Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 65. Acquiring New Knowledge.

It wasn't until three days later that Liu Shu stopped looking through her root system to assess the damages and rebuild it better than it was. Her roots could grow smaller tendrils that absorbed the nutrients around her. 

The earth around her, nurtured by the diligent care of the Rose Fairies, was a treasure trove of minerals and nutrients. Their tireless efforts not only increased fertility but also made the surface malleable, facilitating the growth and movement of various plants.

Liu Shu's heart sank as she noticed the absence of the small Rose Fairy Garden that had once thrived by her side. The sight of the barren land, with only new sprouts struggling to grow, filled her with a profound sense of loss. 'Hm... In the end, I couldn't protect them.'

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Shu made a firm decision. She would increase the Astral Mana and Anima Energy directed toward Enchanted Growth, even if it meant doing a bit of a sacrifice on her own energy limits. There was one thing she was particularly concerned about and quickly checked. 'How is the Basic Breakthrough Berry doing?'

A wave of relief and joy washed over Liu Shu as she discovered the Basic Breakthrough Berry, the one that had cost her so much to grow, was still there. She had been extra careful not to disturb the branch it was placed in, even during her rampage. 'Good, good~. My pretty flower is growing up nicely, hehe.'

With everything in order, she finally opened the <World Tree Eye>, allowing the surrounding people to feel a very faint presence enveloping them. The gentle aura of the awakening World Tree enveloped the place with calmness and peace.

Some Rose Fairies felt a weight lifting from their shoulders after she awakened. Liu Shu had slowly become a creature equal to a protector, and just her aura being around allowed many Rose Fairies to feel safer.

Flor rested with her eyes closed on one of her branches, entirely recovered, and smiled without opening her eyes. "Good afternoon, Liu Shu. Did you sleep nicely?"

Liu Shu answered happily. 'I rested perfectly~, I'm back to my perfect shape!'

 Naturally, the message was translated as just a "Yes" through her aura, but Flor could detect the enthusiasm she said it with. Laughing lightly, Flor opened her eyes and smiled. "That's phenomenal. Thanks for your hard work during the battle."

Since her survival was involved, Liu Shu didn't mind what she did or take it as work or a duty. So, she said little other than her feelings of appreciation.

Flor sat up while stretching and looked around for a bit. "They are not back yet, hm. Well, we can start with those things first."

Curious about whom she was talking about, she checked her surroundings. She was surprised when she failed to see Cinderielle and the four humans. 'Hm. Are they gone? I somehow felt that she wouldn't separate from me for a while…'

The World Tree felt a bit upset, but she heard Flor speaking. "If you are curious where those five went, they went to get you extra good things."

Liu Shu was confused. 'Good things?'

Flor smirked. "Yes. They are collecting proper books about architecture or whatever the craft is called." With a shrug, she continued. "Naturally, they've already done a journey and got us a bit of money, or well, currency, and added a few interesting books."

Liu Shu's eyes shone when she heard about the books. 'I want them, I want them!'

Flor felt the enthusiasm and found Liu Shu cute. "Well, their titles are [Basic World Tree Communication], [Basic Structural Integrity], [Basic System Introduction], and…" Flor paused, looking at the last book's title with a weird face. "Honestly this one, you could not absorb-."

Liu Shu instantly protested. 'No! I want to learn!'

Flor, who felt like a gong just echoed in her skull, held her aching forehead. 'I hope these headache-inducing messages will stop after she learns the communication skills.'

After that, she commented. "Well, the title of this book is [Flora and Fauna Biology and Relationships: Sylvan Edition]."

Liu Shu looked at that book with confusion. 'Why would I need to learn this?' She couldn't really tell why they would even choose this book.' However, Liu Shu was optimistic. 'Perhaps it is important for my advancement?'

Flor had given it a look, even if she wasn't that good at reading. After all, as a wild creature, her knowledge was as limited as it could be. Flor was not wholly uneducated since some old Rose Fairies passed down a bit of the language through generations, but it wasn't perfect by any means.

'To think that I would be trying to learn how to read a book at my age.' Flor lamented the twists her life was taking.

But, even if she couldn't understand many of the words, she could understand the images depicted in them. 'What is this…. Sylvan ­­­fe…, no.' Flor remembered. 'Those letters are read as re, not fe…' With that in mind, she continued reading the sentence, and when she finally did it, she threw the book skyward. "Why would my adorable Liu Shu need to learn about a Sylvan's reproductive organs!? I know you are a pervert who's aiming at Liu Shu, but can you keep it moderate!?'

Flor would've slapped Cinderielle with the book if she had been before herself. 'This pervert Sylvan, aiming for a seedling… Ah.' Flor's body became cold as she looked upward toward where she threw the book. Her eyes widened in fear as she saw the book stuck between Liu Shu's branches and being absorbed.

"W-WAIT! LIU SHU SPIT THAT BOOK OUT!"

But there was nothing like spitting it out. The book disintegrated with the <World Tree Wisdom> skill and absorbed like the other four. Flor realized that the World Tree had stolen them even before she had a chance to give it to her properly. 'Was she so hungry for knowledge or something!? Ahhh, I'm so stupid!'

The Rose Fairy Queen stood there, stunned for a few moments while blaming herself, and then snapped at Liu Shu. "You are always slow and react only after a few minutes or hours, but you were so quick to eat them this time! What happened with thinking about things!? I-I swear that if the next answer to my question takes more than 5 seconds- Hm. That's a bit too quick. 5 minutes! No, that one is short as well. Half an hour!"

Flor stopped her rambling, feeling that she was going nowhere. Lamenting about what that book taught, she prepared herself to instead of blaming Liu Shu for wanting to learn, beat up Cinderielle a bit when she returned. 'Hm, the other day, I almost decapitated her; how about I almost cut her arm this time?' Flor's smile was a bit terrifying. 'Right, if BY ACCIDENT the arm flies off, that's not my problem, right?'

The Rose Fairy Queen looked at the World Tree and sighed. "So. Are you still here? Or have you gone to absorb the books?"

Seeing that Flor had stopped her mad episode, Liu Shu pondered in her mind. 'Hm… She is upset about me absorbing that book. Should I not accept the information?'

After all, the reason Liu Shu hadn't gone to sleep to assimilate the information yet was that the four messages were still hovering in front of her eyes. Thanks to her SSS rank skill, she could easily see the summary of each book.

<[Basic World Tree Communication]>: A book with plenty of basic techniques to communicate with World Trees. It also has plenty of chapters dedicated to helping World Trees communicate with the surroundings. 

[Do you want to Absorb the contents of <Basic World Tree Communication>? Yes or No?]

<[Basic Structural Integrity]>: A book with clear guides and techniques about building construction. The book covers both rock and metal buildings and woodcrafted buildings. There are several structure examples, with the last chapters having a catalog of complex and masterfully constructed buildings recorded.

[Do you want to Absorb the contents of <Basic System Introduction>? Yes or No?]

<[Basic System Introduction]>: A guide about all the small sections of the System. It gives essential explanations while also clarifying what is usually best to do, starting with Sylvans, Humans, and Humanoids. It comes with various examples and also a list of how to get some valuable titles (System Note: The title acquisition section is purely speculative.)

[Do you want to Absorb the contents of <Basic System Introduction>? Yes or No?]

<[Flora and Fauna Biology and Relationships: Sylvan Edition]>: A detailed biology book about the Sylvan race and their relationships with typical Flora and Fauna (System Note: World Trees included). The book has plenty of information, and it is complex, allowing the reader to gain a thorough understanding of the Sylvan race.

[Do you want to Absorb the contents of <Flora and Fauna Biology and Relationships: Sylvan Edition>? Yes or No?]

Reading the summaries of each book, Liu Shu was confused about all the fuss Flor was making. 'Why doesn't she want me to learn about this?' The World Tree was honestly confused. All these books felt harmless, even her SSS Rank skill didn't trigger. After all, if she were purposely fed a book with bad intentions, the skill would activate and filter everything that could be damaging knowledge-wise.

The standard to choose what was "Harmful Information" was all that would end up hurting her in the long run. Naturally, as an SSS Rank skill, the ability was anything but simple.

Flor didn't know all this, so she worried that Cinderielle tried to feed Liu Shu a perverted book. Moreover, she misinterpreted the contents because she had the bad luck of opening the book right on one of the few pages related to Sylvan reproduction. After all, reading one page would never allow someone to know what an entire book wanted to speak about.

The Rose Fairy Queen sighed. "Anyways, here I got another of those books with many materials and such. I know you are lacking some materials, but you don't know how to communicate with me. So, let's do this. I will open the book and pass my finger through each material; when you see a material you want, tap the…" Flor looked around and flew up to her branches. "Tap my body with a branch."

Flor sighed. "I wanted to wait to ask after you absorbed the books, but who knows what those books will do…" Flor scratched her head. "I should've been more careful…" Shaking her head, she said. "Well, let's do this. Liu Shu, ready? I want you to pay attention, okay?"

Liu Shu focused and sent her a "ready" message. Flor smiled and began.

It took them the entire afternoon and night, but Flor finally found out which materials Liu Shu needed. After knowing that, the Rose Fairy Queen threw the book and leaned back on Liu Shu's body. "I hope you learn how to speak, Liu Shu." She was so exhausted that she fell asleep right after finishing her sentence.

Liu Shu gazed at Flor gently. She used her skills to move her leafy branches cautiously and cover her in a makeshift blanket and ceiling. She could see the night changing into day by the illumination around her, and she didn't want that to wake up the Rose Fairy Queen. 'Sleep well, Flor.'

Right after that, she looked at the four messages and agreed to all of them. Similar to the first time, her mind was flooded with information and took a hit, making her enter a dormant state once again.