Babel

While Status was extremely important, it wasn't the deciding factor when it came to obtaining victory or suffering defeat. This was something Linnaeus had learned long ago and, if simply having higher attributes guaranteed victory, he would have died when he turned ten years old.More than raw attributes, it was knowledge, experience, and willpower that ultimately determined whether or not a person could break through their limits and secure victory. So long as you had a proper understanding of your capabilities, those of your opponent, and the resolve to do whatever it took to overcome adversity, there was nothing that could stand in your way.With this in mind, Linnaeus decided that the first thing his nascent Party would do was familiarize themselves with each other's capabilities. He needed to know what every member of the Pary was capable of as, when it came to proper decision making, this could be the difference between life and death for the entire team.After a relatively tense night, Linnaeus showed the group to a plateau a few kilometers away from the den as they already had plenty of supplies stocked up for a few days.Upon reaching their destination, Linnaeus turned to the group and explained, "In order to increase our chances of reaching the top of the Crucible, I'll need to understand just where each of us stands. For the time being, it seems like it is impossible to increase our base Level so we'll need to exercise proper judgment if we want to avoid losing our lives a second time."Krone immediately frowned when he heard Linnaeus' words, crossing his arms as he asked, "So you want us to reveal all our secrets and techniques to each other...?"Hearing the hostile undertones in Krone's voice, Linnaeus gave him a deadpan stare as he plainly stated, "We will be fighting to protect each other's lives from this moment onward. What sense is there in keeping secrets when we're supposed to trust our backs to each other? Sharing knowledge amongst ourselves will increase the overall capabilities of the entire Party. Tell me, Krone, what sense is there in being secretive when we've all already died once...?"Before Krone could think of a retort, Eliza nodded her head, adopting a far icier expression as she added in a cold tone, "Lin is right. We have already lost everything once. From the perspective of the rest of the world, we no longer even exist. By the time we reach the top of the Crucible, who knows what kind of challenges we'll have faced? The time for keeping secrets ended when we died the first time. If you keep thinking like you have something to lose after you've already died, you are just a liability to those of us who seek to make the most of the present."While Krone could refute Linnaeus' words, he was predisposed to obey Eliza's so, after hearing what she said, he ultimately chose to remain silent. As for Emilia, she hailed from a tribe that freely shared everything from food to knowledge so she didn't even question the veracity of Linnaeus' words.Without further argument, Linnaeus set the example by demonstrating his Blessing and explaining his fighting style. He showed them that he could create both static and dynamic barriers and, much like how he had been open to Emilia's input the prior day, he asked them to be frank if they thought there were any ways in which he could improve.Emilia wasn't shy when it came to stating her opinion so she immediately asked, "Do you think you could make something like a mechanical crossbow or a pile bunker? Your barriers work a lot like an ability I'm familiar with called [Hardlight Projection]. The person I knew was able to make things like traps and other complex objects to make hunting a lot easier."Linnaeus knew it wouldn't be impossible for him to do what Emilia hinted at but, as complex shapes took up a considerable amount of SP, he knew it would take him a long time to reach that point. He also had no idea how crossbows and pile-bunkers were structured and, as Emilia had no idea how they worked, he could only shelve the matter until later.Fortunately, while Emilia's complex idea was beyond him, Eliza brought Linnaeus to a stunned silence by asking, "How small can you make your barriers? If you can make them small and dense, couldn't you use them like projectiles by just placing them in the trajectory of your opponent? Even if that doesn't work, you could always make a very thin and sharp barrier like a platform, exploiting your opponent's speed against them. Unless they are able to change direction very quickly, it would be like running directly into a sword or spear, right?"Since he often used his [Barrier] to make daggers and pointed rods for stabbing, Linnaeus knew that Eliza's suggestion was more than possible. In fact, he had experimented with something similar in the past and, though it took a lot of mental focus, he could even make barriers as small as a grain of sand. These were very fragile but, if used properly, he could easily blind his opponent if they weren't paying close attention.After deciding to practice making static hazards in the future, Linnaeus moved to the side so that Emilia could demonstrate her abilities next. She was very excited after seeing his display so, without any hesitation at all, she began performing a rather strange martial art that often required her to crouch down on all fours.As could be seen from their initial encounter, Emilia specialized in using a spear and, while she did not have the [Throwing] Skill, she could easily pin a target from several tens of meters with very high accuracy. Linnaeus felt it was strange that more people didn't have the [Throwing] Skill but, after a bit of discussion, he learned that most Skills were obtained because the person was intent on trying to develop them, not by accident.While Emilia's skill with the spear was impressive, especially with her incredible Agility, it was the versatility of her Blessing that caused Linnaeus to turn contemplative.Rather than simply produce water, Emilia was able to change the state of water into four different states, albeit with the final state being beyond her current capabilities. This meant she could turn the water flowing around her spear into steam or ice in an instant, creating small explosions that could easily burn skin or instantaneously freezing parts of her opponent and drastically decreasing their mobility.What was truly terrifying about Emilia's Blessing was that she could manipulate external water as well, so long as it was natural. This allowed her to swing her spear around, gathering water from the air and, while it cost a considerable amount of SP to do so, she could even influence the water that comprised the majority of a person's body. Though this only allowed her to momentarily stun an opponent, it was an incredible ability that had infinite potential so long as her SP reserves held out.The only thing that prevented Emilia's Blessing from being peerless was the fact that she had to directly stab her spear into her opponent to manipulate their internal water and, depending on theirWisdom and Spirit, people could resist her attempts to restrain them. This exponentially increased the amount of SP required to immobilize them but, just knowing she could stun them temporarily was a tremendous boon...After finishing her demonstration, Emilia followed Linnaeus' example, smiling radiantly as she asked, "So, any advice? Come on, don't be shy. Even if you're harsh, I can take it~!"Since he had been somewhat focused on how to use his own Blessing, Linnaeus was momentary at a loss as to how to answer Emilia's question but, without missing a beat, Eliza stated, "Rather than just focus water around your spear, you should learn how to gather it around your target directly. Even if it is a strong monster, they would struggle to fight at their full potential if you could wrap a bubble of water around their head. Since you can change the temperature, you could always boil them alive or try and suffocate them outright. You could also send your water inside their body and, instead of manipulating the minute amount in their cells, you can just make your own explode into a burst of steam after they inhale it."Though Eliza gave the impression of a shy and demure woman, Linnaeus was quickly learning that she wasn't the defenseless and lonely girl he originally thought her to be. In fact, now that she was no longer alone, she seemed to become increasingly confident and, as a result of her education and the rather ruthless political climate between the Eight Families, she was no ignorant when it came to violence.Despite being somewhat unnerved by Eliza's 'decisive' mentality, Linnaeus' expression was placid and calm. He might not be as creative as she was but, after killing over a thousand people alongside Saht, there wasn't much that could actually shake him. This was not the case for Emilia and Krone, however, as they had both paled slightly after hearing how nonchalantly the Evendoom princess talked about exploding a person from the inside.Having already decided to live how she wanted this time around, Eliza didn't try to put up a pretense and, while it did make her a little anxious to see the judgment in Emilia's and Krone's gazes, she was content with the fact that Linnaeus seemed unperturbed. Rather, instead of showing fear, he had a thoughtful look in his eyes, almost as if was thinking about other ways in which Emilia could use her Blessing to devastating effect...With Emilia having a few ideas about how she could improve, Krone was the next to demonstrate his capabilities. He started off by crouching low to the stone and, after a few seconds passed, his entire body had taken on the appearance of smooth granite. This actually increased some of his attributes while, as could be expected, others were reduced slightly.Due to absorbing the traits of granite, Krone's Strength and Constitution had gone up by eight and eleven points respectively. In exchange, his Agility decreased by a whopping twenty points, making him even slower than usual.To compensate for his reduced Agility, Krone did something that had caught Linnaeus by surprise as, after closing his eyes for nearly a full minute, parts of Krone's body began to turn translucent. When he opened his eyes, his Agility had increased considerably and, after throwing a few punches, it was clear what trait he had absorbed by the wind pressure kicked up by his strikes.Just as he could change his body into an element like water, Krone could adapt the traits of wind to significantly reduce his weight and increase his Agility. Though this reduced his Constitution by a great deal, he could project the wind compressed within his body outward, creating a strong gust that had enough force to knock people backward.Unable to restrain his curiosity, Linnaeus asked, "Can you turn your entire body into wind...?" If that was the case, he couldn't see how Krone would ever be able to lose a fight.Hearing Linnaeus' question, Krone snorted through his nose before answering, "Turning into a pure element takes a lot of time and focus. If I change completely, even thinking becomes difficult and, if I'm not careful, my body will just spread outward instead of sticking together. When my body begins to dissipate, my Health drops rapidly. Past users who tried to overcome this restriction usually ended up losing their lives..."Linnaeus restrained a sigh when he heard Krone's explanation but, if his Blessing really had no limits, there really would be no way of stopping him. After all, how would you be able to fight a living mass of air that could infinitely just pull itself back together? What was to stop Krone from just ripping the body of a person apart after they breathed him in?Fortunately, even if his body turned completely invisible, Krone still had to keep his form as he would quickly lose Health by trying to change shape. It also caused him an extreme amount of pain, despite him having no observable nerves and a seemingly intangible form. This was one of the reasons why he had LV54 [Pain Tolerance] as, if he was caught up in a strong current or pulled along by powerful winds, it would feel like he was constantly being torn apart.Krone had been hesitant to reveal this fact but, after building up a fair amount of tension due to his past actions, he wanted to even things out by essentially revealing his biggest weakness. He didn't want Linnaeus thinking that he was some amorphous entity that could squeeze through gaps and perform impossible feats so, in order to prevent future misunderstands, he decided to be a make it very clear that he wasn't without limitations.Linneaus knew Krone was trying to earn some good faith so, while he didn't even remotely humor the idea that the man had turned over a new leaf, he still respected his willingness to reveal such an important detail. Though there was a chance he was embellishing the facts, it would be too easy to ascertain whether or not he was lying the first time they encountered a strong enemy. Since Eliza's Blessing was essentially the ultimate counter to his, it would be very foolish of him to try and pull anything at this stage.Just as before, everyone tried giving Krone advice on how he could better use his Blessing before, completing the set, Eliza gave a demonstration of her own capabilities. This included reducing the weight of everyone present, allowing them to leap high into the sky with considerable ease, and using her [Crush] Magic to completely flatten a few large boulders. Though some of them had been able to hold up relatively well against the increased gravitational forces, Eliza had a way to make the field rapidly change in intensity, essentially vibrating an object apart in an extremely violent and destructive manner...As could be expected, Eliza was inarguably the strongest person in their Party.

While having a basic grasp of each other's abilities was important, it could never make up for actual experience. Knowing this, Linnaeus came up with a variety of different formations and discussed the various ways in which they could deal with different types of enemies.Eliza's [Gravity Rule] was one of their most powerful assets but, as it required her to be stationary and could easily damage allies just as easily as enemies, it was necessary to come up with measures that covered for this weakness. They also couldn't just have her use [Crush] on every enemy they came across as, while this was certainly an option in many situations, it would heavily restrict the potential growth of everyone else in the Party.Fortunately, while they lacked the utility of a true Support class, Linnaeus' and Emilia's Blessings were extremely versatile. So long as he had the SP, Linnaeus could mitigate damage almost completely, not just for himself, but everyone in the Party. As for Emilia, she could disorient enemies and make it extremely difficult for them to fight back by obscuring their vision and blocking their airway, giving them an advantage against all by the fastest and most powerful foes.The only restrictive factor behind using their Blessings to great effect was, as was often the case, the limited SP a person had access to. Though this became less of an issue at higher levels, especially if you could get access to powerful equipment, it was going to be a big issue in a world where they were unable to increase their Level.This was where Linnaeus' previous mistake actually became a boon as, while his Health was almost comically low, his SP reserves and SP Regeneration were bordering on the extreme for his Level. It wasn't a match for Eliza's but, considering she was fifteen Levels higher than him, that was to be expected.So long as he was careful, Linnaeus could regenerate upwards of 220SP per minute, effectively allowing him to upkeep his [Barrier Aura] on their entire Party at all times. This allowed them to tide through most environmental hazards and made exposure a non-factor. At the same time, he was still able to develop his [Barrier] and [Barrier Aura] further so, while his Level would stagnate, he was able to continually strengthen his foundation without any discernible limits.This wasn't something that was exclusive to Linnaeus either so, while their ultimate goal was to reach the top of the Crucible of Souls, he discussed the topic of Skill, Ability, and Magic training as part of their familiarization with each other. Since they knew the requirements for certain Skills, they could help each other further strengthen their foundation and, by the time the returned to the Tower, their growth compared to their peers would potentially put them far ahead of the curve.While Eliza and Krone didn't benefit nearly as much from this, as they had already graduated from Fledgling status, Linnaeus and Emilia had a chance of earning various rewards if they were thrown back into the earlier Floors. Other Fledglings would be hard-pressed to compete against them and, while this would require them to split up, it was possible for their Party to regroup on the tenth and twentieth Floors.Krone didn't particularly show any interest in returning to the Tower but, with his arms crossed and a solemn expression, he stated he would help them leave. He personally felt that the Crucible of Souls was his just punishment and, even if he managed to earn the right to return, there didn't seem to be much of a reason to.By reaching the top of the Crucible of Souls, they would have had to overcome various challenges and, while he may not be the strongest, his position would be near the top of other wayward Souls. Since returning to the Tower only meant a return to an endless struggle, he would rather repent in the Crucible of Souls until he felt absolved from his past sins. In his opinion, it was better to be one of the strongest people in the Crucible than one of the weak struggling in an uphill battle against those who had already lived for hundreds of years.Linnaeus couldn't really argue with this logic as, prior to entering the Tower, he would have been content just to have enough power to protect himself in the outside. There didn't seem to be any limit to how strong people could become inside the Tower so, even if his foundation allowed him to compete against his peers, those that had ventured forward ahead of him would force him into a difficult position.Despite this, he wasn't even remotely deterred as, after learning that his sister was already inside the Tower, Linnaeus was determined to reunite with her and Saht. He would protect them both until they reached a point where they were either satisfied with their progress or, much like Rebecca, they were ready to leave the Tower. Then, they could build a life together and, with the power they gained for themselves, live relatively free of worries...---To prepare for their battle against one of the Kings, Linnaeus' Party spent the better part of a week hunting around the den to develop their coordination and stockpile a sizeable amount of supplies. For all they knew, the next Floor would be a desolate wasteland so, in order to avoid having to go without food, they had been salting and drying meat in bulk. This was to conserve SP as it was much cheaper to keep preserved goods than use additional SP to preserve them yourself.This week of training was also an opportunity for them to grow a little closer with each other and, while there were still a number of issues, predominately related to Krone, a status quo had been established within the Party after a few days. It was a little awkward, as Eliza and Emilia were far more friendly with him than they were with Krone but, as the man often kept to himself and focused on his own duties, this was just a matter of course.Linnaeus wasn't the most personable individual but, with Eliza and Emilia having strong personalities, he was basically forced to socialize with them. Since this was a way of building rapport with his Party, he did his best to answer most of their curiosities and, while he avoided asking about anything that could be considered sensitive information, he had come to learn more about them as well.Emilia was actually the granddaughter of her tribe's Matriarch so, while she was determined to climb the Tower, she didn't have much of an interest in trying to reach the top. Rather, enter the Tower was more of a right of passage for the Vanargandr than anything else and, after exiting, they would then be tasked with tracking down and establishing their own tribe. This was made possible due to the fact that, when you left the Tower, you apparently appeared in the same location as when you first entered.At this point, Emilia's tribe had been venturing into the endless expanse of wilderness for countless generations so, while they could still see the Tower in the distance, a testament to its size, it wasn't something they could ever reach the base of in a single lifetime. Thus, upon exiting the Tower, they would be thrown back out into the wilderness and, while encountering others was rare, it wasn't impossible to find other tribes.By entering the Tower and successfully exiting, Emilia would be considered for an Elder Huntress position that could easily see her become the Matriarch of her own tribe in the future. She only had to find another tribe of Vanargandr and, by presenting her Status, the Matriarch of that tribe would usually gift her with a few capable Huntresses and a number of suitable males to produce children with.Linnaeus found the social dynamic of the Vanargandr a little strange but, as it was just one among thousands of unique cultures, he didn't have much to say about it. The only thing that mattered was that Emilia was a capable Huntress and, with her Agility and enhanced senses, she had already replaced him as the Party's Scout.It turned out that, while she wasn't fond of fighting at the frontlines, Emilia took great pride in her tracking abilities and, after coming to trust Linnaeus, she no longer believed he would just send her into a dangerous situation. He was the type that seriously considered his next course of action and, if it came down to it, he would expose himself to danger before requiring others to do the same. This had earned him Emilia's respect and, with Eliza and Krone often giving her the cold shoulder, he was the only person she could really talk to when she was bored or lonely.Emilia ended up being quite the chatterbox when she wasn't hunting so, with his propensity to listen to what others had to say, Linnaeus often found himself at the mercy of her pestering. This was more than a little troublesome, as he didn't really know how to socialize with others that well, but Emilia didn't seem to mind his awkwardness as she was perfectly content with doing most of the talking.The only real problem with Emilia's chattery nature was that Eliza often grew annoyed with her when they had first started living together. She didn't like to be interrupted and, as Krone wasn't really the best company, having Emilia monopolize the only other interesting person to talk to had caused her to chide the young Vanargandr on several occasions.Fortunately, while this was something that Linnaeus had expected to evolve into serious issues later down the line, Emilia was surprisingly obedient when it came to Eliza. Since she was used to a power structure where the strongest female told the others what to do, she was predisposed to obey Eliza's words so long as it didn't force her into a compromising position.Eliza was bothered by this behavior, as she was trying to prop up Linnaeus as the Party Leader, but she quickly learned that Emilia wasn't going to change any time soon. Instead, she used this to her advantage and, whenever she wanted to talk with Linnaeus, she only had to send Emilia on an errand or ask that she remain silent so that she could speak. While this led to a few tense moments, at least for Linnaeus, things had reached a peculiar equilibrium by the time a week had passed.When she first began taking advantage of Emilia's nature, Eliza hadn't really minded it too much but, after seeing how Linnaeus reacted, she began to mellow out. Now, though she would often enter the conversation to give her own input, she didn't outright tell Emilia to remain silent. This led to the two girls interacting with each other more often and, as he didn't really have much to contribute to the conversation, this made things a lot easier for Linnaeus.At this point, the only contentious factor in the Party was Krone but, as he still followed orders, it was not something that needed to be directly addressed. Rather, as they continued to work together, it felt like Krone was slowly beginning to trust in his decisions as Party Leader.Krone's subtle changes made Linnaeus feel as though things were going well and, though he never dropped his guard around the man, it no longer felt like Krone was looking for an opportunity to dispose of him. While this could just be his way of luring him into a false sense of security, the fact that Eliza and Emilia were far more likely to side with him meant that Krone didn't have much leeway to sow discord within the Party. Thus, after a week had passed, Linnaeus felt that the Party was ready for its first real challenge...slaying a Territorial King.

With Emilia and Eliza following close behind, Linnaeus led the group back to where Krone was sitting with his back to a tree. He had his eyes closed at first but, after they entered the clearing, he opened them to give Emilia a brief once over.Feeling troubled by Krone's scrutinizing gaze, Emilia's ears angled backward as she naturally moved into a position with her balance evenly distributed between both feet. She could see his Status and knew that he was a lot stronger than her, despite having only a fraction of her speed.Seeing Emilia's reaction, Krone gave a small nod before rising to his feet and plainly stating, "I'm Krone, the Vanguard."Emilia didn't immediately relax but, knowing she would be in the same Party as Krone, she took a deep breath before saying in a subdued tone, "I'm Emilia...a Huntress of the Vanargandr tribe. I will help scout and protect the backline..."Since gender and race were shown in the Status, Krone wasn't surprised by the fact that Emilia was a member of the Vanargandr tribe. He had been a little surprised at first but, during the period he sat waiting, he had more than enough time to resume his usual demeanor.With simple introductions out of the way, Linnaeus stepped up to say, "We'll return to the den Eliza and I have been using. For now, Eliza and Emilia will stay in the back while you protect them. I'll be leading the way forward and scouting ahead a few hundred meters. With Emilia's tracking ability and the Party function, you shouldn't have any problems following the path I map out."Eliza wasn't too fond of Linnaeus' setup and wanted to nominate Emilia for the position of Scout but, according to their original agreement, this wouldn't be proper. She didn't want to cause any rifts in the nascent Party so, before returning to the den, Eliza decided to keep her opinion to herself.Without any dissension, Linnaeus disappeared into the underbrush and, after a few seconds, even Emilia's sensitive ears weren't able to pick up on him. If not for the Party function allowing them to roughly sense each other, it would be very difficult to track Linnaeus through the forested terrain.With this in mind, Emilia turned to Eliza with an awkward smile on her face as she said, "He is pretty good. I still don't understand how he was made the Party Leader though...?"As a member of a nomadic tribe, Emilia lacked knowledge regarding the Eight Heavenly Families. To her, Eliza was just a powerful woman and, due to growing up in a matriarchal tribe, she had trouble understanding why Linnaeus was in charge.Eliza was annoyed by Emilia's words so, without beating around the bush, she stated, "If you were to speak about your leaders back in your tribe, how would people react? Don't say senseless things that will sow discord in the Party. Having more power does not automatically guarantee a person has the necessary leadership qualities to lead a Party successfully."Emilia frowned in response to Eliza's words but, as she didn't have any way to refute them, she opted to remain silent as she followed after Krone. Since the latter made an incredible amount of noise as he tore ambled through the forest, it was very easy to ascertain his location...---Though it was only a short period of time, Linnaeus enjoyed the relative quiet as he stealthily made his way through the forest. While he didn't mind Eliza's behavior that much, it was still troubling as, even when he was with Saht, they rarely spoke.With the addition of Emilia, Linnaeus knew things were going to become lively in the future. It was impossible to know if this was a good or a bad thing but, as conflict and drama were something any Party would face, he needed to be mentally prepared to deal with it.Truth be told, Linnaeus still didn't trust Eliza and, while he allowed her to get away with invading his personal space, this was primarily due to the fact that she was much stronger than him. Since she also supported his position as Party Leader, he needed to be more tolerant of her actions.Eliza was extremely important for his future plans and, with her connection to his sister, Linnaeus was unable to easily distance himself from her. If she began to scheme and turn against him, the odds of ever finding someone to replace her were negligible at best. Thus, for the time being, he would allow Eliza to dote on him like a little brother as, until he became stronger, he needed the support of those more powerful than himself.After reaching a small clearing that was only 500m from the location of his den, Linnaeus took a seat on a moss-covered rock to wait for the others to catch up. He had chosen a route where the chances of encountering an enemy were slim so, after a few minutes, Krone's figure could be seen tearing his way through a dense shrub.While Eliza and Emilia would cause a few troubles, Linnaeus knew that this mountain of a man would be the most troublesome element in their Party. It was very apparent that Krone didn't respect him and, if not for the presence of Eliza, there was little he could do to keep the man in line.Despite this, Linnaeus believed that Krone could eventually be won over and, if he managed to win the man's respect, recruiting new members would be a lot easier. After all, while Eliza would be able to support his position as Party Leader, being a member of the Evendoom family all but guaranteed that people would seek trouble with them in an effort to obtain her.Status and authority were the most powerful control factors in the entire world so, if they had the chance, there would be no end to the number of despotic individuals who would want to bring Eliza to ruin. She may not be an indisputable beauty but, as a daughter of the Evendoom family, she was a trophy that few would be willing to pass up...Upon reaching Linnaeus' location, Krone just gave him a curt nod before leaning against a tree at the side. Linnaeus returned this nod and, for another minute or so, the two teens waited in silence as Eliza and Emilia caught up with them.Emilia was a little confused after reaching the clearing but, knowing what Linnaeus had in mind, Eliza moved to sit on the same moss-covered stone. This was an action that emphasized her support and, while Emilia was originally intending to speak out, she ultimately decided to hold her tongue.Using the calm and confident tone he believed was necessary for a Party Leader, Linnaeus looked between Krone and Emilia as he explained, "I may be lacking in experience but I have learned a lot from my short time climbing the Tower. I have seen powerful people put themselves into situations that could easily lead to their deaths for no better reason than their own arrogance. Until we reach a point where we can call ourselves the strongest, we should never underestimate the ingenuity and persistence of our opponents..."Seeing that everyone was listening quietly, Linnaeus gave another small nod before adding, "I know how far some people will go when it comes to casing a potential target. With this in mind, I refuse to tolerate complacency when it comes to securing our place of rest. For the rest of the afternoon, I will be teaching you how to case an area and set basic traps before we return to our den. Unless you are forced to retreat during an emergency, you should never, under any circumstances, simply return to your place of rest without checking the area..."While Krone and Emilia may have offered a few words of dissent under normal circumstances, they were well aware of the fact that Linnaeus had tracked them both without their notice. Just imagining a person knowing what they were doing for more than a month was an unnerving thought so, while he may be an exception to the rule, they could not refute that others may put in just as much effort.After showing the duo a map of the area, this one drawn by Eliza, Linnaeus led the group around the periphery of the den in a slow and methodical manner. Fortunately, as a Huntress, Emilia was better at setting and disarming traps than Linnaeus so, while he had a lot to teach her about casing an area, she was able to correct some of his mistakes along the way.At first, Emilia was afraid to speak out but Linnaeus quickly put an end to this, stating how senseless it was to remain silent if you knew someone else was making a mistake. He did not pretend to be a perfect Party Leader and, so long as she did not countermand his orders, he encouraged both her and Krone to express their opinions.Krone's reaction to this was to simply cross his arms but, as if she had been given free rein, Emilia began asking a ton of questions and, whenever she felt he was doing something wrong, she would not hesitate to correct him. Since Linnaeus was always eager to better himself, he listened closely to everything Emilia said, just as he had done when Eliza and Ryuuna were teaching him new things.As a result of exchanging guidance and pointers along the way, it was late afternoon by the time the Party finally reached the den. Before entering, however, Linnaeus showed them all the entry points and how to determine whether or not someone had entered while they were aways. This ended up being a pertinent lesson as, while they were away, a six-meter long snake-like monster had made the den it's home.After dealing with the intruder, the group finally made their way inside the den which, since the time Eliza moved in, had become more spacious. There were now three main chambers, one for storage and two for resting. Linnaeus had hollowed out an area prior to recruiting Eliza and, while she didn't use it the previous night, he intended to have her and Emilia share the chamber in the interim.Due to his size, Krone wasn't able to move comfortably within the tunnels leading into the den but he never complained. Instead, once everyone was getting settled in, he began preparing food for the entire group after Linnaeus showed him the make-shift stove he had painstakingly developed over his month of isolation.With LV28 [Cooking], Krone was inarguably the best chef amongst the group and, with Linnaeus and Eliza providing extra ingredients, such as salt, honey, and some herbal spices, he was able to whip up a surprisingly delicious meal. While it wasn't even close to the best thing Eliza had ever eaten, it was a blessing to be able to eat such high-quality food in a small den underground.Linnaeus was also grateful for the meal but, more than anyone else, Emilia was the most enthused about having something palatable to devour. She ended up eating more than the three of them combined and, if not for providing the meat and helping to season it, this would have caused more than a few issues.It wasn't until after Emilia devoured nearly her body weight in meat that Eliza cleared up Linnaeus' confusion by explaining the quirks of the Vanargandr tribe. If not for the low light of the den, she would have been able to see him pale slightly but, after learning she didn't actually need to eat as much as she did, he was able to relax a bit. Still, he would need to take Emilia's appetite into account in the future as, while supplies were plentiful on this floor, they may enter a wasteland without any resources on higher floors...

Chapter 49: Capabilities