29 Petulance

Though he was unable to move onto the Fourth Floor early, there were certain benefits to being trapped inside the pitch-black cave alongside Ryuuna. They had nothing better to do so, while it wasted their oxygen faster than staying silent, Linnaeus used the opportunity after filling Ryuuna's belly to ask her various questions.

At first, Ryuuna completely ignored Linnaeus' questions but, after nearly twenty hours in absolute darkness, she was the one to break the silence. It beat just waiting around doing nothing so, while the number of Fledglings continued to decrease, she found it was a good way to pass the time.

Once given the opportunity, Linnaeus asked if there was any information she considered absolutely necessary to their climb, such as the boons. Since he only had a basic education provided to him by Rebecca, there were a lot of gaps in his knowledge. One oft he most important lessons Rebecca had ever taught him was that knowledge, in many situations, was even more important than power. If he knew the strengths and weaknesses of himself and his opponents, it would be possible to come out ahead, even if the odds were stacked against him.

Ryuuna was gobsmacked by how little Linnaeus actually knew but, as he was an attentive listener and never interrupted her, she decided he wasn't completely hopeless. She could also see that he was a hard worker as, compared to before, his Level, Attributes, Skills, Abilities, and Magic were all increasing much faster than she had expected.

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[Status]

Name: Linnaeus Finnian

Title: Love Bird(+3 Spi, +2 Cha, +1 Luk per Level while in the same party as other Love Birds)

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

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Level: 23~26(91/4800)

Health: 1460/1460

Soul Power: 3971/3971

Strength: 50->52

Constitution: 52->69+4

Agility: 79->85+25.5

Dexterity: 56->63+1

Intelligence: 91->121+101.8

Wisdom: 90->110+93

Spirit: 42->51+15.3

Charisma: 28->36

Luck: 13->17+1

Free Attributes: 0

Skills: [Kinu Comprehension:(-)], [Fleet-Footed:LV11->LV21], [Magus:LV14->LV22], [Wizard:LV17], [Resilient Mind:LV8->LV20], [Sage Mage:LV15], [Knife Mastery: LV21->LV24], [Throwing: LV15->LV17],[Sense Danger: LV30->LV38], [Presence Concealment: LV32->LV40], [Acrobatics: LV31->LV35], [Pain Tolerance: LV19->LV22], [Barrier Master:LV51->LV58], [Assassination: LV35->LV38], [Charm: LV8->LV15], [Trap Set: LV11->LV22], [Trap Disarm: LV6->LV15], [Perception:LV13](new)

Abilities: [Steal: LV28->LV29], [Stealth: LV30->LV39], [Night Vision: LV19->LV26]

Magic: [Enhance: LV26->LV28], [Barrier: LV51->LV53], [Barrier Aura: LV50->LV55]

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Though she would never admit it, Ryuuna was surprised by how much Linnaeus had grown. He was still considerably weaker than her but his foundation was stronger than she had expected. Since she kept track of her growth, she knew there was only a ten attribute difference between them at the same Level.

Linnaeus' total attributes didn't make much sense to her so, after answering most of his questions, she also asked several of her own. When she learned that he had been fighting for his survival since age ten, accruing more than a thousand kills against predominately stronger foes, she received her answer.

It was common knowledge that attributes increased faster when you were fighting against stronger foes so Linnaeus, despite his weaker foundation and lack of education, honed his attributes through life and death battles. This fundamentally changed how Ryuuna looked at the strangely beautiful boy as, rather than a delicate flower that just anyone could pluck, he suddenly seemed to have a series of extremely sharp thorns hidden behind his pale-blue petals.

When it finally came time for him to ask more questions, Linnaeus interrupted Ryuuna's rumination, saying, "You are one of the strongest people I've ever met..." This caused Ryuuna to perk up slightly but, when he followed his words by asking, "How do you compare to the progeny from the Eight Families...?", she immediately resumed her cold demeanor.

Linnaeus noticed he had touched a nerve so he also fell silent after seeing how Ryuuna had reacted. He half-expected her to attack him so, seeing her brooding instead of lashing out, Linnaeus felt like he had been given a reprieve.

After nearly an hour of silence, Ryuuna finally decided to answer, albeit in a venomous tone as she stated, "I won't lose against those brats. As long as it isn't one of the so-called prodigies, I'll tear any other member of the Eight Families apart with my bare hands...!"

Ryuuna knew her claim only held out before reaching higher Floors but, as she wouldn't just lower her head to people she considered spoiled-rotten, she willfully walked toward potential destruction without hesitation. She knew it was only a matter of time before some random branch of the Eight began to target her but, for the first time in her life, her fate was her own to choose.

Though he was tempted to ask about her history with the Eight Families, Linnaeus wasn't in a hurry to anger the Dwelven woman while he was trapped in a cave with her. Instead, he gave a curt nod before adopting a supportive tone as he said, "I do not share your hatred for the Eight Families but I believe you can do it. So long as your actions do not touch my bottom line, I will help you..."

Rather than show any appreciation for Linnaeus' words, Ryuuna closed the relatively short distance between them before punching, hard, against his cheek. His [Barrier Aura] was able to mitigate the damage but it still sent him tumbling through the cave before his body crashed into the wall upside down.

With her golden eyes glimmering in the dark, Ryuuna glared at him with a vicious expression on her face as she spat, "I already told you not to get any ideas! Don't try to coax me with kind words you flowery bastard...!"

Hearing Ryuuna's outburst, Linnaeus finally understood why she had gotten upset at him, even if he found it ridiculous. She seemed to think he was trying to flirt with her, despite such thoughts never having crossed his mind. Though his actions could be interpreted as him trying to ingratiate himself to her, it was very clear she was still bothered by the Love Bird Title they shared together...

Linnaeus ultimately chose to remain silent after extricating himself from the small pile of rubble that had cushioned his fall. He then moved to the far side of the cave, putting as much distance between himself and the unhinged Dwelf as possible. For a brief moment, he was even tempted to announce his departure from the Party but, imagining her tracking him down on the next Floor like a debtor, he wisely decided against it.

Ryuuna continued to glare at Linnaeus until he pulled out a pile of pelts to form a makeshift bed. He didn't even bother to come and retrieve the ones nearest to her so, after a few minutes of silence, she claimed them for herself. Despite the interior of the cave being much warmer than the outside, it was still growing progressively colder with the passage of time.

---

After the violent spat, Linnaeus didn't bother conversing with Ryuuna. From that moment onward, he only interacted with her when she demanded food or water. Since his SP was much higher than hers, he was holding the majority of their supplies after she had practically forced them upon him. Though this relegated him to a glorified Mule, he actually preferred to have the supplies as, if the time came for him to leave the Party, he would at least be prepared...

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Due to Ryuuna's pride and Linnaeus' propensity to evade unnecessary conflict, the cave was largely silent for the better part of three days. Other than the sound of breathing, eating, and the stressful moments when Ryuuna had to relieve herself, there were no words shared between them. This had started to annoy the Dwelven woman quite a bit but, as he could easily go days without uttering a single word, Linnaeus spent the majority of his time regulating his breathing and getting rest when he could.

Eventually, around noon of the fourteenth day, with only twenty-eight Fledglings left, Ryuuna was the one to ultimately crack. It had started to become harder to breathe within the cave so she had been growing increasingly frustrated with the silence. If not for the fact that the interior had become warmer as the oxygen slowly ran out, she would have already tunneled her way out of the cave to get some fresh air.

Since he hadn't been using it on her, Ryuuna broke the silence by exclaiming, "Why do you get to have it easy while I'm forced to breathe your smelly air!? Cast your [Barrier Aura] on me or don't blame me for beating you until you develop some sense...!"

Rather than waste his breath on Ryuuna, Linnaeus just cast his [Barrier Aura] without a word. He knew she was trying to use an argument as a means to segue into an actual conversation but, as he was obstinant in his own way, he refused to pander to her more than necessary. If being nice to her was rewarded with violence, he would rather remain silent indefinitely.

As could be expected, Ryuuna was extremely annoyed by how dismissive Linnaeus was behaving, despite the fact he had listened to her demand. She no longer cared about their diminishing oxygen as, with the transparent membrane surrounding her, only breathable oxygen entered her lungs. This made her feel more energetic so, rather than let him continue to brood in silence, she rose to her feet before making her way over to his side and demanding, "Give me something to eat." as she sat down nearby.

Linnaeus had an incredulous expression on his face as he couldn't understand what was wrong with this pale-haired woman's head. Despite this, he still proffered forth two skewers while reserving his opinion to himself.

Ryuuna quickly snatched the skewers from Linnaeus' hands but, rather than let him stay silent, she began to tear away at the juicy meat while asking, "So, what were you up to before coming to bother me? Tell me about any monsters and Fledglings you encountered. With how much your Status had increased, you couldn't have just been hiding away in a hole the entire time, right...?"

Though he was tempted to remain silent, Linnaeus knew Ryuuna wouldn't take him ignoring her too kindly. Now that she had directly asked him questions, he could only release a profound sigh before detailing his survival prior to their reunion. He kept the details of his discoveries and experiments a secret, as he didn't really feel like having her plunder his reserves of Blue Gels just because they were sweet and tart.

While listening to Linnaeus' recounting, Ryuuna had various reactions, the majority of which could be organized into two categories: contempt and scorn. When she heard about his encounter with the Fledgling named Keith, she looked at him like he was the biggest idiot in the world, asking, "You let them get away without even taking some of their supplies? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

In response to Ryuuna's ridicule, Linnaeus just snorted as he rolled over to his side and muttered, "Not everyone enjoys killing..." before pulling a layer of pelt to cover himself. This series of actions earned him a hateful glare from Ryuuna and, for a brief moment, killing intent flashed across her golden irises.

Resisting the urge to thrash Linnaeus for turning his back to her, Ryuuna hissed through clenched teeth, "You are a gullible fool...if they had been in good health and encountered you while injured, do you think they would have shown the same kindness!?"

Hearing Ryuuna's words, which held more than a few grains of truth, Linnaeus began to tremble slightly. However, this wasn't due to his acquiescence but his rage and indignation at the fact that a person he hardly knew thought they had the right to judge him. It was obvious that Ryuuna had a history of her own but, as he refused to become a vicious killer that arbitrarily killed others to get ahead.

Glaring back at Ryuun, Linnaeus mustered up every ounce of conviction contained within his fragile body as he fearlessly stated, "I would rather die than become a monster that takes advantage of others during their moment of weakness. I don't give a damn how others might treat me in similar circumstances. That has nothing to do with me at all. I'll act however I damn well please without giving a damn about the consequences. At least I'll have kept my fucking integrity...!"