Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Liu Shu was peacefully spending time. Now that many creatures were around her, her day-to-day life was much more fun. Observing everything and how people interacted also taught her a lot of new things. 

Liu Shu mainly understood how greedy people were and how rare it was for actual genuine trade to happen. After all, she could see people buying things for a few Lir and selling them for ten times the price to people who didn't know about the origin of the items.

Not only were they greedy in trade, but in terms of living space, people were also very territorial. While Liu Shu understood the need to feel like the creature that controlled the space around her, as such was her nature as a World Tree, she couldn't really picture the protectiveness that people had over plots of land that weren't theirs or they did not plan on staying for a long time.

For example, she saw people reserving benches, chairs, or tables by placing their items on them. 'So… Is a place mine as long as I position my roots there?'

As Liu Shu mulled over these things, she heard a system message that she had been waiting to hear for a while.

[<Elite Guardian Rune Field> has been completed.]

As soon as she heard that, Liu Shu became ecstatic, and her vision was flooded with notifications.

[Quest <Improve Basic to Low Ranked Town> Completed! Calculating efficiency… 300% completion rate! Rewards will be given out accordingly.]

Liu Shu was surprised. '300%? How?' 

She could understand the previous time she completed it because she went over the top with it. However, this time, she created just slightly more than what the quest asked. 

[Fulfilling all conditions allowed for a 100% Completion Rate.]

[Building the <World Tree's Endless Library (E- Rank)> added an extra 100% completion rate.]

[Acquiring the secret condition of having a 1000+ Population of intelligent species increased the completion rate by 20%.]

[The extra buildings and some of the buildings reaching <Mid-Tier (D Tier)> added an extra 20% Completion Rate.]

[Completing the <Sylvan Quest> before Level 24 added an extra 20% Completion Rate.]

[Completing the <Sylvan Quest> before Level 20 added an extra 40% Completion Rate.]

Liu Shu read through the messages and was surprised. 'That's nice! So, building more than the quest says gives more Completion Rate?' 

[System Hint: The maximum extra amount is 20%]

'I see…' Liu Shu hummed and said. 'Okay~ Let's continue!'

[Quest Rewards!] 

[Reward 1: Sylvanium Ores (250), Etherium Ores (250), Ascendium Ores (250), Celestium Ores (250), Cognium Ores (250).]

[Reward 2: 50,000 Experience Points.]

[Reward 3: Gain Title <World Tree Town>]

[Adjusting Rewards according to <Completion Rate>... Adjusted additional rewards]!

[Reward 1: Sylvanium Ores (750), Etherium Ores (750), Ascendium Ores (750), Celestium Ores (750), Cognium Ores (750).]

[Reward 2: 150,000 Experience Points.]

[Reward 3: Gain Title <World Tree Town>]

[Additional Reward 1: Anima Branch (Low-Grade Flawed Level)]

Liu Shu's soul shook with incredulousness when she saw the 150,000 Experience Points. However, they went even wider when she saw the Anima Branch reward. However, remembering how the main thing that those close to her used was Aether Mana, she asked. 'C-Can we change the Anima Branch with an Aether Branch!? Please!'

[Request Not Accepted. Delivering Rewards.]

Liu Shu sighed, but her mental sigh got interrupted as a terrifying surge of energy enveloped her core and got absorbed by it. 

First, she saw her Accumulated Experience soar and increase to 158,380 points. Then, she saw the shard storage in the <Lignified Vault> get filled with 750 <Ores> of each material. The Rose Fairies that were doing maintenance there looked over and were flabbergasted. 

While it was well known among the Rose Fairy community that Liu Shu was a World Tree and definitely not a normal one, this event was utterly incomprehensible to them. "O-Oh branches above, what is this!? Where did they appear from?"

Another Rose Fairy flew over and asked. "What's wrong?"

The Rose Fairy pointed at the shard storage. "That! That happened!"

The other Rose Fairy looked over and froze briefly, almost forgetting to flap her wings. "Where did all of this come from?"

"As if I know!"

Liu Shu would've usually answered them, but she was a bit preoccupied with accepting the <World Tree Town> title. 'This will reveal to everyone that I am a World Tree! Flor doesn't like that! What to do… What to do! I don't know! QAQ!'

[Wisdom: <Runic Coverage> is a skill that can help you conceal that.]

Liu Shu looked at that message and asked. 'Huh? How?' 

Curious, Liu Shu reread the description of that passive skill.

<Runic Coverage (D- Rank Level 4 [1,850,000/1,990,700])>: You can change your perceived aura and appearance at will. You can also allow anyone you wish to view your real body and image. This skill works like a global illusion toward all those who observe you through any medium.

The World Tree pondered, reading all the words, and suddenly, she realized. 'Wait, all those who observe me through ANY medium? Does this mean that System identification also counts? Moreover, since I can also change my perceived AURA and a title is something that enters the description of an aura… Oh! OH!!! THANK YOU WISDOM!'

So, as soon as her title spread out and covered her domain, Liu Shu changed it to be perceived as <Life Tree Town> instead. 

People walking around the town and in the surroundings suddenly felt a gentle and refreshing aura spread from the large tree in the middle, making many feel like they were taking a deep breath of fresh air. 

Wert, working in his office in the Golden Sap Town, frowned. 'What happened?' 

Alert, he checked the System Page, and he realized that there was a new entry in his buff page. 'Hm? Did Flor do something?'

Curious, he went and looked at it. 

<Life Tree Town>: All creatures residing in the town will feel a faint, soothing, mind-cleansing aura. Crafters have an increased 5% chance of success in their projects as long as their general success rate is higher than 10%. 

Wert looked at that buff with a bewildered face. While five percent didn't feel like much, it was a terrifying number. Potions that were used in the daily usually had a 95+% succes rate, so, with this aura, there would be no more failures. 

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Head Master! Urgent News!"

Wert shouted. "If it is about the <Life Tree Town> buff, I also have it!" Then, he took a coat that he had on the perch and walked outside. It was Fall Season, so the temperatures were slowly lowering. 

Once outside, he said. "Accompany me to see Queen Flor! This aura is as significant as the <Summoning Blessing>!"

The five secretaries stood up and quickly followed after Wert. One of them laughed, and she said. "This little town never ceases to amaze me. First, it allowed me to have my little darling out with me all the time. Now, it will save me who knows how much money in crafting! Hahaha, I love this place." 

The rest laughed, and one of the male secretaries spoke. "Lord Wert, we've really hit gold with this town."

Wert nodded, but his face didn't look too joyous. "We hit a gold mine that goes far above any expectations I had." 

A female secretary asked, confused. "Isn't that a good thing, Sir?"

Wert sighed. "That Life Tree is as valuable if not more valuable than most World Trees. What do you think our current situation is?" 

One of them caught Wert's hint and muttered. "Fortuna City is not going to like this." 

Wert nodded with a serious face. "Eila Neoflora might start to get involved. Even if Eila still keeps a distance, Delia is there. When Delia receives the news, she is guaranteed to come here sooner rather than later." 

A male secretary asked. "I admit that <Life Tree Town> is really strong. However, is it that strong to create this reaction?"

Their group was walking down the main street toward the Town Hall, and Wert asked them. "Look around."

They did as told and saw people almost running from place to place, arguing with each other to the point that you could feel a palpable tension in the air. Wert snorted. "A <Summoner> paradise is directed at a tiny part of the population, so it is not a big problem. A <Crafter> paradise? That's another thing altogether." He looked around, and his face tightened. "Hurry up, we need to find and speak with Queen Flor before she does something that we will all regret." 

Meanwhile, Flor was looking at the message with a calm face. She understood that it was a strong buff, but her lack of experience didn't allow her to see the entire picture. So, she didn't feel like it was a big deal. 'The <Summoning Blessing> is many times stronger than this one… Hm… I guess I don't need to do anything?'

A Rose Fairy knocked the door and spoke aloud. "Queen Flor! Lord Wert is asking for an urgent meeting!"

Flor blinked twice and frowned. 'Is it because of the buff?' Of course, she would not dismiss him even if she was skeptical. After all, Wert was a wise and experienced man who had helped her quite a lot. "Let him in."

Wert and his group entered the room almost instantly after she said so. Wert spoke quickly as he took the seat in front of Flor's desk. "Queen Flor. This is bad; this buff is VERY strong. I can guess from your face that you find it incredulous, but to put it into perspective, 99% of cities would prefer to have <Life Tree Town> over <Summoning Blessing>." 

Flor was baffled and asked. "Really? Can you explain why?"

Wert nodded but said, "I will, but Queen Flor, you need to announce that this situation is unexpected and that you are going to make big changes to the policies in place. I didn't mind you being too generous before. After all, we were going to be a summoning niche paradise, and profits would come from just existing. This new buff, however, has shot us right in the middle of the competitive market."

Flor scratched her head. While she understood his words, she didn't comprehend fully why it was such a big deal. "Hm… can you wait a bit until Verdantia and the others arrive? I would want their opinion on this, if possible." 

Wert crossed his muscular arms and asked. "How long will they take?"

"No need to ask. We are here."

Not only Verdantia but almost all the important people of the town arrived one after another, filling the room with nearly 20 people. Wert smiled. "It's good to see that you are all aware. This is what I suggested to Queen Flor."

They listened to his proposal, and Verdantia took the lead, saying, in a severe tone. "Flor, remember the rates that we were talking about before and the tax thing?"

Flor nodded, and Verdantia sighed. "I think we need a bit of a deeper conversation about that. However, first, do as Lord Wert said." 

"Understood." 

The Rose Fairy Queen didn't delay it anymore and flew out of the window, using her Wind Aether to spread her voice far and wide, gathering people's attention.