“Finally, leveled up!”
[Level: Lv1 (99/100)] → [Level: Lv2 (0/200)]
Qi Ping stared at his now Level 2 Druid status, his heart swelling with excitent.
After over a month of relentless effort—keeping bees, farming, cultivating spirit herbs, and attuning himself to the forest’s natural rhythms—he had finally reached Level 2!
“Took so long just to grind to Level 2… This wasn’t easy!”
But the hardship had paid off.
With the level-up, the two Druid skills he had been eagerly anticipating were finally available for selection!
[Generating Level 2 Druid Skills…]
[Please choose your class skills…]
[Beastmaster Druid (Choose One): Dominate Beast, Heart of the Wild]
Lv1 Dominate Beast: Force an animal to fight alongside you. (May fail against high-intelligence creatures.)
Lv1 Heart of the Wild: As a Beastmaster Druid, you can awaken the indomitable will and fierce fury within your animal companion, granting them increased morale, attack power, and attack speed. (Active, non-upgradable)
[Jungle Druid (Choose One): Barkskin, Grasping Vine]
Lv1 Barkskin: Consu energy to form a highly defensive, bark-like layer over your skin. (Active, upgradable)
Lv1 Grasping Vine: Consu energy to summon a massive vine to attack enemies. (Active, upgradable)
“Dominate Beast, Heart of the Wild, Barksin, Grasping Vine… Four skills, but only two choices.”
“For the Jungle Druid option, Barksin is the obvious pick. Grasping Vine can be ruled out for now.”
With his Golden Marrow Bees and plans to soon contract a second animal companion, Qi Ping wasn’t lacking in offensive capabilities.
His real weakness lay in his own survivability—his diocre innate talent made rapid personal growth difficult, a flaw he couldn’t ignore. His recent encounter with bandits had driven that point ho.
Right now, staying alive was his top priority. The offensive power of Grasping Vine paled in comparison to his bees, and while its restraining effect was decent, it wasn’t essential.
Barkskin, however, was different. It could be layered with his Wooden Shield Technique, doubling his defenses and significantly boosting his survivability.
“But how should I choose between Dominate Beast and Heart of the Wild?”
These two skills left him torn.
Heart of the Wild was a buff for his animal companions—enhancing their ntal resistance and pushing them into a frenzied state for a burst of power. A versatile skill, useful in any scenario, with even greater value as he gained more companions.
For instance, if his bees were hit with a confusion-type ntal attack or were at a disadvantage, a well-tid Heart of the Wild could turn the tide.
But Dominate Beast was no slouch either—it allowed him to forcibly recruit an animal to fight for him. Against creatures like the Bloodfiend Insects, the success rate would be high.
The downside? The smarter the beast, the higher the chance of failure.
Recent events had also made Qi Ping suspect that a legacy of beast or insect taming might soon erge. If creatures like the Bloodfiend Insects—or worse—appeared, Dominate Beast could be a ga-changer.
In such a scenario, this skill would undoubtedly prove invaluable.
So, both Heart of the Wild and Dominate Beast were tempting.
“Too bad I can only pick one…”
After much deliberation, Qi Ping finally made his choice.
“I’ll go with Heart of the Wild. Dominate Beast is too unreliable with its chance-based chanics.”
He simply didn’t like skills with high uncertainty.
In a ga, he could afford to take risks—death just ant respawning. He could even experint with dominating beasts far stronger than himself. Failure? Just try again.
But now, he only had one life.
Even a 99% success rate wasn’t worth gambling on, let alone the actual odds, which were certainly lower.
Rather than relying on chance, he’d focus on nurturing his animal companions.
His next step was to accelerate the growth of his Glowgrass to 50-year potency, then attempt brewing a Bloodline Mutagen Potion.
His shared talent from the Golden Marrow Bees, Brewing Artisan, would help.
[Brewing Artisan: You possess an acute sensitivity to pollen and certain spirit herbs, allowing you to craft honey with extraordinary effects.]
Looking back, acquiring this talent had been a stroke of luck.
Once the potion was ready, he could begin enhancing his bees. According to the description, the Bloodline Mutagen Potion could elevate a creature’s bloodline by at least one minor tier.
So, the enhanced Golden Marrow Bees would reach high-tier Rank 1 bloodline—possibly even peak-tier with good luck!
Under the effects of Heart of the Wild, their boosted strength should handle most threats.
Compared to the gamble of Dominate Beast, this path was infinitely more stable.
“I choose Heart of the Wild and Barkskin!”
Once decided, he didn’t hesitate.
[Skill selection complete. Generating status panel…]
[Na: Qi Ping]
[Level: Lv2 (0/200)]
[Class: Beastmaster Druid (Primary), Jungle Druid (Secondary)]
[Talents: Animal Companion, Nature’s Affinity]
[Animal Companions: (1/2) Golden Marrow Bees]
[Shared Talent: Brewing Artisan]
[Skills: Lv1 Plant Growth (58/100), Lv1 Beastmaster’s Blessing (8/100), Lv1 Barkskin (0/100)]
[Permanent Skills: Speak with Animals, Befriend Beast, Heart of the Wild]
[You have gained an additional animal companion slot.]
“Not bad!”
Watching his steadily growing stats filled Qi Ping with an indescribable joy and satisfaction.
Every bit of experience gained—whether in level or skills—motivated him further. The more focused and earnest he was in practicing his skills and communing with nature, the easier it beca to gain experience.
He had realized that experience wasn’t earned through mindless repetition, but through genuine comprehension.
And far from finding this frustrating, he preferred it this way. Every gain was the result of his own sincere effort, giving him a profound sense of fulfillnt.
Now at Level 2, Qi Ping didn’t rest on his laurels. If anything, he was even more driven.
Beyond his daily routine of beekeeping, farming, and herb cultivation, he added a new task: mastering Barkskin.
By training with it in combat scenarios, he could both familiarize himself with its applications and level up the skill, strengthening its defensive power.
This survival skill was one he took extrely seriously.
A little over a week later, thanks to his relentless efforts, one stalk of Glowgrass finally reached 50-year potency!
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