Chương 588: Rediscovering Crafting!

Liu Shu decided to finally get in contact with the <Lignified Rune Workshop> she could build for herself. This was a building that had always been on her list, but she never really got to it actively.

"How many years has it been since I got the ability to build this one?" The skill <Otherworldly Rune and Nature Empire> opened this choice with its creation. While she had built it in the past, Liu Shu didn't really use it as much as she would like.

"To be honest… I have not been using my crafting abilities at all beyond building cities." Liu Shu was not only a powerful Rune Crafter. She was also among the best Woodcrafters in the entire world. And the only reason Liu Shu didn't consider herself the best was because she didn't want to be arrogant. However, she, who had used runes and woodcrafting to basically build all major cities in the world, was nothing but an absolute prodigy even by human standards.

Woodcrafting and Blacksmithing were not that different in essence. Both used similar techniques to create the same type of personal items, with the only difference being the materials they used. Below her body, where her <Lignified Vault> stored the treasures she had collected through different means, there was a relatively smaller underground building. This building was very different from the workshop of a humanoid being.

Since Liu Shu could basically manipulate everything with roots, there were no tables; only room sections dedicated to different applications. The mass of convoluted roots appeared chaotic, but once she produced items, it was easy to see sense in the mess. To put in comparison, it was similar to a complicated assembly chain with detailed workarounds for complicated sections and engravings. Like her population, Liu Shu herself was affected by most of her crafting buffs.

It was easy to forget, given all the blessings that contributed to personal strength. Still, the accumulated buffs to production made even the most common artisan appear like an absolute genius. The number of masterpieces that had been appearing in the world lately was so numerous that the standard of living was starting to reach new heights. It was to the point that the difference between ordinary people and crafters had become the difference in coin usage.

One side used <Lir> and <Tyl>, while the other side used <Bren> and <Syl>.

"Hm… Our coin system needs a thorough rework. After the world transformed with me, all the mines for <Lir> have evolved a few times. Even the mine below me currently produces <Syl> essence crystals, and it appears to be on the verge of developing into an <Arbor> mine." Terra and Terran, the two mole human-beasts who helped her set up the initial mines, had long passed away.

One of them sadly passed away young during the Terragore battles, while the other passed away due to her lifespan ending during her long sleeping session. Still, the foundation they built to upgrade the mine became a staple around the entire world. Now, the people in charge of mining used their ideas and evolved them, allowing the majority of discovered mines to undergo a transformation.

"Honestly, creating a fake currency that doesn't use essence stones feels the most proper. That way, we won't have issues or losses once we get accustomed to using <Grastar> coins." From what Orwen told her a while ago, the <Grastar> coins were the most common and accepted currency type among interstellar civilizations. The reason was that the crystals could be found in asteroids and other celestial objects, making them scarce enough to have value and rare enough not to be found everywhere.

"Moreover, the <Grastar> coins have energy like the <Arbor> coins. This essence can be extracted and used for many crafting professions, as well as to power some advanced technologies that I am still unaware of how they work…" Elyne, after discovering Liu Shu's ridiculous ability to digest knowledge, had given her a few books she carried with her. These books didn't provide much detailed information, but they included a local star cluster map. It was something Liu Shu appreciated.

Liu Shu continued juggling several ideas in her mind as she gathered materials to experiment in the workshop.

'So many things to think about.' Thankfully, the shift from planetary to interplanetary was a slow process, and Liu Shu was not forced to adapt because of the nature of space being… Well, quite big. So, even if threats were coming her way, it would take a few years to do so. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Speaking of things that take years…" Liu Shu's mind shifted once more as her gaze moved upward.

"How is the Moon's magnetosphere doing? Is it strong enough to protect your atmosphere from solar winds?" Her vast senses scanned the Moon as a whole, and she could feel that the slow terraforming was picking up speed.

"Good, good… Ah!" Liu Shu suddenly recalled the specialness of her lovers.

"Cinderielle is good with temperature. Verdantia is good with life. Tempestria is good with the atmosphere in general. And Harmonixia is great at making things work together… Aren't they quite perfect together to help me terraform the Moon? The extra space on the Moon will be quite beneficial for our world!" So, she used part of her active consciousness and communicated with them. Another part continued working on perfecting the social and economic aspects of the world.

Finally, the most attentive part focused on the workshop. Of course, while that was happening, the subconscious was doing many things, and listing them would take an excessively long time.

"Oh! The materials are here! That's great. Should we start?" Her <Five Origin Essence Branches> had always been able to produce <Sylvanium>, <Etherium>, and many other materials of their own tier. The levels for the basic five crafting materials were as such: Shard (F), Ore (E), Ingot (D), Alloy (C), Plate (B), and finally Core (A). Beyond that, Liu Shu was still unsure, since she didn't have the information about it.

As a reminder, the basic exchange between each other was 100 of each to convert from one Tier to the following. And, in the same tier, you needed 10 to craft a minus-tier item, 100 to craft a normal-tier one, and 500 to craft a plus-tier item. In theory, you could craft 50 A- Tier items per 1 A+ Tier item. Of course, in practice, things were very different.

The use of <Sylvanium> and the other materials, as well as their efficiency and ability to link between materials, made those average numbers mean almost nothing. Liu Shu carefully retrieved her stacked <Sylvanium Cores> and the others, counting them quickly.

"I have, even after having used a few in the past, over 10, 000 <Cores> of each." So, after pondering what to do with them, she decided to create a set of armor, weapons, and accessories for her children. While not all her babies liked fighting, if they wanted to Level Up reliably, going to <Dungeons> and hunts was a matter of course.

"If they have an A- Tier armor, weapon, and accessory set with good defensive effects, they should be quite safe, right?" If any crafter were to hear Liu Shu, they would cry and ask if they were less than trash. After all, creating items was not usually a 100% success chance endeavor. However, in the workshop, and stacking all her crafting bonuses, Liu Shu's success chance could be considered virtually 100%. As a matter of fact, for items a Tier below hers, it was actually a guaranteed success.

"Right… But at what level do I create the equipment? I can't create Level 100 equipment since they won't be able to wear it. But… wasting the cores to create low-level equipment is not something I want to do." Her roots tangled together, her mind scanning the hundreds of books about woodcrafting and rune crafting she had swallowed during her lifetime. As her mind slowly pieced information together, she came up with a solution.

"Growth-type equipment!" At the same level, growth-type equipment was around 10 to 20 percent weaker than normal fixed equipment. Naturally, this was to compensate for the advantage of being usable through a wide range of levels.

"Although the books say that… My <Five Essence Origin Branches> are not like that at all. They are growth-type equipment that are even stronger than the same Tier and Level equipment." As she pondered the mysticism behind the branches, which had helped her tremendously throughout her life, her roots began to work on the designs.

"I am too weak to analyze even a single inch of my branches. Still, the way the energy flows through them gives me some hints on how to create equipment efficiently and in a way that becomes much more connected to the wearer." Not to waste materials, Liu Shu decided to use the lower-rank <Sylvanium> and similar. After crafting them, she could throw them into the storage of the many shops around the world that sold her products.

It would not be a few days before the number of people lining up to buy the items Liu Shu considered "scrap" would be so large that some city officials would need to get involved to keep peace among them. Of course, giving headaches and work to her government people was Liu Shu's very essence, so our World Tree never felt bad about it. Instead, she focused on doing what she did best: work! The roots that made up the entire workshop moved busily, transforming, treating, mixing, and manipulating different materials.

Not only that, Liu Shu added her Rune Crafting mastery to the process, creating runic weapons and armor. The process was not tedious for Liu Shu. The process of creation was something ingrained in World Trees, so she enjoyed it a lot. Liu Shu always thought that, if she had been a humanoid being, she would've probably been similar to Mariane, focusing on crafting professions instead of combat.

"Oh? This one is not bad! It can go from Level 40 to Level 74 equipment! That's great progress. Now, I need to learn how to make the equipment break that barrier. Once I do, creating items from Level 1 to Level 99 will be a matter of time." As she thought that, she couldn't help but lament.

"Still… the jump between Level 99 and Level 100 is too large… Will I be able to do it?" While Liu Shu debated aloud, inside, she was determined. The jump in stats from Level 99 to Level 100 equipment was too large to give up. Even if she had to make the equipment start at Level 75, she would prefer that to creating something that could not breach this final gap.

The workshops' aura and runic enhancements helped during the production process, and eventually, enough time passed that Liu Shu's subconsciousness alerted her to Wert's deteriorating health. It was time to say goodbye to a dear friend.