LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 43: Evolution (25.2)
Game
Thoughts
"Talking"
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Is this… heaven?
"You failed?" His mother's voice rang out into the small kitchen. It was broken and run down - clearly a cheap room that had been weathered from years of use. The wooden table was scratched, with entire broken chunks missing. His chair was a flat, uncomfortable, wooden stool.
No, definitely not heaven.
"You can't even pass one fucking test?" His mother's annoyed voice continued, the woman stomping past him angrily, "Why can't you be smart like your brother? Why'd I have to have such a dumb kid? I should've stopped at one!"
The woman was short, with a slim face, and was wearing a casual T-shirt and long pants. Gray stared down at the table, his mind recalling where he was.
A memory.
His body was small because the memory was from when he was 11 years old. He'd spent the last week of his life studying, spending every waking moment with his face in a book. His family was poor and the options of middle schools nearby weren't numerous. His older brother had gotten into a private one by passing an exam - putting him on pace to have a successful future. Gray had failed.
"Stupid fucking kid," Gray's mother grunted from behind him, entering the kitchen again with a bottle of wine. Gray didn't want to remember what would come next, and luckily he didn't have to. He blinked, and suddenly the world in front of him had changed.
"I don't know why he even showed up," A tall man said, speaking not-so-subtly with another man. He was wearing a casual white T-shirt and shorts, and he had a sports cap on his head. Gray glanced around, taking in the gymnasium around him. There were basketballs scattered on the floor, with two worn-down hoops on each side. His small body had grown slightly.
"Right? I don't like talking shit about kids, but damn, he was ass," The other man chucked. He was wearing a similar outfit and had a whistle hanging around his neck. He was the basketball coach at Gray's school.
"I talked to his homeroom teacher," The first man responded, an amused look on his face, "She said he's struggling with his grades. Usually, kids got one or the other - good grades or being good at sports - but this dumbass doesn't have either!"
Gray silently clenched his fist, his eyes hardening as he watched the two men laugh. He remembered this day - the day of his High School basketball tryouts. Gray had never been good at school - as in, he struggled with all his classes. On this day, he'd decided he would turn his life around. Going to school every day and having no friends was a nightmare - he'd join the basketball team and finally make some! Clearly, that had ended in failure.
Gray blinked, and the world in front of him changed.
"Try again! Somewhere has to take you!" Gray's mom screamed, pacing around their small kitchen, "I won't have a son who can't even get into college! You're brother's going to fucking Harvard, and you can't get into a community college?! They take fucking everyone!"
Gray's body had grown again, becoming taller as he sat on the same uncomfortable wooden stool.
"How did I have such a useless kid!" His mom ranted, continuing to pace around the kitchen, "Your brother was so good! A full-ride scholarship to Harvard, a great athlete - fuck! Why did I have to go for another?!"
She stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Gray staring down at the kitchen table. He'd be applying to countless colleges all summer - but hadn't received one acceptance letter.
Yeah… I remember…
Gray clenched his fist, glaring down at the table.
You don't need to remind me… I was a loser.
Gray blinked, and the world in front of him changed.
"Well, just be happy one of them turned out good!" His grandfather chuckled. The old man was tall and wearing a dress shirt. He had a long white beard and a gray mustache. Gray glanced around - he was sitting at a longer, nicer-looking long wooden table. He remembered this day - he remembered it well. He'd just graduated from the shitty community college down the street and was at his grandparent's house for Thanksgiving.
"Yup!" His grandmother chuckled, the elderly lady wearing a small blue dress and glasses. She reached over and patted Gray's shoulder, "Whenever anyone asks, we just say we have one grandchild anyway! Don't worry, honey, your brother's done enough stuff that we can brag about, so you don't need to do anything!"
Gray's eye twitched as he stared down at the table, his hand clenched. He tried his best to ignore the conversation around him.
"Yeah, they can't always be a hit," His uncle chuckled, the large, fat, bald man wearing a dress shirt, "You did well with the other one. Just be happy with that."
Gray's fingernails dug into his hand as they continued to talk about him as if he wasn't sitting at the very same table.
Why… Why am I reliving this?
"I know," His mother sighed, "I just wished he could do anything! He just sits in his room on that damn computer all day! He's almost 25, most kids his age have already moved out! At his age, his brother was already starting his company!"
Why? I get it. I fucking get it.
To tell you the truth - Gray Tanaki had not lived a perfectly average life. He didn't graduate from a decent university. He never had a girlfriend, or friends to play video games with. All he did was watch a bunch of anime and do everything you'd expect your degenerate loser in his 20s to do. Hole himself in his bedroom, leeching off his mother. Working a dead-end job at a gas station. His life was perfectly below average.
He hated it. He had always hated it. How his brother was constantly praised - constantly given love and gifts from his mother, while he had gotten nothing but scorn. How he'd tried so hard to make friends, but never could. How he had never been muscular, athletic, smart, or charming.
How he'd been a loser his whole life.
Gray blinked, and the world in front of him changed.
He was standing on a dimly lit road, a small grocery bag in his hand. He was walking home from the gas station - he lived nearby, and he hadn't been able to afford a car. One streetlight shined behind him, flickering on and off as he continued forward. He remembered this day - he remembered it better than any of his other memories.
This was the day he died.
He continued walking forward, the slap of shoes meeting concrete being the only sound in the dark landscape. Then, a bright light shone up ahead. That bright light became two, and a large truck's headlights came into view. Gray continued forward, stepping over to the left slightly so he was in the path of the truck.
I remember…
To tell you the truth - Gray hadn't died to a drunk driver. The driver was perfectly sober, just not paying attention as he followed the road perfectly. Gray stared forward at the truck as it approached. He remembered his thoughts on that night. Of how he knew he should move. Of how he had so much time to avoid the vehicle. And, how he hadn't.
I'm… such a loser.
The truck barreled forward, becoming larger in Gray's vision.
WARNING: You have fallen below 75 HP!
If your HP reaches 0, you will die!
I never achieved anything. I wasn't cool. I was strong. I wasn't hot. I wasn't smart. I wasn't successful. I wasn't even average. I was a fucking loser.
The truck headlines became brighter, filling Gray's vision.
But… I…
WARNING: You have fallen below 50 HP!
If your HP reaches 0, you will die!
The truck became larger, filling his entire world as it was only a few feet in front of him.
I…
WARNING: You have fallen below 25 HP!
If your HP reaches 0, you will die!
The truck slammed into the front of his body.
I…
WARNING: You have fallen below 10 HP!
If your HP reaches 0, you will die!
It barreled over him, pushing him backward.
WARNING: You have fallen below 5 HP!
If your HP reaches 0, you will die!
I…
WARNING: You have fallen to 4 HP!
If your HP reaches 0, you will die!
Then, it stopped. A fist lashed out, and suddenly the truck was gone.
I… don't want to be a loser.
[Saiyan Assimilation] has reached 85%!
Status condition [Saiyan Bloodline] has become stronger!
WARNING: You have fallen to 3 HP!
If your HP reaches 0, you will die!
I lose. I always lose. In my past life and in this one. To Kolra… To Raditz… To Yamoshi… No…
[Saiyan Assimilation] has reached 90%!
Status condition [Saiyan Bloodline] has become stronger!
WARNING: You have fallen to 2 HP!
If your HP reaches 0, you will die!
I won't…
WARNING: You have fallen to 1 HP!
If your HP reaches 0, you will die!
[Saiyan Assimilation] has reached 95%!
Status condition [Saiyan Bloodline] has become stronger!
Fucking…
WARNING: You have fallen to 0 HP!
You have died!
[Game Ov-
[Saiyan Assimilation] has reached 100%!
Status condition [Saiyan Bloodline] has become permanent!
[Alert!]
[Game Over] has been overridden by [Gray Tanaki]'s Evolution!
Somewhere, a faint, long laughter rang out.
Lose…
Gray's eyes snapped open, his vision filled with red as his blood poured down his face. Then, his hand twitched.
EVER AGAIN!
[Alert!]
[Your body is evolving!]
[Evolution Rate: 1%]
+100 to all stats!
+1 LVL to all skills!
Gray's hand twitched, a slight jerk that seemed insignificant at first, but then it slowly curled into a fist. His knuckles whitened as his fingers closed, veins bulging across his skin. With painstaking effort, his arm began to rise, inch by agonizing inch, as if weighed down by a massive force. The muscles in his arm quivered, visibly strained from the sheer effort. His hand hung in the air for a moment, trembling, before it dropped back to the ground with a thud. The impact cracked the earth beneath his fingers, and Gray's hand clenched instinctively, the sound of splintering rock echoing as his fingers gouged into the hard stone. Dirt, jagged bits of rock, and blood mingled together, caking the mangled skin of his hands, but the pain was a distant hum in the back of his mind. All he could think of was one thing.
I won't…
The blood that had soaked his hands moments before seemed to fade away. It didn't just dry - it vanished, as if absorbed into the earth beneath him, leaving faint crimson stains on the dirt. His hand twitched violently, convulsing as his skin rippled unnaturally. It was as if something was alive under his skin, fighting to break free. His flesh bulged grotesquely, and his palm stretched outward, its surface warping. His hand started to enlarge, growing bigger, with each of his fingers lengthening, the bones popping audibly, an unnerving crunch filling the air as his joints expanded and settled into place. The gnarled, bloodied flesh slowly healed over, replaced by a fresh layer of smooth, unblemished skin.
Be a…
A sudden jolt ran through him.
[Alert!]
[Your body is evolving!]
[Evolution Rate: 2%]
+100 to all stats!
+1 LVL to all skills!
Gray's arm jerked as if possessed, the muscles spasming uncontrollably. It lashed outward, a wild, erratic motion that caused his broken bones to grind together in sickening friction. His arm extended unnaturally, the skin stretching far beyond its normal limits, his bones elongating to match. It was growing too long, an almost alien extension of his own body, disconnected from the familiar proportions he once knew.
Fucking…
Another jarring tremor wracked his body.
[Alert!]
[Your body is evolving!]
[Evolution Rate: 3%]
+100 to all stats!
+1 LVL to all skills!
LOSER!
"FUCK!" Gray's scream ripped through the air, primal and unfiltered. His body was wrenched upward as if some unseen force had grabbed him by the spine and yanked him from the ground. His torso arched, the skin rippling and writhing like it was being pulled in opposite directions. His muscles bulged grotesquely, straining under the pressure. His back contorted, and his spine shifted with a series of loud cracks. His body was no longer his own - it was morphing, becoming something different, something stronger. His legs buckled, knees snapping as new bones replaced the old, lengthening as his legs stretched out. His body was pulling apart and rebuilding itself at the same time, his muscles ballooning, growing denser, more defined. His hair, already damp with sweat and blood, seemed to grow too, lengthening and whipping wildly as if caught in an invisible wind.
"Fuck…" Gray gasped, his breath ragged as he struggled to remain upright. He managed to plant his feet firmly on the ground, pushing himself up. His arms were different now, elongated and massive, his legs towering beneath him. Every muscle in his body felt swollen, teeming with newfound strength. His skin had regenerated, unmarred by the blood and injuries from earlier. He looked down at himself. His transformation had been violent, but the results were undeniable. He flexed his fingers, watching his hand, now larger, close into a tight fist. His body was no longer the one he had known.
Gray's eyes shot upward to see Yamoshi descending toward him, his feet just inches above the ground. The Super Saiyan's eyes remained rolled over, his mind gone, but his lips curled.. Slowly, a large excited smile formed, filling Yamoshi's face with a primal excitement.
Gray smirked, blood still dripping down his cheek as he spat on the ground.
"I told you… Yamoshi…" His voice was low, guttural, filled with raw determination as a surge of power coursed through his veins. "I WON'T EVER LOSE!"
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AN: Thank you for reading! You can read the next 4 chapters right now at Patreon.com/Koyon !
See ya next week!