Over at the Golden Sap Forest, another three weeks had gone by since Liu Shu started talking with Flor. This meant that she gained an extra 420 Experience Points.

Unlike her usual self, Liu Shu was serenely observing her surroundings, her mind at peace. She was not engaged in any activity, simply basking in the enchanting tranquility of the Golden Sap Forest, a place of unparalleled beauty, much like any tree would.

Her body was growing nicely, her roots were reaching out further, and her leaves and surroundings were healthy and glowing with health.

'So peaceful…'

It had been a while since she was in this mood. From the moment she gained a deeper conscience, there was one new thing after another, and although that was not bad as it broke the monotony of the years she spent as a normal tree, she was now content with this peaceful life, a life that brought her a sense of calm.

'The sun is really yummy today~.'

Her leaves rustled with the soft wind, and the clear sky allowed her to bask in the Sun. During the night, it had rained, so the earth was moist and easy to travel through. Moreover, the water made absorbing nutrients from the ground easier.

She had found a few rocky surfaces below her, which she had let aside as there were other pressing matters. Now that she was waiting for the materials she needed to start her construction work, she decided to explore the caves below her.

Using and her innate vision as a tree, Liu Shu focused her energy sight on those areas. The world below the ground became clear as her root system's receptors sent the signals. Even if there was no light, with the extra senses, Liu Shu could see the entire underground from an outward perspective.

Her roots moved as Aether Mana and Anima Energy traveled to them; she slowly grew them and covered the rocky wall, trying to spot a weak point.

It took a while; after all, her roots couldn't grow too fast. Even when she was moving them around with , growth was not something she could really accelerate.

In short, she had to work with what she had.

As her roots moved, time passed quickly, and a message that she didn't expect reached her.

[A has used on you. You've gained 16 Experience Points.]

[ has absorbed 4 Experience Points]

'Huh? One day has passed?' Her senses were so focused on her roots that she didn't even realize the time was passing.

Those extra 20 experience points were welcomed. After all, her total accumulated experience points had reached 1822 points.

Liu Shu's gaze moved to her system and observed her level line.

Level: 4 [0/1900]

'Ohhh, so close! Four more days, and I will reach Level 5!'

She was excited about this. Each time she leveled up, her strength grew incredibly fast, so she wondered if her strength would become close enough to Flor to become a real helper. After fighting a few times, her understanding of her current level of strength compared to those around her was pretty clear for her.

She was already in the realm of a weak Level 10 in terms of single attribute maxing. However, because of her several advantages as a tree, like her natural resistances and incredibly good Aether Mana and Anima Energy control, saying that she was weaker than a Level 10 was also wrong.

Her fight against the Level 10 River Beaver was a telling about her current strength level. Still, in her mind, while Flor was just two levels above, she was a whole tier higher than the rest, so her stats were significantly stronger. That's why Liu Shu was not clear about whether she would reach her level of strength or not.

Besides her strengthening, she was curious about what she would unlock if she unlocked anything. Until now, each level carried with it something skill-wise, but she was not confident that it would continue like this.

Perhaps if she were able to build a house before she leveled up, she would be able to unlock something related to the building. 'Hm… Should I delay my Level Up until I build the house?' Liu Shu thought that it was a good idea and moved her consciousness over to the to check materials.

'Ohhh, so many! They have accumulated quite a bit during this time.'

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She felt that today she was exclaiming quite a lot, but good things were happening, so she was happy!

'Thankfully, the is connected to my system page, so I can look at what I have through the system interface~. If I remember correctly, I can make it look as I want, then… Show me the names of the building materials and order them by quantity. Also, show the quantity by the side of each material!'

[Inventory: Spalignwood (214), Yellow cotton (210), Earthmud (202), Pebbleheart (201), Sprout Heart (22), Earthspire (2), Yellow Cotton thread (2), Dustheart (1), Budbark (1), Gustbark (1), World Tree branch (1).]

Liu Shu exclaimed again. 'I can build a house!'

To make sure of it, she checked the materials one more time.

: Saplignwood x 100 (F-), Sprout heart x10 (F), Budbark x1 (F+), pebbleheart x100 (F-), earthmud x100 (F-), yellow cotton (F-) x10.

She looked at her available constructions one by one, comparing materials, and the only building she could build was, as expected, a house. She was delighted, but she honestly preferred if she could've built a defensive structure. 'I wonder how those look. While I have a general blueprint in my mind, I don't really know how the materials will bring changes to the structures.'

Our young World Tree paused. 'Speaking of which, World Tree branch? What's that, and why is there only one? I am a World Tree; there should be many more!'

World Tree Branch (Building Material ): When enough fallen World Tree branches are stored, they can be mixed with energies and complex Woodcrafting to create this material. It is a material coveted by any builder that can increase the strength of any structure it is built with. In rare cases, it might even increase the sentience of the structure. Moreover, because of its extremely high quality, it can substitute several lower-ranked materials.

In her mind, Liu Shu exclaimed loud enough that the Rose Fairies moving around her felt her excitement. 'Wooohhh!!!'

Flor's voice reached her as she focused on the material's information. "Liu Shu, is everything alright? What did you get so excited about?"

'Flor! Flor! Do you know what!? I can build a defensive tower! Wohoo! Something that will attack in my place~.'

Flor was confused. 'Didn't that thing need five Budbarks? Even if I miscalculated, the amount we gathered should be around one unit or two, three at best.'

Liu Shu giggled. 'Hehehe, that's true! I only have one. However, I have another material that's special and can substitute it~.'

While Liu Shu wanted to tell Flor about her ability to use herself as material, she felt this knowledge was too dangerous. Even when she trusted Flor, Liu Shu felt uncomfortable sharing her deepest secrets. Thinking to herself, Liu Shu planned. 'Since they usually gather my fallen branches, I guess I can sneakily use them, hehe.'

What if they asked? That was something the Liu Shu in the future would have to deal with, not her!

So, the second thing she did after deciding this was open her . What was the first? Well, it was leaving a small part of her conscience with the roots exploring the rocky walls below her and trying to find a crevice or something to easily penetrate through and explore what was on the other side.

Flor asked to remind herself. "So, which were the materials to create the defensive structure?"

Liu Shu looked at her system and asked about it. Soon, the blueprint and materials needed appeared.

: Saplignwood x 200 (F-), Sprout heart x20 (F), World Tree Branch (C-), pebbleheart x200 (F-), earthmud x25 (F-), earthspire x1 (F)

Flor heard Liu Shu's list and nodded. "I see, so that mysterious material is substituting the five units of Budbark and the one unit of elemental material."

While Liu Shu didn't specify which material she was using, she told her which ones were being substituted.

Flor asked. "So, can you acquire this material reliably?"

Liu Shu answered with a happy exclamation. 'Nop! You still have to search for Budbark and those materials!'

Flor let out a sigh as she caressed her forehead. "Sure, sure… Oh. Speaking of materials, the caravan will return tomorrow. So, that's a good thing. They might carry back quite a few materials you need."

Liu Shu giggled happily. 'Nice!' Then, she commented. 'I hope they can arrive safely and without problems~.'

Flor nodded, but her thoughts were different. 'I hope they didn't stick out or betrayed us quickly. If they informed outside forces in any way, that's it for us.'

Honestly, Flor regretted it a few days later after the caravan left. She was too confident in Liu Shu's worth. It was true that if Liu Shu grew into a land overlord and the humans were with Liu Shu from the start, they would become the most influential caravan business around. However, if the World Tree they gambled on failed to overcome the challenges, they would lose everything as well, and perhaps even worse, as being associated with a fallen World Tree was not a good reputation to carry around.

Hence, balancing the pros and cons, it was clear to Flor that humans must have evaluated everything with care before choosing. Moreover, they couldn't really be confrontational with her around for one simple reason: If they had been a threat, they would've been eliminated.

Flor was just a bit naïve and incredibly inexperienced in terms of being a ruler of creatures outside her own Rose Fairy group, so she lacked cunningness even when her intelligence was extraordinarily high for a wild monster.

This return would be something that would make clear if her decision came biting back or if it was a successful gamble. Flor sighed, feeling frustrated. 'I shouldn't do this as often. We are in a delicate situation that can crumble down like a stack of acorns.'

Meanwhile, Liu Shu didn't bother with these matters. In her mind, things were simple. She needed to grow, and whoever came in the way would be treated as friends or enemies depending on their attitude toward her.

For Liu Shu, who was recently born, many of the usual emotions of wariness and carefulness were lacking. She still didn't know the meaning of betrayal and hadn't even experienced it.

The word was so foreign that she hadn't even thought about it once in her life.

With no more distractions, Liu Shu focused on the construction of her first building. Well, if 's assimilation counted as one, then this would be her second one. Still, it was the first building created from scratch by her.

'Let's do this!'

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Small Proofreader Note: If you're reading this on June 18th, wish our dear author a Happy Birthday today!