Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 64. [Defender].

Liu Shu rested for a long time.

Liu Shu had endured a grueling battle that tested her in every way. Her body ached, her roots were damaged, and her ternary essences were depleted as she fought to restrain the beast army from trampling everyone.

Throughout the battle, Liu Shu was relentlessly assailed by countless beasts. Despite their lower levels, their tenacity and ceaseless attacks gradually wore down her formidable defense. Yet, she persevered, and in the end, her Phoer and Anima's Energy were also on the verge of being depleted. Still, the final push to restrain four Level 10 powerhouses was what took her over the limits.

Her recovery was not just swift, but constant, a testament to her incredible self-healing capabilities. After three days, signs of improvement were already visible. However, it took a full three weeks for her to fully awaken, her mental fatigue proving to be her most formidable adversary.

As a World Tree, Liu Shu's mind was a constant whirl of activity. She had to expand her roots, grow the fruits, use her auras to nourish her surroundings, and control where her roots were touching to avoid provoking anything she shouldn't. These tasks, among others, were a part of her unique existence.

Focusing her entire mind on the battle until exhaustion made most of those functions go to a minimum enough for her body to survive. During these three weeks, Liu Shu had been recovering her senses and control over her complicated and increasingly large root net.

She was not wholly unconscious, but her senses were not completely alert. Still, if a dangerous situation occurred around her, she would've been able to wake up after the second day.

Upon awakening, Liu Shu sent a pulse of energy from her <World Tree Heart> throughout her entire body, reassured by the familiar sensations. 'Hehehe, everything is back to normal~. Although, hm…. There are too many corpses buried. It can damage the earth if they…' Her thoughts were interrupted by the discovery of a strange substance around the corpses, aiding the earth in nutrient absorption. 'Oh? What's that~?'

Liu Shu approached it with one of her roots out of curiosity and found a tasty and exciting feeling spreading from it. 'Ohhhh.'

Liu Shu was looking at a substance used to ease the corpses' return to nature. Unlike a body dissolver, the substance increased the activity of bacteria and fungus, allowing the decomposition of the matter to quicken.

Our young World Tree didn't know, but she felt it was good. 'That's a nice… hmm… thingy? Substance? Hehe~, although I don't know what it is, it seems that it is helping.'

Liu Shu giggled, and then she checked something she had been remarkably eager to do. 'Let's see… What's my accumulated experience? If I remember correctly, it was 20 after I upgraded my <Willow Strike>.'

It was an action she was glad she took; after all, her branches worked overtime during all that time, thanks to their ability to create phantom and extendable limbs. 'Attacking from further away is always nice~… Anyways, show me my accumulated experience!'

Accumulated experience: 1138

Liu Shu was stunned as she gazed at that massive number. 'S-System! I think there is a mistake here!' Right after she said it, she couldn't help but lament. 'I shouldn't have said that; I would be rich!'

However, to her pleasant surprise, the system answered positively.

[There are no errors; Tianlian Liu Shu has accumulated 1222 Experience points.]

'Really!?'

[That's correct. Tianlian Liu Shu has accumulated 1222 Experience Points.]

Liu Shu exclaimed in excitement. 'Nice! So much experience? How did I get so much?'

[Do you want to see the last experience gain logs?]

'Yes! Yes! I want to see~.'

[Analyzing experience gain register… Completed. Summarizing into beast Tiers. For further details, please ask the system.]

'Okay~. Thanks a lot, system~. Today, you are not that stingy!'

[…]

[Unfolding registry.]

[A <Rose Fairy Level 12> has used <Royal Pollination> on you. You've gained 16 Experience Points] x24

[<Basic World Energy Gathering> has absorbed 4 Experience Points] x24

[Congratulations on defeating <F Tier Level 5>. You've gained 1 Experience Points.] x14

[Congratulations on defeating <F+ Tier Level 5>. You've gained 4 Experience Points.] x4

[Congratulations on defeating <F Tier Level 6>. You've gained 2 Experience Points.] x22

[Congratulations on defeating <F+ Tier Level 6>. You've gained 7 Experience Points.] x4

[Congratulations on defeating <F Tier Level 7>. You've gained 3 Experience Points.] x31

[Congratulations on defeating <F+ Tier Level 7>. You've gained 11 Experience Points.] x11

[Congratulations on defeating <F Tier Level 8>. You've gained 4 Experience Points.] x29

[Congratulations on defeating <F+ Tier Level 8>. You've gained 16 Experience Points.] x9

[Congratulations on defeating <F Tier Level 9>. You've gained 6 Experience Points.] x16

[Congratulations on defeating <F+ Tier Level 9>. You've gained 22 Experience Points.] x5

Liu Shu looked at the many messages popping up one after another while exclaiming in awe. 'Ohhh~, so much experience. Did I really kill so many beasts? Let's see… Those are… one, two… Hm… One-hundred-and-forty-five? Wow~. Flor did say that the enemies were above six hundred, so I didn't do too bad~.' Liu Shu paused for a second while becoming thoughtful. 'What about my proficiency levels? Let's check my status window~.'

***

Name: Tianlian Liu Shu

Titles: 

<Awakened>

<World Tree>

<Defender>: You've not only repelled but managed to turn around the tides of a battle with overwhelming odds of defeat by yourself. Your actions, support, and superb battlefield control managed to reduce casualties to a minimum while being the lowest-level participant. All creatures considered allies will gain 10% stats when fighting a defensive battle.

Hidden titles: [9]

Race: World Tree.

Energy Method: Basic World Energy Gathering (Gathers experience points*Level per day.)

Level: 4 [0/1900]

Aether Mana Shards: 2962/2962 (+106.7/Hour)

Phoer Body Shards: 3959/3959 (+142.6/Hour)

Anima Energy Shards: 3034/3034 (+109.3/Hour)

Attributes: Aether 59 (28+31), Physique 73 (36+37), Anima 63 (32+31), Willpower 64 (40+24), Destiny 400 (400)

Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (25), Physique Refinement (35), Anima Affinity (20)

Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (37), Physique Resistance (42), Spiritual Resistance (38), Mental Resistance (41)

Talents:

<Enchanted Growth (E+ Rank level 1 [7900/18000])>

<Woodcrafter (E Rank Level MAX)>

<Nature's Gift (F+ Rank level 1 [1300/9300])>

<Willow Strike (F --> F+ Rank level MAX --> 2 [7330/9300])>

<Willow Strike Barrage (F Rank level MAX)>

Passive Skills:

<World Tree Heart (A Rank Level 1 [0/589900])>

<World Tree Eye (C Rank level 1 [8540/144000])>

<World Tree Wisdom (SSS Rank Level Max)>

<Root Manipulation (E- Rank Level 1-->2 [15,550/31,200])>

<Charm of the Seedling (F+ Rank Level 1-->3 [24,055/31,200])>:

Accumulated Experience: 1222

Currency: Sylvanium Shards [87], Etherium Shards [0], Ascendium Shards [0], Celestium Shards [0], Cognium Shards [0].

***

'Ohhhh! So many Level Ups!' Liu Shu smiled happily, but there was one thing that caught her attention. '87 Sylvanium Shards? Why are there so many…? Ah! I forgot that my <Sylvanium Branch> was creating one shard per day! Nice~.'

Liu Shu was thoughtful. 'The books said that creating an item with just Sylvanium is a waste and that mixing it with the rest is the most efficient way to consume it. Although items with just Sylvanium are more powerful than their peers by a very noticeable amount, the number of shards used for one of those items could've been used for three or four other items.'

She continued remembering what the book taught her. 'It also says that working with just Sylvanium is almost as complex as creating an item with all the types of materials at once. Sylvanium is a highly pure material that by itself didn't react appropriately to create anything. However, Liu Shu was confident in her skills.

She knew the average success rates and other statistics in the books, which allowed her to know that, as a World Tree, she was much more skillful than the average person depicted in those manuscripts. 

However, Liu Shu was confused about the first reason for not trying to create pure Sylvanium items. 'But… Isn't having one super-strong fighter better than having many smaller ones? If I could've boosted Flor's strength higher than it currently is, this beast tide wouldn't have been a problem in the first place.'

This war taught her that strength in numbers was valuable but limited. Even though her enemies had a lot more numbers, with her strength and Flor and Cinderielle, they managed to slaughter lower-level beasts relatively easily. Of course, Liu Shu understood how perilous the situation had been.

After dealing with the Level 10s, beasts were still attacking her. Even when she wanted to defend herself because her Phoer was getting dangerously low, her mind completely shut off because her Aether Mana hit 0.

She remembered at that time her <World Tree Eye> cutting off as unconsciousness hit her during battle, making her feel afraid.

As she reminisced about that moment, she couldn't help but feel upset. However, those feelings were quick to leave her because of something she saw on her system page. 'Wait… How many titles do I have?'

Her gaze landed on the titles again, and she looked stupefied at the third one. 'W-W-What!? A new title!?' Realization hit her, and she began giggling. 'OHHH! A NEW TITLE! HEHEHEHE.'

'System! Sytem! Syyyyssteeeemmmmmmmm!!!!'

[Please state your requests].

Liu Shu looked at those dryly stated words and felt her excitement being sucked away. She complained. 'Hey, can't you do anything about your depreeeesing tone?'

[…]

[Unable to comply with the request.]

Liu Shu insisted. 'No, it should be possible! I remember hearing a super nice, super gentle, and and, hmmm, it was a very… familiar? Voice! The voice that told me to take care of those around me! Can't you change to that voice?'

[Unable to comply with the request.]

Liu Shu would've rolled her eyes if she had any. 'Stingy. Stupid. Useless.'

[…]

Liu Shu mentally sighed, imitating the gesture she had seen Flor do often. 'Well, tell me about this new title!'

[Request accepted.]

[The <Defender> title is achieved when successfully defending battle for more than 500 creatures with one side having an overwhelming advantage in general strength and numbers. The struggle must not be staged with the purpose of achieving the title, and the title contender must be the lowest-leveled creature among the creatures fighting on the battlefield.]

Liu Shu exclaimed, excited. 'Ohh! You can tell me how to get titles! Also…' Liu Shu blinked. 'Those conditions are really harsh…'

Titles were extremely powerful. Just a look at <Defender>'s effects would be enough to make people gasp and feel unhealthy amounts of jealousy. So, most of them that gave considerable advantages were almost impossible to get. Only when many coincidences are stacked would a creature be able to get a powerful title.

[Tianlian Liu Shu has misunderstood. The system can only explain how acquired titles were achieved. The system can't and won't give hints about title requirements. Additionally, each creature has different requisites for acquiring the matching titles. For example, <Defender> wouldn't have been gained by a non-World-Tree creature even when the above conditions were met.]

Our World Tree looked at that message with disdain and spat. 'As expected, useless. Why would I need to know the requirements after I get it?'

Of course, our sapling completely forgot that she had just asked for it and that her current situation was the answer to that question. However, she was upset, so she just bashed the System again to vent.

[…]

Liu Shu ignored the message and began looking around to see if she had checked everything.