Linnaeus had already noticed this the previous night but the food cooked by the Inn's workers was truly phenomenal. Even though they had been served relatively staple foods, such as sausage, eggs, and pancakes, it was all much higher quality than anything he had ever eaten before. This sentiment seemed to be shared by everyone else seated at the table so, her curiosity getting the better of her, Emilia outright asked the Proprietress what the [Cooking] Level of the chef was.

What none of them expected was for her to plainly answer, "Oh, that is Sherry's cooking. She's been at the mastery bottleneck for the last few years so her [Cooking] is Level 99. A lot of the people here in the central district are in the same situation as it is impossible to surpass the Level 99 bottleneck in the Crucible."

This was the first time any of them were even hearing about such a bottleneck so Linnaeus couldn't help but fork over a few Soul Kindling, asking, "Please, tell me more about this mastery bottleneck. I want to know everything you know about it."

As most new arrivals in the Crucible were pretty young, Sara, the Proprietress, wasn't at all surprised that Linnaeus' Party didn't know the finer details about the Tower. Even she had been unaware of the information prior to nearing the bottleneck herself, a common occurrence unless you had surpassed the Twentieth Floor.

In order to encourage the new Party to pursue their dreams, Sara happily accepted Linnaeus' gesture before explaining, "I doubt I need to explain to you all about the Level 50 restriction prior to entering the Tower. This is referred to as the Incubation Phase by those who like the Tower's system but, more often than not, people just call it the Apprentice Levels. Everything beyond that, until you reach Level 100, is known as the Fledging Phase or, to simplify, the Journeyman Levels. This is the period where you begin to work on the foundation you built as an Apprentice, shaping how you climb the Tower for the rest of your life. Some argue that this is the most important phase as, when you reach Level 100, becoming a Skyfarer or Master, your path has already been determined. Though nobody knows what the maximum Level is, it is rather common knowledge in the higher Floors of the Tower that it is impossible to have more than 10 Skills, Abilities, and Magic over Level 100. Everything else will be frozen at Level 99 and, unless you use certain treasures or items, you are stuck developing the Skills you had chosen to master."

Listening to Sara's explanation, Linnaeus' mind had already started to race as this was extremely important information. He had already assumed there were further evolutions and thresholds for Skills and Abilities but having confirmation was extremely important. Now, he would need to focus on a specific combination of Skills, Abilities, and Magic in order to maximize his potential.

Most importantly, Linnaeus realized another one of the Crucible's 'traps' as, with this information in hand, he knew a lot of people would be tempted to maximize their Skill and Ability growth while it was impossible to increase their base Level. After all, you received a significant increase in attributes based on the Level of your Skills and Abilities even at LV20 and LV50. He imagined the bonus at the next threshold was even more powerful so, if he wanted to protect the things that mattered, early mastery would be necessary.

Realizing this, Linnaeus gave up even more of his Soul Kindling to inquire about the surrounding regions. He had already learned about the Familia that ruled the five districts from Baro but there was never any harm in getting a second person's perspective. Sara undoubtedly had her own set of experiences in the Crucible so any information she could provide would be extremely beneficial for them in the interim.

True to her word, Sara didn't mind answering any of their questions as she quite liked conversing with attentive listeners. Though the others weren't nearly as focused, Linnaeus hardly even blinked as he waited on her every word as if it was a precious resource that he dared not squander. She knew it required a lot of focus and resolution to overcome the Crucible so, seeing how determined he was, she couldn't help but bare her heart to the young boy in the hope that he would succeed where she had failed long ago.

From Sara, Linnaeus learned about a few of the hunting grounds surrounding the five districts, many of which she had visited in the past. Unlike Baro, she had a combat-oriented Blessing so, when she was still active, Sara had ventured outside the relative safety of the city, risking life and limb to earn the necessary Soul Kindling to purchase her life from the Goddess of Darkness, Tenebrae.

According to Sara's information, the best option for people that had just arrived on the Floor was to first head South as, after exiting the city and traveling for half a day, you would reach the Southern Forests. There, a small settlement had been established where you could get some rest while, in the surrounding areas, various plants, animals, and relatively weak monsters could be found. This was an area where Slimes spawned regularly so, while not ideal for increasing your proficiencies, their Gels could be exchanged for a few tens of Soul Kindling each.

For those more confident in their capabilities, they could travel to the East and, after five days of travel, you would eventually reach a large mountain range. This was the territory of a Monster Ant colony and, if you could reach the innermost regions, highly sought after materials could be found. There, near the brood chambers, extremely valuable Golden Honey could be found while each of the Majors, the larger variation of Monster Ants, had gemstone-like eyes. Both of these materials were used in the synthesis of extremely valuable Elixers so there was a constant demand for them.

Fortunately, due to this constant demand, a Guild had been established near the outskirts of the mountain range. There, you could sign up for one of their monthly expeditions and, while the total payout would be significantly reduced, it was a relatively safe option for those with higher combat proficiencies. The ants themselves provided a decent challenge so people would generally train in that area until their Levels reached around 70.

These were the two places Sara suggested Linnaeus' Party should visit but, knowing they would want more information, she told them about the other major hunting and gathering areas. This included a frozen wasteland to the north, where Frost Wolves, Snow Yeti, and Ice Drakes could be found. Most people outright ignored this region as the combination of cold, troublesome enemies, and difficult to find materials made it largely unpopular. Only those that accepted commissions to visit the region dared venture inside as, near the center of the region, a Frost Dragon had established its territory...

A little bit to the Southwest of this tundra, however, you could find a deep chasm that was filled with toxic fumes, brimstone, and acid geysers. The conditions were similar to those of the Eighth Floor so it was an extremely inhospitable environment that invited only the bold into its depths. Those that managed to enter the lower layers of the region could find Salamanders, Fire Wisps, Magma Slimes, and, most importantly, extremely valuable mineral deposits. If you had the necessary capabilities to venture even deeper, even resources like Mithril, Orichalcum, Jade Malachite, and Magnanium could be found in small deposits. Just a single kilogram of the latter could be auctioned off for upwards of 100,000 Soul Kindling so the truly desperate often met their end trying to probe the infamous 'Hell Hole' to find their fortune.

When Linnaeus heard about the Hell Hole, he couldn't deny that he was highly tempted to pay the region a visit. His Blessing was almost perfectly suited for the environment but, with four people, it would be extremely taxing on his reserves, even outside of combat. Still, depending on how things turned out, he may very well be forced to enter at some point so it was useful to know the option existed...

What surprised him even more, however, was the next region Sara talked about as it was the only territory where you needed permission to enter. This area was known as the Western Kingdom of Vale, a vast expanse of forests where, in the distant past, the various Elvaan tribes had made their home. They typically only allowed those with more bestial traits to enter the region and, unless you had permission to hunt inside, you yourself would be hunted.

The reason for Vale's establishment was due to the existence of a unique type of flora known as a Genesis Tree. It was a massive natural structure with a maze-like interior that could reach upwards of six kilometers in height. This tree produced extremely rare materials that were highly nourishing to a certain subset of tribes while, in the surrounding areas, various plants and animals benefitted heavily from its presence. In fact, the region was so rich in resources that wars had occurred in the past over control of the region as it was one of the few places viable for agriculture.

This wasn't the biggest reason behind the conflict, however, as the region was also the sole producer of the most important item on the Fifth Floor, the sap of the Genesis Tree. As for why it was so highly sought after, this was due to pregnancy, regardless of a race's natural fertility, being nigh-impossible to achieve within the Crucible. After all, everyone inside had already died once, something that could be confirmed by their pale complexions, muted hair colors, and unnatural eyes. Even Linnaeus' light blue hair and golden eyes had turned pale white and dark red respectively, giving him a somewhat ghoulish yet ethereal quality...

By consuming medicine produced from the Genesis Tree's sap, you could regain enough Life Essence to achieve fertility and completely offset the need to consume Soul Kindling. This made it highly sought after since children were an extremely important component of a peaceful society. As a result, conflict regarding the coveted medicine was extremely common, to the point that small-scale skirmishes would regularly break out when the Western Kingdom reduced exports of the sap.

According to Sara, however, this was largely a ploy by leaders of both factions as, without a means to cull the population, things could become even more chaotic after a certain period of time. After all, there were a limited number of resources on the Fifth Floor and, as more people failed to reach the top Floor of the Crucible, it became necessary to reduce their numbers a bit. This was something that everyone was secretly aware of but, understanding the necessity of the arrangement, those that had lived in the city for a few hundred years would often volunteer during the campaigns.

Fortunately, the last conflict was only thirty years ago so there were close to seventy years before the cycle would repeat itself. Since Linnaeus and co only had a little over ten months to exit the Crucible, they didn't really have to worry about being involved in the large-scale battle unless they, like many others before them, gave up trying to return to the surface. Still, Sara encouraged them to at least give it their all as, when you lived for centuries after the fact, you would regret not doing everything you could have.

Linnaeus was extremely grateful that she had said this part as, from the previous night's dinner, he could tell that Eliza, Emilia, and Krone seemed less inclined to continue their climb. Though Emilia would obviously keep trying, as exiting the Tower was kind of like a Coming of Age Ceremony for her species, Linnaeus was very aware of the fact that Eliza wasn't nearly as determined. As for Krone, he had made it clear from the start that he considered his life in the Crucible a penance so, while he would stick with them until the end, his desire to leave was non-existent at the present moment.

Now, with Sara's guidance and wisdom regarding the matter, he could sense a discernible change in the trio. They suddenly seemed marginally more focused and, considering it was only one year out of potential centuries of their life, it was all but guaranteed they would have regrets if they didn't do their best with the one chance they had. Thus, after a delicious meal and a life-changing discussion, the group began making plans for the challenges to come. Since they could still return to the Fifth Floor even after reaching the First, there was literally nothing to lose...after all, they had already lost their lives...