staring match ensued, in which his firm resolve was evident. I wasn't going to change his mind; that much was clear. Throwing the chair beneath me to the side, I stood up and headed for the door. If he wasn't going to change his mind, I'd find my own way there.
"Hey, Sprout!"
"Welcome back!"
Although strange at first, I was getting used to the refugees of Omato Village greeting me whenever they saw me. Even without looking at their reputation with me on their character sheets, it was clear that they respected me now, whether that was because I won the tournament, built their houses, or a mixture of both, I was unsure. I nodded in response to them, not really in the mood to stop and chat.
Before heading home, I stopped by my shop and looked through the doors. As I expected, it was a good idea. As the word spread that a blacksmith had set up shop in town, people came from all over the city to check it out. I had to tweak my original plan, which had equally as many weapons as there was armor, considering that people here didn't use weapons as often. Now, it was 75% armor and 25% weapons.
The clothing shop at the top was doing well too, but not as well as the weapons and armor. Either way, it didn't matter to me. Money was money, and I was raking in a lot of it.
I met eyes with Rue, who had volunteered to work for me when he found out what I had planned. I paid him, of course, and he only worked there when I wasn't there.
Next to him stood someone I didn't recognize, who turned to face me when Rue did. He had hair that spiked straight up and was relatively short. The stranger waved at me, and I approached them.
Level 17
Tarble Sansei
Reputation - Neutral
Power Level - 1742
Tarble is the eldest son of Vegeta III. While Tarble was intended to be the heir to Vegeta's empire, his low power level removed him from the line of succession, and he was delegated to running the business side of things. He doesn't care, however, preferring a life of lowered responsibility, even if that means being ridiculed.
He doesn't know you but hopes you'll accept his father's offer.
He is currently nervous.
"Sprout, this is Tarble Sansei," Rue introduced us. "He was sent by… What's his name again?"
"War Chief Vegeta, my father," Tarble offered me a handshake, which I took. "I am Tarble, a pleasure to meet you."
"Sprout Aka," I introduced myself, eyeing the man. "Vegeta the War Chief?"
"Yes, that one," He confirmed, although I'd already known. "He sent me to give you a proposal and also his thanks."
"Thanks for what?"
"You freed one of our loyal friends, Nappa, from the Juggernaught crew," He revealed. I remembered him, if only barely. The big, bald guy looked like a mountain next to me.
"Well, I'll accept the thanks," I said, raising an eyebrow. "Now, what's this proposal?"
"Well, news of your special abilities has spread faster than you might have realized. The survivors of Omato Village and the people in this city all report that you can spontaneously create things," He told me.
"More like to rearrange," I corrected him.
"Still, a beneficial ability that we want to use," He told me. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he immediately began to sweat and throw his hands up innocently. "No, no, don't worry. We'd pay you for your services, of course."
"And what will those services be?" I pressed, now a little more interested.
"We will provide you with the metals, and you will produce armor and weapons for the Vegeta Empire's army," He explained. "We will handle the transport of said armor and weapons across the planet, so you don't have to worry about that."
I pretended to consider it for a few seconds, although my decision to accept was already made. It was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. "What's the catch?"
"Because we're providing the metal, we'd like the equipment at half the price you currently have it at," He said, but even that didn't change my decision. Making weapons and armor were as easy as breathing and only took a second.
"I think we have a deal. When would you like to start?" I asked, offering him my hand once again. He took it as he sighed in relief.
"Today. We have multiple vehicles waiting just outside of the city," He said, to my surprise.
"You knew that I'd say yes?" I raised an eyebrow.
"One way or another. I was given instructions not to leave until you agreed to do business with us," He chuckled nervously. "Thankfully, it was much easier than I expected."
I mentally slapped my forehead. I could have made more money if I hadn't jumped like an idiot at the opportunity. Oh well.
"Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you," Tarble said with a slight smile. "I'll wait outside until the trucks arrive."
He left the store to do just that, and I was left with Rue.
"That was great!" Rue said with a grin on his face. "You're going to be rich!"
"If the Tuffles don't destroy us first," I grumbled.
"So, how did the meeting with Bardock go?" He asked. "Any luck?"
"I found him, but I wish I hadn't," I said. "He has forbidden me from joining the war."
"What? Why?"
I considered telling him the real reason but decided against it for now. My inability to go to war had to do with me possibly being a Tuffle, and I didn't want that information getting out there any more than it already was.
"He doesn't want me to get hurt," I said, which wasn't a complete lie.
The topic fizzled out pretty quickly, my lack of desire to speak about it killing it in the water. We talked about his training, which had been progressing well. In the last two weeks, his power level increased from 100 to 400. He could have gotten stronger, but between working at my store and taking days-long breaks due to him not being able to heal in a day like me, that was his limit.
My power level was increasing steadily too. My growth was slower now, though, due to me seemingly having passed some sort of threshold with my strength stat. Over the last two weeks, I'd only raised it by 3 points, while I'd raised my endurance by 6. This brought me up a level, resting my strength at 74 in strength and my endurance at 46.
I likely could have raised them more, but it was hard between managing the shop, training Rue, and my looming exhaustion caused by my recurring nightmares. Coincidentally, those nightmares also drove me through the fatigue to push myself.
I also attempted to raise my special skills, which was a successful venture. After re-reading their descriptions, I realized that they only had restrictions when it came to battle so that I could use them repeatedly on my own. The first skill that I tried to increase was Meteor Fist. After throwing two punches, I saw the skill measuring stick appear and realized it was possible. After two weeks, it still hadn't leveled up yet, but I persisted. It was a special skill for a reason.
I still had 18 attribute points from killing Blerry, but I decided to save them until increasing my stats became extremely difficult. My only exception was intelligence because even in this massive city of 100,000 people, I still hadn't found a library. The next time I got attribute points, I planned on using them to bring my intelligence stat to an equal 40.
If it were any other period in my life, I would have been happy that my power level was 3,360, officially making me a first-class Saiyan. But now wasn't any other time. We were at war, and I still wouldn't be strong enough even with a power level like that.
Omato had a power level of 10,000, more than triple my current power, and he was killed by one of their admirals, who I speculated wasn't even the strongest warrior that the Tuffles could produce. No, I was making progress, but not nearly as fast as I wanted to. Needed to. If the strain to get stronger got worse as I approached the planet cap, it would take far too long for me to reach the power level needed to fulfill my goals.
Countless times, I tried to draw on the power that flooded me when I fought Blerry, but not once had I managed to call it back. Still, I kept trying. The game even had a name but did not explain what it was. It even gave me a new title, even if it was useless.
Pseudo Super Saiyan
The only other way I could think of increasing my power level was by experience, but in this boring city, there was no way for me to do it. I hadn't received a single mission since the day I got here.
Once Tarble returned with about a dozen trucks full of metal, I got to work. It only took a few minutes before they were on their way, and I had two massive suitcases full of coins. I left Rue and returned to my house, feeling a little bit better than before. Upon entering the front door, I was met by my brother, who seemed to be waiting for me.
While the top floor was Zaria and mine, and the third was Rue's, I gave Root the third and transformed the bottom floor into a place where we could all hang out. With Brussel gone, Omato dead, and our mom who knows where in the city, I couldn't just abandon him. Nor did I want to.
"So when are we heading out?" He asked in expectation.
"Bardock isn't letting me fight, so we're stuck here for now," I told him, much to his dismay. "But also, there is no 'we.' You aren't coming with me."
"But it's so boring here!" He threw his hands up. "There's nothing to do!"
"You could always work at Sprout's store," Zaria chimed in as she floated down from one of the upper floors. Not long after arriving here, Zaria finally managed to unlock her Ki. She was still getting used to flying but was quickly getting the hang of it.
"I'd rather die," Root rolled his eyes.
"Listen, just because Bardock says I can't leave doesn't mean I'm not going to get out of here," I said.
"You have a plan," Zaria said, spotting the mischievous look on my face.
"I do. I'll have to test out the people on the walls, but I think I have a way to get through without having to bother with that," I said.
"Sounds good. I'm coming," Root said immediately. "Let's hope it works."
"I'm coming too," Zaria chimed in.
My recurring nightmare flashed through my mind, and I frowned, an uneasy feeling washing over me. "I'll be going alone."
"Fat chance," Root rolled his eyes. "You're not the only person who lost people. I want my revenge too. Besides, I'm still stronger than you."
"Bu-"
"You're worried that we'll die coming with you, but you haven't even thought about how we feel," Zaria spoke, interrupting me. "We don't want you to die either. With us by your side, your chances of success are much better."
"I…" I frowned deeply. "I'll think about it, alright?"
Root narrowed his eyes at me, clearly not convinced by my lie. Thankfully, his believing me didn't matter in the end. I'd keep pretending to be entertaining the idea, and then one day, I'd be gone. Before we could continue in the conversation, his scouter beeped.
"Oh, shit…" He said as he read the message on it.
"What?" I asked as I approached him and looked over his shoulder at the scouter. My eyes widened at what I saw.
"Mom is requesting to see me," He said.
My stomach clenched tightly, but I ignored it. For the past two weeks, I had been avoiding finding her. To think, I spent years fighting to return to meet her, but I didn't pursue it when I had the chance. It would be an understatement to say that I was nervous.
"Well… Let's go."
