Mana Value recovery took too much time, and when Mana Value wasn't available, she could still practice skills. Mu Ying seized the time to become familiar with her abilities.
She now had a total of three profession skills, and the use techniques of the skills were directly infused into her mind, which made learning them not very difficult.
However, most skill effects were not fixed. Although there were no clear levels of differentiation, the Profession Level, Skill Proficiency, and understanding of the skills all affected the skill effects.
Among the three skills, only the animal companion was unaffected by proficiency.
Every Druid could obtain an animal companion through this skill, and there could only be one at a time unless an animal companion died or was sent away through a ritual before getting another one.
Mu Ying used this skill, hoping to summon a powerful animal companion that met her aesthetic preference—hopefully furry and easy to raise.
The result was both laughable and adorable.
From within the Summoning Array appeared a palm-sized, endearingly clumsy little fellow, its black-and-white fur still somewhat sparse, with its pink skin clearly visible underneath.
It completely matched her aesthetic sense; it was adorably cute, but wasn't it too small? This was clearly a newborn panda!
Mu Ying carefully cradled it, and the animal companion skill in the Player Manual became [Animal Companion (Iron-eating Beast)], and she could expand it to view its information.
[Nickname: To be named]
[Race: Iron-eating Beast]
[Stage: Infant]
[Life Value: 100%]
[Talent: Feeding (Can improve Attributes and awaken abilities slowly through feeding. Currently in the infant stage, can only consume any kind of fluid food.)]
[Attributes: Strength 1, Constitution 1, Agility 1, Intelligence 5, Perception 5, Charm 15]
[Abilities: Emotional Connection, Loyalty]
Perhaps due to its young age, the little one had extremely low Strength, Body, and Dexterity attributes, but just from the Feeding Talent alone, it was clear it was different from the pandas in zoos—it was easy to raise and had great potential.
Mu Ying was filled with affection. This Talent meant that as long as she could provide enough food, the little one could keep growing and accompany her for a long time.
Through the Emotional Connection with her animal companion, Mu Ying could roughly sense the little one's emotions. It vigorously sucked on her finger, clearly hungry.
As for fluid food, she only had water at the moment. After pouring some water and warming it slightly, she fed it to the panda, which drank eagerly.
Pleasant feelings came through the Emotional Connection, and Mu Ying felt a bit guilty; she wasn't intentionally mistreating a national treasure, she just genuinely didn't have more to offer.
Worried whether the little one could grow up properly following her, Mu Ying decided to name it Yuan Gungun, hoping it would grow up to be strong and stout.
After the little one had its fill of water and began to sleep, Mu Ying pocketed it and walked to a tree, closing her eyes to use her natural sense.
In her perception, countless natural powers flowed through the tree, brimming with vitality. Mu Ying curiously "looked" on but had to withdraw from the state of natural sense before she could get a clear view.
After trying several times in a row, she was able to maintain the state for a bit longer and the sensations grew clearer. Mu Ying felt as if she had drawn much closer to nature, a feeling that was very wonderful.
[You have completed a professional cultivation and gained 1 Professional Experience.]
Unexpectedly, Mu Ying could gain Professional Experience by using her natural sense, which was a pleasant surprise. Once again, she immersed herself in the perspective offered by the natural sense.
This time, she noticed an area where the natural power was somewhat dim and its flow was not as flexible, appearing somewhat stagnant. Normally, the vibrant natural power was a crystal-clear green.
Mu Ying opened her eyes to check that spot and found a dodder seedling parasitizing there, absorbing nutrients from the tree. She carefully cleared away the dodder, then used her natural sense to harmonize the natural power within the tree. Soon, the area that had been stagnant was flowing smoothly again.
[You have completed a professional cultivation and gained 2 Professional Experience.]
Mu Ying reflected that the power of a Druid comes from nature, and to gain more power, one naturally can't do it without nature. Getting close to nature, comprehending nature, protecting nature, perhaps all these actions could be considered professional cultivation.
And what is nature, really? Mu Ying felt that nature is the environment on which life depends, with plants being the most important part of it. Hence, places with lush vegetation have the strongest natural aura, like this forest.
The forest coverage on Deep Blue Star is actually quite low, human traces are scattered across the planet, occupying the majority of the land. Many mountains and forests have been destroyed, and the natural environment is far from good, requiring urgent recovery.
Suddenly, Mu Ying felt a cool sensation on her wrist.
She lifted her left hand and saw that the vine bracelet she had worn since she was young seemed to come alive, emitting a faint green light, and a spring the size of a teacup appeared in front of her.
The only item that could potentially be linked to her past life, the bracelet, suddenly revealed this change; Mu Ying felt a sense of 'it's finally happening.'
As a person who had awakened her past life's memories, how could she possibly not have a golden finger? The most suspect item on her was the bracelet, which she had experimented with in various ways, albeit unsuccessfully, until now.
This time, she finally felt a connection with the bracelet; it seemed that only at this moment did she actually gain its recognition. With a thought, she could control it to merge into her wrist, forming a shallow vine imprint.
Curious, Mu Ying used the Item Identification skill on the bracelet.
[Natural Bracelet]
[Quality: Orange Myth]
[Effect 1: Recovery Spring: As a practitioner of the way of natural recovery, you can manifest a spring through the Natural Bracelet. The water from this spring nourishes and restores, and with prolonged use, it can lead species to evolve in more favorable directions. The further you walk on the path of recovery, the more water and the stronger the effect of the spring.]
[Note: Equipment that has not yet revealed its full power, its upper limit is unknown, and it only responds to its recognized master.]
The Player Manual states that equipment quality goes from low to high as follows: White Common, Green Fine, Blue Rare, Purple Epic, Gold Legend, Orange Myth.
Unexpectedly, this bracelet turned out to be a Divine Artifact, and it still has other abilities that have not been developed. The change in the bracelet seemed to relate to her recent enlightenment and actions; she wondered how to unlock the other abilities.
After studying the bracelet for a while with no results, Mu Ying again focused attention on the spring water. It had nourishing and restorative effects, which made it very suitable for Gungun to drink or to water plants with, although the amount was too small and had to be mixed with other water for use.
To use the spring water, it wasn't necessary to summon the spring eye each time; the water could be condensed directly on her fingertip. Mu Ying condensed a drop and tasted it herself. It was sweet and refreshing, but otherwise, she felt no different.
She felt some squirming in her stomach, and Gungun, enticed by the smell, poked its head out of her pocket.
Mu Ying mixed a bit of Recovery Spring water with some mineral water and gave it to him to drink. This time he drank it with more gusto, and after finishing, he turned over contentedly with a satisfied hum (￣︶￣).
"You little guy sure knows how to enjoy life," Mu Ying said, gently rubbing his belly with her fingertip.