Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 199. Alienation.

After listening to Wert, Liu Shu decided to start expanding her roots. The instant her energy surged toward them, Liu Shu felt a total lack of resistance, as if her roots were spreading through water instead of soil and rocks. She couldn't help but feel shocked while doing so. 'What is this? Why is it so easy to expand?'

Underground, her roots demolished everything in the way. Rocks, compressed dirt, stone… Everything was pierced, allowing her roots to penetrate further. 'I am advancing 0.01 meters per second~. This will cover… around 900 meters per day! I wonder how far I will reach…' 

While her roots expanded, she focused on the town's structures. The library had been constantly writing books, so she could see that there were a few of them written. Other than the ones she had read, she realized that there was a stack of books she didn't recognize there. 'Hm? What are these? <Population Management>, <Defense Layout Tactics>, <A Strong Offense, a Solid Defense>, <Ternary Essence Origin! A Speculation by Lord F.>, <How To Manage Children>, <Epics Of The Legendary Half-Sylvan!>...'

There were around fifty different books with titles that explored many different themes. Some were fantasy novels, others explored profound themes, others discussed parenthood, some spoke about geography and other sciences, and some discussed the history of neighboring cities or faraway continents.

Liu Shu looked at that large stack of books and metaphorically licked her lips. 'So much information… I want it. I wonder whose are those? Hm… Does it matter? I can eat them, but who will think that I did it? Only Mariane, and Flor, and… Well, people who will just scold me once and be done with it!'

Her roots moved, and she tried to approach the large stack of books. However, before she did so, she felt a presence approaching, so she hid her roots and looked over. 'Hm? Who is this Sylvan? Wait… She feels familiar…'

The Sylvan that entered was a green-haired Sylvan with a gentle disposition and a young face. 'Also… since when was my library open to everybody…? Oh, right, the room with the books I've printed was prohibited from entering, but the rest of the library was okay to visit. Well, it is a large place; I guess there is no problem.'

"Sigh… Why do I need to sit here and study all of these?"

Liu Shu looked at the green-haired Sylvan and continued listening to her mutters. "Aunty Verena says that this place is one of the best to study, but I don't understand why she says that… Is it because of this lousy-sounding buff? <Focus Rune Field>." She exclaimed sarcastically. "Ohh, woow… I am impreeeesssed… This will, for suuuure, help me catch up to that ugly woman Verdantia! Tsk."

Liu Shu looked at that woman and wanted to smack her across the face. How dare she call her buffs lousy? Still, she didn't say anything and saw how the Sylvan opened the books. 'So, she is that cousin that Verdantia met the other time. She told me about it a while ago, what was the name? Vera? I think it was Vera.'

Vera started studying the books, and her bored face slowly changed to one full of focus. Her eyes moved constantly, and her hands gently moved the paper. She didn't shift around, she didn't get distracted, she even forgot to speak and complain like she usually did. 

Vera was just focused. 

Liu Shu mocked. 'Heh~, lousy, right? Hmph! I hope you praise me a lot after you are finished! Anyway, I have more important things to do than to look at this brat! Let's see the farm and stable.' 

These two places were barred when she first started leveling up. Then, with everything she was doing, she forgot to check on them. After she shifted her vision, she was surprised. 'So many animals! What's that?'

***

Level: 2

Race: Rice Sheep

***

Liu Shu looked at the sheep and was confused. 'Rice? Like, the food? Those white grains? What does this sheep have to do with that?' Liu Shu remembered a book that Vera was studying and she flashed a metaphorical mischievous smile. 

She went back, and while Vera was focused on studying, one of her roots came out and coiled around two books, dragging them into the building to absorb. 'Hehe~, this is compensation for you mocking my rune field! Absorb!'

[Do you want to absorb the contents of <The Importance Of Farm Animals>? Yes or No?]

[Do you want to absorb the contents of <A Comprehensive List Of Mounts>? Yes or No?]

'Hehehehehehe. YES! HEHEHE.' 

Liu Shu's roots dug into the books and slowly absorbed all the knowledge stored in them. The SSS Rank skill transformed the information gathered into a form of energy that Liu Shu could absorb and memorize quickly, a feat that many would call impossible.

After she absorbed the information, she looked over to the normal looking sheep with wonder. 'A sheep that can defecate rice! How does that even work!?' 

Liu Shu looked at the sheep with wonder and awe. 'It's so cool! What do you eat to defecate human food? Usually, flesh creatures defecate tree food! Hm? Ohhhh! Is that over there a cow chicken!? One of the most complete farm animals! It produces milk and eggs, and its flesh is delicious!'

Liu Shu looked around at the different farm animals with interest. 'Where did they all come from!? Hm? Is that… Clavel?'

"Clavel!" 

The Rose Fairy jumped in fright, the large bucket she was holding flipping into the air and making a perfect arc that landed straight onto the head of a cow chicken. 

Clong!

Liu Shu giggled. "You are so derpy, Clavel! Hahaha."

Clavel patted her chest a few times and smiled. "Lady Liu Shu, it has been a while since we spoke." 

Liu Shu was baffled. "Huh? Why Lady? You can call me Liu Shu like before."

Clavel blinked and shook her head. "How could a small Rose Fairy such as me call you that way? You are a gorgeous and powerful being of legends."

Liu Shu felt uncomfortable and spoke. "I am not. I am just Liu Shu."

Clavel smiled. "You are Lady Liu Shu, a World Tree that has assimilated an entire forest."

"What does that matter?" Liu Shu didn't know what was happening. "Why does it matter what I have assimilated? You were the one who discovered me!" 

Clavel's smile twisted with strongly conflicting emotions, and she flew to take a bucket and fill it with water. "Lady Liu Shu, you are-."

"A tree!" Liu Shu interrupted. "I am a World Tree, but that doesn't mean that you need to be like, I don't know, like what you are right now! I don't like it."

Clavel paused, and her feelings surged as her tone raised. "You need to be respected, Liu Shu! YOU-" She quickly turned around to continue while looking at Liu Shu, but her words got stuck in her throat. 

When her gaze was directed toward Liu Shu, what entered her eyes was a gargantuan creature that reached almost 200 meters in height. The canopy was so large that she had to twist her head to be able to see the sky beyond the lush ceiling made out of the gigantic tree's canopy. 

The colossal being made her feel suffocated just by looking at it, and her words got swallowed by the sheer primal intensity of her majestic figure.

With her stomach twisting in knots, Clavel looked downwards, her chest beating rapidly, and she muttered. "Sorry, Lady Liu Shu. I shouldn't have shouted at you. Anyway, you are someone who needs to be respected, Lady Liu Shu. I'll continue working, so please, don't distract me." 

Liu Shu didn't say anything else as the Rose Fairy flew away. 

When Clavel turned to shout at her, Liu Shu actually felt happy. It was a sign that Clavel still saw her as someone whom she could get angry at. However, the change in Clavel's eyes from frustration to awe and then primal fear remained stuck in Liu Shu's mind.

Using the <World Tree Eye>, Liu Shu's vision perspective changed, and she went to ground level. Then, she controlled it to try and look at herself from where Clavel looked, and her figure entered her eyes. 

'... This is me?' 

Her mind couldn't help but take a hit. She had always thought that everything getting smaller as she grew was cute. The people that reached around the middle of her trunk before didn't even compare to the small part of her root that poked above the soil. 

The tree houses also grew with her. Still, she grew much faster, making the entire town become smaller and smaller in her eyes, while in truth, it was getting larger at a ridiculous rate. 'When I created the town, the wall was at around 110 meters of distance from me… Now… F-Five hundred and fifty-three meters…? What about <Mother Of Thousand Flower Field>'s distance? Two hundred and eighty meters,,,'

Liu Shu looked at everything, and her mind slowly became numb. She didn't expect it, not even close, that she would reach these heights so quickly. 'How do they even get my fruits?'

Liu Shu looked around and saw a group of Rose Fairies gathering in one place and bowing toward her. The leader of the group spoke aloud with her eyes closed. "We thank the magnanimous Lady Liu Shu for her gift! Her fruits are the lifeblood of the World, transformed into a treasure like no other. Now, go on, and don't disrupt Lady Tianlian Liu Shu!" 

The Rose Fairies flew upward, taking a while to reach her canopy. Then, they started looking around and when they saw one of her fruits, they approached with care. 

'What is this?'

The Rose Fairy smiled gently, with eyes full of adoration, and then, she looked at the fruit to see if it had ripened. 

'What kind of attitude is this?'

Seeing that it was rude, the Rose Fairy smiled widely. "Oh! Thank you for your gift, Lady Liu Shu!" And then, she plucked it with care.

'What are they doing!? What are they saying!? WHAT IS THIS!?'

Liu Shu's aura was about to blow out, but she remembered the bunch of Rose Fairies in her canopy, so, using the entirety of her overwhelming <Willpower>, she managed to hold it from exploding outward, and instead, she shot it downwards.

BOOM!

The earth trembled as her presence and anger boomed inside the earth, spreading far and wide. The creatures below the ground all got a big scare, while the trees of the entire forest shivered in fear at the primal anger of the World Tree. 

Liu Shu looked around, and the more she looked, the more angered she became. 'This is not what I wanted!' 

Liu Shu stopped holding back, and her voice boomed outward, spreading through the entire forest as she gave up on caring about it. "Gather under my canopy… NOW!" 

The wave of mental pressure sent a shiver through everyone's bodies, forcing them to look toward the gargantuan tree. 

Everyone's mouths fell open as their eyes widened, and whatever they held dropped to the ground.