Something's different.
It's not in the soil. Not in the light.
It's in me.
As the next daylight cycle hums across my body, I feel the change begin.
Not all at once.
It's subtle.
Like roots shifting deeper without being told.
Like sap thickening with purpose.
Like something saying:
You are more than you were yesterday.
Then—
the system speaks.
⊹ SYSTEM UPDATE ⊹
Congratulations.
You have reached Level 1 → Level 2
EXP Threshold Met
Root-Soul Synchronization Improved
+1 Ability Point Gained
Vital Capacity: Slightly Increased
Photosynthesis Rate: Stabilized
Instinct Processing: Calibrating...
I don't know what a "level" really is.
But I feel it.
Like the first stretch after long stillness.
Like… my sap moves easier.
My tendril flexes smoother.
My thoughts aren't so tangled.
And something in the system… waits.
The Ability Store doesn't open again, but I know it's there now.
I don't touch it.
Not yet.
I'm still learning how to listen.
Another cycle passes.
The sun fades, and I enter sleep again.
Not because I want to—but because it's what my body does now.
The warmth thins.
My vine curls in.
The soil hums softly beneath me.
I don't dream.
But I feel patterns forming.
Instincts curling beneath the surface like unopened leaves.
No words.
No vision.
Just shapes of thought.
A root stretches deeper.
Brushes stone.
Recoils.
Then shifts direction—smarter now.
I'm learning.
Not quickly.
But honestly.
And when the light returns,
I know that what I feel isn't just warmth anymore.
It's growth.