After viewing Eliza's Status, a lot of thoughts ran through Linnaeus' mind simultaneously. First and foremost, he recognized the last name Evendoom. It belonged to one of the stronger of the Eight Heavenly Families, simultaneously explaining why Eliza acted sheltered despite being so powerful.

The second thought to run through Linnaeus' mind was that, despite giving off the feeling that she was much weaker than him, the truth of the matter was the complete opposite of his expectations. He had expected her Level to be higher, as she had reached the 13th Floor, but he hadn't expected her to be above the Level of Rebecca while also being a better specialist than himself...

While these two things were of extreme importance, for a variety of reasons, the thing that stood out the most, at least to Linnaeus, was Eliza's Skills. Though she didn't have the Blessing for it, having the [Mixing] Skill would be very useful when it came to making medicine and salves. The rest of her Skills were also rather important as, despite having grown considerably, Linnaeus was still looking for ways to grow stronger.

As Linnaeus was looking at her Status, Eliza was obviously doing the same in regards to his Status. It didn't bother her that Linnaeus was only Level 26 as, when she first entered the Tower, her Level had been around the same. She was only Level 33 by the time she reached the 10th Floor so, if anything, he was ahead of the curve since she was the 9th Ranked Fledgling in her clutch.

What did surprise Eliza, however, were Linnaeus' [Pain Tolerance] and [Charm] Skills. Unless someone intended to become a frontline Vanguard, most people did not put in the arduous amount of effort to gain the difficult to acquire Skill. It was obvious that he leaning towards the path of a Thief, Scout, or Assassin so, to have obtained the Skill, the delicate-looking boy must have experienced a lot of pain in his life.

If not for the fact that Linnaeus had the [Charm] Skill, Eliza would have been able to empathize with him a lot more...

[Charm] was another difficult to acquire Skill as you needed to have unnaturally high Charisma just to obtain it. There was nothing wrong with Linnaeus possessing the Skill, as he might have received it without trying, but the training method for [Charm] was rather infamous within the megacity. A lot of the people who obtained it were arrogant despots who toyed with women's hearts so, unless the person was of significant social status, anyone with a significantly developed [Charm] Skill was often demonized quite a bit.

Eliza's mother had always warned her about not being taken advantage of by other people, both as a daughter of the Evendoom house and as a woman. Thus, while she did not intend to abandon the Party at this point, a lot of the appreciation she had for Linnaeus had vanished. His [Charm] wasn't that high yet but, remembering how some of her peers had trained the Skill, Eliza didn't want to be the person he trained the Skill on.

Linnaeus had preserved his life by developing the habit of constantly observing the expressions and body language of other people. Though he had been focused on Eliza's Status, he hadn't missed the tensing of her body as she moved a little further away from him. When he looked over, she suddenly felt more distant from him and, rather than avert his eyes in a demure manner, she was staring back at him with caution.

There were any number of things in his Status that could have put Eliza on guard but, with how she was behaving, it felt like she was afraid he would take advantage of her. Considering the difference in their Status, he didn't believe for a moment she was afraid he would attack her so the most likely cause for her concern was his [Charm] Skill.

Since he had thought to use his [Charm] to ingratiate himself to her, despite not wanting to exploit her, Linnaeus couldn't blame Eliza for her sudden caution. Instead, he released a subdued sigh as he pulled up the makeshift wolf-fur hood to obscure his features. He also turned his head away, though not enough that she was outside the periphery of his vision.

Seeing how Linnaeus had reacted, Eliza was more than a little surprised and, for a brief moment, the guilt she had felt previously resurfaced. Since she still had his Status in front of her, Eliza turned her attention towards his age and, seeing how young he was, she felt like her assessment of him might be a little unfair. Still, she couldn't ignore the lessons of her mother as, despite not being one of the prettier girls, there were no end to the number of people who had tried to take advantage of her.

Having already decided to join Linnaeus's Party, at least for a short while, Eliza felt she owed him the chance to prove her wrong. Not only had he helped her when she was caught off guard, but the way he acted was almost the opposite of how others with the [Charm] Skill behaved. He didn't swagger around with a crooked and possessive smile on his face. Instead, he seemed nearly as delicate as she was, albeit with a cold and calculating feel to him. This made him seem more like an adorable little kitten, rather than a hungry wolf with an insatiable appetite...

The most important factor in her decision to trust Linnaeus was the recognition that she had already died. She had never heard of the Crucible of Souls before, even after reaching the 10th Floor and gathering information. This implied it was one of the most well-kept secrets of the Tower or, as she had already started to suspect, a complete farce.

For all she knew, the Crucible of Souls was the place where all souls went when they died and, rather than allow them to return to the surface, this was already their second chance at life. The fact it was impossible to Level, combined with the physical changes she had undergone, made it seem less and less likely that there was a way to actually leave. Even if she could leave, the fact that nobody even mentioned the Crucible of Souls meant they had to sign a very powerful contract in order to be revived. Because of this, Eliza suspected that, at the very least, her identity as a daughter of the Evendoom family would be stripped from her...

After letting her mind wander to more depressing thoughts, Eliza suddenly felt a need to bare her heart and soul to another person once again. The main reason she had approached Linnaeus was due to her loneliness and, as he seemed like a quiet and kind person, she felt safer around him than most members of the Eight Families. Her previous Party had essentially been one man's attempt to create a harem for himself on the pretense of working together as children of the Eight Families...

The more she thought about her past life, the more depressed Eliza felt in the present. She buried her face into her knees and fell silent for several minutes until a hesitant voice asked, "Hey...are you okay...?"

When she looked up, Eliza's eyes were slightly puffy and, though she didn't really trust Linnaeus, she could see the concern in his gaze and the apprehension in his voice. Still, she was embarrassed that such a young boy was worried about her so, after wiping away her tears and lightly slapping her own cheeks, Eliza tried to psyche herself up before saying, "I'm fine. I was just...reminiscing. Anyways, we shouldn't stay here for too long. I can show you to the shelter I built or we can return to yours. You are the Party Leader so I will follow your decisions unless I feel there is something wrong."

Linnaeus knew that women could be temperamental but, seeing how much Eliza had changed in a short few minutes, he felt the future might be a little more troublesome than he expected. At the same time, however, he could empathize with her as, seeing how she behaved, he was reminded of Saht. Unlike most women, she was a stable existence and, though she was prone to ripping people apart, Linnaeus had grown very fond of her unchanging, borderline obstinant, nature.

Not wanting to change Eliza's mind once again, Linnaeus gave a small nod before saying, "My den is underground, borrowed from a fox-like monster. It might not be the safest place, but it is good for storing goods, provides ample protection from the elements, and is insulated against the cold."

Having received survival training in her youth, Eliza was familiar with making underground dens so, rather than instantly refuse Linnaeus' decision, she gave a small nod. Her own abode was just a small ledge beneath a large boulder. It always gave her the impression that it would suddenly fall, crushing her into meat paste, so Eliza at least wanted to see Linnaeus' den before making a decision.

With Eliza's assent, Linnaeus carefully guided her towards his den but, as he never entered directly, he turned to her and explained, "I'm a very cautious person. Before we go inside, I like to check the area to make sure I wasn't followed. Will you come with me...or would you rather stay here?"

For a brief moment, Eliza had a sinking feeling in her stomach. It was similar to how she felt when her mother had first dropped her off at school when she was a young girl so, rather than just idle about, she answered in a subdued tone, "I will follow you..."

Linnaeus gave a small nod of understanding before slowly trekking through the forest without making a sound. Eliza followed close behind him, breaking twigs underfoot and brushing against practically everything that could possibly alert enemies to their presence. He knew she wasn't doing it on purpose but, by the time they had circled the area twice, Linnaeus had a very strong urge to order her to sit still and wait for his return.

Fortunately, despite making a mind-numbing amount of noise, Eliza was very obedient and attentive. They hadn't coordinated any hand sings or anything but, whenever he would gesture for her to stop, she would become absolutely silent before bringing her palms closer together in preparation for an attack. This showed that, while not the most subtle person, she was at least competent enough not to be extra baggage.

After finally reaching the den, Linnaeus showed Eliza the different entrances and how to check for any signs of entry. Then, after checking the inside and moving a few things around, he gave her to okay to come inside. This took her some time but, as he knew she was still a little cautious of him, Linnaeus didn't try to rush her.

Eliza was surprised by how spacious the interior of the den was but, after learning that the monster inhabiting it had been around 3m long, she accepted it. The only downside was that, much like her previous abode, she had the feeling the large rocks sheltering the den would fall down on them at some point. Ever since she had learned her [Crush] Magic, Eliza had always felt like it was only a matter of time until she was crushed herself...

Linnaeus had modified his schedule to account for a familiarization period between himself and his new Party members so, while part of him wanted to try and hunt down the King immediately, that would come after Eliza trusted him more. He intended to take her hunting with him so they could improve their teamwork and, once he felt they were ready, they would try and recruit the absorption man to their cause. With his help, they would only need someone with a support-oriented Blessing to have a cohesive Party.

With this in mind, Linnaeus decided the best thing to do, at least for the time being, was to just talk with Eliza. Because of her earlier reaction, he felt she would be apprehensive about discussing herself so, once they had settled in, he quietly stated, "I'm not sure how long we'll be in the same Party...if it were up to me, we would remain together until we reached the top of the Crucible. As you've seen, I'm not exactly the strongest person so I won't deny that your [Gravity Rule] would help me a lot..."

Eliza was listening closely to Linnaeus' words and, though she didn't have much of a reaction, she was a little surprised about his honesty. After seeing his Status, part of her had been thinking about broaching the subject of making her the Party Leader. For the time being, however, she felt that he was a better Party Leader than her as, for a variety of reasons, she didn't like to tell people what to do.

Just as Eliza was getting ready to tell Linnaeus a bit about herself, as this seemed to be the way the conversation was going, she was surprised yet again when he suddenly said, "I don't have any way to really make you trust me. The most I can do is try and earn your trust through my actions. With that in mind, I'd like to tell you more about myself. There are some...unpleasant parts to my past. Please withhold judgment and determine for yourself if I'm someone you can trust..."

After seeing that Eliza was paying close attention to his words, Linnaeus took a deep breath to calm himself. Since she was a daughter of the Evendoom family, he was more self-conscious around Eliza than he should be. He also knew she would be able to flatten him into meat patty if she wanted to so, while it was a little dangerous, Linnaeus decided to be honest with her. To that end, he started his account from the very beginning, averting his eyes from her steady gaze as he said, "I was born in the slums..." before detailing his struggles over the last fifteen years...