For a moment, there was silence.
Then the soldier's face lit up. Not with respect or interest or anything so wholesome, but amusement.
His lips curled into a slow, toothy grin, and he tapped a few buttons on his scouter without a word. The device blinked, chirped, and displayed a reading.
Knox watched as the soldier's eyes focused on the number.
"Huh?" He stared at it in disbelief. Then he clicked it once more, and it gave back the same reading. "Wait-"
Seemingly unable to control himself, the soldier let out a bark of laughter, cutting himself off. It echoed off the metal walls, harsh and sudden. A few of the other slaves visibly flinched and jumped at the sound, dropping whatever they had been clinging to.
Then the soldier refocused and clicked on the scouter one final time before he finally accepted what his eyes were seeing.
Knox had no idea what was so funny about this situation...
But the man had begun outright howling.
He grabbed his sides, doubled over, and laughed so hard it looked like it physically hurt. The sound was an ugly, mirthless thing. Even the other slaves looked confused now, unsure if this was a good or bad sign.
He leaned against the wall, barely staying upright.
"Gods, this is priceless. A real comedian, this one."
Knox didn't respond. He just stood there, jaw tight, eyes fixed on the man.
The soldier finally straightened, wiping the corner of his eye.
"You know what?" he said. "You actually made me laugh. That doesn't happen often. So, I'll do you a favor and not kill you for yelling 'wait' at me like you're owed any attention."
The soldier gestured lazily toward him.
"I'm guessing nobody explained anything to you considering you were half dead when we picked you up, right? Yeah, that's probably it."
He answered his own question, not even letting Knox respond.
"Here's the short version: you're an expendable. Either some warlord sold you off, you got swept up in a purge, or whatever else happened. It doesn't matter anymore. From now on, this is your home."
He leaned in, voice lowering.
"From here, you'll probably be shipped off to whichever planet needs fodder on the front lines. I doubt anyone would use you for pleasure with that scary face of yours, after all."
He eyed Knox again. This time more thoughtful.
"Maybe if you take advantage of whatever regeneration you've got you'll be able to survive your first few raids."
Knox's eyes narrowed. 'So he did notice that I miraculously healed. Doesn't seem too impressed, though.'
"Theoretically, you could become a member of the force if you survive long enough," the man continued. "Impress the right officer. Get enough strength to make yourself useful. Then maybe someone'll promote you from the trash you are right now."
Then he laughed again, but it was more of a snicker than a laugh.
"But there's just one little problem…"
He pointed at the scouter, still blinking.
"You have a power level… of one!"
He said it like it was the greatest punchline he'd ever delivered and launched into a fresh wave of laughter.
"I've seen paralyzed snails with higher readings!" he cackled, wiping his eyes again.
Still chuckling to himself, he turned away and waved casually over his shoulder as he walked out.
"But hey, good luck with that! If nothing else you're one scary-looking fucker. You might be able to survive off pure intimidation alone."
The door hissed shut behind him.
Knox stared at the door for a long moment, before he huffed and sat down.
He didn't want to actually become a monstrous killer like those of the Frieza Force, but he thought that becoming a member of their army would be more beneficial for him than staying a slave.
If he played along, he could train. His system would grant him immense strength, and he'd probably be strong enough to be Frieza's right hand man in a little while.
And when the time was right?
He'd escape. Duh.
Where would he go after that? No idea. But freedom came first. Everything else could come second.
Technically, the plan could still work. He just had to stay a slave a little longer than expected.
A smirk slowly formed on his face as he thought about it. 'Ah, this is all so… exciting.'
"…You're insane," a voice hissed, sharp and angry.
Knox's gaze flicked up. The scrawny alien from before was standing now, hands clenched, trembling with more than just fear. More like… outrage?
"You could've gotten us all killed with that stunt!" he snapped, words tumbling fast now that he'd found the courage to speak. "You don't talk back! You don't talk at all! If he had gotten irritated by you, we would've been in the blast radius and-"
Knox yawned and scratched at his ear with a pinky.
"Oh, be quiet."
Once more, the entire cell went silent.
Then Knox blinked, noticing that the guy actually stopped talking. Usually, people just kept talking over him once they were in ranting mode. The scrawny alien's mouth hung open, caught mid-retort. It was as if his voice simply left him.
In fact, no one even breathed loud enough he could hear them.
'Oh, right. The evil curse thing. I keep forgetting about that.'
Knox bumped his head back against the wall, exhaling sharply through his nose.
'Well, at least it's convenient.'
He didn't mean to intimidate them. But if the curse made him the scariest guy in the room without even trying… Well, that wasn't his fault. And honestly? It made things quieter. Just how he liked it.
He rolled his neck until it cracked, then let his gaze drift up to the dull red light overhead.
The soldier's words still echoed in his head.
'A power level of one, eh?' He thought. 'Well, let's see if that's true.'
Knox sat up straighter, eyes narrowing with a glimmer of focus.
"Status," he whispered so low he could barely hear it himself.
A glowing orange screen blinked into existence in front of his face, flickering slightly like a hologram made of fire and circuitry.
[Knox Creed]
Age: 18
[Earthling Lv.1/5]
Power Level: 1
BODY — 1 (x1) = 1
MIND — 1 (x1) = 1
SOUL — 1 (x1) = 1
Skills: N/A
Traits: [Wishbane], [Evil Aura]
Knox's eyebrows rose significantly. "Eh?!"
His power level really was 1!
He'd thought he had some form of information defense, like how Gamer's Mind could protect the original gamer from being mind-read. But no! He was truly just weak as shit.
"...Well, damn," he muttered.
He leaned back again, the glow of the screen casting faint light across his face. A moment passed. Then he sighed.
"Guess I really am weaker than a farmer. And baby Goku. And… pretty much everyone."
He wasn't upset, exactly. Having no secret super cheat besides the system was his plan from the start, but he was anticipating the system being unique in some form.
But nah, it was a seemingly normal system, even if the stats and the multiplier thing were a bit unorthodox.
He drummed his fingers lightly against his leg.
'At least I can level up. I don't know how I'd escape this place if I couldn't.' Just imagining being stuck doing push-ups while warfare happened around him gave him shivers.
Still, his lips slowly curled into a grin.
"Alright," he whispered. "Let's start grinding."
He knew what came next. At least, he thought he did. Any scrub in the Dragonball world could train until they eventually unlocked Ki, but he had a system. And in every LitRPG isekai he'd ever read, there was always a surefire way to get started with supernatural powers.
He closed the menu with a flick of his finger, the screen dissolving into specks of ember-like light.
Knox crossed his legs and sat upright, posture straightening as he took a deep breath. In through the nose… Out through the mouth.
Then he took another breath, repeating the cycle as he slowly relaxed every muscle in his body. When his body was fully relaxed, he decided to move on.
'Meditation. That's where they always start in fiction. I just need to… I dunno. Look inward? Feel the world around me?'
It sounded dumb. Like, really dumb.
'I mean, logically, if I've never had Ki before, there's a good chance I just… don't have it.'
That would be the smart assumption.
But Knox didn't care about smart assumptions right now. He had a system.
'If anything,' he reasoned, 'Being at zero means the moment I catch a whiff of Ki it'll be far easier to sense than a normal person.'
So, with that overly confident, possibly-wrong-but-who-cares logic…
He closed his eyes.
Silence wrapped around him like a blanket as he focused on that invisible power lying dormant within him, coaxing it out with each breath. He held his hands in a ball, cupping the energy within his mind's eye. The cold metal beneath him faded from his awareness. So did the rust in the air, the tension from the other slaves, the sting of humiliation from being laughed at.
All of it fell away.
And for a moment, there was… nothing.
Nothing except–
[Meditation (F)] skill acquired!
Through focused mental and physical stillness, you gain clarity, control, and gradual recovery. A staple for warriors, monks, and overthinkers alike.
+1 MIND multiplier for acquiring a mental skill.
Knox's concentration violently shattered as the dinging sound of unlocking a skill went off.
'Wait, that worked?! Man, this shit is easy.'
He hadn't even done anything crazy like discover the truth of the universe through a period of unyielding meditation. All he did was sit down and stop being a spaz for a second and was granted free power.
And just as he was about to continue meditating, another notification blinked into view.
[Ki Control] trait acquired!
You have taken your first steps toward mastering Ki. Though your reserves are laughably small, your sensitivity is above average.
+5 Level Cap.
Knox's eyes widened.
Suddenly, he could feel it. It wasn't a clear, easily perceptible thing, but it was definitely there. A warmth in his chest that pulsed with the same rhythm and strength of his heart.
His grin widened, back to the same goofy, almost unhinged manner it was when he spoke with God.
"Ohhhh, yeah," he muttered, the words dragging out with childlike disbelief. "This multiverse is so fucked."