Two Levels Up

"Congratulations, you failed to level up again."

Li Shu: "..."

"I must've forgotten to put on a face mask." Li Shu looked at the mask he'd left behind and thought resentfully.

Fifteen minutes later, Li Shu had finished wearing the face mask. His complexion looked much better. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he seemed a little fairer, too?

"One last time. If I fail again, I'm done with this. If I try again, I'm a dog!"

One achievement point at a time didn't seem like much, but a string of failures could still add up.

Three achievement points had gone down the drain just like that. Li Shu was heartbroken.

He swore this would absolutely be the last time.

"[Never-ending Dinosaur Leg] leveling up..."

"[Never-ending Dinosaur Leg] leveled up successfully! Congratulations, you obtained a new item: [Never-ending Dinosaur Leg-Lv1]!"

"[Never-ending Dinosaur Leg-Lv1]: A regenerating edible weapon. Can be attached to a leg. Increases combat power by 2% when equipped!"

"Can be attached to a leg?" Seeing the new description, Li Shu's eyes suddenly lit up. This function was great, wonderful, truly amazing.

"Looks like it took four tries to succeed. Not a bad deal."

Li Shu eagerly tried out his new ability. The Dinosaur Leg merged completely into his right leg, leaving no visible trace.

[Combat Power: 76]

His combat power had increased from 1% to 2%, but the effect wasn't very noticeable. Battle Eye couldn't display values after the decimal point, so it wasn't easy to see the exact difference.

"Seems like my luck's pretty good. I've already failed three times, so should I press my luck?"

Li Shu soon convinced himself and issued the command. More than anything, he wanted to know how many achievement points the next upgrade would cost.

"Would you like to spend 2 achievement points to upgrade [Never-ending Dinosaur Leg-Lv1] to [Never-ending Dinosaur Leg-Lv2]? Success rate: 98%!"

A 98% success rate? Li Shu couldn't help feeling that he should read the odds the other way around.

"Yes!" Li Shu hesitated only briefly before making up his mind. He was prepared for failure, too.

After all, he'd failed three times in a row with a 99% success rate. Now the success rate had dropped all the way to 98%, so there was practically no chance he'd succeed on the first try.

"[Never-ending Dinosaur Leg-Lv1] leveling up..."

"[Never-ending Dinosaur Leg-Lv1] leveled up successfully! Congratulations, you obtained a new item: [Never-ending Dinosaur Leg-Lv2]!"

"[Never-ending Dinosaur Leg-Lv2]: A regenerating edible weapon. Can be attached to a leg. Increases combat power by 3% when equipped!"

It worked on the first try?

Li Shu could hardly believe it. He apologized sincerely. "System Daddy, I was wrong to doubt you."

[Combat Power: 77]

"Just three more points, and I'll match Wukong's combat power."

With two achievement points remaining, Li Shu didn't continue upgrading. He planned to try the [Invisibility Epiphany Potion] instead.

This thing only had a low chance of granting enlightenment, and he had just one bottle. Once he used it, it would be gone.

Who knew how long he'd have to wait before he got another reward like this?

He was still very tempted by [Invisibility].

So he tentatively said, "Upgrade [Invisibility Epiphany Potion]!"

"Insufficient achievement points. Upgrade failed!"

"Forget it. I'd better save it for later." Li Shu had been thoroughly spooked by failing three times in a row with a 99% success rate. He decided to play it safe.

The next morning, Wukong and the others headed toward the Martial Arts Tournament Venue. Li Shu followed behind them, looking as if he hadn't slept and dragging his feet.

"Didn't you sleep well last night?" Wukong asked.

Li Shu rubbed his brow and replied unhappily, "I thought about some sad things and couldn't fall asleep."

"Being in this state won't help you in today's matches. They're only preliminaries, but you could still run into some strong opponents, so don't let your guard down," Master Roshi said, sounding a little serious.

"I know, Master Mutaito. I'll get myself together." Li Shu immediately took out a Senzu Bean and ate it. In an instant, his energy and spirits returned to full strength.

"A Senzu Bean?" Master Roshi looked at Li Shu in surprise. "Have you already been to Korin Tower?"

Li Shu didn't deny it. He nodded and said, "When I was leaving, Korin gave me a small bag."

As he spoke, Li Shu handed one Senzu Bean to each of the other three.

Wukong asked curiously, "What's a Senzu Bean? Does it taste good?"

"It looks amazing." Krillin inspected the little green bean closely. He'd seen exactly what happened when Li Shu ate one just now.

Master Roshi explained, "It's a specialty of Korin Tower. No matter how badly you're injured, eating one will instantly restore you to your peak condition. It'll also fill you up for ten days, so you won't feel hungry."

"Whoa! That bean is incredible!" Wukong and Krillin were astonished.

"Too bad there aren't many of them." Master Roshi was lamenting the shortage when his eyes suddenly widened. He quickly grabbed Wukong's hand. "You ate one just now! What'll you do if you get hurt later?"

"It looked pretty tasty. I just wanted to try it," Wukong said with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head.

Li Shu smiled. "I've saved up quite a few from Korin over the years. I've still got more."

As he spoke, Li Shu gave everyone another one. "Here, try one first and see what they're like. If you want more, I've still got plenty."

Master Roshi was dumbfounded. "Just how many did Korin give you?"

"Heh heh, just a small bag. Just a small bag. Anyway, there's enough for all of us," Li Shu said evasively, avoiding a direct answer.

Master Roshi didn't press him. Instead, he carefully put away the two Senzu Beans he had, saving them for an emergency.

Wukong and Krillin were still just kids, after all. As soon as Li Shu said that, each of them promptly tried one.

"What? It doesn't taste like anything at all." Wukong scrunched up his eyebrows and nose, his face full of disappointment.

Krillin looked just as underwhelmed.

By then, the group had arrived at the Martial Arts Tournament Venue.

"Side quest sign-in task 'World Martial Arts Tournament Venue' completed. Congratulations, you received the reward: one bottle of [Battle Eye Special Eye Drops]."

"[Battle Eye Special Eye Drops]: Use once a day. There's a small chance that [Battle Eye] will improve."

The system's reward notification jolted Li Shu awake. He quickly said, "Upgrade [Battle Eye Special Eye Drops]!"

"Insufficient achievement points. Upgrade failed."

"I'm completely out of achievement points." Li Shu felt helpless. He could only gamble on that small chance. After all, he could use it once a day, so even if it failed, it wouldn't sting too much.

Li Shu promptly took out the eye drops and squeezed two drops into his eyes.

A sharp pain struck instantly. Li Shu thought to himself, Oh no!

The last time he'd awakened [Battle Eye], the pain had knocked him unconscious. He'd been out for more than a month.

With the Martial Arts Tournament preliminaries about to begin, if he passed out again, he'd be completely screwed.