Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

While the town kept greeting new people, the Rose Fairies worked without a pause. They were the ones that needed to do most of the manual labor. 

Their biggest priority was keeping the land fertile by manufacturing fertilizers. Liu Shu's Growth Enhancement aura helped a lot with that because the creatures dying and nourishing the earth were becoming increasingly stronger, which helped keep the nutrient levels in the forest ever-slightly growing. Fungus and decomposers also benefitted, leaving the Rose Fairies with only a few details to manage. 

Other than the soil's fertility, growing the forest as a whole was another one of the Rose Fairies' responsibilities. Whenever they had strong seeds from powerful trees, they would go to the outer edge of the forest and plant them. While this was a long-term project, it wasn't less important than all the other things they were doing, like Town Management.

To say that they were working like ants was not an exaggeration. 

Igantia sat in Flor's office, smiling as she helped Flor with her endless paperwork, or, to be more precise, leafwork. Flor looked at her and asked, annoyed. "What's so funny?"

Ignatia turned her head, looking at Flor with her compound eyes. "Hm? What is funny?"

Flor grumbled. "You are smiling!" 

Ignatia realized what Flor was referring to, and she laughed, shifting closer and snatched Flor into her soft and comfortable embrace. "Hahaha, you are so cute~." 

Flor didn't resist at all, having been completely acclimatized to Ignatia's body. "So? What is so fun?"

Ignatia looked outside the window and smiled softly. "Seeing my children walking among people, not being attacked at first glance… It is really a dream come true. If my previous… Well, if those other True Ant Queens knew about this option, they probably wouldn't have been that aggressive." 

Flor looked at Ignatia's melancholic face with a frown, and she asked. "Ignatia…" 

"Yes, Flor?"

"... are you still Ignatia?" 

Ignatia looked at Flor, her compound eyes unable to really deliver any emotion. However, Flor could feel the intensity of Ignatia's gaze, making her shrink a bit. 

The Ant Queen smiled softly. "Flor, I am me. I will be me. I was me. Regardless of what I learn, regardless of what memories I earn that are not mine. Ignatia is the Ant Queen in front of you now and until the day I die."

Flor nodded and snuggled into Ignatia's arms, burying her face in her chest. Ignatia used her hands to hug the doll-like Rose Fairy Queen closely. Flor chuckled. "I'll probably die sooner than you, though."

Ignatia clicked her tongue. "Can you not be that pessimistic?" She commented. "When you reach the first sub-cycle, and later the Second Energy Cycle, your lifespan will expand a few years." 

Flor asked, amused. "How much? Five years? Ten, perhaps?" 

Ignatia snorted. "Isn't that enough to continue reaching the next threshold and continue expanding your lifespan?"

Flor looked at Ignatia with a soft look. "Ignatia, when I am gone, please guide the next Queen well, okay?"

Ignatia pouted. "No."

Flor snorted. "Are you really not going to give me this one thing?"

Ignatia kissed Flor's face and continued pouting. "No."

Flor sighed and said seriously. "I promise to try my best. However, worst case scenario, I want to know that you'll continue helping Liu Shu and whoever gets my title." 

Liu Shu suddenly interrupted their conversation. "Flor! You will live for a long time!" 

Ignatia nodded twice. "Right! Right! Tell her, Liu Shu!"

Flor kept her gaze on Ignatia, her expression being the same as before. Under her pressuring gaze, Ignatia sighed and relented. "Okay. I promise to do my best."

"Good." Flor smiled and flew upward, kissing Ignatia on the corner of her lips. 

Ignatia was stunned while Flor flew away with a giggle. Liu Shu giggled. "Ignatia, your smile looks quite silly~."

Ignatia coughed. "Shut up, little one." Then, the Ant Queen remembered something. "Right. Liu Shu, how is that thing you told me about going?"

Liu Shu commented. "Well, I can only make four of them… Do you think it is enough? Or do I wait until I am at a higher level?" 

Ignatia hummed. "How about making Basic-Grade Complete Level items?" 

Liu Shu commented. "I think that the best approach, if you want many, is to make flawed ones. The choice is whether to have six people equipped with very strong ones or 400 with weak ones." 

Ignatia crossed her arms, thoughtful. "Six… Who would that be?"

Liu Shu muttered. "Cinderielle, Verdantia, Tempestria, Flor, you, and… I don't know."

Ignatia asked. "What do you think about using the sixth slot to create weak ones?"

The World Tree commented. "That's only enough for a few dozen."

"That's enough." Ignatia nodded. "We can create something similar to an elite group. Do it for me, dear."

Liu Shu commented. "Okay~."

Then, the World Tree's conscience moved toward the <Lignified Vault>. "Let's see~, Ignatia wants me to create new amulets. I haven't really created anything in a long while, so I have lots of shards~. Hm… How many? System!"

[Currency: Sylvanium Shards [1066], Etherium Shards [60], Ascendium Shards [165], Celestium Shards [1236], and Cognium Shards [1316].]

"Nice!" Liu Shu hummed happily. "Let's see. I need ten shards for flawed-level equipment, one hundred for Complete-Level equipment, and around five hundred for Flawless-Level equipment."

Thinking of those numbers and knowing that she needed nearly 1000 shards for a piece of Low-Grade equipment, Liu Shu struggled a bit with how to divide her shards. 'All of them need Sylvanium. The question is how much.'

Liu Shu looked through her knowledge, and knowing that her skills gave her a 10% material cost reduction toward wood-related items, she started doing math in her head. 'If I go to a 1-3 ratio of Sylvanium with other materials, the 1000 Sylvanium Shards will be enough to pair with 3000 of the rest of the materials. I have around 2700, so it is enough.'

There was one big problem, though, and that was <Cognium Shards>. 'Cognium is used for equipment and artifacts with Willpower as the main attribute. Willpower is not something that any of them use… Well, Verdantia, perhaps? Although her main attribute is <Anima>, her secondary attribute is <Willpower>.'

Liu Shu struggled a bit. "So, what if I give Verdantia a 100% Willpower Attributed equipment? That would help me with the rest of the equipment… But, it is a bit unfair for her, no?"

While it was probably the best solution, the World Tree felt somewhat sinful making this little sacrifice. She didn't want to slight the Sylvans. "Okay, let's not do that then. Let's go with the original plan. They will be F+ Tier equipment. I'll create Tempestria's and Ignatia's equipment with 125 Sylvanium and 375 Celestium. Then, I'll create Verdantia's with 125 Sylvanium, 125 Ascendium, and 250 Cognium…" 

Liu Shu looked at her Etherium Shards, which were the ones related to the <Aether> stat, and groaned. 'Can't I change them or something!? Cognium is really useless for me. QAQ!' 

She looked around the town and quickly found Eric, one of the people who managed the town's economy. "Eric!" 

"AH!" The poor man's heart jumped up to his throat, making him scream once. Everyone around looked at Eric with baffled faces, making him feel ashamed. "A-Ah, don't worry, I felt something slithering under the desk. It was probably my imagination."

A woman at the side commented. "You need some rest, Eric."

Eric coughed. "I'll think about it. Go back to work."

"Yes, Sir."

Eric sat back down and heard Liu Shu's giggle in his head, making all his anger deflate like a punctured balloon. He picked a mug at the side and asked before taking a sip. "Sigh, what do you want, Liu Shu?"

Liu Shu explained. "I have 1316 Cognium Shards and don't know what to do with them."

Eric instantly choked on the water. "COUGH!COUGH!COUGH!"

That same woman at the side stood up and leaned on Eric's table as he recovered his breath. "Eric, you should go. You are too tired. I understand that you are enthusiastic as our boss, but you are forcing yourself too much."

The man didn't even know what to say. However, remembering what Liu Shu said, he felt that this was a nice misunderstanding that he should take advantage off. "Hm. Sure, I'll leave for today, then. Remember to write a summary of what we did today so that I can review it tomorrow morning."

He stood up with a smile and then left. While walking in the streets and walking toward the <Lignified Vault>, he asked. "Why do you have so many of them!?" 

Liu Shu asked, curious. "Hm? You don't know about it?"

Eric asked back, puzzled. "Is it something I should know about?"

Liu Shu spoke. "Wait a second! I will ask Flor~."

Eric looked toward the giant tree with a sigh. 'It must be nice to be everywhere at the same time.' 

Flor was supervising some Rose Fairies with Liu Shu's fertilizer when Liu Shu's voice appeared in her head. "Flor! Flor! Flor!"

Flor smiled and spoke. "Yes, love?"

Liu Shu giggled, feeling nice when Flor called her that way. "I told Eric that I have 1316 Cognium Shards. Can I tell him where they came from? It seems that they don't know about my Shard production."

Flor blinked. "Oh! I forgot to tell them the other day. Go ahead. Lorena and Eric have gained our trust with their excellent work lately. They already know about all the types of Berries you can produce either way." 

"Okay~."

Eric heard the soothing and gentle voice of the World Tree in his head again. "Flor told me I can! So, I have three branches that are called <Sylvanium Branch Accessory>, <Celestium Branch Accessory>, and <Cognium Branch Accessory>! Each of these produces two shards of their type of branch daily. I've been accumulating for a while, and now I have quite a lot~."

Eric stopped walking as his eyes widened to the point of stupefaction. "That's… Wow." He pondered for a while and asked while restarting his walk. "So, you said that Cognium is mostly useless to you, right? What do you want to do with it?"

Liu Shu commented. "I want to exchange it for Etherium or Ascendium! They are much more useful!"

The man's face became serious as he became thoughtful. "It is not impossible."

"Really!? Yay!" 

Eric smiled. "Wait, Liu Shu. Let me finish."

Liu Shu looked at Eric closely, and Eric felt the pressure of Liu Shu's gaze on him. It was a gentle yet all-encompassing gaze as if Nature itself was gazing upon him. Eric cleared his throat and explained. "Of all the five main currencies besides money, Sylvanium, Etherium, Ascendium, Celestium, and Cognium, Cognium is the rarest one while Sylvanium is the most sought out one." 

The World Tree asked. "Why?"

Eric smiled. "Cognium only appears in the corpses of creatures who had a very intense moment before death. It can be a traumatic, emotional, happy, or tragic experience. Cognium is a crystalization of a creature's thoughts." Eric commented. "Therefore, it is very rare to find Cognium Shards." 

Liu Shu hummed. "I see~. I knew where Cognium came from naturally, but I didn't expect it to be so rare…"

Eric rubbed his chin. "It is an extraordinary material, to be honest. I think that we can make an excellent deal. Perhaps…" Eric's eyes shone with determination as he smiled. "Do you dare trust me with them, Liu Shu?" 

Liu Shu saw that Eric's expression had no greed in it, so she chirped. "Okay!"

Eric clapped with a motivated grin. "Perfect! Let's get you some Etherium and Ascendium!"