Kaito lay sprawled across the floor of Dr. Gero's lab, a half-eaten pudding cup balanced precariously on his chest. Smoke still curled from the cracked ceiling, the scent of ozone and melted metal lingering like a bad hangover.
"Status report," he groaned.
The AI maid hovered above him with a clipboard interface projected from her palm. "Structural integrity: 43%. Emotional integrity: 17%. Pudding reserves: dangerously low."
"So basically, we're one tantrum away from a system crash." Kaito muttered.
"Affirmative," she said, offering another pudding.
Kaito took it solemnly, like a man accepting his last meal before a suicide mission.
As he spooned pudding into his mouth, the system chimed again:
[System Reminder: You survived a Null Knight. Congratulations, meatbag. Now get stronger.]
[New Daily Challenge: Complete One Hour of Focused Combat Training.]
Reward:
2+ Strength
30+ EXP
+1 Gacha Ticket
1 Gacha Ticket.
"Gacha? Now we're talking!" Kaito said, jolting upright with suspicious energy.
"But uh… what's the catch?"
[Warning: Training begins immediately. Surprise simulated opponent incoming…]
"Wait, what!"
BAM!
A panel in the floor exploded open, and a mechanical arm launched a boxing glove on a spring straight into Kaito's face. He flew backward into a pile of half-disassembled android limbs.
"Surprise opponent: Training Dummy Mark IV. Now with 73% more aggression!" his AI maid said sweetly.
The dummy marched forward, headless, smoking, and wielding a mop like a sword.
"Why does it have a mop?!"
"Because you failed to clean the lab for three days."
"That's an actual feature?!"
"Gero believed in multipurpose punishment." The AI maid said while nodding.
Groaning, Kaito scrambled to his feet and flared his ki, focusing it into his palms. He launched a series of ki blasts, but the dummy deflected them with disturbingly efficient mop-twirling techniques.
Kaito ducked under a spinning strike, flipped backward, and focused on flight. He hovered just above ground, trying to stabilize.
"Okay… focus, breathe, thread the ki-"
A mop handle caught him in the gut.
WHUMP.
He crashed back down, wheezing.
"Okay, okay! Maybe I underestimated the janitor bot!"
"Correction, you overestimated yourself." the AI maid chimed.
"Thanks, Pep Talk-3000."
Sweat poured down Kaito's face as he bounced from one end of the lab to the other, dodging projectile frying pans, spinning mop slashes, and the occasional errant laser beam from ceiling turrets.
"I thought this was training, not household appliance warfare!"
"Gero considered both synonymous," the AI maid replied cheerfully, sipping simulated tea.
"I'm learning to be a warrior, not a domestic abuse victim!"
"You're learning adaptability. If a mop can solo you, forget the gacha pull, you deserve a wet floor sign on your grave."
"That's harsh, you know!"
Kaito gritted his teeth, focusing. A plan began forming in his head. He bolted toward a pile of discarded tech, ducked a swinging broom, and yanked free a cracked energy core.
"Let's science this up."
He channeled ki into the core, wiring it quickly into a makeshift pulse bomb. As the dummy advanced, he flung the device beneath its feet.
The blast triggered a kinetic feedback loop, jolting the dummy's systems and stunning it for just a moment.
Kaito struck, ki threads forming instantly around his hands. He lashed out, wrapping the dummy's limbs, and leapt into the air, twisting mid air.
With a primal yell, he sent the training bot spinning into the ceiling where it stuck, headless and mopless.
Ding!
[Complete One Hour of Focused Combat Training – Challenge Complete!]
Reward:
2+ Strength
30+ EXP
+1 Gacha Ticket
"I need a nap… and maybe therapy." Kaito said as he landed with a groan.
The AI maid hovered beside him.
"You require hydration and recalibration. Perhaps also mental fortification. Shall I queue up old training montages from other universes?"
"Only if one of them involves someone else getting smacked with a mop."
"Understood. Queueing footage from Universe Baka-6."
Hour Later
Kaito lay in the VR pod, eyes closed, as simulation data streamed directly into his brain.
In the immersive training space, he found himself in a grassy field overlooking Capsule Corp in a stylized anime version of West City. A chill wind blew past him as holographic representations of notable fighters flickered into view.
"Choose your sparring partner," the system intoned.
[Available Options:
Yamcha (pre-Saibaman incident)
Hercule Satan (peak delusion)
Krillin (mid-life crisis edition)
Goku (kindergarten age)
Piccolo (babysitting mode)]
Kaito rubbed his chin.
"As tempting as Krillin's breakdown sounds…"
He selected Piccolo.
A projection of Piccolo appeared, arms crossed, a baby Pan in a pouch at his hip.
"Don't waste my time."
"Oh boy. Here comes trauma in green."
The training sequence kicked off with a barrage of fast punches. Kaito tried blocking, but Piccolo was relentless. Every third move came with a fatherly insult.
"You call that a stance?"
"You breathe like a dying fish."
"Gohan was stronger than you at four."
"Stop comparing me to children!" Kaito wailed.
"You ARE a child."
Kaito countered with a spinning kick, but Piccolo caught it and flung him into a simulated rock.
"Next time pick Hercule," he muttered, while brushing himself off.
[Training Montage Has Ended]
kaito eyes fluttered open. He sat up from the VR pod, rubbing his aching temples.
"Report" he asked hoarsely.
"Neural pathways enhanced. Reflexes adjusted. Sarcasm tolerance: increased."
"Success, then."
The lab's main console lit up with new information.
[System Expansion: Lore Archive Accessed.]
[Multiverse Brief – Subject: Dr. Gero Prime Variant]
Curious, Kaito sat up straighter. The screen displayed a full breakdown of Gero's influence across various universes. Some versions created full cyborg armies.
Others digitized themselves. A few created peaceful androids who opened bakeries. One even became a vtuber.
Kaito blinked.
"So many flavors of evil grandpa."
One file caught his attention:
[Earth-Gamma Sigma – Gero created Project Chimera, a hybridization program combining DNA from dominant fighters across timelines.
Result: unstable but powerful offspring.
Subjects: terminated or missing.]
"Project Chimera…" Kaito whispered.
A chill crept down his spine.
His AI maid floated beside him.
"That designation matches early system notes in your genome file. It is likely you are a prototype."
"So… I'm literally a custom fanfiction baby?"
She blinked a few times, trying to find the perfect answer.
"Technically… yes. You are a genetically modified protagonist."
"I don't know whether to be proud or mildly insulted." Kaito said, while getting up slowly from the floor.
His AI maid looked at him with a tilted head and said.
"Why not both?"
"...."
Later That Night
Kaito sat atop the lab's highest point, an old tower rusted by time and neglect. He watched the stars with a can of orange soda and his AI maid floating silently beside him.
"Do you think I can actually make something of this?"
The AI maid didn't answer immediately.
"You survived a Null Knight. You built weapons from scrap. You learned to fly, fight, and cry dramatically in the same week."
She paused.
"You are making something. Slowly. Comically. But surely."
"Thanks. That was almost… heartwarming." Kaito said with a faint smile.
"I will now resume being emotionally neutral to maintain balance."
He chuckled.
Below him, the city shimmered in the distance, oblivious to the half-Saiyan experiment sitting on a tower, dreaming of his place in a universe far bigger than he realized.
================
AN: Hi everyone! Sorry for only uploading one chapter today.
I've been caught up with some IRL stuff.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I'm planning to redo the system aspect of the fanfic to make it feel more dynamic and true to how a system should function in a novel. I want it to feel more alive, interactive, and integral to the story.
Big thanks to reader R0B for pointing this out in their review, I appreciate the feedback!
I'll be resuming daily updates starting Friday (09/05/25), assuming everything goes smoothly.
Thanks as always for your patience and support!
{ Signing off. }
Little_Awakening