Chapter 9: A Worthwhile Opportunity!
"What the hell is Cooler doing here? Are you telling me the movies count to?" Arlic was inwardly unsettled. "Wait, I've already seen Paragus, he's from one of the movies. Well, two. Dammit not the point!" Cooler was Frieza's brother, and as the Dragon Ball movies were considered non-canon, he shouldn't exist. But Toriyama was not God and even the movies mentioned nothing of Cooler coming to Yardrat. Arlic's thoughts were racing to find an answer. "He's not supposed to learn Instant transmission until his second move, [Return of Cooler]." He took a deep breath, calming himself down. All the while, keeping a neutral expression on his face as he walked next to Elder Pybara.
"This must be another of the changes that I've noticed. Yeah, it would only make sense that the real thing would be different from a manga or anime." Finishing his last line of thought, Arlic came to a stop behind Pybara. They had stopped next to a group of children, many of different ages. The children were quite diverse in species. Some were Yardratian while other were from species he didn't recognize. There were even a few Namekians in the mix. It seemed that the Yardratian training method was highly sought after.
Arlic's attention was diverted back to Pybara, as his new teacher spoke. "You will train with the beginners before learning our more advanced methods and techniques. You still have yet to learn Ki Sense, after all." Arlic couldn't help but think, "No! Really?!", at his new teacher's statement. If he had learned Ki Sense, he would have known that a monster like Cooler was on Yardrat. Sighing inwardly, Arlic kept listening.
"You will find two scrolls on your training mat." Pybara pointed to an empty brown mat that was identical to the ones the other students were practicing on. "One scroll holds our training method for [Ki Control]. The other holds our training method for [Ki Sense]. Each one is important to what comes later, as such you must master both." Looking at Arlic, Pybara had a 'Keeping up?', look on his face. Seeing that he was still paying attention, Pybara continued.
"One of your senior students will be by every few days to check your progress. When they feel you have learned the material, you will tested. Should you pass, you will move on to the senior class in order to begin learning more advanced methods." Smiling at him Pybara concluded. "Should you grow hungry, there is a dining hall in the central hall that has an all you can eat buffet, open both day and night." Arlic's eyes lit up at those last words. "Hell yeah!", he thought.
"Study hard, young Saiyan. Remember that true strength is born of effort." With those motivational words, Elder Pybara walked away. Looking at his mat, Arlic sat down and opened the first scroll, unconcerned with anything else. The script was written in galactic basic and read, [Yardrat Ki Control Method]s at the very top. The scroll held five different methods for the advancement of an individual��s [Ki Control], with a description of what the Yardrat understood of [Ki] itself.
[Ki] wasn't as simple as the Dragon Ball series had made it out to be. While he already knew that, the scroll helped clear up more than a few misunderstandings on his part. [Ki] wasn't just the lifeforce of an individual, but a literal manifestation of energy given physical form. In essence [Ki] was lifeforce energy converted through the user as a medium of sorts, into another form of energy. That conversion was what allowed something meant to sustain life to become something that could end it.
That said, Yardrat didn't view [Ki] in such a way, they used it to make their lives easier. What others used to destroy, they used for creation, healing, and manipulating space-time. The [Incubation Pod] taught him that [Ki] was to be used in battle, to destroy the enemy. These beliefs were stark differences brought about by to differing cultures. Arlic believed that most all Saiyan's could learn a thing or two from the Yardratian people. He felt that most Saiyan's were to simple minded, only concerned with battle, that was why they had destroyed their original home world.
Beginning to work his way through the first [Ki Control] method, Arlic sat cross-legged and clasped his hands before him. He held his two thumbs upwards together at the fingertip, circulating his [Ki] throughout his body. A small ball of energy formed at the end of his thumbs. As he concentrated, he would make the ball of energy increase in size, then he would return it to its original size. This was the exercise that was first on the scrolls list.
At first it was difficult, Arlic struggled to maintain the proper power output, causing the energy to explode in his face more than once. It was only after his one-hundredth attempt that he started to get the hang of it. By his two-hundredth attempt he was no longer having any trouble. The primitive training which he had done on Planet Kreme was nothing compared to this. Just this small amount of training caused him to feel more in tune with his [Ki], Saiyan's were quick learners after all.
Five hours later he decided to call it quits, he wanted some of that all you can eat goodness that Pybara mentioned. It had been too long since he had a decent meal, let alone one that had filled him up. Walking to the dining hall, that wasn't hard to find thanks to his excellent sense of smell, he quickly grabbed the largest tray he could find. Getting in the line of other students, he patiently waited his turn.
Arlic was drooling by the time he began to pile his tray high with all the food he could fit on it. As he started to leave the buffet to pig out, a male voice shouted out behind him, as some dipshit rudely knocked him aside. His food tray plummeted to the floor, with his teeth clenched in rage, he turned to look at the soon to be deadman.
Turning around he saw three men standing there with wide grins on their familiar faces. One was a blue skinned man with blonde hair, one was a tall red reptilian humanoid, while the last was a green skinned man with thick black hair and an orange-white helmet. All three were wearing [Battle Armor] emblazoned with Coolers emblem, these men were Sauzer, Niase, and Dore. He should have known these three would be around here somewhere.
Niase spoke first, "Oh look Dore, what's a filthy monkey doing eati…!" Before Niase could even finish speaking, Arlic's hair flashed blond as his eyes shone blue. Vanishing, he punched Niase square in his smug face, soon after his hair and eyes returned to normal. He had never been so pissed off before, because of that he failed to take note of his change. Turning his gaze towards the other two, Arlic prepared to render a beatdown of epic proportions. Just before he could step forward, someone stopped him. "That's enough!" My men were clearly in the wrong. Allow me to apologize for their rudeness." Looking to his left, Arlic saw Cooler standing there watching him with curiosity.
Clenching his fists as he tried to calm down, he walked over to Cooler. Normally he wouldn't take the risk as he stood no chance of winning against him, but he knew this might be a good opportunity. Arlic needed someone to teach him how to fight, and who better on this planet than Cooler. "I can forgive this matter, on one condition." Cooler had never had anyone just walk up to him before, not without showing any respect. Not to mention someone ballsy enough to make demands of him, he was a bit intrigued. "And what condition would that be?" Seeing Cooler take the bait, Arlic was thrilled. "If men as belligerent as these follow you, then it can only mean you possess either wealth or strength. Looking at you, I believe it is the later. As such, my condition is simple. I want you to teach me how to fight." Cooler laughed, this Saiyan was interesting, indeed.