Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 159. First Low-Ranked House Built! Arrival Of The Explorer Association.

Chapter 159. First Low-Ranked House Built! Arrival Of The Explorer Association.

After working for two days, Liu Shu managed to finish the building. It was not difficult, but it took a lot of concentration, much more than before. To be honest, Liu Shu felt that building the Flower Field around her was much easier in comparison.

The reason for this was simple. Now, with the , Liu Shu was processing how the trees she created as houses could have an affinity with runes. The walls of the trees didn't look much different compared to the ones she had grown before, but as Mariane said, they had small traces that could be transformed into myriads of runes.

Right when she completed it, several messages appeared in front of her, like usual. Yet, there were two new ones. Both were from .

[Congratulations on building ! You've received 50,000 Proficiency points!]

[ activates! is enhanced to

[ activates! 10% material cost reduction, returning materials, rounded down.]

[ Tier Up has triggered! is enhanced to !]

[ second effect activates. You are able to choose a predetermined to have active in your newly built .]

The World Tree blinked at those two messages, and then she remembered that her skill had a 10.5 percent chance to upgrade the Sub-Tier of something she crafted with it, from weapons to the buildings themselves.

What she found interesting was the other option. 'I can give the fuzzy runes meaning during the completion rate of the house? Nice! But... Can I then modify those runes easily? Is it easier to not write any type of field?'

[Wisdom: Crafting one of the predetermined is recommended because it will be easier to upgrade as the house increases in Level and Tier.]

Liu Shu pondered and saw another system message pop up in her vision.

[Do you want to choose one for 50,000 Anima Energy and Aether Mana?]

Liu Shu looked at her energy reserves and saw that they were mostly full, at around 80%. So, she nodded and spoke. 'Okay, but first, show me what type of I have to choose from.'

[: Increases the structure's defensive capabilities and the physical resistance percentage. There is a faint increase in melee offensive capabilities.]

Liu Shu pouted. 'Are there no numbers? That's so vague!'

[System Hint: Skills without numbers are more adaptable and usually have greater potential.]

Liu Shu harrumphed. 'That's lame! I want to see numbers and have BIG potential! Like giaaaaantic potential!'

[...]

[...]

'HEY! DON'T IGNORE ME!'

[: Increases the structure's offensive capabilities by increasing bark regeneration and giving the bark the ability to chip easily. This will increase the tree's damage per hit. It will also allow the structure to make range attacks by throwing lethal thorns.]

Liu Shu read the message and pondered. 'Hm... It sounds interesting. It gives the structures a powerful melee and range attack...'

Then, the World Tree commented. 'Also, why are you ignoring me?'

[...]

'HEY! NOW THAT ONE IS ON PURPOSE! SYSTEEEEMMM!!!!'

[: Increases the ternary essence conductivity of the structure. People working in any profession related to the ternary essences in this area will see an increased success rate, and they will have a clearer mind.]

[Which one would you like to choose?]

Liu Shu pouted and didn't answer.

Ignatia hummed. "Do you feel danger from any particular person there?"

Liu Shu considered it for a few minutes and answered. "Individually? There are two people who feel somewhat threatening. However, the threat is more of a group threat."

Ignatia slowly stood up from her comfortable bed and stretched her voluptuous body. "Okay. I'll send out my army to roam the town as if they usually live there. I'll also set up the false route toward one of my so that, if the , well, explores, they meet with her as the "mother" of the colony."

Liu Shu realized. "Ohh, it is that ant that you've fed many of my fruits, right? She is high-level as well!"

Ignatia smiled. "Yes, that child is a Level 16 . Thanks to my passive skills, she can perfectly pass as an . Verena let a few hints out either intentionally or subconsciously, but now I know that they don't know as much about my race as I expected."

The World Tree looked around her and decided to send the town a message. "There is a powerful group approaching with Flor and the others. Prepare yourselves~."

Everyone moved, and even Mariane decided to fly toward one of Liu Shu's branches, sitting there. "Mind if I stay here?"

Liu Shu giggled. "Well, you won't be alone."

Mariane tilted her head and felt a presence approaching from her right. Looking over, she saw Ignatia jumping agilely and climbing Liu Shu's trunk, eventually reaching a hidden part of the canopy.

Mariane lifted her two right arms. "Hey! How are you doing, Ignatia?"

Ignatia smiled and chuckled. "Well, I am doing fine. How about you, Mariane? Have you got to know our adorable Liu Shu better?"

Liu Shu giggled, feeling happy at Ignatia's praise.

Mariane nodded slowly. "Indeed, an adorable cute tree. Each time she does something it makes me want to pamper and protect her."

Liu Shu hummed. "Praise me more!"

Mariane and Ignatia laughed. "You are also very humble."

Liu Shu said proudly. "The humblest in the world!"

Both of them laughed again, and Ignatia asked. "So, Liu Shu, how far are out they?"

Liu Shu muttered. "They are... 1245 meters away!"

Mariane was speechless. "So accurate. No wonder attacking World Tree Cities is usually so difficult. The defending side has a constant 'eye in the sky,' so to speak."

Ignatia agreed and disagreed. "That's true. But I think Liu Shu's skill is much stronger than usual. You know how I have memories of previous True Ant Queens, right?"

Mariane nodded, and Ignatia smiled. "Oho, you don't hide that you've guessed that much."

Mariane shrugged. "What's the point? You are not an enemy."

Ignatia laughed and sat by Mariane's side. "Well, I have memories of previous Ant Queens managing to topple World Trees that, if they had similar capabilities to Liu Shu, would've honestly ended in a one-sided slaughter of the ants."

Liu Shu asked, surprised. "Wow! The other Ant Queens were really strong!"

Ignatia smiled. "Strong enough to be globally marked as a top-tier threat."

Mariane spoke. "In my continent, there is a part of history when an Ant Queen won. She dominated the entire continent for around 30 years until the current leading family appeared. One of them had incredible strength and slowly and methodically cleaned all the ant nests, eventually getting the Ant Queen."

Ignatia was awed. "Ho~, that's impressive. I am still too weak, so I don't have a memory of anything like that."

Liu Shu interrupted. "Oh? They've made contact with one of the Rose Fairy patrols!"

Ignatia and Mariane looked toward the horizon with interest in their eyes. 'How will they react?'