A Saiyan's Journey

After another round of training with Merus, Zuke felt that his strength had improved significantly once again.

The boost from recovering from near-death experiences was indeed remarkable. Almost every time he came back from the brink of death, Zuke felt that his current strength could easily overpower his previous self.

However, a problem arose—Zuke noticed that the improvements from near-death recoveries were starting to diminish.

The Saiyan trait of becoming stronger after recovering from near-death wasn't infinite.

In the Dragon Ball Super manga, Future Trunks mentioned that Goku and Vegeta could no longer use this method to increase their strength because they had already pushed it to its limit.

In fact, starting from the Android Saga in the original Dragon Ball series, the Saiyans had largely abandoned the idea of using near-death recoveries to boost their power and instead focused on training.

Perhaps by that time, Goku and Vegeta had already realized that they could only improve through training, as the near-death method was nearing its threshold.

Maybe the original author added this limitation to prevent this power-boosting method from becoming too overpowering—but this setting indeed affected Zuke.

There was no way around it. Zuke couldn't return to the world before his transmigration to ask Akira Toriyama or Toyotarou to change this rule. For now, he had no choice but to accept it.

Although the rate of improvement had slowed down, Zuke was still far from reaching his "limit," so he didn't need to worry too much. All he had to do was keep his head down and continue training.

...Once again, Zuke recovered from his injuries and stood up, ready to continue attacking Merus.

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Zuke."

However, Merus suddenly put away his staff and smiled at Zuke.

"Your training has reached a threshold. I think it's time for you to take a break."

"A break? I don't think I need one."

Zuke was taken aback and shook his head. In the original Dragon Ball series, Saiyans often trained for years without rest. Zuke didn't feel like he needed a break.

Even someone like Frieza, who had never trained before, could spend ten years alone in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

In the Dragon Ball world, balancing work and rest wasn't necessary. Training always yielded results—and to defeat Frieza as soon as possible, Zuke had to push himself even harder.

After all, his arrival had likely caused some butterfly effects. What if Frieza suddenly decided to start training one day?

Just the thought of it was enough to make Zuke feel despair. If that happened, his main mission progress would likely be delayed even further.

"I understand that you want to defeat Frieza as soon as possible, Mr. Zuke, but relying solely on near-death experiences to boost your strength isn't a sustainable strategy."

Merus wore a wry smile. Although Zuke's personality was different from that of a typical Saiyan, his relentless approach to training was no different.

"Instead of just focusing on increasing your combat power, have you considered learning... other skills?"

"Other skills?"

Hearing Merus's words, Zuke was momentarily stunned, but he quickly caught on. He looked at Merus and tentatively asked,

"...Ultra Instinct?"

"So you do know about Ultra Instinct, Mr. Zuke... Well, I suppose it's not surprising, given that even the Angel clan is aware of it."

Merus chuckled when Zuke mentioned the term.

"During our training, I noticed that you've been consciously controlling your 'ki,' using it to strengthen specific parts of your body for offense and defense."

This was a result of Zuke's perfect control over "ki," which he had gained as a side effect of wishing for the "Instant Transmission" ability.

Zuke could concentrate the "ki" in his body at a single point to enhance his defense or offense, allowing him to unleash power beyond his normal combat level.

This was actually similar to how Ultra Instinct worked in the original series, except that Ultra Instinct was an automatic enhancement, while Zuke had to manually control his "ki" to achieve the same effect.

"Ultra Instinct doesn't require an exceptionally high level of combat power. As long as you have enough battle experience and a broad mindset, even someone with relatively low strength can learn it."

Merus looked at Zuke as he spoke.

"I've seen people on various planets who, after years of training, were able to achieve something similar to Ultra Instinct through sheer experience."

Zuke nodded. He was well aware of this.

In the Dragon Ball Super manga, Master Roshi had once used a degraded version of Ultra Instinct. Whis's comment was, "It's the result of decades of accumulated experience. The principle is similar."

Although the scene where Master Roshi used this degraded Ultra Instinct to hold his own against Jiren was criticized by many readers.

But Merus's words... Was he subtly implying that Zuke's strength was low?

Zuke gave Merus a suspicious look, but he couldn't read anything from the Angel's expression—Merus still wore his usual calm smile.

"To train in Ultra Instinct, maintaining a relaxed state of mind is crucial. Overexerting yourself with intense training will only lead to mental turmoil."

Merus smiled at Zuke, knowing that he had already piqued his interest.

"In fact, your rate of improvement has already started to slow down, hasn't it? That's why I think it's time for you to take a proper break."

Merus had also noticed that Zuke's near-death recovery boosts were diminishing, which was why he brought this up.

If Zuke could master Ultra Instinct, defeating Frieza would be a breeze, even with his current level of strength.

"But can I really learn Ultra Instinct?"

Although he was intrigued, Zuke still had some reservations. After a moment of hesitation, he asked.

It wasn't that he was being self-deprecating, but his personality wasn't exactly calm—while he wasn't as violent as a typical Saiyan, he didn't hold back when it came to fighting.

Perhaps it was due to the influence of the "Infinite Terror VR Game," but Zuke always subconsciously treated people in mission worlds as NPCs.

Why should a player show mercy to NPCs, right?

This mindset only started to change in the Fate world, where characters like Sakura Matou and Rin Tohsaka made him feel like he was raising daughters.

Could someone like him really learn Ultra Instinct? He felt that the Destroyer's "Ultra Ego" might be more suitable for him.

"Of course you can. I believe in you, Mr. Zuke."

Merus, on the other hand, had full confidence in Zuke.

"Even the Destroyers have a chance to learn Ultra Instinct. And compared to them, your state of mind is much calmer, isn't it?"

As expected of a trainee Angel, Merus didn't hesitate to make a slightly disparaging remark about the Destroyers. If other gods heard this, they'd probably be terrified.

To be continued…

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