Babel

Though he could take as much time as he liked, Linnaeus knew he couldn't spend too much time within the Crucible of Souls. After all, unless she died, Saht would undoubtedly be waiting for him on the first Floor where people could congregate. Even if she had to wait for several years, Linnaeus was confident she would continue to wait, refusing to believe he had died.Saht had trouble expressing herself but, even if she had never said it, Linnaeus liked to think that she loved him. They already made plans to stay together for the rest of their lives so, while it may not be the wisest decision, he was determined not to keep her waiting for too long.Despite this sense of urgency, however, Linnaeus wasn't foolish enough to walk about the Seventh Floor with impunity.After five days of venturing, he had learned that the Floor was divided into several territorial regions, each ruled by a 'king' or a small group of powerful monsters. Each of these was strong enough to kill him in an instant but, so long as he kept to the outskirts, it was possible to hunt weaker monsters without having to worry.By exercising caution, Linnaeus had been able to identify a total of thirteen king-class monsters, each belonging to a completely different race. He also learned that, when monsters killed each other, their bodies would not break down into ash. When he tried to scavenge the corpse of another monster's prey, however, it immediately lost its color before fading away. It didn't even leave behind a single drop item, indicating that he couldn't just take advantage of another monster's prey.Fortunately, by sticking to the outskirts of known territories, he had been able to hunt without any real difficulties. He had even managed to make a home for himself after killing a fox-like monster that had three small horns on its head. It had dug a den for itself between two large boulders and, though it was a little cramped in some areas, there were multiple entrances and exits that he could make use of in an emergency.With food, water, and shelter secured, Linnaeus spent most of his day drawing a rough map of the area and approximating the territories of surrounding kings. Throughout this process, he had seen several other people hunting but, after following one relatively weak-looking individual to a small hovel, he figured they were just as new to the Seventh Floor as he was.Since he had yet to establish himself and get a proper understanding of the surroundings, Linnaeus wasn't trying to Party up with anyone just yet. He didn't want to be responsible for another person and, after his experience with Ryuuna, he wasn't in a hurry to Party up with another woman.After observing the girl for several hours, confirming that she was indeed new to the Floor, Linnaeus returned to his own territory to rest and make plans. She actually had a very useful Blessing, allowing her to create and manipulate water, but he had already found a small stream around two kilometers from his den. Thus, for the time being, he left her to his own devices while spending his days hunting and training his Skills, Abilities, and Magic.Linnaeus quickly learned that killing monsters on the Seventh Floor awarded no experience toward his base Level but, as his attributes could be increased through training, he wasn't deterred. Instead, he was even more motivated than before since he could focus on strengthening his foundation. It was almost like the Crucible of Souls was made for this purpose, preventing people from arbitrarily increasing their Level and forcing them to instead put in more effort to refine what they already had.In order to take advantage of this fact, Linnaeus woke up long before the veil of the night gave way to the dawn of a new day. During these few hours, he would stretch his body before performing an exercise routine consisting of ten sets of 100 pushups, 100 crunches, 100 flex kicks, and 100 squats. He would rest between each set, allowing his body to regenerate his damaged muscles and stamina before moving on to the next set. After this, he would spend an hour checking the surrounding area, documenting any changes that might have occurred since the previous day.Until he had patrolled the area, Linnaeus would avoid combat with any monsters, even if they were much weaker than him. He didn't want to be caught off guard trying to procure food and resources when he already had ample supplies stocked up in his Inventory and den.After investigating any anomalies within the surrounding area, Linnaeus would then hunt between the borders of three different Kings. This was an area dominated by an eight-meter tall silver ape, a 20m long snake, and a family of lion-like monsters with pale white fur and dark blue manes. They were all very violent creatures but, as their borders all overlapped with more powerful creatures, he could hunt within the boundaries of their territories without having to worry about them venturing inward.This time around, Linnaeus was skulking through the forest without making a single sound as he crept up on a medium-sized monster that looked like a combination between a bear and a rabbit. It had light brown fur with a pock-marked pattern of dark brown spots on its back. What stood out the most was its large claws and, for the complete opposite reason, its rather docile-looing face.Linnaeus had been stalking the bear-rabbit for nearly twenty minutes as, while it didn't give off the same feeling as more powerful monsters, he wanted to increase his proficiency in, [Assassination], [Stealth], and [Presence Concealment]. They were his core techniques and, though he wanted to become strong enough to fight people head-on, there was no reason to simply abandon his existing skillset.After finding a relatively private area, the bear-rabbit sniffed around the area before hunching its body over and relieving itself. It was during this moment that Linnaeus decided to strike as, without waiting for it to fall asleep, this was the most exposed it would be...Using a series of three platforms like steps, Linnaeus leaped high into the air with two Horned Rabbit daggers in hand. The monster was completely unsuspecting as, not only had he been downwind, but his solidified [Barrier Aura] concealed his scent.Due to the difference in their size, Linnaeus landed on the back of the bear-rabbit, stabbing both of his daggers towards the sides of its neck. It felt like he was trying to stab through several durable pieces of leather but, with his surprise attacks dealing triple damage and causing Severe Bleeding, it was enough.With two daggers sticking in its neck, the bear-rabbit released a loud howl of pain as it swept its arm backward to try and cut him to ribbons with its razor-sharp claws. Linnaeus had already expected this, however, so he placed a barrier in the path of its joint while using the leverage provided by his daggers to stay on its back.After stopping its attack, Linnaeus pulled another dagger out of his Inventory and began stabbing it near the base of the monster's skull over and over. Without the benefit of a surprise attack, each stab only penetrated a few centimeters but, as he was doing persistent damage, it didn't matter.Once it managed to recover, the bear-rabbit did something Linnaeus hadn't expected as he had yet to see how it fought. It had a thick layer of fur so he was unable to see the powerful muscles in its legs. As a result, he was considerably surprised when the bear-rabbit suddenly leaped more than ten meters into the air as it attempted to crush him with its body weight.Though it likely wouldn't kill him, Linnaeus wasn't in the mood to see how well his [Barrier Aura] held up against the full-body slam of a monster. He quickly kicked away from its body before erecting a sloped barrier between them, diverting the monster's fall to the side as he dropped down.Due to the desperate nature of its attack, the bear-rabbit took a significant amount of damage from its own fall. It crashed hard into the ground before rolling to the side, a pitiful grown escaping its throat as it stared hatefully back at Linnaeus.For a brief moment, boy and monster glared at each other with murderous intent but, instead of colliding climactically, the former quickly spun on his heels before vanishing into the surrounding brush. He had already put the monster into a critical state so, with the Severe Bleeding status, it was only a matter of time until it fell.In response to its hated enemy fleeing, the bear-rabbit released a groaning roar as it made one final attempt to give chase. Unfortunately, it only made it a few steps before its legs smashed into a thin blue membrane, effectively tripping it to the ground. When it tried to stand up, another membrane kept it held down, preventing it from lifting its weakened body as a pair of ruby-red eyes stared at it from the darkness of a distant tree.After a few minutes of struggling, the bear-rabbit finally bled out, alerting Linnaeus to its identity via system notification. It ended up having the classification Lesser Ursiculus and, just like every other monster he killed, it awarded no experience towards his base Level. Instead, he got a few dozen in his [Assassination] Skill, bringing him ever closer to LV43 and the LV50 threshold.Once the monster had dissolved into ash, Linnaeus quickly looted the large red gemstone, earning an additional 59 Soul Kindling. This brought his total to 1391, indicating he had earned a total of 853 over the last six days. Since the majority of monsters within his means to hunt awarded between 30 and 50 Soul Kindling, he was earning between 160 and 200 each day.Linnaeus didn't know if he was making good progress but, until he had killed a total of one-hundred monsters and hunted down a King, he was determined to stay on the Seventh Floor. His reasoning told him that greater dangers were present on higher floors so, if he couldn't even take down one of the weaker Kings, proceeding further was the same as inviting death upon himself.So long as it wasn't hunted by another person, Linnaeus had already decided on which King he was going to hunt. It was a dragon-type monster located about six-hours due east of his den. Though he couldn't be certain, it gave him a similar feeling to the first monster he had encountered. Thus, with the latter already having died to the blue-haired spearman, it was the next best alternative.He would adjust his plans as needed but, for the time being, Linnaeus had given himself a month to hunt down one of the Kings. On average, he would kill around three monsters per day so he would be nearing his goal of 100 monsters around the same time. If the King ultimately proved too much for him, he would do his best to retreat to safety before trying to gain access to the Sixth Floor.After looting a large pelt, easily big enough to create a mantle from, Linnaeus retreated back toward his den. Before entering inside, however, he patrolled the surrounding area for over an hour to make sure there weren't any people nearby eyeing his domicile. He would never return straight home as there was always a chance someone could track him back, just like he had followed the unsuspecting water-girl previously.It was only after he was confident there were abnormalities that Linnaeus created a solidified [Barrier Aura] so that he could completely mask his scent. Then, while closely observing his surroundings, he very slowly backtracked until reaching one of his den's entrances. It was kept hidden by a large bush that could be moved aside to reveal a hole just barely large enough for his small frame.Despite entering his own home, Linnaeus was still very cautious as, while he was away, there was a chance someone else could have taken up residence inside. He made sure to check each entrance and exit for signs of entry. Since he had placed small stones near the mouth of the holes, he could be relatively certain no visitors had arrived.Once he had confirmed his den was secure, Linnaeus breathed a sigh of relief before plopping down on a large pile of animal hide. He was slowly building up a stockpile of fur in order to produce a set of makeshift clothing. Though he lacked the [Tanner], [Crafting], and [Tailor] Blessings, he could still develop a weaker version of the Skill. Since there were no guarantees he would be able to purchase equipment and supplies in the future, he felt it wasn't a bad idea to learn how to make his own...

An additional three weeks had passed on the Seventh Floor and, though there had been some close calls when his confidence outgrew his caution, Linnaeus was now making his final preparations for a battle against the 'Dragon King'. He had already come up with a strategy he believed was viable and, though his plan had a good chance of getting thrown out the window as soon as combat began, it was better than going in unprepared.At this point, Linnaeus had hunted a total of 95 monsters, earning himself a sizeable 4,351 Soul Kindling in the process. He wasn't sure if this was a lot but, compared to having only a few hundred, it certainly felt like a lot.With the combination of physical training and hunting, Linnaeus' Skills, Abilities, and Magic had all experienced a qualitative improvement compared to his past self. Though his attributes had only increased by a few points, primarily as a result of bonuses, it still felt good to have strengthened his foundation.Now, before his climactic battle, Linnaeus had decided to take a gamble by trying to recruit a few other people to his cause. During his exploration of the Seventh Floor, he had located the abodes of seven others, the majority of which gave off the impression that they were much weaker than him.Though his plan could be enacted without assistance, Linnaeus wanted to start building his Party now as, if he started scouting in the higher Floors, there was a good chance he would be refused. This was not only due to the fact that stronger people than him should exist in the higher Floors but, after staying in the Crucible of Souls for an extended period of time, he expected that the majority of people would have formed a team by then.Of the seven people he had tracked, the two that interested him the most was a tall man with pale grey skin and a sturdy build. As for the other, she was a petite woman with purple hair that could only be described as fluffy.The sclera of the former was pitch black, giving him a rather scary vibe, while his eyes were a vibrant shade of silver. What made him exceptional, at least in Linnaeus' opinion, was his ability to absorb the traits of anything he was in contact with.Linnaeus had watched as the man wrangled with a Bear Rabbit using nothing by his physique to overpower the cute, yet ferocious, monster. A few seconds after the fight had started, the man's body had become covered in a layer of light-brown fur and, though it was hard to tell at a glance, the muscles of his back and legs had become more pronounced. Shortly after that, he had pulled off the right arm of the Bear Rabbit before using it as a makeshift club to finish the unfortunate monster off.Though his Blessing could have been misconstrued as just another transformation ability, Linnaeus had been surprised to see the man enter into a small pond after his hunt came to an end. After a few seconds had passed, his body began to turn transparent and, by the time a minute had elapsed, his form had completely disappeared into the water. Even with his [Perception] enhanced to LV28, it was impossible for Linnaeus to sense the man after he had become one with the water.While the man's Blessing was a truly envious ability, as Linnaeus could think of a conceivably infinite number of ways to exploit it, the purple-haired girl was actually his primary target. Though he had a small trauma after his experience with Ryuuna, she seemed to be a far more agreeable person than the pale-haired Dwelf.What made the purple-hair girl so important in Linnaeus' mind, besides her seemingly quiet and demure nature, was, as could be expected, her Blessing. She had the ability to exponentially increase the amount of gravity within a given area by simply bringing her palms together. Though he knew very little about it, Linnaeus had heard the rumors about Gravity Magic having almost no counter, making it would of the most powerful types after Lightning and Destruction Magic.It wasn't the girl's offensive capabilities that made Linnaeus want to scout her, however. Instead, it was her potential utility and support skills as, when she retreated to her own abode, the girl would use what he could only assume was a spell to reduce her own weight. This allowed her to leap well over 50m in a single bound, giving her the ability to scale massive cliffs without any difficulty. Even more useful was the fact that, even if she leaped down from her rocky residence, she would suffer no damage from a fall that would have killed, or at least seriously injured, most people.If things worked out, Linnaeus could secure the absorption man as their Vanguard while the gravity girl would serve as their offensive ace and support specialist. His role would be as the secondary attacker, fighting from the mid-line with his limited ranged capabilities while using his [Barrier] and [Barrier Aura] spells to help dictate the flow of battle.With his Agility, Intelligence, and Wisdom being his highest attributes, Linnaeus knew he wasn't much of a front-line fighter. He was better suited to the position of supporting others and, after working with Saht for several years, he was able to grasp the situation of a battlefield without too much difficulty. Though he might not exactly have leadership qualities, this wouldn't be an issue unless the other party was as obstinant as someone like Ryuuna and himself...After making his final preparations, which had been ongoing for the last few days, Linnaeus made his way to the known hunting grounds of the gravity-wielding girl. They hadn't talked at all but, over the past few weeks, he had made his presence known to her by helping out when she was in a relatively dangerous situation.Linnaeus had witnessed the girl being struck by a charging Axtola, the deer-like monster he had hunted in the past. She had apparently cast her weight-reduction magic on herself as, when the monster hit her, she was launched like a cannonball into the tree line. As a result, she suffered a few moderately serious injuries so, before things could get further out of hand, he had appeared in a flash to decapitate the Axtola.As could be expected, the girl had been shocked by the sudden appearance of another person. She immediately assumed a defensive posture, even though she was using the tree as support. With a fretful light in her eyes, Linnaeus knew there was some past trauma weighing heavily on her mind so, rather than stick around, he just set down a few cooked foodstuffs before backing away slowly and disappearing into the underbrush.If he was lucky, the girl would have been thinking about him over the past few days so, unless her trauma ran deeper than he expected, they should be able to at least talk with each other. She was very important for his plan to recruit the absorption man so, if he failed to obtain her, there was a good chance he would be fighting against a King on his own.After reaching an area where the grass had been flatted due to persistent crossing, Linnaeus decided to sit and wait patiently. It was very obvious that the girl hadn't been born in the slums as she made the foolish decision to repeat the same route almost every time she went hunting. This was the kind of habit even Street Urchins knew better than to repeat so, combined with how she had been caught off guard by the Axtola, it was apparent that she had lived a relatively sheltered life.Linnaeus didn't even have to wait all that long when his [Perception] picked up the signs of a person slowly approaching. They stopped around thirty meters from his position, likely after spotting him, but Linnaeus showed no signs of having done the same. He waited until she approached him of her own volition as, given the nature of most people, they were far less likely to run away if they were the ones to decide on a set of actions.Several awkward minutes later, Linnaeus found himself staring up at the purple-haired girl as she stood in the shadows of a tree. She had a rather unassuming appearance and, if not for her violet purple hair, she wouldn't have stood out in a crowd. The only thing that really stood out about her, besides her vibrant hair color, was the fact that her hair formed a roughly spherical shape due to how fluffy it was.If another person were to set eyes on her, however, Linnaeus had no doubt there were two very notable features that their eyes would be drawn to after first eyeing her hair. This was due to the fact that, despite her relatively short stature, she had a pair of abnormally large breasts that stuck out like a sore thumb with her skin tight bodysuit. She had made an obvious effort to try and hide them by patching together a few furs but, due to the lack of sewing materials, it was impossible to make any complex clothing.Knowing she was likely self-conscious about her bust size, Linnaeus made a point of staring directly into her lavender-colored eyes. He didn't say anything at all as, if he spoke too soon, his instincts told her that she would either run away or outright refuse his request to Party up. It was best if he got her to broach the subject herself as, while she would still have inhibitions, it made her far less likely to suddenly abandon the Party at a later date.Linnaeus was the type of person who could stay holed up inside a pipe for several days without moving so it was a given that his patience greatly exceeded the purple-haired girl's. After nearly twenty minutes of awkward silence, she ultimately broke eye contact with him before asking in a demure tone that barely reached his ears, "Why...why are you here...?"While it was undoubtedly a scummy thing to do, Linnaeus continued to stare at the girl with an unwavering gaze as he stated, "I was worried about you..." He could tell from her body language that, despite her clear apprehension, this was very close to the answer she wanted to hear from him when she asked her question.In response to his words, the girl lowered her face to obscure how flushed her cheeks were but, due to his seated position, Linnaeus had been able to see it relatively clearly. He had no intention to treat the girl poorly and exploit her vulnerabilities to cause harm so, while it made him feel like a piece of scum, Linnaeus was, for the first time, taking advantage of his gentle and disarming looks, combined with his high Charisma and [Charm] Skill.After another long period of silence, the girl made momentary eye contact with him again before immediately turning away and murmuring, "My name is Eliza...who...I mean, what is your name...?"At this point, Linnaeus was tempted to put on a false smile but, as his instincts told him she would be able to see through this, he kept a relatively plain expression as he answered, "My friends call me Lin. My actual name is Linnaeus Finnian."Though it might have been more prudent to pay her a few compliments, such as remarking about the beauty of her name, Linnaeus didn't want to trigger Eliza's trauma by coming off as too fake. He didn't have the confidence to mislead and manipulate a woman and, knowing some of them had a scary amount of intuition, his primary focus was just to cement the idea in her mind that he didn't mean her any harm.What Linnaeus had done was to set a bit of 'bait' out for her, giving Eliza the opportunity to either distance herself or ingratiate herself to him by providing two ways in which she could address him. Much to his relief, she seemed to muster up a great deal of courage by balling her hands into fists before turning her gaze to match his as she said, "It is nice to meet you...Lin."

Linnaeus was not familiar with the origin of the phrase but, among those who lived in the darkness of society, there was a well-known creed. It stated that discretion was the better part of valor and, no matter how confident you were in your skills, bravery without due caution was akin to inviting death upon yourself.Only ten minutes after entering what he assumed was the Seventh Floor, Linnaeus pressed his body against the ground, his breathing withheld.Less than five meters from his position, a large quadrupedal creature that stood more than three meters tall and seven meters long idled about as it ate the fruit from a tree. Its body was covered in thick scales and, while it had a tapered waist, its limbs rippled with powerful muscles. What stood out the most, however, were its fierce claws and the terrifying reptilian maw at the end of its serpentine neck.If not for the fact it lacked wings, Linnaeus would have believed it if someone told him the creature lackadaisically eating some kind of gourd-shaped fruit was a Dragon. It even had a series of horns forming a crown-like shape above its brow, each covered in ridges that flared out before curving backward.Though you couldn't accurately determine the strength of a creature by appearance alone, Linnaeus' instincts told him the dragon-like monster to his front would tear him apart. He felt like a tiny animal in the presence of its natural predator so, despite his health slowly reducing, he continued holding his breath while doing everything in his power to conceal his presence...After eating all of the low-hanging fruits, the dragon-like creature nudged its head against the tree's trunk, seemingly without any strength behind its actions. Despite this, the tree fell over as if its roots didn't exist, allowing the monster to lazily begin eating the now-accessible fruits.At this point, Linnaeus could feel the veins in his face painfully pulsing as his health steadily neared a critical level. Since it didn't seem like the monster was going to be leaving any time soon, he had to decide whether or not he should fight, or flee. The latter seemed to be the most prudent choice but, with the dragon's muscles rippling with even small movements, combined with its streamlined form, he had no confidence in being able to outrun it.Just as he was psyching himself up for the coming battle, Linnaeus exhaled before drawing in a sharp breath as, right before his eyes, something inexplicable happened.Appearing from the sky like a meteor, a man with spiky blue hair and a muscular build landed on the unsuspecting dragon-like creature, his spear piercing through its lowered head in a single swift blow. Immediately following this, a shockwave rippled outward, passing over Linnaeus' body and sending a rustling wave through the surrounding flora.Linnaeus watched as the man extricated his spear from the monster's skull with a confident smile on his face. He then preceded to brandish his spear, discarding the purplish blood and creamy brain matter before shouldering it and waiting patiently.After a few seconds, the body of the monster began to lose its color before, moments later, it began to dissolve away into ash. When it faded away completely, a few items were left behind in its wake, the most notable being an orange gemstone. The rest of the items looked like materials that could be harvested from the monster, confusing Linnaeus as every other monster he killed had left an intact corpse behind...Fortunately, after looting the materials, the man closed his eyes for a few moments before looking toward the northwest. Then, leaving a stunned Linnaeus behind, he flexed his legs before leaping into the sky with enough force to cause the ground to erupt with a delayed explosion.Rather than assume he was in the clear, Linnaeus quickly bounded to his feet before running in the complete opposite direction to the man's leap. He didn't know the nature of the spear-wielding man but, if they were to come to blows, Linnaeus could easily imagine his body skewered on the end of his ornate spear.With his heart racing faster than a skittish rabbit, Linnaeus moved several kilometers before finding a small nook near the base of a large tree. He immediately slid into the shadow crevasse before taking several labored breaths to calm down.Though he was admittedly spooked, it wasn't fear that caused Linnaeus to behave this way. It was the overwhelming cocktail of chemicals and adrenaline pumping through his veins after mustering up his courage, only to have something completely unexpected happen. He felt like one of the trade vessels that would periodically pass through the main channels of the slums but, rather than swiftly coasting with the wind, it was like a large cannonball had smashed through his sails.After calming himself down, Linnaeus released a heavy sigh before muttering, "At least I was able to learn a lot..."Not only had he confirmed the presence of other people on this Floor but, with the strength of the man, he could assume that people from Floors higher than 10 were also trapped in the Crucible of Souls. His display of power and speed made Ryuuna seem like an actual child, dwarfing his own by several orders of magnitude.If his guess was accurate, Linneaus felt there was a chance he would be able to obtain information about the higher Floors and their challenges. Assuming he had to start his climb anew, it would be extremely useful to know what kinds of challenges awaited him. He could also further strengthen his foundation, putting him at, or even above, the Level of other Fledglings...Though he had already been determined to reach the top of the Crucible of Souls, Linnaeus now felt even more motivated than before. So long as he played his cards right, there was a chance he would even be able to reach the top of the rankings in his respective group. This didn't really matter all that much in the grand scheme of things but, if his ranking was high, that made it a lot easier to recruit other people into his own Party.After organizing his thoughts, Linnaeus began trekking through the forest once again. He wanted to try and find animals and monsters closer to his Level as, despite the color being different, he felt that the orange gemstone was fundamentally the same as the red. It was slightly bigger and seemed to be of a higher quality so he assumed it granted more than a single Soul Kindling.He never had the chance to use them, but Linnaeus felt that Soul Kindling was the same as Aether, meaning it was a currency that could be used if the circumstances allowed. He assumed this was the means by which those with support and utility Blessings climbed higher as, if they were able to set up shop somewhere, they could offer their services for Soul Kindling.While he had yet to see any signs that this was the case, Linnaeus felt that there had to be some kind of settlement on the Floor. There was no time limit given by the Floor Guardian so he assumed there were a number of people who had gathered together over time. As he went higher up, he imagined the number of people would gradually increase as it was undoubtedly more difficult to pass through higher Floors.Linnaeus didn't get his hopes up but, after growing up in the slums, he knew people could find a way to live in even the most inhospitable environments. This forest had food, water, and a means to earn Soul Kindling so, if his assumptions proved correct, it was only natural that people would have gathered together somewhere...Though his [Perception] was only LV14, Linnaeus was able to sense the presence of a relatively weak monster near his location. This brought his mind to a razor-sharp focus and, with his [Stealth] having been active from the start, he was able to near the unsuspecting monster undetected.Rather than a monster, the creature Linnaeus encountered looked like some kind of mutated deer with a complex array of antlers. If not for the scales covering the lower half of its legs, and the blood-red eyes, he would have assumed it was some kind of animal, not a monster.With a slight smile on his face, Linnaeus extended his hand, creating a spherical barrier within the complex antlers. In the same instant, he created a second barrier to use as a platform, exploiting its ability to completely nullify sound.After discovering a foreign object in its antlers, the monster began shaking its head to try and free the obstruction but, due to the small range of motion, it couldn't build up enough force to break the spherical barrier. Linnaeus had learned in the past that the shape of a barrier had a direct influence on its strength so, by creating a sphere, it was hard for a lot of direct force to act on the surface all at once.While the deer-like monster was distracted, Linnaeus thrust his shortsword into its soft-looking gut before shaking the handle with as much force as he could manage. This caused the monster's health to rapidly drop as blood cascaded down like a fountain due to the ever-increasing size of the wound.In response to the sudden attack the monster tried to buck and kick at Linnaeus but, while it did a surprising amount of damage, his [Barrier Aura] held up well. Thus, after a few seconds had passed, its legs could no longer support it as it collapsed to the ground.With the spherical barrier in its antlers, the head of the monster was still propped up, exposing its neck as it hung limply from the relatively small blue sphere. This allowed Linnaeus to cut across its neck.Before the monster dissolved away into ash, Linnaeus tried to cut out a large chunk of its flesh to see if he could deposit it into his Inventory. This experiment ultimately ended in failure as, rather than be placed in his Inventory, the cut of meat immediately burst apart violently, covering his barrier in fine white ash.Linnaeus wasn't upset by his inability to harvest additional resources from the monster as, with their bodies dissolving away, he didn't have to worry about dismantling their corpses. He also didn't have to worry about other monsters following the scent of blood to track him down as, despite a thick coating present on his sword, even that ultimately turned to ash.When the deer-like monster vanished completely, it left a perfect piece of brown hide behind. Far more surprising than this, however, were the three pieces of meat that were neatly placed on its surface. At their side, a slightly larger red gemstone than the one he had looted previously was present.After placing the supplies into his Inventory, Linnaeus picked up the red gemstone and, after it burst into small motes of light, his Soul Kindling increased by a value of 35. From this, he confirmed that, at the very least, his speculation regarding the orange gemstone was correct.Now that he knew there were monsters he could fight against on the Floor, Linnaeus was even more determined than ever before. He just needed to find a safe place to stay and a source of fresh water before this particular Floor became a veritable paradise to him. If he exercised due caution, he might even be able to increase his Level considerably before moving on to the next Floor...With expectation flashing across his ruby-red eyes, Linnaeus allowed a smile to spread itself across his face as he, once again, disappeared into the underbrush. While there were undoubtedly people and monsters that could kill him in an instant, Linnaeus felt that, more than most, he knew how to live and maneuver amongst entities far more powerful than himself. Thus, until the situation forced him to make a change, he decided this Floor would serve the purpose of stabilizing his foundation so that nothing could stand in his way in the future...Turning his head towards the direction where the spear-wielding man had killed the dragon-like monster, Linnaeus squinted his eyes slightly before muttering, "I'll set my current goal as being strong enough to kill one of those monsters in an instant...I wonder what dragon meat tastes like?"

Chapter 36: Routine