Babel

With everyone else in position, Emilia skulked along the edge of a large clearing that ran adjacent to a gently flowing creek. There was an area on the far end where large brush could be seen amidst the remnants of several brutalized trees.Having spent most of her life hunting, Emilia moved silently through the area, her ears periodically flickering in accordance with sounds only she was able to hear.From his perch in the distance, Linnaeus had a thoughtful expression on his face as he watched his new companion demonstrate her skills. She had a bad habit of ignoring her back whenever she was tracking down prey but, over the last week, she had made considerable improvements...Just as he was wondering when the target would appear, there was a sudden cracking down that echoed through the woods. Emilia used this as an opportunity to increase her speed, bounding up a tree with extremely deft movements before finding a perch of her own to observe.From within the area of heavy brush, a horse-like monster standing at over three meters in height emerged. It had bronzed fur covering much of its body but, on its legs, back, neck, and the crown of its head, a dense layer of pale-gold scales could be seen. However, even these didn't stand out as much as the set of ivory white horns running vertically alongside each other atop its head.While this particular Territorial King was much smaller than some, this actually allowed it to move far faster than its competition. Using their own size against them, it would bury the meter long horns in their exposed flanks and side, disabling them with a powerful paralytic poison that allowed them to turn their victims into a veritable pin cushion...As if she had become one with her surroundings, Emilia became so still that her presence, even while being observed from the distance, seemed to fade away. This was of particular interest to Linnaeus as it was rare to have the opportunity to experience how a Skill like [Presence Concealment] worked from the perspective of a direct observer. It gave him several ideas about how he could use his own but, as now wasn't the time for such wayward thoughts, he forced himself to stay focused.Emilia was actually very nervous about facing a Territorial King on her own. Even when she was in the outside world, she always hunted in a pack so it always felt awkward to be alone. Still, in spite of the incongruous feelings that made her gut flitter about, her eyes were crystal clear as she watched her prey move steadily closer to her position.With heavy footsteps, each leaving tracks several centimeters deep, the horse-like monster moved ever closer toward where it had sensed an enemy. Its body was taut with powerful muscles and, the moment it was able to identify a target, it would explode into an expression of pure violence in its attempt to overwhelm its foe.In order to take advantage of this cautious and intense state, Emilia did her best to remain as still as possible while manifesting an orb of water several meters behind her quarry. She, like everyone else, had an effective range of 50m at her current level so it wasn't difficult to manifest an orb a few tens of meters away.Though it didn't sense the formation of the water sphere, the monster heard Emilia manipulate it to move through the underbrush. It quickly turned around, kicking its legs out to arrest the momentum of its turn before digging hard into the moist soil and accelerating at an extreme speed toward the direction of the now non-existent water sphere.Emilia was actually a little surprised by the spontaneous acceleration of the monster but, more than that, its ability to thrash around and use its horns as sabers unnerved her. She had originally planned to strike it from the flank with her spear but, seeing how quick it could twist around, the best course of action was to kite it around, using the terrain to her advantage to tire it out.After waiting for the monster's thrashing to cease, Emilia immediately formed a second sphere, this time forcing it to snake up and around the monster's leg. This caused it to freak out and, as could be expected, it began to thrash around, kicking its limbs to try and dislodge the thin film of liquid, even though it was currently harmless.It actually took a considerable amount of focus to make sure her water clung to a target so Emilia was forced to remain on her perch throughout the process. It wasn't until the monster began to slow down, its ribs expanding and contracting a considerable amount, that she finally decided to make her move.Using one of the five spears she kept on her, Emilia arched her body like a bow as she leaped from her perch. Then, at the very peak of her jump, she snapped her body forward, her spear following the arc of her right arm before piercing through the sky, its target the base of the monster's neck.Though she lacked the [Stealth] Ability, [Presence Concealment] could function in a similar manner if you were skilled enough. Since the monster was currently using its horn to try and scrape away the persistent coating of water, it only reacted at the very last moment to try and evade the momentous projectile.Unfortunately, as its reaction was to thrash about in an attempt to knock the projectile from the air, the monster ended up taking the spear directly to its throat. This wasn't enough to kill it, as it had only penetrated a few centimeters due to Emilia's lacking Strength, but it still inflicted the Bleeding status effect.Before the monster could gain its bearings and charge at her, Emilia rolled along the ground before bouncing back to her feet. She stayed low to the ground, making use of her own Agility to move at an angle that would be impossible for most. Even Linnaeus felt that he would fall on his face if he tried to emulate her form, especially with Emilia angling her spear backward to offset her balance...Realizing it had been lured into a trap, the horse-like monster released a feral neighing sound as it attempted to intercept Emilia, its own head bucking from side-to-side when it neared her location.Having already observed it previously, Emilia knew better than to let the monster get too close to her so, just as it began to charge, she immediately swept her spear while twisting her body in the complete opposite direction. This put a lot of strain on the joints in her knees and hips but, as it was better than being skewered by a raging monster, she grit her teeth in a determined manner as she evaded the ferocious charge with room to spare.To its credit, the monster almost immediately realized its prey had changed direction but, like most quadrupedal creatures, it could not so easily arrest its own momentum. It could use its front legs as a pivot to try and buck its body but, the moment it tried, Emilia's eyes flashed with a vicious light.As soon as the horse-like monster attempted to change direction, the joint of its left knee was frozen solid by the water that had soaked into its fur. This wouldn't have mattered in most situations, as a thin layer of ice was meaningless to most monsters, but it was disastrous when something as heavy as the horse-like monster tried to put all its weight on two points.Having lost the articulation of its pivot leg, a loud snapping sound, even louder than the previous tree being broken, resonated through the forest. This was the sound of the monster's leg breaking in a rather terrifying way, the bone protruding out several centimeters as it crashed to the ground and began to twist and writhe.Understanding how dangerous a monster could be when it was injured, Emilia took no chances. She retreated a safe distance before calming her breathing and forming a large ball of water. She would usually use her spears to skewer the monster from a distance but, remembering the practice she had gone through over the last week, Emilia instead used her Blessing to wrap the monster's head with her water, obscuring its vision and suffocating the thrashing creature.There were very few intelligent monsters so, the moment it was surrounded in water, the horse-like monstrosity began to thrash even more while making no attempt to hold its breath. This allowed the water produced by Emilia to invade its lungs and, though she had trouble sensing it, the proximity of the larger volume of water allowed her to freeze the entire thing.With its head, the insides of its mouth, its throat, and its lungs suddenly frozen, it wasn't long before the horse-like monster ceased in its struggles. It would normally be able to last nearly half an hour without any oxygen but, as a result of its thrashing and the cold energies invading its organs, the process had been accelerated considerably.Emilia waited into the horse had disappeared completely to recover her broken spear and the loot items. Since her tribe didn't believe in killing without purpose, she offered up a small prayer to the deceased, promising to use all of its materials to the fullest. While this might seem senseless from the perspective of others, her tribe could literally eat anything so there was rarely anything left of their prey once it had been processed...In order to let Emilia calm down, it was Linnaeus and co that came to her side. Since he knew it was important to praise people when they had done well, Linnaeus gave an approving nod, saying, "You fought intelligently and used the monster's own patterns against it. Great job, Emilia..."Hearing Linnaeus' words, Emilia's ears perked up a bit, even if she didn't take them to heart. Rather, she was hoping that Eliza would praise her but, rather than meet expectations, the latter only made momentary eye contact before turning her attention to the surroundings. This caused Emilia's ears to droop pathetically, earning her an awkward smile from Linnaeus as he muttered in a voice that only reached her ears, "I'm certain Eliza is impressed by your performance. We're still in enemy territory though, so it is better to remain focused instead of make idle banter..."Like the wind changing directions in a storm, Emilia's mood immediately recovered, indicated by her ears perking up once again as a smile blossomed across her face. She knew Linnaeus' words weren't exactly the truth but, as he was the Party Leader that Eliza recognized, it still made her a little happy to have him try to comfort her...In order to loan some truth to his words, Linnaeus quickly worked out how the loot would be split before making the decision to pull back for the day. There was still a bit of light left in the day but, as there was no way of knowing how long the next battle would take, it was best to strike after dawn of the following day.Krone seemed slightly dissatisfied by this arrangement but, as his temperament had improved a little over the last week, he didn't vocalize his discontent. He knew there was some truth behind Linnaeus' words so arguing would be a senseless act that earned him the ire of the entire Party. There were no benefits at all so, this time around, he just crossed his arms before ultimately agreeing to return with the rest...

To save time on their return to the den, Linnaeus and Emilia had come up with a system to circle the perimeter in opposites directions. They will still have to complete a full circle and, by looking for the subtle signs each left behind, their tracking and attention to detail were steadily trained.Once they had regrouped together with Eliza and Krone, the entire Party returned back to the den to prepare food and discuss their plans.Needless to say, Krone was still in a bit of a dour mood but, once he started cooking, his mood gradually improved. He seemed to genuinely enjoy cooking and, as this was the only time he really interacted with the other members of the Party, his rough exterior would crack slightly.This was largely due to the fact that Emilia was learning to cook from him and, with her Skill already being Level 51, she was a very quick understudy. As for why she helped out, this was to be expected since she ate more than the three of them combined...With Krone's knowledge and experience, combined with Emilia's skill, the food they had been eating recently was better than anything Linnaeus had ever eaten. He was actually enjoying their little Party a lot more than he originally expected and, though it was very rare, a genuine smile would creep its way onto his face every now and then.The only one who ever really noticed this was Eliza but, as she had slowly been learning how to not startle him, she had the wherewithal not to point it out. Rather, as the days passed, Linnaeus almost felt like she was training him to be more social and confident around other people...---Their bellies filled and the light of the den diminishing, Linnaeus, Eliza, Emilia, and Krone gathered in the largest chamber to discuss whether or not they wanted to leave after everyone killed a Territorial King.None of them were really worried about the success of Eliza, as her [Crush] Magic was just unfair in most situations, so Linnaeus had turned to Krone, asking, "How confident are you in defeating one of the Kings...?"A week ago, Krone wouldn't have been able to answer confidently but, after seeing Linnaeus and Emilia, both around ten Levels lower than him, he had a stern expression as he stated, "I will win. If I can't even do this much, I will not be able to raise my head in the Party."Seeing the conviction in Krone's gaze, Linnaeus gave an understanding nod, saying, "I'm confident you will be able to emerge victoriously, even without my Blessing. With it, I can't imagine too many monsters on this Floor being able to get an advantage against you."Though he crossed his arms after hearing what Linnaeus said, Krone didn't refute his words. He had learned over the last week that the compatibility between their Blessings was high. Linnaeus' [Barrier Aura] made it a lot easier to activate his own Blessing and, even when he became immaterial, it was still able to protect him somehow.Eliza never liked the way Krone behaved around Linnaeus but, as the latter had asked her to stop pressuring the grey-skinned man, she just gave him a pointed stare before averting her eyes in the next moment. As for Emilia, she was leaning against the wall with a tired expression on her face, her hand resting on her belly after a very large meal...Linnaeus observed the reactions of everyone in the room, his usual calm forming a mask that made it difficult for his thoughts to be seen through. He was doing his best to understand the character of every member of his Party so that he could establish a proper baseline for each of them. This would allow him to quickly realize if they were plotting something as, unless a significant event occurred to change their behavioral pattern, people were creatures of habit.After a momentary silence, Linnaeus said, "I think it would be for the best if we finish hunting before noon tomorrow. Though it could be better to move up to the next Floor at dawn, we have no way of knowing what awaits us. It would give us more time to seek shelter but I feel we'll be more prepared to face potential threats after hunting a King. People are always a little slow when they first wake up in the morning...lacking the proper edge could cost us our lives..."As usual, Eliza took it upon herself to support Linnaeus' decision, adding, "The longer we stay on each floor, the less momentum we will have for reaching higher floors. It will be a lot easier to leave if we've only spent a few months here. If we get too acclimated to life within the Crucible, it is only natural that our motivation to leave will diminish."Using Eliza's words as a segue, Linnaeus nodded his head before explaining, "There is a chance that the rules will change in higher Floors but, for the time being, it is safe to assume we will not be able to increase our Levels. Unless the Crucible is designed to only allow those that are strong to return to the Tower, it must be possible for even low-leveled individuals to reach the top. Though the Tower has a lot of incongruous rules, I don't believe it will only reward those that were already strong prior to their deaths..."Though he didn't often agree with what Linnaeus said outright, Krone issued a grunt that, over the last week, came to represent he was in agreement. After all, even amongst their own Party, there was a sixteen Level difference between their weakest and strongest member. If someone from the higher Floors ended up in the Crucible, they would be able to completely crush everyone else.With even Krone in agreement, Linnaeus was tempted to smile but ultimately managed to keep his composure. Still, he used the opportunity provided to explain, "Our greatest strength will be how well our Party works together. We'll focus on information gathering and avoiding conflict until we are forced into a situation where we have no choice. If possible, we should consider expanding our Party into a Company in the future. That isn't really something we should focus on, however..."Here, Emilia decided to add in her own input, saying, "If we find other members of the Vanargandr tribe, we should be able to safely recruit them. I can't speak for other races but my people have been able to coexist with the other tribes for thousands of years without any significant conflict. You still have a long way to go but you should be able to earn the respect of most Vanargandr Huntresses so long as you have the confidence to keep them in line~"Hearing Emilia's remark, Eliza asked, "Oh? Does that mean you're finally learning to respect Lin? And here I thought you were going to continue being foolish until the very end..."Rather than be offended, Emilia laughed off Eliza's words before saying, "It is just really weird for me to have a male in charge. I'm so used to them requiring protection and lowering their heads every time I make eye contact with them. I still don't understand why Lin is the one in charge but I can tell he is a good Party Leader based on his decision making. If he was a little stronger, I would be able to respect him more without it making my stomach feel fluttery and weird."Eliza raised her brows in response to Emilia's words, asking, "Your entire existence revolves around that stomach of yours, doesn't it...?"Smiling, Emilia happily pat her stomach a few times, boldly proclaiming, "Satisfying our hunger is the most important thing to ensuring we can live happy and healthy lives. Ever since I was just a pup, I've always trusted in my gut and it has never let me down! It tells me that Lin isn't bad but he still has a long way to go if he wants to be a real Leader. He currently feels like someone that still needs to be protected. If he were a Vanargandr, I might even make him one of my mates~"Though she had a relatively neutral expression at first, Eliza deadpanned after hearing Emilia's final remark. She gave the smiling Vanargandr a hard stare, muttering in a dull tone, "If you try to lay your paws on Lin, don't blame me for being rude. He has people precious to him that he wants to protect. The last thing he needs is some senseless woman trying to influence him in a weird way...!"Emilia's ears had lowered a bit after sensing the hostility in Eliza's tone but she didn't seem entirely deterred as she stated in a somewhat demure tone, "See, this is what I mean. If he was a real Party Leader, he wouldn't need others to speak for him. You are always protecting him, even though it is the duty of a good leader to protect everyone else..."Here, Linnaeus decided it was time to step in before things got any further out of hand. He raised his hand to catch the girls' attention before calmly explaining, "There are more ways to protect people than simply relying on strength. Though it certainly helps, I believe that proper decision making is far more important than raw power. If you are clever and make the right decisions, it is possible to lead a small group to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. Still, I will never stop trying to become stronger so, if there is anything you think I could do to improve, please, let me know..."With her ears now perked up once again, Emilia smiled radiantly as she exclaimed, "This is one of your better qualities. You are so eager to improve that it is hard to really fault you for anything. It is still a little weird to me though, as the leaders in our tribe are the type that have already worked to become strong. They rarely need other people to give them advice so I feel like you are a young pup that is still learning how to be a leader~"Hearing Emilia's remark, Linnaeus shrugged his shoulders dismissively, reminding her, "Well, I am the youngest in the group. I'm certain that you would be able to give a lot of good advice to your past self if you were able to travel through time. I am not afraid to admit that I have a long way to go as a leader but, for the purpose of fulfilling my dreams and aspirations, I will never stop trying to better myself."Feeling very proud of her 'little brother', Eliza had a happy smile on her face as she raised her chin slightly. As for Emilia, she bobbed her head a few times in an approving manner, saying, "You aren't wrong. If I could teach my past self, there is a lot I would want her to know. I will keep that in mind while we are in the same Party. In order to help you become a better Party Leader, I will do my best to try and give you good advice. I already know you will do the same if you think there is something I can improve on so I'm looking forward to seeing how far we can go~"As it seemed like a good opportunity, Linnaeus did his best to adopt a smile as, in more ways than one, he was actually happy with how things had turned out. Eliza and Emilia were both sensible girls and, though the latter had a very unique way of thinking, she didn't completely resist new ideas. If you could word a concept into a way she could understand, it didn't take much effort to convince her to go along with your views...With the light in the den steadily diminishing, Linnaeus decided it was about time for them all to turn in for the night. He gave his usual refusal to Eliza's offer to share the same room, something Emilia was seemingly okay with, before holing up in the smaller chamber that served as his and Krone's rest area. The girls naturally needed more space so he had elected to share a room with the brute after everyone had moved in together.At first, Krone's presence made it very difficult to fall into even a light slumber but, over the course of a week, he had stopped giving off threatening vibes in the middle of the night. Tonight, he even rolled over, exposing his back to Linnaeus as if to emphasize that he no longer viewed the latter as a threat. This almost brought another smile to his face but, as there was always a chance that Krone was just trying to lure him into a false sense of security, Linnaeus sat in his usual spot with his back to the wall...

Though there were easier targets among the various Territorial Kings, Linnaeus had decided to kill the closest thing to a Dragon that he could find. Part of him still recalled the moment when he was helpless to act immediately after entering the Seventh Floor so, in order to overcome this trauma, he was determined to strike down the closest thing to his mental demon as possible.Crouching on the edge of a rocky outcrop, Linnaeus stared at the entrance of a cavern that glowed with an eerie green light from its interior. There were the bones of various other monsters in the area as, when fighting amongst themselves, actual corpses were left behind.With a thoughtful yet focused gaze, Linnaeus continued to observe the entrance to the cavern as he reiterated his plan, stating, "The safest spot to attack from will be the flanks. You'll have to watch out for its tail, though, as I've seen it smash through trees as if they were twigs. Even this is better than trying to face it directly, however. It can spew out a phosphorescent chemical that can burn through the scales of other Territorial Kings...I'm confident my [Barrier Aura] can protect against it, but try to avoid getting hit directly..."Linnaeus turned his attention toward Krone when he spoke the final few words, earning a curt nod from the man who, upon learning what they would be facing, turned stoic and silent. He had a very determined look on his face and, rather than show any signs of fear, there was an expectant light flickering across his silvery irises.As they had already discussed the plan several times, Linnaeus didn't want to stress on the details too much as it would only unnerve everyone. Instead, he did his best to appear confident, pulling out shortsword and dagger as he said, "Let's do this...no mistakes..."Without waiting for a response, Linnaeus slid down the rocky slope before making his way toward the cavern's entrance, his [Stealth] active. At the same time, Emilia moved along the periphery, her ultimate goal the area just above the cavern's entrance. Her task would be blinding the Territorial King by coating its head in a veil of water. If she had the opportunity, she would then use her spear to try and stab any fleshy areas while Linnaeus, using his small stature and nimbleness, would try to sever the monster's tendons to reduce its mobility.Though they hadn't really practiced the execution of their plan, the average monster relied mostly on instinct when fighting. This made it easier to draw their attention and lure them into traps, a fact Linnaeus intended to take advantage of as, after reaching the entrance of the cavern, he dropped his [Stealth] and released his killing intent to the fullest.Almost immediately after an invisible ripple spread from his body, Linnaeus' hair was kicked up as a foul-smelling aroma impacted against him, accompanied by a shockwave and a fierce roar. It actually had enough force to knock him back a few centimeters, the hair on his arms and neck standing on end as a result.Despite his own [Danger Sense] screaming at him to flee, Linnaeus' expression hardened as he bent his knees slightly, distributing his balance between both feet. At the same time, the ground around him had already begun to rumble and, like a flash flood tearing apart the landscape, a large dragon-like creature with green scales and three layers of ridges running along its backside came sprinting toward him, its massive maw opening to reveal a dense line of teeth.Rather than evade outright, Linnaeus created a barrier in the shape of a diamond prism with two fine points on both ends. He placed it right in the path of the King's opened mouth, anchoring it with the use of 500SP to ensure it had an adequate amount of durability.To Linnaeus' surprise, the Territorial King didn't seem to notice the existence of his barrier. Instead, it continued moving with incredible momentum toward Linnaeus, the barrier piercing into the back of its mouth with surprising ease. It was unable to change course fast enough and, as a result, Linnaeus watched in awe as his barrier pierced through the back of the monster's head before it crashed to the ground a few moments later, completely lifeless...Without years of practice controlling his facial expression, Linnaeus was certain he would have looked like a fool right now. Fortunately, there were certain benefits to growing up in the slums so, while others may have stood with their mouth agape, he had a calm expression that bordered on apathy.As if to build up the illusion even further, Linnaeus dropped his combat stance before placing away his weapons and remarking, "It seems my Blessing is more suited to combat than I anticipated..." in a dismissive tone of voice.In response to his remark, Emilia jumped down from her perch, laughing all the while as she made her way over to his side. She gave him an approving pat on the back as she exclaimed, "You're a real beast, Lin! To think, I was actually nervous just a few moments ago, ahahahahaha~!"With his [Barrier Aura] active, Emilia's strike against his back only caused a few pulses across his body without knocking him off balance. This allowed Linnaeus to easily stay upright, despite the fact she had put a bit of force into the congratulatory gesture.After shrugging his shoulders in a dismissive manner, Linnaeus made his way over to the spoils as Krone and Eliza made their way over. The former had a stern and hard to read expression on his face while Eliza had a cheerful smile as she skipped over to his side and said, "That was awesome, Lin! You really showed that so-called King what for~!"Linnaeus gave a small smile in response to Eliza's praise before handing her a few neat pieces of hide, saying, "We can probably make this into protective gear. Do you want me to preserve some of the organs it dropped? If I remember correctly, some of them should be useful in the production of medicines..."Eliza bobbed her head in response, pointing toward what looked like a gallbladder as she said, "I'll need to conduct some tests but it should be possible to make a medicine to reduce pain and treat internal hemorrhages with its gallbladder. It is hard to be certain but I'll be able to figure it out after taking a few samples."As internal bleeding was a serious status effect, it was always helpful to have a medicine that could help alleviate it. They already had a few medicines with hemostatic properties so having the option of treating both would be very useful. After all, other than cleaning wounds, Emilia's Blessing was not currently suitable for healing injuries. There was a chance she would reach that point after obtaining Level 100, as Blessing underwent an evolution of sorts at that point, but that was currently a very distant goal...After gathering all the drop items and distributing them between his and Eliza's Inventory, Linnaeus turned to face his Party as he said, "My Blessing seems to be effective against monsters with a large size and soft internals. Making use of a choke point and sending monsters into a frenzy will be one of our strategies in the future. For now, we'll migrate to the territory of another King in order to build up more experience as a Party. Until I get a proper grasp of the timing, this should be considered a fluke, not an indicator of actual skill."Rather than refute his words, Eliza gave an affirmative nod, adding, "It is good that you aren't letting a single instance of success go to your head. I've seen a lot of people get cocky after taking down a few stupid monsters. The real test will be against monsters with intelligence. You'll also have to adapt your Blessing so that it is useful against other people. Against someone that doesn't move around a lot, you won't be able to use their own speed and momentum against them."Eliza had been the one to originally suggest using his barriers as anchored projectiles so Linnaeus was very attentive to her input. He nodded his head in understanding when she had finished, saying, "I will continue to improve. Thank you for your guidance..."Hearing Linnaeus' response, Eliza nodded her head approvingly before startling him with a sudden hug. This caused Linnaeus to tense up like a statue, resulting in Eliza laughing as she released him and said, "You work hard so it is only a matter of time until you become truly strong. Until then, I'm happy to help as much as I can."Linnaeus was at a loss as to how he should respond so, after a momentary pause, he just gave a small nod before uttering a subdued, "Thanks..." He really didn't know how to deal with someone like Eliza as she seemed determined to break down his mental defenses. This actually made him feel even more suspicious of her but, as she could easily kill him just by bringing her hands together, it was difficult to rationalize what her actual aim might be...So as not to force Linnaeus into a more difficult position, Eliza gave him a bit of space before saying, "Well, you heard our Party Leader. We'll be moving on to the next area so the two of you should get ready. Linnaeus and I can't be the ones killing all the monsters so you'll have to show a bit of spirit in the next battle."While Krone was just standing in silence, Emilia pumped up her fist in response to Eliza's words, an excited smile on her face as she shouted, "Yosh! Leave it to me! Just you wait and see, Liz. I'll ride on the back of a King and suffocate it with my water, ahahahahaha~"Hearing Emilia call her 'Liz', Eliza gave her a sidelong glare before ultimately letting the address pass. Since she already allowed the three of them to call her by Eliza, which was short for Elizabeth, it was a little annoying to hear someone come up with a pet name for her. However, as it was pretty close to Lin, she didn't mind it as much as she otherwise would have...After calming himself adequately, Linnaeus sent Emilia ahead to scout, allowing her to lead the way as he taught Krone and Eliza how to properly track a person. This helped him to focus his own mind and, as it was a very useful skill that everyone could benefit from, he was hoping to at least get them to the point where they didn't make a ton of noise while traveling.Proper tracking also included making yourself harder to track so, as they became more adept at following the trail left behind by Emilia, they were slowly becoming better at moving through the forest. This had the effect of increasing their speed through the underbrush as well so, while they still had a long way to go, Eliza and Krone were learning to traverse the forest much faster than a week prior.With this enhanced speed, it only took them around twenty minutes to reach the territorial line of the next King. There, Emilia was already waiting for them, a strip of dried jerky in her hand that she was able to easily tear through with her pearly white teeth. It actually amazed Linnaeus to see how easily she tore through the tough meat as, without wetting and chewing on it excessively, it was hard for himself and the others to ingest.Once the Party had regrouped, Emilia took it upon herself to say, "This is that big horse monster with the two horns, right? I want to try and fight this one on my own...is that okay, Lin?"As his own enemy had gone down a lot easier than expected, Linnaeus felt that it wasn't wrong for Emilia to be a little hyped up for her own battle. However, he didn't outright agree, saying, "I'll allow it, so long as you still make use of my [Barrier Aura]. Though it wouldn't be good to become reliant on it, you should still get used to exploiting it to your advantage when the situation allows."With a confident smile on her face, Emilia thumped her own chest, sending a blue rippled across her body as she exclaimed, "Sure thing! Yosh, I'm getting super excited now...!"

Chapter 52: Huntress