Sean stared at the notes on a sheet of paper in front of him as he bit down on his finger. To say he was distressed would be an overstatement, but he realized that the thing he had set as a goal just the night before wouldn't be as easily realized as he had initially imagined.
When thinking about Super Saiyan, any fan of the series would know that it was just one step of many to come. Some fans would even say that it was just the first step towards true strength. It was a transformation that grew more irrelevant the longer the show went on.
Mere children were able to transform into Super Saiyan, and Saiyans of another universe were seemingly instantly able to achieve it once they knew the trigger of a tingle in the back. The form was only used to test their opponents, but besides Frieza and a few androids it wasn't one to finish the job. Did this truly mean it was an easy transformation to achieve?
Just thinking about it for a few minutes would make anyone with the goal of achieving it question the feasibility of it. It was a legend that had last appeared a thousand years prior to Goku and Vegeta. If it was truly easy to achieve, it wouldn't be something that took a millennium to occur, especially for a warrior race that grew through battle. In the series, he had seen how long and what encounters it took Goku to achieve the legend.
Most would argue that everyone had a fighting chance at Super Saiyan. After all, a subpar low class Saiyan did it. They would bring up the point that Goku had a latent power level of 2 when he was born. From what he remembered of the series, this was truly below average among Saiyans. However, most would conveniently forget what it took to get there. Even as an adult martial expert, when fighting Raditz, Goku only had a power level of around 400.
Raditz didn't seem surprised by his brother's power level, so it was a growth curve that could be expected on a planet with Earth's gravity. At that point, Goku had trained martial arts for most of his life and fought the strongest people the planet had to offer. It took a ginormous effort and multiple mentors for him to just reach that point. To approach the power level of an elite class warrior, it took him dying, then the intervention of a literal god just so he could keep his body and train on a planet with higher gravity with another higher-ranking god in the afterlife. And after all that, he only had a fighting chance against a born elite class warrior through a technique that flat multiplied his power.
After all that, he wasn't even close to becoming a Super Saiyan. His power had to increase almost 400 times, which he was only capable of because his genius friend made him a special training area where he could increase gravity to a hundred times while abusing his Zenkai boost with the help of Senzu Beans, magical instant heal items. It then took the threat of a galactic emperor and immense rage so he could just barely reach the threshold to be able to transform.
If that was easy, Sean didn't know what could possibly be considered difficult. The struggle was what made Super Saiyan something special. It was the lack of struggle that made people frustrated with the Saiyans of Universe 6 and their ease of achieving it.
Goku, despite having low latent power, made up for it in all other aspects. He had the best teachers he could have had until that point, with the willingness to learn. He had grit and determination to train and improve, a disposition that promoted the mutation to S-cells, and a desire for combat even against opponents that should have beaten him.
Just from the plot, it was clear that it took tremendous effort for Saiyans to rise above their birth given status. Sean wasn't sure how high his innate power level was or where it currently sat, but it couldn't be high. The short session at the gym and the bout made him realize that he was only slightly above an untrained human adult, which might put him even below the farmer, who had a power level of 5.
To say his power level was low would be an underestimation. If he had been in Saiyan society, he probably wouldn't be allowed to be a combatant. Hell, he most likely wouldn't be able to live long after birth under the high gravity. If his talent was truly that trash, he would need a lifetime of training just to reach Goku's level before his fight with Raditz, and even that might be difficult to reach if he wasn't a martial arts savant with the right mindset like the protagonist of a shonen anime.
Of course, he had one true advantage over Goku. He wouldn't be fumbling through the dark. He knew about Saiyan biology and how Goku reached the point where he was eligible to transform. Just that was enough to form a comprehensive plan. There were several essentials that he absolutely had to incorporate and optimize if he wanted to come even close to achieving his goal.
It was obvious that physical training was a must. Training was the method for a weak Saiyan to break through his natural growth, and it couldn't be just regular training. It had to be grueling, bone crushing training that ground his body into the ground only to build it up better again. He knew how to train hard, but it wouldn't be enough to just train hard. Breaking bones, self inflicted trauma, spitting blood, or passing out due to exhaustion would have to become his everyday breakfast.
And the number one thing to be able to create such a training routine was the gravity chamber. It was probably the single most important thing that had been missing for Saiyan society to consistently churn out Super Saiyans. If Sean was honest, that was his only real shot at the transformation. He doubted that he could reach that point with just meditation and training on Earth. Despite what Super depicted of him, even Goku had long incorporated meditation into his training when he was tutored by Kami, and that had only gotten him to be fodder among the Saiyan army.
Without increased gravity, his chances were slim. Only abusing the Zenkai Boost might be able to get him there forcefully, but that came with its own set of problems, especially without Senzu Beans.
Another important aspect, especially in the beginning, would be mentors. He was a hybrid athlete, so he was decent at creating a training routine that covered all bases, strength, endurance, and speed decently. However, his martial arts experience was near zero, so he desperately needed someone to train him.
Given his job as a crime fighter, it seemed that learning how to fight should be the priority. Remembering the fight with Jeremy made him feel ashamed as a Saiyan. He only really got one shot in, and with the strength of a regular person, his chances against armed criminals weren't that great.
He wasn't even sure whether he could tank a bullet like Goku did as a child. He should be able to, right? Goku might not have survived because his power level of 10 already made him impervious to bullets. It should just be the natural toughness of the Saiyan body. At least, he hoped so. It would increase his odds of surviving massively.
Before his first day, he wanted to gain as much combat experience as he could. Searching for a training session at a local martial arts school was what he was going to prioritize. He would also have to do some shopping. He doubted that he could easily acquire a proper gravity chamber even in this world of heroes and villains, but he could make do at the start of his training journey without it.
So first on the list was to find a martial arts school that taught today and was open for a trial session on short notice, and either go shopping before the session started or afterward depending on when the session started. It might be best to start beforehand just for the gains.
With a plan for the day formed, he glanced outside. It was still dark. He had slept only 4ish hours, something that was unusual when he was a human, but he couldn't help it.
He was hungry.
His stomach was grumbling and begging for sustenance even after having eaten the five sandwiches he had made. It got worse the moment his attention turned away from his planning. With the way it was protesting, Sean was surprised that he had even managed to ignore it until he finished his plan. With his task done, he turned to the fridge again.
Some steaks and chicken directly from a local butcher, vegetables, potatoes, and rice. It seemed like Kohjin at least had a balanced diet and used some quality stuff. With the ingredients in hand, he quickly conjured up a simple but balanced meal of meat, vegetables, potatoes, and the most important thing, spices. Once finished, he mentally calculated and came up with about 5k calories. A meal worth a bit over two days of calories for an average grown man.
"Not half bad." He smiled as he dug into his meal. It tasted similar to what he could remember. The difference only lay in the different spices he used.
As he ate, he searched for some martial art schools in the vicinity. Surprisingly, there were quite a lot to choose from and with different styles. He didn't know much about what was effective, so he searched for some advice on the website called ReadIt. He didn't know much about it, so he just looked at the comment with the most likes.
"In conclusion, Muay Thai for standing striking and BJJ for groundwork. If it's available, a school that directly taught MMA would be best, huh." There were some more details described in the post about different styles, their advantages and disadvantages. Most seemed to agree their recommendation was a good combination.
With that, he was about to continue his search when his fork struck the plate, causing a loud noise. His plate was already empty. His hand went to his stomach. "I didn't expect to be full, but I'm still starving… I guess that's Saiyan appetite for you."
With that, he once again went to the fridge and started cooking up a meal that was more than twice as big as the one before. He also started to boil water in a pot before putting all 24 eggs he had inside. As he glanced into his fridge, he had already halved the fridge's contents in one sitting. With that, he would have eaten the equivalent of 16 grown men's meals, if 1k calories equaled one normal meal.
As he dug into his third meal, he continued his search. When he was halfway through his second meal, there were a couple of schools that stood out to him. They were the ones that offered to teach a style but also had combat classes specifically for ability holders. One particular school offered sessions any day against a fee without having to make an appointment prior. Given that he was rich now, any problem that he could solve or time that he could save through money would be welcome.
He searched for the address on the map and noted down when the sessions would start. With that resolved, he glanced at his empty plate before turning to the bowl of peeled eggs. He inhaled them as if they were individual chips.
After finishing up, he couldn't help but frown. "I'm still hungry." He had already eaten what was essentially a week's worth of food.
He glanced at the fridge. "Why is my fridge so small with that kind of appetite? Did Kohjin just starve the entire time or did he go shopping every day?" As he thought about his thin figure, he was pretty sure that the Saiyan was starving despite having the means to elevate said hunger. "What kind of Saiyan would willingly starve themselves? Was that why you died after an unlucky fall?" As his mind went to acquiring a new, bigger fridge, he prepared the rest of his fridge's contents and some stuff from his freezer.
"32k calories in one sitting. An impossible food challenge will be my everyday breakfast… Doesn't that mean I need one hundred thousand calories a day?" It didn't take long for him to finish it all, and even then, there was room for more, not a lot but still a bit. Looking at the time, he was a bit short on time, so he decided to prepare already. When he packed his sports bag and then got dressed, he noticed something in the mirror.
"Am I fuller?" He flexed his arms, wondering whether he was seeing things. His stomach, that had been slightly bulging a few minutes ago, was already flat again. It was unclear whether it was his imagination, but he felt stronger and more energized as well. With the visual impression, he was pretty sure that his body had already turned the food into organic tissue. The previous anorexic look was alleviated a bit.
"I feel at least twice, no, thrice as strong as before!" In the spur of the moment, he grabbed the washer that stood in the corner. With his left hand at the bottom left corner and the other grasping the back, pulling it toward his chest. The angle was awkward, but with one arm carrying most of the weight, it started rising. If he put some effort into it, he would be able to carry it on the front. Washers of that size were about 75kg. Given their awkward weight distribution and size, he couldn't directly convert it to estimate his strength.
Compared to the 42ish kgs that were distributed evenly on a bar, this unwieldy washer seemed almost as easy to lift. Even before, as a human, he'd probably been only about that strong.
A single meal and he turned from less than half as strong as before to probably exceeding his previous strength. That would be insane progress. If his power level truly was around 5 yesterday, didn't it mean it had increased to 10 to 15 now? At least more than Goku's at the start of his adventure. A low bar for sure, but it would mean he could tank a low caliber to the dome. Not that he was going to try that, though.
"It doesn't look like pure muscle, maybe about half of that is fat?" Sean muttered as he truly inspected his body. Usually, changes in the body didn't happen this fast. It would take several weeks to notice changes in the mirror and more until other people noticed them, but since he had taken detailed note of his entire body just the day before, he was sure of his composition.
Usually, when something broke any existing rules, it was the experts in that field that were affected the most. His entire understanding, years of training and studying, of sculpturing his body to his needs was crumbling before the reflection in the mirror. Intellectually, he knew Saiyans were insane. He had seen how Goku ate mountains of food and was tough as nails, but emotionally, it seemed he hadn't come to terms with it yet.
"…Why the extra fat?" Of course, he knew the uses of fat, but he figured a warrior race would heavily prioritize muscle over everything else. "I guess having gained twice as much fat is prioritizing muscle… Does my body try to adapt to potential 'bad winters'?" His mind conjured up an image of a fat version of himself. "Hell naw, I can't become Veku! I need to get some exercise!"
With his future training sessions already planned, his body would have no other choice than to follow whatever stimulus he gave it if it wanted to survive. He glanced around the bathroom and found no scale to get a precise number on his weight. "Was he insecure about his weight or did he just never care about it?"
He mentally listed it as an item to buy. Although a mirror would be a healthier way to measure progress, he needed to keep track of which and how much food was consumed and successfully converted into body weight. Numbers were truth, and he was really eager to find out what would happen with all that added weight during digestion. After all, he didn't feel heavier than before. He was already imagining standing on a scale and it just decreasing every second.
With that thought, he finished packing and left his house. The straps of his sports bag clicked in place, securing the bag tightly on his back so it wouldn't cause much movement on the run.
"Let's get it!" He hyped himself up before directly starting to run. Usually, he wouldn't start without a warmup. He would also start with a slow jog to get into the groove. However, with the kind of job he had, he couldn't be expected to be fully prepared all the time. He needed to know how it felt to cold start into action.
Goku usually warmed up before the fight, but Vegeta didn't… They always did go easy on their enemy in the beginning of the fight, was that their form of a warmup?
He felt like he had a revelation, but his mind snapped back to the road as he dodged a pedestrian. "Watch it, asshole!"
"Sorry!" He shouted back as he paced himself at what felt like 70 percent effort. "Holy shit, I'm fast as fuck, boiii!!"
The streets seemed to zoom past him. Of course, that was just an illusion, but at the same effort he was even faster than his human self.
'About 3:00 min/km, even for marathon runners that was already elite. Certainly not Saiyan-level, but he could compete with world-class humans.' With 70 percent effort, he could probably uphold this pace for the entire length of a marathon.
'I need to get a smartwatch to get a better grasp on my speed, but first… I should drive more through the knees… Keep an upright posture with only a slight forward tilt… Swing arms forward, not across the body… Land under the center of gravity… Land with midfoot and roll…'
Running form was important, something he drilled not only to become more efficient but to reduce risk of injuries as a human. As soon as he remembered everything he had spent a lot of time perfecting, his speed increased. It was like switches were being flipped with any intentional tweak. It turned instinctive in a few hundred meters until his form was probably better now than it had ever been.
Either it was muscle memory kicking in hard from what Kohjin used to do, or his body needed to be only told once how to do it correctly and then it just used that as the framework while making it as efficient as possible. He was zooming through the streets at a pace that beat even half-marathon elites.
At some point, he slowed down as he looked at the map on his phone. Having run 16 km, he had arrived at his first destination. A look around and he found himself in front of a sports store. It was still rather empty, clearly the shop had only opened recently. Without hesitation, he went inside before staff approached him.
"Good morning, sir. Can I help you with anything?"
"Do you have any weighted vests in stock?"
"Of course, right this way."
…
"Who is that sweaty dude over there?" Matthew, one of his earliest students, asked.
"Called himself Jin. He is here for a trial session. Said he ran here."
"...It's 7:30 in the morning. He looks like he ran a marathon." Seeing Matthew come downstairs, Jin approached like he did with any other student that had finished changing.
"Hey there, I'm Jin, here for the trial session. Nice meeting you."
Matthew shook the offered hand. "Pleasure, I'm Matthew… have been training here for years now. If you need some help, just ask."
Coach Arun glanced at the sweaty Jin. Usually hygiene was important and could be reason to be banned, but since the other was polite and he wasn't that smelly, he let it go. "Do you want to get changed? The changing rooms are upstairs at the end of the corridor."
"Yeah, I need a change, thanks!"
Matthew and Coach Arun just looked at him head upstairs. "At least he has some manners, unlike the last bunch."
"Yep, said he doesn't have prior experience though… and he wears a weight vest." Coach Arun trailed off. "Looks like 50 pounds."
"Huh, was wondering what that was, thought it was Kevlar? He another supe? The ability session doesn't start until the evening though?" Matthew rubbed his chin. Their school attracted a couple of them because of the specialized sessions, though most who came there were mostly insecure people who didn't really know what to do with whatever power they had. After all, having gotten a power should have been a boon, but getting a useless or embarrassing one? That became your identity, the laughingstock even to the ones without powers. At that point, it was more of a curse.
"Maybe just some sport fanatic." Coach Arun shrugged, to which Matthew just nodded as he adjusted his bandages.
The morning session wasn't well attended. Usually only six people plus the coach were there, now with an additional guest, who was wearing a weighted vest and was wolfing down some granola bars. The regulars glanced at each other. 'Definitely a weirdo', a thought that ran through their minds, but since he seemed to know basic dojo etiquette, they weren't opposed to him joining them in their quiet morning session.
They bowed before entering the training area and Jin followed their actions hastily.
"Alright, let's do some warmup drills. Start running!" As both the coach and a martial artist, he was leading the pack. A normal jog to start, then side-steps, backwards, high knees, on all fours, followed by squat-jumping. Ten minutes to get the heart rate up and some sweat running.
From time to time, he glanced at the newcomer. He was keeping up. His movements were awkward in the beginning, but he seemed to pick it up quickly by copying the person in front of him. Afterward came some dynamic stretching. It was the thing where most beginners showed their lack of mobility, but Jin was flexible enough to not stand out in this group of regulars.
"Alright, let's get into some drills. Jab twice, transition to a straight, and then elbow, weave, block, step back and teep to create distance! Switch through the drills that I showed you on Wednesday and Tuesday as well!" He didn't need to specify, as the regulars either took up their gloves or pads and found themselves in pairs.
He turned to Jin, who looked a bit lost as he was the only one without a training partner. "You said you don't know anything, right? I'll show you the basics."
"Thanks, not sure what to do, haha." He rubbed the back of his head.
"Usually, with one odd one out, you would do the heavy bag. Since it's your first day, I'll show you the ropes. Show me your fighting stance… Yeah, you're too wide. Stand shoulder-width apart… Lead foot slightly forward, toes pointing slightly outward, rear foot angled like this. Wait, let me show you."
Coach Arun then took up a classic Muay Thai stance, knees slightly bent, light on his feet and with one primed to check any incoming kicks. His arms were raised while palms were pointing slightly forward. "This is the basic stance and the place you want to be when defending or attacking. Most difficult is to keep it while in movement. Look, when walking, always keep your stance. Step forward only with your lead foot and step back only with your rear foot. Walk with the balls of your feet, it will help you with keeping your balance and checking kicks. Try it."
Jin adopted the stance and started to walk. "Not bad, alright, keep it and follow my lead. Back away." Coach Arun walked toward him, making Jin back away while keeping his stance. "Good. Now, follow me, quick."
They did this twice before Coach Arun added some side-steps and they circled each other. Jin turned into a mirror that perfectly responded to Coach Arun's movements. At one point, the coach couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "You said that's your first time practicing martial arts, right?"
Jin nodded. "Yeah, am I doing this right?" There had been some awkwardness at the beginning, but now he moved like a well-oiled machine. His body wasn't stiff like most beginners. It was dynamic with loaded joints and his movement smooth. His transitions to the side, forward, or backward were seamless as if he had done this his entire life.
For a moment, Coach Arun had the feeling he was standing against a trained individual. There were always talented individuals that learned the basics quickly, but they couldn't incorporate it into their movements this quickly. The way he kept the bend in his knees, the smoothness as he changed directions, his weight balance as he moved, where he placed his hands, and even the slight upper-body sway that mirrored his own as if he was already thinking about weaving or checking any potential attacks. For some reason, Coach Arun felt like he was standing across from an opponent in the ring who was probing him for weaknesses.
Despite Jin's admission of being a beginner, he had his doubts. "Let's continue with the jab. Alright, watch closely how my arm moves. Keep it tucked in, otherwise it will telegraph your intentions… Good, now incorporate it while moving. Nice, you sure this is your first time…?"
"Yep." He said as he unleashed some of the crispest jabs Coach Arun had ever seen while moving and changing directions.
"Right… The straight, one of the heavy hitters, easier to see since it takes a longer distance, but that's why you set it up with the jab like this…"
"Did you mean you never trained at this school…? Right, sorry… The hook for mid to close distance…"
"Elbow for devastating attacks. Your knife in the closest distances…"
"Did you do kickboxing before or something else? Yes, you're right. Sorry, won't ask again. Knee also for close distance, especially clinches…"
"…That was the last time, yeah right, the clinch… normally we do it like this, control the head…"
"…I won't ask… The teep, probably the most important kick to manage distance, also if strong enough and right on the sternum it will stun your opponents while disrupting their balance, aka making them fly…"
"Roundhouse, looks easy but the hardest thing to learn, especially without the hip mobility… seems like this isn't an issue for you either… You sure there is no camera…? Yeah, let's move on to some combinations…"