Unlocking Potential?

The Great Elder lay in his chair, his Ki seeming barely there. His body was as large as two or three ordinary Namekians. He looked kindly at Kami, seeming to have fallen into old memories again. After a long while, he said, "You look so much like Kadatz. You are Kadatz's child, aren't you? Welcome home."

Kami said somewhat doubtfully, "Kami of Earth pays his respects to the Great Elder, but I have no memory of Kadatz."

"Kadatz was your father. Several hundred years ago, Planet Namek's climate underwent drastic changes. Your father sent you away, but he himself did not make it in time... I never expected that you had truly survived." The Great Elder spoke slowly, as though he might breathe his last if he could not catch his breath. Krillin calculated that the Great Elder should have about five years left to live.

Kami listened intently as the Great Elder spoke of events from several centuries ago.

Before Kami could speak, the Great Elder continued, "In that catastrophe, Planet Namek was destroyed. The Namekian civilization that had endured for countless generations was wiped out just like that... In the end, I was the only one left." The Great Elder's eyes were somewhat vacant, as if he had once more been drawn into the scene of Planet Namek's destruction that day.

After listening to the Great Elder, traces of deeply buried memories seemed to awaken within Kami. Suddenly, flashes of memory passed through his mind. His father hurriedly stuffed him into a spaceship and looked at him lovingly as he said, "Go ahead. Wait for me. I'll follow shortly." Then the scene in Kami's mind abruptly changed. Planet Namek began to sink, countless clansmen wailed in agony, and darkness swallowed Planet Namek bit by bit... Hah... hah... Kami staggered back to reality. Both hands tightly gripped the Divine Staff, his eyes squeezed shut as large beads of sweat began to drip from his furrowed brow. Kami gasped for breath.

Kami slowly opened his eyes, his expression filled with pain. He said hoarsely, "I remember now."

"Child, that painful era has already passed. What we need to do now is rebuild our homeland." The Great Elder spoke softly and slowly. His voice was calm and soothing.

Then the Great Elder said to Krillin, "Earth warrior who has come from afar, welcome to Planet Namek."

"Thank you, Great Elder." Krillin smiled politely at him.

"I have foreseen that Planet Namek will soon face an invasion. Originally, I foresaw a blond-haired warrior defeating evil and saving the Namekian people. But seven months ago, my vision suddenly changed. There was another defender of Planet Namek: a bald youth with formidable Battle Power. At the critical moment, this bald youth turned the tide and ultimately defeated evil..." The Great Elder began coughing continuously as he spoke.

When Kami heard that Planet Namek would be invaded again, his face changed drastically. Why was fate so unfair? Why did the Namekians have to suffer such calamity? he cried helplessly in his heart.

Krillin's heart stirred violently. Wasn't seven months ago exactly when he had first arrived in the Dragon Ball World? Had his arrival changed the future the Great Elder saw? Originally, Goku, with his "Krillin sacrifices to heaven, his power knows no bounds," would defeat Frieza. Now, would he and Goku join forces to defeat Frieza instead? Could the Great Elder truly foresee such a distant future?

"At first, I did not dare be certain of the future I had foreseen. Space-time is a mysterious force; no one can say for sure. Moreover, the future I foresaw had changed. But now that I have met you, I am certain of my thoughts." The Great Elder spoke with difficulty, and by the end, it seemed as though he were forcing out each word one at a time.

Kami looked at Krillin, his heart jolting. A bald youth? Krillin would save Planet Namek in the future? That was too hard to believe. Kami knew Krillin was strong, but he had not expected him to be this strong. Kami felt that he had received more than enough shocks today.

"Great Elder, please rest assured. I will do everything in my power to protect these simple, kind, peace-loving Namekians." Krillin spoke to the Great Elder in a resolute tone. After all, he still needed to ask for a favor shortly. Besides, every word Krillin had just said came from the bottom of his heart. The Namekians were an adorable race.

After hearing Krillin's words, the Great Elder smiled happily and closed his eyes. If not for his long, steady breathing, Krillin would have thought the Great Elder had kicked the bucket.

Krillin stood there and waited. About five minutes later, the Great Elder opened his eyes again. The brief rest had restored a trace of his strength, and he smiled with relief. "I must trouble you. Planet Namek's future is in your hands."

Krillin nodded solemnly. A promise had to be kept, especially when the Great Elder trusted him so deeply.

"Child, come forward. I can sense astonishing power within you. Let me help you unlock it now," the Great Elder said to Krillin.

"Great Elder! You need to rest. You cannot waste any more of your strength like this." Nail looked at the Great Elder with concern.

"It is all right. Unlocking potential is my special ability and does not consume physical strength," the Great Elder said slowly.

Krillin could not help but feel overjoyed. He had just been considering how to bring it up. This was like being handed a pillow just as he got sleepy. Great Elder, you were far too considerate.

In the original story, Krillin's Battle Power had been 1,500 when he arrived on Planet Namek. After the Great Elder unlocked his potential, it had reached 13,000, nearly a tenfold increase. His Battle Power was now 335,000. Wouldn't that mean it could reach 3.3 million after the Great Elder unlocked his potential? With 3.3 million Battle Power, he would have the strength to fight Frieza head-on. Even if he could not win, he could escape far, far away while Frieza transformed. Just thinking about it was exciting.

Krillin slowly walked toward the Great Elder and stopped beneath his hand.

The Great Elder moved his arm with difficulty and placed his hand atop Krillin's head. He gave a soft shout...

A layer of Ki wrapped around Krillin. He felt as though the power within him was about to be drawn out.

"Ding. Foreign energy detected. It is drawing out the host's power. The system is blocking it."

"Ding. Block successful. Power extraction failed."

"You bastard!" Krillin cursed aloud. "I finally had a chance to get a massive boost in Battle Power, and you blocked it! System! System! Get out here! If you don't explain yourself clearly today, I'll uninstall you!" Krillin said furiously.

The system said flatly, "I'll only say one thing. Just one thing. All I heard was a smack that sounded exactly like a slap. Do I not have any dignity? Did you get my permission to develop the host's abilities right in front of this system? If Battle Power could be raised so easily, where would I get energy from?" With that, the system's voice abruptly stopped.

"What?" For such a lousy reason, it wasted his chance to gain three million Battle Power? Go to hell!

"Hehe, not entirely. Did you really think you would get a tenfold increase? Let me tell you bluntly: constrained by an Earthling's aptitude limit, you could only reach 1.5 million Battle Power. Enough nonsense. Check your status panel yourself."

System, display status:

Time: Era 756

Name: Krillin

Age: 21

Race: Earthling

Dimension: Level 1 Dimension (equivalent to Korin)

Battle Power: 350,000 (next limit: 1.5 million)

Potential: 4.65 million

Training Speed: speed of light

"Wait, that's not right. Why has my potential become 4.65 million?"

"Simply put, the Great Elder unlocking your potential did not directly increase your Battle Power. It was added to your potential instead. Originally, your potential at this level was only 1.5 million. Now it has become 5 million. So? You should be deeply grateful." The system spoke smugly.

With that explanation, Krillin seemed to understand at once. Once he reached 1.5 million Battle Power, he would inevitably need to spend a huge amount of energy to break through the limit again. He clearly did not have enough energy right now. Looking at it this way, this was far more worthwhile than directly increasing his Battle Power.

A moment later, the Great Elder made a puzzled sound. He had clearly drawn out Krillin's potential just now, so why had it disappeared? It truly made no sense.

"I am sorry, child. You clearly possess great potential, but I cannot awaken it." The Great Elder looked at Krillin apologetically.

Krillin already knew that the system had blocked the Great Elder's power. Smiling, he said, "It's all right. By cultivating step by step, I can awaken my potential myself."