When he awoke the morning after in that same cell, he almost squealed out of delight.
Almost.
But Knox actually had a System! He actually was in the world of Dragonball. And he actually interacted with Ki! The real, honest-to-God, life force energy was his to play with!
It all still hadn't felt real, and he didn't think it ever would.
He laid there for a moment, blinking at the rusted ceiling above him, grinning like a lunatic.
But he didn't have time to reminisce about how amazingly his life had turned around in just a day.
He sat up, stretching his arms wide with a wince. Yawning, he considered the biggest advantage he had in this world.
His system. And it was far more interesting than he gave it credit for.
With a level cap of five and the bare minimum base stats being 1, he was pretty underwhelmed with the system's capabilities. But upon gaining a skill and a trait, that had quickly changed.
His [Meditation] skill didn't increase any base stats, but it did increase the multiplier on his Mind stat. Therefore, his highest stat was technically at 2.
Thus, his power level was now 2 as well.
Gaining the [Ki Control] trait, weirdly enough, didn't give him any stat increases or multiplier gains, but it instead increased his level cap. While Knox didn't have a full grasp on how the system worked yet, he was already figuring out a pattern.
Considering the 'F' in the skill [Meditation (F)], it seemed like skills could be trained while traits could not. And skills increased the passive multiplier of his base stats, while traits all had their own unique effects.
He still didn't know how to increase his base stats, but if it was anything like any other LitRPG structure, he had an idea.
Skills increased the passive multipliers on stats.
Traits each had their own weird or unique effects.
Leveling might give stat points, or something like them.
And regular training would, hopefully, raise his base stats.
That last part was still guesswork, but it made sense in his eyes, and it wouldn't hurt to try.
The only problem?
He glanced around the rust-stained prison cell.
Without the space, training equipment, or privacy it just wasn't viable. He couldn't exactly get a full range of motion in a room packed with half-starved aliens, especially when they already flinched every time he so much as breathed too hard.
Which meant, if his theory about the system was correct, then only two methods were viable.
Either he could sit down and work on grinding the only skill he had for guaranteed gains.
Or…
His eyes drifted across the room, analyzing the alien slaves around him.
Most of the others were either asleep or pretending to be. The ones that weren't simply stared into the empty space, clearly empty of any emotion. Sitting in this disgusting room, their eyes filled with despair.
And for a brief, ugly second, a thought bubbled up.
'I could kill them. It would be a mercy for them, really. And I might be able to level up…'
He didn't know how leveling worked, technically. And most of the people in the room were just as weak as him, he presumed.
Even if they were stronger, they didn't have the mental capacity to fight back. Hell, they already thought he was a scary thug or something despite being the absolute weakest a person could be.
'It would be so… easy.'
He licked his lips in anticipation.
Then he paused, clenching his jaw. With a sharp breath through his nose, he closed his eyes.
"...What the hell am I thinking?"
Knox shoved that repulsive thought to back of his mind, but it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He didn't know what was more disturbing about it. That the thought had come at all... or that a part of him had actually considered it.
But no. That wasn't who he was.
He wished for his own isekai adventure because it was his dream.
To soar through the sky without a thing to hold him back. To rain hellfire on a desolate planet and watch the pretty fires as it burned. To pluck the sun out of the sky and swallow it to see how it tastes.
Power was the goal and the engine. The means to experience the cosmos with his own two hands. And the journey to get there was just as much his dream as the goal end goal itself.
There was no reason to butcher the powerless while in pursuit of such a thing.
The only reason he even wanted The Gamer power in the first place was just to keep track of his powers later on. And so that he never declined in strength, no matter what.
Knox might've been a proud megalomaniac, but he was not a monster.
He exhaled again, slower this time.
"Okay," he whispered. "Let's just forget about that and go with the first option."
He crossed his legs and sat upright, hands on his knees, spine straightening as he pulled in a deep, steady breath. His muscles slowly relaxed. His Ki flickered in his chest like a distant flame.
It was time to meditate.
Hours passed in relative silence.
His mind slowly drifted to the void, letting him empty his mind as he imagined the nothingness he had been in during his talk with God.
The [Meditation] skill made the whole process a lot easier than it would be normally.
But eventually, the ache of sitting in one place and the pain of hunger broke him out of his focused state. Disgruntled by being prematurely interrupted, he ignored his aching body and continued to meditate despite the constant hunger pangs.
It wasn't like he could do anything about that. He was still a slave, after all.
After some time, however, he was interrupted once more.
Ding!
His eyes snapped open in irritation, only to settle down as he focused on the screen in front of him.
[Pain Suppression F] skill acquired!
Through sheer will and mental fortitude, you can dampen physical agony and remain functional.
+1 MIND multiplier for acquiring a mental skill.
'Oh,' he thought. 'Not bad, actually.'
With this new skill coming out of nowhere, his power level had risen to a whopping three! That was a power level higher than… uh, the day before?
Yeah, this wasn't enough.
With that in mind, he wanted to get back to training, but he had to deal with his hunger. Thankfully, whoever was looking after them came by and dropped bowls of green slop the aliens called 'nutrient paste'.
It was… something. Tasted like unseasoned mashed potatoes with the texture of chunky peanut butter. But since it apparently met all of their dietary needs, he didn't hesitate to devour his portion before getting back to training.
And this time he was planning to go the distance.
In cultivation stories the 'immortals' casually sat in one place and meditated for thousands of years just to get 1% closer to godhood.
While he doubted he'd ever reach that level of patience or resilience anytime soon, who was to say he couldn't at least try? The world of DBZ was reminiscent of a cultivation story, after all.
So that's what he did.
Knox sat in that spot, slowly breathing in and out, focusing on the pulsating Ki within himself.
Watching it reverberate through his body like sound. Flowing throughout and suffusing every cell with its power.
At some point, the pain returned in full force.
Even with [Pain Suppression], there came a point in which one could only sit for so long. Where the mind and body would rebel against each other, both screaming in earnest.
The dryness in his throat turned scratchy.
His stomach twisted and flipped in waves.
A dinging sound echoed at some point, indicating that he'd reached some sort of threshold, but he held fast. His [Meditation] did not break.
Why? Because his [Pain suppression] would only grow stronger if he continued.
Time passed.
A day, perhaps. Then two. And then he lost count. He drifted in and out of what felt like sleep, each time waking with a new discomfort.
Each time a dinging sound indicating another threshold passed.
Until finally, something was different.
Skill [Meditation] Rank increased!
+1 MIND multiplier for increasing from F to E.
Skill [Pain Suppression] Rank Increased!
+1 MIND multiplier for increasing from F to E.
Skill [Meditation] Rank increased!
+1 MIND multiplier for increasing from E to D.
Skill [Pain Suppression] Rank Increased!
+1 MIND multiplier for increasing from E to D.
Knox opened his sunken hazel eyes with a sigh.
His body still ached. His mouth was dry, his muscles were weak, and a dull throb rang behind his eyes. But underneath all of that, something had changed.
He felt clearer.
The pain was still there, of course, but it no longer dominated his mind. His thoughts didn't trip over the hunger or the thirst.
He shifted slightly and marveled at how little it hurt. Not because his body had recovered, but because his mind had moved beyond it.
The pain was simply information to him now, the knowledge of where it was and how severe, separate from how much discomfort it gave. No longer would it debilitate him if he felt too much, as he could simply ignore it as easily as he ignored an errant thought.
"But that feeling," He muttered, clenching his fists. "I don't know what to do about it."
Although the system hadn't indicated anything, he could feel some sort of blockage settle in as his skills hit Rank D. Like he'd reached the limit of what a normal person could achieve with the skills he had.
And until he figured out the method to remove that blockage, he couldn't increase his skill ranks any further.
'And I didn't even get a skill related to Ki during all of that.'
He was hoping for a Ki Manipulation skill or something, but maybe that was something included in the [Ki Control] trait?
Shaking his head, Knox gave up on thinking about it and settled for continuing his training.
If he couldn't meditate any further, then it was time to do some ki control exercises.
Just as he cracked his fingers and cupped the air with his palms, the lights overhead buzzed.
Then, with a sharp clack, the speaker embedded high in the wall crackled to life.
A grating, bored voice filled the room.
"All units, prep for deployment. Docking into orbit within two cycles. Repeat: all units, prep for deployment."
Knox's eyes widened. Was it time already?
"Expendables," the voice added flatly. "Congratulations. You're being drafted."
That got everyone's attention.
A low ripple of fear spread across the room like a cold breeze. Even the ones who hadn't spoken since Knox arrived were now wide-eyed and tense.
Knox didn't react, simply listening in.
"Standard protocol applies. Expendables will be deployed ahead of the main force to destabilize the opposition and distract the targets."
...Great.
Well, at least they were honest. The expendables clearly weren't expected to do anything except sow chaos.
The voice gave a final sigh, then wrapped up with the barest hint of sympathy.
"Good luck... Not that it'll help," There was a long pause. "It never does."
Click.