Terms of Cooperation

The milky-white rootlets swayed for a while. Sensing something, they suddenly plunged into the gray board below, piercing through it and making contact with the transparent liquid.

The instant they touched it, the milky-white rootlets twitched slightly as though electrocuted, then began growing wildly.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Visible to the naked eye, one milky-white rootlet after another grew from the tree core, pierced through the substrate board, and submerged into the flowing nutrient solution.

"Gulp, gulp!"

A sound like a human drinking huge mouthfuls of water rang out. Large amounts of nutrient solution were absorbed by the milky-white rootlets, and the level in the glass pool began to fall noticeably. As a result, a float near the inlet pipe descended as well. The float was connected to the inlet pipe's valve, immediately opening it wider and causing nutrient solution to flow in at a greater rate. The liquid level in the glass pool slowly began to rise again, eventually reaching a dynamic balance.

The number of rootlets continued to increase, as did their length. Their tips rapidly extended, exploring farther and farther away.

In just a few minutes, dense rootlets had occupied nearly half of the glass pool.

A few more minutes passed, and the rootlets occupied more than half of the glass pool.

A few more minutes later, the rootlets nearly filled the entire glass pool and began trying to leave it.

But the moment the rootlets climbed onto the glass walls, the patterns engraved on their surface lit up rapidly, flashing crimson.

"Sizzle!"

Spell flames flashed and vanished. A scorched smell spread through the air as every rootlet touching the glass was burned away, along with a large patch of nearby rootlets that turned ash-black.

Magic runes... The Lich Old Man's eyelid twitched.

After being attacked, the remaining