Dragon Ball: Enlisted

I took a hesitant step forward.

She moved before I could react.

Her foot slid forward in a micro-movement, her form snapping into a new position. A feint? No—a fake. I recognized it too late.

The air cracked as her fist slammed into my gut.

I didn't even have time to process the pain before her other shot toward my face. I barely raised my guard, but instead of connecting, she twisted her wrist, pulling back mid-strike and sweeping her leg beneath me.

I landed on my hands, pivoting into a backflip as I launched myself onto my feet.

I stumbled, groaning as I bent over with my hands on my knees. "Hold on—"

Not-Edith didn't wait. Her strikes came in rapid succession, each one landing before I could even think to block. It was inhuman. Her punches landed with pinpoint precision, hitting every weak point in my guard like she'd known what I would do before I did it.

'No, that's exactly what she's doing—she's reacting before I even move.'

I staggered back, barely able to keep my footing.

Every time I moved, she was already there. She wasn't just fast—she was exploiting every split second of my hesitation.

I swung wildly, hoping to catch her off guard, but she ducked under my strike, pivoting to my side. Her elbow slammed into my ribs, followed by a palm strike to my chest.

I stumbled again, gasping for breath.

Her next attack came faster than I could process—a spinning kick that slammed into my ribs, sending me flying.

She didn't chase. Instead, she stopped, her stance perfect, waiting for me to make the next move.

I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to stand. 'Fine. If I can't match her in close combat, then I'll hit her from a distance.'

I gathered my ki, the energy sparking to life in my palms. My ki responded much faster than in the real world, instantly appearing in a pinch.

But when I launched it forward, she was already gone.

She sidestepped the blast with a casual grace, not even bothering to block. The attack sailed harmlessly into the distance, exploding in a burst of light far behind her.

Her blank stare turned to me, almost like she was mocking me.

"Mock this," I muttered, trying again. I fired off another blast. And another. And another.

Each one missed.

It was obvious what she was doing; Moving before the blasts even left my hands. It didn't matter.

She wasn't faster or stronger but she could predict my every move. Yet, she wasn't really acting with any initiative. Her mind saw a single step ahead, and she didn't think any further than that.

I just had to think two steps ahead to win this.

Lifting my hands, I focused on the energy from my missed blasts. The sparks of ki still hovered in the air where they'd been scattered. My Ki Control was enhanced due to my real body still channeling, so I could do some amazing things here.

The glowing orbs stopped midair, quivering like static fireflies, floating all around her.

Each of them weren't full blasts of energy—I still wasn't as good as Piccolo—but even these tiny pellets of energy were enough for my purposes.

Sweat dripped down my temple as I poured all my focus into the swirling energy.

"Alright, let's see you dodge this," I muttered, lifting both hands high. "Hellzone Bullet!"

With a sharp motion, I clenched my fists.

The tiny pellets of ki shot toward her in an instant, streaking through the air like bullets.

Her body blurred as she moved, weaving between the blasts with the same frustrating grace. Left, right, a spin here, a roll there—it was almost mesmerizing.

The fact that her eyes tracked the blasts before she moved meant this wasn't the same as Ultra Instinct. It was close, but more similar to the Sharingan than anything else.

The explosions tore through the battlefield, each one lighting up the sparring room in brilliant flashes. Dust and debris filled the air, a thick haze swallowing her form entirely.

I waited, holding my ground as the last of the blasts detonated.

The smoke lingered, hanging in the air like a curtain.

I raised one hand, palm open. Light began to gather again, but this time, it wasn't for a standard attack. The energy compacted and compressed, glowing brighter and brighter until it was almost painful to look at.

The smoke shifted. A faint glint of movement caught my eye.

I smirked, stepping forward. "Gotcha."

And then I slammed my palm toward the ground.

She burst through the haze like a bullet, already aiming for my chest.

Too late.

The resulting flash was blinding, an explosion of light that painted the battlefield white.

Her reaction was immediate—a quick step backward, her arm raised instinctively to shield her eyes.

'Chance!' I thought, lunging forward with everything I had.

The flash had disoriented her just enough to close the gap. I drove my fist toward her side, pouring all my remaining strength into the strike.

But then she moved.

Not by sight—her head was still turned slightly, her eyes squinted shut—but by something else. Sound, maybe? Either way, her body twisted gracefully, avoiding my punch as if she could feel it cutting through the air.

My follow-up kick met empty space as well, her footwork carrying her smoothly out of range.

"Come on!" I shouted, frustration boiling over. I swung again, this time aiming for her center of mass.

Her hand shot out, catching my wrist mid-swing.

'Ah. I should've just kept quiet.' I lamented.

Her grip on my wrist was iron, and with a sharp, practiced motion, she yanked me forward.

The world tilted as my feet left the ground, and I barely managed to process the motion before she spun, using my momentum to hurl me downward.

The impact was brutal. My back slammed into the floor with enough force to rattle my skull, the shockwave making spiderweb cracks in the ground.

Pain radiated through my body, but it wasn't over.

Before I could even register what was happening, her foot came down—a blur of motion and overwhelming force.

SPLAT.

The world went black.

My chest heaved as I clutched at the ground beneath me, my heart pounding from the phantom sensation of death.

I sucked in a deep breath, blinking rapidly to clear my vision. The world around me came into focus—the clearing, the faint hum of distant wildlife, and the cool air brushing against my skin.

The sun hung lower now, dipping closer to the horizon.

Groaning, I stretched my arms over my head, feeling the dull ache of sitting in one spot for too long. Every joint popped in protest, but I pushed through it, glancing around the clearing to reorient myself.

Edith sat cross-legged a few feet away, her hands cupped in front of her as she cradled smattering flickers of energy in her hands. They glowed and wavered like starlight, but at least it was there.

A little further away, Zairen was... less composed. His face was scrunched up in concentration, veins bulging on his forehead as he gritted his teeth. His hands hovered in front of him, palms outstretched, but they were as empty as his patience.

Wraak sat across from me, his massive form hunched slightly. Between his claws floated a solidly formed orb of pulsating ki, its glow holding steady. His brow furrowed in concentration, though his expression remained calm.

Unlike the other two, his eyes weren't closed. He was staring directly at the orb with an intense gleam in his eyes.

"How long was I out?" I asked, my voice still hoarse.

Wraak didn't look up, his gaze fixed on the orb. "Quarter of an hour."

Fifteen minutes.

I let out a hum, glancing at the horizon again. The green sky had shifted ever so slightly to a shade of blue.

'So, time flows the same in the simulation as it does out here.'

That was both a relief and a setback. I couldn't grind out endless battles in a fraction of a second. No "thousands of battles in the blink of an eye" training montages.

Still, it was far better than nothing.

While everyone else had to recuperate in between spars and training, I could simply retreat to my mind and continue to train so that I wasn't tempted to overstress my body. An endless yet perfectly healthy path to more power.

Burnout? Stress? What's that? Is that a new method of training? No? Then I couldn't care less.

The grind would not be stopped.