"Have you awakened a life profession? Even after I suggested you not to do it..." Since Eldric wanted to know about it, this could only mean that he awakened a life profession.
"Indeed. I did." There was no need to hide anything about it, so Eldric just nodded in response.
"I awakened a Gardener class."
"Hmmm..." As soon as Eldric finished speaking, Ellina, who was still disgruntled let out a mouthful of air and narrowed her eyes. "That is a rather unique life profession."
"But well... All of them are unique either way." With a shrug, the smile on her face still remained as she tilted her head while looking at Eldric "Do you have some basic knowledge or do you want me to start from the very beginning?"
"Start from the basics please." Eldric knew some things about the Life Professions, but all of it was scattered knowledge. Unlike the Evolution route, about which he knew everything, the path to the Life Profession was like a piece of blank white paper for him.
"Long ago, when the humans first started to awaken, there weren't any Awakening Steles. So people could only depend on the Blessing Stones.
At that time, awakening a combat class was extremely rare and almost everyone awakened Life Profession.
Some became chefs, some farmers, some scholars, some painters...
You see... Awakening a life profession doesn't mean one doesn't have any combat capabilities. On the contrary, those with Life Professions have more freedom in combat compared to those with Combat Professions."
As soon as Ellina spoke these words, Eldric furrowed his brows. He too had a Gardener's profession, but he didn't see the so-called freedom in combat like Ellina mentioned. In the end, he could only look at her, hoping to get an answer.
And sure enough... Sensing his gaze, Ellina already knew what was going through his head, so she just chuckled, changed her position a bit; proudly displaying her curves, and spoke softly.
"Let me give you an example.
Take someone with a life profession 'Farmer' for example.
You must be thinking that a 'Farmer' can only plant crops and raise some household animals.
Yes... Those with a newly awakened Farmer Profession can only do this.
But as one progresses further in their profession, one can do things that one can not even imagine. Being able to change the weather and taming evolved beasts is just one of the few things they can do."
As soon as she finished her sentence, Eldric couldn't help but speak, "If they are so powerful, then what even is the use of Combat classes?"
Listening to his question, Ellina couldn't help but chuckle. She too once asked the very same question. Taking a deep breath, her eyes seemed to be lost in memories as she gave him the exact answer that she received herself.
"It is because there are two major flaws in Life Profession."
"After going through the process of awakening, they will reach the pinnacle of human strength. But that is their limit.
Unlike the combat profession, they can not increase their attributes and will forever stay that way.
This means... No matter how powerful they get, even mortals can kill them."
"And the second flaw is their route of progress.
You see, unlike Combat Professions, they have only one skill. They can not create any skills. So, the only thing they could do is to hone their skill and upgrade it to the next level. But this advancement depends on the enlightenment.
And gaining enlightenment is even more difficult than creating skills. No one knows when they will receive enlightenment. They could get it in the evening or they could get it after twenty years. It all depends on one's understanding of the profession and the role it has in the world. Hell, one can spend their entire life and not even enlighten once."
Speaking till here, Ellina took a long pause and let Eldric process the information.
"..." When Eldric first heard that those with a Life Profession can be so powerful, he was confused as to why everyone wanted to work hard in the Combat Profession. But after listening to her explanation, this doubt of his was solved.
The two flaws that she just mentioned were enough to deter even him.
But thinking about how he could just evolve his skill, Eldric couldn't calm his restless heart.
For others, it was an impossible task to improve both their combat and life profession, but for him...
Thinking about it, he couldn't help but clench his fists in excitement. He had finally decided to improve his Gardener's skill as much as possible before going through his second Evolution. Improving his combat skills might not make him invincible on the same level, but his Life Profession skills could.
As soon as this thought came to his mind, Eldric couldn't suppress it. It was like a plant that had taken roots inside.
"If you wish to pursue the path of Life Profession, then I won't stop you.
I would suggest you buy some precious seeds from the market or auction and then try to nurture them.
Unlike farmers, you won't get results when planting crops. So, you can only plant other miscellaneous plants and some medicinal herbs. You can try experimenting by yourself."
....
Both of them talked for a bit about numerous things, broadening Eldric's horizon.
It wasn't until the time up did Eldric asked his final question.
"At what evolution are you? I mean loosely speaking, how powerful are you?"
The woman in front of him might look like a normal person, but she was a professor from the university. Eldirc was even sure that contrary to her appearance, she was far from being someone in her late twenties.
Ellina was stunned by this question. She gazed deeply at Eldric, let out a smile, and licked her cherry-red lips as a soft whisper echoed in his ears.
"Secret..."
It was just a single word, but it was enough to weaken Eldric's legs.
Cursing the vixen in his mind, Eldric hurriedly walked out before exiting the domain.
Inside the room, Ellina kept on looking at the door, as if being able to see through it, as a smile ran across her face. However, this smile of hers was rather forced and devoid of any emotion.
.
.
.
.
Opening his eyes back inside the room, Eldric looked at the panel in front of him.
[Name: Eldric Stormborne]
[Life Profession: Gardener]
[Skill: Plant Whispering] +
Touching the skill, he once again checked about it.
[Plant Whispering: Let's you know the needs of a plant and help it grow and increase yield.] +
[Evolution Materials: 1 x Heart Of The Forest, 1 x Fairy Dust]
With a balance of Two Thousand and ten tokens, Eldric didn't waste too much time thinking. Now that he had made up his mind, he was going to do it.
Without any hesitation, he bought the two items and looked at them hovering in front of him.
Taking a deep breath, he finally began the evolution of his Life Profession skill.
.....
As soon as Eldric touched the '+' sign and began the process, his entire body was covered in a green light. At first, it was glowing dimly, but soon, the entire room was covered with a blinding green light.
Unknowingly, Eldric fell asleep, unaware of the changes around him. Compared to when he went through evolution, this time it was like taking a nap in the garden with a gentle breeze.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already morning.
"Huh!?" Eldric felt like only ten minutes had passed, but to his surprise, it was already morning.
Closing his eyes, Eldric tried to feel the changes in his body, and sure enough, there were many new things.
The first thing was that now his body was giving off the faint scent of flowers. The other changes were the extra knowledge in his mind.
Walking out of his room to the balcony, Eldric looked around for a while before taking a deep breath and jumping down.
"Wooo..." The moment he jumped, he wanted to shout at the top of his lungs. After all, the feat of jumping from the sixth floor wasn't something that anyone could do.
If not for five points in his Vitality, he wouldn't have dared to jump. But with a body that could withstand the impact of an evolved beast, jumping from this height wasn't much.
"BOOOOM."
With a loud thud, Eldric fell to the ground. But to his surprise, he didn't even feel anything. It was as if he jumped down from a chair instead of the sixth floor.
Marveling at his physique, Eldric focused back on the newly gained ability. Looking at the small forest in front of him, he walked inside and searched for a while.
It wasn't until he came across a small seedling that he stopped in his tracks.
Bending down, Eldric touched the seedling and focused on it. The moment he did it, the seedling which was only around three inches began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eyes.
In less than ten seconds, the small seedling had already turned into a towering tree about ten meters in height.
"This... This..." Eldric was having trouble finding any words to speak. Even though he knew he could do things like this after waking up this morning, still, it was one thing to know and another to experience it himself.
Looking around, Eldric could see the numerous trees. He kmew that if he wishes to, he could improve them as well.
Not only was he able to accelerate their growth, but he also knew just from a glance the best way to grow them. He could tell whether they needed fertilizers and water or not. And if that wasn't enough, he could also tell which one of these trees was diseased and needed treatment as well as the process for it.
"And there's one more thing." Touching the newly grown tree, Eldric closed his eyes as a small connection formed between the two of them.
Taking a step back, he raised his hand and punched himself in the face with all his strength.
"BOOOOOOM."
The moment his punch hit his face, the tree in front of him shattered as Eldric felt pain on his face.
"I can form a bond with a tree that I planted and can transfer damage to it. But it could only absorb limited damage according to its defense. Otherwise, it would burst.
It could be a life saving trick." Thinking about its various uses, Eldric couldn't help but feel an itch in his heart.
He didn't rush to evolve his skill again but chose to digest his gains first.
Either way..... He wasn't in a hurry and had time to slowly explore things.
With this in mind, he looked at the panel in front of him, as a smile ran across his face.