8 Numb

As remise as he was to admit it, Linneaus quickly learned that killing was a lot easier after the first time. Though he was plagued with nightmares for months after his first kills, he slowly became numb to the sensation of taking another person's life after several encounters with small gangs and other despots calling the slums their home.

Though it hadn't come as a surprise, Linneaus found it was very difficult to actually rent a room in most areas without lowering your head to the local powers. This meant paying protection fees, which was impossible after just leaving the orphanage, or becoming a part of their gang. The only other option was living a vagrant lifestyle as, even if you rented a place to stay on someone's turf, it meant having your goods robbed the moment you stepped out or, in some situations, suffering an assassination attempt in the middle of the night.

The one time Linneaus had thought he found a place to stay, operated by a middle-aged woman that gave off similar vibes to Rebecca, he awoke to feel groggy and lethargic. If not for the fact he had a light fever prior to retiring for the night, courtesy of sleeping outside for several days, he may have slept through the attempt at his life. The assailant has used a tuft of sleeping grass, wafting in the fumes from the adjacent roof to take advantage of his vulnerable state.

That night served as the beginning of Linneaus' vagrant lifestyle while also marking the eve of his third kill. Since the assailant had been rather greedy, they had come alone in the middle of the night. As could be expected from someone who used herbs to take advantage of people, they had subpar strength so, even in his weakened state, Linneaus had managed to slip a dagger into the wiry man's gut before cutting his throat. After that, he left his room in the middle of the night, using the brisk air to sober up as he disappeared from the territory to avoid being forcibly recruited.

Since then, more than three months had passed and, for better or worse, Linneaus had completely adapted to living without a roof over his head. He had also learned to sleep extremely lightly as the vast majority of slum dwellers and Street Urchins were just as homeless as he was. It was rare to find a kind soul like Rebecca who was willing to take children in and, with hundreds wandering around in each territory, the vast majority were forced to fend for themselves by forming small packs, generally between 4~10 children.

Despite his diminutive size, it became increasingly clear to observers that Linneaus was no longer a child as, instead of rags, he had eventually outfitted himself with simple equipment consisting of a tunic, leather arm guards, a tattered mantle, and thick moccasins. Since a Street Urchin could never afford such luxuries, it meant the vast majority of children gave him a wide berth while his actions would be closely monitored when he passed through a territory.

Showing any indication of weakness would result in being targetted by other vagrants while, if he displayed his capabilities openly, a group of Enforcers was sure to intercept him. This was due to his small size and lack of reputation, making it clear that he had only recently come of age. As a result, Linneaus had been forced to fight and, in many situations, kill.

Though he did not enjoy violence, his entire life had been marred with physical abuse and other forms of mistreatment. Since he didn't want to become the type of person who perpetuated such violence, taking advantage of the weakness of others, Linneaus adamantly refused to become a part of any gang. Thus, as the months stretched on, his kill count gradually increased, his proficiency with his Blessing and other Skills improving alongside it.

Now, after three long months, even though it felt like only a few days had passed since his departure from the orphanage, Linneaus found himself looking eastward once again. Ever since his third kill, he had started to wonder if he had underestimated his own strength a bit. Now that he had just claimed his fiftieth victim a few hours prior, alongside his forty-eighth and forty-ninth, he felt that Skaadi was not the terrifying entity he believed her to be.

Though Skaadi could likely outpace him with her Speed, it hadn't taken Linneaus long to discover that there were many gaps to exploit in his opponents. If you could not find one readily available, you simply had to make one for yourself. This ended up being his preferred method of combat as, with his [Barrier Master] Blessing, he was not limited by the terrain while his opponents could only grit their teeth as their attempts to kill him ended in vain.

While thinking it was time to start heading back east, as it would take at least two months to reach the orphanage once again, Linneaus' [Sense Danger] activated, causing him to roll back as a wispy blue flame impacted against the pipe he had been sitting on. Rather than explode, this peculiar blue flame began to eat through the pipe like a corrosive acid, causing a large plume of steam to erupt once the metallic lining had been completely eaten away.

It would have been enough to boil and melt the skin of a normal person but, with his [Barrier Aura], Linneaus used the steam as cover while his eyes scanned the surroundings. He saw a man with blue fur covering most of his body, his eyes shining an ominous yellow against the backdrop of the night sky. With two pointed ears sticking out of the top of his head, combined with a thick tail wrapped around his waist, Linneaus knew the man was from the Wefram tribe, a species rumored to have descended from an ancient panther god.

Knowing the steam cover wouldn't help him, especially with the man creating several small wisps of flame around his body, Linneaus bolted into action. He created several small barrier platforms the air, using them as steps to quickly close the distance between his opponent. This had surprised the man somewhat but, long before Linneaus reached his side, he shouted in a gruff and husky tone of voice, "[Will o' Wisp]!"

After seeing the flames eat through solid metal, Linneaus knew better than to try and take them head-on as, even if his aura could protect him, it would take a massive chunk out of his SP. The moment his SP ran out, he would be plagued by a mind-numbingly painful headache and, though he could fight through the pain for a bit, it would almost guarantee his death.

Since there were no ideal spots to evade, Linneaus created a platform to his left, forming it like a wall that he could jump to and slide across with his momentum. At the same time, he had created a second barrier, acting as a screen angled away from him, to eat the impact of the blue flames. Even if he only made a weak barrier, it was enough to arrest the momentum of low ranked spells, allowing him to direct most of the impact away from him, even if it had an explosive effect.

This time, the man was genuinely surprised by Linneaus' actions and, with each of the [Will o' Wisps] eating up 100SP, he was already running on fumes as the former threw a set of daggers toward him. Since this seemed to be the only weapons on Linneaus' body, he used his forearm to block one while evading the second with a quick twist of his body. Then, believing the demon child to be unarmed, he swung a thick machete towards Linneaus' throat while simultaneously sending his final wisp forward.

Though Linneaus had been preparing to duck under the man's swipe before stabbing him with a needle-like barrier, seeing him send forth the ball of flames caused him to feel a bout of incredulity. This wasn't derived from fear, however, but due to the foolishness of the man., While it might seem like a smart idea to cover his path of retreat, it was as if the Wefram failed to learn anything from seeing his Blessing in action.

Rather than continue his pursuit, Linneaus created a small barrier in the path of the [Will o' Wisp], its surface angled towards the man's face. At the same time, he bent back, allowing himself to freefall toward the ground as a blood-curdling scream sounded from the rooftop. Moments later, all sounds had ceased but, due to his position, Linneaus couldn't be sure the man had actually died.

This was a peculiar quirk of the Akashic System as, unless you could confirm the death visually, you wouldn't even get experience for a kill. Though he had never seen them personally, there were even Skills like [Play Dead] and [Wrath of the Undying], meaning the only guaranteed method to ensure the target was killed involved checking directly.

Wasting no time, Linneaus bounded up to a nearby rooftop and, unless the man could fight without a head, he suspected the battle had ended in his victory. This was confirmed when he leaped over to the roof, quickly looting his daggers and any useful equipment he could pilfer before vanishing into the night once again. It wouldn't be long before more Enforcers or Bounty Hunters showed up, the latter of which had been increasing in number as of late.

Though Linneaus has never gone out of his way to kill the innocent, he had racked up a sizeable number of kills in a very short period of time. Because of this, a few gangs had put a bounty on his head and, as it was impossible to operate within the territory of another gang, those chasing after him were bounty hunters wanting to collect. What annoyed him was the fact that his head was only worth five small silver, even if this was once an incredible amount of money to him...

After retreating into the shadows of a bridge, drawing the attention of several other tenants in the process, Linneaus nestled into a pile of rubbish to recover his SP. With his garments, there were few people who would seek trouble with him from the outset, especially those roughing it outside like him. Thus, Linneaus had learned to seek groups of other vagrants when he needed to relax as, with how calm he behaved in their presence, it served as a powerful deterrent unless the other party was confident in their strength.

With his SP slowly ticking up every minute, Linneaus took the opportunity to evaluate his growth, an eerie smile spreading across his face that caused those mustering their courage to avert their eyes. It was said that killers had an aura about them that could be detected by other people and, with four new victims added to his count, Linneaus suspected his presence was more than a little unnerving to some.

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[Status]

Name: Linnaeus Finnian

Title: Golden-Eyed Demon Child(+3 Dex, +1 Int, +1 Wis per Level.)

Race: Hume(50%), Manalyte(50%)

Age: 10

Gender: Male

Level: 11(516/1200)

Health: 520/520

Soul Power: 698/698

Strength: 8~18

Constitution: 14~25+1

Agility: 19~27

Dexterity: 21~30

Intelligence: 7~22+4.4

Wisdom: 15~29+7.8

Spirit: 8~18+5.4

Charisma: 13~15

Luck: 5~6+1

Free Attributes: 0

Skills: [Kinu Comprehension:(-)], [Knife Mastery: LV5->LV8], [Throwing: LV6],[Sense Danger: LV17->LV21], [Presence Concealment: LV10->LV16], [Acrobatics: LV8->LV17], [Pain Tolerance: LV2->LV4], [Barrier Master:LV1->LV23], [Assassination: LV14](new)

Abilities: [Steal: LV18->LV21], [Stealth: LV4->LV12]

Magic: [Enhance: LV10->LV16], [Barrier: LV1->LV18], [Barrier Aura: LV1->LV20]

[Throwing: LV6(118/600)]

Passive: Increases accuracy when throwing weapons and other items.

[Sense Danger: LV21(98/3300)]

Passive: Able to identify threats through intuition. (+1 Wis per Level)

[Steal: LV21(664/3300)]

Cost: 20~100

Active: Allows the user to steal an item from a target's equipment slots or inventory. Success rate dependent on SKill Level, Dexterity, and Luck. (+1 Luck)

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[Barrier Master: LV23(2117/3900)]

Passive: Allows the user to manifest their Soul Power and give it physical form. (+3 Int, +3 Wis, +2 Spi per Level. Additional 10% bonus to Int/Wis/Spi every ten Levels.)

[Enhance: LV10(227/1000)]

Cost: 20~40 SP

Active: Empower a single attribute by 10~15%

[Barrier Aura: LV20(1856/3000)]

Cost: 10 SP per minute. Additional cost dependent on amount of damage sustained.

Active: Create a membrane to protect the body from both physical and magical attacks. (+2 Wis, +1 Con. Increases total SP by Skill Level*10)

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Seeing how much he had grown in such a short period of time, Linneaus had long-since cast away the thought that his Blessing was weak. Rather, it had incredible utility and, if applied correctly, gave him an edge against the majority of opponents he had faced. Better yet, with the growth of his Skills, Abilities, and Magic, he had gained several boosts to his attributes, teaching him the importance of training them to certain thresholds.

Though there were some exceptions, Linneaus noted that he could get bonus attributes per Level by increasing his Skills beyond LV20. The same applied to Abilities and Magic but, rather than boosts per Level, it gave a flat increase, meaning he would get marginally stronger the moment he reached a certain threshold. As a result, it felt like his capabilities had increased explosively, making the two years of training he had conducted seem wasteful.

What Linneaus didn't realize is, due to his peculiar nature and obstinance, refusing to step in line with any of the local gangs, he had been increasing his Level much faster than the average slum dweller. As he would periodically be faced with an enemy at, or even above, his Level, he would gain a few hundred experience points in the confrontation. Now, he was already strong enough to rival against the Cadres of a small gang, putting him just beneath their leaders. Though he was still a ways off from being considered strong amongst the slum dwellers, a feat that required you to reach Level 20, he was unimaginably far beyond his peers at the same age.