Days bled into a monotonous cycle of sparse nutrient paste, the constant low-grade threat of the other infants, and Kairo's silent, obsessive practice. His Power Level had inched up to 19, a growth born from the constant, minor strains of pushing his Ki control further than his tiny body was ready for. Each time, the [Limit-Breaker] trait ensured the gain was a little more than it should have been.
He was a scientist conducting experiments on his own body. He mapped the flow of Ki through his limbs, learning its pathways. He discovered that by focusing his energy, he could slightly enhance his hearing, picking up snippets of conversation from the warrior attendants.
"...scouting mission to Yardrat was a failure. The natives' Instant Transmission technique is useless to us..."
"...King Vegeta grows more paranoid.He fears Bardock's mutterings about the end..."
"...the Prince's growth is monstrous.Already over 2,000..."
Each piece of information was a data point, filed away. But theoretical knowledge wouldn't save him. He needed practical application. He needed to test his limits in a controlled environment.
The System, it seemed, was listening.
A chime echoed in his mind, soft yet insistent. The blue screen materialized, its text stark and demanding.
[TUTORIAL QUEST: Trial of Survival]
· Objective: Survive for 24 hours in the designated wilderness zone of Planet Vegeta.
· Restrictions: No external assistance permitted.
· Reward: Trait Gacha Token x1.
· Failure: Death.
[Accept? Y/N]
Kairo's blood ran cold. Death as a failure condition. This was no longer a game of theory. This was a direct, lethal mandate. He was a baby, barely able to walk, with a Power Level of 19. The Planet Vegeta wilderness was home to creatures that could shatter mountains.
But the reward... a Trait Gacha Token. The key to power beyond his Saiyan biology. It was the very thing he needed to break the shackles of his starting point. It was a risk that mirrored his entire existence—colossal, but necessary.
He took a mental breath, the calm of a man accepting a critical mission parameter. Accept.
The world dissolved into blinding white light. The sounds of the nursery—the grunts, the whirring robots—vanished, replaced by an oppressive, crushing silence. The air grew thick, heavy with gravity far exceeding what was normal. He gasped, his underdeveloped lungs struggling.
When his vision cleared, he was lying on coarse, purple grass under a blood-red sky. Jagged, obsidian mountains clawed at the heavens in the distance. The air was hot and carried the scent of ozone and decay. A scanner built into his infant-sized armor, which had materialized on him, flickered to life.
[Location: The Scarlet Maw, Planet Vegeta. Local Gravity: 3.5x Standard. Dominant Fauna: Crush-Bats, Lava-Wyrms, Spine-Tailed Panthers. Threat Level: High.]
Three and a half times gravity. Every movement was a monumental effort. Lifting his head felt like doing a bench press. This was the System's idea of a "Tutorial Quest"? It was a death sentence.
Panic threatened to seize him. He forced it down, locking it away in a corner of his mind. Panic was a waste of energy. He had 24 hours. He needed a plan.
Phase 1: Secure a Defensible Position.
Using his enhanced Ki control, he focused every ounce of his energy on movement efficiency. He didn't try to walk; he crawled, his movements slow and deliberate, minimizing energy expenditure. He spotted a fissure in the base of a large rock formation—a small crevice just big enough for him to squeeze into. It offered cover from above and a narrow field of vision.
He wedged himself inside, his heart hammering. Step one: complete.
Phase 2: Observe and Analyze.
From his hiding spot, he activated [Mind's Eye], the Trait he had yet to truly test. The world shifted. The chaotic wilderness became a stream of data. He saw the heat signatures of small, burrowing insects. He saw the subtle disturbances in the air currents caused by flying predators. He analyzed the gait of a six-legged, reptilian creature that scuttled past, his [Mind's Eye] highlighting the weak joints in its armored legs.
It wasn't just about seeing weaknesses; it was about understanding the ecosystem. He watched a Crush-Bat, a creature with a Power Level of around 50, dive from the sky to snatch one of the reptiles. He saw how it moved, its attack patterns, its blind spots.
Hours passed. The red sun began to dip below the jagged horizon, plunging the maw into an even deeper, more dangerous twilight. The temperature plummeted. His body shivered violently, his thin armor offering little protection. His energy was draining fast just to maintain his body heat.
This was the true test. Not just the predators, but the environment itself was trying to kill him.
A low growl echoed from the darkness, too close. His [Mind's Eye] flared, outlining a massive, feline shape—a Spine-Tailed Panther. Power Level: 85. Its eyes glowed with malevolent green light as it stalked towards his crevice. It had caught his scent.
Fight? Impossible. Flight? Even more impossible in this gravity.
His mind raced, equations and observations colliding. The Crush-Bat's hunting pattern. The reptile's burrows. The panther's reliance on sight and sound.
He had one chance.
As the panther lunged, its maw wide enough to swallow him whole, Kairo did not try to dodge deeper into the crevice. Instead, he gathered every bit of Ki he had—not for a blast, he couldn't form one—but for a single, overwhelming sensory burst.
He screamed.
But it wasn't a scream of fear. It was a precise, high-frequency shriek, amplified by his Ki, designed to mimic the distress call of the Crush-Bat's primary prey. The sound was piercing, alien, and wrong.
The Panther flinched, confused by the unnatural sound.
That single moment of confusion was all Kairo needed. He cut off the scream and, with the last of his strength, used his Ki to kick a cloud of the loose, ashy soil at the panther's face, blinding it temporarily.
The Panther roared in frustration, shaking its head and backing away a few steps, disoriented.
It was then that the real hunter arrived. Drawn by the Panther's roar and the earlier, strange shriek, a Crush-Bat with a Power Level of 110 swooped down from the darkness, its talons aiming for the larger, more threatening target.
The Panther turned to face this new enemy, forgetting the tiny, insignificant morsel in the rock.
Kairo pressed himself deep into the crevice, watching as the two monsters tore into each other in a frenzy of claws and teeth. He didn't move a muscle, his [Mind's Eye] analyzing their fight, cataloging every mistake, every opening.
The battle was short and brutal. The Crush-Bat emerged victorious, though gravely wounded, and flew off with its prize.
Silence returned to the Scarlet Maw, deeper and more profound than before.
Kairo didn't sleep. He meditated, using his Basic Ki Control to conserve warmth and energy, riding the knife's edge of hypothermia and exhaustion.
When the blood-red sun finally rose again, a system chime echoed in his mind, sweeter than any music.
[Tutorial Quest: Trial of Survival - COMPLETE.]
[Reward: Trait Gacha Token x1 - Transferred to Inventory.]
In a flash of white light, he was back in his nursery crib. The familiar sounds and smells were almost overwhelming. He was filthy, exhausted, and trembling with residual adrenaline.
But he was alive.
And in his spiritual grasp, he held a single, shimmering token—the key to his next great leap. The trial by fire was over. He had passed. Not with power, but with a mind that refused to break.