17 Struggle

Sometimes, despite due caution given, trouble went out of its way to come looking for you. This was one of the earliest lessons he could recall as a Street Urchin and, over the years, Linnaeus had come to believe this was an inherent truth in the world.

Just as he had been preparing to turn tail and vanish into the dense forest, Linnaeus felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as his [Sense Danger] screamed at him to evade.

Unfortunately, there were some things in life that were simply unavoidable and, though he had years of experience against foes more powerful than himself, Linnaeus soon learned of the gulf denoting those born in the slums and those born in prestigious families.

While rolling low to the ground to evade whatever had set off his [Sense Danger], Linnaeus found himself face-to-foot with a set of delicate toes. He didn't have time to really think about the strange incongruity he was experiencing, however, as the next moment marked his voyage through the sky and his inevitable reunion with the unforgiving ground several meters from his starting location.

Though it had a simple kick, Linnaeus noted that his SP had decreased by nearly 700 points after he slammed into the ground. Fortunately, he felt no pain due to his [Barrier Aura], allowing him to roll to his feet as he habitually reached for a dagger that hadn't been there since entering the Tower.

Rather than turn his back to an enemy that seemed much faster than him, Linnaeus hardened his expression as a young woman with brown-hair and predatory eyes lazily walked through the brush separating them. Her expression told him that she would pounce the moment he turned her back so his mind was racing to come up with a method of defeating this explosive woman in the shortest amount of time.

Instead of pressing the attack, the woman was evaluating her enemy based on their first contact. By looking toward his legs, she could see the grass and shrubbery brushing against a nearly invisible blue membrane, causing her to ask, "You are a Barrier Mas-"

The moment the woman tried to ask her question, Linnaeus decided to take advantage of the gap in a person's mind when changing from offense to dialogue. This seemed to catch her by surprise but this was nothing compared to the shock she experienced when trying to open distance, only to find a barrier had been erected behind her calves.

At the same time that the woman lost her balance, Linnaeus was practically on top of her as he used a second [Barrier], this time shaping it into a pointed rod. When she had attacked him previously, her health bar had become visible to him and, though she was putting on a strong front, he noticed that more than half of it was missing. Assuming that her SP was even lower, he decided to gamble his all on a surprise attack, feeling it was the only way out of his current predicament.

To her credit, the woman reacted very quickly to her unexpected appointment with the ground but, as Linnaeus was far more experience with using his barriers than she was countering them, the only thing she got for her trouble was trying to roll back, only to find another barrier preventing her legs from following the movement.

This gave Linnaeus enough time to stab his makeshift dagger toward her face, earning a surprised look from the woman as the pale-blue point neared her forehead. At that very moment, her survival instincts kicked into overdrive and, though it was at point-blank range, she unhesitantly used her [Explosion Affinity] between the gap in their bodies.

The very tip of Linnaeus' dagger pricked the woman's forehead but, without being able to drive it forward, a powerful force suddenly erupted near his gut, sending him flying backward. This time around, however, he only lost 217 SP, clearly due to the woman's fear of killing herself with her own Blessing.

After another hard landing, Linnaeus bounded to his feet once again, his heart beating rapidly as adrenaline pumped through his system. He could see the woman shakily climbing to her feet, a small trickle of blood coming from her forehead as she used her left arm to hug her exposed and severely burned midriff.

Linnaeus felt that he wouldn't be able to close the distance in time as, with a vengeful expression on her face, the woman had already extended her right hand in a snapping gesture. He suddenly felt a source of heat to the left of his head, followed by a small explosion that knocked him off balance and completely halted his momentum.

At nearly the exact moment that his vision had blurred due to the explosion, despite it dealing very little damage to him, Linnaeus felt a far more powerful attack slam into his [Barrier Aura], courtesy of the woman's foot. She clearly didn't have much SP to use her Blessing or she wouldn't be relying on physical attacks when her health was already blinking red.

Rolling with the kick that shaved off another 580 of his SP, bringing his reserves dangerously low, Linnaeus made the dangerous decision of deactivating his [Barrier Aura]. Her attacks were powerful but he believed he could take at least one of them, lulling her into a false sense of security since she would assume he was also out of SP.

Though her speed was greatly reduced, the woman had just as much adrenaline pumping through her veins, allowing her to ignore the pain she was in as she pursued him like a predator pouncing on its prey. This earned Linnaeus a hard punch to his left cheek, causing his body to spin on the spot as he attempted to use the momentum to kick at her already injured abdomen.

Seeing her quarry's health drop by nearly a fifth in one go, the woman had a murderous glint in her eyes as she shouted, "Oh, you're so fucked now...!" Unfortunately, this outburst only earned her a kick to the abdomen, causing tears to well up in her eyes as she groaned in pain.

Despite wanting to press the attack, Linnaeus felt like his brain was rattling around in his head so it was hard to even see straight, much less stand. He did his best to retreat in the direction he thought was away from the woman while erecting a thin, wispy, barrier between them.

Gritting her teeth to the point her gums were on the verge of bleeding, the woman punched the barrier separating her and Linnaeus, shattering it like glass. She wasn't going to let him run away and recover, especially after all of the pain and suffering he had put her through.

Just as his vision began to clear up, Linnaeus saw the visage of a woman out for blood already within range as she reached out with her right hand to try and grab his throat. By pure instinct, he activated his [Barrier Aura] and [Enhance], protecting his body and increasing his Strength attribute by 15% in nearly the same instant.

Shocked to find her attempt to snap Linnaeus' neck blocked by a blue membrane, the woman didn't have the time to form any other thoughts as a very painful thud resonated through her body. Even if his Strength was a comparably meager 57.5, it was enough when she was already severely injured.

Though the woman had failed to grab his neck, Linnaeus was still pushed back by the momentum. This allowed him to see her drop to the ground, tears well in her eyes as she hugged her stomach and did her best to resist the pain. At this point, her health was dangerously low, allowing almost any stray attack to take her out.

Seeing the 544 points on the back of the woman's hand, Linnaeus was momentarily overwhelmed by greed but, just as he resolved himself to finish her off, a petite figure with light-purple hair dashed out from the brush before standing in front of the Saxon woman, shouting, "Please, stop!" with tears in her eyes.

With how fas the Lori woman was able to move, Linnaeus decided against trying to outmaneuver her and finish off the woman. Though she seemed like a frail maiden at a glance, he wasn't confident he would be able to hit her at all with that kind of speed. Even if he could finish off his target, there was a very good chance he would follow shortly after.

Ignoring every fiber of his being telling him to try and finish off the duo before it came back to bite him, Linnaeus furrowed his brows deeply as he icily stated, "She was the one to attack me. Even if I let her go, do you think she would show me the same mercy?"

Though he hadn't seriously expected her to consider his words, Linnaeus was surprised when the Lori girl began to fluster, her ears drooping pathetically as she stammered, "T-That m-might be the c-c-case...b-b-but...!"

At this point, the girl might not even be able to see clearly with how watery her eyes were, giving Linnaeus the urge to go on the offensive while she was confused. However, with her small size and stammering, only a distant voice in the deepest recesses of his mind urged him to kill her.

Until now, Linnaeus had never proactively killed another person and had largely justified his actions as self-defense. If he unceremoniously cut down a crying girl who had never wronged him, he didn't think he would be able to show his face to his sister and Rebecca. Though Saht would probably stay with him, there wasn't even a guarantee they would be able to reunite in the future...

Feeling a powerful melancholy suddenly well up inside his heart, Linnaeus shook his head in far more than mild exasperation. He then pulled out a makeshift satchel, formed from a giant leaf, and threw it towards the skittish girl. After that, he did his best to ignore the aching pain in his jaw as he turned around and fled into the dense underbrush.

Though she was skeptical to probe the contents of the bundled leaf, knowing full-well it could be a trap, the Lori girl eventually picked up the aroma of herbs and fresh fruits with her sensitive nose. After this, she quickly placed the bundle into her own Inventory which, after waking up earlier in the day, had been completely empty.

Despite knowing the boy had probably fled far away by now, she gave a courteous bow toward the direction he had retreated. She also wanted to call out but, knowing there may very well be more enemies nearby, she managed to resist the urge. Instead, she pulled the unconscious Saxon woman into some thick brush coverage before producing strings from her fingertips.

In truth, while she did have some experience with making traps, her Blessing was actually [String Manipulation]. This allowed her to produce string and wire of various different strengths and, within a range of 50m, manipulate it freely. If Linnaeus had touched the triplines she had set out the night before, it would have immediately alerted her to his presence. Other than that, the wires served no other purpose as, despite being labeled as a prodigy by her family, she hated hurting others.

Using her strings, the Lori girl made a cacoon of sorts by pulling together the sections of the shrub that would expose them. She then pulled out the bundle left behind by the peculiar blue-haired boy, opening it to reveal a few apples and several smaller bundles of wrapped herbs. These would be very important for her companion's recovery as, without food and medicine, the 'Critical Health' status would eventually result in death.

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Without wasting any time, she began to manually chew the bitter herbs, lamenting the lack of a pestle, mortar, and water. Though she could head to the nearby river to obtain some, this could potentially end in tragedy for both of them. Thus, with no better alternative, she could only use her own saliva moisten the herbs before placing them against the burned section of skin. After that, she did the same with the fruit, chewing them to a paste before lifting the Saxon woman's head and feeding her mouth-to-mouth.

Food was one of the most readily accessible methods of recovering health as it provided a small bonus to health regeneration based on the nutritional value of the food. The apples weren't exactly the best option for a quick recovery but, with each small gulp, the Saxon woman's health gradually increased. Seeing this, the Lori girl felt greatly relieved while, unbeknownst to her, as he had made a concerted effort to move downwind, Linnaeus struggled with his decision while attentively watching the bush...