The Tree of Life and the Moon Well

Seeing Donald arrive, the Tree of Life, which had finished rooting and transformed into a towering tree, sent out a mental ripple.

"Master..., I have taken root. The area covered by the Nature Barrier is now my domain..."

The branches and leaves of the Tree of Life were like a canopy of clouds, shading an acre of sky around it. In Donald's eyes, a faint, natural radiance emanated from the tree, blanketing a radius of one kilometer—covering almost the entire small manor.

After communicating with the Tree of Life, Donald learned that this was a Nature Barrier formed by the tree utilizing natural energy. Friendly units living within it would receive a boost from natural power, while enemies would suffer a degree of suppression. Any hostile entity that stepped into the barrier's range would be detected immediately, triggering an alert.

Another advantage was that crops planted in farmland opened within the Nature Barrier would grow faster and more robustly than those outside. For a manor whose industry was primarily based on agriculture, this was undoubtedly a god-tier existence!

"This is far more powerful than the functions of the Tree of Life in the game! Tree of Life, can you still gestate Wisps now? Can Wisps exist permanently?"

The Tree of Life gently swayed its crown as if nodding, and its reply came through their mental link.

"I can..., as long as Master provides... soul imprints... and energy. I can also... absorb energy from the surrounding environment..., but that is too slow..."

Donald was delighted. Did this not mean he could continuously summon permanent units in the future?

However, before he could get too excited, a message from the Book of Truth shattered his beautiful dream!

It turned out that for a life form from the Book of Truth to exist permanently, one had to pay a corresponding amount of soul power; the lower the intelligence, the less soul power required. Ordinary, small soul fragments lacked complete soul imprints, so even if summoned, they would lose energy over time like a leaking basket—no matter how much water was poured in, it would flow out. Without external replenishment, they would vanish completely. Only when dozens or hundreds of soul fragments gathered together to form a complete soul with a stable energy cycle and structure could they be free from this law.

However, units like the Tree of Life, which were half-life and half-structure, were a special case. Furthermore, as a plant life form capable of absorbing nutrients and energy from the earth, sunlight, and air for its own use, the Book of Truth granted it this exception.

As for the most basic population unit in the game, the Elemental Wisp, because they were energy-based life forms, they could be gestated by the Tree of Life using magic cores. Moreover, as energy beings produced by the power of nature, they could gather around the Ancient tree and exist for a long time by absorbing the faint energy leaking from it. However, their lifespan was still limited, so they did not fall into the category of permanent summons.

As for higher-level and more intelligent population units and troops, they could not rely on the Tree of Life to survive. The energy consumption required to maintain those existences was an astronomical figure compared to the weak Elemental Wisps, a burden even the Tree of Life could not bear.

Donald had originally thought that after summoning the buildings from Warcraft, he could use other resources like gold and timber to produce population and buildings just like in the game. Who knew the Book of Truth wouldn't let him exploit a single loophole!

"Truly worthy of being an artifact! The rules are so rigorous!" Donald said indignantly, feeling somewhat disappointed.

Even after summoning the various racial building units, whether it was creating troops, upgrading technology, or purchasing items, he still had to redeem them through the Book of Truth, paying with soul power, magic beast crystals, or energy crystals. And if the soul power did not meet the standard, those troops would likewise remain temporary summoned creatures that would cease to exist once their energy was exhausted.

The only benefit was that if he could provide local candidates from this world who matched the characteristics of the building's race, they could be transferred into Warcraft units through the building, gaining the talents and skills inherent to those troops. All Donald had to pay was a bit of energy, without needing to spend magic beast crystals. This was effectively the same as gaining quite a few permanent summoned units.

Of course, these artificially trained troops would never be as absolutely loyal as permanent summoned units, who would sacrifice themselves for their master without hesitation. Therefore, Donald would have to select these candidates strictly and carefully, or control them through other means.

Since this was the case, Donald was in no rush to build the Ancient of War, the Ancient of Lore, or other troop-producing buildings.

"Master..., shall I begin construction of the... Moon Well?"

While Donald was lost in thought, the Tree of Life inquired.

"Moon Well? Is the function of this building still the same as in the game?"

Donald snapped back to reality and communicated with the Tree of Life, learning of the Moon Well's function and importance.

As a population building for the Night Elf race, the Book of Truth had integrated it with the laws of this world, shaping it into a companion structure for the Tree of Life. It could not only help the Tree of Life convert moonlight energy into nutrients but also amplify the absorption of free energy from the air. It could be said that the Moon Well was the energy absorption and conversion unit for the Tree of Life, which could greatly increase its energy intake speed and promote the evolution of the Tree of Life, hence why the tree was so eager for it.

Furthermore, the Moon Well had more than just these effects. Its greatest use to Donald was its ability to produce the magical Moon Essence, just like in the game—that is, the water of the Moon Well.

Moon Essence was a gentle, life-filled energy liquid. Most creatures could consume it directly; it not only restored vitality and mana but also had the miraculous effect of accelerating the growth of all natural plants. Although the true Moon Essence did not have the same production volume or recovery speed as in the game, as long as there was moonlight, it was equivalent to an inexhaustible spring of alchemical potions.

With so many benefits to building the Moon Well, Donald certainly wouldn't object and immediately ordered the Book of Truth to begin construction.

A magnificent stone-carved well, three meters by three meters in size and resembling a swimming pool, appeared in the center of the tree crown, entwined by vines.

Donald ordered the Tree of Life to lift him to the Moon Well with a branch. He had originally wanted to see the effects of the Moon Well and taste the Moon Essence that could restore life and mana in the game, but since it was not yet night, it could not condense moonlight to generate Moon Essence, leaving the well empty.

At this moment, the sound of hoofbeats came from afar. Donald ordered the Tree of Life to hide the Moon Well and then lower him down.

The visitor soon arrived before the Tree of Life; it was Code, the loyal butler of House Merlinar.

The butler said, slightly out of breath, "Young Master, Sir Jesse from the Noble Council Administration Office of Giant Stone City has just arrived. I have already invited him to sit for a moment in the manor!"

Donald was stunned and asked, "Jesse is here? Did he say what his purpose was?"

"Yes, Young Master. Sir Jesse has come this time to ask for the name of your manor!"

Donald knew that ordinary private manors usually had a fixed name to be passed down. Because the previous two owners of the two manors he purchased had met with miserable ends and left in a hurry, no name had been set for them. When the royal family sold them, they were only temporarily named after the original owner's territory.

Now that these two manors belonged to Donald, and no accidents had been heard of for many days, Sir Jesse had come to ask the owner of the manor so it could be officially registered in the official records and the name confirmed.

Of course, this knight coming in person was a sign of great respect for the owner of the manor, and incidentally, it was also to get closer to Donald, a noble mage with a wide reputation in North Shire, and to improve their relationship. Otherwise, he would have only needed to send a messenger to inquire.

"Since the Tree of Life has been built, the manor will be based on the architecture of the Night Elf race from now on. Then, let's call it Night."

Donald's thoughts shifted, and he decided on the name of the manor.