The scent of red wine mingled between their mouths as the girl’s slender body pressed against his chest, her heartbeat thudding through the thin fabric between them — thump, thump.
Oryon scooped Lunch up, kicked the bedroom door open, and laid her down on the soft, wide bed.
The moment he set her down, her legs — sheathed in black stockings — wound around him.
Her hazy eyes reflected his face, her cheeks flushing an even deeper red.
Outside the window, the sea was unusually restless tonight.
Waves slapped against the beach with a steady patter.
The tide surged fast, then slowed, then surged again.
Stirred by the wind, the waves kept rising and falling.
They lingered, unhurried, as the tide pulled back, then crashed in wave after surging wave as it rolled back in, each one higher than the last.
It went on deep into the night before the tide finally, gradually, grew still.
[Ding! You and Lunch shared an intimate moment, pleasure fully maxed out. You’ve gained 300 days of cultivation progress. Your Flight and Kamehameha have both advanced.]
In that instant, every muscle in Oryon’s body ached all over again.
This time, the surge in power was especially pronounced.
He’d trained all afternoon, and then spent plenty of stamina with Lunch tonight on top of it.
Already worn out from it all, he suddenly felt strength flooding back through his entire body.
In that moment, he could feel his ki had doubled in intensity.
A grin of pure delight spread across Oryon’s face.
“Just as I thought — the gamble paid off!”
With this kind of strength, teaming up with Goku and Piccolo, they were sure to win against Raditz now.
Just then, Lunch’s soft arms wrapped around him, and her wide, glistening eyes fluttered open.
In the thin moonlight seeping through the window, he looked back at her — her face soft with languid, contented happiness.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Awake already?”
Lunch bit her lip lightly, her arm sliding slowly down his body.
Then, as if she’d brushed against something quite formidable, her whole body gave a sudden shiver.
“Mmm…”
An hour later, Lunch had drifted into a deep sleep.
Oryon pulled the blanket up over her, letting her rest.
[Ding! You and Lunch shared another moment, pleasure especially high. You’ve gained 100 days of cultivation progress. Your control over ki has grown more precise.]
Oryon’s whole body shuddered, the ki inside him surging upward once more.
The gain was less than thirty percent this time, but even so, he could feel his Power Level now rivaled Raditz’s.
Still, keeping his ki flared at full output the whole time was draining.
In the dead of night, hunger set in.
Oryon pulled his ki back down, lower and lower, suppressing it until it barely registered above a normal person’s.
Out in the wilderness beside Raditz’s spaceship, a campfire had burned down to ash, next to a pile of gnawed-clean animal bones.
Raditz lay sprawled nearby, snoring away in a deep sleep.
“Beep, beep, beep…” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
His Scouter went off.
Raditz picked it up, irritated.
“Strange, some kind of high Power Level alert. Let’s see what danger this low-class planet could possibly have at this hour.”
Raditz strapped the Scouter over his eye and checked the reading carefully.
“Huh? It’s gone now?”
Just then, Gohan woke up inside the spaceship nearby and burst into loud wailing.
“This brat is such a nuisance!”
“Beep, beep, beep…”
The Scouter over his eye went off again.
“Hm, another strong Power Level warning?”
Raditz pressed the button and pulled up the exact number.
“Power Level 701, and close by. But where’s the enemy?”
Raditz glanced around.
Not a soul in sight.
Just his spaceship, sitting alone in its crater, Gohan’s noisy crying spilling out from inside.
“Could it be that brat? No, that’s ridiculous — there’s no way he could have a Power Level that high. The Scouter must be malfunctioning…”
Unconvinced, Raditz set the Scouter down and went back to sleep.
The next day.
Oryon arrived at Kame House bright and early — Piccolo had beaten even Goku there.
Krillin and Master Roshi hadn’t slept well; both of them sported dark circles under their eyes.
The moment Piccolo saw Oryon, his eyes narrowed, pupils contracting slightly.
“You…”
Oryon’s ki didn’t seem any stronger than yesterday’s — if anything, he’d deliberately suppressed it.
But Piccolo, a battle-hardened veteran, could sense the powerful energy coiled inside him.
The edge was sheathed, but the killing intent lurked just beneath.
Seeing the surprise on Piccolo’s face, Oryon smiled faintly.
“I didn’t make you wait all night for nothing. I came through — I’ve broken through!”
“Interesting,” Piccolo said, crossing his arms and turning to the side.
“Hasn’t that Son Goku shown up yet?”
Master Roshi happened to walk out just then.
“Sorry, Goku’s not here yet. Want something to eat?”
“No need,” Piccolo said coldly.
“I don’t eat.”
Master Roshi nodded, thinking to himself: So it’s true — King Piccolo really doesn’t need to eat…
Just then, Son Goku arrived beside Kame House riding the Flying Nimbus.
“I’m here!”
Goku flipped down and landed, looking over at Piccolo and Oryon. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
“You’re all here so early!”
Suddenly, Goku noticed something different about Oryon’s ki.
He looked Oryon over curiously, scratching his head.
“Oryon, you look different. Your ki doesn’t seem to have changed much, but… how do I put it, I just get the feeling you’re stronger.”
Oryon nodded.
“Your instincts are right. I made a breakthrough!”
“Really? Then our odds just got a lot better!”
Oryon nodded.
“Let’s get going.”
Piccolo nodded, ready to leave.
Goku thought for a moment, then spoke up right away.
“Wait a second!”
Both of them turned to look at him.
But Goku was looking at Oryon.
“Can I test my strength against you?”
Oryon thought it over — his Power Level was probably on par with Raditz’s now, but like Raditz, that number came without any real combat experience behind it.
A sparring match wouldn’t hurt.
So he nodded.
“Sure, let’s do it. It’ll make it easier to coordinate later.”
The two of them put some distance between themselves, ready to spar.
Just then, Bulma’s aircraft touched down.
“I’m not too late, am I?”
Bulma strode out of the plane, glancing at Oryon and Goku, then spotted Piccolo — she didn’t dare go anywhere near him, and hurried over to Oryon’s side instead.
“Huh, where’s Lunch?”
Oryon said, “Still sleeping in. I didn’t wake her…”
Bulma pursed her lips.
“There’s no way Lunch sleeps in — she’s always the first one up…”
Suddenly, Bulma’s eyes narrowed, and she stared straight at Oryon.
“Wait, don’t tell me you two…”
Goku cut Bulma off.
“Bulma, step back a little. We need to spar and get a feel for where we stand, to get ready for the fight with Raditz today…”
Goku’s reminder snapped Bulma back to the moment — this wasn’t the time for idle chat.
She quickly backed off.
Master Roshi and Krillin, hearing the two were about to spar, turned to watch as well.
Piccolo crossed his arms, leaning against a tree, his eyes on the pair too.
Standing roughly ten meters apart, the two of them settled into their opening stances.