Chapter 8 - Chapter 8. First Level Up!

Aster looked at Clavel and back at Liu Shu, stuttering. "What the hell was that? That attack can probably cripple even me if it takes me off-guard." 

Even Flor was shocked. If she didn't use her Aether Mana to defend herself, that attack could probably damage even her. 

At Level 10, she had 18 points for physique, which was not much more than the 13 points Liu Shu had. Still, that was if Flor stood still and received attacks; with her main attribute, Aether, being 55 points, it was quite impossible for Liu Shu to even face her. 

With 55 points of Aether, if Flor attacked, our Liu Shu would probably be uprooted even before she knew what happened. Regardless, the fact that she could potentially damage someone at level 10 while she was at level 1 was already an accomplishment. 

While the Rose fairies spoke with each other, curious about the Tree that could slam a Level 6 River Beaver into the ground, Liu Shu was looking at her System page with her mind dancing in happiness. 

[Congratulations on defeating . You've gained 14 Experience Points.]

Why did it make her happy? 

Liu Shu's gaze moved on her system and landed on the last line of text.

[Accumulated Experience: 161]

Then, she looked at her level. 

[Level: 1 (0/150)]

'161 is bigger than 150!' Liu Shu thought confidently. 'That means that I can increase my Level!'

For the first time in her life, Liu Shu was going to increase her level. This made the young Tree ecstatic. 'Let's do it!'

With a single thought, the experience points accumulated in her body started to flow around her. 

Flor and the others were about to approach, but they suddenly felt a profound aura spread from the little tree before them.

Clavel exclaimed. "She is leveling up!?" 

Aster mumbled while feeling the profound aura that spread around. "Great branches above. What kind of little monster did you find, Clavel?"

Even Flor's expression was severe. 'I feel… threatened?' 

As a Level 10, all beings under Level 10 should feel like small creatures. That Level was the first of many milestones for a creature. So, if a creature going from Level 1 to Level 2 felt threatening even after crossing Level 10, no matter how small that feeling was, it meant that the creature's tier was far above her own. 

Flor's red eyes gleamed with interest and curiosity. 'Why would someone like her appear in our forest? So strange.' 

Meanwhile, Liu Shu felt extremely comfortable as powerful waves of energy nourished her roots and body. Each time she poured an experience point into her Level, she could feel her insides being filled with all kinds of energies that were previously slumbering. 

From the center of her trunk, her released a soothing and refreshing aura, nourishing not only her body but her soul as well. 

Below the soul, as the energy waves moved through the roots, they nourished them and pushed them to grow. The feeling of her roots digging deeper and further into the ground made Liu Shu feel liberated as if this was her purpose. 'My roots… I want to spread them everywhere.' 

The feeling of piercing into the moist land below, pushing the rocks aside as her reach grew, fed her most primal instincts as a World Tree. If she had a mouth, she would probably be letting out a hot sigh of comfort. 

Her own body also grew, from being two meters tall from base to crown to being about three meters tall. Her roots similarly spread for about 25 meters around her. 

Then, her trunk thickened, and the silhouette of a woman became clearer while her canopy widened and the number of branches increased. The bark was also smoother than before, even if it still had a rough surface. Instead of sharp, now caressing her bark would bell bumpy. 

The process didn't last longer than a few seconds, but for the Rose Fairies looking, it felt like a few minutes. The sight of a World Tree increasing in level filled those looking with awe, no matter how large or small the World Tree was.

Finally, the events occurring around our Tree ended.

Curious, Liu Shi looked at her system. If she had eyes, they would've widened in surprise. 

[Level Up!]

[Aether +7, Physique +9, Anima +8, Willpower +10, Destiny +100.]

[Natural Resistance Formula has been updated!]

[Some Skills Have Been Adjusted! System Hint: Those skills and numbers are marked with an "*"]

***

Name: Tianlian Liu Shu

Titles: 

: A title that's gained when a tree gains sapience and evolves, gaining human-like intelligence. 

: A tree that can grow to be an overlord, admired by many, hated by some.

Hidden titles: [9]

Race: World Tree.

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

Level: 2 [0/520]

Aether Mana Shards: 450/450 (+16,2/Hour)

Phoer Body Shards: 675/675 (+24,3/Hour)

Anima Energy Shards: 480/480 (+17,28/Hour)

Attributes: Aether 18 (14+4), Physique 25 (18+7), Anima 20 (16+4), Willpower 20 (20), Destiny 200 (200)

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

Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (28), Physique Resistance (34), Spiritual Resistance (29), Mental Resistance (32)

Talents:

: Stimulates the rapid growth of nearby flora, creating vibrant and mesmerizing plant life. Use consumes Aether Mana and Anima Energy. Nature's Gift: Produces small, magical fruits with unique and beneficial properties.

*: 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. 

Current Fruits Available: Delicious Berry (F- Rank) (30 Days), *Basic Phoer Berry (F- Rank) (30 Days), *Basic Mana Berry (F- Rank) (30 Days), *Basic Energy Berry (F- Rank) (30 Days). 

Efficiency: 15 Days per Aether and Anima Shard. 

*: The World Tree is from a willow family, with characteristic long but thin branches. She can use Aether Mana to move them and strike a target. Range 5->10 meters. 

*: The World Tree uses all her branches to strike at her enemy. She can use Aether Mana to trigger this skill, allowing her to attack for three seconds uninterrupted. Range 3->5 meters. 

Passive Skills:

: A core has formed in the middle of the Tree. As long as the core doesn't receive heavy damage, the tree can recover from any external injury. Depending on the damage, it will take longer. Innate Regeneration Increased, Innate Resistances increased, and Innate Affinities increased. 

*: You can see as far as your roots extend. *25 meters.

: You can understand all languages as long as they are complex enough to be considered a language by the system.

: 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 insect that will help protect you. Creatures below the F Rank will be affected with much ease. Range 20 meters.

Accumulated Experience: 11

***

Liu Shu exclaimed in her head. 'Wow, big numbers!' 

Her Aether Mana, Phoer, and Anima Energy had basically tripled, while her basic stats had almost doubled. Moreover, her skills had become slightly more complex. 

While reading her system page, Liu Shu realized that she had three more fruits that she could grow. Curious, she read their descriptions.

: It is a common, seedless berry with a savory taste and pleasing scent. It can give one experience point when level 9 and lower creatures consume it. A creature can ingest a maximum of three each day. It has a ripening period of 30 Days.

: It is a common, seedless berry with a minty taste and scent. It can heal 10 Phoer Body Shards per consumption. A creature can ingest a maximum of five each day. It has a ripening period of 30 Days.

: It is a common, seedless berry with a sweet and tart taste and an earthly scent. It can recover 10 Aether Mana Shards per consumption. A creature can ingest a maximum of five each day. It has a ripening period of 30 Days.

: It is a common, seedless berry with a sour taste and fresh scent. It can recover 10 Anima Energy Shards per consumption. A creature can ingest a maximum of five each day. It has a ripening period of 30 Days.

Other than the deep blue Delicious Berry, the other three had, in order, a light-red, light-blue, and light-yellow color. 

The energy it took to accelerate their growth had also lessened by a lot, and now, she could use about two Aether Mana and Anima Energy to grow one fruit every two days. With a recovery speed of about 16 Aether Mana per hour, she could grow around 200 fruits a day and accelerate their production speed without feeling a strain on her energy reservoirs. If she used all the capacity of her energy regeneration, she would probably be able to grow about 390 of them, but that would mean that Liu Shu had to feed her fruits constantly. 

While Liu Shu was not clever enough to do this kind of math easily, she had an intuitive way of knowing more or less how much she could produce without being bothersome for her. 

As a Tree and a resident of this world, she innately knew these things. So, while she wouldn't go all out in production without a proper reason, she would create them at her own pace. 

'Now I can grow a lot of fruits! I hope that the little friend that took a few away is happy and comes often.'

Curious about the new range of vision, she extended her to the new maximum range. The World around her expanded, and her "eyes" took in the nearby trees, animals, and creatures with extreme clarity. While humans would be dizzy if they had a 360-degree spherical vision, Liu Shu was a natural tree, and she didn't have any problems. 

At 25 meters in height, she could even spot a few birds that were flying low while looking around for a spot to rest. 

'Wow! I can see so far~.'

Furthermore, thanks to her new range, she had realized the existence of a few visitors looking at her from a distance.

'Oh! So many little friends similar to that little friend! Hm? Even that little friend is here~.'

Her vocabulary still had some work to do, but she was slowly getting there. 

Clavel and the others didn't realize that Liu Shu was looking at them, but as someone with much sharper senses, Flor knew right away that something had begun observing them. 'Hm?'

Looking around, she couldn't sense anyone nearby, so she was momentarily confused. 'Where is this gaze coming from?' 

Closing her eyes, she sent a pulse of Aether Mana to check her surroundings, but she didn't see anything. 'There is nobody… Wait.'

Her eyes opened with surprise. She didn't take long to realize that the one looking at them was the little tree in front of them. Flor laughed gently. 'She can see from so far away? That's impressive.'

"Let's go." 

With her order, Flor flew toward Liu Shu with the other fairies, not delaying it anymore.