Chapter 4: Roulette

Acala woke with a sudden gasp, her body jerking upright as her chest heaved, and her lungs burned with a desperate desire for air. Her limbs felt numb and her heart hammered against her ribcage, pounding furiously with a desire to 'live.'

She blinked, expecting to feel the harsh sands of Xarrack on her bare flesh, only to realize she was still inside her cramped pod. Her body was back to normal, though she could still feel it—her skin melting away, devoured by acid, her flesh melting off her bones and dissolving in that pit of agony.

But here she was, intact, with the only hint that any time had passed being Spina's gentle snoring not far from her, the small Saiyan curled up like a kitten around her tail.

She ran a hand over her torso, half-expecting to feel holes and pits where her flesh had been seared off the night before, but all that met her fingers was solid muscle. Her skin, her torso, her energy, everything was intact. Restored to a certain degree. But the memory of that slow, agonizing death was as vivid as ever.

[Simulation Battle Tutorial Complete]

The words appeared within her vision, projected in that same piercing red glow within her mind, somehow perceived by her sight yet not accompanied by that nauseous sensation she had experienced before.

'So it is real.'

The young Saiyan exhaled, releasing a breath she had unconsciously held back. She pushed down the remnants of the vivid bloodlust that lingered in her memories. The experience had felt unnaturally intense—far too real and painfully accurate to be merely one of the Frieza Force's simulation modules. Somehow, this Temporal Battle Simulator (TBS) had allowed her to face a formidable opponent without the risk of real injury. It seemed too good to be true.

The glowing crimson text from the system appeared before her once more, pulling her back into focus.

[Tutorial Simulation Completed]

[Reward: Skill-(Ki Reinforcement), +10 System Points.]

[Dune Dragon Template Completed by +12%]

[Reward: Power Level +132, +5 System Points]

"Ki... reinforcement...?"

She muttered the words, swirling the foreign term on her tongue with a curious skepticism. The 'TBS' system, or whatever it was called, seemed to be some price fighters' arena, a tool specifically crafted to create a fierce warrior. 

Suddenly, more text filled her vision, dizzying her as she tried to track each word.

[System Functions]

1)Battle Analysis

 - Examine the user's past encounters in detail to uncover mistakes and areas for improvement, allowing them to refine their strategies and enhance their combat skills.

2)Opponent Simulation

 - Leverage 'Templates' obtained from opponents or other sources to absorb and replicate their unique techniques, skills, and combat abilities.

3)Reward System

 - Win points, attributes, new techniques, powerful items, and many more rewards through the user's performance in simulations and the successful completion of system quests

4)Roulette:

 - Use system points to spin a virtual wheel for a chance to win various rewards, including opponent templates, techniques, traits, skills, and more.

The functions... what the hell did they even mean? She could understand the general idea as to what they stood for, but still, the sheer illogical implication of the words was enough to leave her bewildered with her sight fixed upon the first two functions alone. 

Her fixation with endless combat, however, was intruded upon by the system that had to bring a whole new message up front,

[New Roulette Tier Unlocked: Basic Tier]

[Roulette: Basic Tier]

Cost: 5 System Points per spin.

Rewards: Low-level techniques, physical attributes, consumables, weapons, and special items.

[Caution: Spin outcomes also include blanks and consolation prices]

'Interesting...'

Acala squinted at the screen. Intrigued by the very prospect of 'spinning' for new abilities and items. If she remembered correctly, she still had fifteen points from the tutorial simulation... just enough for three spins. This was the perfect opportunity to test the system's validity.

After some struggle, which consisted of Acala poking a hole in the pod's wall in an attempt to select the 'Spin' option. Finally, the roulette wheel appeared in her sight, spinning with a low buzz and displaying a series of strange colors and shapes/

Click... click... click...

The wheel slowed, and Acala watched with no small amount of interest as the dial finally settled on an icon displaying a strange-looking fruit. The system notified her of the result:

[Item Obtained: Fruit of the Tree of Healing]

[Restores minor injuries and abrasions | Alt: Restores 30% maximum health and accelerates wound recovery. The effect cannot be stacked]

The fruit materialized before her, suspended effortlessly in the air. She reached out and grabbed it, inspecting the strangely misshapen fruit, its unusual texture, and the strange crimson glow that radiated like heat from its skin. A sickeningly sweet scene wafted from it, so intense that the smell alone was enough to make her gag.

"What even is this...?"

She muttered, turning it over and over again before setting it aside for later examination.

"Next spin."

The roulette spun again, the dial stopping on a symbol of a tiny flame. 

[Skill Obtained: Ember Strike]

[A low-level ki technique that can inflict energy-based burn damage over time if used correctly. Perfect for Low-Class Warriors or starting fires.]

Acala chuckled at the description. It wasn't all that useful, sure, but it was still better than just chucking away a huge chunk of your energy as she was taught to do back on Vegeta. 

On her last spin, the wheel clicked around and landed on an icon shaped like a black cross. 

[Better Luck Next Time]

"So that's what it meant, huh? Neat." 

From what she could see, over half of the possible options were similar to this black cross icon. Two out of three was already good enough for her.

As that brief surge of excitement faded with the last spin, she continued to explore the System's functions, returning to another tab that had appeared: 'Templates.' Supposedly, it contained a list of opponents she could face at her current stage. The arsenal could be increased in the future... tempting.

[Templates]

[Templates record a temporal copy of combat encounters and opponents. By completing a template, the User better understands an opponent's fighting style and weakness. Accumulate 'Template Completion' unlocks higher-level opponents and rewards.]

[Templates]

1) Dune Dragon(1/3)

Status: 12% Completed

Power Level: 1100

Weaknesses: Slow on Land | Unarmored Underbelly | Vulnerable insides

Rewards: Power Level, System Points, Dune Dragon Husbandry Technology(Requires 80% completion)

Acala's interest was aroused at the mention of rewards.

'So... did my Power Level increase after the simulation?'

She clenched her fists, feeling maybe slightly more powerful than before. At least it confirmed that she could refine her techniques, gain combat experience, and even receive some form of technological compensation for fighting in a perfectly invulnerable environment.

She couldn't have asked for anything more. 

'Let's see how many templates I can get from this rock.'

After all, Xarrack was famous for its exceedingly dangerous fauna.

"Eeek-!"

Her thoughts were interrupted when Spina stirred in her sleep, her small mouth wrapped around the tip of Acala's tail. The little Saiyan girl was completely unaware of what she was doing in her restless slumber, even as she sank her teeth into someone else's tail!

"Grrrr..."

She bit her lips, glaring at the child chomping on her tail. It had unconsciously curled around Spina in a tight, protective fashion. Now though...

'Serves you right!'

It was suffering from karma. What Acala couldn't understand was why she had to suffer as well!

A Saiyan's tail was their notoriously well-known weakness. The appendages possessed remarkable instinctive response, reacting almost reflexively to the slightest neural signals. Unless trained properly, they could even react to simple irritation and cause havoc at the slightest notice.

Her eyes watered as the pain became almost unbearable, still, she didn't throw off the kid or smash her into one of the pod's walls as any other Saiyan would've done Strange, considering her first response to seeing her crawling towards the pod was either to eliminate her or leave her to die.

Maybe people can change at a moment's notice or maybe it was simply old memories and instincts acting up again.

*CHOMP*

"OUCH!"