Dimensional Descent

Gemmes was completely caught off guard. The Craft he was diligently working on practically crumbled within his hand.

His expression suddenly changed. With quick movements, he retrieved his Fire Spirit, storing it away before it could suffer too much beneath the Anarchic Force.

Spirits were fragile beings, especially ones of lower quality and beneath a certain standard. The curtains weren't just important for protecting the privacy of the rookies they Crafted for, but it was also a protective shield against the Anarchic Force that managed to make it through when the doors of the Smithy opened. This way, they could keep their Spirits relatively safe.

And yet, in a single action, Leonel had ruined all of that.

He simply gave Gemmes a glance and jumped away, landing on another shop roof. With the same motion, he ripped out a ceiling log. The food stores beneath were immediately contaminated as Leonel balanced a third log on his shoulder, his indifferent glance sweeping downward without a care.

His figure flickered and he appeared above another shop. This time, he landed on the tailor shop, a demonic hand ripping downward. Little Tolly acted quickly, rushing between the cracks that fused the logs together and shattering all the connections it could before Leonel ripped out the rest.

By the end of it, Leonel had four logs, each of at least five meters in length and about a foot and a half to two feet wide. It was definitely much more than he needed, but he couldn't be bothered to care.

He landed heavily on the ground just as several of the store clerks stormed out. Even the green haired store clerk of the medicinal store Leonel had left alone for now rushed out, likely wanting to pre-emptively stop Leonel from doing something. But, to her surprise, Leonel was already walking away.

Right then, though, Leonel's steps came to a pause. He looked back to find a seething Gemmes and a few others. The young woman from the tailor shop who had been the first to ignore him, a girl who went by the name of Janyn, was also among them. Leonel's actions had ruined several of the uniforms she had yet to properly seal and prime, how could she not be furious as well?

They hadn't come here for charity work, they came here to accumulate Void Points. Leonel's actions had made that practically impossible. They would have to fix the roofs first, but that would take work. And, something told them it wouldn't be so easy to get the logs back from Leonel, meaning they would actually have to go and procure their own, something that was extremely difficult to begin with.

Leonel had been correct in his assumptions, you weren't meant to cut down trees on your own, even upper Rank disciples found this to be extraordinarily difficult to do. Instead, you were meant to trade for the wood you needed with other resources. This wood would be far easier to work with than the raw wood one would find in the forest.

Obviously, Leonel seemed to have guessed this and hadn't hesitated to ruin them.

"What?" Leonel swept his gaze over them all one by one. "You want to attack me? I'm right here. Do it."

Leonel craned his neck back. Holding up four logs on one shoulder, Little Tolly glaring back menacingly on the other, and a deep, dense fog of black hanging around him, he truly looked like the bane of their existence.

Gemmes' forehead vein nearly popped out from the skin that kept it under wraps. Though Janyn seemed to look somewhat calmer, it was clear that she was having trouble controlling herself as well as they both met Leonel's gaze.

It was clear that Leonel knew quite well that there was nothing they could do. Refusing service was already at the very brink of the rules to begin with. Clerks like them were given this level of freedom so that the rookies couldn't just act as they pleased.

As Leonel had guessed earlier, the geniuses were far rowdier in the beginning than they were now. Everything looked peaceful, reserved and quiet, but that was only because enough had suffered at the hands of these clerks to know better than to try anything funny.

Leonel hadn't been the first to be blacklisted. He was just the first to be blacklisted from all of the shops. And, he was also the first that still dared to retaliate after suffering at their hands.

It was clear and obvious to Leonel that this was all due to Orinik. As an upper Rank disciple himself, it was quite easy for Orinik to get those here to believe in his words, and it was even easier when he didn't have to lie.

Leonel knew that he had brought many of these things upon himself by accepting things he shouldn't have, but even if he had to go back in time, he would do it again. When it came to striving after his goal, he wouldn't allow anything to stand in his way, even if that thing was the dissatisfaction of others. He was confident in due to time that he would prove that regardless of whether he was worthy now, he would most definitely be in the future.

Still, he made a mental note of Orinik, his gaze flickering with a cold light.

Seeing that the clerks weren't going to answer, Leonel turned and began to walk away. However, as he passed the green haired woman of the medicinal store, Rosomon...

"Even though you've spared my shop, I have no intention of serving you in the future."

Rosomon's voice was just as calm and even as it always was. She felt it was obvious why Leonel had 'spared' her. No one dared to slight a healer you might need in the future. However, she only sneered inwardly, doubling down on her stance. Everything about Leonel disgusted her.

The response she received in return, though…

Leonel stopped level with her, looking down at Rosomon. The distance that separated their noses was maybe a foot or two, and yet despite their power imbalance, Leonel didn't flinch in the slightest.

"You're overestimating yourself. The reason I didn't target your shop was to give those who haven't wronged me a lifeline to save themselves. However, I can say with great certainty that I will never need your services.

"That said…"

Leonel's gaze flickered with a depth of crimson light that shot out beams within the dull atmosphere of Village 0012.

"… I promise you that if one of my companions needs your help and you refuse them, the moment I'm strong enough...

"Your head will be the first I take. The rules of the Void Palace will not stop me, that I swear."

Leonel's words seemed to carry an enigmatic momentum to them, like an oath that was recognized by a higher power. The wind rushed by, swirling along the ground and causing miniature bursts of small cyclones. The Anarchic Force in the surroundings seemed to dim just the slightest bit, making everyone feel as though it was easier to breathe, and yet simultaneously making them not dare to take a breath at the same time. The violet in Leonel's hair and eyes flickered, the momentum of a King barreling forth.

Rosomon's pupils constricted, her body frozen in place.