Supernatural Abilities That Upgrade Automatically

Supernatural Abilities That Upgrade Automatically

"Two hours."

That was quite a while. The game was upgrading, but her two familiars seemed unaffected.

"I wonder what will change after the upgrade."

Since there was nothing to do anyway, she planned to go upstairs and make Shen Jinwen fulfill her promise.

When Xu Zhi knocked on the door, Shen Jinwen was worrying over the power outage.

The backup power supply had run dry as well. Starting today, they would have to live without electricity, gas, or water.

Xu Zhi did not feel too bothered by this terrible news. Unlike Shen Jinwen, she no longer needed food or water. The troublesome part was the lack of electricity. With the entire city shrouded in black fog, even daylight was dim. Once evening came, reading would be out of the question.

Fortunately, the game console did not need charging. Otherwise, Xu Zhi probably would not have been smiling right now.

As usual, Shen Jinwen poured her a cup of mineral water in a paper cup. She still did not look well. She had treated her own wounds, but she had suffered serious injuries after all. Even walking seemed difficult for her.

"Are you okay?"

Out of humanitarian concern, although this was only a transaction, Xu Zhi felt that they had developed at least some friendship. She should still show some concern.

Shen Jinwen was briefly stunned by her sudden concern. But it sounded dry, as though it carried little sincerity. She figured Xu Zhi was merely being polite, so she nodded. "I'm fine. It's not a big problem."

She had deliberately stockpiled supplies before, and she had enough to last through her recovery.

Because of Xu Zhi's sudden concern, the previously comfortable atmosphere became a little awkward. Yet the girl, who had rarely interacted with others since childhood, failed to notice the subtle shift. She even thought herself quite a considerate partner. After showing concern, it was naturally time for the transaction itself.

She frankly told Shen Jinwen what she wanted to know, but Xu Zhi did not say much about the parts Shen Jinwen had not asked about.

For example, she said that consuming a core might cause one to fall into an illusion. If that happened, one had to remember to [Stay Sane]. But Xu Zhi did not tell Shen Jinwen what the illusion would look like. She only said that illusions of different attributes would probably differ.

Based on Doggie's experience of waking her up, she also reminded Shen Jinwen that if she lacked confidence in her willpower when consuming a core, it would be best to have someone watch over her.

Where would Shen Jinwen find anyone else? For the time being, was Xu Zhi not the only person she could call on?

Xu Zhi knew this perfectly well. When the time came, if she watched over Shen Jinwen, would Shen Jinwen not owe her another favor?

Xu Zhi had no intention of building a team, but aside from familiars, she did need some capable human companions. For now, Shen Jinwen seemed like a good choice.

Although Shen Jinwen was somewhat weak, she could do things that familiars could not. Moreover, the two had established a basic level of trust and understanding. From what Xu Zhi had observed these past days, there was no one here but herself and Shen Jinwen, so she did not have to worry about someone suddenly appearing and taking Shen Jinwen away.

Still, Xu Zhi was not entirely at ease. She tested the waters and asked, "There might be actual survivor settlements elsewhere. Do you want to go?"

Shen Jinwen did not know what Xu Zhi was thinking. She considered it briefly, then shook her head. "I told you. I don't want to leave here."

Great. Xu Zhi had no plans to leave either.

"Then can you tell me how you obtained your supernatural ability, and what exactly supernatural abilities are?"

Xu Zhi looked at her curiously. She had wanted to ask before, but they had not known each other well enough then. Asking such a question would have crossed a line. They could be considered friends now, right?

This time, Shen Jinwen did not evade the question. Instead, she said clearly, "I suddenly obtained my supernatural ability one day, about a week after the city was sealed off."

"It was after five in the morning. I had just woken up from a strange dream."

As Shen Jinwen spoke, a thoughtful expression appeared on her face, as if she were trying hard to recall the dream.

"Now I can only vaguely remember that it seemed to suddenly start snowing in the dream. I don't know where I was, but it looked like a plain. The snow was falling heavily, covering my head and shoulders. It felt as though I myself had become a single snowflake drifting through the sky, wandering aimlessly across the plain."

"Then I woke up, and naturally knew that I had become a supernatural being."

"However, my ability is indeed very weak, and it's passive. If it had a name, I would probably call it: Sharpness. That's what my subconscious seems to tell me."

"The effect is probably that when I use a blade, its sharpness and toughness are slightly enhanced."

Shen Jinwen did not hide anything, and Xu Zhi heard many familiar things in her description.

"Sharpness..."

That really was familiar.

Both of her familiars had a passive ability called [Sharpness]. However, the sharp parts were their own teeth or claws, whereas Shen Jinwen's ability affected the blades she used.

It seemed that the supernatural abilities of humans and mutated animals truly differed.

The dream Shen Jinwen described also reminded Xu Zhi of the illusions she had experienced after consuming cores.

That seemed to be another common point.

After thinking for a moment, she reminded Shen Jinwen, "Your attribute is Winter. The dream in which you awakened your supernatural ability was related to your attribute. The illusions you experience after consuming cores may also be connected to it. Of course, that's only my guess, but you can use it as a reference."

Shen Jinwen nodded. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she added, "Recently, I've felt that my supernatural ability might be about to upgrade."

"Hm?" Xu Zhi used a questioning tone to signal Shen Jinwen to continue.

"There may still be some conditions needed, but I can feel that ever since my supernatural ability awakened, the supernatural energy in my body has been increasing every moment. This happened once before an upgrade."

"That feeling has returned now. My ability might upgrade again in the next few days."

"However, this improvement is slower than the last one."

Xu Zhi's eyes widened slightly. Why did she not have that feeling?

Ever since obtaining [Eye of Secrets], she had indeed been able to sense the supernatural energy within her at any time, but it had never continuously increased!

What was different between her and Shen Jinwen?

Had Shen Jinwen awakened her supernatural ability naturally, while Xu Zhi had only managed to awaken hers with difficulty after consuming a core?

Or was it something else?

For example, the game system?

Although Xu Zhi did not understand, she had no negative feelings about it. After all, what she had gained was far more than the bit of energy Shen Jinwen accumulated each day.

Still, she needed to find out where the problem lay.