Saiyan Recruit Arc End (7.1)

Game

Thoughts

"Talking"

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The tension in the room could be cut with a knife, the two powerful Saiayns staring each other down as the rest of the room watched in anticipation. 

"You seem stronger," Kolra observed as they stared into each other's eyes, both watching for the slightest movement that would indicate an attack.

"Oh, trust me, you have no idea." Gray grinned, clenching his fist.

Gray made the first move, bursting forward and launching a Ki-enhanced fist toward Kolra's face. Kolra swerved down, ducking under his fist and launching a flurry of fists into Gray's stomach. 

-500HP! (80,000/85,500)

-500HP! (79,500/85,500)

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-500HP! (76,000/85,500)

Gray tanked the blows and slammed his elbow downwards toward Kolra's head, but Kolra kicked backward and launched himself out of reach. Gray followed after him, slamming a fist into Kolra's crossed arms. Kolra kept his arms crossed and let Gray continue his onslaught.

200HP! (55,400/62,600)

200HP! (55,200/62,600)

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Kolra danced back, but Gray followed up, not letting him back out. His fist continued to slam into Kolra's guard as he rapidly backed away from Gray, trying to put more distance between them.

200HP! (54,000/62,600)

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Kolra finally dropped his guard as Gray's last fist slammed into his crossed arms, again ducking into Gray's guard. Gray smiled slightly as the combination of his [Prediction] skill and his prior experience screamed at him to guard his stomach against Kolra's incoming flurry of punches. Unfortunately for Gray, Kolra saw his arms going to block his chest, and he readjusted the trajectory of his punch. Gray's brain was rattled as an uppercut slammed into his jaw.

-2,500HP! (73,500/85,500)

Gray was temporarily stunned by the blow and couldn't stop the roundhouse that slammed into his chest, launching him through the castle wall and into the large city, his body landing roughly in the street.

-4,500HP! (69,000/85,500)

Gray quickly regained his bearings and climbed to his feet, barely dodging the flurry of Ki blasts heading toward him as Kolra flew out the hole Gray's body created in the castle wall. Gray launched himself into the air, steadying himself as he stared at Kolra's approaching form.

My power level is almost twice his, so why am I still losing?

Gray could hear his heart pounding in his ears, the adrenaline flowing through his veins, a small amount of rage building from seeing Tamari so injured, and even more rage flowing within him as he remembered Ken. He gritted his teeth.

I'm stronger. I was pretty much fully healed. He was even partially injured when the fight started. There's no reason I shouldn't be kicking his ass right now!

Kolra stopped a few dozen feet from Gray as Gray looked at him wearily. He grinned at the look on Gray's face.

"You're stronger than before, probably even stronger than me now, but you're still an F-Class. You fight like a barbarian. No skill, no finesse, just throwing punches and kicks, hoping they connect. You've probably made it this far off of your power and decent battle sense alone, but this is as far as you'll go." Kolra said, landing on the ground below him as Gray followed his action and landed on the street. They stood in the middle of the destroyed city, dwarven corpses littering the street around them. 

I… get what he means. I've been winging it so far. That's why he's beating me. I might be strong, but I have no real training in any martial arts or fighting style. He fights like a boxer from my world, ducking into my guard and mitigating damage by blocking and backing away. 

Gray huffed out a breath as he shifted his stance, shuffling his legs as he ducked his head, his fists raising in front of his face. Kolra's eyes widened at his actions, and he let out an angry yell.

"Are you mocking me now?! Do you truly believe that someone as unskilled as yourself can mimic my style? I'll make you regret this slight!" Kolra yelled as he launched himself at Gray, a Ki blast forming in his hand as he aimed it directly at Gray's guard. His hand lashed out, and suddenly the glowing Ki ball in his hand was only inches from Gray's guarded hands. Then, his hand slammed into nothing. 

"What…?" Kolra muttered as a fist slammed into his jaw from below. 

7,500HP! (44,500/62,600)

[Boxing Style: Kolra] unlocked!

+100 XP (10x multiplier from [Nightmare Mode])

[Boxing Style: Kolra] LVL 1 - The boxing style utilized by the A-Class Saiyan Kolra. This style will become more perfect as it is leveled up.

+10 STR, AGI, END for unlocking a combat style! (10x multiplier from [Nightmare Mode])

Gray had ducked forward below Kolra's attack, mimicking Kolra's own movements from earlier in the fight. Gray resisted the urge to try and follow up his attack, instead retreating and holding his arms up in a guard again while Kolra flipped backward from his attack, landing in a crouch and looking disgruntled.

"As much as I want to say that was pure luck, I can tell it wasn't. How did you do that?" Kolra grunted, wiping a small strand of blood leaking off a cut on his chin as he stood up straight. He glared hatefully at Gray. Gray didn't respond, his body tense as he kept his guard up, waiting for Kolra's next attack.

I'm not nearly as good at this type of fighting as he is, but I don't need to be. I'm faster, stronger, and can take more hits. Even if I end up getting hit more, he'll go down first. A battle of endurance is the safe option. However, it's also pretty lame… Ken wouldn't want me to win in such a pathetic way.

"Don't feel like talking? Fucking brat, don't get cocky now just because you got a good hit in. It won't happen again." Kolra growled, dropping into the same stance Gray was in. He launched forward, dancing around Gray as his fists shot out, slamming into Gray's guard. Gray kept his guard up as Kolra's feet expertly danced around him, not risking dropping his guard to try and get a hit in.

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Gray resisted the urge to smile as he saw Kolra fall into a rhythm, his body relaxing slightly as he continued his same strategy, launching a punch with every step forward as Gray slowly walked backward.

That's it. I need you to think this is how the whole fight will be. Just two boxers in a battle of endurance. 

Kolra was clearly confident in his own abilities, spurred on by Gray's messy imitation of his style as his fists tore into Gray's poorly created guard. His fists sped up, his feet moving quicker as he increased his pace, fist after fist barreling into Gray's guard as he continued backing up.

"Where'd that confidence from earlier go? I was feeling a bit worried after that hit, but you're still just an amateur. Your guard is messy, and your footwork needs a lot of work! Being cocky enough to use my own style against me will be your downfall, warr-" Kolra's confidence was showing as he fell back into his usual speech patterns, but was cut off as he stepped in to send another punch into Gray's guard. Instead of his fist slamming into Gray's guard, it connected with Gray's exposed face, easily breaking his nose.

-12,500HP! (54,550/91,450)

However, Kolra was less concerned with his fist breaking Gray's nose and more concerned with the wide grin on Gray's face. Two outstretched fingers were aiming directly at Kolra's face.

Gray had opened up his guard completely, his arms outstretched to the side of him, twin finger guns aimed directly into Kolra's face. Kolra had confidently stepped into Gray, as he had been doing with every strike since Gray was backing away, and was too close to dodge. Kolra shot his head down as he tried to bring up his guard, but Gray's grin grew wider.

[Prediction] level up! (10/10)

+10 INT for leveling up a INT-related skill! (10x multiplier from [Nightmare Mode])

+100 XP (10x multiplier from [Nightmare Mode])

Thanks, game, but I really didn't need it. I already knew he would try to hide behind his guard again.

Gray's wrists flicked downward, his finger guns now pointed at Kolra's legs. Kolra didn't see it coming, too focused on trying to protect himself and hide behind his crossed arms. Twin Ki bullets shot through his knees, and Kolra crumpled to the ground with a pained scream. 

10,500HP! (34,000/62,600)

10,500HP! (24,500/62,600)

"You… you cowardly bastard!" Kolra shouted as he propped his body up with one arm, his other arm raising to launch a Ki blast toward Gray. He didn't get the chance, as Gray's foot was already flying toward his wrist, snapping it easily as he stomped his hand into the ground. 

6,500HP! (18,000/62,600)

Kolra withered in pain as Gray increased the pressure of his foot, holding Kolra's hand pinned to the ground. Gray's hand formed another gun, and he shot a Ki bullet through Kolra's other hand as he tried to clutch at Gray's leg. 

5,000HP! (13,000/62,600)

Kolra let out another pained scream, now having a broken wrist, a hole in his hand, and holes in both knees.

"Who's the cocky one here? Did you think I'd just let you slowly wear me down, slamming into my guard forever?" Gray mocked Ken's killer, staring down at his pained expression with a smile on his face.

"Damn brat! I can't die like this!" Kolra shouted, and Gray's eyes widened as Kolra opened his mouth wide, and a ball of Ki started to form in it. Gray didn't give him the chance, a Ki-enhanced kick slamming down Kolra's neck, breaking it instantly.

13,000HP! (0/62,600)

+10,000 XP! (22,956/30,000)

+10000 Coins

+1 [Saiyan] Kill Count! (5/10)

+20 HREG (For winning a tough battle)

+20 EREG (For winning a tough battle)

You got lucky, Kolra. I wanted to make you suffer a bit more for what you did the Ken, but you scared me with that last attack. I don't want you blowing yourself up with me so close by. 

Gray sighed as he calmed down, the adrenaline draining out of his body. He wiped the blood dripping from his busted nose with his wrist, and stared down at the lifeless body at his feet, "Good fight, warrior."

Though, for a guy shouting about pride and being a warrior so much, he was acting a lot different when things weren't going his way. 

Gray ascended into the sky, breathing slightly heavily, and started heading towards the castle. He stopped a moment later and glanced back at Kolra's body. 

What was it you did to Ken?

He raised his hand, a blast of Ki forming on his palm, and launched it toward Kolra's corpse. His body exploded into a flash of light, and a crater appeared where his body once was. There was no sight of Kolra's body anymore. Gray flew toward the castle and entered to the sight of the now-dead dwarven soldiers. Saeko was cleaning blood off her sword.

Saeko glanced up as he floated into the castle, coming through the hole his own body had created, and waved at him.

"Good job, Gray!" Asia shouted cutely toward him.

"You won. Good job." Celia's monotone voice intoned from beside Asia, Tamari's unconscious body leaning against Asia.

"You're late," Gray said, landing beside Saeko and glancing around to ensure all the dwarves were really dead.

"I thought you'd get this handled. I was doing the dirty work," Celia said, "Try to sense any dwarves. You won't be able to, because they're all dead."

Gray closed his eyes and stretched out his senses, trying to find any power levels. He couldn't, only sensing Celia, Asia, Tamari, and Saeko. He tried to stretch his senses even further, reaching up towards the surface, but he didn't find anything.

"I dealt with the tall kind as well. The mission is complete." Celia said emotionlessly.

"You, with your power level of 1,000, doing all that?" Gray asked in obvious fake shock.

"You saw me create the artificial moon. I don't think there's any point in pretending." Celia said simply.

"Yeah, I have a lot of questions for you. A lot. Honestly, I'm debating on if I should try to overachieve and head back to Planet Vegeta with four life forms instead of five." Gray hummed, observing Celia and seeing that her true power level was still suppressed, "But, since you're royalty or something, you can put in a good word for Saeko when we get back, right?"

I don't trust you, but I also don't know how strong you are, so it'd be better not to bite off more than I can chew anyway. It's not like she did anything to hurt me, no, she's been quite helpful during this mission, but the unknown is scary.

"I can. I will ensure she is welcomed on Planet Vegeta. I will also answer your questions and explain everything when we reach Planet Vegeta." Celia nodded. Gray nodded in response and walked over to Tamari and Asia.

"What happened before I got here?" Gray asked, looking around at the destroyed castle and Tamari's unconscious body.

"Tamari and I spent a while lost in the tunnels, but I used my scouter to find the largest culmination of power I could. We ended up here and thought it would be the best place to wait for you. Kolra arrived a couple of hours later, and Tamari thought you might have… died," Asia said, frowning at the thought, "She attacked him, but it didn't go well. Their short battle was loud enough to awaken every dwarf in the city, and I escaped with her to the castle in the confusion. I convinced the King that Kolra was the bigger threat, and his guards tried to hold off Kolra. That's when you arrived."

Gray nodded and turned toward Saeko as she spoke up.

"You're mission is done, right? Does that mean we can head off this planet?" Saeko asked, sheathing her blade.

"Yes. The pod flies automatically, without the need for any input. She will heal on the trip back, and likely be fine by the time we reach Planet Vegeta." Celia said, gesturing to Tamari. Gray nodded and picked up Tamari bridal style. Saeko unceremoniously blasted a hole in the roof, and they flew back up to the surface. 

"How do we find our pods?" Gray asked, looking around at the bare planet.

"I remember their location," Celia said simply, and they followed her. True to her word, they soon arrived at their group of space pods. 

How the hell can she just remember where they are?

Gray gently placed Tamari in her pod, and Saeko climbed into Ken's. Gray gave one final look at the bare rocky planet before climbing into his pod. He sighed as he slumped back into the pod, the exhaustion of the fight catching up to him. His pod floated into the air and shot off towards Planet Vegeta, the other pods around him doing the same.

This was an eventful exam. Hopefully, there will be no more surprises.

"Just so you are aware, my father, King Vegeta, will want to speak with you when we arrive." Celia's voice resounded through the speakers in his space pod.

Of fucking course he will.

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As always, you can read one chapter ahead at Patreon. com/Koyon (this will become up to 10 chapters ahead in the coming months.)