I Live on the Land in Global Games
Chapter 87 - 86: Natural Comprehension

Chapter 87: Chapter 86: Natural Comprehension

Mu Ying expended a great deal of strength to finally enclose the last bit of the fire circle amidst various disturbances from the withered monsters, only then did she have a moment to step back and check the gains from killing the monsters, and that’s when she noticed something strange.

[You have killed the Withered Branch Monster and gained Slaughter Experience ×2, Professional Experience ×4]

[You have killed the Withered Needle Monster and gained Slaughter Experience ×3, Professional Experience ×6]

[You have killed the Withered Vine Monster and gained Slaughter Experience ×5, Professional Experience ×10]

...

These monsters were not highly intelligent, and naturally did not possess any wealth; the only loot from killing them was Experience.

But the fact that there was Professional Experience in addition to Slaughter Experience surprised Mu Ying.

This was her first time gaining Professional Experience from activities other than plant care, tree planting, and farming, and it was not insignificant.

Thinking of the black aura she saw under the natural sense state, and the damage the withered monsters inflicted on vegetation, Mu Ying suddenly felt that she had previously thought wrongly.

The power of the Druid originated from nature, and although nature was not a personified god, it was still undeniable that the Druid was a Divine Skill profession.

The cultivation of Divine Skill professions is to close the distance with deities, in a bid to harness more power.

All this while, Mu Ying believed that the Druid’s way of cultivation was doing things beneficial to nature like planting trees and farming, then receiving nature’s reciprocation, not much different from a salaryman earning his wage.

In the Druid profession system, there is rarely a strong offensive capability; it seemed like Druid cultivation did not advocate combat.

Now, she suddenly realized, not only was planting trees and farming considered cultivation, but removing harmful elements like the withered forest was also a form of cultivation.

The difference between the two was as significant as aiding a thriving tree to adjust its natural power and saving a tree whose core had been eaten away.

The former was gilding the lily, while the latter was like providing coal in snowy weather.

Both are effective methods, but sometimes the latter has a greater effect.

Eliminating creatures harmful to nature was also a way of protecting it!

So, what kind of creatures are harmful to nature?

And what is nature anyway? Is it just trees, forests, vegetation?

The more Mu Ying pondered, the more questions she had, realizing that she actually knew less about the essence of nature than she had imagined.

She remembered the first time she engaged in professional cultivation when she pulled out that Dodder.

The Dodder parasitized the tree, absorbing nutrients from it, clearly harmful to the tree, but was it really harmful to nature?

Now, her ability to sense nature was even more refined; she could feel a stronger essence of natural power on trees.

The tiny Dodder, though not as favored by nature as the large trees, also radiated a hint of natural power, and it evidently was a part of nature too.

So, was it right to forsake the Dodder with weaker natural power to save the larger tree?

Yet, she had indeed gained Professional Experience from such an act at the time.

Mu Ying was deeply conflicted, yet she did not obsess over needing to find an answer.

It was sufficient to know that her understanding of nature and the Druid profession was still lacking, and she would focus more on contemplating this in the future; with improved strength and perspective, she would surely gain insights.

She wasn’t afraid of not doing well, she feared thinking she was doing well and becoming complacent.

Mu Ying secretly admonished herself.

The dry forest could not withstand the spread of the flames at all, and the fire spread rapidly into the center of the Dead Forest as Mu Ying had hoped, with minimal damage to the trees on the perimeter under her protection.

In the end, the withered monsters, being plant-type monsters, could not withstand the scorching of the intense fire, and their doom was sealed the moment the fire circle was formed.

Mu Ying, staying a bit away from the Dead Forest, was slowly recovering her Mana Value under the protection of the Wolf Pack, occasionally gaining Experience.

Under the state of natural sense, the blackness in the Dead Forest was also becoming sparser.

The fire burned for a day and a night, and nothing unexpected happened; all the dead trees were turned into charred remains.

As a result, she gained 30 points of Slaughter Experience and 95 points of Professional Experience.

Her level 4 experience increased by one-tenth.

Mu Ying meticulously checked the original site of the Dead Forest several times to confirm that the Withered Monsters were indeed dead before she began to practice the Wolf Form of Wild Transformation.

Spending her days among the wolves, she observed their movements and habits, grateful that learning Wild Transformation only required observation and didn’t necessitate her mimicking a wolf’s every move in human form.

Just imagining herself squatting on the ground and walking on all fours, she felt she might die of embarrassment right then and there.

"Ao woo~" Brothers, let’s go find some food!

Da Hui led the adult wolves out to hunt, leaving only a few old wolves to guard the home.

"Ao woo~" Roger that!

"Ao woo~" Today, we’re going after the group of goats down south—they’ve just had a litter of kids, and a few of the older ones are ready to be eaten!

Mu Ying decided to follow along and watch how the Wolf Pack hunted.

She followed behind the Wolf Pack, running towards the south.

As they approached the area where the goats lived, the Wolf Pack quieted down, each of them crouching low and hiding in the brush, quietly awaiting an opportunity.

The goats were also on high alert, clearly harassed more than once, constantly looking around while grazing, and ready to bolt at the slightest sound.

The Wolf Pack was patient enough not to alert the herd of goats, but all this excluded the variable that was Mu Ying.

Although she followed suit by squatting in the brush, she obviously lacked the Wolf Pack’s skill at remaining hidden and was spotted by the herd.

However, the goats did not flee; a few of the kids even ran towards her, inadvertently drawing the whole herd closer to her side of the bush.

In a split second, Da Hui leaped from the brush, sinking his teeth into the leg of an old goat with the rest of the wolves surging forward.

Yet they deliberately spared the young goats, opting for the older ones as prey.

This was because Shi Yin had taught Da Hui and the others the principle of sustainable hunting after learning how to use the internet, ensuring that the goat population wasn’t decimated or driven away by heavy losses.

One old goat with a broken leg watched in despair as the rest of the herd escaped, soon to be met by the bloody jaws of the Wolf Pack.

Mu Ying silently watched all this, feeling uneasy inside; her interest in hunting completely faded. It was her affinity for animals that had attracted the goats, creating the opportunity for Da Hui and the others to seize them.

The herd that sought to get close to her was killed by her companion, the Wolf Pack.

Hunting was the Wolf Pack’s nature; they weren’t wrong. The goats were vulnerable and not to blame either.

Why did she feel guilt and reluctance? Was she wrong?

No, she wasn’t wrong either. The survival of the fittest is one of the natural laws; to save or not to save was her choice, not her obligation.

Natural laws? Choice?

Mu Ying suddenly had a revelation—wolves hunting goats was a natural law, just as the Dodder parasitizing trees was a natural law.

On a micro level, the Dodder’s natural power indeed wasn’t as robust as that of the trees. Choosing trees was justifiable, as they retained more natural power.

On a grand scale, nature wouldn’t suffer for the death of a single plant or flower; birth, aging, sickness, and death were also natural laws. Humans could die, and so could plants and animals.

What was the meaning of a Druid’s cultivation then?