7 Experience

Resisting the urge to turn back, each step feeling heavier than the last, Linneaus flung himself into the waterway adjacent to the orphanage the moment he reached its edge. He had decided that, if his Blessing did not grant him passage into the megacity or give him an advantage against Skaadi, he would immediately escape to another district, putting as much distance between him and the murderous Vulna as possible.

With the cold water restoring a bit of his focus, Linneaus allowed the current to pull him along as he passed by a few Cleaners, mechanical automatons that kept the waterways in good order. They only spared him a curious glance with their segmented eyes before continuing their endless endeavor to make sure the waterways were functional.

Though a Vulna's nose was very sharp, Linneaus knew Skaadi would be hard-pressed to track him via waterway so there was a good chance he could get well outside of the Greyhound's territory, making it much harder for her to pursue him. He even used his [Barrier Aura], both as a means to familiarize himself with its functions and begin the arduous process of raising his proficiency while earning as much experience as possible.

Since the spell description stated the barrier was a physical membrane, Linneaus was hoping it would keep the cold at bay while preventing his scent from spreading to the surroundings. With his [Presence Concealment] and [Stealth], it should make it even harder for Skaadi to track him down, meaning he could at least buy time to familiarize himself with his Blessing before facing her.

Ultimately, unless he intended to cut ties with his sister, Linneaus knew it was only a matter of time before his and Skaadi's paths crossed. She would quickly learn of his escape due to him not showing up for his morning training, combined with the fact his Blessing had undoubtedly been observed by the Enforcers. This was the reason Saht held Gwen back as, if he stayed too long, it greatly increased the chances he would exit the orphanage, only to find Skaadi waiting for him.

Fortunately, as she had no way of knowing exactly when his birthday way, the odds of Skaadi being on duty the previous night were slim. She was more than likely warming the bed of the Greyhound's leader, making it difficult for her to pull herself away. Since she had only recently tormented him, it could be argued that his Luck had, once again, brought him good fortune.

While floating down the waterways, Linneaus learned quite a bit about his [Barrier Aura], including the fact he could indeed make it completely solid. This greatly increased the amount of SP it cost to maintain the aura, while simultaneously cutting off his access to fresh air, but it was still useful to know. The downside was, due to his constant contact with water, his SP cost was even higher than the base amount and, rather than allow him to move undetected, he had a blue glow that made him stick out like a sore thumb in the early hours of the morning.

Because of this, Linneaus was forced to expose himself to the cold water for the better part of twenty minutes before pulling himself free several kilometers downstream. This made him feel exceptionally weak but, after stripping naked and wringing out his clothes, he was able to recover enough to leap up to the streets above. There were a few curious gazes lingering on him, especially when he had been drying his clothes, but they quickly lost interest after seeing he wasn't a girl that had thrown herself into the waterway to escape a rapist.

As he grew older, Linneaus' looks had continued to develop while, due to his lacking nutrition and persistent training, his figure was slender and delicate at a glance. Though this illusion was shattered when he removed his clothes, giving him a somewhat stringy and emaciated appearance, he was not unfamiliar with unwarranted solicitation. One drunkard had even stripped him of his trousers in the past when he had stayed out too late but, finding that his victim had been a male, Linneaus had his abdomen and legs stepped viciously before the man stumbled away.

From that moment onward, Linneaus had developed a habit of either shrouding his face or, when training, running around without a shirt on. Though this still garnered him a fair amount of attention, it was still better than being mistaken for an easy mark.

After extricating himself from the waterway, Linneaus wasn't content with the distance covered. He was still within his known range of operation and, with several million kilometers of slums lining the outer walls of the megacity, he had ample opportunity to flee as far as he was comfortable. Though it would make visiting Gwen harder, he needed to at least travel outside of the distance Skaadi could travel in half a day, meaning his journey wouldn't end for at least three.

With this in mind, Linneaus continued traveling west, periodically using his [Barrier Aura] to conceal his scent. Fortunately, as it only cost around 20SP per minute, his actual consumption was closer to 12. If he used the normal version of the [Barrier Aura], the consumption was reduced to only 2SP per minute, with each tick granting him 1 experience. At this rate, if he increased his Wisdom by a few points, he would be able to passively keep his [Barrier Aura] active at no cost, giving him a constant trickle of experience.

In Lumen, though there were Skills and Magic that greatly increased it, everyone had a basic amount of Health and SP regeneration based on their Constitution and Wisdom. On average, this value was the total of your Constitution or half of your Wisdom, meaning 10% and 5% per minute. Thus, with 16.5 Wisdom, Linneaus was able to regenerate around 8Sp per minute.

Now that he had gained his Blessing, common sense dictated he should invest his Free Attributes in such a way as to increase the efficiency of its use. The only reason he hesitated was due to the fact that, as he had sort of expected, his development path contradicted his given Blessing. He had been focused on Agility and Dexterity as his primary stats so, with a magic-oriented Blessing, he was more than a little behind the curve. Fortunately, like all Blessings, his provided him with bonus attributes per Level that covered this weakness, assuming he lived long enough to benefit from it.

It was with such thoughts in mind that Linneaus continued his journey, only to find his way impeded when a group of Street Urchins obstructed his path in an alleyway. There was also a pair of Enforcers on the roof, looking down with sardonic grins on their faces, excited to see a show. Because of this, if he used his Blessing, there was a good chance they would attack him seriously before either killing or conscripting him.

While resisting the urge to sigh, Linneaus eyed the group of four Street Urchins as their leader, a woman with pale green skin, pointed ears, and black sclera around dark-green eyes, shouted, "Who are you to invade our territory!? We don't tolerate rats wandering about our streets!"

Being almost a full head shorter than the girl, despite the fact he was older than her, Linneaus felt a small amount of indignation as he stated, "I am only passing through. I don't intend to operate on your turf..."

This didn't seem to be the correct answer as, rather than let him pass, the girl said, "Sure, I can let you pass through. You'll have to pay the toll first. Who knows what you stole before trying to escape your own hole? Come, empty your pockets and open up your Inventory, brat!"

The moment the girl's words finished, she didn't wait for his response as, with the assistance of two other children, she immediately pounced forward. If this had been in the past, Linneaus would have just tolerated the coming beating but, as he couldn't risk being delayed for too long, he decided it was time to put his two years of training to the test.

As could be expected from a Level 6, which was a full Level above the average for a ten-year-old in the slums, Linneaus didn't have too much trouble dealing with the group. With his [Enhance] magic, he had a distinctive advantage in speed and mobility, allowing him to dodge backward faster than they could leap forward. Then, exploiting the brief moment when the leading girl tried to recover her footing, he thurst forward with his fist in a spear-like motion, striking her directly in the nose.

Since this act initiated combat between them, Linneaus was able to see the girl's Health reduce by a fraction as her head cocked backward violently from the strike. Before she could recover, he used her body as a springboard, finding it surprisingly easy with her flat chest. This allowed him to kick her to the ground, hard, as he leaped past the other two attackers.

Seeing Linneaus' movements, the Street Urchins were all taken by surprise, especially the youngest boy who had been standing in the back. He seemed to be around six or seven years old so, despite common sense telling him to attack the boy as well, Linneaus just pushed him aside as he sprinted through the alleyways.

Though the four Street Urchins didn't give chase, as the green-skinned girl was too busy crying over her bloody nose, the two Enforcers watching the show quickly overtook him. Since they also believed there was a chance he was carrying goods, the shorter of the two, having wild blond hair and vibrant green eyes, immediately used [Steal] while the larger, more muscular man, attempted to catch him with hands larger than Linneaus' face.

Now that he was no longer a child in the eyes of most gangs, Linneaus knew he couldn't just curl up and take a beating like in the past. Usually, when beating a child, your own Status would turn red for a few minutes, alerting you to the fact you were breaking one of the world's laws. Linneaus' own was currently in such a state but, when the men began to beat him, they would quickly notice the truth of the matter, meaning he wouldn't get away with just a few bumps and bruises.

Gritting his teeth, Linneaus removed a small pouch from his Inventory that he had been saving for his encounter with Skaadi. It was made from dried feces that had been mixed with dried red pepper, making it a potent irritant while also overwhelming a person's sense of smell. Though he was lament to use it against someone other than his would-be murderer, that description could fit almost nearly any Enforcer within the slums if they didn't mind getting their hands dirty.

Not expecting the Street Urchin to put up a fight, the muscular man was understandably caught off guard as a packet slammed into his face. He was only Level 9 so, while much stronger than Linneaus, the gap wasn't unbreachable if you fought cleverly. This was especially true if you could catch the other party off guard, allowing Linneaus to removed the dagger hidden in the sleeve of the man's outstretched arm.

In the same motion that he had practiced thousands of times, even without a weapon of his own, Linneaus drove the dagger into the gap between the man's ribs before moving towards the blond-haired man who had previously been eyeing the pouch in his hand. He had never expected for a moment that Linneaus would be able to take down his companion, leaving him gawking as the small figure leaped toward him.

By instinct, the man tried to jump back, attempting to use his superior speed to create distance and get his bearings. What he never could have expected was for his back to collide against a thin blue membrane, arresting his backward momentum completely.

To his credit, the man managed to pull out his dagger at the same time that he leaped backward but, as this was already a life or death battle for Linneaus, he was undaunted as he kicked forward with both feet, slamming his heels into the man's genitals with as much force as he could manage. There were several points on the body that were considered vitals and, if struck with enough force, they could either cripple or kill a person instantly.

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Though damage to the genitals rarely led to instant death, it was an especially sensitive area of the body so, despite Linneaus' low Strength, he saw the man lose more than a tenth of his health in an instant before collapsing to his knees. His eyes were bloodshot and, as could be expected, he was looking toward Linneaus with murderous intent. Unfortunately, as he couldn't put any strength into his legs due to the extreme pain, he could only glare as Linneaus trusted his instincts, surrounding the man with his [Barrier Aura] and solidifying it.

At first, the man was confused by the pale membrane covering his body but, the moment he tried to take a breath, this confusion quickly changed to panic. The rush of adrenaline allowed him to fight against the pain but, with Linneaus having invested several of his Free Attribute points into Agility the moment the fight began, he was able to evade the man's desperate lunge before waiting for his breathing to cease. This wasn't enough to kill him, however, so Linneaus watched the man's health deplete until it became greyed out...

Feeling his body trembling, as a piercing cold had settled into his body all of a sudden, Linneaus quickly looted the two daggers before taking back the pouch of food the blond-haired man had stolen from him. Then, with his heart racing faster than his legs could move, tears dripping from his face, Linneaus ran from the scene of his first kill as two bells rang in his head, one showing that he had Leveled up while the other notified him of his new Skill...

[Assassination: LV1(0/100)]

Passive: Surprise attacks deal guaranteed critical damage with a moderate chance to cripple the target. (+1 Agi, +1 Dex, per Level. Increased damage from all sources after failed Assassination.)