Chapter 140: Upgrades!

Chapter 140: Upgrades!The attributes of Black Friday were simply perfect. Once Athena mastered firearms, she would wield Black Friday with remarkable skill.

The most powerful feature of Black Friday was its ability to correct for enemy movements. Even if a foe, be they human or otherwise, attempted to dodge the bullets, Black Friday boasted an 80% chance of striking a vital area and a 30% chance of hitting the head.

In comparison to Athena's bow and arrows, Black Friday offered additional armor-piercing and crushing capabilities. However, it came with restrictions on usage; it was ineffective at short range and significantly less agile, making it a complementary tool.

With the unpacking event concluded perfectly, Athena breathed a sigh of relief, thoroughly satisfied with the outcome.

She immediately tore open the mechanical scroll.

[Congratulations! You have reached Mastery Level in Mechanics!]

Athena realized that the special rewards provided by the system seemed tailored to her. So far, of the two special rewards she had received, one enhanced the stealth capabilities for Mikmik, while this latest evolution reward was related to her Grass Ball creatures.

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[Evolution]

Item: Grass Ball Creature

Description: You may choose any one Grass Ball creature to use. Upon use, that creature will transform into a true living being, no longer categorized as a Grass Ball creature.

This evolution, a leap in life tier, would bring about unforeseen changes, but rest assured, they would all be for the better.

When she first met the trio, after their loyalty exceeded 80%, they had gained flesh and blood—merely a superficial transformation that made them resemble true beings. Yet, they had always remained grassball creatures. Now, however, they possessed an opportunity for genuine evolution, and this evolution would only yield positive outcomes.

For her first Grass Ball skill, Athena had chosen Mikmik. With this second evolution opportunity, she opted for that little cat once more; it was the best choice. Mikmik' abilities destined it to be her greatest ally.

However, if similar opportunities arose in the future, she might lean towards the other two creatures. But for now, her priority was clear—she would choose Mikmik.

Although she doubted that the Witty and Paopao would hold any resentment against her, she decided it was best to explain her choice to them when they returned.

Next, she opened her attributes panel. After a period of contemplation, she was ready to make significant upgrades to her skills and attributes—upgrades she felt confident in.

With the 50 experience points she had remaining, the 500 points she had earned thereafter, and the 2,000 points from the recent encounters, her total experience points had soared to an unprecedented 2,600.

With fervor, she began to allocate her points on the system panel.

Name: Athena

Experience Points: 20

Title: Proactive Warrior

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Attributes:

Strength: 7313 (Up)

Speed: 731 (Up)

Agility: 7614 (Up)

Mental Power: 8413 (Up)

Skills:

Attachment LV10 (Up by 5): Applies strength to weapons, dealing an extra 10 damage per point of attribute; low chance to trigger critical injury; very low chance to trigger a fatal state!Hunter LV10 (Up by 4): Enhances leg speed, increasing burst speed by 50; cooldown time of 20 minutes for each use.Boneless LV10 (Up by 5): Greatly enhances body flexibility, allowing for extremely difficult maneuvers and subtle facial adjustments.Tranquility LV10 (Up by 5): Instantly regains composure at any moment, resisting various mental negative effects during battle; outside combat, efficiency increases by 45; cooldown of 2 hours, lasting 2 hours.War Queen: Cannot be upgraded; if allies exceed 3, they gain 10 mental power and a courage buff. If soldiers exceed 500, they become immune to 50% of mental attacks, receiving both courage and strength buffs.

Leveling Tranquility costs 100 experience points, totaling 500 for all levels. Leveling Attachment to the next rank requires 120 experience points, totaling 480. Hunter costs a staggering 150 per level, totaling 600, while Boneless requires 100, summing to 500.

Thanks to her thorough preparations and rest, this upgrade didn’t bring her excessive pain, yet it nearly drained her reserves.

The most unexpected outcome was with the Boneless skill; shockingly, it showed no change even after five levels.

This truly disheartened her, not because she was reluctant to upgrade other skills, but because she realized that once skills reached level ten, there were no further prompts for upgrades.

Other skills had undergone minor transformations, significantly shortening cooldowns and greatly enhancing their effects. Even the smallest change could turn the tide in battle, and for that, she felt a sense of satisfaction.

However, the lack of progression for Boneless remained a source of frustration. She couldn’t help but notice that every skill appeared to have its own barriers, much like her attributes.

[Skill Barrier Reached!]

[Please break through Skill Level 10 as soon as possible!]

[Upon breaking through, skills will undergo a comprehensive transformation! They will be greatly enhanced! Please hurry!]

As always, the system merely urged her to breakthrough but never provided guidance on how to do so.

She found herself eager to see what would happen after the breakthrough, much like her attribute points; once she shattered those barriers, each point would hold far more value than before. This was a rough calculation, but one point post-breakthrough would equate to what previously required five points.

Additionally, she still needed help with a special item she had acquired, as none of her weapons had slots for embedding it. This would require Grey’s expertise for adjustment.

Grey had a habit of napping after lunch, making it unwise to disturb her just yet. Thus, Athena resolved to check on Ilinaya.

Initially, she had assumed Ilinaya would remain stationary in her bubble for quite some time. However, while washing the dishes, she had noticed that the previously motionless Ilinaya was now moving about within the water sphere. It wouldn’t be long before she fully recovered and could emerge.

Athena's belongings were still being held by Ilinaya, and her primary objective for visiting the White Lands was to gather the World’s Energy, eager to discover what it truly entailed.

As she approached the bathroom door, just before she could push it open, a faint sound reached her ears—something seemed to be breaking in the water. Her brow furrowed slightly, and just then, a splash echoed through the room, as if the entire space had been submerged.