Chapter 85. Half a Year.
The caravan, Verdantia, and Cinderielle came and went for the next months while Liu Shu focused on building the Town. Because they didn't really have a need for materials for now, Flor didn't sell more <Delicious Berries> to them, using the typical ones to gain currency.
Time flowed quickly during this time, and Flor still kept Liu Shu's ability to speak a secret. She asked her to do so until she reached Level 5. At level 5, she would be quite strong, so, by then, Flor wouldn't mind.
As weeks and months passed, more and more buildings appeared inside the walls. In addition, the eight defensive structures on the walls were also slowly built. Because of their natural shape, if someone came across it, they would think that instead of an actual wall, it was a natural wonder where eight trees linked with roots.
Liu Shu took a total of six months to build everything and link it to her own being.
Even though Liu Shu's strength didn't really grow during this time, her aura made an incredible change. As more and more structures became linked to her, although her stats didn't change, her presence went through earth-shattering changes.
By now, her roots had extended to the 200-meter mark, and her height was 10 meters. The female figure etched in her trunk was as faint as before, but because her size increased, it was easier to spot.
Over everything, Liu Shu's energy control was the thing that increased the most. If she could battle her previous self, even with identical stats, she would probably be able to win consistently by a relatively wide margin.
Inside the walls, there were fewer trees than when Liu Shu appeared. However, because the buildings could also be considered tree beings in a sense, the number of trees actually increased.
The final result of Liu Shu's half-year effort was a beautiful and exotic town that was neatly organized and made of tree-like structures. It had the neighborhood by the Town Hall's side, with the defensive flower bed covering the streets in a non-bothersome way. Some of the buildings were surrounded by them because they were built in the same line.
However, since every building was connected with Liu Shu in one way or another, it didn't bother the structure's integrity. In short, everything worked as intended.
Plus, thanks to some of the flowers having migrated to the canopy-like roofs of some of the houses, they even gained some range because they were positioned higher.
At first glance, the grounds felt natural and peaceful, as if they were one with nature. And with Liu Shu in the middle of everything, the place's aura was soothing and comfortable.
From a wild groove, Liu Shu transformed her surroundings within 100 meters into a perfectly natural yet fortified place. The wild trees that remained and surrendered to Liu Shu were still not linked to Liu Shu in a significant manner. They were normal trees that stood on the sides of the streets and houses, living comfortably and quietly. On the surface, the trees had space, but if one were to look underground, one would realize that their roots were tangled and surrounded by Liu Shu's structure's roots. With minimal wrong movement, those trees would be uprooted and destroyed.
Now, this didn't feel suffocating for them because while closely tangled, they didn't really bother each other much. So, it was like two neighbors living by each other's side, but one of them had an alarm in their house for when they did something wrong.
Flor sat on one of Liu Shu's branches and looked at the surroundings with awe. She had seen the transformation firsthand during the last six months. Yet, she still couldn't believe it. 'This is the work of a Level 4 World Tree? What will this become when she is Level 10, 20, or something like that?'
For six months, Flor continued with her morning routine, pollinating Liu Shu with her <Royal Pollination> Skill, which netted her plenty of experience. She never forgot to go hunting as well, so, with quite a lot of effort, Flor managed to Level Up!
She was Currently Level 13, and her basic stats looked like this, not taking into account any buffs.
***
Level 13: [0/8460]
Aether Mana Shards: 14073/14073 (+50.67/Hour)
Phoer Body Shards: 4053/4053 (+14.6/Hour)
Anima Energy Shards: 6620/6620 (+23.84/Hour)
Attributes: Aether 93 (86+7), Physique 29 (28+1), Anima 46 (43+3), Willpower 58 (58), Destiny 104 (104)
***
She was incredibly strong. Moreover, those numbers did not take into account the buffs her titles and skills gave her. For example, <Friend of the World Tree> gave her a bonus of 20% stats as long as she fought in the surroundings of Liu Shu, then <Protector of Nature> increased it to another 10% when she fought to protect nature, Liu Shu's <Defender > gave her an extra 10% as well for a total of a 40% permanent buff as long as she fought to defend Liu Shu.
Then, Liu Shu's crafted equipment pushed her stats another notch higher. All these buffs, when stacked, pushed her Aether Mana Shards close to the twenty-thousand mark.
The Rose Fairy Queen was nothing but a little monster in a defensive battle. Any creature that was not at least 5 Levels above her and in the same Tier or above had no chance against her.
Even Ignatia would shake her head and forget about fighting Flor in a one-on-one battle. For the two Sylvan girls, who thought that they could slowly catch up to the Rose Fairy Queen, her massive increase in strength came as a surprise.
They both had managed to reach Level 8 in the last six months. However, even with their transformation skill, they would not be 100% confident in facing her.
Each time they looked at the relaxed Fairy Queen overlooking everything, they couldn't help but have the impression of a ruler looking at her domain, where no one could enter without her permission.
Liu Shu, who finally managed to finish her last building, which was the <Basic Inn>, opened her <World Tree Eye> once more and took in her surroundings. 'DONE! HEHEHEH.'
Her voice spread around without any care, and Flor's eyebrow twitched as she sighed. 'Did she forget not to talk to others? Well, what's done can't be taken back.' Her eyes turned in the direction of the two Sylvans and saw them both looking at Liu Shu, stupefied.
Flor hummed in her mind. 'Well, I couldn't expect her ability to talk to be hidden for too long, I guess. She is also going to Level Up as well, so I guess it's not that big of a problem. Speaking of which, I wonder how much Accumulated Experience she has?'
Liu Shu was curious exactly about that, so she looked at her message summary.
[<Basic World Energy Gathering> has absorbed 4 Experience Points] x180
[A <Rose 12 Fairy Level> has used <Royal Pollination> on you. You've gained 16 Experience Points.] x163
[A <Rose 13 Fairy Level> has used <Royal Pollination> on you. You've gained 16 Experience Points.] x17
[Congratulations on defeating <F 5 Tier Level>. You've gained 1 Experience Points.] x3
[Congratulations on defeating <F+ 5 Tier Level>. You've gained 4 Experience Points.] x1
[Congratulations on defeating <F 6 Tier Level>. You've gained 2 Experience Points.] x2
[Congratulations on defeating <F+ 6 Tier Level>. You've gained 7 Experience Points.] x2
[Congratulations on defeating <F 7 Tier Level>. You've gained 3 Experience Points.] x2
[Congratulations on defeating <F+ 7 Tier Level>. You've gained 11 Experience Points.] x1
[Congratulations on defeating <E 7 Tier Tree Level>. You've gained 82 Experience Points.] x7
[Congratulations on defeating <E+ 8 Tier Tree Level>. You've gained 289 Experience Points.] x2
[You've gained a total of 4808 Experience points!]
Liu Shu looked at that message log a few times, her soul shocked to the core. 'H-How much experience!? F-Four THOUSANDS?! WHAT?' Liu Shu's branches started twisting in surprise as her aura became turbulent out of pure excitement.
Flor was on one of them and almost fell down, so she quickly flapped her leafy wings and floated up. "What's wrong, Liu Shu?"
Liu Shu spluttered incoherently. 'FOUR, WOW, FLOR, FOUR THOUSAND, NOP. WAIT. THAT'S CLOSER TO FIVE THOUSAND!'
Flor was assaulted by powerful waves of pure energy, but thankfully, her Level Up made her much more resistant. Flor was puzzled about what that had to do with her excitement, so she asked. "What's wrong? What's five thousand?"
Liu Shu babbled. 'Accumulated! The Experience Accumulated! I mean, the Accumulated Experience is four thousand and eight hundred!!'
Flor's eyes widened. "W-What? How much?"
Liu Shu spluttered. 'FOUR THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND EIGHT!'
Flor looked at the sky, not knowing what to think of this situation. 'Almost five thousand experience?' She felt glad and sad at the same time. 'She is really growing fast, and this growth is going to accelerate once she levels up, right?'
A sigh mixed with several emotions escaped her. Yet, despite her conflicting feelings, she was honestly happy for Liu Shu.
Flor genuinely smiled and congratulated her. "Great job, Liu Shu. You are growing so fast."
Liu Shu was delighted that Flor supported her and giggled in happiness. 'Thank you, Flor! Hahaha.'
Flor's face gained a tender smile as she caressed the trunk of the increasingly larger tree. "No problem, little one. I'll be here for you."
Liu Shu sent a happy aura as she felt Flor's hand caressing her. Although, relatively, Flor was very petite for Liu Shu in terms of size, the World Tree could clearly feel her tender caress. 'Hehehe. So, Flor! Now that I've finished, I'll Level Up!'
Flor was about to nod, but she heard someone call her from the bottom of the tree. "Flor!"
Looking down, she saw Cinderielle and Verdantia looking up at her with a nervous look. She asked, acting stupid. "Yes? What's wrong?"
Cinderielle asked, her voice slightly rushed. "D-Did Liu Shu just speak?" Verdantia nodded a few times as if asking the same with her head movements.
Flor saw their faces, and while at first she wanted to tease them and act silly, seeing that they were so excited yet nervous, she really couldn't deny them. 'Well, Liu Shu is going to Level Up, so it doesn't matter if they know, I guess. With almost 5 thousand experience, she can probably Level Up twice…'
"Yes. She has learned to speak." Flor saw that they wanted to start speaking with Liu Shu but cut them short. "I know you are excited, but Liu Shu is about to Level Up. How about waiting for later so that you don't distract her?"
Verdantia and Cinderielle paused, and after thinking for a few seconds, they nodded and agreed. This gesture made Flor glad, making her lips arch in a smile while she slowly looked at them more favorably. 'They are good kids in essence, even if they are too possessive of Liu Shu.'