Chương 78: Chapter 78. World Tree's Thoughts. More knowledge!
Liu Shu thought she could start building all ten houses since she had the materials. To make sure, she checked her inventory and the materials needed to build a house.
Inventory: Budbark x11 (F+), Gustbark x11 (F+), Mistbark x10 (F+), Blazebark x10 (F+), Sprout Heart x152 (F), Earthspire x151 (F), Yellow Cotton Thread x152 (F), Dustheart x151 (F), Saplingwood x1014 (F-), Yellow Cotton x1210 (F-), Earthmud x1177 (F-), Pebbleheart x1001 (F-).
<Basic House>: Budbark x1 (F+), Sprout Heart x10 (F), Saplingwood x 100 (F-), Pebbleheart x100 (F-), Earthmud x100 (F-), Yellow Cotton (F-) x10.
'I really can build all ten, wow!' Liu Shu pondered. 'Or, I can build the largest building…'
<Basic Town Hall>: Budbark x10 (F+), Earthspire x100 (F), Sprout Heart x100 (F), Yellow Cotton Thread (F) x15, Saplingwood x 1000 (F-), Pebbleheart x1000 (F-), Earthmud x500 (F-), Yellow Cotton (F-) x100.
Liu Shu continued looking through her buildings and thought about all the options in her mind. 'Isn't it better to start from the largest buildings first?'
In Liu Shu's opinion, accumulating large stacks of materials was much harder than spending what she had. For example, she could fill the material requirements for one house at a time easily and build them slowly, but gathering all the materials needed for the Town Hall was more complicated.
Moreover, since materials occupy much more space once you stockpile them, other issues would affect her, like a lack of space, which requires extra planning.
Thinking of that, Liu Shu decided to build the Town Hall. 'I'll get the complicated buildings out of the way first and then focus on the smaller ones.'
So, when Flor approached, she commented on her intention of first building everything she could before Leveling Up.
Flor looked confused, and Liu Shu rationalized about the rewards she received previously. Then, she listened to Ignatia's and Flor's conversation, feeling that while they were right, she was not that hasty to Level Up.
Flor commented. "While doing things early is better, wouldn't you have much less difficulty if you build after you Leveled Up? Your ternary essences and stats would be much higher, and you would also earn quite a few more daily Experience Points."
Liu Shu agreed with that thinking as well. However, Liu Shu asked. 'What if there are rewards of different levels depending on when I build it? The system seems to like it a lot when I do things that go against the norm. For example, I got that <Defender> title because I was the lowest level and managed to contribute a lot in a war. If I was the strongest, that title would've never been given to me.'
Flor couldn't reason against that.
In Flor's opinion, Leveling Up fast was the best. You would gain strength, intelligence, and many more advantages. However, Liu Shu didn't mind about Levels. What Liu Shu wanted was to get stronger at a natural pace.
Some might argue that Leveling Up when you can would be the most natural thing, but in the World Tree's opinion, Leveling Up when you reached the limits of what you could do at that Level was the most natural way of doing so.
Why would you want to become stronger when you haven't explored your strength at the previous level? It was like learning about advanced woodworking after skimming through basic woodworking!
Liu Shu reasoned all of this to Flor, leaving the Rose Fairy Queen somewhat speechless.
Because of Flor's limited lifespan, and most creatures as well, the urge to Level Up and escape from the fearful thing called "aging" was always poking them from behind and pushing them forward.
Only ageless creatures like World Trees would look at life with such a relaxed viewpoint. Now, there were advantages and disadvantages for both. In truth, there was not a "single correct way" to Level Up.
Still, each race taught and thought about it differently.
Ignatia heard Flor speak about Liu Shu's reasoning and couldn't help but stop to think. 'No wonder World Trees are usually much stronger at the same level. If all World Trees have the same outlook as this little one, things get a bit more clear.'
Ignatia reasoned. "Flor, how about letting her do as she pleases?"
Flor frowned. "But, with the dangers that are surrounding us, we really don't have the leeway to grow slowly."
Ignatia smiled and reassured her. "Her way of doing things must be like an instinct. A desire that pushes her to do things a certain way even when she is taught the opposite. After all, you never really said that she should take her time, right? These thoughts are natural for her, which makes it clear that they are there for a reason."
Flor nodded, but her face still had a worried expression.
Ignatia laughed. "You want her to be able to protect herself, right? But, since she is eager to take things slowly, and convincing her otherwise feels wrong, we just have to get stronger ourselves."
Flor sighed. "I know. Moreover, it's not like the buildings she is building will not become part of her strength. For example, the defensive flower field has added a lot to her overall attacking capabilities." Flor rubbed her forehead. "I should relax a bit, eh?"
Ignatia found Flor's struggle to understand her maternal instincts for Liu Shu adorable. For the Rose Fairy Queen, who saw Liu Shu as her own, the feelings of wanting the best for her were predominant and made her worry excessively.
Liu Shu was at the side, listening to their conversation. She personally liked Flor a lot; she was like a guardian for Liu Shu and someone who she could turn to when she didn't know the path forward.
It was the truth that Flor was not too accomplished or intelligent, but she hadn't failed her once before. So, until then, her trust in her was high.
However, this didn't mean that she would listen to her unconditionally. Having respect for someone was different from listening to everything that someone said. Evaluating their advice with your own thoughts was a quality that a creature must have.
If not, there was a risk of being guided wrongly. Hence, because Liu Shu felt that there would be advantages if she finished the <Sylvan Quest> before Level 5, she didn't want to be convinced otherwise.
She felt a bit wrong because Flor's words were not without reason, and she was just gambling on her instincts being correct—a stark contrast to her usual slow and steady thinking.
Flor looked at the silent World Tree and somehow, she looked like a nervous yet determined child in her eyes. The vision flashed for a moment in her eyes, but it felt quite real. 'Huh?'
Flor blinked a few times, but the sensation never came back. Nevertheless, she didn't forget. 'I should encourage her instead of constantly suppressing her. If something goes wrong, we can always think of solutions later, and after she fails, we can have a deeper conversation. Until then, supporting her will be my… no, our task. Not interfering, just looking from a safe distance.'
Flor's doubts cleared, and her usual smile returned. "Good. Then, go for it, Liu Shu. The Rose Fairies and Fire Ants will be around to protect you in the meantime." Then, she commented. "By the time you finish with the Town Hall, the caravan might arrive again, giving you all the materials for the buildings that are left."
Liu Shu's mood lifted and she became excited. 'Really!? Where did they get so many things!?'
Flor laughed and flew over, sitting on her branch with a smile. "Well, outside the forest, there are many places called cities. There, all kinds of merchandise are exchanged. The materials you need are abundant over there."
Flor sighed. "While we, the Rose Fairies, gather the materials from fallen pieces and try to harm nature as little as possible, there are creatures like Thornstrides and River Beavers that kill trees and trade their parts for income."
Liu Shu asked, curious. 'Income?'
Flor nodded. "Yes. Here, a few books that you will like. How about you absorb these before you continue? They might give you a few ideas."
Liu Shu looked at the books and exclaimed. 'Ohh! New knowledge! Let's see~.'
<City Structuring>: Knowledge about how to expand and construct a City for future upgrades, installations, and other exotic structures that might be added. Structural layering knowledge is an important quality as an architect.
<How to Manage Economy>: Concepts about the economy and how it functions. Creatures own materials, and the ability to exchange them for other necessities of similar values is important.
<The Art of System Handling>: How to use the system for daily activities or complex tasks. Everything from when and how to analyze items or situations to what type of questions are answered by the system.
<Advanced Flora and Fauna Encyclopedia>: Tens of thousands of species in a single book. The perfect book for learning about the myriads of major species around the continent. Creatures from F Rank to D Rank! With some of the most common C Rank species, the titans of the world!
Liu Shu's branch danced happily. 'So many new things!' She really liked learning about anything and everything. 'I need to learn at least <City Structuring> before I continue building, hm.'
Liu Shu giggled. 'Well, I'll learn all of them. Hehehe.'
Flor saw four of the branches extending toward her very slowly. Ignatia raised her eyebrows when she saw that. "What is she going to do?"
Flor looked at her and realized. "Ah, right. You don't know this but-."
Before she could finish her sentence, the four branches sped forward and entangled the four books. Ignatia saw the books start to disintegrate into particles, leaving her speechless. "What is she doing?"
Flor's lips twitched, still not accustomed to this situation. "Hm. Well, she is eating the books?"
Ignatia looked at Flor, stupefied. "What?"
Flor smiled wryly. "You heard me correctly."
Meanwhile, Liu Shu was accepting the messages one after another.
[Do you want to Absorb the contents of <City Structuring>? Yes or No?]
Liu Shu happily accepted. 'Yes! I want to!'
[<World Tree Wisdom (SSS Rank)>, activates. <City Structuring> has been found to not fit with World Tree's knowledge. Modifying to fit <World Tree City Structuring>.]
Liu Shu exclaimed in surprise. 'Ohh! The skill can do that? Nice!'
[Do you want to Absorb the contents of <How to Manage Economy>? Yes or No?]
Liu Shu accepted again, and this time, there were no extra messages other than a congratulatory message for it being successful.
[Congratulations! You've absorbed <How to Manage Economy>.]
[Do you want to Absorb the contents of <The Art of System Handling>? Yes or No?]
'Yes, yes! I want to absoooooooorb, don't ask so much!'
[<World Tree Wisdom (SSS Rank)>, activates. <The Art of System Handling> has been found to be faulty and full of gibberish. Absorbing only truthful information and adding context.]
Liu Shu laughed in her mind. 'Stupid people~. Heh.'
[Do you want to Absorb the contents of <Advanced Flora and Fauna Encyclopedia>? Yes or No?]
'YES! ABSORB IT ALREADY!'
[Congratulations! You've absorbed <Advanced Flora and Fauna Encyclopedia>.]
Once all of the messages were accepted, Liu Shu felt as if someone had hit her soul and mind with a hammer, and her <World Tree Eye> disconnected. Her last thoughts were those of lamentation. 'Ah, I forgot about this QAQ.'
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