Dimensional Descent

From what Leonel could tell, the scepter and belt were on the same level and as such didn't restrain one another. However, they took precedence over the cloak and necklace, suppressing their strength by half. Leonel realized, then, that he would have to likely balance his treasures out in the future. Even if he ran into a treasure that gave a large boost, he might have to abandon it depending on what effect it had on his weaker treasures.

Seeing the hidden layers of complexities of the challenge, Leonel noted them and didn't mind them too much. Even with this drawback, he was still only a hair away from Tier Three, and not even an hour had passed. Unless one was of much greater strength than himself, it was impossible to move so quickly. But the gaps between Tiers were also harder and harder to bridge with the creatures he was targeting right now.

Leonel killed another and finally felt that he had closed the gap on Tier Three. It was time to target that Tier Four Snowy Star Owl. He let the little fox go. He already knew the general location of the other treasures it wanted to point him toward-that being the ones in other mountain ranges. And, since killing it wouldn't do him any good, there was no need to do so.

Although he was pretty sure that these creatures weren't actually real, and were instead just echoes of Dream Force, it still didn't feel good to kill such an adorable little guy even if it wanted to bite his head off every time his suppression over it loosened.

Leonel chuckled to himself as he neared the region. He was still flying, soaring through the miasma of Dream Force as though he was swimming through the deep sea.

'Echoes of Dream Force, huh...' He felt that he was subconsciously correct about this, it felt like something his Dream Sovereignty was telling him. It was the subtlety of his advantage in this place. Ninth Dimensional existences couldn't truly die, at least not before their "time". They would leave behind echoes of their Force comprehension.

Leonel imagined that these creatures were much the same in a way... except the creatures they came from were so impossibly powerful that maybe the world simply couldn't sustain them anymore, instead breaking them up into these little pieces.

The Snowy Star Owl appeared. It was a beautiful creature. Wings of white underlaid by gold, a proud head, and claws that sparkled like gems and yet carried the same level of danger as it did beauty. It was also the creature that Leonel was the most intimately familiar with.

Before it even noticed him, he pulled at it with his Life Tablet, disorienting its mind and affecting its will. Then he sprang forward. Although he could fly, fighting while doing so wasn't something that he was used to.

He pointed his scepter forward and a Dream Force flared around it, forming the shadow of a spear around it. At the same time, arrows appeared in the skies all around him, targeting the Snowy Star Owl from all sides.

Leonel used his Weapon Forces as though he was still in the outside world, moving with such fluidity and calm that one wouldn't think that they were restricted at all. If one looked closely, it would also be possible to see that somehow, his Bow Force had regained its Sovereignty. But Leonel wasn't surprised by this in the slightest.

Of all the Forces that one should strive to use in this world, relying on slain creatures to reform a connection with your original body, Weapon Forces were without a doubt the highest priority because they were so in tune with the Second Dimension and one's Dream Force to begin with.

Weapon Forces weren't natural. They were the product of human ingenuity and it was people that sparked their life. In this world, they were the perfect tool. And when paired with Leonel's Dream Force, they seemed to have gained wings.

He wasn't filtering it through some other concept or understanding. No, he was powering it directly with his will, a step beyond what his grandfather had managed to accomplish. The arrows collided with the wings of the owl just as it wanted to rise and surge toward him. Many shattered off of its body, but they continued falling, hitting the same spots over and over again as Leonel closed the distance.

The first few could only delay the owl, but the next few made it feel real pain until the following few finally tore through its hard exterior. Just in time for Leonel to close in with his spear.

Man and bird erupted into battle, harsh winds threatening to slice Leonel apart and blow him back all at once. He wielded Dream Force, sending the wind sifting around him as though he had begun an aerodynamic machine. At the same time, he took advantage of this split to thrust forward, a spear dance erupting.

BANG. BANG. BANG! He was only half the size of the bird, but his Dream Force moved so flexibly and beautifully that one would have thought that he was the giant in this situation. It wasn't just using Dream Force like a blunt weapon, but it rather became an extension of himself, a conduit of his will.

Slowly, a much larger shadow of Leonel began to appear around him, almost like an avatar of his will and an arbiter of his desire. He began to suppress the owl, his gaze blazing with his intent. A wide smile spread across his face, suddenly realizing why it was he had always felt so in tune with Dream Force.

It wasn't just because he had Dream Asura blood running through his veins, or that he was a Wise Star Order, or even that he was born with the perfect Ability Index... It was because it was the only Force that didn't influence you, the only Force where YOU were the influence.

Leonel's laughter boomed as he shredded the owl to pieces. His Dream Force reached the Peak Impetus State.