Ten minutes of him just barely walking around the chamber under 10G. He would have loved to experiment with different degrees of Ki output and how it affected him. Unfortunately, he didn't have the leisure to do so. Nonetheless, the effects had already been both profound yet simple.
Ten times the normal gravity meant he was now weighing around 750kg and, with his armor, over one and a half tons. The thing about gravity, it wasn't like weights you held up with your body. Gravity affected your body itself. Every bone, ligament, and muscle now had to work under the tenfold strain compared to just a few minutes ago. Even his veins had to fight just to pump the blood where his body needed it.
A mere ten minutes had been more strenuous than working an entire day as a hero and then continuing sparring with his team. He could have taken his new armor off, but where was the fun in that? He figured the mere weight of 1.55 tons would have been something he could have lifted more easily than just walking around in that environment. Of course, this was something he had anticipated. What he didn't anticipate was the exhaustion creep.
His body continued to produce more Ki for his demands. Every cell and every aspect of his body, together with his focus, was being challenged. A challenge that proved to be more than he had bargained for.
"I've… got to be… at least as strong… as Goku who fought Raditz." He could barely speak. Usually, he didn't have the tendency to speak his thoughts out loud, but he wanted to reap the maximum gain of this environment for every part of his body, and that included something like speaking. It wasn't about his vocal cords in particular, but the act of speaking used a lot more muscles than one would think. Besides, he wanted to adapt to each level to the point where he could live in it. Not to mention speaking, he wanted to be able to sleep in such an environment as well.
As for his estimated placement in the power level scale, he wasn't sure whether that should have been obvious. The amount of growth he had felt since waking up made him think he had been in the middle hundreds at the least. Now performing a similar feat as someone who had to have at least 400 as their power level was a nice confirmation of where he approximately sat. Considering that death might have granted Goku a pretty Zenkai Boost as well, his power level might not have been a mere 400.
Even if he was struggling even more than Goku first had when arriving at Kai's planet, it was already impressive to be in that general ballpark. Not to mention that he got to be stronger than a power level of 400 at the very least, for the simple fact that he was using about a fourth of his power to power the gravity chamber. His estimation was that he had grown to a power level of 600, which would have put him as the strongest in Dragon Ball before the Saiyans arrived on Earth.
Blowing up a moon wasn't just a fantasy after all his Zenkais. It was insane to think that he could destroy a celestial body. The concept didn't quite compute in his brain just yet, and maybe it never will until he actually did it. Not that he had any intentions of doing something like that without reason.
And speaking of Zenkais, he had grown considerably after his spar with Blonde Blazer and was probably the thing that put him above Goku's 400ish. Even though it was considerable, it was still not as much as he had expected. Compared to her Ki, there was still a gap, but after having fought her, he knew he had grown past her.
Even when standing at death's door, he was now confident of winning against her comfortably. Back during their spar, if he had been healed up completely, he would have stomped her, which might mean his previous Zenkais considered her actual strength and had accurately increased his power according to the threat she might have posed to him.
Unfortunately, it was difficult to come to a definite conclusion with that. There were still some things he needed to test before he could come to a holistic view of how Zenkais worked for him. Especially, how much the injuries influenced his Zenkai without some high Ki signature he sensed in the vicinity to push it upward. It would determine if he could skip having injuries carved into his flesh via some demonic magic. Although he liked getting stronger, if it didn't benefit him greatly, he wasn't going to continue torturing himself. Despite what Malevola thought of him, he was definitely not a masochist...
"Urgh-" The gravity was almost crushing him for not focusing on surviving it. His breathing was as strenuous as any other activity inside this chamber. Just taking a glance out of the window was a Herculean effort. Looking outside, he saw Royd typing away. The man didn't look panicked or even worried. The gravity chamber also felt stable. The energy demands, though, were high and made training inside it even more difficult than already anticipated. Of course, Royd had warned him, but he hadn't considered what it would mean for training inside. He wasn't going to complain, though, and just imagined it as an additional training opportunity.
Besides, how could he complain now that he had a functional gravity chamber? 10Gs were enough to raise his powers to at least 8k. Almost giving him planet-busting abilities if he stuck with the generally agreed-upon 10k mark. From what Royd alluded to, the 10Gs weren't the limit of this machine. Sean was hoping for a limit in the thousands, though he would make do with 300Gs.
300Gs had to be enough to turn into a Super Saiyan. After all, Vegeta did it, though he wasn't going to pretend he was as talented as the prince was. So, the higher the gravity, the better. There were some other optimizations, but his future growth already looked promising.
With that in mind, he exited the chamber. Although he wanted to spend more time inside it, his job was starting, and he at least had to do the minimum and see if there were any jobs specifically assigned to him. Not to mention, he was about to collapse from the strain. He felt completely emptied and needed to refuel.
"How was it?" Royd looked up from his screen.
"Exhausting… and absolutely awesome!" He couldn't contain his excitement any longer. Just this would be enough for his powers to skyrocket. There was no way he wouldn't be excited. Royd laughed as well.
"Hell yeah! Gonna be honest. I thought 10Gs would crush you." Royd admitted sheepishly, rubbing his neck. "Already had de command to shut de thing down, though figured if you truly had to, you would have stopped feedin' de machine."
"Huh, yeah, I could do that." It was something he had worried about since Royd was essentially controlling the gravity. If, by accident or even through malicious intent, the gravity was raised, he didn't know how to disable the gravity. His first instinct would have been to raise his energy to not be crushed, but that would just feed the machine with more energy… "How about adding a control panel inside, so I can shut it down as well? Under stress, I might not think properly."
"Hm, dat makes sense. I'll add it to the list of improvements." That response piqued Sean's interest, urging the tall man to show him what he already had in mind.
As he glanced through the list, most of the stuff was technical, which was something he should have expected. Things to improve heat reduction, conductivity, and generally sustain the integrity of where gravity should affect things. There was some obvious stuff like increased space and emergency systems in case of electrical fires or explosions.
The chamber as of now was truly bare bones, and if something went wrong, it couldn't be contained that easily. Royd had focused on functionality first and figured safety could be done afterward. Obviously, it wasn't because he was someone careless, but because Sean usually came around and asked about the progress, putting some pressure on the man. Additionally, he knew Sean was a tough one and could probably take the chamber exploding in his face.
"Do you know what the highest gravity this chamber could sustain?" Sean couldn't help but ask. Safety measures and emergency shutdowns weren't really what he was worried about too much if the alternative was slower progress in terms of gravity intensity. Besides, he could just blow it up with his Ki if he truly was pushed to the brink.
"Theoretically? There is no limit. As long as da is energy, it should scale. Practically? If it remains dis size, we can push it up to 150 or even 200Gs. If the room is bigga, den less. A room twice de size could be pushed to 50Gs. And dat's not guaranteed."
"The size makes that much difference?"
"Oh, bruddah, size makes all de difference." He laughed, clapping him on the back. "It's harder to ensure structural integrity. There is more possibility of failure, and de energy consumption would grow exponentially. Doubling de size would require at least eight times de energy for de same effect. Then there is de loss of energy when directing your mana through the pangerite layered tubes for every centimeter. Bruh, I could go on and on."
"Yeah, I think you made your point. Then let's keep it at a size where I can move and have a gravity of at least 150 or more."
"Figured you'd said dat. Improvements to ensure higher gravity are already prioritized." He winked. "Tomorrow, same time, eh?"
"I figured I could come back after work and continue training. Might be good to see if something weird happens if it's operating for longer than a dozen minutes. Maybe even come during lunch?" Sean hoped. Of course, once a steak this juicy had been laid in front of him, he didn't want to leave it be.
He had gains to be made. Unfortunately for our Saiyan, the scientist was about to take away his new favorite toy as he shook his head. "System told me of some small defect in de third row of de grid. Also, if I want to improve de chamber to withstand higha loads, I'll have to rip open de ground anyway."
And just like that, any hope he had of finally hitting those Saiyan-worthy gains was lost. Annoyance at losing out on precious training time rose up in him. His mind supplied several reasons why he should be able to train in this one while Royd worked on a different new one. "Do we have enough material for another chamber without changing this one?"
Royd looked up at him with surprise, looking at him as if he was seeing an addict. He slowly shook his head. "I would have to redo de core, all de panels and tubes. Not to mention getting new material. I'm not sure. I have all de stuff needed to make even de Iron Maiden. Bruh, it would set me back weeks again and den some. It's best to reuse what we have." He answered diplomatically, afraid that the non-technical customer would continue making unreasonable demands.
"Right. Sorry. Of course, so tomorrow morning…" There was no other way around it. He knew they were currently in the phase of fast improvements. These were the low-hanging fruit that could be picked in a day or two. Any future improvements beyond that would take a lot longer.
Waiting for the first gravity chamber that could sustain long operation hours and go to the hundreds of Gs would satisfy his needs for longer and would bridge any gap to another better gravity chamber in the future. For now, his new weights could still give him some improvements, so he might as well milk that avenue for all its worth and then move on to the big player stuff.
Royd was already working on the next thing, leaving Sean to exit the laboratory and head towards the R&R area. There was still irritation despite knowing it couldn't be helped. It had to be the magical residue influencing his mood. He sat down on the couch where he usually meditated and looked through his phone, seeing if he had been assigned a task or if there was some ticket open for him to grab.
There were none.
With his notifications turned on, he closed his eyes and started his daily meditation, moving and feeling his Ki throughout his body, while simultaneously lifting the couch he sat on a few centimeters off the ground. It was a basic routine to get into the flow of improving his Ki control and developing his psychic powers.
There was something else he wanted to try. It had been shown in the series a couple of times, but he hadn't figured out the trick yet. Image training. They showed it being done alone and while telepathically linking with another. Just the idea of having a way to fight against Goku or Vegeta would be massive. Of course, image training wasn't going to be the same as the real thing, and he might not be able to imagine them correctly, but it would still be a boon.
Though he didn't know what to look out for. He knew the basic concept, but what was the difference between image training and just imagining a fight? Was it Ki movements? Did he also have to move his Ki according to what he was imagining? What about the psychic side of things, or was that just to connect two people and was otherwise superfluous?
Before he could attempt any of his guesses, a voice suddenly called out. "Jin! Thank hell I finally found you!" Malevola rushed toward him and grabbed his hand. "There is no time to explain. We have to leave quickly!" She urged him as she pulled him out of his couch and into a portal she created. The whole ordeal went quickly.
Although he was surprised, he could have reacted if he wanted to. After all, his tremendous speed and quick reflexes protected him, to a certain extent, from any ambushes that could not keep up with his speed. There were some situations where he would let his curiosity guide him. If for some reason a girl threw her legs around his head, he wouldn't dodge either.
The portal led to what he assumed to be hell. The temperature was high, and there was a red, dust-like tint in the air. The sky was gloomy, dark, and thunderous, and there seemed to be several fires lit up in the vicinity, but he didn't have much time to focus on his environment since the moment he entered this new space, a wave of sound burst forth.
RAAAAHHH
A trench formed from it. A force created through a screech that he recognized from Sonar. Malevola jumped out of the way as he glanced at Sonar. His form had changed from his usual suit-wearing form. His figure turned into a hulking, beast-like state. 'Did he transform?' Sean thought as the wave washed over him. Without suppressing his Ki, it passively formed a protective aura around him and his clothes.
Of course, his new armor might have withstood the attack by itself, but it was new, and he didn't want to scratch/dirty it just yet. Suddenly, there was a familiar sound a few meters away, followed by the shots from a nail gun.
Sean didn't need to turn around and just swiped the nails from the air. "So Visi is here as well. I assume-" His Ki sense swept out and found what he was looking for. "The entire gang is here."
"Take this, fucker!" A wave of flames covered him while simultaneously blades headed his way. Similar to the nails, he just picked them off the air while he was still burning. Malevola was at his side as Flambae gassed out.
Prism pointed at him, "Don't let me distract you!" Her light headed for him, making him turn his head away.
"Huah!" Malevola swung her heavy sword at him, and his instincts told him not to let it hit him, so he clamped the blade between his fingers and thumb. At the same time, Golem swung his giant fist at his back. His fist partly shattered upon contact with a boom.
"So, why exactly are you attacking me?" He asked as he let the blades and nails clatter to the ground before pulling Malevola's giant sword out of her hands.
…
"...What the fuck." Flambae uttered in shock. Malevola felt the same as probably the rest of the team as well. They knew there was a gap between them and Jin, but Malevola had never imagined it to be this… definite.
"Fuck, since when are you this strong?" Prism asked what was on their minds. After all, they had sparred before, and it was clear that he could easily overpower them, but the outcomes had never been this clear-cut. Usually, he would dodge their attacks. Even his counterattacks, despite being devastating, were bearable. Since he had entered their ambush, he hadn't moved a single step. What was different now?
"Our sparring was for your sake, not mine." It was a simple statement, but the implications were disheartening. He had never taken them seriously. "And usually, I'm quite injured during our battles." He tilted his head in confusion. "You knew that I was pretty debilitated due to those injuries, right?"
Sonar and Prism glanced towards her. They knew more about her abilities, and she had openly theorized that his abilities had to be similar. She thought that he would be tougher with more injuries.
"Isn't your ability like a Last Stand?" Invisigal asked.
"Last Stand?"
"You know the 'bloodied' ability, the, the, the berserker state. Golem, help me out."
"Basically, when your health gets low, you get stronger." Golem helpfully explained.
"... I'm as debilitated as any other injured person- well, I'm a bit tougher than most people, so I can still fight and stuff."
"…" There was a collective silence among the group. Not entirely sure what to do with that information. It certainly put things into perspective, especially since he had also fought Blonde Blazer like that. They had thought he wanted to have that many injuries because he wanted to be stronger when fighting her. They were obviously mistaken.
"Hey Mal, do we still have to fight him?" Prism suddenly asked.
"Yeah, you said he was an evil fucker, he is an insensitive ass, but not evil possessed," Flambae added while crossing his arms.
"Right, eh. Wait, let me check." Malevola tentatively approached Jin, while the guy in question seemed to go through a realization.
"Wait, are you talking about the dagger's magic? Did you realize something?"
That threw her through a loop. "Dagger? Wait, you noticed that you had been possessed by a Majin?"
"A Majin- right, yes. We figured it out last evening, severed the magic, and contained the dagger."
"Oh, right. So, you won't mind if I check?" It sounded like the problem had already been resolved, but you didn't deal with anything related to the Majins casually. Jin willingly put forth his arm. She quickly grabbed it and recited a detection spell of some cunt, who thought he could control a demon as a second-rate magician.
Vael’ith nax, sereth ul varai. Aruun… aruun… el’thas…
"There is still some residue… The effect is going to be similar to having a buzz." The spell helpfully supplied.
"So, this was for nothing. I woke up early for this. Thought I could beat his ass, but now all I got to know was that he was fucking around when we were sparring," Flambae complained as he turned to her. "Come on, let's leave."
"Well, that's depressing," Invisigal muttered as she held up her nail gun with a frown. The others also looked deflated by what had happened.
"Yeah, let's leave. Sorry." She created a portal and saw to it that the group left quickly. Part of the plan was to leave Jin behind in case they couldn't beat him. Fortunately, it hadn't come to this and he wasn't actually possessed. All in all, it was actually a great success for them, even if it didn't feel like it.
Jin stopped next to her as he glanced at the portal. "Thanks for opening a portal. I knew even if I defeated you, I might end up stuck here." His tone was menacing as an evil grin appeared on his face. Her heart dropped, and she instantly closed the portal.
Her heart started beating heavily as she watched him still standing there before his menacing aura vanished and he heartily laughed. He waved his hand. "Sorry, sorry. I had to do that. You should have seen your expression."
For a moment, she wasn't sure whether he was being serious or whether this was another attempt to make her open the portal again. "If I wanted to, I would have just left just now. I'm way faster than you, and I would have been pretty stupid to reveal my plan before actually going through it." He explained with a cheeky grin on his face as she saw her hesitate.
"Dick move." She said, more surprised than actually offended.
"It was a dick move to ambush me in hell."
"Well… I had my suspicion."
"You could have just said that you wanted to transfer some wounds or flirted with me, and then do your scan first before going full-on trying to kill me. You know, I should be way more upset than I am." He argued as she opened the portal again.
"We didn't want to kill you- we knew we needed to make a serious attempt so we could detain you. It had seemed like the most sensible option…"
"That makes no sense. You know I would be difficult to deal with, and you hadn't confirmed your suspicions yet, otherwise, they wouldn't just be suspicions, right?" Malevola could admit that she might have overreacted a bit. They stepped through the portal and found themselves back in the R&R.
"What took you so long?" Invisigal's eyes narrowed at them as they appeared in front of the waiting group.
"Jin decided to act like an evil bastard to spook me." She revealed, but that didn't seem to satisfy the jealous girl, judging by her expression.
"Yep." He laughed lightly. "Should have seen her. She thought she was done for."
The group, like her, looked more surprised that he would make such a joke in that kind of situation.
"The day hasn't started yet, and I already have enough of this bullshit," Flambae muttered as he left, while the rest of the group dispersed as well.
His words also made Invisigal drop the subject as her eyes drifted to the nail gun in her hands. "Whatever, I need to upgrade this thing. Hey Coupé, you got a minute!" Invisigal rushed after the departing duo of Coupé and Punch Up.
She gave Jin a stink eye. Malevola couldn't just take being ridiculed for that. "Hmph, you can't be cautious enough when dealing with Majins."
"You mentioned Majins twice now. Could you explain a bit more?" Jin asked suddenly, far more serious than before.
"...Maybe later. This really drained me, and I need to cool down before my shift starts. Don't want to give you some old history lesson." She waved her hand, not wanting to think about that piece of history from Hell. Just mentioning it would send even a Frost Demon looking over their shoulders in a paranoid frenzy. With that, she left for the medical bay to see whether some poor sod needed her helping touch. She smirked at that choice of words.
"You're going to the medical bay? How about I join you?"
"..."
"The Majins, you said it was best to be cautious about them. Since I was targeted, it would be best to inform me about the potential dangers, right? You don't want me to go looking for clues on my lonesome."
"Ugh, fuck we really doing this?" She asked as he followed her. As soon as they entered the medical area, a nurse looked at them as if she had seen her lord and savior.
"Malevola! Jin! We need you in Room 3." They hurried over, knowing that time in these situations was critical. "Winter was impaled by a steel pole and has several broken bones. Is that something you two can heal?"
Jin looked at her, waiting for her answer. "Should be possible, as long as you can take it?" Her question was directed at Jin, who thought about it for a moment before nodding.
"Should be fine."
They entered the room and found a doctor and a nurse already checking on the downed hero with the metal arm. The pole was going straight through his midsection. "That's going to be a problem." Malevola couldn't take specific injuries of one individual. Well, she could, but it was a lot more difficult to single out which wound to take than to take wholesale.
If she opted for only healing one part, the likelihood of her ability failing increased exponentially. The rebound effect would probably knock her out and kill Winter in the process. They would have to take the pole out and heal him completely.
She glanced toward Jin. This would be the first time they were dealing with such a heavy injury. Usually, they took on many small ones from multiple people. This meant that he probably didn't know what was truly coming at him… Of course, she was confident in healing Winter and transferring it to Jin, but might as well repay him for pranking him.
"We need to pull the pole out quickly, and all of you need to leave the room as quickly as possible."
She suppressed the smirk wanting to form on her face. No, she couldn't laugh yet. This was going to be hilarious and so deliciously painful~