Babel

During the time Linnaeus had been lost in thought, a small ding resounded in his ears. This brought his attention to his Status before, moments later, observing a thin blue string that ran from his index finger.Due to how high he had climbed, Linnaeus wasn't surprised that his string was angled downward, extending into the adjacent wall and connecting him to his prey. He also took note of the fact that this was on the only visible string, meaning this challenge was designed so that you would know the name of your Hunter, but not their appearance and location.Linnaeus could feel a lingering dread in his heart, even though his [Sense Danger] had yet to activate. There didn't seem to be much of a chance he would make it through this particular challenge. Even if he stalled, there wasn't any information provided by the voice explaining the rules that would indicate a cutoff time for the game.Realizing his best hope was to track down his target before Merek managed to locate his position, Linnaeus began the arduous task of traveling through the peculiar stone corridors, a rather slow process considering he was trying to keep his elevation advantage.Until he knew his enemy's capabilities, Linnaeus wanted to make hunting him as inconvenient as possible. Though Merek would likely be able to leap from the pipes to get around, there was a chance his Blessing wasn't suited for ranged combat, giving him a small advantage if he played his cards right.What Linnaeus didn't expect was that, as he traveled in the direction of his prey, using the string that would appear every hour as a guide, an unexpected ding was heard in his mind. This drew his attention to his Status where, for one of two reasons, his target's name had disappeared.Linnaeus hadn't realized it before but there was a possibility that both his target and Hunter could either move on to the next Floor or be eliminated without him ever meeting them. Though it was rather unlikely, Merek might just choose to team up with the person hunting him down, removing the danger entirely.Since he had nothing better to do, Linnaeus waited until the current countdown completed but, rather than allow him a reprieve, his Status now showed a new target. This caused him to release an exasperated sigh as, for a moment, he believed it might be possible to just evade pursuit until his Hunter moved on to the next Floor. Though this could have been a mistake on his part, it gave him a much better chance than trying to reason with someone from one of the Eight Heavenly families.After thinking about his options, Linnaeus realized that it wasn't too likely for the person hunting down Merek to proactively seek them out. Unless they were very confident in their strength, they would probably wait for their own Hunter to seek them out and try to team up with them instead.Understanding this was the most likely outcome, Linnaeus knew his best chance was still to seek out his prey and either kill or ally with them. Fortunately, his current target was the 439th Ranked Fledgling, implying they were much weaker than his previous target.---As Linnaeus continued traveling high above the floor below, he would periodically hear the sound of distant explosions. There were even times when he could see brilliant flashes of light in the distance but, due to his decision to travel near the ceiling, it was impossible to make out the features of the battle's participants. All he could do was hope that one of them happened to be his pursuer and, though it wasn't likely, Linnaeus prayed they either got tired of chasing after him or became the victim of someone else's greed.With this state of mind, Linnaeus continued to travel for the better part of seventeen hours before deciding to take a break and rest.At this point, his target had already changed two additional times, indicating that the Floor was either smaller than expected, or that the entity in charge of the test put them close to their targets from the start.Linnaeus found some small comfort in knowing that his actions had become, at the very least, a small setback for the Rank 1 Fledgling. At this point, close to a hundred people should have been able to progress to the next Floor, even if only to avoid having to idle about in the cold, humid, and generally unpleasant Second Floor.What Linnaeus hadn't considered was that the Second Floor was actually filled with various traps, many being very lethal in nature. Rather than ascend to the next Floor after completing their tasks, his first target had been the unfortunate victim of a metal spike running through their right flank and piercing their heart. As for his second target, they had been killed off by the original person assigned to hunt them, as it was necessary for some targets to be shared as people continued to be eliminated.While this was going on, a man with handsome features, a muscular body, pure white hair, and blazing green eyes would periodically look up. This caused the heroic aura surrounding him to vanish for a brief moment as, rather than the confident smile he was known for, a murderous glint would flash across his eyes as a grimace form on his face.Though there were a number of people that chose to use the pipes to travel, as it allowed them to avoid many of the Floor's traps, it was still very inconvenient. Some of the pipes were separated by as much as twenty meters, making it impossible for the vast majority of Fledglings to travel between them.With his [Sword Mastery] Blessing, Merek, quite literally, had an edge against the majority of other Fledglings. Not only did he have the advantage of being groomed by one of the Eight Heavenly Families, but he had been provided a sword during his first test, allowing him to quickly cut down his opponent before slaughtering his way through the First Floor with ease.After claiming the first position in the Rankings, Merek had been full of pride at his achievement. This also afforded him a bonus 10,000 Aether and gave him the opportunity to take advantage of the amenities provided by the Second Floor as he awaited the next challenge.The rest area of the Second Floor included various luxuries, such as comfortable beds, showers, and even a massage parlor. It's most alluring aspect, however, was the plethora of strange shops, each manned by automatons that sold everything from essential supplies to powerful equipment.Though he abhorred the idea of roughing it, Merek knew there were times he would be unable to sleep on a comfortable bed. To prepare himself for this, he chose to sleep in one of the cheaper dwellings after spending the majority of his Aether on items and equipment. This was all so that he would be able to clear the Second Floor just as quickly as the first, awarding him more Aether and allowing him to remain at the head of the pack.Now, nearly a full day had passed and, with it, well over a hundred other Fledglings had either moved on or been eliminated. This left a bitter taste in Merek's mouth, replacing the jubilance he had experienced after first being assigned the lowest-ranked Fledgling as his target.Originally, Merek believed the Tower was rewarding his efforts while punishing the cowardly nature of his opponent. Now, however, he could only clench his teeth in frustration as he learned just why Linnaeus had been the last in the previous challenge. His target seemed to proactively avoid conflict and, though there were no guarantees, it seemed like their Blessing allowed them to fly or, at the very least, easily traverse the complex system of pipes.Merek had tried numerous times to ascend higher but, after you reached a certain point, it was almost impossible to cover the distance between pipes without trying to vault off walls or using something like a grappling hook. His horizontal leaping distance was a commendable fifteen meters but, even if he used [Enhance] to its limits, he could only jump a maximum of eight meters vertically.What frustrated Merek the most was that other Fledglings would randomly attack him as they attempted to steal his equipment and supplies. The first time this happened, he believed it was his Hunter but, rather than strike the young woman down, he actually lowered himself to party up with her, even temporarily. Since he didn't want his placement to be affected too greatly, he was prepared to allow his quarry to escape, at least for the time being.Unfortunately, the woman, along with everyone else that followed, were just trying to rob him. He quickly cut them down for their audacity but, every now and then, he would come across a tricky opponent. These included a hulking man whose bodily fluids, blood included, had potent acidic properties. Though he hadn't been particularly difficult to deal with, Merek lost his primary blade in the process, requiring him to use a much weaker substitute.Even more troublesome than the man with acidic blood was his encounter against a duo who were obviously members of the Shadow Guild. They had immediately attacked him on the spot and, due to the harsh training the Shadow Guild members underwent, it was a difficult fight, even for Merek.Fortunately, while they were tricky opponents, especially in terrain with multiple walls and pipes to maneuver around, they were relatively weak in direct engagements. He managed to cut off one of their legs, causing the other attacker to immediately retreat without sparing their companion a second glance. Then, as they were known to do, the crippled man activated a strange talisman, self-destructing after trying to leap toward Merek with their remaining leg.As it wasn't the first time members of the Shadow Guild had tried to assassinate him, Merek had been fully aware of their final trump card. This allowed him to leaped to one of the pipes above and, using their seemingly indestructible nature, evade the primary blast wave. Though this had left his eardrums bleeding, he recovered around twenty minutes later as he, once again, glared menacingly toward the endless darkness above...Unaware that he had become the personal enemy of a member of the Eight Heavenly Families, Linnaeus continued to make slow progress through the labyrinthine network of corridors as he sought out his constantly updating target.At this point, three days had passed so, while he had been unable to find his target, Linnaeus was confident his Hunter lacked the means to reach him. This allowed him to rest a bit easier and, by the end of the third day, a ding sounded in his mind that indicated his Hunter had changed from the Rank 1 to someone ranked 419th.When Linnaeus saw the new name, he couldn't help but laugh aloud but, rather than make his way down to proactively search for his target, he continued to stay close to the roof, well out of range for most Fledglings. Though some might call him cowardly, this was the method the weak used to survive when surrounded by the strong. There was no point in being brave if the only reward was an early death.Unlike other people, who actively sought to reach the higher Floors of the Tower, Linnaeus just wanted to survive in order to reunite with the people he cared about. He intended to leave the Tower at the first opportunity so, even if he was ridiculed, why should he care about the opinion of people who would unhesitantly kill him if it meant they could ascend to the next Floor?With this mentality, Linnaeus continued to bide his time while preserving as much of his supplies as possible. It wasn't until the end of the seventh day that he considered heading down as, rather than two different names, indicating his target and Hunter, there was now a single name between them. For the last few pings, the string on his finger had been pointing directly downward as well so, feeling now was his opportunity to proceed to the next Floor, Linnaeus began his descent.What had surprised Linnaeus the most was, rather than someone near the same Rank as him, his current target and Hunter were both ranked 13th. Though this raised a few red flags in his mind, it could be a tremendous boon if he was able to convince them to temporarily ally with him. Thus, even though he had a few inhibitions and was tempted to wait a few more days, Linnaeus slowly and carefully descended.

Though it was impossible to know who spread it first, there was a famous story that circulated both within the megacity and the slums surrounding it. This story spoke of a godly bird whose wingspan could even cover the sky. One day, it grew bored of the planar world below and, seeking something beyond the endless sky above, flew with only the sun as its guidance. The sun, feeling as though its pride had been offended, cast down blazing rays of light, consuming the arrogant bird for daring to venture too close.The most curious thing about this story was, rather than a single tragic end, there were two different versions. One stated that the majestic bird, unrivaled in all the lands, was able to overcome the sun's flames and, rather than be burned alive, it used those same flames to refines its body. By sacrificing its flesh and overcoming death itself, it was reborn as a completely new existence, known through all of Lumen as the Legendary Phoenix. However, this was only one outcome as, in other instances of the story, the mighty bird met its end as a result of its curiosity, lack of preparation, and hubris.Linnaeus never thought he would be able to empathize with such a powerful creature but, at this moment, he was suddenly reminded of the story. He felt like he had ventured too close to the sun before he was ready, despite having spent his entire life skulking in the shadows. As for the cause of his peculiar state of mind, it was due to the presence of a familiar figure who, currently, stared up at him with a predominately blank expression. Despite this, Linnaeus felt like he was a small animal who had just wandered into the den of a predator a thousand times its size, despite the fact she was little more than two-thirds his own...The person Linnaeus was looking at, named Ryuuna Flaskbrand, was the same child-like girl he had witnessed slaughtering several people on the First Floor. She had been bold and brazen enough to rinse her body in the river without a care in the world, punishing any who dared interrupt her bath with death. Now, as she looked up at him with her pale-gold eyes, Linnaeus felt like he would be the next person on her long list of victims.As if reading his mind, the expressionless girl seemed to blur as a cloud of dust expanded outward from where she had previously been standing. He couldn't even follow her movements with his eyes as she bounded between the walls and pipes like a rubber ball. What shocked him the most was, in one of the areas where she had kicked off, the seemingly indestructible pipes had a small footprint.Unfortunately, Linnaeus didn't have time to marvel at this sight as he formed a barrier between him and his would-be attacker purely by instinct. At that same moment, time felt like it had been slowed to a halt as, less than a meter from his own face, separated only by a thin blue membrane, Linnaeus saw the little girl staring right back at him. Her forehead had contacted the barrier and, as if it gave no resistance whatsoever, he could see it fracturing like glass as she successfully completed her charge.This was the downside to his [Barrier] as, if he didn't put enough SP into the cast, it could be broken by a significantly powerful attack. Linnaeus was fully aware of this so, hoping to just slow her down, he put a full 500 SP into a single cast. This didn't seem to matter at all to her, however, as the next moment was celebrated by a powerful force slamming into his chest, the result of the girl's forehead impacting his diaphragm.Two things happened immediately following this sudden impact. The first was Linnaeus being sent flying backward several tens of meters before slamming into a series of pipes as he tumbled toward the ground below. At the same time, he saw his SP decreased by nearly 1700 points, meaning her single attack had burned through more than 2200 of his reserves. The resultant fall ate through the majority of the remainder and, by the time he landed against the ground, the blue light around his body was flickering pathetically as only 38 of his SP remained.Despite taking no physical damage, Linnaeus couldn't see or think straight due to the overwhelming headache he was currently experiencing. This was one of the downsides to using a large amount of SP in a short period of time so, having burned through more than 98% of his reserves in a short few seconds, Linnaeus felt like a metal pipe had struck the back of his head. His ears were ringing as a terrifying darkness had already started to creep in from the edge of his vision.Resisting the urge to pass out, Linnaeus climbed to his feet but, before he managed to get more than a few steps, a tiny figure blocked his path. He suddenly felt like his blood was on fire as, rather than go down without a fight, he burned the majority of his health and remaining SP as he extended his hand. Though he couldn't see it, this action caused the girl's brows to rise slightly as, against her expectations, she found her body surrounded by a barrier that restricted her movements.Linnaeus had done his best to harder the [Barrier Aura] as much as possible, cutting off the girl's air and restricting her ability to move. He then fell to his knees as blood poured out from the orifices of his head due to the backlash of the overdraft. Then, as his vision turned to pinholes, Linnaeus began pulling out all of his food and supplies as he began to madly engorge himself, praying it would be enough to bring him out of the Critical Health status while he was unconscious.Looking like a madman who had been starved for days, Linnaeus continued to devour food until he collapsed, hunching forward with a piece of unchewed meat hanging from his mouth. While this had been happening, the girl watched him with a deadpan expression on her face. Then, for the second time, she was surprised by the fact he had been able to keep the barrier active, even after having lost consciousness.Since not being able to breathe was annoying, the girl began to strain her body and, like an ice sculpture breaking under pressure, the barrier around her body fragmented into pieces. When she was freed, the first thing she did was to take a deep breath of fresh air before looking down at the boy who had desperately clung to life. She wondered how someone with such a strong drive to live could be so weak but, as his body had been somewhat illusory earlier, she rationalized that he must be a prospective Thief.Though the [Barrier Master] Blessing wasn't particularly rare, it was a very useful support ability that provided quite a number of benefits. It was more than a little odd for a Thief to have such a skill but, considering how he had been able to survive one of her blows, plus the subsequent fall, it was clear he had mastered it to a commendable degree. The most impressive part, however, was his use of the Blessing to restrict her movements and, despite being on the verge of collapse, his almost instinctual drive to survive.Out of curiosity, the girl lifted her foot as if she were going to crush Linnaeus' head. Instead, she only brought it to rest probingly against the back of his head. When a thin blue membrane prevented her from contacting him directly, she blinked in surprise for the third time. His tenacity reminded her of the bugs she used to squash when she was younger. Some of them, despite being stepped on over and over again, continued to struggle desperately for their lives.While thinking this, the girl began to put more strength into her foot as a smile began to creep its way onto her face. The entire reason she had stayed on the Second Floor for so long was due to the fact she wanted to eliminate as much of the competition as possible. Even if it might be necessary for her to team up with others in later Floors, she enjoyed crushing the hopes and dreams of those who sought to compete against her. This was especially true if her opponent belonged to one of the Eight Heavenly Families as, for the past seventeen years of her life, she had been forced to serve as little more than a slave to their whims.It was because of this that, despite her desire to feel Linnaeus' blood and brains against the bottom of her foot, she ultimately decided not to squash him. Rather than a threat, he was closer to the bugs she had taken her frustrations out on as a child. Even this, however, made him infinitely better than the egotistical wastrels that had suppressed her prior to entering the Tower. She could use him as a lackey and a cook as, much like others of Dwelven heritage, her skills lay more in crafting than the culinary arts.Looking around Linnaeus' body, the girl could see various foodstuffs, fruits, and herbs. This showed he was both resourceful and had relatively decent survival skills. Considering he had been the last to leave the First Floor, he also had a cautious nature. Though it could be misconstrued that he was a coward who feared conflict, his eyes showed absolutely no hesitation as he tried to counterattack. It wasn't the look of someone who had never killed but rather someone who only killed when it was required.After deciding to give the boy a chance at life, the Dwelven girl sat down on his back and began to eat some of the food that surrounded his body. She would have him reveal his Status to her and, if the numbers weren't too pathetic, she would spare him. At the very least, she could use him as a punching bag one last time before moving on to the next Floor. She was a little curious to see how he would fight for his life the second time around as, even after slaughtering nearly sixty other Fledglings, very few had managed to surprise her, much less three times. If he could surprise her a few more times before his death, she would try to commit his name to heart, at least for a few days.While thinking about the boy's identity, the girl hopped off his back before kicking Linnaeus over to his side. Then, squatting down close to his face, she tilted her head sideways before falling silent for a few seconds. She had seen him up-close before but, now that she got a good look at him, the girl was, once again, surprised.Though she had never touted her looks over others, she had the distinct impression the boy lying next to her, despite having his face covered in blood, was more attractive than her. He couldn't be described as handsome, especially with his frail and lithe figure, so the only words she could think of to describe him were delicate and beautiful. This made him seem even frailer than before and, rather than a bug, she suddenly felt he was closer to a winter rose, something to be admired, not crushed.For a brief moment, the Dwelven girl began to imagine dressing up Linnaeus in various outfits, most of which were only intended for females and a few individuals with unique tastes. She felt he would look cute in a Maid outfit or a pale-blue dress with white frills. At the same time, she imagined him glaring back at her, golden eyes burning with the will to live, despite being akin to a small animal in front of her. This image caused a smile to spread across her face and, while Linnaeus continued to wander in the abyss of unconsciousness, she began to pat his head while musing, "I hope I don't have to kill you~."

After nearly seven days on the First Floor, Linnaeus had acquired a total of 829 Aether, most of which had been obtained from hunting the various oversized animals littering the seemingly endless forest.By constantly avoiding areas where people would naturally congregate, he had been able to avoid any direct encounters with other Fledglings. Instead, he focused on increasing his proficiency with his Skills, Abilities, and Magic as, even without people to use them against, the animals residing on the First Floor had become a veritable treasure trove of experience.Though he had gotten quite a bit of experience when he first started killing his pursuers in the slums, this number had decreased to between 5~20 experience after his Level had increased. Since it took an increasing amount of experience to raise his Level, these diminishing returns had been weighing heavily on his mind after reaching Level 21.Now, Linnaeus found that even relatively weak animals, such as a peculiar toothed duck and a three-meter long bottom-feeding fish, could grant him a considerable amount of experience. Some of the larger predatory animals, such as the red-furred leopard he had killed, granted a phenomenal 201 experience in a single go.It wasn't exactly easy to find animals within the forest but, by leaving corpses as bait, he had been able to draw the attention of a few sensitive predators to rapidly increase his experience gains while also training his Skills, Abilities, and Magic. He was actually surprised with how easy it was to hunt and trap animals using a combination of his [Barrier], [Stealth], [Presence Concealment], and the environment itself.After encountering traps previously, Linnaeus had decided to try and earn the [Trap Set] and [Trap Disarm] Skills on his own. With his attributes, he knew it would be very difficult to fight enemies directly so, in order to ensure he could pass through increasingly dangerous Floors, he wanted to increase his foundation as much as possible.Because of the gracious contribution of the various fauna inhabiting the forest, Linnaeus felt like his horizons had expanded exponentially. Not only was his power increasing rapidly but, for reasons he didn't quite understand, not being able to see the Tower dominating the horizon suddenly made it seem as if his future had been opened to limitless possibilities...----------------------------------------[Status]Name: Linnaeus FinnianTitle: Fledgling(+2 Spi, +1 Luk per Level)Race: Hume(50%), Manalyte(50%)Age: 15Gender: MaleLevel: 21~23(1008/3900)Health: 1120/1120Soul Power: 2971/2971Strength: 50Constitution: 50~52+4Agility: 70~79+15.8Dexterity: 51~56+2Intelligence: 82~91+50.5Wisdom: 82~90+50Spirit: 38~42+12.6Charisma: 25~28Luck: 10~13+1Free Attributes: 16Skills: [Kinu Comprehension:(-)], [Fleet-Footed:LV1~LV11], [Magus:LV1~LV14], [Resilient Mind:LV1~LV8], [Knife Mastery: LV21], [Throwing: LV14~LV15],[Sense Danger: LV29~LV30], [Presence Concealment: LV30~LV32], [Acrobatics: LV30~LV31], [Pain Tolerance: LV18~LV19], [Barrier Master:LV50~LV51], [Assassination: LV33~LV35], [Charm: LV7~LV8], [Trap Set: LV11](new), [Trap Disarm: LV6](new), [Dismantling: LV7](new)Abilities: [Steal: LV27~LV28], [Stealth: LV28~LV30], [Night Vision: LV17~LV19]Magic: [Enhance: LV26], [Barrier: LV50~LV51], [Barrier Aura: LV50]----------------------------------------Every time Linnaeus saw the increase in his experience and attributes, he couldn't help but smile as it wasn't an exaggeration to say he was more than twice as powerful as a week prior. Attributes didn't scale linearly so the difference between 40~50 Agility and 50~60 Agility was significant.Now that his attributes had increased so much, even his weakest [Barrier], using the minimum 50SP, could hold upwards of 400kg. In the past, he had only been able to support around 140kg so it was quite a sizeable increase.. Better yet, as his [Barriers] persisted for the duration of his Spirit, he could now erect them for nearly a full minute, a stark contrast to the pitiable seconds he could maintain them previously.The only downside was, after reaching Level 50, he was no longer able to arbitrarily gain experience by simply casting his Magic. He needed to proactively use them by stress-testing their resistance or actively using them in combat. It seemed that breaking through the Level 50 threshold made it a lot harder to grow unless you were willing to put in some serious effort.Despite this setback, Linnaeus was optimistic for the future as, with his SP regeneration reaching 149 per minute, it was possible for him to perform some pretty amazing feats. He had even been able to make platforms that allowed him to ascend high into the sky and, so long as he paced himself, it was possible to stay airborne indefinitely.In the future, Linnaeus was hoping he would be able to freely move his barriers around as, unless he made them dynamic from the start, they were fixed once he created them. Since the barriers had no weight to them, at least not enough to matter, there wasn't much use for a platform that simply fell to the ground the moment he created it.Using his Blessing to its limit, Linnaeus had ascended a steep cliff before making a small camp for himself on one of the larger ledges. The chances of him begin attack so far away from any other Fledglings and resources allowed him to relax, even if he never dropped his guard.In this manner, he had been able to last until the eve of the seventh day when a voice began to echo in his surroundings, saying, "You are the last Fledgling remaining on this Floor. Congratulations, Mr. Finnias, as you will be given a small bonus for your patience and cautionary nature. Though it is only a pittance compared to what the frontrunners earned, I hope to see how far someone like you is able to climb this Tower. Ufufufufu~."The moment the voice faded away, Linnaeus heard a ding as his Aether value increased to 1829. At the same time, transparent blue text appeared in his vision that said, 'You are the 577th Ranking member in your group. Due to your peculiar nature, you have been awarded the Title of Sheepish Fledgling'. (A/N: Sheepish Fledgling(+1 Wis, +1 Spi, +1 Cha)Linnaeus didn't mind the bonus 1000 Aether but, when he saw his new Title, his mind completely blanked as a feeling of loss welled up inside of him.Though some might do anything to get their hands on it, he didn't have much use for the Charisma attribute. Luck, however, was one of the most important attributes as it directly influenced the large majority of his active Abilities. Now that he no longer gained the free Luck per Level, he suddenly felt that his efforts over the last week, while fruitful, had cost him something important.Without being afforded the time to brood, Linnaeus suddenly felt his vision blacken as a nauseating sense of weightlessness seized him. Then, as if it had been an illusion, this feeling faded away as his feet were firmly planted on a hard stone floor.Unlike the previous Floor, which was a vast and open wilderness, the Second Floor reminded him of the slums. The air was very humid and, much like the alleyways he had called home for his entire life, there were tall stone walls that had pipes of different sizes passing between them. As for the ceiling, only pure darkness could be seen, even with his [Night Vision] activated.Just as he was thinking about what kind of test awaited him, a distinctly different voice from the one present on the First Floor announced, "Congratulations to everyone who had cleared the First Floor's challenge! There are now a total of 577 Fledglings remaining of the original 1,000 so I am pleasantly surprised. It isn't uncommon for only 300~400 people to make it this far so I have high hopes that this batch will complete my challenge with ease!"Since the fastest way to get Aether was to kill other Fledglings, Linnaeus wasn't surprised by the voice's words in the slightest. He was bothered by the fact he was the lowest ranking member of his entire group but that didn't really matter, so long as he survived. Unfortunately, the voice seemed to be able to read his mind, and not in a good way..."As I'm certain everyone has noticed, the Second Floor is quite a bit different from the First. I hope you all were able to enjoy the amenities provided during your wait as, from this moment onward, the only luxuries you have are the ones you collected in your Inventories! Unlike the previous Floor, you will find that the only enemies waiting for you here are other Fledglings! As for the challenge that awaits you, it is a game I like to call Hunt, Hide, and Seek. Every hour, for the duration of a single minute, a red thread will connect you and your target. In order to proceed to the next Floor, you have to either kill or team up with your target! Keep in mind that, while you are hunting others, there is also someone hunting you. Good luck, and may you one day soar amongst the Heavens~!"Though the rules of the game weren't particularly threatening, what the voice had failed to say was that the name and rank of their target and the person hunting them were both displayed in the information panel of their Status. There, Linnaeus could only stare blankly as he saw the name of his Target, Ersk Kivanh, Rank 133, and the name of his Hunter Merek Alexandros, Rank 1.Even living in the slums his entire life, Linnaeus was familiar with the names of the Eight Heavenly Families. This included the Geminis, Evendoom, Silverlake, Andromeda, Titania, Bellsprit, Goldbeard, and, last but not least, the Alexandros family. Since it was practically a death sentence to claim the surname of one of the Eight without being an actual member, Linnaeus knew that the person who was hunting him undoubtedly belonged to the Alexandros family.Without wasting any time, Linnaeus began to vault up the walls, using the pipes and footholds formed from his [Barrier] Magic to ascend as high and out of sight as possible. He didn't know how big the Floor was but, if he went high enough, Linnaeus was confident he could avoid being made easy prey for the prodigious Rank 1 Fledgling. As for fighting back, that would depend wholly on the type of Blessing his Hunter had as, unlike some of the other families, the Alexandros weren't famous for any particular Blessing.After ascending for nearly half an hour, to the point he couldn't even see the floor below any longer, Linnaeus finally reached what appeared to be the ceiling of the Second Floor. He wasn't really sure how far he had traveled but, if a person fell from this height, death was assured.Without any other materials on hand, Linnaeus began to chip away at the outer layer of the pipe, only to quickly discover the material was far harder than anything he had ever dealt with. He had actually been curious about whether or not it was possible to pass into other corridors through the pipes but this seemed to be beyond his capabilities.With few alternatives available to him, Linnaeus could only wait in his [Stealth] mode while waiting for the small timer in his information tab to finish counting down. He wasn't actually planning on hunting down his target as this meant exposing himself to the Rank 1 player while also potentially earning the ire of his target. After all, even if he could convince the person named Ersk to team up with him, the chances of them siding with him after learning he was being hunted by the Rank 1 were slim, at best.For the umpteenth time, Linneaus felt that the Tower was actively putting him into unfair situations while propping up other Fledglings, despite them not needed the help. He felt it was ridiculous that the Rank 1 Fledgling, who was already well ahead of his peers, was assigned with the lowest-ranked person in the batch. It was practically a death sentence as, by reaching the Second Floor ahead of everyone else, it was almost guaranteed that the person hunting him had no qualms about killing others...Thinking this far, Linnaeus couldn't help but release a tired sigh as he looked toward the ceiling above, missing the sky of the First Floor...

Chapter 21: Frustration