Chapter 2: Vitality

The first sign of the Black Tide’s arrival was the sudden onset of relentless torrential rain on the planet. The rainwater accumulated continuously, infused with strange energies that gradually intensified until eventually, the entire planet was submerged. The core of the planet was swallowed, turning into the waters of the Black Tide, which then spread outward to neighboring celestial bodies.

This information had been obtained by the native civilization only after reaching a certain level of advancement, learning about it from other civilizations in the cosmos. To escape the Black Tide’s effects, they had already evacuated the planet in advance. Those who had not yet left were advised to head toward the planet’s center, where a means of departure had been prepared.

“This incessant rain—isn’t this exactly the sign of the Black Tide beginning? And where exactly is the center of this planet? The unknown creatures never said,” Han Ning suddenly thought.

At that moment, it occurred to him: if most of the land was submerged by the rain, wouldn’t a boat be necessary to navigate? If other people who had crossed over here also knew this, then boats would become an extremely valuable resource.

With this realization, Han Ning’s expression became sharp. Yet he frowned again. Although the city he was in, Egret City, was a coastal city with docks and shipyards, and thus certainly had boats, the streets were now infested with terrifying monsters. To access the docks or shipyards, one would need the strength to fend off those beasts.

Thinking this through, Han Ning felt the threat of the Black Tide was still somewhat distant from him. His immediate concern was how to survive amidst the encircling monsters. Otherwise... if he couldn’t find a boat, he’d be dead before anything else.

---

After resting briefly to regain some strength, Han Ning tried using a skill that sounded like it could heal wounds.

“Rejuvenation!”

A faint warm current surged from his palm, covering his injured waist. The pain eased slightly but did not vanish entirely. This skill, it seemed, could only treat surface wounds for now.

He struggled to crawl toward scattered food, tearing open a pack of compressed biscuits and devouring them ravenously. The dry, hard biscuits scraped his throat and were difficult to swallow, but he didn’t care. At this moment, he could have eaten a stone if it meant satiating his hunger.

Only after his stomach’s gnawing hunger eased somewhat did Han Ning lean against the wall and begin carefully examining his druid status panel.

[Class: Novice Druid (Lv1 (1/100))]
[Spirit Power: 4/10]
[Skills: Vine Technique (Novice, 5/100), Rapid Growth (Novice, 1/100), Rejuvenation (Novice, 1/100)]

“It looks like every time I use a skill, it consumes spirit power, and there’s a proficiency system...” Han Ning’s eyes brightened.

---

“If I practice repeatedly, I wonder if I can improve the skill’s effectiveness?”

With this thought, he gritted his teeth and stood up despite the pain, extending his hand toward the empty living room.

“Vine Technique!”

A faint green light appeared in his palm, and a few thin vines sprouted weakly from the cracks in the floor. They swayed feebly before withering away.

[Vine Technique proficiency +1, current 6/100]

“It really works!” Han Ning’s spirits lifted as he continued practicing.

For the next several hours, he repeatedly cast all three skills. When his spirit power was depleted, he rested briefly to let it recover.

As his proficiency increased, the vines grew slightly thicker. The healing effects of Rejuvenation on his waist wound, however, were still minimal.

The skill that gave him the greatest joy was Rapid Growth. When he used it on a nearly withered pothos plant in the kitchen, the plant visibly sprang back to life, its leaves turning lush and green.

“This ability... is incredibly useful!” Han Ning rubbed his hands excitedly. “If I can grow edible vegetables and fruits, I won’t have to worry about food anymore.”

With this in mind, he rummaged through boxes and found some apple seeds leftover from days ago and a few potatoes he had scavenged from the neighboring room. He also brought several empty flowerpots filled with potting soil from the balcony.

“Let’s try the apple first.”

Han Ning carefully planted the apple seeds in soil, held his hands above them, and whispered with hopeful anticipation,

“Rapid Growth!”

A faint green glow flowed from his palms into the soil. At first, nothing happened. Just when he thought it had failed, a tiny green sprout broke through the soil, growing slowly but steadily.

[Rapid Growth proficiency +1, current 3/100]

Han Ning held his breath, watching the sprout intently. It stopped growing when it reached about two centimeters tall—not because the skill failed, but because his spirit power was exhausted.

“Spirit power recovers about one point per hour... and it depends on my physical state; I recover faster when well-fed,” Han Ning noted, looking at his panel.

“So that means I can fully use a skill roughly once every four hours.”

He decided to rest first, waiting for his spirit power to replenish before continuing.

Lying in bed, Han Ning began contemplating a longer-term plan. If he could produce food steadily, half the survival problem would be solved. Next was how to improve his combat abilities to deal with the monsters...

“Knock, knock, knock!”

A faint tapping sound came from the balcony. Han Ning immediately tensed.

---

He tiptoed to the balcony door and peered through the gap in the curtains.

A smaller-sized crocodile lizard lay crouched on the railing of the neighboring balcony, its yellow vertical pupils gleaming dangerously through the rain.

It seemed to have caught a scent and was attempting to leap across the roughly one-meter gap between the two balconies.

“Just the right target to practice on...” Han Ning’s heartbeat quickened.

He checked his spirit power—it had recovered to three points.

As the crocodile lizard successfully climbed onto the balcony railing, Han Ning suddenly drew the curtain open and thrust his hands forward.

This time, the vines summoned were noticeably thicker than before. They coiled around the crocodile lizard’s hind legs like serpents.

The creature growled furiously, struggling to break free.

Han Ning gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead. The vines felt like an extension of his own arms, and he sensed the strange texture of the lizard’s skin as he made contact.

Yet at the same time, the force of the lizard’s struggle transmitted back through the vines and into his arms in a peculiar way.

As the tugging continued, the vines began to strain and snap.

New vines sprouted continuously from cracks in the wall, quickly replacing the damaged ones.

[Vine Technique proficiency +5, current 13/100]
[Druid Growth Progress +1, current 2/100]

“Get down!” Han Ning pressed his hands downward. The vines contracted sharply, flinging the crocodile lizard off the seventh-floor balcony.

A dull thud sounded from below, followed by angry growls that gradually faded into the distance.

“Not bad...” Han Ning wiped his sweat and looked at his palms with satisfaction.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before Vine Technique could truly immobilize those monsters.

“So releasing skills and accumulating proficiency also contributes to druid level progress...” Han Ning realized.

Spirit power spent, Han Ning returned to bed to rest. This time, he slept deeply until hunger in his belly roused him once more.

Outside, the relentless rain still fell, though the sky seemed somewhat brighter—probably noon had just arrived.

Han Ning first checked the flowerpots.

The apple sapling had grown to ten centimeters tall, its leaves lush and abundant.

Even more encouraging, the several potatoes had sprouted tender shoots, growing noticeably faster than the apple sapling.