23 Gulf

As Linnaeus slowly freed himself from the darkness of unconsciousness, the first thing he noticed was the throbbing pain in his temples. He could feel the veins pulse in the same rhythm as his heartbeat while, at the back of his head, a deep and painful ache radiated through his sluggish mind.

Peeling his eyes open a minimal amount, Linnaeus noticed that his body was held down by a pile of stones that slowly ate away at his SP reserves while, at his side, a particularly bored-looked girl sat in a thuggish manner as she tossed a stone up and down. Her presence stirred his mind to awareness, bringing a fresh wave of pain as the memories preceding his collapse came rushing back.

Though Linnaeus had managed to restrain his pained groan, the twitching of his face hadn't gone unnoticed by the girl who, realizing he was awake, stated in a dull tone, "If you're going to pretend to be asleep...I can help make sure you never have to worry about waking again..."

As she spoke, the girl began piling on a few more stones, weighing down Linnaeus' body, causing his SP to flatline in an instant. It became clear she had been testing his resistance as he slept, ensuring he was always on the verge of having no SP to support his [Barrier Aura].

Realizing the situation he was in, Linnaeus felt a sour feeling in his nose but, resisting the pain and pressure against his chest, he stated through gritted teeth, "Just...do it...already...I won't...entertain you..."

In spite of his words, the girl immediately began laughing in response as she began pulling away a few of the stones, easing the pressure against his chest without restoring his mobility. When his SP recovered a bit, his [Barrier Aura] removed the pressure entirely, albeit at the cost of eating as his reserves with each second that passed.

After observing the color and fragmenting of Linnaeus' [Barrier Aura], the girl piled on a few extra stones so that the rate of depletion and regeneration were about the same. Then, with an amused smile on her face, she asked, "Why did you enter the Tower? I don't understand how someone so weak believed they had any chance of climbing to the peak..."

Though it was hard to form any coherent thoughts with his SP constantly on the verge of depletion, Linnaeus tried to reason as to why the girl bothered questioning him. He first thought that she just wanted to torment him before finishing him off but, seeing the curiosity in her gaze, this didn't seem to be the case.

Deciding to gamble, Linnaeus clenched his jaw a few times, flexing the muscles before answering, "I wanted the power...to control my fate...to reunite with the people I love..." As he said these words, a few of the tears Linnaeus had been holding back managed to free themselves from his moist eyes. With his hands also buried beneath a few flat stones, there wasn't anything he could do to hide the proof of his shame, exacerbating the bitter feelings welling up in his heart.

Hearing Linnaeus' answer, the girl's face immediately formed into a frown. For a brief moment, she even felt a little guilty for putting the beautiful boy into this situation as, compared to the average Fledgling, he very clearly didn't want to be here. Unless the people he mentioned were inside of the Tower, his words indicated he actually wanted to leave it, not ascend to its heights. This bothered her more than she had expected as, accompanying her conflicted thoughts, she suddenly felt a lot like the people who had suppressed her for years.

Since speculating would get her nowhere, the girl asked, "Where are the people you love...? Are they already in the Tower...?"

After blinking in confusion a few times, Linnaeus took a few deep breaths before answering, "I am an orphan from the slums...my sister obtained the [Healer] Blessing so she was taken to the megacity...I just wanted to see her one last time...to make sure she was okay..."

This time, the girl immediately sighed after hearing Linnaeus' words before commenting in the same dull tone as before, "You are kind of pathetic...really..."

Despite saying harsh words, the girl was also thinking about the kind of life that Linnaeus must have lived. She was familiar with both the slums and orphans but, while her own life had been particularly shitty at times, there were many people to support her. She had tens of siblings and a mother who cared for her deeply, despite her somewhat sadistic and brash personality...

Shaking her head to clear away idle thoughts, the girl focused her attention back on Linnaeus' face, saying, "Though you are weak, you have some potential use as a Thief, Scout, or Support Class. Show me your Status. If you aren't beyond salvation, I will allow you to Party up with me, at least until you become a liability."

Though he was tempted to give in, Linnaeus ultimately shook his head before stating in a firm tone, "I will not become someone's lackey...even if I'm weak, I have my pride...there would be no point in returning if I couldn't even look my sister in the eye..."

Hearing Linnaeus' response, the girl frowned once again before saying in a somewhat icy tone, "You should choose your words wisely...I never said anything about making you into a lackey. At this rate, I really will kill you though..." Though this was actually a lie, as she had thought about using him as a gopher and having him take care of all the menial chores, her mind had changed when she suddenly felt comparable to the very people she hated.

Rather than respond to the girl's icy words, Linnaeus remained silent for several long seconds before exhaling loudly through his nose and displaying his Status. While it might be an important secret, it wouldn't really matter if he showed it to another person prior to his death. She was strong enough to take his life at any moment so, rather than dig himself into a deeper hole, he decided to relent...at least for the time being.

Upon seeing Linnaeus' Status, the girl was once again surprised, this time for a variety of reasons. The first thing she noticed was that his attributes were much lower than expected but, while his foundation wasn't very stable, it was clear that he had put in the effort to master his Blessing. What stood out the most, however, was the fact he was floating Free Attribute points, causing her to ask in an incredulous voice, "Do you...not know about boons...?"

Though much of the information about the Tower couldn't be discussed, the information about the Status board had always been freely shared. Because of this, the children of the megacity, especially those born in the Eight Heavenly Families, received an education that allowed them to exploit a few of the more important aspects of their Status. This included things like selecting appropriate Skills for the path you wished to follow, greatly increasing your attribute scaling. Far more important than even this, however, was selecting the appropriate boons.

Boons were awarded every time a person broke through a certain threshold in regard to their base attribute values. These became available once you reached an attribute value of 50, 100, 200, and 500 points. After breaking through these thresholds, you would acquire progressively stronger boons, each serving as the foundation for the path you had chosen. Though Linnaeus had selected his first three boons, the fact he had 16 Free Attributes meant he could have broken through the second threshold, greatly increasing his power and strengthening his foundation.

Since he really didn't know what she was talking about, Linnaeus furrowed his brows slightly before muttering, "The slums doesn't have an education system...we're forced to survive on the streets from a very young age, stealing for a pittance and suffering daily beatings...even eating was a luxury..."

Hearing Linnaeus' excuse, the girl couldn't help but frown, despite the fact he seemed to be telling the truth. However, when she saw how emaciated his body was and how short he was for a boy of fifteen, she decided not to comment. Instead, she began explaining how boons worked and, to his credit, Linnaeus listened very attentively without interrupting her a single time.

Even before the girl had finished her explanation, Linnaeus increased the value of his Intelligence to 100, earning the boon [Wizard]. This not only greatly increased his SP reserves, but it provided a substantial boost to his bonus Int. Upon leveling up, he would even gain an additional +3 Int per Level, meaning he would be earning +5 Int just from boons alone.

Fortunately, though he had sneakily increased his attributes, Linnaeus had been able to follow along with what the girl was explaining. From her, he knew it was possible to earn three boons every time you broke through a threshold. He could also earn the more powerful boons for a certain attribute, even if he didn't specialize in it early on.

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According to the girl, many people invested at least one of their boons in each attribute, the most important of which was Constitution. This attribute not only increased your health, but it also staved off things like hunger, greatly increased your lifespan, and even allowed you to survive without oxygen if your regen outpaced the depletion. Because of these reasons, most people invested at least two of their boons towards Constitution early on as the additional Con per Level was extremely important.

Linnaeus felt he could avoid following this logic, as his [Barrier Aura] could supplement for his frailty. However, after having his barrier shattered so easily by the mysterious girl, he knew at least one of his boons should go towards it. Unfortunately, he would need 50 additional Constitution to reach this threshold as he had missed the chance to invest in it early on. He imagined this was why most people invested their first boon into Constitution as, due to his lack of foresight, he would now have to invest a large number of Free Attributes towards an attribute he hadn't really relied on before.

Despite feeling a little annoyed, Linnaeus was still grateful for the information provided by the girl and, though she had nearly killed him previously, he felt she wasn't so bad. At the very least, she had a thoughtful side to her, even if it was hidden beneath layers of murderous intent and a few sadistic tendencies. Though this might have deterred most people, Linnaeus had grown accustomed to the rather brutal actions of Saht so, while he didn't this girl at all, she seemed significantly less scary than before.

Seeing Linnaeus suddenly relax, the girl perked up her brows slightly but, rather than ask what he was thinking, she instead focused her mind and sent a Party invitation to him. This had taken him by surprise but, rather than refuse a second time, Linnaeus quickly accepted before she could retract the offer. At the very least, he wouldn't have to worry about her killing and backstabbing him while they were in a Party as, if you killed an ally, you would lose the ability to Party with others for the rest of your life. It also allowed them to remotely view each other's Status, though this was an option that had to be approved by the Party Leader which, in this case, wasn't him.

Seemingly understanding what Linnaeus was thinking, the girl adopted a slightly predatory smile as a small ding sounded within his mind. When he saw the secondary screen of information, Linnaeus couldn't help but gawk, his mouth and eyes both wide open as a result of his shock. He now had a very clear understanding of where he stood among his peers and, though Ryuuna might be quite a bit stronger than most, she was exponentially stronger than him...

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[Status]

Name: Ryuuna Flaskbrand

Title: Vicious Raptor(+3 Str, +3 Con, +2 Agi per Level)

Race: Dwelf

Age: 17

Gender: Female

Level: 26(3719/4800)

Health: 6648/6648

Soul Power: 1090/1090

Strength: 129+82.4

Constitution: 111+76.6

Agility: 105+63

Dexterity: 66

Intelligence: 51

Wisdom: 54

Spirit: 58

Charisma: 19

Luck: 26

Free Attributes: 0

Skills: [Kinu Comprehension:(-)], [*Aura Master:LV52*], [Brute:LV11], [Herculean Strength:LV7], [Healthy:LV8], [Vital Spirit:LV5], [Fleet-Footed:LV14], [Heroic Spirit:LV6], [Sense Danger:LV41], [Martial Arts:LV51], [Crafting:LV39], [Bartering:LV18], [Acrobatics:LV51], [Flexible Body:LV44], [Footwork:LV48], [Iron Stomach:LV50], [Pain Tolerance:LV50], [Abnormal Status Resistance:LV38], [Perception:LV41]

Abilities: [Strength Amplification:LV50], [Body Hardening:LV50], [Aura Pulse:LV51], [Aura Blade:LV51], [Dragon's Horn:LV18]

Magic: [Enhance:LV50]

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(A/N: AUX chapter for Skills/Abilities/Magic has been updated.)