Another Skill Was About to Refresh!

"I was just joking." Krillin waved his hands, spreading them in front of himself as he hurried to change the subject.

He turned to Soro and asked, his voice growing serious, "What do you think, Soro?"

"The worst has happened." Soro's voice was low as he gazed toward the distant horizon, his brow slightly furrowed. "There's a good chance they're with the Frieza Force."

"Huh?" Krillin jumped, his face growing even more stricken as his lips trembled. "The Frieza Force? Did that guy Frieza come too?"

"That's not impossible." Soro nodded, then turned his gaze back to Krillin.

After a pause, he asked, "By the way, when you told Vegeta about the Dragon Balls, were they wearing Scouters?"

"I think so." Krillin nodded, tapping his temple with a finger.

"That explains it." Soro offered a reasonable analysis. "A Scouter can be used like a telephone. Frieza must have eavesdropped on your conversation through one and learned about the Dragon Balls, which is why he came to Namek. I'd guess he wants to collect the Dragon Balls and make some kind of wish, too."

"This..." Krillin's legs went weak, and he nearly sank to the ground. Trembling all over, he hurriedly glanced back at the spaceship. "Is it too late for me to go back now?"

Just as they were talking,

"Whoosh!"

A spherical spaceship streaked through the planet's atmosphere, a bright flame trailing from its rear.

It dived from high above like a burning meteor, hurtling toward the ground at tremendous speed.

The ship tore through the air with a sharp whistle as it plunged toward the distant ground.

"That... that's..." Krillin stared for a moment, then his eyes widened.

"Is that Vegeta's spaceship?" Son Goku asked excitedly, his eyes lighting up. He leaned forward slightly, his fists clenching of their own accord.

"It really is Vegeta!" Soro nodded. He closed his eyes and sensed the energy, then opened them again. "I can tell from his ki."

"Soro!" Son Goku turned to him, his gaze eager and his voice carrying a hint of pleading. "Let me deal with Vegeta this time, okay? Don't get involved!"

"Sure." Soro didn't object and gave a slight nod.

"Vegeta's come to Namek too!" Krillin said solemnly. "Looks like he's here for the Dragon Balls as well!"

He immediately turned to Son Gohan beside him, lowering his voice as he suggested, "Gohan, how about the two of us head back to Earth first?"

"Huh?" Son Gohan scratched his head, hesitation written all over his little face. "Go back now?"

"After all, the two of us won't be much help if we stay here, right?" Krillin said, close to tears. He spread his hands in front of himself, a bitter smile on his lips.

"But I..." Son Gohan stood there, clutching the hem of his clothes as he wavered uncertainly. His lips parted a few times, then closed again.

After all, Son Gohan still wanted to train on Namek.

Wouldn't it be a bit strange to go back so soon?

"Hmph." Piccolo glanced sidelong at Krillin, the corners of his mouth turning down. "If you want to go back, go by yourself! Don't take Gohan with you!"

"Go back by myself?" Krillin muttered quietly. He lowered his head to look at the ground and swallowed, a touch of nervousness in his voice.

He said gravely, "But... I don't know how to fly a spaceship."

"Don't worry." Soro smiled and patted Krillin on the shoulder. "The spaceship has an autopilot. Set a destination and it can fly back to Earth on its own."

"Really?" Krillin was both surprised and delighted. His eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"But..." Soro said, then fell silent. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he waited for Krillin to ask.

"But what?" Krillin's heart clenched, his smile stiffening as his eyelid twitched.

"Knowing Frieza," Soro mused, crossing his arms as he gazed at the distant sky, "he definitely wouldn't send just one spaceship to Namek. There should be more of his ships nearby."

He paused and turned his gaze back to Krillin.

"There's a good chance that the moment your spaceship takes off, the ships surrounding Namek will attack you and blow you to pieces in space!"

"Y-you said what?" Krillin's expression shifted again and again, from pale to ashen, then back to deathly white.

"By the way, can you Earthlings survive in outer space?" Soro asked with a smile, tilting his head as a hint of curiosity entered his gaze.

Krillin shook his head vigorously, his bald head glinting in the sunlight.

"Then that's a problem..." Soro sighed and shook his head. "Not being able to survive in outer space puts you in a dead end."

"Forget it..." Krillin looked ready to cry. He spread his hands in front of himself, his shoulders slumping. "I'm not leaving after all. I can at least find somewhere to hide, right?"

"Don't worry, Krillin!" Son Goku laughed, looking completely unconcerned. His mouth spread into a broad grin. "We'll figure something out! As long as we don't confront Frieza directly, it should be fine."

"Easy for you to say." Krillin sighed deeply, put his hands on his hips, and lowered his head to look at the blue grass beneath his feet.

"Let's deal with Vegeta first!" Piccolo suggested, his gaze sharpening.

As soon as he finished speaking, Piccolo shot into the air.

His feet left the ground, and his body rocketed skyward, his cape flapping behind him.

Son Goku followed close behind, his figure turning into a streak of light as he reached the sky in the blink of an eye.

Soro stayed where he was instead, lowering his head to look at the watch on his wrist.

The hands on the watch face ticked forward one notch at a time.

The date on the watch was set to Atlantis Planet.

Another month had passed without him noticing.

Last month, Soro had rolled the [Battle Power ×500] skill, which had naturally made him very happy.

But there was one thing that left him feeling a little annoyed...

He seemed to have made a huge mistake!

Didn't he have two skill slots now?

If he put [Battle Power ×50] in one slot and [Battle Power ×500] in the other,

how many times would his base battle power increase?

Twenty-five thousand times!

That multiplier... was downright ridiculous!

If his current base battle power was 60,000...

then how much battle power would he have?

A solid 1.5 billion.

He could absolutely beat the crap out of Frieza.

Soro took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.

There was once a great skill right in front of me, and I didn't treasure it.

By the time I lost it, all I could do was regret it.

His gaze grew distant as he looked toward the faraway sky.

If heaven would give me one more chance,

I'd treasure that skill and put it in my slot.

But by now, it was too late for Soro to regret it.

Besides, he didn't know whether two skills could stack together.

If they really could, that would be the ultimate cheat.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, then fell again.

What skill would he roll this time?