Training?

I found myself looking at many other Cerealians with their parents or relatives. 

Several targets were in front of us, which wasn't surprising considering that Cerealians' right eye enhances their accuracy.

Could there be more to the eye? 

Unfortunately, I was as clueless as a rock but willing to learn what these eyes could truly do. 

The military base was quite round, with somewhat advanced equipment and structure. Considering that these aliens probably have a longer history than humans, it's obvious they would be quite far ahead. 

Still, they had no gaming consoles! 

I guess I'll be the first Cerealian to make one.

Or not. I am trying to figure out how to make those. I didn't go to university for that stuff, but I did go to film school for a bit. Maybe if this fighting gig doesn't work, I can become an actor or direct my own movie.

For some reason, I feel a great amount of shame.

Anyway, I think this guy is about to speak. 

A Cerealian stood at about 5'9, a common height for the males. His hair was the trademark green but more of a minty shade, with it being combed backward with a gel-like sheen. 

Do they really have gel here? 

His clothing was similar to the standard Cerealian outfit: a green open vest showing his well-toned body, brown camo-like pants, and a large leather belt with two holsters for his space pistols.

Seriously, I think this guy is showing off. 

Surprisingly, his face wasn't smug or pompous. He seemed like an easygoing guy. However, something I noticed about his red eye is that it seemed to possess an auburn shade, not like the regular bland red from the other Cerealians I've seen.

"Alright! I'm glad to see everyone made it in one piece. Hopefully, your walk or ride here was enjoyable, yeah?" 

I swear he sounds like the type to say "radical." 

Which isn't bad but hilarious.

"First things first, my name is Crunch. I'm a captain of our defense force here."

His name is actually Captain Crunch.

I want to laugh, but I don't want to be disrespectful and embarrass Muezli. 

Hearing the occasional murmurs and the other kids' astonishment, the look on Crunch's face seemed to glow with pride. 

He likes praise or stuff like that.

"At a young age, approximately when we reach the age six or seven, our right eyes fully awaken. Of course, we get the benefit of enhanced sight and other benefits, but there are always downsides," 

Hmm, I was led to believe there were no consequences to the right eye, but I suppose that's to be expected. I would assume only powerful warriors have no problems. 

"That's why this course is imperative to mastering our abilities. Depending on the individual, this course may take a few years, but usually, the norm is about two or so years. However, we strictly advise you all from immediately joining our military until you're older."

I see. It's better to learn quickly than later in life before it's too late. This wasn't shown in my previous life, which makes this quite exciting.

I see Crunch move his right hand and shoot a ki blast, shaped like a bullet, square in the center of a target, which elicited excitement within the kids seeing the display, which Crunch preened to.

This guy…

Although impressive, could his eye give him complete 180-degree vision? This would mean he doesn't need direct eye contact with his target.

I felt myself instinctively gulp. 

If I can harness that, I can pull my weight. 

"First, we'll practice ki control, something mandatory for this course. Cerealians are masters at marksmanship, and they are a symbol of our pride and people. Of course, if you lack the necessary skills for ki control, we have equipment you can use as a replacement, so don't feel ashamed!"

That makes sense; Granolah used a weird blunderbuss-looking pistol when he had his right eye covered. 

"Alright, with that settled, please step forward. I ask everyone not taking the course to step back to give our trainees space."

"Good shooting, son!"

I couldn't help but scratch my nose at my mother's words; she was just a bundle of joy. 

Which also furthered my resolve to get stronger. 

I must remind myself that this isn't Earth, a backwater planet in almost every media I know about. Earth is only ever raided because of the protagonists or other means.

This is Cereal, destined to fall and be replaced by the blissfully unaware Sugarians. 

Although I also feel extremely bad for them, I bet Frieza is why their original world was destroyed. Perhaps before the Saiyans were under his rule, they destroyed the Sugarian's original planet. Seriously, why are there so many planet destroyers in this world?

I didn't notice that the other Cerealian kids were already focusing on balancing their ki until Crunch stood before me.

"You okay there, kid?" 

I looked up at Crunch, who seemed genuinely worried.

These guys were too nice…

"Yeah, I just got lost in thought," I said, shaking my head as I followed the other kids' example.

Crunch said nothing else, only giving me a curt nod as he began to walk to give some advice to other kids.

Ki control is important to Dragon Ball as a whole. And something I nearly forgot. 

Cerealians must train diligently to perform their ki bullets. I have no clue if the right eye helps properly control and maintain the creation of the ki bullets, but I'll learn eventually.

For now, I put my hands in a prayer stance and closed my eyes, mimicking what Goku does when he meditates. Which I believe is a way to flow the ki through the body. This is merely one step, although I feel like I'm cheating.

After blocking the noise from the environment, I felt myself drop like a droplet of water into a pond or lake, like those scenes in some anime when a character gets in the zone.

Is this the secret to mastering ki control?

If I can get this to the level of Jiren, I can become quite a force to be reckoned with. People forget Jiren is so strong because he doesn't let his ki leak out of his body like you see when the Saiyans are in Super Saiyan Blue and whatnot.

Jiren keeps the ki within, increasing his body's strength and attacks. 

I could be rambling, but I believe that was the case. Please don't hate me too much for that; it's only a theory.

"Whoa, that's pretty impressive stuff, kid. I don't think I could balance my ki like that at your age."

I hear Crunch compliment me, making me open my eyes. 

"I feel this is a good way to control my ki."

I can't tell this guy I have sufficient knowledge about this stuff already.

"Keep it up. In thirty minutes, we'll begin by shooting ordinary Ki blasts and then learn how to bend them. It'll be fun!" 

He seemed extremely enthusiastic about this, although I can see why.

Finger guns are way better than the real things.

I'll have to come up with ki grenades.

Or is that a thing already? 

Oh well, I will do some crazy stuff once I get better at this.

…

"I'm tired…" 

I didn't think we would train for almost the whole day! 

I can feel my organs crying. I can feel my bones shaking. 

I am NOT built for this.

People make this easy when they do self-inserts.

Actually, they're some frauds, they have help from those systems.

Where's mine?

I can't complain; those stories are usually fun to read. 

I was drenched in sweat, and my green shirt stuck to my skin. I'm not going to talk about anything lower than my chest. 

Even my mom is standing six feet away like I have covid! 

Screw training. 

"How was your first day?"

"It was fun, although I think that girl was angry at me for some reason."

That's right, I made a female Cerealian mad at me, which I'm guessing is because Captain Crunch was praising me a bit.

Sheesh, I hope that isn't a Tsundere. I can't deal with those. 

"Oh, Nutri? She's quite a fierce one."

You think, Mom? She whispered in my ear she's going to shoot me in my ankles!

MY ANKLES!

She needs to be detained before she becomes a threat to society. 

"Although, I think she took a liking to you. You do need friends, after all, son."

Mom…please.

She wants my ankles! 

"I will…try."

"That's good. You'll never know when you'll end up alone, Granolah. We all need someone we can trust." 

Trust and loneliness…I agree with that, although I didn't interact much with anyone besides my cousin and grandfather in my previous life.

Even now, when I don't know how to communicate properly, it's still surreal that I'm in this world of Dragon Ball.

Muezli doesn't even know her real son is gone, but I still feel a lingering presence, as if he's still there, judging me to see if I'm worthy. 

From stories I read, I never once saw this stuff happen. 

If you can hear me Granolah, I'll try my damn best to keep your mother safe.

"HEY WAIT RIGHT THERE!" 

I froze in place, glitching as if I had been hacked. 

I turned around to see the familiar sight of that possible tsundere Nutri. 

Nutri was shorter than me, making her seem like a spiteful chihuahua. Her dark green hair, darker than mine, reached her back like flowing tidal waves. She wore what I could tell was a green and black tracksuit.

Do they seriously have those here?

Gotta buy them.

Anyway, her red eye burned into me, melting my previous mood. 

"Eh, did you follow us?" I couldn't help but ask.

"No!" Was Nutri's immediate response. "I happen to live this way, too, and I also came to declare you my rival!"

Okay…

Scratch that…

I didn't think I'd get into this predicament on the first day of being sent here by mysterious forces!

I looked at my mom, who seemed to scrutinize the girl, even making her shiver.

"After you both shower, you can play for a bit, but tell your parents beforehand, got it?"

"Y-yes, ma'am!" 

Ha! Seeing this prissy girl fidget is a delight. 

…

So, I'm forced to hang out with Nutri even though the sun is about to go down, assuming Cerealians don't care about a decent night's sleep.

Then again, I can't talk. I stay up all night. 

Although this does make up my previous plans to get the Dragon Balls a bit harder.

Well, that's just wishful thinking. 

They'd probably kick me to the curb. 

Still, I'm going to get my potential awakened first.

Not because I want to save the planet, which is far beyond my capabilities, but to save the few I can.

My mother, for one. 

That means I have to beat that bastard Gas up. From what I remember, he was a decent fighter. 

He had other siblings, but I pretty much forgot about them…

Eh, it won't be a problem.

I just got my work cut out for me.

Here's to hoping that I can survive…

_____________________________________________________________________________________

AN: I'm having fun writing this. I didn't think I'd finish this chapter in a day after I released the first one. As someone pointed out, I made a mistake with Granolah's age, but I still hope you all are enjoying what I'm doing with the Cerealians so far. If you have yet to notice, I'm trying to build connections before I have the Saiyans invade.

Let me know your thoughts!