Yamo leaned back against the brick wall beside the shop, pretending to stretch while he tried to calm down.
'What's happening to me?' Yamo's face became paler and he became anxious. 'Am I dying? Goku's heart disease? Did yesterday a Mutant plant a parasyte in me'
Many thoughts swirled in Yamo's mind. By the second he became more afraid and panicked.
His hands were shaking. Yamo didn't know if he was tired from pedaling or he was having a panic attack, but he felt like he was about to die.
Suddenly—A faint blue shimmer slid into place at the edge of his vision.
Not in front of him. Not floating in the air. It was attached to his sight, moving when his eyes moved, stubbornly refusing to be ignored.
Yamo's heart skipped. The panel took proper shape.
[Emergency Quest Created]
His breath caught in his throat. '…Thank god!.' Yamo smiled and relief washed over him.
The words Yamo, always wanted to say escaped his smiling lips. "System,"
A response formed immediately—not as sound, but as a translucent blue display before him.
[Online.]
The panel expanded slightly.
[Emergency Quest: Delivery Run]
[Objective: Deliver 5 newspapers on foot]
[Time Limit: Immediate]
[Reward: All Stats +3 & access to interdimensional store ]
Yamo almost laughed. 'Five newspapers?' he thought. 'Now?'
He glanced back toward Peter, who was arguing with the shop owner about a missing street on the route map, blissfully unaware.
Yamo focused again. "Why an emergency quest," he asked silently.
[User status unstable.]
That made his stomach drop.
The panel shifted, and a new window slid open.
[User Profile]
Title: Dimension Traveller (30% Dimensional Resistance)
Name: Yamo Parker
Race: Saiyan
Age: 15
Below it, the stats appeared.
[Status]
Strength: 1
Dexterity: 1
Vitality: 1
Perception: 1
KI: 0
Skils:
Flight Lv. 4, KI Proficiency Lv. 2, Tail Regrowth Lv. 1, KI Blast Lv. 2, KI Beam Lv. 1, KI Sword Lv. 1, Compressed KI Lv. 1
Yamo stared.
Not blinking. Not breathing. '…All ones. Except two of his skills'
"And zero," he added grimly. "Ki."
[Correct.]
His fingers curled against the brick.
"How strong is 1," he asked. "Be precise." The panel pulsed once.
[Baseline juvenile human parameters.]
"What?" His jaw tightened. "How strong is a normal adult man?"
Another window opened beneath it.
[Average Adult Human Male Reference]
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 8
Vitality: 10
Perception: 5
[Slightly stronger than the average humans in the Dragon Ball Dimension]
For a moment, Yamo felt hollow. "So I'm weaker than most adults."
[Correct.]
He exhaled slowly through his nose. "And before?"
The system didn't hesitate.
[Previous values were not recorded in quantifiable numbers of measurable local parameters.]
That wasn't what he wanted to ask. "Why am I so weak?"
A pause—short, but noticeable.
[Interdimensional Store activation required equivalent exchange.]
Yamo's chest tightened.
"So that was the aid 'he' talked about," he said. 'Not a gift. A trade.'
'This fucking system took everything' Yamo thought.
[Converted.]
Yamo eyes widened. He didn't speak, but thought and the system still heard him. He understood instantly that he could communicate with the system via mind
Yamo quickly regained his composure. 'All of it?'
[All currently amassed non-native power.]
His thoughts slowed. 'Why didn't you ask.'
[User was unconscious.]
'And if I had said no?' Yamo clenched his fist in anger. He let out a short, humorless breath.
[User survival probability: unacceptable, without access to the interdimensional store, user would be too weak to survive in this dimension.]
"So I wasn't given a choice."
[Correct.]
The panel dimmed slightly, then added a new line.
[Dependent on User action, stress, and adaptation he will quickly regain his former power]
He glanced back toward the bike. Toward the newspapers. Toward Peter.
Something twisted in his chest—not fear, not anger, it was resolve.
'So this is how today starts,' he thought. 'Not with power, but with effort. What a sick joke'
The panel pulsed again.
[Emergency Quest reminder.]
Yamo straightened slowly, pushing himself off the wall. His legs still felt weak, unreliable—but they held.
'Alright,' he thought. 'I'll deliver them.'
[Quest accepted.]
The blue panel faded to the edge of his vision, present but quiet.
Yamo grabbed a single newspaper and folded it and started jogging towards the first house. The newspaper felt heavier than it should have.
His arms and legs trembled slightly, but he didn't drop it. He turned back and saw Peter pedalling towards him.
Yamo forced a grin onto his face.
"Ready?" Peter asked. "Yes" Yamo said and Peter looked relieved. "Finally. Let's go."
***
20 minutes later.
Yamo stood at the corner of the street, hands on his knees, breathing hard.
Not gasping—he refused to let it get that far—but every breath felt shallow, dragged out of him instead of drawn in naturally. Sweat ran down his temples and soaked into the collar of his shirt.
Five houses.
Just five.
And his legs felt like they were made of wet clay.
Peter rolled up beside him on the bike, slowing to a stop. "Okay," he said, squinting at him. "Now I'm actually worried."
Yamo straightened immediately, forcing his posture upright. "Why?"
"You've been jogging for twenty minutes with multiple breaks," Peter said. "And you look like you just ran a marathon."
Yamo waved it off. "Told you. Bad sleep."
Peter didn't look convinced at all at Yamo's lie, but before he could push further, Yamo's vision flickered.
The blue panel slid back into focus.
[Emergency Quest Progress]
New lines appeared beneath it.
[Newspapers Delivered: 4 / 5]
[Time Elapsed: 00:19:42]
[User exertion detected.]
Yamo clenched his jaw.
'One,' he thought. 'Only one more.'
He glanced at the last house on the route sheet. Not far. Not far at all.
In his old body, it would've taken seconds, but he had no time to regret.
He pushed off the wall and jogged again.
Every step jarred his bones. Not pain—just effort. It was raw and honest. His breathing synced with his stride unconsciously, the way it did when he trained seriously.
In. Out. In. Out.
[User stability marginally improved.]
That line caught his attention.
"Improved how," Yamo thought sharply. The system responded immediately.
[Neuromuscular coordination adapting.]
[Energy efficiency increasing.]
Yamo scoffed internally. 'That's a fancy way of saying I'm getting used to being weak.'
Still—his legs didn't shake as much when he started running again. The last house was at the end of the block.
Peter rode behind him now, quiet, watching. He didn't tease. He didn't joke. Something in Yamo's movement had finally convinced him this wasn't an act.
Yamo reached the final doorstep, bent down, and placed the newspaper carefully. The moment his fingers left it—
The world seemed to pause.
The panel expanded fully in front of his eyes, brighter than before.
[Emergency Quest Complete]
[Reward Distribution in Progress…]
A warmth spread through his body—not explosive, nor dramatic. It was subtle and controlled.
[All Stats +3 Applied]
The numbers shifted.
[Status]
Strength: 4
Dexterity: 4
Vitality: 4
Perception: 4
Ki: 0
Yamo inhaled sharply as he felt his body becoming sturdier, stronger and faster.
The difference was immediate. He finally felt like he wasn't underwater anymore.
His breathing steadied. His legs felt present again. Not strong, but responsive. Grounded. He straightened slowly, rolling his shoulders.
'So this is four,' he thought. 'Still human… but no longer pathetic.' The panel continued.
[Interdimensional Store: Access Unlocked]
[Note: Ki remains unavailable until prerequisite conditions are met.]
Yamo frowned. 'Figures.'
Peter rolled up beside him just as the panel faded back to the edge of his vision.
"…You good?" Peter asked carefully. Yamo looked at him, then smiled—this time, it wasn't forced.
"Yeah," he said. "Much better."
Peter studied him for a second, then shrugged. "Weirdest 'bad sleep' I've ever seen."
Yamo laughed softly and jogged back toward the bike, movements smoother now. Still light. Still careful. But no longer desperate.
As he grabbed the handlebars, one last line appeared quietly in his vision.
[Growth condition met.]
[Further advancement requires continued stress and action.]
[Repeatable Quest: Newspaper boy]
[Objective: Deliver 1 newspaper on foot]
[Time Limit: 2 hours]
[Reward: +0.1 randomly in STR / DEX / VIT & towel with Capsule Corp logo on it]
Yamo's grip tightened—'Alright,' he thought. 'I see how you want to play this.'
He pushed off, running beside Peter as the morning sun finally crested the buildings.
Peter watched him run longer and faster for a few seconds, then finally shook his head.
"Okay, nope," he said, hopping off the bike and walking to Yamo to stop him. "This is dumb." Peter said.
Yamo blinked and wiped his sweat off "What?"
Peter pointed down the street, then at his watchless wrist out of habit. "We're already cutting it close. If we're late, we miss homeroom, and if we miss homeroom, we miss the class trip."
Yamo stiffened. "We won't—"
"We will," Peter cut in, unusually firm. He looked Yamo up and down, eyes lingering just a bit too long on his shaky posture. "At this pace? Definitely."
Yamo opened his mouth to argue, then stopped.
Peter stepped around him and grabbed the stack of remaining newspapers. "I'll finish the route. You go ahead and head back. I'll catch up."
Yamo frowned. "Petey, that's not how we—"
"Yamo," Peter said, softer now but no less serious. "You're not okay. And I'm not letting you ruin the Oscorp trip because you're being stubborn."
That hit.
Yamo hesitated, jaw tightening. For a second, instinct screamed at him to refuse, to take over, to push through like he always did.
But his legs still felt heavy. Not collapsing—but not trustworthy either.
And the system panel flickered faintly at the edge of his vision.
"…You sure?" Yamo asked.
Peter nodded immediately. "Yeah. I know the rest of the houses. Go get some rest and meet me at school."
Yamo let out a slow breath, then nodded once. "Alright. Thank you"
Peter grinned, relief breaking through. "Good. Because if you pass out on the sidewalk, Aunt May will kill me."
Yamo snorted despite himself. "Fair."
Yamo stepped back as Peter climbed onto the bike seat and watch him drive and deliver newspapers. He was awkward but determined, and became faster by the house.
Yamo watched him go for a moment. The quest felt unfinished in his chest, but missing the trip would be worse.
He turned and started jogging toward home, movements steadier than before but still careful.
As he ran, a quiet line of blue text appeared, almost shy.
[Interdimensional Store]