Chapter 13: Chapter 12: 2nd Simulation
The wind howled in her ears as Acala's flaming fists collided with the Dune Dragon's massive undersides. The impact created a shockwave strong enough to split the dunes below them and scatter the fine grains of sand as though a violent storm had just passed over the place. She pushed against its armored hide with all her might, pushing it back to the ground, that was the least she could do after her burning ki had barely even signed its armor.
"Damn it! Why won't you die!?"
The sun was scorching, sweat dripped down Acala's brow but it evaporated before it could reach her lips. She clenched her fists again, the amber fist subconsciously igniting her ki and the fire surrounded her. The worm just crashed into the mountain of sand, roaring from its brand-new perch as though mocking her over the ineffective attacks.
So far, all her attacks have been useless, nada, not even a scale loose. This was beginning to get tedious. Every punch, every ki blast, even the ones that drained her temporarily had either glanced off its indestructible hide or been countered by the beast's sheer size and speed.
But Acala didn't feel like giving up. Not now. Especially not after remembering Spina would be a couple of thousand times stronger than her in less than a month.
"Fine,"
She growled, her lips parting into a savage grin with her bloody teeth on full display.
"You wanna play like that? Let's see how much you can take!"
She shot down the sky, leaving a streak of ember and blue behind her as she charged again. The scaled creature let out a guttural roar, its mandibles snapping mere meters from her, almost splashing her in acid droplets.
Acala gritted her teeth loud enough to hear them in her ears, repelling herself backward with a burst of ki, she very narrowly avoided the creature's acidic spray, this time an intentional attack and not just saliva. The sand beneath them sizzled as the corrosive liquid ate away at the ground, leaving streaming craters reaching the bottom of the newly dug valley.
"Damn You! I will turn this wasteland into glass if I have to!!!"
She cupped her hands together, gathering every ounce of ki left in her body. Energy crackled between her palms, condensing into a sphere of highly concentrated ki that glowed like a miniature sun. The raw power of the attack was hot enough to burn through her glove, and the strain was nearly tearing her muscles apart with every passing second.
The Dune Dragon responded in kind, as was its habit at this point, letting out a guttural roar as it coiled up like a snake. It leaped off the massive sand hill, flying towards her with unbelievable speed, its massive maw wide open to reveal rows of jagged, acid-stained, grinders for teeth.
"Burn in hell!"
Acala released the blast, it left her palm as a beam of energy tearing through the sound barrier with a deafening roar that busted her eardrums. It struck the beast head-on, enveloping its form and a wide radius around it in a blinding explosion. The shockwave rippled outward, flattening miles and miles of dunes and sending a pillar of sand spiraling up into the poisoned atmosphere of the planet.
For a moment, everything was silent. The air was thick with dust, smoke, and the acrid scent of molten earth. Acala hovered over the aftermath. Her breathing was ragged, and her chest heaved up and down. Her vision was getting blurry, but she dared not hope.
Suddenly, the ground began to quake again, and she saw it in the distance, burrowing out of the solidified surface once more,
"You've gotta be f***ing kidding me..."
The Dune Dragon erupted from the glassed sand, its body seemed scorched but still very much intact. As the dust settled, she noticed the scales on its body were glowing bright red. An idea struck her, did it absorb and redirect her attack!?
Acala's eyes widened at the thought,
"It absorbs ki? Oh, that's just perfect!"
The system interface hovering somewhere inside her head blinked to life again, offering a brand-new tip.
[Opponent Adaptation Detected: Dune Dragon has just re-evolved its scales to resist energy-based attacks. Switch to physical combat is recommended.]
"Yeah, no kidding,"
She muttered, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.
"Could've told me that before I wasted all that energy for nothing."
Acala gritted her teeth, her fists trembled violently, and the stinging sensation from the burn left by that last attack was making itself known to her. As for the aura surrounding her? It had dimmed down to a flicker barely large or strong enough to cover her entire body.
In the distance, the Dune Dragon's glowing scales suddenly pulsed as it dived back into the sand. The realization came to her life a hammer strike to her forehead... she can't win this battle.
No matter the plan she chooses or the skill she uses, nothing could get her through this with her skin intact. If the beast could evolve throughout the battle, letting out Oozaru right now would be a big mistake, and not like she had enough energy left for a transformation.
"Fine..."
Acala growled through her clenched teeth, spitting blood onto the glassy ground.
"If you're gonna kill me, you're gonna work damn hard for it you oversized maggot!"
She flexed her fingers, sparks dancing across her knuckles. Even without ki blasts or ember fists, she could still amplify her punches with sheer raw energy, but her stamina had also depleted. This was going to be a very brutal end for her.
With a roar that must've sounded across the barren wasteland, she dove forward again, trusting her battered body more to her Saiyan instincts than to a strategy. Her punches were wild and fierce, handing heavy blows against the dragon's searing hot scales as it passed her by. Sparks flew from where her fist connected with its armor, instead of making the creature squimmer, she felt her knuckle shatter on impact.
The Dune Dragon roared in answer, its monstrous maw rising high above towards the sky. It retaliated with its tail, bringing it down like a mallet on top of her head. Acala sidestepped at the last moment, her boots skidding across the molten sand as she narrowly avoided being turned into pie filling.
But the creature moved again before she had time to gather her footing, it brought about its massive tail in a wide arc. Acala raised her arms to block the attack, but the massive blow struck her like a wrecking ball, sending her crashing into the hard sand below. She gasped, the very air being forced out of her lungs, blood pooling in her mouth as her ribs shattered violently from the blow.
"Damn it!"
She coughed, struggling to rise, blood pooling below her. Her vision blurred, and her legs trembled under the strain it took to pull her to her feet.
"Not... done... yet..."
She mumbled, though even she didn't believe it.
The Dune Dragon dove at her again, its mandibles snapping open to engulf all that was around her. Acala raised a trembling fist, but before she could think of a witty retort, everything went black.
For a brief, fleeting moment, she thought she might just survive... then it began to hurt. The very first sensation was as though someone had just stabbed her with a burning poker or something.
She looked down to see something massive, something purplish... tearing out of her chest. Fragmented rib bones visible in the flesh blooming outwards. She tried to raise her hand, to check on her own injuries one last time before she could experience death once more. But any sensation had long since left her limbs, she could feel the acid bite into her nerves, melting away at her insides.
The last thing she saw before everything went black was her own heart flowing out of her open chest like a gooey sludge.
---
Acala jolted into consciousness, snapping back into focus as the simulation ended. She stumbled across, gasping for air as though she had just surfaced from a deep water dive. Her body was drenched in sweat, but her injuries were gone. The sterile, faintly dusty interior of the medbay greeted her after that hellish experience with the beast.
She felt whole again, uninjured, though the phantom pain of the wounds and of defeat itself still lingered in her mind. She wiped a hand across her face, grimacing at the cold sweat that clung to her skin.
[Simulation Completed]
The system interface blinked to life in front of her, displaying a blank screen quickly being filled with letters.
[Simulation Failed: Terminated by Opponent]
[Performance Analysis: Battle duration extended by 127.6% compared to the previous attempt. Displayed 112% Combat Efficiency.]
"Yeah, thanks for rubbing it in,"
Acala muttered, flexing her fingers to shake off the lingering tension and leaning against a nearby console.
"That was brutal. You could've at least let me land an effective blow for morale."
The system, of course, ignored her attempt at humor, continuing its analysis.
[Reward Calculation in Progress...]
[Simulation Completed]
[Reward Earned: +20 System Points]
[Dune Dragon Template Completed by +17%]
[Reward: Power Level +187, +10 System Points]
[Combat Improvement: Minor Improvement]
"Combat Improvement, huh?"
She murmured, the corner of her eyes twitching.
"That's new, didn't see it there last time."
The system continued its display.
[Next Simulation Available in 23:59:45]
[Recommended: Use Roulette to gather new items and skills. Train in real life to improve fighting skills and survival chances.]
Acala rolled her eyes, looking away from the interface.
"Yeah, no kidding. I'll rest after I have had something proper to eat."
She turned to check on Spina in her Rejuvenation Chamber, her eyes narrowed as she studied the small figure submerged in the viscous fluids.
"You'd better wake up soon, kid. When you do, I'm gonna get a new sparring partner."
Beep...
Beep...
Beep...
[Power Level: 9,509]
[Power Level: 9,510]
[Power Level: 9,511]
"That... was a joke..."
____________________
Author's Note: I am going on a Hiatus, just from the 1st of December. Till then, I'll focus on increasing my stockpile and continuous update.
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