28 Upgrading

The two Familiars digested the energy from the Black Fruit nearby. Xu Zhi never dwelled on questions that lacked immediate answers for long, so she soon set the Game Console aside and began to read.

However, as soon as she started reading, she noticed a difference.

Her ability to understand and absorb knowledge had increased. When she attempted to tackle math problems that had previously been difficult to grasp, she found she could now easily construct the necessary diagrams in her mind, and even her logical reasoning skills had improved significantly.

So, it wasn't useless; it just acted on my brain?

That was fine, too. At least it was better than it having no effect at all.

Xu Zhi didn't get to read for long before Doggie was the first to wake from its slumber.

The first thing it did upon waking was twitch its nose to locate Xu Zhi. Before its eyes were even open, its paws were already scrambling toward her, and by the time it opened its eyes, the entire Doggie couldn't wait to pounce into the lap of Xu Zhi, who was sitting on the sofa.

But Xu Zhi pushed it to the floor without mercy.

"You're too big now! You're heavy!"

Xu Zhi gasped for air. Heaven knows she almost thought she was going to stop breathing when Doggie pounced on her just now.

Did it think it was still some tiny puppy?!

Doggie seemed to have grown a bit more; it was estimated to be about 1.5 meters in size now. Its gray fur was sleek, its limbs were thick and powerful, and its gaze was sharp, yet it looked wet and soulful when it gazed at Xu Zhi.

Rejected by Xu Zhi, Doggie let out a whimpering sound, feeling wronged. It settled for second best, lying down at Xu Zhi's feet and tentatively resting its head on her leg. This time, Xu Zhi did not refuse.

She was clearly more concerned with how much Doggie had absorbed after eating the Black Fruit. She picked up the Game Console and saw the results.

[Your Familiar digested a portion of the fruit's energy. It is not powerful enough to fully absorb the entire fruit, but even so, it has gained significant benefits.]

A familiar sentence, though slightly different from the evaluation received when Little One ate the fruit for the first time.

[Familiar: Doggie Lv11→Lv13] [Spirit: 120→200] [Body: 860→1100] [Attribute: Blade] [Traits: Strength Lv6, Sense of Smell Lv5, Vigilance Lv3, Sharpness Lv4] [Special Ability: None]

[Current Evolution Points required: 1000/2500]

It had leveled up twice and gained an extra thousand Evolution Points, though the result wasn't particularly outstanding.

It was within her expectations that Doggie still couldn't fully digest the fruit, but Doggie's recent performance had been good, and it had discovered all four fruits. Regardless, Xu Zhi felt she should share one with it.

She rubbed the dog head resting on her lap and was surprised to find the texture quite pleasant—fluffy and warm. With the power out, it was a rare automatic heater in this cold, gloomy Cloud City.

After a while, Little One finally woke from its slumber. Because it controlled its own size, Xu Zhi couldn't tell its changes from its physique, so she simply opened Little One's game panel.

[Your Familiar perfectly digested this small fruit. Benefiting from its current growth stage, it gained excellent results.]

[Familiar: Python Lv16→Lv18] [Spirit: 350→600] [Body: 1500→1800] [Attribute: Blade] [Traits: Toxin Lv6, Sharpness Lv5, Bloodlust Lv5, Cunning Lv4, Strength Lv5] [Special Ability: Transformation Lv2]

[Evolution Points: 0/5500]

If Doggie leveling up twice was within her expectations, then Little One leveling up twice was completely beyond them.

She had thought Little One would be just shy of level 18 after eating, but who would have thought it would be exactly there?

If this absorption and conversion efficiency were maintained, wouldn't it be just a step away from breaking through level 20 after eating the last fruit?

Moreover, the feedback brought to her personally by the four combined levels from Little One and Doggie was also very obvious.

It was no longer the subtle changes from before. This time, she clearly felt her body become lighter and her limbs more powerful. She had now completely shed the sickly body that would collapse at a gust of wind, and the sense of weakness that had plagued her for so long had mostly dissipated.

Xu Zhi could not judge her condition through medical means, but she could perceive from the feedback of simple physical movements that the illness that had troubled her in the past seemed to have vanished.

Her heart did not rebel when she moved her body. She was now a normal person, at most a bit physically weak from years of inactivity, but at least she was no longer the person who couldn't lift a shoulder or carry a hand like in the past.

This was truly wonderful—a piece of good news that made Xu Zhi even happier than Little One and Doggie leveling up consecutively.

She was already looking forward to having more Familiars and seeing what level she could reach after they continued to upgrade.

Her brain seemed to be constantly improving, and now the feedback from her physical improvement was also becoming apparent. Perhaps after some time, she could solve enemies without relying on her Familiars.

While Xu Zhi was happy, the Narrator reminded her that there was still work to be done.

She had two chances to extract Familiar traits and needed to do so soon; they would expire in 12 hours. However, Xu Zhi was not in a hurry. She handed the last fruit to Little One to eat, planning to wait until Little One finished its next upgrade so she could extract all three at once.

"By the way, will I draw a blank when extracting Familiar traits? Like, a failed extraction?"

[No, but you can only extract traits from a designated Familiar, and there is a probability of duplication.]

"I see."

Xu Zhi nodded in understanding. That meant she could extract twice from Little One and once from Doggie.

"Is the probability of duplication high?"

[Extraction is completely random.]

"Meaning it depends on luck? I like that."

Xu Zhi was least afraid of relying on luck now; she was very confident in her own.

Since Doggie couldn't improve further in the short term, Xu Zhi decided to extract from Doggie first.

She hadn't extracted traits from Doggie yet, so there was no way it would be a duplicate. And considering there were two more chances for Little One, Xu Zhi didn't really care what she got from Doggie.

[Extracting...]

[Congratulations, you have drawn: Vigilance Lv3]

[Due to the difference between you and the Familiar, the trait will also undergo slight changes.]

[Vigilance: You will find it easier to notice the slightest movement around you and perceive changes in things and people.]

"Not bad."

Xu Zhi was not disappointed. The [Vigilance] trait was a good thing for someone currently in Cloud City.

The ability to detect danger was crucial. If one couldn't even detect danger, how could one talk about avoiding or counterattacking?

Doggie seemed to think Xu Zhi's "not bad" was a compliment, so it wagged its tail excitedly and rubbed its furry head against Xu Zhi's leg. Xu Zhi, however, suddenly remembered something and asked, "Are you male or female?"

Doggie looked confused at the question, but the Narrator stepped in to answer for it.

[Familiars have no gender; they will only grow in the direction you expect.]