Dimensional Descent

"Hey, Actus, weren't you sent out on a mission?"

"Haha, I managed to pawn it off on some rookie," Leonel laughed uproariously.

Actus was a burly man with a rotund belly. He was quite friendly with a lot of people here and he was probably the last person one should try to impersonate. And yet, Leonel had still chosen him.

As expected, everyone seemed to notice his presence pretty much immediately, but this was what he wanted.

"You dog." The soldier laughed and shook his head.

"Well, it's not all good, he took my task so now I gotta take his and scout the mines."

"Ooo," the soldier put up his hands and waved them about in mock-fear, "the horror. You must be pissing in your boots."

"Actus" grinned and patted the soldier's shoulder.

"Maybe if you were as charismatic as me, you'd have an easier time than standing on your feet all day."

"Fuck you, bastard. I have better things to do than flirt with men all day."

The two laughed and walked by one another, "Actus" into the mines and the soldier making way for him to enter.

Leonel smiled to himself as he entered the mine. That was quite easy, now wasn't it.

His ability to disguise himself was obviously quite new, and it was one of the outcomes of him diverting away from Thaela's method of using the Innate Node.

Of course, if he could create clones of himself in the past, this was quite easy. In truth, this method was even more effective than a skin mask or even a Force Pill capable of changing one's appearance. That was because he was acting directly on the minds of others.

His actual appearance hadn't changed at all, but in the minds of everyone who saw him, he was a completely different person. The only way you could see through it was if you were a Dream Force expert, and you had to be one of greater skill and within greater affinity than Leonel himself. Of course, it had to be a combination of the two. Meaning, so long as one had greater skill, even if their affinity was lesser, he would be seen through.

However, in this place, that wasn't something Leonel had to worry about.

Leonel slipped through quite well thanks to his uniform and looks. The first layer was filled with miners. They were part of an expected demographic, people of not much strength and very little options. They wouldn't be the kind to dare to stop Leonel even if they felt that something was wrong.

The trouble would come in trying to enter the second layer. However, luckily, they had only found three of the four entrances to the second layer. So long as he didn't have to explain himself to the guards of the second layer entrances, it would be easier.

He rounded a corner and vanished in a great flash of speed, instantly winding through a maze of corners and swerving tunnels until he found the fourth entrance.

With a stomp, the thin layer of wall shattered. Using his Earth Force, it was a simple matter to build it back up once again.

He realized that Earth Force was often an afterthought for him and he didn't use it often enough in battle. But as was normal for him, he quickly threw this to the back of his mind as he continued to move forward.

His comprehension of Earth Force was quite deep, though. Ever since he had come to understand the importance of minerals in his body, it had fused quite well with his improvement in Life Force comprehension. It was a simple matter to-

Leonel came to a pause. It seemed that the trouble was coming already. However, with a calm expression, he walked around a corner.

"Halt!"

"Hm?" Leonel turned around as though he hadn't noticed the group first.

"Actus? What are you doing here?"

Leonel chuckled. "Aren't I doing the same thing you all are doing?"

"You know the rules, you're supposed to scout in pairs. I'll have to write you up."

Leonel rolled his eyes. "You're always such a stickler for rules, Grimey."

"My name is Grim!"

"Ah, right, much better."

Grim's partner covered his mouth, stifling a laugh. Grim, however, was not amused.

"Follow us, we will be reporting this matter up."

"Alright, alright, don't be such a scrooge," Grim's partner finally stepped in. "What'd you get yourself caught up in this time, Actus?"

"Haha," Leonel scratched the back of his head. "Well, I didn't want to go on a non-mine scouting mission. They want us chasing after that Leonel Morales brat everyone's been in an uproar about. I just swapped places with a rookie, but the kid didn't tell me who he's partnering with or anything so I've been flying blind."

Grim's partner laughed. "Typical, just like you. Tell you what, Grim, you go report this guy and I'll be his partner."

"That's unacceptable. I can't be alone either, it's against the rules. The three of us should go back and report this immediate-"

Leonel suddenly moved and the two were entirely caught off guard. Grim's partner was hacked in the throat and he keeled over, his eyes bulging. At the same time, Leonel drove a shin up Grim's groin.

Grim foamed at the mouth and fell to his knees, his eyes rolling to the back of his skull.

With swift motions, Leonel threw both of them into the Segmented Cube. Then, his appearance changed. He took Grim's appearance, and to his side, a clone with his partner's appearance took shape.

It all took place quickly and suddenly. He moved through the second layer with ease.

There were even more passages to the third layer that hadn't been discovered, three in total. However, Leonel didn't pick one of them immediately.

The third layer was the deepest, but it was also the largest and the one with the least tunnels. It was 80% an enormous open pit. If he just fell into the third layer now, he would be exposed instantly. He needed to use a different method.