Chương 20: Tinkering with Enchanted Growth.

Now that Liu Shu was at Level 3, and her Aether Mana had crossed the 1000 Shards limit, she moved her eyes toward one of the skills she had not used until now, <Enchanted Growth>. Enchanted Growth was an E+ Rank skill. Even Woodcrafter, the skill she just got, was E- rank, two small boundaries below. However, now that Liu Shu could use E Rank skills, she thought that she would be able to at least make a proper attempt. Before doing anything, Liu Shu gave the skill description another read.

<Enchanted Growth (E+ Rank Level 1)>: Stimulates the rapid growth of nearby flora, creating vibrant and mesmerizing plant life. Use consumes Aether Mana and Anima Energy. Liu Shu expanded her vision with <World Tree Eye>, and after looking around, she focused on a flower around 30 meters away from her. With her new growth, her roots could now spread much further, aiding her vision and ability to interact with her surroundings. She was still petite, just four meters tall, but our tree was slowly growing.

'Hm… This little flower… can I feed you some energy?' Liu Shu approached with one of her thinner roots and reached out toward the flower's own roots. However, she didn't feel a response other than a feeling of happiness when she touched it.

'Happy because of my touch?' Liu Shu was confused and looked at it with curiosity. As a World Tree and the "Apex" of all flora, her mere presence was enough for other plant creatures to feel reverence toward her.

'Well, since you are happy… Let's try using <Enchanted Growth> on you.' She was still a bit fearful, as the previous times she tried to use it, Liu Shu felt as if her insides were about to be sucked out. So, she carefully activated it and sent a small stream of energy toward it. After Flor and the other Rose Fairies explained to her the concept of energy control, she had been practicing a lot, increasing her efficiency at a high pace.

It was still not as noticeable, but there were times when Liu Shu felt that she could do much more with the same energy she used in the past. Between them, the one she used the most was naturally her constant growth of flowers, a process that has become almost subconscious by now. Anyway, returning to the <Enchanted Growth> skill. After being careful and gathering Aether and Anima Energy, Her energy moved through her roots, reaching out and finally spreading into the flower.

Liu Shu checked her Aether Mana and Anima Energy and saw them reducing at around fifty per second. When her energy reserves reached three-quarters, she stopped and observed. A few Rose Fairies that were roaming around also stopped, having felt the flow of energy toward the flower.

"What is Liu Shu doing now?" The other shrugged.

"Who knows? While I adore them, I'll never understand how a tree thinks." The other fairy smiled wryly.

"Well, I can't really disagree." They observed the flower for a few moments, and seeing nothing, they decided to leave and continue their chores. Liu Shu, on the other side, was not that impatient. If there was one thing that trees got over all races, it was patience. That was both a good and a bad quality. Like that, one hour passed, and then three, and finally seven. Liu Shu had been observing the petite flower all this time, and time didn't feel as if it was passing.

It was a strange phenomenon in which her consciousness was present but also absent. Finally, after these seven hours, Liu Shu felt a reaction to it.

'It's… Growing?' Well, it couldn't do much more as a skill called <Enchanted Growth>. However, would there be something other than growing? A tap on her trunk took Liu Shu out of that strange trance, and she redirected her gaze toward the person who did so.

'Oh, it's little friend Clavel!' The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Hello, little Liu Shu. How have you been doing? I've heard that you were completely dozed out, and the guards asked me to check on you. Are you okay?" Liu Shu naturally couldn't answer verbally but gently swayed her branches. The movement was almost indiscernible to the naked eye, but it was enough for Clavel to feel satisfied. Then, the flower suddenly reacted. Clavel and the other Rose Fairies flying around stopped to look at it.

First, they saw the stalk thicken as the body grew, and the petals became larger and more complex, gaining an exotic appearance. Liu Shu focused on it, and a message appeared in her mind. [<Bluewave Fresia (Enhanced)>.] Confused, she thought.

'No Level?' [System Hint: Only creatures with enough intellect will develop a system. Other creatures that have not reached the bare minimum of intellect threshold will be considered material, treasures, or something similar.] Our young World Tree exclaimed.

'Oh! Thanks, system. You are so kind~.' Meanwhile, Clavel flew toward the flower's side with a strange glint in her eyes.

'Did Liu Shu do this?' Clavel looked at the now much larger flower with interest. However, it didn't last long. Liu Shu, who had been thinking, saw the large Fresia flower start to wilt, and in nothing but a few seconds, it fell dead. The Rose Fairies blinked a few times while looking between Liu Shu and that flower. One of them asked.

"Was she jealous because we focused on that flower more than on her?" A friend of hers said in a strange voice.

"Does a tree even know what jealousy is?" Clavel descended and tried reviving it with her Aether, but she soon gave up. The best Clavel could do was replant the overgrown flower elsewhere, just in case the earth where it was growing was contaminated by something. Liu Shu saw Clavel carrying away her test subject, COUGH, her first attempt at using <Enchanted Growth>, and fell into deep thought.

'So, using it in a single thing will make that thing grow, and then, bam! They don't move ever again.' Liu Shu understood the concept of death to some extent, so she knew that "killing others=bad" usually. Not always, but Liu Shu wanted to.

'Hm… What should I do? Should I try to release it outward like an aura and let the friends around me consume it?' First, Liu Shu looked at her energy levels. Aether Mana Shards: 307/1013 (+36, 5/Hour) Phoer Body Shards: 1499/1499 (+54/Hour) Anima Energy Shards: 351/1044 (+37, 6/Hour) Liu Shu had previously produced a large batch of 200 Phoer fruits and fed them extra energy to reduce their germinating time. Hence, she lacked around 400 because of the power fruits and around 300 for the thing she did to that flower.

'Hm… Let's rest and allow my energy to climb back up. I remember Flor once told me never to go too low on energy, just in case-. Hm?' [<Charm of the Seedling> has attracted a <River Beaver Level 9>. Proficiency increased by 9.] Liu Shu's eyes went toward the place where this signal came from, and she was quick to spot quite a large Beaver walking her way.

Checking her surroundings with a 360º perfect vision made it relatively easy for her to reach the conclusion that the Rose Fairies had left her to her own devices. All of the Rose Fairies had flown upward and hid in the branches of nearby trees. Liu Shu looked at the system page. Aether Mana Shards: 193/193 Phoer Body Shards: 1139/1139 Anima Energy Shards: 396/396 The tree became intrigued.

'All creatures have slightly different numbers… Interesting.' The rest of the abilities were similar to the ones shown before, so Liu Shu glanced at them briefly before refocusing on the Level 9 creature. The River Beaver arrived at this place because he felt a really good and robust scent coming from it. It was not intelligent enough to form its own rationalized mind.

However, the beaver knew that if he got the tree he had briefly felt, he might be able to break through into Level 10, becoming the first River Beaver to do so in decades. Naturally, it was quite quick to spot that four-meter-tall tree. The reason for that is not because his senses are better than Froorar's, but because Liu Shu had become stronger, which made quite a few more creatures feel greedy toward herself. Liu Shu saw how it rushed at her, and her aura became cold.

The drooping branches danced dangerously, advising the other side that coming over was a mistake. Her swimming thoughts concentrated on the battle ahead, and by the time the River Beaver entered her strike range, she did so. [Willow Strike]! Like a metal whip, it bent and lashed out toward its head at ridiculous speed. BANG! The River Beaver got smashed into the ground, its head smashed against the ground as the skull cracked. [-412] An enormous number Liu Shu had never seen popped into her mind.

The River Beaver quickly tried to scramble away, but escaping a world tree was not easy. By the time Liu Shu attacked, she had allowed the prey to be close enough for a barrage of attacks. [Willow Strike]! BANG! CRACK! Liu Shu heard something being broken and over with curiosity.

'Hm? Did I break his skin so loudly it crunched?' [Congratulations on defeating <River Beaver Level 9>. You've gained 8 Experience Points.] Liu Shu returned to her calm after Clavel appeared; the swaying wind blowing around Liu Shu disappeared. Clavel flew down with a small laugh.

"Little Liu Shu, you've become so strong."

'Thanks, Clavel~.' Even if she couldn't be heard, she wanted to answer a few of their questions. While this beaver was probably just an F rank, and Amapola was an F+ rank, it was considered a tiny overlord around the Golden Sap Forest. Liu Shu took away her attention from the dead beaver and refocused on what she was doing.

'While using a lot of enchanted growth in one creature will make it grow too much if I can share it with many, won't it be perfect?' Liu Shu waited for her energy to recover entirely and started again. Time flew by quickly, and after around two weeks, she finally managed to create a way to allow her roots to emit it passively at a pace slower than her Aether Mana and Anima Energy regeneration.

This way, she could use around 70% of her regeneration to create berries while constantly using the last 30% to allow her roots near her trunk to release that energy in the form of <Enchanted Growth>. The effects wouldn't be noticeable yet, but Liu Shu could see the potential in this skill. At least, as long as she continued to grow stronger, she would become much more proficient at it.

'Every plant will be able to grow with me!'