Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 198. Uncomfortable Waking.

Liu Shu felt a bit dazed. Looking around the town, she saw that the once very recognizable town had now changed to an almost unrecognizable level. It was not because of the growing number of buildings or the larger walls and trees. Those things were part of her, so they didn't feel out of place. 

For someone like Liu Shu, the people were the thing that made her feel alienated.

Lately, Liu Shu has been highly focused on getting stronger and completing her quest. It was to the point that she placed almost everything else aside to do that. When she completed it, she started Leveling Up from Level 14 to Level 20, taking her several months. Even before completing the quest, she had another big Level Up spree from Level 8 or 9 to Level 11 or 12, which similarly took a lot of time.

Each time she Leveled Up and opened her <World Tree Eye> again, the surroundings had evolved far beyond what she expected. What was a simple place not long ago could barely be called a town now. The streets were filled with people she had never seen, far outnumbering those she found familiar. 

Her fast growth in size signified a boost in the size of her tree buildings, the distance her walls were from her main body, and the number of people that she could house. The numbers were now quite ridiculous, with her wall, for example, having reached 30 meters in height. 

These shifts in the town's structure hadn't gone unnoticed by the population. They were too radical to miss. Before reaching Level 20, Liu Shu's growth was fast but very gradual, so the changes were small enough for the human eye to fail to notice if they were not paying attention.

Most people would naturally not be looking at the walls and see if they were getting further away, so it went unnoticed for the first half a year of the town or so. 

However, that changed when Liu Shu reached Level 20. Her growth rate increased several times over, eventually reaching almost double her height. With such a significant shift, people realized that the town was expanding in size; it wasn't just the buildings; everything was growing as if it were a single organism. 

More impressively, the tree buildings barely covered any area of the outer part of the place, which was divided by an extensive flower field dubbed the forbidden flower ring by the inhabitants. This indicated that the town's potential for growth was ridiculously high. 

At first, while it was considered a small paradise, people took the "small" in that title very seriously. Some estimated that 5,000 people would be the absolute maximum population in the future. 

Those people were mocked quite heavily after Liu Shu's quick growth and the effects that it carried with her. Meanwhile, the miraculous nature of the <Golden Sap Town> spread far and wide. 

All of this made the popularity of the town soar beyond what they expected, leading to the current situation where almost 4,000 people roamed the town at all times. 

'This…' Liu Shu observed the numerous creatures roaming around her with a foreign gaze. She looked around with her <World Tree Eye>, forgetting to hide her presence completely and scaring some people with the pressure of her gaze. 

Inside of her, conflicting feelings bubbled. 'I feel happy that there are so many… people. Hm? Do I?' The World Tree noticed something. 'Huh? When did I stop calling those living around me "little friends"?' 

Liu Shu focused her mind on her senses and sent a powerful pulse out, making everyone feel a strange tightness in their heart for a second. Of course, most people just ignored it and continued with their lives. 

Meanwhile, the entire forest appeared in Liu Shu's "vision." She could feel everything going around her, and the ridiculous amounts of information made her freeze for a few seconds as her powerful soul tried to analyze and digest the absurd stream of information.

There was so much going on at the same time that she was hearing mostly noise if she tried to pay attention around her. It wasn't just her city which was starting to become densely populated. The number of Explorers and creatures in the surroundings kept increasing thanks to Wert's expert management of natural resources. 'I… can't hear nature?' 

Liu Shu suddenly felt constricted even though her senses were wider and stronger than ever before. She focused more, ignoring anything going on around her. 

'Listen deeply. Listen to your surroundings.' She told herself, trying to focus even more. 'Forget about the noise. Connect with nature. Connect with the forest.'

Her body released another pulse of energy, this time much more profound than before. With the pulse, her presence became heavier, and the aura around the town shifted to a more solemn one. People subconsciously straightened as they felt tense. 

Wert, Flor, Cinderielle, and the rest were instantly aware of where that aura was coming from and looked toward the town's center. There, they could see the gargantuan tree with a canopy so large that it could create shadows that extended throughout the forest around them. 

Flor looked at the World Tree with a bit of unfamiliarity and nervousness. The little sapling that barely reached two meters in height was now so massive that she didn't know what to think about it. 

What relaxed her mind was that her title, <World Tree's Mother>, still gave her strength and filled her with vitality. The gentle connection she had with this gorgeous and magnificent being was all that kept Flor from feeling alienated from her. 

On Wert's side, he crossed his arms and sighed in awe. "They really don't stop to impress me. Such huge creatures… Level 20, and she is almost 200 meters tall."

"Lord Wert, we have another corpse."

Wert rolled his eyes while looking at the person who entered. "Where is it this time?"

The man who entered read a report card. "We have found the corpse on the south part of the city wall. It is clear that they were trying to climb over the wall. The guardians on the walls probably retaliated and killed him."

Wert stood up and walked toward the other side of the room, looking out of a window opposite to the one facing Liu Shu. There, he had a decently clear line toward the walls that had massive trees guarding it. 

At first, Wert thought that those trees fused with the walls were something like decoration. Little did he know that they were terrifying 60-meter tall trees that could summon ethereal branches to slam everything around them. Their Physique stat was incredibly high, while their bark was solid like metal. They were the first line of defense and a compelling one at that. 

He learned about them not too long ago. A group of 200 bandits had tried to invade this place, and Wert had gone to look. When he arrived, he saw Flor on the wall with a calm expression. He asked. "Flor, do you need my help?"

Flor shook her head. "Help? The city itself can protect against those people. They don't have a single <Second Energy Cycle> powerhouse, right?"

Wert looked over and shook his head. "None that I can see." 

Flor shrugged. "Then, there is really nothing to worry about. Just look." Wert nodded curiously and looked as Flor told him. 

Because the town completely ignored the demands of the bandits, those bandits attacked, wanting to plunder those queuing at the entrance of the town. These bandits had heard that it was a city with monsters, so they thought that intelligent species wouldn't really bother defending the city. Well…

What happened next was quite a memorable experience and also a lesson for surrounding uneducated thugs who thought the <Golden Sap Town> was an easy target because it was recently built.

The trees that were in range, around three of them, all summoned several phantom branches simultaneously and extended them for hundreds of meters, slamming down justice from above.

As if that wasn't enough, those bandits that got too close were tangled in roots that burst from the ground, and then, from the sky and with millimetric precision, several explosive seeds fell on their heads, killing the grand majority of them.

In less than a minute, the 200 bandit group had been exterminated with zero survivors and with zero innocent casualties. It was a perfect and swift defense that endangered no one. Even those in the queue who were initially nervous became stupefied. What was best was that all the corpses were quickly dragged underground, and the land mixed by itself, leaving no traces of battles. 

From then on, the people in the town and the Golden Sap Town's Explorer Association started calling those trees integrated with the walls "guardian trees."

Of course, that was far from enough to deter everybody. Some people overestimated themselves or underestimated the town's defenses, thinking that they would be able to fool a literal living city.

Wert knew that some intelligent races forgot to portray the word "intelligence" and sent a few Explorers to guard the wall's surroundings and report casualties caused by the guardian trees. 'This is the fortieth this month… Are they stupid? No, well, I know they are, but who continues trying after a total of…' Wert asked aloud. "How many kills do the guardian trees have since we started documenting it?"

The man looked at the reports and coughed. "Two hundred and thirty-three." 

"More than two hundred…" Wert sighed. "Well, Liu Shu is doing the world a favor by increasing the average intelligence of the population."

The explorer behind couldn't help but laugh. "To be honest, Lord Wert, I have zero sympathy for these people."

Wert shrugged. "Me either. So, is our big girl awake again?" 

The man smiled. "Lady Liu Shu has awakened. She has been acting slightly strangely, sending pulses of energy periodically as if trying to find something. These pulses are powerful enough that some commoners in the city are feeling slightly suffocated."

Wert thought and said. "Send a notice. Communicate to the people that the hasty growth has forced the Life Tree to accumulate a lot of energy, and she is expelling it now because it would be harmful otherwise. Some people will feel honored to be hurt by these waves as they think they will be helping Liu Shu bear the burden with them."

"Understood." 

Wert nodded and then spoke aloud. "Liu Shu, can you hear me? Liu Shu!"

Liu Shu's voice spread inside his room. "Hm? Wert? What do you want?"

The Association Head felt surprised when he heard Liu Shu's voice. The tone was much more mature than before, as all the childishness had disappeared without traces. Now, what remained was a gentle, soothing, and deep voice that reached the heart with a touch of cuteness. Even that single sentence felt like nature surrounding and hugging his body. 'Wow… She has such a gorgeous voice, even for a World Tree.'

Wert smiled softly, feeling comfortable. "Good morning, sleepy girl. How are you feeling?"

Liu Shu's voice reached him, sounding a bit frustrated. "I feel slightly suffocated… Too many people, too many thoughts, too much information… Even though I can feel further than usual, I feel like the World around me is closing…"

Wert's smile disappeared, and his brows locked together. He tried to remember everything he knew about World Trees, and he commented. "Liu Shu, you've grown a lot. Have your roots extended as well?"

Liu Shu exclaimed. "Ah… They haven't spread much, no. They are only 3,000 meters outward… I should be able to extend much further."

'Three thousand… only?' Wert wanted to say a lot about that sentence, but he focused on helping Liu Shu instead. "Try that, and if you still feel the same after that, I will meet with Flor and the rest so that we can find a solution."

"Thank you, Wert." Liu Shu spoke softly.

Wert smiled, looking at Liu Shu's giant figure through the window. "No problem, Liu Shu. Take care and remember to inform those you care about of how you are feeling."

"I will!"