Chapter 97. Intelligence Races and Monsters.

Flying around the grove where they lived, Flor looked around for clues and signs of the lost Rose Fairies or any sign of combat at all. While she understood that the possible intruders might've been high-leveled, she still believed that, since the Rose Fairies usually flew at a safe distance from the ground, there must've been some signs of resistance. 

'Come on, there must be something.' Flor stopped and looked at the trees, bushes, plants, and even the soil. Her eyes scanned everything in detail, but she just couldn't find any clue. 

'I've been searching for two days already. How is it that I can't find anything at all? This doesn't make sense…' 

Flor sat on a tree outside the grove. The place was not that big, so she had finished on the first day. However, the two Rose Fairies that had disappeared had not shown up, and worse, she had found nothing during her exploration.

Even Ignatia, Verdantia, and Cinderielle were puzzled about this situation. 

Moreover, Ignatia's ants had not disappeared at all. The only ones that went missing were the two fairies during the day the humans entered. 

Flor tilted her head. 'Did those humans get them? But, if they did, there should've been a fight at least…' When she thought of that, Flor stopped, and her mind began spinning as thoughts swirled around. 'Hm? Wait. Those humans were very confident. Why were they that confident? Even if you trust in your strength, unless you've proven yourself before, having that kind of baseless confidence is not normal.'

Flor's eyebrows came together, trying to come up with something. However, she couldn't place the pieces of this puzzle together. After getting stuck for around thirty minutes, she decided that asking the rest would be better than standing here mulling over something that she clearly could not guess.

As she returned, she couldn't help but hit her head. 'Why can't my brain do brain things during important moments?' 

Without delay, Ignatia, Cinderielle, and Verdantia were assembled by Liu Shu's side. 

Flor commented. "After looking around, I think that those humans might be the ones that were in the wrong."

Ignatia asked. "Those you let go?"

Flor nodded and explained her reasoning. However, after hearing her, the other three shook their heads. Verdantia spoke. "Those are good clues, but instead of pointing at them, it makes them even more innocent."

Flor looked at her, not understanding. "How?"

Ignatia explained. "The strength of the humans you scared was too low. That Level 9 would not be strong enough to instantly kill or capture a Rose Fairy that has reached Level 7 and has Liu Shu's Amulet." 

Cinderielle added. "On the contrary, your discoveries leave us with two options. The first option, even if it is almost impossible, those Rose Fairies were not happy with you and actually left on their own."

Flor wanted to refute that, but eventually, she didn't say anything and kept silent for a few seconds. "Okay. Go on."

Cinderielle nodded after Flor gave her the go-ahead. "The second option is what we first guessed is even more correct. We are being targeted by powerful <Explorers > that are masters in stealth."

Flor sighed. "Is there a third option?"

Cinderielle nodded and said with a frown. "I remember how you told me that in the past, a group of humans came here and were defeated by you, right? It might be someone from that group who sent a search party and encountered Liu Shu's town because of a simple coincidence." 

Flor scratched her head. "Why are humans so…" 

Verdantia smiled. "Vengeful?" 

Flor nodded. "Right. That's the word. Aren't they a warlike race that fights each other often? And then, when one of them is touched by anything that's not a human, they become like maddened beasts that would bite anything in their way. Is that even logical?" 

Verdantia laughed. "Well, most creatures that come from non-plant ancestry are like that. While plants have lived in extremely competitive environments as individuals, a tree usually can find nutrients and other survival needs from the ground, air, and sun. Meanwhile, beasts need to compete, and this competition ingrained in the genes is what pushes most animal descendants into a warlike path." 

Verdantia shook her head. "More often than not, the reasons for a war are trivial. Things that could be solved easily. Still, the objective of a war is the important part, which is often replacing and conquering."

Flor looked at Liu Shu and blinked. "Is that why Sylvans are also similar to humans? Because you are descendants of World Trees who function similarly to animals?" 

Cinderielle nodded. "World Trees are probably the most territorial beings in nature with an unending appetite to expand. So, probably some of those genes were inherited by Sylvans." 

Verdantia commented. "Something that I am glad about because, without that urge to conquer and become the sovereign race, humans would've probably swallowed the entire world by now, creating a very different history and world."

Cinderielle nodded. "Right? Have you seen the only human cities? I visited one a few years ago and… Ugh." 

Flor blinked. "What's wrong?"

Verdantia sighed. "They use non-organic materials to build towns and cities. Like… they use rocks to build the houses. Well, a mix of them." 

Flor frowned. "What about the forest that occupies that land? You can't really build properly like that with all those forests, right?"

Cinderielle made a hand gesture. "Chop, chop, chop. That's what they did in some of the cities. 'Clear' space."

Flor blinked a few times and asked. "Chop down an entire expanse of forest to build rock houses? Then… How do the animals and plants in that area survive?"

Verdantia shrugged. "They don't. That's another reason why not many Sylvans get along with humans. Instead of using woodcrafting and the other tools at our disposal to create tree houses and structures, they actually chop them down and build non-organic structures, disrupting the environment." 

Flor asked, stunned. "And I am the one classified as a monster? Why aren't they classified as monsters?"

Cinderielle pointed at the place where the system window usually appears and said. "System differences."

Flor crossed her arms, feeling that they'd deviated a lot about the topic they were discussing. However, this was interesting, and she wanted to know more. "So, how are your and my systems different?" 

Verdantia was the one to answer Flor's doubts. "Well, visually, it is not that different. However, you can't, for example, unlock the <Mental Palace> stat. Moreover, anything related to the <Willpower > stat is also much more complicated to perform. That's why, usually, monsters are divided into <Spirits >, <Elementals >, and <Animals >."

Verdantia explained the difference between them next. "<Spirits > are creatures that have 'Anima' as their main attribute. Then, the rest of their attributes are modified around that stat. That's why, when you take the <Breakthrough Berry>, and your main stat increases, everything else also goes up."

Flor scratched her head in confusion. "Wait, how do Tiers work for you?"

Verdantia laughed. "Don't look like that; it is not that complicated. Listen, I'll dumb it down, okay?"

Flor's lips twitched. "Can you not phrase it like that?"

Verdantia rolled her eyes. "Are you really double my age? Just listen!"

Flor raised her arms. "Sure, sure. Go ahead."

Verdantia smiled. "So, us, intelligent creatures, have as many stats as you, monsters. However, for us, each attribute is independent and only tied to each other by Level."

Flor nodded and motioned her to continue. 

"So, for example, I can have Tier F+ Aether, Tier C- Physique, and… I don't know, Tier B+ Anima and Tier D Willpower." 

Flor blinked. "Really? That varied?"

Verdantia laughed. "Well, the levels are usually much closer. That was an example." Then, she pointed at Flor and Ignatia. "You both, however, have a Tier as a creature. For example, you, Flor, are an E Rank/Tier Rose Fairy Queen. That Tier refers to your strongest stat, Aether." 

Flor nodded, understanding the explanation. Then, she asked. "How does Liu Shu's <Breakthrough Berry> affect you, then?" 

Verdantia commented. "Well, if you can't really control the effects, it will improve all the stat that can be affected. For example…" 

Flor's eyebrow twitched. "Another example?"

Verdantia laughed. "Yes. Examples are best to explain things in a simple manner. Or do you want me to go through the System Theorems, Energy Science, and biological structure?" 

Flor coughed. "Please, continue with the example."

With a laugh, the life Sylvan explained. "Imagine having these ranks, F+, E-, E+, and D on the different stats."

Flor nodded. 

"Then, if I ingest Liu Shu's <Breakthrough Berry>, which can improve a tier up to E tier, it would affect my "E-" tier and "F+" tier and upgrade them to "E" and "E-" respectively." 

Flor exclaimed. "Ohh, I understand." 

With a thoughtful expression, Verdantia asked. "So… Do we go back to our previous conversation?"

Flor blinked and coughed. "Where were we?"

Cinderielle laughed. "We reached the conclusion that there has been interference from the outside." The fire Sylvan added. "Since we know that, and they have eliminated all traces, then we just need Liu Shu to finish speaking with the trees around and get the information."

Ignatia commented with a smile. "One of my babies found a very faint trace around two hours ago. I've sent a few scouts there to expand on it without much results. Do you want to come and have a look?"

Flor's face finally brightened up when the first good news arrived. "Finally! A clue!"

Ignatia smiled and snatched Flor into her bosom again. "Hm~, you are really cute, Flor."

The Rose Fairy Queen blinked a few times and frowned. "Hey, can you not treat me like your personal doll?"

"I can't~?"

The Ant Queen tried to put on a cute expression by pouting her lips, but her emotionless compound eyes made it quite difficult. 

Flor's eyebrow trembled, not wanting to admit that Ignatia looked somewhat cute doing that. She coughed and said. "You can't. Now, let me go."

Ignatia's throat clicked a few times, making strange noises that no one but Liu Shu understood.

The World Tree looked at Igantia and asked her without bothering to hide her voice from the rest. 'Why do you want to make Flor yours?'

Everyone froze, and Ignatia's antennae stiffened. 'I forgot the big child here can understand me.' 

She smiled and said, trying to recover from her blunder. "Ah, you misunderstood. It is a way to appreciate people in ant signals."

Flor, Cinderielle, and Verdantia looked at the Ant Queen with a deadpan, having a hard time believing her. However, Liu Shu's next words made them doubtful. 'I see! I misunderstood~.' 

Then, Liu Shu commented. 'Speaking of which, I finally got an answer!' 

The girls raised their eyebrows and listened to the World Tree speak.