Planet Mapa

"Sephiria, are you really not coming with me?"

Roland stretched out on the soft seat inside the pod. He had no idea what it was made of, but it was incredibly comfortable.

Sephiria rested a hand on Roland's head and scoffed. "You want me to help you with a little mission like this? You can handle it yourself. It might be a bit of a hassle, but as long as you're careful, you'll be fine. As my little brother, you need to be a responsible warrior."

I'm worried about you!

Roland couldn't help rolling his eyes. He'd invited her along out of the goodness of his heart. Did she really think he wanted to go on some mission by himself?

What a battle-race mentality. All she ever thought about was fighting. Planet Vegeta would be gone in a year. Who cared about that stupid mission?

Looking at Sephiria's beautiful face, Roland suddenly felt reluctant to leave. She had taken care of him for so long; it would be such a shame if she perished along with Planet Vegeta. Even so, in the end, Roland still didn't tell Sephiria the truth.

He knew she wouldn't believe him anyway.

The entire Saiyan race now bowed to King Frieza, fighting wars across the universe and carrying out missions to sell planets. For Saiyans, who enjoyed battle, it was hard to imagine a more satisfying way of life.

Aside from King Vegeta at the top, who showed some resistance, the other Saiyans had probably long since grown accustomed to their lives.

Sephiria was his sister, but they hadn't known each other for very long. Roland couldn't imagine how he'd convince her that he knew what was going to happen. And if the aliens monitoring the Saiyans found out, it would only cause trouble. He might even lose his life.

"Send me a message when you reach Planet Mapa. You know how to use the Scouter's communications function, right?"

Sephiria leaned in and fastened Roland's seat belt for him, then placed a ring-shaped object that looked like a helmet around his head. It was the pod's control device, which also served as a communications unit.

The girl's distinct fragrance drifted into his nose.

"I know. I'll message you."

Enjoying the moment, Roland leaned his face closer. Sephiria didn't seem to realize he was taking advantage of her.

After tapping Roland on the head, Sephiria climbed out of the Spherical Spacepod. The hatch slowly closed, and through the blue-tinted glass, Roland saw her standing nearby, waving at him.

A tinge of sadness at their parting rose in Roland's heart. He gazed at Sephiria for a moment, then ordered the pod to take off.

Sorry, you sweet fool. I have to save myself first.

A force pressed him down as the scenery below grew smaller and smaller, blurring into an indistinct image. Before long, the curved horizon and hazy atmosphere had receded into the distance, and the pod was sailing into the vast, dark expanse of space.

Through the pod's glass, Roland watched blue-and-white Planet Vegeta recede at incredible speed. It soon became a speck of light and vanished from sight.

"I've finally left Planet Vegeta."

It felt as if a weight had suddenly lifted from his chest. Roland inhaled slowly, then breathed out, a determined glint in his eyes. He gave the pod a command and entered hibernation mode.

At the same time, the transmission device on Roland's head began sending Saiyan combat techniques into his cerebral cortex. The journey from Planet Vegeta to his destination, Planet Mapa, would take about two months. It was a considerable distance; even Earth was only a month's journey from Planet Namek.

During those two months, he would learn all the skills a Saiyan warrior was expected to master.

Planet Mapa was the destination Sephiria had chosen for Roland's mission. According to the universe's classification system, it was only a low-level planet, and even its strongest creatures had very limited power.

By the standard classification, planets whose strongest fighters had a power level below 1,000 were considered low-level. Those with a strongest fighter between 1,000 and 5,000 were mid-level, while those above 5,000 were high-level. Planet Mapa was low-level, so the creatures on it all had power levels below 1,000.

Sephiria had already looked into it when she chose the mission. The strongest fighter on Planet Mapa had a power level of less than 500.

With Roland's current power level of 310, he would be fine as long as he stayed cautious.

By his estimate, it would only take a few years for his strength to surpass the strongest fighter on Planet Mapa.

The pod sped through space, trailing a long plume of fire like a comet. In reality, the plume was an optical illusion caused by the pod's tremendous speed.

Countless stars twinkled across the boundless universe, spreading out like a vast painting. On a cosmic scale, the distances between planets were immense; even two twinkling points of light could be countless light-years apart.

Thanks to the advanced technology of the universe's civilizations, interstellar travel in the Dragon Ball world was far more convenient. Travelers could cross several star systems in days or even months.

A bright streak flashed across the night sky and quickly disappeared. As the view zoomed in, it became clear that the streak was a milky-white Spherical Spacepod.

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed since Roland left Planet Vegeta. His destination, Planet Mapa, was now close at hand.

The pod's hibernation system had already disengaged as it neared Planet Mapa. Roland slowly opened his eyes. Compared with two months ago, he had matured considerably, and his mind was now filled with Saiyan combat techniques. Excitement surged through him.

"Planet Mapa. This will be my first stop in the Dragon Ball world."

The corners of Roland's mouth curled into a smile. He desperately needed an opponent to test his abilities.

Planet Mapa, in a dried-up riverbed.

With a piercing roar, a red-glowing sphere tore through the atmosphere and crashed down. A tremendous impact shook the ground, and clouds of dust immediately filled the sky. With so little moisture in the area, the dust lingered, forming thick, murky clouds.

At one edge of the exposed riverbed, a crater a hundred meters across and of unknown depth had appeared.

At the center of the crater, a milky-white Spherical Spacepod lay half-buried in sand and gravel. Its surface was charred, and wisps of heat rose from it.

With a click, the hatch opened. A small figure crawled out of the pod, then slowly rose into the air.

After brushing the sand off his body, Roland hovered above the ground. He covered his mouth to keep the dust from getting in as he looked around. All he could see was a dry, yellow landscape.

Trees were sparse, with a few tall shrubs here and there. Beasts roamed in herds nearby, like animals on the African savanna from his previous life.