Environmental Transformation Project

Are there trees on the Wasteland land?

Of course there are, at least Linsey has seen 'quite a few'.

He entered this world and traveled all the way to the World Border.

There were probably dozens of trees along the way.

As for forests large enough to be felled for people's production and daily life, there's not even a hint of one.

Of the four people present.

Vivian and Tie Yu had very limited knowledge of wood, almost equating it with shrubs. They mainly used it for starting fires, cooking, and keeping warm in the cold, and had only a very superficial understanding of it as a building material.

Only Hammer Linsey's temporary distress.

Seeing the young Lord's furrowed brow, he offered words of comfort:

"Lord Linsey, you don't have to do this."

"People on the Wasteland land are used to it. For example, in villages, they usually just use stones instead of stones for buildings."

Linsey shook her head slightly:

"This isn't a question of whether it's a replacement or not."

"My skills are very flexible in some aspects, but very rigid in others. If I say I need wood, then it has to be wood..."

As she spoke, Linsey's voice faded away on its own.

He had been on his journey for several years, and his luggage contained a wide variety of things, a complete mess.

Even if there are some effective tools that could solve the problem, he might not be able to think of them at the moment.

But now, an item that has been untouched for a long time has resurfaced in my mind, and this may be the key to breaking the deadlock.

"Lord Linsey?"

Linsey's silence and contemplation sparked another misunderstanding, Hammer was standing nearby, to speak somewhat hastily:

"It's really okay!"

"The people in this Wasteland have a completely different view of wood than someone like you. You don't need to..."

"I have an idea," Linsey suddenly interrupted Hammer.

Finally, he flipped his palm over, and a tiny seed appeared in his hand.

[Miraculous Seed /Material: Banyan Forest Seed]

[After planting, it will grow into a highly active banyan tree, improving the soil and water conditions of the area; it can also be used as a material to craft other items.]

[Advanced Miraculous Seed, quite valuable.]

This seed was obtained after we defeated the Tree Mother.

Linsey collected three in total: one for crafting items and one for exchanging treatment plans.

And this is the last one that was preserved.

It was on this special land, Wasteland soil, that it found its true opportunity to play a role.

Before using it, Linsey recalled the exaggerated size of the old Tree Mother.

The Banyan Forest stretches across the entire mountain, with its main part blocking out the sun, resembling a Titan from mythology.

This seed certainly won't reach that scale.

But since it's a product of the Sixth Stage, if it's actually planted, the results won't be too bad.

"Tie Yu, Hammer, call the rest of you over here."

"The commotion afterward could be quite significant. Let's avoid any accidents that might occur in the camp because of this."

Upon hearing the order, Hammer and Tie Yu immediately went to gather everyone.

Vivian looked at the seeds in Linsey's hand with some curiosity:

"Mr. Linsey, what are you holding in your hand...?"

Linsey returned a smile:

"This is a seed."

"For the Wasteland, this may be the most precious thing right now."

Vivian seemed thoughtful:

"The most precious things, hope, seeds..."

Before long, the refugees who were clearing the rubble were gathered together.

They had just been fed a meal by Linsey that they would never forget.

Even though the work of clearing the ruins was suddenly interrupted and they were forcibly summoned, there was no resentment in their eyes. They were just curious about Linsey's purpose.

Linsey stepped forward, her loud voice ringing out in the dry air:

"Everyone knows that it is not easy to survive in Wasteland environment!"

"So next, I plan to make some environmental modifications to the area around our camp. After that, no matter what happens, please rest assured, there will be no danger!"

As soon as Linsey finished speaking, a lively discussion broke out among the surrounding crowd.

They simply couldn't imagine how such a desolate environment as Wasteland could be transformed.

"Transform the environment?"

"Could it be like the legendary Ascender, bringing down a torrential rain?"

"Can food grow on the ground?"

Amidst the simple chatter, Linsey dug up the soil and buried the [Banyan Forest Seed].

Rumble—

A few seconds later, the earth began to tremble.

The seed buried beneath the soil seemed to receive some kind of summons. Its shell cracked open, pushing away the surrounding soil, and a touch of emerald green peeked out from the crack in the earth.

An indomitable spirit began to grow, and the seeds of hope were revived.

Visible green threads spread out, penetrating the soil, piercing through the rocks, and reaching deep into the earth's embrace, forming a verdant web of life.

Especially in the Town Hall that Linsey just built.

The main trunk of the Banyan Forest intertwines with it, transforming the Town Hall into a magical building that seems to grow from within the trees.

And visibly, the people within the territory also began to panic.

What is this?

"This is the power of the Awakened!!!"

"..."

People have never seen such a thing since they were born.

Their understanding of trees was limited to those withered, short things that took root alone and struggled to survive on the Wasteland.

And now?

In just over ten minutes.

On this once barren land, a lush Banyan Forest miraculously appeared. The aerial roots around it swayed in the wind like an old man's beard, and the interplay of light and shadow in the forest seemed to form a world of its own.

But the wonders of Banyan Forest Seed go beyond that.

Its most important power lies in that one sentence in the description.

— [Change and optimize the soil and water conditions of the location]

Beyond the Wasteland lies more Wasteland.

The air was dry, and the wind carried sand that felt stinging against the skin.

But at this moment, within the area covered by the Banyan Grove.

The earth's Life Force is slowly being awakened by the power of the trees; the dry, yellow soil is beginning to turn brown, and even the air has a refreshing, moist feel.

The people in the Wasteland could not comprehend the scene before their eyes.

Only their bodies' instinctive feedback lets them know how comfortable it feels.

"My Lord..."

"Long live the Lord!"

Just like when they saw Linsey's skills before, the crowd cheered again.

However, Linsey is now immune to such praise, and simply smiles slightly.

Then, Linsey walked to the side.

He reached out and snapped a banyan tree branch downwards.

Although the tree's growth was imperceptible to the naked eye, he could feel a tremendous Life Force flowing through it. The branch he had broken off should grow back within one or two months.

Just like the description of the seed, the Banyan Grove is full of vitality and grows extremely fast.

"Now we have a place to get the wood."

Linsey looked at the still cheering crowd.

Without a word, he began rummaging through his baggage and quickly made a batch of axes:

"Alright, everyone, stop shouting."

"A group of people who were clearing the rubble were separated and came with me to cut down trees."

"Be careful not to cut the tree roots!"