Chapter 105. Sirol City.

"You are going to do what?"

Liu Shu asked Flor, confused. 'What's wrong? Why are you surprised?'

Flor looked at the World Tree with a confused look. "Didn't you Level Up not long ago? You are going to Level Up again?"

Liu Shu said cheerfully. 'Yes! I have accumulated 4,845 Experience points! And I need 4070 to Level Up! So… I can Level Up again.'

Flor blinked a few times and crossed her arms in thought. 'Hm… I think we got discovered because Liu Shu Leveled Up in the past. However… This time, it should be much less noticeable since there is no quest completion, and she isn't going up two levels at once.'

Flor nodded after a few moments of thought. "Well, I guess you should. But, aren't any of your skills at the cap?"

Liu Shu hummed and looked at her system page. 'Well, <Charm of the Seedling> is at F+ Rank Level Max. <Mind Call> is at F Rank Level Max!'

"Then…" Flor asked. "Why not Level those two first?"

Liu Shu was confused. 'Why?'

Flor paused, feeling that they'd had this conversation, but backward. 'Right. Didn't I even recommend to her in the past to do the opposite? Level Up first to store Experience Points faster…' 

The Rose Fairy Queen realized that she almost stopped Liu Shu from Leveling Up because she felt that she was growing too fast. 'Reluctance? Is this what I am feeling?'

The fairy frowned and sat on one of Liu Shu's branches. Liu Shu noticed her mood change and asked curiously. 'Is something wrong, Flor?'

Flor shook her head and smiled. "Nothing, I got a bit confused. Go on and Level Up. Speaking of which, how much experience do you need to break the limits of each of those?"

Liu Shu answered while looking at the system messages. "I need… 326 Experience Points to increase from F to F+ Rank and… Oh.'

Flor heard the surprise in her voice, and her intrigue increased. "How much from F+ to E-?"

Liu Shu muttered. '2,595…'

Flor's lips twitched. "That's quite a lot." 

The World Tree realized something and asked, confused. 'Speaking of which, aren't your skills as expensive to Rank Up?'

Flor laughed. 'It's not like I've ever ranked up any of my skills. All the Experience Points that I gained during my entire life have gone to my Level. It is the same for almost all creatures. Spending years' worth of Experience to increase the effects of one skill by one notch is not something many do. Only from F- to F is quite affordable for the average creature, which is around 15 Experience Points. However, other than that? 350 Experience points is quite a lot. Over those numbers…" Flor laughed. "I didn't even bother checking when I had an F+ Rank skill at Max Level." 

Liu Shu understood the logic behind that statement. Creatures that made more than 4 Experience Points daily were considered talented, so 350 Experience Points were almost three and a half months of experience gathered or more for most. Not to mention the 2600 needed to go from F+ to E- Rank.

While thinking of this, Liu Shu realized something. 'Oh, right. The Experience Points you can give me have already reached the max, right? 26 Experience Points, so… Leveling Up will increase my Experience gains by 1?' 

Flor smiled a bit sadly. "Sorry I can't be more useful, Liu Shu."

The World Tree was flabbergasted and asked, 'Huh? What do you mean? If I were alone, I would be earning 6 Experience Points daily; with you, I earn 32! That's more than five times what I would earn alone!'

"Well, that's the truth, isn't it?" Flor laughed, feeling good about that. She swung her legs back and forth and commented. "Did you know that Cinderielle and Verdantia have gone to investigate?" 

Liu Shu answered with a thoughtful tone. 'I do! But… Those people from the Void Witherwood… Archast? Erchat?'

Flor laughed. "Exarchs." 

Liu Shu humphed. 'Such a complicated word.'

Flor raised an eyebrow and asked. "Say, Liu Shu. How do you make those sounds?"

'What sounds?'

The Rose Fairy Queen chuckled. "You know, the snorts, harrumphs, and similar, hahaha. Those should not be natural for you to perform." 

Liu Shu giggled. 'Well… I heard the young Rose Fairies do it, and the action looked interesting and cute, so I imitated them! I also learned how to create a snorting sound!' 

While listening to Liu Shu adorably imitate the sounds through mental communication, Flor realized that Liu Shu was actually being influenced by everyone living around her since her presence was literally everywhere. This somewhat worried Flor since as the society grew, more creatures considered "bad influence" would appear. 

'Speaking of society. Should I go around and unify these parts of the forest? Or do I just do so when Liu Shu's presence approaches the nests of those races?' 

With the Myconids, it was actually them who came first because Liu Shu's roots started penetrating through their cave walls. 'They confused her with a Life Tree? Tree of Life?'

Flor had vague knowledge about this type of tree, which was very similar to World Trees. However, the details were unknown, so she asked. "Say, Liu Shu. What is a Tree of Life?"

Liu Shu answered with her usual confident tone. 'I don't know!'

"Ha ha ha… Right." Flor blinked. "Wait… Isn't there anything written in that thick book about plant species you absorbed?" 

Again, with a proud tone, the World Tree answered. 'There is!'

The Rose Fairy Queen didn't know if the increasingly mischievous World Tree was becoming rebellious or what, but if she could, she would love to give her a spanking. 

Ignoring the motherly desire to spank her and discipline her, she asked. "And, what does it say about them?"

Liu Shu snorted quite authentically and answered. 'It says that they are one of the few real competitors for World Trees other than other World Trees! The book even said that some Life Trees actually get confused by World Trees. Hmph. How could that be? We are soooo different. Those confusing our species are just blind! Like the mushroom people!'

Flor realized that it wasn't that Liu Shu was unaware; it was more like she was a bit resentful, so she feigned ignorance. Flor almost burst into laughter. 'That's so endearing.' Then, she rubbed her chin. 'Natural competition. Interesting.' 

Liu Shu commented. 'So, I will Level Up both the <Mind Call> skill and my Level! See you in a bit, Flor.'

Flor nodded. "Go on. Take as much time as you need." 

Feeling the conscience of the World Tree going into slumber and the aura in the surroundings slowly increasing, Flor muttered. "Level 7… She grows so fast." 

To the east of the Golden Sap forest, Cinderielle and Verdantia had entered Sirol City and were sipping a drink similar to tea made from natural sap and leaves.

Cinderielle smiled. "It's quite nice; it has quite a smooth but sweet taste."

Verdantia placed the wooden cup down elegantly, making a clack sound that felt crips to the ears. "Acceptable." 

Cinderielle snorted. "My bad, Madam Verdantia."

Verdantia raised her eyebrow. "Well, thanks for admitting to my and Liu'er's bond."

Cinderielle, who just wanted to call Verdantia old and dull, took a few seconds until it clicked. "H-Huh!? I am not referring to that."

Verdantia took another sip to hide her laughter. "Regardless. That's rude. Being a madam has nothing to do with age or personality. It just means that you are married."

Cinderielle leaned on her hand with a flat look. "I know. I was just messing around. Did you have trouble making friends in the past, Verdantia?"

"COUGH!" Verdantia choked on the tea and glared at her after cleaning her mouth with a napkin. "That's none of your business. I was just too mature for my age to be playing around with peers!"

Cinderielle grinned. "Sure, sure~." She looked down at her bosom, and her grin widened. "You've probably always been sooo mature." 

Placing the cup down, Verdantia asked. "Hey, can we speak about the serious matter at hand?" 

Cinderielle nodded and leaned forward, her face becoming serious. "Understood."

Verdantia appreciated the gesture and started speaking about the crucial matters. "We need to investigate if anyone else has noticed signs of Liu'er's existence. This town doesn't have a World Tree in the middle. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't powerful plants in the vicinity who would hate a World Tree's visit and resist." 

Cinderielle asked. "Do you think they've been preparing for Fortuna's eventual arrival?" 

Verdantia sighed. "Fortuna has always been quite far, so this city never took her into account. For Fortuna's roots to spread this far, she needs to reach around Level 40. However, if Liu'er were to grow to Fortuna's current level, or even less if we took into account her incredible growth, her roots might be able to reach here by Level 15~20. It is just around 25 kilometers away, after all. A World Tree measuring 200~300 meters tall might be able to reach this far." 

Cinderielle was informed about World Trees but not so much about their growth. "They can be that tall at those levels? Fortuna is not that much bigger, right?" 

Verdantia agreed. "Usually, World Trees start reaching those absurd heights when they unlock the second energy cycle at Level 25. However, Liu'er is proving to be quite…" Verdantia paused, trying to find the correct word.

Cinderielle intervened. "Talented?"

Verdantia nodded with a crease in her brows. "More or less? I mean, she is Level 6 and already measuring almost 15 meters. That's really crazy, considering that the growth of World Trees is exponential. I've read that Fortuna was around 6~8 meters when she was Level 6."

Cinderielle smiled again. "And Tiantian also has those curves~. She is really quite thick~." 

Verdantia coughed. "Well, she indeed is. But…" Verdantia tilted her head. "Her proportions are a bit bizarre." 

Cinderielle agreed and said excitedly. "Right!? Although it is the truth that she is starting to show nice curves, it's like… How to say it… As if a small woman had been magnified to scale?"

Verdantia's eyes widened, and she pointed at Cinderielle. "Ah! That's it!"

Cinderielle asked excitedly. "Do you think she will ever get a humanoid form?" 

Verdantia laughed. "Do you know how complicated it is for World Trees to materialize as a humanoid? Moreover, even if they do, they are like spirits without anything else but presence. They can't hurt anybody with those things." 

Cinderielle smirked. "But… Those bodies are also, more often than not, of a physical nature. Wouldn't it be cute to hug her and place her on your lap?"

Verdantia's eyes roamed a bit as her imagination became active. 'Liu'er as a short, cute girl sitting on my lap…' Verdantia's face heated up, and she had to control her hair not to start growing flowers involuntarily.

Cinderielle laughed and took a sip of her drink while looking around the relatively small town. It had around 5,000 inhabitants, and because of the mercantile traffic and explorers, there were around 8,000 people roaming the streets at any given time.

As they sat there, they heard someone calling them. "Cinderielle, Verdantia, what a coincidence!"

Looking over, they saw Ariel, the human woman from the caravan, waving at them with a large smile.