Babel

After having stayed out pretty late, Linnaeus didn't have much time remaining until he was supposed to wake. Thus, despite falling into the deepest state of unconsciousness he had ever experienced, his internal clock stirred him awake at precisely 0500. This wasn't an exaggeration either as, due to only ever sleeping peacefully when he was knocked unconscious, Linnaeus awoke with a start, his body jerking upright in an instant as he quickly took in his surroundings.Remembering what had happened previously, Linnaeus was eventually able to calm down but, for a brief moment, cold sweat had covered his brow as his quick movement nearly sent Eliza tumbling from the bed.Being violently moved was never a pleasant way to wake up so Eliza had a grimace on her face after sitting up on the bed and asking, "What's the big idea, Lin? Is there an enemy...?"Though it was possible her senses hadn't detected anything, Eliza noticed that neither Linnaeus or Emilia were in a tense state. Rather, the latter seemed amused by what had happened while Linnaeus had turned statuesque, his mind clearly working in overdrive to come up with an explanation.Ultimately, Linnaeus decided to just be honest about what had happened so he explained, "I fell into a deep slumber so my body reacted negatively when it realized the time. Sorry, Eliza, I didn't mean to startle you like that..."Hearing the sincerity in Linnaeus's tone, Eliza felt that pressing the issue would be petty. Instead, she keyed in on his actual words and, realizing what he had said, a smile bloomed on her face. Then, as it was a matter of utmost importance, at least to her, Eliza had Linnaeus explain exactly what happened the previous night and subsequent morning.Since it would only strengthen their bond further, Linnaeus relented to Eliza's pestering and, while they all prepared for their day, he explained his stealth activities, his encounter with the same girl that had attacked them, and his speculation following the encounter.As if to punctuate the realization he had made the previous night, Eliza gave an understanding nod alongside Emilia, despite the latter having lived in a nomadic community.While they both knew how vicious some people could be, neither of them had the same mentality as Linnaeus, one which treated every unknown factor as a danger. It was honestly a point of concern for them as, while caution wasn't a bad character trait, it became a very big issue when it developed to a point where it was indistinguishable from paranoia.Realizing she needed to enforce this change in Linnaeus' perspective, Eliza patiently explained her own views on society and the inherent 'trust' required to be a functional member. Though her own perspective was obviously skewed due to her upbringing, one of the most important things she had been taught was how to read, understand, and empathize with people. These were important traits for anyone that was expected to lead others and, while ruthlessness was sometimes required during periods of conflict, it could not be the base state of a structured society.Though it would take a long time for him to truly understand what Eliza was trying to convey to him, the most important thing, at least from Linnaeus' perspective, was that the world wasn't the evil and vicious place he expected. He knew he would eventually meet corrupt, power-hungry, and outright vile individuals but, in the grand scheme of things, people seemed drawn towards a simpler way of life. They just wanted to be happy and, unless the situation drove them to fight for that happiness, they largely kept to themselves...---After a rather awkward morning, Linnaeus and co set out for another day of material gathering, now without the tense atmosphere that had been present during their previous excursions.Compared to the past few days, hunting in the Southern Forests was actually a little fun as, without having to worry about enemies attacking them, the Party was able to focus on the hunt itself. This was something noted by Linnaeus and, while he didn't particularly regret his past actions, he could tell that his behavior had been a detrimental factor to his Party's development.Rather than apologize for his faults, Linnaeus decided to take Eliza's and Emilia's words to heart and, while Krone obviously wanted to inquire about what had changed, he ultimately kept silent. After all, Linnaeus was acting like a proper leader and, rather than the mask of confidence he wore to conceal his fear and paranoia, he now seemed a lot more relaxed and focused.With this newfound focus, Linnaeus fell into a more supportive role in the Party, replacing Emilia and allowing her to become the group's Scout. This put him in a position to protect Eliza and, when the situation called for his intervention, he could easily move to support Krone.In this manner, the Party was able to clear out large sections of the forest and, after eleven hours of hunting, they had acquired more materials than their previous three days combined. Not only that, but everyone was in high spirits compared to the past few days, something Linnaeus took personally since he had been the source of the unrest.Still, he decided not to let it get to him as worrying unnecessarily would just be repeating the same mistakes as before. Instead, he would try to cultivate actual confidence and, while he couldn't really do anything about his cautious nature, changing his perspective of the world made a big difference.Now, instead of radiating a cold and detached aura to outsiders, Linnaeus casually glanced in their direction and, after confirming they harbored no ill will, he simply ignored them. He noticed that, as a result of his shift in mentality, the surroundings seemed significantly less dangerous than before. It no longer felt like everyone was machinating and scheming against him, rather, so long as he didn't do anything to draw their attention, most people simply ignored their group...By the time the Party returned to the Inn, Linnaeus felt as if his entire world view had been flipped on top of its head. Despite this, his mood had improved considerably and, though he couldn't willingly drop his guard, he didn't react adversely just because someone got near him. He even returned the greetings of a few patrons that crossed his path, people Linnaeus would have outright ignored in the past.Seeing how quickly he was improving, Eliza had a perpetual smile on her face as, more than Linnaeus himself, she felt gratified by his changes. She had been more than a little bothered by his recounting of the past and, knowing of the events that had shaped Linnaeus' character, Eliza had made it one of her missions to open his heart, at least to her.Linnaeus had been paying close attention to all of his companions so he had, obviously, seen the change in Eliza's mood. She was clearly happier than before, to the point she didn't even use harsh words when Krone or Emilia did something to annoy her. Instead, she just shook her head and, as if she was afraid to ruin the mood, she ignored their small slights.Because of these changes, the Party dynamic had improved considerably in a single day. This was further emphasized by the fact that, prior to going to bed, Krone gave a few parting words to the group. He would normally just walk off after they were done discussing the day's hunt and their future plans so it was a marked improvement, one which they discussed upon returning to their shared room...As the person with the weakest filter on her words and actions, Emilia was the first to directly state, "This is good. Compared to before, the Party is working a lot better. Keep doing your best and you'll become an even better leader in the future, Lin."Now that they were in the privacy of their own room, Eliza stopped holding herself back for the sake of the Party, immediately rebuffing Emilia by saying, "Don't be rude, Emilia. Linnaeus has been doing his best from the very beginning. He just lacks experience and perspective. Once he matures a bit, he will become a great Party Leader by default."Rather than refute her words, Emilia answered Eliza's remark with an affirmative nod, adding, "Yeah, he really isn't bad for someone his age. I can remember what I was like three years ago...really, it is amazing how much people can change, isn't it~?"By the time she finished her words, Emilia had approached Linnaeus's side and, using her hand, she tried to measure the difference in their heights. This caused the latter's brow to twitch slightly as his height was quickly becoming a sore spot that he couldn't really do anything about...Realizing she might have overstepped her bounds a bit, Emilia poked her tongue out at Linnaeus before asking, "Should I apologize~?" in a cutesy tone.Remembering Emilia's previous display, where she laid on her back and presented her stomach, Linnaeus ultimately shook his head in exasperation, saying, "We should prepare for bed. There is no way of knowing the future so it is important to rest when we can..."Hearing Linnaeus' response, Emilia brought her face a little closer to his and, a serious look on her face as she said, "You should be bolder, Lin. Not many men get the chance to share a room with two girls like this. You won't have this opportunity forever so make the most of it while you can, okay...?"Before Linnaeus was able to respond to her words, Emilia felt her head being jerked back, courtesy of Eliza pulling her ponytail. At the same time, the latter stated in a cold tone, "Don't put any weird ideas into Lin's head. I swear, if you try to corrupt him..."As Eliza was still pulling on her ponytail, Emilia could only offer a pained smile in response as she answered, "I'm only playing around, you don't have to be so serious, Liz~!"Sensing that things were becoming chaotic, Linnaeus shook his head and simply turned away from the duo. Curiously, this was enough to stop them from fighting and, after an awkward period of silence, they too began preparing for bed. This involved taking a bath, changing clothes, and tying up their hair.Refusing to share the bath with Emilia, Eliza quickly took over the bathroom for herself, albeit after giving the increasingly mischevious Vanargandr a starn warning.Though she was tempted to ignore Eliza's remarks, Emilia ultimately nodded her head since she didn't want to offend the former. Rather, her teasing of Linnaeus was the result of their increased familiarity and, while she didn't mind laying a claim to the white-haired youth, she wasn't serious.Back in her tribe, the girls enjoyed teasing the weaker males as it was just a way of fostering positive rapport with their future mates. She honestly didn't understand why Eliza behaved as she did toward Linnaeus so she just treated it as a cultural difference. Still, unless Linnaeus himself told her to stop doing it, Emilia wasn't going to stop teasing him when the opportunity presented itself. After all, he was supposed to be the Party leader and, while Eliza was still the strongest in the group, Emilia cared more about the established hierarchy than presumed structure of the group...With this in mind, Emilia waited until she heard the sound of water being moved about before she turned toward Linnaeus with a smile. He was an extremely perceptive boy so he immediately noticed her gaze, turning his head to meet her. This caused Emilia to smile mischievously and, knowing he wouldn't say anything about it, she bounced over to him before laying on her back and apologizing for her earlier behavior, tummy exposed and tail curled up between her legs in a pitiable manner...

Though he still woke up every hour or so, Linnaeus enjoyed one of the best nights of sleep that his mind could recall. Sleeping next to Eliza had always been strangely comfortable but, now that he was no longer afraid of his enemies exploiting a single moment of weakness, he was able to finally relax, even if only a little.The next morning, he awoke to feel refreshed and energetic so, after their early-morning ritual, once everyone had gathered for breakfast, he proposed, "Today, we'll move further to the Southwest. This may be our last day gathering here so we should try to accumulate some raw materials for forging."While Slime Gels were the most popular commodity to be harvested from Slimes, there were some varieties that also dropped highly refined ores. These were the evolution of Mimic and Rock Slimes, each significantly rarer than the common elemental varieties. In exchange, their drops were far more valuable and, with Krone's Blessing, obtaining purified metals would be extremely useful.As they had already discussed the possibility of visiting the area Linnaeus had in mind, none of his Party members were against. Rather, knowing he stood to benefit the most, Krone gave a curt nod of approval. As for Eliza and Emilia, the former generally supported all of Linnaeus' decisions while the latter was too busy engorging herself to really argue a point of her own.With everyone in agreement, the group made their way down a well-trod footpath, a common route used by Parties venturing deeper into the Southern Forest. Previously, they had gone out of their way to avoid such paths but, realizing they were well-trodden for a reason, Linnaeus felt as if his past self really was paranoid.Along the way to their destination, the Party encountered several wayward Slimes, including a rare jade-green Slime known, quite literally, as a Jade Slime. It was a mineral-type Slime but, instead of dropping refined ore, they instead dropped a piece of smooth jade. This looked like nothing more than a pretty stone at a glance but, in the hands of a skills craftsman, it could be made into a ring or amulet that was capable of holding additional items, much like an Inventory.There was no way they could pass up on the rare encounter so, while keeping in mind that the Jade Slime had a very potent venom, the Party moved to cut off its escape routes as Krone, covered in a [Barrier Aura] worked to smash the nebulous creature.Due to its size, being nearly 2m in diameter, it was a lot harder to kill than a normal Slime but, with a bit of persistence, combined with the fact he could absorb its traits, Krone ultimately managed to rip it in half. This cost Linnaeus most of his SP reserves but, considering they got a piece of Jadite Stone that weighed more than 2kg, it was more than worth it.After collecting the rare resource, Linnaeus had a genuine smile on his face as he turned to the Party and asked, "Should we just turn back now? A chunk this size should be enough for all of us. We can use any excess to buy raw materials for Krone's Blessing so there is no reason to venture any further than this."Since it had only been forty minutes from the time they set out, it felt a little strange to be calling it a day but, never one to chance fate, Linnaeus felt they should quit while they were ahead. This seemed to be the general consensus of the entire Party as well so, after a brief discussion, they decided it was time to bid farewell to the Southern Forests.So as not to draw too much attention to themselves, as there were people who kept track of when a Party entered and exited the forests, Linnaeus and co spent a bit of time killing various lesser Slimes to fill their totes. They would trade these in at the Hunting Guild before leaving the Southern Forest Settlement. Since it was still pretty early, they could easily reach Central before evening fell.Though Linnaeus felt as if their hasty retreat might draw unwarranted attention, he tried to keep his calm and go with the flow as, even after leaving the Guild behind, he never got the feeling that any danger was heading their way. His instincts told him that someone or something would try to bar their passage back to Central but, considering how easy it was to reach the Southern Forests, there was a good chance their trip back may very well be smooth...---While it wouldn't set back his new mentality too much, Linnaeus was soon reminded why he always trusted his gut instinct.About an hour out from the Southern Forest Settlement, the entire Party's [Sense Danger] started sounding alarm bells in their mind and, immediately after, various people could be seen trying to surround them.Other Parties may be caught unprepared for such occurrences but, expecting something like this to happen at some point, Linnaeus had already discussed countermeasures with his Party. As a result, Krone began absorbing the properties of his gauntlets. At the same time, Emilia used her [Phase Change] to create a thick cover of fog, obscuring the sight of both the Party and their attackers.Fortunately, everyone in their Party had decent [Perception] and, having already practiced fighting in the cloud of fog, they had a slight advantage over their assailants. This could all be invalidated by the enemy's Blessings but it was still better than being exposed to direct fire...Since it was created as a result of her Blessing, the fog cloud was able to follow along with Emilia and the Party so, rather than be stuck in one spot, they doubled their pace to make it harder for the enemy to surround them.Linnaeus left Eliza in the care of Krone and, using the boundaries of the fog to maintain the proper distance for his own [Barrier Aura], he began searching for enemies barring their passage.Most people were unfamiliar with fighting in an environment where they could hardly see beyond their own outstretched hands so Linnaeus ended up finding a red-haired youth with a rather vicious sword in hand. He was peering into the fog with his sword at the ready but, due to being immobile, he was caught off guard by Linnaeus' small stature and relatively high Agility.Despite this, the man still managed to swing his sword toward Linnaeus' neck on reflex but the latter had already made a rod-shaped barrier within the trajectory of the swing. This caught the youth's forearms, interrupting the swing and surprising him more than a little. Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of his surprises as, without anything barring his passage, Linnaeus buried his daggers into the youth's gut and chest in an instant.With a face of sheer incredulity, the light in the youth's eyes quickly faded away as, atop his head, the bar representing his health quickly flatlined. Direct strikes to the Heart and Brain had a high chance of causing the 'Instant Death' effect so, while people with higher Endurance may be able to survive such attacks, those specializing in Agility were very susceptible to such blows.Aside from throwing the youth's sword into his Inventory, Linnaeus didn't even spare him a second glance as he used his LV17 [Perception] to sense the next enemy. This was made easier by the fact that, immediately after the youth died, someone shouted out, "Fuck! These people killed Sahl! Kill these motherfuckers...!"Hearing this outburst, Linnaeus began making his way towards the source only to change his course when he heard another voice reply, "Fighting in the fog is a bad idea. We should attack from outside and wait for them to run out of SP. If we kill them too quickly, we won't be able to recover the items in their Inventories. Don't let your head get clouded by rage, Jack!"In live combat, those that could keep their calm were infinitely more dangerous than the type that let their emotions drive their decisions. When Linnaeus heard the voice of a woman pacifying the rage of who he presumed to be the leader, he immediately chose her as his second target. It was fortunate that they were foolish enough to shout as, understanding his intentions, Emilia followed along the same axis of movement to ensure he wouldn't be exposed.From the perspective of the enemies, the cloud of fog suddenly changed direction and, instead of moving away from them, it suddenly doubled-back to envelop several members. Those fearing the same end as Sahl immediately tried to retreat but, as they weren't priority targets, Linnaeus simply ignored them.After a few seconds of heart-pounding pursuit, Linnaeus saw a man that could only be described as 'wild' while, at his side, a lavender-haired woman with a buckler and needle-like rapier could be seen staring directly at him.Though it felt like his nerves were on fire, Linnaeus wasn't daunted by the fact his presence had been noticed. Instead, he pushed his speed beyond its natural limits, relying on the surge of adrenaline to propel himself forward.By the time the wild man noticed what was happening, the woman with the rapier lunged to meet Linnaeus' charge, a vortex of green energy wrapping around her blade and body. This indicated her Blessing was related to wind, one of the more powerful offensive elements, but Linnaeus couldn't afford to simply turn back at this point.Though he couldn't form anything more complex in the time allotted, Linnaeus was still able to form a marble-sized barrier in the path of the woman. He poured a quarter of his reserves into the super-dense ball of SP which, due to its size, went completely unnoticed by everyone. At the same time, he charged forward as if he was fully intent on crossing blades with the tempestuous rapier.As a result of his subterfuge, the woman, who had put her all into the charge, suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest as her momentum was completely arrested. Her balance was destroyed and, while the blades of wind around her rapier still cut outward, they crashed harmlessly against the [Barrier Aura] of Linnaeus.Before the woman could even exclaim in pain, Linnaeus pushed his speed even further beyond his limits, pulling his recently acquired sword out from his Inventory in the process. Then, much to the shock of the wild man and his cohorts, Linnaeus buried his sword into the woman's neck, piercing straight through to the other side and leaving it there as he turned back to run.For a brief moment, silence dominated the foggy atmosphere until, finally reconciling what had happened, the wild-looking man released a feral-sounding bellow, screaming, "I WILL PEEL YOUR FLESH AND FUCK YOUR SKULL!"Without bothering to respond to the man, Linnaeus vanished into the fog as, moments later, the entire area occupied by the now-enraged man was suffused with a purple hue. He didn't even have time to enact his revenge as, from the moment they saw the purple aura, death descended upon the three people nearby, courtesy of Eliza's [Crush] magic.With gravity spontaneously increasing by 50x the normal amount, it was enough to spontaneously rupture the capillaries in a person's body and, while some people may have the physical strength to withstand the forces, it wasn't as if they could easily train their organs. As a result, all of the soft and fleshy bits in their body were forced downward with intense force, their brains and hearts included. One of them was unfortunate enough to be the type to wear heavy armor so, while his Strength was commendable, his 70kg of armor became a metallic press of 3,500kg in an instant...

Though he would have liked to take Eliza's advice and relax for a bit, Linnaeus was still wide awake by the time darkness had fallen over the small forest settlement. This was what he had been waiting for so, after extricating himself from Eliza's clutches and signaling to Emilia to stay back, he departed the Inn in the middle of the night.Nothing had happened in the last couple of days so Linnaeus took a gamble by assuming that their enemies were trying to avoid damaging any of the businesses. If they were an operation supported by the Hunting Guild, it would significantly reduce the prestige of the latter if they were to damage the property of the various business owners. Some of these individuals were extremely powerful so, while they obviously wanted to put pressure on new faces, they seemed to be avoiding causing too big a scene...Hoping that his deduction struck at the heart of the matter, Linnaeus did his best to muster up his confidence as he ventured out under the cover of night.Unlike Central City, the Southern Forest Settlement wasn't particularly well lit so it was easy to move, mostly, unseen. Linnaeus couldn't really pretend that he had gone completely unnoticed as, despite there being a number of people out and about, there would be long periods of time where he didn't acquire any experience in his [Stealth] and [Presence Concealment].When you managed to evade detection from higher-level individuals, the system rewarded you with drastically increased experience. Thus, long periods where he gained no experience whatsoever were a dead giveaway that 'someone' had noticed him.Without being dishearted by this fact, Linnaeus did his best to move with purpose, believing most of the people that had taken note of him were just curious individuals wondering what he was up to. So long as he continued on his way without causing any trouble, they would quickly lose interest since most people couldn't really be bothered to poke their nose into other people's business.This was something Linnaeus was banking on as, if someone continued to tail him after others had lost interest, their intentions could be assumed. They were either someone who had been assigned to watch him or someone that had taken notice of him and decided to seek trouble. In either case, both were people Linnaeus would have to deal with so he moved closer to the outskirts while trying to drop the tail.It was unfortunate that the settlement was distinctly different from the slums he was used to as, even if he wanted to be sneaky, the distance between buildings made it very difficult. This was one of the reasons behind why he drew so much attention as, in some cases, the distance between buildings could have easily fit another building in between...it was very annoying.Despite this, Linnaeus eventually dropped all his tails after about an hour of traveling by essentially pretending he was just training his Skills and Abilities without any actual purpose. Since being a Thief was one of the primary Classes, at least according to the information he had obtained, it wouldn't be difficult to convince people he was just trying to polish his techniques even if they stopped him.Unfortunately, other than brief periods where he would get a decent chunk of experience, Linnaeus was still being followed by at least one person. He could deduce this from the fact that, when he did get experience, it was usually the same exact value. Since this was determined by the level difference and other factors, the likelihood that two people gave the same exact amount was relatively slim.With the intent of luring his pursuers out, Linnaeus began to follow a complex route that, if you knew the layout of the settlement, clearly indicated his intent to return. If they had any intention beyond simply observing him, they would be compelled to act before he could reunite with his allies so this was the best way to bait them out after leading them around for more than an hour.Though he didn't doubt there were people as, or even more, cautious than himself, Linnaeus quickly learned that his degree of caution was abnormal. People weren't nearly as patient as he could be at times, something he had cultivated due to his weakness and the fact that everyone around him, for a period of time, could have been considered an enemy.Meeting his expectations, Linnaeus found his way blocked by a petite figure wearing a black cloak. It was a little silly to see her hiding her identity, especially considering the two holes that had been cut in the hood to allow for her horns to protrude freely...Seeing that Linnaeus wasn't even startled by her arrival, the girl giggled playfully as she mused, "You aren't half bad, are you? The real question is, what are your intentions in luring me out like this~? Do you really intend to fight me...?"At the moment she finished her words, the hooded-girl pulled out a set of six throwing knives, each held between her fingers in a fan shape. As for Linnaeus, he tensed up considerably but managed to appear calm as he adopted a half-battle stance and asked, "What are your intentions? Why is your group interested in my Party...?"In truth, Linnaeus had already done a bit of information gathering so he had a decent understanding of the group's purpose. Still, he wanted to know how the girl would respond as information could be manipulated freely, especially in an area where one organization had most of the power.With a pretend pout, the girl pursed her lips before placing her throwing knives away and answering, "It's simple, really. Our group is one of the more powerful forces in this region. We may not be that strong compared to foreign organizations but we work hard to keep order within our territory. You really don't have to worry all that much as, when you leave the settlement behind, our forces will no longer target you."Hearing the girl's response, Linnaeus was actually a little surprised, even if it didn't show on his face. This caused the girl to nod in approval, apparently mistaking his silence as comprehension since she turned away moments later and disappeared into the shadows.Though it was possible there was some elaborate scheme going on, the girl's departure seemed to indicate that her words were the truth. This left Linnaeus at a loss as, while it wasn't that far from his initial speculation, it was so much 'tamer' than he expected...Linnaeus had assumed the girl's organization worked with the Hunting Guild and, while this was still very likely, their purpose seemed to be pressuring outsiders. If his Party decided to stay and settle in the area, they would undoubtedly try to pull him into their fold. If they only stayed for a few weeks, however, it didn't seem like the group would try to stop them at all. Rather, their actions seemed to be measured in order to gather information and keep outsiders from causing trouble by pressuring them during their stay...Realizing he may have genuinely been stressing over nothing, Linnaeus rested with his back against a nearby building as he slouched to the ground. He suddenly felt extremely fatigued and, while he still kept his guard up, it suddenly felt as if all his previous actions were driven by paranoia.If he really thought about it, there would be no way to keep actual order in such a distant settlement if there was some evil power machinating behind the scenes. Though there was undoubtedly a fair amount of corruption in the upper echelons of the organization, they would have been eliminated by stronger powers if they truly acted with impunity.Now that he looked back on the past few days, Linnaeus noticed that most of the actual residents were rather lackadaisical regarding the very obvious actions of the secretive organization. Just the fact that the Proprieter gave them a discount and a free meal indicated that he was very used to such incidents taking place. Otherwise, he would have been a lot angrier as the Inn was his primary source of income, not some roughshod shack that could be found within the overpopulated slums...After sitting in silence for the better part of half an hour, Linnaeus finally pulled himself to his feet and began making his way back to the Inn. Along the way, he thought about how Eliza, Krone, and even Emilia had reacted upon first entering the Fifth Floor. They behaved as if the sight of thousands of people living alongside each other without conflict was completely normal and, while he had been doing his best to accept this inherent truth, Linnaeus' past experiences made it difficult to change his behavior in a short period of time.During the relatively short walk, Linnaeus observed his surroundings from a different perspective than the one he generally used. He tried to view the people going about their business, not as future enemies, but people that simply wanted to live a life without hardship. Some of them had immense power at their disposal but, instead of using it to suppress others, they became business owners who happily served their customers with smiles on their faces, the complete opposite of expectations.Though it would take him a long time to truly understand the thought process of such individuals, Linnaeus was beginning to understand how people like Rebecca, and the various other elders in the slums, came to live there. They would have easily found a place for themselves within the Megacity yet, as if power and authority were completely meaningless to them, they chose to live the final few decades of their lives helping others.Linnaeus was beginning to realize that he had always viewed the world from the perspective of a Street Urchin, someone constantly looking to escape a terrible situation. He realized that there had actually been a number of people throughout his journey that harbored no ill will towards him but, as a result of his anti-social nature and over-cautious mentality, he had never even given them the chance to help him. The only exceptions to this were people like Rebecca but, at the time, he didn't really have a choice in the matter...Before he realized it, Linnaeus found himself back at the Inn and, as a result of his dazed state, he nearly bumped into a middle-aged drunkard with a wiry red beard. This startled the man and, for a brief moment, it seemed like he was about to explode in a drunken tirade. Instead, immediately after he saw Linnaeus cautiously standing a few meters away from him, the old man actually apologized before laughing as he walked off, accompanied by a few of his friends as the night was still young.Seeing a drunkard showing simple courtesy was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, at least within Linnaeus' mind. He dragged his feet up the stairs, each step heavier than the ones that came before. Then, after entering his room, Linnaeus made brief eye contact with Emilia, giving her a simple shake of the head to indicate there were no issues before ultimately plopping down face-first onto the bed. Afterward, for the first time in a long while, complete darkness claimed his mind as he slipped off into a deep state of unconsciousness...albeit only for an hour...

Chapter 67: Shift