"I can't imagine having someone with a power level of 3,000 appear right in front of me. Should I lie down and play dead, or kill myself and get it over with?" Reke gave a self-deprecating smile.
"I used to watch the anime and think Earthlings were weak. Now I know just how strong Krillin was with a power level of several million."
"No wonder he managed to marry Android 18. I'm seriously impressed."
Reke used to think Krillin wasn't good enough for Android 18. Now he could imagine just how much courage it took for Krillin, with a power level of several million, to stand in front of Cell, whose power level was over a billion, and protect her.
"I wonder when I'll get to meet those fighters."
If you asked Reke why he wasn't heading to Earth right now, would he tell you he was too scared?
For one thing, he didn't dare touch his spaceship before removing its locator. Besides, spaceships like his, designed for a single passenger, only had one return coordinate: Planet Vegeta. Unless he could become a Super Saiyan, that was where he'd end up.
"I remember that becoming a Super Saiyan requires a base power level of three million, S-Cells, and extreme anger."
"And in the new Dragon Ball Super, they say extreme anger isn't necessary. If you meet the first two requirements, you just need to concentrate your power in your spine. I wonder which method works." Reke pondered to himself.
As he thought about it, Reke imagined himself transforming into a Super Saiyan, punching Frieza and kicking Kakarot. The corner of his crooked mouth drooped, and drool trickled out.
He sprang to his feet and imagined concentrating his power in his spine. With his fists at his waist and his back slightly hunched, he looked like he was straining to transform into a Super Saiyan.
"Argh!"
He shouted for a long while, but aside from his face turning red from the effort, nothing happened.
Fortunately, there was no one around to witness this epic moment of embarrassment.
After amusing himself for a while, Reke rubbed his chin and began planning what to do next.
"I've already picked a place to live and found a water source. First, I'll train. Second, I'll keep trying to understand ki. Third, once my power level has risen, I'll explore and see if this planet has any intelligent life or civilization."
He glanced at the Scouter beside him. After hesitating for a long time, he decided that understanding ki wasn't something he could accomplish in a hurry. He picked up the Scouter and crushed it in his hand. It shattered across the ground.
"If I die, so be it. If I survive, I'll live a long, long time."
Reke had given up his comfortable routine. He was ready to take on a new challenge. The Scouter would have to be destroyed sooner or later, so he might as well make up his mind now.
Reke walked to the cave entrance and stretched. After sealing it up again, he picked out the direction of the stream he'd found the day before and ran toward it.
"By rights, even if I can't use ki, I should still be able to fire energy blasts and fly. Why don't I feel anything?"
Reke pondered as he ran.
He didn't notice that when he thought about flying, his legs gradually lifted off the ground. His legs dangled and swung in the air.
"Holy crap! What's going on?"
When Reke realized something was wrong, he found himself farther and farther from the ground. Panic seized him.
He had a mild fear of heights in his previous life. Now he was nearly four or five meters off the ground, and he snapped fully awake.
He flailed around for a while, then dropped straight out of the sky and landed face-first on the ground.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Reke rubbed his face and thought about what had just happened.
"I just flew. How did that happen?"
"Whatever. I can just try again."
Reke stood up again and spread his arms. He imagined himself flying, and a gentle breeze passed by as his feet slowly lifted off the ground.
Excited by the result, Reke slowly descended again.
"So I really can fly. Let's see if I can stay steady in the air while figuring out how it works."
With that, Reke tried again. This time, he forced down his excitement and focused on figuring out how he was flying.
Once he started, he became completely absorbed. The day flew by. He didn't eat, and he still hadn't figured out how flying worked. The only thing he'd achieved was learning to control his flight freely—and curing his fear of heights.
He realized that flying was just like walking. If he thought about flying forward, his body moved on its own. He didn't need to control it.
As the sky grew darker, Reke quickly hunted down an animal and filled his stomach in no time. Then he hurried back to his home.
He sat cross-legged in the cave and floated in the air, focusing his mind inward.
Even when his mind was exhausted, he still hadn't sensed anything.
He could only put that aside and start his training for the day.
Reke didn't know any other exercises. With a hundred-odd pounds of rock weighing him down, he planted his hands on the ground and started doing push-ups.
"One... 87... 300... 500."
Reke gritted his teeth and forced himself to do 500. As soon as he stopped, his arms began to ache. He could barely lift them.
Then two voices arose in his mind. One came from his previous life, telling him to give up. There was no need to make himself suffer so much.
The other came from his instincts since arriving in this world, telling him that this amount was nothing—not even a warm-up.
You're a Saiyan. Your body has no limits. This is nothing. Keep going.
Don't you want to fight the strong people in this world? Do you still want to be scared stiff by some weakling with a power level of 3,000?
Reke stood there, his expression shifting back and forth. One moment, his old way of thinking told him to lie down and take it easy. The next, the Saiyan blood in his veins roared.
As he thought about all the powerful fighters in the anime, his blood slowly began to heat up. Even the pain in his arms faded.
"Damn it, keep going! Sure, I don't have some system cheat, but I've got Saiyan blood. Am I really going to give up? Let's do this!"
With a low growl, Reke started doing push-ups again. When he reached his absolute limit, he began doing squats.
After his squats, he did sit-ups. He kept going until every part of his body hurt. Then he lay motionless on the ground and fell into a deep sleep, the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile that spoke of something more.
Reke woke up because his stomach was growling. The moment he came to, he sensed a difference.
His body was nothing like the one he'd had in his previous life. After being that sore the day before, he wouldn't have been able to move today.
But a Saiyan's body was different. Once he woke up, yesterday's exhaustion had vanished. His whole body felt fine—in fact, he felt full of strength.
He felt as if he could blow up the mountain with a single punch. Of course, he knew that was just an illusion. His training the day before might not even have increased his power level at all.
But that couldn't dampen his excitement.
He'd already known Saiyans were freakishly strong, but only after experiencing it himself did he realize just how absurdly powerful they were.
"Being a freak feels great. I'm done being human."
"Hahaha!"
Reke's laughter echoed through the air. Only now did he feel hopeful about the future. His first goal was to blow away that guy with a power level of 3,000.
Before you continue