Dimensional Descent

Several platforms hovered in a circle around the center of the lake. It was clear by the lack of variety in the paths taken to get here that many had still made the opposite choice to Leonel, instead choosing to forge their way to the center as quickly as possible.

Leonel immediately felt that this was a great opportunity. Those with the least stone pathways were likely among those who believed in their abilities the least and were, as such, easier targets. Aina was only a step or two away from wielding an Amethyst Token.

However, Leonel suddenly thought of another possibility that made him frown.

'I went out of my way to always choose the more difficult path, and yet we somehow only ran into two groups with just enough Golden Tokens to place Aina on the brink of earning the next grade? Was that by coincidence? Or by design?'

Leonel's gaze narrowed. With how important the Amethyst Token was to the Void Palace, would they really allow one to so easily upgrade to it? What if these pathways had purposely led Leonel and Aina here after it deduced that they were close to a breakthrough?

'That lends itself to more questions than answers, though. There has to be a path toward reaching the Amethyst stage. But, why would it be here? The Void Palace must know that it might be even easier to gain what Tokens we're missing here compared to elsewhere… Unless?'

Leonel suddenly realized something quite obvious. There was no easy path to reach anyone here. Though they were all concentrated into a circle, the space between each platform was enormous. The circumference covered at least a few kilometers, but there were only a few dozen platforms and groups. There was no simple way to challenge them unless Leonel just flew over. But, something told Leonel that there was a reason they were so spaced out. If he tried to close the distance, he would definitely end up blocked.

'So we aren't given an opportunity to reach the Amethyst rank and we can't challenge people anymore. What exactly is the point of this, then?'

At that moment, another platform appeared within the circle, and soon another.

Leonel's gaze locked onto a golden pair of irises, his eyes not shifting away. The appearance of Conon seemed to make the atmosphere several times heavier.

Before this trial began, Leonel had noticed this young man before. But, after the geysers started erupting and platforms started appearing, the phenomena cause the fogginess of the lake to increase manifold. The result was a clear line of sight vanishing for them all until they reached this proximity.

Seeing the young man again, and at a much closer distance, Leonel could feel the hairs on his skin tingling, his body threatening to re-enter that state once again. It was the same feeling he had gotten from Simona, except multiplied several times over. Much of Simona's lethality was concentrated in her Pyius Force, something that didn't give Leonel any pressure at all… His feeling when meeting her was more like an acknowledgement of her strength rather than an acknowledgement of the threat she might pose.

But, this young man… He was different.

Leonel could feel something not too dissimilar from his King's Might coming from Conon. Not just that, but he felt something quite similar to Aina's Berserk God Lineage Factor as well.

He and those that followed him had wild, unrestrained auras. But, they also had a lofty, imperial sort of arrogance as well. Just being in their presence felt stifling.

At that moment, Leonel smiled, an action that made Conon, who only wanted for murder, feel taken aback. He couldn't wrap his head around why this bastard was smiling at him.

"Is that son of a bitch taunting me?"

Unfortunately, Conon wouldn't get his answer, at least not immediately. After smiling, Leonel looked away and sat down cross-legged, taking a deep breath. Little Blackstar vanquished his wolf construct and hopped into Aina's arms as she took a seat as well. It was clear that whatever it was that was about to happen here, it wouldn't be occurring right this moment.

Leonel took a deep breath, his breathing even and his mind focused. He had felt like he was on the precipice of a breakthrough not long ago. But, after his blood thirstiness for battle vanished, it had slipped away as well.

Leonel always had at least a few of his minds reading and recording what was happening to his body at any moment. Whether it was his mindset, the changes to his biochemistry, and most definitely something as important as a failed breakthrough, he kept tags on them all.

Whenever he settled down, he could review these moments with absolute clarity. This was the power of the Tier 4 Control stage of Leonel's Ability Index. When he reached a certain level of mastery, he would even be able to 'replay' the state his body had been in during a failed breakthrough and make some minor tweaks to ensure that he succeeded this time.

'Interesting, so that's what happened…'

From what Leonel could see, an odd and special sort of Rune had tried to form but failed to in the end because it lacked appropriate stimulus. This Rune seemed to have wanted to take root in Leonel's Force Nodal and their Pathways, fusing together with his internal Force and influencing his every attack.

'It needs me in a state where I'm wanting for blood and battle. This makes sense considering what Wise Star Order told me about the disposition of Scarlet Star Force. These Runes are probably the key to fully comprehending my Innate Node and likely represent fundamental portions of the Natural Force Nodes hidden within it…'

These Natural Force Nodes had been able to protect Leonel from such a large concentration of Anarchic Force, they weren't a joke by any stretch of the imagination.

Leonel's eyes opened, his gaze sweeping over his potential opponents. They would be the whetstone he needed to cross this final barrier.

At that moment, another platform appeared and Leonel's smile became wider. It seemed Conon wasn't the only one who could make his heart race.

A hulking man standing at 2.5 meters tall appeared, his legs dangling from the edge of his platform and a twin pair of enormous battle axes pierced into its sides.

[Important announcement below. More chapters coming]