When they looked at each other, Verdantia raised her hand and called her. "Miss Cinderielle, it is a surprise seeing you here." Cinderielle saw her eyes going to her back and smiling. "Is this your first time going on an adventure?"
Cinderielle blinked and blushed a bit. "I-Is there something wrong with my setup?"
Verdantia shook her head with a smile. "Some of the things you have are a bit excessive unless you are going on a long exploration. But it's mostly correct."
Cinderielle nodded, her eyes moving toward the staff from time to time. Verdantia naturally caught her eyes and asked. "Something wrong with my staff?"
Cinderielle coughed and shook her head. "No… It's just… What materials did you use to make it?"
Verdantia's eyes gained a touch of wariness. "That's a strangely specific question, no?"
Cinderielle laughed, scratching the back of her head. "Is it? Hahaha. Sorry, it was just stunning and eye-catching. I was honestly curious."
Verdantia's eyebrow raised. "Oh…? 'Stunning and eye-catching,' you say. Miss Cinderielle, this staff is nothing but a brown-colored staff with a branch coiled around it."
Cinderielle waved her hands and changed the subject. "Ah, don't worry about that. Also, you seem like you come here often."
Verdantia squinted for a few seconds, but after a while, she let it go and answered her. "I do come quite often. While I usually go solo, there are times when the forest is too dangerous and I need to gather in groups."
Cinderielle nodded and looked at Verdantia's backpack. "What do you carry there?"
Verdantia paused for a second before answering. "Books."
"Huh?" Cinderielle asked again, confused. "I meant in the backpack."
Verdantia nodded with a smile. "You heard it right."
"Why are you carrying books to the wild!?" Cinderielle was flabbergasted.
Verdantia shrugged. "I like to read them."
The red-haired Sylvan looked at the green-haired one with an incomprehensible face. 'Is this the difference between a veteran and a newbie? I prepared with care, yet she currently looks as if she is going on a picnic.'
Verdantia placed a hand over her mouth and laughed. "Don't look at me like that. As a Sylvan related to Nature, very few creatures are hostile to me. If I had fire affinity like you do, I would've needed to be as careful as you."
Cinderielle found the explanation reasonable but not so much. "I see."
While they were talking, someone approached them by calling them.
"Verdantia, where are you going out this time? I thought you would remain at home, making potions and reading again, hahaha."
The green-haired woman turned to look and saw her usual companions. She had changed groups after what happened in the past, and honestly, Verdantia was quite satisfied with them.
She smiled, her aura gentle and nature-like. Even between Sylvans, it was clear that her closeness to nature was extraordinary. "I'm going to the Golden Sap Forest. I need a few fungi that only grow over there, but if I'm lucky, I might find new plants or other interesting flora."
Cinderielle's ears perked up. 'Golden Sap Forest? Isn't that the place I decided to explore this time as well?'
"Oh? Well, you should be able to defend yourself in that area. However, be careful."
Cinderielle blinked and gave Verdantia a deeper look. 'What Level is she?' She wanted to check, but doing so with close people felt a bit too invasive. As an example, it was similar to seeing someone bare in one of those magazines compared to seeing a friend of the opposite sex naked in front of you.
While many didn't consider it that big of a privacy breach, it was considered polite not to do so.
One of her male friends nodded. "Well, that place is quite safe. With your level 7 strength, you should be okay. Moreover, you have that <Low-Grade Flawed Level> staff with you. It should be a walk in the park."
Verdantia looked nodded with a smile. "Yes. There shouldn't be any other problems."
Meanwhile, Cinderielle's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. 'Level 7!? Low grade!? What is she doing with something so expensive!?'
You must realize that even some Level 10 explorers hadn't worn a Low-Grade item in their lives. Only wealthy people of Level 15 and above started wearing them if they ever did. Having one at Level 7 was too luxurious. Verdantia smiled a bit awkwardly. "Sadly, it ended up being a Level 10 weapon, so I can't fully bring out its strength."
Cinderielle couldn't hold her interest and asked. "W-What are its stats?"
Verdantia thought for a moment and shared them with Cinderielle. While they weren't close friends, they had shared enough conversations to know that she was trustworthy. "These stats are the ones without the Level Penalty. With it, I can only use around 50% of its strength."
Cinderielle nodded and looked at it.
[Level 10 Nature Tree Staff (Low Grade Flawed Level)]
+50 Aether Mana
+50 Phoer
+600 Anima Energy
Aether (+5), Physique (+5), Anima (+50), Willpower (+5).
Cinderielle almost coughed a lung out. 'PLUS FIFTY ANIMA!? HUH!? AND THIS IS THE WEAKENED VERSION!'
Verdantia's companions nodded empathetically. "Honestly, it is a waste."
Cinderielle looked at them, puzzled. "What's a waste?"
Verdantia coughed, but one of them smirked and continued speaking. "She that branch coiled around the staff? That staff was a Basic Grade Complete Level staff, but after coiling that branch, it jumped directly to the Low Grade."
Cinderielle's eyes flashed for a second and asked. "Oh? Why?"
Verdantia sighed, and her companion spoke. "Because that branch is a D+ Rank branch!"
Cinderielle was petrified on the spot; not even her facial muscles were twitching. 'D-D-D+ Rank!?"
Her friends shook her head. "If she were patient and used it as a base material when she had the resources, who knows what kind of monster weapon she could've created? Sadly, it has already fused with her current staff, so there is nothing we can do."
Verdantia coughed loudly this time and changed the subject. "Anyway, I think it's your turn, Miss Cinderielle."
The Fire Sylvan followed Verdantia's finger and saw that the queue before her had disappeared as they talked. "Oh! Well, let me go and get my first quest." She approached the counter and followed the procedures without problems.
With a smile, she turned around and saw that Verdantia and the others had left. 'Tsk. They could've said goodbye or something.'
Shaking her head, she exited the building when a new notification appeared in her system interface.
[Quest Received: Explore the recent movements in the Golden Sap Forest. Creatures are starting to become more active, and there is a chance of a beast tide.
Completion Condition: Gather enough information to be useful.
Reward: Sylvanium Shards (2), Etherium Shards (10), Ascendium Shards (10)]
Looking at the notification, Cinderielle was baffled for the "n" time today. 'A Sylvan Quest!? My first Quest turned out to be a Sylvan Quest!?''
There were two types of quests in the world.
The first type was regular quests created by creatures, which were the most abundant and weren't registered in the system interface. The rewards were given my real entities, and it was usually done in the local currency or even with items.
For example, a quest about exterminating a plague in a particular house, a quest about hunting for a specific creature, etc. When created, all quests were regular quests.
However, very rarely, there were some quests people dubbed as [Sylvan Quests].
Sylvan Quests were admitted as an official quest by the System, and other than the expected rewards by the one who created it, the person who completed it to the System's satisfaction would receive extra rewards from the System itself.
These rewards were highly varied, from a few coins to extremely rare equipment, to large amounts of experience points, or other kinds of bonuses like permanent attribute increases, potential increases, and many more things.
The number of possible rewards was so vast that even when there was a registry, people added new ones almost daily.
However, the same quest might not trigger for different beings. They were called [Sylvan Quests] because, most of the time, they happened to Sylvans. This was another advantage over other creatures and another reason why extremist groups hated Sylvans just for existing.
If humans had accepted the quest to explore the forest, they would've probably never triggered the Sylvan Quest Cinderielle had.
That didn't mean humans couldn't trigger them, but the conditions were much stricter and more unique. They were called Sylvan quests for a reason.
The rewards Cinderielle had were attractive, as they were the Universal Currencies. Universal currencies worked everywhere because they could be used to create, enhance, or produce varied structures and items.
Between them, Sylvanium Shards were used for all kinds of construction, equipment forging, potion making, and many more. It could be said that, without Sylvanium, their current society wouldn't be able to develop as much as it has, without hurting the environment as little as they did.
Of course, there were other kinds of materials. Still, Sylvans and most humans didn't use them because Sylvanium was much more efficient and valuable and could be used to create basically anything.
Then, the other two currencies she received, Etherium and Ascendium, were used similarly to Sylvanium. But, contrary to Sylvanium's all-encompassing use, these three were used for specific items.
Items that enhanced or used Aether Mana needed Etherium and Sylvanium.
Items that enhanced or used Anima Energy needed Ascendium and Sylvanium.
Of all the items, those that boosted Destiny were the rarest and most extraordinary. More than 99 percent of those in circulation were rewarded by Sylvan Quests in the past, and they were treated like precious babies by those who owned them.
Destiny was a stat that couldn't be changed by regular means, so anything that modified it was extremely precious.
Producing items that used all Universal Currencies was also very complicated, almost impossible because Ascendium, Etherium, Cognium, and Celestium reacted harshly when combined.
If any producer managed to create even one flawed basic-quality item by using all four materials, they would instantly become famous. It was something that almost never happened, though.
So, when Cinderielle saw the rewards of the Quest, her eyebrows shot up with pleasant surprise, and her lips arched.
Before leaving, Cinderielle decided to check her current equipment.
[Level 5 Blazeiron Sword (Basic Rank Complete Level)]
+60 Aether Mana
Aether (10).
[Level 5 Blazeleaf Robe (Basic Rank Complete Level)]
+25 Aether Mana
+90 Phoer
+25 Anima Energy
Aether (+5), Physique (+15), Anima (+5), Willpower (+5).
[Level 5 Blazebark Staff (Basic Rank Flawless Level)]
+90 Aether Mana
+25 Phoer
+25 Anima Energy
Aether (+15), Physique (+5), Anima (+5), Willpower (+5).
Usually, carrying two weapons and one defensive treasure was considered wealthy. Especially if one of them was of flawless quality. To say that Cinderielle was powerfully equipped was an understatement.
This was all thanks to the academy's benefits she had gained, which lent her these items as long as she was a student. 'Well, if I break, lose, or damage them, I will have to pay for reparations from my own pocket. I need to be careful.'
With confidence, Cinderielle left with a caravan toward the forest.
Meanwhile, in the Golden Sap Forest, things were changing quickly.
It had been a while since Liu Shu arrived at Level 4, and her experience had accumulated enough to buy the first skill upgrade. Moreover, during this time, the Rose Fairies managed to keep themselves a bit more hidden than usual, attracting wild animals that wanted to take a taste of Liu Shu, only to get, quite literally, sliced in half by her branches.
At Level 4, Liu Shu's basic stats rivaled those of Level 10 creatures. She had grown to be a force to be reckoned with, strong enough to face almost all creatures in the Golden Sap Forest.
But that was speaking about normal creatures. Liu Shu found, surprisingly, quite a lot of resistance from the trees surrounding her. While they were all between Levels 6 and 9, she had been battling more than one of them at a time.
Some trees posed some resistance to her roots, making it a slow battle for dominance. Because her regeneration was absurd, Liu Shu made it a secondary action to clean up her surroundings. So,
All of this naturally awarded her abundant experience points. She had killed quite a few creatures: seven Level 5s, five Level 6s, two Level 8s, and one Level 9. This gave her a total of 124 Experience Points. Then, because two months had passed since she leveled up, she gained another 960 Experience Points, making her Accumulated Experience equal to 1084 Experience.
Liu Shu looked at that number with a thoughtful face. 'I'm leveling up so fast~. I'm already halfway through; if I wait three more months or so, I should be able to reach Level 5! But…'
Liu Shu looked at her skills and pondered. 'I should Level Up the skills…'
Why did she think as such? One of them was Nature's Gift, which is one of her most used skills. The other was Charm of the Seedling, an interesting skill that helped her and similarly placed her in a pinch in the past.
So, after giving it some light thought, Liu Shu finally decided to upgrade them.
[Do you want to use 326 Experience Points to Increase <Nature's Gift (F Rank Level Max)> to <Nature's Gift (F+ Rank Level 1)>?]
'Yes!'
[326 Experience Points consumed. <Nature's Gift> has gone from F rank to F+ rank.]
<Nature's Gift (F+ Rank level 1 [0/1200])>: Produces small, magical fruits with unique and beneficial properties. It uses Anima Energy and Aether Mana to produce. Depending on the strength of the fruits, there is a chance that they will also need Phoer. You can fasten their ripening time by 60 days, spending as much Aether Mana and Anima Energy as you need to create them.
Current Fruits Available: <Delicious Berry (F- Rank)>: +1 exp to Level 9 and lower beings. Max: 3; <Basic Phoer Berry (F- Rank)>: +10 Phoer Body Shards. Max: 5; <Basic Mana Berry (F- Rank)>: +10 Aether Mana Shards. Max: 5; <Basic Energy Berry (F- Rank)>: +10 Anima Energy Shards. Max: 5; *<Basic Breakthrough Berry (E- Rank)>: +1 Sub-Tier, max F+. One every ten years.
The fruits she could create didn't change, but now it was much cheaper and faster to make them. Her ability to speed up went from 30 to 60 days.
'Nice! With this, I will be able to produce much more~. From her Aether Mana regeneration's 106 points, she always used 36 of them for <Enchanted Growth>, around 40 for all the berries except the <Breakthrough Berry>, for which she used ten separate energy points. Finally, the last 20 were used by Liu Shu to fight things around her.
20 Aether Mana and Anima Energy in an hour didn't seem like much, but she could get things done slowly.
The rest of her ternary essence reserves were only touched when there was an active situation that needed her attention.
'But I'm not done yet! Hehehe.'
[Do you want to use 326 Experience Points to Increase <Charm of the Seedling (F Rank Level Max)> to <Charm of the Seedling (F+ Rank Level 1)>?]
'Of course I want to~.'
[326 Experience Points consumed. <Charm of the Seedling> has gone from F rank to F+ rank.]
<Charm of the Seedling (F Rank Level 1 [0/1200])>: Attracts small animals and insects to the area, fostering a harmonious ecosystem. There is a very small chance of attracting a friendly, bigger animal or insects that will help protect you. Creatures below the F+ Rank will be affected with much ease.
'The only change here is what kind of creatures get affected. Hm, that's… not bad?'
Liu Shu was unsure, as this skill has always been quite elusive for her.
Meanwhile, as soon as she upgraded her skill, a visible aura spread from her, moving the fallen leaves and grass with a refreshing breeze.
The Rose Fairies that were flying around stopped, looking at the tree with gentle smiles. They couldn't help but feel thankful that they came here. Liu Shu's berries had been nothing but a life-saver and had also pushed many young fairies up the levels at a very quick pace.
Slowly yet surely, all Rose Fairies were getting stronger. Flor was resting on Liu Shu's canopy when she felt the refreshing breeze, making her smile. "Did you upgrade something, Liu Shu? It makes the aura around you much gentler and welcoming. I like it."
Our cute Liu Shu heard her and laughed in her mind. 'Nice~, I'm glad I can make them feel better around me. I hope others feel like that too in the future~.'
Then, she refocused on her things. Her Accumulated Experience had been reduced to 432 points, making her Level Up objective quite distant again. Not that Liu Shu minded; she was not in a rush. Her main objective had always been slow, steady, but constant growth.
As she thought of these things, her <World Tree Eye> caught something in the Rose Fairy garden. 'Oh? Some of the flowers are about to open~.'
Liu Shu consciously used her <Enchanting Growth> aura on the flower, and its petals spread open, blooming into a beautiful flower with a sleeping bare woman in the middle.
Her appearance was similar to an 8 to 10-year-old, making her look cute and adorable. 'Another Rose Fairy~.'
Thanks to her aid with <Enchanted Growth>, there was a Rose Fairy birth rate boom ongoing. All of them were still at a really low level. But the future was promising for the race. For now, their population was approaching 160 Rose Fairies.
The little creature that had just been born opened Rose Faires' characteristic red jewel-like eyes and looked around dazedly. It was clear that the Rose Fairy didn't know anything at all as it just sat there, not moving.
Liu Shu was curious and analyzed her.
***
Name: ---
Titles:
<Rose Fairy>: Affinity with plant beings increased by 10%
Race: Rose Fairy
Energy Method: Simple pollination (gain experience equal to <Flora level*tier>/<Your level> per flower. Can be used once a day.)
Level: 1 [0/140]
Aether Mana Shards: 46/46
Phoer Body Shards: 22/22
Anima Energy Shards: 22/2
Attributes: Aether (4), Physique (2), Anima (2), Willpower (2), Destiny (2)
Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (15), Physique Refinement (7), Anima Affinity (10)
Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (6), Physique Resistance (4), Spiritual Resistance (4), Mental Resistance (4)
Talents:
---
Passive Skills:
---
Accumulated Experience: 0
***
'Oh~, she is stronger than others!'
As a reference, an ordinary Rose Fairy was born at Level 0, so they all had 10 in their ternary essences and 1 in their attributes like most creatures. Even when they leveled up, their stats were half of what this new Rose Fairy had.
As Liu Shu observed, a Rose Fairy approached. Unlike the usual youthful look most of them had, she had a clearly weaker constitution with wrinkles at the side of her eyes. Her flying was also slower and more gently paced, and while her body remained slender, one could feel the age weighing down on it.
The elderly Rose Fairy, who was in charge of taking care of the Rose Fairy Flowers, approached with a smile, and when she saw her ternary essences, she was surprised, too. "Oh, you are a powerful one, little seed! Even stronger than that child, Flor."
The newborn fairy looked over blankly and blinked. Clearly, she couldn't speak, and probably, her intelligence was far from developed. However, there were some basic instincts in her, like all creatures had, and the immature fairy slowly tried to stand up while falling back on the recently opened flower. The wings on her back were undeveloped, but they were changing from a wet white color to their usual greenish color quite quickly.
The elderly Rose Fairy didn't do anything and just watched with a smile.
Meanwhile, when Flor was mentioned, Liu Shu focused her <World Tree Eye> on the senior Rose Fairy. This action was noticed by the elderly Rose Fairy as Liu Shu's presence enveloped her.
The elderly fairy looked at Liu Shu with a gentle smile and asked. "Are you curious about Flor, Liu Shu?"
Liu Shu answered enthusiastically. 'Yes! How was Flor when she was little?'
The Rose Fairy slowly flew toward the newly born one when the young fairy started flapping her developing wings with a buzzing sound. While doing her routine, the elderly fairy spoke about Flor. "Well, Flor's Flower Seed was birthed by a close friend of mine. She was quite a gentle one." The Rose Fairy sighed. "However, as a high-level fairy, she battled outside a lot, and eventually, she died by the claws of a River Beaver."
The woman grabbed one hand of the young Rose Fairy and slowly flew up, helping the newly born one fly up with her. Flying was the Rose Fairies' method to remain as a top race in the dangerous forest; adding their innate affinity with Wind Aether Mana, they all learned how to fly right after their birth.
Liu Shu listened silently to the tales of Flor's "mother" for a few minutes, showing how much this elderly Rose Fairy liked that person.
The elderly Rose Fairy continued. "Well, enough of her. I guess you want to know more about Flor, right? Haha. Sorry, Liu Shu, this sack of old bones sometimes gets sidetracked."
Liu Shu was surprised by this fairy's ternary stats. While she was a Level 7 Rose Fairy, her stats were similar to those of the Level 5 young Rose Fairies.
In the end, while <Level> was an indicator of a creature's life level, <Stats> were an indicator of a creature's current strength. Just seeing the decrease in them, Liu Shu instinctively knew that this particular Rose Fairy didn't have much left.
The elderly Rose Fairy spoke gently as she guided the recently born one around her trunk. "When Flor was born, I took care of her in honor of my friend. In the words of some city races, I'm somewhat close to her adoptive mother."
'Oh! A mother!' Liu Shu couldn't help but think. 'Who is my mother? Probably another three with branches similar to mine?' For now, Liu Shu hadn't seen trees with dropping branches like hers, as most had thick and sturdy ones. Her <World Tree Eye> vision had already broken through the 100-meter mark, allowing her to see much more of the world around her.
"Flor was actually a weak Rose Fairy at first…" Hearing the woman speak again, Liu Shu refocused. "Her attributes were nothing but half of what this one has, hahaha." The Rose Fairy smiled. "However, as she grew up, Flor was always very active. She was the first to push herself and learn spells, fight for resources, enter the battlefield early, and more."
"Believe it or not, she was quite bloodthirsty, and she has hunted River Beavers and Thornstride since she was Level 4! Her constant fighting bore fruits and gave her strength. She naturally broke through her tier, going from an F Tier to an F+ Tier one. After that, Flor was even more active. Flor has battled during eighty percent of her few decades of life. That's how she broke through the limit and entered Level 10."
The Elderly Rose Fairy smiled. "That's why, when she now lazes around, we don't say anything. She is our protector, our guardian shield. Her presence lets us all rest comfortably at night and wake up without fearing the outside. We know for certain that if something happens, Flor will be the first to move."
Liu Shu heard her, and her mind went into deep thought. 'A protector brings happiness to those close, huh…'
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