Novel Bin
Chapter 317. New Talent! Swallowing The Entire Province Under Her Domain.
Chapter 317. New Talent! Swallowing The Entire Province Under Her Domain.
The process to assimilate Lakeborn Forest was not more complicated than that to assimilate Fortuna. If there was a glaring difference, it was that Lakeborn Forest would need to recover her status as a World Tree while being assimilated. For that to occurr, Liu Shu needed to help.
When they started the process, Lakeborn Forest surprisingly accepted her presence readily. ‘Hmhm~ was Fortuna a bit of a rebellious one then?’
She didn’t linger on those thoughts and quickly continued pushing her energy into Lakeborn Forest. Half a year later, Liu Shu managed to envelop the entirety of Lakeborn Forest’s domain with her own roots. With that, the process of transformation started.
For a creature to convert into a World Tree, two major things needed to change. The first one was the race. Changing the race, like in Flor’s case, came with many changes. For example, Lakeborn Forest gained new types of “limbs” that were able to spread through the ground without water. Another example would be Lakeborn’s stats, which is also making a relatively big jump. Finally, she gained the <World Tree> title and a few others, signifying her specialties and peculiarities.
If Fortuna specialized in the <Destiny> stat and enhanced the residents around her in that regard, Lakeborn gave aquatic fauna and flora buffs of all kinds. The second change was this, increasing Lakeborn’s affinity and control over the terrain she controlled, water. The results were incredible. For starters, if Lakeborn wanted, she could slightly regulate the buoyancy of the water, making walking underwater much easier. She could also give a buff to land creatures to be able to breathe underwater for a certain amount of time.
With these powers, Lakeborn Forest would be able to create underwater cities and empires without a hitch. Additionally, she also gained the skill <Recolocation (S- Rank)>. For this, similar to Fortuna, Lakeborn was granted Space Aether affinity by the system.
Finally, Lakeborn regained her World Tree Core, and in the middle of the lake, where that core was, a slender and elegant woman formed. The woman was made out of lakeweeds and other plants, showing a restrained and detached beauty—one that would make anyone looking at that figure feel a hint of both awe and pity.
When Liu Shu and Lakeborn returned from the assimilation process, Lakeborn couldn’t help but be stunned. “This…” Looking at her System Page, she saw that she had reached Level 47, and her skills had also gone through an intense transformation. Other than that, her overall <Tier> had reached D+ Rank as well.
Liu Shu was not without benefits.
[Congratualtions! You’ve managed to conquer the <Golden Sap Province>! No more World Trees will be born inside of the province from now on to challenge your rule. You’ve gained a new talent!]
‘A new talent?’
Liu Shu read the following message with anticipation.
[You’ve gained <Body Seed (C Rank)>!]
Liu Shu was about to look at the description when the System sent a few messages in a row.
[Titles <Touched By Dimension>, <One With The World>, and <Galactic Overlord> detected! <Body Seed (C Rank)> will evolve!]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[Congratulations! <Body Seed (C Rank)> has evolved to <Soulseed Projection (A Rank)>]
<Soulseed Projection (A Rank)>: You can produce one <Soulseed> every ten years. A <Soulseed> can be planted anywhere within your domain, creating a waypoint that connects your main body with that location. You can project yourself with 70% of your stats into that location and change your size at will without becoming larger than your main body. You have 2 <Soulseeds>.
‘...’ Liu Shu looked at that skill’s description and was baffled. ‘Doesn’t this mean that I can now have a body in the first line of defense of my domain?’
Liu Shu started thinking of the possibilities. They were really endless. Even then, there was one thing that caught Liu Shu’s attention. ‘This… Why do I have 2 <Soulseeds>? I am not twenty years old yet.’
[System Hint: Tianlian Liu Shu gained a <Soulseed> for assimilating a World Tree!]
“Wow! So, I can earn them in other ways other than waiting for ten years to pass! Why didn’t you say it in the skill?”
[Updating Talent Text!]
Liu Shu spat in her mind, disdainful. “Shameless! Would I be kept in the dark if I didn't ask?”
[System Hint: The user needs to discover additional ways of earning <Soulseeds>.]
“Hm~. So, it is similar to <World Tree Wisdom>. Interesting.”
“Liu Shu?”
Hearing the myriad of voices speaking to her, Liu Shu snapped out of her daze. She answered softly. “What’s wrong, Lakeborn?”
“Hm~... Nothing.” Lakeborn spoke somewhat softly, her cold and detached tone seemingly having melted away like ice in spring.
Liu Shu was about to deal with other things when she heard Lakeborn Forest speak again. “It feels comfortable.”
Our World Tree was curious. “Comfortable?”
“Being under your aura and domain… Even when we’ve regained our nature as a World Tree, it doesn’t feel like we are being slighted under your influence.” She continued, her voice seemingly enjoying the sensations around her. “It is like we are being embraced by something much larger but gentle. As if we are being cradled. We like it.”
Liu Shu laughed softly and found it interesting. Fortuna seemed to feel a similar way after being assimilated by her. She talked to her with softness and, sometimes, a peculiar but never annoying childish tone. ‘It feels similar to when I speak with Tree, Flor, or Ignatia… As if I am their parent?’
She was slightly confused by this. Why would the flora in her domain treat her like that? Did other World Trees experience similar situations? She was unsure, but she didn’t linger on it for long.
After speaking a bit with Lakeborn, she observed the “new” World tree. Lakeborn Forest’s appearance didn’t change much other than the central figure representing her core. Still, now that Liu Shu’s domain was a zone that Lakeborn had no fear expanding into, her roots dug and traveled extremely fast. ‘Hmm… Lakeborn functions best in water, right? I should tell Delia to copy Taro and create a moat around her city. That way, when Lakeborn reaches them, she will be able to help strengthen the defenses of the cities.’
Then, she opened Lakeborn’s stat page. She also took into account that, during the months of assimilation, her people had fed Lakeborn her fruits, giving her an extra 15% in her Aether Resonance, Physique Refinement, Anima Affinity, and Mental Palace.
***
Name: Lakeborn Forest
Level 47: [0/179,200]
Aether Mana Cores: 39.40/39.40 (3,940,587)
Phoer Body Cores: 25.26/25.26 (2,526,102)
Anima Energy Cores: 41.82/41.82 (4,192,340)@@novelbin@@
Attributes: Aether 4109 (1963+2146), Physique 2837 (1437+1400), Anima 4300 (2010+2290), Willpower 3490 (1484+523), Destiny 658 (658)
Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (94), Physique Refinement (80), Anima Affinity (94), Mental Palace (15)
Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (65), Physique Resistance (59), Spiritual Resistance (68), Mental Resistance (58)
***
Liu Shu was impressed and surprised at the same time. “Lakeborn Forest’s stats don’t really need to be that high, taking into account how difficult it is to actually attack her. Even then, look at this! She is quite a monster… Even at Level 39, as she was before, her stats must’ve been very high. No wonder she could clean up Baron Lorbase’s army so easily.’
Lakeborn Forest’s voice reached Liu Shu. “Are you analyzing us?”
Liu Shu snapped out of her thoughts and cleared her throat. “Ahem. Sorry, I was curious. You are really strong!”
Lakeborn Forest was silent for a few seconds. “Did you look at our titles?”
Liu Shu answered honestly. “I just looked at your stats. Should I look at them?”
“No.” Lakeborn Forest commented. “It’s not too important. There is one that’s a bit strange, so I wanted to tell you about it before you discovered it yourself.”
Liu Shu didn’t push her. Now that Lakeborn Forest was under her influence, she trusted her greatly. “Take your time, don’t worry. Even if you have something like <World Tree Murderer>, I don’t mind much. Now you are under my influence, so you will turn a new leaf!”
“It’s not something like that…” Lakeborn Forest reassured. “Well, why hide it? We shouldn’t worry that much.”
Noticing she wanted to tell her, Liu Shu waited. Eventually, Lakeborn spoke. “We have one called <Lake Of Souls And Death>. I lost this title when I lost my World Tree status, but I’ve now recovered it. Here, read the description.”
Liu Shu looked at it and read it.
<Lake Of Souls And Death>: Uncountable creatures have drowned in your waters, many with lingering resentment. Each time a creature falls into your waters, they will be attacked by the lingering resentment of those that have died in your waters.
Liu Shu was confused as to why Lakeborn was uncomfortable sharing this title. “What’s wrong with it?”
Lakeborn paused and asked. “Isn’t it a despicable title to have? As a World Tree that defends life, having this title is a disgrace…”
Liu Shu felt that there was a gap in understanding between them. In Liu Shu’s mind, this title was something Lakeborn Forest gained not only because of those she had killed but because of all the organisms that she fostered in the massive lake controlled by her. Even if a creature died out of old age with lingering resentments, it would count toward this title. Moreover, Liu Shu has also seen that there were <Hippomerians> in her waters. “This title only affects those who have enmity towards you, right? Since that’s the case, this is a natural defensive title! If you ever create an underwater city, forget spies. Those resentful souls will expose anyone with ill intentions and become part of them! Hahaha.”
Lakeborn Forest was stunned for a few seconds. She had never thought of it in this way. For Lakeborn, this title was a shameful title that branded her as an ominous and anti-life creature. Remember that World Trees had no regard when expanding, even if they had to kill to do so. Still, once they dominated such a place, they would fill it with exuberant new life.
World Trees propagated the cycle of life through more extreme methods than the natural course, but at the end of the day, life and death are interconnected. A World Tree that only caused death was just a corrupt plague.
“If that’s all, I will go attend other things. I’ve been sleeping for a while already~! Speak to you later, Lakeborn~.”
Lakeborn felt Liu Shu’s attention shifting and muttered, her tone full of gladness and softness. “Speak to you later, Liu Shu.”
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