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The potent medicinal power of the Astra Vine coursed through every inch of Ethan's DNA. A warm, invigorating current flowed through his every Aura Channel, making him feel exceptionally comfortable, as if his entire being was being renewed. Even though it was a hot summer day, this internal feeling was a bit too intense, and his head was soon covered in beads of sweat from the sheer concentration of energy.
Very quickly, the vast well of medicinal power was completely digested by his system, aided by his transformative abilities. Ethan's psionic rank shot up as if he were riding a rocket, directly blasting past the bottleneck of Level Seven, reaching Level Eight, and even advancing a large chunk beyond that—about forty percent of the way towards the next level. It could be said that he had taken a huge, monumental step towards reaching Level Nine.
You have to know, it had only been a little over a month since the summer vacation had started. By the time school began again and other students were celebrating reaching Level Four or Five, he would probably already be well on his way to reaching Rank Two.
Such a cliff-like gap! This was the undeniable difference between having access to top-tier resources and not having them. He loved it. Absolutely loved it.
After finishing his breakthrough and consolidating his new power, Ethan immediately checked the Omnitrix for the new alien hero he had obtained upon reaching the watershed of Level Seven. He focused, and a new silhouette appeared on the dial. "A perception-type alien hero," he thought, analyzing the data flooding his mind. "Not bad at all. This will be incredibly effective against hidden or stealthy enemies." Ethan was still quite satisfied with this new alien hero. After all, he knew there were times when one's eyes couldn't see everything, and at those crucial times, a strong, specialized perception was needed.
"Alright," Ethan said, de-transforming and turning to his friends, "I'm done. It's your turn next."
The two of them took their own pieces of the Astra Vine, sat down, and began to channel their Aura, preparing to refine the potent medicinal power. To be on the safe side while they were vulnerable, Ethan transformed back into Wildvine. He grew a large number of thick, sturdy vines from his body. They intertwined with each other, weaving and growing until they eventually formed a unique-looking, large, hollow tree that completely enveloped Marcus and Seraphina inside, protecting them from sight and the elements.
Then, while he waited, Ethan wanted to use Wildvine's connection to the surrounding plants to obtain information from afar, but instead, he immediately sensed waves of sorrowful and angry emotions directed at him from the local flora. This feeling… After carefully sensing it for a while, Ethan understood. It turned out to be because they had harvested the sentient Astra Vine, which had angered these surrounding plants.
One must know, plants also have feelings, a collective consciousness of a sort; it's just that most humans, without the proper means, haven't discovered it yet. Now, because they had harmed their unique and powerful companion, these plants had begun to resent him, projecting their hostility.
"Hmph!" Ethan also had a temper. Hearing the resentful emotions coming from the surrounding plants, he also became very angry. Although it was true that he had effectively killed and eaten the Astra Vine, this world was just like this. If you don't have the ability to resist, you can only be at the mercy of others. Wasn't the invasion of Earth by the monstrous beasts back then the exact same principle on a planetary scale?
To protect oneself, one must have the ability to fight back. The Astra Vine only knew how to wail and plead, but it hadn't arranged any corresponding protective measures for itself. Who could it blame? Natural selection, survival of the fittest. Ethan also wanted to survive, to thrive, in this dangerous new world.
"Tomorrow, they can eat the Astra Vine," he thought grimly, "and tomorrow, a powerful mutated plant monster can also eat them." If such a thing happened, Ethan and his friends would definitely fight back with all their might. No matter what, they would ensure that they themselves would live on. So Ethan didn't feel any real guilt. If you want to blame something, blame this brutal world!
Hearing the surrounding plants continuously sending out these resentful roars, Ethan's temper also flared up. In my Wildvine form, he thought with a surge of dominance, I'm equivalent to a Rank One, Level Nine high-level plant-type monster that possesses a clear, human-level consciousness. You common plants that don't even have a psionic rank, you dare to act so presumptuously before me!
Ethan instantly released his "Plant Magnetic Field," a powerful psionic aura unique to Wildvine. The strong, dominating mental pressure washed over the area, making the surrounding plants almost unable to breathe, their leaves drooping in submission. At this moment, Ethan could no longer sense their resentful emotions. All he could feel now was fear, the primal fear these plants had for him. At this moment, in the collective consciousness of these plants, Ethan, as Wildvine, was like a king overlooking his domain, the undisputed king of these plants.
There was no more resentment in the hearts of the plants. All that was left was fear, reverence, and the instinctual submission to a powerful creature that was a natural part of their existence. But this wasn't over yet. Ethan extended his vines deep into the ground, connecting to every surrounding flower and tree root, and began to absorb their life force directly. In an instant, a large number of the nearest flowers and trees began to wither and turn yellow, their vitality draining away. The remaining living plants hurriedly sent desperate pleas for mercy to Ethan.
Hearing the terrified pleas from the surrounding plants, Ethan stopped his actions. He then used his magnetic field to project a stern thought to them, "Now tell me, are there any other Aura plants like this one nearby!"
The plants transmitted the information of "no," a collective feeling of emptiness in that regard. Hearing the information from the plants, Ethan didn't doubt its authenticity. After all, the intelligence of these common plants was not high, and moreover, they had just been thoroughly frightened by his severe methods. The probability of them lying was very low. And this surrounding area had indeed been scoured by many Beast Hunters over the years. The Astra Vine was just incredibly well-hidden and hadn't been discovered until now.
Ethan didn't push them further. This was an accidental discovery to begin with; being able to find it was already very lucky. This "Plant Magnetic Field" was a new use that Ethan had figured out on a whim. After all, according to the Omnitrix's data, Wildvine belongs to a plant-based lifeform. If converted to a creature of this world, wouldn't that be a plant-type monster? And Ethan himself possessed a human's way of thinking, so in this form, it was equivalent to him already having trained to a very high rank, a plant-type monster that had produced spiritual intelligence.
According to the data he had found online before, high-level plant-type monsters could release a special psionic magnetic field to control lower-level ones, so he had just given it a try. He didn't expect it to actually work so effectively. This magnetic field was also known in some research circles as a plant's mental power field, a special ability that only plant-type monsters with high spiritual intelligence possessed. And just now, Ethan had also used Wildvine's physiology to connect to their roots and absorb their life force. This also led to another surprising discovery. He found that this raw life force could be converted directly into psionic energy.
This psionic energy, he noted, couldn't be used for permanent cultivation or rank breakthroughs, but it could replenish his own psionic energy reserves when they were running low. However, the amount of life force that these common, non-psionic plants could provide was too little. Just now, he had absorbed so much from dozens of them, but all of it combined was not even enough to replenish ten percent of his total psionic energy.
"Perhaps," he thought with a predatory glint in his eye, "I should set my sights on those powerful mutated monsters instead." Just as he was thinking this, a wave of psionic fluctuation suddenly came from within the vine cocoon he had created. "Looks like they're done refining their share."
Ethan retracted the vines, and the figures of Marcus and Seraphina were revealed. Marcus was the first to open his eyes, a grin spreading across his face. "Phew~" he exhaled, "The feeling of being at Level Eight is pretty damn good." He now felt that his body was absolutely overflowing with power.
Not long after, Seraphina also woke up. Although her innate talent was not as high as Marcus's, she had consumed a slightly larger portion of the Astra Vine. That, combined with her diligent training, meant she was also forcefully pushed all the way to Level Eight. She stood up and stretched her body, a look of immense satisfaction on her face. "This trip out into the wild… just this one Astra Vine has been a truly bountiful harvest."
Marcus laughed. "Once the summer vacation is over and school starts, we'll definitely be able to break through to Rank Two. When the other students see our ranks then, their jaws will definitely drop to the floor!" Thinking of this, Marcus could already imagine his classmates' astonished expressions, and a wide, smug smile unconsciously appeared on his face.