Dimensional Descent

Leonel and Aina left the Senate Branch, their destination all too obvious: the Void Tower. 

However, as though they were being led by the nose, they found yet another roadblock ahead. Leonel was already having a hard time not being visibly annoyed. 

The surroundings of the Void Tower made Leonel feel as though he was asking for amnesty. It was impossible to tell that this was a core region of the Void Palace that was once frequently visited by students because it practically had a border patrol now. 

Judging by everything else that had happened until this point, Leonel didn't even need to make too many guesses as to what was happening. Just like all the missions before them, Leonel assumed that the spots of entry into the Void Tower were being monopolized by the so-called Cataclysm Generation. 

In the past, people would only rarely enter the Void Tower. This was firstly because exiting meant that you had experienced something akin to death, it would feel just as real and the real thing. And secondly, there was no point in continuously entering the tower due to the fact one would usually only do so when they had a great improvement in their strength. 

Of course, none of this even talked about the fact that only the first entry into the tower was considered to be free, while every subsequent entry cost both Void Points and Void Merits. After all, the Void Tower was considered to be a cultivation resource. 

But now with so many geniuses appearing that were outside the bounds of the Void Palace's normal understanding, they entered far more frequently and demanded much more space. It also seemed like there was an entry capacity limit of three for the Void Tower as well, something that Leonel hadn't been aware of until he casually listened in on a few conversations. 

"I managed to get a slot for seven months from now. That's not bad. If I had tried five years ago, the waiting time would have been even worse. It looks like they're slowing down."

"Slowing down? More like they're getting bored of the Void Tower. They used to go at it almost everyday, multiple times a day before. Now it's only rarely."

"I don't know if "bored" is correct. The deaths on the higher floors are so much more gruesome. It's probably better for their health if they experience them less."

"Now you're just assigning your own fears to them. The truth is probably that they've reached a bottleneck. If they want to progress any further, they'll have to enter the Seventh Dimension first. I think that if we want to use some of the best resources of the Void Palace, this window while they're stuck at the peak of the Sixth Dimension is the best chance we'll get. I'm going to go and register for Sword Faction placements too right after this, I think I'll get a good date."

Hearing these conversations, Leonel was truly speechless. 

In reality, the Void Palace had always been a somewhat lawless zone where students were allowed to butt heads and fight over resources, but this was even more exaggerated than what he remembered. They weren't just fighting over resources here, it had reached a point where they very obviously monopolized them. 

At the same time, the so-called geniuses of the Void Palace who were once prideful and used to peacocking, just seemed to accept it all so easily. 

If Leonel had been there when the Void Elders spoke of dulling his blade, he would have understood that this was why they were so confident it would happen. This was already his third or fourth attempt at just doing something, anything in this place, and yet he kept running into roadblock after roadblock. 

Every time this happened, Leonel's good mood after having spent the last several days in leisure with Aina became darker and darker. 

Leonel couldn't help but remember the first thing that happened when he stepped foot into the Void Palace. This place, designed for the future leaders of humanity, created to curate the geniuses of the future, acted to crush their spirits before it did anything else. 

Leonel still remembered it. Back then, despite knowing that Anarchic Force corroded clothing, the overseers told them nothing and simply allowed it to happen. They wanted to strip them all naked as though in this place, they had to beg even for clothing. 

Now, it seemed that sort of emasculation, that sort of infantilization, was pushed to the point where everyone here just thought it to be normal. 

Crush the "normal" geniuses, force them to lower their heads, only allowing the truly outstanding ones to stand out. 

No, it was even worse than that, because even if you were an outstanding genius, while you were growing, you would still need to lower your heads to those that were much older than yourself. 

Leonel felt like he was watching a microcosm of everything he absolutely abhorred about society playing out for him in real time, and by the time he made it to the first "checkpoint" for entry into the Void Tower, his expression was as dark as thunder clouds. 

High above in the air, Cornelius had been following Leonel for a long while. The moment news of him being back was disseminated, he was once again given this task. 

Seeing the dark look in Leonel's eyes, he sighed and rubbed his forehead. 

"Here we go again…" he mumbled. 

… 

"Would you like to register for a future spot of entry into the Void Tower? Or would you like to pay for a spectating ticket? The prices for tickets based on those participating is on the left, the price for spots depending on how long you're willing to wait is on the right. 

"Currently, there are no normal tickets left for today's spectators as they've all been bought up. The only spots left are for VIP spectators. However, the price is expensive as the lineup today is quite good."

At the "checkpoint", a young man spoke with a bored voice without even looking up. It seemed that he had repeated these words again and again until he was simply tired of it all. 

But what he didn't expect was for a shadow to pass by him without a word.