Mu Ying's obsessive-compulsive disorder kicked in; she only wanted to quickly make up the bit of experience she was lacking.
She returned to her tree house and recovered her Mana Value at the fastest speed, then neatly packed the saplings at the door and placed them in the bamboo basket on Old Huang's back.
Leading Old Huang out, she took the same old route as yesterday.
Perhaps all the zombies nearby had been drawn away by the wave at noon, and Mu Ying did not encounter any danger on the way, even moving faster than yesterday.
After leaving the forest, she first went to the elderly couple's house from yesterday and got a large bag of rice, also uprooting some vegetables from the field.
She did not even go far, but found a relatively flat wasteland by the side of the gravel road, dug out pits, and planted the saplings one by one.
The only trouble was watering.
Mu Ying searched the entire house but could not find a water pipe.
Above the water tank was just an empty hole that looked like it once had a water pipe, probably the water supply system disappeared just like the mobile phones.
Mu Ying only found less than half a tank of water in the kitchen's water tank; it was enough to water a few saplings, "It looks like I need to learn the Water Creation Skill quickly!"
In order to ensure the survival rate of the saplings, she added Recovery Spring to it and finally used her natural sense to adjust the natural power in the saplings.
[You have completed a professional cultivation, obtained Professional Experience ×1]
[You have completed a professional cultivation, obtained Professional Experience ×2]
[You have completed a professional cultivation, obtained Professional Experience ×2]
[You have completed a professional cultivation, obtained Professional Experience ×2, your Experience Value has reached the level 1 cap, spilling over 1 point of Professional Experience]
[You have reached the standard for leveling up, please be prepared to level up as soon as possible]
Tree planting yielded substantial rewards, and Mu Ying's Experience Value quickly filled up. Excess Experience Value could not be stored anymore, and leveling up seemed not to be something that happened in an instant.
She suppressed the urge to level up immediately and decided to be more cautious; it would be better to wait until she returned to the camp.
Even though she could no longer gain Experience Value, Mu Ying still planted all the saplings she had on hand; protecting nature was not just for the sake of improving her level, she genuinely loved nature and hoped it could thrive.
She also collected some branches on her way back home, and after arriving, she used Druid Tricks to help them take root and sprout, temporarily keeping them at the entrance to her home.
She quickly picked out the saplings she had left behind and, together with the rice she brought back today, delivered them to Oak Grocery.
This time Wuyaya took the goods directly, and she did not get to see Grandpa Shom, but at least she paid off part of the rare spell's debt.
Having completed the last task, Mu Ying walked out feeling like running, quickly climbed up her own tree house, and disappeared behind the door.
"Hey, do you think she's rushing back to level up, huh? I see her progress is at 100% on the level board!"
"Certainly she is, I envy her, how come the Druids are so amazing!"
"Bullshit, is it the Druids that are amazing? It's her that's amazing, otherwise out of 100 people on each of the two leaderboards, how come she's the only Druid on there?"
"Right, the top of the level board. And she made it onto the combat power board after this noon's wave, although her ranking is at the back, but based on how she fights zombies, if she spent more time on fighting zombies, surely the results wouldn't just be this..."
Mu Ying was unaware of the discussion outside; she was enveloped by natural power, immersed in it.
[After the baptism of nature, you've become a Druid Level 2]
[Based on your Druid Level, you've gained the professional skill: Forest Traversing]
[Based on your Druid Level, your Life Value has increased to 160]
[Based on your Druid Level, your Mana Value has increased to 80]
[No new spells unlocked at this level]
Advancing to level 2 actually didn't make much of a difference, except for the new professional skills, only Life Value and Mana Value increased somewhat, but when leveling up, the feeling towards the natural power was the clearest, that brought her closer to nature.
Forest Traversing allows Druids to move through thorny vegetation, dense thickets, or similar terrains at normal speed without suffering any damage, it's a convenient skill for Druids to move around in forest lands.
Not having unlocked any higher-level spells, Mu Ying breathed a sigh of relief. There were still many 0-ring and 1-ring spells she hadn't learned; if a multitude of new spells appeared, she might be trapped forever in the fear of never completely learning all spells.
After the residual effects of leveling had passed, Mu Ying opened the Player Manual to check her attribute panel.
[Name: Mu Ying]
[Race: Half-Elf]
[Profession: Druid Level 2 (0/300)]
(Note: A maximum of 40% of Slaughter Experience can be used at this level.)
[Life Value: 160/160]
[Mana Value: 80/80]
[Attributes: Strength 8, Constitution 10, agility 11, Intelligence 12, Perception 15+1, Charm 11]
[Languages: Universal Language, Elf Language, Druid Language]
[Skills: natural sense, Wilderness Identification, animal companion, Forest Traversing]
[Spells: (0-ring) Druid Tricks, Light Brightness Skill; (1-ring) Oak Stick Technique, entanglement technique, Healing Truth]
[Natural attribute points: 1]
Mu Ying immediately noticed the Experience Value behind the level, it had tripled! Moreover, the limit on using Slaughter Experience had decreased, it could only use 40% of Slaughter Experience.
Many people might cry, as Professional Experience is hard to come by for many.
However, Mu Ying always felt that Professional Experience was more realistic, that it was truly accumulated through cultivation. Slow as it may be, it was very stable, providing a sense of inner peace.
Also, Life Value and Mana Value had also increased.
Although she had always been cautious, etching the words "stay alive" deep into her soul, and hadn't been injured so far, the increase in Life Value meant she could take more hits now, it gave her the illusion that her life had been extended.
Not to mention Mana Value, it's never enough. An additional 10 points was good—it meant she could cast two more 1-ring spells, lasting longer.
She scooped up the rotund Gungun into her arms and stepped out refreshed and invigorated.
The skill of Forest Traversing had already been deeply etched into her mind. Although applying the knowledge from her brain into practice still had some distance to go, it was simpler than learning spells.
She tried for a while and basically mastered the key points.
The messy terrain of the forest and the intricately tangled thorns could no longer stop her. Facing her, they either softened or actively cleared a path for her.
This feeling was indescribable, as if she was wholly accepted by the forest, as if it would not hurt her, nor would her actions cause harm to the forest. This harmonious relationship and the feeling of being well-treated deeply moved her.
She ran around the forest to her heart's content, like a fish that had entered water, unrestrained and utterly joyous.
She didn't know how far she had run in one go; upon stopping, she happily rubbed the fur ball in her arms and excitedly yelled, "From now on, I, Mu Ying, will never need to take the common path in the forest again, haha!"
Yuan Gungun silently shifted his body and buried his head in Mu Ying's embrace, only showing his plump behind.
Today's master was so strange, rubbing it like kneading dough, a bit worried that its fur would be plucked bald on its head—alas, life is tough, the panda sighed!