Chapter 259 - Chapter 259. Skills Galore! A World Tree's Profound Influence.

Experience Points flowed out of her and materialized inside of her own body, improving her knowledge of her skills. The mysterious energy called nourished her and sent Liu Shu into a daze as knowledge flowed into her mind.

Most of her skills didn't change a lot. The ones that did change significantly were those at the E+ Rank. After making a breakthrough into the D- Rank, their change was much more fundamental. 

The skills that broke through from E+ to D- were , , , , and .

With , the skill transformed into . Its description also made a shift.

: Creates an active aura that consumes your Aether Mana and Anima Energy in exchange for nourishing the land around you. Plants, animals, and all kinds of beings will have the ability to absorb and provide nutrients increased, among others. (See detailed explanation.)

Liu Shu read the new skill and felt a bit different from , which targets flora specifically. 'Does this mean that the farms that we planted will now be able to feed even more people? That's good news. I'll check the detailed description later. Let's see, how has changed?'

Looking over, she noticed that the name was still the same. The only new thing was the Tier change.

: The World Tree has a connection with the World and everything else to a fundamental level. You can use Anima Energy to call for a summon. You've chosen Arboreal Winged Serpents as your summons. You can summon creatures that are up to D- Tier. 

'Hmm… I see. Now, the race I chose to summon has appeared. Will I be able to summon more creatures when I continue leveling up this skill?' She didn't know the answer, but she was hopeful. 

'Let's see, the next one is… ! What changes have happened here?'

Liu Shu looked over, and her eyes widened. 'Wow! The fruits are now much better! System, list them!'

: Produces small, magical fruits with unique and beneficial properties. Liu Shu can use 10% of the berry's cost to accelerate 100 Gestation Days.

: +10 Experience Points. Level 49 and below 6/day. Level 24 and below --> 3/day. Level 9 and below --> 1/day. Production Cost: 100 AM and AE. Gestation Time: 100 Days.

: +1000 Phoer Body Shards. Level 25 and above --> 25/day. Level 10 to 24 --> 15/day. Level 9 and below --> 1/day. Production Cost: 100 AM and AE. Gestation Time: 100 Days.

: +1000 Aether Mana Shards. Level 25 and above --> 25/day. Level 10 to 24 --> 15/day. Level 9 and below --> 1/day. Production Cost: 100 AM and AE. Gestation Time: 100 Days.

25/day. Level 10 to 24 --> 15/day. Level 9 and below --> 1/day. Production Cost: 100 AM and AE. Gestation Time: 100 Days.

: +1% Aether Resonance. 10 Max. Production Cost: 1500 AM and AE. Gestation Time: 150 Days.

: +1% Physique Refinement. 10 Max. Production Cost: 1500 AM and AE. Gestation Time: 150 Days.

: +1% Anima Affinity. 10 Max. Production Cost: 1500 AM and AE. Gestation Time: 150 Days.

+1% Mind Palace. 10 Max. Production Cost: 1500 AM and AE. Gestation Time: 150 Days.

: Increase the Completion Rate of an energy cycle by 5.5% up to 60%. You can Ingest 1 per Berry rank. Production Cost: 50000 AM and AE. Gestation Time: 2 Years. (+0.5% per sub rank, +5% per large rank)

'They are much stronger now… Wow!'

[ has become a D- Tier Skill. You've unlocked the new fruit,

'Right, the new fruit! Let's see…'

: Increases , , , and by 5%. Gives those who eat it immunity to poisons below the rank of the fruit. You can only ingest one. If you consume higher-grade ones in the future, the effects will increase to those effects. Production Cost: 5 AMC and AEC. Gestation time: 5 Years.

'Woah… Five years… Thankfully, I have a way to accelerate that. Otherwise, I would be in trouble even to produce one of these. Even then, it will take more than half a month to grow one of these.'

The other two skills that Liu Shu upgraded were and . These had a change in name as well.

'So, transformed into , and has transformed into . Show me their descriptions, system!'

: Your roots can move on their own if you are threatened. You can also control them at will. They are more flexible and will be able to move through the hard soil without much problem, and your roots can also pierce through rock. Your roots can resist extreme environments better. 

: All living constructions assimilated receive a 25% stat boost and are affected by your living-being-related auras like . They also have their basic intelligence increased slightly. 

'Hehehe, nice! Also, are the Tree Houses now more intelligent? That's quite nice! I hope that they can become sentient, or even sapient, in the future!'

Liu Shu checked the rest of her skills. As she expected, there wasn't a significant change in any of them except some numbers getting bigger. The most significant one was her attack range, having reached a quite impressive 850 meters for her phantasmal branches and… 'Huh? Am I reading this correctly?'

Liu Shu reread it and was impressed. 'I can now attack 2 kilometers from where I stand with my Phantasmal Thorns? Wow~.' She realized something, and her mood improved significantly. 'I can personally protect Tree now! Hehehe, that's very nice!'

Liu Shu checked her message log, and she noticed that 14 days had passed since she started upgrading all her skills. That was significant, but not too long. 

Similar to how she did before, Liu Shu said good morning to everyone and then relaxed herself. 'Hm~... I don't want to do anything today. It has been so hectic recently…'

Of course, that was Liu Shu's perspective. For the others, there have been more than two years of peace now, giving them enough rest from the hectic days back then. 

So, our adorable World Tree proceeded to do nothing. She relaxed her entire being and just assimilated with the surroundings. 

In the meantime, the changes caused by Liu Shu's skills were affecting everything and everyone. First of all, because Liu Shu upgraded and the skill, the Tree Houses in her domain changed faintly. Their auras became more vigorous, and their senses of self faintly increased. 

A few High-Level people noticed the change as the pressure coming from the Level 25 Tree House had become somewhat intimidating. It was a faint feeling that would not affect anyone living in them. However, if anyone dared to mess with them, they would be in for a world of hurt.

Then, the crops on the farms started sprouting early, and those checking on them were surprised. Not only that, the farmers also realized that the farm animals were slightly more invigorated, puzzling them.

Clavel, who had relegated herself entirely to becoming one of the farmers, was confused. "What did they eat to become so… active?" 

She approached one of her helpers and asked. "Did you add anything to the grass?"

The human man shook his head. "Nothing, Lady Clavel. I've given them what we give them every day." 

"I see…" Clavel didn't really mind, and she was quite happy. However, she determined that she would need to check with some high-ranking Rose Fairies and see if they knew something about it.

Meanwhile, in the Rose Fairy growing grounds, a caretaker analyzed one of the flowers and became surprised. "Huh? The buff is gone?" This worried her, and she instantly went to notify Amapola. If a drastic change like this one happened, the caretakers were free to report to either Amapola or Flor. 

When Amapola got the news in her office, she asked aloud, confused. "Liu Shu, why did you deactivate the skill?"

The caretaker fairy stayed still as the presence and voice of the World Tree appeared in the room. Her little heart couldn't help but accelerate even when her workplace was one of the closest to their World Tree. 

"Hm? Oh. That skill has changed, and now it is called ."

A voice gentle like echoes of the forest spread in the room. The casual tone didn't make anything to lessen the impact her words had, which almost forced many Rose Fairies to kneel in respect. 

Amapoal nodded and asked, confused. "I see. How will this affect our ?"

"Hmm~." Liu Shu hummed and commented. "It will probably make them stronger than they were at birth. Probably no F Rank Rose Fairies will be born anymore."

Amapola was startled. "Is that skill that powerful?"

Liu Shu chuckled, her laughter beautiful like a song of the spirits. "Powerful enough to do that at least." 

Then, Liu Shu's presence disappeared from the room, and Amapola looked at the intimidated and awed Rose Fairies. "Well, there you have it. Not only is there nothing to worry about, but the new Rose Fairies will be stronger than ever."

All the caretakers that had gathered broke into grateful tears. "Lady World Tree is so good to us!"

"Right! Right! We must never disappoint Lady World Tree!"

Amapola heard their way of calling Liu Shu, and her face had a bittersweet expression. She was glad everyone was so grateful to Liu Shu. However, she also knew how much Liu Shu detested Rose Fairies looking up to her like that. For Liu Shu, the Rose Fairies were her friends. Sadly, it was no longer the truth the other way around. Liu Shu had transformed into an idol and a sign of reverence. 

Not that Amapola blamed anyone. One look at the majestic and gigantic World Tree, and anyone would feel a sense of awe and reverence wash all over them. Amapola would be like them if she didn't have in her memory that tiny tree they found at first, barely reaching 2 meters in height.

The effects went much further than the local areas. affected all that touched Liu Shu's roots. So, the Golden Sap Forest and the surrounding towns were about to see a massive increase in resources, which would make everyone feel that resources were aplenty.

Slowly but surely, the World Tree's influence was becoming overpowering enough that when they visited other cities, they would feel that they were lackluster. Even larger cities felt like glorified settlements, incomparable to what Golden Sap City was transforming into.