Unaware that the entire world had begun a silent revolution due to her arrival, Liu Shu was busy wondering whether she should initiate a full-scale assimilation. In space, Nualis had been entirely surrounded by her roots. They weren't visible, since they were all hidden away in the subdimensional space she drilled. Nevertheless, they were able to form portals and appear in the material realm at will.
As Liu Shu observed the world from beyond Nualis's exosphere, she felt a sense of peace and calm. "Nualis is so… blue. There are also not many… continents. The five largest landmasses look more like large islands than continents. I guess that each of these islands is governed by one of the major races. And… the number of medium and small islands is ridiculous."
Ceperet was a mix of browns, blues, and greens, with the poles glimmering white from their snow, having an overall balanced environment. On the other hand, Nualis could be considered an ocean planet, with only a few zones that lacked wet environments. This raised overall temperatures as well, with moisture and clouds constantly keeping the heat from escaping, making its poles much smaller in comparison.
"Hm… It has been over three months since I arrived at Nualis. There has not been any other expedition since that first one. While I've seen some individual explorers enter the Nualis Golden Forest, none of them ended up surviving the enhanced beasts."
It wasn't that she didn't want to help; she just didn't want to mess with the natural cycle of life. Of course, her buffs were something that definitely tilted the balance. Therefore, she allowed these small groups to have temporary benefits during their stay in the area.
'Although I asked the
This was what appeared in front of the adventurers who decided to explore the Nualis Golden Forest.
[You've entered the
[You've gained…]
And after that, there was a list of buffs, all related to combat, for them to sense. She wouldn't buff their crafting abilities because of a small expedition. Moreover, to help cope with the significant boost, the buffs would only be effective after they were read.
Of course, for those who were lazy or unwilling to read, the effects would activate either way. It was just that knowing what increased and what didn't would be pretty difficult to gauge by feeling alone.
"Lakeborn, how are you doing?"
Shifting her focus, Liu Shu decided to concentrate on the World Tree she transported from Ceperet. Doing so had been more strenuous than she had thought, but at the same time, easier than she had expected.
To be fair, at first, she expected to be dead tired after such a ridiculous feat. Yet, to her absolute surprise, she only lost around 5 to 10 percent of her resources. Something she could recover in just a few minutes.
Remember that to recover from zero to full energy, Liu Shu would usually take around 30 hours. Yet, thanks to her regeneration buffs, which gave an absurd +800%, that time was drastically reduced to a little more than 3 hours.
If Liu Shu could see her Aether Mana Regeneration ticking each second in numbers, it would show the following.
[+2,371,250 (+23.7)]!
[+2,371,250 (+23.7)]!
[+2,371,250 (+23.7)]!
…
At her current reserves, Liu Shu regenerated over 23 Aether Mana Cores per second. A number that would've seemed overly ridiculous just a few decades ago.
Regardless, after hearing Liu Shu's call, Lakeborn responded. "Like you said, this world is very suitable for us. If we were born in this world, instead of Ceperet, I wonder how we would've developed?"
"We will never know that, but it is up to us to determine how you will develop in the future! Hehe. What are your plans? Do you think that I should call other World Trees over? I have already started the process to detach a few and have them come over."
Lakeborn laughed, her voices making a pleasant cacophony. "Since you've decided, we will agree. While our instincts do tell us that we must cover this world entirely on our own, we've learned to suppress those impulses."
Liu Shu hummed with interest. "Is it the same for all the other World Trees?"
Lakeborn answered playfully. "You might not know, since everyone tries to hide it from you, but there have been a few fights among World Trees."
"Huh?" Liu Shu was confused. "How come?"
Lakeborn noticed Liu Shu's worry and quickly calmed her down. "Do not feel bad about it, Liu Shu. We've been against each other for hundreds to thousands of years. You can't expect us to get along and smile after centuries of enmity etched in our very heartwood. More so with a species as stubborn as World Trees. The ones that have seamlessly adapted to the change are the Life Trees."
Liu Shu knew about that. Since Life Trees were innately gentle and innocent, not having the same conquering impulse as World Trees, the new cohabitation made them delighted instead of bothered.
If you took away some intelligence, size, and strength from World Trees, exchanging them all for healing powers and a pure outlook on the world, you got a Life Tree.
"I understand. Still, I said it in the past, didn't I? If any of you have some issues, you should all talk to me, and I will act as a mediator."
Lakeborn answered softly. "While we do understand, there are some things that can't be solved with just words. Sometimes, one must burn or prune old branches so that new healthy ones can grow."
"...I know." A sigh escaped Liu Shu before she became pouty. "I just want all of you to be happy without fighting."
Lakeborn smiled silently, and after a while, she asked. "Liu Shu, we do have a question for you, though."
"Hm?"
"What will you do when we become too large?"
The question made Liu Shu ponder. Still, to make sure, she asked again. "Too large? What do you mean?"
Lakeborn answered patiently. "True World Trees, or World Trees beyond Level 100, all grow in size and completely cover their host planets. Their roots are deeply interlocked with the World, and they also feed off of it. A World's energy can easily and passively maintain one True World Tree. Nevertheless, what will happen when 10 appear? What about 50 or more?"
Liu Shu finally understood. She smiled and asked back. "Lakeborn, you should've noticed the changes from Ceperet's soil to Nualis' soil when moving over, right? What immediately came to mind when that happened?"
"We thought that it was not as nutritious."
Lakeborn's answer made Liu Shu's smile widen. "Worlds are not living beings. Nevertheless, I do believe that they do have their own Systems. Ceperet's surface has become sturdy against high-energy impact. It works similarly to a non-Newtonian fluid. The more strength you apply to it, the sturdier it becomes… with a limit."
Lakeborn understood. She was someone with a high level of intelligence, even among World Trees, after all. "That's why low-Level creatures can still dig into the land, yet when a full-strength attack from a Level 70 hits the ground, it creates nothing but a small crater. When, previously, that same attack could've leveled a small hill."
"Exactly." Liu Shu answered. "So… I am not worried about it. First of all, I do not believe that all the worlds we will find in the future will have an owner. There are many worlds without True World Trees, and those can all serve individually to all of you. There will also be worlds we conquer where we need to defeat their True World Tree, liberating new space."
Liu Shu spoke softly, looking up to the stars. "The number of worlds around the cosmos is endless. So what if we find 1,000 World Trees? What about 10,000? With how complex, deep, and endless space appears to be. I never really worried about the lack of space. On the contrary, I wonder if we will even be able to reach out into that seemingly endless cosmos."
Lakeborn was silent for a few seconds. She had never really given it much thought until now, but after this conversation, she realized that Liu Shu's gaze was not pointing ahead, but above and beyond their world.
"Since that's the case, you shouldn't be as careful with Nualis, right? Nualis is just one world with low-level individuals and relatively primitive societies. Will you go along with the complex and individual politics of each world as you expand? It feels like a waste of time."
"Time… is something I often lack, yet at the same time, something I possess plenty of."
Liu Shu's voice was complex as she said this, making Lakeborn wonder if she said something wrong. The hint of worry and sadness in that sentence was really profound, piercing through into Lakeborn and leaving her wordless.
'We would love it if she shared her thoughts so that we could help. Nevertheless, it appears she doesn't want to. Let's hope that she solves it.'
Noticing the silence, Liu Shu snapped out of her thoughts and chuckled. "Either way, Nualis is the first world I conquer as an outsider. Therefore, I am taking my time not because I need it, but because I want to explore different ideas with it. Creating a framework that will allow me to do things much more efficiently will eventually compensate for the time loss. In time, even my subconsciousness might be able to conquer worlds."
Now it clicked. Not only Lakeborn, but also many other World Trees back at home were wondering amongst each other why Liu Shu didn't just overwhelm everyone. The answer was more straightforward, but more thought-out than Lakeborn had expected.
"So… Nualis is like a testing ground to experience how local communities react. But that brings out another question. If you spread your consciousness throughout the entire planet, even if silently, it would help you understand it better, right?"
"Perhaps." Liu Shu chuckled. "As I said, this is the first of many. Since they are weak and can't threaten me, I will let them be, rather than monitor every movement. Receiving their genuine reactions is an experience I want to enjoy."
Lakeborn hummed, her voices making a chorus-like melody. "We understand."
"I am glad~." Liu Shu giggled.
Liu Shu glanced over at Nualis again and smiled. 'The only thing left to do now is… wait. Expand gradually and naturally, and wait. Now, races of Nualis, what will you do next?'