There are several animes like Dragon Ball or One Punch Man where sheer training alone allows a person to become superhumanly strong, tough, and fast. There are also RPGs or games like Street Fighter where experience alone allows a person to become more powerful than any animal. I'm creating a story set in a world (let's call it Qi for now), where there is almost no limit to how powerful a human being or even an animal can get. Proper nutrition, training, and experience alone can allow a person to run at hypersonic speeds, karate chop mountains in half, and survive being hit by a small nuclear bomb. With enough training and meditation, a person can also unlock a few supernatural talents like the ability to fly, stop aging, breathe in space/underwater, or shoot energy blasts. Nothing too esoteric however, this is primarily an MMA fisticuffs setting instead of a hax setting full of mages.
Qi has modern technology just like contemporary Earth. The key difference between Qi and the franchises it is inspired by, is that in Dragon Ball or Street Fighter, only a tiny minority of the setting's population is superhumanly powerful. In Qi, everybody is aware of how strong a person can get and they generally aim to gain superhuman physicals themselves. Generally speaking, the average inhabitant is around comicbook Captain America's power level. Police officers have to be strong enough and tough enough to beat up elephants if they want to qualify. Militaries aren't composed of millions of soldiers, but instead have hundreds/thousands of CQB specialists that are around All Might's power level. It takes decades of training, sparring, and meditation before somebody gets as strong as say, Demon King Piccolo.
Since humans are much stronger in this universe, weapons have to be larger/powerful and buildings/fortifications also have to be heavy-duty. Weight wouldn't be an issue however since humans can carry a lot more. Actually, a lot of traditional weapons like bows, warhammers, and axes might still be in use if everybody has enhanced physicals. Biological/chemical warfare would be used a lot more on Qi since conventional weapons are less effective.
Automobiles and bicycles would be less popular on Qi, although they would still be necessary for a sizable chunk of the population. I actually think bicycles could outpace modern cars if they were larger and had superhuman muscles behind them. Space travel would be both easier and more popular. Strong muscles can generate power, but Qi would have far larger food consumption than real life Earth does. Despite having modern technology, the destructive potential plus cost of living would mean that Qi would have a much smaller population than modern Earth (assuming it's the same size). Since Earth has 8 billion people right now, let's say Qi has 1 billion.
There are two main religions/ideologies in Qi. There is an oriental faith that is pretty much a hodgepodge of various East Asian beliefs in the real world that is associated with monks. That would essentially be a syncretism of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and a few other ideas. There is also an occidental faith where everyone is a strict Social Darwinist. Everybody tries to be strong and fit and rich and beautiful, society is built around survival of the fittest. The main belief system is let the strong get stronger and let the weak suffer, although it is possible for the weak to eventually become strong. Muscular men and muscular women are very popular and attractive on Qi.
Since Qi's enhancements affects most life, some animals that are old and have lots of fighting experience would also become powerful threats. I can imagine a crocodile like Gustave or a creature like the Champawat Tiger eventually flying around at supersonic speeds and chewing up tank armor. Trained fighting dogs or bulls could also become quite fearsome. Warhorses could eventually outrace and outfight attack helicopters.
Martial Arts tournaments are huge events on Qi. The international planetwide martial arts tournament on Qi would have more viewers than the Super Bowl! Anybody that wins a major martial arts tournament would become an overnight millionaire and celebrity. Qi's version of the UFC would be more popular than FIFA, the NFL, and NBA combined. The vast majority of Qi's inhabitants learn at least basic martial arts growing up and engages in at least one physical sport. Every country on Qi would have more gymnasiums than schools. The Olympics would also be substantially more popular and profitable for its participants than the real life Olympics. Mental accolades and achievements would be less appreciated on Qi than they are in real life. Qi is pretty much a world where jocks rule and can do almost anything they want.
Are there any settings similar to what I'm describing? Given what I described, what would be the logical consequences of Qi?
Qi has modern technology just like contemporary Earth. The key difference between Qi and the franchises it is inspired by, is that in Dragon Ball or Street Fighter, only a tiny minority of the setting's population is superhumanly powerful. In Qi, everybody is aware of how strong a person can get and they generally aim to gain superhuman physicals themselves. Generally speaking, the average inhabitant is around comicbook Captain America's power level. Police officers have to be strong enough and tough enough to beat up elephants if they want to qualify. Militaries aren't composed of millions of soldiers, but instead have hundreds/thousands of CQB specialists that are around All Might's power level. It takes decades of training, sparring, and meditation before somebody gets as strong as say, Demon King Piccolo.
Since humans are much stronger in this universe, weapons have to be larger/powerful and buildings/fortifications also have to be heavy-duty. Weight wouldn't be an issue however since humans can carry a lot more. Actually, a lot of traditional weapons like bows, warhammers, and axes might still be in use if everybody has enhanced physicals. Biological/chemical warfare would be used a lot more on Qi since conventional weapons are less effective.
Automobiles and bicycles would be less popular on Qi, although they would still be necessary for a sizable chunk of the population. I actually think bicycles could outpace modern cars if they were larger and had superhuman muscles behind them. Space travel would be both easier and more popular. Strong muscles can generate power, but Qi would have far larger food consumption than real life Earth does. Despite having modern technology, the destructive potential plus cost of living would mean that Qi would have a much smaller population than modern Earth (assuming it's the same size). Since Earth has 8 billion people right now, let's say Qi has 1 billion.
There are two main religions/ideologies in Qi. There is an oriental faith that is pretty much a hodgepodge of various East Asian beliefs in the real world that is associated with monks. That would essentially be a syncretism of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and a few other ideas. There is also an occidental faith where everyone is a strict Social Darwinist. Everybody tries to be strong and fit and rich and beautiful, society is built around survival of the fittest. The main belief system is let the strong get stronger and let the weak suffer, although it is possible for the weak to eventually become strong. Muscular men and muscular women are very popular and attractive on Qi.
Since Qi's enhancements affects most life, some animals that are old and have lots of fighting experience would also become powerful threats. I can imagine a crocodile like Gustave or a creature like the Champawat Tiger eventually flying around at supersonic speeds and chewing up tank armor. Trained fighting dogs or bulls could also become quite fearsome. Warhorses could eventually outrace and outfight attack helicopters.
Martial Arts tournaments are huge events on Qi. The international planetwide martial arts tournament on Qi would have more viewers than the Super Bowl! Anybody that wins a major martial arts tournament would become an overnight millionaire and celebrity. Qi's version of the UFC would be more popular than FIFA, the NFL, and NBA combined. The vast majority of Qi's inhabitants learn at least basic martial arts growing up and engages in at least one physical sport. Every country on Qi would have more gymnasiums than schools. The Olympics would also be substantially more popular and profitable for its participants than the real life Olympics. Mental accolades and achievements would be less appreciated on Qi than they are in real life. Qi is pretty much a world where jocks rule and can do almost anything they want.
Are there any settings similar to what I'm describing? Given what I described, what would be the logical consequences of Qi?
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