Dragon Ball: Rise of the Saiyan

Acala sighed, leaning against the console covered in gibberish that most of the sapient life forms in this quadrant of the galaxy referred to as the 'Common Language.' A bunch of bullshit if anyone cared enough for her opinion, the Frieze Forze adopted the language since its conception and it became more and more prominent with the 'Planet Brokers' rise to fame. 

'Tch!'

Fuckin' space lizards...

Her arm twitched, she had so far ignored the trembling in favor of more pressing matters... but it was getting out of hand. The phantom pain from having her internal organs turned into soup in the simulation lingered despite her no longer being inside one.

She didn't really feel like revisiting the moments of her defeat. Losing to an oversized maggot with nigh impregnable armor that had evolved specifically to counter energy users like her wasn't the worst 'sounding' outcome.

But it was still quite embarrassing for a Saiyan to make excuses.

DING~

'Huh?'

--- [ STATUS UPDATE COMPLETE ]---

'Show me.'

--- [ STATS ]---

-> Name: Acala

-> Species: Saiyan {Albino Variant}

-> Age: 7

-> Gender: Female

--- [ ATTRIBUTE ] ---

-> Power Level: 1260 (1073+187)

--- [ Skills ] ---

-> Passive | Zenkai |Oozaru Transformation |Rapid Regeneration | Combat Instincts

-> Active | Flight (MAX) | Ki Blast (Lv.10/???) | Ki Reinforcement (Lv.1/5) | Ember Strike (Lv.1/5)

--- [ Equipment ] ---

-> Frieza Force Armor (Common) (Old) 

-> Frieza Force Scouter (Common) (Old)

--- [ INVENTORY ] ---

-> ~~~~

--- [ SP ] ---

-> 30 {6 Basic Spins Available}

The 'new' panel did look better than the last one... more detailed maybe? 

For one thing, now it displayed 'levels' next to each skill which meant she could increase them, and by that, she meant she could now increase her proficiency in using said skills to a certain degree. 

"Nice..."

In just a few days, her power level had increased from the late 700s to the mid-1200s. This was on par with a fully grown Low-Class Saiyan Warrior. Such rapid progress was unheard of in Saiyan history, as far as she could remember— of course, not accounting for the 'Prodigy' Prince Vegeta, who would still be in his diapers at that age.

As for her skills and points, she noticed a lot more skills on the panel that were previously not there. She understood that 'Zenkai' was the ability to grow stronger after surviving fatal wounds. The Oozaru Transformation was also quite obvious. Passive Regeneration also made sense, as she could, theoretically, heal herself once enough sustenance was available and combat instincts... After all, she was a Saiyan... did she really need to wonder about that anymore?

The active skills, on the other hand, were a whole lot more complicated considering she had two 'new' skills and one that even changed her Ki's natural properties... but she'd worry about them later.

'Start the spin!'

The Roulette opened again, displaying the familiar colorful spinning wheel. It began to move, at first slowly, then gaining speed until the colors blurred from rainbow to a streak of white. Acala waited and watched it come to a halt, much to her irritation, the dial stopped on a grey section that read 'Nada.'

--- [ Nada ] ---

-> Consolation Price: Power Level +1

Grumbling under her breath with her tail flicking in annoyance behind her, she started the spin again, gritting her teeth as the dial landed on yet another blank.

--- [ Better Luck Next Time ] ---

-> Consolation Price: Power Level +4

Damn... the darned thing was rigged.

It had to be!

How else could she get unlucky enough to draw blanks twice in a row?

The third spin rested on a real reward. A 'congratulations' notification flashes across the panel as the dial rests on an illustration of a pair of manacles

--- [ Weighed Shackles ] ---

[ Item Description: Adjustable arm and leg weights fashioned into manacles. ]

[ Weighing Range: 1kg to 50 kg each ]

Her reward materialized on the examination table before her; four gleaming black cuffs with a small dial on each one of them to control the weight levels.

Acala tested one, at rest, it did weigh nothing. But as she cranked up the dial a little, it started to grow heavier and heavier until she had to exert a bit of strength to keep her hand upright.

'Sweet...'

With a grin, she stepped on all four of them, setting the dials at 10 each.

In the fourth spin, the dial rested on an illustration of a clawed hand:

--- [ Tempest Burst ] ---

-> Skill Description: Anti-armor or armor-breaking skill, specialized in targeting chitinous armor. Deals critical damage to opponents with durable exteriors but vulnerable insides. Amplifies physical strikes with precise bursts of energy.

A surge of information flooded her brain, outlining the basics of the technique's forms and functions. As the description stated, the technique utilized close-ranged ki blasts, and by close-range, she meant point-blank. Otherwise, the sudden momentum would dissipate and the attack would degrade to an ordinary punch.

'It can be used against that...'

The Dune Dragon had evolved to reflect ki-based attacks, not attacks in which ki played an auxiliary role.

On the next two spins, she was fully ready to embrace another pair of blanks. But her luck seems to have turned for good:

--- [ Advanced Scouter ] ---

-> Item Description: Advanced Scouter with a maximum power Detection range of 200k Units.

--- [ Simulation Template ] ---

-> Name: Renji Abarai (Pre S.S. Arc)

-> Species: Soul Reaper

-> Power Level: 250-500

-> Reward: Power Level, System Points, Zanpakuto... 

'Ohhh...'

Acala slipped the strange cylindrical scouter over her ear and checked her reflection on a broken console,

'I look like a jeweler on a mining planet...'

The device fitted perfectly, but it wasn't easy to operate. Unlike the Frieza Force's model which utilized a brain wave command mechanism, this one needed dials to be manually turned and adjusted for maximum efficiency.

She fiddled with it, momentarily distracted from the other result, scanning the little Saiyan hovering inside the rejuvenation chamber.

- (SCANNING) -

- (SCAN COMPLETE) -

(Subject Species: Saiyan)

(Estimated Age: 5 to 7 years)

(Power Level: 9,800... Error... 9,801... Error...)

(Rapidly Climbing Power Levels. Approach With Caution) 

"Good..."

She muttered, tucking it into her utility belt for later use. It might be more sophisticated than the standard scouter, but clearly, it hadn't been designed with combat in mind.

--- [ Simulation Template ] ---

-> Name: Renji Abarai 

-> Stage: {Pre Soul Society Arc}

-> Species: Soul Reaper/Shinigami

-> Power Level: 250-500

-> Reward: Power Level, System Points, Zanpakuto... 

Acala stared at the stimulation template's description, her brows furrowing lightly.

'Soul Reaper?'

What's that?

The name did sound a bit familiar... so did the thing called a 'Zanpakuto.' But were any other rewards more precious than power levels and system points? She didn't think so. But the zan-thing sounded like a weapon, maybe she'd collect it for her collection of toys or something.

"Oi! Where the hell are you?!"

Acala turned to see Nion stumbling into the medical ward, her face pale and bruised. A jagged stone shard jutted out of her exposed thigh, having turned it into a mess of torn flesh and blood. It dripped down her leg, leaving a trail of crimson behind her.

Other than the blood, there were also the twins; Tato and Mato, dragging themselves in. All three of them, battered and bruised, slumping against each other and barely conscious.

Acala stared at the trio, wondering who the hell could've done that to them.

"What happened?"

She demanded, crossing the room in a few strides. 

Nion, who was still somewhat in control of her body, said a few garbled words that made no sense whatsoever. Her was shattered in some places, a piece of bone sticking out from the side of her face. Acala managed to interpret enough to understand the general gist of what had happened... a training ground accident involving a rogue Sentinel Droid that did a suicide bomb attack.

'Idiots...'

She grumbled, glancing back at the still intact Rejuvenation Chambers, biting back a curse that had no place in a child's vocabulary. Spina was in one, and about half a dozen more were still functional to degrees she couldn't attest.

There should be enough resources in the inventory to run the medbay for around a year or two more but they were Saiyans, reckless and young, they'd be getting injured every other day and burn through the supply before Spina could fully heal up.

"You're lucky I won't kick you lot out the base like this."

She hauled Nion to her feet, ignoring the older girl's weak protests, and shoved her into the machine. As she watched, the greenish vicious fluid bubbled around the Saiyan's body...

Grumbling, she turned to the twins and shook her head in disbelief,

"And you two! What's your excuse for this mess?"

One of them mumbled something about exploration and the other was out cold. She loaded them into the remaining chambers and set the timer to 12 hours... that should be about enough to heal major skeletal trauma.

The number of nutrition shots dropped in the console, making her scowl.

"Idiots..."

Though her gaze softened as she did so.

She turned to regard Spina, floating like a perfect little angel... which made her sigh again and pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Why am I getting the feeling that you're gonna be the most difficult of 'em all?"

With the whole group of survivors cluttered up in the medbay, Acala realized she had some time for herself. This was the perfect opportunity to look around the base just in case there was anything worth looking around for.

Besides, she was starting to feel cramped the longer she stayed there.

Locking the medbay door behind her, she thudded down the corridor leading to various rooms and chambers. Mostly some storage with old armor and technical equipment, a row of barrack rooms too dirty to live in, an armory with nothing but a few spare scouters in it, and what looked like some sort of abandoned laboratory with a special toxicology chamber.

At one point, she came across an observation deck overlooking the poisoned surface of the planet. The skies were an angry swirling purplish-greenish-orange and the sun looked like a ball of burning charcoal in the air. She leaned against the fractured glass, her hand instinctively reaching for the scouter in her belt. 

[191...

[491...

[729...

[988...

[1098...

[1593...

[2590...

The dunes stretched endlessly into the horizon, marred only by the occasional outcrops of jagged black stones. Sometimes... a pit would appear around a stone pillar and a gigantic creature would crush the mountain with its circular saw-like maw filled with razor-sharp teeth.

Those were Dune Dragons... a whole colony of them living undisturbed.

"Next time..."