A new friend

Kaden playfully spun the staff in his hand as he walked away from the scene of carnage. He could still feel three sets of eyes searing into his back. Despite their obvious animosity—or at best, precarious truces—none of them moved to stop him. He expected the brute to do something stupid but it looks like he was not that stupid after all. 

Smart choice, Kaden thought. He had taken more wounds than he'd cared to admit, but he had no intention of sharing the staff. 

Even though that woman was a blubbering mess at the moment, she was still the moon priestess. There was no need to pity her or mess with her path anymore than he already had.

In fact, Kaden had a feeling he would only be doing her harm if he had been generous right now. It was clear that she had to go through something to unlock her true self and power and he did not want to stand in the way of that.

Not that he did everything to help her. He also had some personal plans for the staff.

After a while, he slowed his stride a fraction, ribs twinging as each breath reminded him that he was no invincible force. Scanning the smoky twilight around him, he found no fresh threats. This was as good a place as any to take a break.

He needed rest. He also needed to heal himself. He sat down and began to center his mind, despite the utter exhaustion gripping him. He might be mentally prepared and determined to power level but that did not mean his body would adapt accordingly.

Kaden grit his teeth and endured the pain. He didn't really need anyone else to heal him. He just needed enough mana and now that he was finally level 15, he should be able to do it. He was, well, 50% sure of it.

After many months of accompanying his former clan leader, he had watched the guy use a total of five skills and he was familiar with all five of them. 

This was why he dared to chose druid class and even dared to accept an unfamiliar hidden class in the druid achetype. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to exploit the edge he currently had.

He pressed a hand over the worst slash across his ribs, wincing as fresh, sticky blood coated his fingers. "All right," he murmured. "Time to see if I paid enough attention all those times…"

The logic was simple. The healing skill was just like Thorn whip or Sanguine Roots. He simply had to do the opposite. Just like how both of those skills stretched outward to drain and injure enemies, he had to invert the flow, turning that synergy inward from the start.

Gradually, he cycled his mana, envisioning the red-tinged roots not bursting from the soil, but sprouting gently within—like coaxing a plant to bloom inside his injuries instead of the ground. Focusing on that mental image and the rune of power, he felt a faint tingle near the edges of torn flesh.

At first, only the barest shimmer of warmth flickered across his ribcage, and he almost lost the thread as agony spiked. Stay with it. Sweat beaded on his brow; his teeth dug into his lower lip. 

Then, like a candle catching flame, something clicked: a slow, creeping sensation of life weaving along his wound. A hush seemed to wash over his senses as he directed that energy carefully, encouraging the mana to seal lacerations and re-knit muscle fibers.

"Hnngh—" He hissed through clenched teeth, a small ring of green glow forming just beneath his palm. The pain didn't vanish, but the sticky warmth of blood flow ebbed, replaced by a steadier, less frantic throb. 

When at last he exhaled, the edges of the slash had drawn closer, forming a fresh scab in place of gaping flesh.

He sagged against the trunk he was leaning on, panting. That… worked. Not perfectly—he was still battered all over, and the deeper cuts would need more attempts. But if he could replicate this process, he would have successfully learned one more skill without the help of the system.

And if he was not wrong, there was a reward waiting for him with that achievement.

One attempt down, more attempts to go. He tried again, this time on a shallower gash on his shoulder. The same flicker of green mana, the same half-blurring of pain into a dull ache. 

Each success bolstered his confidence, even if it drained him further. He simply meditated to recover his mana and once again tried. Slowly he felt a change. But the change was nothing within.

Instead, the change was something that stirred around him. Kaden trembled in shock as he suddenly felt small streams of warm nurturing energy seep into him from the surroundings. More specifically from the trees and plants around him.

The forest was talking to him.