Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 31. Aftermath, and the hidden depths of an SSS Rank Skill.

During the week that Liu Shu was dormant, a few important things occurred. First of all, Froorar knew about the death of the Thornstrides that attacked the Rose Fairies.

His heart seethed with a potent mix of grief and rage upon learning of the Thornstrides' demise. The urge to charge headlong into the fairies' territory was almost overpowering, yet, against all odds, he managed to restrain himself.

For a fleeting moment, the Rose Fairies were granted a reprieve from the burdens that had weighed them down, a precious interlude of tranquility amidst the chaos. 

Then, the fairies buried the corpses of the Thornstrides around Liu Shu to enrich the soil with their bodies. As their primary diet was made of trees, their bodies were actually highly suitable for use as fertilizer ingredients.

The Rose Fairies knew this, and that's why they buried them around Liu Shu. While in life, Thornstrides thrive while eating trees; in death, they become their food.

Other than that, the Rose Fairies ultimately settled down and even built a few outposts in some key places. They also created a small garden to raise the young Rose Fairies.

Speaking of children, Rose Fairies actually mated with trees to procreate. It was not in the complete sense of the word, as there was no sexual intercourse involved, well, usually. Instead, Rose Fairies used the natural pollen of some of them to fertilize their seeds. Then, they would plant them, and a flower would grow from the ground.

This flower would become large enough to cocoon the new life inside, taking the shape of a rose, hence their name, Rose Fairies.

Because there wasn't a cultural influence, mothers and daughters were mixed together without problems, as they actually didn't need to separate because of the lack of need to separate generations to prepare for searching for a partner, etc.

What mattered in the Rose Fairy group was knowledge and level. This didn't mean that there was absolutely no connection between mothers and daughters. It was just much milder compared to humans, sylvans, and similar races.

Therefore, they didn't create a room but a garden for their young. It was close to Liu Shu as well, close enough for Liu Shu to protect it if she wanted.

Flor knew that as a World Tree, Liu Shu's size would increase exponentially. However, the garden was not something complicated to move. As long as Liu Shu didn't suddenly grow without any warning and swallowed the garden, everything was going to be alright. The chances of something going wrong were minimal.

Clavel approached Flor, who was hovering before Liu Shu's dormant figure and asked. "Queen, what are you thinking about?"

Flor gave Clavel one look and stayed silent for a few seconds. Clavel looked around, killing time while observing the other Fairies busily move as they worked.

Suddenly, Flor's voice reached her. "What do you think about my actions two days ago?"

Clavel blinked, not understanding. "What do you mean?"

Flor's gaze moved down and looked at the gradually healing scars on Liu Shu's trunk. Mraar's attacks went quite profound, as she attacked with everything she had in her desperation. However, she still couldn't do anything other than slice off a large part of the tree trunk.

Unlike standard Trees, Liu Shu's regeneration could be said to be insane. So, after two days, the only thing that remained were scars.

Flor answered Clavel's question. "Was I right for telling Liu Shu to fight alone against all those Thornstrides?"

Clavel paused and looked at Flor. To be honest, Clavel thought Flor was probably the strongest and most knowledgeable leader their race had had in recent generations.

Flor was also insightful and not averse to change. Some Rose Fairies didn't like this, but in the end, it was what brought them to their current situation.

If, as some Rose Fairies wished, Flor never agreed to go with Clavel to come and check Liu Shu's peculiarity, if Flor dismissed it as just drivel, they wouldn't have been able to nurture her and stay by Liu Shu's side as they currently were.

So, after thinking of all of this, Clavel answered. "I guess?"

Flor looked at her speechlessly. While she didn't expect sound advice, she at least expected to hear her words. However, Clavel was not done. She spoke very slowly, carefully measuring her words and stopping to think when a hard word came by.

"Queen, you are the most intelligent of us, so what you do and what you don't do are some things I won't understand. As creatures of the forest, beings who are taken as non-intelligent beings, I really don't know what to say."

Flor paused and calmed down. 'Right, what can others do to help me with this?'

Clavel added. "Still, I can see that everything you've done until now was for Liu Shu, so I guess it is okay."

Flor smirked. "I guess, huh?" She extended her hand and caressed the woman's head. Flor was 45 centimeters and Clavel was 20, so the difference in sizes was quite telling.

It would be similar to transforming a 1.8-meter-tall man into a four-meter-tall giant.

Clavel smiled. "What are we going to do now?"

Flor shrugged. "Our plan is to expand our forces, so send a few scouts to the surroundings. If there are any suitable races that are not hostile, we could bring them to our surroundings.

Curious, Clavel asked. "Are we going to share Liu Shu with them?"

Flor smirked. "No. My plan is to use Liu Shu's berries as currency to get things we might want. They will live a bit further out, leaving the closest space to Liu Shu as ours," Flor humped. "We saw her first, so although I don't want to prevent others from benefiting from her, I want it even less to let other people take control of this place."

Clavel was a bit puzzled, but she didn't comment. 

With all of that set up, Flor just needed to wait to see what would happen with those books she got. Whether Liu Shu could read or not was still a mystery. However, if she couldn't, Flor was prepared to become a storyteller for her.

And so, a week went by.

Liu Shu's mind activated, and her <World Tree Heart> sent energy all across her body, filling it with life. 'That was a nice sleep~.'

She sent a few pulses of energy to check her roots, an action similar to stretching for humans. 'Hm? What is this?'

Following her senses, she reached the garden the Rose Fairies created. 'A fertile land with a few seeds?'

Feeling that these seeds were somewhat fragile, Liu Shu approached with her nearby root and very gently touched the seed. 'Ho? A new life is growing here? But it isn't the same as some normal flowers…'

[Newly Fertilized Rose Fairy Seed]

After focusing on and investigating it for a few moments, her system finally told her what it was. 'A seed?'

Liu Shu became curious, wanting to ask as a Rose Fairy what this was about. However, she sulked right after. 'I can't speak…'

By the way, after the sleep, since Flor had never skipped a day when she was around, they gave Liu Shu around 7*12 experience.

The 98 Experience points, added to 84 Points, allowed her to reach a quite rich 890 accumulated experience. Liu Shu did a quick calculation and felt delighted. 'Only 220 Experience Points left for the next level up!'

She was gaining 12 points a day, nine from Flor's pollination and three from her own Energy Gathering method. Therefore, she only needed 19 days, and she would be able to Level up.

As she was lost in her thoughts about leveling up, which, by the way, was quite a thrilling experience, she heard the soothing voice of someone she knew pretty well.

"Are you awake, Liu Shu?"

Liu Shu opened her <World Tree Eye>, surrounding the people around in her presence. Then, she looked at the person who spoke to her. 'As expected, it is Flor!'

Flor, who felt the light wave phasing through her, smiled. "Good morning, Liu Shu."

It was very early in the morning, and some of the plants around were still soaked in morning dew. Birds chirped, and nature slowly woke up. Liu Shu looked at this scene for a little bit, feeling quite mesmerized.

Flor was a bit confused about why Liu Shu didn't react after waiting for almost an hour. Just to ensure that Liu Shu didn't fall asleep again, she gently approached and tapped the trunk. "Hey, Liu Shu, wake up. I have some presents for you."

Hearing "presents," Liu Shu's attention came back from nature and focused on Flor again. 'Presents? What kind of presents did you buy, Flor?'

Flor felt the tree's excitement and laughed. "Well, quite a few. Weren't you trying to do some <Woodcrafting>? I have here a few books that you can read to learn."

Liu Shu's gaze moved to the books, and she slowly read the titles and synopses.

[<World Tree Wisdom (SSS Rank), activates. You've gained the ability to read. This skill can be naturally trained.]

Liu Shu was surprised, not because of what the system said but because her highest-level skill made an appearance again! 'Oh! Does this skill have hidden effects? Or are they conditional? Do I unlock them over time? Or by Level?'

She was really curious about it. However, her attention was stolen by the now understandable letters of the book. 

<[F and E Rank Material List and Properties]>: An encyclopedia with more than 4,000 entries that you will regret if you miss it. Moreover, do you want to know material prices as an amateur? How about which wood goes perfectly fine with another? Here is the official book that describes every item listed and gives insight into their synergy.

Liu Shu nodded. 'It seems very useful.'

Flor paused as she saw one branch slowly move toward the book. Flapping her wings, Flor flew upward and presented the book to her. "Do you want to touch it?"

Liu Shu's branch and that book connected, and the book began glowing. Flor looked at it with a stunned expression. 'What is happening now? '

[<World Tree Wisdom (SSS Rank), activates. You've gained the ability to absorb knowledge. This skill can be naturally trained.]

[Do you want to Absorb the contents of <F and E Rank Material List and Properties>? Yes or No?]

Liu Shu looked at that set of letters with wonder. 'I can absorb books?'

Then, without hesitation, she clicked yes. The entire thing was swallowed into her branch while being disintegrated into light particles.

Flor's lips began wildly twitching. 'Did she eat the book?'