"So before I leave for the Trial of Gaia, mind telling me the current progress of the culprit who planted a bunch of the saplings?" s.h.i.+ro asked since she wanted to know how much damage he has done.

"Well so far we have found signs of his meddling in around 29 towns spread throughout all of the sections. While it may sound small, you need to remember that this is essentially 29 corruption saplings that we'll need to deal with. And even if we kill them, they could transform themselves into pools of corruption instead. We'll need to take some special measures." Tricia smiled.

"Oh? What kind of measures are you talking about?" s.h.i.+ro asked curiously.

"We'll interrupt the growth of the sapling before it can get to stage two and seal it away if we can." Tricia replied.

"What about after it blooms or is there nothing we can do after that?" s.h.i.+ro asked.

"Hmm… there is. Quella told me that you ran into a sapling that bloomed prematurely and became an incomplete pool of corruption. You're lucky you stopped it from fully blooming otherwise monsters would start appearing from the pools. Right now I suppose the pool is slowly growing and festering into something but Quella's already sent a message to our sisters so they'll be dealing with it."

"I see… that's a relief then. The dryad near that spot had thought that it was a normal dread sapling so we tried to deal with it normally. Oh by the way, the corruption sapling is still alive." s.h.i.+ro took a sip of her tea.

"What????" Quella turned towards s.h.i.+ro.

"Yup. We didn't manage to kill it in the end. It released the pool and escaped by shrinking itself. We have no leads on where it could be." s.h.i.+ro replied.

"That's… A concern." Tricia frowned.

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"Ok, we'll try to track it down if we can but our main priorities are for you to complete the other trials, have others complete the trials, the Ancient Terror and the culprit that's been spreading the saplings. I suggest you make your way back to the Section of Life so that you can complete the Tower of Gaia. The culprit should be roughly around the border between the Section of the Underworld and the Section of Time so I doubt you'll run into him." Tricia sighed.

"Alright. Quella are you joining me?" s.h.i.+ro asked.

"No since I have work here. However, we can notify my other sister there and she'll help you out. If you really want though I can keep my familiar with you." Quella chuckled.

"Since that's the case then there's no need. My main concern was whether I can get first aid the moment I finish the trial. After all, you saw the state I was in just now." s.h.i.+ro chuckled.

"Oh if you're worried about first aid then don't worry. My sister makes most of the medicines that we use so she can spare you plenty when you arrive." Quella waved her hand with a smile.

Hearing this, s.h.i.+ro understood why they were rich. After all, they produce healing items that help people escape from the edge of death. With such things being in high demand at all times, it'll be a wonder if they weren't rich.

"Ah right, before I forget, what's the current status with the Ancient Terror? Are you able to track it down?"

"We've been trying to keep an eye on his tracks but since he can teleport himself short distances, it's hard to always have an eye on him. But there's nothing to worry about right now. We've been able to have a rough grasp on where he is right now and he's making his way to the Section of Night." Tricia replied.

"Hmm… what do you think his goal is for him to go to the Section of Night?" s.h.i.+ro asked.

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"Not sure but I doubt it's for sight seeing. As the Section of Night is filled with powerful monsters, especially those near the tower, the Ancient Terror might be looking to bolster his ranks by corrupting them." Tricia shook her head.

"I see… Oh another thing, are there other shortcuts like the one on the Tower of Ouranos? You know, since this one allows you to skip tests so long as you climbed higher on the outside."

"There is. Each tower has its own way of skipping levels but the only ones we know for sure right now is the Tower of Ouranos and the Tower of Nyx. The others are still unconfirmed so I can't tell you how to skip their levels." Tricia shook her head.

"How would I skip levels in the tower of Nyx then?"

"By defeating the monsters surrounding the tower. The stronger the monster, the higher up you go. If you can defeat one of her champions, you gain the qualifications to challenge the final test within her tower as Nyx's trial prioritises the indomitable strength that suppresses everything." Tricia smiled.

Talking to the two for a little longer, s.h.i.+ro received a new set of clothes along with some spares in her bag before leaving the house and proceeded to make her way out of the city.

Once she was out, she jumped into the air and flew towards the border.

'I was stupid in my preparations this time. I didn't take into account food since Nike's trial refreshed my exhaustion every time I finished something. The primordial trials aren't going to be that kind to me so I'll need to purchase some rations at the cities so that I don't starve.' She thought to herself since hunger was one of her biggest enemies in the Tower of Ouranos.

She felt like she could have pa.s.sed out at any point since she was pus.h.i.+ng her body past its limits while having nothing in her stomach.

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Sighing softly, s.h.i.+ro wondered what kind of ration would even fill her enough to keep on fighting.

Shaking her head, she looked at her bag and frowned.

She had gotten a spare change of clothes in case the monsters destroy a bit of it like in the Tower of Ouranos. Fighting nude wasn't desirable so having something to change into was welcome but she also needed s.p.a.ce for her rations.

'I should probably get a bigger bag. Maybe some side pouches filled with rations. Ah but they might fall out when I fight.'

While wondering about what she should do, s.h.i.+ro sped her way to the borders.

Once she was in the Section of Life, s.h.i.+ro wondered if she could create Air Tunnels in this section.

Closing her eyes, she pressed her palms together and created a compressed ball of air.

Pus.h.i.+ng it forward. An air tunnel was created.

"Hm…. This one will only last for a few days at most. If I made this in the Section of Sky, I'd be able to make it permanent." She muttered before snapping her fingers and dismissing the tunnel.

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Shaking her head, she looked towards the tower in the distance and sped towards it.

Thanks to her new Primordial Divinity, s.h.i.+ro was now much faster than before, allowing her to travel through the Section rather quickly. However, even with this bonus she still took a few days before arriving at the city that was stationed near the tower.

With how close she was to the tower, the influence of Gaia's divinity was obvious as all the trees were extremely tall and almost seemed like it wanted to block out the sun. the occasional peeks of sunlight that fall through all the leaves would illuminate the towns and cities in a celestial glow which made one feel at peace in this place.

Seeing this, s.h.i.+ro wouldn't mind living here peacefully with her children but knowing her bloodthirsty nature and combat addiction, peace was somewhat of a pipe dream.

Landing just outside of the city, s.h.i.+ro glanced up at the giant tower not too far from her and realised that there was a slight green tinge to the surface mixed with the grey of the tower walls.

Narrowing her eyes, s.h.i.+ro noticed that the green was actually tiny plants that had been releasing something into the air of which she could only guess was nutrients for the trees. After all, there had to be a source of nutrient for the trees otherwise they won't be this tall and lush. Just one of these trees could suck all the nutrients out of a place never mind a whole lot of them like this. The Tower of Gaia was what kept them alive.

Quickly buying quite a few dry rations from the merchants, s.h.i.+ro made her way to the base of the tower.