Chương 527: Family Development and Challenges.

While the dungeon was being created, Liu Shu's personal fruit production came to a halt. It was not that big of a problem, though. After all, unlike before, she wasn't the only one who could produce fruit. All her <Lignified> species had the ability to develop the same berries. If anything, the quality was the problem. Instead of worrying about that, Liu Shu decided to rest. She was mentally and physically drained. Her gaze moved towards Red, Green, Grey, and Purple, where all her children had been growing.

Dewna, the eldest among her children, was approaching adulthood. When Liu Shu began her Level Up, she was 6 years old. Now, after the war, the little girl had grown beautifully into a mature lady.

'She will have her 17th birthday soon. Should I prepare something for her?' Like she had expected, Dewna's intelligence was slightly lacking. That didn't mean that she was stupid, but complicated mental processes didn't come easily to her. If she had to compare it, Dewna had the intelligence of an average 9-year-old human child. Nine-year-olds were surprisingly clever, but there were natural limitations. Of course, our World Tree didn't care at all.

Even Violue, Harmonixia's "office plant" child, was taken care of and loved by the family.

'What would Dewna like as a present…' Thinking about the last seven years, Liu Shu knew that she had been a bit detached from her family. Even with her ability to multitask, maintaining a warring state while keeping a check on her entire domain to avoid any breaches was really tiring. As time passed, her subconscious developed and assisted her with the menial tasks. For example, if she needed around a fifth of her focus to check her domain, that focus was now at around fifteen percent.

While it only reduced by five percent, her domain had become almost three times larger. This showed that her efficiency was developing at an accelerated pace. Her gaze swept the living area, checking on her children. The numbers had grown a lot during the last years of the war. To keep her calm, Tempestria and the others almost constantly mingled with her Avatar. This meant that there was virtually no rest between pregnancies.

Her birthrate was at a child every 4 to 5 months, so by now, she was the mother of 25 children. Among these children, there were nine <Alraunes>, six <Farlunes>, six <Sylphaiths>, and four <Sanguine Blazes>.

'With this, I have confirmed that each of my lovers does indeed have some genetics similar to these Alraune species. It is because of my nature as a World Tree that I am bringing those characteristics to light and therefore giving birth to them… Now, the question is, why am I not having Sylvan children?' This was a matter of puzzlement for our World Tree. It was not that she was actively preventing it. On the contrary, when having intercourse, she didn't control her bodily functions at all.

Whatever happened when her dears… pollinated her, that would be the resulting child. Yet, to her confusion, only the Alraune-related species were born. Liu Shu thought for a bit and was tempted to ask Wisdom. But, after a while, she shook her head.

"I would rather things develop naturally when speaking of my children. My babies are all adorable and lovely, so I can't complain now, can I?" Seeing the twenty children play together, Liu Shu's soul felt a surge of warmth and peace. The sensation was somewhat different when she saw the humanoid children compared to her tree children. Not worse, only different.

If interacting with her tree children was like a gentle wind during a warm summer, talking to her humanoid children was like entering a refreshing spring on a hot day. Pyara stopped what she was doing and looked up with eyes that glittered and seemed to reflect only Liu Shu.

"Mom." Her quiet yet lovely call made Liu Shu laugh.

'Among all my children, Pyara is probably the most sensitive to my presence. She is usually quite silent, but her entire being is expressive and adorable.' The others stopped playing and looked up at the gargantuan World Tree. After reaching Level 99, Liu Shu had already climbed to a height of 6, 237 meters. Thanks to her ridiculous size, her actions were easily spotted from anywhere in the city. So, all the children could see that the giant World Tree had turned her head and was looking down at them.

The gorgeous face of their World Tree mother, with eyes glowing with vitality and love, made all of them grow radiant smiles.

"Mom is awake!"

"Mommy! Mommy! Today I learned addition! I answered seven out of ten questions correctly!"

"Mama, when can we go to the <Core Room>? I want to hug Mommy's Avatar…"

"Mom! I reached Level 2 today! Can I have a hug?" The voices of her children echoed together in a chorus of voices that one would normally fail to understand. Of course, that was not the case for super World Tree mom. Using her telepathy abilities, she answered all her children simultaneously.

"Yes, love. I am awake."

"Really!? My baby is so clever! I will give you a hundred kisses later as a reward~." Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

"You just need to ask your mother, Harmonixia, dear."

"Wow! Level 2 already? My baby is super talented~." Among the children, she reached out to Dewna with extra care.

"Love, your birthday is going to happen soon. Do you want something from Mommy?" Dewna had grown to represent the <Alraune> species extremely faithfully. The half-flower, half-woman was tall and curvy with milky white skin, soft curves, and moist pink-colored eyes that seemed to drip with honey. Her every gesture was a lethal trap for those who looked, regardless of gender, and her thighs and waist were plump and luscious.

Even with the modest leaf dress she was wearing, her body exuded an allure difficult to resist at a glance. The number of pursuers that Dewna already had numbered in the thousands, and that was only from her two or three public appearances with her mother, Verdantia.

'Ah! My Dewna is so pretty!' The eldest Alraune spoke, her tone light like a floating leaf, and mellow like the rustling of leaves.

"Mom, I saw a pretty doll in a shop the other day. Can I have it?"

"Of course!" Liu Shu didn't even hesitate for a single microsecond.

"I'll get the money from the <Vault>, baby. On your birthday, you will need to come to my <Core Room> to collect it, though. That way, I can pamper you lots as well! Hehe." Dewna smiled prettily, her cheeks showing a faint blush of happiness.

"Thank you, Mom!" Then, she spoke with a shy face.

"Also, I am a bit hungry…" As an Alraune, the girl naturally needed fluids to eat and get nutrients in the best way. Fluids with high amounts of life force were the best. Liu Shu didn't hesitate when her child asked. One of her roots poked out of the ground and gently dipped into the honey-like substance below the Alraune's thighs. Then, Liu Shu opened her root forcefully and poured her sap into the honey-like substance. Dewna hummed and trembled, her eyes glazing as Liu Shu's nutritious sap mixed with her honey.

Her body instinctively started producing other substances, but the poor girl couldn't control that reaction. It was, after all, part of her species' nature. After a few seconds, the root retreated back underground, leaving Dewna panting and with a flushed face and teary eyes. Sylvia and others noticed, and they all started saying that they were hungry. Of course, Liu Shu didn't deny any of her children and quickly fed them all.

The previous garden filled with children's laughter became silent, all of them looking ahead with dazed expressions and blissful eyes. To say that Liu Shu's sap was delicious was an understatement. As a Level 99 World Tree with incredible potential and powerful life force increasing passives, a single drop of her sap was comparable to the life force a single human male could produce. Harmonixia and the others approached from a distance, confused as to why their children had stopped causing a ruckus.

When they saw their state, they instantly understood. Verdantia chuckled.

"Liu'er, you are here. Did you feed them?"

"Yes." Liu Shu answered calmly. Feeding her children was her responsibility as their mother, so there was no awkwardness at all. After all, she wasn't really touching any strange places. Harmonixia looked at the large group and sighed.

"We already have quite the troops. Dewna is already reaching her coming-of-age ceremony. Lian'er, will you block her from getting prey by herself? You can't continue to feed her for her entire life, can you?"

"... I know." Liu Shu sighed.

"I will not stop Dewna if she wants to try hunting. Of course, the prey must be willing; we have not been teaching them all these years to fail when it matters. If she finds a suitable prey and wants to take him or her home, we should accept it after making a few background checks." The four of them smirked at that last sentence.

'As expected.' When they started their family with Liu Shu, they expected her to be a hands-free mother, not in the bad sense, but in the sense of allowing her children to do as they pleased within certain limits. However, as time passed, they seemed to have underestimated the World Tree's protectiveness for her children! While they talked, Cinderielle stepped forward, her face looking as if she expected something. Pyara's body suddenly tensed, her eyes rolling up as she became limp.

Before she fell to the ground, her mother picked her up.

"You… Sigh." Cinderielle shook her head, looking at Pyara with a complicated expression.

"I have really tried, but nothing has worked." Pyara's eyes slowly regained focus, and she saw Cinderielle's face. Her languid expression hardened, her blood-red eyes regaining their focus instantly.

"M-Mother." Cinderielle squinted.

"When will you understand? I know that among all the children, you are probably the smartest. So don't try to act stupid like in the past." Pyara looked sideways, feeling somewhat guilty.

"I-I didn't do anything wrong."

"No?" Cinderielle snorted and pointed down.

"You are leaking fountains." Pyara jumped and looked down, only to see that Cinderielle had slightly exaggerated. There was only a very small wet patch on her clothes.

"T-That's only natural! My other sisters and brothers are similar!" Cinderielle's eyes squinted, and she pulled Pyara's cheeks.

"Do you think I don't know that your clothes are secretly made so they don't absorb moisture easily!? You cheeky girl, your mother will always be only your mother, understood!?" Pyara pouted with teary eyes, and she spoke piteously.

"It hurts…" Liu Shu couldn't bear it and used her roots to snatch Pyara away.

"Cinderielle, enough… Aren't you being a bit too harsh?" Cinderielle rolled her eyes.

"Harsh? She still has to receive her butt-smacking later. And I won't take a no for an answer! Until she stops reaching… well, high places just because she tasted your sap, I will not stop. If she still refuses to learn…" Her eyes turn slightly stern.

"I will prohibit you from feeding her." Pyara's eyes widened as she tightly hugged Liu Shu's roots.

"N-No! I know, so don't stop Mommy from feeding me!" The other three Sylvans gazed at these everyday interactions with expressions of helplessness. Among all the children, the <Sanguine Blazes> were the most problematic. After all, their instinct pushed them to love their birth mother somewhat… strongly. They had done an outstanding job with the other three thanks to Pyara's influence. They understood the hierarchy among them and properly used it.

If even the "eldest" was unable to get what they wanted, then they had absolutely no chance at all, suppressing most of their instincts. However, Pyara, being the strongest and most emotionally intelligent, and also spending the most time out of everyone with Liu Shu, had grown extremely attached to her mother. It was an open secret that everyone knew. Liu Shu knew as well, but she couldn't treat her child coldly, so she could only hope that she'd grow out of it someday in the future.