27 Foolishness

Though it would be safer to approach after the battle ended, Linnaeus felt drawn towards the sound of combat. Since he needed to observe other Fledglings to understand their average strength, there was a need to spy actual combat, not avoid it entirely. If he kept taking a passive approach the entire time, he would never gain the information he required, meaning he would be grossly unprepared for the battles that were bound to come.

Thus, while his instincts told him to seek higher ground and avoid danger, Linnaeus pushed onward until he saw a scene that gave him pause.

In a small clearing, a burly man with an honest face was shouldering a delicate-looking woman with a missing leg. She had already passed out so he was practically dragging her body while trying to fend off a group of six Lesser Frost Wolves being led by two normal Frost Wolves. They were circling the man cautiously, seemingly waiting for their prey to bleed out after losing more than half their numbers in the pursuant hunt.

The man had a solid build, brown hair, fur-covered ears, and a thick tail protruding from his backside. As for his companion, she had leaf-green hair, delicate features, and, most importantly, jade-green horns sticking out from the top of her head. Though it was impossible to be sure, as the bodysuits they were given covered most of the body, Linnaeus imagined she also had a few sections of scales as, poking out of her backside, a scale-covered tail was present.

Linnaeus didn't know what tribe the man was from but the girl was undoubtedly a member of the Jade Dragon tribe. They were well-known for their physical and magical might, the direct result of their [Dragonification] and [Dragon Soul] Blessings. Though not every member had these Blessings, they were still famous as being nigh-peerless outside of the Tower.

Judging by the state of the girl, she obviously didn't have the [Dragonification] Blessing but, what surprised Linnaeus most of all, was the resolute look in the man's eyes. He clearly had no intention to abandon his ally, even though they couldn't have known each other for more than two weeks. In the slums, he would be considered a profound idiot but, as Linnaeus watched the man continue to protect the unconscious girl, he couldn't help feeling bitter inside...

As if they were hunting one of the large bear-like monsters, the Lesser Frost Wolves continued to circle their injured prey. They were smart enough to continually target the side where the woman was located, forcing the man to constantly be turning on his heels to try and take them down with the silvery-white sword in his right hand.

Despite the man's best efforts, however, it was clear to see that he was slowing down considerably with the passage of time. His sword would continuously find purchase but the wounds were shallow, causing many of the Lesser Frost Wolves to have patches of blood-stained fur but, other than that, they were still able to continue their encirclement.

Since the man wasn't using any Abilities or Magic, Linnaeus assumed his Blessing was either a utility or support type. Either that or, due to the prolonged battle, he had simply overused his SP until it had reached a critical level. Regardless, it was only a matter of time before the duo fell to the efforts of the Lesser Frost Wolves as it was simply impossible for him to lug around the woman's body while continuing to fight.

Though his instincts were telling him to wait, Linnaeus was beginning to feel a considerable amount of guilt as he watched the man's struggles. He couldn't be certain of the man's character but, seeing how resolutely he protected his allies, Linnaeus' bitterness continued to grow. After all, he had only sought strength to protect himself and others so, seeing someone fighting to the death for another person while he just watched from the side was weighing heavily on his heart.

While Linnaeus was struggling internally, he saw the man turn to his left, the side where the woman was located. It was much harder for him to complete this motion, something the Lesser Frost Wolves had been keenly aware of.

Despite having performed the action several times without too much difficulty, this time the man got wrapped up in the uneven terrain, causing him to lose his balance. At the same time that he fell, four of the seven wolves immediately pounced toward him without any hesitation.

Linnaeus could see the indignant look in the man's eyes but, rather than roll away and try to escape, he immediately tried to shield his companion with his own body. This was the last straw for Linnaeus so, before the wolves could reach their target, he used a [Barrier] to form a dome around the two in an instant. As a result, the wolves crashed into the hard surface, causing one to let out a loud yelp as its snout twisted at a sickening angle.

While screaming curses in his mind, Linnaeus made his presence known to the group by leaping toward one of the leaders of the pack. It had been watching the hunt closely so it was completely unprepared for the sudden attack that, due to Linnaeus' [Stealth] and [Presence Concealment], went without a hitch.

Though there was an incredible amount of resistance, Linnaeus managed to bury two of his horned daggers into the softer underbelly of the larger of the two Forst Wolves. This wasn't enough to kill it but, as his surprise attacks did triple damage and had a moderate chance to crit, there was no way for it to continue fighting.

Deciding to leave his daggers where they had found purchase, Linnaeus pulled out an extra pair from his Inventory as he rolled across the ground before bounding to his feet. At this point, the other Frost Wolves had become aware of his presence so, with a blue barrier protecting their other prey, the only viable target was the figure wearing their kin as its garb.

Rather than try to evade and defend himself from the encirclement, Linneaus tucked in his limbs to avoid being pulled in multiple directions. This left his head and neck exposed, as he kept his arms low and close to his body, but that was something he had done intentionally.

Resisting every instinct telling him to evade, Linnaeus steeled himself as he allowed one of the Lesser Frost Wolves to try and bite at his throat. As the ivory-white teeth tried to sink into his neck, a blue membrane prevented them from finding purchase, allowing Linnaeus to stab upward with both of his daggers, once again burying the pair into the weakest spot of the Frost Wolves' bodies.

Despite their intelligence and cooperation in hunting, there was no way the other members of the pack could understand what was going on at every given moment. When the first Frost Wolf had tried to latch onto his throat, two others had targeted his calves from behind, completely unaware of the fact their companion's efforts had ended in vain.

Pulling his own shortsword out of his Inventory, Linnaeus twisted his body back, targeting the eyes of wolf gnawing at his right leg. It had been trying to trip him up by jerking its head from side-to-side but, with his [Barrier Aura] mitigating this force almost entirely, at the expense of additional SP, he was able to stand firm. This wasn't something the wolves were used to dealing with so, before it was able to pull away, Linnaeus had cut across the bridge of its nose, cleaving through both eyes in the process.

Following the pathetic yelp of the now-blind wolf, Linnaeus rolled to the side to try and dislodge his other attacker and avoid being pinned in. His [Barrier Aura] was protecting him properly, but he was losing more than a hundred SP on the preliminary bite and several tens as they tried to penetrate his barrier.

With four Lesser Frost Wolves and one pack leader remaining, Linnaeus began to back away with his shortsword held out toward the group. It was fortunate he had taken out the larger of the two pack leaders as, rather than show the usual confidence, the smaller Frost Wolf seemed very cautious. As the others tried to surround him, it had even gone to the side of the injured Frost Wolf, nuzzling the injured area of its companion and causing it to whimper rather pathetically.

Resisting the small pang of guilt, Linnaeus equipped a horned-dagger in his left hand after backing up to a tree. Around the same time, his first barrier, the one protecting the two, had just faded away due to reaching the time limit. The brown-haired man was already standing with his own sword at the ready so, once the blue membrane faded away, he leaped toward the backs of the encircling wolves as he shouted, "Please, protect her!"

As the man shouted, the wolves startled as they quickly split to the sides in order to increase the size of their encirclement. Linnaeus wanted to face-palm at the man for announcing his presence but, as he was just worried about his companion, he decided not to blame him. Instead, Linnaeus moved to the side of the green-haired woman and adopted a defensive stance while the man, now free from his burden, demonstrated surprising Agility as he pressured the wolves until they ultimately fled.

In the end, four Frost Wolves escaped with their lives, three of which were of the Lesser variety. They had fled the moment the smaller of the two pack leaders turned tail, as if they had only noticed then and there that the battle was hopeless. This left a total of eleven corpses in the area, including the larger of the two pack leaders that had bled to death after its crippling injury.

After sending the wolves running, the man turned towards Linnaeus with a grateful smile on his face as he released a tired sigh and said, "I really owe you for this one, stranger."

For a brief moment, Linnaeus didn't know how to respond as, for the last few years, there had never been anyone to thank him. Even when he gave handouts to some of the weaker Street Urchins, they would just bow low before retreating away, often soundlessly.

Rather than face his discomfort, Linnaeus shook his head before looking down at the woman and saying, "You need to wrap the wound and move away from this area. There will be more wolves to come."

Hearing Linnaeus' words, the man gave a curt nod before stowing away his sword and picking up the woman's body. Then, looking toward the small figure that had started to walk backward away from him, he couldn't help but smile wryly as he said, "You are quite cautious. I'm guessing you are trying to be a Thief or an Explorer? Regardless, I really do owe you for this one. My name is Keith. If the opportunity presents itself in the future, I swear to repay this debt."

After stating his piece, Keith watched Linnaeus for several seconds until the latter stated in a low tone of voice, "My name is Linnaeus...here, take this..."

Linnaeus felt uncomfortable hearing the man's words but, before turning tail and vanishing into the underbrush, he pulled out a leaf wrap containing a total of five Plain Slime Gels. Since the man had a face of confusion, he also explained, "They recover Health and SP...this one treats fever and any weak status abnormalities..."

Keith caught the tiny green gel that Linnaeus had tossed to him but, before he could express his gratitude or ask any questions, the short figure had already disappeared into the underbrush with commendable speed. Moments later, even his presence had vanished completely, confirming his suspicions that the boy must be pursuing one of the more 'discreet' paths.

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Though he was tempted to chase after Linnaeus and try to form a temporary alliance, it was clear that the boy didn't have many social skills. Thus, without pressing the issue, Keith fed one of the blue gels into his companion's mouth. He doubted the fur-clad boy would try to kill them after going out of his way to save them so wasted no time in trying to help the Jade Dragon woman, named Vera.

Seeing that Vera's Health had indeed started to recover, Keith breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to flee deeper into the forest. He was heading towards the location of their Party Leader, intending to escape to the Fourth Floor and recuperate. It would take a few days for a missing leg to recover completely so staying on the Third Floor any longer was pointless. Though he suspected their Party Leader may have been trying to actively get them killed, he still needed to track them down in order to leave the Party and move on without them...