Chapter 45: Upgrade to Tier-2 (Bronze Level)
While Bio Armor wasn't as effective as Bio Mech, given Groot's current size, he figured it would only cover his most important parts for now.
However, Ram speculated that once he upgraded Groot to the Bronze Tier or higher, the inherent properties of the Titan Wood tree would manifest, and its talent would evolve towards Bio Mech.
Then he saw another system prompt that appeared before, to save the skill: Shared Consciousness.
[Would you like to preserve Skill: Shared Consciousness, an 'A' Grade skill, by expending 1,000,000 points of Spiritual Power?]
[Yes/No]
"One million points of Spiritual Power? Where am I supposed to get that much?" Ram sputtered, feeling frustrated, looking at his current reserve of spiritual power with only slightly more than a thousand points, there was no way he could save it now.
He didn't even know how long it would take to gather one million points of Spiritual Power.
With no other options and knowing the prompt would only stay for five to ten minutes before disappearing, he reluctantly selected 'no'.
He then looked at the Groot, who was getting along with other wood spirits, upgrading it to Bronze Tier was definitely on the to-do list.
"Upgrading Groot might require 1,000 points of Life Energy or even more. It's impossible with my current reserves. I can only wait till tomorrow morning," Ram pondered.
"However, I should probably upgrade myself first and see if there will be any new changes or unlock new skills once the Spiritual Planter profession reaches Tier 2."
When he evolved Sword Grass, his experience increased by 10%. Now, evolving Groot added another 17%.
Adding the 7% from growing Vitality Mushrooms and Spirit Mushrooms and the 10.4% from earlier, his experience bar totaled about 44.4%.
"Each Mushroom increases my experience by 0.1%, and with my remaining Life Energy of more than 600 points, I can continue growing Vitality Mushrooms until my experience reaches 100%," Ram calculated, feeling confident in his plan.
Ram set Groot loose to play with Thorny and Linger and got down to business.
He retrieved all the mycelia of Vitality Mushrooms and started growing them.
Spirit Mushrooms were out of the question since they required more Life Energy but still only increased his experience by 0.1%.
Ram grinded away, feeling like a happy little farmer looking at the increase in experience, one Vitality Mushroom after another appeared in his hands.
He even grew multiple mushrooms simultaneously.
Once he ran out of mycelia, he used his ability to collect seeds, grew more mushrooms, and collected seeds from them to grow even more.
It was like a mushroom multiplication factory! He then stashed all these mature mushrooms in the system's space, which conveniently allowed an unlimited number of the same items in a single slot.
After a while, though, the whole mushroom assembly line started to feel a bit...well...dull. "Huh," Ram sighed, feeling bored with the repetitive task.
It wasn't until he had grown more than 400 mushrooms that he noticed something strange.
One particular mushroom needed a whopping 27 points of Life Energy to mature – three times more than all the others! Intrigued, he used his Spiritual Eye to get a closer look at this unique little guy. What secrets did it hold?
[ Name: Vitality Mushroom (Mutated)]
[ Species: Fungus]
[ Level: Black Iron (Tier-1)]
[ Quality: Ordinary]
[ Physique: 4]
[ Spirit: 0.1]
[ Description: Mutated Mushroom with very weak consciousness.]
[ Skills:
[Exo Boost]: Vitality Mushroom can release spores that can temporarily enhance the user's Physique. Lasts: 120 seconds. Cooldown: 5 min.
-Movement Speed: Increased by 30%
-Defense: Increased by 50%
-Strength: Increased by 50% points.]
"Interesting," Ram muttered, examining the new skill. "This could come in handy."
However, he stored it separately, he planned to convert it into Wood Spirit, but before doing that he felt he needed to upgrade first as he was only 6% short.
"Okay, back to work," he muttered, continuing to grow more Vitality Mushrooms.
Minutes ticked by as Ram watched his experience bar crawl its way to 99.9%.
"Just one more!" he muttered as he encouraged himself, pushing through the tedium. Soon, he infused the last mushroom needed to hit 100%.
[ Profession: Spiritual Planter Tier-1 ('+')]
When he checked his attribute panel again, a triumphant grin spread across his face as his profession label shimmered, displaying a "+" symbol next to "Spiritual Planter Tier-1."
Clearing his mind of all distractions, he focused on selecting the plus sign with excitement.
Suddenly, he felt his body undergoing a subtle transformation. It was as if invisible shackles binding him had been shattered.
Both his physical fitness and Spirit attributes seemed to have suddenly increased, and he also felt more sensitive to Reiki.
Before, Reiki was just a vague sense, but now his perception was becoming more and more apparent to Reiki, almost visible to the naked eye.
While he couldn't see it directly, he could feel its flow more accurately than before.
This newfound sensitivity extended to the plants around him, increasing his Plant Affinity, and allowing him to slightly feel the amounts of Life Energy and Spiritual Power each plant around him had.
Ram stood still, feeling a comfortable sensation throughout his entire body.
From his skin to his flesh and blood, from his bones to his internal organs, tens of trillions of cells in his body were nourished by energy, becoming stronger and more powerful. Each part of him was enhancing its functions, climbing step by step towards a higher level of life.
He closed his eyes and whispered to himself, "This is the evolution of life!" Each evolution was a qualitative leap in the essence of life, reaching a higher level.
According to the division standard of the Dawn Federation, this was only a promotion from the first order to the second order, and it was still in its infancy.
But this feeling of self-ascension made Ram extremely satisfied, both physically and psychologically.
He knew he would never forget this moment for the rest of his life and would tirelessly pursue this state in the future.
"There's nothing cooler than this!" Ram thought, immersed in the sensation. A few minutes later, the evolution was over.
It was short but unforgettable. The information on his attribute panel is updated.
[ Name: Ram]
[Age: 22/81]
[ Profession: Spiritual Planter Tier-2 (0%)]
[ Health: 100/100 (+17.3)]
[ Spiritual Power: 100/100 (+112.1) ]
[ Physique 8.97 ]
[ Spirit 14.20 ]
[ Talent:
- Recovery(unique): passively recovers 1% of max health and Spiritual power every minute.]
"Finally!" Ram cheered, feeling a rush of satisfaction.
There was no system prompt or anything indicating his upgrade, but he could clearly feel it. He was now a Tier-2 Spiritual Planter.
I tagged this book, come and support me with Power Stones!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone