World Keeper

Chapter 467: Quad Infinitum

I sat with Ryone sitting across my lap, the two of us staring attentively at the screen. As an experiment, we focused on the tree of the sylvan tree, which had come to be known as the Tree of Life. We wanted to identify the growth rate of the sylvans, and also determine what the differences were between the different colors.

What we saw was, in a word, fascinating. Roughly a year after the initial birth of the Sylvan race, the second generation of green fruits fell from the branches. When they crashed, they burst open, freshly born sylvans slowly standing and examining their surroundings. After being embraced by their kin, their racial telepathy allowed them to understand certain concepts, and they each claimed a ‘voice fruit’.

In total, there were roughly seventy-five thousand green fruits that fell over the course of a week. That means that, on average, there was a fruit falling every five or six seconds. But that was not all. At the same time, the first generation of blue fruits began to fall.

Unlike the green fruits, the blue fruits fell over the course of two weeks, numbering roughly forty-thousand in total. But that was not where the differences ended. As the first blue sylvan rose from the pulp of the fallen fruit, a green sylvan came to embrace her and share the same information that the green sylvans needed.

Rather than accepting the gesture, the blue sylvan shook her head, directly speaking out loud that it wasn’t necessary. She then proceeded to leave the area at once, walking towards the perimeter of the forest to assist in the expansion efforts.

From this, Ryone and I were able to tell that blue sylvans were born with a certain degree of knowledge implanted within them, as well as traits that the Tree of Life considered necessary. Not only that, but they were even born with class levels. In a way, green sylvans were born truly fresh, while the blue ones were born as ‘teenagers’.

This concept continued to show itself again and again, each of the blue sylvans demonstrating similar abilities. There were those that accepted the skinship for no other reason than personal interest, but none that were born without the ability to speak.

Another year passed by, and the forest continued to expand under the increased population of the sylvans. After that year was over, another generation of the green sylvans had been born.

In the fourth year, the first group of red sylvans awakened. Unlike the others that had appeared so far, their fruits did not fall from the sky, breaking open to reveal them. Instead, they directly broke out of their fruits. Some did so with pulses of natural energy, others utilizing ki or spiritual powers. Only after they had personally broken their fruits did they fall to the ground.

“So… they have four different classifications, determined by their color.” Ryone mused as she watched the red sylvans beginning to form patrols. “The blue sylvans are scholars and advanced laborers, born with knowledge and skills that they can immediately put to use. Meanwhile, the red ones are born with more… specialized skills, bred with the purpose of being fighters.”

“And the gold are born to lead.” I nodded my head, reminded of Cicily. “But… if red sylvans are soldiers, why does it take so long for them to be born? You’d think that the tree would prioritize its own safety.”

Ryone simply gave a small smile at that. “That’s where the green sylvans come in. They are born with nothing, forcing them to learn and adapt to the environment, sharing their information with the colony as they acquire it.”

“The tree stores this information as it is shared through the branches, and that becomes the archive of knowledge which is used to create the other generations. For the first few years, it is vulnerable to attack while the ‘drones’ gather the required knowledge. I think that’s why a golden sylvan is forcibly matured early, to act as the early protector.”

I gave another nod at that. “Golden sylvans apparently represent demigods. Is it possible that the tree is able to determine which aspect it bestows on the golden sylvans before they are born?”

Ryone hesitated at my question, seeming unsure how to answer. “I… don’t think so? If it could, it would mean that the tree was on the level of a specialized god itself, at least in terms of that trait. I want to say that it is a coincidence that Cicily was born with the ‘Learning’ aspect. Or maybe the tree looked at all ten aspects of the golden sylvans, and determined that Cicily’s was the most immediately useful.”

That explanation seemed a bit more believable. The racial description of the sylvans specifically stated the the trees did not possess their own awareness, so it was most likely operating on some instinct carried over from the elf whose body helped give birth to it.

“This does make me curious, though…” I glanced towards the screen again, the view changing as I ran various scans on the tree itself. “How would one plant a second Tree of Life? Assumably, there will be some method of doing so, or else this race is going to be very short lived.”

Ryone hummed thoughtfully, glancing over the information provided by my scan. “There are… a number of ways it might be done. The one that I think most likely would be that the tree produces a very special fruit, one above even the golden sylvans. This fruit would then contain the seed needed to plant a new tree.”

“Speaking from a strictly evolutionary standing, this seed would be entrusted to one of the golden sylvans to carry to a new land. If each tree grows as large as this one, only a few could exist on an entire planet the size of Sorii. And once the tree is fully grown, there wouldn’t be enough space for another to appear in the same forest.”

“Maybe the tree will wither and die as soon as its lifespan is up. More likely, it will remain as a sterile symbol for the race, serving only as a relay for their telepathy. However, there is a… different possibility when it comes to the seeds of a new tree.”

Seeing that I was interested in the subject, Ryone waved a hand. Immediately, the view on the screen shifted to show Cicily sitting within her lab. It appeared that she was already hard at work on producing a new potion. “Genetic material, divine energy, and the characteristics of a plant capable of surviving in harsh environments. These were the conditions that gave birth to the first tree.”

My eyes went a bit wide at her suggestion. “So, you think the ten golden sylvans…”

“The way I see it, they are ten chances to create a new tree.” Ryone confirmed with a nod. “In doing so, they will lose their individuality and become the ancestor of a new forest. However… it’s also possible that other sylvans could share that fate. If they cultivate their own divinity to a certain degree, they may be able to transform into a tree on their own.”

The possibility did make sense, but I was more hoping that the tree itself would create a fruit. Otherwise, it would be quite a sad fate for those such as Cicily. “What if one of the ten ascended to become a god?” I asked thoughtfully, causing Ryone to blink in surprise.

“Well, I mean… they’d just be a god, right? There’d be no reason for them to become a tree at that point.” As she said that, she seemed to catch onto my train of thought. “You think that a god would be able to freely become a tree of life without losing their personality.”

“Only a god born from the sylvans, maybe.” I nodded, glancing towards Cicily on the screen. “If they keep their racial traits, it might be possible. They might even be able to freely change between a tree and a sylvan, or make one of their avatars perform the transformation.”

Ryone gave the matter a bit more thought, before shrugging her shoulders. “Eh, we won’t know until it happens. For now, how about– what’s that look for?” She asked, seeing the surprised expression on my face. An achievement had appeared before me, and when I read over its contents, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

It took me… quite a while to process what I was reading. Over seven million potentially habitable worlds had appeared within my territory immediately after the creation of the warp drive. Of those, over five thousand had managed to properly develop. I didn’t know how far these worlds were from Desbar and the others, but it was clear just from the number alone that they should dozens, maybe even hundreds of light years away.

Once I recovered from my daze, I focused for a moment to both share the screens with Ryone, and also change the focus of our television to display the successfully developed warp drive.

“That should… do it!” The elven woman said as she closed the panel on the large, metallic sphere before her. She looked at the object with pride, having spent years working on it.

This woman was Alara Stow, an elven researcher that had managed to make friends with Crystal Heart back during the first expedition of the Sky Citadel in Vision Expanse. The relationship was more of a casual one, with the two sometimes going months, or even years without calling the other.

Still, when Julia contacted her to share a blueprint that she had developed within the game, Alara was initially skeptical. It was common for blueprints in the game to only work within the game itself due to the alteration of physical and magical laws. However, Julia assured her that this blueprint was made using real-world physics.

As such, Alara took a look at it, analyzing the mechanics and enchantments involved. The more she saw, the more she wanted to see, until she had flipped through dozens of papers. If Julia had sold this blueprint to any research institute, she would have become wealthy overnight. The fact that she gave it away was perhaps the most surprising thing.

Of course, Alara herself was tempted to sell the design. But, more importantly, she wanted to make it herself! The materials needed weren’t exactly cheap, with some rarer metals being involved in the creation process. However, she was able to save up the money with her salary and slowly construct the device.

As she looked at the sphere, resting atop a large metal dome, she knew deep down that it worked. She knew even more when the system awarded her an achievement for personally crafting the first warp drive. This was what she wanted! An achievement worthy of letting her name go down in history.

Alara Stow, the Origin Beyond the Stars. Just the thought of her new title made her smile. Origin achievements were incredibly rare, and always represented being the first to perform some incredible feat. After Alara, there would never be another person with that achievement.

“Now, the fuel source…” Alara muttered, looking back at the plans. “According to Julia, it should be capable of running with a condensed mana stream. Liquid mana converters would be the best in terms of efficiency, though. Ah, I can leave that to the guys at the shipyards. Now that there’s a prototype confirmed by the system, I can finally take a break!”

After saying that, she walked over to a nearby chair, and pulled out a communication crystal. She had some calls to make, and was sure that this would earn her her place in history.