Chapter 97: The Three Great Illusions of Life: I Can Do It
Su Xiao walked up to an equipment enhancement machine and pressed his hand on the sensor.
[Welcome to Equipment Enhancement Machine No. 182. User holds Paradise Coins: 201,206 points.]
Su Xiao took out Dragon-Slaying Flash. When Paradise Coins were not particularly abundant, enhancing the weapon first yielded the greatest returns.
With Su Xiao's operation, a tray popped out from the enhancement machine.
Pfft~
White steam sprayed out from inside the equipment enhancement machine. Su Xiao was already used to this; it was a normal phenomenon.
Placing Dragon-Slaying Flash on the tray, Su Xiao then took out a gem and set it down as well.
[Phantom Magic Stone]
Quality: Dark Purple
Type: Rare Material
Effect: Can negate one enhancement failure penalty. If enhancement succeeds, the Phantom Magic Stone will not be consumed.
Rating: 260
Introduction: A magical crystal from the void, often used to protect equipment during enhancement.
...
This was why Su Xiao dared to visit the Equipment Enhancement Hall so often. Without some certainty, how could he enhance Dragon-Slaying Flash? He was here to strengthen his power, not to seek thrills.
The tray on the enhancement machine retracted, and a prompt appeared.
[Equipment verification in progress... Verification complete. Dragon-Slaying Flash (Light Gold) enhancement cost: 31,000 Paradise Coins per attempt.]
Su Xiao operated the enhancement machine with a blank expression.
[Re-verifying as per instruction. Verification in progress...]
[Verification complete. Dragon-Slaying Flash (Light Gold) enhancement cost: 31,000 Paradise Coins per attempt.]
31,000 Paradise Coins per enhancement attempt. Su Xiao closed his eyes in a kind of 'despair.' One failure meant 31,000 Paradise Coins down the drain, even with the protection of the Phantom Magic Stone.
For equipment enhancement above +5, failure resets the enhancement level to zero. Above +7, there is a 70% chance of resetting to zero and a 30% chance of the equipment shattering. If enhancement +10 fails, the equipment will definitely shatter.
As for above +10, each level is a gamble between heaven and hell. Success is heaven—equipment attributes greatly increase, equivalent to a power boost. Failure is hell—for a real-life example, refer to that guy kneeling dozens of meters away.
[Yes/No to proceed with this enhancement.]
"Enhance."
[Enhancement started. Please wait five minutes.]
Rumble...
The enhancement machine began operating, going through a series of complex procedures. Occasionally, the crackling sound of electricity could be heard, quite a spectacle.
Five minutes passed quickly, and the machine gradually stopped working.
Pfft~
A burst of hot steam sprayed out, and a prompt appeared.
[Dragon-Slashing Flash (Light Gold) +9 successful. Yes/No to continue enhancement?]
Although the +9 enhancement succeeded, Su Xiao wouldn't stop there. Enhancement had several major thresholds. Reaching these levels would grant the equipment additional attributes or enhance existing ones, such as +5, +8, and +10.
Su Xiao's goal was to enhance Dragon-Slashing Flash to +10, or even beyond. He wanted to see how much the ability 'Sword Cuts Iron Like Mud (Passive),' attached to a Dark Purple 260-rated weapon, could be improved.
"Continue enhancement."
The enhancement machine resumed operation, roaring loudly.
The five-minute wait for enhancement began to feel long. Not just for Su Xiao, but for the contractors at nearby machines as well. One slightly goofy contractor even started doing calisthenics while waiting—was this the 'legendary' superstitious enhancement method?
Su Xiao lit a cigarette. His body no longer had any dependence like nicotine addiction; this was just a habit that helped him stay calm.
Puff~
Hot steam sprayed from the enhancement machine. This time, the steam output was greater than before. Su Xiao noticed that the higher the enhancement level, the more steam the machine emitted, and the hotter it was.
[Dragon-Slashing Flash (Light Gold) +10 successful! Yes/No to continue enhancement?]
Dragon-Slashing Flash had returned to its original enhancement level, and 'Sword Cuts Iron Like Mud (Passive)' should have changed.
Su Xiao took a deep breath, hesitating whether to continue.
Given the current situation, Dragon-Slashing Flash would remain at Light Gold quality for a long time. If so, the stronger it was, the better, to handle the following derivative worlds.
Moreover, Su Xiao planned to activate his talent awakening mission in the next derivative world. The earlier this mission was completed, the easier it would be.
"Continue... enhancement."
[Enhancement started. Please wait ten minutes.]
With Su Xiao's command, the enhancement machine began operating. This time was different from before—the spectacle was grander, and the time consumed was longer.
Su Xiao stood in front of the machine, silently smoking. Although the success rate for this attempt wasn't high, the risk wasn't great either. At most, he would lose one Phantom Magic Stone plus 31,000 Paradise Coins. Compared to the potential gains, taking this risk was worth it.
Letting out a long breath, Su Xiao smiled. Since the risk was low, there was no need to be nervous.
If there were significant risk, he wouldn't gamble with his main blade. He would rather spend more resources to improve Dragon-Slashing Flash's quality than come here to enhance it.
As the cigarette in Su Xiao's hand burned out, the enhancement machine gradually stopped.
[Dragon-Slashing Flash (Light Gold) +11 successful! Yes/No to continue enhancement?]
Su Xiao clenched his fist, his eyes seemingly glowing. According to his research, enhancement had several major thresholds: +5, +8, +10, and +12.
Each major level's boost was tempting, and the higher the enhancement level, the greater the returns. If Dragon-Slashing Flash could reach +12, it could rival some low-rated Gold-quality equipment, or perhaps even be stronger?
"Check enhancement success rate."
[Verifying Hunter permissions...]
[Permission granted. This enhancement success rate: 21%.]
Seeing this rate, Su Xiao's expression soured. A 21% success rate seemed high, but in reality, it wasn't.
This came down to probability. If it were a 100-trigger probability, 21% would be quite high. But for a single attempt, 21% was roughly one-fifth. The remaining four-fifths were enough to screw over most people.
"The loss from failure is within acceptable limits. Continue enhancement."
[Enhancement started. Please wait fifteen minutes.]
The enhancement time began to increase. Logically, Su Xiao should be nervous now, but for some reason, he was very calm. He was confident—not in his luck, but in his bad luck.
Just earlier, he had opened over a hundred treasure chests—Green, Blue, Dark Purple, and Gold. Only three had flashed, and all were low-level chests.
Based on his long-term observations, although he was sometimes very unlucky, his overall luck was balanced.
Having been very unlucky before, he didn't believe he would continue to be unlucky now. After three consecutive successful enhancements, he began to have a mysterious confidence.
Not far from Su Xiao, a girl wearing a little bear ear hood was staring intently at her enhancement machine. If you looked closely, you'd notice she was actually wearing pajamas and slippers.
"Please succeed, I beg you, succeed, succeed..."
The girl had her eyes tightly shut, hands clasped together, muttering to herself. This was the normal enhancement posture for contractors. Su Xiao, standing expressionless in front of the machine, was a rare exception.
This girl was enhancing a blue necklace from +5 to +6. If +6 failed, the enhancement level would reset to zero.
Just as the girl was praying, a burst of hot steam surged from beside her, its range exaggerated.
The girl raised her fair hand to shield her face. As the steam blew, she was exposed. Through the steam, she vaguely saw a figure, whose trench coat was flapping loudly in the steam's blast.