Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

A total of 6 months had gone by since Wert arrived in the town for the first time. During all these months, everyone slowly gained Experience Points and Leveled Up. The town's strength level increased, and the shape of the living area was becoming much more welcoming. 

Now, all the streets had beautiful roads for carriages that connected everything. The road management was a combination of Liu Shu's past absorbed knowledge and new ideas that the Explorers hired by Verdantia pushed forward. Liu Shu also listened to the people in the town about their complaints, learning and slowly changing the designs.

Liu Shu pondered while looking at the town. 'Everything looks well… What about waste management? Is everything being safely disposed of?' 

Her vision went around the toilets of the town, ignoring it whenever she found a naked person inside. 'Hm~, everything seems good. Moreover, nobody has really complained about the bad smell, so the purification done by the buildings must be quite good.' She saw one person taking in a deep breath and sighing with a smile, making her feel more sure about it. 'Smell will be a difficult thing for me to check.'

Liu Shu looked at her system page's Accumulated Experience and pondered. 'What do I do with this?'

Accumulated Experience: 21780

'I need… 17,360 to Level Up. However… System, show me the MAX Level skills and their tier.'

[MAX Level Talent Skills: <Enchanted Growth (E+ Rank)>, <Runic Living Wood City (D- Rank)>, <Nature's Gift (E Rank)>, <Land Modifying (E- Rank)>.]

[MAX Level Passive Skills: <World Tree Wisdom (SSS Rank)>, <Charm of the Seedling (E- Rank)>, <Root Manipulation (E+ Rank)>, <Mind Echo (E- Rank)>.]

Liu Shu looked at all those skills and felt a headache. 'So many Experience Points needed to Tier them up… Not taking Wisdom into account, how many Experience Points do I need?'

[Experience Needed: 197,976]

Liu Shu groaned. 'Taking experience growth into account, that's at least six to eight levels… It really is not worth it, is it? No wonder that book said that some people just give up on past skills and focus on getting new ones that are higher-tiered.'

Liu Shu looked at them again and selected the most important ones. 'Okay, only take Nature's Gift and Root Manipulation into account.

[Experience Needed: 49,250]

Liu Shu sighed. 'What about Nature's Gift?'

[Experience Needed: 8,750]

Liu Shu hummed. 'Almost Nine Thousand Experience Points. How many days of Experience Gain is that? I gain 62 Experience Points daily, so…'' The World Tree did quick calculations and hummed. '142 days…'

Many thoughts flashed in Liu Shu's mind. 'If I Level Up now, I will start gaining 66 Experience Points because Flor has reached Level 19 and my level would be 14. That's four extra points over 142 days, which are… 568 Experience Points lost in exchange for possible better fruits.'

The World Tree sighed in her mind and looked around her. The small creatures were moving around with their day to day life, the Rose Fairies being born almost daily in the garden by her side, the new life and old life. Everything developing around her canopy moved fast as if everyone was rushing everywhere. 'I don't like it.'

Liu Shu didn't like this feeling. It made her feel anxious. There was a person running in one part, another tripping on the other side. Of course, most were calm, but the rushing people were like lightbulbs in a dark forest. 

She could efficiently process everything; she could see everything, but it was highly stimulating for her mind because she was trying to accelerate those processes. 'I am feeling rushed because of them.' The World Tree looked at the existences around her with indifferent eyes. 'Because I care, I am feeling part of their sensations. I am feeling empathy. Everyone is nervous about the town opening soon, so they don't stop moving around.'

Liu Shu hummed. 'I should ignore them.' Her mind looked at everything in her <World Tree Eye> range, and she muttered. 'Focusing on the town is not what I should do. What happens in the town is not my problem.'

Liu Shu detached herself and thought. 'I need to look outward. I need to ignore them.' Her mind suddenly felt like someone pinched it, and that woman's voice echoed in her mind again.

[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.]

'I know. I am not ignoring them.' Liu Shu humphed. 'But those people are not close to me. I just need to take care of Flor, Ignatia, Verdantia, Cinderielle, Tempestria, Clavel, Amapola… and others that are close to them… So, their people, and therefore, the town as well…' 

Liu Shu looked into the ground, traveling her massive root network without aim. 'It's difficult… I like being left alone and… stretch out!' Liu Shu giggled. 'I like to grow tall! I like fruits! I like it when my roots pierce the hard rock to advance!'

Liu Shu stopped and asked softly. 'Who are you? Why did you tell me those words? It makes everything harder…' Liu Shu remembered the Willow Tree by the lake's side, and she sighed. 'Even my Mom there doesn't sound like you. However, I feel so much more closeness to you than I do to my real Mom.'

Liu Shu discovered it long ago. She had noticed that the Willow Tree by the lake's side was her biological mother, that her body grew from one of her seeds, which probably got eaten by a bird and then dropped where she was. 'I couldn't grow tall at first because I was not Leveling Up and because I didn't have enough water. Without becoming a World Tree, I would've probably dried out by now…'

Liu Shu saw and felt her roots digging through the hard rocks below her, going deeper and deeper. She asked again. 'Who are you?'

However, no answer came. Liu Shu expected it, so she didn't mind. 'Take care of those close to me~. That's something I should do. To take care of them, I need strength, not prettier fruits… Nature's Gift can wait. I should Level Up.' Liu Shu smiled to herself. 'When I can relax, I can grow fruits and stretch leisurely. Flor might praise me again when I become taller instead of always looking worried!'

The World Tree felt revitalized and returned to her senses. Then, she called her. 'Flor!'

The Rose Fairy Queen heard the always soothing voice of the World Tree and smiled. "What's wrong, Liu Shu?"

'Hehe~, I can Level Up! Do I do it now?'

Flor paused, and her eyebrows subconsciously locked together. "Level Up… Will your camouflage last during the Level Up?"

Liu Shu, who expected praise, paused and looked at Flor's worried face. After a few seconds, she commented. "It should work. No one should notice if I Level Up slower than usual, and as long as they do not look at me too deeply. However, the entire town will be enveloped in my aura. So, hiding it completely is impossible. My Level Up affects everything, after all."

Flor hummed and crossed her arms. "I see. Well, it's not like you can get stuck in Level 13. We can always take this situation as an experiment. Let me warn the people of your Level Up so that they are not startled."

Liu Shu answered. "Okay~." 

Flor blinked and looked outside of the window. She felt strange for a second, so she asked. "Is everything okay, Liu Shu?"

Liu Shu's answer reached Flor after a few moments, accompanied by her usual giggle. "Yes! I'll go and start my Level Up! I will take a few days."

Flor tilted her head. 'Is it my imagination? Liu Shu sounded a bit sad for a second there, no?'

The World Tree then looked at her system and started pouring her energy into her Level. 

1000… 2000… 5000… 10000… 14000… 17000… 

After a few minutes, Liu Shu delivered the last Experience Point. '17,360 Experience Points used… Level Up!'

[Level Up!]

[Aether +7, Phoer +9, Anima +8, Willpower +10, Destiny +100]

[Accessory Level Up!]

[Aether +20, Phoer +25, Anima +20, Willpower +25, Aether Mana Shards +440, Phoer Body Shards +550, Anima Energy Shards +330.]

***

Name: Tianlian Liu Shu

Titles:

<Awakened>

<World Tree>

<Defender>

<Wonder Tree Building>

<Seedling World Builder>

<Perfect Cycle>

<Touched By Dimensions>

Hidden titles: [10]

Race: World Tree.

Energy Method: Basic World Energy Gathering 

Level: 14 [0/19,950]

Aether Mana Shards: 112,952/142,952 (+5,147/Hour)

Phoer Body Shards: 212,901/212,901 (+7,665/Hour)

Anima Energy Shards: 107,979/137,979 (+4,968/Hour)

Attributes: Aether 732 (323+409), Physique 996 (426+570), Anima 734 (337+397), Willpower 809 (440+369), Destiny 1400 (1400)

Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (34), Physique Refinement (47), Anima Affinity (29)

Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (52), Physique Resistance (58), Spiritual Resistance (52), Mental Resistance (57)

Summoning Affinity: Summon Cost (-57%), Summon Enhancement (+20%), Summoning Invoking Time (-57%), Summon Upkeep (-57%).

Talents:

<Enchanted Growth (E+ Rank level MAX)>

<Runic Living Wood City (D- Rank Level MAX)>

<World Tree Calling (E Rank Level 5 [112,000/ 1,152,000])>

<Nature's Gift (E Rank level MAX)>

<Weeping Willow's Aether Barrage (E- Rank Level 5 [4,000/486,000])>

<Land Modifying (E- Rank Level MAX)>

Passive Skills:

<World Tree Heart (A Rank Level 1 [0/589,900])>

<World Tree Eye (C Rank level 2 [931,000/1,152,000])>

<World Tree Wisdom (SSS Rank Level MAX)>

<Charm of the Seedling (E- Rank Level MAX)>

<Root Manipulation (E+ Rank Level MAX)>

<Seedling World Builder Aura (E+ Rank Level 5 [463,300/2,250,000])>

<Mind Echo (E- Rank Level Max)>

<Runic Coverage (D- Rank Level 4 [80,000/1,990,700])>

Accumulated Experience: 4420

Currency: Sylvanium Shards [1066], Etherium Shards [10], Ascendium Shards [155], Celestium Shards [1236], Cognium Shards [1316], Lir [550], Tyn [83], Bren [2], Syl [0], Arbor [0].

***

When Liu Shu started to Level Up, she gathered energy from her surroundings and spread it outward, influencing everything her roots touched. Her aura naturally deepened, and her energy in the surroundings spiked as she gathered enough resources to Level Up.

The people living in the surroundings could feel the change quite clearly, as their lungs would take in much fresher and purer air. Everything worked better during this time thanks to the energy accumulation caused by Liu Shu drawing in so much of it.

Remember that while Liu Shu sucked in a lot of energy, a lot of it remained in the surroundings. Moreover, because Liu Shu was not aggressively sucking in energy, the energy stayed around for a longer time.

Wert looked out of the window and asked. "This Life Tree does need a lot of energy."

Flor asked. "Is that strange?"

Wert hummed. "It is. Have you ever seen other Life Trees or World Trees, Fairy Queen?"

Flor shook her head. "Liu Shu is the only Life Tree that I know of."

Crossing his arms, he commented. "Usually, Life Trees need much less energy because they don't have that big of a root-net. Their functions are also much more basic than World Trees."

"Functions is not a word I like to describe Liu Shu with, Wert."

"I see…" Wert smiled. "I'll be careful. When Liu Shu stops Leveling Up, we will open the town. I've already gathered a few connections who will come and see if it is worth living here. Please be careful with the ants. If they do something during the big day, it will cost us a lot."