Not using the cruel plants against those pureblood wizards was Leonard's final act of mercy.
As he reflected on his own kindness, Leonard pulled up the System panel to check his gains, specifically the evolution points he'd earned after wiping out the second wave of pureblood wizards.
[Your Botanical Garden has welcomed a group of guests]
[Total guests: 27, Average points: 60]
[Your Whomping Willow and Chomping Cabbage have perfectly served your guests]
[You have gained Evolution Points: 1620, Current Total: 2330 points]
Evolution Points could be used to evolve the plants in the Botanical Garden. Each plant required fifty points. Mutation evolutions were hereditary, meaning that once a plant underwent a mutation, all the seeds it produced would carry the same mutated traits.
In that regard, it was similar to the Devour effect.
At present, the plants in the Botanical Garden only had two possible mutation paths.
The first was Gigantification, the same mutation type as the Venomous Tentacula. By spending fifty Evolution Points, Leonard could grant any plant this giant mutation.
A larger size undeniably increased a plant's attack power. Take the Whomping Willows, for example. They were already over five meters tall. With the giant mutation added, they could easily grow past ten meters.
Such massive forms reminded Leonard of the enormous stone statue in the ancient ruins behind the vault.
Once size reached a certain threshold, it became an absolute advantage.
The second mutation path was more unusual and was called Symbiosis.
This mutation was the opposite of gigantification. It caused plants to shrink and allowed them to form symbiotic relationships with any living being. While enhancing the host's vitality, the plant could remain hidden close to the body and launch attacks at any moment.
This mutation path was very similar to the abilities of Leonard's Ancient Sprout.
Perhaps it was because Leonard already possessed a giant-mutated Venomous Tentacula and a symbiotic Ancient Sprout that he had access to these two mutation paths.
That also meant that if Leonard could find more mutated plants, he might unlock even more mutation directions in the future.
After fully understanding how Evolution Points worked, Leonard spent one thousand points to evolve some of the plants in his Botanical Garden, leaving him with 1,330 points.
The Chomping Cabbage received the giant mutation, while the other plants with ranged capabilities were given the symbiosis mutation.
These mutations would take time to complete, and Leonard was curious about what kind of power they would gain afterward.
Aside from that, Leonard also found a reward he had nearly overlooked after killing Quirrell.
Because he had fallen asleep right away that night, he hadn't had the chance to check it. It was the Talent Evolution reward obtained after saving the unicorn.
When the unicorn leader first sought him out, Leonard hadn't actually wanted to get involved in that mess.
Unfortunately, the System hit him with a combo and released two missions at the same time.
One was the long-term mission [Deadly Tour], which allowed him to earn Evolution Points by killing visitors through the Botanical Garden.
Leonard hadn't had time to examine this mission's rewards yet, so he didn't know exactly what kind of mutations those Evolution Points would bring.
The other was the temporary mission [Unicorn's Plea], aimed at the unicorn and Quirrell, requiring Leonard to save the unicorn in exchange for enhanced talent abilities.
Leonard had many innate skills. You could even say that every enhancement on his skill tree counted as one.
However, his original innate talent was only a single ability: [Friend of Plants], which ensured he would never be attacked by plants and allowed him to command them in a basic way.
After completing the mission, that talent evolved.
[Temporary Mission: Unicorn's Plea completed]
[Your initial talent has evolved]
[Your Friend of Plants talent has evolved. You have gained a new talent: Friend of Nature]
"Friend of Nature?" Leonard muttered as he read the record, falling into thought.
It was clearly the foundation of all his talents, yet after being enhanced, Leonard felt absolutely nothing. There was no sensation and no visible change at all.
That made him curious. What exactly had this talent evolved into?
Leonard opened the description to take a closer look.
[Friend of Nature: You have gained the friendship of the natural world. You will not be threatened or attacked by any natural lifeform. You have gained the ability to communicate with all things.]
Leonard's first thought was whether wizards counted as natural lifeforms.
Wizards should count, right? If so, did that mean wizarding magic could no longer harm him?
The thought made him itch with anticipation, like his heart was being scratched by a cat's claws.
He wanted to test it.
Leonard turned to Midgard and asked, "Midgard, don't you think I've been a bit different lately?"
"Different?" Midgard looked him up and down. "I don't feel anything. You look the same as always."
"Don't I seem kinder? Friendlier?" Leonard pressed.
"Stop it. Are you sick or something? What are you even talking about?" Midgard said, completely baffled, as she reached out and touched his forehead. "You don't have a fever either."
"Ah…" Leonard frowned in confusion. Was this Friend of Nature useless?
"Forget it. Just cast a spell on me," Leonard said. "Anything is fine." He pointed at himself for emphasis. "A jinx."
"Cast magic on you? A jinx?" Midgard stared at him. "Have you lost your mind?"
"Don't worry about it. Just try it first," Leonard said, as he proactively disabled the Ancient Sprout's protection.
The Ancient Sprout was always in a passive defensive state. If he didn't deactivate it, then regardless of whether the talent worked or not, Midgard wouldn't be able to hit him with magic.
"Fine. You asked for it." Midgard shook her head, raised her wand, and pointed it at Leonard. "Expelliarmus!"
A flash of red light burst out. Leonard forcibly suppressed the urge to dodge and watched as Midgard's Disarming Charm struck him head-on.
A powerful force slammed into him, sending his body flying backward before the surrounding Bitterthorn vines caught him.
"Are you alright?" Midgard rushed over, carefully pulling Leonard free from the Bitterthorn. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," Leonard said, taking a deep breath, frustration creeping into his voice.
It failed.
The so-called Friend of Nature clearly didn't ignore a wizard's magic.
But why?
It made no sense at all.
Was it looking down on wizards? Or did wizards simply not count as creatures of nature?