Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

After arriving at Sirol City's main street, Tempestria guided the other three toward a shop area to the left of the street. The place was not too grand, as the city, which was closer to a town, didn't have much traffic. The buildings were between two to three stories tall, and their wares were also very limited.

Cinderielle commented. "At first glance, I can see that the level of items here are less than in Fortuna City. Aren't they basically neighboring cities? Why the difference?"

Tempestria asked with a raised eyebrow. "Do you really not understand?"

Cinderielle explained. "I understand that a World Tree attracts attention and people, but they don't make items magically better with their presence."

Tempestria shrugged. "Some do."

Cinderielle snorted. "But not Fortuna."

Verdantia interjected. "That's wrong."

"Huh?" Cinderielle was surprised and asked. "She affects the items?"

Verdantia shook her head. "The reason Fortuna is so acclaimed is not her strength but her passive buff. Fortuna is able to manipulate, or, better said, affect the Destiny stat."

The other three tilted their heads, unable to understand how that would help with item creation. Flor asked. "What does the Destiny stat do exactly? I mean, I've noticed nothing since I was born until today."

Tempestria pointed at a place, commenting. "That's the shop, by the way."

Verdantia nodded at Tempestria, and then, as they walked there, she answered Flor's question with a shrugging motion. "It is a very elusive stat. Some think it affects luck, others think that it guides you to different encounters, and others think that it just shows how important a person is in the general scheme of things."

Flor was puzzled. "But, my Destiny stat was minuscule when I met Liu Shu. Isn't meeting Liu Shu a very lucky encounter?"

Cinderielle asked. "Is it?" 

Flor blinked and Cinderielle asked. "How many Rose Fairies have died because you involved yourself with Liu Shu? While many have gained levels and are now more prosperous, you are standing on top of several sacrifices. Not to mention all the challenges we've got ahead of us. I love her with all my heart, but my dear Liu Shu is as much of a source of luck as she is of misfortune." 

Flor couldn't refute it. Verdantia smiled and added. "Don't worry too much, Flor. From what I've read, there have been tests to try and prove it, but no one could really get factual empirical data."

Tempestria was surprised. "Really, no one?" 

Verdantia saw that they were arriving at the shop and asked. "Do we continue the conversation or enter the shop?"

Cinderielle commented. "This is getting interesting. Let's stop here for a little while." 

After they moved to the side to not bother anyone, Cinderielle asked, curious. "So, what have you read about the Destiny stat?"

Verdantia commented. "I'll explain with an example. Imagine that someone is set to throw 100 dice throws, and they say to that person that they will receive the sum of the rolls in, I don't know… Tyn, for example. So, a one on the dice is worth 1 Tyn, a two is worth 2 Tyn, etc."

Cinderielle tried to guess. "Do the experiments show those with higher Destiny stat getting higher rolls or a higher total score?" 

Verdantia shook her head with a smile. "That's what I thought as well! But the book said otherwise. The experiments done were too mixed to say for certain the conclusion was accurate." 

Tempestria hummed. "So, it is not an increase in luck?"

Verdantia shook her head again. "That's also wrong. The book's author explained it this way. It explained that, if true [Luck] exists, wouldn't it be more lucky to roll less than a lower Destiny stat person so that their Luck advantage is kept hidden? A momentary gain is not worth losing a lifetime benefit, right?"

The three of them were a bit surprised. Flor asked, "I don't fully get it. Would you care to explain a bit more in detail?"

Verdantia nodded. "The premise of the author is this one: if true [Luck] exists, then it should be much more profound and linked to our existence than momentary gains. So, getting that luck discovered can lead to much unluckier scenarios. Here is another example from that book."

Flor listened attentively. Verdantia commented. "Imagine that, to test the Destiny stat, a country decides to give away 10 Arbor. That's enough to set up someone's children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren for life. That's incredibly lucky, right?"

Flor nodded, and Verdantia explained. "But, if that person has enough luck for that, wouldn't that luck manifest better in the form of, for example, a unique fruit that increases Tier Rank permanently for you and your children? Increasing in Tier means an overall better standing, and you also don't blow your [Luck]'s cover."

Flor nodded. "I see. The point is that [Luck] has so many forms it can manifest as during our lifetimes that it doesn't make sense to try and test it with an experiment." 

Tempestria asked. "But, what about looking at overall outcomes in society? Why not look at the… for example, the life that a certain group lives and compare their life trajectories with each other, arranging them by their individual Destiny stat?"

Verdanita smiled. "But you run into another wall. If [Luck] exists, it won't just fall onto your own lap, right? If you or I never left home, we wouldn't have discovered Liu Shu. A person's actions complement luck. Someone who doesn't move into action, regardless of how lucky they are, won't ever see the fruits of the luck they have."

Cinderielle commented. "It is the same for someone intelligent or naturally strong. If they do not train their intelligence or gain Levels, they will never truly be able to bring out their true full potential, making them worse than an average person who works hard."

Flor listened to the conversation of the three Sylvans with rapt attention. 'Do all intelligent creatures have this kind of depth in their thought level?' The Rose Fairy Queen, who just awakened to actual intelligence, felt the distance between them. 'No wonder intelligent races look down on monsters. Forget about matching their ability of foresight and ability to reach conclusions in abstract themes. Even their day-to-day conversations are thousands of times more productive.'

Until recently, Rose Fairies talked about how pretty the forest was, how to take care of an area of the forest without progressing, and very few other things.

Discussing stats? Levels? Abilities? Methods to improve their bloodline? Ways to improve their tribe?

If any Rose Fairy in the past had brought up all those questions, they would have been met with confused looks.

Flor smiled a bit sadly. 'I see… The gap in intelligence, which I always thought was a jump away, had always been separated by a chasm so large I couldn't even imagine it.'

"Flor?"

Flor looked up and saw the three tall Sylvans looking down at her with worried eyes. Verdantia crouched and asked. "Are you okay? Are you feeling stressed because of all the people looking at you?"

Flor laughed gently and looked at them with a smile. "Not at all. I was thinking that I… Or well, Rose Fairies, have a long road to walk until we are truly considered intelligent."

Cinderielle picked Flor up, sitting her on her shoulder, and smirked. "That's the same for us as well. We are youngsters with a lot to learn!" The red-haired, orange-eyed Sylvan raised her fist and smiled widely. "So, let's do it together and become good leaders for Liu Shu's town!"

Flor bumped her little fist with Cinderielle's fist and smiled. "Let's do it."

Tempestria clapped twice and smiled. "Let's enter the shop! They should have a bunch of items we are interested in."

The shop was called <Woodcraft Master Canopy>, quite a typical, good-sounding name. Once they entered, a small bell sounded, alerting the shopkeepers. 

A voice reached them from the depths of the shop. "Welcome to our shop! Give me a second. I am storing this thing, aaand…. DONE!" 

Approaching steps sounded, and the shopkeeper appeared. He was a beastkin of the dog race, much closer to the beast in his bloodline, as his face was dog-like while his entire body was covered in grey fur. They could even notice faintly noticeable paw pads on his hands. 

Meanwhile, the dogkin, who looked somewhat old, paused when he saw the four people who had entered. He even needed to look up because all our Sylvan girls were above 185 centimeters tall. Their tall and imposing nature was somewhat intimidating. 

Tempestria took the lead in the conversation, and her tone was friendly. "Hello, we are here to buy materials. Do you mind looking at our list and see how many of these you have? We can even make a different deal if you can get more."

The dogkin nodded a few times. "Please, Lady Sylvan, I would love to help. May I look at what materials you are searching for?"

Tempestria looked at Flor, and the Rose Fairy Queen's wings buzzed as she flew forward. "Here."

The dogkin looked at the list and read it aloud. "Vine Timber (E- Rank), Leafwood (E Rank), Grove Oak (E+ Rank), Rock Crust (E- Rank), Rock Spike (E Rank), Rock Core (E+ Rank), Cotton Fur (E- Rank), Cotton Stripe (E Rank), and Cotton Sheet (E+ Rank)." He was mildly stunned, but knowing how Sylvans usually were, he held back his surprise and asked formally. "Is this correct, Lady Sylvans?"

Tempestria nodded, and the dogkin asked. "How many of each materials do you need?"

Tempestria's eyebrow raised. "You have them all?"

The dogkin nodded. "I do have them all." He looked back at the list and commented. "I even have different elemental options of the <Grove Oak> material. For example, I have a few pieces of <Flood Oak>, <Mud Oak>, and <Tempest Oak>, and I even managed to get one very remarkable segment of <Essence Oak>."

Verdantia asked, surprised. "You have <Essence Oak>? How many units?"

The dogkin asked carefully. "Um, how do you measure units, Lady Sylvan?"

Verdantia smiled. "No need to be scared. We are not unreasonable ones. Also, we follow the standardized measurements set up by the <Azure Rose Confederation>." 

The dogkin smiled faintly and nodded. "I see. In that case, I have a little more than three units of <Essence Oak>."

Cinderielle hummed and asked the other three. "Are those enough for anything?" 

Flor commented. "Each house just needs one E+ Rank material. So, yes, they are enough. Also, what element is that <Essence Oak> for? Grove is nature, Flood is water, Mud is earth, and Tempest is wind… But I don't remember what Essence was for."

The dogkin answered the Rose Fairy. He had noticed that the three Sylvans treated her respectfully, so she was probably not one of those peculiar pets some Sylvans had. "It is considered one of the ternary woods, Lady Rose Fairy. <Essence Oak> enhances Phoer conductivity. Then, there is <Animus Oak> and <Nebula Oak>, respectively enhancing Anima and Aether."

Flor muttered. "For the summoning thing, we need 10 E+ Rank materials. What if we use 3 of each of those and one <Grove Oak>? Wouldn't the summoning thing be much better?"

Verdantia sighed. "The problem is finding Animus and Nebula oak. We found <Essence Oak> by pure luck, after all."

The dogkin commented. "Um. If you are ready to listen, I might have a way for you to get seeds for them. You can then plant them yourselves wherever and have a constant supply." 

The Sylvans looked over with raised eyebrows. Verdantia commented. "Please, do tell. We can pay handsomely if you do."