Chapter 1 - Game Start

Chapter 1 - Game Start

…

Being transmigrated into a younger, more powerful body was strange. Even in my previous life I wasn't that old, but not this young either.

My name is Liam. An average guy with nothing special. I wasn't smart or dumb, weak or strong. Now here I am, in another world with a different name. A very special name, for disappointing reasons.

======

Name: Yamcha

Age: 16

Title: Bandit

Level 1 [EXP: 0%]

HP: 40/40

MP: (locked)

Ki: 22/22

Strength: 9

Agility: 11

Endurance: 8

(Power Level: 9)

Intelligence: 5

Perception: 5

Willpower: 5

(Magic Power: 5)

Status Points: 0

Description: Almost twice as strong as the average human, in general, a weakling.

***

Skills:

Gamer's Body - Lvl Max

Gamer's Mind - Lvl Max

Wolf Fang Fist - Lvl 4/30

Swordsmanship - Lvl 1/75

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How strange. I kept staring at the translucent screen and couldn't help but chuckle. What a weird situation. It was quite funny when you looked at it a certain way.

Of course, I decided to put the terrific things in the back of my mind for now.

I had reincarnated into Yamcha. Or transmigration might be the better definition of what had happened to me. But definitions didn't matter; Yamcha is the loser of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and other series in every way. He died against a saibamen, and canonically never won a single fight.

Yamcha… I had to get used to calling myself that now. Or else a slip-up could be dangerous, especially with people who can look into the past and all that schmuck.

Staring at my new friend, I closed my eyes and opened them again. Of course, by a new friend, I meant a blue cat-like creature using a spying glass to see if anyone passed upon our Diablo Desert.

[Puar - Lvl 2]

Ding!... Suddenly, like a bell, something rang in my head, and an extra screen appeared in the corner of my eye.

[You have gained Skill: Observe]

[Puar - Lvl 2]

[A cat-like creature that can transform into anything. He is a good friend. (PL: 4)]

Oh? It even shows power levels. Now that's convenient, at least before power levels become a bullshit thing. That and the inventory also seem pretty helpful.

I dismissed such notifications. I felt there were more important things now, like how I had inherited none of the original's memories.

Deciding on what to do next, with Puar around, I got up and stretched. Which was weird, as this body was downright flexible, and I could easily touch my toes. I could do the same thing in my last life too… but not as easily.

At the same time, I had my Status Page open and clicked around. After clicking on stats, there were some simple and obvious explanations. But clicking on skills showed what they did and the boosts they gave.

Gamer's Mind and Gamer's Body essentially stopped mind reading and permanent injuries. But the other skills were kind of surprising.

[Wolf Fang Fist - Lvl 4/30]

[The user typically does a combo of clawing and punching. A martial art that imitates a wolf.

+4 Strength

+2 Agility]

[Swordsmanship - Lvl 1/75]

[A basic level of swordsmanship.

Increases Cutting Power by 1%

Increases Cutting Speed by 1%

+1 Agility]

The skills were good enough to increase stats for each level in the skill.

I tested it a little by getting into my Wolf Fang Fist stance. As Puar was looking out of the window. Suddenly strength rushed into my body. Once again, it was a very strange sensation.

The increase was only temporary when using it and raised my power level by a small margin. Which was a little disappointing, but it made sense.

"Yamcha, there are three sitting ducks," Puar said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I could hear his smile even though I couldn't see the cat's face. Was this an instinct inherited from the original Yamcha?

He… she? Puar sitting on one of the circular windows of the sand dome that the original Yamcha called a house.

The cat-like being… magical plushie? I didn't know what it was, but it looked cute and had an annoyingly high voice. But tolerating the annoying voices of their friends is what real bros do. Or maybe Puar is a girl.

Access to the DBZ Wiki would be pretty valuable to clarify some things.

"Let me see," I tried jumping and did so quickly up to the window's level with ease, not even needing to use the wooden stairs platform.

Even though my Power Level read as a measly nine, I was two times stronger and faster than an average human.

"Let's see. A pig and a boy, they don't look like they have a lot of cash," I smiled while looking at Goku and Oolong.

Hopefully, I was imitating the original Yamcha enough, so Puar didn't notice anything. Because that was a whole mess I wasn't planning on getting into.

Grabbing the spy-glass, I saw who Puar had been talking about, many thoughts went through my mind. So many things I needed to do. Closing my eyes, images of the Saiyans, Freeza, Androids, Cell, Buu, and much more sprouted to mind.

"They might have some capsules," Puar's voice brought me out of his thoughts, and my smirk widened. I should keep my mind in the present and not worry about things I had no control over. Worrying about things and having an existential crisis wouldn't help anyone here.

"Right, capsules," I smirked, trying to be bandit-like. "Puar, get a vehicle for us."

"You mean the Jet Squirrel?" Asked the cat, confused.

What the hell is a Jet Squirrel? I have no damn idea. Better play along with it, for now,

"Of course." I nodded as if it was obvious.

Puar went inside and brought a futuristic ski bicycle that runs on sand. Well, no time better than now to test the Observe Skill.

[Jet Squirrel]

[An old version jet-ski motorcycle that can be stored in a capsule. Its value is about 20,000 Zenni.]

Sitting on the vehicle, I twisted the hand medal, and puar was on the back as the weird ski motorcycle took off at incredible speeds. I felt my heart beat crazily, but Gamer's Mind calmed down. Still, the crazy jet-like bike almost threw me off after it took off, and I could barely control it.

After a second, I let go of the handle a little and started moving at more manageable speeds. Yes, think of it as riding a bike. An airplane-like bike…

As we were riding a motorbike, I did the next most dangerous thing than checking texts while driving. I checked texts while riding a motorcycle, precisely, my title. As before, Puar had interrupted me before I could have checked everything.

[Title: Bandit]

[Increases intimidation tactics.]

Yep, useless as expected.

I had a purple saber with me, just in case he needed it. Knowing what I do, anyone in my position wouldn't be arrogant enough to think I was at a level where he could go around without some weapon. At this stage, swords do more damage than fists.

With the jet bike, which had a literal jet engine behind it. I arrived at Goku's and Oolong's locations under the shade of some rock formations. Faster than a minute, and the place had been quite far off.

I was reminded once again that this was futuristic earth. Even though the motorbike's description said this was an old model, it was still something from futuristic earth.

Looking at my hopefully new friends, I used Observe on Goku.

[Goku - Lvl 5]

[A strange young man with a monkey tail? His origins are mysterious, and a great power dwells within him. (PL: 10)]

Ah, shit. He's already stronger than me.

Goku was a little weaker than me if I went all out with the Wolf Fang Fist. But if a fight broke out, I did not doubt that Goku would win. He had won against the original, who had fighting experience. I didn't have that fighting experience or memory and would get beat even faster.

"Hello there, travelers. You seem to be in quite the peril." I tried putting on the friendliest smile possible on my face.

"Hm? Who're you?" Asked Goku innocently. I could see the naivety in his eyes, the kind that made scammers have a perfect day.

"Just a resident of this place," I answered calmly, keeping a nice guy look. "Seems like you need some help."

"Oh! It's crybaby Puar!" Oolong exclaimed in shock as he saw Puar sitting on my shoulder.

Ah, right, Oolong and Puar knew each other. It's been a while since I have seen Dragon Ball, the original show. But while I didn't know the exact relationship between Puar and Yamcha, knowing what a friend would do in this situation was easy.

"I don't appreciate strangers insulting my friends, piggy," I stated and stared at Oolong as the previous smile and friendly look slipped off my face.

The walking pig's face immediately paled. "Ah, sorry, sir," he immediately became overly respectful. "My mouth spoke without thinking! I have a condition where it makes me a fool! No, I am a fool!"

Of course, I knew he wasn't honest in his apology, but I didn't care. Puar looked at me curiously because they weren't robbing the people here. But there was also a look of something else in his (her?) eyes.

"Anyways," I decided not to dwell on it. The last thing I wanted in this situation was to fight Goku. "These deserts are kind of dangerous, and sometimes I try to help travelers that pass through them. Do you need a lift?"

How did they get out of this place in the original story? I didn't quite remember. I remember that the original Yamcha was supposed to run away when he saw Bulma. Oh well, it didn't matter now.

I took out a capsule and threw it on the ground. By using Observe Skill, I knew what each capsule had.

An old, beaten-up car came out of it.

Then I took out another capsule and looked toward the rock formation's shade. A tired Bulma was lying down.

She had gotten up now and looked at me. Some strange sense of embarrassment welled within me. It was an unfamiliar feeling. While I wasn't some hotshot by a far margin, talking to girls usually wasn't a problem for me. Just like for any average man in the world.

Though I had to admit, Bulma was quite pretty, her skin flawless with no blemishes, and she had that cute look.

No! Calm down!

Through common sense and thought from my previous life, I suppressed the embarrassment this body felt. But that sense of awkwardness was still there. This could be hard…

There's no way I am letting a loser like Yamcha dictate my actions. He is gone now. Me taking over his body was a favor for him, so he won't have to live through the man who killed him, ended up fucking his girlfriend.

[Bulma - Lvl 2]

[A pretty and genius scientist that belongs to a wealthy family. She has some naive wishes. (PL: 4)]

Oh? I thought there would be more information on her since I knew much about Bulma and Goku. Maybe the Observe Skill didn't consider the knowledge in my mind and did the observation based on what I learned and what it could detect.

She blushed while looking at me and waved. "Hi, there~ handsome guy."

What the hell is wrong with her? Then I remembered something. Young Bulma is quite different from the future. She was quite the bold girl for her age. Willing to show her body to get what she wanted.

"Hi there," I greeted her back casually. Unlike Yamcha, I wasn't going to be clingy to her. Our relationship would have the most benefits when we're only friends.

Nobody likes a clingy guy or girl. It might seem like true love initially, but it's bound to get very annoying after that whole starry-eyed relationship stage.

Then I addressed the rest of them. "Seems like some of you are tired. You can come to my hideout here in the desert."

Oolong approached and whispered to Goku. "I don't know about this. He just came out of nowhere-"

"There's food," I interrupted the pig before he started making sense. This is a Shonen World; look at the pig trying to talk common sense. Who does he think he is? Some kind of genius. Even geniuses don't have common sense in a Shonen buddy.

"Oh, he seems like a good guy," Goku smiled. "Don't worry. I can just beat him up if he tries to do something bad."

"Don't say that so loud!" Oolong whispered loudly. Glancing at me and then back at Goku, I acted as if I was looking at my vehicle. Did he think I was crazy enough to pick a fight with Goku?

"Well, if we're talking about sketchy people, then you're the number one not-trustworthy guy here." Bulma dismissed Oolong's worries.

No, no, the humanoid pig is right. I am a sketchy guy who came out of nowhere in the desert. You really shouldn't trust me. But I wasn't going to say something that would make me look bad, so I only smiled at them. Hopefully, looking like a harmless good guy.

Bulma got in the car I had offered them, and so did Goku and a reluctant Oolong.

Is she going along with this so quickly? Wasn't Bulma supposed to be the smart one here? Oh well, this works out for me. Though the way she is looking at me is kinda creepy.

"Follow me," I mentioned and drove slowly. Well, slowly for a car with wheels.

"Yamcha, are you okay?" Puar asked with a worried voice as soon as they were out of earshot from the others.

"Hm?"

"Your fear of girls," Puar added, confused. "Is it gone?"

"Of course, I am still nervous, but I have to fight this fear of mine. That's why I decided to do this and bring a girl into proximity." I said, hopefully, my cat friend would buy this.

Puar just nodded. Leaving me unsure what he (she?) thought of me. Reading the expression on a cat-like creature's face wasn't easy.