Chapter 28: Upgrade
The two familiars were digesting the energy from the fruit nearby. Xu Zhi never dwelled too long on questions that couldn’t be answered for now, and soon she placed the game console beside her and began reading.
However, as soon as she started reading, she noticed something different.
Her understanding and absorption of knowledge had improved, and when she tried to solve math problems that had been difficult for her in the past, she realized she could easily visualize the required diagrams in her mind. Her logical reasoning ability had also improved a lot.
“So, it’s not completely useless; it’s just that it works on my mind?”
That’s fine, at least it’s better than not working at all.
Xu Zhi didn’t read for too long before Gouzi woke up from its slumber.
The first thing it did was gently sniff the air to find Xu Zhi’s location. With its eyes still closed, it started crawling toward her, and once it opened its eyes, Gouzi immediately pounced and sat on Xu Zhi’s lap on the couch.
However, Xu Zhi unceremoniously shoved it onto the floor.
“You’re too big now. You’re heavy!”
Xu Zhi took a breath. God knows, when Gouzi jumped on her, she almost thought she was going to suffocate.
Does it think it’s still a little puppy?!
Gouzi seemed to have grown a bit larger, probably around 1.5 meters in size now. Its grey fur was very smooth, and its limbs were strong and powerful. Its gaze was sharp, but when it looked at Xu Zhi, its eyes were wet and pleading.
Rejected by Xu Zhi, Gouzi whimpered slightly and then lay down next to her feet, testing the waters by placing its head on her leg. This time, Xu Zhi didn’t push it away.
She was now more interested in how much energy Gouzi had absorbed from the black fruit. Picking up the game console, she checked the results.
[Your familiar has digested part of the fruit’s energy. It’s not very powerful and couldn’t fully absorb the fruit, but even so, it gained a considerable benefit.]
It was the familiar phrase, but slightly different from the evaluation it got when Yi ate the fruit for the first time.
[Familiar: Dog Lv11 → Lv13]
Mental: 120 → 200
Physical: 860 → 1100
Attribute: Blade
Traits: Strength Lv6, Smell Lv5, Vigilance Lv3, Sharpness Lv4
Special Ability: None]
[Current required evolution points: 1000/2500]
Leveling up by two levels and gaining an additional 1000 evolution points wasn’t a remarkable result.
It was expected that Gouzi couldn’t completely digest the fruit, but it had been performing well recently. It was even the one to find all four fruits, so Xu Zhi thought she should give it one.
Rubbing Gouzi’s head, which was resting on her lap, Xu Zhi was surprised to find that it felt quite nice. Its fur was soft and warm, making it a rare automatic heater in the cold city.
After a while, Yi finally woke up. Since it controlled its size, Xu Zhi couldn’t tell how much it had changed by appearance, so she opened Yi’s game panel.
[Your familiar perfectly digested this small fruit. Since it is still in its growth phase, it gained good benefits.]
[Familiar: Snake Lv16 → Lv18]
Mental: 350 → 600
Physical: 1500 → 1800
Attribute: Blade
Traits: Poison Lv6, Sharpness Lv5, Bloodthirst Lv5, Cunning Lv4, Strength Lv5
Special Ability: Transformation Lv2]
[Evolution points: 0/5500]
If Gouzi’s two-level increase was expected, then Yi’s two-level increase completely exceeded her expectations.
She had thought that after Yi ate the fruit, it would be just shy of level 18, but it hit the mark perfectly.
If it maintained this absorption and conversion rate, after eating the last fruit, wouldn’t it be just a little short of level 20?
Moreover, the four-level increase from both Yi and Gouzi brought very obvious feedback for Xu Zhi herself.
It was no longer the subtle changes she had felt before. This time, she could clearly feel that her body had become lighter, and her limbs were more powerful. She had completely shed the frail body that had been prone to falling from a gust of wind. The weakness that had troubled her for so long had mostly dissipated.
Xu Zhi couldn’t medically assess her condition, but she could perceive through the feedback from simple physical activities that the ailments that had plagued her for so long seemed to have disappeared.
Her heart didn’t rebel when she moved her body, and she was now a normal person—perhaps a little weaker due to years of inactivity, but at least no longer in the condition where she couldn’t lift anything or carry any weight.
This was great. It was even better news for Xu Zhi than Yi and Gouzi both leveling up consecutively.
She was now looking forward to how much stronger she would become once she had more familiars and how much the upgrades of her familiars would help her grow.
Her brain seemed to be constantly improving, and now the physical feedback from her upgrades was becoming more noticeable. Perhaps in some time, she would be able to handle enemies without relying on her familiars.
While Xu Zhi was pleased, the game console reminded her that there were still tasks left unfinished.
She had two chances to extract familiar traits that needed to be used before 12 hours passed. However, Xu Zhi wasn’t in a hurry. She gave the last fruit to Yi and planned to extract all three traits at once after Yi leveled up again.
“By the way, will I get a blank trait when I extract familiar traits, like a failed extraction?”
[No, but you can only extract traits from specified familiars, and there’s a chance of repetition.]
“Got it.”
Xu Zhi nodded in understanding. This meant she could extract two traits from Yi and one from Gouzi.
“Is there a high chance of repetition?”
[The extraction is completely random.]
“So it’s based on luck? I like that.”
Xu Zhi wasn’t afraid of luck-based outcomes. She was confident in her own luck.
Since Gouzi couldn’t level up further for now, Xu Zhi decided to extract from it first.
She hadn’t extracted traits from Gouzi before, so there would be no repetition, and considering Yi still had two chances left, Xu Zhi didn’t mind much about what she got from Gouzi.
[Extracting]
[Congratulations, you extracted: Vigilance Lv3]
[Due to the differences between you and the familiar, the traits will undergo some changes.]
[Vigilance: You will be more sensitive to the slightest sounds and movements, detecting changes in things and people.]
“Not bad.”
Xu Zhi wasn’t disappointed. The Vigilance trait was useful in Cloud City, where danger was always lurking.
The ability to detect danger was important; if you couldn’t even sense it, how could you avoid it or fight back?
Gouzi seemed to think Xu Zhi’s “not bad” was praise for it and wagged its tail excitedly, rubbing its furry head against Xu Zhi’s leg. Xu Zhi suddenly remembered something and asked, “Are you male or female?”
Gouzi looked confused at her question, but the narrator stepped in to answer it.
[Familiars don’t have gender; they grow in the direction you expect them to.]
