Chapter 11: Revelation

The hot sun glared over a barren wasteland of endless dunes and jagged rocks. The air shimmered with hearing, and no living creature dared stir across the endless sea of shifting gold. It was a perfect battleground, a place of death where nothing fragile could interrupt her fight.

The arid heat of the simulated desert pressed against Acala's skin as she hovered in the air, high above the dunes.

Hovering in midair, she surveyed the simulation battleground. Her fists were clenched, the veins on her arms bulging with a very thinly restrained wrath. She could feel the dry, hot wind tugging at her wild here, but her focus was entirely on the beast materializing far below her: the Dune Dragon. A creature that even dwarfed an Oozaru in size, it was a monstrosity unique to the death world. Its elongated, earthworm-like body was covered in tempered scales that reflected the sunlight like polished steel. Gaping mandibles snapped at the sand, swallowing it in waves as the monster swam through the dunes with ease.

Without hesitation, she rocketed upwards, piercing through the heatwaves. Higher and higher she ascended until the desert below was little more than a golden smear. The air around her grew thin.

[Initiating Simulation Battle]

[Opponent: Dune Dragon]

[Victory Condition: Termination of either party]

"Enough!"

She growled, her voice sharp enough to cut through the high-altitude stillness. The translucent panel flickered for a moment, returning to display its usual list of functions and information.

"Answer me. What the hell did the 'Fruit of the Tree of Life' do to Spina?"

There was no response. The interface remained unchanged, its text still displaying her name and stats, offering no acknowledgment of her words. 

"Don't play dumb with me!"

She snarled, her aura flaring violently and sending shockwaves through the air. Her tail thrashed in frustration at the acute lack of answers. 

"I know you can hear me! The fruit did something! That kid's power level is climbing like she's training inside a star! Why is she in stasis instead of recovery!?"

Still nothing. The blank panel with her stat was her only answer.

"The chamber is telling me it's just because she was malnourished but I know you are screwing with her body, and I want to know why!"

Still, silence.

"Useless thing!"

Her words echoed in the empty sky, her voice trembling with fury.

"You're malfunctioning, aren't you? Some kind of bug in your code! No wonder you gave me a defective product."

That seemed to trigger something. The system's text flickered, and for a brief moment, a new line appeared in her vision. She thought she detected a hint of indignation in its reply:

[System Alert: The TBS System maintains a 100% functionality rate.]

[All products of the system are guaranteed to be effective and free of faults.]

Acala blinked in surprise at the sudden reply, her rage almost faltered for a moment. She scoffed.

"Then explain! If you're so perfect, why is Spina still in the chamber? What's happening to her?"

The screen flickered again, this time displaying a stream of data and analysis that made no sense to her.

[Query acknowledged. Processing...]

She crossed her arms, wondering what absurd reason the system would cook up for her.

[Clarification: The Fruit of Life is a high-grade evolutionary item, accidentally added to the basic roulette reward pool. Its effect on Saiyan physiology is significant, particularly in the case of extreme genetic degradation.]

[The Fruit of the Tree of Life has reversed genetic degradation in the subject by 30%. Current Saiyan physiology reflects a significant evolution-induced decline from the species' peak potential.]

"What?"

Acala's eyes widened, her tone turning icy,

"You're saying there's something 'wrong' with Saiyans?"

[Saiyans have devolved.]

Acala's lips parted in shock, but she quickly mastered her surprise and scowled.

"What are you talking about? We're the strongest warriors in the galaxy!"

[Incorrect Assumption. Saiyan evolution has regressed over generations. Modern Saiyans represent a fraction of its original potential. They exhibit diminished biological efficiency, reduced combat potential, and impaired adaptability compared to their ancestors.]

Acala's tail stiffened, curling lightly around her waist and rearing its tip towards the panel as if interested in what it had to say.

"Reduced combat potential? Impaired adaptability? Are you saying we're weaker now than we were... before?"

[Affirmative.]

"So,"

The energy flaring around her suddenly diminished.

"The fruit... what did it do to Spina?"

[The Fruit of the Tree of Life reversed this degradation by up to 30%. The process requires significant biological energy to reconstruct and realign the recipient's genetic structure. The energy consumption rates required for genetic restructuring necessitate prolonged recovery.]

"You're saying, she's becoming some kind of... 'Ancient Saiyan?' And her body's burning through energy to complete the transformation?"

[Affirmative. Subject Spina is undergoing a partial reversion to an Ancient Saiyan state. This involves enhanced musculature, increased power level threshold, adaptive metabolism, and higher sensory acuity. The process is approximately 0.8% complete. Estimated full recovery in six months.]

Six Months?

Acala's teeth grounded together as she processed that information. At first, the thought of Spina undergoing such drastic change made her uneasy. Not to mention six months was too long a time for a developing child to remain in a rejuvenation pod. The radiation alone would kill her.

But underneath that frustrated mask of care, there was something else stirring, a nagging sense of awe. Ancient Saiyans... Could it be true that their race had fallen so far from its former glory? What kind of power had been lost to time?

She could only assume that the so-called 'Ancient Saiyan' was another name for the stuff of legend... a 'Super Saiyans' being of unmatched power and ferocity.

[Negative.]

"What?"

[Query Resolved. Resuming Simulation]

Before she could respond, a sudden flash of light enveloped her, and the world around her shifted in that instant. She felt her stomach lurch as the world folded; the sky vanished for a moment. When the glow subsided, Acala was no longer floating high above the desert; instead, she found herself standing once more on the desert floor. She stood on the hot, blistering sands, with the ground trembling beneath her feet.

The ground exploded in a cascade of sand and debris as she let loose her ki once again. In the distance, the Dune Dragon let out a guttural roar, its massive form writhing as it slithered toward her. Its body was nothing short of a towering mass of armored scales, acid dripping from its gaping maw, hissing and bubbling as it hit the sand. The ground quaked beneath its movement.

"Damn it."

The system had teleported her straight back into the fight.

[Victory Condition: Termination of either party]

Acala glared at the approaching beast, stooping low, she dropped into a fighting stance. The beast's sheer size was daunting to look upon.

"Fine. If I can't get all my answers from you, I'll just have to vent my frustration on this overgrown worm!"

The Dune Dragon leaped off the sandy terrain, its massive maw opening wide as it came down upon her with the force of a collapsing mountain. Acala shot backward, flying out of the area of impact as fast as she could.

"What are you made of you f***in' giant maggot!?"

She growled, firing a volley of ki blasts at the creature's armored hide. Unlike her last battle, she expected her attack to leave some sort of mark or even dent the beast's scale. After all, her own Power Level had risen close to the beast's. But just like before, the explosions barely left a scratch on its indestructible hide.

The ground trembled as the Dune Dragon made use of its greatest tactic, burrowing into the sand, only to re-emerge from behind her, moving with an unnatural speed while submerged in sand. Acala spun around, landing a solid punch against its side. The impact sent a shockwave rippling along its scales, rousing a cloud of dust from crevices and corners where the sand had deposited.

As for the creature itself? Well, it barely flinched.

"Of course you're tougher this time."

Acala launched herself into the air, dodging another one of the creature's attempts to give her an acid bath. The fight had just begun, and already she could tell this wasn't going to end in her favor. The creature was just far too well-protected for any of her attacks to pierce through its armor.

As the beast roared and dived back into the sand again, Acala's mind raced to cook up anything that might give her a fighting chance. She wasn't just fighting for the sake of pleasure... no, this was more of a training. Every battle took her one step closer to attaining victory over an opponent she could've barely fathomed surviving against. 

Also, she needed to be strong enough to protect Spina. At the rate her power level was increasing, it wouldn't be long before the little brat would be the one protecting her!

The Dune Dragon emerged from the tip of a dune, using the elevated position to rise even higher in the sky to use its immense weight as a weapon. Acala growled, her fists catching fire as the fiery energy covered her limbs.

"Come on you maggot! Let's kill each other!!!"

With that, she charged headfirst into the falling meat loaf weighing a million kilos.