Disclaimer!
I don't own Dragon Ball or any of its related media. I claim no money from this fanfiction. The only thing I own are my OC's/Original Characters.
X
Season 1, Episode 2: The Journey Begins
15th of March/Age: 749
North City
More than a month has passed since Tia had started a brand-new phase of her life as she had developed a steady workout routine with her father who couldn't have been prouder.
Apparently, Ria and Ben both had thought that her time playing videogames for hours was coming to an end. They even admitted that they were soon going to put her into rehab for a videogame addiction which certainly didn't make Tia's struggle any easier since she wanted to at least tell her parents about her strange new powers.
However, on the other hand, she understood that explaining such things would more than likely get her sent to a mental hospital. So, she kept the secret of her rapid success to herself as she had in fact gotten more physically capable.
Tia learned early on that school work and homework were the best ways to grind INT and WIS points along with reading certain books while her workout routine covered her physical improvements along with her time studying martial arts after her mother and father agreed to let her take lessons at the local dojo in addition to exercising as long as she didn't overdo it physically or let the activity interfere with her grades at school.
The dojo was led by instructor Rodes. A patient and nice man who taught students traditional karate which is how Tia not only got improvements in her DEX score, but it also helped her develop her martial arts skill along with learning about meditation and unleashing her inner power.
Tia suspected that Rodes meant it as a way for his students to push themselves and dig deep to find hidden reserves of stamina to aid them in martial arts sparring or future competitions, but for Tia. The training helped her with her Ki training as an unexpected boon.
Right now, Tia is wearing a simple pink shirt and jeans while doing some stretches in her room after she cleaned herself up and prepared for her day.
"Skills."
Tia summoned her skills tab and saw various skills and perks that she had attained, but she was looking at specific one's that she had been working on for the past month.
[Skills and Perks List!
[Martial Arts, Active Level: 15
From the strength of a tiger to the patience of a mantis. Mankind has learned to imitate and alter the methods of animals to create martial arts to train their bodies, minds and souls into oneness.
Known Styles: Traditional Karate.
Increases STR by 11% while active.
Increases DEX by 12% while active.]
[Meditation, Active Level: 10
Mighty warriors and intelligent magic users have all learned how to meditate to focus and refine their energies to produce more powerful abilities and recover energy.
Increases Ki and MP recovery speed by 5% while active.]
[Ki Manipulation, Active Level: 3
You have learned how to manipulate your inner energy, Ki or Chakra to enhance yourself and your fighting techniques.
Increases CON by 13% while active.
Reduces Ki skill costs by 1% while active.]
[Mana Manipulation, Active Level: 3
You have learned how to manipulate your inner mana to create and weave spells into creation.
Increases INT by 3% while active.
Increases WIS by 2% while active.
Reduces MP skill costs by 1%]
[Players Mind, Passive Level: MAX
You have the mind of the player and as a result are immune to psychological negative effects and can think calmly and rationally during times of stress and hardship.]
[Players Body, Passive Level: MAX
You have the body of the player and can live your life as if it was a videogame.]
[Speedy, Passive Level: 1
This perk allows you a permanent 10% boost to your movement speed.]
[Toughness, Passive Level: 11
By enduring physical strain and beatings your body has adapted to resist blunt force damage to some degree.
9% damage reduction from physical damage.]
End of list.]
The other skills on the list were simple things like cleaning, cooking, school subjects and so on. But the skills that revolve around combat were what interested Tia and showed her that she had actually improved from the scrawny nerd she…Still is technically. But the point is that she got stronger.
During her meditation sessions she remembered things she heard in videogames about the energies within a person's body and used that as the foundational steps to learning how to manipulate her inner energies. Which proved to be a success, especially with the help of her martial arts teacher, but the speed at which the skills leveled up was lack luster.
And on top of that she didn't have any magic spells or skills to use anyway.
"Done." Tia said to herself before she put on some socks and shoes before making her way outside to her backyard where she planned and finally developing new skills. She looked up all sorts of stuff on the internet about magic and famous martial arts techniques that she intended to at least try and duplicate for herself as a form of test for her level of ability, so she stood still and focused on her trained breathing exercises while manipulating her Ki energy within her body.
Tia entered her trained karate fighting stance while focusing her Ki. She knew she wasn't ready to try and copy the legendary Kamehameha created by the turtle hermit, Muten Roshi and her backyard wasn't exactly a safe place to practice something like that due to the moves…Explosive nature.
But other simpler techniques weren't off the table. The first technique is a modified palm strike reinforced with Ki to attack with explosive force. The move is known as 'Explosive Palm Strike' and was used in a tournament a few years back by an old martial arts master. Despite the name it isn't an explosion of energy and instead is just an extremely strong strike and for several minutes, Tia tried to mimic the technique.
Striking an invisible opponent with her Ki focused into her palms as she remained in her stance and extended one arm after another with palm strike after palm strike.
Tia could feel the drain of her energy but at least knew that this training was helping her control her Ki. So, she wouldn't outright complain if the attempts didn't work and sadly for a while it seemed like Tia wasn't developing the skill she desired until she felt a noticeable drain in her Ki reserves when she delivered one final palm strike but unlike the previous ones. Tia pumped more Ki into this final strike and felt as if the air around her arm shifted outwards in tandem with her strike as she saw the grass below her feet shift as well.
[You have created the 'Gale Force Palm' skill!]
[Gale Force Palm, Active Level: 1
Tier: 1
By focusing your Ki energy into your palm and thrusting it towards your enemy, you can generate enough energy to create a small gust of wind to help knock your opponent backwards.
Range: Touch
Effect: 3% chance to knock the enemy prone.
Damage: STRxINT
Cost: 100 Ki!]
[The skill [Ki Manipulation] has leveled up! Level: 3-4!]
[You have been inflicted with the [Ki Exhaustion] debuff!]
[You suffer a 50% decrease to all physical stats and your Ki regeneration speed is decreased by 50% for thirty minutes.]
Tia couldn't help but fall onto her butt on the ground while heavily sweating from exhaustion.
"Damn…Learning new skills is hard…But I can't stop now. I still have magic to learn." Tia said before she crossed her legs and entered a meditative state while controlling her breathing as she focused on her magical power within her along with image training to help create the skill she desired.
In many videogames a character with magic or superpowers always has a defensive skill to use to help resist or negate damage and Tia wanted a skill like that for herself, so she focused on imagining a protective bubble around herself to protect her from harm and based on some fortune teller information on the internet. It helped that she imagined the bubble as gold to help defend her against spirits and negative energy.
Unlike with her Ki. Tia didn't feel a constant drain on her energy and instead felt something like a pull on her physical and mental being as she slowly opened her eyes after hearing a familiar ding noise and saw that she had surrounded herself in a literal light blue protective bubble.
Tia couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that it wasn't gold though.
[You have created the 'Mana Shield' skill.]
[Mana Shield, Active Level: 1
Tier: 1
Magic casters throughout eons have developed this simple yet effective protection spell to shield them from danger and now you can do it too.
Range: Self
Durability: 20/20
Cost: 50 MP with a 20 MP upkeep cost.]
"Progress." Tia said before she focused and deactivated the skill but sadly noticed that she hadn't leveled up her mana manipulation skill like she had done with her Ki. In any case, she focused solely on meditation now in order to regain her Ki energy and the little spent MP she had lost since she wanted to train more.
The entire day had been spent on training her two new skills exclusively. Tia knew that stretching herself out too thin by gaining hundreds of different skills all at once wouldn't do her any good, so she was more than willing to wait to gain more skills as she simply trained her palm skill and shield spell by casting them repeatedly.
16th of March/Age: 749
North City
Today had been a school day for Tia and high school had always been rough for her, but today after a group of popular girls had the nerve to try and bully her for being a 'ugly and pathetic nerd', Tia decided to finally show off what she could do during the schools' yearly fitness test.
She got the best grade in the school or at least in her grade which promptly pissed off the girls but sadly caused some of the boys to avoid her more than usual or say she was mannish and stuff because they couldn't compete with her. It hurt but Tia chose to ignore it and simply continued with the rest of her day before walking home and when she came home, she noticed that Ria and Ben had been waiting for her in the living room along with her martial arts instructor Rodes, still dressed in his long sleeved white martial arts gi, trousers and black belt.
"Hi instructor Rodes. What brings you by?" Tia asked with slight confusion but not against the surprise visit.
"You might want to sit down Tia. I have something important to discuss with you and your parents." Rodes said in a serious tone making Tia take a seat on the couch in between her mother and father.
"Did, Tia do something wrong or bad at the dojo?" Ben asked while Rodes chuckled.
"No, it's nothing like that I assure you. It's the opposite in fact." Rodes replied and Tia couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief and gratitude.
"The opposite?" Ria asked.
"I have nothing left to teach your daughter." Rodes said bluntly before going into his explanation. "Normally mastering martial arts takes years of study, but every so often there are people like young Tia who are naturally gifted for the art, that they are something known as a prodigy, and as such I have nothing left to teach her. Instead, I recommend that Tia travels to East City and attend the East City martial arts tournament to not only test her skills, but also to hopefully win and be guaranteed a competitor's spot for the next worlds martial arts tournament."
Ria and Ben looked at each other in slight confusion for a moment before looking at Tia and back at Rodes before Ria spoke.
"You truly think that Tia is that gifted in martial arts?"
"I do and more than that. I believe it would be best for her to go on a pilgrimage to study the art and hopefully find the martial artist Muten Roshi for further training." Rodes replied before Ben spoke.
"I appreciate your honestly, Mr. Rodes but we are not sending our daughter out into the world on her own for the sake of a martial art's 'pilgrimage'." Ben said sternly.
"Dad." Tia said before Ria spoke.
"She's too young. Maybe when she's older she can find this 'martial arts master' but I'm afraid we have to put our foot down in this matter." Ria agreed with her husband.
"Mom."
"I see. I'm sorry if I offended you. I simply wanted to let you know that a martial artist of your daughter's level is a gift, and I hoped to see that gift nourished." Rodes explained.
"Guys." Tia said loudly getting the adults attention before she spoke seriously. "I have to go."
"No! Under no circumstances are you leaving this house for some sort of world spanning-" Ben shouted before Tia quickly stood up and summoned her Mana Shield which quickly shocked everyone in the room and her father was struck silent.
"Mom, dad…I have power…Real power thanks to martial arts and I need to learn more about them and why I have them." Tia said in a low voice. "Martial arts helped me develop my gift into what you see now, and I truly believe that by learning more about martial arts through a literal pilgrimage is what might be best for me."
There was an awkward silence that filled the room after Tia spoke and lowered her magical shield.
"Forgive me. I seem to have caused some trouble, so I'll take my leave." Rodes said before he left the house and left the family to speak without an audience.
"Mom. Dad. You two noticed my changes, right? How, I've grown and stopped shutting myself away from the world by training in martial arts and spending more time outside jogging and training myself."
"We…We just thought you were finally breaking out of your shy little shell." Ria said in a sad voice. "You've always been a shy girl diving into games to play superheroes whenever you had a bad day or got bullied."
"Tia were your parents. We just want to protect you from the harsh world. Even with these…Powers you have. We can't just let you go out into the world by yourself. What if you get hurt or get lost in the wild with no help?" Ben asked with concern and his own sadness attached to his voice.
"Mom…Dad…Theres more to my powers than what I've showed you. It's part of the reason that I have to leave and get stronger. It's what helped me get stronger and finally get some confidence in myself." Tia said before she took a deep breath and explained everything to her parents.
The truth behind her powers and how she conjured a magical shield and just how she managed to get stronger at a rate faster than normal.
For the rest of the day the family spoke seriously and honestly with each other and how they were going to proceed forward.
19th of March/Age: 749
North City
Several days have passed since the fateful day that Tia spoke with her parents, and they had agreed to let her go on a journey but on several conditions. The first was that she had to take her school finals for her grade and pass online. The second was that she had to return home the minute that the first world martial arts tournament ended and not only resume her schoolwork but also start studying for a future career. The third was that she has to keep in contact with her parents as much as possible with her newly acquired cell phone that is only meant to be used in emergencies.
Tia had no issue with those conditions and when it was agreed upon, she received a new quest.
[Quest
Name: Martial Arts Journey
You have reached a decent level of strength that allows you to train under the legendary Muten Roshi as well as compete in tournaments at the Olympic level.
Objective: Compete in the East City martial arts tournament.
Objective: Find and train under the legendary Muten Roshi.
Rewards: 4,000 XP, Learn the legendary Kamehameha, advance further into your martial arts abilities, new friends and enhanced Reputation with them.
Failure: A higher chance of death in the future.]
"Do you have everything safely stored away in that 'inventory' thing you have?" Ria asked her daughter with clear worry as the family stood outside of a local bus station.
"I do mom. My phone, Zeni and important things are stored away, and the other stuff is in capsules." Tia said back with a weak smile since today was the day of her departure.
Tia was dressed the part of a martial artist as she is wearing her white long sleeved gi with matching trousers and a black belt around her waist curtsey of instructor Rodes although she still felt like she hadn't properly earned the black belt yet. She also had black martial arts shoes on her feet with a green duffle bag slung over her shoulder while she tied her hair into a tight bun on her head with a cute series of butterfly hairclips.
Her parents were still slightly confused about her powers but tried their best to understand it. Learning about her 'Inventory' was a shock to them and to Tia herself when she started experimenting with it and learning that food and drinks don't spoil while in the storage space. In any case, Tia was prepared to depart physically but emotionally it proved difficult.
"Take care of yourself sweetie and remember to avoid any sketchy strangers and if you feel uncomfortable around someone, make sure to run away from them. Your mother and I will be able to make it for the tournament when it officially starts, so be extra careful during the preliminaries." Ben said before Tia gave her parents a hug.
"I will and I can't wait to see you guys in the crowd. By the time I make it there, I'll be super strong and win with no problem." Tia said back with teary eyes before her perk 'Players Mind' activated and slightly dulled her emotions, much to her annoyance and displeasure as the family hugged for a long while before Tia ultimately had to get on her bus that was heading out of North City.
Her destination was the final stop on the miles spanning bus in order for her to start her journey to Fry Pan Mountain where Rodes told her to find the man called Ox aka the former student of Muten Roshi who could tell her where the old master was living.
Sadly, Fry Pan Mountain didn't have the best reputation for visitors, but Tia couldn't turn back now and simply sat in the back of the bus and looked out the window as the bus engine flared to life and began to depart the station.
END!
A/N: Short chapter but we are doing the buildup right now and I'll be honest when I say that the power levels of early Dragon Ball give me a lot of breathing room to work with. OG, Roshi was able to destroy the damn moon in Dragon Ball and he wasn't even in his prime age where he was most likely stronger, and he was bodied by King Piccolo which means that they could do serious damage to the planet before the Saiyan arc even started.
Plus, Roshi had a bunch of techniques like the afterimage, electric shock surprise and more available to him. So, expect Tia to gain a few martial arts moves on her journey and who knows just what kind of dangers she is about to face on this journey of training and martial arts.
Remember to fav, follow and review.