Chapter 140. The Mine and [Cores].

Flor spoke about all the berries except the <Breakthrough Berry> and the <Energy Cycle Berry>. Just the <Delicious Berry> effects left them speechless, not to mention when they heard about the berries that permanently boosted their Affinity stats. 

Flor looked at them and asked. "There are better ones, but these will be reserved for later. What do you think? Are these enough to compensate?" 

The economist laughed, feeling a bit defeated. He answered honestly. "Well, taking into account the effects, receiving five of the recovery berries weekly and one <Delicious Berry> should be enough to pay for most of us."

Flor blinked. "So… around 60 of the recovery berries and 4 <Delicious Berries> are valued at around 1 Tyn?" 

The economist hummed. "Well, 1 Tyn is equivalent to 500 Lir. Then, if each of the consumable ones would be sold at around 5 Lir, making a total of 300, the remaining 200 can be filled with the cost of 50 Lir per <Delicious Berry>. Experience-related items are expensive, regardless of how many Experience Points they give. In total, they do indeed make up for 500 Lir, or 1 Tyn." 

Flor refrained from saying exactly how many berries Liu Shu produced monthly, but her production was astounding right now. Going berry per berry, the production every month was as such:

1500 <Low-Rank Delicious Berries>, 240 <Low-Rank Phoer Berries>, 240 <Low-Rank Mana Berries>, 240 <Low-Rank Energy Berries>, 9 <Low-Rank Breakthrough Berries>, 30 <Low-Rank Resonant Berries>, 30 <Low-Rank Refinement Berries>, 30 <Low-Rank Affinity Berries>, 30 <Low-Rank Palace Berries> and 3 <Energy Cycle Berries>.

This was taking into account that her <Enchanted Growth> was constantly active, and her summon was inactive. If not, the numbers would be even more absurd. 

So, hearing that just 60 of the consumable berries and 4 <Delicious Berries> were enough payment, Flor relaxed. 'So, our wealth is much deeper than I expected. This is a relief. We can pay our people with a mix of both.'

The economist suggested a very similar idea. "To make it difficult for outside powers to interfere economically in our city, I recommend prices for our wares to be done in berries. Of course, that's only possible if Liu Shu can keep up with the production. Even if she can't, the market can regulate itself by increasing the value as scarcity grows. Eventually, the berries, if not available for everyone, can become a luxury item like Sylvanium. To be honest, the potential here is tremendous. I would need the exact production for each berry, though."

Flor hummed. "How about you give me the value of each berry, and then I keep track of it? While you've all been very forward and honest, showing that it is worth giving a try to trust you, we just met. I can't tell you every detail yet. I need some time to be assured that you are truly on our side." 

The people looked at each other and nodded. "Sure, we can do that. While you are a monster-kind, you and the Ant Queen have shown incredible intelligence. If it weren't for your appearance, I would've thought I was speaking with an intelligent species and not a wild monster." 

Flor laughed. "I have yet to learn a lot. Still, I appreciate the compliment." 

The conversation moved forward, and eventually, Flor gave them a temporary place to rest in the inn. "I would like Terra and Terran to come with me and see the mines. Is it okay? Or do you prefer to rest?"

Terra stood up, excited. "I thought I would need to wait a bit more! Let's go, Lady Flor!" 

All of them were doubtful at first. After all, conversing with monsters was an unprecedented thing to happen in this area. Yet, Verdantia and the words of the other two didn't appear as exaggerated after getting to know Flor and Ignatia better. The monsters and World Tree living here had something special that made them trust their chances to overcome Fortuna City. 

The day was coming to an end after the long conversation. The sun was slowly falling over the horizon, and the orange glow of the sunset covered the lands. 

The fresh air of the forest, accompanied by Liu Shu's aura, made each breath feel as if it was opening your pores and mind. Terra couldn't help but close her eyes and take a deep breath as a breeze caressed her body. 'This place is fantastic. It's incredible how pure everything is.'

Flor asked. "Do you have problems seeing in the dark? I can go and get stronger lighting if you do."

Both of them looked at the large lamp Flor was holding and smiled. "Flor, we molekin have a unique way of looking around us. In truth, our sight is relatively poor. Therefore…" Terra flicked her long hairs on her cheeks with a smile. "We see everything with a mix of echolocation and scent. Light is redundant and, more often than not, damaging to our ability to see."

Flor made a sound full of intrigue. "That's interesting. So, do you want me to dim down this light?"

Terran commented with a laugh. "No need to! We see fine as we are. If we have any problems, we promise to tell you."

Flor nodded and guided them for nearly 25 minutes. While the core of the mine was below Liu Shu, the entrance could be accessed from two paths. The first path was Ignatia's nest. Her ants had excavated a path into them as an escape route that they had previously used to flee during the invasion.

The other path was far from the town, hidden by dense vegetation by the Myconids, who had been using the mines as their nest for a very long time. This path was practically invisible, even for the molekin with their special senses.

After Flor moved through the vegetation, protecting their body from bugs with a shield made of wind, they arrived at the cave. The two molekin were stunned as they "looked" around. "Incredible, this mine looks untouched and old!" 

Flor blinked. "Is that strange?"

"Strange? A natural mine that intelligent races had never discovered is a treasure trove! There must be natural treasures hidden in the walls, as well as high-ranking minerals. The minerals need extraordinary conditions to become a higher tier. Of course, it's not a guarantee, but I am 99% sure that we will discover large deposits of special minerals as we dig deeper."

Flor hummed. "How about our main objective? Do you think this mine is enough to support our town?"

Terra smiled. "You don't have to worry about that. Unless the town becomes a city with 500,000 inhabitants, the cost that you as a government must cover will be covered by this mine alone. If we then add the value of the berries that Liu Shu can produce… You will have almost no problems funding the growing city as long as there is not a lot of corruption."

Flor tilted her head. "Corruption? Like, bad energy?"

Terra and Terran giggled. Terra smiled. "Well, something like that. Don't worry. The 20 of us are all people personally selected by Miss Verdantia Liferoot; we will not disappoint." 

Terran added as he looked at the roots spreading around the cave walls. "Not to mention, with Liu Shu around, I would love to see who even dares to become corrupt. World Tree cities are usually one of the most incorruptible places as long as the World Tree remains neutral."

Liu Shu's voice reached them, sounding serious but somehow adorable. "I will purify all bad energies and corruption!" 

Terra and Terran laughed again. Then, they all walked deeper into the mines. As they walked forward, Flor's role as a guide was reversed, and eventually, Terra and Terran walked in front.

Terran asked, awe clear in his voice. "Incredible. How deep do your roots go, Liu Shu?"

Liu Shu hummed. "Well, there are a few obstacles in the middle, so I can't really go as deep as I go wide, but around 1,000 meters!" 

Both molekin almost choked. 'One full kilometer? Isn't Liu Shu a little higher than Level 10?'

Terra asked. "Have you surrounded the entire mine, Liu Shu?"

The pouting voice of the World Tree reached them. "I haven't! Why is it so big? The place where the Myconids lived is just the topmost part! It goes deeper and deeper! Hmph, when I assimilate it, it will be sooooooooo tiring."

Terran was confused. "Assimilate?"

Liu Shu answered as if it was a matter of course. "Make it one with me? Like the houses in my town!"

Terra frowned. "Liu Shu, that's almost impossible, no? You would need to have a dozen or more <Aether Mana Cores> and <Anima Energy Cores>!" 

The World Tree blinked. "Cores? Did you mean to say shards?"

Terra paused and asked. "You don't know about <Cores >?" 

"I don't!" Liu said quite confidently.

Terra hummed. "I see. Well, I can give you a brief explanation. You see, the name Aether Mana Shards, etc, is not random. A creature's ternary essences can be refined as they become stronger. From what I heard, almost all <Second Cycle> creatures manage to compress their <Shards > into <Cores >." Terra continued. "<Cores >, like <Shards >, are your energy pools. They are the place where you extract energy from to use the system skills. However, they are a more refined energy. This makes two similar skills have very different effects."

Terra commented. "For example, if two people had the same energy pool, but one had it in <Cores >, and the other in <Shards >, the one with <Cores > will be able to cast things with twice the result and half the effort, so to speak." 

The World Tree exclaimed. "Oh! I want cores!" 

Terra laughed. "Well, you'll need to wait a bit. You are a bit over Level 10, right? You need to have 100,000 Shards in one ternary essence to even start thinking of creating cores! Until you are <Second Cycle>, you won't reach those numbers." 

Liu Shu metaphorically blinked twice and looked at her ternary essences. 

***

Aether Mana Shards: 105,670/112,400

Phoer Body Shards: 167,845/167,845

Anima Energy Shards: 102,851/108,206

***

So, after seeing that she had then, she said proudly. "I already have that!"

Terra and Terran tripped and fell face first. However, as if the hard hit against the ground didn't hurt them, both exclaimed. "HOW!? WHAT LEVEL ARE YOU!?"

Liu Shu hummed. "Level 12~. Why? Is it strange?"

Brother and sister didn't know what to say. 'A Level 12 with 100,000 in any of the ternary essences is ridiculous!'

Terra and Terran stood up slowly, caressing their hurting faces, and Terra asked. "I guess you might have a particular one that's really high tier… Which essence do you have over 100,000 Shards?"

Liu Shu answered enthusiastically. "All!" 

Terra stood there, looking at the ceiling with a lost expression. "Sorry, what did you say? I think I misheard." 

Liu Shu took it seriously. "Really? I said it quite loudly, are you okay, Terra?" 

Terra rubbed her forehead. "Yeah, just… repeat what you said, please."

"Hmhm~ Don't worry! I said that all three of my essences are over 100,000 Shards!"

Terra nodded and muttered after looking up. "What a strange dream, eh? I wonder, will I wake up soon?"

Terran muttered. "I also wonder the same, big sis. I also do…"

Flor was having a really hard time holding her laughter while looking from the side. 'Ah… It's such a nostalgic look. I was, and sometimes still am, like that.'