《Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.》 Chapter 1. Eternal Vows in the Twilight of Reality. "Why are you doing this?" A woman was screaming at a tree, her form flickering with infinite colors. "This doesn''t make any sense!" Her anguished tone and gestures echoed in the fabric of the Universe as just a wave of her hand created ripples through reality. "Why must you be so ruthless and forget our promise!?" This person was talking to a tree so big that the planets didn''t compare. "The only outcome of this is pure chaos! Nothing is for sure. IT''S A HAREBRAINED GAMBLE!" She was talking to a tree so huge that the stars didn''t compare. "If you follow through, the heavenly layers will be destroyed!" A tree with galaxies interlocking around its roots and with the Universe resting below its gargantuan canopy. "Galaxies will die out, killing life throughout the Universe!" A tree that the speaker could "see" only because of her power was so vast that few could even fathom challenging them. "The fabric of reality will collapse! And your strength will disappear!" However, even with the clearly desperate pleas and anxious voice, the tree that expanded throughout the Universe continued to crack, its iridescent sap flowing through the bark and creating stars just with the leaking energy. Even its "blood" broke the laws of physics as if said laws were not something natural but something it controlled. Something it was made out of. Something stronger than a World tree. The one and only Universal Tree. The woman speaking cried in the last moments of their time, desperately asking in incomprehension and confusion, surrounded by agony and despair. "WHY ARE YOU KILLING YOURSELF!? YOUR FALL WILL ONLY LEAD TO THE DESTRUCTION OF LIFE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COSMOS!" Knowing that her screams didn''t appear to reach it, her voice lowered, becoming heartbreaking and low, sounding like an anguished but muffled plea of a person losing all that mattered to them. "If you kill yourself, I won''t be able to continue living with you for eternity¡­" However, there was no answer. The only "sound" that reached them was the sound of the dying Tree. The eerie sound of a collapsing Universe. Distraught, the powerful woman cried. "Why won''t you speak to me¡­" The fabric of reality cracked, creating voids that swallowed galaxies and every kind of celestial object. The anguish of the female reached a heartbreaking point, making her sight blur with the tears that accumulated on her eyelids. And when her heart was about to break and collapse like fragile glass. When she thought she couldn''t bear the sadness accumulating in her heart, a palm-sized leaf fell onto her hand. The humanoid woman looked at the ethereally beautiful golden leaf surrounded by an iridescent glow, and the water that accumulated in her eyes flowed, spilling her tears down her cheeks and making them fall onto it. She brought the leaf close to her chest with utmost care, hugging it tenderly. ''I see¡­'' If anybody from the collapsing Universe saw the current state of the previously thought absolute being, it would''ve made them incredulous of their reality. Holding the leaf dear and close to her chest, the woman poured her energy into it so gently, so carefully, so lovingly as if blowing at it would make it scatter like dust, allowing her presence to be imprinted in it. "If life thrives again in the future, I swear I''ll find you. This time, I''ll teach you from the start¡­ I''ll not leave you to develop and be influenced by anything. I''ll teach you, even if you are just a normal tree¡­" "That I, Stellar Devastation, can support you." "That I, Celestial Slaughter Goddess, will stay by your side no matter what." "That even if you are a small seed, my heart will only beat for you." "That I¡­" The woman smiled through her tears and swore with her very existence, "Chaosara Veilithra can love you." In the next instant, the Universe around the gargantuan Tree collapsed, and reality crumbled together with the death of the incomprehensively vast arboreal being. As the collapsing reality destroyed the all-powerful Goddess talking to the tree, it heard an ethereally tender and soothing voice. A voice that permeated the fundamental fabric of creation with such gentleness that the Goddess, who once only found solace in slaughter, felt her entire being embraced by the Tree''s presence. "I''ll be waiting. As always." The Goddess''s eyes opened wide while tears poured faster as a smile that could eclipse the Sun and the Moon with her beauty appeared on her face. "I love you, Celestia." And then, the void consumed everything connected to the Tree and further beyond in a cataclysmic disaster that erased life from creation. Nothing survived. Not Galaxies. Not Stars. Not planets. Nothing. With the death of the Universal Tree, everything was destroyed and grounded to the fundamental energies. With the destruction of everything, an era of darkness began. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. With nothing being born. With nothing dying. The concept of time, space, or reality did not make sense, as even an eon was nothing but a droplet of the vast river of time that flowed. The death of the Tree led to the collapse of the Universe. The only thing left was an infinite ocean of stilled energies that couldn''t interact, as if something had forced them to a standstill. However, while life was incomparably fragile, at the same time, it was incomparably resilient. The stale energy might not have moved for a trillion years. It might not have flowed for a million times more. Yet, within such a still Universe, "how much time" mattered not, as what mattered was that "It could happen." And with a probability existing in an infinite river of time, "something" was bound to happen. Thus, after so many years that quantifying it would be redundant, something moved. The movement was created by a coincidence of a particle transforming into a new type of energy. And with that single spark, the thing that kept everything stale broke. It was a movement so small that a mortal would not even feel it, yet a ripple effect was created. The energy shifted, reactions occurred, and particles bonded, creating new and interesting energies called Aether, Phoer, and Anima. That single spark erased eternal darkness as energy combusted the void, exploding in a surge of matter, allowing time, space, and reality to flow again. At first, there wasn''t much, and life was nowhere to be seen. However, with "something" now existing, it was just a matter of time. Years went by, which gave birth to galaxies, star systems, and planets. And on a remote planet, a spark of life appeared. In another one, another spark. Throughout existence, the cogs of Fate finally began turning, leading the world to a new era. However, what the creatures of this new Universe gained was much more than what they would expect. Years passed, and the strength of individuals flourished. And in this new thriving era, on a planet far away from conflicts, a beautiful blue and green world, a family of two just welcomed a new life. The little child had gorgeous orange eyes, looking like a gentle but passionate fire, even from the moment she was born. Her parents smiled lovingly, and her mother, drenched in sweat because of the hard birth, spoke. "Oh, my baby, you are so beautiful. You will be called, Cinderielle." The man looked at the green-haired woman with a smile. "Have you checked her gender?" The woman blinked, tired, looking at her brown-haired husband. "Huh? Didn''t the flower shaman say that she was going to be a girl?" The man laughed softly, caressing her sweaty face. "Silly, it''s just to make sure." The woman smiled and gently opened the cloth wrapped around Cinderielle. Both parents looked down, and their expressions froze in bewilderment. "Huh?" At the same time as Cinderielle, six other children were born in different parts of the Universe, and all their parents had similar expressions when looking at their gender. Furthermore, when these seven children were born, someone opened her eyes in an obscure part of the Universe, illuminating her surroundings with kaleidoscopic lights. ''What''s this feeling?'' *** *** *** A few years after Cinderielle''s birth, her family of three was shopping in the city. The two parents held the hands of a little girl with orange eyes and fiery hair. The city''s architecture they walked in was mixed with natural materials like vines, trunks, and other similar nature-like shapes. There were even shops that were built inside a very wide but not too tall tree. The people walking on the street had human forms, but looking closely, many weren''t such. While humans were the most abundant race, the second most abundant intelligent race and the most revered were those who descended from flora, not animals. They were called Sylvans. So, besides the usual humans, you could see a woman with rare pink hair and flowers naturally blooming on her head. Maybe, when looking right, there was another woman with beautiful ocean-blue colored eyes and hair, releasing a mint-like natural scent a human would never have. What was strange, however, was that every single humanoid with these extraordinary features was a female. Or at least, they had an outward female figure. Other than the people, even the shops, streets, buildings, and even the shape of the clothes and instruments used were reminiscent of flowers or trees. It was clear that nature was deeply intertwined with the cultural development of this place. If that wasn''t enough, in the middle of the large city, a tree whose canopy covered a significant part of the place was visible from everywhere. If one looked closely at the twisting trunk of the tree and the way the upper branches spread, one would be able to see that it had a very light resemblance to a female figure raising her arms. But, while it resembled the figure of a woman, you could easily distinguish that it was a tree. The child of the family was curious because she felt that the tree was gorgeous and asked, having learned to speak not long ago. "Mom, why is that big tree there?" The woman smiled, looking at it with reverence. "That''s called a World Tree, Cinder. They are your and my ancestors, and they have intelligence, unlike normal trees. Their lifespans are very, very long, and their strength is high, although it varies a lot." Cinderielle looked at it with interest as she walked with her parents through the streets covered in smooth rock slabs. The child was clever and realized that her mother didn''t mention her father. "What about dad?" The mother smiled. "Your father, unlike us, is a human, not a sylvan, love. His ancestry comes from animals, not plants." The child looked at her father and continued asking curiously. "Which animal, Dad?" The father answered with a smile. "Well, most of the humans come from the same animals, which are primates. However, there are a few races that come from other ancestries. Our World has people from many different places, Cinder." Society appeared backward because there were instruments that avoided the necessity of technological advancement. Of course, it didn''t mean that technology didn''t exist. It was just used for other things that were not miscellaneous tasks. And the thing that allowed them to have ease in the miscellaneous tasks was this. [You''ve witnessed the for the first time. Your stat will increase by 100 for the next three hours.] A message popped in Cinderielle''s retina. The child had heard from her parents, and this wasn''t the first time in her life, so she smiled widely and said excitedly. "Mom, Dad! I''ve gotten a buff from the World Tree!" The mother laughed. "Right, I forgot that Fortune City gives one to new Sylvans who visit this place. What was it?" Cinderielle spoke. "Um¡­ It says that my Destiny stat will increase by 100 for three hours. What does that mean?" The father lifted his bushy eyebrow. "Oh? So much? That''s worth a few levels. Let''s go to the lottery lot, Cinder. With a higher Destiny, your luck must be good, hahaha." The mother frowned. "Do you want her to gamble? She is still level zero and only five years old." The father waved his hand. "Don''t worry so much; she is just a few years away from awakening the System. Although we can''t see it yet and she can''t gain experience, she might be a little fortune master. After all, hasn''t she been quite lucky since birth?" The mother sighed and relented, silently allowing him to move with Cinderielle to a lottery post. However, she didn''t stop nagging, which the husband accepted with a smile. Meanwhile, Cinderielle kept looking around with interest, her orange eyes observing the surroundings with child-like curiosity. After all, she has lived in something similar to a closed sect for a while, and this was her first time outside. While she walked, something caught her attention. It was something everyone else would have ignored. A very dull, palm-sized, yellow leaf that flowed with the wind. Cinderielle''s heart strangely thumped, making her frown and feel strangely excited. She wanted to run forward, but her parents were grabbing her hands tightly so that she didn''t get lost. "M-Mom! That leaf! Catch that leaf!" Cinderielle tried getting free from her parents'' hands, extremely anxious as she saw the leaf gently flowing away with the wind. Her parents looked at her, and the mother said. "Cinder, stay still. There are many people, and if we let go, you might get lost. Moreover, some bad people try to steal beautiful children like you. You must stay by our side." Cinderielle''s heart squeezed, and the young child, who didn''t know what to do with her emotions, felt like crying. "F-Father, please catch the leaf before it goes away!" The father looked at the place she was looking at and saw more than one leaf flying, so he didn''t really know which one his daughter wanted. He looked at his daughter strangely and then at a nearby roadside stall. "Isn''t that leaf ugly? Look at that shop. Aren''t there beautiful leaf accessories there? Handpicked from very exotic trees on the outskirts of the forest nearby! Do you want to buy one, Cinder?" Unknown anger boiled inside the child, and as tears spilled, Cinderielle shouted. "IT''S NOT UGLY! YOU ARE UGLY! I HATE YOU!" The mother frowned and said sternly. "Cinderielle, do not shout outside!" Cinderielle looked over toward the leaf''s direction, and to her dismay, the leaf had already flown out of her sight. Unable to hold the surging sadness back, she started to wail. Her parents became confused and flustered, not expecting such a big reaction for not getting a simple leaf. To prevent her from crying, they asked her how it looked, found similar leaves, and tried giving them to her. Still, for the rest of that day, Cinderielle didn''t stop crying no matter what her parents did, saying that they were not the correct ones, and wept until she fell asleep from exhaustion. Chapter 2. Tianlian Liu Shu’s Awakening. Sylvans were the evolution of plant life into organic and intelligent life. However, how could a plant, a flower, evolve into a human-like being? The secret to that was in the trees. Some trees were not flora without intelligence. While they normally didn''t communicate, they were much more alive than a human would think. Not to mention their liveliness, trees were even able to have progeny with humanoid races. They evolved in a way different from other normal plant life. Naturally, not all the trees did the same, as such evolution was nothing but a coincidence that happened very long ago and then spread around because of the first "creature-like" tree. So, while trees and Sylvans were related, they were not the same. Moreover, both races were only female, so their mixing was usually impossible. "Usually" being the keyword. However, let''s not get ahead of ourselves. We are here to follow the story of a peculiar tree. One that did not have much more intelligence or potential than others. It, or better put, she was just an ordinary tree that was also relatively short, about one and a half meters tall. A sapling, if you may. This sapling, like every creature in the world, instinctively knew how to use the ingrained system that every living being had. Of course, as a young tree, an ordinary one to boot, it was very slow to make any decision whatsoever. So, since it was born, it continued to be a small level 0 tree. This made its intelligence unable to grow, making its thoughts very simple. ''Today''s sun is very tasty.'' ''Rain! I was thirsty.'' ''Something touched my branch? It''s ticklish.'' ''Ouch! Who is biting my roots?'' These were very simple and straightforward thoughts. Moreover, she had two thoughts a day, three in her enlightened days, and when she had four thoughts, the little sapling would be happy for an entire week. For now, she was not very bright. Of course, compared to a non-sapient tree, she was leagues ahead. And today''s first thought was. ''So hot!'' And a very hot day it was, so much so that the earth around her felt dry and brittle. But, for her, it was just another day, and while she was living her peaceful life as a small tree, she felt a strange aura. Her ability to do so came from our young tree''s only unique ability. One she had gained out of chance. *** Name: --- Race: Salix Babylonica Sapling Titles: : A title that''s gained when a tree gains sapience and evolves, gaining human-like intelligence. : Gained because of a chance encounter. Increase the effectiveness of the Destiny attribute and the Destiny attribute by 1000, giving the user one chance to change their destiny. If the user levels up, instead, it will add ten potential growth points to every attribute. (This title disappears when the user grasps an opportunity or levels up.) Level: 0 Experience: (0/10) Aether Mana Shards: 10/10 Phoer Body Shards: 10/10 Anima Energy Shards: 10/10 Attributes: Aether (1), Physique (1), Anima (1), Willpower (1), Destiny (1001) Talents: - Passive Skill: - Accumulated Experience: 120 *** Our nameless tree looked at this system with a blank mind. She knew that if she wanted to become stronger, she needed to use the accumulated experience points and increase her level. It was something like an instinct. However, whenever she wanted to do so, her "gaze" landed on the Unique title, and she felt like not doing so. With her limited intellect, she somehow knew that she would lose a precious chance if she used the experience. She might not be a very intelligent tree, but she was a perceptive one, at least. While waiting for the opportunity, time had passed until today. A very dim and withered yellow leaf was flying through the forest where our sapling was. The yellow leaf moved with the breeze, never falling down, and moved toward one of the giant trees in the forest. This tree was far away from our tree, but it was at least 30 meters in height. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Its presence was strong enough for even our small tree to feel it. However, while the leaf floated toward that tree, a passing bird had a stroke because of the heat and fell from the sky. While falling, the bird coincidentally struck the leaf and fell with it. The leaf began moving, trying to slip from below the bird, showing that it was not a normal leaf. However, it couldn''t really move, and both the leaf and the bird fell on top of a young tree. Our young tree. [An opportunity has arrived. Would you like to take it or wait longer?] The young tree''s floating thoughts focused on the message. She didn''t understand it, but she focused on it. [Would you like to take this opportunity? Yes or no?] The tree remained silent, not knowing what to do. [Yes or no?] The voice asked again, and the sapling decided to use her second thought of the day to answer. ''Yes.'' And when she thought that, a massive storm of energies surrounded the young sapling. [You''ve absorbed- Error. The user is too weak to absorb it.] [Error adjustment title cushions the impact and locks inheritance away.] [Successful! Using a fraction of the inheritance.] [Race Potential Improved.] [Growth Potential Improved.] [Innate Affinities Unlocked.] [Innate Affinities Improved.] [New Paths of Evolution acquired.] [New Energy Method Acquired.] [Hidden attribute: Intelligence increased.] [Nine New Hidden Titles Acquired!] [The user is too weak to benefit from the titles, and they will be locked under certain conditions to activate them. As hidden titles, they will not appear until the user clears the conditions.] [Level up!] [Three New skills acquired.] [Four New passive skill acquired.] After the notifications flooded the sapling, massive streams of energy entered her. The tree''s branches swayed, the bark cracked under the growth pressure, and the entire aura around the little tree transformed. Before, while she was a sentient tree, even if someone looked at her, they would never notice. However, now, it was completely different. After a few hours, the transformation finally ended, and our tree could finally regain control over herself. While the tree was confused about the sudden clarity in her thoughts and many other aspects, she heard a woman''s voice. [Little one, the path ahead is difficult, but I hope you don''t ignore those close and sincere to you in search for greater strength.] The voice was nature-like, so gentle, so tender, so soft and beautiful that the small sapling''s leaves rustled with happiness, and she completely forgot about her confused self. ''She sounds so nice~.'' She felt like the voice came from someone very close to her. Someone akin to a parental figure. However, to her sadness, there was only one sentence, and the voice didn''t appear again. Still, our young sapling would remember this sentence and keep it in her soul. ''Those close to me are important!'' That''s what the tree learned. After that, curious, the sapling used one of a tree''s innate abilities to look at herself. She was instantly flabbergasted. While her height didn''t increase much, just two meters tall, her trunk had become much thicker and also changed forms. Before, her trunk was quite flimsy, and someone''s hand could easily grab it. Even her branches, from being delicate and something that would break from a strong gale, became sturdier and looked much more difficult to damage while maintaining their willow-like slim nature. Before, she had an ordinary tree trunk, but now, it had transformed and appeared strangely similar to a woman''s torso, lifting her arms to hold the canopy, surrounded by beautiful willow branches cascading down. The bark was rough, but it had smoothened out compared to before. Of course, the silhouette was unclear, and only after squinting and maybe being a bit drunk would one discern a woman''s shape out of her tree trunk, but it was certainly there. Not many trees had this quality, even between the intelligent ones. It was a characteristic unique to one type of tree. World Trees. Trees that could grow beyond normal bounds that limited a tree. The young sapling thought for a second and opened the system. *** Name: Tianlian Liu Shu Titles: : A title that''s gained when a tree gains sapience and evolves, gaining human-like intelligence. : A tree that can grow to be an overlord, admired by many, hated by some. Hidden titles: [9] Race: World Tree. Energy Method: Basic World Energy Gathering (Gathers experience points*Level per day.) Level: 1 [0/150] Aether Mana Shards: 113/113 (+4,1/Hour) Phoer Body Shards: 176/176 (+6,4/Hour) Anima Energy Shards: 120/120 (+4,4/Hour) Attributes: Aether 9 (7+2), Physique 13 (9+4), Anima 10 (8+2), Willpower 10 (10), Destiny 100 (100). Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (25), Physique Refinement (35), Anima Affinity (20). Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (23), Physique Resistance (29), Spiritual Resistance (24), Mental Resistance (26) Talents: : Stimulates the rapid growth of nearby flora, creating vibrant and mesmerizing plant life. Use consumes Aether Mana and Anima Energy. : Produces small, magical fruits with unique and beneficial properties. It uses Anima Energy and Aether Mana to produce. Depending on the strength of the fruits, there is a chance that they will also need Phoer. : The World Tree is from a willow family, with characteristic long but thin branches. She can use Aether Mana to move them and strike a target. Range 5 meters. Passive Skill: : A core has formed in the middle of the Tree. As long as the core doesn''t receive heavy damage, the tree can recover from any external injury. Depending on the damage, it will take longer. Innate Regeneration Increased, Innate Resistances increased, and Innate Affinities increased. : You can see as far as your roots extend. : You can understand all languages as long as they are complex enough to be considered a language by the system. : Attracts small animals and insects to the area, fostering a harmonious ecosystem. Accumulated Experience: 0 *** The tree, or rather Tianlian Liu Shu, looked at the system window with incomprehension. She thought that she was seeing wrong. ''So many numbers!'' Well, although her intelligence had increased, she wasn''t the brightest girl yet. At the end of the day, she was a tree. Liu Shu kept looking at her system status for a while, but suddenly, she realized something terrible. ''Ah! My accumulated experience is zero again!'' The poor thing would be crying if she had eyes. Her sorrow was expressed by the gloomy swaying of her long branches. ''It took me so much to accumulate 120 points¡­'' Suddenly, she stopped thinking, or rather, she realized that she was thinking too much. ''Is today the bright day? Maybe because the Sun is so strong~.'' Feeling happy that her thoughts were a bit more complex, her gloomy mood disappeared, and Liu Shu inspected her talents. Talents were abilities a creature could activate with their will and inner energy. The energy took three primary forms: Aether, Phoer, and Anima. While Aether and Anima were used to activate most talents, Phoer was tied to the vitality of a creature. If Aether reached zero, the creature would faint until more than 50% of the [Aether Mana] was restored. If Anima reached zero, the creature would suffer damage to the soul, which affected potential if the damage was too extensive. Finally, if the Phoer reached zero, the being would die. Phoer was the vitality of every creature, where the physical strength, reflexes, and other physical qualities came from. Of course, besides being killed, it was difficult for Phoer to reach zero. Aging was also the process of Phoer leaving the body, reducing the maximum Phoer a person could store inside. The more Phoer a creature had, the longer it would live, and the later the aging process would begin. Anima and Aether also had a hand in this, but their effects were less noticeable. Usually, someone who focuses on body development and increases their Phoer would live longer than someone who focuses on Aether. Aether and Anima were two energies that had fantastical abilities. Aether could twist reality and summon elemental magic and many other things, while Anima could be used to summon creatures and tamper with souls. Our Liu Shu, who didn''t know much about this, was thinking about what to do with her new abilities and how to use them. Chapter 3. First Fight! A week had gone by since our tree reached level one. During this week, Tianlian Liu Shu did nothing much but relish in her newfound complex thoughts. She would spend her days happily while thinking about many things. Moreover, she was accompanied by many more beings than before. A beautiful pair of butterflies were resting on one of her branches while a small bird chirped as it rested on another. Around her, she could see small crickets like rodents and a few other tinier little bugs flying around her. This was all thanks to ; these little animals were attracted by her aura, accompanying our previous solitary tree. While Liu Shu happily looked around her, a message entered her ear. [ has attracted a . Proficiency increased by 5. (103/100)] [ has leveled up!] : Attracts small animals and insects to the area, fostering a harmonious ecosystem. (F- Rank level 2 [3/200]) Liu Shu smiled happily. ''Another friend!'' She used to look over and saw a much bigger creature than what she had seen until now. With a brown-furred body, a peculiarly flat and wide tail, and a rounded body, the beaver slowly ambled toward our tree, looking at it as if it were a treasure. ''So big!'' The beaver was enormous for Liu Shu, who was accustomed to seeing small birds and rodents. ''Hm¡­ Why is it looking at me like that?'' As she observed the new creature that slowly approached with a strange glint in its eyes, she saw a few of the other animals around her move away, making her a bit sad. ''Oh¡­ Why are they leaving?'' [System Hint: Thanks to your racial trait, you can focus on creatures to see their system stats. (If the level or strength difference is too big, you won''t be able to see anything, and the other party might discover your attempt).] Liu Shu''s branches swayed as she looked at the new set of words that appeared in her mind. ''Focus? How do I do that?'' Sadly, another message never came. Liu Shu looked intently at the approaching beaver, and when it was about 3 meters away, something suddenly appeared in her mind. *** Name: --- Titles: : Gained after felling 100 trees. Race: River Beaver. Energy Method: --- Level: 5 [254/1470] Aether Mana Shards: 107/107 Phoer Body Shards: 345/345 Anima Energy Shards: 110/110 Attributes: Aether (2), Physique (6), Anima (2), Willpower (5), Destiny (10) Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (7), Physique Refinement (15), Anima Affinity (10) Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (4), Physique Resistance (7), Spiritual Resistance (4), Mental Resistance (6) Talents: : Gnaw on a tree and decrease its physical resistance by 10%. Passive: : Innately know how to build a dam and a nest in a river. *** Our Liu Shu looked at it and blinked, curious. ''Oh, the numbers are different from mine!'' Her "eyes" slowly looked at the system interface that just appeared, and her slow mind began thinking about what some of those words meant, and by the time the beaver was one meter away from her, she finally understood. ''Tree cutter!?'' Seeing the beaver slowly approach, Liu Shu was terrified. With a teary voice, she began telling it to go away. ''Don''t come close! Bad beaver!'' However, since her words couldn''t be communicated, the beaver approached and reached her trunk''s side, making her feel a chill. ''Wuwuwu, is this how Liu Shu ends?'' While Liu Shu lamented her short life, the beaver opened his mouth and chomped on the side of our tree. Clang! The sound of something biting a very hard material echoed. [A has dealt 1 point of damage to you.] [You''ve dealt 3 points of damage to ] Liu Shu, who was prepared for pain like no other, couldn''t help but become confused when the bite felt very light. Curious, she read the new set of words that appeared in her mind. ''Huh?'' She opened her again and looked at the beaver, which had tears in its eyes as it held its mouth. Liu Shu was naturally confused. ''What happened to the bad beaver?'' The beaver looked in confusion and pain at the trunk, which only had a minor blemish because of its bite. It had never met a trunk as solid as this one. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. While the beaver was level five, and our little tree was only level one, Liu Shu''s natural defense and regeneration were outstanding. Moreover, her Physique attribute was higher than the beaver''s while the physical resistance was also very high, making its attacks deal very little damage to her. The fact that the beaver''s teeth didn''t break when chomping down was the beaver''s good luck that it encountered Liu Shu as a tiny level 1 being. [System Hint: Killing enemies grants experience.] Little Liu Shu looked at those words and pondered. ''Killing?'' [System Hint: Killing an enemy means reducing their Phoer to 0.] Liu Shu received System Hints because of her immaturity as a World Tree. World Trees could be said to be the little darlings of the Universe, so they were aided by the system when their knowledge was lacking in some aspects. While Liu Shu read the system hints, the beaver began attacking her again, making a few red damage numbers to appear. [-1] [-1] [-1] [-1] This time, it was cautious as it gnawed to not damage itself. The World Tree looked at the beaver attacking her and pondered. ''So, killing is ending a creature''s life. It is part of the cycle of life and death.'' The words she read from the system hints gave a fuzzy part of her young mind a clear understanding of the basic principles of the World. While one might think that World Trees would love all life and be generous and forgiving, that was not entirely the case. It was true that most World Trees preferred a non-confrontational approach. However, these trees weren''t revered just because of the benefits they provided to creatures. They were revered because very few could keep their lives when someone provoked a World Tree. Liu Shu''s mind became cold as her willow-like branches moved without wind, and her gaze locked on the beaver biting her trunk. Then, she read one of her skills. : The World Tree is from a willow family, with characteristic long but thin branches. She can use Aether Mana to move them and strike a target. Range 5 meters. Liu Shu focused on this skill and felt the Aether energies rushing along her body and enveloping her branches. The beaver that was biting the trunk suddenly felt its entire being explode with danger signals and wanted to leave, but it was too late. BANG! The tree''s branch was like a metal whip, landing on the back of the beaver with fearsome strength for a level one being. The strike sunk into the beaver''s back, reaching the spine and damaging it greatly. [-50] The beaver''s brain felt light as a massive wave of pain coursed through its body, and the hind legs stopped responding for a second. Meanwhile, Liu Shu looked at the consumption of Aether Mana and saw that only five points were lost. Then, without hesitating a single moment, the willow''s branches began moving with ruthless precision. [-38] [-22] [-71] [-36] [-44] [-68] The sounds of several whip lashes landing on the beaver were heard. The small animal had no chance at resisting the barrage of attacks, and its Phoer plummeted. This continued until a message appeared in Liu Shu''s mind. [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 9 Experience Points.] [System Hint: Different damage values will be shown depending on where the strike lands. Weak Points have a chance at instantly killing a creature.] Liu Shu''s branches stopped moving, and they softened again while the gentle wind that came moved them with a rustling sound. Other than nature''s sounds, the surroundings became silent, returning peace to the young World Tree. Curious, Liu Shu observed the slightly deformed body of the relatively large creature. ''I see. So, this is death. Interesting.'' There was no pity or discomfort in Liu Shu''s heart. The cycle of life and death was part of nature, and as a World Tree, one of the closest beings to nature, death didn''t affect her in the same way it would a human. This didn''t mean she was unafraid or indifferent about death, as she had shown anxiety previously when she thought that the beaver would chop her down. After looking at it for a few seconds, Liu Shu lost interest and observed her surroundings. Seeing that there were no creatures, she became a bit sad. ''Oh¡­ did my hits scare them away?'' Her branches swayed gloomily, showing sadness. However, our little tree was quick to recover from her gloomy mood, and she became cheerful again. ''When will the next little friend come?'' Her eyes landed on the skill and saw that the proficiency had increased. She gave her system page a look. Name: Tianlian Liu Shu Titles: : A title that''s gained when a tree gains sapience and evolves, gaining human-like intelligence. : A tree that can grow to be an overlord, admired by many, hated by some. Hidden titles: [9] Race: World Tree. Energy Method: Basic World Energy Gathering (Gathers experience points*Level per day.) Level: 1 [0/150] Aether Mana Shards: 58/113 (+4.07/Hour) Phoer Body Shards: 169/176 (+6.34/Hour) Anima Energy Shards: 120/120 (+4,32/Hour) Attributes: Aether (7+2), Physique (9+4), Anima (8+2), Willpower (10), Destiny (100) Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (25), Physique Refinement (35), Anima Affinity (20) Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (28), Physique Resistance (48), Spiritual Resistance (35), Mental Resistance (49) Talents: Passive Skill: Accumulated Experience: 16 Seeing the numbers grow, our Liu Shu felt happy. ''I''m growing~.'' She was very laid back about her development, but she was happy with her progress. Since she was just a tree, the concept of using her talents constantly to increase proficiency was not in her mind. After her encounter with the beaver, another three days passed. Thanks to the beaver''s corpse, our Liu Shu had a few new visitors during this time. She saw a few larger-than-usual birds with dark plumage called crows, and the strongest one was even a level 6 crow. The thought of attacking them never crossed her mind. If World Tree were not provoked, they would never attack at will to become stronger. They would grow naturally and slowly. Of course, the attraction of these birds increased her proficiency with skill two entire levels, upgrading it to F- Rank level four. These crows seemed quite comfortable around her, and they had called their friends to set up their nests in nearby, more giant trees. Still, they would swoop down and land on Liu Shu''s branches from time to time, as her aura was very appealing to all creatures. Thinking of something, Liu Shu looked at her skills and observed her skill. ''Fruits¡­ If I create fruits, will these little friends eat them and come often?'' Thinking like that, Liu Shu began moving her Aether Mana and Anima Energy around her body, slowly allowing it to flow toward her branches. [You''ve created .] : A blue flower that blooms with three after germinating for 30 days. : It is a common, seedless berry with a savory taste and good scent. Low-level animals love it, especially birds. It can give one experience point when level 9 and lower creatures consume it. Maximum 3 a day. [System Hint: You can pour one Aether Mana and Anima Energy daily into each flower to reduce the germinating period by ten days.] Lui Shu read everything slowly, absorbing the information, and then felt elated. ''I hope they like my fruits.'' After using 10 Aether Mana and 10 Anima energy, 20 flower buds appeared along the long branches of the World Tree. After that, Liu Shu smoothly controlled the energies in her body and fed each flower with extra energy, making her consume 30 Aether Mana and 30 Anima Energy in total. The flower buds glowed softly and opened at a visible speed, becoming half-opened and gaining their characteristic blue color in just two hours. Liu Shu looked at her skill and saw that she had gained 3 Proficiency Points. Feeling proud and delighted, her branches softly danced, and her aura spread and gently surrounded all the animals and plants around her. Chapter 4. Upgrading Skills! Fraar, The Thornstride. Days were calm for Liu Shu. Her every day consisted of leisurely looking at her surroundings while growing fruits and sometimes using her other skill called . Still, Enchanted Growth was a skill that consumed too much energy, so after she used it the first day and got dizzy after just a few seconds of using it, she never used it again. The consumption of the E+ ranked skill was still too much for a level one being, even if this being was a World Tree. While her days passed, a system hint would arrive from time to time, clarifying a few doubts our little Liu Shu might had. For example, she learned that the power level difference was increasingly vaster as levels increased. Another example was that skills grew in rank whenever they reached level five and capped in proficiency. For example, was level four not long ago, but earlier that day, the skill had grown to Rank F- Level Five with 498/500 proficiency. While looking at that number, Liu Shi was expectant of seeing it grow to another level. Our little tree saw a beetle with a beautiful yellow shell flying and landing on one of her branches with a , and the notification was triggered. [ has attracted a [Level 3 Earth Beetle]. Proficiency increased by 3. (501/500)] [ has reached the maximum level. Spend 15 Experience to increase its tier.] When Liu Shu heard the second message, her mind was filled with surprise. ''I need to spend experience?'' [System Hint: When a skill reaches level 5, it can evolve and increase in Tier. The level will be reset to one, but the effects will go under a qualitative change. Experience needed depends on the tier of the skill. Difficulty in gaining proficiency for the skill will increase.] Liu Shu took her time reading the message and understanding it. After one hour, she finally understood everything. Thoughtful, her branches swayed as. ''Should I do it?'' Her focus changed to the accumulated experience. [Accumulated Experience: 91] During the last few days, a few minor bugs tried to eat her berries before they were mature, so she swatted them with her branches, giving her about two experience points per kill. Then, Liu Shu''s eyes went to her level. [Level 1 (0/150)] Our little tree''s mind slowly moved. ''Should I save for the level-up?'' If she had brows, they would be scrunched to the point of touching. This was the second most arduous decision of her life! For those curious, the most difficult was when she chose not to level up in the past to keep her title. An outstanding achievement for our little tree! As she thought about what to do, the Sun in the sky was about to hide on the horizon. She was a tree, after all, so she took her time. Finally, after much consideration, she chose to use the experience to tier up the talent. Her reasoning was nothing but thinking that since she liked being surrounded by other beings, she might as well upgrade the thing that allowed her to meet all the little animals flocking around her. Our Liu Shu had nothing but time on her hands, so she wasn''t hasty to level up. With that decided, after she gave the daily energy to the flowers growing on her branches, she looked at the little friends that played around her and used the experience. [15 Experience Points consumed. has gone from F- rank to F rank.] : Attracts small animals and insects to the area, fostering a harmonious ecosystem. There is a very small chance of attracting a friendly, bigger animal or insect that will help protect you. Creatures below the F Rank will be affected with much ease. Range 20 meters. When the skill improved, a gentle ripple of energy spread from Liu Shu to about 20 meters around her. The plants, animals, and insects in the surroundings stopped for a second and looked at the two-meter-tall tree, their eyes, even when they didn''t have intelligence, gaining a gleam of gentleness. However, while friendly creatures were attracted, the tree''s aura also drew other types of creatures. A few moments before upgrading the talent, a quadrupedal green beast with a tree-bark-like skin, about one and a half meters long, was leisurely walking in the forest. Because it was getting late, the beast was returning to his dwellings. This beast was a [Level 7 Thornstride]. This kind of creature fed on plants, small animals, and trees. It was a predator that evolved from plants, with an appearance similar to a lizard, with a muscular body and sharp claws that it used to slice trees and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth to pierce into the bark and feed on it. In a World where creatures that evolved from plant life appeared, predators specialized in eating trees were not uncommon. As it walked, the Thornstride suddenly felt a fluctuation to its right. The pupils of the creature shrunk as the scent tempted its stomach. As a level 7 being, it was like a tiny overlord in the nearby zone. Its strength as a predator was higher than most creatures in a small range. Its body shifted directions, and it began walking toward where the tempting aura originated from. Meanwhile, Liu Shu, whose roots were already spread in an area of 15 meters, saw the beast approaching from the foliage. When Liu Shu saw the beast, she focused on it to see its stats. It was something she did often after her encounter with the beaver. Name: Fraar. Titles: : He is the son of the Thornstride Tribe Chief and was personally appointed to be the successor. After the user reaches level 10, this title will be replaced by . : Gained after eating 100 trees of level 3 and above. Damage against Tree beings increased by 5%. Race: Barkskin Thornstride. Energy Method: --- If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Level: 7 [254/1470] Aether Mana Shards: 150/150 Phoer Body Shards: 725/ 725 Anima Energy Shards: 231/231 Attributes: Aether (2), Physique (9), Anima (3), Willpower (7), Destiny (7) Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (7), Physique Refinement (15), Anima Affinity (10) Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (4), Physique Resistance (8), Spiritual Resistance (5), Mental Resistance (7) Talents: : Bite a tree and decrease its physical resistance by 20%. : Slash with the powerful claws. Ignore 10% defense if it is a Tree. Passive: : Your nose is 4 times stronger than usual. You can catch the scent of creatures that would boost your strength if they are five levels lower than you. : Your skin is tough and resistant to slash and piercing damage. Low-level thorns do nothing to you. Reduce those two damage types by 10%. *** Liu Shu saw those numbers and skills and was stunned. This thing had almost seven times her Phoer Body Shards! Thankfully, her attributes were still stronger than its attributes. But with such a strong vitality, Liu Shu felt that if this beast had bad intentions, it would be very difficult for her. She couldn''t help but lament. ''In the end, Liu Shu is not fated to live for long. Why has this bad friend come?'' [System Hint: It''s your fault.] Liu Shu was shocked. ''My fault? How?'' As she thought of these things, the Thornstride had closed the distance, and when he was 10 meters away from Liu Shu, he finally spotted her. The reptilian eyes of the creature shone with joy when it spotted her. Liu Shu felt the greedy desire from the creature, and her mind cooled down, setting aside her laments. Her aura leaked, showing her strength as a World Tree, which made the Thornstride stop for a second and become wary. Although Liu Shu was just a level one, that didn''t mean she was weak. Her physique alone was 13 points, four more than the creature, not to mention her other attributes were also far superior. The only reason her vitality was low was her low level. Moreover, after killing bugs and such that bothered her, had leveled up, becoming stronger than before. After measuring our Liu Shu for some moments, Fraar leaped forward with incredible agility. While a tree''s thought process was usually slow, it only applied outside of combat. When a tree fought, it concentrated every single fiber of its body into the fight, making the thought process equal and, sometimes, superior to that of common creatures. When Fraar was 5 meters away from Liu Shu, Aether Mana flowed from her trunk, enveloping one of her dropping branches, and it lashed like a whip at astonishing speed. Fraar''s pupils constricted, and he moved his face to avoid a direct hit. Bang! The tree branch landed squarely across the shoulder-neck area, leaving behind a trail of blood. [-72] A large number appeared in Liu Shu''s mind, but she completely ignored that as her focused on the creature''s every movement. Fraar had retreated a few meters, frowning in pain. ''To think that my tough skin would be so easily damaged. This tree is stronger than it looks!'' That''s right, this creature had thoughts, as it was a sapient being. Of course, its intelligence was far from that of an average human or Sylvan, but it had enough mental development to form simple thoughts. For a moment, Fraar thought of returning to his tribe and informing them about this tree. However, when he thought that his father would probably eat it without giving him anything, he frowned. The scent Liu Shu emanated was very tempting, and greed clouded Fraar''s judgment. With his hiss-like roar, Fraar leaped forward, intending to exchange injury for injury. Naturally, Liu Shu had observed Fraar''s abilities, and she knew that letting him close the distance between them would be very dangerous. Her willow-like branch came alive, and without holding back, she began lashing at the creature. While Fraar closed the five-meter range between him and Liu Shu, five strikes hit him, stealing more than half of the beast''s vitality. The pain was so bad that it made his eyesight blurry, and as a primarily wild creature, the instinct to flee dominated his mind for a second. However, a whiff of Liu Shu''s tempting scent tickled his sharp olfactory sense, making his blood boil in excitement, and he continued charging forward, disregarding everything. After tanking those five hits, he finally entered melee range. Liu Shu looked at the beast that was raising its claws and prepared, making her Phoer surround her trunk. ''Resist it!'' Fraar''s eyes shone, and his long claw gleamed with the Sun''s reflection. Then, he used his most vigorous attack. This attack was able to divide trees into half that were even three times as thick as the tree before him, so he was confident. Liu Shu was a stationary tree, so dodging was impossible. The claw of the beast struck Liu Shu''s trunk, digging inside one centimeter and inflicting severe damage. [-66] Her vitality was only 176 points, and receiving such damage even after her damage reduction passives was impressive. However, Fraar was stunned. Liu Shu''s trunk was not that thick, so he thought that a single strike would be enough to slice the Tree in half. However, to his surprise, he only saw a deep mark that began spilling honey-colored glistening sap. The scent of the sap made his body react, and he opened his mouth, wanting to chomp forward. However, before he could do that, all the branches of the World Tree moved, and a notification appeared in Liu Shu''s mind. [You''ve created .] Then, Fraar''s mouth was forcefully closed as a powerful strike hit his head several times per second. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! [-41] [-41] [-41] [-41] [-41] [-41] Hit after hit landed on him, and although they were weaker than previously, the number of attacks was incomparable. Fraar''s legs bent, unable to bear the strength of the attacks, and his body was struck constantly against the ground. After three seconds, Fraar felt the attacks stop, his vitality nothing but a sliver away from death. This time, completely scared, he tried to stand up and leave. However, the branches of the World Tree began moving again. Those who offended a World Tree would not be left alive by it. The long branches began moving again, delivering another rain of attacks, each strike creating a loud bang. Since most of them fell on his head, Fraar couldn''t even roar in pain; after being repeatedly hit, his skull shattered, and his consciousness finally disappeared. The body of the beast looked swollen and mangled, with the skin split in several places as if someone had dug into him. [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 19 Experience Points.] When that message entered Liu Shi''s mind, her branches stopped the assault, returning to their gentle swaying. Right after, when Liu Shi returned to her natural state of mind, the world began spinning around her. Her mind felt light and fuzzy as her couldn''t even properly give her a look at the outcome. ''Oh! Wow~! The world is spinning~!'' Curious, she looked at her Aether Mana and exclaimed. ''Wow, I have so little left!'' Aether Mana: 11/113 Our poor Liu Shu had Aether Mana deficiency. Previously, Liu Shi had been feeding her berries with her Aether Mana. So, after using five times and twice, her Aether Mana almost reached zero, making her feel lightheaded. But other than that, Liu Shu managed to regain her investment in the skill after killing Fraar. Spending 15 experience and gaining 19 later, she netted a total of 4 experience points! *** Name: Tianlian Liu Shu Titles: : A title that''s gained when a tree gains sapience and evolves, gaining human-like intelligence. : A tree that can grow to be an overlord, admired by many, hated by some. Hidden titles: [9] Race: World Tree. Energy Method: Basic World Energy Gathering (Gathers experience points*Level per day.) Level: 1 [0/150] Aether Mana Shards: 11/113 (+4.07/Hour) Phoer Body Shards: 110/176 (+6.34/Hour) Anima Energy Shards: 91/120 (+4,32/Hour) Attributes: Aether (7+2), Physique (9+4), Anima (8+2), Willpower (10), Destiny (100) Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (25), Physique Refinement (35), Anima Affinity (20) Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (23), Physique Resistance (29), Spiritual Resistance (24), Mental Resistance (26) Talents: : : The World Tree uses all her branches to strike at her enemy. She can use Aether Mana to trigger this skill, allowing her to attack for three seconds uninterrupted. Range 3 meters. Passive Skills: : Attracts small animals and insects to the area, fostering a harmonious ecosystem. There is a very small chance of attracting a friendly, bigger animal or insect that will help protect you. Creatures below the F Rank will be affected with much ease. Range 20 meters. Accumulated Experience: 94 Chapter 5. A New Visitor! Rose Fairies. The next morning, Liu Shu felt much better. During the night, her Aether mana had recovered by more than half, while her Phoer Shards had already completely recovered. The wound on her bark had closed, and only the glistening sap remained on her trunk. That, too, had started to harden, and soon, it would crystalize and fall off her trunk. Tree sap was mostly made of water, with minerals and sugars mixed in it, so when interacting with air, the water would evaporate, leaving behind a concentrated matter of sugar and minerals. As a World Tree, her sap was incredibly precious, but there was no one who could collect it without being smacked in the head. Of course, there had been plenty of bugs that tried to eat it; the scent it emitted was extremely tempting, but Liu Shu felt strange each time a creature tried to eat it, and she smacked them away with her branches. These bugs were nothing but Level 1 F- rank creatures, so they would all get killed by a single strike. As a level one being, she would gain about 1 Experience Point when killing F- Rank Level 1 beings. For level 0 beings, she didn''t earn anything. As a result, her accumulated experience had taken a significant leap, reaching 122 points. Tianlian Liu Shu didn''t know if this was good or bad. After all, she was killing quite a few living beings. However, other than feeling a bit doubtful, there was no reluctance in her movements. ''A good day! The Sun is nice, and the wind is moving my branches~.'' She was actually quite in a good mood. [ has triggered! You have gained 1 Experience Point.] Liu Shu''s good mood got even better. ''Now, I have 123 points!'' *Bzzz* Smack! ''Now I have 124 points!'' Somehow, the tone of this exclamation was not as cheery as previously. Of course, as a tree, she didn''t really feel annoyed, just a bit exasperated. Seeing the splattered bug through her , Liu Shu sighed in her mind. ''When will my sap lose its effectiveness?'' As she thought that, a Level 2 Jungle Fly approached, and her branch moved like a whip, smacking that fly into smithereens. [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 1 Experience Point.] Another message popped into her mind as she pondered what to do with her sap. Even as a level two being, because of her high natural tier, the fly only gave her 1 Experience Point. Liu Shu looked at her branches and saw that many of the flowers were about to grow into berries, so she willed it in her mind. [You''ve reduced the ripening time by ten days on 30 flowers, -30 Aether Mana, -30 Anima Energy.] Looking at her branches with anticipation, Liu Shu saw her energies rush from her core up her trunk and into her branches. The soft glow of energy surrounded those 30 flowers, and the seed in the middle of the dark blue flowers began swelling. At first, it was a greenish and unripe fruit that appeared, but visible to the naked eye, the fruit swelled and gained a beautiful dark blue color, similar to the flower it grew from. Satisfied with her new fruits, Liu Shu gleefully thought in her mind. ''I hope the little friends like them!'' Suddenly, two messages popped in her mind. [ has triggered. Attracting a friendly creature.] If she could blink in surprise, she would. ''A friend?'' Then, she read the second message. [ has attracted a . Proficiency increased by 8. ] Liu Shu was a bit dazed, and then she became happy. ''Another little friend! Moreover, this one is level 8! The highest I''ve ever seen!'' She expanded her to the maximum, looking around in a 15-meter radius, and patiently waited for the new friend to appear. From the east, a little humanoid-like being with leaf-like wings buzzing behind her appeared. She had milky white skin, with her hair being a beautiful red, the same for her eyes. The eyes were not normal, as they were solid-colored eyes, completely red and shiny, like a pair of rubies. She was slender, and her height was not more than 20 centimeters. Still, her proportions were attractive, looking like a beautiful flying doll. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Liu Shu looked at the little humanoid being with interest. It was the first time she saw something humanoid like her. Focusing on the hovering fairy that was sizing her up, Liu Shu spread her system interface. *** Name: Clavel Titles: : Affinity with plant beings increased by 10% Race: Rose Fairy Energy Method: Simple pollination (gain experience equal to / per flower. Can be used once a day.) Level: 8 [0/3245] Aether Mana Shards: 763/920 Phoer Body Shards: 257/257 Anima Energy Shards: 411/440 Attributes: Aether (10), Physique (3), Anima (5), Willpower (4), Destiny (16) Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (15), Physique Refinement (7), Anima Affinity (10) Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (8), Physique Resistance (5), Spiritual Resistance (6), Mental Resistance (6) Talents: : Pollinize a flower. The pollinated flower will gain a small buff of five percent extra growth rate, five percent production, and [Plant Level + Fairy Level] Experience. You can only use it once a week on the same plant. (System Note: Unless a higher-ranked Pollination is done, other creatures with this ability also can''t use it on the same plant for a week. Higher-rank pollination effects will also be reduced.) : Use Aether Mana to move the leaves around you to your will and harden them, creating flying slashing attacks. Range 20 meters. : Use Aether Mana to heal a plant-based creature. The higher the level and tier of the plant, the smaller the healing you can give them. Range 5 meters. Passive Skills: : Plants innately like you. However, if you purposely harm them, they will quickly feel betrayed and hate you. : As a creature born from the forest, your senses toward living beings are very sharp. *** Liu Shu looked at the numbers and exclaimed. ''This little friend is so strong!'' Moreover, although Liu Shu couldn''t do math normally, she innately understood that the attacks of this little friend could reach her from outside her detection range, making her practically unable to defend herself. ''Thankfully, this is a little friend and not a little bad friend.'' Meanwhile, a few moments earlier, Clavel was flying toward her nest when her suddenly triggered quite strongly. This made her stop and look westwards. ''Such a strong life aura. Thankfully, it feels gentle, or I might have had to call the chief.'' Curious, she flew toward it with a smile. ''What kind of little darling has triggered my senses?'' Her leaf-like wings flapped with a humming sound as she approached the place she detected, and soon, she discovered a relatively small but exceptionally beautiful Willow Tree. Even when she was just a seedling, one could feel that she would grow to be an imposing and magnificent being. ''Wow, this little darling is so pretty!'' Then, her gaze moved down, attracted by the stiff and mangled body on the tree''s base, and her eyebrows shot up. ''Huh? Isn''t that Fraar? What is he doing¡­'' After a few moments, she realized that he was dead, making her face change. ''What killed him?'' Clavel became cautious, stopping her approach and trying to analyze the small tree. ''Can it be you, little darling?'' There were plenty of flora that looked small and weak to attract prey, but instead, they were strong, so she focused on analyzing the being. *** Level: 1 Aether Mana Shards: 52/113 Phoer Body Shards: 176/176 Anima Energy Shards: 91/120 *** Unlike World Trees, the extent to which other creatures could peer into the system was minimal. Still, it was enough to give a general idea of a creature''s strength. Clavel was shocked. ''Isn''t she just a level one cutie? What are those stats?'' Still, with such low numbers, Clavel was quite sure that this little darling was not responsible for Fraar''s death. ''Did another creature kill Fraar and leave it by the seedling''s side?'' Clavel pondered for a second. Nevertheless, now that she was reassured that Liu Shu was not aggressive, she flew toward her side while gently asking. "Little friend, do you know anything about how this big fellow appeared here?" Of course, her question was rhetoric, as she couldn''t communicate with plants. Moreover, plants also couldn''t understand speech. Therefore, she didn''t expect any reaction. To her surprise, the tree began lightly swaying as if trying to communicate with her. Clavel''s eyes shone as she laughed gently. "Oh my, you understand me? You are so clever, little one." Clavel saw the tree moving again, and her eyes softened as she approached and caressed the Tree''s trunk. However, before Clavel''s hand touched her trunk, she spotted a place with a mark and some sap around it. Her eyes instantly cooled down as Aether Mana gathered around her. Then, she snarled while looking around. "Who did this!?" She used about 100 Aether Mana into , and her detection range multiplied, sensing all creatures that might have the sap on them in an extensive radius. To her surprise, the feeling came from right below her. Her eyes followed her senses and landed on the Fraar''s claw. "Hm?" Clavel blinked several times, looking between the healing scar on the tree''s trunk and Fraar''s claw. ''No way, right? A Level 1 defeating a Level 7?'' Looking closer, the injuries around Fraar appeared to be created by something hard and heavy hitting him several times. She scanned the branches of the little darling she just found and Fraar''s wounds and realized they matched. ''Ha?'' With surprise in her eyes, she looked at the tiny tree. "You did this?" Her tone was incredulous. How could her little cutie create such horrible wounds? The feeling around Liu Shu was extraordinarily gentle and welcoming. Clavel couldn''t imagine this little tree to be so fierce to beat someone at Fraar''s level to death. However, as if to confirm her thoughts, she suddenly saw a small beetle flying toward the sap. ''Tsk, little bug. Begone-'' She frowned, about to stop the thing, but suddenly, she heard the sound of air whistling, and one of the branches of the little tree flashed, hitting the flying beetle with extreme accuracy and instantly killing it. Moreover, the strength behind the strike bade the bug pop like a balloon, sending wings and chunks of it flying around in all directions. Clavel''s mouth and eyes became wide open. Then, she thought of placing herself in the beetle''s place, and her spine chilled. ''That attack is too strong! Is she really level one? It feels like a level nine creature just attacked!'' After realizing that the little tree before her was not simple, Clavel laughed and hugged Liu Shu''s trunk, making the tree gently but strangely sway. "You are full of surprises, aren''t you, little darling? Now that I think about it, how could a normal being have more than 100 shards on your Ternary Essences at Level 1? I only had 23 Aether Mana, 11 Phoer, and 11 Anima Energy at level 1! Yet you almost have 200 Phoer! You are really wonderful, little darling." Her eyes then moved toward Fraar, and they radiated chilling, killing intent. "He probably realized that you weren''t normal and tried to eat you. Tree eater scum, you finally got what you deserved." Then, she looked at Liu Shu again with gentleness in her eyes. "Thankfully, you were strong enough to defend yourself. Nice to meet you, little one. My name is Clavel. I''m a Rose Fairy." Chapter 6. Clavel’s Considerations. Liu Shu looked at Clavel with happiness. It was the first time she heard someone speak! Moreover, this little friend was so gentle and pretty. Liu Shu liked her a lot. Her ability to process speech still left a lot to be desired, so Liu Shu was slowly thinking about what Clavel had told her. Even if she was a World Tree, she was a sapling that had been a normal tree for a long time. Clavel knew that even if the tree understood her words, she probably would not answer her instantly. Now that the presentations were over, she looked closely at Liu Shu''s branches and spotted a few blue fruits that smelled quite tempting. They were not big, but for Clavel who was 20 centimeters tall, they were not small. She gently hovered around them as her leaf-like wings buzzed behind her and asked. "Little Darling, can I eat one?" She moved her hands, slowly approaching while keeping an eye on the dangerous branches. After a few seconds, Clavel didn''t feel hostility coming from Liu Shu, so she moved and took one of the fruits. After taking it, Clavel paused, just in case, and seeing that the little darling allowed her to eat her fruits, she was delighted. "Thank you, Little Darling. I''m sure that your fruits will be delicious." Clavel sniffed the berry that was as big as a coconut for someone her size. ''Smells good.'' Then, she opened her tiny mouth and took a bit. An explosion of flavors filled her mouth as the juicy meat of the fruit created a refreshing feeling in her. Her eyes shone with delight. "Delicious!" Clavel elegantly but quickly ate the whole berry. When she finished, she tilted her head. ''Hm? There are no seeds? Strange.'' Then, a message appeared in her mind. [You''ve eaten . You''ve gained 1 Experience Point.] Clavel froze in place, looking at the message with wide eyes. ''I-I have what?'' She reread the message two times to be sure that her eyes were reading it correctly, and then she looked at Liu Shu as if she were a precious treasure. "Oh my! Little Darling, you have more and more surprises on you the more I got to know you, and we''ve just met each other!" Liu Shu cheerfully looked at Clavel, understanding that "delicious" was something to be happy about. '' Clavel got thoughtful and looked at Fraar''s dead body. ''I need to warn the chief about this Little Darling''s existence. We must protect this little dear from danger if possible. If the Thornstride, Ants, or Beavers discover her¡­'' Clavel frowned with worry. ''I need to move quickly.'' She picked another berry and ate it, just in case, and saw the same message appear again, making her dizzy. ''Does it work more than once a day? What is this?'' Just gaining one extra experience a day passively by eating fruit was good enough for many creatures to go crazy about it. Now that it worked more than once, it could lead to an entire race''s evolution. Clavel looked at the few dozen berries on Liu Shu''s branches and became thoughtful. ''Should I eat until the effect disappears to check how many times they work?'' Then, she looked at Liu Suh and shook her head. ''This little darling has probably used several resources to grow them. I must not be greedy and plunder her fruits just for me without her permission. We need to prepare proper offerings for her to exchange for the .'' She approached Liu Shu''s trunk, and she spoke while hovering in front of her. "Little darling, your fruits are extremely delicious. I want to take a few with me back home so that I can call my friends over to protect you, can I?" Liu Shu didn''t answer as she processed the words. Clavel waited patiently for a reaction, as she knew that plant creatures usually took their time in answering. After a while, Liu Shu understood and thought to herself. ''Aren''t my fruits grown for eating? Why is she asking me? She is a strange little friend.'' Liu Shu''s branches swayed to communicate agreement, and Clavel''s eyes softened while she hugged her. "Thanks a lot, Little Darling. I swear I''ll protect you in the future." Then, Clavel moved toward the ground, crafting a handcrafted basket with a few grass blades and a thin branch. After a few minutes, she flew up and picked 20 fruits, leaving the rest behind. Even if Liu Shu gave her permission, one must never be greedy. As their ancestors, one must respect a Tree''s belongings. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Especially those who can defend themselves. A Tree''s strength was in its survivability, sturdiness, and strength to protect certain areas. If a city had the protection of a giant and high-level tree, it would be more secure than a city with large walls built around it. That''s why 90% of the land was covered in forests. With the basket full of fruits, Clavel smiled and gave one last hug and kiss to Liu Shu''s trunk before leaving to inform her tribe. Of course, before leaving, she moved Fraar''s corpse far away from Liu Shu. She would regret it to death if something happened to Liu Shu because of her carelessness. Moreover, to make it more convincing, she resolutely used her skills to slice Fraar''s corpse into pieces, making it look as if a living creature did the damage. ''With this, it should be impossible for those beasts to find out that Little Darling did it. Anyway, our tribes are already in conflict; it doesn''t matter even if they reach the conclusion that we did it.'' She gave one last look to the young tree, and while she wanted to use her pollinate skill, she was going to ask her chief, who had a much higher level in that skill than her. That way, Liu Shu would benefit more. Meanwhile, Liu Shu saw the small friend exiting her radius with some regret, but she soon recovered. ''Today was really fun! I hope the little friend returns with more little friends in the future~.'' Then, Liu Shu thought back to when the fairy hugged her. ''It felt strange. Comfortable? Ticklish? Warm?'' The feeling was strange for our Liu Shu, who had never had contact with flesh-like living beings other than when she whipped the River Beaver to death. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, with the most exciting thing being that her experience was approaching the 150 Experience point mark. Liu Shu was delighted. ''I gain so much experience~. At this pace, I''ll reach 150 Experience Points in two days!'' Meanwhile, after Clavel left, she flew fast through the forest, ignoring some things that she would have normally stopped to collect for her tribe. ''I need to quickly return to Little Darling''s side before something happens to her.'' Her body was like a green and red blur as she flew quickly and eventually reached the canopy of a large tree. This tree was incomparable to our Liu Shu. It was at least 30 meters tall, with an extremely thick trunk and a wide canopy that gave shade to a few creatures below it. The aura of vitality around it was incredibly thick, attracting many creatures. Clavel focused on it for a moment, and the system page appeared. *** Level: 16 Aether Mana Shards: 3956/3956 Phoer Body Shards: 13048/13048 Anima Energy Shards: 6548/6548 *** Clavel laughed a bit as she thought back about Liu Shu. ''I wonder how strong Little Darling will become when she reaches this level?'' Clavel smiled wistfully. ''I hope I can be alive by then.'' As she flew upward, Clavel pondered. ''However, even if she is not as strong, Little Darling is really clever and fast-thinking.'' Unlike the cute tree she found recently, this giant tree wasn''t sentient and didn''t understand words. No matter how we spoke or did with it, there would never be an answer. Which, by the way, was the normal thing. Most trees were like that. So, for Clavel and the other Rose Fairies, it was just a sturdy home that was able to grow a few interesting fruits. ''Still, the berries that little one produces are much better. This large tree only creates fruits that can satiate hunger for a few days.'' Which, again, was the normal thing for a tree. Fruits with special effects related to experience were unheard of. Even when this tree was nothing special, because of how large and solid it was, many creatures wanted to take this tree as a home, but the Rose Fairies, one of the strongest races in this forest area, had monopolized it. ''Now that I think about it, I haven''t given her a name. Well, I''ll think about one later.'' Clavel shook her head and flew upward, entering the tree canopy. Inside its lush tree top, many more of her kind flew around. There weren''t any constructions, as her Rose Fairy tribe was nomad. Rain was not bothersome to them, and chilly weather was also not too troublesome. Still, there was a hierarchy in the tribe, and the higher she flew in the tree''s canopy, the more status and level those fairies would have. There were about 120 of them, and in the highest place of the canopy, there were four fairies seated around each other. The aura around them was even stronger than that of Clavel, making them look eye-catching. All of them had beautiful red hair and eyes, with petite statures. Between them, there was one fairy who was much taller. If a normal Rose Fairy was about 20 centimeters tall, this one was about 30 centimeters tall. It didn''t look as much but put in human terms; if an average human was 175 centimeters, the leader was comparable to a human that measured 260 centimeters. Looking at the taller and elegant fairy, Clavel''s eyes shone respectfully. *** Level: 10 Aether Mana Shards: 6380/6380 Phoer Body Shards: 1932/1932 Anima Energy Shards: 2984/2984 *** Level 10 was a divisor where creatures would go the first significant jump in strength. Reaching this level was difficult for creatures like Rose Fairies, who were born with very little innate talent. Looking at books in cities, their race would appear as a "F Tier race." Similar to skills and everything else, the ranks of creatures that the inhabitants of this world had discovered went from F to E, D, and C rank. In between, there were three sub-levels, F-, F, and F+. Each change of tier was a relatively large jump in strength, knowing that even a 10% difference in attributes could be detrimental in a fight. Even then, this relatively tall fairy had reached Level 10 reasonably quickly, becoming the pillar of the entire race and the reason they could monopolize this tree for their race. Moreover, while most of the Rose Fairies were considered F Tier beings, their current chieftain had shown talent and broken through into the F+ Tier creature tier. Clavel''s respect for this woman increased when she remembered all of this. Chapter 7. Flor, Leader of the Rose Fairies. After Clavel flew in front of the Rose Fairy Leader, she spoke, trying to hold the excitement for finding Liu Shu. "Leader! I''ve found a fascinating tree! We need to leave here and move to that place before something happens to it! Although we might be a bit worse for a while, if we invest in that Little Darling, we''ll probably have a breakthrough as a race!" Flor, the leader of the Rose Fairies, looked at Clavel with interest in her eyes. "Oh? So much praise for that Tree?" Another of the fairies by Flor''s side snorted. "Clavel, aren''t you exaggerating too much?" Clavel rolled her eyes. "Aster, do you think I would joke around about this when it took so much effort to secure this Tree for our race?" Aster frowned. "If you know that, then you should know that this one is the highest-level Tree around. Stop being annoying and leave." Clavel frowned. "Aster, you have yet to see what I have to explain. What the hell are you being so butthurt for?" Aster sneered. "I was the one who found this place, so if someone comes trying to take merit from me, I''ll naturally be angry!" Clavel rolled her eyes and gave Flor one of the . "Look at this, Leader. You should be able to read its effects with your level." Flor didn''t say anything at first. Discussion between them was not as rare as one might think. However, Flor knew deep down that even if they acted aggressively, in times of need, they took care of each other the most. She had seen Clavel and Aster fighting side by side plenty of times. She picked the and read its effects aloud for Aster to listen. "Let''s see¡­ : It is a common, seedless berry with a savory taste and pleasing scent. Low-level animals love it, especially birds. It can give one experience point when Level 9 and lower creatures consume it. A creature can ingest a maximum of three each day." The other three fairies who didn''t take Clavel''s words too seriously froze. Aster''s eyes were the ones that opened the widest. "W-What? Leader, did you misread?" Even Flor blinked twice and reread it, incredulous. Seeing that the text she was reading didn''t change, Flor asked with a serious face. "What level is this tree? Is it a Level 20 tree? Or a Level 25 one? To produce such a strong fruit¡­ It is incredible." Clavel laughed and said smugly, feeling proud of the Little Darling. "She is Level 1!" The other three fairies that had remained silent gasped. Aster became a bit angry, thinking that she was trying to lie to them. "Clavel, stop joking around! How could a Level 1 tree produce this fruit? We can get more than 1000 Experience Points a year as long as we ingest the three berries daily! 1000! Do you know how much that means? Now, it is not the time to speak jokingly!" Reaching Level 10 in their entire lifetime was almost impossible. So, if their youngest fairies could gain 1000 Experience points a year, the number of Level 10s that would begin in the future would explode. After all, for these fairies, the amount of experience they needed to go from Level 0 to Level 9 was about 12,000. The higher the tier, the higher the experience needed. However, since most fairies were F Tier, they all hovered around the same numbers. If they could ingest this kind of berry constantly since birth, by the age of 12, a fairy would reach level 9! Not to mention the creation of Level 10 beings, since the children of higher-level creatures had a chance to evolve or have an easier time reaching those higher levels, it would improve the overall strength of their entire race for future generations. In short, it was, as Clavel said, a fruit that could change the Fate of an entire race. Clavel snorted and commented. "It''s not a lie, Aster. Moreover, this little darling is super interesting and clever!" Then, turning toward Flor, she said. "Leader, we need to move quickly before something happens to her!" Flor caught something else in Clavel''s expression and waved her hand to the other three. "Leave us alone for a while." The three of them didn''t dare disobey and flew downwards. When only the two of them were left, Flor commented with a gentle smile as she hugged Clavel onto her lap. "Now, tell me. You seem a bit too anxious. Did something happen?" Clavel smiled shyly. "Nothing escapes you, Mother." Then, she approached Flor''s ears and whispered. "Fraar died by the hand of this Tree. Moreover, he could only create one gash on her before being whipped to death." Flor was not foreign to trees that could defend themselves. However, when she remembered Fraar''s level, her eyes widened. "She killed a level 7 being at Level 1?" Clavel nodded. Flor''s face became serious. The strength difference between levels was, more often than not, absolute. The only way to overcome this difference was with equipment and powerful skills or with tier difference. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Equipment was not something creatures like them would wear, and powerful skills on a Tree were rare. So, in Flor''s mind, the only way for her to overcome such an abysmal chasm in strength was Liu Shu''s tier. Flor asked, curious. "What''s her tier, Clavel?" Clavel shook her head. "I don''t know. But her Ternary Essences are already over a hundred, and her Phoer is approaching the 200 shards." Flor asked again, incredulous. "Clavel, are you sure she is level one? Mother won''t blame you if this was a complex prank or something, so tell me the truth." Clavel pouted. "It is the truth!" Flor looked into Clavel''s red eyes and nodded. "Okay, I believe you." Then, she stood up and told her. "Guide me quickly. We must never allow her to fall into the wrong hands." Then, she spoke aloud, her voice spreading by her use of Aether Mana through the entire canopy. "Those above level 7 that are not ordered to act as guards follow me." Meanwhile, our Liu Shu didn''t know that she had made one of the strongest creatures in the nearby forest area worried and was leisurely growing her berries and slowly increasing her experience by slapping the bugs that approached her. For her, the flow of time was fuzzy, so she didn''t feel bored even if a few hours passed without anything happening. She was happy to bathe in the Sun, feel the wet and nutritious soil, or look around with her at the nearby creatures. While she peacefully continued with her day, a notification from her triggered. [ has attracted a . Proficiency increased by 6.] When Liu Shu saw the name of the creature, she couldn''t help but feel helpless. ''Is this bad friend coming for me again? Why are so many bad friends coming for me?'' Before becoming a World Tree, Liu Shu had had a very uneventful life. Some bugs and such sometimes attacked her roots, but all in all, she was just a small sapling in a large forest that got ignored by everything. She was relatively lucky that no one passed by her side and decided to uproot her out of boredom as some people might do with flowers on the side of the road. However, now that she had gained so many auras, the creatures that previously ignored her were now looking her way. With everyone who ignored her now looking her way, it was normal for her to attract so many beings. After a few moments, the Level 6 beaver appeared in the range of her skill. It had 483 Phoer Body Shards, which were neither too many or too little. Liu Shu calmly observed the beaver approaching and waited. If this beast went its way, then she wouldn''t bother attacking it. However, if it came to bite her¡­ Meanwhile, the River Beaver strode forward, confident in itself. In this forest section, trees that were level 5 and above were rare, so it was a perfect place to find timber for its dam. He had recently found a partner and was now finding wood to create the nest where they would live in the future. Looking around, the beaver observed the trees until she spotted a peculiar one. Looking at the relatively short and somewhat thick tree, the beaver got thoughtful. Although she was tiny compared to the surrounding trees, the wood quality was the best this beaver had ever seen. It decided to take it. Even if it was one log, it could be used in the inner part of the nest. What the beaver didn''t know was that, besides Liu Shu, there were another 15 or so beings observing it. Flor looked at the Level 6 River Beaver approaching Liu Shu with cold eyes and asked, her tone worried. "Clavel, are you sure that little thing can defend herself? It''s just a little over two meters tall." Even Clavel was a bit unsure. After all, she hadn''t seen Liu Shu in action other than slapping one bug. Fraar''s body was good proof, but who knew if the Little Darling could replicate that achievement? Therefore, she said. "This beaver is much weaker than Fraar, so it should be possible¡­" Not entirely confident, she asked. "Leader, can you save her if things go wrong?" Flor easily nodded. "Don''t worry. I can see that it is the one you spoke about by the fruits on her branches. Moreover¡­" Flor squinted while looking at Liu Shu, feeling a strangely strong vital aura coming from her. She muttered to herself. "It can''t be, right? Why would one of those appear here?" Clavel asked. "What''s wrong?" Flor shook her head, placing the idea in the back of her head. ''Regardless of whether she is or isn''t, what we came here to do doesn''t change. "Don''t worry, Clavel. I was thinking about how much damage to let that little one take before I stopped the fight." Aster looked at Clavel and smirked. "The Leader is probably feeling exasperated. Even if it has 176 Phoer, it has three times less than that Beaver. How could it fight it? Isn''t it better to just protect her instead of letting her fight?" Clavel frowned at her. "Hey, did I do something to you lately? Why are you being so annoying?" Aster stuck out her tongue. "When I see your face, I just want to be annoying!" Flor sighed with a smile. "Both of you, stop it." "Yes, leader!" Then, she looked closely at Liu Shu and the beaver. ''Well, little one. Show me what you have.'' The beaver walked forward with confident strides, and Liu Shu''s aura began leaking as a warning. The beaver was surprised, and then it made a face similar to a sneer. ''How dare the thing that he uses as a house be arrogant? I''ll gnaw you down!'' Then, the River Beaver run forward at a very quick speed. The fairies around tensed, prepared to rush forward just in case. Even Aster looked closely, all her focus placed between the two. While she had mocked Clavel, she was as much of a lover of trees as the others, and seeing that Clavel wasn''t lying, this little tree was more than worth protecting. Although the beaver was relatively quick, Liu Shu''s senses were much sharper than what the beaver could imagine when she entered combat mode. Once it was two meters from her body, Liu Shu realized that it wouldn''t stop, so she attacked. The Rose Fairies that came attentively looked at the Aether Mana and Anima Energy enveloping one of the Branches. Then, Liu Shu attacked. BANG! The charging River Beaver was slammed face-first against the ground with a pitiful cry. The branch dug deep into the tissue, damaging bones and making the Beaver''s eyes almost pop out of its skull. When the Beaver felt the harsh waves of pain, it knew it had provoked something out of his league and hastily turned to flee. However, when the World Tree was attacked, it was not merciful. All creatures that offend a World Tree once became nothing but enemies. So, far from being done with it, even before it could turn around, five more branches were coated in Aether Mana and Anima Energy, and they lashed one after another in quick succession. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! The Rose Fairies saw with widened eyes as Liu Shu smacked the Beaver around, the branches digging deep into the animal until it dropped dead. Clavel was no exception, as her mouth was hung open. Clavel reacted the first since she had previously seen Liu Shu killing that bug, and she turned toward Aster with a smug smile. "Hey, what do you say now? Was I right or not?" Aster''s eyebrows were twitching. Chapter 8. First Level Up! Aster looked at Clavel and back at Liu Shu, stuttering. "What the hell was that? That attack can probably cripple even me if it takes me off-guard." Even Flor was shocked. If she didn''t use her Aether Mana to defend herself, that attack could probably damage even her. At Level 10, she had 18 points for physique, which was not much more than the 13 points Liu Shu had. Still, that was if Flor stood still and received attacks; with her main attribute, Aether, being 55 points, it was quite impossible for Liu Shu to even face her. With 55 points of Aether, if Flor attacked, our Liu Shu would probably be uprooted even before she knew what happened. Regardless, the fact that she could potentially damage someone at level 10 while she was at level 1 was already an accomplishment. While the Rose fairies spoke with each other, curious about the Tree that could slam a Level 6 River Beaver into the ground, Liu Shu was looking at her System page with her mind dancing in happiness. [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 14 Experience Points.] Why did it make her happy? Liu Shu''s gaze moved on her system and landed on the last line of text. [Accumulated Experience: 161] Then, she looked at her level. [Level: 1 (0/150)] ''161 is bigger than 150!'' Liu Shu thought confidently. ''That means that I can increase my Level!'' For the first time in her life, Liu Shu was going to increase her level. This made the young Tree ecstatic. ''Let''s do it!'' With a single thought, the experience points accumulated in her body started to flow around her. Flor and the others were about to approach, but they suddenly felt a profound aura spread from the little tree before them. Clavel exclaimed. "She is leveling up!?" Aster mumbled while feeling the profound aura that spread around. "Great branches above. What kind of little monster did you find, Clavel?" Even Flor''s expression was severe. ''I feel¡­ threatened?'' As a Level 10, all beings under Level 10 should feel like small creatures. That Level was the first of many milestones for a creature. So, if a creature going from Level 1 to Level 2 felt threatening even after crossing Level 10, no matter how small that feeling was, it meant that the creature''s tier was far above her own. Flor''s red eyes gleamed with interest and curiosity. ''Why would someone like her appear in our forest? So strange.'' Meanwhile, Liu Shu felt extremely comfortable as powerful waves of energy nourished her roots and body. Each time she poured an experience point into her Level, she could feel her insides being filled with all kinds of energies that were previously slumbering. From the center of her trunk, her released a soothing and refreshing aura, nourishing not only her body but her soul as well. Below the soul, as the energy waves moved through the roots, they nourished them and pushed them to grow. The feeling of her roots digging deeper and further into the ground made Liu Shu feel liberated as if this was her purpose. ''My roots¡­ I want to spread them everywhere.'' The feeling of piercing into the moist land below, pushing the rocks aside as her reach grew, fed her most primal instincts as a World Tree. If she had a mouth, she would probably be letting out a hot sigh of comfort. Her own body also grew, from being two meters tall from base to crown to being about three meters tall. Her roots similarly spread for about 25 meters around her. Then, her trunk thickened, and the silhouette of a woman became clearer while her canopy widened and the number of branches increased. The bark was also smoother than before, even if it still had a rough surface. Instead of sharp, now caressing her bark would bell bumpy. The process didn''t last longer than a few seconds, but for the Rose Fairies looking, it felt like a few minutes. The sight of a World Tree increasing in level filled those looking with awe, no matter how large or small the World Tree was. Finally, the events occurring around our Tree ended. Curious, Liu Shi looked at her system. If she had eyes, they would''ve widened in surprise. [Level Up!] [Aether +7, Physique +9, Anima +8, Willpower +10, Destiny +100.] The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. [Natural Resistance Formula has been updated!] [Some Skills Have Been Adjusted! System Hint: Those skills and numbers are marked with an "*"] *** Name: Tianlian Liu Shu Titles: : A title that''s gained when a tree gains sapience and evolves, gaining human-like intelligence. : A tree that can grow to be an overlord, admired by many, hated by some. Hidden titles: [9] Race: World Tree. Energy Method: Basic World Energy Gathering (Gathers experience points*Level per day.) Level: 2 [0/520] Aether Mana Shards: 450/450 (+16,2/Hour) Phoer Body Shards: 675/675 (+24,3/Hour) Anima Energy Shards: 480/480 (+17,28/Hour) Attributes: Aether 18 (14+4), Physique 25 (18+7), Anima 20 (16+4), Willpower 20 (20), Destiny 200 (200) Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (25), Physique Refinement (35), Anima Affinity (20) Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (28), Physique Resistance (34), Spiritual Resistance (29), Mental Resistance (32) Talents: : Stimulates the rapid growth of nearby flora, creating vibrant and mesmerizing plant life. Use consumes Aether Mana and Anima Energy. Nature''s Gift: Produces small, magical fruits with unique and beneficial properties. *: Produces small, magical fruits with unique and beneficial properties. It uses Anima Energy and Aether Mana to produce. Depending on the strength of the fruits, there is a chance that they will also need Phoer. Current Fruits Available: Delicious Berry (F- Rank) (30 Days), *Basic Phoer Berry (F- Rank) (30 Days), *Basic Mana Berry (F- Rank) (30 Days), *Basic Energy Berry (F- Rank) (30 Days). Efficiency: 15 Days per Aether and Anima Shard. *: The World Tree is from a willow family, with characteristic long but thin branches. She can use Aether Mana to move them and strike a target. Range 5->10 meters. *: The World Tree uses all her branches to strike at her enemy. She can use Aether Mana to trigger this skill, allowing her to attack for three seconds uninterrupted. Range 3->5 meters. Passive Skills: : A core has formed in the middle of the Tree. As long as the core doesn''t receive heavy damage, the tree can recover from any external injury. Depending on the damage, it will take longer. Innate Regeneration Increased, Innate Resistances increased, and Innate Affinities increased. *: You can see as far as your roots extend. *25 meters. : You can understand all languages as long as they are complex enough to be considered a language by the system. : Attracts small animals and insects to the area, fostering a harmonious ecosystem. There is a very small chance of attracting a friendly, bigger animal or insect that will help protect you. Creatures below the F Rank will be affected with much ease. Range 20 meters. Accumulated Experience: 11 *** Liu Shu exclaimed in her head. ''Wow, big numbers!'' Her Aether Mana, Phoer, and Anima Energy had basically tripled, while her basic stats had almost doubled. Moreover, her skills had become slightly more complex. While reading her system page, Liu Shu realized that she had three more fruits that she could grow. Curious, she read their descriptions. : It is a common, seedless berry with a savory taste and pleasing scent. It can give one experience point when level 9 and lower creatures consume it. A creature can ingest a maximum of three each day. It has a ripening period of 30 Days. : It is a common, seedless berry with a minty taste and scent. It can heal 10 Phoer Body Shards per consumption. A creature can ingest a maximum of five each day. It has a ripening period of 30 Days. : It is a common, seedless berry with a sweet and tart taste and an earthly scent. It can recover 10 Aether Mana Shards per consumption. A creature can ingest a maximum of five each day. It has a ripening period of 30 Days. : It is a common, seedless berry with a sour taste and fresh scent. It can recover 10 Anima Energy Shards per consumption. A creature can ingest a maximum of five each day. It has a ripening period of 30 Days. Other than the deep blue Delicious Berry, the other three had, in order, a light-red, light-blue, and light-yellow color. The energy it took to accelerate their growth had also lessened by a lot, and now, she could use about two Aether Mana and Anima Energy to grow one fruit every two days. With a recovery speed of about 16 Aether Mana per hour, she could grow around 200 fruits a day and accelerate their production speed without feeling a strain on her energy reservoirs. If she used all the capacity of her energy regeneration, she would probably be able to grow about 390 of them, but that would mean that Liu Shu had to feed her fruits constantly. While Liu Shu was not clever enough to do this kind of math easily, she had an intuitive way of knowing more or less how much she could produce without being bothersome for her. As a Tree and a resident of this world, she innately knew these things. So, while she wouldn''t go all out in production without a proper reason, she would create them at her own pace. ''Now I can grow a lot of fruits! I hope that the little friend that took a few away is happy and comes often.'' Curious about the new range of vision, she extended her to the new maximum range. The World around her expanded, and her "eyes" took in the nearby trees, animals, and creatures with extreme clarity. While humans would be dizzy if they had a 360-degree spherical vision, Liu Shu was a natural tree, and she didn''t have any problems. At 25 meters in height, she could even spot a few birds that were flying low while looking around for a spot to rest. ''Wow! I can see so far~.'' Furthermore, thanks to her new range, she had realized the existence of a few visitors looking at her from a distance. ''Oh! So many little friends similar to that little friend! Hm? Even that little friend is here~.'' Her vocabulary still had some work to do, but she was slowly getting there. Clavel and the others didn''t realize that Liu Shu was looking at them, but as someone with much sharper senses, Flor knew right away that something had begun observing them. ''Hm?'' Looking around, she couldn''t sense anyone nearby, so she was momentarily confused. ''Where is this gaze coming from?'' Closing her eyes, she sent a pulse of Aether Mana to check her surroundings, but she didn''t see anything. ''There is nobody¡­ Wait.'' Her eyes opened with surprise. She didn''t take long to realize that the one looking at them was the little tree in front of them. Flor laughed gently. ''She can see from so far away? That''s impressive.'' "Let''s go." With her order, Flor flew toward Liu Shu with the other fairies, not delaying it anymore. Chapter 9. Rose Fairies’ Decision. When all the fairies approached, Liu Shu heard many notifications about her skill, and the proficiency increased by around 250 points, increasing the level of the skill by one. One of the messages was especially eye-catching, which made Liu Shu exclaim in her head. [ has attracted a . Proficiency increased by 100.] Liu Shu looked at the tallest fairy in the group with interest. ''Level 10! The highest-level little friend yet!'' She also realized that the proficiency points gained were ten times as much, making her feel happy inside. ''Will I gain extra every time a level 10 comes? Or is this friend special?" The fairies flew around her, and a few of them approached the carcass of the beaver she just killed. Liu Shu heard them speak. "Look at this!" "What''s wrong?... Wow! Even the bones are broken. How strong is she?" "I would hate to be on the other side of her attacks." A relatively low-level fairy commented. "But she can only attack from a close distance, no? Any of us should be strong enough to defeat her." However, a few seniors looked at her with frowns. "Little girl, have you seen her bark and trunk thickness?" The low-level fairy looked over and saw that Liu Shu was relatively thicker than other trees of her height. "Huh?" The low-level fairy looked closer and asked. "Say, do you feel like her trunk has a strange womanly shape?" A few fairies who heard them looked over, closely examining her, and laughed. "It''s true! Hahaha." "So strange~." "Such coincidences are rare." However, Flor looked at that shape with a deeper expression, her mind spinning with many thoughts. After a few moments of hesitation, Flor took the initiative and approached with a smile, floating very close to Liu Shu. Of course, as she approached, she was very alert. She was confident in defending herself, but if she took one of the attacks she had just witnessed with her bare body, she might get an injury. "Hello, little one. It is the first time I''ve seen a little tree as beautiful as you in my 38 years of life." When she heard her speaking, Liu Shu felt joyous, and her branches swayed happily at her compliment. The fairies around giggled when they saw her reacting to Flor''s words. "She is really cute." "So, it was true that she could understand." Clavel snorted at the side. "Why would I lie about these things?" The second in command of the fairy group, a fairy called Amapola, commented. "We have to protect this little one." The fairies nodded, and then Amapola added wistfully. "Maybe she can become our forever home." Flor and the rest of the fairies became a bit silent. They constantly moved around because strong creatures or natural events sometimes toppled the trees they lived in, and they could do nothing to prevent it most of the time. While Flor was strong, she was only strong relative to the creatures living in the nearby forest area. When mass migrations, beast tides, powerful hurricanes, and other natural events occurred, her power was nothing but a raindrop against the wind. Flor snapped out of her daze, and she quickly reprimanded. "Don''t discuss things here. The little one can understand us, and she might get the wrong idea that we want to use her. If she can become our home, it is nothing but a result of our actions of protecting her, not the objective." The fairies realized and stopped commenting. Liu Shu heard them, but she didn''t really understand what they meant by a forever home, so she ignored it. These little friends had a pleasant aura around them, so she was happy they were by her side. Flor hovered about one meter above the ground to gently touch Liu Shu''s trunk and ask. "Little one, do you mind if my clan stays near you?" Liu Shu''s mind spun, taking in the meaning of her words. ''Hm, since I feel comfortable around them, and they help me increase my skill, why not?'' Liu Shu didn''t consider her loss of prey if they came around her, the main reason being that, as a tree, her concept of increasing strength was to do so naturally. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Even after leveling up and feeling that rush of strength, she didn''t sprout any greed for more, unlike most living creatures did. Killing many creatures just to gain experience had never crossed her mind, even as an idea. As a World Tree, her first instinct was to protect creatures that didn''t harm either her or nature in a significant way. Her second instinct was to eliminate all that did otherwise. After about 40 minutes, her dropping branches began to sway cheerfully, caressing Flor''s body, which was resting on one of her sturdy branches. Flor felt comfortable while waiting because of Liu Shu''s crisp, clean, and earthly scent that surrounded her. It was very similar to the scent of freshly cut grass, with a touch of mint that made the nostrils feel refreshed and open. Although the movement was very light, the aura around her could transmit some basic thoughts. Even without words, these fairies, who had lived between all kinds of flora for all their lives, could understand that Liu Shu didn''t mind. Flor laughed, delighted, and commented. "I had yet to use my daily pollination, and Clavel told me she didn''t do hers to you, so I''ll do it. What do you say, little one?" Liu Shu didn''t know what that was, so she didn''t answer. ''Pollination? What does that do?'' Flor waited for about 30 minutes, but seeing no answer, she guessed that this young tree probably didn''t know what ''pollination'' was. With that in mind, she smiled and commented. "Little one, if you hate it, use your branches to swat me like a fly. Don''t worry, I won''t get hurt." Liu Shu heard her and understood what she meant, so she didn''t react and looked at Flor intently with her . Flor felt like she was being observed again, and she confirmed in her mind that this small tree had a method of observing creatures around her. With that in mind, Flor''s leaf-like wings began buzzing, and her body floated upward. Her long red hair and eyes swayed with Aether as she began circling Liu Shu, and from there, a cloud of sparkling red dust began falling on top of Liu Shu. Liu Shu looked at how that sparkling dust landed on her bark, leaves, and roots, delivering a refreshing feeling all around her body. If our little tree had eyes, she would be squinting them in comfort. ''So nice~.'' Flor saw that Liu Shu''s branched began swaying with a comforting feeling, and her eyes were filled with mirth and gentleness. "Do you like it? Then, let''s finish it." She accelerated, creating a small reddish dust cloud that swallowed Liu Shu''s entire body, and when Flor finished, she used her mastery over the wind to push it onto Liu Shu. For a few seconds, Liu Shu was covered in reddish dust, but that soon was assimilated into her. A message appeared in Flor''s and Liu Shu''s minds. [You''ve Pollinated a . You gain 2 Experience Points.] [A has used on you. You''ve gained 10 Experience Points.] Seeing an extra ten experience points appearing in her system, Liu Shu cheered in her mind. ''This little friend is so good!'' Flor, who was prepared to gain nothing because of Liu Shu''s low level, was surprised. ''Huh? I usually gained about four experience points from that Level 16 Senior Tree, and I''ve gained two from a Level 2 Tree?'' Her eyes softened even more as she looked at Liu Shu. ''This little one is a box full of surprises. The fact that I can''t tell her race after pollinating her is also really mysterious.'' Flor looked around the area where Liu Shu was and realized that there were a few tall trees nearby. ''Hm. This should be enough for our race to live until she matures.'' Flor commented to the others. "I''ll stay here with the little one. Go and fetch the rest of our kind. We are moving here." Clavel''s eyes shone with delight. "Really?" Flor nodded with a smile. "Yes." Then, Flor caught the corpse of the River Beaver in her periphery and got thoughtful. ''What should we do about those who covet her? Hm¡­'' After giving a thoughtful look at Liu Shu, Flor told the fairies with a stern tone. "Explain to all the other fairies that we won''t protect her as we usually do. Unless she is at risk of dying, let her face against the beings that come to attack her." Flor''s eyes shone murderously as she finished her sentence. "They will become good fertilizers for the little one to grow." The eyes of the rest of the fairies landed on the dead River Beaver with indifference and nodded. Regardless of their motives, anyone who hurt Trees and Flowers was nothing but trash in their eyes. Liu Shu didn''t understand the more complicated parts of the conversation that ensued afterward, but she understood these little friends wanted to live by her side. Thinking of how much more fun it would be in the future, Liu Shu was delighted. To show her appreciation, large amounts of Aether Mana and Anima Energy began gathering around her branches. The fairies who were about to move out realized and looked at her curiously. They couldn''t sense a shred of hostility, so they weren''t worried. On the contrary, a spark of excitement flashed in their eyes. First, they saw the energy flow from the bottom of the tree''s roots across the beautiful trunk and into the branches. It didn''t take long to envelop all of Liu Shu''s branches, giving her an enchanting azure and amethyst glow. After that, from between the leaves, small flowers of four different colors started appearing one by one and growing at a visible rate. The fairies were mesmerized by the extraordinarily beautiful spectacle. The large amounts of Aether Mana and Anima Energy focusing on creating the flowers was something sacred for the Rose fairies. If hurting nature was something they loathed, the action of creation and life was something they adored. Seeing the little one use such a large part of her Aether Mana and Anima Energy made them all feel touched. Clavel wanted to say that it wasn''t necessary, feeling a bit of heartache at the enormous amounts of Aether Mana and Anima Energy being used, but Flor stopped her. "Let the little one do as she pleases. We are not going to pamper her but guide her. If she wants to give us something, we should accept it with a smile and use it to the best of our abilities. In the future, we will repay with our lives if necessary. Nature is about giving and taking, an exchange, a cycle. Regardless of what she gives us, we will return in kind." Clavel and the rest of the fairies nodded. "I understand." After about half an hour, the Aether Mana and Anima Energy she had gathered were completely consumed, making Liu Shu a bit tired. After all, she had used almost all of her entire Aether Mana and Anima Energy pools. Four messages appeared in her eyes. [You have produced 50 ! -50 Aether Mana Shards. - 50 Anima Shards.] [You have produced 50 ! -50 Aether Mana Shards. - 50 Anima Shards.] [You have produced 50 ! -50 Aether Mana Shards. - 50 Anima Shards.] [You have produced 50 ! -50 Aether Mana Shards. - 50 Anima Shards.] [You''ve reduced the ripening time on 200 flowers by 15 days. - 200 Aether Mana Shards. - 200 Anima Energy Shards.] [You''ve gained 40 Proficiency points!] Aether Mana: 50/450 (+16.2/Hour) Anima Energy: 80/480 (+17.28/Hour) Chapter 10. Rose Fairies Move In! After about half an hour, the Aether Mana and Anima Energy she had gathered were completely consumed, making Liu Shu a bit tired. After all, she had used almost all of her entire Aether Mana and Anima Energy pools. Four messages appeared in her eyes. [You have produced 50 ! -50 Aether Mana Shards. - 50 Anima Shards.] [You have produced 50 ! -50 Aether Mana Shards. - 50 Anima Shards.] [You have produced 50 ! -50 Aether Mana Shards. - 50 Anima Shards.] [You have produced 50 ! -50 Aether Mana Shards. - 50 Anima Shards.] [You''ve reduced the ripening time on 200 flowers by 15 days. - 200 Aether Mana Shards. - 200 Anima Energy Shards.] The tree in front of the fairies suddenly had hundreds of flowers appear and grow at an incredibly fast pace. This made them feel dumbfounded. While they''ve known creatures who could accelerate the growth of plants and other flora, it wasn''t to the point of what they just saw. However, when they looked at it and felt its aura, the tree''s current state entered their eyes. Aether Mana: 58/450 Anima Energy: 89/480 Their heart softened as they all flew around Liu Shu in a sign of gratefulness. While they couldn''t use their pollination skill, they had skills to make flora feel more comfortable. Liu Shu, feeling tired after using almost all her energy reserves, felt a wave of drowsiness and comfort hit her, and her slowly closed. With the comforting aura of the fairies, Liu Shu''s mind began drifting away, finally sleeping. Flor ordered the fairies to stop, and they floated around Liu Shi with gentle smiles. They could feel that the tree had entered deep sleep. Clavel giggled, hugging her trunk. "The little one is sleeping~. Thanks a lot for the hard work~." The other fairies also laughed and sat on the sleeping tree''s branches. While Liu Shu was not that tall, and her branches were very thin as a Willow Tree, they were sturdy enough to hold the petite fairies. Flor looked around for a few moments and said to them. "Let''s organize how we''ll go about this." Clavel commented. "Leader, have you seen what the flowers do yet? With your high level, it''s probably possible to see the hidden stats of the flowers. Sadly, I can only see the names of the fruits and not the effects." Flor nodded thoughtfully and approached each of the flowers to look at them. As she read further, her eyes kept widening. Once she read the effects on the four types of flowers, Flor stayed silent, her face thoughtful. ''This¡­ Are these truly the fruits a level two tree can grow?'' Be it the that could give three exp a day or the Phoer, Aether, and Anime berries that could regenerate fifty points of each a day, all of them were incredibly valuable. Normal beings'' natural regeneration took between a week and a month to recover all their energy reserves. Only special beings had fast-paced energy regeneration. For example, Liu Shu could recover her entire Aether, Phoer, and Anima reserves in around 28 hours. However, Flor needed ten times that, at around 280 hours. An extra 50 a day wouldn''t be a lot for her Aether Mana pool. After all, she could recover around 22 points per hour. However, her Phoer and Anima Energy were different. With the ability to recover not more than 7 Phoer and 10 Anime Energy, 50 extra a day would make a difference. And this was for her, who had nearly ten times the reserves of the other fairies. For level 1 or level 2 fairies, carrying these berries would be like having two or three times their total ternary reserves. Flor commented. "All of you leave quickly. I''ll protect her for a while as we move in. We''ve already delayed it enough." The Rose Fairies flew toward their nest and went to call and escort the low-level ones. Meanwhile, Flor rested on one of Liu Shu''s branches, surrounded by her relaxing and pleasant scent. She couldn''t help but laugh. ''She is not even a flower, but the scent around her doesn''t lose to one.'' "What should I do in the meantime?" Flor became thoughtful and looked around. Everything was very tangled, with corpses of many small creatures like bugs and such and a layer of dead leaves. "Hm. Should I clean up all of this and transform it into a fertilizer that the little one can eat?" Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. While they didn''t have specialized skills, as fairies who lived on trees, they were experts in taking care of them. The system didn''t record every creature''s skill, just those that required Aether Mana, Phoer, or Anima Energy to use. Architecture, gardening, and many other skills weren''t recorded until they evolved enough to be involved with the ternary essences in the surroundings. Flor flew down and used her Wind Aether mastery to sweep the accumulated dead leaves and insects around Liu Shu. So, while their values were about "letting nature take its course," that didn''t stop them from aiding nature. Slowly, the things around Liu Shu got ground together with dirt, creating something similar to fertilizer. Then, Flor sprinkled it around Liu Shu. ''When it rains, it will seep into the ground better.'' Liu Shu got a good and restful sleep, and when all her energies were full, her mind slowly woke up, her senses gently extending outward. She felt her trunk being pleasantly clean, a few of the fairies attending her branches, and when she gently moved her roots, the earth was tastier. ''Oh? What happened?'' Liu Shu opened her . Every fairy flying around paused, feeling the small tree''s presence spreading and enveloping them. A few of the low-level ones playfully flew around her while pleasantly giggling. "Good morning, little one." "Did you have a good rest?" "By the way, we trimmed your branches a bit. Do you mind?" "Little one, do you have a name?" "Right, we need a name!" Liu Shu''s mind couldn''t keep up with the conversation, making her feel a bit dizzy. Flor approached with a smile, her red hair and red eyes looking soft. "Don''t chat so much around her, children. Remember that trees are transcendent beings, so they take time to think about things." They all nodded while giggling. Flor approached and commented. "Little one, we''ve decided to give you a name, are you okay with it?" Clavel appeared, hugging Liu Shu with a large smile. "While calling you little one is fun, we want to give you a proper name. How about it?" Liu Shu looked at them, understanding that they wanted to name her. She instantly becomes upset, her aura clearly taking a sullen look. This startled the fairies, and Flor asked softly. "What''s wrong?" Liu Shu, unable to communicate, wanted to tell them that she already had a name. ''I don''t want to be called other than my name! Tianlian Liu Shu is really nice! Tianlian Liu Shu is my name!'' Liu Shu paused. ''Wait, why is "little one" allowed?'' She pondered at the instinctive knowledge of pet names, which was a bit strange to have. Of course, Liu Shu was not aware of what pet names were, nor that it was strange to know about that. She was confused because she didn''t feel bad when they called her little one. Clavel looked at Flor and commented. "Leader, maybe she doesn''t like being named?" Flor pondered. "But she didn''t react when we called her ''Little one'' or any other pet names." Clavel paused, looking at the moody tree with a helpless look. "Then, do we continue calling you ''little one''?" Liu Shu stopped swaying around moodily. Internally, she thought. ''I wonder if it is possible to communicate with others in the future?'' Flor commented. "By the way, dear." Liu Shu paid attention and looked at her. "I wanted to tell you about how to use your ternary essences better so that you don''t get tired." ''Oh! I can use them better?'' Flor commented. "You should see that you have a recovery speed, right? You can gain a few points by absorbing the ambient essence, and that rate is fixed on your system page." Liu Shu looked at the numbers and internally nodded. Flor smiled. "Then, use just a bit more of that so that you are constantly cycling the energy. This will make your expertise at using them even better, and in the future, things that now cost you 10 Aether Mana might cost you less." After speaking, Flor left with Clavel to check out the surrounding trees, where the fairies would live until Liu Shu grew big enough to become their house. In the meantime, Liu Shu slowly mulled over Flor''s words in her young mind. Soon, she reached a conclusion. ''Hmm¡­ So, I can increase the growth of 17 flowers an hour?'' With that in mind, she started moving her Aether Mana and Anima Energy. Instead of just using the skill as it was, following her instincts, she did so more consciously. An hour had gone by since Flor mentioned it, but when her energy began moving, the Rose Fairy leader looked over together with other high-leveled Rose Fairies that had good energy sensitivity. Instead of the massive wave of Aether Mana and Anima Energy that she had gathered in the past, they could see controlled strands of it flowing from the roots touching the ground, up her trunk, and into one of her branches. There, the two energies slowly intertwined, flowing into one of the flowers. This flower lightly glowed, surrounded by Liu Shu''s energy, and the fairies could see a small fruit appear from her stem, slowly fattening and becoming larger. The fruit grew, and in a few minutes, it became a plump and delicious-looking berry. Aster was speechless. "Isn''t she just Level 2? How in the Great Root''s name does she have such precise energy control?" Clavel laughed. "Isn''t that control better than ours?" Flor looked at them. "It''s not like we have exquisite control." Clavel pouted. "We are not that bad!" Flor rolled her eyes. "While Level 10 is a big number around here, levels go much higher. I remember hearing that some people in a city to the east have even reached Level 20 and above." Clavel and Aster opened their eyes and stuttered. "L-Level 20?" "H-How old are they, 200?" Flor looked at them and regretted telling them about it a bit. ''Maybe they will become upset about it and become scared of adventuring¡­ The shock I received back when I realized it was also quite large. I almost stopped going out of fear. After all, if someone like that finds you and wants to harm you, what can you do other than lay down and wait for death?'' Flor looked at the hundreds of fairies flying around and sighed. ''Our race is quite weak¡­ We are quite fortunate that this forest area has very low-level resources, and therefore, the groups and races here are quite low-leveled. That old tree we resided in is the highest-level being, at Level 16.'' She couldn''t help but look wistfully at the relatively tiny tree that was slowly learning to control the energies around it. ''Level 20 and above¡­ Maybe you are the answer to that.'' Flor smiled at them. "Don''t worry. Such beings are very powerful and usually never leave because they must protect their people against other similarly strong powers. It''s similar to what I represent for you. Do you see me leaving our home often? Still, be careful when you see new beings." The two fairies released a sigh of relief, becoming cheerful again. Flor smiled secretly. ''A small white lie will not harm anybody.'' Then, she looked around and pondered. ''We need to eliminate our traces as best as possible so that creatures don''t get scared and stop approaching the little one. We don''t want to come in the way of her natural development, after all.'' With that in mind, she began giving orders. Chapter 11. One Week Later. New Sensations. A week had gone by since the Rose Fairies had arrived. During this time, Liu Shu had been focusing on using her skill, slowly making it part of her natural cycle. While a week was not much time, Liu Shu could now spare some time for other things. Her Aether Mana and Anima Energy were always kept at more than 95%. Moreover, with such consumption, Liu Shu could nourish the 200 berries with ease, leaving even some hours a day where she was at 100% energy. At those times, Liu Shu practiced her other skills. One that had been too complicated to use was . Unlike her [Passive Skills], her [Talents] weren''t instinctual at all. They needed conscious practice to be used. was a powerful E+ Rank skill, so the complexity of use was leagues above , , or . Once she tried to use it to accelerate the growth of the plants around her, she felt as if her soul was about to be drained from her roots. She had realized that the skill, with her current proficiency of use, needed at least 100 points of Aether Mana and Anima Energy per second. In short, for now, it was unusable. Other than that, her gains were quite good. In the seven days Liu Shu spent with the fairies, she gained many things in addition to improving her quality of life. First of all, the fairies took care of her and even groomed her, making her feel extremely happy every day. They cleaned anything that got stuck in her trunk, took care of the minor harmful bugs that Liu Shu could do nothing about, and mixed things Liu Shu didn''t know about on the earth, which made it tastier! Her roots near her trunk were always wriggling in happiness at the savory earth that surrounded her. Other than that, Liu Shu was always expectant of the morning because the biggest fairy, Flor, would come and dance around her, leaving a trail of red dust that was even tastier than the earth and felt tremendously good. Moreover, each time, Liu Shu would gain 10 Experience Points. So, just from that, Liu Shu had gathered 70 Experience Points! Then, thanks to her Energy Gathering Method, she gained 14 additional Experience Points. That wasn''t all. There were a few fairies patrolling her surroundings, and when one creature approached, Liu Shu curiously saw all the fairies flying into the trees, leaving her alone. At those moments, because her couldn''t reach as far as normal eyesight, Liu Shu would become confused. ''Why do they leave me alone?'' Of course, she couldn''t ask, and she could also feel a few of them hiding in the canopy of nearby trees. With her improved 40-meter radius 360 degrees vision, she could see the closest trees. Of course, the beings that approached were varied: plant creatures, animal creatures, flying beings, small rodents that wanted to burrow in her roots, and many other tiny beings. All of them were Level 5 and below. There was a change, though. All Level 1 and Level 0 beings had stopped bothering her when she used her aura as intimidation. For the rest, Level 2 and 3 creatures that she killed gave just 1 Experience Point, Level 4 creatures gave 2 EXP, and Level 5 creatures gave 4 EXP. Because of her growth and increase in her aura, adding to the increase in the level of her skill because of the constant visit from the fairies, she attracted exponentially more beings as the day passed. Those who didn''t attack her began living in the surroundings, slowly creating an ecosystem. Those who attacked her¡­ Well, they were all whacked to death by her branches. Remember that Liu Shu had 25 Physique Points. How much was that? An average creature with Physique as their main stat at the F+ Rank needed to be Level 9 to have an average of 21 Physique Points. So, while she was Level 2, she had stats similar to a Level 9 creature. Moreover, if you look at her numbers, she had high numbers for all her stats. This was not common, as other beings had one stat much higher than the others. Still, be it her Aether, Willpower, Physique, or Anima, all of them were close to specialized creatures at Level 9 of the F+ Rank. In short, any being at level 5 or below who attacked her was doing nothing but throwing their life away to feed our Liu Shu Experience Points. Liu Shu calmly listened to Clavel speak as the fairy took one of her branches and slowly applied a strange paste to it. "Little one, do you like it here?" Liu Shu groaned in her mind as the tiny hands gently applied whatever Clavel was using. ''It feels so nice~.'' Clavel felt happy feelings coming from Liu Shu, and her eyes curved in a crescent as she smiled. "That''s good." Then, Clavel moved up the branch and slowly moved toward the root. She was careful not to touch the leaves to avoid damaging them. The thing she was using was a mix of natural oils created to moisturize the bark of trees. As Clavel moved toward the main trunk and started moving downward, her eyes couldn''t help but linger on the two apparent bulges three-quarters up on the trunk. ''Hm? Are they getting bigger, or is my mind playing tricks on me?'' If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Clavel curiously touched them and squeezed. ''Huh? What? It''s softer than the other bark-'' Suddenly, her hand was slapped by a branch. Clavel hissed, looking at the tree with a puzzled expression. "What''s wrong, little one?" Meanwhile, Liu Shu''s mind was a bit chaotic. ''W-What was that feeling?'' Liu Shu didn''t feel much when Clavel touched that part of her trunk. It was similar to the rest of her body. However, the moment Clavel started fondling and pressing, Liu Shu felt her mind go blank for a second as an unknown sensation flooded her mind. Out of fear for the new sensation, she instantly attacked whatever was touching her. Thankfully, she didn''t hit Clavel with all her might, or her hand would''ve been more than red. Feeling guilty, Liu Shu looked at Clavel and thought about how to compensate her. Clavel, on the other hand, was confused and asked softly. "What''s wrong, Little one? Did I press too hard? Hm¡­ Let''s use our communication method, okay?" During this week, the fairies realized that the level of sentience in Liu Shu was extraordinarily high for a tree. Therefore, they created a yes and no answer method. If the answer was no, Liu Shu would release her Aether Mana Aura. If it were a yes, she would release her Anima Energy Aura. This allowed for simple communication between them and also pushed Liu Shu to practice "thought" and Aether Mana and Anima Energy control. Liu Shu remembered what they had explained in the past, so after a few minutes of digesting Clavel''s words, she released her Anima Energy Aura to answer yes. For the fairies, it would be a lie to say that it wasn''t tedious to communicate with the slow-thinking tree. After all, sometimes they would have to wait even hours to receive a yes or a no. By the way, it was with this method that the Fairies learned that Liu Shu already had a name. Of course, with their method, they couldn''t really know which name she had. After all, while Liu Shu could understand speech thanks to her most powerful SSS Rank skill, reading and writing were still not possible. Even if she had the ability to use the SSS Rank passive, she couldn''t fully utilize those skills with her current level of strength. It was like using a cup to take water out of a clean lake. The water she took could be drunk, but if you spoke about using the entire lake at once, it was impossible. So, for now, she had the ability to understand all kinds of speech but nothing further than that. Clavel began asking. "Did you like it when I touched you?" She was actually quite nervous. What if their little one was just being polite by letting them touch her at will, but in truth, she hated it? Clavel would feel awful if that was the case. Thankfully for her, a small stream of Anima Energy came her way after five minutes of nerve-wracking wait. Clavel sighed in relief. "That''s good, that''s good." Then, Clavel looked at the two bumps on Liu Shu''s trunk. Honestly, all the fairies had somewhat realized that Liu Shu, even as a tree, somewhat resembled the body of a female. However, trees grew in all kinds of shapes, and coincidences as such were not that uncommon. Moreover, it was common sense that all trees were female, so the fact that some adopted semi-humanoid shapes was taken as the tree''s femininity shaping their trunks. What the Rose Fairies didn''t know about was that trees could feel pleasure, not common pleasure like the one Liu Shu exhibited when eating, but sexual pleasure. Trees developed by themselves and didn''t need a mate to produce seeds. They could produce them easily and spread them around, using the earth as fertilizer to reproduce. The way they evolved happened during the life of the tree. Unlike humans, who combined the gene pools of two people to create a completely new life, trees subconsciously changed their own genes during their long lives, and the seeds they spread around would then blossom with those new traits. This was also why flora was everywhere, including volcanic regions. Trees in those areas had slowly evolved to not only resist fire but also feed on it. Naturally, this didn''t mean that trees couldn''t reproduce sexually. If not, Sylvans wouldn''t exist. But this was something that will be explored later quite¡­ in depth. Clavel, who didn''t know that she had just pressed on one of Liu Shu''s erogenous points, asked confusedly. "Did you slap my hand because you felt uncomfortable?" Liu Shu began thinking about it. ''Uncomfortable? Hm¡­ It was definitely strange. But, it wasn''t uncomfortable.'' After mulling over it, she decided to answer "no." Clavel tilted her head, feeling confused. ''Why did she slap my hand otherwise?'' Aster, her friend, came and saw Clavel looking at Liu Shu confusedly. "What''s wrong, Clavel?" Clavel turned her head and commented. "Oh, Aster. Well, you see¡­" Aster listened and also became confused. She commented. "How about you finish spreading the paste first? Look at her." Clavel looked and saw that only the upper part had a transparent, slimy substance. She commented. "Help me with it, Aster." Aster had no problems with that, and both fairies got to work. Their hands descended, and they carefully looked at Liu Shu when they approached the waist area. After all, Clavel and Aster could guess that Liu Shu reacted when Clavel touched the "breast-looking" area on the trunk. So, this time, they were extremely careful when applying the natural paste. Liu Shu looked at them with curiosity, but the feeling was as usual because of their carefulness. ''Strange¡­ What happened back then?'' Although she was confused, she didn''t mull over it for long. A Level 5 Fairy approached and commented. "There is a small group of [Earth Carving Hare] coming this way. Our little one has probably attracted them." Clavel and Aster were already done with the paste, so they flew upward. Clavel smiled. "Have fun, little one." Liu Shu looked at how the fairies went into the canopies, leaving her alone, and mentally sighed. ''Are any other little friends approaching? Or are they the bad little friends?'' Her extended to its maximum range, and soon, she saw a group of yellowish quadrupedal fluff balls hopping her way. Looking at them closely, she saw that there were six creatures, three of them Level 3, two of them Level 4, and one of them Level 5. Liu Shu observed them as she saw their noses twitching and approaching her. Naturally, she didn''t react wrongly. It was not that she disliked creatures approaching her; it was just when they had bad intentions or treated her as prey. So, as the five hares hopped closer and sniffed the ground, Liu Shu looked at them curiously. ''I''ve never seen this kind of little friend.'' She looked at their stats page, just to be sure, and saw nothing menacing or wrong with them. The leading hare titled her head, its ears straightening as it suddenly looked around alertly. However, Liu Shu didn''t find it strange as her senses also picked up something. Danger. Extreme danger that she had never felt before. Then, from the edge of her senses, a being shot at tremendous speed, like a predator, and arrived in front of the five hares. Naturally, the five small animals tried to dodge and run, their speed extremely quick for their level. However, it was useless, and Liu Shu knew it. The reason? The message that popped in front of her. [ has attracted a . Proficiency increased by 110.] Chapter 12. Froorar the Thronstride Chief. [ has attracted a . Proficiency increased by 110.] ''Huh?'' Once she read that message, all her usual activities stopped as she focused her every cell into her perception. Then, a semi-bipedal creature shot from the bushes and landed on the ground where the group of hares was. It looked around and shot in the direction of one of the strongest hares. With extreme ease, his sharp claw dug into the creature''s neck, beheading it. Without looking back for a single instant, he moved quickly toward the Level 4 one, similarly killing it in an instant. Then, it stopped. Liu Shu, who had barely managed to follow his movements, was as still as possible, her energy careful not to spread outward and trying to control every inch of her skin. She knew, from the bottom of her heart, that if that thing attacked her, she had no chance of surviving. ''What is that? It''s so different from the other Thornstride I saw in the past.'' The Level 11 Thornstride sniffed the air and tilted its head. "What''s this scent?" Hearing it speak, she was surprised. Until now, all Thornstride she had met were not much more intelligent than any other random beasts she had encountered. Curious, he looked around, observing the trees with its penetrating gaze. After all, while they fed on other animals, their diet was also filled with trees. He calmly approached the two hunted prey, picking them up and constantly observing his surroundings. Liu Shu''s relatively small height compared to other trees was quite a life-saver for now, as a scent as enticing as hers would never come from a small tree. "Strange. All the biggest trees here are Level 7 or Level 8¡­ Still, even while faint, I can smell something that should be quite nutritious around here¡­" The Thornstride began taking bloody bites out of the corpse, spreading the sound of crunching bones as it masticated the freshly caught hares. "Well, whatever. I was searching for the Rose Fairies¡­ Where was their camp? About a few hours east from here? Or was it north? Tsk. So complicated, why has that boy disappeared for so long?" While the Thornstride mumbled as it ate, the Rose Fairies in the trees'' canopies were extremely tense. The second it appeared, Clavel''s heart almost dropped to the ground. ''We need to call the leader quickly!'' She silently jumped from branch to branch, reaching the side of a lithe Rose Fairy. "Zinia, go quickly to find the Leader. You are the fastest of us. If something happens, we''ll try to stop him, but we can''t do much without Leader Flor being present." Flor was currently out, leveling by hunting some creatures that harmed the forest. It was something all Rose Fairies did in their spare time as protectors of the forest. However, as a Level 10, the Experience Points she gained from lower-level creatures were quite pitiful, so she did so very rarely. Pollinating Liu Shu and doing other similar activities was much more efficient. Zinia first moved silently through the branched and then took flight, speeding in the direction Flor left. Clavel saw the Thornstride killing the two hares and looking around curiously with sharp eyes. ''The second he approaches the Little One, we attack as one." With Zinia out, a Level 8 Rose fairy, there was one Level 9, two Level 8, and around nine Level 7 Rose Fairies. Level 6 fairies and below would probably be unable to pierce the defense of a Level 11 Thornstride. Their bark-like skin was tough and durable. The Thornstride, intending to leave, started to walk in the northeast direction, the direction it thought the Rose Fairies were. Still, Liu Shu, who was north of the Thornstride position, felt as if it was approaching her. Liu Shu hastily looked at his Status Window to find something that could save her. *** Name: Froorar Titles: : The Current Leader of the Thornstride Tribe in the [Golden Sap Forest]. All Stats +5. : Gained and evolved after eating 1,000 Trees of Level 5 or above. Damage against Tree beings increased by 15%. : Because of his exceptional strength in the area he resides in, he has gained control of a piece of land. Any creature that steps inside and is weaker than the user will feel intimidated. +5 to all stats while in your territory Race: Adult Barkskin Thornstride. Energy Method: --- Level: 11 [248/5849] Aether Mana Shards: 2985/3075 Phoer Body Shards: 8074/8074 Anima Energy Shards: 4609/4624 Attributes: Aether 26 (15+11), Physique 63 (41+22), Anima 48 (23+15), Willpower 49 (44+5), Destiny 27 (22+5) Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (7.5), Physique Refinement (16.5), Anima Affinity (10.6) Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (11), Physique Resistance (15), Spiritual Resistance (12), Mental Resistance (13) Talents: : Bite a tree and decrease its physical resistance by 20%. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. : Slash with the powerful claws. Ignore 15% defense if it is a Tree. : Use your powerful hind leg muscles and coat them in Aether Mana, making a quick dash. : Use your presence and Anima Energy as a Tribe Leader to roar and enhance all their and your attributes by 5% for 5 minutes. Passive Skills: : Your nose is 6 times stronger than usual. You can catch the scent of creatures that would boost your strength if they are six levels lower than you. : Your skin is tough and resistant to slash and piercing damage. Attacks below a certain threshold do nothing to you. Reduce those two damage types by 15%. : You gained this skill after reaching Level 10 and before the age of 35. For a creature with 45 Years of Lifespan, you can be considered a successful adult, allowing you to have a semi-evolution and gain a bipedal form. Your children will have a higher chance of being successful adults. However, your fertility with undeveloped females has fallen drastically. Accumulated Experience: 0 *** After Liu Shu looked at his Status Window, she became even stiller. Her entire body assimilated with the nature around her, looking like any other tree. ''I can''t win.'' Of course, for someone at Froorar''s level, a small tree such as Liu Shu was completely ignored. Froorar, aiming northeast from his position, started gathering Aether Mana on his powerful hind legs to flash into the forest and try to find the Rose Fairies. However, neither she nor the Rose fairies had any way of knowing that. Therefore, when he started walking in Liu Shu''s direction and looked ready to pounce, Clavel and the other Rose Fairies became nervous and came forward. After all, with their speed, it would be too late to decide after Froorar shot forward. His speed was too fast. Amapola, the Level 9 Rose Fairy, took the lead. "Attack!" Froorar''s pupils shrunk when he felt dozens of wind blades shooting toward him. Using his about-to-complete skill, , his body flashed forward as he dodged everything coming his way. Bang! Bang! Bang! Several attacks landed where he previously was, leaving deep traces on the earth. Froorar looked around with his lizard-like head, and his stiff lips arched, cracking in a few places. "I don''t know how you knew I was here, but this makes things easier. Tell me, Rose Fairies, where is my son?" Let''s turn back the clock to two days ago. About 20 kilometers south of where Liu Shu was, Froorar was frowning, sitting on a wooden chair. Well, more than a chair, it was a tree stump carved to have enough space for him to sit. His body was tall, nearly reaching 2 meters in height, and while he could walk in a bipedal way, his form leaned more toward quadrupedal movement. While some would say that he was humanoid, in truth, he was just bigger than other Thornstrides and had longer and stronger hind legs to support his body. His skin was rough like a tree''s bark, and his hands and feet were lizard-like, with long claws. Especially the middle claw of his four fingers, which had a sharp and stiff look that gleamed with the Sun. Other than that, the most prominent characteristic was his elongated face, which made him look as if he had a lizard''s face and a thick tail that dragged on the ground. A quadrupedal Thornstride, who was snuggled by his side, asked, lifting her face. "What''s wrong, Tribe Leader?" Thornstrides that were weaker than Level 7 could barely talk a few words, but communicating with each other was possible. Froorar asked. "Any news about Fraar? He has been missing for a while already. Didn''t he say that he would be back after two sunrises? It''s been many since he left." A male Thornstride chomping at a fallen tree spoke in a hissing and raspy voice. "We''ve sent a few warriors to find out about him." The Thornstride that was snuggling by Froorar''s side, looking thinner and with softer edges all around, spoke in a higher-pitched hissing voice. "We must find my child!" Froorar looked at the female Thornstride with a frown. "If he died outside, it''s his fault. We''ll just have to create another batch of eggs." The lizard blinked, and her expression changed. For a human, it would look strange, as if she was strained or something, but it was supposed to be a "shy" look. "Yes, leader." She was the second-highest-level female of the clan, with the first being more independent and rarely grouping with the tribe, so she was Froorar''s primary mate. This was an extremely good advantage since she could eat and live almost as she pleased. Because Froorar had been raising Fraar to become his successor, she had been ignored for a while, but now that he needed another child, it was normal for him to come to her again. While it was true that losing her child was sad, Fraar was the only male child, so as long as she managed to give birth to another one, her position would remain fixed. Parent-child love naturally existed, but Fraar was not a very good seedling other than having good genes. He lacked intelligence and sharpness and was very impulsive. If he weren''t one of Froorar''s only two children, he wouldn''t even be considered by Froorar. Meanwhile, another female lizard at his side frowned. "Father, why can''t I be the future chief?" While this one was relatively young, she was an astounding Level 9 Thornstride. Her father looked at her and shook his head. "I''ve never heard of a female that can break the limit and become a level 10. I told you before that unless you can reach Level 10, the chief''s position must be held by a male." The female beast hissed and slapped a log at the side with her tail, creating a loud bang and making it roll. Then, she walked off with a huff into the forest, leaving one sentence behind. "I''ll show you, then." Froorar looked at her, departing back and internally. ''It''s not that I don''t want to, but the other males will try to make you surrender to steal the chief position unless you are strong enough¡­'' He knew that if he announced his daughter as his successor, there would be many who would start courting her in earnest. Power was attractive because of the titles that you gained after becoming the chief. Froorar didn''t want to place such a burden on his daughter and create a situation where the clan could be divided in an internal strife. After reaching Level 10, the intelligence of creatures did a qualitative jump. It wasn''t too big of a jump, and Froorar was far from comparing to any creature that was born humanoid from birth, but it was enough that he could think of some of these things when the rest were, quite literally, instinct-driven and impulsive beasts. Of course, they were different from common, mindless beasts, but they were not even close to being as developed as the sapient races like humans or Sylvans. The line that divided wild creatures and intelligent creatures was quite blurred, which was the origin of the multiple conflicts that constantly happened all around the world. Froorar thought deeply about Fraar''s disappearance; in his opinion, the ones who should be able to endanger Fraar knew that he was his child, so unless he did something stupid, they would not kill him. Other than that, being at Level 7 and having quite a few advantages since birth, he was quite a strong being to die in the forest randomly. ''A new arrival? Perhaps a group has finally decided to move in the offensive? Or did outsiders come?'' Outsiders referred to creatures from outside the forest who came occasionally. Froorar had met a few, and he had to escape more than once. Without being able to reach any answers with his limited intelligence, he decided to take a look personally. While that son of his was not very bright, his instincts were always top-notch. He wouldn''t provoke something he can''t win against. The only option that remained in his mind was that he had been purposely killed by one of the other tribes if it was not something done by outsiders. ''Well, it''s been a while since I left. Rose Fairies, River Beavers, Fire Ants, and Myconids¡­ Who should I visit first to ask about it?'' Of course, his thought was "asking," but his body spread an aura of wanting to do a little more than just asking. The female Thornstride approached and rubbed on his leg. "C-Chief, can we¡­?" The man shook his head and leaned down to pat her head. "Mating comes later. I need to check what happened." Then, with a powerful jump, he disappeared into the forest. Chapter 13. Fire Ants and Experience Points Explanation. In another part of the forest, in a deep cave not too far away from Liu Shu, a seductive woman lay on a bed made from leaves, branches, and a handcrafted sheet to insulate her from the cold, rocky floor. In addition, about twenty bugs the size of a large dog crawled around and carried mushed food in oval shapes, stacking it probably for the woman to eat later. All these insects had six legs, a large thorax, and a pair of large and powerful mandibles. They were ants. The seductive woman was also not very human-like. While she was the shape of a human woman, she had compound eyes and a pair of long antennae sticking from her forehead. Inside her mouth, there were a set of powerful teeth and fangs. Her body was the size of an average female, and the dress she wore had a reddish texture and also looked like many layered carapaces. This dress was also opened on the back, allowing for her own extra appendage to stick outside. It was an extremely thick and large thorax attached to where her tailbone would be. The color of the carapace matched her eyes and hair, a beautiful red color. She was the . After resting for a few hours, the Ant Queen woke up. Her compound eyes didn''t have eyelids, as they were attached to her face, so the first thing she did to wake up was soak her face in water, cleaning the accumulated dirt that impeded her vision. Looking around at her little children moving, she sighed, looking a bit bored. ''Another uneventful day.'' When her children saw that she was awake, a few of the youngest approached and began crawling all over her. This made the bored Ant Queen smile, and she used her clawed hands to pet them. "Good morning, my children." While she spoke with sound, her antennae similarly secreted pheromones to communicate with the least developed children. After she crossed the Level 10 boundary, there were almost no challenges left in the forest. It was not easy protecting her ant colony until she went from a to a . However, after finally crossing that boundary and gaining a humanoid body, there were almost no creatures in Golden Sap Forest who even dared attack her nest. Therefore, the Ant Queen focused on increasing her proficiency in her skills, especially her egg-laying capacities. It had been a few years since she started this routine. By now, she had a few skills at the max level and was ready to be upgraded to the next tier, but she lacked comprehension and experience points. While breaking through the tier could be said to be as simple as using experience points, that was not entirely the case for non-World Tree creatures. First, one needed to understand the skill''s essence, and then one needed to study how to improve it. That''s why many beasts who were born with F Rank skills were stuck in this rank generation after generation. Reaching an F+ Rank from an F- Rank was not difficult; it was a matter of time, but evolving it to an E- Rank was the complicated part. The reason creatures became human-like as they increased levels and gained intelligence was exactly this. A creature without intelligence would never be able to overcome the limits set by their birth. But, on the off-chance that one creature from that species was born intelligent enough and managed to increase enough levels, they would eventually develop their species toward a new place. The current strongest beings were creatures of the past whose ancestors managed to consecutively break through these limits. Meanwhile, as the little darlings of the Universe, World Trees just needed to spend experience since their birth was somewhat connected with the energy around them. This allowed all World Trees to understand what to do to increase tiers, levels, etc. The only thing holding back World Trees was, first, their immobile nature. Second, some creatures actively hunted them and gave a lot of experience points when they died. Third, the struggle they had to go through to reach a state of maturity. Many died before they could spread their roots or gain offensive skills to defend themselves. Moreover, while defensive skills were normal to develop in World Trees, World Trees that could develop offensive skills early on were extremely rare. And finally, their slow growth and inability to gain too many experience points. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The higher a creature''s tier, the more experience it needed to cross levels. World Trees were naturally born with high tiers, which made it impossible for them to gain as many Experience Points as other beings during combat and with many other sources. Creatures in the past have tried to "force-feed" prey to World Trees they adored by offering sacrifices and such. But the System was fair and somewhat sentient. Growth needed to be natural, and trying to circumvent the rules never ended in a positive outcome. If one wanted to get stronger, then one needed to, well, "experience" things. That''s why they were called "Experience Points." Meanwhile, the rest of the creatures needed more than just experience. They needed to understand the skill, how it worked, and what kind of path the skill could follow to become stronger. For example, one of the Queen''s abilities before it reached F+ rank was . After she maxed out this attack skill, she used her knowledge in Fire Aether Mana to make it break through into . This already set up the skill to become E Rank because of the large change in the nature of the skill. The Ant Queen managed to do so after becoming humanoid. She felt that her glands were not enough to produce as much attacking spit, so she transformed the skill. As with everything, it was not always necessary to do this kind of change, as some skills with higher potential could break through with just experience. However, for most skills, one must understand and then tier up. These nuances to the system that creatures understood instinctively were also why most creatures didn''t go on a slaughter, killing everything in sight to level up their things. A creature needed as much comprehension as it needed experience points. One without the other amounted to nothing. The Fire Ant Queen ate the food prepared for her by her ant workers when she suddenly heard a loud explosion outside her nest. ''Oh? A visitor?'' Her antennae twitched, and a smile spread on her lips. However, as she prepared to climb to the surface, she felt the death of some of her high-level fighter children, which made her smile disappear as cold rage burned in her compound red eyes. At her maximum speed, the Ant Queen moved and flashed through the complicated tunnels, reaching the nest''s entrance in just a few seconds. She was followed by hundreds of ants that flooded outward like a brown tide. When she arrived outside, she could see a few injured ants surrounding a tall, burly half-man, half-lizard. And further outside, she could see one of her Level 7 children with her head missing. Her compound eyes took everything in as her sight finally fell onto the lizard-like creature with bark-like skin. "Ho, ho? I didn''t expect Froorar to come to my humble nest. To what pleasure do I owe your visit? Was it fun to slaughter one of my children?" The man frowned, feeling the killing intent radiating from the Ant Queen, and looked at her deeply. "Ignatia, do you have anything to do with Fraar''s disappearance?" Ignatia, the Ant Queen, showed an honest, confused expression. "What are you talking about?" Froorar nodded. "It''s not the Myconids, it''s not the River Beavers, and it is not you either¡­ Did the Rose Fairies take action?" Ignatia frowned when she saw Froorar turn around to leave. She spoke chillingly. "Hey, do you think this is your nest? You came, injured my children, killed one of them, and now you want to leave?" Froorar stopped and looked back menacingly. "I killed it because it was getting annoying. I didn''t have any intentions of killing any of them, so what''s the problem?" Ignatia''s lips split into a murderous grin far larger than a human''s anatomy would ever be able to make. "Do you think that you are invincible because you''ve reached Level 11?" Froorar stomped the ground, making it crack, and smiled coldly. "I do think I am. What can you do about it? Go ahead if you want to challenge me and lose half your colony. I could do some roasted ant-meat for dinner." Ignatia''s hair flowed as Aether Mana and Anima Energy gathered around her. Froorar''s face changed when he realized something, and he became serious. "You are also Level 11?" Ignatia looked at him coldly, but after a few seconds, she snorted and dispelled her energies. "Leave. Next time, call me before you hurt my children, or I''ll visit your nest with them so that they have a feast. This is my last warning, Froorar: If I hear that any of my children have died at the hands of any of your people, I won''t rest until your species has been eliminated from the Golden Sap Forest!" Froorar squinted, but he didn''t say anything. He knew that Ignatia''s ant army easily crossed a thousand units. Even if they were generally weaker than Thornstrides, their innate ability to spit inflammable substances and work as one could literally drown a stronger creature in a fire. Froorar killed that Level 7 Ant because it went crazy and attacked him. If not, as he did with the rest, he would''ve just injured them. Moreover, he also had confidence in his Level of advantage. But now that he knew that Ignatia had caught up with him, he became cautious. In short, provoking the Ant Queen wasn''t worth it. After giving her one last look, Froorar turned around and entered the forest again. Ignatia looked at his disappearing figure and got thoughtful as she approached her dead child. ''Something happened to Fraar?'' Her lips arched, and she ordered, her compound eyes gleaming with interest. "Scouts, search around the area for clues of what is happening. Focus in the east area." A few dozen black and green ants scurried out of the nest and entered the forest, perfectly camouflaging with their surroundings. Ignatia smiled and sashayed her wide hips away, the large ant appendage swaying behind her. "it seems that the stale forest is about to become fun again. My colony will thrive in war and grow." Then, Ignatia calmly entered her nest and went to the nursery. She saw a few empty spots where there weren''t any larvae or pupae and moved her ant appendage. Ignatia squinted and smiled in pleasure as she placed 20 new . ''Ah, so refreshing~.'' [You''ve gained 8 Experience Points after laying 10x , 7x , 2x , and 1x .] Ignatia tilted her head. ''Warrior? Lucky~, three of my children are in F+ ranks today! Moreover, one of them is a very rare warrior! One of those can fight against three normal F+ Soldiers~.'' She patted those three eggs lovingly with a happy smile and kissed the Warrior egg. Then, she returned to her room and lay back on her comfortable bed, starting to eat the accumulated food so that she could lay more eggs tomorrow. ''I wonder what interesting things will my children find?'' Chapter 14. Froorar’s Might. "Tell me, Rose Fairies, where is my son?" After the Thornstride leader asked that question, nobody answered. All of them looked at him with wary eyes as they prepared for a battle of endurance until Flor arrived. Even if the odds were 12 against 1, the fairies would not have much of an advantage. Even the strongest Amapola had these values as her ternary essences. Aether Mana: 2174/2174 Phoer: 675/675 Anima: 990/990 If we then added her primary attribute, Aether, which is 21 points, it would not have been nearly enough to fight the Level 11 powerhouse. Amapola, as the strongest, took the lead in the conversation. "Tribe Leader Froorar, we know nothing about your child. Leave this place before our leader, Flor, arrives." Froorar squinted, his vertical pupils thinning. "Amapola, you should already know that the little group you have gathered is not nearly strong enough to fight me." Amapola spoke indifferently. "Remember what''s our advantage. If we go into an all-out war, you might end up as the last Thornstride alive. We might be unable to kill you, but the rest are easy prey for us. We''ve maintained peace for more than four generations. Do you really want to break the peace our ancestors worked hard to bring to the Golden Sap Forest?" Froorar laughed in mockery, his throat making strange noises. "Peace is what made our Forest weaken to this extent. The nature of the world is to fight. If not, why would the ancestral voice make us stronger through slaughter." Amapola''s face twisted, her red hair blowing with the Astral Wind. "YOU DARE!? The system promulges peace through nature''s many resources to increase our strength! Strength is to protect nature, not to raze it to the ground! You all would disappear from existence without the protection Nature gives you, and yet, you are ignorant enough to not only not protect but EAT trees!" Amapola wanted to keep berating, but Froorar lifted one of his feet and stomped it down. BANG! Liu Shu internally grunted as the shockwave traveled through the earth and hit her roots and core like a maze. [-2] Froorar was not too far away from Liu Shu''s current position. That''s why it damaged her slightly. However, her body quickly healed this kind of damage. Froorar growled. "Amapola, do I look like I came here to listen to your ramblings!? Tell me where my child is, and I''ll leave your pathetic tree-hugging race live!" Amapola raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be an insult? Chief Froorar, as I said at first, we know nothing about where your child went." Froorar snorted, looking around with curiosity at the gathered Rose fairies. "However, how did you find me? Moreover, almost all of you are around." He smiled coldly, the stiff lips arching. "Did I come here leaving plenty of hints? Why could you follow me or even find me so soon?" Amapola frowned. "Did you think we would answer?" Froorar sneered. "No. But, even though I won''t kill you yet, I can have some fun." Right after he said that Amapola''s face dropped. "Attack!" All twelve fairies moved into action and separated, quickly flying in different directions with the use of their Wind Aether mastery. However, Froorar was Level 11. Not only has he breached the Level 10 threshold, he has even increased a level after that. Before some of the fairies could even react, Froorar shot forward at tremendous speed, jumping and quickly barreling toward one of the Level 7 fairies. The sound of bones breaking filled the forest while the small, 20-centimeter-tall fairy blew against a tree several meters away, life and death unknown. However, because he had to jump, his trajectory was really predictable. As Froorar was about to land, a barrage of wind blades arrived and slashed him all over. Stolen story; please report. However, the thick defense around him allowed him to tank everything, losing just around 500 Phoer points. He smiled wildly and moved quickly toward the next fairy. "This tickles, Rose Fairies!" Thankfully, the Rose Fairies had an advantage, and that was that because of their petite bodies and ability to fly, they could circle around him and dodge many of his attacks. While Froorar didn''t fear them, he couldn''t jump every time he wanted to take down one of the remaining 11 Fairies. While the first barrage of attacks didn''t do that much damage, now he had open wounds that could unexpectedly become a big deal. After all, the "numbers" of damage are related not to fixed damage done by skills but as a way to quantify vitality and other factors inside the body. The system exists to show the creatures how strong they are, and not vice versa. Without the system, people would still be able to increase in strength. Froorar moved quickly, dodging the falling wind blades. In his mind, he was calculating. ''They should not have that much Aether Mana left, right?'' Still, he suddenly saw most of the fairies take out a deep blue-colored berry and eat it, making him blink. "Huh?" He intently looked at one of them and saw that the Aether Mana had increased by 10 points! ''What are those berries!? Such things exist in the wild?'' Amapola shouted. "Continue to use low-level attacks and use the berries to recover; we just have to hold on for a while longer." Froorar frowned, looking around for something that he could use, but this place seemed strangely clean and taken care of. ''Was it really a coincidence that we came along with each other?'' While Froorar''s nose for unique trees was extraordinary, Liu Shu was many levels below, which helped her hide from him in plain sight. Liu Shu couldn''t really see the entirety of the fight. Her sight was limited to 40 meters, after all. However, her senses other than sight were much more developed compared to humanoids. She could sense the earth, feel the wind, and was aware of some energy changes. They were immature, but she was slowly developing the senses that a proper World Tree should have. While they were gauging each other, Froorar suddenly saw one of the fairies approach a tree, and his pupils thinned. With incredible speed, he shot in that direction and then jumped. The fairy was quick to react, moving sideways. However, Froorar''s speed was extremely quick, and while he didn''t manage to land a solid blow, a significant part of the strength carried by his attack struck the fairy, blowing her away from the strength behind that attack. Amapola shouted. "Prepare- huh?" While Amapola was going to order to prepare to attack in his landing spot, Froorar used the tree behind the fairy and smashed onto it, bending the trunk backward slightly and using that like a sling to land on the floor firmly again. Amapola''s face changed. "Be careful with the Trees! Don''t get close to them!" Froorar licked his lips, looking around with predatory eyes and ready to pounce at the slightest chance. ''That first fairy should''ve died, but I haven''t received a notification of her death¡­ How could she survive with such heavy wounds? The second fairy I hit is probably out of combat as well. Sadly, I couldn''t catch any of the Level 8 ones or Amapola¡­'' When Froorar was about to pounce again, a powerful voice was heard from the side. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING, FROORAR!?" Like a small hurricane, Flor descended, her bright red hair fluttering around as her face warped in anger. The pressure Flor released was even superior to the ten fighting fairies, making her look majestic and noble. Froorar paused and looked over with a severe face. He could play around with these Level 9 and below beings, but Flor was someone who could kill him if things went south. "Flor! I''m going to ask you one time. Where is my child!?" Flor descended right before him, unafraid of his powerful body. Although she was 30 centimeters tall, a doll-like being compared to the almost 2-meter-tall Froorar, her presence was no less impactful. "Froorar, I''ve never bothered taking care of your race because you never touched my bottom line. However, if you dare act as you will in my territory, I''m going to slaughter all Thornstrides from the Golden Sap Forest, even if it is the last thing I do!" Froorar gritted his teeth, looking at the tiny fairy with a dangerous gaze, but then he snorted. "Whatever. I''ll be going. It''s not worth it fighting all of you over this." Froorar looked at the surroundings again as if trying to memorize them and then left. Amapola asked. "Leader Flor, why didn''t we attack him as one?" Flor looked at Amapola and used her hand to chop down at her forehead. "Ouch!" "Did you forget why we are here? Do you want a full-scale battle to unfold so close to that little thing? Even if it is sturdy, look! She has received damage more than once!" Amapola rubbed her forehead and looked over, seeing a few leaves falling around it. When Froorar was fighting, he naturally moved all over the place, and moving by Liu Shu''s side was a matter of course. In the aftermath, she lost around 20 Phoer, which is nothing to be worried about, but the fact that she was damaged to this extent was telling of what would happen if they dared fight here. Flor approached Liu Shu while speaking. "Take care of the injured ones. Use the berries we''ve accumulated to heal them. They should work really well for deep wounds, as their vitality and healing properties are really powerful." Then, she caressed the trunk of the tree and smiled. "Don''t worry, little one. They are gone. Were you scared?" Liu Shu''s branches swayed as they moved very lightly toward Flor. Flor reached out and caressed them with a smile. "Okay, everything is all right. The bad guy has left." While Flor didn''t know Liu Shu''s exact age, she could tell by how she behaved until now that she had an extraordinarily na?ve and young mind. Meanwhile, Liu Shu was looking around, unsure as to how to react. She had never felt this much fear in her short life. The feeling coming from that Thornstride was extremely palpable. She knew that one wrong move would mean death. And, as a World Tree, while she was a creature connected to the Cycle of Life in an extremely deep level, she also feared Death. There was an instinct, very deep inside, that told her to survive, no matter the cost, that she needed to continue pushing onward. Chapter 15. Flor’s Discovery. Level 3! After Froorar returned, Flor thought that things wouldn''t be complicated any further. However, it seems that it was her misunderstanding. The Rose Fairies saw a few Thornstrides roaming their territory for a while, making them feel alert. Moreover, their activities were closing in the place where they stayed the most, and that was, around Liu Shu. Clavel frowned. "Leader Flor, what do we do now? Do I go hunt those pesky Tree eaters?" Flor shook her head, pondering what to do. ''They are getting closer and closer to Liu Shu. Should we start a war?'' Then, Flor blinked and realized. ''Oh, I forgot to do today''s pollination.'' She flew toward Liu Shu and saw the little one''s branches joyfully swaying, making her lips arch. It has been a few days since Froorar came, and during that time, Liu Shu had been getting 10 Experience Points daily from Flor, 2 Experience points from her Energy Gathering skill, and the occasional ignorant beast that approached with bad intentions. Because of that, her current Accumulated experience looks like this: Accumulated Experience: 512 So, when Flor circled her while releasing the red mist-like dust, the usual notification reached her. [A has used on you. You''ve gained 10 Experience Points.] Liu Shu became extremely happy. Her dropping branches swayed, her body swayed, and the soothing and calming feeling of the pollen released by Flor reached her core, making her happy. ''This feels so nice~. Flor is the best~.'' Flor saw through the young tree''s feelings and laughed. "You are really cute, little one. Did it feel good?" However, Flor''s smile dropped in the next second. Liu Shu moved toward her system window and dropped all 520 experience points on her level, effectively leveling up to Level 3. However, as she did so, an uncontrollable event would happen where her breakthrough would become noticeable. If the boost was not considerable, the effects of leveling up were dismissed, but as a Level 3 being, each level-up was a massive jump in growth. Aether, Anima, and Phoer rushed toward Liu Shu, creating a soft wind around them. When she saw the similar events that happened when Liu Shu broke through before, Flor''s heart sank, and she immediately called all Rose Fairies. "All of you, stand alert! The little one is leveling up again!" Without a single moment of hesitation, all Rose fairies flew from the surrounding branches and prepared to fight whoever dared approach. Meanwhile, Liu Shu had sunk into her mind and the sensations all around her body. Leveling up was a way of expanding a creature''s vessel, increasing its strength, and improving all its other qualities. Liu Shu, as a World Tree, was affected much more deeply. With the sound of bark creaking, the sound of leaves rustling, and the sound of the ternary essence swirling into the tree, one could see the body of the tree growing in real time. From her current three meters tall, she grew to four. However, even if it was just one meter, the entire body of the World Tree became more refined and appeared increasingly extraordinary. The changes were not visible at a single glance yet, but if someone knowledgeable looked, they would realize what Liu Shu was growing into. Whether it was a blessing or not, Flor was considered knowledgeable. As the oldest Rose Fairy and highest level one, she had seen the world much more than any other of the group. As a result, she knew about the existence of World trees. Flor''s eyes widened as she saw the traces clearly for the first time. She had been in doubt for a while, but now, she knew. ''This little one is truly a World Tree!'' A stream of notifications popped into Flor''s mind, followed by a massive surge of energy exploding from her. [You are the first to recognize Tianlian Liu Shu as a World Tree. As a reward for discovering a new World Tree and nurturing when you didn''t know about it, your affinity toward the World Tree will increase.] [You''ve increased affinity with a World Tree! Rewarding new bloodline!] [You''ve increased affinity with a World Tree! Increasing the user''s tier!] The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. [You''ve increased affinity with a World Tree! You''ll Level up two times!] [Level up!] [Level up!] [Titles have evolved!] [Skills have evolved!] [You''ve Become a Rose Fairy Queen!] Flor''s eyes were about to pop out of her skull. ''HA!?'' In a rush, she checked her own system page. *** Name: Flor Titles: : As the Queen of Rose Fairies, all Rose Fairies following your command have a greater chance of breaking through limits. : If you are in an area dominated by the World Tree, your stats will increase by 20%. (Warning: If you ever damage the World Tree maliciously, this title will transform into ) : Your stats will increase by 10% when protecting nature. (Warning: If you ever damage Nature maliciously, this title will transform into ) : You''ve tamed the wind; now, it is your friend. You can use Wind Aether Mana much more efficiently. Race: Rose Fairy Queen. Energy Method: : You will increase your and the experience of the World Tree''s experience by [Level of World Tree^2]. It can be used on one World Tree a day. (gain experience equal to / per flower. Can be used once a day.) Level: 12 [0/7440] Aether Mana Shards: 12432/12432 Phoer Body Shards: 3612/3612 Anima Energy Shards: 5845/5845 Attributes: Aether 89 (75+14), Physique 28 (19+9), Anima 44 (33+11), Willpower 56 (56), Destiny 96 (96) Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (16,4), Physique Refinement (7,5), Anima Affinity (10,7) Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (16), Physique Resistance (11), Spiritual Resistance (13), Mental Resistance (14) Talents: : Pollinate a flower. The pollinated flower will gain a small buff of five percent extra growth rate, five percent production, and 10 Experience. You can only use it once a week on the same plant. If used on a World Tree that you have used on, it will receive a buff to all their basic stats equal to the Fairy Queen''s Level for a day. : A cutting current that can deal tremendous damage. It is an attack that can cleave even reinforced armored surfaces. It uses Aether Mana and Anime Energy, and it can be adjusted. The more resources used, the stronger it can get. Range 50 meters. : Your aura can be used to heal and energize any living creature. However, if used on a Plant creature, the effects will be much stronger. It uses mainly Aether Mana, but there is a bit of a need to use Phoer. : You can move extremely quickly in unrecognizable patterns. Your speed increased by 100% for 10 seconds. It uses Aether Mana to control Wind Aether and envelop your body. Passive Skills: : Plants innately like you. However, if you purposely harm them, they will quickly feel betrayed and hate you. : As a creature born from the forest, your senses toward living beings are very sharp. You can also locate valuable plants that can be harvested. Accumulated Experience: 0 *** When Flor read her system window, she almost fell from midair. ''W-What happened to all my skills!? They were F rank!'' Flor looked at her ternary essences but didn''t know how to process them. ''Not to mention the skills¡­ What are these numbers!?'' Flor didn''t know how to react to the fact that her numbers had basically doubled. This didn''t mean that she was twice as strong, in any case. Not at all. She was probably five to eight times stronger than before! Flor looked at the dumbfounded fairies around her, and her lips twitched. ''Why are they so small?'' Clavel shouted. "Why are you so big!?" Flor almost smacked herself in the forehead. ''Right, it was I who grew, probably. As an estimate¡­ I''m around 45 centimeters tall?'' She looked at her perfectly slender body with wonder, and as a test, she threw a wind crescent to the sky. WHOOOSH! A crescent around 1 meter wide shot upward at extreme speed, dissipating when it crossed 50 meters. Looking at her Aether Mana and Anima Energy, Flor''s lips twitched. ''Really, World Trees are blessings of the World. Also¡­'' Floor looked at the growing tree and smiled. ''I finally know your name, Tianlian Liu Shu.'' Meanwhile, Liu Shu had already gone from 3 meters to the top of her crown to 4 meters. After her massive growth ended, Liu Shu received a few messages. [Level up!] [Aether +7, Physique +9, Anima +8, Willpower +10, Destiny +100.] [You''ve gained the skill !] *** Name: Tianlian Liu Shu Titles: : A title that''s gained when a tree gains sapience and evolves, gaining human-like intelligence. : A tree that can grow to be an overlord, admired by many, hated by some. Hidden titles: [9] Race: World Tree. Energy Method: Basic World Energy Gathering (Gathers experience points*Level per day.) Level: 3 [0/1110] Aether Mana Shards: 1013/1013 (+36,5/Hour) Phoer Body Shards: 1499/1499 (+54/Hour) Anima Energy Shards: 1044/1044 (+37,6/Hour) Attributes: Aether 27 (21+6), Physique 37 (27+10), Anima 29 (24+5), Willpower 30 (30), Destiny 300 (300) Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (25), Physique Refinement (35), Anima Affinity (20) Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (31), Physique Resistance (37), Spiritual Resistance (32), Mental Resistance (35) Talents: Passive Skills: Accumulated Experience: 2 *** Liu Shu woke up and looked at her stats closely, her mind humming happily as she saw her numbers increase. ''While they are far away from that scary bad little friend, now I''m really strong!'' Liu Shu could feel that even Level 9s like Amapola, who flew around her often, would have trouble damaging her. Of course, as a World Tree, she would never be the one to start a conflict. World Trees were creatures that were very easy to be around until you angered them. If you angered them¡­ Well, good luck. Although Flor''s and Liu Shu''s strength increase was something to celebrate. The event was not unnoticeable. The people who had been lurking around could finally feel that something was wrong on the Rose Fairies'' side. Chapter 16. Cinderielle. A woman with fiery red hair and beautiful orange-colored eyes was seen walking down the street. She was wearing a beautiful red dress, and her steps were light and cheery. She was currently walking toward the school, and today was the initiation day. Usually, Sylvans and Humans waited until they were 18 to gain their first points of Experience and become Level 1. This ceremony was meaningful because one would know if they were apt to become someone important. Fortuna City, where the 18-year-old lived, had many prestigious schools. However, to enter the top-notch ones, one needed to be talented. Moreover, more often than not, Sylvans and Humans were separated. Only public schools allowed for mixes to happen. But Sylvans attending that kind of place was strange because of the innate nobility of their race. While Sylvans weren''t as numerous as humans, they were innately stronger and had longer life spans. The only limitation of their race was their predetermined paths to build themselves up. Each Sylvan was blessed and born with a unique talent. Of course, that didn''t mean that they were locked in that path. However, success was almost always guaranteed if they did. In the case of the red-haired woman, she knew that her talent would be something related to fire. After all, while she still hasn''t become a Level 1, she knew the name of her race. She was a Pyroaether Emberites, a very rare type of Sylvan that specialized in fire control. The woman passed over a stall at the side and saw herself reflected in a transparent surface. She had grown a lot since she was little. Now, she was tall, slender, and with a mature face. Even at 18, with traces of her young visage left, it was clear that she would become a striking woman once she reached her mid-twenties. During these 18 years, she had learned a lot about her own race and the humans. While both races grew up and matured similarly, Sylvans were connected to trees by ancestry. Hence, their middle stages of life were longer thanks to some extra genes coming from those trees. What was difficult for Sylvans was to have humanoid children. There was a way to sow seeds and make them grow into trees but to create Sylvan offspring, a Sylvan needed one of the two. First, a human male that was compatible with them. This was not only extremely difficult to find, but also the chances of a Sylvan being born from sexual intercourse were slim and unreliable. That''s why most Sylvans didn''t see humans as potential partners. Plus, as a Sylvan, having intercourse with humans was scientifically proven not to be that pleasant. Her own family made of a human and a Sylvan was rare. So, if not humans, which were Sylvans'' options for mating and creating Sylvan offspring? Plant creatures or other Sylvans. While all Sylvans were female, very few were born with an organ to impregnate. It was so rare that only 1 in 100,000 was born this way. With such a low birth rate for those, Sylvan''s last option was flora. Sylvan''s pregnancy worked by fertilizing the seeds in their wombs with a plant''s pollen or a compatible sperm. Depending on the species, there were cases of Sylvan planting their seeds in a tree or a flower and allowing them to grow. However, not all plant beings were appropriate to mate with. For example, wild trees without thoughts, regular flowers, bushes, etc., are like monkeys are to humans. They might be somewhat similar to humans, but seeing them as sexually attractive was not only frowned upon but also strange. The same happened to Sylvans looking at flora. Still, thanks to the ability to grow granted by the System, many plants could gain consciousness equal to humans. Sylvans cared for them, and if both sides agreed, they would develop into a partner situation. Those creatures could be trees, human-sized flowers, or even another kind of flora. They were candidates as long as they had crossed the threshold of being an intelligent species and not a monster-like one. Plus, a Sylvan''s love was different from a Human''s in that it was prevalent. Once Sylvan chose a partner, it was very difficult for them to lose affection toward that partner. Now, how could you tell where this line was? Well, it was similar to humans seeing other humans and knowing by instinct which people were worthy and which were not. In short, instinct. But regardless of the world''s customs and culture, the red-haired woman has never felt attracted to anyone or any plant in her life. She was beautiful, and above all, she was the rare type of Sylvan with both sexual genitals, making her prime relationship partner. However, she had turned down all courtship and focused on bettering herself. For Sylvans, humans, and similar humanoid races, the state of the body was important in the sense that it brought more base improvement. The red-haired woman continued walking down the street and arrived at the place she had probably visited the most throughout her life. It was a street with typical street stalls and low ceilings, allowing people to raise their gaze a bit to spot the massive World Tree that towered over everything, covering half the city with its canopy. "So many years have passed since that day¡­" She sighed and lightly tapped her cheeks. "Cinderielle, wake up. Now is not the time to go search; you are too weak." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. After saying that, Cinderielle, the red-haired Sylvan woman, picked up her pace and walked through the city to reach the place to do the initiation. It was not very complicated because, as a Level 0, they only needed 10 Experience points to level up. After arriving at the large plaza, she could spot her parents waiting for her. Her mother called her. "Cinder! We are here!" Cinderielle moved toward them with a smile. "I''m coming, Mom!" Her mother saw a few loose strands of hair from the wind blowing and sighed. "Where did you go, child? I thought you wouldn''t arrive in time!" Cinderielle chuckled mischievously. "Mom, I''m also eager. How could I not arrive in time?" Cinderielle then looked around at the crowded place and saw a middle-aged woman with a dignified appearance stepping forward. The flowers on her pure black hair with white natural accents revealed her nature as a Sylvan. While humans and Sylvans looked similar physically, in official situations, Sylvans wore flowers in their hair, while human women wore beautiful wooden accessories. Moreover, while a human''s hair color ranged between blonde color and back colors, Sylvans didn''t stop there. As soon as you looked around, you could find Sylvans with all types of hair colors, most of the time related to their heritage. The black-haired woman started her speech with a flat tone, her sharp eyes looking indifferent. "First of all, let me thank all people who have come to see this sacred ritual. With the help of the [Growth Fruit], our children will now step into the holy path of the system. While innate differences exist, I ask all children and parents present not to be judgmental. Innate qualities are important, but what matters is how we live and how we advance. The headmaster of our school was someone with low talent, and yet he has managed to become someone of a high stature. I hope that following him as an example can soothe your heart if you are someone without an excellent aptitude." Her speech was short and concise, and her voice sounded neutral. For a Sylvan to show signs of maturity like the black-haired woman had meant that they had lived for a very long time. Cinderielle thought with a laugh. ''She has probably done this so often that she goes completely by instinct now.'' The speech continued for a while, promulgating the customs and also praising the World Tree in the middle of the city for such valuable fruits. After a while, the ceremony truly started. "Aackasoc Riverdoor, step forward." With the call of the black-haired Sylvan, a human man stepped forward. He was, like everyone participating today, 18 years old. With a lean body and a nervous appearance, the boy-just-turned-man walked forward stiffly. A rough voice was heard from the back. "You stupid son, what are you so embarrassed about? Stick your chest out!" Although rough, one could tell it carried unmistakable good intentions. Of course, this provoked a few laughs, which made the fair-skinned man blush. The black-haired woman didn''t stop it. It wasn''t unusual for the family to give a few words of encouragement. Moreover, while this ritual was formal, it was a ritual made to step into adulthood, not some religious and sacred ritual where no interruptions were allowed. As long as people didn''t go overboard, it was fine. Aackasoc arrived in front of the black-haired Sylvan and bent forward while extending his arms and cupping his hands in a gesture to receive. "I-I, Aackasoc, declare that today, I have become an adult!" The woman nodded flatly. "Good, Aackasoc, take the fruit and eat it." Aackasoc took it and straightened his back, saying one more sentence before doing so. "I thank our protector, the World Tree of Fortuna City, for this gift!" The middle-aged woman nodded, and Aackasoc took the fruit. It was half the size of a palm, making it easier to eat it in one bite. After eating, he masticated the sweet fruit and eventually swallowed it. [You''ve eaten , your destiny is increased by 50 for one year, and you gain 10 Experience Points. You can only eat one in your life] After that, he poured his 10 Experience Points into his level. [Level Up!] [Aether +1, Physique +2, Anima +1, Willpower +3, Destiny +2.] A small rush of energy was released from his body, and then, it finished. Aackasoc blinked and looked at the black-haired woman. The woman asked. "How many stats did you gain? Remember, if you lie and you are later discovered, you''ll be punished with life imprisonment." Aackasoc obediently told her, and the black-haired woman nodded flatly and assessed him. "Aether: F- Rank. Physique: F Rank. Anima: F- Rank. Willpower: F+ Rank. Destiny: F Rank. Overall score, F Rank. Next, Aavorila Furfest." Aackasoc blinked a few times, dazed, but he didn''t dare stay there, so he quickly returned to his parent''s side. His father slapped his back, forcing him to stumble a few steps. "Didn''t you hear Lady Eila Neoflora say? Stats are not everything." Aackasoc looked at him and nodded. "Sorry, Dad." The rugged middle-aged man smirked. "Let''s go home, Son. We need to see which schools will accept a loser F Rank like you. HAHAHAHA." Aackasoc almost tripped as he left. Cinderielle looked at that situation from a distance with a thoughtful look. Her mother grabbed her hand. "Don''t worry, Cinder. We also won''t mind what rank you are." Cinderielle smiled and squeezed her hand back. After a while, she was finally called. "Next, Cinderielle Emberites." Cinderielle walked out, and when she stepped outward, nobody noticed, but Eila''s eyes flashed with surprise. However, she was quick to hide it, acting as indifferent as she did with the rest. Cinderielle bent forward, extending her arms, and said with a firm voice. "I, Cinderielle, declare that today, I have become an adult." Eila nodded. "Good, Cinderielle, take the fruit and eat it." Cinderielle took it and straightened her back, curiously observing the white fruit. However, she didn''t take any more time to observe than the one she used to retrieve her arms. Then, she said solemnly. "I thank our protector, the World Tree of Fate City, for this gift." Then, she ate it and used the 10 Experience points to Level up. The person with the best score until now was someone with an overall E- Rank. Moreover, they barely reached it, so the effects of the Level-ups weren''t that noticeable. However, Cinderielle was different. The air around her began swirling as strands of flames appeared around her. Pure energy rushed at her and was absorbed in her body, and then, she leveled up. [Level Up!] [Aether +6, Physique +3, Anima +4, Willpower +5, Destiny +12.] [Title unlocked!... Error: Title conditions have not been met yet, moving it to .] [Innate Affinities Unlocked] [Hidden Attribute: Aether Flame Affinity, enhanced!] [Two New Talents Acquired!] [One New Passive Skill Acquired!] Eila''s eyes flashed as she looked at her system. With the difference in levels between them, inspecting Cinderielle shouldn''t be a problem. However, unlike what she expected, she just saw the essential information. *** Name: Cinderielle Level: 1 [0/140] Aether Mana Shards: 96/96 Phoer Body Shards: 46/46 Anima Energy Shards: 58/58 *** ''I can''t see through?'' Eila Neoflora''s facade was almost broken as she barely held herself from showing surprise. ''With my level, I''m still unable to see further. Interesting.'' The black-haired woman closely observed Cinderielle. ''However, for those basic stats...'' Eila had seen plenty of people, so she knew that the child before her was at least E Rank, approaching the E+ Rank, which was extremely rare. Seeing one or two at this rank in a remote place just after being initiated was rare to the extremes. ''Plus, if her Aether Mana is that high at Level 1, she might have D- Rank Aether.'' Eila saw Cinderielle finished stabilizing her situation, so she spoke in a stoic tone. "Cinderielle, would you like to join our school?" Cinderielle, who was preparing to turn and leave, blinked her orange eyes a few times and made a stupid sound. "Eh?" Chapter 17. Cinderielle Attends School! "Wow¡­ I''m really here." Cinderielle stood before a pair of massive wooden white gates with her mouth agape. She still could remember the invitation and how stupidly she reacted, making her face blush. ''Ahh! Why did I answer stupidly like that? I could see her lips arching up in amusement! That stoic woman laughing is like a hereditary humiliation!'' Cinderielle internally shed tears, but she quickly recovered. ''Whatever. Now, I''m part of the Fortuna First School, so I must put in effort to become someone powerful in the future.'' Cinderielle''s mind flashed back to the past, and her eyes became void of any of her usual playfulness. ''I must be strong enough to roam the world and find the owner of that leaf¡­'' With that in mind, she confidently stepped forward and approached the gates. A man with an indifferent expression welcomed Cinderielle. "Welcome to the Fortuna First School. Please show your Identification Slab." Cinderielle reached into her bag, which was made out of perfectly sewn blue leaves, and picked a white and black wooden plaque. The texture was a bit different from usual wood, as it was smooth and soft. The size was about a palm''s width, with her information written on it, together with a small nail-sized orb. This orb had Cinderielle''s Aether Mana, which could be used to verify the identity with almost no possibility of being able to fake it. Security measures were significantly developed because of the almost endless variety of skills that existed. There were people with transformation skills, impersonating skills, etc. There was a saying that said, "There are no two identical system pages." This saying was often used to warn young people about each individual''s uniqueness while raising awareness of the dangers some skills could pose. After going through the identification procedures, the guard allowed Cinderielle in. ''Okay, let''s do this¡­ Woah¡­'' Cinderielle''s eyes opened wide as the massive structure entered her eyes. As Fortuna City''s most renowned school, it was naturally built very close to the World Tree. Its size was about 15 meters tall, with five floors of pure wood crafting marvel. Just after crossing the tall frontal gates, the humbling sight of the beautiful school was enough to instill reverence in the students, and yet, that was not the most impressive sight. Behind the large building, a colossal World Tree towered far up to the sky, making even the school building look insignificant. The figure of the giant tree resembling a woman''s body and holding a sky-shrouding canopy was nothing but startlingly awe-inspiring. Usually, between beings, trying to look at another''s system stats was considered a bit rude. After all, it was a small invasion of privacy. There were devices to prevent analyzing. However, that was not the case with World Trees. Using analytical abilities in World Trees was, more often than not, a waste of time. As long as they had matured even slightly, all World Trees had natural anti-inspecting defenses. So, out of curiosity, Cinderielle tried opening the System page of Fortuna City''s World Tree. In her mind, she remembered that this World tree was a . The one that gave her that Destiny boost when she was little. That day burned in Cinderielle''s mind; after all, her strong emotions from that day were still vividly remembered. While Cinderielle expected to see nothing, something appeared in her retina. *** Race: Seedling World Tree of Fortune. Level: 26 Aether Mana Shards: ??????/?????? Phoer Body Shards: ??????/?????? Anima Energy Shards: ??????/?????? *** Cinderielle blinked a few times, incredulous. ''Huh? I can see her level and race. There are also a certain number of question marks for each essence¡­'' Cinderielle counted them, and her lips twitched. ''¡­ She has six digits?'' Looking at her own pitiful 2-digit essences, her mind ached. ''Lady World Tree is four orders of magnitude higher than me.'' In a world where even a 5% difference in stats could make a difference in a life-and-death situation, this kind of difference in strength was like looking up to a god-like being. Cinderielle wanted to look at the sky, but after lifting her head, the tree''s giant canopy prevented her from doing so, making her eyelid twitch. ''More than 100,000 in each of the ternary essences? That''s¡­ stupid. When will I be able to reach those heights?'' This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. With a sigh of awe, she walked forward and finally entered the school. She finally arrived at her class after walking through an orderly set of hallways. The classroom was composed of a stand where the teacher would give the class and a semi-circle of wooden tables. The class was half-filled when she arrived, with some people having already become a group. Cinderielle observed her surroundings, but between all of the people here, her eyes couldn''t help but lock on a green-haired woman in the corner. The aura around her was soft and gentle, remarkably resembling nature. Her face had a mature beauty that a 16-year-old usually didn''t have, and when Cinderielle''s eyes moved downward, her lips twitched. ''¡­Big.'' She looked at herself, and while she wasn''t small, she didn''t have a prominent bosom. She stopped comparing and pondered. ''From her aura¡­ is she a Sylvan with nature affinity?'' While all Sylvans have some nature-related affinity as descendants of World Trees and other powerful flora, having purely nature affinity was not common. Meanwhile, the woman felt someone''s gaze and lifted her eyes, meeting a pair of curious and large orange-colored eyes. She couldn''t help but pause. When their sights collided, they both felt strange for a few seconds. "Hello, are you Cinderielle?" However, someone approached and broke their trance. Cinderielle blinked and looked sideways at a tall, handsome, and muscular youth. As a Sylvan who didn''t see male humans as potential mates, Cinderielle felt nothing other than what an average human would for looking at a pretty flower. Therefore, Cinderielle smirked and nodded without showing a flustered expression. "Yes! Who might you be?" The man paused, looking at Cinderielle strangely for a fraction of a second. However, he didn''t show much, as he smiled brightly and showed a charming smile. "I''m Theodore, one of the top-ranked humans in this year''s admission test." Cinderielle nodded. "I see. How did you do?" Theodore smiled. "I''ve qualified as a D- Rank." Cinderielle smiled. "That''s not bad at all!" When Theodore saw the lack of surprise in Cinderielle''s eyes, he couldn''t help but feel slightly embarrassed. ''Why is she not reacting? All the other girls I''ve spoken to have shown interest.'' Cinderielle tilted her head, confused. "Is there anything wrong?" Theodore grinned, this time, a bit stiffly. "No. Nothing wrong." "So¡­ Where are you sitting?" ''Since he has come to speak to me and seems quite nice and forward, I should make friends with him.'' Looking behind him stealthily, she muttered to herself. "He seems to know quite a few people." Theodore was about to answer when he heard a small voice, and he asked. "Did you say something?" Cinderielle smiled. "Not at all." Then, she dragged her voice. "So¡­?" Theodore laughed. "Right, I sit there. I actually have a free spot by my side. Do you want to sit with me there?" Cinderielle nodded. "Sure." Then she said frankly with a grin. "I don''t know anybody, so please present a few people to me." Theodore patted his chest and grinned back. "Leave that to me." After walking toward the seat beside Theodore, Cinderielle felt a few prickly gazes directed at her back, making her frown and turn around. ''Huh? What are those human girls looking at?'' One of them sneered with clear resentment. "Is the plant girl so eager to taste human? I hope you are not a carnivorous variant." Cinderielle''s puzzled face cracked. She had never been a person with a good temper, so she went right back at her. With a mocking smile, she laughed. "Hey, do you know how your great-grandchildren will look if you have any? Probably not, right? You will probably rot away because of age by then. Don''t worry, though. I''ll make sure to take a photo of when they marry and leave it in your tomb. If you apologize right now, I might even bother using a bit of my time to bury them by your side when they, too, die of old age." That girl''s face turned red with anger, and she slammed the desk as she stood up. "WHAT DID YOU SAY, BITCH!?" Cinderielle laughed. "Not only do you expire quickly, but you also came defectuous and with hearing problems. Girl, you didn''t have quite good luck, did you?" The girl was about to rush forward, but the entire room was suddenly enveloped in powerful pressure, which made everyone''s face change to one of horror. The pressure was powerful enough to make most people''s legs bend a notch. "Silence. This school is not a street inn where you can fight at will." Every person in the room looked toward the entrance and saw an elegant woman wearing black hair slowly walking in, wearing high heels and a black dress. The natural white accents in her hair and stoic and indifferent face made it clear who she was. All of them stood up hastily and welcomed her. "Welcome, Teacher Eila!" With a neutral voice, she ordered. "Sit down. If you haven''t chosen any seats yet, choose one randomly and sit down." They all moved, and Cinderielle finally reached her seat by Theodore''s side. Once everyone sat down, Eila began speaking at a clear cadence. "Let''s start by explaining the most important question, or at least trying to shed some light on it. The system." Eila ordered. "Everyone, open your system pages." Cinderielle did so and gave it a read. *** Name: Cinderielle. Titles: : A Sylvan born with the ability to manipulate fire, an exceedingly rare case. : As a Sylvan, you have an innate affinity with plant beings. However, this title will disappear the moment you harm non-hostile plants with malicious intentions. Hidden Titles: [2] Race: Pyroaether Emberites Energy Method: Ember Source Devouring. You can either consume a material rich in Fire Aether Mana properties or absorb the Aether Mana in an environment full of Fire Aether. Gain 1 Experience point per 1 unit of Fire Aether Mana. Max Experience Points gain per day is equal to Level.) Level: 1 [0/140] Aether Mana Shards: 96/96 (+0.7/Hour) Phoer Body Shards: 46/46 (+0.34/Hour) Anima Energy Shards: 58/58 (+0.42/Hour) Attributes: Aether 8 (6+2), Physique 4 (3+1), Anima 5 (4+1), Willpower 5 (5), Destiny 12 (12) Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (20), Physique Refinement (15), Anima Affinity (15) Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (19), Physique Resistance (13), Spiritual Resistance (14), Mental Resistance (14) Talents: : As a Sylvan born with the ability to control fire, you can innately manipulate Fire Aether Mana. You can use Aether Mana to summon flames around you at will. You need to use Anima Energy and Aether Mana to control the flames. Passive Skills: : You have been born with an incredible affinity toward fire-type Aether Mana. Moreover, your flames will only burn what you desire. You can avoid hurting anything with them at will. However, what you are using now is nothing but a shadow of how bright you can burn. Fire-type Aether Mana Affinity +50%. : You have a higher chance of giving a first good impression to all plant life. Accumulated Experience: 0 *** Once Cinderielle checked her system page, she nodded and looked up, eager to listen to the explanations. Chapter 18. A Class With Teacher Eila Neoflower. Eila Neoflora waited for a few moments and then spoke aloud. "Now that all of you have the system page open in front of you, let''s start with the class. Today, we''ll learn what each of the things is and how we can increase them, and if we have time, we''ll also speak about energy cycles." Eila paused and then spoke. "Let''s start from the top: name and Titles. The name is self-explanatory. However, it''s not as simple as it looks. The name that appears on your system page will be the name you feel you are the most related to. System pages are personal and not for others to see; that''s why there are no surnames unless you consider your name and surname as entirely yours." Seeing the confusion on some students'' faces, Eila further explained. "For example, if in the future you become paired and after you have descendants, you feel your surname as being an important part of what defines yourself, your name might change from just Eila to Eila Neoflora." One student asked. "What about the teacher? Which of the two appears on your page?" Cinderielle looked over with a speechless expression. ''Do you really think she will answer?'' As she expected, Eila looked over and stated, "I will not answer questions about my own system page." Then, she looked around and asked, "Are there any more doubts about the name?" After checking and seeing none left with doubts, Eila nodded and continued in her usual natural tone. "If you have anything else to ask, remember to come in the recess. Being forward to asking about your doubts about the class subjects to the teachers is one of the hints to success. Next, Titles." Eila continued. "Titles come in many shapes and forms; we''ll learn their denomination later. Today, I''ll give a general introduction. Titles are gained passively and actively." Eila paused and added. "A passively gained title is something like the ones some of you have¡­" The teacher looked around, and Cinderielle saw her eyes landing on her. "Student Cinderielle, can you present a title of yours that you think is a passively acquired title?" Cinderielle looked at and and nodded. "Teacher, I think both my titles are passively acquired; one of them is called ." Eila nodded. "Correct. is a title almost all Sylvans are born with. Of course, if any Sylvan present doesn''t have it, it only means that you did something to nature in the past that revoked title. A Sylvan not being born with that title is rare, after all." Walking toward a wooden board at the back of the class, Eila used an erasable sap pen to write on the board. She wrote. "Passively acquired titles are given by your nature or are hereditary. As an example, monsters in the wild sometimes have titles, and these are passed down when the steps down or dies and a is alive. Monsters with such titles are usually stronger and harder to deal with." Thompson asked. "What happens if the dies before an is chosen?" Eila nodded. "Good question. It entirely depends on the strength of the title. If it were a title for an F or E rank monster, the title would just vanish. After all, to get a "chief" title for those weaker monsters, they only get to unlock their first [Energy Cycle]." Cinderielle blinked. ''Energy Cycle? What''s that?'' Eila knew that someone would ask, so she explained it a step ahead. "Energy Cycles is a subject for a bit later. One must understand many nuances, so explaining it now in a hurry makes no sense. Moreover, you can only come in contact with it for the first time in the jump between Level 9 and Level 10, so don''t be hasty. Let''s continue with the system page." Cinderielle nodded to herself and continued listening. "Now, active titles are ones you gain through actions. For example, . These titles are given when your comprehension reaches a certain point. More often than not, they are just titles without any effects, but if one takes a certain art to the extreme, bonuses for those kinds of actions might arrive through the title." Eila added as a side note. "Titles that give any kind of stats are precious because they don''t use either Aether Mana, Phoer, or Anima Energy. So, people who have powerful titles are usually stronger than others. It''s naturally not always the case, but people selling their skills by using them is often seen in the market." The students in the class looked at their titles and got thoughtful. Cinderielle''s eyes were specially locked on . ''I can probably use this in the future.'' Eila commented. "Let''s move one¡­" She paused, remembering something. "Hm¡­ Well. Sometimes, there are people with an extra line in their systems called , with a number at the side. These are innate ones that the system suppresses for one reason or another. To activate them, you need to either become stronger or do the action that would unlock them." Cinderielle asked, raising her arm. "Teacher, how do we know which actions are needed to unlock them?" The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Eila looked at her and said bluntly. "We don''t." Cinderielle blinked a few times. "Eh?" Eila smirked a bit. "There is no way to know. Either you do it by luck, or you don''t. Of course, they are probably related to yourself, so exploring oneself is sometimes useful. However, cases of people going their entire lives without unlocking their are much more common than people unlocking them." Eila looked around and spoke clearly. "As a piece of advice, for those who have , ignore them. If they get unlocked, it''s perfect. If not, nothing changes. Work on yourself, not some hidden and obscure knowledge or power." Then, she turned around and was about to walk toward the wooden board perched on the wall to write when everybody saw that she paused. When she turned toward them again, her face was cold. "This is the first and last warning. If someone dares try to analyze me with their system again, I''ll kill them." Cinderielle followed Eila''s gaze, and at the end, a terrified man was looking down while trembling and sweating badly. ''Woah¡­ Have you really tried analyzing a teacher who is so many levels higher than you? Your guts are like roots reaching to the sky.'' The other people were also looking at that man with stunned expressions. Eila turned around again, continued the class, and continued writing the system page''s following line. "Now, let''s move on. The is quite straightforward¡ªperhaps the most straightforward of everything. It tells you the name of your race, and that''s all. If you are human, it should say your human variant, for example, . If you are a beast-man, it should say your current race and gender, for example, or . If you are a Sylvan, it should tell you the name of your Sylvan race, for example, ." Everybody expected a bit more, but Eila continued and began writing the following line. Cinderielle''s eyebrow twitched. ''That''s all? Even the had a much lengthier explanation!'' "After , there is one of the most important things in the entire system page. Some of you might have it blank. Others might have something written on it. The name of the next line is ." Eila wrote it on the wooden board with beautiful strokes and spoke. "This is the thing that will allow you to gain without needing to battle or kill other beings. It''s essential for growth, and usually, a power''s prestige is based on how good their is." Eila added. "The ways of gaining experience are varied: Eating treasures, completing quests, killing creatures around your level, practicing the energy method, creating items, and others." One person asked. "What happens if we kill creatures much weaker?" Eila commented. "You can lose experience. If you just leveled up, it is also possible to drop levels. So, it''s not worth it." Cinderielle was surprised, and another person asked the question she was about to ask. "You can drop down levels?" Eila nodded. "Naturally. Some people lose levels as they age, and some lose levels after they are crippled. Levels, while they are a way to push our strength, they are also a quantifier of our general strength. Naturally, because of tiers, Levels are not all. A high-tiered creature can have strong enough based stats to fight much higher-level beings." Eila finally added before returning to the system explanation. "Also, stats don''t give us strength; our strength is shown in the stats. Remember that." Everyone nodded and continued listening. "Let''s explain the a bit deeper. For those of you who have one innately, you should''ve realized that they have a condition. Every person can train differently, so you must be attentive to it. Our school provides support for disciples, so if you need a type of material, energy, or something similar, please inform me later. I''ll make a list so that the school can prepare them." Eila added. "Moreover, are acquirable skills. You''re not limited to just one. However, there''s a cumulative experience cap. For instance, if you possess three different Energy methods and the first two yield 4 Experience Points per day while the third garners 10, you''ll only be able to accrue a total of 4 points from the first two methods and the remaining six from the third. In short, you will gain 10 Experience Points per day." By Cinderielle''s side, Thompson asked. "Then aren''t the four Experience points methods useless?" Eila asked back. "What if the conditions for gaining points from the 10-experience point method are too complicated?" Thompson and the other students realized what Eila was hinting at. "What are experience points?" Cinderielle''s ears perked up when she heard the gentle, nature-like voice. Looking over, she spotted the green-haired Sylvan that had previously caught her attention, raising her hand. Eila looked over and smiled. "Good question, Verdantia. Experience points are a type of energy that''s dedicated entirely to the system. We can''t interact with them without the System''s help. At the same time, that type of energy can''t be used without the system. We''ll delve deeply into our theories behind it later in the [Fundamental Energies] class." "Now, students. We''ll leave what Level is and everything below that for the following class." Right after she said that the rustling of leaves sounded like a ring, signaling the end of the class. Eila picked up her materials and sat down, opening a book made of leaves to write down what materials each needed for the . It took around 12 minutes to list everything down. In the meantime, Cinderielle looked at Verdantia and spoke. "Hey." Verdantia looked over and nodded softly. "Hello. Do you need anything?" Cinderielle and Verdantia were both tall women, reaching around 180 centimeters in height. Moreover, as 18-year-olds, they were still growing. The average Sylvan was around 160~165 centimeters tall, similar to the average human woman''s height. Looking eye to eye with another woman was rare for them, so they couldn''t help but feel comfortable. Cinderielle smiled. "Wanna go eat something together later?" Verdantia smiled as well, but suddenly, she remembered something and put on an apologetic expression. "I''m sorry, Miss Cinderielle. I need to go home and prepare food for a few little ones at home." Cinderielle blinked. "You have pets?" Verdantia smiled widely. "Yes! I have a quite thorn rose spider and a blue petal Dionaea muscipula!" Cinderielle''s lips twitched. "I see. Have fun, I guess." Verdantia nodded and was about to speak when Eila called her over. "Miss Verdantia." Hearing her name being mentioned, Verdantia bowed and left. "See you later, Miss Cinderielle." Cinderielle nodded dazedly and looked down at her chest with a bitter expression. ''Verdantia''s¡­ T-They really bounce¡­'' Curios she went up to her toes and fell back a bit forcefully. ''Oh? Mine do so too~.'' Then, she looked up with a smug smile, feeling happy again. **************************************************************** Author Note: In the next chapter, we return to Liu Shu''s side~. I hope it didn''t feel too heavy reading about all of these explanations~. Chapter 19. Flor’s Decision. "You¡­ How did you become so strong so suddenly!?" The Thornstride leader, who had arrived after feeling the large energy fluctuation, looked at Flor with terror in his eyes. Flor looked over, her aura entirely different from what it was just a few moments ago. "Froorar. Retreat with your people. However, know that from now on, it is war." Flor didn''t want to fight by Liu Shu''s side unless she was forced to. If anything happened to the World Tree Sapling, she would be saddened enough to take her own life to atone for her mistakes. As such, Flor decided to give up the chance to kill Froorar right after her power boost, with the sole intention of protecting Liu Shu. Naturally, Flor knew that after reaching Level 3, Liu Shu was not a weakling. Her stats were half between an F+ tier Level 10 and a Level 9. So, on a one-against-one, Liu Shu was in an awkward spot where no Level 9s could probably hope to defeat her, but a Level 10 was still able to defeat her relatively easily. Moreover, Froorar and the Thornstride had already realized Liu Shu''s specialness. If they fought, Flor was sure that Froorar and the rest would attempt to fight close to Liu Shu so that the Rose Fairies would need to be careful while they could be more reckless. In such a situation, Flor wasn''t sure she could protect Liu Shu with 100% confidence. "Froorar, today, I''ll let you go. However, if you keep bothering us, I''ll make sure you pay dearly. Leave!" With her shout, Flor released a terrifying gale that pushed some lower-level Thornstride back. Froorar''s eyes moved toward Liu Shu, but the second he did so, Flor rushed forward and used a big chunk of Wind Aether Mana. WHOOSH! A powerful wind blew up, smashing against Froorar and pushing him back several steps. Even with his powerful body, he could do nothing to resist the sudden attack. Flor snarled. "This is the last chance, Froorar. If you decide to fight here and something happens, my life''s objective will be exterminating your race from the face of this planet!" The Thornstride leader looked at Flor while baring his fangs, feeling highly frustrated. However, he knew his limits. That surprise attack had sliced around 200 Phoer Shards from his reserves. And while it sounded little compared to his 8000 Body Shards, with his natural regeneration, that would take around 7 hours to heal. After a few tense moments of looking at each other, he finally roared. "Return!" All the Thornstride that were standing around rushed away, disappearing into the dense forest. Clavel arrived by Flor''s side with a grim expression. "Leader, do we follow them?" Flor looked at their retreating back for a few seconds and shook her head. "No need. There are some bugs that want to take advantage of the situation." She lifted her hand and pointed sideways, her red eyes turned over, and said coldly. "Disappear." Several wind crescents rushed over rapidly and managed only to slice a few branches while bisecting a pair of giant ants standing there. Clavel''s eyebrows came together as she grumbled. "Even the ants are here?" Flor looked around and sighed, extending her arms to release her . A gentle aura enveloped the area, healing plants at the cost of Aether Mana Shards and a bit of Phoer Body Shards. Then, Flor returned to the now four-meter-tall tree''s side and caressed her trunk with gentle and compassionate eyes. "Tianlian Liu Shu, how are you?" Our Liu Shu, who had been observing everything, couldn''t help but focus her on Flor. ''How did she call me!? She learned my name!? How!? System, please tell me~.'' The system decided to pamper the curious World tree. [System Hint: Flor has recognized you as a World Tree. Being the first being to notice consciously, she has received many benefits.] ''Oh!'' Liu Shu exclaimed. I''m so happy! They finally learned my name~.'' The Rose Fairies were confused when their leader named the tree. After all, Liu Shu had shown evident rejection time and time again toward being named in the past. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Clavel commented. "Leader, didn''t we agree not to¡­" Clavel paused and looked incredulously at Liu Shu. "¡­Why is she so happy!?" The fairies looked speechlessly at the tree, which was quite clearly dancing in joy. The movement was not overly noticeable, but her aura and thin, dropping, long branches, unique to willow trees, were clearly moving when there was no wind. Clavel pouted. "Why did she like your name and not mine?" Flor chuckled. "That''s her name, not one I came up with on a whim." Clavel blinked, looking at her leader confusedly. "What do you mean, leader?" Flor shrugged. "I mean it literally. This little one''s name is Tianlian Liu Shu." Clavel blinked two times. "How did you know?" Flor smiled. "The system told me." Clavel felt speechless for a while and then pouted. "Leader, can you stop speaking in riddles and tell us what happened?" Flor laughed aloud, but she didn''t answer. In her head, she was considering that letting these little ones know that Liu Shu was a World Tree would be more harmful than good. Amapola flew over to their side and asked Flor. "Leader, now that you are Level 12, why don''t we go attack them? We have enough strength if you lead us to take down an entire race." Flor commented in the passing. "Not only have I leveled up two times, but my tier has also crossed over from F+ to E-. My strength is probably enough to fight three or four of my previous selves." "Ohh~." All the fairies exclaimed. Flor coughed and returned toward the problem at hand. "No need to hunt anyone down yet. We have to at least help Liu Shu become Level 5. If we can make her reach that level, we''ll be able to begin our counterattack. Until then, we are on the defensive." Amapola titled her head. "Level Five?" Flor nodded. "With her growth pace, she should be able to fight a Level 10 and hold her own at Level 5." Amapola and other fairies blurted instinctively. "Ridiculous!" Hearing her, the 45-centimeter woman smirked. "Yeah? Look at her stats. You have yet to see them after she leveled up, right?" The Rose Fairies looked over and saw this. *** Level: 3 Aether Mana Shards: 1013/1013 Phoer Body Shards: 1499/1499 Anima Energy Shards: 1044/1044 *** Amapola, a level nine with similar numbers, felt her heart constricting in pain. ''I understand that as a tree, they need more resistance. Therefore, I never bothered about a tree''s Aether Mana or Anima energy¡­ However, what are these numbers!?'' Amapola seriously pondered and tried to recall. ''What were my numbers then¡­? Ah, right! *** Level: 3 Aether Mana Shards: 138/138 Phoer Body Shards: 65/65 Anima Energy Shards: 66/66 *** When those numbers resurfaced in her mind, Amapola looked at the sky, almost shedding a tear. ''So¡­ unjust.'' Flor saw similar looks on many fairies and almost burst into laughter. ''I mean, if, as a World Tree, her attributes were lacking, it would not make sense.'' With that sorted out, Flor began planning their defensive routines. Because Rose Fairies usually lived in one tree and protected it, they were accustomed to planning defensive battles. Meanwhile, Liu Shu focused on her new skill called . : The World Tree can create tools and similar items with basic effects. It costs Aether Mana and Anima Energy if there are materials. If the World Tree wants to use itself as material, it will also cost Phoer. ''Tools?'' [System Hint: Humanoid creatures, and even trees and other non-human beings, can all utilize items, treasures, or other types of crafts to increase their strength.] After that, the system spoke again. [System Hint: Here is the blueprint for one item; please check it. It''s the reward for upgrading from Level F to Level E.] Liu Shu was filled with confusion. ''Upgrade? But I never used it.'' [System Hint: As a Tree, you have innate control over wood, which helps you learn this profession rather quickly. You''ve gained a bonus because you skipped the and reached the .] Our cute little tree finally understood. ''I see!... Basic, low?'' [System Hint: Ranks can be called F Rank, E Rank, etc. However. There is a more general way to call them. Basic (F-, F, F+) -> Low (E-, E, E+) -> Medium (D-, D, D+) -> Advanced (C-, C, C+) -> Profound (B-, B, B+)¡­] Liu Shu read it and ignored it. ''So complicated. I''ll call them by the letter! It''s much easier~.'' [¡­] Then, Liu Shu refocused on the skill again. ''Hm¡­ I need materials, but it says that I can also use myself as a material. Should I try once?'' Tianlian Liu Shu first took control over her Aether mana and Anima Energy. Then, she slowly poured them toward a branch and began thinking, only to realize. ''¡­ What shapes are tools? Tree shape? Flower Shape?'' Liu Shu couldn''t help but stop to ponder. ''Hm¡­ Perhaps they are human-shaped because humans use them?'' Standing by her side, the fairies were confused when the energy gathering toward one of Liu Shu''s branches dissipated like nothing. Clavel asked. "What was she about to do?" Aster shrugged. "Let her be. It''s not like she will suddenly attack us." Agreeing with her friend, she asked. "Shall we go? It''s our turn to guard." Aster nodded and sighed. "Such a non-fun job¡­" Clavel rolled her eyes as she flew away with Aster. On another place, near Liu Shu, Flor was sitting in front of a rock that had a somewhat inaccurate but at least usable map. "Hm¡­ We live in quite a good spot. I guess we are lucky. While this place is an open forest, once Liu Shu grows, she will need space to spread her roots." Her eyes moved outside the Golden Sap Forest, where they lived, and she looked deeply at the small cities she remembered about and marked on the crude map: "Sirol City, Fortuna City, Marefol City¡­" Of all of them, Fortuna City worried Flor the most. "That place also has a World Tree, and she is decently matured. Compared to our little sapling¡­" Flor looked at the four-meter-tall tree and shook her head. "Fighting Lady World Tree, if we need to fight her, will probably be impossible. At least in the short term." Flor''s eyes landed on one of the berries growing on Liu Shu''s branches. "However, not all hope is lost. Those berries are strong, especially the one that gives Experience Points. Using them will allow many fairies to cross boundaries they never thought of before¡­ But¡­ Even if everyone became Level 10, I still feel that we wouldn''t be able to take down a power yet." With that and many other complicated thoughts, the day finally passed, and night arrived. Chapter 20. Tinkering with Enchanted Growth. Now that Liu Shu was at Level 3, and her Aether Mana had crossed the 1000 Shards limit, she moved her eyes toward one of the skills she had not used until now, . Enchanted Growth was an E+ Rank skill. Even Woodcrafter, the skill she just got, was E- rank, two small boundaries below. However, now that Liu Shu could use E Rank skills, she thought that she would be able to at least make a proper attempt. Before doing anything, Liu Shu gave the skill description another read. : Stimulates the rapid growth of nearby flora, creating vibrant and mesmerizing plant life. Use consumes Aether Mana and Anima Energy. Liu Shu expanded her vision with , and after looking around, she focused on a flower around 30 meters away from her. With her new growth, her roots could now spread much further, aiding her vision and ability to interact with her surroundings. She was still petite, just four meters tall, but our tree was slowly growing. ''Hm¡­ This little flower¡­ can I feed you some energy?'' Liu Shu approached with one of her thinner roots and reached out toward the flower''s own roots. However, she didn''t feel a response other than a feeling of happiness when she touched it. ''Happy because of my touch?'' Liu Shu was confused and looked at it with curiosity. As a World Tree and the "Apex" of all flora, her mere presence was enough for other plant creatures to feel reverence toward her. ''Well, since you are happy¡­ Let''s try using on you.'' She was still a bit fearful, as the previous times she tried to use it, Liu Shu felt as if her insides were about to be sucked out. So, she carefully activated it and sent a small stream of energy toward it. After Flor and the other Rose Fairies explained to her the concept of energy control, she had been practicing a lot, increasing her efficiency at a high pace. It was still not as noticeable, but there were times when Liu Shu felt that she could do much more with the same energy she used in the past. Between them, the one she used the most was naturally her constant growth of flowers, a process that has become almost subconscious by now. Anyway, returning to the skill. After being careful and gathering Aether and Anima Energy, Her energy moved through her roots, reaching out and finally spreading into the flower. Liu Shu checked her Aether Mana and Anima Energy and saw them reducing at around fifty per second. When her energy reserves reached three-quarters, she stopped and observed. A few Rose Fairies that were roaming around also stopped, having felt the flow of energy toward the flower. "What is Liu Shu doing now?" The other shrugged. "Who knows? While I adore them, I''ll never understand how a tree thinks." The other fairy smiled wryly. "Well, I can''t really disagree." They observed the flower for a few moments, and seeing nothing, they decided to leave and continue their chores. Liu Shu, on the other side, was not that impatient. If there was one thing that trees got over all races, it was patience. That was both a good and a bad quality. Like that, one hour passed, and then three, and finally seven. Liu Shu had been observing the petite flower all this time, and time didn''t feel as if it was passing. It was a strange phenomenon in which her consciousness was present but also absent. Finally, after these seven hours, Liu Shu felt a reaction to it. ''It''s¡­ Growing?'' Well, it couldn''t do much more as a skill called . However, would there be something other than growing? A tap on her trunk took Liu Shu out of that strange trance, and she redirected her gaze toward the person who did so. ''Oh, it''s little friend Clavel!'' If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "Hello, little Liu Shu. How have you been doing? I''ve heard that you were completely dozed out, and the guards asked me to check on you. Are you okay?" Liu Shu naturally couldn''t answer verbally but gently swayed her branches. The movement was almost indiscernible to the naked eye, but it was enough for Clavel to feel satisfied. Then, the flower suddenly reacted. Clavel and the other Rose Fairies flying around stopped to look at it. First, they saw the stalk thicken as the body grew, and the petals became larger and more complex, gaining an exotic appearance. Liu Shu focused on it, and a message appeared in her mind. [.] Confused, she thought. ''No Level?'' [System Hint: Only creatures with enough intellect will develop a system. Other creatures that have not reached the bare minimum of intellect threshold will be considered material, treasures, or something similar.] Our young World Tree exclaimed. ''Oh! Thanks, system. You are so kind~.'' Meanwhile, Clavel flew toward the flower''s side with a strange glint in her eyes. ''Did Liu Shu do this?'' Clavel looked at the now much larger flower with interest. However, it didn''t last long. Liu Shu, who had been thinking, saw the large Fresia flower start to wilt, and in nothing but a few seconds, it fell dead. The Rose Fairies blinked a few times while looking between Liu Shu and that flower. One of them asked. "Was she jealous because we focused on that flower more than on her?" A friend of hers said in a strange voice. "Does a tree even know what jealousy is?" Clavel descended and tried reviving it with her Aether, but she soon gave up. The best Clavel could do was replant the overgrown flower elsewhere, just in case the earth where it was growing was contaminated by something. Liu Shu saw Clavel carrying away her test subject, COUGH, her first attempt at using , and fell into deep thought. ''So, using it in a single thing will make that thing grow, and then, bam! They don''t move ever again.'' Liu Shu understood the concept of death to some extent, so she knew that "killing others=bad" usually. Not always, but Liu Shu wanted to. ''Hm¡­ What should I do? Should I try to release it outward like an aura and let the friends around me consume it?'' First, Liu Shu looked at her energy levels. Aether Mana Shards: 307/1013 (+36,5/Hour) Phoer Body Shards: 1499/1499 (+54/Hour) Anima Energy Shards: 351/1044 (+37,6/Hour) Liu Shu had previously produced a large batch of 200 Phoer fruits and fed them extra energy to reduce their germinating time. Hence, she lacked around 400 because of the power fruits and around 300 for the thing she did to that flower. ''Hm¡­ Let''s rest and allow my energy to climb back up. I remember Flor once told me never to go too low on energy, just in case-. Hm?'' [ has attracted a . Proficiency increased by 9.] Liu Shu''s eyes went toward the place where this signal came from, and she was quick to spot quite a large Beaver walking her way. Checking her surroundings with a 360o perfect vision made it relatively easy for her to reach the conclusion that the Rose Fairies had left her to her own devices. All of the Rose Fairies had flown upward and hid in the branches of nearby trees. Liu Shu looked at the system page. Aether Mana Shards: 193/193 Phoer Body Shards: 1139/1139 Anima Energy Shards: 396/396 The tree became intrigued. ''All creatures have slightly different numbers¡­ Interesting.'' The rest of the abilities were similar to the ones shown before, so Liu Shu glanced at them briefly before refocusing on the Level 9 creature. The River Beaver arrived at this place because he felt a really good and robust scent coming from it. It was not intelligent enough to form its own rationalized mind. However, the beaver knew that if he got the tree he had briefly felt, he might be able to break through into Level 10, becoming the first River Beaver to do so in decades. Naturally, it was quite quick to spot that four-meter-tall tree. The reason for that is not because his senses are better than Froorar''s, but because Liu Shu had become stronger, which made quite a few more creatures feel greedy toward herself. Liu Shu saw how it rushed at her, and her aura became cold. The drooping branches danced dangerously, advising the other side that coming over was a mistake. Her swimming thoughts concentrated on the battle ahead, and by the time the River Beaver entered her strike range, she did so. [Willow Strike]! Like a metal whip, it bent and lashed out toward its head at ridiculous speed. BANG! The River Beaver got smashed into the ground, its head smashed against the ground as the skull cracked. [-412] An enormous number Liu Shu had never seen popped into her mind. The River Beaver quickly tried to scramble away, but escaping a world tree was not easy. By the time Liu Shu attacked, she had allowed the prey to be close enough for a barrage of attacks. [Willow Strike]! BANG! CRACK! Liu Shu heard something being broken and over with curiosity. ''Hm? Did I break his skin so loudly it crunched?'' [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 8 Experience Points.] Liu Shu returned to her calm after Clavel appeared; the swaying wind blowing around Liu Shu disappeared. Clavel flew down with a small laugh. "Little Liu Shu, you''ve become so strong." ''Thanks, Clavel~.'' Even if she couldn''t be heard, she wanted to answer a few of their questions. While this beaver was probably just an F rank, and Amapola was an F+ rank, it was considered a tiny overlord around the Golden Sap Forest. Liu Shu took away her attention from the dead beaver and refocused on what she was doing. ''While using a lot of enchanted growth in one creature will make it grow too much if I can share it with many, won''t it be perfect?'' Liu Shu waited for her energy to recover entirely and started again. Time flew by quickly, and after around two weeks, she finally managed to create a way to allow her roots to emit it passively at a pace slower than her Aether Mana and Anima Energy regeneration. This way, she could use around 70% of her regeneration to create berries while constantly using the last 30% to allow her roots near her trunk to release that energy in the form of . The effects wouldn''t be noticeable yet, but Liu Shu could see the potential in this skill. At least, as long as she continued to grow stronger, she would become much more proficient at it. ''Every plant will be able to grow with me!'' Chapter 21. [Woodcrafter]’s Potential. After dealing with , Liu Shu turned her eyes toward . While this skill seemed basic, similar to Enchanted Growth, Liu Shu could feel that it could become something really interesting. However, Liu Shu first needed to know what materials she could use to create these. The first one that came to mind was herself. ''The System said that I could use myself. Should I try creating something with that?'' Flor appeared by her side, asking. "Liu Shu, what are you doing? I feel a strange aura coming from you." Of course, there would be no answer for Flor. Communication was impossible. However, Liu Shu had an idea. With her , she quickly spotted a relatively thick branch around 7 meters away. First, she used the nature of [Willow Strike] to send one of her branches and coil around it, tugging at it and throwing it at her body. Flor curiously followed Liu Shu''s movements and suddenly saw the branch stop mid-air. Now entirely focused on the branch floating before her trunk, Liu Shu began using Anima Energy and Aether Mana to shape it. Since she didn''t know about weapons or anything similar, she transformed it into the only weapon she had seen until now: a set of claws. The wood began changing shapes as if it were dough, following Liu Shu''s will. Flor, stunned by this, looked on with fascination. Liu Shu worked on it slowly, molding the wood to her will, and hours passed. Her Aether Mana and Anime Energy consumption was quite strong, but eventually, she managed to morph the entire stick into an almost perfect replica of a Thornstride claw. Moreover, it was rose-fairy-sized so that they could wear it. After that, the claw fell, and a notification popped in Liu Shu''s mind. [You''ve created a . You''ve gained 1 Proficiency.] Liu Shu looked at the message for a few seconds and asked in her mind, confused. ''Unranked?'' [System Hint: Items that don''t qualify to be ranked as F- or Basic Rank are classified as Unranked.] Our little tree became speechless, feeling dumbfounded for the first time. ''All of that effort for one unranked item?'' Her gaze moved toward the ternary essences, and she saw her Aether Mana and Anima Energy had been reduced to half. ''¡­'' Flor approached the claws that had fallen to the ground and picked them up with interest. [Thornstride Wooden Claw Level 1 (Unranked)] Physique +1 System Note: The first item created by Tianlian Liu Shu is a very weak weapon that can only help F Rank creatures from Level 1 to 3 at most. It is nothing but an accessory for higher levels and not a weapon that should be taken seriously. Flor''s lips twitched as she read the System Note. ''Ruthless.'' Still, Flor didn''t linger on the note and thought about why Liu Shu showed her this. After all, the young World Tree probably had something in mind when she showed her this. ''Does she want to create weapons for us? But¡­ Why claws?'' Looking at them, while the size was different, they were undoubtedly Thornstride claws. It is a four-digit claw, with the second from the right being much longer and with a powerful hook. Other than that, the others were serrated and could grab onto the bark and cut really efficiently, a claw specialized for cutting trees. Flor looked between the four-meter-tall willow tree and the claw a few times, pondering. ''It would be nice if the system note helped¡­'' Looking at it again, Flor was stunned to find the note had changed. System Note: Tianlian Liu Shu''s first item. It is a very weak weapon that can only help F-rank creatures from Level 1 to 3 at most. It is nothing but an accessory for higher levels and not a weapon that should be taken seriously. It was created with the intention of helping the creatures that took care of her. Still, because Tianlian Liu Shu lacked knowledge about weapons and materials, this was the best she could come up with. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Flor''s eyes widened, and she suddenly remembered something she had heard from the city people while she was exploring. Her lips arched as she laughed. "World Trees¡­ They truly are the little darlings of the World." Knowing what Liu Shu wanted to tell her, Flor smiled. "Wait a moment, Liu Shu. I''ll carry over a few things that you will love." Then, she turned around and called Clavel. "Clavel! Take with you ten Rose Faries and get the stack of items we saved in that place." Clavel titled her head. "We''ll change its hiding spot? However, Chief- Ah! I mean, Queen, where will we store them?" Flor pointed at the floor by Liu Shu''s side. "Over there. Just give it all to Liu Shu. I''ll create a small treasury there and allow Liu Shu to swallow it as she grows. We can create something to drop our findings inside while also leaving an opening for us to enter should we ever need them." Clavel didn''t ask why and nodded. They realized how much importance Flor gave Liu Shu. She was like a protective guardian to her, always thinking about her needs. In Clavel''s memory, while Flor had been quite protective of their previous "home trees," it never reached the current point. Of course, the Rose Fairies weren''t stupid enough not to notice that Flor''s sudden increase in strength had something to do with Liu Shu. Hence, nobody complained and followed orders enthusiastically. Even the oldest fairies, who were a bit reluctant about leaving their previous Level 16 Home Tree behind, didn''t say anything and worked like the others. Flor saw Clavel leaving with Amapola and called the rest to work on excavating the ground. The way to do it was using pressurized Wind Aether Mana. With it, they would be able to blow the dirt away without hurting the roots of any plant creature. Before that, they used their excellent botanic skills to move all the flowers from that spot. Liu Shu looked from the side as the Rose Fairies expertly used their Mana to dig up flowers and move them while another group used a bit of the extract prepared for her to plant them back in other nearby places. She couldn''t understand, as Liu Shu''s instinct as a tree was to take as much space and sunlight as possible to grow tall, strong, and healthy. For Liu Shu, any other flora that wasn''t under her indirect or direct control was actually competition. While it didn''t seem like so, plants were brutal in the battle for survival. They grew taller to absorb more sunlight and block others, absorbed the earth''s nutrients from other plants and made them wither, forced the surrounding energy into them, and did not take into account other smaller plants¡­ The battle for survival in the plant world was ruthless. That was one reason tall and powerful trees usually had no other similar-sized vegetation surrounding them. Much smaller plants didn''t take much resources so that they could survive, but between two large plants that were close enough, only one of them survived. As with everything, there were exceptions, but that was the usual rule. Either way, returning to the Rose Fairies'' actions, Liu Shu could see that they had advanced quite a lot. ''Hm? How much time passed?'' She could feel that a few hours had gone by, but she had been quite dazed, thinking about other things, making her not notice. ''Oh? So that''s how my roots are!'' There was a hole around 4 meters deep, and from side to side of the hole, Liu Shu''s roots could be seen. They were very different from other plants, though. Even the Rose Fairies couldn''t help but pause to look at them. The World Tree''s roots were brown colored but filled with neon-like blue lights and a pulse. The feeling of life coming from them was unlike any other plant. Moreover, there was an almost unnoticeable mist roiling around them. One Rose Fairy asked Flor. "Queen, what is this mist? It makes me feel quite comfortable." Flor looked at it for a long while and approached. After touching it, her red eyes flashed with surprise. "This¡­ It is Aether Mana and Anima Energy Mist. Look at your regeneration." The Rose Fairies opened their system and saw a small increase in energy regeneration when standing near the mist, making a few of them exclaim. "Liu Shu is so amazing!" "Not only are her fruits delicious and give so many benefits, but even her presence is mystical." "Right? I''m glad Clavel found her! Living with her, our next generations might finally find a forever home!" Rose fairies were nomads, but not by choice. Rose Fairies inherently enjoyed cultivating gardens, immersing themselves in the nurturing process akin to diligent bees. They found fulfillment in pollinating flora and nurturing their growth. It didn''t take too long to create their future vault where they would store their precious belongings. After one and a half weeks, it was done. Clavel''s group also transported all the treasures from all their hiding spots and stored them in the new vault, which was seven meters deep from the surface, with around 240 cubic meters after the two meters of cover that would go on top of it. Liu Shu had been fascinated all this time, using her energy to create flowers and help them as much as she could. They came in handy, as each fairy had an extra 50 of each ternary essence after eating them. Flor could''ve helped more, but she didn''t. It was a good way to practice Aether Mana''s control. She wouldn''t be silly enough to give up this opportunity in exchange for speeding up the process. Right now, they were at war, but with her newfound increase in strength, Flor was actually not nervous. Liu Shu suddenly received a notification. [Space that can be used as storage detected. Do you wish to envelop it with your skill and make it yours? Yes or no?] Our girl was suddenly at a loss. ''What should I do? They built it with so much effort¡­ Can I take it just like that?'' Liu Shu was about to say no, but Flor suddenly approached. "Liu Shu, do you like it? We''ve built this for you so that you can store things in it. Our things are inside as well, but you can use them at will. For more essential items, we''ll make ours in another place. Don''t worry." ''¡­'' Liu Shu looked at Floor deeply, making the Rose Fairy Queen actually feel her gaze enveloping her figure. However, even with such pressure, Flor felt comfortable, as if Liu Shu was giving her a hug. She laughed a bit and flew forward, gently hugging Liu Shu''s trunk. "I''m glad you like it, Liu Shu." Without further ado, the World Tree''s aura underwent a change as she answered, her tone more dignified than ever before. ''Make it mine.'' Chapter 22. Assimilating The Vault. ''Make it mine.'' With Tianlian Liu Shu''s acceptance, an intense, draining sensation overcame her. WHOOSH! A wind of energies enveloped the place, making every Rose Fairy exclaim as they flew away to safety and looked on with curiosity and wonder at what their new Tree friend was doing. Liu Shu''s mind activity took a hit as her became utterly unusable together with other ongoing functions. Then, her other skills stopped working, like . Of course, this didn''t mean that the berries she had started growing would wilt. Instead, it just meant that they would need to grow at a normal pace. ''W-Why am I so dizzy?'' Our Level 3 World Tree looked at her ternary essences and got a scare. They were decreasing at a rate of almost one every five seconds. While it didn''t sound as much, that was 720 of her Aether Mana and Anima Energy per hour! Her current regeneration didn''t even reach a tenth of that number. Liu Shu exclaimed. ''W-Wait, system! Stop. Take energy slower! What are you doing!?'' However, as much as she asked for it, the system didn''t reply. ''What to do!? What should I do!?'' After panicking for a few moments, Liu Shu endured the mind ache and tried to do something about it. ''My energy is leaking from my roots, so I need to cut off the energy flow toward those places. Quick!'' Using the energy control she had been learning during the past few days, Liu Shu''s every cell became active as they tried to move things in a direction that didn''t mean her death or something worse. Meanwhile, outside, the Rose Fairies became mesmerized as the tree''s roots began coiling around the vault they built. The beautiful neon-blue veined roots moved as if they had a mind of their own, enveloping the entire excavated area in a beautiful shade of browns and blues. After 10 minutes, each of her energies had lowered by around 120 points without including Phoer. This has been the thing that had calmed Liu Shu quickly, that her weren''t being consumed. Still, if Aether Mana or Anima Energy reached 0, it would mean trouble, more so if the assimilation of the vault kept sucking after that. It would probably start affecting her Phoer Body Shards. Flor looked at what was happening and then frowned. ''This¡­ So much energy? How are her reserves doing?'' Looking over and using her system, she saw they had been considerably reduced. Moreover, as she looked on, she saw that the spending pace was absurdly quick. Flor''s face became severe. ''Is this a constant decrease or a one-time thing?'' The Rose Fairy Queen didn''t take long to realize the problem. ''What''s going on? Is she too young to control her energies? Or has she done something that she shouldn''t have?'' After 30 minutes more, with incredible efforts, Liu Shu managed to close a few of her energy pathways by compressing her roots, decelerating the speed at which the energy left her body. That added to her own energy control and reduced the 720/hour to around 220/hour. Even then, it was too much. After all, Liu Shu''s Aether Mana and Anima Energy regeneration were much lower than that. One hour passed and then another. Slowly but surely, Liu Shu learned new ways to manipulate her internal energies and quickly reduced her energy expenditure. Her Aether Mana hit 400/1013, and her energy consumption was still at 50/hour. Liu Shu''s exact Aether Mana regeneration was 36.5, so she needed to slice that 50 per hour more before she could relax her nerves. With her mind aching like crazy One day passed, and her Aether Mana Shards hit 150/1013. By now, all the Rose Fariies had noticed Liu Shu''s strangeness. Looking at the vault, which was partially covered by Liu Shu''s roots, they couldn''t help but worry. By now, Liu Shu had only managed to surround the floor and one of the walls with her roots. At this pace, she would run out of mana before she could complete it. "Queen, will she be alright?" Flor answered flatly. "I don''t know. We just need to wait and believe." Inside, she was thinking that it should be impossible for a World Tree to die this way. However, her worries weren''t alleviated. Thankfully, she had a revelation by the time Liu Shu''s Aether Mana, her lowest energy reserve, hit 112 units. ''I have been trying to control the energy pouring into the vault all this time. Still, after thinking about it, why didn''t I just control the place where I stored this energy, the ?'' This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. After thinking for a second, she let go of all the control she had gathered until now, instantly skyrocketing her use to the original 720/hour. The Rose Fairies looked on, horrified, as the strong energy surge they had seen at first happened again. Flor became nervous and flew to Liu Shu''s side. "Little one, don''t give up. You can do it! Come on, dear. Gain control again!" Of course, Liu Shu was still unable to communicate and was too focused on herself to hear anything else. Hence, she didn''t hear Flor''s pleas. Thankfully for Flor, this surge in energy wasn''t because Liu Shu gave up. With 110 Aether Mana Shards left, this meant she would last around 9 minutes more at most. However, unlike the first time, her proficiency at gaining control over the energy surge increased exponentially. After one minute, it was reduced to 650, after another minute, 520. The number kept getting lower, and the time she had to work with increased as she lowered her consumption. It didn''t take five minutes to understand the way her innately worked. ''I see¡­ So this is where this is made¡­ Hm¡­ So, if I stop this, what happens?'' Her success was much better during the first five minutes than with her previous method. Although the consumption had been reduced to around 150/hour, it was still too much. However, now that she had fixed it at 150 with her , she started combining her previous method, blocking and controlling energy from flowing through her roots. Naturally, consciously stopping something similar to a heartbeat would usually be impossible. Still, World Trees and other creatures of their stature had natural control over their processes, allowing them to stop things at will. Combining both methods, her consumption went from 150 down to 30 in a matter of ten more minutes. When Liu Shu felt the strain disappear, she couldn''t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Right as she managed to deal with that, her young and undeveloped mind felt the tension leaving her body, and her consciousness was swallowed by darkness in what would be her first relatively long sleep. Outside, the Rose Fairies finally let out a sigh of relief when they saw the Aether Mana Shards stop dropping after reaching 27/1013 and the Anima Energy Shards stop at around 68/1044. This was a situation where they couldn''t help even if they wanted to, so they were extremely worried during the ordeal. Now, seeing that it had ended, many of them fell to the ground on their backs. Clavel commented while looking at the sky with a tired expression, fear still lingering in her voice. "Queen, should we avoid building things by her side in the future?" The rest of the Rose Fairies felt their lips twitch. ''Why are you asking about obvious things?'' Still, to their surprise, Flor shook her head. "We should''ve done so since the beginning. Our ignorance had placed her at risk. However, Liu Shu seems to have mastered an unknown method of controlling her energy use output. So, from now on, she shouldn''t have any problems if we do something similar." Clavel smiled wryly. "We almost messed up, huh." Amapola looked at the now very slowly moving roots and asked. "How long will it take for her to wake up?" As close as they were to nature, it wasn''t hard to realize that all of Liu Shu''s functions had stopped working as her aura focused on the vault. Many of the high-level fairies understood that Liu Shu had probably fallen unconscious. Flor approached again and gently caressed Liu Shu''s relatively smooth bark. "Who knows? The only thing we will be recklessly like before. Trees can fall asleep for a really long time, so let''s focus on strengthening this place and planting a few other fruit trees around here to feed ourselves." A few of the fairies blinked and looked at Flor. Flor smiled and nodded. "It''s time we settle down or at least work for it. Liu Shu will become our forever home." Many fairies shot to the sky and cheered. This was the first time Flor had spoken about it to everyone so clearly. The already affectionate eyes of the fairies when looking at Liu Shu became even more gentle, and then they all started diligently attending to her surroundings. Flor never forgot to use her on Liu Shu. Even if it gave a bit less experience than normal pollination for now, the royal one gave extra benefits that Flor believed were worth it. Weeks passed, and her mind reawakened precisely two months after Liu Shu fell asleep. Each month had 30 days, while years had 360 days, with 12 months each year. ''Woah¡­ that was a long and nice sleep~. Hehe.'' Liu Shu was about to open her when the system bombarded her with alerts. [Congratulations! You''ve assimilated the first construct. You''ve unlocked the City Planning] [Congratulations! You now have a where you can store, retrieve, and manipulate items by spending small amounts of Anima Energy.] [You''ve managed to assimilate your first construct before Level 5 as a World Tree. You gain 150 Sylvanium Shards, Etherium Shards, Celestium Shards, Ascendium Shards, and Cognium Shards.] [System Hint: You can mix 100 Shards to create one Ore. For example: 100 Sylvanium Shards can fuse and become 1 Sylvanium Ore.] [You''ve assimilated . You can name all your constructs from now on. You can also choose to give them a basic tag. Would you like to choose one?] Liu Shu looked at the several messages with a stunned expression. ''A tag? What''s that for?'' [System Hint: A tag will name all your constructs by default. For example, if you choose Arboreal, the vault will be renamed to . Creatures that inspect it with the system will see the name.] Liu Shu pondered as her reawakened mind spun what name to choose. ''But¡­ I don''t know many words. Can you give me a list, System?'' [¡­] [System Hint: Here are ten from which you can choose.] [1.- Arboreal 2.- Woody 3.- Sappy 4.- Branching 5.- Foliated 6.- Leafy 7.- Timbered 8.- Lignified 9.- Trunked 10.- Canopying] Liu Shu pondered and considered her options. After around two hours of slow thinking, she came to a conclusion. ''Lignified! I like that the most.'' [Will you choose as a tag? You can change it later.] ''Yeah.'' [Congratulations! You''ve assimilated ! After assimilating it, you''ve gained 390,000 Proficiency points in !] [Woodcrafter has Leveled Up!] [Woodcrafter has Leveled Up!] [Woodcrafter has Leveled Up!] [Woodcrafter has Leveled Up!] Liu Shu exclaimed. ''Wow!'' ********************************************* Author Note: Hello, dear~. I have a Patreon page! Patreon.com/mortrexo. I''m uploading the art of the novel, which has 45+ completed images, 110+ sketches, and 15+ chapters compared to the daily. Moreover, it is for both [Heaven, Earth, Me] and [Ascension of the Sylvan cosmos]! Also, there is ZERO AI art. All the art I''ve uploaded has been hand-drawn. Much love and hugs, Mortrexo. Chapter 23. A Quest? Communicating With Flor For The First Time. Liu Shu was happy that one of her skills made such a giant leap. However, the system''s messages had not yet been finished, as one very strange but important one appeared before her. [Quest Received: Clear the nearby surroundings and build a safe town for human-sized creatures. Completion Conditions: Create or assimilate 10 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 2 . Rewards: Sylvanium Shards [50], Etherium Shards [50], Ascendium Shards [50], Celestium Shards [50], Cognium Shards [50].] Liu Shu looked at it in confusion. ''Quest? So¡­ Something I need to do?'' She didn''t receive a system hint like usual, so she stopped caring about it. ''Well, I know what each of those things is, but¡­'' Liu Shu would''ve been frowning if she had a face. ''How do I build them?'' Although it was a question in her mind, she didn''t bother thinking about it too deeply. ''Well, let''s see what happened around me while I was taking a nap~. open!'' The world around her was suddenly illuminated, and everything appeared in her mind. The first thing she realized was¡­ ''Oh! I''m taller!'' And taller she was. Our Liu Shu had achieved breaking through the 5-meter-tall! Seeing this, Liu Shu realized that she could also grow taller without needing to . Moreover, she could see that a strange wooden door with beautiful neon-blue veins was lying horizontally by her side, probably heading into the ground. Her expanded and crossed it, looking inside. After all, that door was made from her roots. It was only normal for her to be able to see through. ''Oh! So many things!'' [Do you want to open your inventory?] ''Hm? The inventory I got earlier is this thing?'' Without any hurry, Liu Shu observed the vault. While it was made out of wood, it had a beautiful aesthetic as her energy veins covered its entirety. Moreover, because it was underground, it should''ve been dark. However, thanks to the glowing blue veins, there was light, illuminating everything in a mesmerizing manner. After looking around for a while, Liu Shu nodded. ''Yes? I want to open the inventory!'' A page appeared in her mind, showing a list of items. ''Oh!'' Liu Shu exclaimed in wonder, reading through them. ''They have nice names¡­ Even though I don''t know what they are for, their names are nice! Oh! There are even a few of those shards I just received!'' And with that, Liu Shu was satisfied and closed the inventory. I mean, she is a tree. What did you expect? For her to start investigating the effects and crafting super-optimized items? ''Now¡­ Open system window!'' The system window unfolded in her mind, and Liu Shu received another surprise. ''A few skills have grown in level! So nice~.'' Liu Shu paused and thought. ''I should sleep more often. There are so many good things after waking up¡­ Hm?'' Name: Tianlian Liu Shu Titles: : A title that''s gained when a tree gains sapience and evolves, gaining human-like intelligence. : A tree that can grow to be an overlord, admired by many, hated by some. Hidden titles: [9] Race: World Tree. Energy Method: Basic World Energy Gathering (Gathers experience points*Level per day.) Level: 3 [0/1110] Aether Mana Shards: 1013/1013 (+36,5/Hour) Phoer Body Shards: 1499/1499 (+54/Hour) Anima Energy Shards: 1044/1044 (+37,6/Hour) Attributes: Aether 27 (21+6), Physique 37 (27+10), Anima 29 (24+5), Willpower 30 (30), Destiny 300 (300) Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (25), Physique Refinement (35), Anima Affinity (20) Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (31), Physique Resistance (37), Spiritual Resistance (32), Mental Resistance (35) Stolen novel; please report. Talents: Passive Skills: : Accumulated Experience: 722 Currency: Sylvanium Shards [150], Etherium Shards [150], Ascendium Shards [150], Celestium Shards [150], Cognium Shards [150]. Inventory [Lignified Vault (Basic Construct)]: Saplingwood (F- Rank [8Kg]), Drizzlewood (F- Rank [12Kg]), Sproutheart (F Rank [2kg]), Woodbreak Sword (F Rank [Broken]), Basic Phoer Berry (F- Rank [123]), Basic¡­ *** Her "eyes" moved and landed on the system''s last line. Accumulated Experience: 722. Liu Shu was instantly flabbergasted. ''WOW!'' The other things she had received until now were good, but as a Tree, she wasn''t that excited about them. After all, she couldn''t grow taller with them. But with this? Liu Shu was a happy tree! Happy enough for the Rose Fairies to notice that she had woken up. ''How did I gather so much experience, though?'' The answer was with Flor. It had been around 60 days since Liu Shu leveled up, meaning she had been giving Liu Shu 9 Experience Points per day. Then, Liu Shu''s World Energy Gathering worked without needing Liu Shu to do anything, and the experience it provided daily was 3 points. Adding the remaining 2 Experience points from her Level Up, Liu Shu had accumulated 722. As she observed the system page, she realized that was at max level. Right after she looked at it, a message popped up. [ has reached the maximum level. Do you want to spend 15 Experience to increase its tier?] Liu Shu nodded, reducing her experience to 707. [ has Tiered Up to : The World Tree is from a willow family, with characteristic long but thin branches. She can use Aether Mana to move them and strike a target. Range 20 meters. ''Oh? The range increased! Really nice~.'' At this moment, she saw Flor approaching with a smile. "Good morning, Liu Shu. I hope you had a nice rest." Liu Shu answered her back in her head in a cheerful manner. ''Good morning, Flor!'' Then, the Rose Fairy Queen looked at the floor door leading to the vault and laughed. "I didn''t expect it to become such an ordeal. Are you all right, Liu Shu?" Liu Shu tried to convey her feelings, and it worked surprisingly well. Of course, as always, she took her time. After around 20 minutes of asking, Flor felt a wave of energy hit her, conveying a simple emotion that told her to relax. This surprised both of them. Liu Shu blinked. ''When did my energy control become so sharp?'' Flor tilted her head. "Liu Shu, did you gain a skill to control your energy?" Liu Shu tried again, sending an energy wave that conveyed a negative to her answer. This time, Liu Shu spent more concentration, making her answer relatively quick. Flor actually understood, making her feel ecstatic. "Although it is limited. With this simple method, we can finally properly communicate!" The usually elegant and calm Rose Fairy Queen couldn''t help but giggle as she flew around the tree. Speaking of the tree. Her trunk had "matured" quite nicely. While the female shape specific to World Trees was still not too noticeable, now you didn''t need to be drunk to discern it. If someone stepped close enough, they would be able to see the budding figure of a woman slowly coming out of the gently twisting trunk. Her branches were still willow-like, think and look, dropping around her as hairs of a woman would. Her bark was still brown, with very dim blue undertones from the energy moving inside her body. Flor wanted to ask Liu Shu questions now that they could communicate somewhat. However, she couldn''t think of anything. "Hm¡­ Liu Shu, do you like the plant food we prepare for you?" Although communication was possible, from Flor''s point of view, it was honestly not a pleasant sensation. After asking, the tree before her would go silent as if she was appreciating something extremely profound about her question. Of course, Flor knew that Trees were usually slow in thinking, so she didn''t mind and waited. In the meantime, Flor spoke with other fairies and warned them about it. "I''ve managed to communicate with Liu Shu, albeit poorly. Tell the others." One of them nodded enthusiastically and flew around, telling the news to others. Flor also moved toward one of Liu Shu''s branches and began using a specialized brush made out of the hairs of a bear-type creature. These bears would often rub against trees to scratch their back, and at the same time, they would clean the trees they scratched against. That was why many trees that had consciousness just ignored those bears. Some even bothered, throwing them fruit or something. Regardless, with the brush hand-made by Flor, she began cleaning the branches. Flor was not alone at this, as there were fairies attending Liu Shu almost 24/7. Our young tree just didn''t realize because she ignored all of them. Before the Fairies arrived, there were bugs and such as well. So, in Liu Shu''s mind, the inhabitants around her just changed from bugs to fairies. As a tree, Liu Shu could not be judgmental of certain types of creatures unless they were people who attacked them first. Naturally, there were races that Liu Shu disliked because they were too brazen, but all in all, relationships in the wild weren''t as simple as they sounded. After a while, Flor felt the affirmation coming from Tianlian Liu Shu about her question and nodded. She laughed a bit. ''Honestly, I should ask more questions about her origins, etc. But I don''t want to go back and forth in a yes or no answer type of question.'' Flor pondered and remembered that before Liu Shu went into a deep sleep, she had built that strange claw. "Liu Shu, what were you trying to gift me with the claws? Weapons? Do you want to make me a weapon?" On the other hand, Liu Shu, who had been pondering how to communicate about this, cheered. ''Finally, Flor speaks about something I want. She is not the deepest root in the groove for how fast she speaks and answers. Hehehe~.'' After some deliberation, Liu Shu finally expressed her desire to help by creating tools and weapons for the Rose Fairies. Liu Shu''s only reason for doing an active movement to help like this one was that this group of red-headed small women was highly attentive to her. She liked them, and she would be sad if they all died suddenly. However, it wasn''t to the point of letting her roots starve. Flor heard the affirmation and smiled. "That''s good to know. Well, let me tell you a bit about weapon designs." After around 3 hours of "talking," Flor and Liu Shu would soon begin a weapon-building factory. Chapter 24. Ignatia Appears Again. Flor has recently gained a problem. She had talked with Liu Shu about creating weapons and such, but she didn''t know how to do it. Of course, it wasn''t like Flor didn''t know some basic facts about it. Flor was someone who had roamed near cities for a few years while traveling to unlock her Level 10. So, if someone asked who knew the most among all Rose Fairies, it was her. Not even the older fairies could compare since all of them just stayed in the forest all their lives living in the group. That''s why most of those older fairies were weakened Level 7s or 8s. Remember that as creatures aged, their ternary essences slowly dwindled. There was a limit, but natural death came as soon as they could not support the body''s functions. Anyway, regarding the creation of weapons, Flor was clueless. ''I said I would help, but how? If I knew how to create weapons, I would''ve equipped the Rose fairies with them.'' Amapola arrived, and Flor saw a few burn injuries on her. Her eyes scanned her Phoer reserves, and they were actually down a third. "What happened?" Amapola sighed. "Queen, the ant queen wants to speak with you. We told her that you were busy, and she got slightly aggressive. These wounds are her warning." Flor snorted. "Lately, everyone thinks that they can come and go in my territory as they please!" She flew forward, using her skills, and quickly flashed through the sky toward where the chaos was occurring. Meanwhile, on the other side, the Ant Queen smiled indifferently. "Little dolls, how about you make way? I want to talk with your leader, not fight her. If not, I would''ve carried a few more of my children." Clavel looked at the nearly 200 ants behind her, and the corner of her eye twitched. ''There are more?'' Because the regeneration of the ternary essences was slow, swarming high-level creatures was quite a successful way to hunt stronger enemies. For ants, which could multiply quickly, it was a very intuitive and easy way to do so. Clavel spoke. "Queen Ignatia, our Queen is unable to come and meet you. If you wait a bit, she will naturally come." Ignatia hummed. "You also call her Queen? I remember that previously, you little dolls called her chief or leader. What changed?" A gust of wind lifted the fallen leaves of the forest as Flor arrived. Ignatia and Flor exchanged glances, and Flor answered. "I changed." Ignatia laughed. "Oh? The weakest of the above Level 10s has actually gained a bit of strength?" Flor shook her head. "Ignatia. Don''t provoke, you can''t win." Ignatia''s lips arched. "Even when we outnumber you? While I admit your flying ability is annoying, it is not something I haven''t prepared against." However, Flor just said. "Ignatia¡­. You can''t win." Ignatia paused. In the past, even when Flor was provoked, she always opted to tell her that fighting was not worth it for both sides. However, today has changed. Ignatia laughed, her voluptuous body moving with it. "Hey, you are quite funny, Flor. Even if you''ve become Level 11, could you please not underestimate me?" Flor sighed and asked. "Why have you come." Ignatia snorted. "Well, I also dislike getting entangled in pointless word battles." Then, she smirked. "Let me see that tree." "I refuse." The rejection came in a record time as Flor utterly slammed her wish into the ground and immolated it with two words. Ignatia asked, speechless. "Can you at least think about it?" Flor snorted. "No. That tree is completely out of limits for strange people. Especially someone like you." The Ant Queen didn''t know how to react to such a blunt answer. Negotiation would usually ensue until they reached a common ground, but with a flat-out refusal, there was no way Ignatia could slowly negotiate. What was worse was that the Ant Queen saw Flor turning around as if their conversation had ended! "Wait, wait, wait! Flor!" Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Flor turned around in confusion. "Anything else?" Ignatia stomped the ground, making her ample bosom jiggle. "Many! Why did you flat-out reject me!? I have something that you will probably like!" Flor didn''t immediately dismiss her and listened this time. "Ho? For example?" Ignatia smiled and called one of the one-meter-tall ants at the back. Then, she threw the pouch that had been hanging on the ant''s pincers at Flor. While they were competitors, and some might even call them enemies, Ignatia knew Flor''s character. So, she wasn''t afraid of being robbed. "Look at those." Flor used her Aether Mana to catch the pouch, which was almost as big as herself and looked inside. Her eyebrows rose a few notches, showing satisfaction. Ignatia grinned. "What do you say? Is that enough to let me see that tree of yours?" Flor wanted to disagree, but if she really continued refusing, Ignatia would probably be angry. She didn''t want another enemy with the Thornstrides constantly lurking around. "Wait for a second. I need to ask." Before leaving, she stopped because she remembered something. "By the way, it will take a while. Trees are quite slow thinkers." Ignatia''s eyes flashed. ''Oh? So the tree is the real chief?'' Without showing her surprise, she grinned. "Sure, take your time." Flor returned to Liu Shu''s side and asked. "Liu Shu, there is a powerful person that wants to see you. She doesn''t have bad intentions, so there shouldn''t be any problems." Liu Shu was looking at her system when she heard Flor''s voice. ''Another little friend similar to Flor?'' Liu Shu looked at Flor''s stats just to remember the difference between them. Aether Mana Shards: 12432/12432 Phoer Body Shards: 3612/3612 Anima Energy Shards: 5845/5845 Then, Tianlian Liu Shul looked at her own. Aether Mana Shards: 1013/1013 Phoer Body Shards: 1499/1499 Anima Energy Shards: 1044/1044 ''Another Flor¡­ It would be very dangerous.'' Looking back at Flor, who had, at some point, sat down on one of her branches while swinging her legs, Liu Shu sent a message conveying affirming thoughts. Flor understood and smiled. "Hm? You''ve finished? Good. Tell me what you think about it." Liu Shu asked herself if she trusted Flor enough to bring another of that caliber near her trunk. After thinking for a while, she decided that she did. So, she sent the message back to her, conveying another type of affirmation, one that was heavier in meaning, as if telling her. "I trust you." Flor understood and laughed, hugging Liu Shu''s thick and relatively smooth trunk. "Thank you for trusting me, little one." Ignatia waited for around one hour before she saw Flor coming over. "Well, how was it?" Flor commented. "You can go, but leave those 200 ants that you carried over far away." Ignatia snorted and dragged out her tone as she walked forward. "Sure ~." They walked inside and entered the grove where Liu Shu was. While walking, Ignatia also realized how many fairies were waiting at the side. After all, unlike her own race, fairies couldn''t reproduce as easily. After walking through the peaceful grove, Ignatia arrived at an open space. There was nothing around the tree other than some vegetation. Even then, the place didn''t feel dull. Ignatia looked around with a smile. "There are so many good things¡­ Hm?" Her eyes landed on the relatively tall tree, and her mind and heart raced. "Wow! Look at her trunk''s shape. It''s so pretty. Why is she like that? It looks like the very vague silhouette of a woman''s body!" Flor rolled her eyes and told her. "Go on. Didn''t you want to tell her something? Or at least, check something?" Liu Shu saw Flor arrive with an extremely tall person. For her, who was used to seeing the 20-centimeter-tall flying people, seeing the explosive Ignatia was a hit to the mind. ''Wow, she is so¡­ Big.'' [ has attracted a . Proficiency increased by 110.] This skill was always triggered when a new being approached her, so Liu Shu wasn''t surprised at the sudden flux of proficiency points. Ignatia smiled and stopped about five meters away from Liu Shu. "Well, hello, little one. I wanted to ask if it was okay if my children and I moved in nearby." Flor blinked and looked at her with confusion. "Why? Did something happen to your nest?" Since the Rose Fairy Queen knew the true race of Liu Shu, she didn''t stop her from moving in. World Trees was a gathering of people from everywhere. They were a symbol of protection, strength, and wisdom in those countries. So, allowing someone from taking shelter nearby was okay with Flor. Not only that, she expected more creatures to appear that managed to be lucky enough to be by Liu Shu''s side as she grew exponentially taller and stronger. Ignatia had recently learned that Liu Shu usually took a while to answer, so she decided to answer Flor first. "There is nothing wrong with my nest. I just wanted to move closer to one of my previously abandoned nests. I''ll probably need to fight off the rogue ants that went there later." Flor smirked. "What if there is another Ant Queen in that nest?" Ignatia smiled. "I''ll kill her." Flor paused, sensing intense killing intent coming from Ignatia. "Ho? So aggressive?" Ignatia snorted. "There can only be one Ant Queen, and that''s me." Suddenly, the Ant Queen felt a strange aura envelope her, giving her the feeling that someone or something was eagerly welcoming them. Ignatia grinned. "Thank you, Lady Tree~." Liu Shu and Flor looked at the tall woman''s retreating back with interest. "Well, she is gone. Now, what are you going to do?" Liu Shu planned to see her improved fruit-making in action, so she did so. First, she used the same 200 points of Aether Mana and Anima energy to activate the skill. Then, she used it across her branches. The beautiful willow was suddenly swallowed in an explosion of flowers that covered her entire canopy. Liu Shu was stunned. ''I created 1000 flowers!'' Previously, she could create around one flower per mana point. Now, she could do five without problems. She had created 250 flowers of each of the berries. Then, Liu Shu used her enhancing ability to make those flowers bloom. Flor watched from the side with a smile, relishing in the creature that, at just Level 3, could manipulate the energies in such a manner. It was honestly unthinkable for someone like herself. If she didn''t have the advantage of having ten times her Aether Mana pool, Liu Shu would probably be able to outclass her mana usage-wise already. Finally, after Liu Shu happily reactivated and the other actions she had placed on hold because of the assimilation of the , Liu Shu turned her eyes toward the things that she wanted to create. Equipment! Chapter 25. Trying to build something? Flor’s peculiar encounter. Liu Shu looked into the and searched for the things Flor left there. ''So many materials~. Which one should I choose?'' Of course, the thing that appeared when analyzing a material with the system wasn''t a full description of every detail. If one just needed the system to know everything about the material, there wouldn''t be science studies and similar. What appeared was that the person analyzing could understand. For example, when Liu Shu analyzed one of her fallen branches that Flor had stored, this message appeared. [World Tree Branch : A branch from a very young and weak World Tree. It is valuable, but it can only be used for low-level crafts. Its elasticity and sturdiness are its biggest qualities, and it can add all-rounder stats to anything crafted by it. As a branch from a World Tree, it has incredible energy conductivity, making it more useful to create weapons that aid channeling energies.] Liu Shu pouted as she read the description. ''I''m not weak! You are weak! Stupid system.'' [¡­] Either way, she decided to start making the weapon, and then she realized she had forgotten something really important. ''¡­ Flor hasn''t told me yet how to do it.'' Liu Shu stopped in her tracks, her entire body starting to sulk. ''I wanted to create a weapon¡­'' Flor looked at Liu Shu''s mood change from cheerful to sulking, and her eyebrow twitched, somehow knowing why. ''Did she remember? I tried using Ignatia as a distraction, but it seems that it didn''t work.'' While Flor thought of that, she suddenly felt Liu Shu''s energy clinging around her, like a child asking for their toy. Flor almost burst into laughter. ''¡­Why is she so cute?'' She passed her fair hand through her lush red hair, and her jewel-like red eyes focused on Liu Shu. ''What do I do with this little one?'' After interacting with Liu Shu for a while, Flor came to know how young Liu Shu''s mind was. It really felt like she was talking to a Rose Fairy child. ''Hm¡­ How do I distract her?'' Flor thought about it while Liu Shu''s energy spread all over her body. In her mind, Liu Shu was calling her. ''Flor, listen. I want to learn. I want to learn. Flor. Flor. Flor!'' With her newfound energy control, one of the branches that was limp by the side moved clumsily and wrapped around her. Flor couldn''t hold back anymore and burst into laughter, flying toward her and giving her a tight hug. "Ah! Why are you so adorable, Liu Shu!?" Liu Shu looked at the 45-centimeter-tall fairy who was hugging her and felt happy. ''Hehe, Flor and the rest of the little friends are also cute~.'' Flor clapped and said. "Okay. Liu Shu, want to fight something? You haven''t fought anything of substance since you leveled up, right?" However, Liu Shu was a World Tree. Who would like to fight? If it were for our tree, she would spend all day looking around lazily and spreading her roots through the earth slowly. So, Liu Shu threw quite a clear "No!" With her energy signals. Flor''s smile faltered. ''Tsk. It didn''t work.'' Flor coughed. "I see. If you don''t want that, then how about trying to communicate with nearby trees? You are large enough to entangle roots with them and exchange a conversation, right?" BANG! Flor was slammed down into the ground by a whip-like branch. Her body became half-buried in the dirt below. A large [-350] popped above her head, making Flor''s eyebrow twitch. ''Strong. As expected of a World Tree, she blew away 10% of my Phoer in one hit.'' Then, she did a quick calculation about how much time it would take to heal that. After learning the number, even her lips started twitching. ''That will take 23 hours to heal if I eat 5 of those Phoer Fruits¡­'' She was taken by surprise, and Liu Shu also didn''t use all her strength, hence the large hit. The damage would''ve been relatively lower if Flor had defended herself with Aether Mana or Anima''s energy. However, she was confused about why that sentence caused Liu Shu to react so wrongly. ''Aren''t roots like the communication organs? Like antennae for ants, or voice for us?'' This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Of course, she wasn''t wrong. However, entangling roots was an intimate act done either between related trees, meaning those who were related to each other, or by their partners. The act was similar to holding hands. Thinking as such, you should understand why Liu Shu felt innate embarrassment. Imagine yourself going up to a stranger, holding their hand tightly, and starting up a conversation without any prior warning. Well, that weird feeling was what Liu Shu just felt. Meanwhile, Liu Shu was scolding Flor again and again. ''Silly Flor, why would she say something like that? Ah! So silly, and um¡­ Dizzy? No. UGH! Entangling roots with another tree, as if that''s something I can do!'' If Flor hadn''t plummeted into the ground, she would''ve probably received one or two more . Flor coughed a bit of dirt that entered her mouth and moved her mouth and tongue with a grimace. ''This¡­ It was that extract we created for her, right?'' Flor wanted to cry, but she had no tears. "Liu Shu, I''ll come back soon. I''ll go wash off the dirt." Then, she flew away toward a nearby lake. Liu Shu exclaimed. "Ah! Where is she going? She still hasn''t told me how to build weapons!" This time, Clavel arrived from her hunt and happily approached the sulking Liu Shu. "Huh? What happened, little one?" Although Clavel called her little one, Liu Shu was officially stronger than Clavel, so it wasn''t really appropriate. However, since the rose fairy was very close to Liu Shu, she just used a more intimate way of calling her. Liu Shu saw her first little friend from the rose fairies, and her sulky mood was blown away by the wind. ''Oh, Clavel is here~. Hello~.'' Clavel blinked at the sudden mood swing. "You know¡­ To answer questions, you take your time, but to show emotions, you are as fickle as the wind." Liu Shu laughed in her mind. Then, Clavel asked. "So, are you doing okay?" Clavel paused and slapped her forehead. "Did I really need to ask a question?" Meanwhile, Liu Shu, who was suddenly asked how she was doing, began thinking about how to answer. It took around 20 minutes to send two pulses. Clavel, who had been lying on her back on one of Liu Shu''s branches, almost fell from it when she understood them. "What do you mean by , !?" Clavel waved her hand. "Ah, don''t worry, don''t worry. You are young, so it is natural to act a bit silly sometimes." Liu Shu just looked at her. She had wanted to say that she had been doing okay, but Flor had yet to tell her how to build weapons. So, she sent a yes at first and then a no. After not hearing Clavel talk again and just resting in one of her branches, Liu Shu refocused on her things. ''Hm¡­ I want to build something¡­.'' [Do you wish to open the building planner? Yes or no?] ''Oh!'' Liu Shu focused on it for a while and then said. ''No! System, open weapon planner!'' But nothing answered. Liu Shu sulked again, and Clavel ignored her bipolar friend, just choosing to rest on Liu Shu''s branch until the mood went away by itself. And, after 30 minutes, Clavel smirked. ''Now, her sulk is gone~. Perfect.'' ''So¡­ I can''t build equipment, and I don''t want to build a building again that soon¡­ What to do?'' She opened her system window to try to do something and gave the Nature gift''s skill more love. ''I want to level up this one!'' Her enchanting roots deep into the earth carried nutrients and pure energy, making sure Liu Shu had enough energy for what she wanted to do. For now, she was growing around 1000 flowers every two days at most. Liu Shu thoughtfully gazed at the smallest regeneration, which was 36.5 Aether Mana per hour. Then, she chose to apply what the fairies taught her in the past. ''I need to use as much as my regeneration, right? Then¡­ I also need to practice with .'' Meanwhile, Flor, who had already cleaned herself in the lake, became thoughtful. ''I need to find something to help her.'' Her eyes moved toward the west, and she grabbed her chin. ''Let''s go on a small journey, then.'' Her body was wrapped in wind Aether Mana, and she quickly flew through the forest toward the nearest city to the west, Fortuna City. It took her around 8 hours of flight to reach the vicinity. Flor was considered a monster, even if she was from an intelligent race, mainly because her system page scaled differently after Level 10. They were small details that separated creatures with potential and intelligence from races with no potential and intelligence. Flor looked around and saw a group of humans and Sylvans slowly walking into the forest. ''Hm. I should use them.'' Flor followed behind them as they walked deeper into the forest, not knowing that a fearsome Level 12 was staring at their back with a very cold gaze. "Verdantia, what should we do now? It seems that the plant you wanted isn''t here." Verdantia, the tall and voluptuous woman with green hair and eyes, shook her head. "Don''t worry. I''m not in a hurry." Verdantia paused and looked up to the sky. "Moreover, the plant I want is probably not nearby¡­ Huh?" Whether it was luck or not, this gesture allowed Verdantia to discover a hidden threat, who was observing them with strange, completely red eyes. They were like a pair of rubies embedded in the woman''s eye sockets. While the rest of the people were still unaware, Verdantia saw the doll-sized woman''s lips arch and place a finger on her fingers. Verdantia gulped and used her identification skill on Flor. *** Race: Rose Fairy Queen. Level: 12 [0/7440] Aether Mana Shards: 12432/12432 Phoer Body Shards: 3612/3612 Anima Energy Shards: 5845/5845 Attributes: Aether 89 (75+14), Physique 28 (19+9), Anima 44 (33+11), Willpower 56 (56), Destiny 96 (96) *** Verdantia almost screamed in fright. She was currently nothing but a little Level 4 Sylvan. How could she fight a monster like this? She was strong, but not this much! Even if she wanted to alarm others, the Level 12 creature above them could probably kill her instantly. Verdantia secretly bit her lips. ''If I were Level 5, I could at least somehow resist, but¡­'' Sylvans gained a very special skill at Level 5. It was a skill powerful enough to make Sylvans one of the strongest races by far, with little competition at the same level other than other Sylvans or users of precarious ways. Then, the woman saw Flor pointing to the side. Flor''s gestures were enough to tell Verdantia that Flor wanted her to go somewhere alone. While she was a calm, gentle, and rational woman, she was in a controlled situation where she could act like a strong person appropriately. Now that she was at the mercy of a wild monster, her fate was hanging on a very thin thread. Chapter 26. Verdantia. Since childhood, Verdantia has been someone above others. Be it her appearance, race, intelligence, or almost any other metric, Verdantia never felt lacking compared with others. She was gifted compared to those around her, and that was the objective truth. However, never had she become arrogant. As a Sylvan with an affinity to life, she was innately compassionate. Her personality was quiet yet attentive. Instead of relishing in her superiority, she worked on herself to expand that distance between herself and others even further. This meant that she had trained in survival and many other related aspects that one needed to take into account while hunting. However, there was one rule that every person tried to follow. "Don''t fight creatures that have completed more than you unless it is unavoidable." Verdantia was curious about this concept, so she went on and researched it. She managed to learn quite a bit, and even previously, in her class, they''ve started studying them. Simply put, was the breakthrough a creature needed to do to break limits and continue to . The act of leveling up was similar to increasing one''s existence level. The more levels you had, the more developed your being was. Creatures born with talent could even unlock skills, talents, titles, and many other things after leveling up. However, just gaining "experience" was not enough to continuously level up to infinity. Not all creatures were born the same, and not all creatures could reach the same heights. The thing limiting Level was none other than . Once a creature reached Level 9 and maxed out their experience, instead of instantly Leveling Up like the previous levels, the creature needed to create a mana circuit in their body. The mana circuit would be an essential part of oneself, as it gave stats the stronger it is. Moreover, it was a permanent thing that would continue affecting them for the rest of their lives and level-ups. When completing an energy cycle, that energy cycle would affect the creature again in the multiples of that cycle. For example, the stats of the Level 10 Energy Cycle would be gained again at Levels 20, 30, etc. One needed both talent and resources to create the mana circuits needed for the Energy Cycle. That''s why most wild creatures were stuck at Level 9 or less. Those who breached that limit were rare. However, in front of Verdantia wasn''t a Level 10, but a Level 12 creature. This existence that was calling her over, while looking amicably, could probably slaughter her entire party with just a wave of her hand. Preparations? What could a tiny Level 4 like her prepare? Not obeying? You might as well jump off a tall tree for a higher survival chance! Fighting her? Right, sure, keep dreaming. Escaping? As if she can outrun a flying Level 12 creature. Of course, if she was Level 5 instead, Verdantia might''ve thought about escaping. The reason for her confidence was the reason Sylvans were such a dominant race throughout the entire world. At Level 5, Sylvans unlocked a "transformation" skill that allowed them to bring out their true bloodline, greatly increasing their stats for a short duration. The result of using such skill was extreme tiredness most of the time, and if the Sylvan overused it, it could even result in death. After thinking about it for a long time, Verdantia clenched her fist and decided to follow the creature obediently. ''I''m dead either way, might as well try my luck!'' "Hey, I need to go over there for a moment." Verdantia called her group and pointed at the side with a stiff smile. Her face clearly showed that something was wrong, so one of them frowned and asked. "Why are you leaving? We still haven''t collected the necessary flowers for that potion maker." Verdantia shook her head and said. "Just personal things. Anyway, I''m going." Without waiting for an answer, Verdantia turned around and left, leaving her group behind. The four people frowned, watching her departing back disappear between the lush vegetation. Another Sylvan on the team asked. "So¡­ Should we wait?" A human man snorted. "Why should we? If she wants to leave so badly, then we should leave her alone." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Another human male frowned. "She hasn''t told us not to wait." The first human male laughed. "And she has also not said anything about waiting for her." The Sylvan commented. "Let''s wait for 15 minutes. If she isn''t back, we leave." The first human male who spoke frowned, but after clicking his tongue, he moved to the side and sat on a thick root. "Whatever." Meanwhile, Verdantia finally moved away from the group and took a deep breath. "I''m here. What do you want?" Before she could even realize it, a beautiful red-haired fairy appeared before her eyes. Her petite 45-centimeter stature made her around two heads tall. Her doll-like appearance, added with the strange ruby-like eyes, made for quite a beautiful yet unsettling image. The fairy''s lips arched. "Don''t worry, Sylvan. I''m not here to hurt anybody. I just want some knowledge." Verdantia looked at her for a few seconds, but the fairy''s eyes couldn''t reveal any emotions, as they were like two red gems embedded in her eye sockets. Verdantia held back her trembling and asked. "What kind of knowledge?" The fairy''s eyebrow arched, and a pleasant laugh left her mouth. "It''s good that we can communicate. I''m named Flor. It''s nice to meet you. What about you?" Verdantia was feeling defensive, but since the other side appeared to be in a good mood, she chose to acquiesce. "Verdantia." The fairy, Flor, smiled and clapped once. "Great. Verdantia, I''m going to be direct. I want to learn or have the list of materials needed to create weapons. They don''t need to be anything too ostentatious, as resources in the forest aren''t as rich as in your cities. However, I would love it if you could bring something of that nature." Verdantia looked at her with a grimace. "Why do you need-." Flor looked at her with a smile and made a slight sound. "Hm?" Verdantia''s words got stuck in the back of her throat when she remembered that she was dealing with a forest creature. Flor chuckled. "Don''t be nervous. I won''t kill you even if you refuse. However, if you dare agree and then fail to return, I''ll go inside that city and hunt you down." Verdantia looked at Flor for a few seconds. "Then, why should I agree in the first place?" Flor chuckled and flew behind a tree nearby, taking out a relatively small branch. "Well, I''ll give you this." Flor paused, not hearing anything, and looked over. "Huh?" Verdantia''s eyes were fixed on the branch Flor was holding intently. It felt as if everything else other than the branch had disappeared from Verdantia''s gaze. Flor frowned. "You-." Verdantia looked at Flor with intensity and cut her off, not caring about anything. "How do I get that branch? No, where is that branch from? Can you guide me? I can pay you whatever you want as long as I have it. And even if I don''t have it, I''ll get it. I just need to know if-." Flor ordered. "Stop." Verdantia looked at Flor and waited, not caring about the menacing face of the creature she was previously so afraid of. Flor looked at the branch and frowned. ''This is one of Liu Shu''s branches that fell off during Froorar''s visit. However, I didn''t expect this reaction. The previous person didn''t have such an intense reaction¡­'' On the other side, Verdantia waited patiently. The second she had seen that branch, it felt as if her entire existence had lit up. She wanted that branch. No, she needed it. Her soul, body, mind, and heart were all telling her to get that branch or try to find whoever that branch came from. For the first time in life, Verdantia felt as if the world had finally gained a purpose. It was such a primal and raw reaction that she didn''t feel it was odd. It didn''t feel as if something was forcing her to have these feelings. It was more as if they were always there; however, they were dormant. The sight of this branch just awakened it. Flor finally said. "I can use this branch as a reward for today''s exchange, the weapon-making knowledge. However, I can''t tell you nor guide you toward the being who dropped it." Verdantia''s eyes lit up, and she asked. "Is she alive!?" Flor''s eyes widened, and she shouted angrily. "What are you cursing her!? She is alive and well!" Verdantia''s face gained an uncontrollable smile as she laughed in giddiness. Not knowing what to do with the incomprehensible reaction, Flor commented. "So, do you agree-." "YES!" The Fairy Queen didn''t know what to do with the previously scared woman''s newfound passion. ''Is she okay? Or does Liu Shu''s aura react differently with humans and Sylvans? After all, the person I approached previously was a human man¡­'' Verdantia asked. "What do I need to do to meet with her?" "Huh?" Flor asked. "What do you mean?" Verdantia approached her face toward Flor and said, her green eyes shining with a strangely crazed light. "Tell me what I need to be allowed to see her." Spechlessnes could not explain Flor''s current mood. She was completely weirded out. ''What in the branch''s name? Is her head working okay?'' While Flor didn''t trust her, after all, who in the right mind would trust someone who is showing this kind of strange obsession? Flor still decided to use this. "Then¡­ I need knowledge about how to rise a World Tree." Verdantia''s eyes widened, and then she blushed. "She is a World Tree!? KYA! So pretty! So majestic! Ahhh! I bet her canopy is super stylish~." Verdantia laughed, but to Flor, it just sounded like a perverted laugh. "I wonder what shape her trunk holds, hehe~." Flor commented, not knowing how to continue interacting with her. "Anyway, the more things you give us to help us raise her, the better." Verdantia looked at her and smiled, her green eyes strangely swirling. "Of course. Even if I have to feed Fortuna''s World Tree to her, I will do so." Flor paused, her face becoming solemn. "Do you know her?" Verdantia honestly shook her head and then laughed. "I don''t know her, but I know I want to know her. I don''t know why, but I just know that I''ll be glad I did." The Rose Fairy Queen shook her head. "Whatever. I''ll wait here for you to return with that thing. After that, I''ll give you the branch." Verdantia nodded and turned around. Flor stopped her. "If, and I say, only if you gain my trust, I''ll guide you to her." Verdantia looked back and nodded. "Sure!" Then, she continued walking. This confused Flor. ''Why is she not jumping in joy? I thought it would be a bit more effective.'' Meanwhile, Verdantia was thinking. ''I don''t understand why I am being so impulsive. I don''t understand my inner feelings. However, I understand that I must follow my thoughts, not for others, but for myself. She, the World Tree, is probably the reason I was born in this World. Because to mesmerize me to this degree with just a branch¡­ Ah.'' Verdantia shuddered and let out a hot sigh. ''Flor, I don''t care if you want me to guide me or not¡­'' Her lips arched murderously. ''Whoever stops me¡­ I shall kill.'' Chapter 27. Woodcrafting Books. While Verdantia returned, her rapidly beating heart calmed down and her mind also slowly exited her previous strange state. She was confused, extremely so. ''Is a branch really enough to make me like this?'' Verdantia had heard in the past that some Sylvans feel close connections with particular flora, making them very attracted to a certain kind of plant. However, World Trees are special. While all Sylvans do feel attracted to World Trees, it''s different. Unless the World Tree initiates it, Sylvans look at them reverently. It''s like seeing someone to be praised and respected, not as potential mates. Of course, if the World Tree chooses any Sylvan as a partner, the Sylvan would probably happily accept unless they were already engaged or something similar. Verdantia''s case was strange no matter how you looked at it. ''What would''ve happened if Flor agreed to bring me to see that World Tree?'' Verdantia shuddered a bit in a mix of excitement and fear. ''I would''ve followed, right? With how I felt at that time, it is impossible that I wouldn''t have followed.'' For her, who had lived a steady and planned life, the sudden realization that she had almost thrown everything away to find that World Tree made her feel strangely elated yet also fearful. As a long-living race, most Sylvans were much more conservationists than humans would ever be, which added to the list of reasons why, while there was enough knowledge, the cities, technology, etc., were still not that transformative. Society''s objective was not to "develop as fast as possible," but to "integrate with nature while developing." It was a cultural thing, mostly driven to the front by the long-living dominant race, the Sylvans. Naturally, some humans who sought advancement rebelled and created many groups to fight for those ideals, throwing the world into a constant state of conflict. But, for the most part, this conflict happened in other, more isolated places. Furthermore, the grand majority of both races respected World Trees, which made them not only an anchor for life but an anchor that prevented a full-blown world war. Hence, Verdantia, who knew all of this, was surprised with her own reaction, which went against everything of who she thought she was. ''Ah¡­ Let''s bring out the wood shaping and material science books and give them to Flor. I''ll then return and go to sleep to clear my head.'' While some people would think that metal was the best way to create weapons, wood was actually a material that could rival and even surpass metalcraft. This comparison was not alluding to common wood but to higher-level wood. Moreover, unlike metal, which couldn''t be grown and just found, wood was a resource that could be planted and harvested. When Verdantia arrived at the Fortuna First School library, she walked toward the material science bookshelf. As she browsed books, she heard a voice from the side. "Oh? Verdantia, are you here to read something as well?" Verdantia looked sideways and then down. With her tall stature, most human women only reached around her chest level. She smiled softly and nodded. "Yes. I''ve become interested in wood weapon crafting, so I wanted to search for books that cover the basic techniques and material science. Can you help me?" The human woman blushed and smiled shyly. While Sylvans were popular with men, human women were also attracted to them. "O-Of course, I''ll help! Ah! Wait, let me as a friend of mine; her mother works in wood shaping and equipment building; I''m sure she can recommend something really nice!" Verdantia smiled. "That''s a happy surprise, thank you." The woman''s face gained a deeper shade of red, and she scurried away while stuttering. "W-Wait here, Verdantia." Verdantia observed her retreating back, her green eyes dancing with dark thoughts. ''Should I manipulate that human woman to become an information provider? I heard her parents work in the city administration sector and have high rankings.'' As promised, Verdantia waited while also checking out some books herself. After around 20 minutes, the human woman returned, her forehead soaked in sweat. "Verdantia! I''m back!" "Welcome back. So, what do they recommend?" The human woman smiled proudly and took out four books. "This [F and E Rank Material List and Properties] book is really good! Also, [Basic Aether Mana Control for Woodcrafting], and this [Elementary Anima Energy Infusion for Woodcrafting]. Finally, [Basic Structures For Woodcrafting Weapons]." Verdantia took the four books that were as thick as four fingers placed together and smiled. "Thanks a lot. These are certainly better than what I found. It really helped me with what I needed to do." The human woman laughed shyly. "No problem!" She looked toward the ground and stuttered. "S-So, um. Verdantia, do you want to drink something together? I know a place nearby that''s really nice." Verdantia smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but I need to deliver these books as soon as possible, so I can''t stop by. I''m in a hurry, after all." Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The human woman''s face became downcast as she nodded. "Okay, I understand. Be careful." Verdantia laughed and flashed a charming smile. "I will. Thanks for everything." Then, she turned around and left, leaving behind a blushing woman. As she left, she was seen by one of the people who went with her to the mission. Verdantia also saw them and almost cursed at the coincidence for the first time in her life. However, she managed to smile and greet them as always. "Sorry for leaving so soon. As you can see, I was in a hurry to get something. Moreover, since we had almost the entire work completed, I thought you would be able to complete it without me." The human male was the one that felt disgruntled, so he snorted. "Forgive you? Do you think that your pretty face is enough for me to forgive you? Ha! You Sylvans think that you are above everyone else, always making trouble while ''thinking'' about things!" Verdantia wanted to say that if she didn''t go, a Level 12 creature would''ve killed them all, but she just smiled. It felt like wasting breath with this person was not worth it. "I see. I won''t go on any more missions with you, then. Have a nice day." Then, without looking at him anymore, she turned around and left. ''Wasting my time, I need to get that branch as quickly as possible. What if Flor disappears because she has found another person?'' However, the man really wanted to mess with her, so he shouted. "Hey! Wait! We are not done talking! Who do you think you are to stop our contract at will? There are termination fees you must answer to, and there is also a rule that says breaking apart at will is not possible. Also-." Verdantia turned around and locked eyes with him, choking his voice in his throat as the powerful pressure from Verdantia''s cold eyes weighed upon him. "I don''t have time now. Later, okay?" The man wanted to continue being angry, but Verdantia''s gaze froze him on the spot. Then, Verdantia turned around, her long green hair and dress flowing with her motions, and moved away. She sighed in relief when she exited the school''s precinct while carrying the four heavy books. ''Finally, with this, there shouldn''t be any more hindrances.'' She slowly walked toward the east side of the gates and exited the town after showing her student card to the guard. Such a card was used for two purposes: identification and checking whether it was safe to allow people out. While the culture admired nature, they weren''t ignorant of the hidden dangers. If someone had yet to be initiated and have their system unlocked, allowing them out was nothing but ignorance and stupidity itself. Verdantia rushed through the forest, using her memory and great senses to return to the place where she first met with Flor. While running and close to the location, a large wolf-like creature suddenly appeared in her path, baring its fangs. Verdantia''s face became serious as she analyzed it. *** Race: Green Furred Bark Canine Level: 8 Aether Mana Shards: 172/172 Phoer Body Shards: 920/920 Anima Energy Shards: 264/264 Attributes: Aether 2, Physique 10, Anima 3, Willpower 8, Destiny 8 *** After seeing its stats, her face gained a sneer as she didn''t even drop her books and expertly changed her footwork to do a spinning kick. "Out of my way!" BANG! Her foot landed on the side of the sizeable wolf-like creature''s head, twisting its neck and sending it stumbling to the size as it whimpered. Then, it fell flat on the ground, and her brain clearly shook badly enough to make it lose consciousness. A large [-650] appeared above its head, showing how much damage her kick truly did. However, she didn''t finish it off and continued rushing forward, holding the four books tightly so they didn''t fall. The experience it would give wouldn''t be that much either way and because it was from a canine race, it probably wasn''t alone. Getting entangled with it more would mean she had to fight its pack, something Verdantia didn''t want to do. And, as she had expected, Verdantia heard the howl-like sound of a few other creatures. Thankfully, because of her swift reaction and judgment, she was able to escape their encirclement and leave without needing to do any extra maneuvers. Verdantia might be Level 4, but her stats were terrifyingly high for her level. In the tests, she was evaluated with an overall E+ Rank, with her Willpower and Anima reaching the D- Rank, while her Aether and Phoer both reached the E Rank. For these F Rank beasts, she was an actual monster. After running for ten more minutes, Verdantia stopped while breathing heavily. ''I''m here, please be here still.'' She took a deep breath and called aloud. "Flor? Are you here?" The answer came instantly. "I''m here." A voice came from behind her, surprising her. Verdantia turned around and asked, confused. "Huh? When did you arrive? I couldn''t sense you at all." Flor smirked. "Since you exited the city, I was following you." Verdantia''s eyes widened as a stupid sound left her throat. "Eh?" Flor snorted. "Did you expect me to wait here patiently? What if you call the guards in the city and tell them that a Level 12 creature is here? Sorry, Verdantia, but I''m not eager to fight my way out." Verdantia blinked and found it reasonable. "Fair enough." Then, her lips arched. "Now, you should actually know that I''m sincere, right? It''s almost impossible to fake my rush, even if I knew about you chasing me since the start. You have to have a skill for it or be the actual World Tree of acting if it exists." Flor shrugged and flew in front of Verdantia. "I expected it already when I checked that you have almost 1400 Anima Energy Shards and nearly 900 of the other two, but you are truly exceptional for a Level 4." Flor smirked. "You actually remind me of the little one back at home." Verdantia''s green eyes flashed, and she said. "Here are the four books as promised. Now, can I have my branch? Also, what information do I need to give you to let me know where the World Tree is?" Flor used her Wind Aether Mana to make the four books float and looked at their titles. "Hm¡­ This should be enough for now." Then, she looked at Verdantia and pondered. "Not yet. I know your excitement is not fake." Verdantia asked. "Then?" Flor responded curtly. "I don''t know if your excitement to see her is for proper or evil reasons. Both would make a reaction similar to the one you are showing." Verdantia sighed and nodded. "Well, I can wait until you are convinced¡­" With a pondering look, she asked. "How do I meet with you?" Flor commented. "I''ll send someone else next time. This time, I was in a rush, so I left. Moreover, we are at war, so I don''t want to be absent for too long." Verdantia''s face became serious. "There is someone as strong as you?" Flor blinked and shook her head. "No. I''m the strongest in the area we are in. However, I''m not overwhelmingly strong enough to avoid causing involuntary damage. The last thing I want is for the little one to get hurt because of me." Verdantia nodded, and after a bit more small talk, Flor left with four books floating by her side and gave Verdantia Liu Shu''s branch. After Flor left, Verdantia hugged her branch and laughed. Her green eyes glowed as her body was filled with bliss. A whisper spread around. "Mine~." Chapter 28. Thornstride Attack! After Flor made her way back, her Aether Mana had been consumed by around a tenth. While carrying the four books with her Aether Mana wasn''t much effort, the journey back was long, and the books were somewhat heavy. ''I hope this helps.'' She was a bit doubtful. After all, her knowledge of World Trees was very limited. ''Ah!'' Flor almost smacked herself. ''I should''ve asked for books about how to take care of World Trees!'' While it wasn''t necessary, as World Trees were more than capable of taking care of themselves, as with everything, a bit of assistance wouldn''t hurt anybody. Moreover, knowing more about them would help the Rose Fairies understand their main needs and valuable facts. Flor smiled. ''Well, I now know what to ask Verdantia for.'' As she approached the groove where Liu Shu was, Flor heard battle sounds, making her face change from relaxed to wrathful. "I was gone for a day, and they think they can step on my territory as they please!?" Let''s turn back the clock an hour. For the Rose Fairies, it was a typical day. They took care of Liu Shu the best they could, collecting the fruits growing on her branches and looking around the area for threats. Aster was patrolling with a bored look on her face. "When we were in the other home, we didn''t need to patrol so much. Why has it become a routine now?" A Level 7 Rose Fairy by her side commented with a stutter. "W-Well, Liu Shu is weaker and also more important than that tree. It is normal for us to be more careful, no?" Aster snorted. "Do you think I don''t know that? I was complaining just because!" The other fairy smiled wryly. "I see-" BANG! Aster''s face changed to incredulous as a massive rock hit the other fairy and sent her flying backward without control. "WHO DARES!?" Before anything, Aster quickly turned around to save the other Rose Fairy, but from the shrubs, two Level 7 Thornstride appeared and jumped up, opening their mouths and chomping down on her. Their sharp fangs dropped like guillotines, deeply sinking into the body of the Level 7 Rose Fairy. Aster saw the Fairy''s Phoer Body Shards plummet to zero as their fangs pierced through the fairy''s body, signifying her death. With her face twisted in anger, she shouted. "YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!" As soon as she was about to rush forward and fight the two Level 7s, two Level 8 Thornstride appeared from the side, stopping her in her tracks. The four of them looked at her with an unmistakable sneer as one of the Level 7 Thornstrides began eating the Rose Fairy. Even if she had the advantage of flying, a four-against-one was not a favorable situation. While Aster was impulsive, she was not brainless enough to go against them. ''These disgusting tree eaters! ARGH!'' Aster quickly turned around and returned to the place where Liu Shu was, shouting after she arrived. "We are being attacked! Prepare!" All the Rose Fairies stopped what they were doing, and everyone at Level 6 and above moved at once toward the defensive positions. In the place where Liu Shu was located, there were three paths leading into the area, with natural barriers that stopped people from approaching as they pleased. In the first place, a weak tree like she was before absorbing that leaf had no business surviving for too long. It was just a coincidence that Liu Shu was born in a relatively isolated place. It was also a coincidence created by the random skill she gained that she would later absorb the leaf that allowed her to become a World Tree. Clavel moved quickly and asked Aster. "What about the other one that was with you?" Aster bit her lips. "Dead." Clavel paused for a second, showing a look of grief. However, she quickly recovered. "First, the fight. We''ll bury her under Liu Shu''s roots after we finish." Then, she turned to leave. However, Aster bit her lips harder and commented. "We can''t. They ate her." A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Clavel said without turning around. "Then, we''ll bury the beast who ate her." Aster looked at Clavel''s back and turned toward the other path with a resolute face. "We will." The three paths were each covered with a Level 8 Rose Fairy: Aster, Zinia, and Clavel. Meanwhile, the Level 9 Amapola was in the middle of the place, and if any side needed help, she would move and quickly fly and help. To relay which side needed aid, there were Level 5 Rose Fairies acting as messengers between the fairies. It was a well-thought-out method in which everyone could do something. If any side faced an overwhelming number of enemies, they would all retreat and regroup near Liu Shu. They knew that while they were protecting Liu Shu, the World Tree was not someone that could be easily messed with. On one of the sides, at a point with two cliffs and a lot of vegetation, Clavel saw 6 Thornstride arrive. However, her face was solemn as one of them was a Level 9 Thornstride. This Thornstride sneered. "Since my father doesn''t want to attack while Flor is away and locked himself with his females, let me, Mraar, do what he couldn''t and deal with that tree that killed my little brother!" While Clavel knew that Thornstrides were not too intelligent, she didn''t expect to learn about all their reasoning for the surprise attack in less than 10 seconds. ''Is there a point to speak about all of this?'' The Thornstride by Mraar''s side made a hiss-like roar, feeling motivated. Clavel blinked. ''I see. It was to motivate her group.'' Clavel looked at the seven fairies by her side and pondered. ''We are more numerous. However, Mraar is an F+ Rank Level 9, while I, the strongest in this group, is just an F Rank Level 8.'' "Fight calmly, Level 5 Fairies, tell our battle situation back to Amapola. We are fighting against one Level 9, two Level 6, and Three Level 5. Also, tell her the message Mraar told us." A Level 5 Rose Fairy rose to the air and left. Leaving one Level 8, one Level 7, four Level 6, and two Level 5 in her ground. Clavel smiled. ''Let''s see how much of a difference you and I can make.'' Mraar charged forward, her lizard-like body using all four limbs to crawl forward. Clavel also flew closer and sent a tentative wind crescent. Mraar used her strong reflexes to dodge to the side and receive zero damage. Still, using the exaggerated dodge, Clavel moved to intercept her movements with a more robust and quick attack. Of course, the Thornstride tanked it because her outer hide was highly durable. The damage was there. However, taking Mraar down would take much more. The other fairies were fighting the rest of the Thornstride. While the battles between these two groups looked overwhelmingly in the Rose Fairies'' favor, the Thornstrides had the advantage of being able to land a decisive blow as long as they could touch them. How would they be able to touch a flying creature? They had many methods, like the one they used to deal with that Level 7 Rose Fairy. One of the Thornstride used his long claw and a nearby tree to grab onto it and jump. If the Level 7 Rose Fairy hadn''t quickly reacted and pushed the Level 6 Fairy out of the way, she would''ve been in a lot of trouble. For the other two sides, it was much more favored for the Rose Fairy group because they didn''t have the powerful Level 9 protecting them. The two Level 8 Thornstride lead those two groups, all under Mraar''s command. Amapola received the messages from the Level 5 Fairies and quickly decided to move toward the place where Clavel was. ''If we can deal with her, it will be a very strong blow. It wouldn''t be strange if the rest of Thornstride retreated in defeat.'' Clavel and Mraar fought together, with Mraar having the upper hand. While Clavel had significantly improved, the difference between levels can be massive, especially between tiers. While they fought, Clavel had to dodge one rock thrown by Mraar quickly, and Mraar didn''t let the opportunity sleep. She quickly climbed and jumped! Clavel''s facial expression changed when she saw the large creature flying her way. She had been distracted for a second, and suddenly, she was in trouble. With quick maneuvers, Clavel''s body quickly moved out of the way. However, when she thought that it was okay, the tip of her foot got entangled in something. Seeing the red rope-like material tied around her leg, Clavel wasn''t pleased. Right after, the Thornstride pulled, throwing the small Fairy toward her own opened mouth. Clavel quickly reacted and threw a wind crescent to her face. "Scram!" BANG! [-200] Mraar grunted in pain, but her eyes glowed with the determined light of a creature that had seen its own ups and downs. Resisting the pain, her jaw moved and closed her maw. "." CRUNCH! "AHHH!" Clavel screamed in pain as a large [-124] appeared on her head. That was almost half her entire Phoer Body Shard reserves, showing how dreadful that attack was. BANG! When Mraar was about to finish Clavel off, her side was slammed by something extremely heavy and sharp, throwing her sliding sideways while making her hiss in pain. [-450]! Mraar''s side was split open, blood pouring through, and with it, her Phoer Body Shards. Amapola arrived and quickly fed two to Clavel. While 20 Phoer Body Shards were not much, they would help the body heal much quicker. Amapola looked at Mraar, who had around 1500 Phoer Body Shards left from her initial 2174. "How about you choose an opponent of your own size? Mraar hissed. "She was careless and reckless. The fact that she could now escape before I finished her off is already lucky." Looking at the injured Clavel, Amapola frowned. "I don''t care, but if you don''t retreat with your people, you will regret it.`" Mraar cackled. "What can happen? Flor is away. Then, you and I might be equal. However, what about the rest?" Amapola looked around, and when she saw that the fairies were actually struggling, her face gained a frown. ''Why? We should be winning as we have number and level advantage.'' Mraar sneered. "You can fly and attack from a safe distance. However, do you think your race is the only race that does it? Our own race has been fighting creatures like yours for many generations. We have our own means as much as you have your own!" After thinking for a while, Amapola carried Clavel in her arms and shouted. "Retreat!" The fairies were surprised but quickly obeyed. A messenger was sent toward the other two sides, and soon, all fairies had regrouped around Liu Shu''s side. Chapter 29. Liu Shu’s Counterattack! Liu Shu had been quite calm during all this time. When Aster arrived and spoke with Clavel about one of the Rose Fairies dying, she didn''t feel sad or upset. While she felt it was something she wouldn''t like to happen, the intrinsic nature of Tianlian Liu Shu, a World Tree, treated death as something that was natural to happen. But accepting didn''t mean not caring. You can accept someone''s death, but you can also retaliate against those who killed them. From accepting someone''s death to forgiving the perpetrator, there was a very big change in mentality that needed to happen. So, Liu Shu waited. Her was stretched to the limit, which reached 80 meters after she leveled up and expanded her roots. She had already moved her roots far enough that other trees had become a problem. However, Liu Shu was not hasty in comforting those trees. From what she had learned from the momentary contact with them, they weren''t intelligent, and their thoughts were much slower and more superficial than hers. It reminded Liu Shu of how she was before she absorbed that strange leaf. Regardless, after expanding her reach to 80 meters, Liu Shu waited. Patiently seeing everything around her and trying not to miss a single thing. She could tell from the vibrations of the ground that people were fighting. Even then, Liu Shu wasn''t in a rush. Calmly, patiently, and attentively, the World Tree waited. She waited for her chance to eventually interfere. This chance arrived not long later. She saw that Amapola left when a Level 5 Rose Fairy arrived, probably because of something the fairy said. Then, about 4 minutes later, Clavel returned, injured, accompanied by the same amount of Rose Fairies as before she left. It wasn''t just Clavel. Every Rose Fairy that had gone out to fight quickly returned, some with wounds, others with a lack of mana. Liu Shu looked around at the injured bunch with a pondering expression. The rest of the Rose Fairies had gone into hiding inside the . It was probably the safest place around here. Not only was it perfectly hidden underground, but it was also strengthened by Liu Shu''s natural defenses. Liu Shu heard Amapola talk. "Now, we''ll fight together with Liu Shu. Queen Flor told me that in case of a situation where we can''t push off invaders, it is best to collaborate with her. You should know that while Liu Shu is Level 3, she is really strong and durable. Unless a Level 10 appears, it won''t be easy to deal enough damage to her." While Phoer Body Shars were what showed a creature''s vitality, size also mattered. If an ant the size of a thumb bit an elephant, there wasn''t actual "minimum" damage one could do. So, the ant could gnaw at the elephant for all its life, and even then, it wouldn''t be able to do anything to it. Even piercing the skin would be challenging. So, Liu Shu, who had reached 5 meters in height and had a thicker-than-usual trunk, had very strong defenses. There was one thing that she didn''t forget, though. Thornstride seemed to have skills to help them reduce the defense of trees. After Amapola closed the defensive line to ten meters around Liu Shu, they waited. Thornstride swarmed out in droves from all sides, quickly filling the surroundings with their numbers. If we just counted the fighting fairies, the situation was 23 against 18. Mraar hissed in annoyance. "I wanted to pick you all one by one, but it seems that it will be impossible." Amapola snorted. "Are you so eager to die that you''ve rushed forward until here?" Mraar shook her head. "You are the ones that will die together with that tree over there. After I eat it, I''m sure I''ll have enough experience to become the next Level 10 of our clan!" Amapola looked around and sneered. "Try it. We are waiting here." The 18 Thornstride rushed ahead, but Mraar saw something strange. Instead of moving forward, too, they hovered back and prepared spells. ''Do they really think we are slow enough not to be able to dodge that?'' As she expected, the first volley was easy to dodge, and only the lowest-level Thornstrides were hit. Amapola, who was aiming at Mraar, also missed. Having gained confidence from this, Mraar, who lacked deep planning and intelligence, snorted and decided to roar as a sign of encouragement for the rest of the 18 beasts. "I don''t know what they are doing, but this will make it easier to attack the tree! Go forward!" If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The Rose Fairies look at them with a deep look, hiding their expression and waiting patiently. After a few moments, the Thornstrides were finally 20 meters away from Liu Shu, and as if the World Tree had been waiting for a while, it moved with absurd swiftness. : The World Tree is from a willow family, with characteristic long but thin branches. She can use Aether Mana to move them and strike a target. Range 20 meters. A Level 5 Thornstride that had gone ahead of others because of the rush saw something move toward its head before his vision turned black. If it were able to see the message pop up, it would say something like this. [A has dealt 345 damage points in a lethal strike!] Phoer Body Shards 0/345 From the outside, it looked much more gruesome. One moment, the creature was charging forward; the next moment, one of the Tree''s branches extended while coated in Anima Energy and Aether Mana and smashed into the skull of the Thornstride, splitting its head open. Remember that a Level 5 Thornstride had, on average, 6 points of Physique, while Liu Shu had 37. A direct hit from her meant certain death. Both sides stopped and looked over with wide eyes. Amapola had heard Flor say that Liu Shu was strong below Level 10, but she didn''t know how truly strong she was. ''What was that?'' Even Amapola, a Level 9, had trouble following the strike. The sound of air whistling was all that entered her ears before the loud banging sound. The result? Not only was its head split, but Liu Shu''s strength smashed the Thornstride face-first into the ground. The World Tree was not merciful with those who attacked her, so while the Thornstride were distracted, Liu Shu''s branches moved without wind and then struck. ! ! ! BANG! BANG! BANG! The closest three Thornstride were hit, another Level 5, a Level 6, and a Level 7. The results not only horrified the Thornstrides but also stunned the Rose Fairies. The Level 5 and Level 6 were insta-killed again, their bodies bursting with gore as the thin branch acted like a sword and sliced through. The Level 7 was lucky and reacted, dodging to the side. Even then, it still struck, slicing off one of its limbs and making the creature scream in pain as it writhed on the ground. Mraar reacted quickly and roared, fear in her voice. "Retreat!" In her mind, she was cursing at the Rose Fairies. ''Protect!? You are protecting that thing!? Isn''t it all the way around!? That Tree could probably fend all of us off by itself!'' The reason to retreat, as well, was that while Mraar was confident in herself, she didn''t think it was worth it to risk her life. While she felt that she might have a chance, seeing three Thornstride get slaughtered, and one of them maimed made her doubtful. However, it was at this moment that the luck of the Thornstride ran out. "How dare you come to my territory!?" Massive pressure fell upon everyone, making them stiff. Mraar turned around and saw a furious Flor looking at them as four thick books floated around her. Mraar and the rest of Thornstride froze in place out of fear. The Level 12 Rose Fairy Queen was entirely on another dimension strength-wise. Mraar, who never thought Flor would come back so quickly, stood there, stiff and with her eyes widening. Flor asked again as she flew in front of her with a cold face. "I asked you, what are you doing here?" Even when Flor was right before her face, the thought of attacking never crossed Mraar''s face. This creature in the shape of a doll-like woman had five digits in her main attribute, a single attack from Flor was enough to slice her body in half. Flor saw that she had frozen in pure fear and looked around with cold eyes. "Amapola, tell me what happened." Amapola flew forward respectfully and told her everything that had happened. When Flor learned that there had been deaths and that Mraar''s objective was Liu Shu, her lips arched. However, her eyes weren''t smiling at all. "Since that''s it." Flor looked at the trembling creatures and then at Liu Shu. A quick analysis told her that Liu Shu had not wasted almost any energy or mana. After pondering for a few seconds, she flew toward Liu Shu and whispered gently. "Liu Shu, do you want to fight them? I''ll tell them a lie, saying that they can fight you to the death to escape. However, if I see that you are in trouble, I''ll kill them and help you. What do you think?" Liu Shu was in a focused state because it was mid-combat, so she answered right away after giving it some thought. A small pulse of aura that meant something akin to "I don''t mind" reached Flor. Flor wanted to train the little one''s attacking methods, so she nodded and turned around. "I''ll give you all a chance. Attack Liu Shu. If you win the battle, those who survived will be able to leave. If you lose, then you will become her fertilizer. Rose Fairies, move aside!" Amapola, who hadn''t heard Flor''s whisper to Liu Shu, spoke. "Q-Queen! We shouldn''t do that!" Flor pinned her down with one look. "That''s my decision. Step back." All Rose Fairies looked at each other in confusion and then moved toward the with Flor. Once there, Flor took the chance to store the four books in it. Meanwhile, Mraar and the rest looked between the five-meter tall and thick tree and Flor with caution. Mraar asked. "Are you telling the truth?" Flor looked at her indifferently and spoke. "Does it matter? Your life is in my hands. If I want to, I''ll let you live; if I don''t want to, I''ll kill you. This is your only chance, regardless of whether I''m lying or not." Mraar became doubtful and then started hissing around, telling the others to fight with her. Some of them had become so scared that they had trouble moving, but Flor didn''t rush it and waited while making sure none escaped. Her red, ruby-like eyes emitted a cold light as she looked at them as if they were already dead. ''Now, become fertilizer so that Liu Shu can grow faster and stronger.'' *** Hello, dear. First of all, thank you for reading~. Second of all, I''m here to promote myself shamelessly! I have a Patreon page! Patreon.com/mortrexo. Why is this important? Well, I''m uploading the art of the novel there PLUS up to FIFTEEN EXTRA CHAPTERS! Even with the lowest tier, art is unlocked, so check it out~. Even if you just read this novel, you have over 45 completed pieces of art! I spent a lot of money, okay? By the way, there is zero AI art; you can even see the sketches for each and every piece. If you have a bit of extra money, I would appreciate it if you could support me~. Much love and hugs, Mortrexo. Chapter 30. A World Tree’s Strength. Liu Shu heard Flor''s announcement and looked at the fifteen Thornstride slowly walking around her with analytic eyes. ''One Level 9, two Level 8, four Level 7, and the rest are Level 6.'' Then, she looked at her ternary essences. Aether Mana Shards: 951/1013 Phoer Body Shards: 1499/1499 Anima Energy Shards: 991/1044 While they weren''t as much, her stats were incomparable to them, which made her stronger than she looked. ''I have two attack methods, and . The first has 20 meters of range, and the second has 12.'' She pondered as she saw with her 360o vision how some of the Thornstride were preparing to lunge forward. At once, the two Level 8s and Four Level 7s took the lead, rushing forward the fastest they could. The instant they crossed the 20-meter mark from Liu Shu'', the released Aether Mana and Anima Energy across her internal passways and channeled it toward her branches. Her branch flew through the air like a whip, aiming for the Level 8 creature. This time, the Thornstride was prepared and dodged to the side. While Liu Shu''s natural combat sense was not bad, she was no expert. After she failed the attack, she used again and targeted the same Thornstride. This time, because the creature had dodged quickly and lost some speed, the branch was quick enough to cut through the air and land on its side. BANG! The strike threw the Level 8 off-balance, making it tumble as a large gash opened on its shoulder. [You''ve dealt 248 Damage to ]. The place where the branch landed was the shoulder, so doing more than a quarter of its total Phoer Body Shards was not possible. When her current prey fell, her branch moved one more time, aiming toward the head. BAM! The weakened and disoriented creature couldn''t dodge in time, and the decisive blow landed on the middle of its head, burying it under the soft dirt. [You''ve dealt 660 Damage to ] Liu Shu threw a quick scan and saw that its Phoer Body Shards were actually not depleted. Phoer Body Shards: 12/920. However, such a small number was a death sentence unless the other side had really strong regeneration or someone to stabilize their situation and heal them. While she dealt with the Level 8 beast, a few things happened. First of all, the other Level 8 and the four Level 7s had arrived at the 10-meter mark. The second thing was that the rest of the creatures, Mraar included, had rushed forward to attack her. Liu Shu, as it was natural for all beings without special training, decided to deal with the closest threat first. The five leading the charge tensed when they felt the Aether Mana and Anima Energy rushing across Liu Shu''s body toward her canopy. Their bodies prepared, and their pupils shrunk to see which branch would come and attack them. However, unlike in other times, Liu Shu didn''t use just one branch. At the ten-meter mark, was perfectly available for her. And so, she used it. Her Aether Mana and Anima Energy tanked for 100 points, throwing enough resources toward her canopy to move. Then, she released everything in a storm of ten attacks. The pupils of the Thornstrides narrowed further when they saw not one but ten branches start to move. Mraar, who was looking from right behind, couldn''t help but grit her teeth. ''She can attack with more than one branch at a time!?'' Her eyes became determined as she rushed forward. ''I need to damage her after she deals with those five and kill her before she can kill me!'' Meanwhile, the ten branches fell at the five creatures, sending two to each of them. The Level 8 managed to dodge one, but the second landed on its left frontal leg, instantly maiming it. Meanwhile, of the four Level 7s, two of them got caught by both branches, while the other two were lucky enough to dodge. The ones that dodged could defend themselves enough that when the second branch landed, it didn''t eliminate most of the Phoer. The hit was harsh, as it stole around half, but they remained alive. Stolen novel; please report. The result was nothing but expected for those two Level 7s that couldn''t doge. The first branch was like a giant hammer, cracking their skin and body, making them dizzy. Then, the second one was like a blade, piercing the wounded armor and slicing into the being, killing two more and reducing the numbers from 14 to 12. [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 5 Experience Points.] [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 5 Experience Points.] Added to the previous Level 5 and two Level 6s, the experience she had gained for now totaled at 18. Liu Shu looked at the desperate creatures getting very close with an indifferent gaze. Her feelings right now were nothing but calm. Unlike her usual self, it felt as if only this was right. The creatures that attacked her or those around her were enemies she needed to eliminate because those who honestly lived for her well-being were creatures that she needed to protect. When they were at the five-meter mark, Mraar caught up and overcame them quickly, taking Liu Shu by surprise. "Take this! !" Her mouth opened as energy condensed around her teeth, and then she bit the thick bark. CRUNCH! The sound of wood splintering was heard around as Liu Shu felt a sensation of pain run around her body. [A has dealt 92 points of damage to you.] Liu Shu was angered, and her branches quickly gathered energy, using almost 200 Aether Mana and Anima Energy to activate one more time. Like a storm of attacks, the branches fell on top of them, giving very little space to maneuver. Moreover, Mraar was at an actual melee range, so the attacks came right from above, causing her to receive two attacks of the seven heading her way. For the rest, Liu Shu sent them toward the other three who were about to attack her, killing them. [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 6 Experience Points.] [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 5 Experience Points.] [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 5 Experience Points.] Meanwhile, Mraar saw her Phoer Body Shards Plument, each strike landing on her, stealing more than 250 Shards. With her 2.174 Phoer Body Shards, losing more than 500 was a blow that made Mraar spit blood. Her eyes bulging and bloodshot, Mraar hissed and attacked with her claws two times before biting again. [A has dealt 113 points of damage to you.] [A has dealt 157 points of damage to you.] [A has dealt 162 points of damage to you.] The attacks landed on her trunk one after another, slicing off sizeable chunks of bark, reaching deep, and making her sap flow. Phoer Body Shards: 975/1499 In her mind, Liu Shu was writhing in pain, as this was her first time receiving the sense of being chopped. Ignoring everything else, Liu Shu''s senses warned her that she should deal with Mraar as soon as possible, so she used one more time. Mraar saw the branches coming her way, but instead of dodging, her eyes shone with a crazed sigh as she lunged forward and tried to rip Liu Shu''s top and bottom parts by placing her claws in the slashes she made and pulling them apart. However, as a five-meter-tall tree, Liu Shu was sturdy enough for that not to be possible with Mraar''s strength. Moreover, with her absurd 37 points in Physique, Mraar''s 21 points fell short. Seeing that it was impossible, Mraar relaxed as she gave up and saw the barrage of attacks coming her way in slow motion. Her hind legs pushed her laterally, dodging the first two. Then, she jumped backward, dodging another three attacks. [Congratulations! You''ve Unlocked Skill ] However, Mraar couldn''t be happy with it. ''Now? You couldn''t have come two seconds earlier?'' Even with the newly gained Motion Vision, she couldn''t see a way to block the remaining 16 attacks coming her way. From a distance, one could see the branches falling and slamming into Mraar with ruthless accuracy. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 35 Experience Points.] Liu Shu looked away from Mraar as soon as she died, and then, she used 200 more Aether Mana and Anima Energy, leaving her with less than 100 of each. Her branches moved and aimed at the remaining nine Level 6, killing them all. [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 3 Experience Points.] [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 3 Experience Points.] [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 3 Experience Points.] [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 3 Experience Points.] [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 3 Experience Points.] [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 3 Experience Points.] [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 3 Experience Points.] [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 3 Experience Points.] [Congratulations on defeating . You''ve gained 3 Experience Points.] [System hint: From now on, a large number of killing messages will appear as such: Congratulations on defeating *9. You''ve gained 27 Experience Points.] As soon as all Thornstrides were dead, Liu Shu''s aura calmed down, and she gave one final look at her ternary essences. Aether Mana Shards: 112/1013 Phoer Body Shards: 976/1499 Anima Energy Shards: 144/1044 Returning from her cold and analytical mode, her mind relaxed and spread again around her entire being. ''Wow~. That was intense, hehehe.'' Liu Shu hummed in her head, feeling tired and refreshed. ''I never fought in this manner; it was¡­ Interesting?'' Liu Shu used her World Tree Eye to look at the corpses of the 18 creatures around her, and then she realized. ''Oh? How much experience did I win?'' Liu Shu looked at her accumulated experience and exclaimed. ''Wow! I''ve gained 98 Experience Points! So many!'' She still needed more to level up, but she was very satisfied with her progress. Moreover, her proficiency in both her attacking skills had also become much fiercer. When used in real combat, these skills increased proficiency significantly. Practicing them also helped, but the effects were almost negligible compared to real action. Flor approached with a pained smile and looked at the large wounds Mraar had created at the base of her trunk. The times she almost flew forward to kill Mraar were not few, as she had to restrain not only herself but also some of the Rose Fairies around her. "How are you feeling, Liu Shu? Is everything okay?" Liu Shu answered in her mind, a bit groggy because of her lack of both Anima Energy and Aether Mana. ''I''m fine~. Hehe, Flor is such a¡­ a¡­ Hm? A worrying person?'' [System Hint: That''s called a worrywart.] Liu Shu exclaimed. ''I see! A worrywart!'' Flor felt the tries in communication from Liu Shu, but the feelings were so jumbled and messed up that it was similar to not receiving anything. Flor coughed. "Anyway, rest, little one. You can go to sleep for a bit if you want. Once you wake up, I have something interesting to show you." Liu Shu decided to agree and restarted all her functions, such as flower creation and enchanted growth. Then, she went to sleep for a week. Chapter 31. Aftermath, and the hidden depths of an SSS Rank Skill. During the week that Liu Shu was dormant, a few important things occurred. First of all, Froorar knew about the death of the Thornstrides that attacked the Rose Fairies. His heart seethed with a potent mix of grief and rage upon learning of the Thornstrides'' demise. The urge to charge headlong into the fairies'' territory was almost overpowering, yet, against all odds, he managed to restrain himself. For a fleeting moment, the Rose Fairies were granted a reprieve from the burdens that had weighed them down, a precious interlude of tranquility amidst the chaos. Then, the fairies buried the corpses of the Thornstrides around Liu Shu to enrich the soil with their bodies. As their primary diet was made of trees, their bodies were actually highly suitable for use as fertilizer ingredients. The Rose Fairies knew this, and that''s why they buried them around Liu Shu. While in life, Thornstrides thrive while eating trees; in death, they become their food. Other than that, the Rose Fairies ultimately settled down and even built a few outposts in some key places. They also created a small garden to raise the young Rose Fairies. Speaking of children, Rose Fairies actually mated with trees to procreate. It was not in the complete sense of the word, as there was no sexual intercourse involved, well, usually. Instead, Rose Fairies used the natural pollen of some of them to fertilize their seeds. Then, they would plant them, and a flower would grow from the ground. This flower would become large enough to cocoon the new life inside, taking the shape of a rose, hence their name, Rose Fairies. Because there wasn''t a cultural influence, mothers and daughters were mixed together without problems, as they actually didn''t need to separate because of the lack of need to separate generations to prepare for searching for a partner, etc. What mattered in the Rose Fairy group was knowledge and level. This didn''t mean that there was absolutely no connection between mothers and daughters. It was just much milder compared to humans, sylvans, and similar races. Therefore, they didn''t create a room but a garden for their young. It was close to Liu Shu as well, close enough for Liu Shu to protect it if she wanted. Flor knew that as a World Tree, Liu Shu''s size would increase exponentially. However, the garden was not something complicated to move. As long as Liu Shu didn''t suddenly grow without any warning and swallowed the garden, everything was going to be alright. The chances of something going wrong were minimal. Clavel approached Flor, who was hovering before Liu Shu''s dormant figure and asked. "Queen, what are you thinking about?" Flor gave Clavel one look and stayed silent for a few seconds. Clavel looked around, killing time while observing the other Fairies busily move as they worked. Suddenly, Flor''s voice reached her. "What do you think about my actions two days ago?" Clavel blinked, not understanding. "What do you mean?" Flor''s gaze moved down and looked at the gradually healing scars on Liu Shu''s trunk. Mraar''s attacks went quite profound, as she attacked with everything she had in her desperation. However, she still couldn''t do anything other than slice off a large part of the tree trunk. Unlike standard Trees, Liu Shu''s regeneration could be said to be insane. So, after two days, the only thing that remained were scars. Flor answered Clavel''s question. "Was I right for telling Liu Shu to fight alone against all those Thornstrides?" Clavel paused and looked at Flor. To be honest, Clavel thought Flor was probably the strongest and most knowledgeable leader their race had had in recent generations. Flor was also insightful and not averse to change. Some Rose Fairies didn''t like this, but in the end, it was what brought them to their current situation. If, as some Rose Fairies wished, Flor never agreed to go with Clavel to come and check Liu Shu''s peculiarity, if Flor dismissed it as just drivel, they wouldn''t have been able to nurture her and stay by Liu Shu''s side as they currently were. So, after thinking of all of this, Clavel answered. "I guess?" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Flor looked at her speechlessly. While she didn''t expect sound advice, she at least expected to hear her words. However, Clavel was not done. She spoke very slowly, carefully measuring her words and stopping to think when a hard word came by. "Queen, you are the most intelligent of us, so what you do and what you don''t do are some things I won''t understand. As creatures of the forest, beings who are taken as non-intelligent beings, I really don''t know what to say." Flor paused and calmed down. ''Right, what can others do to help me with this?'' Clavel added. "Still, I can see that everything you''ve done until now was for Liu Shu, so I guess it is okay." Flor smirked. "I guess, huh?" She extended her hand and caressed the woman''s head. Flor was 45 centimeters and Clavel was 20, so the difference in sizes was quite telling. It would be similar to transforming a 1.8-meter-tall man into a four-meter-tall giant. Clavel smiled. "What are we going to do now?" Flor shrugged. "Our plan is to expand our forces, so send a few scouts to the surroundings. If there are any suitable races that are not hostile, we could bring them to our surroundings. Curious, Clavel asked. "Are we going to share Liu Shu with them?" Flor smirked. "No. My plan is to use Liu Shu''s berries as currency to get things we might want. They will live a bit further out, leaving the closest space to Liu Shu as ours," Flor humped. "We saw her first, so although I don''t want to prevent others from benefiting from her, I want it even less to let other people take control of this place." Clavel was a bit puzzled, but she didn''t comment. With all of that set up, Flor just needed to wait to see what would happen with those books she got. Whether Liu Shu could read or not was still a mystery. However, if she couldn''t, Flor was prepared to become a storyteller for her. And so, a week went by. Liu Shu''s mind activated, and her sent energy all across her body, filling it with life. ''That was a nice sleep~.'' She sent a few pulses of energy to check her roots, an action similar to stretching for humans. ''Hm? What is this?'' Following her senses, she reached the garden the Rose Fairies created. ''A fertile land with a few seeds?'' Feeling that these seeds were somewhat fragile, Liu Shu approached with her nearby root and very gently touched the seed. ''Ho? A new life is growing here? But it isn''t the same as some normal flowers¡­'' [Newly Fertilized Rose Fairy Seed] After focusing on and investigating it for a few moments, her system finally told her what it was. ''A seed?'' Liu Shu became curious, wanting to ask a Rose Fairy what this was about. However, she sulked right after. ''I can''t speak¡­'' By the way, after the sleep, since Flor had never skipped a day when she was around, they gave Liu Shu around 7*12 experience. The 98 Experience points, added to 84 Points, allowed her to reach a quite rich 890 accumulated experience. Liu Shu did a quick calculation and felt delighted. ''Only 220 Experience Points left for the next level up!'' She was gaining 12 points a day, nine from Flor''s pollination and three from her own Energy Gathering method. Therefore, she only needed 19 days, and she would be able to Level up. As she was lost in her thoughts about leveling up, which, by the way, was quite a thrilling experience, she heard the soothing voice of someone she knew pretty well. "Are you awake, Liu Shu?" Liu Shu opened her , surrounding the people around in her presence. Then, she looked at the person who spoke to her. ''As expected, it is Flor!'' Flor, who felt the light wave phasing through her, smiled. "Good morning, Liu Shu." It was very early in the morning, and some of the plants around were still soaked in morning dew. Birds chirped, and nature slowly woke up. Liu Shu looked at this scene for a little bit, feeling quite mesmerized. Flor was a bit confused about why Liu Shu didn''t react after waiting for almost an hour. Just to ensure that Liu Shu didn''t fall asleep again, she gently approached and tapped the trunk. "Hey, Liu Shu, wake up. I have some presents for you." Hearing "presents," Liu Shu''s attention came back from nature and focused on Flor again. ''Presents? What kind of presents did you buy, Flor?'' Flor felt the tree''s excitement and laughed. "Well, quite a few. Weren''t you trying to do some ? I have here a few books that you can read to learn." Liu Shu''s gaze moved to the books, and she slowly read the titles and synopses. [