Chapter 82: The Reckless Enhancement Method
[Dragon-Slaying Flash has slipped to +2. Continue enhancement? Yes/No.]
Su Xiao chose to continue. No matter what, he had to strengthen Dragon-Slaying Flash to +10, unless his Paradise Coins ran out.
The equipment enhancement machine whirred to life. Low-level enhancements were quick. After about two minutes, a puff of steam sprayed from the machine.
[Dragon-Slaying Flash +3 Successful.]
Su Xiao decisively continued. A few minutes later.
[Dragon-Slaying Flash +4 Successful.]
Standing in the scorching steam, Su Xiao let out a long breath. After spending 540,000 Paradise Coins, Dragon-Slaying Flash had been successfully enhanced to +4. He only had 52,600 Paradise Coins left.
Su Xiao toyed with a badge in his hand. This was an [Honor Badge], exchanged using a Golden Honor Medal. It had only one attribute: increased equipment enhancement success rate by 5%.
At the moment, his Paradise Coins were insufficient to continue enhancing. Su Xiao was waiting for the Black Merchant's people to deliver Paradise Coins. He had consigned three pieces of equipment with the Black Merchant: Spider Empress (Dark Purple sniper rifle), Wraith Hunter (Light Gold crossbow), and Moon God Silver Ring (Summoner Gold Set).
Among these, Spider Empress and Wraith Hunter were weapons Su Xiao had phased out, both with excellent attributes.
Spider Empress was priced at 210,000 Paradise Coins.
Wraith Hunter was priced at 165,000 Paradise Coins (too niche).
Moon God Silver Ring was priced at 700,000 Paradise Coins.
After deducting the Black Merchant's fees, Su Xiao would receive a total of 1,021,250 Paradise Coins.
Once the Black Merchant obtained this liquid capital, they naturally wouldn't hold it for Su Xiao. Instead, they would use it to generate more profit. When Su Xiao demanded payment, the Black Merchant would gather the funds within a short time.
It had to be said that although the Black Merchant's reputation wasn't great, their efficiency was decent.
After waiting for over ten minutes, a man in a black robe and black face mask hurriedly arrived at the Equipment Enhancement Hall.
"Mr.... White Night?"
The Black Merchant asked tentatively. Although he had seen Su Xiao's photo and used a detector to identify him several times upon meeting, he still needed to confirm.
"That's right."
"Here are 800,000 Paradise Coins. The remaining amount will be delivered within an hour. For every minute of delay, our side compensates 10,000 Paradise Coins."
The Black Merchant handed over a Paradise Coin savings card worth 800,000. The card shattered in Su Xiao's hand, and 800,000 Paradise Coins were credited.
"Alright. Hurry up."
"Of course, no problem. Sorry for the disturbance. Good luck with your enhancement."
The Black Merchant hurried away, presumably to gather the remaining Paradise Coins. Although the Black Sail Merchant Guild's business was considerable, they disliked storing large amounts of Paradise Coins, preferring to stockpile rare resources instead. This was one point where they differed from all other merchant guilds.
With Paradise Coins in hand, Su Xiao continued the enhancement. However, this time, before starting the equipment enhancement machine, he placed two Black Carbon Stones into the tray.
[Pure Black Carbon Stone], each increased the enhancement success rate by 2%. The effect diminished beyond a certain quantity.
Combined with the effect of the [Honor Badge], the enhancement success rate became quite favorable. Su Xiao didn't need thrills; he needed to safely strengthen Dragon-Slaying Flash to +10.
[Dragon-Slaying Flash +5 Successful.]
[Dragon-Slaying Flash +6 Successful.]
[Dragon-Slaying Flash +7 Successful!]
Three consecutive successes. Clearly, the combination of Pure Black Carbon Stones and the [Honor Badge] was very effective.
Heat rose from the equipment enhancement machine in front of Su Xiao, the machine's surface slightly glowing red.
He had 9 Pure Black Carbon Stones left. This time, Su Xiao placed 3 into the tray and started the equipment enhancement machine.
Humm~
The equipment enhancement machine ran. When enhancing to +8, failure would result in one of two outcomes: the enhancement level slipping to +6, or the enhancement level being completely reset. If the latter occurred, Su Xiao wouldn't be able to strengthen Dragon-Slaying Flash to +10 anytime soon.
Psssh!
Steam rose, and the tray ejected. The entire tray looked like a red-hot branding iron, and white vapor rose from Dragon-Slaying Flash as well.
[Dragon-Slaying Flash +8 Successful.]
Su Xiao clenched his fist. His hand was hot today; the enhancement feel was excellent.
"Continue."
Tap, tap, tap.
Three Obsidian Stones were placed on the tray. The tray, along with Dragon-Slaying Flash, retracted into the enhancement machine.
After a few minutes of rumbling, Su Xiao heard a crack sound, and his heart instantly sank halfway.
"NO!!"
A despairing wail came from not far away. Su Xiao, cold sweat on his face, glanced sideways. It was from the equipment enhancement machine next door.
A burly man pressed his head against the enhancement machine, his expression dazed, muttering: "It's gone, all gone. Three worlds of effort, five lives."
Bubu Wang witnessed this scene. He looked at Su Xiao: "Master, is it this thrilling?"
"Probably... this is the situation."
Su Xiao let out a breath. If Dragon-Slaying Flash's enhancement failed, it would be equivalent to cutting his gains from the One Piece World by a third.
Steam gushed out, and a prompt appeared.
[Dragon-Slaying Flash +9 Successful.]
Su Xiao was only one step away from achieving his goal. Taking this step would greatly increase his combat power. The Gold-quality Duke of Annihilation enhanced to +13 was already terrifyingly powerful, allowing him, as a Third Rank, to one-shot kill a Fourth Rank Contractor.
If Dragon-Slaying Flash could be enhanced to +13, a situation would arise where even if an enemy was a notch stronger than Su Xiao, Su Xiao could still break through their defense and severely wound them.
Although absolute strength disparity couldn't be bridged by a single blade, if Dragon-Slaying Flash was sharp enough, Su Xiao would have a glimmer of hope to turn the tables in desperate situations.
For example, back in the One Piece World, if Su Xiao had wielded a Legendary +13 Dragon-Slaying Flash, even Garp wouldn't dare to tank his slashes. An unenhanced Dragon-Slaying Flash, combined with Su Xiao's blade techniques, could already cut through Garp's Haki, though it couldn't severely wound him.
Only one step remained to reach +10. Su Xiao could give up now, but he didn't intend to.
From all perspectives, the cost to enhance Dragon-Slaying Flash was high. When Dragon-Slaying Flash upgraded in quality, its enhancement level would decrease. However, if he didn't enhance Dragon-Slaying Flash, could Su Xiao really thrash those early Fourth Rank Contractors?
Or rather, the cost to upgrade Dragon-Slaying Flash from Legendary to the next tier was too high. Su Xiao had yet to see a Legendary weapon, let alone obtain one.
Therefore, Su Xiao had to balance enhancing Dragon-Slaying Flash and improving its quality. The current situation was that enhancing Dragon-Slaying Flash to a higher level was far easier to achieve than upgrading it to a higher quality.
Strength and gains were proportional. Accumulation was good, but if one only focused on accumulation while neglecting current combat power, the speed of accumulation would drastically decrease. This was like rolling a snowball: the heavier the snowball, the more snow it gathered, and the faster it grew.
For this reason, Su Xiao now needed a very large "snowball" to ensure he could roll up more "snow." This was also the main reason he hadn't chosen that Legendary equipment chest.
With a +13 Dragon-Slaying Flash, Su Xiao's chances of obtaining a Legendary weapon increased, and the speed of Dragon-Slaying Flash's upgrade would accelerate, forming a virtuous cycle.
Therefore, every time Dragon-Slaying Flash upgraded in quality, Su Xiao would at least enhance it to +8 or above, ensuring Dragon-Slaying Flash had combat power surpassing weapons of its current stage.
This was an investment, a necessary one. If he only focused on improving Dragon-Slaying Flash's quality, its current quality would be at most Gold, and Su Xiao himself would be at most Third Rank.
Su Xiao lit a cigarette and exhaled a wisp of pale golden smoke. The Lucky King state was upon him.
Lucky King state + three Obsidian Stones + Honor Badge. After using every method available, Su Xiao started the equipment enhancement machine.