Dimensional Descent

'So this is where their spatial rings are coming from, how fascinating. I've never come across something like this…'

To the people of Earth, taking inspiration from nature wasn't something new. There were countless examples of engineers using evolutionary traits of animals and plants in their inventions. But, it seemed that things might not be so different in the wider Dimensional Verse.

Leonel wasn't sure what came first between this mysterious bush and spatial rings, but he wouldn't be surprised if the latter required inspiration from the former. Forming a spatial ring was such a complex process and one of the rare crafts where affinity for the element was almost intrinsically important, so the deduction made sense.

'This bush is very dangerous, though. To warp space in a Seventh Dimensional world is no joking matter. It's hard to tell if it'll just shift me through some distance, or if it'll tear my body apart. Even the former could be dangerous if it was pulling different parts of my body at different rates.'

Leonel observed the bush for a moment before stepping forward. His hips swiveled to the side and his body pushed through as though he was pressed up against two walls. He pulled through, hopping onto one leg and ducking his head in the next moment.

If others were observing him, he would look as though he was doing some sort of ridiculous ritualistic dance. However, those with a sharp eye for spatial fluctuations would see something very different, something much more akin to a young man walking a tight rope between life and death. And yet, Leonel didn't seem to be flustered in the slightest.

After observing the bush for some time, Leonel realized that there were no sudden changes related to this plant. Every influence on space was like a steady flow of water, and any obstructions and snap decisions could be observed.

Soon, Leonel was within arm's reach of the bush, but he didn't hurry to pick at any of the odd spatial ring constructs. Instead, he continued to flicker around the bush, dodging the changes and fluctuations in space.

'If I'm correct, I could probably gain a nice amount of merit trading in all the spatial rings of this bush. But, judging by this… If I take one, the bush will retaliate.'

All things considered, making it this close to the bush wasn't much of an issue for Leonel. After all, his current spatial affinity stacked up well to most things within the Sixth Dimension thanks to the Evolution Ore he had fused his Divine Armor with.

However, this bush was clearly far beyond his capabilities. Though Leonel hadn't tested it, in this world, he could probably only teleport a meter or two at most, and he wouldn't even be surprised if it was just half a meter. But, this bush had a passive area of effect of at least ten meters and this was obviously not its full effort.

Any plant or living thing had an innate instinct to protect itself. Obviously, a bush wouldn't have the intelligence of beasts or humans, and its thoughts and senses wouldn't be as flexible, so it had still managed to allow Leonel to get this close. But, it would be a different matter entirely if Leonel actually plucked a part of it away.

While Leonel was confident in taking one as most other people had, he would have to retreat immediately. If he got greedy and tried to take a second, he would be putting his own life at risk.

However, Leonel had also deduced something else in the moments he observed the bush.

Firstly, these spatial rings were an integral part of how business was done in the Void Palace. There wasn't a single transaction he witnessed that didn't involve at least one of them.

Secondly, after testing it, Leonel realized that even Seventh Dimensional spatial rings stood no chance in this environment. From the treasure trove of Wise Star Order, there were three spatial devices of that caliber. He had tested his theory on the weakest of them with the smallest space and watched it almost crumble beneath his eyes.

This meant that there was a good chance that unless you had a treasure on the level of the Segmented Cube, these spatial devices would be all you could use in this place.

Thirdly, one could never have enough spatial devices. It was too easy to run out of space and if it wasn't for the fact he had the Segmented Cube, Leonel would carry around at least four or five like everyone else did.

And fourthly, and maybe one of the more important points, Leonel could tell that the spaces within most of these natural space rings were incredibly small.

'This branch is divided into three main categories, with each surpassing tier, the spatial fluctuations around them only grows. The weakest rings only have a one cubic meter space. The middle tier only have an eight cubic meter space. The largest only have a 27 cubic meter space…'

If experience hadn't told Leonel that he should hide the Segmented Cube previously, this most definitely did. In a place where spatial devices were so greatly restricted, Leonel, who had almost unlimited space would be seen as a prime target.

When Leonel thought of this, he chuckled. Why was he even wasting his time thinking about this? Keeping a low profile, was that even possible anymore? By the time he returned to Village 0012, he was certain that he would have already become public enemy number one.

'If I'm going to be a villain for now, I might as well profit.'

Leonel's gaze turned a frightening shade of cold, his palm flipping over to reveal his trident spear.

In the moment, his muscles bulged and veins coursed all throughout his body. In the next instant, he became nothing more than a blur, moving about so quickly that booms of compressed air ricocheted into the surroundings.

Every place he passed by, another sharp line would be cut into the ground before it quickly froze, a radiant foggy blue frost wafting from the ground.

Leonel's figure flickered and came to a grinding halt outside the range of the spatial bush.

'I guess in the Void Palace, I'll be a warrior second… And a Force Crafter first.'

Leonel grinned.

BANG!

Spatial rings began to rain from the skies, falling into a neat pile before Leonel.