2 Concern

With an empty stomach and a shaken mind, Linnaeus entered into the hovel-like dwelling known as the Rahban Orphanage. It was a squalid little place that would have been uncomfortable for even a small family of three to reside. Despite this, the Orphanage packed a total of seventeen children into its two rooms while the Caretaker, a fat yet kindly woman named Rebecca, could usually be found in a rocking chair near the building's entrance.

Despite her aged appearance, making her an ideal target for some of the most disreputable sorts in the slums, the Orphanage was able to exist without too many difficulties. This was due to the fact that Rebecca was a former climber in the Tower and, after a series of disputes in the past, she had come to an accord with the local gang to open an orphanage to care for Street Urchins.

Seeing Linnaeus walk in through the padded sheets keeping the cold at bay, Rebecca opened one of her heavily lidded eyes, showing a frosty blue pupil that contained the wisdom and vicissitudes of several hundred years. Though her powers were restricted outside of the Tower, she was one of the only people over Level 40 in the entire Slums, making her a powerhouse despite the fact she was nearly six-hundred years old.

With a kindly smile on her face, visible despite heavy wrinkles, Rebecca asked in a ragged yet gentle tone, "No luck today, little Lin...?"

Hearing the question, Linnaeus released a heavy sigh, the only answer Rebecca needed before she began to chuckle lightly. Then, with the flash of her hand, a small cup of rice porridge, diluted from a single cup of rice that had been split between thirty servings, appeared from her Inventory.

In the planar world of Lumen, everyone had spatial storage with slots equal to their level. Each was capable of holding a variety of items with the only real restriction being that it decreased your maximum SP based on the size and weight of items stored within.

With an apologetic expression on his face, Linnaeus accepted the small cup of porridge, tears of shame building in the corners of his eyes. Rebecca just lightly chuckled in response before using her thin fingers to ruffle his pale-blue hair as she said, "You're a good lad, Lin. So long as you never give up, this world will eventually reward your efforts..."

Nodding his head, even though he didn't truly believe such words, Linnaeus dragged his feet to the larger of the two rooms in the orphanage, reserved for the girls. Of the seventeen children residing in the Rahban Orphanage, nine were females, the oldest of which was a girl named Tiana, aged nine.

In Lumen, though the age of physical maturity depended heavily on your race, the baseline when you were expected to take care of yourself was ten years old. This was because, on the eve of your tenth birthday, everyone would awaken an ability called a Blessing. If you were fortunate, this would be a powerful ability that could completely change your life, granting you immense power or one of a few 'trade' skills such as [Blacksmith], [Artisan], [Cook], or [Enchanter]. Though it was possible for anyone to learn skills related to these trades, only those who had a Blessing related to them were able to become truly skilled in their craft.

It was for this reason that many people saved their Free Attributes as, if you invested all of your points into Strength and Constitution, only to awaken a Blessing related to Magic or Spirit Control, you could only live in regret as you worked hard to catch up with your peers. This was also the main reason why it was considered a grievous violation of the Law, even in the Slums, to kill or cripple a child before they reached the age of ten, despite the small and petty crimes they committed. After all, even the most humble Stree Urchin could become a powerhouse overnight if their fortune was favorable...

After knocking on the door to the girls' room, Linnaeus waited for a series of locks to be undone before a girl with dirty pink hair, standing only 91cm tall, opened the door. She had a tiny white horn poking through the bangs of her forehead, pointed ears, and orange eyes that, when coming into focus, had vertical slits.

The moment she saw Linnaeus, the girl turned around and exclaimed, "Gwen, your brother is here~!" in a chipper tune. Following this, shuffling was heard before a small girl with similarly pale-blue hair and golden eyes appeared, much of her body wrapped in stained bandages.

Feeling his heart twist in his chest, Linnaeus furrowed his brows in concern as he said, "You shouldn't be moving around, Gwen..." If not for the fact boys weren't allowed into the girls' room, Linnaeus would have walked her back to bed before sitting at her side and feeding her the soup Rebeccas had given him.

With a tired smile and just as much concern in her eyes, Gwen did her best to put on a strong front as she answered, "You worry too much, brother. If I don't move around at least a little, I feel that my muscles will stop working...fufu *cough* *cough*..." Though she had tried to dismiss his concerns in a lighthearted fashion, Gwen felt her throat begin to itch as her chest seized up. Fortunately, the same pink-haired girl had stayed close by, patting Gwen's back to help her breath as she sent a warning look toward Linnaeus.

Understanding his presence would only cause Gwen to push herself unnecessarily, Linnaeus handed over the cup of rice porridge, his face forming a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes as he said, "Eat this...it will help you regain your strength..." Though this would be his fifth day without a solid meal, Linnaeus had long-since grown accustomed to an empty stomach. So long as he was able to drink water, just chewing on a piece of leather he had picked up was enough to keep him from thinking about it too much.

Since Gwen rarely accepted the food he brought outright, the pink-haired girl, named Saht, was the one to accept it in her stead. Then, before the sickly girl could make a fuss, she gave a curt nod to Linnaeus, saying, "I'll make sure she eats properly. Now go, get out of here."

Though she sounded abrasive, Saht was from a species known as the Ba'haat tribe, recognizable by their light hair colors and the ivory white horns that grew from their heads. More than their physical appearance, however, what they were most known for were their sharp tongues and cold natures. As one of the many warrior tribes, they only showed kindness to close kin and, in some situations, those who had defeated them in battle.

Despite the fact she was a full head shorter than he was, Saht was the second strongest girl in the orphanage, just behind Sasha. There was a three year age between the two, putting Saht at only six years old, but that was one of the benefits of being born in a warrior tribe like the Ba'haat. Sasha was just a Hume and, though this meant her future paths were more varied than Saht's, they always had to struggle against some of the more physically superior races.

With the door to the girls' room already shut in his face, Linnaeus moved a few meters toward the entrance before turning into the boys' room. Unlike the girls' room, theirs didn't have a lock, or a door for that matter, as boys were in considerably less danger than girls living in the slums. Even with several laws enacted to protect children, there were still plenty of groups and individuals who would pick up young girls off the street to train them as slaves or prostitutes in one of the myriad brothels surrounding the high walls of the megacity.

If Rebecca wasn't strong enough to keep malicious forces at bay, the girls had a small stockpile of Dream Grass, a preserved herb that, when ingested directly, caused realistic hallucinations that were impossible to distinguish from reality. These often took the form of a pleasant fantasy, allowing them a final reprieve as their heart and mind quickly ceased to function. Though some of the more vicious slavers carried the antidote to Dream Grass on their person, the reinforced door would be more than enough for the herb to take full effect.

Linnaeus wasn't surprised to discover that he was the first to return as, with the sky still showing a bit of light, his brothers would still be out trying their luck. The only reason he returned so early was to make sure he got the freshest rations, believing the first few batches of porridge had the highest nutritional value. This, combined with her other rations, should give Gwen a better chance to recover or, at the very least, help keep her alive until he reached ten years of age and had a chance to make enough money to buy her a Panacea.

Gwen's illness wasn't actually that serious, at least within the walls of the megacity. There were many ways in which it could be treated but, here in the slums, it was considered a death sentence. It wasn't that the illness, known as Limit Bug, was life-threatening but, while afflicted, a person was unable to earn any attributes or Free Attribute points when they leveled up.

Though it was possible to train and kill monsters to level up faster, most children, at least in the slums, got their levels simply from surviving. By the age of ten, the average Street Urchin would be around level five while, within the megacity, the average was closer to ten. Since it was much harder to increase your level beyond a certain threshold, at least without entering the Tower, this meant anyone afflicted with Limit Bug would be significantly weaker than their peers. Without the care of other people, it would be impossible for them to live as, even compared to much younger children, they would be extremely weak.

Currently, Gwen was seven years old and, though she was only Level 2, this meant she had lost out on at least twelve attributes and four Free Attribute points. If he could not save up enough money to buy her a Panacea, which only cost five small silver, the equivalent of five hundred copper, she would have lost out on nearly fifty attributes and sixteen Free Attributes by the time she reached ten years of age.

Fortunately, ever since they were left in the care of Rebecca nearly two years ago, Linnaeus had been able to save up two-hundred-and-nineteen copper. Since he was more skilled now than he had been two years ago, he was confident that Gwen would only be Level 3 by the time he obtained a Panacea for her. Then, if he was lucky with his Blessing, he would be able to earn even more money, hopefully enough to take care of her by the time she turned ten. Though the loss of twenty-four attributes and eight Free Attribute points would restrict her considerably, he would never abandon his sister, the only family he had left after their parents were selected to ascend the Tower...

Though he was originally very depressed when his parents both vanished into motes of blue dust, as it had been a very shocking experience, Linnaeus didn't blame them for entering the Tower. Everyone dreamed of being able to earn wealth and power for themselves by venturing inside and, being the simple slum dwellers they were, it wasn't a surprise they would abandon their children for a chance at an even better life. His father had only been twenty-two at the time, while his mother was merely twenty years of age, so they both had potentially long lives ahead of them, meaning they could build a new family within the Tower.

It was an established fact that the concentration of spirit particles was excessively high in the Tower and, as you moved up to higher floors, you were exposed to even greater quantities. As a result, just by surviving within the Tower, your lifespan would be greatly increased, allowing even Humes, who had a life expectancy of sixty years, to live for several hundred. There were even rumors circulating that some of the people who had entered tens-of-thousands of years ago were still alive, moving to progressively higher floors and gaining unimaginable power for themselves.

Here in the slums, the life expectancy for a person was significantly reduced compared to those living within the megacity so, with the chance to extend their lives and obtain greater power, there were very few people, parents included, who wouldn't abandon everything for the chance to climb. As for Linnaeus, he was considered an exception as, after feeling betrayed by the parents who had shown him care and love prior to their disappearance, he decided he would rather just take care of Gwen. He could still vividly recall her crying face at the time and, even though he wanted to cry as well, Linnaeus had done his best to put on a strong front. Now, even if he was given the chance to climb the Tower, Linnaeus was confident he would refuse the offer...

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