Duran had arrived in this world three months ago.
Although he knew that this world was the world of Dragon Ball, the place where he had landed was simply too remote. The small village didn't even have a television. Because of that, Duran had no idea what time period he was in, nor did he even know where exactly he was.
So he could only stay in the village, hunting every day just to survive.
The only thing he could do now was wait. When autumn arrived, traveling merchants would come to the village to trade goods. At that time, Duran planned to ask one of them to take him out of the village. Only then would he have the chance to reach places he recognized by name—places like West City, Mount Paozu, or Penguin Village.
Duran lay on top of a rock, using his astonishing eyesight to observe a terrifying creature several thousand meters away.
A dinosaur.
Autumn was almost here, and the merchants would soon arrive. So Duran decided to hunt a large prey to use as bargaining capital.
Gray, rough scales—like layers of stone—covered the dinosaur's entire body. Thick limbs supported its massive weight. Although Duran didn't know what species it was, he was certain it wasn't the gentle kind. A sharp horn protruded from its head, and its mouth was full of pointed teeth. Its fangs glinted coldly.
Duran hid downwind. The foul smell of the dinosaur had already reached his nose.
He frowned.
This time, he needed to figure out how to keep the prey intact. Previously, when hunting, he never cared about the condition of the carcass. The fur and hide were usually destroyed beyond recognition.
But this time, if he wanted a good price, he had to keep it whole.
"If I use ki, I could easily kill it," Duran thought. "But then it wouldn't fetch a good price."
His current strength wasn't enough yet. Otherwise, like in the anime, he could just knock the dinosaur unconscious.
"Right… I can provoke it and make it crash into a mountain."
With that idea in mind, Duran rushed forward.
"Die, you beast!"
The gray dinosaur hadn't noticed him at all. Compared to the dinosaur, Duran was like an ant next to an elephant.
But once Duran attacked, things changed.
With a few leaps, he reached the dinosaur's back. Clenching his right fist, he slammed it down hard.
Even rock-like scales couldn't withstand his full-force punch. The scales shattered, and his fist sank in.
"ROOOAR—!"
The dinosaur roared in pain and jumped violently.
Using the dinosaur's back as a springboard, Duran leapt toward its head and delivered another heavy blow, shattering more scales.
The dinosaur roared even louder and finally noticed the tiny human jumping around it. It swung its horn wildly, trying to stab him.
Seeing he had its attention, Duran began provoking it more aggressively while adjusting his position. He hoped that when the dinosaur charged, there would be a massive rock behind him.
After successfully enraging it, Duran deliberately widened the distance between them.
From experience hunting dinosaurs, he knew they only used their charging attack over longer distances.
With his current strength, hunting dinosaurs was no longer difficult. After several rounds of testing, the dinosaur finally charged.
Although it took a lot of time, Duran felt it was worth it. Aside from a few broken scales, the dinosaur's body remained largely intact—though its skull was probably shattered.
The dinosaur was huge. It was the largest prey he had ever hunted. Transporting it took considerable effort.
Duran didn't actually have the strength to lift the dinosaur. His true advantage came from the endless supply of ki inside his body. Physically, he was only moderately strong.
He had been training his body—pushing rocks and dragging logs—but his raw strength hadn't improved much.
What he wanted most right now was a gravity chamber—preferably the portable kind stored in capsules.
Of course, the only scientists capable of creating something like that were probably the eccentric genius in Penguin Village or Bulma and her father in West City.
When autumn arrived, four traveling merchants finally entered the village with horse-drawn wagons.
Although the Dragon Ball world was technically Earth, and its technology was extremely advanced, many areas still retained a primitive lifestyle.
Like these merchants and their wagons.
Thanks to the dinosaur Duran had hunted, negotiations went smoothly.
After waiting another week, Duran finally left the simple village where he had lived for months.
A month later, he finally arrived at the legendary West City.
Most of the journey had been through mountain roads. Once he reached a small town, the remaining trip to West City only took a few days.
Originally, Duran planned to gather more information in that small town. But once he arrived, a sudden impulse drove him to immediately buy a plane ticket. After several transfers, he reached West City.
During these few days, he finally learned roughly what time period this world was in.
Mr. Satan hadn't appeared yet, which meant the era where massive destruction and casualties occurred hadn't arrived.
That gave Duran some comfort.
At least he still had time.
With his current identity, Duran had no chance of visiting Bulma's house.
But entering a gravity chamber wasn't his immediate goal anyway. First, he needed to determine the timeline.
So he checked the champions of past World Martial Arts Tournaments to see whether familiar names appeared—Jackie Chun, Tien Shinhan, or Son Goku.
Finally, near the end of the list, he saw Jackie Chun and Tien Shinhan.
That meant this was the era of King Piccolo.
"King Piccolo hasn't appeared yet," Duran calculated."That means Goku should currently be collecting the Dragon Balls to revive Krillin."
If he wanted to find Goku, there were two options:
Go to Korin Tower and ask Korin (the cat hermit).
Find Bulma and build a Dragon Radar.
In the end, Duran chose Korin Tower.
After all, Senzu Beans were far more attractive than Dragon Balls.
After buying a basic capsule set in West City, Duran prepared for the journey.
Since he hadn't learned the Flying Technique, a vehicle was necessary. He also prepared a set of weighted gear to wear while climbing Korin Tower.
With an autopilot robot flying the craft, he reached the base of the tower in only two days.
Looking up at the tower that pierced the clouds, Duran spat into his palms, hugged the tower, and began climbing.
Climbing was exhausting.
He had never done such long-lasting physical exertion before. Hunting was usually quick and decisive, aided by ki.
But now, after only half a day of climbing, he was already panting.
He tied himself to the tower with a rope. Falling from this height would definitely turn him into paste.
At his current level, he couldn't properly control his ki yet.
Based on his current pace, it would take at least a month and a half to reach the top.
Sighing, Duran closed his eyes and rested.
After more than ten days, his body finally adapted to the repetitive motion.
Then one day, storm clouds gathered. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Soon, lightning exploded around Korin Tower.
Terrified, Duran wondered whether to stop or keep climbing.
Before being transported to this world, he had only been an ordinary person. Even though his body now contained endless energy, he still lacked decisive courage.
In the end, he chose to keep climbing.
The wind was fierce. Rain lashed down. His climbing speed dropped to half, while the effort required tripled.
But he gritted his teeth and continued upward.
Gradually, his focus shifted entirely to climbing, and he forgot his fear.
Amazingly, his speed returned to normal even in the storm.
On the fifth day after the storm, Duran noticed his climbing speed had increased.
But the higher he climbed, the harder breathing became.
He guessed the thinner air was draining his stamina faster.
Now he could climb continuously for more than ten hours a day.
His physical condition had improved dramatically.
Then one day, the sky suddenly turned dark.
Looking at his watch, Duran frowned.
"It shouldn't be night yet… and it's not raining."
Then a thought struck him.
Shenron had been summoned.
That meant Goku had been defeated by King Piccolo.
"So soon?" Duran muttered.
He had been climbing for nearly a month and still hadn't reached the top.
Then, three days after Shenron appeared, he saw a black dot rapidly climbing upward.
It was Yajirobe—carrying the severely injured Goku on his back.
In just moments, Yajirobe caught up to him.
Duran forced an awkward smile.
"Uh… hello. Fancy meeting you here."
Yajirobe was equally surprised to see someone climbing this high.
"Yeah… what a coincidence."
He glanced at Duran's tattered clothes and messy appearance, realizing he must have been climbing for a long time.
Normally Yajirobe would have mocked him, but with unconscious Goku on his back, he had no time.
"Your friend's injured?" Duran asked. "You're going up to seek help? Then hurry."
After Yajirobe climbed away, Duran gritted his teeth and resumed climbing.
Being surpassed by a supporting character like Yajirobe was humiliating.
So he shortened his sleeping and eating time, climbing sixteen hours a day.
Finally, eight days later, Duran reached the top.
He met the legendary Korin.
Sure enough, this world really was ridiculous.
Goku had already undergone the Ultra Divine Water trial and left to challenge King Piccolo.
Meanwhile, Duran stared curiously at his first Senzu Bean.
"I wonder what it tastes like."
"If you're not eating it, give it to me," Yajirobe said eagerly.
But Duran knew exactly how valuable Senzu Beans were. He carefully hid it away and took out the food he had prepared.
Seeing the mountain of food, Korin and Yajirobe didn't hold back.
The three of them feasted.
After eating, Korin washed his face with his paws and said:
"Well then, young man. Tell me your purpose."
"I came to ask you about how to use ki."
"Oh?" Korin looked interested. "How much do you already know?"
Duran took a deep breath and explained everything he knew from the manga: how ki exists in every person, how training increases its quantity and quality, and how focusing the mind allows it to be released outside the body.
Korin nodded.
"You're correct. Since you already understand the theory, why ask me?"
Duran felt embarrassed.
Goku, Krillin, and Tien had all created their own techniques after learning about ki.
But he was stuck.
"I can use ki in simple ways," Duran admitted. "But I feel its potential is far greater. I just can't figure it out."
Korin asked, "Show me how you use it."
Duran stepped into the center of the room.
He extended his hands forward and guided the ki in his body toward his palms.
A glowing light appeared.
"Go! Tathagata Palm!"
A palm-shaped burst of energy shot out.
In truth, this technique existed because Duran's control over ki was terrible. Once the energy left his body, it dispersed.
In an expert's eyes, the move was laughably weak.
"Are you swatting mosquitoes?" Yajirobe mocked.
Korin shook his head.
"Well, learning ki is simple. Just drink the Ultra Divine Water."
He pointed to a bottle hanging in the center of the room.
Of course, Duran knew the so-called divine water was actually ordinary water. The real training came from Korin's challenge.
"Thank you, Master Korin."
"Don't thank me yet," Korin said.
With a spectacular spinning jump, he landed on the pillar and hung the bottle on his staff.
"Come on. If you can grab it… you can drink it."
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