Taste of defeat

Months passed by in a blur, my life largely unchanged after a visit from the royal family. My tank steadily darkened to a deep red was the only method of measuring the time. My life was

largely unchanged, not counting that I became increasingly aware of knowledge appearing in my brain at random. That and the sense of foreboding that filled me with each passing day,

knowing that my time in the gestation tank was nearing its endI woke with a start, returning to consciousness with a jerk, as my eyes snapped open to see bubbles from the bottom of my tank washed over me.

"-draining now," a voice announced next to me and only then did I become aware of the two men standing next to my tank. I hardly had time to get a good look at them because, true

to his word, the tank began draining not a moment later. The goop drifted down rapidly, going into the bottom half beneath my tank, and before sleep had cleared from my brain I sat at

the bottom of the tank free of the goop for the first time in what must be years.

My mask hooked free before I hit the bottom, leaving me tenderly touching my face in confusion. I was with it for so long that it felt odd to be without it now. The bottom half remained,

weighing me down, but the hose disconnected. I was free. Well, I was when the thick glass began sliding upwards until I was truly free of the tank.

"He's not crying. That's a promising sign," A woman's voice noted, prompting me to look up at her. It was impossible to tell a saiyans age after they hit twenty until they exited their

prime, so she was somewhere in that range. Much like every saiyan, she had a strong jaw that lead to a stubborn chin, black eyes, high cheekbones, and her hair defied gravity. Short

up top and on the sides that collected into a dozen or so spikes that swooped back, all except for a cowlick that drifted in front of her eyes.

"I suppose," King Vegeta allowed, seemingly unimpressed. A small smirk found its way onto her face, a mischievous glint in her eyes clear for all to see.

"He's doing better than Vegeta. I've never heard a baby cry so much right out the tan-"

"I did not cry!" Vegeta snapped, announcing his presence. He stood in front of the royal couple, a king and his queen, and glared with all his might up at his mother. "Saiyans don't cry!"

"Oh? So you remember coming out of the pod?"

"Yes!"

"You wouldn't be lying right now, are you?"

"N-no…"

"Hmmmmmmm." Oddly enough, I don't think Queen...Teach believed him. And I had some trouble believing that Vegeta might be a momma's boy. "Well, I must be remembering things

differently then. Because I nearly threw you back into the thing you were making so much noise."

She reached out faster than I could blink and ruffled Vegeta's hair so hard that I was honestly shocked that he wasn't left bald by the time she was done. Once she finished tormenting

her son, she walked over with utter confidence that I barely had time to admire before she crossed the room.

"What's his power level again?" She asked, leaning over so she could look me in the eyes. Not know what else to do, I stared right back as I leaned away because she had no concept of

personal space. It didn't really change anything since she just leaned closer.

"16, my queen."

"Ah, a little weakling then," she observed, lashing out with a hand and pinching my cheek. I grabbed her hand, trying to pull myself out of her grip, only to fail since it was like iron. She

let out a huff of amusement at my feeble attempts to escape.

"Let go!" I whined, and, just like that, she did. Without her holding me in place, I nearly threw myself off the tank. Quick reflexes on my part saved me from falling, probably saving my

life in the process. Rubbing pain out of my cheek, I glare up at the woman to see that her eyebrows would be disappearing into her hairline if they rose any higher.

"You can talk already?" She questioned, sounding shocked. Why...ah. Right. I'm a toddler. Kinda forgot about that.

Looking back at her cautiously, my mind raced and I quickly came to the conclusion that acting like I hadn't spoken was pointless. Might as well double down. "Yes?" I tried, not needing

to fake the hesitancy in my voice.

"Huh," Queen Teach muttered, frowning in thought as she leaned back. "Well, that was fast."

"I did say his brain was rather developed, but I will admit that I didn't expect this," Thyme pitched in from his position at the console, likely going over some last-minute readings or

something. He paused what he was doing to give me a soul-searching stare that I stubbornly refused to meet. "I noticed that he absorbed knowledge quite quickly, but to process

it...hm."

"Well, since I don't think being a warrior is going to work out for you-" Her lips twitched as I gave her the dullest stare I could muster. "There's always the working-class. We don't-"

King Vegeta stepped forward, making Queen Teach pause, "He will be a warrior. Or nothing." He declared, looking down me. Despite his harsh words, it was easy to see that he

wasn't...displeased. He looked like the kind of macho guy that wouldn't know what happiness looked like if it hit him, but he didn't seem particularly unhappy. So, I had that going for

me.

Though, the working-class sounded a lot better to me. It was made up of the saiyans that were strong enough to avoid an infiltration mission, but by the time they reach ten years of

age weren't strong enough to become a warrior. They were further divided into three classes: Scientists, Caretakers, and Mechanics. The first figured out how alien tech we picked up on

missions worked, the second took care of domestic problems and food production while the last built and fixed-

"Then he's going to be a little corpse," Queen Teach dismissed. "He's a trash tier weakling. Putting him against saibamen, ah, well, I have things to do today. Just clean up the mess

when you're done, 'Kay?" She requested, pinching my cheek again, only this time I was too stunned to try to stop her.

I mean...she probably wasn't wrong, but...wow. That was...blunt. I was too stunned to get mad, leaving me staring up at her as she gave me a smile that could be mistaken for kind.

"I'll have a servant take care of it," King Vegeta agreed with a nod.

"A true shame. I suppose it was too much to hope that a prince could join the Scientists." Thyme pitched, earning a dull stare from me, my cheek stretching painfully. He returned it with

an unrepentant shrug before turning his attention back to the graphs. Slowly, I looked back to Queen Teach, noting that her amused look reminded me of a cat's when toying with a

cornered mouse.

"The testing ground and saibamen are being prepped. Thyme, dress Tarble and bring him there," King Vegeta commanded with the ease of someone used to being obeyed. With a

dramatic turn, his red cape fluttered out, he turned to leave the chamber, a hand guiding Vegeta forward. Neither of them looked back.

"As you command, my king," Thyme said, bowing at King Vegeta's back.

"I'll head out too, I suppose." Queen Teach stated, letting go of my cheek, a huff escaping her when I tried to rub away the pain. Her hand blurred, I only realized that it had moved

when I felt her poke me in the cheek. I tried to swat her hand away, just for it to move out of the way and poke my other cheek. "Heh, I guess Veg was right, you do have some fight in

you. Maybe I will stick around for your test. Good luck! You'll need it."

With that, she turned on her heel and started walking away, her tail swishing back and forth as she whistled a tune. When the doors slid closed behind her, she sent me a cheeky grin

through the crack before vanishing from sight. I stared at the door for a long moment, a sinking realization settled in.

Saibamen were a plant species native to a planet long since forgotten by time. Mostly because no saiyan bothered to remember the name after we sold it. They were often used for

training of young saiyans. Their power level ranged from about 500 - 1000+. Mine was 16. Best case scenario, I'm fighting something roughly 30 times stronger than me. All things

considered, I had my doubts I would be experiencing that best-case scenario. No, my bet was that I was going to be experiencing a lot of pain as I die. Horribly.

"No time for dallying little one! Up, up, up!" Thyme urged, grabbing a blue outfit from somewhere and throwing it in my direction. I caught it, inspecting the stretchy material that

reminded me of spandex. It was a royal blue one-piece that looked like it was a size too small. It was going to be a tight fit.

Shrugging off my discomfort, I stood up for the first time in years. My legs were a little wobbly, but I managed to stand upright easy enough. The metal diaper wrapped around my lower

half slid off with some effort. Once it was off, I was proven right that the one-piece being a tight fit. It clung to me, the sleeves stopping mid-shoulder while the legs stopped mid-thigh.

It didn't restrict my movement, thankfully. With that done, I hopped off my tank, landing on my feet, and looked up at Thyme to see him giving a measuring look.

Right. Toddler. Spent three years in a tank. I'm really bad at this.

"Hm. A low maintenance toddler. Interesting…" Thyme muttered to himself, hastily scribbling a note that I couldn't read before stepping towards me. "Let's not keep your parents

waiting! This way!" He yelled, marching towards the door with exaggerated cheer. Or maybe it wasn't. Thyme struck me as the kind of guy that went his own pace.

I watched him walk away for a moment, unable to shake off a disturbing thought. I...was probably about to die. I was about to be put into a life or death struggle against a creature so

much stronger than me it might as well be a god. My hope for victory was...nonexistent. Queen Teach might have been a little blunt about it, but she wasn't wrong. I might as well be a

corpse with a heartbeat.

Yet, my heart steadily beat in my chest instead of slamming away at my ribs like it was trying to escape. My breathing was even, not so much as a drop of nervous sweat...I was calm.

Way, way, way too calm for someone walking towards their death.

I always hoped I would greet Death with grace, but I knew myself well enough to know that I wouldn't. At least I thought I did. I guess not all surprises were bad?

"What are you waiting for? Come along," Thyme chided, opening the door. My feet moved of their own will, carrying me towards him with a gait filled with confidence that I didn't feel. I

followed him through the door, taking in my new surroundings as we walked. It was a generic-looking hallway, nothing special about it other than the fact it wasn't the four walls that

I've been staring at for years. We didn't walk past a single soul as we traveled from hallway to hallway, cutting through rooms, doubling back to the room we just left-

"Um," I spoke up, eyeing a sign that we passed at least three times. "Are...we lost?"

Thyme didn't answer, choosing to ignore me as he took a right down the hallway, only to second guess himself a split second later and went left. I didn't follow, recognizing that we just

came from that hallway a minute ago. It took him until the end of the hallway to realize I wasn't right behind him. "Tarble! What are you doing?"

"Are we lost?" I repeated, cocking my head when a low flush raised to his cheeks. Yeah, we were lost.

"No," Thyme lied through his teeth, looking anywhere but at me. "We're just, ah, taking a scenic route. Figured you could use the practice moving about," he nodded to himself, looking

very pleased with his own bullshit.

I stared at him, his eyes drifted to mine only to dart away. I continued to stare, and again his gaze briefly met mine before quickly looking away. I kept staring at him, the third time his

gaze met mine his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"We're lost. I never used the training room much, I'm a Caretaker! I need to walk a path at least ten times before I remember how to get there!" He defended himself, grimacing slightly

when he remembered that I was a toddler. His cheeks turned bright pink as he walked back towards me, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Ignoring his excuses, I looked for a clue on where we were. I found one - a number and a squiggle that I recognized as a letter. Right. I knew the saiyan language. Weird. It said 3-D.

"Do you know where the training ground is?" I asked, earning a small nod and a narrow-eyed look from Thyme.

"5-A! I've never been there in my life! Royal training area only," he explained, trying to salvage his dignity. I didn't make it easy for him with a bewildered look. We weren't even on the

right floor. He coughed into his hand, looking away again and a sigh escaped me.

"Just...follow me," I grumbled, recalling a stairway some turns away. This time, Thyme followed me obediently. We walked up a few sets of stairs, stumbled our way through more

unfamiliar hallways untilMy thoughts were interrupted when I walked right into a solid wall that came out of nowhere hard enough I stumbled back. Blinking in surprise, I saw that the wall was a person. Vegeta.

He looked down at me with a sneer - it might have just been the angle, but I'm pretty sure he was tilting his head back to look down at me more - with his arms crossed. He really was

the spitting image of King Vegeta.

"You kept us waiting. Heh. Father and I thought you might have run away with your tail tucked between your legs," Vegeta stated, smugness radiating out of every pore while arrogance

practically dripped from his words. My eyes narrowed reflexively, sudden anger burning in my chest as my hands curled into fists.

Vegeta just smirked, while Thyme hastily offered an explanation. "My apologies, my prince! It took some time to get him ready." He blurted, pointedly ignoring my stunned look. Really?

Really?

"It doesn't matter. Father and Mother are waiting," Vegeta informed, dramatically turning on his heel much like King Vegeta did earlier, effectively cutting off my chance to call Thyme on

his lies. He nudged me forward, getting me to move forward as Vegeta lead us through a set of bulkhead doors.

Inside was a large room with dull metal walls and dull tiled metal floors. King Vegeta and Queen Teach stood in the center, the latter looking like she was trying to goad the former into

doing something with her lips pulled into a cheeky grin. King Vegeta was quick to break away when we entered, an embarrassed expression on his face.

"Tarble, this will be your room," King Vegeta informed, gesturing to the dull room lacking in a bed or anything most people would associate with a room. "And these will be your training

partners," he continued, gesturing to another door that slides open on cue. Three creatures stepped through, herded by another saiyan. They looked around hesitantly, as if they

expected a blow to land at any moment, then their eyes settled on me.

They had a dark green segmented torso covered in armor-like plates, leaving their lighter green skin bare, revealing dozens of black rings marked their arms and legs. Their claws were

tipped with three razor-sharp points, the same for their feet. They looked evil with dark red eyes, elongated heads, and dark veins standing out on their lighter skin.

"Take this scouter," King Vegeta said, tossing an earpiece with a plane of plastic jutting out of it. I caught it with the minimum amount of fumbling. "It is...a gift from Frieza. I trust you

know who that is?" He asked, earning a hesitant nod from me.

Lord Frieza, the new overlord of the Cold Force, now known as the Frieza Force, with the retirement of King Cold. A few years ago, roughly around the time I was put in the gestation

tank, he inherited ownership of the saiyan race. In the first meeting, he murdered four saiyans and humiliated King Vegeta. That more or less set the tone for our relationship.

"Good. These scouters are an invaluable resource that can quantify an opponent's power level. Use it on the saibamen," King Vegeta ordered. I put the scouter on, it stuck around my

ear before pressing the power button. Immediately, lines of text covered the screen, highlighting the four figures before me.

750, 1,200, 1,800, 4,300. The first three belonged to the saibamen, while the least belonged to a large saiyan, who leaned against a wall with his arms crossed. He smirked when he

saw my expression over his power level.

"Your goal is to kill them," King Vegeta informed, getting a dumbfounded stare from me. I knew it was coming. I came here expecting exactly this, and yet it still caught me off guard. It

wasn't just one. I couldn't even hope to beat one saibaman, but three of them? Each stronger than the last? "You have one year to complete this task. Should you fail, you will be

banished from planet Vegeta."

Oh. They didn't expect me to kill all three of them right now? That was...well, I would say it made my odds better but they were still nonexistent.

Queen Teach let out a huff, rolling her eyes so hard they could have fallen out of her head. "Butttttt, if you do manage it, somehow, then you'll be well on your way to becoming midclass. Gotta admit, can't say I envy you, little guy. Not everyone is as talented as little Veg," she commented, laughing at the sound of Vegeta's grinding teeth.

"You should be able to do this much," Vegeta bit out, shooting a glare at his mother. "They're the scraps left over from my training for growing too weak." He...reassured? It was kinda

hard to tell what he was going for there. He sent a small nod in my direction as if telling me that he fully expected me to just walk over and murder those monsters dead. He was

delusional, but I couldn't say it wasn't nice to have at least someone believing in me. Especially when I didn't believe in myself.

13,000, 10,200, 9,030. King Vegeta, Vegeta with Queen Teach bringing up the rear. They were monstrously strong. Beyond comprehension. Killing three saibamen would be a simple

task for them. For me, it was asking the impossible. The weakest one was nearly 50 times stronger than me. There was holding out hope in spite of all odds, then there was insanity.

"Okay," I said with a nod, my fears feeling so very distant while my heart began to beat faster out of anticipation instead of fear. My mind and my body were at odds, logic telling me I

might as well offer up my neck to get things over with while my body hummed with excitement.

"Good," King Vegeta commended with a smirk. "Food will be delivered when you need it. A healing tank is through that door," he explained, gesturing to the door the saibamen came out

of. "They have been instructed not to kill you, but don't test your luck."

Then he stared at me for a long second, seeming to weigh his words before speaking them. He came to a decision a second later. "This is your first challenge to overcome to be deemed

worthy of being my son. I will not accept a low-class child, nor a mid-class. If you want to assume your rightful place, then you must rise to the elite-class."

He was asking for the impossible. Something more impossible than the thing he just asked for a minute ago. The only two elite-class saiyans were standing in this room, to raise my pl

to over 10,000...I would die long before I came close. It had never been done before, a low-class becoming elite-class. It was almost unheard of for low-class to climb to mid-class.

He fell silent after that explanation, and I felt the weight of his expectations of me. Right alongside the sheer absurdity of his demand to be acknowledged as his son, not to mention how

the odds were stacked against me to past this first test.

There was no point in complaining about it, was there? They wouldn't listen and I was too weak to make them. All I could do was…

I strode forward, my hands clenched into fists, my gaze unwavering from the weakest saibaman. It stepped forward, making a series of clicks at its brothers that made them stand back.

Its beady red eyes darted to King Vegeta, then to Vegeta, before settling back on me, probably reminded itself of the consequences of accidentally killing me. Once we reached the

center of the room, against all sense of reason, I made the first move. I darted forward with surprising speed, lashing out with a fiSomething slammed into me hard enough that I slid across the ground and didn't stop until I hit the wall, knocking the breath from me. I kept my eyes open, letting me see what hit

me. A wild slash with its right arm that caught me in my unprotected ribs. The pain burned, almost enough to keep me down. Taking the chance when the saibaman glanced again at

King Vegeta, as if making sure what it did was okay, I pushed myself back to my feet.

Swaying dangerously, I found my balance thanks to my tail and started walking forward again, nothing driving me other than instinct. Instincts to fight and keep fighting until I won or

died.

Despite knowing how dangerous his limbs were, my gaze never wavered from the center of its chest, letting my peripheral vision to keep track of its attacks. Each step was a sharp stab

of pain where it hit me, the pain went ignored as I lurched forward, only to pull myself back. The saibaman fell for the feint, attacking with a claw. It blurred towards me, impossibly fast,

but I saw it this time. Having expected it, my arm protected my injured side, absorbingEven though I was braced for it this time, I still slid across the floor. I stayed on my feet, my arm throbbing with pain where it wasn't numb entirely. Again, it checked with King Vegeta

to make sure that it wasn't going to be killed. My breathing became ragged, sweat already building on my brow that dropped into my eyes, unblinking even as they stung.

I had to check to see if my hand was still curled into a fist, the entire left side of me numb. At the very least, it helped with the worsening pain in my ribs. I took the time it gave me to

control my breathing, taking deep and even breaths in spite of how much they hurt. When it did turn its attention back to me, it waited for me to approach again, only for me to stay

where I was.

It took a cautious step towards me, then another and another. When it became confident that I wasn't going to attack, it rushed forward with reckless abandon, its right arm raised his to

strike me again. In my head, I pictured what would happen next. I saw myself deftly moving then countering — in that split second, I saw myself practice the move a thousand times

until it became a certainty.

Moving exactly how I saw myself, I ducked low underneath a swipe I could barely follow before I rose. A tightly curled fist lashed out, catching the creature underneath its chin, snapping

its jaw shut. In my head, it collapsed to the ground, bright green blood leaking out of its mouth as its eyes rolled back. What actually happened was it recovered from my attack like it

hadn't felt it at all before lashing out with a foot that caught me in the stomach.

I shot through the air, crashing against the metal wall hard enough that it dented, before collapsing to the ground clutching at my stomach. Vomit erupted from my mouth and when it

tapered off, I saw blood mixed in. The taste of it was heavy on my tongue as I tensed so hard that I trembled, struggling to keep my eyes open.

"Well, he got a hit in. To be honest, I didn't really expect that! Good job Tarble!" Queen Teach yelled, clapping in a way that sounded that made it hard to tell if she was being genuine or

sarcastic.

"Why are you laying down? Get up!" Vegeta commanded, stomping a foot angrily. He looked like he was about to march over to finish the job before King Vegeta placed a hand on his

shoulder.

The elder Vegeta shook his head, "don't interfere. This is Tarble's challenge to overcome." He said, earning a hesitant nod from Vegeta. His gaze never left mine, not so much as

acknowledging the saibaman's worried look. I could feel his expectations of me like a physical weight, tossed on top of all the others. They were also the shove I needed to push through

the pain and try to stand up. My legs wobbled like a newborn deer, if it weren't for the wall I would have fallen flat on my face.

King Vegeta's face didn't show a hint of approval as he watched. Vegeta, on the other hand, looked furious. "Stop stalling and kill it! Rip that sniveling creature's throat out!"

Vegeta...cheered? From how angry he looked, it was hard to tell if he was talking to the saibaman or me.

I wouldn't be able to dodge again. My body was screaming at me to stay down as I drove myself forward, clutching my stomach with one hand. Attacking it with my fists would just end

up like last time, dealing no damage and opening myself up for a devastating counterattack. So, what are my options? Laying down and dying was out, leaving me with…

The saibaman shot forward, confident in its victory and lack of punishment. It attacked with the same arm raised high, moving in a blur that I could follow easier this time. A hand

whipped out, grabbing its wrist before I turned sharply, using its momentum against it and slammed it into the ground. My attack didn't hurt it, I knew better than to hope for that now,

but it stunned the saibaman long enough that I could wrap my arms around its throat in a chokehold.

It squawked while its claws dug into my forearms. I ignored the pain as I squeezed with all my might, gritting my teeth so hard they threatened to shatter. It wasn't enough to stop the

monster from getting up, trying to shake me off as it clicked with what sounded like irritation. A claw reached back, trying to grab me that way, but finding no grip with my skin-tight

suit.

Biting back a scream when I felt its claws dig into my back, carving long lines up it, my gaze landed on a pointy ear directly in front of me. Leaning forward, I bite down as hard as I

could, my teeth felt like they were more likely to break than its skin. The saibaman screeched, the only warning I had before it jumped backward, slamming into a wall with me in

between.

It reminded me of getting hit by Truck-kun, only this time I didn't go splat, though it was a near thing. Every bone creaked under the strain, those that didn't break outright. Something

in my ribs gave way, the pain becoming unbearable, but even still my grip didn't lessen.

The saibaman hissed in annoyance before slamming into the wall harder this time, metal warping, the back of my head hittingEverything went dark for a second and I found myself on the floor. "Wah," I started to mutter, blinking to clear my hazy vision, only for the first thing I saw was a clawed foot heading for

myI woke up in goop again. For a split second, I wondered if what happened was all a dream, only for the pain that wracked my body to quickly remind me that it really happened. That,

and the tank I found myself in was very different than the one I grew up in. For starters, I could only see through a small round window while everything else was a smooth metal grid

with a few buttons around a seal.

A picture of a saiyan body with several parts highlighted, a small line connected to some information, caught my attention. It told me the injuries it was healing. Reading over them got a

small wince out of me, leading to a worse wince because of my broken ribs. My arm was also broken, a fairly bad concussion and severe bruising...pretty much everywhere.

"Awake already?" I heard someone ask before a face filled my window. It belonged to the saiyan that brought in the saibamen. "That's surprising. Thought you'd be out for a few more

hours." He commented, a soft thump telling me that he leaned heavily against the orb I found myself in.

"...is this the healing tank?" I hazard a guess, inspecting my wounds. They matched up with the picture. The cuts on my arms and back itched, like tiny pinpricks poking at them, so I

assumed that whatever this goop did was helping. "And who are you?"

"The names Bardock, a low-class saiyan warrior. And you're caretaker, apparently," Bardock grumbled with a huff I think he didn't know I could hear. He said he was a low-class saiyan,

the class that made up most of the saiyan population, but the entry point for mid-class was 5000. 700 points was a lot, but he was close to entering a very exclusive class that only had

ten members.

Considering all of that, my babysitter was one of the top fifteen strongest saiyans alive.

"Don't you have better things to do?" I asked hesitantly. Having someone like Bardock babysitting me was a little...wasteful.

"Plenty," Bardock agreed, sounding amused. "But I'm not in a position to tell the king no. So, here I am."

With his power level, it was easy enough to guess why. "To stop the saibamen from killing me?" I hazard a guess, knowing that they weren't domesticated so much as beaten into

submission. Without the threat of immediate death, if they go too far, they'd kill me in a heartbeat.

"Got it in one. And I'm supposed to record your progress, yada yada yada - basically, making sure that you're not a hopeless case. If you are, then I get you out of my hair since you'll

either be dead or sent on an infiltration mission to toughen you up." The fact that most babies sent on infiltration missions, missions to conquer planets, didn't come back for obvious

reasons went unsaid.

So that's how it is, I thought, falling silent at his explanation. He was hoping for me to either die or be inept. Forcing a saiyan to spend time watching me when he could be taking

tougher mission to close the gap so he could become a mid-class saiyan was just asking for an unfortunate accident to happen. I couldn't rely on him for anything, much less help - the

faster I proved to be a waste of space or die, the faster he got to go back to what he actually wanted to do.

The only person I could rely on is myself. King Vegeta and Queen Teach put me in this situation, so hoping that they would bail me out was beyond stupid. Vegeta acted like he was just

as likely to kill me as he was to help me. Thyme already wrote me off…

I could only get out of this situation by dying...wasn't an option. Escaping...also not an option because it was flat out impossible between the saibamen, Bardock, and I would have to get

off-planet all as a three-year-old. That just left killing the three saibamen and earning the right to call myself a saiyan warrior. Out of all of them, the latter was most appealing but the

former was the most likely outcome.

My eyes closed, I felt myself slip into meditation that I got so used to over the years. The pain melted from my body, leaving me feeling strong. Stronger. When I opened my eyes I saw

that I was alone again, the light had gone off in the room, leaving me in darkness. A hand drifted up to the scouter still on my eye, pressing the button and it performed a self-scan.

22. Better. Not anywhere good enough, but better. 6 points for one bout that I got my butt kicked. However, the next bout...if I got another 6 points, then another 6 and another 6… A

galactic standard year was 300 days, if I got at least 6 points each day then my power level would be around 1800, putting me on equal footing with the strongest silberman.

I couldn't blow away the mountain with a single mighty swing, but I could chip away at it until I found myself standing at its peak. It would be long, painful and downright brutal...it was

also my only chance of surviving.

Swallowing a sigh, I hit the drainage button. I had a long year ahead of me, so might as well get an early start.