Nightmare Mode (DBZ Gamer!SI)

Game

Thoughts

"Talking"

Please read the AN at the end of this chapter prior to reading the next part!

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"You… did it?" Bulma asked, staring in slight awe at Gray.

"Yup," Gray said simply, stepping back into the meeting room.

"He's… dead?"

"Yup," Gray echoed.

"Like, gone? Not around anymore? We won't have to deal with him again?" Bulma asked in succession, staring strangely at Gray.

"That's what dead means," Gray joked back, but nodded, "Yup. Carrot's gone. Saw his body splat on the ground myself."

"Don't be surprised. Gray can be cool when he wants to be," Celia said dryly.

"Yeah, that was pretty awesome," Saeko giggled, looking over at Gray, "One of the bigshot leaders on the planet shows up, and you take him out in just a few minutes."

"To think… you handled it so quickly," Bulma muttered, her eyes wide as she stared at Gray.

+200 Reputation with Bulma (For defeating Carrot) [4x from [Ladies Man], [A Humble Master]] 

"Yeah… it's only been, like, 5 minutes?" Krillin said, looking at Gray slightly doubtfully.

"I saw it too," Tien confirmed Gray's story, "It worked just like he said it would. We baited Carrot out, and then he… killed him."

+100 Reputation with Krillin (For defeating Carrot) [2x [A Humble Master]] 

"Ha. Ha…" Krillin chuckled and then burst into actual laughter. It was less so a 'that's so funny' kind of laugh, and more of a relieved one.

"He's been causing trouble for years, and you just show up and take him out in 5 minutes?" Krillin said, grinning at Gray, "Nice job, man!"

"Yes… it is rather impressive," Kami agreed, the elder Namkian staring at Gray. Notably, his reputation didn't increase. 

However, the reputation with every other person in the room did.

"Hah. He's not bad," Piccolo grunted merely.

+100 Reputation with Piccolo (For defeating Carrot) [2x [A Humble Master]] 

Tien said nothing, merely staring at Gray as his eyes bore into him.

+100 Reputation with Tien (For defeating Carrot) [2x [A Humble Master]] 

"That's… pretty badass," Yamcha grunted.

+100 Reputation with Yamcha (For defeating Carrot) [2x [A Humble Master]] 

The rest of the group didn't say a word, but they didn't need to. Whether it was begrudging respect, or slight awe at how easily he'd defeated one of the three villains that made up the 'Triangle of Evil,' everyone was impressed.

+100 Reputation with Yajirobe (For defeating Carrot) [2x [A Humble Master]] 

+100 Reputation with Puar (For defeating Carrot) [2x [A Humble Master]] 

+200 Reputation with Launch (For defeating Carrot) [4x from [Ladies Man], [A Humble Master]] 

+200 Reputation with Celia (For defeating Carrot) [4x from [Ladies Man], [A Humble Master]] 

+200 Reputation with Saeko (For defeating Carrot) [4x from [Ladies Man], [A Humble Master]] 

+200 Reputation with Ranfan (For defeating Carrot) [4x from [Ladies Man], [A Humble Master]] 

+200 Reputation with Asuna (For defeating Carrot) [4x from [Ladies Man], [A Humble Master]] 

+100 Reputation with Nami (For defeating Carrot) [4x from [Ladies Man], [A Humble Master]] 

Gray blinked as the final one appeared.

+100 Reputation with Cui (For defeating Carrot) [2x [A Humble Master]] 

I almost forgot he was here… he's just kinda been hanging around.

"Why didn't you offer to come help?" Gray said bluntly, staring at the purple alien, who had kept his mouth shut for the entire ordeal, and had been notably absent from the meeting room earlier.

"...did you want me to?" Cui asked, a hint of worry in his eyes, "I, uh… went to help evacuate the Earthlings?"

Aka, he took a tour of the city to get away from me.

"You're my second in command now," Gray deadpanned, "You should've been the first one to offer."

I can overlook Raditz keeping his mouth shut - he's probably still scared shitless after I beat his ass so badly, and he wouldn't have been much help against Carrot, but Cui? He's the strongest soldier I have!

Speaking of Raditz, the previous Saiyan captain was simply brooding in the corner of the room, having said at most 10 words since they're arrival at the capsule corporation building.

Did I beat his ass too hard?

"Second in command? I'm the second in command?" Cui asked dumbly, a hint of joy appearing on his face.

"Nope, just wanted to remind you that you're nothing now," Gray deadpanned, "I don't care how strong you are. From now on, just do whatever the fuck I say, got it? No thinking for yourself."

"Y-Yes commander!"

"Whatever," Gray said, pushing away any thoughts of Cui, "Now that one-third of the Triangle of Evil is down, we should capitalize on that. The other two won't know - we can take them out now and finish off the whole group."

"No," Celia countered back abruptly, and Gray looked at her questioningly, "You're getting ahead of yourself. Don't forget why we came to this planet in the first place. We're not here to take down any factions. It's been two weeks, and you took down a faction leader. That's enough to get us recalled. Any more and we'll get unwanted attention."

"Unwanted attention?" Asuna asked, tilting her head cutely at Celia.

"Hah. You're right," Gray sighed, nodding at her words.

"I'm usually right," Celia smirked teasingly - though, for the emotionless girl, 'smirked' meant that her lips twitched up slightly.

"Yeah, yeah. She means Frieza," Gray said, nodding at Asuna, "If we make too big of a splash, it won't be King Vegeta we're answering for. Frieza himself will take notice of us."

"Oh, that wouldn't be good," Asuna nodded. It was one thing for King Vegeta to know Gray was a lot stronger - strong enough to possibly take over the entire planet at this point - but it was a whole different issue if Frieza found out.

I still have no idea how I stack up compared to him, but I doubt I'm even close to his level yet. I can't be on Frieza's radar yet.

"You guys want to explain what's going on?" Tien asked abruptly, "I'm in favor of striking at the Triangle of Evil now. They're weakened, so this would be the best chance we have at killing Demon King Piccolo!"

"You should explain it to them," Kami nodded, "They are your allies now. They deserve to know."

Gray glanced at Celia. 

She would know better than me if any problems would arise from this.

"I'll keep it quick," Celia nodded, "Us Saiyans work under Frieza, but we're more like slaves than workers. We don't enjoy being under his rule. Someday, we'll go against him to free our race."

"And, when that happens, we don't want him to be immortal. So, while we could go around kicking ass and gathering the dragon balls," Gray continued for her, "Frieza would notice."

I'm not sure if we'd be able to gather them all before he realized. 

Even if Frieza wasn't certain if the dragon balls were even real, and for that reason wasn't willing to completely ditch the war with his family, and possibly lose a large number of soldiers in return, to come get them personally, he still would've been monitoring Earth in some way. 

There was no way he'd leave such a potentially powerful planet under the sole supervision of the Saiyans.

That was the biggest problem with going all out and trying to get all the dragon balls. If Frieza realized how strong he was, and that he was essentially clearing out the entire planet over the course of a couple of weeks, then he would come personally.

At that point, everything would be fucked. Either Frieza turns out to be way too strong to take on and becomes immortal, or Gray would have to fight him to the death - which would probably destroy the Earth, the dragon balls, and Gray, in the process.

Or, even worse, the rest of Frieza's family sees him heading to Earth, and they show up as well. At that point, the entire solar system might be fucked.

But, on the other hand…

If we speedrun the fuck out of gathering the balls, I can make myself immortal. 

An immortal Saiyan was practically a cheat code - infinite Zenkai boosts without the actual danger of dying.

Granted, the system would probably nerf the boosts, considering this is bullshit-ass Nightmare Mode. But, it would still be an OP-ass way to train even if the gains were diminished.

"So, we'll lie low for the next few weeks. You guys just need to keep training until we come back, and I'll keep getting stronger as well," Gray hummed, nodding at the group.

That was the safest course of action. The idea of becoming immortal was appealing, but if that plan failed and Frieza became immortal instead, then there was no going back. The universe was fucked.

This was already Gray's second chance at life - there were no more do-overs. It couldn't be guaranteed that his soul would truly go to otherworld, but even if it did, he wouldn't have a way to get revived. An immortal Frieza would have complete control over the dragon balls, so none of Gray's friends would have a chance to use them - if they were alive, that is.

Chances are, if Frieza became immortal, then he would just kill off all the Saiyans. He wouldn't need them in the war anymore, so he would send the race to their extinction out of worry of a Super Saiyan appearing. 

"King Vegeta, or perhaps the Frieza Force, will send more reinforcements when we're recalled," Celia continued, "Eventually, Frieza will send more serious forces to secure the planet. When that time comes, we'll ensure we're part of the squad."

"That's when we'll make our move," Gray nodded. 

The plan was simple: lay low on Earth and continue to train for the next couple of weeks. King Vegeta will eventually recall them, deeming Gray too valuable to leave on Earth after hearing that he not only survived the stay but also took down a faction leader in the process. 

Once he does, it would just be a matter of how quickly Gray can become stronger. Eventually, either King Vegeta will make a move toward Earth in order to get the dragon balls for himself to kill Frieza, or Frieza will make a move toward Earth.

When that day comes, Gray would need to be much stronger. Strong enough to take down Frieza, claim the dragon balls for himself, and become immortal.

Or, if luck is on my side, I can try to get to Namek and make myself immortal before fighting Frieza.

Unfortunately, he couldn't just launch his Saiyan pod over to Namek now and deal with the consequences when he was immortal. 

I have no clue where it is.

And, even if he did, someone would notice. It would've been hard to slip away before, as one of the instructors or staff at the academy would've tracked him down, but now? When King Vegeta knew just how strong he was? 

It would be impossible.

But, hey, maybe I'll get lucky and randomly get sent on a mission there!

…

Hah. As if.

This is Nightmare Mode we're talking about.

But, no matter what happens…

"We'll need to be strong. A lot stronger," Gray said. He turned his head, his eyes gazing across every person in the room. Tien, Krillin, Piccolo, Kami…

Not just the Z-Fighters…

His gaze continued. Celia. Asuna. Saeko. 

Them too. And, me.

They all needed to become stronger.

Because, no matter how strong I am… there's always someone stronger.

And so, the training montage starts now.

…

Almost now. Gray looked back over at his completed quest, which still had an outstanding reward.

[Common] [Magical] Skill Gacha Token - A gacha token used to roll the skill gacha, with a 100% chance to roll a [Common] [Magical] skill!

As the group around him continued to speak, Gray largely zoned them out. He quickly tapped the gacha token.

Use [Common] [Magical] Skill Gacha Token?

Yes/No

He tapped yes.

[Rolling…]

[Common Skill!]

[Attack Boost] - Your ability to boost an attack.

+10 INT for unlocking an INT-related skill! (10x multiplier from [Nightmare Mode])

Gray blinked, staring at the reward. He tapped on the skill, hoping to see more information on it.

[Attack Boost] - Your ability to boost an attack. 

By utilizing MP, you can increase the strength of an attack!

Well… that's not bad, actually.

For a common skill, Gray couldn't ask for more. Most of the ones he had seen in the shop were near useless - consisting of basic skills, like 'swimming.' The only question was how much stronger the skill would make an attack, and how much MP he'd need to use to get that boost.

But, hey, I'll take it. And, now I have MP, so I can try to learn other magi-

Gray blinked, stopping his thought process as he pulled up his stats. Then, slowly, robotically, he summoned a small ball of Ki in his palm.

"Gray?" Celia asked, looking questioningly at the ball of Ki, but he ignored her.

He willed for the skill to activate - to boost his small Ki ball. Instead…

[Attack Boost] can not be used! Unlock [MP] to activate [Attack Boost]!

You couldn't just give me MP for unlocking the skill, damn game?! Where's the '+10 MP for unlocking a magical skill'?! Fucking INT?

Gray stared blandly at his palm.

Fucking bullshit-ass Nightmare Mode.

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Gray Tanaki:

[Saiyan Squad Captain]

Age: 18

Wallet: 4,590,270 Coins

Lvl: 23 (3,920,780/10,000,000 XP)

PL: 3,118,252,700

Available Points: 350

HP: 1,889,950/1,889,950

TKI: 2,341,925/ 2,341,925

STR: 1465

AGI: 1650

END: 1290

INT: 1415

CHA: 1205

LUK: 795

KI: 1655

HREG: 1176

EREG: 1176

Skills: [Observe LVL 10], [Running LVL 15], [Determination LVL 15], [Ki Control LVL 14], [Ki Gun LVL 11]. [Ki Enhancement LVL 9], [KI Suppression LVL 10], [Ki Sense LVL 8], [Pushup LVL 15], [Punch LVL 15], [Kick LVL 15], [Jump LVL 15], [Flight LVL 9], [Prediction LVL 7], [Zenkai Boost LVL 6], [Cognitive Acceleration LVL 7], [Ah! Lord Freiza! LVL 7], [Mouth-Beam LVL 6], [Ki-Blade LVL 6], [Cooking LVL 6], [Ki Barrage LVL 8], [Ki Explosion LVL 6], [Ki Vision LVL 6], [Attack Boost]

Perks: [Gamer's Mind], [Gamer's Body], [Double-edged Sword], [Legendary Super Saiyan], [Perfect Ozaru], [A Cute Pawn], [A Humble Master], [Ladies Man]

Fighting Styles: [Boxing Style: Kolra LVL 2], [Fighting Style: Broly LVL 1]

Party: [Saeko, Celia, Asuna, Ranfan]

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AN: Thank you for reading! This chapter marks the end of the 'Save The Earth' arc, but the next few chapters will be a little in-between arc section focusing on training and relationships prior to leaving Earth, so the next arc isn't starting yet! 

As for the magic stuff… this is Nightmare Mode, it can never be that easy. But don't worry, Gray will unlock MP in the next arc.

Warning: The next part of this chapter, and the next couple of chapters in general, will have a lot more lewd stuff, and feature the first lemon of the story.

The next part of the chapter will be out soon, or you can read ahead up to chapter 38 at Patreon.com/Koyon ! The Patreon is up to the second chapter of the next arc right now, so the lewd/relationship stuff isn't super long.