Babel

While exploring the expansive forest of the Third Floor, Linnaeus had been able to identify a total of five common monsters and a single type of edible fruit that resembled a persimmon.The most common monster present was a small humanoid that rarely reached heights greater than 100cm. They had ghastly green skin, murky red eyes, and emaciated figures that wouldn't lose out to some of the less successful Street Urchins.These gangly creatures often roamed in small packs of 3-5 and, with their loincloths and wooden clubs, it was clear to see they had some degree of intelligence. Unfortunately, this only manifested in a violent way as, during his travels, Linnaeus saw no less than ten instances of them cannibalizing each other after clashing with other groups.During his observations, Linnaeus had fought a few of the smaller groups and, as he had expected, they were just about as strong as an average Street Urchin, just infinitely more violent. Their only real advantage was their numbers and rudimentary weapons but, as they were extremely uncoordinated and possessed no skill, he was able to make short work of them with his [Barrier Aura] and horned-dagger.Through the notifications of the Akashic System, Linnaeus learned the small creatures were called Lesser Forest Goblins. On average, they gave between 30~40 Experience so, while they were a little annoying, he was able to earn as much as 200 Experience after dealing with each group. If not for the fact he wanted to strengthen his Skills first, so as not to miss out on extra attributes per Level, Linnaeus would have gone on a killing spree to harvest as much Experience as possible...After the Lesser Forest Goblins, the most prevalent monster Linnaeus had encountered were a type of transparent, globulous, creature known as a Slime. They had semi-spherical bodies that averaged between 15~20cm in diameter. From what he could see, they survived by dissolving various plants and the corpses of other monsters by wrapping their bodies around their prey. They could even cover a much larger Goblin like a thin film but, with how weak the enzymes were, Linnaeus felt it would take several hours for them to complete the process.The Slimes would have actually overtaken the Lesser Forest Goblins in quantity if Linnaeus didn't separate the three different types into their own groups. Thus far, he had encountered a variant with transparent blue skin, known as a Plain Slime. It was the most common among the three, losing out to its kin, the Forest Slime and the significantly rarer Rock Slime. These had green and grey bodies respectively, with the former having a poisonous constitution while the latter made rocky outcrops it's home.When Linnaeus had been searching for a cave to escape the cold, he almost thought he had been caught in a small rockslide as a small group of Rock Slimes leaped from their perches to try and attack him. Fortunately, while they had a surprising amount of weight to them, averaging well over 100kg despite their small size, it wasn't something that could threaten his [Barrier Aura]. He lost a bit of SP in the surprise attack but, after that, they were easy to pick off due to their slow speed.The most curious thing about Slimes was the fact that, after killing them, they would dissolve away into a puddle before leaving behind small lumps of a gel-like substance. Though he didn't know if it was edible, Linnaeus had looted a few of them since they had a surprisingly sweet smell. Then, after incapacitating a Goblin, he had forced the creature to ingest the sweet lump, wondering what effect it would have on the emaciated monster.Since the Goblin's health had started to slowly regenerate, Linnaeus deduced that it shouldn't have any kind of poison so, while it might not have been the wisest decision, he ultimately chewed on one of the dark blue lumps. To his surprise, it was more tart than sweet, not all that dissimilar to a potent citrus-type fruit. This was only the beginning of his surprises, however, as, after ingesting the rather peculiar lump, it wasn't just his health that began regenerating slowly.Linnaeus had an almost wolfish grin on his face as he saw his SP ticking up by a few points every few seconds. Since all the Slimes he had encountered only gave around 10 Experience each, he made a point of killing and looting as many as possible. From this, he learned that the gel lumps each had a different effect, with only those produced by Plain Slimes regenerating SP. As for the lumps looted from Forest Slimes, they made his body feel strangely refreshed and had a very potent medicinal taste to them. This was still much better than the grey lumps produced by the Rock Slimes, however, as it felt like chewing on a piece of gritty leather.When he finally managed to get it down, Linnaeus felt it was more than worth the effort as, much to his surprise, his Constitution had actually gotten a +5 boost. This increased his Health by 100 and made his skin feel slightly harder than normal, indicating his defense had also increased. Though it had only lasted for around five minutes, this was still a very important discovery that made Linnaeus excited about what other benefits monster drops would provide.Unfortunately, any experiments would have to wait until the following day as, with night descending upon the land, the temperature had decreased well below freezing. He had been forced to set camp in the cramped hollow of a large tree as the only cave he found gave off a very dangerous feeling. Though it was uncomfortable, this ended up being the correct choice as, shortly after his departure, a large bear-like monster ventured out into the darkening forest for its nightly hunt.Since it was impossible to make a fire without drawing attention to himself, Linnaeus spent more time concealing the hollow and insulating the insides using Horned Rabbit pelts. He imagined that Ryuuna would kick him out if she returned to find no space for herself so he made sure to make a thicker blanket for himself, fully anticipating being thrown out into the elements.Fortunately, Ryuuna never showed up so, while he wasn't able to sleep deeply, Linnaeus was able to get an adequate amount of rest as the forest outside became covered in a layer of frost. He knew she was okay, as the members of a Party were able to see the Health of their respective members, so he assumed she had found refuge for herself for the night.What Linnaeus never could have expected was, at the time he was drifting off into unconsciousness, Ryuuna was curled up snuggly inside the den of a Tyrant Mountain Bear. She had easily killed off the 4m tall monstrosity before claiming its den, and the food supplies within, for herself.Though hey went out to hunt periodically throughout the day, Tyrant Mountain Bears were the type of creature to stock up additional food in their dens for their offspring to consume. Unfortunately for this particular Bear-like monster, it had lost out to a far more tyrannical existence.In the very short territorial battle, it had its left arm ripped off before having its skull crushed by the intruder who, at first, seemed like prey delivering itself. After that, Ryuuna unceremoniously killed the three massive cubs inside before using their surprisingly soft bodies, a stark contrast to the metallic fur of their mother, to stay warm. She was still annoyed with the Love Bird Title so, while she briefly thought to return for the night, part of Ryuuna wanted Linnaeus to die while she was away.After this thought had crossed her mind, Ryuuna decided to test Linnaeus by seeing how long he could survive without her protection as, unless they both agreed to go to the next Floor, he was stuck here. Since a person could only leave a Party by expressing their intent directly to the Party Leader, there wasn't anything he could do but try his best to survive or come seeking her out on his own accord.Ryuuna had a decent understanding of the power possessed by the monsters on the Third Floor so, unless things got exponentially harder, she felt Linnaeus would only be in danger if he encountered other Fledglings. Since he was very cautious, enough to escape notice on two successive Floors, she felt the chances of this happening were relatively slim. Still, she didn't leave him fully without hope as, with her ability to sense his approximate location, she didn't venture too far away. If he decided to run toward her at his fastest speed, it shouldn't take longer than an hour for him to reach her location.With such thoughts on her mind, Ryuuna snuggled up next to the deceased bear cubs, muttering, "If you can't even survive three days, don't blame me for abandoning you..." before falling asleep.---Though he wasn't doing it to meet expectations, Linnaeus was already doing everything in his power to avoid detection, train his Skills, and survive. He also had a good idea of where Ryuuna was located but, rather than seek her out, he continued to venture around the area to get a better understanding of the terrain.In a fight against increasingly more powerful foes, knowledge of the terrain could save his life and allow him to escape danger. He even set a few traps using twined ivy and, though it wouldn't really do damage to anything larger than a Goblin, it could at least trip someone up during a chase. Since he would periodically hear a sharp bell sound within his mind, indicating he had gotten experience in his [Trap Set] Skill, Linnaeus knew it had, at the very least, some small effect.At this point, Linnaeus had half a dozen horned-daggers and, to save SP, he began to string the pelts of Horned Rabbits around his waist. He didn't feel comfortable being below 2500 maximum SP so it was the only thing he could do unless he chose to outright abandon his spoils.Fortunately, similar items could take up the same slot in his Inventory so, while they also ate away at his SP, Linnaeus had been able to collect a large number of Slime Gels. He primarily focused on the blue variant looted from Plain Slimes, as they increased both Health Regeneration and SP Recovery. They also tasted much better than the green and grey variants, of which Linnaeus only kept a small amount due to their potential of being useful in a pinch.He couldn't be certain, but Linnaeus felt the green gel could be useful for treating fevers and weak poisons. As for the grey gel, they had the obvious use of providing extra defense and increasing his general survivability. Though it might not matter much with his [Barrier Aura], his past experiences had made it very clear he couldn't rely solely on his Blessing.Linnaeus' greatest strengths were his ability to move relatively undetected, allowing him the element of surprise. Most of his enemies weren't accustomed to fighting against his unique combat style so, if he fought cleverly, it was possible to take out people much stronger than he was. Though people like Ryuuna might be an exception to this, as she could apparently sense him without much effort, it was still useful against the majority of foes.With this in mind, Linnaeus focused on evading enemies in order to increase his proficiency with his [Presence Concealment], [Trap Set], [Trap Disarm], and [Stealth]. When he came across monsters, he would use a combination of his [Knife Master], [Assassination], and [Barrier Master] to harvest a few resources and Experience towards Leveling up.Though it might not be wise to increase his actual Level before raising his Skills, Linnaeus felt it would greatly increase his survivability by raising his base Wisdom to 100. This would give him the associated boon and, due to his rather peculiar Title, an additional 3 Spi, 2 Cha, and 1 Luk per Level. These were extremely important attributes that were inordinately difficult to increase so, before he got yet another new Title, Linnaeus felt it wouldn't be a complete mistake to benefit while he could.

Though it wasn't noticeable at first, there was a discernible difference in the difficulty of the Third Floor with each successive day.At first, Linnaeus only had to worry about the stark contrast between the day and night temperature and a few monsters. Now, however, the evenings got so cold that a layer of ice would cover much of the forest. At the same time, monsters like Lesser Mountain Goblins, Slimes, and Horned Rabbits had started to vanish entirely. Instead, the most common monster he encountered were wandering bears and, infinitely more troublesome, packs of a monster called Lesser Frost Wolves.The average Lesser Frost Wolf was around two meters in length and a little under a meter in height. They were covered in pristine white fur and had vicious jaws full of ivory-colored teeth that could easily tear apart the other monsters present on the Floor. Linnaeus had even seen a pack of more than ten take down the massive bear-like creatures without too much difficulty.Though they were significantly weaker than the bear, the Lesser Frost Wolves were extremely agile and knew how to cooperate with each other. They would take turned targetting the back and legs of the bear, slowly wearing it down until it succumbed to blood loss. Then, when it could hardly put up a fight, the largest in the pack, lacking the Lesser prefix, would finish it off before enjoying the first choice bits for itself.The most troublesome aspect of the Lesser Frost Wolves, besides their speed and pack mentality, was their excellent hearing and incredibly sensitive noses. Since Linnaeus was rewarded with more experience when the enemies were strong or had advanced detection Skills, he was quickly gaining proficiency in his [Presence Concealment] and [Stealth].Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to actually evade their packs for a long period of time as, after a successful hunt, they would dutifully circle the area to spread their scent and watch for any other predators that might want to steal their meal. They were smart enough to take turns eating and keeping watch, often by using different footpaths than their predecessors to cover for any blind spots.If not for his [Barrier Aura] protecting him from surprise and combination attacks, Linnaeus imagined he would have been torn apart during his very first encounter with the white-furred demons. He had actually thought they were kind of cool at first but, after having his arm yanked in one direction while another Lesser Frost Wolf pulled his leg in the opposite, Linnaeus had quickly lost any positive feelings for the monsters.At this point in time, five days had passed on the Third Floor. The Lesser Frost Wolves had appeared during the evening of the third day, migrating from a snow-covered mountain to the north.Before the Lesser Frost Wolves appeared, there were 392 Fledglings remaining on the Floor, a value that could be tracked through the information panel of the Akashic System. Now, less than two days after their appearance, only 146 Fledglings remained, meaning they had either given up or lost their lives to the skillful hunters.As could be expected, Ryuuna was still alive and well, even if Linnaeus couldn't confirm her status due to the fact they had been separated since the start. All he really knew was that her Health would decrease at times, likely due to her own Blessing, before recovering a few minutes later without any issues.Since he couldn't imagine even twenty wolves taking down Ryuuna, Linnaeus was more focused on his own survival than regrouping. He had already guessed her intentions at this point so, rather than lower his head and chasing after her, he was intending to survive for as long as possible without her help.With this in mind, Linnaeus had made a home for himself in a canyon that spanned more than 50m across and several hundred meters deep. There had been a small ridge that formed a shallow hollow towards the back, located just behind a jagged rock structure. Though it was accessible to any sharp-eyed Fledglings that might discover it, such as Ryuuna, it provided adequate protection against the roaming bands of Lesser Frost Wolves.To combat the cold, Linnaeus had collected dozens of different types of pelts to line his tiny hollow. He used the sticky residue from the trees to adhere the pelts to the cold stone directly and, in order to find some small comfort in the sub-zero temperatures, he had a veritable pile of blankets to shield himself from the chilling wind that passed through the canyon.Linnaeus had noticed that the evenings were becoming longer with each passing day so, if this trend continued, he imagined perpetual night would descend upon the Floor by the tenth day. His current goal was just to survive until a week had passed or, at the very least, until the number of Fledglings had been reduced to less than 50 people.During his observations, Linnaeus noticed that many Fledglings had various tools and equipment, some of which they had graciously contributed to his survival efforts. What this told him was that, if he moved on to the next Floor early, he would be able to spend his Aether to obtain much-needed supplies and equipment. If he kept being the last person to pass through each Floor, the only way he could obtain supplies was by stealing them from others, something that became progressively more difficult with the passage of time.Though there were a surprising number of people with support and utility-oriented Blessing left, as these types were readily sought by other Fledglings, there was a noticeable increase in the number of people that gave Linnaeus a bad feeling. They were infinitely more dangerous than the monsters on the Floor and, if he was unlucky enough to be discovered, it was almost certain he would meet his end.While it might be possible to take out stronger enemies in a one-on-one situation, the vast majority of Fledglings had formed small Parties at this point. Many had even formed full four-person groups, generally consisting of 1~2 frontline members, a dedicated support, and a ranged attacker. They had a good balance of survival, tracking, and combat Skills, making it nearly impossible to defeat them on his own.Still, Linnaeus had been rather fortunate thus far as, even when he encountered other Parties, there weren't any people who could detect him. Though he knew a few might have the [Perception] Skill, they had been unable to detect him if he focused on laying low. This indicated their [Perception] was lower than his [Stealth] which, due to his need to constantly keep it active, had reached LV37 in the five short days since his arrival on the Third Floor.Though he had already been aware of this due to his rapid increases at early Levels, Linnaeus was increasingly aware of how quickly Skills developed when the enemies were stronger than you. At times, he would get ticks of 20 or more experience every ten seconds when he was using [Stealth] near large groups of Lesser Frost Wolves so it had been steadily growing. At this rate, he imagined he could even break through LV40 before leaving the Floor, if not higher.These were the thoughts that passed through Linnaeus' mind as he clung tightly to the fur pelts in his desperate attempts to resist the cold. This was the only thing he could do to distract himself from the chill that seemed to be creeping into his bones by the time light, and its accompanying warmth, descended on his sixth day surviving on the Third Floor.Though it was still unbelievably cold, as it took time for the ice to thaw out, Linnaeus stored his pelt blankets away before observing his surroundings. Once he was confident there were no enemies in the immediate vicinity, he created a few platforms using his [Barrier] magic, allowing him to easily scale the canyon's face without much difficulty.At this point, Linnaeus' entire body was covered in furs that he had roughly strewn together in an attempt to keep the cold at bay. He had even fashioned a make-shift helmet from the large skull of a Frost Wolf, giving him a slightly intimidating appearance that would hopefully deter anyone who thought he was an easy mark. Since he also kept several horned-daggers around his waist, he hoped to at least give them some pause that he might be able to exploit.More than anything, Linnaeus just wanted to avoid conflict entirely, at least against other Fledglings. He still needed to increase his own foundation and improve his strength, something he knew they were undoubtedly doing as well.If possible, Linnaeus wanted to observe several different groups of Fledglings to determine exactly how his strength compared to theirs. He was confident in taking down those with support or utility Blessings but, as they were often protected by those with combat-oriented specialties, he needed to carefully plan any attacks.This was how Linnaeus survived as, from his earliest memories, he knew how dangerous the world could be if you stuck your neck out thoughtlessly. The daily beatings when he first became a Street Urchin had hammered this simple truth into his bones time and again, to the point he would never forget the faces of his first attackers.Though he was now much stronger than before, and had even killed over a thousand people, none of this had been done haphazardly. His method was to observe and understand the strength of his enemies, only attacking when he was confident of victory or when his position had been revealed.If not for Saht, there were many times over the last three years where he would have lost his life due to his inhibitions about attacking others. She was far less hesitant than he was about taking a life so, whenever he had any doubts, she would always be the first to take action. This was something that bothered Linnaeus quite a bit but, as he wouldn't even be here if not for her proactive nature, he couldn't really complain.Linnaeus knew he needed to either team up with someone or change his core nature but, as he had been this way for over a decade, it would take time. For now, he just wanted to focus on increasing his foundation and, once he was confident in moving forward, he would begin to raise his Level in earnest. He wanted to start closing the gap between himself and people like Ryuuna, setting her as his goal for what real power represented...While Linnaeus was thinking about his growth, he heard slight rustling and the sound of ice crunch in the distance. He had already been actively using [Stealth] so he wasn't too worried, especially since the sound was several tens of meters from his location and moving away from him.Between the gaps in the trees, Linnaeus saw the familiar figures of several Lesser Frost Wolves, each moving deftly through the trees as they chased after an unseen target. It wasn't until he heard the pained shout of a man that Linnaeus understood what was happening but, rather than try and aid the unknown Fledglings, he vanished into the underbrush as he slowly skulked forward.If the Fledglings were smart, they would simply exit the Floor but, if they were obstinant, there was a good chance he would be able to reap a few rewards from their corpses. He had been able to gain a shortsword using this method and, though it had been bent, Linnaeus was able to straighten it out after wedging it between the nook of two trees.Linnaeus had aspirations of becoming a predator, one that could take down foes without hesitation and fear. For now, however, he was nothing more than a scavenger that would do whatever it took to survive. He didn't mind fighting dirty or using underhanded means to obtain his goals, so long as he never compromised what remained of his integrity. So long as he clung to this basic semblance of goodness, something Rebecca had seeded inside of him long ago, Linnaeus believed he would never stray so far from the light that he could never return...

Shortly after Linnaeus and Ryuuna formed their Party, a jovial voice disturbed the silence, stating, "It seems the two of you are the final Fledglings left on this Floor. I'm honestly a little surprised that the lowest-ranked Fledgling was able to form a team with someone. I wonder if this is perhaps fate...or maybe just youth~?"In response to its own musings, the voice began to laugh uninhibitedly for several seconds, causing Ryuuna to furrow her brows as she knew what it was trying to imply. She knew better than to retort, however, as there were no benefits to antagonizing one of the god-like Floor Guardians.Unfortunately, she very quickly wished she had said something as, taking their silence as admission, the voice mused, "Well, everyone has their own motivations for climbing the Tower. I look forward to seeing how far this budding love takes you~."The moment the voice finished its statement, Linnaeus and Ryuuna both heard a ding within their minds. A congratulatory message flashed across their eyes but, rather than read the text, Ryuuna's eyes looked toward her Title slot before spontaneously kicking Linnaeus with enough force to send him flying into the adjacent wall. Before he made contact, however, they both vanished from the Second Floor as a sonorous laugh echoed in the surroundings.---With the transfer arresting all of his previous momentum, Linnaeus felt onto the relatively soft grass without sustaining any injuries. In the next moment, however, the petite Ryuuna had appeared at his side, her hand grasping around his neck as she venomously stated, "I swear, if you get any ideas or try to flaunt this to other people, I will fucking flay you."Though he understood why she was upset, Linnaeus felt indignant that she felt the need to blame him for something he had no control over. If not for his [Barrier Aura], which was rapidly draining his SP, he wouldn't have even been able to answer her. Still, as he didn't intend to die just yet, he grit his teeth before ultimately stating, "I...understand..."After hearing Linnaeus' response, Ryuuna snorted through her nose before finally releasing her hold on his neck. She began to look around the area which, much like the First Floor, was filled with trees, plants, and a few discernible signs of life. The biggest difference was that the temperature was much lower but, with the bodysuits they were provided giving resistance to both heat and cold, this didn't affect either of them.While his vicious companion was looking around the area, making an obvious effort to ignore him, Linnaeus rubbed his neck in frustration while looking at his Status. There, rather than the Sheepish Fledgling Title, he had gained the even more troubling Love Bird Title. It was a paired Title that he shared with Ryuuna that granted an increase in Spirit, Charisma, and, of all things, Luck. If not for these significant boons, he imagined that Ryuuna very well might have killed him...------------------------------------Title: Love Bird(+3 Spi, +2 Cha, +1 Luk per Level while in the same party as other Love Birds)------------------------------------With Spirit, Charisma, and Luck being attributes that were impossible to spec into, even Ryuuna could only grit her teeth and accept the libelous Title. Still, Linnaeus knew it would be necessary to watch how he acts around her as, depending on her mood, it could result in a significant amount of pain for him.By the time Linnaeus was rising to his feet, the deep voice of a man began to resonate through the surroundings, stating, "Welcome to the Third Floor, Fledglings. My test focuses on endurance and survival skills. Should you desire, it is possible to move onto the next Floor by simply announcing that you, or your Party, has given up. There are no penalties for moving to the Fourth Floor and, if you are early enough, it will give you ample time to prepare for your next test. However, you will also forfeit your right to earn additional Aether, meaning you may very well find yourselves stranded on the Fourth Floor as people continue to undergo the Third's test. As for the test itself, you need only survive for as long as possible. This will be easy at first but, with each passing day, the monsters and environment will become increasingly harsh. Now, without further ado...Good luck, and may you one day soar through the Heavens!"When the voice faded, Ryuuna snorted through her nose before muttering a few harsh words under her breath. Then, turning back to Linnaeus, she said in a firm tone, "My goal is to eliminate as much of the competition as possible. I will entrust setting camp and gathering resources to you. Do your best to lay low and survive until I return." Then, without waiting for his response, she vanished like a phantom into the woods, leaving Linnaeus shaking his head in exasperation.With the difference in their social status, Level, attributes, and overall capabilities, Linnaeus didn't delude himself into thinking Ryuuna would listen to him. The best course of action for him was to look for shelter and, if possible, find a place where other Fledglings wouldn't be able to reach. He needed to continue strengthening his foundation and, though she was very brash, he expected to use Ryuuna as a source for information when she returned.While using his [Stealth] and [Presence Concealment] to pass through the forested area, Linnaeus noticed that there were next to no edible plants. Even the fauna was scarce and, compared to the First Floor, the few monsters he encountered were exactly that, monsters.Rather than large animals, they had mutated appearances while radiating an intimidating and fierce aura. He had even encountered a five-meter tall bear that was covered in brown fur that had a metallic sheen to it. Though it was covered in scars, Linnaeus had the distinct impression that none of his attacks would be able to penetrate through the thick layer of fur. Since it also radiated a black aura that caused his skin to tingle, he ultimately decided to move in the complete opposite direction.Fortunately, not everything he came across was as terrifying as the monstrous bear.After skulking through the forest for several hours, Linnaeus took note of two very important things. The first was a small white rabbit but, compared to what he knew of the creatures, this one had a very pronounced horn growing from its head. As for his second observation, it was the fact that the temperature was rapidly decreasing.Though it was common for the night to be colder than the day, Linnaeus felt like the temperature was quickly approaching freezing. Since there was still ample light left in the sky, he knew it was going to get a lot colder. He imagined it was for this reason that almost every monster he had seen had thick fur coats while, compared to the vibrant and various flora on the First Floor, the Third was full of bristly brushes and tall trees.Unlike the trees Linnaeus had observed previously, these had extremely thick bark while their leaves were shaped like thin needles, a stark contrast to the tear-drop and star-shaped leaves he had found to be fascinating. They also produced a very potent smell and, after breaking away some of the bark for potential kindling, he noticed there was an annoyingly sticky substance on the interior.Rather than worry about such things, Linnaeus focused on the prey before him, doing his best to close the distance without drawing its attention. He was already downwind from it so, as it used its horn to dig up a small plot of dirt, Linnaeus got within five meters of the creature without alerting it to his presence.Without leaving anything to chance, Linnaeus extended his hand, creating a cube-shaped barrier around the unsuspecting creature. Though he could have done the same from fifty meters away, his accuracy decreased exponentially with the distance. He had a strange awareness of his range but this did nothing to increase his precision at using barriers far from his body, especially if they had a more complex structure.As could be expected, the peculiar horned rabbit began to thrash around within the barrier but, with no distance to build momentum, it could only scratch around wildly with its horn. It had actually left a few scratches on the thin blue membrane but, as Linnaeus had put 300 SP into its formation, it had a long way to go if it wanted to destroy his barrier.After trapping the horned rabbit, Linnaeus got to learn something new as, unlike the animals he had hunted on the First Floor, the horned rabbit actually had a health bar above its head. This made him suspect that all monsters had a Status of their own but, seeing that its health had only reduced by a third, he quickly formed a second barrier around the first.Linnaeus was currently suffocating the horned rabbit by forcing it to use up its oxygen while it tried desperately to escape. He felt a little guilty about killing it in this manner but, without a weapon, he didn't want to find out how much damage the rather vicious looking horn on its head could do.After using a series of three barriers, the horned rabbit finally met its end, awarding Linnaeus with a satisfying 69 Experience and 7 Aether. He currently had 2949 Aether after the reward of clearing the Second Floor and, though he didn't know how to spend it just yet, he imagined Ryuuna would be able to answer his questions after she returned. Since she seemed to be a bit of a glutton, as all of his food had vanished by the time he awoke, Linnaeus decided to capture a few prey animals to entice her into parting with the information.With his [Dismantling] Skill providing him with intuitive knowledge of how he should clean and skin animals, Linnaeus quickly slit the horned rabbit's throat before surrounding it in yet another barrier. He knew other animals would be drawn to the smell but, if he didn't drain the blood quickly, it would begin to spoil and rot.While the Inventory could preserve an item's freshness for an extended period of time, this required supplying it with the necessary SP to do so. Since his maximum SP would decrease every time he put something into his Inventory, Linnaeus would rather drain the blood and store it normally. He had also learned on the First Floor how foolish it was to dismantle his catch near his home as the blood drew a lot of unwanted attention, ultimately forcing him to relocate.Before placing the horned rabbit's corpse into his Inventory, Linnaeus cut off its horn to use as a makeshift dagger. It was around 20cm long so it was more than enough to deal a fatal blow if he managed to hit a critical point like the heart or brain. He might even be able to kill someone like Ryuuna but, for some reason, Linnaeus felt that even stabbing the girl in the heart wouldn't put her down when she had nearly 7000 Health...Shaking his head, Linnaeus prayed he wouldn't have to find out any time soon as he once again began his trek through the woods. He still needed to capture more prey and find a place to sleep before Ryuuna came seeking him out. She didn't seem like the understanding type but, as he had already grown used to Saht's behavior, it didn't bother him too much. So long as she didn't try to boss him around and insult him, Linnaeus could tolerate her brash behavior if it meant his chances of climbing were increased.Though he didn't believe Ryuuna was the strongest among the Fledglings, as she didn't even belong to one of the Eight Heavenly Families, he had trouble imagining anyone stronger than her. The only person he could really compare her to was the Saxon woman he had encountered on the First Floor but, as she had clearly expended most of her SP, Linnaeus wasn't sure how they stacked up. All he knew for certain was that his own power was lacking, something Ryuuna made very clear with her harsh and chiding words...

Chapter 25: Survival