At the same time, the roar of that horned demon began echoing fiercely throughout the entire Apartment Building.
"What's going on?!"
Whether it was Liu Na and her Halflings on the fifth floor, or the ordinary families hiding on the third and fourth floors.
Or Geng Jun and his Gnolls living on the Second Floor.
They all heard it clearly!
"It... it's a Horned Demon! A powerful demon from the Endless Abyss!"
Halfling Elder Polo immediately rose to his feet, his small body trembling with fear.
His furry little face was filled with undisguised terror.
"A Horned Demon?" Liu Na realized the severity of the situation as well. Barefoot, she stood amid a pile of soil, her delicate face turning pale.
As a druid, she could likewise sense a Chaotic Evil force spreading through the Apartment Building on the Mental Plane.
"That's right. Horned Demons are among the fiercest demons in the Abyss. They are also the main force most favored by Abyssal lords, and the most numerous type of demon." Halfling Elder Polo swallowed, directing the other eleven Halflings to quickly crouch down and hide among the greenery surrounding Liu Na.
Liu Na did the same, squatting barefoot on the soil while clutching two pots of Glimmering Mushrooms that gave off faint light. Her little face was terrified.
"Miss Liu Na, don't be afraid. You are a druid."
Halfling Elder Polo crouched beside Liu Na and comforted her gently. "You should be able to feel it—the breath of nature flowing around us, as if we have entered nature's domain and received the protection of the Will of Nature."
"The protection of... the Will of Nature?"
Fear and anxiety had reddened Liu Na's eyes, and tears were nearly spilling out. "I... I can't feel it!"
And she truly could not feel it.
The soil from the Mount & Blade World had not been polluted by the Necromantic Rules, but it still contained none of the Will of Nature from the Prime Material Plane of the Spirit World.
"No, Miss Liu Na. I am not asking you to fully perceive the Will of Nature. That great existence shattered into countless fragments after the Spirit World shattered, so it is impossible to truly comprehend its former greatness."
The Halfling Elder continued comforting her.
His tone was gentle, but his words were extremely firm. "But if you calm your heart, can't you feel the fragrance of nature within this soil? Its serenity, untouched by the Necromantic Rules, its... its natural aura..."
Though it sounded like comfort, it was more like hypnosis.
A psychological suggestion!
Having lived for more than two hundred years, Halfling Elder Polo knew very well that becoming a professional sometimes required a certain emotional fluctuation.
Especially since Liu Na had already received the druid inheritance and established herself as a Level 1 professional.
Now, all she lacked was an understanding of the Will of Nature within the Spirit World.
This human from another world has never formed a connection with the Will of Nature. She doesn't even know what the Will of Nature of the Spirit World is, so naturally it is extremely difficult for her to comprehend it. Elder Polo sighed inwardly. He understood why Liu Na had remained at Level 1 for so long.
Yet as he listened to the sounds of fighting and demon roars echoing through the corridor outside the door, along with the sulfurous stench drifting through the gap beneath it.
Elder Polo's brow furrowed.
As a Halfling, he could now sense a Chaos Will from the Endless Abyss invading this Apartment Building.
Since when did the Abyss Consciousness establish an anchor here? Elder Polo looked at Liu Na beside him. Her eyes were shut, her little face aggrieved, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes. His small claw reached for his staff, stroking the raised ornament at its tip. After hesitating for a moment, he dejectedly lowered it again.
Elder Polo's feelings were extremely complicated. If I use this Heart of Oak seed, perhaps it can help Liu Na advance. But that would waste this sacred seed, which could one day grow into a Sacred Oak and even give birth to a Will of Nature...
This Heart of Oak seed was the greatest treasure of his Halfling tribe, and he had always carried it with him.
It also represented the most crucial hope for whether his Halfling tribe could return to the peaceful life they once had.
Naturally, Liu Na knew nothing of Halfling Elder Polo's thoughts.
She still sat amid the pile of soil with her eyes closed.
Utterly focused, as if giving it everything she had, she tried to sense that so-called Will of Nature.
"What is the breath of nature... What is the Will of Nature..."
Liu Na's mind seemed to sink somewhere. Slowly, the noise and roars that had filled her ears gradually faded away.
Her entire being truly entered a peculiar state of tranquility.
Buzz!
Within Liu Na's mind, a jade-green speck of light floated there, slowly releasing wave after wave of coolness.
Combined with Liu Na's tranquil state, that cool sensation made her mind grow increasingly blank.
But the two pots of Glimmering Mushrooms in Liu Na's arms suddenly swayed twice.
Fine particles of faintly glowing dust lit up on the mushrooms.
They slowly drifted with the mushrooms' swaying, settling on Liu Na's skin and gradually clinging to it.
"Hm?!" Halfling Elder Polo suddenly widened his eyes at the sight.
His heartbeat sped up slightly.
Ecstasy filled his eyes. "The Power of Nature within the Glimmering Mushrooms has been stirred by Liu Na!?"
This had never happened before!
Buzz!
Within Liu Na's mind, the green speck of light released an even cooler sensation that spread throughout her entire body.
The Glimmering Mushrooms, which had only swayed slightly before, now began scattering more glowing dust—mushroom spores—over the fresh soil around Liu Na, soil that had never been polluted by the Necromantic Rules. Within an incredibly short time, visible to the naked eye, they took root and bloomed into brand-new Glimmering Mushrooms!
Although these newly born Glimmering Mushrooms were tiny.
They were.
Genuine Glimmering Mushrooms!
And when these Glimmering Mushrooms grew in that soil, a strange green glow, hazy and almost imperceptible like an illusion, quietly manifested for an instant.
"The breath of nature!" Halfling Elder Polo was even more delighted.
But what delighted him even more was yet to come!
Waves of cool green light visibly flashed across Liu Na's body, while a peculiar rhythm rippled around her.
When Liu Na's closed eyes slowly opened, emerald light appeared within them.
Her black eyes now looked as though she wore green contact lenses, moist and verdant like the purest emeralds!
Anyone who looked into her eyes would feel a sense of quiet peace arise in their heart.
"So... this is the breath of nature."
Liu Na unconsciously raised her hand. Her slender fingers were pale and tender as she murmured, "So... this is the power of a level 2 druid."
A faint point of green light appeared in her hand.
Then those lights began to gather.
In the end, like a tiny old-fashioned Light Bulb, it gently released a green glow as it floated in Liu Na's palm, illuminating the soil around her, which was already covered in many Glimmering Mushrooms.
Then, under the delighted gazes of all twelve Halflings, including Elder Polo, the Glimmering Mushrooms, which had been about the size of beans, slowly seemed to grow another size under the green light. Even their mycelia began intertwining, completely occupying all the soil!
"Miss Liu Na, congratulations! You have successfully advanced to a level 2 druid!" Elder Polo's voice trembled with excitement.