14 Trial

Using what little time remained of the countdown, Linneaus quickly allocated all of his Free Attribute points, not wasting a single one. This was a battle that could determine his life or death so, while it may not be the best choice, it was the safest.

Assuming the restrictions on his Blessing had also been removed, he then cast the smallest [Barrier] he could before surrounding himself with [Barrier Aura].

As expected, the bottleneck he had been stuck at for the past few months had been removed. When he heard the three bells sound within his mind, Linneaus couldn't help but smile as he looked at his own Status, power and confidence swelling within him.

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[Status]

Name: Linnaeus Finnian

Title: Fledgling(+2 Spi, +1 Luk per Level)

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

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Level: 21(42/3300)

Health: 1080/1080

Soul Power: 2690/2754

Strength: 49~50

Constitution: 49~50+2

Agility: 49~70+14

Dexterity: 49~51+1

Intelligence: 49~82+46

Wisdom: 49~82+46

Spirit: 38+11.4

Charisma: 25

Luck: 10+1

Free Attributes: 0

Skills: [Kinu Comprehension:(-)], [Fleet-Footed:LV1], [Magus:LV1], [Resilient Mind:LV1], [Knife Mastery: LV21], [Throwing: LV14],[Sense Danger: LV29], [Presence Concealment: LV30], [Acrobatics: LV30], [Pain Tolerance: LV18], [Barrier Master:LV49~LV50], [Assassination: LV33], [Charm: LV7]

Abilities: [Steal: LV27], [Stealth: LV28], [Night Vision: LV17]

Magic: [Enhance: LV26], [Barrier: LV49~50], [Barrier Aura: LV49~50]

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Not only had his primary attributes increased qualitatively, but reaching Level 50 in his Blessing and related Magics had given him a substantial bonus as well as a significant increase in range.

Before, Linneaus had struggled to form a barrier outside of three meters but, after reaching Level 50, the range had been increased to fifty meters in one go. He suddenly felt like the world around him was in his grasp, even if it was just a vague feeling.

Though he had never taken any drugs or partook of any alcohol, Linneaus couldn't help but wonder if his current euphoria is what others felt when they abused such substances. Even if it was just the result of him increasing a lot of attributes all at once, he could understand why people desperately sought even greater power for themselves...it was quite addicting.

Breaking him free from his existential euphoria, a loud buzzer sounded within the room as the same voice from before stated, "I hope you prepared well, young fledgling. You will now be transferred to the same room as your opponent. Note that you will have thirty minutes to obtain victory. I wish you the best of luck."

The moment the voice faded away, Linneaus felt a weightless feeling, despite the fact he noticed no changes to the surroundings. Since the voice had said he would be transferred, he was momentarily unable to process what had happened before, in the distance, a red light flashed.

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By instinct, Linneaus brought his arms to form a cross-guard mere moments before some kind of red projectile slammed into his [Barrier Aura], sending him skidding back several meters. He noticed that his SP had decreased by 403 points in one go, causing his body to begin evading before his mind had fully registered what hit him.

With his increased Agility, Linneaus twisted his body while jumping to his right, evading a second red streak right where his head had been previously.

Without excess thoughts, Linneaus lowered his body to the ground and began sprinting towards the direction of his attacker. This wasn't his first battle so, while he had been caught by surprise, the fact his opponent had tried to kill him caused a cold sensation to wash over his mind.

As another red streak barreled toward him, Linneaus angled a barrier ahead of him, causing the projectile to deviate upwards. At the same time, this slowed it down just enough for him to see what it was, causing Linneaus' face to form a deep frown as he looked toward the distance.

Though they were practically a speck, with more than 300m between them, Linneaus could make out the form of a woman with scarlet-red hair tied in a ponytail. He couldn't make out her features but, with the outline of her body, he understood she was a beauty.

Linneaus didn't particularly care about the woman's looks, as she would not be the first attractive woman he had killed. What annoyed him was the fact that, unlike him, given nothing but a dark-blue bodysuit, she was wearing proper clothing, including a few bits of armor. Not only that, she had an ornate bow in her hands, complete with a quiver full of dark-red arrows.

Feeling slightly indignant about the fairness of this test, Linneaus grit his teeth before pushing his body to the limit to increase his speed. Though he was still getting used to the increased Agility, his instincts told him he could close the distance within twelve seconds. This would allow the woman to fire nearly her entire quiver of arrows at him but, with his [Barrier] being a natural counter to many ranged attacks, he wasn't deterred in the slightest.

Seeing her opponent charge at her like a mad demon, the bow-wielding woman felt a shiver run up her back as she began channeling more SP into her attacks. This caused her arrowheads to form a small vortex of energy, greatly increasing their speed and destructive power. She also began to run backward, using her own Agility to keep the distance between herself and her opponent. Though he didn't seem to have any weapons or equipment, the thought of fighting a rampaging opponent up close did not sit well with her.

To conserve his SP, Linneaus only used his [Barrier] if he thought the attack couldn't be evaded. This ended up being quite often, as he was charged straight toward his opponent, but he also noted that her accuracy had decreased as she began to flee. With this, he was able to slow his own speed to a comfortable level, focusing on dodging and pressuring her rather than trying to close the distance as fast as possible.

In this manner, a game akin to cat and mouse began to play out between Linneaus and the archer. She seemed to have realized what he was trying to do but, with a limited pool of SP and arrows, it was clear who would come out ahead. After all, if she slowed the momentum of her attack, Linneaus would be able to close the distance much faster. Her only option was to keep peppering him with attacks, hoping to break through his guard while trying to run out the clock.

Neither Linneaus nor the woman knew what would happen if they ran out of time but, rather than get killed in a potentially brutal fashion, she was willing to take the risk. This was a bad matchup for her and, while it may seem petty, she would rather they both die than allow him to move on at her expense.

Though he did not know what was going through the woman's mind, Linneaus saw the conviction in her eyes as he slowly but surely closed the distance. Now that he was much closer, he could see she had ruby-red eyes and fiery-red hair, matching well with her hide armor. He didn't know what kind of material was used in its construction, but it was the highest quality equipment he had ever seen in his life.

What stood out the most to him, however, was the tiny green gemstone embedded in her forehead, allowing him to guess her race. After all, though there were rumored to be more than 1800 different tribes in Lumen, only four were known to have gemstones embedded on their foreheads.

Rather than continue his pursuit, Linneaus slowed to a stop before adopting a stance focused on quick evasion as he shouted, "Are you a member of the Vulcan Tribe!?"

Despite the fact she had heard the question, the woman didn't stop to chat with Linneaus. Instead, she used the opportunity to extend the gap between them, shooting arrows periodically to keep him from giving chase.

Linneaus didn't blame the woman for her caution, despite the fact it was extremely annoying to be ignored. At the very least, he understood why she was able to have equipment and armor as, if she really was a member of the Vulcan Tribe, it was very likely she had the [Blacksmith] Blessing.

The moment he heard about the test requirements, Linneaus had been somewhat confused as, if they were all required to battle to the death, what chance would people with support Blessings have against those with combat-oriented Blessings? If someone with the [Cooking] Blessing showed up in the Tower, the only outcome awaiting them during such trials was death.

Now, seeing the woman wearing armor that had a uniform design, combined with a weapon that had a matching aesthetic, Linneaus assumed she had forged them herself. If the Tower took away her armaments, it wouldn't make sense why he was allowed to use his [Barrier Master]. With this in mind, Linneaus began to question the purpose of the current test, finding several gaps in the explanation that had been given...

At no point in time had the voice ever said he needed to kill his opponent. Instead, it only required him to survive. Though there had been one part about failure and inevitable death, this was only if he failed to survive, which was an obvious outcome.

Realizing the game that was being played, Linneaus decided to stop chasing the woman as he began to backpedal without turning his back to her. She seemed confused about his actions, to the point of coming to a stop, but that didn't stop her from periodically firing arrows at him.

Now, with their roles having swapped somewhat, Linneaus was focused on outlasting her arrows as, with the passage of time, she placed more emphasis on empowering and aiming them than rapidly firing what remained in her quiver. Eventually, as all finite resources ought to, she would run out of arrows, leaving her with only a small dagger to protect herself.

Eventually, when the woman was down to only five arrows, she stopped firing entirely. Linneaus was now more than 500m away from her so she could only pout while considering whether or not she should give chase this time. Ultimately, however, she decided to just sit down and recover her SP, albeit without dropping her guard.

Though he was tempted to sit as well, Linneaus kept opening up an even greater distance between himself and the woman. This could be a death sentence for them both but, as his on SP had been reduced to less than half during the chase, he wasn't that likely to catch her. He could only trust in his instincts and hope his hunch paid off in the end as, if the first trial before even entering the Tower required you to take a life, this automatically reduced the number climbing to half.

After nearly five kilometers, way outside the woman's presumed range, Linneaus also decided to take a rest and recuperate his SP. Even if his hunch proved correct, there was no guaranteeing that the First Floor wouldn't put him into another life and death situation. He knew that, at the very least, there were various monsters located on the Floors, even if their strength and ecology were complete mysteries to him...

While Linneaus was resting in the distance, appearing as nothing more than a dot, even with her [Eagle Eye] Skill, the Vulcan woman released a tired sigh. She didn't have the confidence in being able to kill him before the time was up so, after forming the conviction to die together previously, it was hard to muster up any motivation.

With nothing better to do while waiting for the time to run down, the woman began to perform maintenance on her equipment, a calming behavior she had adapted ever since acquiring her Blessing. At the same time, she thought back to the battle, wondering if there wasn't anything she could have done differently.

Her biggest mistake seemed to be not putting more SP into her first attack but, with the flicker of light that had surrounded her opponent's body, combined with the panels he seemed to manifest out of thin air, it was easy to guess what his Blessing was. She could only lament at her misfortune of getting matched against her counter, as the [Barrier Master] Blessing was the bane of most ranged attackers, Mages included.

Shaking her head to clear negative thoughts, which was surprisingly hard to do with the clock now ticking below five minutes, the Vulcan woman began to think about her opponent. He seemed quite a bit younger than her but, when he got close, she was honestly a little surprised. Though his body was even thinner than her own, his facial features made her feel a little jealous, especially with his piercing gold eyes and pale-blue hair. She wondered what Tribe he belonged to as, even while living inside the megacity, she had rarely seen such a unique combination of features...

While she was lost in thought, the counter finally reached zero, startling her to awareness when a very loud buzzer echoed through the massive room. This caused not only her heart to tense up, but Linneaus' in the distance. Then, just as the sound began to die down, the same voice from before entered their ears, announcing, "Congratulations on surviving the first test! From here on out, you have now become Fledglings in the truest sense. We sincerely hope you learned something from this Trial~!"

Without affording them any time to collect their thoughts or voice any complaints, the woman and Linneaus both vanished from the room. Moments later, even the arrows she had used vanished into nothingness as, about 500m from each other, two more figures appeared...