3.1 Time Skip: The Power Level of a Fourth Grader
Nine years passed in the quiet suburb where the Nova family lived. For Alexander, those years were a monotonous, relentless cycle of school, family life, and high-intensity, secret training fueled by the System.
The System, always vigilant, provided missions that perfectly paced his growth.
[HOST STATUS: 10 YEARS OLD. POWER LEVEL: 8,000 (BASELINE HUMAN: 10-15)]
This Power Level was the result of brutal, focused training. By the time he was five, Alex had permanently hidden his tail by using his developing Basic Metamorphosis Skill to integrate it completely into his lower back, making it appear to have been surgically removed years ago—a quiet lie to his parents that eased his mind.
His parents simply thought he was an incredibly focused, dedicated child. He excelled in school, dominating every physical sport—though he had to constantly suppress his strength to avoid accidentally shattering a baseball or kicking a football into orbit. He became adept at using minute amounts of Ki to reinforce his actions, allowing him to perform "superhuman" feats that were just chalked up to being a prodigy.
His actual training took place in a state-of-the-art virtual environment.
[FEATURE UNLOCKED: TRAINING SIMULATION (RANK F)]
This allowed him to mentally enter a pocket dimension—a desolate, gravity-heavy planet reminiscent of Planet Vegeta—while his body lay peacefully asleep in his bed. Every simulated punch, every Ki blast, and every grueling set of push-ups under 5x Earth's gravity translated perfectly into real-world physiological improvement.
3.2 Unlocking the Gate
The System's missions were always geared toward utility and control.
[MISSION: GATE CONTROL (TIER 1) - Successfully summon and retrieve 10 distinct, non-weapon Noble Phantasms in real-time within 5 seconds.]
This mission finally gave him practical mastery over the Gate of Babylon. Since its initial unlocking, Alex had spent years mentally cataloging the truly vast, nigh-infinite archive of narrative power stored within.
He didn't just have swords; he had concepts of items.
He could instantly summon:
The Conceptual Scythe of Thanatos (Anti-Fate): Useful for slicing fate-based attacks, though its power was severely limited by his current Ki output.
The Ring of Invisibility (Concealment): Perfect for sneaking out of the house for late-night training flights (which he had started doing recently, flying at supersonic speeds high above the cloud layer).
The Master Key of the Void (Anti-Sealing): A tool to bypass magical or technological locks.
He primarily focused on defense and utility items that wouldn't expose his identity. His most used item was the Conceptual Training Weights of the Heavens (Anti-Gravity)—Phantasms that added variable, debilitating weights to his body, making his mundane movements feel like a workout. This allowed him to maintain his physical growth without attracting attention.
His greatest accomplishment in this period was mastering the Kamehameha.
It was simple Ki theory, thanks to Goku's knowledge, but generating a concentrated energy beam required immense focus and a robust Ki pool. He could now fire a small, blue-white beam powerful enough to vaporize a medium-sized dumpster (safely done in the simulation, of course).
3.3 The Growing Instability
Despite his progress, Alex constantly felt a crushing inadequacy. He was an "elite Saiyan," but he was a flea compared to the actual forces of the DC Multiverse.
The news reports that his parents followed gave him regular updates on his competition:
Clark Kent, the star Metropolis reporter, was seen lifting a collapsing bridge. (Kryptonians were terrifying.)
A new, crazed vigilante called the Joker had flooded Gotham with fear toxin. (The stakes were high.)
Mysterious booms of thunder heralded the arrival of the New Gods. (Actual deities.)
Alex was currently a glass cannon, capable of delivering a powerful blast but still vulnerable to a stray bullet if he wasn't constantly reinforcing his skin with Ki.
One evening, while performing a standard 5x gravity run in the simulation, the System's notifications took an alarming turn.
[ALERT: PARADOXICAL ENERGETIC SPIKE DETECTED.]
[HOST DIMENSION (EARTH-0) IS EXPERIENCING UNUSUAL TEMPORAL RIPPLES.]
[RECOMMENDATION: HOST MUST ACHIEVE SUPER SAIYAN 1 (SSJ1) STATE TO MITIGATE POTENTIAL THREATS.]
Paradoxical Energetic Spike? Temporal Ripples? That sounded like a Crisis event waiting to happen.
His goal became singular: Super Saiyan 1.
The legendary golden transformation. It required two things: an immense base Ki pool and a trigger—a monumental surge of intense, pure-hearted rage. Alex had the Ki, thanks to years of training, but the pure, selfless rage was difficult to conjure in his happy, stable new life.
He decided to focus on the next major System goal.
[CORE MISSION: THE ROAD TO SUPER SAIYAN 1]
[OBJECTIVE 1/3: ACHIEVE BASE POWER LEVEL OF 10,000.]
[OBJECTIVE 2/3: KI MASTERY - ACHIEVE PERFECT KI REINFORCEMENT (RANK C).]
[OBJECTIVE 3/3: BATTLE EXPERIENCE - DEFEAT THE 'CHAMPION' IN THE TRAINING SIMULATION.]
[REWARD: SUPER SAIYAN 1 UNLOCK, ADVANCED KI TECHNIQUES KNOWLEDGE (KAIO-KEN, SPIRIT BOMB), +50 ALL STATS.]
He was close. His current Power Level was 8,000, and his Ki Reinforcement was at Rank D+.
3.4 The Inter-Dimensional Opportunity
Alex finished his simulated training session, sweat pouring from his body as the gravity returned to normal. He climbed out of his bed, muscles aching deliciously, and checked the interface one last time.
[OBJECTIVE 1/3: ACHIEVE BASE POWER LEVEL OF 10,000. (80% Complete)]
Almost there. Just need to push harder.
Just as he was about to get a glass of water, the System chimed with a rarely seen, pulsating red notification.
[CRITICAL REALITY TRAVERSAL MISSION AVAILABLE]
[REALITY: EARTH-9 (THE ANCIENT CULTIVATION REALM)]
[DURATION: 7 DAYS (HOST BODY WILL BE PLACED IN STATIS)]
Alex froze. A reality jump! His third wish was finally activating.
[MISSION: IMMERSION AND ADAPTATION – Host must successfully survive 7 days in the designated reality, acquire a working knowledge of the native 'Cultivation Energy' (Chi), and acquire a single native Cultivation Art.]
[RISK ASSESSMENT: EXTREME. HOST MUST RELY SOLELY ON KI AND GATE UTILTY. CULTIVATION REALM DENIZENS ARE HOSTILE TO UNKNOWN ENERGIES.]
[FAILURE PENALTY: PERMANENT KI CORRUPTION (RANK SEVERE). ALL POWER LEVELS CUT BY 90%.]
[SUCCESS REWARD: NEW SKILL: CHI ABSORPTION & FUSION (RANK E), POWER LEVEL +2,000, 1 RANDOM NOBLE PHANTASM FROM THE CULTIVATION REALM.]
A staggering +2,000 Power Level reward! That would instantly satisfy Objective 1 of the Super Saiyan quest.
This is it. A shortcut. A way to get the power I need to stop being a nervous fourth-grader with god-level potential and become a viable contender.
Alex took another deep breath. Seven days of high-stakes survival in a world of aggressive cultivators. It was the brutal trigger he needed.
[ACCEPT MISSION? YES / NO]
With a steely gaze that belied his age, Alex tapped the 'YES' button.
The bedroom vanished. The System encased him in a dark, warm stasis field. Then, with a crackle of displaced air, Alex's consciousness was ripped across dimensions, pulled by the sheer, magnificent cost of his third wish.
He was no longer Alexander Nova, the suburban ten-year-old. He was about to become a desperate anomaly in a world where power was drawn from the very heavens.
—END OF CHAPTER 3—