Chapter 164. Final Preparations. Meeting with Eila again.
For the next two weeks, Liu Shu started receiving thousands of materials of all kinds.
First of all, the garden they had north of their town was starting to kick into gear. After their efforts, E- Rank and E Rank materials grew enough that Liu Shu would be able to build two houses monthly with them.
Second, Cinderielle and the other Sylvans also carried a caravan full of high-level items from the dogkin they met in the town.
Thirdly, Wert delivered as many materials as Liu Shu asked for, completing the scam-, ahem, transaction.
So, Liu Shu was now looking into her vault, which was overflowing with riches, and she couldn't stop giggling. "What do I even do first..."
Mariane commented. "The Library. Please, I want my books back. I've been a few months without them."
Liu Shu ignored her and continued pondering. "Should I create the <Low-Rank Temple Of Summoning> first?"
"LIBRARY!" Mariane kneeled in front of the World Tree. "PLEASE! I NEED MY BOOKS!"
Liu Shu sighed and looked at the goofy mothkin. "Is it really that urgent?"
Mariane tilted her head. "No." Mariane coughed. "But I am very curious about this place."
The World Tree hummed. "Can I build more than one building at the same time?"
Mariane looked at Liu Shu strangely. "Why are you asking me?"
Liu Shu made a snorting sound. "I am not speaking to you. Wisdom! System! I want answers!"
[System Hint: Unable to Help]
[Wisdom: Energy reserves and mental strength are powerful enough.]
Liu Shu read the second message and giggled. "Nice! Wisdom is much better than you, System Hint!"
[...]
[Wisdom: System Hints are restricted-]
"I don't care." Liu Shu looked at her materials after cutting Wisdom off, and smiled. "Let's try to build both then!"
Meanwhile, Mariane was looking at the World Tree with pitiful eyes. The World Tree noticed and asked. "What's wrong?"
Mariane sighed. "So young, yet you are already speaking with voices in your head. I pity you."
Liu Shu was stupefied. "But, there truly are voices! They are Wisdom and System Hint who..." Liu Shu saw Mariane's face becoming more empathetic, and she harrumphed. "Whatever, I won't build the Library."
The mothkin instantly changed her attitude and whined cutely. "Ah~, Liu Shu, don't be like that! I am joking around! Jesting! I never said it on purpose!"
Liu Shu sighed and expanded her gaze outward. 'Where to build them... Here is the residential area, and there will be the mercantile area in this zone. Nearby is the industrial area, and by its side will be the town hall and other important buildings... I guess that's the best spot.'
Then, she looked at the blueprints in her mind and hummed. "So, how much space does each of these buildings use...?" After reading the entire blueprint and calculating everything, Liu Shu exclaimed. "So much!? Why does the Library thingy need so much space? Isn't it just to store books?"
Tempestria arrived at this moment, and she looked at Mariane. "Hey, why are you here again? Are you trying to slack?"
Mariane smirked. "Slack? Me? Never! I am... Hm... Checking on Liu Shu's assimilated <Rune Field>! I am making sure your World Tree is safe. How could you say that I am slacking!?"
Mariane spoke seriously. "Hey, until now, the books you've taken were not that important, so the administration had turned a blind eye to this. However, if you really steal something like that, it won't be the same."
Cinderielle asked. "Can't we ask Aunty Verena? She is open to transactions, right?"
Verdantia frowned. "I hope... Still, I'll go to Fortuna City and ask Teacher Eila about it."
Cinderielle was confused. "Why?"
Verdantia laughed. "Well, I have a good excuse. I can say: 'Teacher Eila, I feel that I will get over 100,000 Ternary essences before the <Second Energy Cycle>. Is there a way to complete the <Ternary Core> conversion before Level 25?' Or something like that."
The other two raised an eyebrow. Tempestria shrugged. "Suit yourself. But if you are found out, you are dead."
Verdantia rolled her eyes. "Can you not be that pessimistic?"
Tempestria clicked her tongue. "It's called being realistic."
Liu Shu spoke. "Anyway, since I can't do it now, I'll start with the buildings. If you need anything, tell me."
The four people looked at the giant tree and felt energy surge toward the earth, spreading deeply and surging toward the locations where Liu Shu wanted to summon both those buildings.
Still, the energy release didn't stop there, as the entire <Mother Of Thousand Flower Field> was affected by it. Liu Shu was thinking of creating a ring of important buildings around her, which covered the inner circle where she could build some extra houses or something.
After Mariane's words, she understood that her town would be divided into an "outer" and "inner" city, probably differentiating in the kind of people who lived on each side. Those living on the inside would be people who are close to her and also know about her nature as a World Tree. Meanwhile, outside, she could keep everyone else.
So, for the next month, Liu Shu focused on creating these three new buildings while making sure that <Mother Of Thousand Flower Field> could adapt to new buildings being constructed on the ring it controlled.
Moreover, Liu Shu used the E Rank material stash to do all of this, allowing her to upgrade <Mother Of Thousand Field> to the next rank. Thanks to several other buffs, <Mother Of Thousand Flower Field> had been an E Tier structure before. However, now that it was being upgraded with E Tier materials, the skills increased its tier enough that it broke into the D- Rank category.
During this month, Verdantia and Cinderielle returned to Fortuna's Academy. They were almost done with their education there, so they took the chance to complete a few tests. While it wouldn't matter much, taking into account their future, completing their education would give them a slight boost in their general situation. After all, Fortuna Academy was recognized by many powers inside and outside the Wall Forest.
Cinderielle especially would benefit tremendously since she had no backing other than Verdantia's friendship.
"Professor Eila, I am Verdantia Liferoot, can I enter?"
A cold and indifferent voice sounded on the other side of the door. "Go ahead."
Once inside, Verdantia saw the black-haired Sylvan looking out of the window with a distracted gaze. Verdantia asked. "Is something wrong, Professor?"
Eila Neoflora looked at Verdantia for a few seconds, making the Life Sylvan feel nervous. "Hm... Nothing. Things are not going as planned, so I've been receiving quite a few scoldings from my superiors."
Verdantia asked as she approached and sat on one of the chairs. "Is it okay if I ask?"
Eila commented. "It's not." Then, she looked at Verdantia and asked. "So, what's wrong? Have you come to confess something?"
Verdantia tried to keep her composure while her heart trembled. "Um. What is Teacher Eila talking about?"
Eila raised one of her sharp eyebrows. "Oh? You don't know what I am talking about?"
Verdantia shook her head, her gaze firm and showing a trace of confusion. "I don't, Miss."
Eila hummed and looked outside the window. "Then, that's okay, I guess. What are you here for?"
Verdantia felt her heart beating fast, but she took a deep breath and tried recomposing herself before starting to ask about the <Ternary Cores>.