Chapter 1: Dragon Ball World (1)
"On behalf of DreamVault, I would like to thank you for your contributions to the lore of Dragon Ball World"
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I stared at the glowing white humanoid that sat in front of me―a Dreamweaver, apparently― with a blank expression.
Strange words reverberated in my mind, the sound too unique to be my imagination.
'Am I dead?'
It was like grasping at the edges of a half-forgotten dream, a weak floating sensation holding me in the surreal expanse.
I was spooked by how slow my mind was, conscious effort needed to even think.
'But my afterlife shouldn't this dull'
There were no angels or demons to speak of, which was a little disappointing given my near perfect church attendance.
The Dreamweaver pulsed―an ethereal intuition convincing me it was amused.
"I apologize, this is simply standard procedure," it said with a smile―or at least I think it was smiling. "But that's beside the point, your work has caught the attention of some senior executives at DreamVault," it said softly. "As a reward, we'd like to offer you a full lifetime inside a Dragon Ball Dream World," it continued, its voice trailing dramatically.
I blinked.
"What?"
"Ah! I forgot the human mind is different, my apologies," The Dreamweaver said, it's glow shimmering with a kind of gentle condescension.
It was like ice water was poured over my head, flowing from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. My eyes widened and a confused grunt escaped my lips, my active mind powered on.
"I'll break it down for you," the Dreamweaver said hurriedly. "I create and moderate Dream Worlds where humans like you can live out your fantasies. These beings called the High Rulers get a kick out of watching it all unfold, feeding on the entertainment your antics provide"
My expression soured as I processed the Dreamweaver's words, none of them comprehensible as I tried to pay attention.
"And now," it continued, "you've earned the chance to live in your very own Dragon Ball Dream World"
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'I think I'll just play along'
Most dreams didn't make a ton of sense anyway, I could just figure things out later.
"You said I get to live a lifetime in the world of Dragon Ball, right? I don't think I can turn that down," I said slowly.
The Dreamweaver practically lit up. "Wonderful! You'll live inside the Dragon Ball Dream World, and if you die, you'll simply wake up back in the Real World. Otherwise, you can live there until you die in Otherworld, when you soul is recycled there"
I quickly gave up on trying to understand, discerning it was a waste of time.
What a funky dream.
The Dreamweaver snickered, detecting my cynicism but persisted anyway.
"I know you humans have a lot of theories about how DreamVault operates so I'll just clear your doubt now, you're not getting a system"
I smiled faintly, my mind oddly jumping to the fanfictions on Webnovel about all manner of Anime World transmigrations.
Now I knew my mind was definitely playing tricks on me.
"Systems were a prototype that an intern suggested but we've phased them all out, for the Dragon Ball Dream World, you get a Super Dragon Ball Wish"
'If I could actually enter the World of Dragon Ball with that wish, that would be huge'
When creating Dragon Ball World, I had made a number of slight revisions to the lore in order to make the story more interesting.
One of these revisions was that only a single Dragon Ball was needed to make a wish, the number and size of gathered Dragon Balls increasing the scope of a wish.
A Super Dragon Ball was a massive planetary orb, meaning that a wish with one peaked at the planetary scale.
'But I don't need something that extravagant'
Every time a wish was made in the canon series, there was always some kind of plot contrivance that made it inconsequential in the grand scheme.
This was because even a single intelligent wish could empower one to completely conquer the universe.
"Can I ask some questions first?" I said cautiously.
"Go for it," the Dreamweaver replied.
"Will I transmigrate as a human?"
"If you want to"
"What Planet will I transmigrate onto?"
"Earth"
"At what time?"
"Age 749"
That was at the beginning of the original Dragon Ball story.
Interesting.
'Well I've already run this calculation before'
"I wish for my Body, Ki and Potential to be permanently set to the state of a hypothetical Ultra Fusion between Beerus, Broly, Buu, Baby and Janemba while returning my current appearance traits"
The exact wording could vary, but any intelligent entity that got their hands on a Super Dragon Ball should pretty much always wish for a biological upgrade.
This was because the races in Dragon Ball weren't balanced at all, the genes of some races objectively superior to the genes of others.
The Dreamweaver chuckled, amused.
"That's permissible, with you're wish granted, you're free to enter the Dream World"
"Cool," I said, happy my wish was approved.
The Dreamweaver chuckled again, shortly followed by a blinding light that exploded around me, heat engulfing my body.
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'IT WAS REAL!!!'
I floated upside down in the air above Mount Paozu, taking in the world spread out beneath me.
I saw the bright green forests, the winding rivers, the tranquil mist hanging in the air—it was all too vivid, too real. I could feel the air against my skin, the pull of gravity, the faint hum of ethereal energy coursing through the land itself.
This couldn't be a dream.
I flipped back upright and took a deep breath of the crisp, clean air, the purity far beyond anything I had ever felt before.
'There's just no way!!!'
I stretched my fingers, watching my skin ripple like water.
Under the weight of my focus, my index finger casually elongated like an elastic band, wrapping around my wrist before snapping back into place.
I was speechless.
The sheer absurdity of it all hit me like a freight train.
I was in Dragon Ball World.
'This is crazy!!!'
I exhaled softly, trying to slow my spinning mind.
A terrifying epiphany struck me―I was no longer human.
In simple terms, I was a Majin, a super freaky alien that was solely composed of Goo, a versatile monocellular substance that could mimic any other kind of organic material.
Because of my wish, my body had mimicked what it would be like if I had absorbed Broly, Beerus, Baby and Janemba, my natural potential set unbelievably high as a consequence.
'I can sense it already'
The stress of realizing my new reality manifested tangibly. A painful uniform tension that ran from top to bottom gripped me, squeezing me tighter and tighter.
A neat feature of my new body was that I had the brain of Baby, an advanced Android, which massively accelerated and enhanced my cognitive faculties.
This allowed me experience the pain that afflicted me with more clarity and depth than I would wish on my worst enemy.
'Breathe'
I desperately tried to calm down but my thoughts were flowing too quickly, my active mind unable to catch them.
It quickly dawned on me that one of the reasons why Majins were so dumb and carefree was because their biology was suited to it.
The strength and scale of Majin emotions were far stronger than what humans experienced, and so an intelligent Majin would either be driven insane or crash out so hard they got themselves killed.
'Breathe!!!'
I felt like I was suffocating, my head squishing as I drove my palms into my temples.
I forcibly cleared my mind and expelled air from my lungs, breathing in and out like a madman.
Funnily enough, it eventually worked, my body slowly loosening up.
'I'm not going to fight it'
I gave in to my new reality, quickly dropping down to the ground and fixing my gaze on a slow-moving stream of water.
'My wish was kind of short-sighted'
It was a wish designed to give me the highest combat potential, not at all accounting for my actual quality of life.
'But I guess I can always find the Dragon Balls later'
An Ultra Fusion was an ancient, long-forgotten Metamoran Fusion technique between five fighters, the resulting Power Level being a sum of the five put to the power of five.
Moreover, the body of the Ultra Fusion retained all the genetic buffs and special abilities of the individual fighters, creating a truly monstrous warrior.
'Baby's Intelligence, Beerus' Reflexes, Broly's Adaptability, Buu's Body and Janemba's Hax, even if I train a little, my Power Level will absolutely explode'
But the blunt truth was that I had never trained before―I was a nerdy teenager who spent time lore-building and theory crafting Dragon Ball.
'I guess everyone starts from somewhere'
I closed my eyes, feeling like the outside world was almost too much for me to handle.
I wasn't exactly sure what cocktail of factors were responsible but my body was unreasonably responsive. Instantaneously, I slipped into a state of meditation, my mind suddenly cognizant of the deep pool of energy laying dormant inside me.
It was honestly accidental but I triggered my Ki Sense, an ethereal supernatural map of my surroundings illuminated in my mind, like a fire burning within a forest at night, marking out the territory with its glow.
I purposely silenced my thoughts, just continuing in this strange state I had found myself in.
Again on accident, warmth began to flow out from the core of my body, slowly circulating through my arms and legs, gradually getting faster.
'Incredible'
The heat began to increase, the temperature of my environment climbing higher and higher but it didn't hurt―in fact, it was the opposite. I was energized, my body which was previously weary and distraught suddenly brought to a place of peace and equilibrium.
'I might have gone insane'
It was too strong to be fake but it was too incomprehensible to be real.
'I should just be grateful that I was chosen'
That was the only response that soothed my Ki which strangely resonated with my emotions, expanding and contracting slightly with every breath I took.
'I suppose on paper, I am a Super Genius so learning Ki on accident is plausible'
The lore reason was that every individual, from birth, had the some quantity of willpower but a fusion was composed of multiple individuals, the willpower of the fusion a sum of the individuals, making my own willpower five times greater.
'Let my try something'