Chapter 29 - Discoveries

…

The next day, bomb squads came and disarmed the explosives Tao had placed. Yamcha was no longer involved with the whole mess.

As Yamcha was in a hotel room, still on the island, he checked his stats while listening to the news.

There were books and word puzzles around him, some completed and some half-completed. He was running a memorization test.

"Witnesses are saying that the last fighter, Yamcha, could summon laser beams from the sky," explained one of the newsmen.

"His power is mysterious. Some say the ability is as strong as the mythical Kamehameha Wave. Maybe even stronger," added the female newscaster.

'Wait, what?'

Yamcha's attention to the news. On the screen was a photo of the sky from miles away, showing the laser shooting down and piercing the clouds.

The picture was badass. But what do they even mean by him having the power to summon lasers? They didn't do their research.

He turned off the TV and decided to concentrate on the task at hand. Yamcha opened up his status page again.

======

Name: Yamcha

Age: 17

Title: Champion

Level 46 [EXP: 87%]

~~~~

HP: 1000/1000

MP: (locked)

KI: 332/332

~~~~

Strength: 193

Agility: 177

Endurance: 200

(Power Level: 190)

~~~~

Intelligence: 10

Perception: 10

Willpower: 87

(Magic Power: 33)

~~~~

Status Points: 218

======

He had used three points in perception and four points in intelligence, raising them to ten.

Yamcha knew from the original show that raising physical stats was useless, as a couple of hundred stat points wouldn't even put a dent in things when power levels became in the millions. Hell, even in the thousands, would make hundreds of points mean nothing.

The logical conclusion was to increase the other stats, like intelligence and perception. After some tests, he had a rough idea of what both stats did.

Intelligence increases memorization and puzzle-solving. It didn't make memories clearer because Yamcha didn't remember Dragon Ball any better despite putting points on it.

Perception increases the five senses. It also helped with another unknown sixth sense, like knowing there was a presence behind you, maybe instinct?

Suddenly, Yamcha stopped and came to a realization.

"Ultra Instinct…" he frowned, nervousness and excitement mixing in him. Was perception stat the key to Ultra Instinct? If it were, there wouldn't be any hesitation in his choice. But he didn't know for sure.

'It's during times like this where I wish the Gamer Interface had an Artificial Intelligence. But then again, I wouldn't want any sentient thing inside me.'

Intelligence was also a good Stat, but intelligence didn't equate to wisdom. Also, he didn't want to become a scientist in this world, and he already had Bulma for that.

'That's right! Bulma!' Yamcha immediately came to a decision.

Realizing he had been looking at things from a skewed perspective and didn't have to do everything himself. Yamcha doesn't need to become a scientist and raise his intelligence too high. Even if he put all his points into intelligence, he doubted he would match Bulma's genius.

That was the woman who built a time machine in an apocalyptic world. So if he ever needed something fixed or made, he could just ask Bulma.

With his decision made, he started using his stat points.

[Perception 10 -> 100]

[Status Points: 218 -> 128]

Suddenly the world twisted.

Yamcha tried standing up. But reality turned sideways and fell to the ground. He landed on the magazines and word puzzles. Bile rose up his throat, and Yamcha threw up all over the floor.

'Putting so many points in one stat suddenly, bad idea!'

He continued throwing up until his stomach was going to turn.

The world settled down again and returned to normal… somewhat.

His eyes wandered around the room, and he spotted a bug on the corner. A ladybug, a normal-looking ladybug, that's how it appeared to the average eye if they could see it, to begin with. But the creature's eyes were robotic; Yamcha spotted that clear as day.

'Someone was spying on me?!' He didn't stare at the ladybug too long. Whoever was spying on him, Yamcha didn't want them to notice he knew.

He cleaned everything and himself and put on new clothes. He was still feeling a little nauseous from the disorientation of suddenly having better senses.

There were two options he could immediately think of who might be spying on him:

The first option was Dr Gero but from what Yamcha remembered, the man wouldn't start his experiments until much later, after Goku defeats the Red Ribbon army. Yamcha would have done something about that but he had no idea where Dr Gero lived. Goku didn't meet the man during Dragon Ball.

The other option was…

Yamcha used Observe on the bug to confirm his suspicions.

[Robotic Ladybug]

[A small robot created by a young scientific genius, Bulma Briefs to spy on a certain someone.]

'Wait, how long has she been spying on me?'

Yamcha grew concerned. What if Bulma had seen anything unusual about him? Was one of her bugs following him when he killed Tao?

He was uncertain about the changes he had made. Tao appeared in the tournament, and that was due to him as in the original timeline nothing like that happened. What if the small changes eventually become gradual to change Bulma too?

The first thought that came to his mind about Bulma changing, was the most dangerous. Her becoming a villain. Despite how he liked acting like a clueless harem protagonist from a cliche anime, Yamcha wasn't one. As a villain Bulma was a hundred times more dangerous than Dr Gero, the old scientist built strong androids, but nothing close to the level of Bulma's time machine.

There was no doubt in Yamcha's mind that if she wanted, and put her mind to it, Bulma could become one of the most dangerous forces in the world. The best tool to turn a hero into a villain was love.

His heart beat faster in alarm at the thought alone. What should he do or say to Bulma in that situation? He had to smother the flames before they became a forest fire.

As he was thinking of what to do next, a ray of sunlight hit his eyes, and he saw colors he had never seen before. He got a killer migraine from it, as though there was a tiny construction crew in his head trying to drill out of his skull through.

Yamcha sat down, clutching his head, having decided to rest for a bit - or at least until he adjusted. This proved more difficult than he expected. Even small sounds normally too quiet to hear were louder than he had ever heard before. He never knew what a bug rubbing its legs together sounded like. It was as though his skin had suddenly been peeled back, leaving nothing but muscle and bone - or perhaps like his entire body was suddenly an exposed nerve ending.

The thing was, it wasn't just a wall of noise and sensation. He could have dealt with that more easily, just trying to tune it out. He felt everything far more keenly than before - the slight pools and eddies of heat equalizing throughout the room, the brush of air against his skin. There were layers to it, gradients of sound, touch, sight, smell, and a million other senses he never knew before. He was hyper aware of every pore of skin, every cord of muscle.

In an attempt to bring his mind off of his disorienting new senses, he cast his mind adrift, latching onto the first topic he could think of. Bulma. What would he do with Bulma? He probably owed her a date - she saved his life with that laser. That would help deal with the whole possible supervillain route.

He also contemplated going on a date with Bulma to learn what she had seen. Using Observe on her was a good idea too. Despite the skill not being at a level where he could yet read minds or deep thoughts and emotions.

With the 500,000 Zenni he had earned from the tournament, he will take her on a good date. Whether she knew about him killing Tao or not, he owed her a perfect date, at least. She did save his life. Yamcha had some cards left to use in the fight against Tao, but he wasn't sure how effective they would have been.

Yamcha didn't bother thinking about dates or romance for too long. Instead, he went back to testing out his new high Perception Stat.

He closed his eyes and tried looking deep within himself. He saw flame-like energy within almost instantly. Suddenly his senses expanded again, and he sensed every person within this building and their strengths.

'Ki Sensing? Is it supposed to be this easy to learn? Or is this another effect of the Perception Stat?' Yamcha mused, and once his eyes opened, there was a notification screen in front of him.

[You have learned Skill: Ki Sensing]

…

By midday, Yamcha had tested everything he could with his Perception. Also, he grew used to his new broader sense of the world.

He went to the airport where Goku, Krillin, Roshi, and the mild-mannered Launch were waiting for their plane.

"Yamcha! Next time we meet, I will be even stronger! So make sure to train hard!" Goku said before running off on his nimbus to find the four-star Dragon Ball. The wish-granting artifacts had become visible on the radar again.

[Goku - PL: 133]

There was no doubt in Yamcha's mind Goku would be much stronger than originally by the time they met again.

The rest said their goodbyes.

Yamcha noticed Puar sending looks his way every now and then. He pulled his cat friend aside while everyone waved at the leaving party and asked. "Something bothering you, buddy?"

"No, it's nothing," Puar denied, but his ears were flopped, and he kept looking at the ground with a depressed aura around him. Puar was horrible at keeping secrets.

"C'mon, you can tell me anything that's bothering you," Yamcha reassured him. "We have known each other for how many years now?"

He had no idea when the original Yamcha had met Puar, but he acted confident while putting the little guy on his shoulder.

"Over three years," Puar muttered.

"Well, c'mon now, tell me what's bothering you," Yamcha remarked.

"I want to become a writer," the talking cat-like transformer blurted. He looked at Yamcha as if expecting him to laugh.

But Yamcha instead smiled and nodded approvingly. "Then what are you waiting for?"

"..." Puar only kept staring at him.

Yamcha realized the problem. 'We have been together for so long. He thought I might get the wrong idea if he told me that he wanted to go and do his own thing.'

"Go and become the best writer this world has ever seen," Yamcha gave a thumbs up, and Puar nodded with tears in his eyes. "I would love to read some of your books during my downtime!"

***

"I am not leaving you alone with him," her sister stated suddenly.

Bulma frowned. If Tights weren't her sister, she would have lasered her. Wait, where did that thought come from? Bulma shrugged. She was planning to watch about 2GB of video she had on Yamcha's morning routine.

Why couldn't her sister see that Yamcha and her worked together perfectly?

"But Tights~" she whined.

"You're like oil and water. You stalk him. He is a playboy. You built an orbital laser. He fights against assassins. Since you have met, you just bring out the worst in each other," Tights clarified and put it in simple words for her. "This is like some twisted version of the Beauty and the Beast concept. Except the beauty is also a witch."

Bulma laid down on her bed and pouted. "You're just jealous you don't have a boyfriend like Yamcha."

Tights sighed. "Listen here you-"

Suddenly a knock on their door stopped their argument. Tights went to open the door, and Yamcha greeted them with a wave.

Bulma stood by the sidelines as Yamcha talked about Tights contacting some publishing agencies and recommending Puar to them.

To Bulma's surprise, her sister went along with it. From how bad she spoke of Yamcha and how 'bad' he was for her. Tights sure went along with his whims. Bulma narrowed her eyes on her sister.

She shook her head. No, Tights wouldn't do something like that. Bulma loved Yamcha, but Tights was her sister, and no boy would get between them.

Yamcha's gaze turned toward Bulma. Despite her beliefs, that confident gaze who didn't care how things turned out, without even a sliver of lust or imperfection, made her legs feel like jelly.

"Bulma, wanna go on a date?"

Was she dreaming?

She blinked and pinched her cheek… It hurt. Was she in some kind of hysterical delusion?

*********

A/N: For this week I will post daily chapters, and for every 100 Power Stones you will get +1 extra chapter.