Chapter VIII
Age 734 - October
Planet Vegeta
A random Forested Area
VOOM!!
The wind whipped through the dense forest, rustling leaves and branches as Tercres sprinted through the underbrush, chasing after a rabbit-like herbivore about the size of a wolf, at speeds so fast that to the naked eye, only black and silver blurs could be seen.
As he ran, the distance between himself and the rabbit creature slowly shortened. Its sleek fur wrinkled at the ends, and its shiny, bright eyes filled with fear as it sharply changed directions through the undergrowth, making an increasing effort to escape him.
It seemed that there were some common behaviors between these creatures and the rabbits of Earth, with only a few deviations here and there.
Yet sadly, for all its speed and grace, Tercres had no problem keeping up.
He effortlessly dodged trees and leapt over fallen logs, his movements fluid and precise. He was in his element here, lost in the hunt of his prey. He could finally relax and let loose all his pent-up emotion, fully indulging in the sadistic thrill that came with his Saiyan instincts.
Slowly, he increased the gap. He could practically see the glimmer of hope in its eyes, thinking that it had a chance to escape, before closing the distance again. He let it drown in fear and despair as he got closer.
Closer.
Closer.
He lunged forward, his hand reaching out to grab the rabbit creature's neck and snapping it in the same movement. Holding it up triumphantly, he grinned with satisfaction. He never hunted in his old world and had decided to learn how to during his free time these months since his reincarnation and quickly took a liking to it.
Some hunts ago, he accidentally found out that the animals he killed, when full of fear, tasted sweeter, saltier, and more savory than usual. Interestingly, back on Earth, he had learned from somewhere on the Internet that stressed-out animals led to tougher, less tasty meat.
However, after some experiments, he had concluded that it was different here on Planet Vegeta. He also discovered a sadistic side to himself that he never had, no doubt a result of his genes influencing his personality.
After eating a few dozen more of these creatures, Tercres found a clearing to train a bit and aid in digestion.
He did some warm-up exercises to get his blood pumping, despite literally running around a forest nearly the size of Australia. Tercres didn't consider the physical activity as a warm-up. The current him could run around the Earth twice before getting tired. To him, it was no different from breathing.
Sitting in the middle of the clearing, he closed his eyes. He found that engaging in physical activity before meditating always served to calm him down and help him focus more easily. Tomota had been teaching them how to maintain their mental focus during the surge of primal instinct that comes with the Oozaru Form, preventing it from overtaking them.
'Then again, I do have almost every relevant Dragon Ball knowledge, so maybe it was more like remembering something that I once knew. With the help of my advanced biology, my cognitive abilities are nothing to scoff at.'
Taking a deep breath, Tercres willed his ki to move. In his mind's eye, a warm, slightly viscous current expanded from a dot-like center, spreading from below his abdomen towards his chest cavity and filling it with warm energy.
All rational thought nearly disintegrated into instincts as the energy quickly flowed to the rest of his body.
Taking another deep breath, he held on, wavering this time as quivers ran through his body. The first time he had tried this a month ago after increase his ki control to a sufficient level, he had lost all cognition. His ki had saturated his mind and filled it with his greatest obsession: survival.
When he came to, he was sprawled out in the middle of one of many craters, with dead wasteland predators soaking in pools of blood all around him.
His heart rate increased, but his mind was crystal clear. His fists curled and uncurled, restless, but he still felt in control, albeit shaky. The warmth overflowed from within; he could feel it exuding from his skin.
Opening his eyes, he saw an intense, focused, and highly concentrated red aura covering his slightly bulked-up form. His mental focus wavered every now and then, but he held steady; he was getting used to it.
He didn't dare move an inch. Not a muscle twitched in fear that if he moved, he might destabilise his already tenuous grasp on his psyche. After a few minutes, a smile grew on his face, then a chuckle escaped his lips, followed by full-blown laughter.
Eight months of adapting to his new reality, frantically training and increasing his ki control, all the while hiding his knowledge of the Zenkai Boost ability, all the while having the impending danger of Frieza looming over his consciousness.
He had found out that the Zenkai Boost ability that was critical to saiyan growth, was never mentioned to them. Tomota never said anything about it during his teachings, even when they had a minor Zenkai after fighting the Saibamen.
That led Tercres to the conclusion that the Zenkai Boost ability was a classified secret known only to the Royal Family and its most devout Noble families. Undyingly loyal Elite saiyans with high positions in the Saiyan Army, may also have known about the Zenkai Boost.
Then again in battle, saiyans that were too injured were most likely just left to die due to their societal beliefs. And King Vegeta sure as heck wouldn't allow the widespread use of healing tanks like Frieza's Army, so the injured saiyans who did make it back would probably have to heal the natural way, which would take longer and make them not equate a gain in power to them almost dying.
Bardock is an exception since he cared about his allies and vice versa. They probably pulled him out of battle when he got injured badly and since he was a leader of a squad of saiyans, he probably was ranked high enough to get access to a healing tank or at least a downgraded version.
And so Tercres hid and trained in secret, increasing his power level faster than his natural power level growth suggested, which helped him stay ahead of his peers. At the moment, the maximum weight he could lift was twenty-seven tons.
Tercres looked around the clearing and found a moss-covered boulder at its edge, with a diameter of around ten to twelve feet. It was imposing in height, standing about six to eight feet. Scanning the rock with his scouter told him that it was made out of granite and weighed around sixty tons. In his base form, he wouldn't be able to even budge it.
'But with this budding technique,' Tercres thought as he reached forward and, with some difficulty, uprooted the sixty-ton boulder, 'I can carry double that weight.' At this moment in time, Tercres felt the happiest. Even though this technique was imperfect and needed some work, and was useless as of now, he didn't care.
Exhaustion took over him as he felt his ki nearing depletion; he could only hold it for three minutes at a time. He cancelled the form, and his muscles returned to their lean state as he fell back against the ground, chest heaving up and down, while a strange sense of lightness pervaded his body.
He placed a hand on his heart and felt the powerful beats beneath, proof that his accomplishment was real and that he had a chance at survival.
The constant pressure that weighed down on his mind was gone. He looked at the red sky of Vegeta and grinned as wide as he could. Every fear, every nightmare, and every grim thought he had since reincarnation momentarily lost their grip on his heart.
But Tercres didn't care. At this moment, right here, right now, he was the freest boy in the universe
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A/N: Hello there fellow humans. I hope this chapter helped to hopefully reconnect the little bond created between you readers and the MC that was broken due to my inconsistent chapter release. And for that forgive me.
I'm only human after all so don't put the blame on me.
Now back to this chapter, as for the new "form" (its more of a technique), I'm sure many of you are confused. Some of you, especially OG Dragon Ball or hardcore fans, may be able to recognise it from its first appearance in Dragon Ball Z. If you think you know what it is, say so in a paragraph comment or in the comment section. The first person to guess it will be praised in the next chapter.
As usual, if you have any constructive criticisms or think there is a plot hole (* stares at Hasan_Shopnil *) or any general advice and things you would like to see in my Dragon Ball FanFic, let me know and I will respond. I promise.
Have a nice end of week and for my British readers preparing for exams for this week and the next, I give you my blessings. I hope you guys smash your exams with high grades!
Live long and aim high🙏