⊹ SYSTEM UPDATE ⊹
Sunlight Detected
Dormant Phase Ended
Vital Sap Restored: +0.4
Photosynthesis Cycle: Complete
Passive EXP Accrued: +5 EXP
I wake slower this time.
The light returns, but it feels... muted.
Its warmth touches my leaf, but the sensation barely reaches beneath my surface.
I feel it shimmer at the edges of my awareness—then falter.
Yesterday, I spent everything. All of my Vital Sap.
And now... I feel it.
The burn. Not fire. Not pain. Something emptier. Like I've been hollowed.
My body is slower. My leaf droops despite the sunlight. My vine curls half-heartedly, sluggish from the effort.
I try to stretch, and my core answers with stiffness. Not weakness—but something close.
My sap stirs. Barely.
⊹ SYSTEM CHECK ⊹
Name: ???
Race: Plantae
Species: Seedling (Very Common)
Level: 3
Evolution Tier: 0 – Sproutbound
Status: Rooted
Health: 3
Strength: 2
Agility: 2
Stamina: 2
Vital Sap: 1 / 8
Photosynthesis: +0.4/hr
Mana Conduction: Inactive
Soil Affinity: Mild
Sunlight Exposure: 42%
EXP: 18 / 18
Ability Points: 0
⊹ LEVEL UP ⊹
You have reached Level 4.
Vital Sap Capacity increased: 8
I leveled up. That's what it says. But I don't feel stronger.
I feel… drained.
Yesterday, I poured everything into growing. More stamina. More strength. Even my health.
But there was no warning. No message. No whisper. Nothing to tell me I'd gone too far.
And now, I ache. Not in one place—everywhere.
The sap flows like cold syrup. My mind stirs slower. My reactions are dull.
I did spend it all. Every drop. And the system said nothing.
No warning. No limit. Just silence—until it hurt.
I close the screen. Let the light try again. Let the sap gather.
From now on, I will count more carefully.
Because even here—alone in the soil— growth has a cost.
Maybe the system isn't a friend. Not really.