【Tree Hollow Shelter (Level 5) Upgrade Requirements: Stone100,000, Iron Ore10,000, Orichalcum1,000, Silver1,000, Gold100, Obsidian10,000, Mana Crystal100, D-grade Monster Core100】
Tsk, tsk.
This time, it wasn't just a matter of the cost increasing by a few folds; the requirements had shifted directly from being primarily wood-based to stone-based, and it required so many minerals.
She wondered what the shelter would look like once it reached Level 5.
Lan Qingyou sat quietly, watching the thick white smoke rising from the locations of the herb fields and the workshop.
It looked as if an actual construction crew was working inside.
【Ding! Congratulations to individual ‘Lan Qingyou’ of the Abandoned Forest in District 666 for being the first to upgrade to a Level 4 shelter. You have received one reward of your choice. Please keep up the good work.】
The voice of the world consciousness rang out the moment the thick smoke dissipated. Lan Qingyou, now familiar with the process, chose a book related to golems that could reduce energy consumption: 《Basic Mana Resource Recycling》. Afterward, she flew up to the third floor.
After a quick inspection, she flew up to the fourth floor, where she eventually found the mana core for the magic shield in a corner.
【Level 4 Magic Shield Core (C-)】
【Energy: 40,000/40,000】
【Effect: A protective shield with a 30-meter radius. It can resist S-grade magic attacks, but you must constantly inject mana to ensure the shield’s energy does not hit zero while defending against attacks.】
【Description: A shield developed by a group of zealots to resist the mana tide. It consumes a vast amount of mana.】
As expected, the core's energy capacity increased along with the shelter's level.
Although the Level 4 core was only C- grade, that didn't matter much.
The true essence of the core was its energy; the grade was secondary.
She had previously guessed the core would be at least A-grade, but the appearance of the minus sign suggested that the shelter's upgrades would likely go up to Level 9 or even Level 10.
By then, with at least 100,000 energy points, the shield could probably last for more than a day. That way, she wouldn't have to wake up every few hours to recharge it like she did at Level 3.
It made sense that the group of zealots who researched this shield needed it to reach this level of efficiency to withstand the mana tide.
After all, if they were using it for defense, they couldn't be expected to stand by the core and add mana all day long.
Wait...
Zealots?
Seeing those words, Lan Qingyou couldn't help but think of the High Priestess, that girl who was younger than her.
Could that girl have earned the title ‘Violent Zealot’ because she created something truly outrageous?
Well, never mind. Everyone had their own secrets.
When she returned to the first floor, Lan Qingyou found that the ‘construction’ of the facilities was complete.
The elemental herb fields were clearly demarcated.
Fire, water, earth, wood, and mental-type—each element had its own small designated area.
The irrigation canal system was also logically distributed. She could even hear the occasional sound of flowing water.
It gave her a pleasant sense of being by a small stream.
The quality was leagues beyond the temporary patches she had cobbled together herself.
If Lan Qingyou had to describe it, she could only think of calling it ‘incredible’ or exclaiming, ‘Marvelous!’
After all, the world consciousness had managed to turn a small herb field into something reminiscent of a water town in southern China.
Exactly.
In Lan Qingyou's eyes, the shelter was a physical manifestation of the world consciousness’s power at work.
What Lan Qingyou found even more incredible was that the water in the canal actually flowed out from the storage room.
She immediately went to check the expanded storage room and found that the water was connected to the water tank in the alchemy workshop.
The water circulated through the storage room, flowed into the herb fields, and then exited through an opening in the giant tree, forming a small waterfall on the exterior.
Somehow, the layout felt like it was always meant to be this way—completely logical and natural.
Originally, Lan Qingyou would have been reluctant or even resistant to having a waterfall that might expose her location.
But after seeing the natural beauty of the layout, she found herself accepting it for some reason.
This was likely the effect of the ‘pleasing to the eye’ sensation that came from a significant upgrade in living comfort.
Lan Qingyou shook her head and stretched, marking the end of her day's work. After taking a shower, she took Steel Wool up to the third floor.
Lying in bed, she had originally intended to read the papers written by those geniuses. But then she realized she hadn't fully explored all the functions on her Tarot card yet, so she decided to check those out first.
If she had known about the forum and seen those papers earlier, she wouldn't have made such a fool of herself.
It wasn't a complaint, just a realization that there was still a huge gap between her and those professionals.
She was well aware of this.
Back on Blue Star, she had been a fresh middle school graduate who then spent five years lying in a hospital bed, learning nothing.
Compared to them, she suffered from a lack of foundation. She had to admit this, adjust her mindset, and ask for guidance with humility.
That was why she insisted on having Professor Seymer teach her, even if he was trying to play games with her.
Lan Qingyou lay on the bed, her finger swiping through the options on the left side of the card.
【Card Location】 was exactly what it sounded like: it tracked the location of her card.
This was used in conjunction with another function, 【Radar Scanning】.
Although she didn't know the principle behind the scanning, when she clicked on it, two green dots and four scattered red dots appeared on the card.
The two green dots were her own card and Hells Mo’s card, which were even labeled as ‘The Tower’ and ‘The Fool’.
The red dots, without a doubt, were the monsters wandering around the vicinity.
Judging by the range of the radar, Lan Qingyou estimated it covered at least a thousand meters.
It was a very practical function.
Aside from those two colors, there was nothing else, which was normal. After all, there were no other shelters near Lan Qingyou’s tree hollow.
【Material Transfer】 and 【Material Storage】 were self-explanatory.
She had already experimented with them before.
However, she had some specific ideas regarding storage.
This was an inspiration she got from Hells Mo earlier.
Although items only stacked up to 99, if she filled her storage with stones or explosion potions, her efficiency as a ‘bomber’ would skyrocket.
She wouldn't even need to take out a bottle and throw it one by one like before; she could just control the card to dump everything downward.
It was the perfect tool for travel and... less savory activities.
There wasn't much to say about the 【Forum】 either; she would look at that slowly later.
What caught her interest were the three below it.
【Monster Encyclopedia】 and 【Plant Encyclopedia】.
These two functions were used for recording. Lan Qingyou saw monsters and plants on them that she had never encountered before.
Without exception, these entries were uploaded by members using the camera function on their cards.
Rate on N.U.
