Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 415. World Tree Berry Gathering. Three Months.

It had been the third month since Liu Shu began the mission. During the last two weeks, Liu Shu’s tiredness had reached the point that she was barely holding onto her consciousness. Thankfully, Aurelise’s presence helped her a ton when the Life Tree began pouring her healing and reinvigorating energies into Liu Shu. 

Aurelise considered herself a very strong healer. Her entire being and nature had been fully focused on the replenishing nature, embodying what a pure Life Tree represented. Even then, she couldn’t help but feel lacking. The reason was Liu Shu’s ridiculous pool of <Phoer>. 

When she started healing her, she was surprised to notice that more than half of her <Phoer Body Cores> had disappeared. She was slightly angry that she hadn’t spoken to her earlier. However, she understood her reasons after she began healing her. ‘Wow…’

All her skills bloomed and surged into Liu Shu, and instead of feeling burdened, the World Tree absorbed it as if it were a sponge with endless capacity. ‘At this rate, I might get sucked dry…’ 

After hesitating, Aurelise spoke to Tree. “Big Sister Tree… Have you learned healing skills?”

Tree answered softly. “I have some simple ones. Why?”

Aurelise felt slightly embarrassed, but Liu Shu’s health came before her pride as a Life Tree. “Can you help me heal Little Sister World Tree? The way she is consuming <Phoer> is just reckless, and I can’t keep up!”

Tree was startled. After all, she had a deep understanding of just how powerful Aurelise was. If she was serious, healing hundreds of <Phoer Body Cores> was just a matter of time. Still, Liu Shu’s <Phoer> consumption seemed to increase the more Aurelise tried to heal her.

The reason was rather simple. When she was relying on her own regeneration, Liu Shu was very careful and even allowed the Wall Forest to push her back where she would need to make a big sacrifice. However, now that her body’s regeneration was increasing, she started pushing back and recovering her already gained territory. 

Liu Shu didn’t notice, though. After almost three months of pure struggle, she was acting almost entirely on instinct. She had stopped communicating with anyone, and her roots acted on their own all around the domain to deal with myriad things. Her consciousness was stretched out so thin that she had lost her sense of “individuality” and became “one whole”. 

The only thing of individuality that remained in Liu Shu’s mind was the control over her <Avatar>. Even then, the <Avatar> was resting on a bed, hugging the slightly grown Alraune in her arms all the time. Dewna didn’t complain, though. The little Alraune felt so blissful in Liu Shu’s arms that her lips were almost constantly stretched into a smile. She loved her World Tree Mother dearly. 

The <Avatar> glanced down at her smiling baby and also smiled softly with hints of tiredness. “Dewna is very pretty, isn’t she?”

Dewna giggled, rubbing her pretty face against Liu Shu’s chest. She separated and then babbled. “Aguha! Abab… Baba!” She then burst into giggles, as if she had said the most hilarious thing ever.

Liu Shu’s amethyst eyes shone gently, and she planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “Good. I love you lots, too.” She yawned and hugged Dewna closely. “Sorry, baby, Mommy is a bit sleepy again.” Then, her eyes closed and she fell asleep. 

Dewna felt her mother’s muscles relaxing, and she stopped moving while looking at her sleeping face. Her eyelids became heavier as the peaceful air around Liu Shu surrounded her, and she decided to snuggle close into Liu Shu’s arms. Then, surrounded by her mother’s softness and warmth, Dewna yawned as well and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, in Liu Shu’s branches, fairies of many different races moved around busily. Berry Gatherer was one of the most coveted and important jobs, but since the job needed “flying” as a condition, the vast majority were fairies. In the vast canopy of the World Tree, a full ecosystem flourished without problems. There were many types of insects, small animals, and birds. These critters looked innocent, but their level was nothing to scoff at. Since they fed on Liu Shu’s fallen branches and leaves, most creatures were around Level 30 or so.

Liu Shu’s canopy was already over 2000 meters wide. Adding her ridiculous height of 2400 meters, the Willow World Tree’s canopy could be compared with a small forest in terms of sheer vegetation. 

The fairies who collected the berries couldn’t be happier. One of them flew to one branch and inspected the small flower. “Ah, this is a <Delicious Berry> flower. Then, it should give its fruits soon.” As she expected, a gentle surge of energy pulsed through the branches of the World Tree, and it poured into the flower. The flower’s petals opened outward, and at a speed visible to the naked eye, a spotless berry started growing. The berry matured quickly, gaining a rich blue color. 

After a little while more, the fairy spoke softly. “Thank you for your gift, Lady World Tree.” Then, she extended her hands carefully, as if she were handling a precious and fragile gem, and she placed the berry in her specialized basket. 

The fairy glanced through the leaves, and she noticed that the Sun had started to settle. Just when she looked, she heard a gentle whistling sound. The fairy flapped her white leaf-like wings. She was a <Gardenia Fairy>, a direct descendant of Flor. Her hair was similarly white, and her eyes shone with a gentle yellow sheen. Her entire body was slender and agile, and her Level was surprisingly high, at Level 48. 

When she heard the whistle, Light Aether Mana surrounded her and she flew over to the meeting point, which was just over Liu Shu’s head.

The Gardenia Fairy flew through the vast canopy with familiarity, her movement soundless. It wasn’t only her, but all the rest of the fairies also flew similarly. Learning to fly soundlessly was one of the many requirements to become a Berry Gatherer; it was something they did to avoid disturbing the peace inside the World Tree’s canopy.

‘Ah, there it is. The central grassland.’

Due to her size, the crown of Liu Shu’s head was around 250 meters wide. Her long green hair was full of tens of thousands of flowers, and therefore, it was dubbed as <Central Grassland>. 

The Gardenia Fairy landed on Liu Shu’s soft hair. Her naked feet sank slightly, being gently supported by the smooth but firm hair. A pleasant sigh escaped her. ‘Walking here is so comfortable…’

Walking forward, the Gardenia Fairy arrived where other fairies were gathered. The numbers were around 2,000 of them. The fairy heard someone call her. “Myrielle! Did you collect a lot of them?”

Myrielle looked over as a strangely translucent fairy approached. Her hair was greyish, but one could actually see through it. The eyes were red as well, but not because of pigmentation. Since the iris was colorless, the red blood flow behind the iris was visible, making the color appear red. “Nivielle, it was great. Still, I didn’t expect you to choose to become a Gathering Fairy. After all, as a <Skeleton Flower Fairy>, you are much more suitable in other places.”

Nivielle laughed gently. “Well, even if my Space Affinity is strong, who said I can’t become a Gatherer? I can use my Space Aether Mastery to move through the branches quickly!”

The fairy disappeared and reappeared behind Myrielle, hugging her from behind with a grin. “Moreover, I can be with my friend!”

<Skeleton Flower Fairy> was the Space Aether variant. Their transparency came from their ability to have light phase through them due to their innate Space Aether affinity. 

Myrielle looked at her with a smile. “Sure. Still, since we are fighting the <Terragore Empire>, we should go help soon.”

Nivielle nodded twice. “I know. I’ve already helped for a few months. Still, since I am only Level 39, I can’t really go where the current groups are heading. The chance of dying is very high for under Level 40s!”

Myrielle blinked softly. “I see. Still, Mother Flor is fighting even at this moment. We should not be afraid to join groups where we can contribute. I have been busy collecting Lady World Tree’s berries, but I can see that there are fewer growing lately.”

Nivielle hummed twice. “It’s probably because Lady World Tree is fighting the <Wall Forest>. I heard that no one has heard her voice during the last month.”

Myrielle sighed gently, her hand gently caressing a nearby branch. “Lady World Tree must be giving her all… We can’t be lazy ourselves.”

Nivielle nodded firmly. “I won’t. Don’t worry, Myrielle!”

“Over there, stop talking and prepare to start the descent.” 

Myrielle and Nivielle answered at once. “Understood~!”

The person in charge was a <Third Energy Cycle> <Rose Fairy>. While the rest of the fairies were powerful and had incredible bloodlines, the new Rose Fairies nourished in Liu Shu’s fertile grounds were nothing to scoff at. Lately, thanks to all the buffs, there have been some C Tier Rose Fairies being born occasionally. Some people were speculating that the first B- Tier Rose Fairy was not far from appearing.

After organizing the earnings, all 2,000 Berry Gatherers began their descent. Liu Shu’s height meant that flying down took over 5 minutes.

As they descended, the rays of sunset enveloped their bodies, and the breeze around them made their hair flutter elegantly. They looked ethereal and peaceful. 

Myrielle spoke hushedly. “I never get tired of this sight… It is so beautiful.”

Nivielle followed her gaze, and she saw the large expanse of trees and land extending to the horizon where the sun was slowly hiding. The orange glow of the sunset and pinkish clouds in the sky created a landscape worthy of a painting. Nivielle smiled. “Lady World Tree is such a wondrous being. Receiving her blessing and protection is our luck.”

While the fairies descended, our World Tree received one notification.

[Main Objective: Survive for 3 months.]

[Main Objective completed!]

[Main Reward: Mellowing of the <Wall Forest>’s defenses against your presence.]

All across the <Wall Forest>, the aggressive attacks against Liu Shu’s roots stopped by more than half. While it was not a complete ceasefire, it felt liberating when half of the hundreds of millions of trees stopped attacking her.

The World Tree’s consciousness, spread far and wide across the land, felt a surge of calm for the first time in a long time. Liu Shu’s branches swayed lightly, showing a hint of happiness through her tiredness. Still, she knew that she couldn’t relax at all. From now on, the counterattack started. During the following year, the <Wall Forest> needed to fall into her hands.