Two days later, the Samsara Exploration Fleet led by Zalim and Rani had begun leaving the vicinity of the World of Tree Spirits.
Having gotten what they came for, there's really no reason for them to stay longer. They broke up their initial Space Vessel encirclement before taking off in a direction that possibly headed to the upper layer of Density-1. According to what I heard from Rani herself, they're going to meet up with the main bulk of their exploration fleet to pass the chopped golden statue.
If they would still stay around the Density-1 after that, there's a high chance that we would run into them again but considering how wide the Chaotic Space is… there's no telling when that would happen. At least, with the crystal that I gave Rani, we would be able to exchange information if she's up for it.
"It still looked amazing even from afar. If we fought against them, would we be able to win?" Jayna wondered.
"We will. However, this world will be destroyed and many lives will be lost. No matter how invincible we become, we'll be overwhelmed by their numbers. Also, there's little doubt that they have a strategic weapon loaded in that Large Space Vessel."
It was Yuko who answered Jayna as she also watched the blue sky become devoid of the dark shadows from the Space Vessel Fleet. We're actually lucky that it didn't devolve into a full-on conflict. And most definitely lucky that the Space Vessels who arrived at Earth were like scattered units of the Overlord Serpent, hastily given the mission to come and conquer it.
With Jayna and Yuko starting that conversation, my other Companions also joined as they started simulating things in their heads. Sometimes, they would grimace at the thought of losing me or someone from our group.
Well, one thing I was upholding now was to not fight a hopeless battle. We could easily escape to Earth or other Mortal Worlds connected to me if things went awry. Sucks for the world but no one or nothing could surpass their importance to me.
Around us, the denizens of the world, the Tree Spirits, had a complicated look on their faces. They're happy that the new invasive force left without pushing them to the brink of extinction. Yet, they're also angry or sad that they couldn't ask them to compensate for the loss of lives.
That's inevitable so I ignored that sentiment.
When I heard the report from Yuko and Fleur who worked with the denizens to tally and account for every damage that the fleet made, there were only at least 100 casualties. Furthermore, most of those who died were veteran warriors who probably still hung up on the previous invasion. They unknowingly attacked without assessing the strength of their enemies.
Considering that this world had millions of denizens, that number of casualties was obviously on the low side. That only meant that they didn't really come here to terrorize them.
In any case, a loss was still a loss. Having given more than half of the resources we managed to extort from the Rani and Zalim, the overall strength of this world's denizens was now about to go up to another level.
If there were only less than ten Transcendents before, the illusory Door of Transcendences had already appeared in the sky more than twenty times in the span of two days.
The trio of Heroes had also familiarized themselves with the world. Although there's virtually nothing for them here, they still took on the task to stay for at least a month before returning to Earth.
After the Exploration Fleet disappeared from our eyes, we once again moved back to the floating tree to spend another night before leaving the world to continue on our journey.
"World's Will… Since you're being hands-on on the development of your world, you should start educating them about what's out there. I will leave this copy of the map to you and a few Space Vessels that your denizens can use. This might not come in handy so early in the game but once you produce a number of Rank 2 Transcendents in your midst, you should let them go out and explore and not let them be tied here."
The incarnation of the World's Will that looked like a green-haired little girl accepted the map and a Necklace containing the Space Vessels. She nodded her head in excitement.
"I won't be able to thank you enough for all your help… Being assimilated to your skill is just one token of my appreciation. When the time comes and you need us in battle. We'll answer you."
Hearing that, I laughed and ruffled her vibrant green hair. She really looks like a child. Now I remember Worldy. I should free that one soon.
"You're still too young to say that, don't you think so? Make sure you swiftly evolve to a Transcendent World. That way, I can have you move closer to Earth. Well, your growth now highly depends on me so… I won't ask anything but to immediately contact me if there's an unforeseen circumstance again that might arise. Also, you should check your world and find natural-born treasures. I might not need it but your denizens would definitely benefit from that."
"I'm not a child anymore! I only choose this form!"
Of all things to comment from, she focused on that, huh? Well, considering how expressive she is, the progress of this world surprisingly sat at more than 50%.
Apart from Ele who already reached the last 10% of progress, she's the next one closest to evolving. Having more Transcendent Worlds assimilated to Earth and me would also let the Earth's World's Will recover faster. By then, it wouldn't be long before we moved it out of Density-0 and started repairing itself to the peak of Level 3 Sage World.
Shortly after sending the World's Will away, I met up with my Companions that were resting in a large room.
We could use the Kingfisher as a place to stay but since we're in this world, experiencing what this world could offer was in order. I mean, we already slept in this room together for two days. Although it was proven hard to decide where I would place myself in their midst, they somehow had a collective agreement that they wouldn't openly compete for that chance. They let me choose who to lie down with. And during those two days, I chose Yuko and Hikari.
I considered Yuko as the most special among my Companions and… she's also the one with a vast knowledge concerning our past life. As for Hikari… well, apart from being taken in by her charming look without her glasses, I thought of slowly changing the way she addressed me as her master. Her Skillmaster Ability was something that could definitely compliment my Support Skills. Copying my buffs skills would allow the others to have two layers of the same buffs. With the two of us working together, facing a Rank 4 Transcendent would be possible for Yuko and the others whose UPL already reached Rank 3 Transcendent.
Anyway, I went to the room not to rest for the night. It's time to discuss our next course of action. That's why even the Dragon couple was present.
"With the map I managed to procure from the fleet, we now have a clear path to take. Tomorrow, we'll be moving to the nearby Invasive World affiliated to the Overlord Serpent and… rob it of its Source Energy Core."